Drop it Down the Chimney

I was fascinated to see the old Haunted House board game I loved as a kid being recycled as a later Ghostbusters game! 

Is it a game you had, in any form? 

Dekkertoys Space Tent Mystery

Hello,

I hope you don't mind me getting in touch. I'm trying to identify a rather obscure Dekkertoys space toy from my childhood, and having found Moonbase Central and your coverage of Dekkertoys space toys, I thought you might be just the person to ask.

I've attached the only photograph I've been able to find of it. I had one of these as a child and believe I received mine for my sixth birthday in 1982.

It was a large silver vinyl space capsule/play structure. It wasn't a conventional framed play tent. The main structural uprights, the tubes/poles around the base and the roof structure were all inflatable, and the rest was made from vinyl. The black horizontal ribbing visible in the photograph was printed decoration rather than part of the inflatable structure.

I'm trying to establish its official Dekkertoys product name, catalogue/model number, when it was manufactured and sold, its original price and, ultimately, whether any examples are known to survive.

I've been unable to find another example online despite quite a bit of searching.

I noticed that you've featured Dekkertoys space toys belonging to Will Osborne. If you don't recognise this yourself, I wondered whether Will might recognise it or know anything about it.

I'd be enormously grateful for any information or leads you can provide. It would be fantastic to finally put a proper name and history to something I remember so well from childhood — and I'd absolutely love to find a surviving one one day.

Many thanks,

Tim R

*

And mine and Bill's research:

Woodsy:

Argos No.20 1983 Autumn/Winter

Published on Oct 18, 2014 By Retromash

*

Bill:

Newspaper archive,

 advert from Argos Stores in 1981, which lists a 'Dekkertoys Play House'.

Pez Wolfman: A Howling Success!

As Halloween crawls towards us ( it should be a national holiday) I've got werewolves on the brain.

I've often wondered if the eye wateringly collectable Pez Wolfman had a bespoke head.

Was it from the Aurora Wolfman kit?

Nope. What about the Sixties monster pencil toppers?

Nope. Looks like Pez made their own.

A modernish Wolfman head was released in 1991. Would it be PeZable?

In fact they'd all look good on Pez cartridges.

Do you have a wolfman's head?

Do you own any monster Pez?

Will's Mate's Badge

 Hi Woodsy. 

My mate Colin Goudie popped in to see me today ( film editor: Rogue One etc) . He was wearing this badge , so I took a picture as it was similar to some that have appeared recently on the blog. 

Will O

UK

Commenting Issues?

Current Stateside model contributor Philip G is unable to leave comments here at all.

Is anyone else experiencing issues leaving comments?

The blog is set to receive all comments, even anonymous ones, without any Captcha filters or anything.

If you once had issues commenting then please let us know how you solved it? Using a different device? Joining Google? 

Thanks,

Woodsy

KRAVEN

I remember Kraven, the big fur-wearing Hunter on old Marvel comics covers.

Not really knowing the Kraven origin story I was intrigued enough to watch the recent Marvel TSG movie of the same name last night in Netflix.

Having been disappointed by other fringe Marvels and DCs - Morbius, Black Adam, Shazam to name three - my hopes weren't high. But, I like B-list heroes and villains getting their day in the sun, whether it be toys, games, series or films.

I recognised the lead in Kraven from the Brian Cranston Godzilla flick - he was the expressionless soldier son - and I wasn't heartened. He'd got himself jacked up for the part, but somehow he didn't seem fierce. He moved like Wolverine yet lacked Wolvie's wildness. He was just too nice. He lacked teeth.

The Rhino was interesting and for me a first in film. I loved the character as a kid watching Spiderman cartoons in the Sixties. We should have seen more of the Rhino and less of the smiling actor.

The other characters - his Dad ( was that Russell Crowe?) and the Niles Frasier-like brother - were incidental fluff really, the main interest being Kraven and Calypso, a character new to me. 

I read Kraven was a huge financial failure and critical disaster, which is a shame for Marvel.

These lesser heroes and villains have a hard time in the cinema.

Let's hope this month's Clayface fares better for DC.

Have you seen Kraven?

The Tensyoudo FAB1

This is the Japanese FAB1 Model by TENSYOUDO, on eBay for almost a cool £2K! I'm not sure of the scale.

I now have something similar, if not better, for a fraction of that. 

To be revealed!

Philip's Luna Spaceship Diorama

Woodsy,

First of all, thanks to everyone who commented on my miniature LP Hong Kong Mercury Capsule diorama. The kind words are appreciated. I am more of a model builder instead of toy collector, but Woodsy has graciously invited me to share some space modelling subjects that some of you may find interesting or entertaining.

Phillip G

Finished Photos of 1/48 Scale Luna Spaceship Diorama From the 1950 Movie Destination Moon

Photos of Masterpiece Models1/48 scale spaceship Luna diorama from the 1950 USA Movie Destination Moon. 

 The movie told the story of mans first attempt to reach the moon by rocket and it was the second major motion picture made about manned space travel. 

 Honestly, the acting in the movie is poor and the story line is weak, but the science behind the space flight is based in fact (for what was known at the time). 

 It is pretty entertaining and won an American Academy Award for Best Special Effects. Most importantly it gave us a very cool rocket design named Luna, which looks pretty much like a glorified German V-2 missile. 

 This is a very large kit with the rocket being 37 tall. This is the same size as the two main miniatures used in the movie. The kit consisted of only six resin pieces, with one of those being the lunar base! The astronaut figures are 3D Printings I purchased from Shapeways.com. 

 All the miscellaneous exploration ground equipment was either scratch-built or came from my spare parts stash. The lunar surface and astronauts were given a multicolor paint finish to match what was seen in the movie. 

 The finished product is simple but still eye-popping due to its size and attractive lines. I am not 100% sure but I believe the French Tin-Tin Spaceship books and products are based on the Destination Moon spacesuits and Luna spaceship design. 

 The last photo shows me kneeling beside the diorama to show how large it is. I hope you enjoyed the photos.