Rob's Dad's Airliner Postcards

Woodsy,

For Fathers Day, I went through some of my dad’s papers, and came across a stack of postcards he sent me over the years from some of his business travels in the 1960s.

The most interesting group to me were about a dozen postcards showing the airliners he flew in, to various parts of the world.

I thought it would be fun to caption them with the airplane “make-and-model” and send them along. To me, it’s a good example of another “lost” world - world travel for business - although I’m sure it still happens to this day.

Rob C

USA

Going Spare

I had a deja vú moment this weekend. Something that took me back to the early 90's, when I first started collecting. 

Back then I attempted to restore a few Dinky and Corgi cars and you got repro parts via mail order. My preferred supplier was Steve Flowers. Payment was via Postal Order or cheque! 

Some thirty years on Ive just bought another repro part from Steve. Now he sells on eBay but it's the same high standard, reliability and quality he had back in the 1990's. 

Also, Steve still sends out handwritten sales lists of restored cars and cars for restoration. Handwritten lists were THE way to buy, sell and trade with other collectors when I first Started. It was a real joy to see one again. The human touch. 

As regards Steve's repro part I got I will post pictures when I'm on with the project.

Have you bought repro parts from a preferred supplier in your neck of the woods readers? 

Viva Billy Blastoff

 I love this old Spanish catalogue ad for the Payva clone of Billy Blastoff. It may even be a licensed issue and not a clone.

Lily Lledy did something similar in Mexico.

Have you any Billy Blastoff or knockoffs?

Mystery Japanese Monsters

 

These are odd as a seen on a Japanese auction.

They look like little monsters, but I've no idea really. 

Have you readers? 

Falling Skies

The Missus and me have just finished watching the mammoth TV series Falling Skies. I think it was around 60 episodes.

We really enjoyed this US sci-fi epic about an alien invasion. 

Produced by Steven Spielberg and Noah Wiley and starring Noah Wiley in the lead role of Tom Mason (no, not Matt!), it was a joy to watch and follow the handful of central characters through their various scrapes with the aliens.

With great production values this gem, now at least ten years old, is worth a look if you like lengthy sci fi series. 

We're missing it already.

Anyone else seen Falling Skies? 

What are you watching readers? 

You Can Handle the Truth

 

The Japanese sense of wonder for all things sci-fi never ceases to amaze me.

My friend Terry H alerted me to these,

a couple of vintage gorgeous UFO spinners with the plastic winder handle.

The lithographs look like astronauts sat at consoles.

A lovely carded rack toy, I never had a cranked spinner like this as a kid. Did you?

The truth is out there in Japan!

Killer Cereal Lives Again

Not long ago, I posted about the Kellogs Space Age cereal premiums that were available in Sugar Smacks cereal in 1970. The company that made them, Rosenhain and Lippman, based in Australia, were prolific manufacturers of all kinds of premium toys, as well as the little model kits. After the promotion ended and the kits were no longer available, R & L packed up a selection of the kits and sold them separately in supermarkets etc, as 'Kit O Rama' sets. These were also eventually picked up by Aurora and sold in the states, in different packaging.

Vintage R&L Crater Critters Cereal Toys for Sale!

 

Zero-X Assembly Re-imagined!

NeMoworks published this on You Tube a while back. 

His own take on the famous OX assembly.

What do you think? 

https://youtu.be/EV4jhV96frU?feature=shared