Cape Kennedy Set

Here's a few pics of the Century 21 Project Sword Cape Kennedy Set in all it's glory. This is my favourite Sword toy, better than Zero X. The battery remote control unit may be different on some sets. Can anyone confirm this?

BRAINTEASER

Well done Anonymous! You got the Booster Bulb! Now here's a real toughie! What's this off then?

BRAINTEASER

Well done Wotan - Dyna Soar it is! Here's another to keep you amused.

BRAINTEASER

Well done Graeme! You got the last teaser - PF3 it is! Howsabout this one?

PROJECT SWORD NUCLEAR SHUTTLE CUSTOM

From the same flight as the Space Glider and Dyna Soar comes theNuclear Shuttle, a Convair design, outfitted with re-usable nuclear drive, the Nuclear Shuttle ferries crew between Moon Base and the orbital sations around Earth Base. A four stage craft with using a glider-based crew shuttle and separate boosters.

Built and customised by the mighty WOTAN: so near, so SWORD.

BRAINTEASER

OK Sword-heads, here's the first of several brainteasers! Which SWORD vehicle is this item part of?

HAMILTON INVADERS CRICKET - WHITE VARIATION

WOTAN spotted this white Hamiltons Invaders 'Cricket' on EBay Canada a while back. Nice colour scheme.

EXPLORING ON THE MOON SET

This beautiful space set can be found for sale on the glorious MARK BERGIN TOYS site. The four dioramas in the split window really do look great. Its becoming clear that the Moon Prospector and the Moon Car are two of the most persistent designs across similar space lines. The Prospector is probably THE ubiquitous vehicle spanning PROJECT SWORD, SPACEX and APOLLO MOON EXPLORING and derivatives thereof. I'm thinking now, are there any more than cross all three lines?

PS. I've checked out rayyorkies message on the Forum - some great pics of Apollo Moon Exploring playsets. Excellent!

MOON PROSPECTOR ARTISTS IMPRESSIONS

Bits of Moon Prospector art and writing found on the web over the past few years. I just love the Newsweek colour painting - dated June 16th 1961. Currently one on Ebay US - click here.

The middle picture is for a LENSMAN story by William B. Ellern in Analog 1966. The painting is by the late great space artist Frank Kelly Freas ( pronounced Freeze), my all time favourite cosmic painter. I'm glad to see that Frank can be found allover the internet as he's one of the greats.

Not sure what the bottom pic is about but I liked it! A bare-bones Prospector! In fact just tyres!

FUTURISTIC SPACE VEHICLES CARD REAR

Courtesy of Astronit. Actual vehicles pictured in an earlier post. Nice Spacex knockoffs.

PIMP MY SCRAMBLE BUG by WOTAN

From the unconquerable WOTAN comes this gem: Heres another show and tell for toy candidates that could almost be shoe-horned into the Project Sword line. Two vehicles from the spanish company Clim - the first is an articulated beefed-up Scramble bug - type craft, huge balloon tyres and a very similar colour scheme. Battery-powered, this baby can climb over anything! A larger scale to the Bug, this toy was designed to fit GI Joe scale figures and was found on Ebay Spain missing a few parts including the canopy. Secondly comes the slightly more garish red six wheel version - name unknown - complete with opening bubble canopy and six wheel drive. This one actually had a box at one stage, but it succumbed to the ravages of mice and damp! Featured on the box was a rather ungainly walking version with the wheels substituted for centipede like legs.

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Cheers WOTAN, Woodsy.

Here's another boxed CLIM Bug from Spain.

PFM - Superman is losing Fans!

Just had to pop this on the blog - the Italian Rock Band PFM on the Old Grey Whistle Test singing the seminal Chocololate Kings in the early 1970's! I loved PFM! Thank God for You Tube! Anyone like PFM too?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT86HT8k0x0

Colorforms Mystron

One last Ebay offering - MYSTRON - I really love this item but just LOOK at the price! Credit Crunch, what Credit crunch! I can't wait to see if someone bids! Can you imagine having too many becks, going on Ebay and bidding by mistake! Still, I was amazed to see this legendary figure as I love Colorforms Outer Space Men - I had the first series as a kid in the '60's. Orbitron, the pink Metaluna Mutant, was my favourite followed closely by Colossus Rex - such a great name! The figures came with cool helmets and ray guns. The backing cards were really special with pictures of the creatures' home planets on them. Aaah, those were the days!

PS. No bids placed! - Woodsy

Echo Car, Mighty Jack, Apollo Moon Clone, LP Astronauts - Sat'day Night Ebayings with a beer

Japanese Mighty Jack ship Ebay 2008 - says it's Gerry Anderson?


Argentinian 21 Century Space Car - yet another variation to those featured on the blog previously - Ebay 2008 ( note the Apollo Moon Exploring clone in the background). I love the artwork!

Base of Argentinian variation on the Echo Car featured in the blog previously - Ebay 2008

Argentinian variation of the Echo Car

Rear box view of plastic Astronaut figures similar to LP - Ebay 2008 - great box art!
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LP Astronauts MOON EXPLORERS Boxed back with Major Matt Mason-style images, Front with Blast-Off Board Game background art.

COMPANIES HOUSE INFORMATION: PROJECT SWORD TOY MAKERS

I recently wrote to Companies House regarding basic information on the various Companies involved in the manufacture and marketing of Project Sword toys in the UK. Despite an excellent response I was dissapointed with the lack of information on Regent Toys ( Zero - X co-maker and the Project Moon range). If anyone has any further information on them and would like to share it I will post it on the blog or you can add a comment. I have posted the full Companies House letter including contact details ( click on the logo for a link to their site).

Dear Paul Woods

Re: J ROSENTHAL (TOYS) LTD

Thank you for your recent enquiry concerning the above company name. I have searched our records and found the following information:

Company Number: 785839

Incorporation Date: Around 1963
Change of Name: Century 21 Toys Ltd
Company Status: Dissolved 06/03/1984

For more information please order the Microfiche from our Contact Centre on: 0303 1234 500

Re: CENTURY 21 LTD

Company Number:1095416

Incorporation Date: 09/02/1973

Previous Name: Gerry Anderson Marketing Ltd

Change of Name: Century 21 Merchandising Ltd

Change of Name: Century 21 Ltd 23/04/1992

Company Status: Active Company

For more information please contact our Contact Centre on: 0303 1234 500

Re: JR21 TOYS

I have searched our archive records but cannot find any trace of a Limited Company with that name having been registered at Companies House.

Re: REGENT TOYS LTD

Company Number: 339204

Incorporation Date: Around 1937

Company Status: Dissolved & Destroyed over 20 years ago. No records available.

I hope that the above information has been of some help to you. Should you require any further assistance relating to archive searches in the future then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours Sincerely

Mrs Rhian Latham

Companies House Customer Care (Archives) Tel: 029 20 380 241

Ext: 2241 Fax: 029 20 380 679 E-Mail: rlatham@companieshouse.gov.uk

ARGENTINIAN CHIBI PROSPECTOR

Continuing through Makers Marks and logo's I have noticed that this Argentinian CHIBI XV8 Planetary Prospector box has probably the only known translation of the full Project Sword title on any non- English toy i.e Space World Organisation For Research and Development or in Argentinian (Spanish?)Organizacion Espacial Mundial Para Investigaccion y Desarrollo! Where is that fabulous spaceship from?

MOON PROSPECTOR UK PATENT ON T IN A CIRCLE BOX

I have been looking at logo's and makers marks on Project Sword toys, both Tarheel ( the two versions) and Century 21. The first odd thing I have come across is the location of a UK Patent Number on the US T Moon Prospector and 'Artwork' Box: 936703. There isn't one on the UK Century 21 version or the US 'Photo' Tarheel Box ( although it does appear on base of the toy in this box!). Having a Patent Number at all on the box or toy is very unusual in the SWORD range. I'm still going through the rest. Anyone know how to dig behind this UK Patent Number?

Postscript: I have just recieved the following information from fellow collector, Paul Vreede: He's sure it's a registered design number because 1. it has a circle-c with it, denoting copyright, and 2. it's six digits. Paul says that the number is a little lower than the Pippin Spacex registered designs, so that fits well - timewise somewhere in 1968, maybe late 1967. Paul concludes that an expedition to Kew's National Archives might glean more information. Thanks Paul!

MINI SPACE VEHICLE CLOSE-UPS

Continuing on from the BC Mini Toys the other night Darth has had these toys for a while, bought ten years ago in Los Angeles. Click for close-ups. He's included two pictures of the one that looks like the Scramble Bug because the wheels fold up, which makes it look kind of like a different vehicle altogether! Cheers Darth, Woodsy.

SWORD LOGO LOOKALIKES

Darth has sent in this pic ( from ToyTent.com) of the Hong Kong made X40 Space Rocket. Check out the logo - it's very SWORD - like!

Terry Harle has also suggested that we have a look at the above pictures of an IMAI leaflet and box artwork noticing the Sword(ish) logo. These kits are in the Mighty Jack series but a couple were re-boxed with Captain Scarlet logos even though they had nothing to do with the series. However another rather tenuous link is that the small craft for which the link below is supplied also appearson some Captain Scarlet Dutch waxed papers produced in the sixties. http://page11.auctions.yahoo.co.jp/jp/auction/n63984995. Thanks Terry!

BRADLEY 1967 SPACE WATCH AND MODERN BC MINI SPACE TOYS

Been Googling again - check out these cool modern mini plastic blue space vehicles from BC - just click on the pic to get to the site. There's a Japanese pencil rubber museum too!

I had to post the Watch pic too - it's so Project Sword! Look at that moon module! From Bradley 1967 ( pezheads.net)

MORE EAST GERMAN SWORDESQUE