PROJECT SWORD SPACE GLIDER BOX ART AND IT'S ORIGIN

"Flying Bathtub" by Charles H. Hubble - top

Century 21 Space Glider box art - second to top

Dayfran Space Glider box art - second to bottom

Tarheel Space Glider box art - bottom

One of my ongoing fascinations are the origins of the fabulous SWORD toys box art. Much has been said about the NASA beginnings of many of the toys but it is the artistic source of the box paintings I am particularly interested in. The NASA lifting bodies have been previously blogged by Paul Vreede as the origin of the SPACEX NASA GLIDER LIFTING BODY so using this as my guide I spent several hours scouring my old space books and the internet for an artist's interpretation. Only one painting turned up, again and again, the 'FLYING BATHTUB' by Charles H. Hubbell 1966 (top picture). I now believe this to be, if not the source, then a strong influence on the Century 21 artist who gave us the PROJECT SWORD SPACE GLIDER box art in 1967 (pictured second down). This SWORD art went on itself to influence the photographic box art of the TARHEEL version (bottom picture) and was directly 'lifted' ( it is a lifting body after all!) for the artwork on the cheap DAYFRAN knockoff (pictured second from bottom). I have discovered it is possible to easilly obtain copies of Hubbell's painting, often turning up as a print on Ebay and other sales outlets. For readers interested in Hubbell there is more detail here.