Multiple Personalities

 Well the latest revelation about the Multiple Toymakers release of reworked spacex sets, reminded me that I had another old toy lying about in the archives. The Plaidstallions catalogue site showed several photos of old toys from the seventies including an odd 2005 & Beyond box set which had a strange rocket launcher in it. Looking again at the catalogues, I spotted the Armoured Strike Force sets and the Planet of the Apes sets which had old sixties remoulds of tanks and armoured vehicles.

 Back in the late sixties, I recall going to a local jumble sale with my dad and being bought the green tractor with the red gantry on (1st photo) along with a battered friction Thunderbird one, sans nose. Some years later, I got a large boxed set featuring the same vehicle with its red rocket, a jeep and the tank from the apes set along with about 20 plastic soldiers.

 I always liked the tank as it had a good 21 century feel to it! The red cruise missile on the carrier could be fired with a small elastic band and the barrel on the tank was made of wood! While I was at the jumble sale, my dad also picked up the amphibious jeep below, its unmarked, about the same scale as the other toys (1/72 ?) and again made of soft flexible plastic.

Moonbase Personnel Alert

teletext from SWORDbase Europe to Moonbase (stop)....
blogadier Woodsy required urgently for battery recharging.....(stop)
shore-leave mandatory for maximum RnR....(stop)
comms control transfered to Commander Wotan for 10 days with immediate effect..(ends)

Three's A Crowd

I love this "0-3" set by Bandai on the Japansuperfantansticmodel site. The classic box art is by japanese SWORDmeister Kamatsuzaki. This cosmic threesome could have given the three SWORD Scouts a run for their money by the looks of it!

Here's a much older trio of sleek spacecraft on this 1947 magazine cover featured on blog reader Astronit's supercool flickr pages.

But really, do any of them compare to the Scouts of Project SWORD? I don't think SpaceX had a threesome in the range did it? Are there any more space toy trio's? Is there another word for trio besides threesome?"£$?

Newsflash:

The white spacecraft in the '03' trio top right top picture reminds me of the rare Telsada Rocket Firing Space Car, which I've never seen in the flesh but blogged a piccy exactly one year ago and shown below. Anyone got this sleek beauty?

and a little of the white Space Boat in the same blog post. It's shown below at the front and the box is at the rear [showing a blue version]. Once again I've never seen this in the flesh. Have you?

Japan Super Fantastic Model 2

Toad got me wondering about that strange SPV-Tank hybrid in my Big in Japan post. A bit of searching on the our friend's brilliant japansuperfantasticmodel site came up with the above, the Tiger Captain by Aoshima. Besides the cool box art check out close-ups of the biult-ups and at least two radio-controlled versions on the aforementioned japan model site. Here's another SPV lookalike, Bandai's Robo Danguard Ace.

Browsing the site a little more I usually come across something I haven't seen before and here's a good example from this lunchtime, this great Midori SF catalogue front cover from 1970. It features our friend the LUNA Transporter a la SpaceX. You can see the back cover on the japansuperfantasticmodel site. Browse the whole endeavor yourself and see what you can find!

By The Fires of a Jovian Storm

Unbeknown to Commander Wotan, SWORD's breakaway SPACEX unit had sent their own Shuttle-Surveyor mission to salvage their Nuclear Freighter. Worth millions of Creds, it was imperative the craft be brought back by thier Commander, Soph Toad. The crew were most likely flotsam anyway! The SpaceX Surveyor crawled over the likely wreck zone like a bottom feeder.

With both the Task Force 1 and Surveyor equipped with advanced DNA tracking tech, the two missions arrived at the sunken Freighter NF2 simultaneously. Commanders Wotan and Toad eyed each other up before the inevitable showdown of Project SWORD and the SpaceX rogue. 

At that moment there was a huge explosion. The storms of Jupiter erupted and a gigantic flare plumed out over Io like a blow torch stripping it of its surface water. The seas evaporated into space as a blue spray eventually turning to nothing.

Everything and anything floating in the Ionian sea was flung into space. The NF2 vanished. Task Force 1 was spinning out of control. Wotan slammed the eject button and was thrown into the flaming air. Only the SpaceX Surveyor, with it's anti-gravity wheels, held fast. Commander Toad saw Wotan on the red-hot ground, helpless and reeling in agony. She acted. Within minutes she was lifting the stricken SWORD Commander as the once beautiful Moon of Io continued to burn.

Atomic Powered Mercury

Puuikibeach's Supply Force Mercury shot got my own creative juices flowing. I've taken the liberty of adding our little friend to this classic 1964 Hawk re-issue of the 1959 original BETA-1 Atomic Powered Bomber XAB-1 on which it's most likely based [P. Vreede 2009]. I can't quite read the box artist's name but I think it says John Roberts? [apologies to the artist for altering his wonderful box art!] The small jets at the rear are described as Parasites, one of which our little SpaceX friend has now become! The Hawk kits are seriously expensive and you can make your eyes water window shopping at Old Model Kits to name but one stockist. There's more source material on the interesting but seemingly dormant Model Archives site [partly in French]. Has anyone got one of these kits?

Supply Force Spotted

This beautiful SpaceX Supply Force Mercury was photographed by puuikibeach on Flickr. It appears here with his kind permission. It forms part of a very attractive album of toys he's put together. There's also some truly wonderful shots of Sharks. Puuikibeach also has a project to take a location photo every day this year. Yesterday he was in Hawaii! I'm so jealous!

LIFE FORCE

LIFE Magazine January 6th 1958

Sock Chop

This one's for the great Shari-Lewis and her unforgettable sock sheep Lambchop.

I was mesmerised.

Through the Red Mists of Space

Commander Bill Wotan, ace pilot of Task Force 1, continued his vigilant search of Io's ocean floor in search of the lost Nuclear Freighter and it's stricken crew headed by his friend Captain Woods. As he DNA scanned the benthic sludge his mind wandered back to the SWORD committee meeting just two months before. The suits wanted to cut corners and send an unmanned and far inferior Spacex Surveyor to conduct the search for the Freighter. With no sea-flight capability it would have taken weeks to cover the sea bed and the Freighter crew would be dead for sure.

He had lost his cool and demanded SWORD Task Force 1 for the mission! He had slammed his fist down on the table! Suits, more used to pushing damn pencils and counting Spacex beans than getting their hands dirty through hard work!

He clutched the Iono-drive of his beloved Task Force 1 and breathed a huge sigh of relief as the memory of his fury dissipated through the moon's dead water.

 *Picture courtesy of Showcase comics

Japanese Ferry

I do love this little Nuke Ferry cab on this Japanese spinning top. Made in Japan by SKK - Sinsei Kiki Kogyo - I got mine from Joe, the friendly owner of Main Street Toys. You can get one on Ebay or from his online store.

Big in Japan

Here's yet another SpaceX Golden Astronaut - related page on a Japanese site devoted to space toys http://noboland.web.fc2.com/sf-005.htm. The full toy menu is here http://noboland.web.fc2.com/juki.htm

Still under the Rising Sun, check out this Japanese collector's short videos on You Tube - he's got all his Imai plastic sci-fi hardware crawling round his room! There's the Crawler and the Vanguard to name but two!

Spanish Roll

Paya of Spain's Lunar Jeep. Beautiful. Sadly I've not got one. Have you? Are there any variations?

Booster Manga

Yahoo Japan SWORD hound Terry Harle has struck gold again! Here's our friend, the SWORD Booster Rocket box art, appearing in black and white in a Japanese manga comic book from March 1968. To see the listing while it lasts go here. Nice one Terry! [like the Zero-X on the cover too!]

T UFO

My new T UFO touched down at Moon Base this Summer. I first came across it years ago on the superb Alphadrome Database and loving all things T I have been searching for one ever since. In excellent shape it's basically a plastic battery-operated mystery action saucer with coloured rim lights and astrodome. There is also a retractable silver aerial. It is similar to the T Moon Ranger saucer I think but that one's still on the bucket list. The box art is wonderful and I particularly like the UFO side-panels with their ghostly pale lunar landscape watched over by a scarlet Sun. I wonder if the toy was an attempt to cash in on Gerry Anderson's UFO TV series like the unlicensed and unbranded UFO Missile Tank?

Paradise Found

The chances of finding the Nuclear Freighter seemed slim, but Wotan persevered as he probed the depths of the alien sea around him. The fluid was not water or even a hydrogen based medium, but a mix of liquid methane and other trace elements. Consequently, it was a lot less dense and in places crystal clear. However, due to Io's unstable nature, huge plumes of sulphurous material were ejected into the seas from vents and cracks in the surface. In places, the rocks had become clustered with massive crystalline structures formed of rare metals and minerals and as the Task Force ship drifted deeper, the chances of a hull rupture on some of the sharp overhangs became more and more of a problem. Finding a narrow sloping shelf which had so far avoided crystal colonisation, Wotan set the ship down and checked the scanners. So far there were no traces of life apparent and nothing coming through on the comms link. The surface was in constant movement though, with tremors stirring the sandy bed below him. Wotan considered the best course of action and decided to deploy a remote device to search in the caves below. The Task Force ship carried two ROVs and each was equipped for all terrain and atmospheric conditions, so as the hatch behind the main cockpit closed, Wotan saw the little vehicle drift silently overhead into the crevasse below.  Cameras and lidar scanners mounted on the craft flickered into life and the screens lit the cockpit, relaying detailed info about the surrounding topography. Wotan settled back to relax slightly now that the harrowing journey along the bed of the strange ocean was being taken care of safely. The crystal formations were truly alien and had developed into all kinds of nightmare shapes in the reduced gravity, but almost all were paper thin and razor sharp. Wotan didn't have any doubt that any chance of safe recovery of the downed vessel in these conditions would be slim. The telltales on the consoles flashed patiently on and off as the ROV picked its careful way among the crystals and fibres, heading towards the largest of the avenues between the rocks...

In The Depths of Despair

The Shuttle Atlantis had successfully orbited Io and delivered Task Force 1 into its icy blue ocean. The yellow craft, piloted by grizzled Commander Bill Wotan, meandered its way through the vast waters and traversed gigantic pillars of alien algae. Standing upright in the frozen sea, which sparkled with flakes of ice, they reminded Cmmdr. Bill of collosal antibodies and brought his thoughts back to the Nuclear Freighter lost somewhere in this glacial tomb. He set his DNA scanner on full and his hope on very very low.

Space is Closed

With the Space Shuttle programme over and the space race finished will TV ignore the classic space adventure? We used to enjoy Star Trek, Space 1999, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, Lexx and Red Dwarf to name but a few.We still have some Sci-Fi in the UK - Dr.Who and Torchwood spring to mind - but is TV space adventure dead?

Beyond Space Patrol: Linda Green and the Yellow Ones

Paul V's fascinating mystery Space Patrol 1 post and WOTAN's subsequent picture of his yellow 2005 and Beyond version got me thinking about all the yellow versions I've come across. I've pasted them all together from my archives in a single collage here plus one green version [enlarge to read the captions]. Apologies if I have got any of the identifications wrong. I don't have any of these toys except a standard issue Spacex orange Space Patrol.

The pictures do make me wonder if the yellow Spacex and Golden Astronaut versions actually exist as I've certainly no images of the toys. Greater minds than mine may be able to help? Please let me know of any inaccuracies and indeed any further colour variations [the known orange variants can be read about on Paul Vreede's excellent Spacex Variations Page on the blog].

Xenophilia

 You cant keep a good alien down, and Woodstocks recent post about the origin of my old avatar buddy 'Wotan' took me back to revisit my all time favourite toy aliens. Apart from Wotan, King Crater was always a big favourite of mine from the Kellogs Sugar Smacks cereals. Next to him in the lineup came a strange little green blob of a martian, which I found in the street one day on the way back from college in 1978. On his back he has 'Man from Mars' and apart from having 'kobe' style pop out eyes, he doesn't do anything! It took me a long while to find out anything else about him until collecting supremo Mike Speth aka Astronit, sent me a shot of his cousins - gumball machine premiums. I have to say the cyclopean variants are a little too sinister for my liking!

Next up is another late entry to the Wotan archive, but always a firm favourite. Matt Masons alien comrade Scorpio. Callisto was another favourite of mine, especially with his transparent brain and cool purple accessories. I didn't get Scorpio until many years after his release when he was donated to the cause by my good friend Terry.

 Next up is another oldie but goldie - Teachers Pets, or more specifically one of the first three I ever got. The Crawling Eye satisfied my childhood fascination with aliens in a big way and was reaffirmed in my psyche when I saw a brief clip of the 'Trollenberg Terror' on tv and promptly hid behind the couch.

 Next up is a true Martian and my introduction to War of the Worlds. An adaptation in the weekly 'Tell me Why' magazine had illustrations by Terrance Cuneo which showed huge tripods and tentacled, inimical looking creatures devastating Earth.

 But Wotan has remained with me since about 1969 when I found his first rubbery incarnation in a box on the counter of Woolies, along with his five chums. Since then, hes popped up on keyrings and in hard plastic versions and most notably in the LP Apollo Moon Exploring sets, although much reduced in stature!

2005 and Beyond: Multiple Reasons to Get Excited

Multiple Toymakers 2005 and Beyond toy series was mentioned on the blog recently by myself and WOTAN. I personally don't have any of these toys but here are a few piccies I have in my archive from Ebay et al. Presumably Multiple Toymakers  recycled Golden Astronaut sets and Missile Launchers to create this range but I'm guessing. I assume they are relatively rare in the overall SpaceX canon? WOTAN recently informatively blogged the following:

2005 & Beyond were Multiple Toymakers retooled ships. Different from standard SPacex in that they left out the more complicated bits of the molding such as the launchers or the cones on the nacelles of SPace Patrol (yes there was one!) Had the Spacex logo removed too, but left behind the little rectangle on which it sat.

Wotan wades in: heres a shot of the 'space patrol' - Ive got both carded sets and as you can see, the production values have gone out the window. It came with no nacelle cones and no provision for missile launch tubes,

The rocket from the 2005 boxed set is a re-used one from another MTM product, the Army Srtike Force as seen above and also in the Plaidstallions  site

There's lots more Multiple Toymakers sets in their catalogue on the supercool Plaidstallions site. [There appear to be both white and blue rockets in the V-shaped windows of the boxed sets]

Here are a few more cool Multiple Toymakers toys including beautiful looking Kung Fu sets and a lovely Trailer Camp carded set of cars, which would look great parked around their Golden Astronaut range!

Spot the SpaceX Difference - Help Needed by Reader Paul V

The other day I got a Spacex set, with what looked like a few common Spacex toys on top of its regular contents. Except that closer inspection has me delighted and mystified on two of them. With Mr Woods' kind cooperation, I would like to ask everyone if they have any that show the same details?

First thing I noticed was that the Needle Probe is marked "made in Hong Kong" underneath its fuselage. Whereas every other one I've ever seen has that marking underneath its wings, with or without a Triang Spacex logo. Second thing I noticed was the rather vivid shade of blue on the landing gear, also the first time I'd seen that as opposed to the greyish blue or black found on other Spacex toys. It's also whitened from having the wheels pinned in, which I'd never seen happen before. And finally I compared it to another example and saw the most obvious difference being the rather mauvish shade of pink, also never seen before. (Other tiny differences are the width of the front landing gear being slightly more narrow, the wheel pins having slightly thicker heads, and the cockpit being a tad higher than usual, but all of those could be still be due to production tolerances I think. And it doesn't have name stickers on the wings, but perhaps those got lost).

And then I noticed the same "made in Hong Kong" under the tail end of my new Space Patrol 1 as well. All narrow caps, with almost no spaces between the words, as opposed to a larger, better spaced marking in the middle of the fuselage, again with or without Triang Spacex logo. And it has the same blue landing gear with the same whitening in it. So I compared that to another example as well, and only then noticed the most obvious again, in that it isn't screwed together like all the others. When preparing the picture above I finally spotted the difference on the engine housing fins, but seem to recall having seen others with rounded instead of square-cut ends which I'll now need to doublecheck. (The darker blue engine nacelles are a common variation, normally found on later-production Patrol craft).

I have no reason to believe these aren't bona-fide Spacex toys (and wouldn't know what the heck else they might be if they're not), but all the different details on them do make me wonder a bit. And also where they might fit in time-wise with the other variations. Which is why I hope somebody else has these toys showing the same details, or yet another Spacex toy with the same colour landing gear. And if you've got it in (or removed it from) a Spacex pack then I'd be very happy to hear that too. Any luck?

Many thanks in advance

--

Paul Vreede

Mobil X-30

1956 magazine advert. The craft is similar to the 1960's JR X-30 Space Explorer toy.

Copies of the Ad available on Amazon and Ebay.

The Skeletons in My Cupboard

When I was a little horror in the Sixties I was monster mad. I drove my poor parents crazy with my dark penchant for Dracula, Frankenstein and all their Universal fiends. Like many monster kidz one of my earliest ghoulish Christmas goodies was the Airfix Skeleton, realistically jointed and able to move like a proper 'scalliwag'! [piccied above]. Not satisfoed with simply making the model I then proceeded to create a small theatre by removing the seat from a dining table chair, blocking off the back and sides and dangling the skeleton on cotton strands! It was joined by somewhat stiff Pyro Dinosaurs like Anklyosaurus, my favourite. Rubber monster jigglers completed the gothic stage and I put on performances for friends and family on dark winter evenings![ Is that strange?]. My older brother's collection of Aurora monsters was for me the peak of monsterdom, which included the creepily boney Forgotten Prisoner of Castle Mare. Ugh!

When I started to read about vintage toys in the early 1990's I got hold of the great Bill Bruegman's books [I once wrote to him and got a reply!]: Aurora Models and Toys of the Sixties, where I learned about more skeleton kits I would have LOVED as a kid but somehow they passed me by, MPC's Pirates of the Caribbean [example above]. I also discovered the ultra-rare Creature from the Black Lagoon by Penn Plax [below]. Penn Plax were the kings of fish tank thingies or 'action aerating ornaments' and the combination of monster toys and aquariums is irresistible. I'm unsure if they are actually toys but I do love their plasticcy looks now. I'll never have the dabloons for the awesome Creature but I have owned a beautiful Fishing Boy and red Frogman [below]. Penn Plax also brought outer space to the bottom of the sea with UFO's and Zoid-like craft. I particularly like their version of the LEM, which they've cleverly re-badged the Sealab Explorer [below].

Anyone else like skeleton toys, Aurora/ Pyro models or Penn Plax and other aquarium ornaments? Stories and piccies welcomed!

Bingo's Sunday Morning Cartoon Cavalcade

For Toad
Sir Prancelot
http://youtu.be/ZuHz8I7sohQ

For Yorkie
Top Cat
http://youtu.be/ykRZbOb1c5c

For Andy B
Noggin The Nog
http://youtu.be/pTcStBUW2Ao

For Mike
Rocket Robin Hood Opening
http://youtu.be/6MfisiGqtEM
and episode 'Dementia 5'
http://youtu.be/K8_2GUXnPu4

and For Me!
King Arthur and the Knights of the Square Table
http://youtu.be/q7O7NgjWPeM
[never knew it was Australian!]

....and now go and fill up your bowl of cornflakes or ricicles or puffa puffa rice or ...can't remember any more cereals! Can you? [have most lasted?]

Things of Plastic

It's not often I come across another site which covers our friends Spacex and Apollo Moon Exploring but here's one, Things of Plastic. There's some great close-up piccies. Enjoy.

http://thingsofplastic.blogspot.com/2011/04/lw-tri-ang-space-toys.html

Oxy Gum Anyone?

The opening credits of Saturday morning cartoons were often as enjoyable as the main events themselves. One of my favourites was Marine Boy, particularly the red metal spider crab he faces on the ocean floor [above]. Another great one was The Rhino smashing through a biulding wall in the opening of the original Spider-Man cartoon ["...catches theives just like flies!"... you remember!]. Puffa Puffa Rice never tasted so good!

Have you a favourite cartoon opening credit [or fave breakfast cereal]?

Kiddy City R2

I was intrigued when I saw this old AHI carousel toy on Fleabay. The description clearly stated that its from 1962 and the Disney Moonliner rocket on the box art backs this up. The toy sold for nearly £1000.

It wasn't any of this that I found interesting though. It was the pilot bays in the flying rockets as you can see below. Am I dreaming again or do they remind you of R2D2 sat in Luke's X-Wing [pictured below]? A whole 15 years earlier!