There's been an unusual flurry of Nova activity online this Autumn. Not only did readers Darth and Ferryman bag a boxed Nova each but a very scarce Durham - made Nova II [the Hawk-like one pictured above] appeared on Ebay. One lucky person is now the proud owner of this American gem. Now all we need is for the box to turn up!
The scarce green Durham Nova appears to be the same as the Tarheel version in the Moon Base fleet pictured boxed below and has the same model number of 5918.
The green Durham Nova reminds me of the super-cool and equally scarce green Durham-made Space Glider which graces Arto's collection. I'll have to ask if it came in a standard Tarheel box.
We've talked before about this apparent relationship between the two American toy companies, Durham and Tarheel and there are many non-SWORD examples on this blog of possible cross-moulding and packaging. The close proximity of their geographical names in Durham and Tarboro [Tarheel] in the state of North Carolina highlights how they may have been possible neighbours with just 96 miles separating them, as you can see in this online map.
However neat this map might seem though, I can't find any evidence that Durham Industries were ever based in North Carolina. On the contrary, all addressed references on the net appear to be located in New York.
Location aside, it is unclear whether the relationship between Durham and Tarheel was consensual. Durham Industries, based in New York, had form when it came to knock-offs or derivative works as they are called in legalese. There are a number of old cases and papers, which appear online, such as Durham Industries V. Tomy.
So, the Durham question remains. Any further observations are welcome for posting here.
Hi Paul, the Durham Nova II is a fantastic addition to the SWORD fringe universe! To answer your question, my Durham Space Glider came without a box so the issue remains to be solved.
ReplyDeleteI have no evidence for it, but I've wondered if either or both companies had any connection to the other nearest toy company of that era, Empire of Carolina/ Carolina Enterprises, who were located nearby in Charlotte (though they ended their run in South Florida, oddly). Their primary focus was on blow-molded banks, jack-o-lanterns, and ride-on toys, but they did bring us the STAR MITES line of die-cast robots and vehicles, originally produced by Shinsei.
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