Dear Woodsy,
I believe that I may have found the origins of Re-Entry Task Force 1 and 2! In the Jeff Hawke Fan Club magazine “Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos”, issue 2, June 2003, the second half of the first “Jeff Hawke” story “Space Rider” is re-published, having been first published in the “Daily Express” from 15th February to 26th July, 1954.
I believe that I may have found the origins of Re-Entry Task Force 1 and 2! In the Jeff Hawke Fan Club magazine “Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos”, issue 2, June 2003, the second half of the first “Jeff Hawke” story “Space Rider” is re-published, having been first published in the “Daily Express” from 15th February to 26th July, 1954.
The attached pictures show two rocket ships from that story. I think you’ll agree that the dart-shaped ship is a lot like TF1, whilst the ship with nacelles on the end of its fins looks even more like TF2! I think that the ring of rocket tubes around the flow-straightener cone on TF2, which are absent on the Jeff Hawke ship, were inspired by the power unit on a ship in “The Dalek Book”, circa 1964, pictured last here [in colour] – this was a “lifeboat” in which the heroes of that story ejected from thair ship seconds before it was destroyed by the Daleks.
Oddly enough, it was a bright orange (a good colour for a lifeboat!), which may have inspired the colour of plastic that the “Re-Entry Task Force” ships were moulded in! Now, as to how a toy designer in Hong Kong was influenced by these ideas......
Grif
Grif
PS. re. above a lot like the power unit of Re-Entry Task Force 2, wouldn't you say? BTW, Woodsy, how did you know that the Re-Entry Task Force series were originally called the Rescue Task Force?
Grif
Great research Grif. Wonder what other readers think? I pretty sure that the Re- Entry Task Forces were originally known as Rescue Task Forces in SOLO but I'll have to check. This was the case with Thunderbirds as well, TB2 being originally Rescue 2 or something like that. A strong sense of Rescue ran through as lot of Gerry Anderson material and vehicles.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if all the drawings and the toys were influenced by another design? The Re entry no 2 style ship in Jeff Hawke looks a lot like other space ship designs about at the time.
ReplyDelete