The base of the toy adds to the mystery showing an unusual logo, a H inside a globe and a model number, 507, unlike other JR21 Thunderbirds toys.
Armed with this information I have searched for the flying saucer many times. The SWORD Moon Prospector, below, always comes to mind but the lights aren't similar really
More convincing is the T in a Circle UFO, seen below, which has a similar shape, dome and edge. The lights could be altered for the JR21 toy I suppose.
What is far clearer though is that a company called SOMA copied JR21 when they created their Space Ship X711, pictured here left.
SOMA's saucer is the same but white and I think I have found the same saucer being used in another guise, the TIGER Ice Crusher from Japan no less! Difficult to date but the SOMA and TIGER items could be contemporaries, maybe the 1970's or 80's. See what you think from the following comparisons and make your own mind up!
The comparison between the SOMA saucer and Tiger crusher looks pretty convincing, Paul.
ReplyDeleteBut I had another question: saw a JR TB5 on fleabay the other day, amongst the pics of which was one of the bottom showing a trademark. Too blurry to read, so I was wondering if anybody has one to tell us what it says or show us a pic?
Best
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Paul
Good point Paul. I've added an extra, second paragraph and pics showing the TB5 logo [not my toy I hasten to add, from my archive of pics]. Check out the TB5 pictures and info at the Vintage Thunderbirds Toys website for more detail on this.
ReplyDeleteHey thanks Paul!
ReplyDeleteThat's a new one to me. I'll have to check that site, but is there anything else you might know about it? And I don't suppose that has a registration number on it?
cheers
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Paul
Hi Paul, well, the H in a Globe reminds me mostly of the other globe logo, OK Toys. There are at least 3 unusual uses of the letter H on logos on JR21 toys. Fortuitously there was a post about it back in 2009: http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/diamond-monogram-on-jr21-toys.html
ReplyDeleteSince then we've learned that JR Toys, the forerunner of JR21, had an affiliation with the company HiS, whose logo is an H and S overlay. Whether this H is related to the Globed H on the TB5 is unknown I'm afraid. We do have the Hong Kong address of HiS though [spotted by you I recall!]
There's no registered design number I'm afraid. For a more detailed view of the toy look at Steve's Thunderbirds Vintage Toys TB5 page http://www.thunderbirdsvintagetoys.co.uk/JR21TB5Detail.htm
Thanks for all that, Paul. Especially since the vintage toys page makes no mention of the trademark at all. My guess is that Rosenthal just got his toys from various suppliers, and either had them made as in the TB toys, or just saw something that would fit in with his offerings and at a good price.
ReplyDeleteBest
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Paul