GREEN BUG: THE JOURNEY HOME

 

 

Taking a leaf out of Bill's book, I've taken my camera in the garden today as the sun is out. I found the the little green tractor and plastic house in a charity shop in Recklinghausen in Germany earlier this week. I'm a sucker for metallic coloured toys, always was!  PS. have you spotted the frog slouching next to our pond?

NATIONAL OBSESSIONS

Visiting car boot sales and charity shops abroad is always fascinating as it reveals a nation's passions and obsessions. I've just been to Germany, where the 'flohmarkte' [ literally flea market or in the UK, a car boot sale] and 'Diakonie' shops are full of interesting collectables peculiar to Deutschland.

Top of the list, certainly in quantity, is Playmobil. Entire market stalls where dedicated to Playmobil boats, cars, ferries and above all, figures. Although I have no real interest in Playmobil I can see why it appeals to both young and old in Germany. Besides the vintage stuff like a big white space station I saw, Playmobil is still going strong and there's even a current magazine with a free figure in the shops.

Second are Kinder Eier toys. Again, stalls where choc full of these brightly coloured snap-together premiums. Again, I'm not a fan of Kinder toys so not seeing any astronauts on top of the piles, I moved on.

Thirdly are small plastic buildings, which I assume are for railway sets. There were stacks of them in the Diakonie charity shop, easily a hundred individual items. All priced around 2 Euros they seem good value for money, are very attractive and I can see why they are collectable. I only had time to buy one as a family member was telling me to hurry up!

 

 

What would I find if I visited a fleamarket or charity shop in your neck of the woods readers?

NEW CAPTAIN SCARLET MINI VEHICLE SET D

The final set in the Bandai New Captain Scarlet series of small vehicles.

This set features a Captain Black figure, the Druzniuk Tank, the Cheetah in normal road going mode and the Stallion Raid Bike complete with detachable wings.

The larger model of Druzniuk Tank which is around 10 cm has sound functions.

The Cheetah.

The Stallion in flight.

The Stallion Bike.

NEW CAPTAIN SCARLET MINI VEHICLE SET C

Continuing my look at some of the New Captain Scarlet toys, this is the third Bandai mini set  which  features a small figure of Captain Blue.

This set has the Albatross deployment aircraft with it's cargo doors open forming it's landing feet. The toy is around 10 cm long allowing it to carry and deploy the Rhino vehicle.

The Rhino vehicle that comes with the set is around 7 cm long and has a engine sound effect. Only the front and rear wheels turn.

The detail on both vehicles is very good, particularly on the Rhino. The wording on the hatch was so small I couldn't make it out with my naked eye.

However, when I zoomed into the photo the wording was revealed.

Once again, another very nice little set from Bandai.

NOODLE

 

 

Land Train

Noodle

NEW CAPTAIN SCARLET BANDAI VEHICLE MINI SET B

This is one of the Bandai small vehicle sets that came as a bonus with  my Skybase.  I believe this one is the second set and featured a small figure of the New Captain Scarlet.

The Cheetah is around 7 cm long and comes moulded in it's flying mode. It's supposed to have a sound effect, however the batteries in my example are pretty much  flat.

The Hummingbird is around 8 cm long and like the Cheetah is supposed to have a sound effect.

Finally, The Swift Passenger Jet, which is the same length as the Hummingbird completes this set.  This has no sound effects.

I have to say these toys are quite robust and handy accessories for the Skybase toy.

Spectrum is definitely still green!

SPANISH CRICKET TRUCK: THE RED PANTHER

 

 

 

Earlier in the year we looked at the nifty Military Jeep by Molto of Spain shown above, a larger variation on the Spacex Cricket.

 

Well you just can't keep a good design down and here we have what I have loosely nicknamed the Cricket Truck. You'll see straight away that the one thing that it has in common with the Molto Jeep is its blister cockpit.

 

 

 

 

Its actually called the Red Panther [Pantera Roja], Spanish in origin and may have been made by Narcoral or Sanchis. Those cannons look very formidable!

 

The blister dome raises neatly to reveal the brave truck driver. Anyone got one of these big red beasts?

SKYBASE FROM BANDAI

Another New Captain Scarlet  toy from Bandai, this time it’s Spectrum’s Skybase.

Skybase is a floating aircraft carrier stationed at a height of 18,288 metres above the Earth. There are six main engines to keep the base positioned in the sky and a further ten engines designed to keep Skybase balanced. It is 330 metres long and  home to the fleet of high-tech Spectrum vehicles, including the squadron of Falcon aircraft.

I got this toy second-hand without a box so I’ve no idea what should have been included with it, and although I’ve had it a while I’ve only just found out it has voice commands and a section of the runway lights up.

One thing about it that struck me when I first got it was it’s size, it's huge, about 60 cm long, and it's cumbersome and  fairly heavy, but it’s also got some lovely detail for a toy.

Mine came with several small vehicles including a Falcon Aircraft.

This can be lowered into the aircraft bay on the starboard side by means of one of two spinning lifts.

Inside there’s a launch ramp and a crane.

There’s also some detailed stickers on the back of the lid.

The port side has another detailed compartment for storing more of those smaller vehicles.

The control tower opens up revealing even more detail.

I have to say although it’s size makes it rather impractical  it does have it’s appeal and it's perfect as a ready made diorama for those little vehicles.  

Spectrum Is Green!

THE HIDDEN COSTS OF BUYING TOYS ONLINE

This year I've been stung twice by the hidden costs of collecting my space toys online. I wondered if anyone else has?

The first sting were custom charges. I had bought something from Japan at a reasonable and low price but then Parcel Force/ UK Customs demanded a £22 customs charge before releasing the parcel. That was twice as much as the value of the item! Begrudgingly I paid but it has made me wary of buying outside the EU. But I love Japanese toys!

 

 

 

Speaking of the EU, my second salutary tale involves Spain but it could be anywhere I suppose. I bought an item from a Spanish seller at a very reasonable price. As for payment, he wanted a direct Bank Transfer. I thought, OK. I rang my Bank and they said that it would cost a minimum of £15 and a maximum of £40. I thought Good Grief! Fortunately it cost me the minimum but it still doubled the cost of my purchase!

 

 

 

Does your collecting incur similar hidden costs, which you hadn't banked on?

MAKE LIKE A MARTIAN AND SPLIT!

It was a joyous occasion today at Cydonia as curiosity was satisfied as the Man from Mars seized the opportunity and created a new relative. "thats the spirit!" cried the assembled crowd as he parthogenically divided and produced Junior. King Crater was present as the Mighty Wotan assisted and ceremoniously removed the 'birth ring' from Juniors top. King Craters advanced age was apparent as he was heard to proclaim "its a boy!" when the onlookers were more than aware martians are hermathroditic and capable of sexless reproduction. Needless to say, the royal oversight was soon forgotten as the Fflarr juice began to flow and the party commenced. The Mighty Wotan was seen staggering home in the early hours muttering "who says parties on Mars have no atmosphere?"