Eight years ago we were on a steep learning curve. The first tentative blog discussion about project MOON and Regent Toys began. Jon and Amy, avid readers at the time, moved things forward greatly with more comic adverts. I've re-posted their 2008 post for our readers to enjoy today.
Hi Woodsy
Glad you liked our Atomic Astroboat pictures and could use them on the Blog. As promised here's some info on our "Moon Scout".
First we have a series of ads that ran in "Joe 90:Top Secret" comic around Spring 1970. These show the last of the S.W.O.R.D. range becoming "Project Moon".
Then being listed as part of the general releases from Regent Toys.
This last one shows the "Moon Scout" with a mention of the "Lunar Climber " at the top, linking it back to "Project Moon".
The Moon Scout in the photo was purchased on Ebay a few years back with no box and appears to have been repainted, but the remaining decal on top identifies it as M.S.8.
The only maker's mark is a "Made in Hong Kong" on the base along with a tiny (impossible to photo) logo that is hard to make out but might be an "Aladdin's Lamp" in a triangle (!?).
There are no astronauts in the cockpit. Instead you can see the mechanism that drives it. This is clearer walking as you can see the cogs turning.
So is this S.W.O.R.D. ? We tend to think not, as it's not as sleek as the classic ships and the leg mechanism looks a bit ungainly, but what do others think?
On another recent note, the U59 explosives truck is certainly popular with scratch builders - we picked up a 2 foot one that had apparently been made for a Gerry Anderson exhibition (Possibly at the FAB cafe in Manchester - anyone remember seeing it there ?). The U87 Stronger is much harder to find but we definitely saw a garage kit of one in resin on Ebay many years ago.
Anyway hope all the above is of some use. The Blog is great as always and if things go well we might be able to send in some interesting stuff on the "Lunar Climber" next week. We didn't see the original "Project Moon" post as we only found the Blog around last Easter, so it's a great excuse to get around to reading through all the old posts !
All the best - Jon and Amy
2008
One of the ads mentions an illustrated list of space toys that was available on request. So it exists, but who would have archived such ephemera? V&A Museum of Childhood or some other major toy museum perhaps?
ReplyDeleteYes, it says its illustrated too Arto! How great that would be to see what else they had on offer! I'm not sure who would keep hold of such a thing as a mail order list. If it was a catalogue it would be easier I think. Maybe I will ask on the blog and a few other places like the Vand A as you suggest.
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