RONNIE CORBETT RIP

Sad to hear that yet another legend has passed away this year. Ronnie Corbett has died aged  85.

While he might not be immediately associated with our usual sci - fi themes  here on the blog, who remembers the Two Ronnies spoof on Quatermass  called 'It Came From Outer Hendon' written by David Renwick and featuring Ronnie Corbett as Prof . Martin  Catermouse?

Our sincere condolences to Ronnie's family .

WONDERING ABOUT WONDER WOMAN

Recently I've been enjoying Wonder Woman the TV series on the Horror Channel.

The gorgeous and multi-talented Lynda Carter plays Wonder Woman and despite there being several more actresses who have tried on the red knee boots, its Lynda who I think of when I imagine the super heroine.

Being a Golden Age hero created in the 1940's, like Captain America and co, Wonder Woman fought the USA's arch-enemy of the day, the Nazi's. The TV series was set during World War II for the first series before shifting to the 1970's.

The only Wonder Woman collectable I've ever owned was a loose action figure from the Super Powers line by Kenner from 1984. This was back in the late 1990's/ early 00's when I flirted with the idea of collecting the whole Super Powers range. 

I often saw the whole amazing collection at the annual Memorabilia fair at the NEC, where Wonder Woman, complete with her oft-missing Lasso of Truth would be rubbing perfect shoulders with Superman, Batman and The Flash.

[pixabay: public domain]

Whilst watching the TV series I have wondered whether the producers would have used the Super Powers toy if it had been available to them years earlier. Models were used in the show my favourite is this Invisible Jet. "Wonder" what the figure actually was? Mego?

Lynda Carter went on to enjoy careers in both fashion and singing and has remained a pop culture icon popular with fans.

Wonder Woman, like all her DC pals, is enjoying a resurgence of interest and will lasso our mortal minds once more this month when Gal Gadot tries on tiara in the much anticipated blockbuster Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.

Have you got a Wonder Woman collection readers?

LATEST THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO COMIC OUT NOW

Issue 7 of the Thunderbirds Are Go comic has hit news stands.

The comic is firmly sealed in a glossy outer sleeve, with a clear raised window to show off the nine, yes nine free gifts of  badges, stickers, a John Tracy dog tag, a tattoo sheet and a wrist band. 

Obviously the publishers must think these freebies will be highly collectable and have anticipated the huge demand, so much so that they've raised the price by a whooping pound to £4.99!

The cynic in me thinks it's to cover the probable drop in demand now that the model free gifts have ended, but what do I know.

Is it worth nearly a fiver? Maybe to a kid of seven I suppose, but I'd be very surprised if older fans will bother, even without the price hike. The comic is the usual lightweight fare of 'in your face' graphics with a collector's cover that I wouldn't want in my collection.

If anyone over seven is still remotely interested, next month's issue has another free badge and a 'rescue' torch!   

WILL RINA PROSPER .....

....... SURVIVE AT THE HANDS OF HADES?

FIND OUT IN

SARGE: THE GOLDEN ASTRONAUTS

PART 2

WEDNESDAY 13th APRIL 2016

8PM UK TIME

DAVE CARRINGTON'S SQUARING THE CIRCLE SHOW

CELTICA RADIO

[LISTEN TO PART 1 NOW: CLICK HERE]

VIVID THUNDERBIRD SHADOW LAUNCH BAY PHOTOS PART 2

Here are some photos I've taken of my Vivid Thunderbird Shadow in its new launch bay which I blogged about in my previous post.

http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/vivid-thunderbird-shadow-launch-bay.html

This shot below is what I’d call a standard pose showing off the sleek TBS with TB1 and TB3 in the background.  I know it’s an obvious thing to say, but as they are toys the scales are quite a bit different to how things look on TV.

 As it’s supposed to be set in a huge cavern it’s getting the lighting right that’s the important bit, and one of the reasons I decided to fit some LED’s in the cave wall . I wanted to at least try and give a similar feel to what the launch bay looks like on screen.

Although I freely admit I'm still learning when it comes to lighting, I do think the LED’s not only helped to add some realism, but also helped give the photos a little bit of atmosphere.  There are areas in some of the shots that are a bit over exposed but half the fun is experimenting.  

This shot above didn't really work as there’s too much light for my liking although as I’d managed to take it with all the Thunderbird 3 launch tube lights on I thought I’d include it.

I don’t mind this shot with the row of bright lights behind the forward facing TBS. I used a single bright light source above as I wanted to create harsh shadows below.

This shot is similar, however you’ll note that Kayo’s motorcycle is on its platform below the TBS, ready to rise into the aircraft.

Here’s a shot from the side. There has to be a willing suspension of disbelief from you all here as things don’t quite line up due to the Vivid toy being a little short and the cradle clamps being a bit too big.

Here’s a photo of the cycle fully engaged and the empty platform.

This shot shows the Thunderbird S ready for take-off. 

The cycle platform has descended into the lower section, and upper section prepares to reverse.

This final shot shows the top section and cradle sliding back along the launch rails into the launch tunnel.

HORRORGANGERS

I love spotting doppelgangers. Creepy paperback covers are good fun so here are my latest 'horrorgangers'.

First up we have THE MONSTER MEN by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It rang a decaying bell immediately!

It recalls the decrepit features in the painting used in the 1945 big screen creeper, A Picture of Dorian Gray

I'm pleased to say that I'm not the only one who likes to spot Dorian doppelgangers. Here are many more rotting heads courtesy of Flashbak.

The next cover, The DEVIL'S RAIN by Maud Willis, does recall something in my addled brain but i just can't think what! if anyone can help then holler.

Next up, its an easy one. This edition of the gothic classic Frankenstein employs a very recognisable film still.

...the classic black and white pose Karloff struck in the cell doorway in his seminal Universal film.

But this Frankenstein cover has got me stomping round in my big boots as I just can't think where I've seen the image before.

is it the old Creepy comic cover issue 4?

Is it this box art for the Aurora Monsters of the Movies Frankenstein Monster?

Or could it be the lobby poster for the classic Universal flick Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman?

I give up. Anyone know it?

To conclude here we have the much more recognisable Slime Beast by pulp meister Guy N. Smith. 

The beast in question has the head of a much older fiend, the She-Creature, from the 1956 film of the same name and, combining hypnotism with mer-monsters, is well worth a watch.

Do you know of any more horrorgangers readers?

ADDENDUM:

Reader Brian's suggestion, the Jaws-inspired cover of The Lake by R. Karl Largent. Der Dum der dum der dum .....

CHROME FREE: PROJECT SWORD ASTRONAUT BADGE MYSTERY

These two Project SWORD ASTRONAUT badges were recently sold on Ebay. Nothing unusual about that but what caught my eye was the complete lack of silvering on the bottom badge.

Could it simply be a normal badge with the silver lining rubbed off due to wear and tear or of more interest is whether it might be an unfinished example from the factory?

What do you think readers?

JR21 TOY LANDROVER MYSTERY

A while ago I found a JR21 Landrover in a junk shop. Its incomplete but does the job.

I couldn't help noticing the similarity it seems to have to the yellow one in this neat Fairylite road construction set listed by Vectis  some time ago. Is it the same?

I've no idea how big the Fairylite vehicle is. Has anyone got one?

TITAN FIND: I WISH THEY HADN'T

Last week I watched MUTANT aka Forbidden World. Last night I braved CREATURE, another dollop of icky goo thrown together in the Eighties video goldrush.

From the get go when the word Creature appears across the screen as a slowly moving industrial spaceship addles along you know you are in that strange face-hugging world of ALIEN knockoffs.

I don't know why I'm surprised by cheapo film companies ripping off blockbusters like this. I'm so used to it with toys. I suppose it's the amount of effort that must go into a film, even a duff one, that impresses me. There must have been money in it or why bother?

Creature is almost a carbon copy of Alien, with similar props, costumes, roles and above all, story line. Even the music is similar. The movie even starts with the reflection of computer screen data as it does so iconically in Scott's original.

The only real difference is the quality. There isn't any in Creature. Much of it is filmed in darkness, which presumably hid most of the iffy sets and playground effects. Some of the scenes were actually done quite well but these can't save yet another dire xenomorphic xerox from total Giger oblivion.

Sadly the relentlessly pointless chases round the moon base by re-animated crew members and Klaus Kinski's rampant chest fondling got the better of me and I had to put the film into suspended animation about three quarters of the way through. Me and Jonesy went for a brew.

Creature is also known as Titan Find and I suspect like Mutant, it is more interesting to collect the different VHS covers than to actually watch the film.

Have you endured the Creature or been found on Titan readers?

My own suggested name: Titan Your Belt and Don't Pay The Entrance Fee. Yours?

EI LIKE EASTER

Ei really do!

Do you?

CAPTAIN SCARLET ATE MY CHOCOLATES

If only Easter Eggs were all like this!

1990's Captain's Eggs by Barratt

and a modern beaker fit for an Easter egg! Available at MyGeekBox.

Did you or do you have any Gerry Anderson Easter eggs, chocolates or sweets readers or any TV related Easter eggs at all?

THE EASTER BEATS

Whilst moseying around Yorkshire over the Easter weekend I saw a die-cast car completely new to me. It was in a cabinet at Crimple Hall Antiques near Harrogate.

[planet die-cast]

Having done a bit of homework it turns out to be an old Corgi die-cast called either the Morris Bullnose Kinky Gear or Kinky Beats.

Looking like a trio from the Evil Dead, the three pop stars are apparently supposed to represent the popular beat bands of swinging Sixties.

With an obvious nod towards the Fab Four this toy would look great next to the die-cast Yellow Submarine or even those other pop cars, the toy Monkeemobile and the Hardy Boys Silver Ghost.

Can anyone oblige us with a picture of them together?

WAS EASTER A TIME FOR TOYS?

Easter Monday was the highlight of our family Easter weekend when I was a kid. 

In the late Sixties/ early Seventies we would all visit Avenham Park next to the River Ribble in Preston where hundreds of people rolled eggs down the park's grassy slopes. This was called Pace Egging.

The visit always involved a picnic and the us youngsters would get Easter eggs. Favourites of mine were a cardboard egg clock and a plastic truck that carried a chocolate egg. The truck was that rare thing, a toy made for Easter. I loved that truck which was nicknamed Freaster as it was for Easter! 

Later, as got older, I recall taking thick canes to the park for me and my brothers to Kendo fence with during the Kung Fu boom. I blame all that sugary chocolate for this behavior! Great fun.

As the afternoon faded the family would pack up the picnic and high tail it back home in the car in time for 5 'o'clock. Or was it 6?

Why?

Disneytime on the telly! A medley of clips from classic Disney animated films, it  was the must-see show on Easter Monday.

And that was it. Easter was over for another year and the warmer breezes of Spring whispered of the Sunshine to come in May.

Did you get any Easter toys readers? What were your fave eggs? Did you watch Disneytime? Do you collect Easter toys from companies like Easter Unlimited?

Avenham Park Easter Monday 1970:

[Preston Historical Society]

VIVID THUNDERBIRD SHADOW LAUNCH BAY BUILD PART 1

While I quite like all the designs of the new Thunderbirds Are Go craft to varying degrees, I was  taken by the sleek look of the series’ ‘new kid on the block’ - the Thunderbird Shadow.

It was designed by Japanese anime creator and producer, Shoji Kawamori,   who just happens to be a longtime fan of the original Thunderbirds puppet series.

When Vivid toys eventually brought out a version of the craft to add to their range of Thunderbirds Are Go toys I was frankly a little disappointed.  It was a lot smaller than I would have liked, Its long pointed nose was blunted, presumably for the usual health & safety reasons, and the main body was bloated to accommodate the bits and pieces for the ‘action sounds’. 

However, in spite of those shortcomings it still looked good to me from certain angles, and as I enjoy taking photos of my models and toys I thought it needed something to give it a more interesting look. As the Vivid Tracy Island didn't have a place for it I thought I’d make a little launch ramp just to big it up.

However, between you and me, once I started the project did begin to run away with me.

As the toy has no landing gear I couldn't really take photos of it parked at a model airfield or landed at some danger zone.  I could hang it from a few wires and take snaps of it in flight but I wanted something with more interesting background detail.  My initial idea was to just make the upper launch cradle by using bits and pieces lying around my workshop and use the Vivid Tracy Island as a backdrop. 

 I had to add an extra girder across the back of the cradle to balance the toy ( rather than the flat moulded section in the middle as seen on screen), as the toy just didn't sit right, and anyway  my intention was always to do a general representation of what was on screen, rather than slavishly trying to recreate an exact replica. 

I didn't even draw up a proper plan as it was a case of making it up as I went along. However, once the cradle was built, I felt it would benefit by adding the lower section, and for good measure, a circular base made of card to sit it on.

I did have to buy a bit of brass rail at this point from B&Q, as I didn't have anything lying around that looked similar.

Again, once I’d built the lower section I decided it still needed something extra, so I cut a square piece of 18mm MDF and painted lines on it giving it a similar look to what is seen on screen, although I did intentionally simplify it as everything was beginning to look a bit busy.

Even though I say so myself, I didn't think it was looking too bad at this stage, and really it didn't need anything else, but I was enjoying forming things around the little model, even though it’s size and obvious toy aspects really didn't justify it, I set to work building a cave wall backdrop and an extension to the Vivid Tracy Island toy using some spare bits of plywood and some old wall plaster.

I cut the plywood so it fitted against the base of the Tracy Island, and as a bit of extra detail I cobbled together a staircase using an old model railway layout bridge, and some assorted cylinders using bits of tubing. Finally after finishing painting the plaster, I fitted a few LED lights just for a little added realism.

All that was left was to take a few proper photos which I'll show you all in part 2