It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about Spacex toys and
their connection with Century 21.
As most of us know TV21 is littered with several designs
that would eventually form part of the Spacex toy range. JR21 and Century 21 toy maker, Jack Rosenthal
was the man behind Project SWORD and Spacex, and inspiration was drawn from the
pages of TV21 and its associated publications.
I’ve dusted off my old Spacex diorama so here we go…
Although there’s plenty of Spacex inspired designs amongst
the pages of TV21, I’ve chosen three Spacex toys that had their first
appearance, drawn by Eric Eden in the 1966 TV21 Summer Extra, starting with the
Spacex MLP.
The inspiration for the Spacex Mobile Launching Ramp was
taken from an article on Universal Engineering Incorporated, a company that (in
the TV21 universe) builds the fantastic vehicles that appear in the various
Gerry Anderson TV series, and features in the TV21 strip,’ The Investigator.’
The Spacex Nuclear Pulse.
The Nuclear Pulse was initially envisaged as a World Army
Command Craft, a heavy duty super freighter with the designation, CGX 9 in the Summer Extra feature, Defence 2066.
The Spacex Nuclear Pulse space station is seen as a flying
saucer and spaceship launch pad.
Finally, the Spacex Needle Probe.
This was seen as a stratospheric reconnaissance craft used
by the World Air Force, as can be seen in the above page from the Summer Exra.
The Spacex Needle Probe is one of the smaller pocket money
bubble card range that could be found in local newsagents or Woolworths in the
UK. Spacex also saw releases in America
under the Golden Astronaut banner.
The box art for the MLP and the NPX-9...
You've turned garish-looking toys into something else completely with those photos, especially the rocket
ReplyDeleteThanks Iain. Even though there's no getting away from the fact that Spacex toys are very much seen as toys, especially the smaller range with those big wheels, I still can't resist taking a few photos of them in a diorama. :)
DeleteThose diorama shots are wonderful. They are how I would've seen those ships in my mind as a kid.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kev. To be honest that's how I would have seen them too. :)
DeleteGood one, Scoop - scrumptious photos (as always!) and a very nice write-up.
ReplyDeleteInterested readers can find the other handful of TV21-inspired Spacex designs here:
http://www.triangspacextoys.info/SpGAorig/SpGAorig.html
as well as all other design origins we currently know about (a number of which were discovered by Scoop himself).
Best -- Paul
Thanks Paul. I've enjoyed getting out the Spacex toys again and taking a few snaps. I'm amazed the old diorama is still in one piece too. While it was out I've taken a few photos and done another post about further connections between Spacex and TV21.
DeleteTerrific model photography!
ReplyDelete