Took this snap last summer.
Its the Morinaga snap-together Zero-X cruising over the much older Cherilea Mechanoid from Dr. Who.
I wonder if anyone ever considered crossing Thunderbirds and Dr. Who storylines on TV or in comic strips the Sixties?
Anyway, both toys are very plasticy and great to handle.
Have you got either of these toys readers?
There was a Doctor Who novel released a few years ago called 'The Indestructable Man', featuring the second Doctor in a world that was obviously inspired by C21 stuff. I haven't read it though!
ReplyDeleteSounds good Kevin. The two great fantasy TV programmes of our youth had to come together somewhere! Wonder if that story is a podcast?
DeleteHi Woodsy, great combo there! Correct me if I'm wrong but yours is the Cherilea Space Pod that came with a set of Cherilea spacemen and was produced well into 1970's. A very similar design to Mechanoids (which are super rare) but still different in many respects. Took a learning curve myself on the same subject a while ago.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure youre right Arto. Not something I've looked into. What are the big differences?
DeleteA thorough examination on the subject here
Deletehttps://thespacemuseum.net/cherilea-article
There was a very widely distributed (though, understandably, not in the UK) English learning programme called Slim John back in 1969. I believe some of the Doctor Who writers were involved in it too.
Pretty scary for a 5-year-old boy, the story involved human-like robots and invasion of the Earth. The series climaxed in episode "The Control Returns", this Control being a polygonal globe very akin to the Mechanoid body. In the end, the heroes blasted the Control, and it shrunk and melted like a deflated balloon.
Slim John was one of the very first science fiction influences for me (and the first course in English I ever took!).
Never heard of Slim John. You saw some great stuff in Finland Arto when you were a kid! I recall that years ago we discussed another TV show or maybe radio show from the BBC that aired in Finland but maybe not in the UK. Just can't recall the name! As for Mechanoids, the link you gave was superb. I agree with Tony. There is of course another Mechanoid/ C21 Thunderbird 2 connection. Both toys were made by HPM as blogged last month http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2018/05/jr21-thunderbird-2-logo-mystery-solved.html The original Mechanoids toys sound like they're almost extinct!
DeleteYes it was the same Slim John back then we talked about, Woodsy. I really would like you to see the series as well. Back in 2000, I was able to watch three episodes saved on a blurry VHS cassette, and it was enough to bring back chills down my spine!
DeleteSince our last take on the subject, a Wikipedia page has been created
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slim_John
(See also the external link at the bottom, with more pictures)
That's a fab link to Slim John. It certainly must have been a brilliant English course judging by yours Arto! I can't find any reference to Slim John on the blog so it must have been something we were chatting about. Glad you got to see 3 episodes again! Just had a look for the record and there's reference to a Norwegian LP on Discogs https://www.discogs.com/No-Artist-Slim-John-1-Lessions-1-13/release/7906975 and this Paris Review has a long article on SJ. mentions a Finnish fansite, but the link doesn't work https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2013/06/20/english-as-a-strange-language-slim-john/
DeleteFound your first reference to Slim John on the blog Arto! Back in 2011! Its a comment on another Mechanoids article, this time by by Andy B! http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2011/09/rise-of-mechanoids-by-andy-b.html
DeleteA snap-together Zero-X would be my dream come true, wow! Both of the Imai Zero-X model kits have thus far eluded me, although I held a built copy of the large one in my hands, in Canada, circa 1980, at the house of a friend.
ReplyDeleteYou can pick up a Morinaga OX snap together mini kit on Yahoo Japan Zigg. I've bought two from there over the years using Noppin.
DeleteGreat info and link Arto. I was also unsure if there was a difference! :)
ReplyDeleteGreat to help you figure this out, Tony. I love the design on both versions, for reasons relating in some curious way to my early experiences with Slim John. Would love to add them to my collection (especially the Mechanoid! :)
DeleteOooh! I'd almost forgotten! I used to have one of those Mechanoid toys!
ReplyDeleteMine was metallic crimson with yellow plastic "arms".
I used the base ring as a turn-wheel for the airlock on my Matt Mason Space Station
-I couldn't afford an actual one, so I built one from particle board and a big square clear plastic dome I got in an educational toy featuring Thomas Edison's lightbulb.
-I remember there were several of those educational kits including Hero's Steam Engine and Alexander Graham Bell's Telephone. Did any of you have any of those kits?
I haven't thought of them in 50 years, I'll have to do some internet research!
I found Hero's turbine, Gutenberg's press, as made by Triang/ lionel
ReplyDeletehttp://www.mikes-steam-engines.co.uk/English_Engines.htm
https://www.printweek.com/print-week/me-my/1148556/-tri-ang-lionel-gutenberg-printing-press
https://clickamericana.com/eras/1960s/7-science-kits-for-junior-geniuses-1961/4