New Dawn Fades

NASA went on the defensive recently as Twitter was splashing the above photograph of a martian sunset about the ether, with people claiming it was a shot from the new Insight lander. NASA quite rightly pointed out that it was actually a shot from the Curiosity rover, some time before. The blue colouration - not red or purple as we have expected - is due to circulating particulates in the atmosphere.

NASA has also recently made its entire photographic, audio and video collection available - royalty free - for anyone to enjoy and do as they please with. Quite an outstanding resource!

https://images.nasa.gov

BOOKS FROM CHRISTMAS PAST

As the season of giving approaches I begin to recall the books I gave my parents as presents. 

These were Christmasses in the early Seventies when I still had time to give them things.

I got my Mum Shogun one year. A massively thick paperback by James Clavell. It was dramatized on TV I remember around the same time. Richard Chamberlain was in it. We always said we'd go to Japan together Mum and I but we never got the chance. I plan to read my own copy one day.

Tai-Pan, also by Clavell, was in the bookshelf too but I just can't think if it was me who bought it for Mum. Memory! Doh!

I bought The Dark for my older brother. James Herbert was a big deal back then, like a British Stephen King. He wrote The Rats and Fluke and The Survivor, which was filmed and starred Robert Powell. I've never read The Dark. Have you?

I've read this though. A couple of times. One of my Dad's favourite's. Storm Warning by Jack Higgins, author of The Eagle Has Landed. My copy is the actual paperback my older Bro gave our Dad in 1973. Its says so inside.

The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Montserrat. This was a hardback book with a startling cover depicting a stormy ocean. Its unmistakable. I'm unsure who got it my folks but it was always in their bookshelf as long as I can recall. My Dad was in the Navy during WWII so I expect it was his.

There are many more books I relate with Christmas past. How about you readers?

THE MOLTO JEEP 'CRICKET': A NEW BOX

The green Jeep Militar by Molto looks a superb military toy

Its a Spanish deadringer for the blog favourite SpaceX Cricket pictured below [photo: Ed Berg]

Here's the green Jeep in the 1971 Molto catalogue as released in Spain, centre left.

So I was pleased to see a box I think is new to the blog.

It features the Jeep in military mode on all its sides.

I think there must be a crane version out there somewhere like the one pictured.

The toy itsef we've seen before.

This is a particularly fine specimen I saw on an auction site.

It featured a set of paper instructions I'd not seen before with some nice illustrations of the Jeep's various parts.

Anyone got one of these bad boys?

MY MOD MONSTER CRAVES SCOOBY DOO'S NEHRU MEDALLION

I've talked about my Mod Monster many times.

Here's a mint one I saw online with a part I don't have on mine, the magic neck medallion. Have you got one on yours?

I was amazed to find that Toy Tent offer a replacement for this tricky part to retain, the medallion I mean

https://www.toytent.com/Special/8476.html

Different shaped medallions often appeared with the original real life Nehru coats in the catalogues back in the Sixties.

They do look rather snazzy those pendants and have a sort of new-age look to them.

Oddly enough I noticed that even Scooby Doo wears a sort of magic Nehru madallion too!

Does anyone know the history of the medallion?

MORE LP SPACEMEN AND A CIRCUS CAR

More LP spacemen and vehicles from my photo archive of past auctions and sales.

Flash Gordon Space Warriors -

with a completely different spaceman on the header

Jak Pak Galaxy Raiders involving our friends the LP aliens

LP's contribution to the Major Matt Mason universe, the Space Set

Two scarlet workers, the LP diver and astronaut ready for duty

A blurry shot of an interesting Argentinian LP inspired pencil sharpener - a sacapuntas

A Japanese astronaut with one Yen

His green partner

and the interesting LP Circus Car vehicle, which I've not seen outside of this box.

Have you any LP spacemen and toys readers?

LP TOYS: LATEST SIGHTINGS

First up is this bundle of Japanese Omake. 

Green LP style spaceman on top, which looks like he's a blow mould.

and in a similar pile of Glico's and Omake we find a little blue LP style alien.

This one is clearly the worst LP astronaut clone I've ever seen. Maybe its been exposed to the full corona of Alpha Proxima!

These chaps are dapper LP types lookin for a good time.

Perhaps my fave sighting this year, this Lunar Pistol carded set. I love the header artwork. Not sure if this is actually LP. Does anyone know? 

There's another version on Alphadrome 

One we may have seen before on MB. The deranged LP Rabbit Space Blimp.

It has a moving umbrella!

Anyone got one?

No less crazy but becoming seasonal, LP's Space Blimp of Christmas.

What were they thinking!

Have you any LP toys? Or seen any?

Another Small Step

 I watched the NASA Mars Lander 'Insight' make successful touchdown on the red planet this week, not as you might suspect from a porthole window on Marsbase, but view a live feed on Twitter. The actual descent wasn't visible, but the control room nervously counting down the descent was clearly visible. It was amazing to see the action first hand on a phone, having seen the blurry monochrome pictures of the moon landing on our old cathode ray tv back in 69.

Space exploration seems to be having a subtle resurgence lately, not long ago we had the sun probe mission, this week its Mars and in a few days the Osiris probe reaches the large asteroid Bennu. Following in the wake of Insight were two cube shaped probes, wittily named Wall-E and Eva, experimental packages launched with the Mars probe to test the viability of smaller, interplanetary satellites. Wall-E successfully snapped a shot of Mars as it shot past during Insights descent.

These may be comparatively small, unmanned missions, but it does beg the question as to whether we will see man landing on Mars or the nearer planets, within our lifetimes ? I certainly hope so.

TONY PAN'S SWAP MEET HAUL

G'day Woodsy,

Attached is a picture of my eclectic haul from a recent swap meet. A real cross section of my collecting interests. The photos at the back were from the collection of an acquaintance who had a stall at the swap meet. Love the pic of Jeff Tracey reading the novelisation of "Thunderbirds are Go"!!

While the gorgeous tinplate B36 was the catch of the day, I'm fascinated with the orange moon buggy. It has no manufacturer's markings - the only markings are on the base "No. T21 Made in Hong Kong". The "T21" also appears on the label on the buggy's bonnet - maybe they were trying to piggy-back off the "TV21" brand.

I've also included some close ups of the moon buggy - maybe one of the Moonbase Central team recognises it, as I've never seen one. The bloke I bought it from had no idea of its origins either, other than to say that someone else viewing his stall on the day said they'd never seen one before.

I'm hesitant to clean it as it has the classic "dirtied-down" look, so I'll probably leave it as is. I'm sure Derek Meddings and Mike Trim would prefer it that way!!

Hope you enjoy the pics.

Cheers

Tony Pan

STREAMLINE TOY CAP PISTOL BY REPLICAST

Hello Woodsy

The question of where caps for cap guns were purchased reminded me of this pistol. 

I purchased it from my local newsagent in 1973. Made by Replicast in the UK. I kept this one and purchased a couple of others as gifts. That was the last time I bought rolls of caps, which I'm sure delighted the mothers of the recipients. 

I liked the packaging as a simple approach rather than the old Lone Star packaging with drawings of cowboys on horses. 

This being a US Civil War pistol I placed a Timpo US Cavalryman with it for scale. 

Back in the 50's there was a cavalry pistol made by Lone Star that was more a Colt Peacemaker than the longer barreled ones actually used, I think they also painted it blue. 

Nostalgia is such fun! 

Terranova47

NYC