Hi Woodsy,
This is the first prototype of the Elf toys Tracy Island .
It was made circa 1965 by Philip Hall, who designed for Elf toys, after a visit to the AP studios of Gerry Anderson to look at the Tracy Island film set and agree licensing terms.
I’ve put a couple of dinky toys Thunderbirds in to give some scale. The finished production model was bigger, with separate buildings to fit the JR 21 plastic Thunderbirds toys.
The original toy islands were painted at the local mental hospital as part of the patient’s rehabilitation. The original production run was probably less than 500, according to Ted Hall of Heritage Playsets (formerly Elf Toys) who is Ted Hall’s nephew.
They were on general sale through toy shops, although many used them as window displays for the J.Rosenthal plastic Thunderbirds toys.
Regards,
Will O.
Great to learn that such a rare item has survived. Thanks also for the background information, the detail about the workforce used is poignant indeed.
ReplyDeleteIt is fab to see Arto isn't it. Will has sent pictures of his production version of this as well, along with JR21 toys, so I will post that soon. I wonder if Elf toys were approached about making a SWORD Moonbase Playset? Its a thought!
DeleteLooking forwards to seeing the production version! I've seen a partial set on ebay (just under £6000 for anyone who is verrry rich), but not the whole thing.
DeleteThis lot sold for £720 last September
ReplyDeletehttps://tinyurl.com/y5q27ns9
Tsk! I do hates it when peeps buy somthing and then put it on ebay for stupid money. Its obviously the same one as the stairs to the house are broken in the same place.
DeleteGrrrr, please add your name or I'll delete the comment. Thanks.
DeleteDoes anyone recall seeing this in toy shop windows or on display counters back in the Sixties?
ReplyDeleteIve never seen these outside of very rare ebayings. Its great to know at least one version survived, let alone the prototype! Amazing
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