Hello Woodsy/Will. Brian here, from Alphadrome. I wonder if you can tell us anything about the origin of the Dan Dare Skimmer. I've seen the "regular" green version of the Codeg Hydroplane but how did this version come about?
Hi Brian. The origins of the Dan Dare hydro skimmer are a little unclear.I bought it about 30 years ago from a boat collector local to me. I tried to do some research at the time, and the closest I got was to ask an ex employee of codeg about it. Although it was a little before his time, he postulated that because codeg owned the license for Dan Dare, it was an easy thing to do to re-purpose one of their existing product lines and make it into a Dan Dare item. The Dan Dare logo on it is clearly spray-painted via a stencil. The box label has on it in pencil a D/D, presumably indicating Dan Dare. I’ve been collecting old toys now for about 45 years and to me it clearly looks like a commercial product. Having said that, it’s the only one I have ever seen in a Dan Dare livery, the more common being the green as you said. Hope this is of some use. All the best. Will Osborne.
Hello Woodsy/Will. Brian here, from Alphadrome. I wonder if you can tell us anything about the origin of the Dan Dare Skimmer. I've seen the "regular" green version of the Codeg Hydroplane but how did this version come about?
ReplyDeleteHi Brian, I've forwarded your question to Will. Cheers, Woodsy.
DeleteHi Brian. The origins of the Dan Dare hydro skimmer are a little unclear.I bought it about 30 years ago from a boat collector local to me. I tried to do some research at the time, and the closest I got was to ask an ex employee of codeg about it. Although it was a little before his time, he postulated that because codeg owned the license for Dan Dare, it was an easy thing to do to re-purpose one of their existing product lines and make it into a Dan Dare item. The Dan Dare logo on it is clearly spray-painted via a stencil. The box label has on it in pencil a D/D, presumably indicating Dan Dare. I’ve been collecting old toys now for about 45 years and to me it clearly looks like a commercial product. Having said that, it’s the only one I have ever seen in a Dan Dare livery, the more common being the green as you said. Hope this is of some use. All the best. Will Osborne.
DeleteThank you, Will. A fascinating piece.
ReplyDelete