Aurora Monster Scene Kits

Hi all

Some interesting items on You Tube from 2017, including a look at the Aurora Monster Scenes kits, several of which had optional parts, and were designed to be used together.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWJO2LPZi64

This second one is on two snap-together kits that were designed by Aurora, but which were never produced. A few decades later they were issued by a company I have never heard of, Dencomm. These are The Dungeon, and The Animal Pit. Both are unboxed, and assembled.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DMC3Bq5Ffg

Good detail in both.

Then there is a further short clip showing both models built up and painted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO6dOp3wX9

Paul Adams from New Zealand

PS. Does anyone have any of these Monster Scenes?

TV HORROR HOSTS: US AND NZ

Hi all

I have been watching some of the Monsterama film clips on You Tube, introduced by Elvira - Mistress of the Dark. 

You mentioned these in an old post, so I had a look, including the one on Aurora monster kits. She is great fun, I remember seeing her in the movie Elvira - Mistress of the Dark (1988) years ago on TV. 

America has a long tradition of horror hosts introducing late night horror movies on TV. Alas, this was not the case in New Zealand, and we certainly did not have anyone like Elvira. 

If we had, I would probably have become a horror fan much earlier.

The closest we got in NZ was former Prime Minister Sir Robert Muldoon (1921-92). He was a Member of Parliament 1960-91, and PM 1975-84. 

In later years he did a bit of acting. He appeared as the Narrator in a stage production of The Rocky Horror Show, then became the host of the Friday Frights in 1989. 

This was a weekly show in which he introduced old horror movies - dressed as a vampire called Count Robula. Remember that in 1989 he was still a sitting MP. I barely remember this show, as I seldom watched horror movies in those days, and it was on rather late. 

Rob Muldoon, as he was commonly known, in vampire make-up was not a pretty sight. America had Elvira, and NZ had Count Robula. 

It just was not fair. Personally, I think Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story (especially the film version) is a dead-ringer for Sir Rob, even if no one else agrees.

Paul Adams
New Zealand

ITS WALPURGIS NIGHT

 

GRRRRRRR!

WITCHES AND FELL THINGS ARE ABROAD!

GREEN LANTERN RING

I picked up this chunky plastic Mattel Green Lantern ring for 10p at the local boot sale recently. Not sure whether it came with a figure originally.

For Moonbase Junior really but I got a thrill finding it 'cos I love super hero rings.

I once bought in a bunch of Green Lantern plastic tings in the early 00's for my old toy stall and getting this new modern ring reminded me of them.

My interest in super hero rings was piqued around 1996 when I bought a book called Comics Collectibles and their Values, which had a chapter on rings. It described the majesty of the Superman rings of the 1940's and other radio hero rings, some of which were the most valuable comic figure collectables in the world. Its a book I still thumb through a lot.

Have you ever had any collectable rings?

Bella's Toy Chest Haul

Hi,
A new video from Bella's Toy Chest, where she shows off all the goodies she picked up at a toy show in Florida.

A huge Mattel Godzilla; various Rambo items, including weapon sets; a bizarre Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in Britain, as Ninja was considered a naughty word in Britain) series featuring the Turtles dressed up as various classic Universal Monsters - which is just weird, never seen these before; and a couple of Elvira - Mistress of the Dark items, including the 1/24th scale Monogram kit of the Macabre Mobile.


Just a quick look at the packaging in most cases, but still interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJIWZBxzUvE&t=616s

Paul Adams from New Zealand

The Third Man

Michael Collins
October 31, 1930 – April 28, 2021

 I hesitate to say that its time to relate the passing of astronaut Mike Collins at 90. Is it a sad occasion when a person reaches the end of their mortal span, having achieved so much and seen the face of heaven itself ?

Collins was always the 'third man', seemingly taking the back seat to the heroic (but terse) Armstrong and the exuberant Aldrin. Travelling all the way to the moon, but never able to reach the surface, Collins was pivotal in holding the rope for his colleagues as they descended into potential oblivion and then having to endure 24 hours as the most lonely man in history, totally and utterly alone in the cramped capsule as the Command Module circled the lunar farside.

Any double page spread will always feature Collins at the centre, invariably stapled in place by the fold. A quiet unassuming man, he will always be the perfect exemplar of astronautics for many decades to come.

Godspeed.

IRA DAHMS MOONSCOPE

 I liked this model made in 1972 by Ira Dahms. Its a Moonscope variant. I think the Moonscope was also issued as a Space 1999 moon car as well. Do you like Ira's old model?

http://www.sonic.net/~joymkrs/Dahm/AMS1.html

TRAILER KOMBAT

I've just half an hour watching new movie trailers on You Tube. Separation, Shang-Chi. Suicide Squad. Loki. Army of the Dead. In the Earth. The Convent. But the one I liked the most by far was Mortal Kombat. The opening scene between Scorpion and Sub-Zero was fabulous, especially if you're a Kung Fu nut like me!

The original film passed me by in the mid-90's and I don't think I've found any of the action figures at car boot sales, which is strange.

I seem to recall that the figure line was somehow associated with Hasbro's mini GI Joe range. Is that right? I can see the blue guy with the orange hair. or is that Street Fighter? I'm confused.

Anyway, I watched the trailer for the upcoming Shang-Chi, a Kung Fu comic character I adored as a young teenager. I had some of the comics and copied the drawings over and over. I may still have some drawings somewhere, so I was so eager to watch the trailer. 

Damn, I was disappointed. I think I expected Bruce Lee himself to be in it! The last time I read my comics was in the early Seventies when Bruce was still alive! Still, the whole film might be brilliant so I'll just have to wait and see.

Anyways, I then saw the Mortal Kombat trailer. Bam! It did everything the Shang-Chi clip didn't. It excited me and the fight scene was stupendous. The Japanese master Scorpion even uses a variant of one of my all-time favourite weapons, the Kusarigama or rope sickle. Scorpion's weapon is a rope dart or kunai, which the film's director uses to devastating effect. The Kunai is the film is essentially a gardening trowel and the tool was sometimes used by stone masons.

When I was a young Martial Arts nut I made my own Kunai rope darts using bricklayers' line pins - pictured below - which usually came with a ball of handy string too and seeing Scorpion brought it all back, chucking my Kunai against the shed side. Happy Days!

Do you know much about Mortal Kombat?

ROB C'S NITTO SPACE EXPLORER SATURN MODEL

Hey Woodsy,

Here is my latest Vintage Japan SF model, the NITTO Space Explorer Saturn from 1983, a reissue of a 1966 kit called “Satan.” As you can see, I went for garish mid-60s colors, in order to get the “first wave” vibe of these early SF kits almost certainly inspired by Thunderbirds and Stingray.

I found it amusing that the 1983 box takes care to add a disclaimer: ”Model kit may differ slightly from illustrations!”

Rob C

USA

LA GRAND CORSA NELLO SPAZIO: ITALIAN SPACE GAME

 

Here's an Italian board game I saw on offer a while back.

Where do you think those spacecraft got their inspiration from?

MEMORABLE SCHOOL DAZE

Occasionally memorable things happened to me at school back in the Sixties and early Seventies.

An early memory is taking some toys into school after Christmas. I can see my Nomura mystery action tin army jeep zooming beneath the tables and chairs. What fun!

Another time I recall being in the Primary school Christmas nativity play. I was Joseph. The teacher had said not to wave at parents in the audience. I got on stage and promptly dropped my soft lamb to wave at my Mum and Dad! ha ha.

On another occasion I remember winning an Action Man truck in a tombola. It had green tarps draped over the back end. Quite a big thing. Not sure of its name now.

In the first year of Secondary school there was a talent show. I was a big Bowie fan at the time and just had to have a go at doing Ziggy Stardust on stage! I mimed playing the guitar but I think I sang the words. Ziggy played guitar!

The art department became an important place for me to hang out at lunch times later on. I made lino cuts of Kung Fu themes; Chinese letters and yin yang symbols for printing. I still have some somewhere. The art teacher, a brilliant painter, especially of seascapes - we had one in my Parents' front room - even painted a new sign for the Judo club I was a member of at the time.

I recall coming first in a Biology test one week. The class swat asked me how I'd done it. I dunno and I didn't do it again the next week to which swatty remarked 'You inconsistent worm!' Ha ha.

Lacking inspiration for an English essay I was inspired by the sleeve notes of Deep Purple's Machine Head I think. Ritchie Blackmore described throwing his guitar around with 'wild abandon'. Well that phrase went in my essay no messing and a few more after that!

Another time I had to do something very embarrassing. I had to explain to the Secondary Head why I'd had a month off school despite my Mum having already told school. The reason was hard to explain when you're only 14. I'd trapped my member in my trouser zip. And when I say trapped I mean really trapped. Only a doctor with an anesthetic could sort it, which is exactly what happened. Alas it was just the start to a long painful road to recovery and renewed membership of the human race!

I met a girl in the final year of school called Janet. Short with long black hair and utterly gorgeous, I was besotted. I went out with Janet for about two years, whilst I was at Sixth Form, but we weren't meant to be. I dumped her over the phone, which was cowardly I know. Despite all that I can still remember the thrill of being asked by her go-between mate Susan outside the English classroom if I would 'go out with Janet'. Ahhh, teenagers in love! The last time I saw her was 45 years ago!

One thing I recall about a teacher was the hoo-ha that erupted when he was discovered kissing and cuddling a sixteen year old girl in the chemical store of the science classroom. All hell broke loose and I think he may have left after that. It was the Seventies though. It would be much more shocking now.

Obviously there were bad times at school too and some really bad times, but I don't dwell on those anymore and have focused on the good stuff here.

What memorable events do you recall at school or college readers?

Seek and Ye Shall Find

 Following Woodsy's article on urban exploring and abandoed toy shops, I went back to look at Iain Duff's coverage of the shop left by Frank Beech. Iain's original blog post is very informative, but his Flickr account has even more photographs in it. Onein particular confirms my suspicions that buried within that ramshackle store of decades of toys, would have been some familiar space toys. Unfortunately, Vectis were called in to value and auction the stock, so what may have lain unopened on a shelf somewhere, we may never know.

THERE'S JUST SOMETHING ABOUT BILL

I've always enjoyed finding vintage toys at car boots and this includes Barbie, Sindy and Ken. There are countless sites dedicated to these famous plastic people but this one caught my eye, There's Something About The Boy.

https://somethingabouttheboy.com/vintage/vintage-clones/

The section devoted to Ken clones is a good read if you like male doll knockoffs. There's even a clone called Bill, Babs' boyfriend!

WILL'S TOY ROCKETS AND PLANES

Hi. Some pictures of rockets and planes. The Gemini capsule is the same as the Clifford toys one which recently appeared on the blog, but this is a WES toys one.

The Marx toys stratojet is obviously a TSR2, in a lovely lurid yellow. The X 15 is a much nicer model. Also, I’ve got a dizzy bugs game somewhere in the games archive, if I can find it I’ll send a picture.

Best wishes and keep well. Will O.

'ORRIBLE ORIGAMI: PAPER, BOGEYS AND SHEER BOREDOM

It always amazes me what kids get up to with a piece of paper. Powered by boredom its almost alchemy what adroit creations rise from the sheet.

When I was a kid we used to create opening and shutting paper thingies. These had different stuff written on the insides of what were a bit like petals. Stuff like You Stink or Go Out with Me or Nice Legs! It was a bit like a folded bird's beak that your fingers opened and closed. If it had a name I can't recall it.

Another thing we did was to tear a piece out of an A4 sheet and create a ragged hole. That became a hole in the back of someone's trousers, which you drew. You then drew a dog with a similar piece in its mouth. To complete the picture you then formed a crease in your index finger and held this crease behind the hole. It looked remarkably like a bare butt!

A similar effect was achieved using a five or ten pound note, when they weren't plastic. A couple of folds were made in the Queen's neck and voila! The royal bottom!

Obviously paper planes were essential origami and they still are. I often find a foolcsap jet whizzing past my face!

A new fad, at least to me, is kids making bang flaps out of paper. Various folds are made to create a sort of 2-ply triangle. When forcibly flicked forward it creates a loud bang and is really quite annoying if you're an adult. Kids love it!

Last but not least there are paper boats. I imagine readers will be masters of the maritime fold.

Did you do anything else with paper?

A DERELICT HOME FULL OF TOYS

I'm unsure what I think about urban explorers. I can certainly see the attraction of exploring abandoned buildings but at the same time I'm sheepish about the invasive nature of it all. 

Not too far from Moonbase is a well-visited and notorious derelict home known as the Doctor's House in Doncaster, which has attracted no end of curious invaders. I found at least 8 videos online on the place just looking now, its mixture of rusting cars and tragic backstory proving irresistible to explorers.

The collector in me needs to rummage. I understand that. I'm just not sure about going into abandoned homes. I'm not sure I would want to do it.

Having said that I have done it once. I'm pretty sure because of the position of the abandoned building thousands of tourists had as well. It was abandoned artist's house on a remote shore. It was exposed to the elements and salted gusts. That was in the early 1990's on the island of Mull.

Anyways, there are thousands of reports from modern urban explorers online and here's just one from Freaktography about a old residence full of old toys. No idea where it is. Quite sad to see really.

Tell us what you think readers.

https://www.atchuup.com/freaktography-abandoned-house/

TUDOR ROSE AGAIN

 I'm used to seeing Tudor Rose boats and spaceships online so I was surprised to see a toy dishwasher they'd released. A rather nice neat object and an unusual choice I thought for a childrens' toy. What do you think?

TODAY'S CATCH AT THE CAR BOOT SALE

To distract our minds from current woes we went to a car boot sale this morning. This is the toy part of what we got, the rest being baby clothes for the Granddaughter and books for the Grandson.

The toys we found were a lovely Fisher Price house from 1980, a clutch of plastic doll's furniture, a carded glasses repair kit, which will work for small toys too, a super cool Green Lantern ting, a Batphone, a Reverse Flash, an Andy Wildlife figure, a group of unknown Dr. Who mini-figs, a large plastic sausage, which talks, a small plastic FAB1 from the mid-90's and the catch of the day, a BHS Explorer 12 polar book with cover art and illustrations by Mike Noble.

What do you think?

THE FRANK BEECH TOY SHOP

I think I blogged something about this at the time in 2015 but I've just browsed the pictures again so here goes once more, the treasures of the Frank Beech abandoned toy shop.

This is Iain Duff's amazing report on his blog back in the day. Make sure you check out part 2 as well. The wealth of vintage toys in this derelict shop is simply eye-watering! It will all have been sold off by now.

https://iainduff.wordpress.com/2015/04/03/inside-an-abandoned-toy-shop-part-1/

Let us know what you would have liked from this Aladdin's Cave!

There's even some Aurora Prehistoric Scenes stuffed away and stacks of Kenner Star Wars carded figures! Couldn't see many space toys though. Maybe you can.

WHEN COULD YOU TIE YOUR SHOELACES?

Tying shoelaces came late to me as a kid. For some reason the rapid flip and pull of the motion was beyond my lazy fingers. I bet I was about 9 when it happened.

I eventually developed a simpler technique involving two loops which cross and tie quite easily. None of the faff of the grown-up method.

Nowadays I really can't be bothered with laces and buy slip-ons whenever I need shoes, which is about once every couple of years I'm pleased to say.

Awkwardly for me I still have to tie laces at work though, especially in PE.

Oddly enough I am really quite good at undoing pesky double knots, which my Missus insists on tying on her pumps and is unable to untie!

Did you learn to tie laces late or differently or were you a wizard of knots readers?

CEFA ATLAS MISSILE TOY

 

This is an interesting Atlas missile toy set I saw on the Spanish Todocollecion site.

The box art seems to show launches on either side of the Atlantic!

Have you anything like this?

MOONBASE JUNIOR IN MED BAY

Moonbase Junior our Grandson is in hospital this weekend. He is struggling to breath properly due to a viral infection. It's not clear if its Covid yet. He is in good medical hands and benefitting from an oxygen nebuliser and steroids.

Its a daunting experience at the best of times for a 4 year old but in these pandemic days Junior has to stay in his room all the time. His Dad's with him all the time and with the help of comics, DVD's and hospital custard they are both getting through it. Its sleep number 2 tonight.

We dropped off a plastic Thunderbird 2 today for our Grandson via Mum who visited hospital with a change of clothes for both boys. She wasn't allowed to see either of them. A Nurse took it to him. He loved it!

25/4/21: PUPDATE:

Junior is alas still in hospital with his Dad. Night number three tonight. He's had an X-ray and it looks like an infection on his chest, which is affecting his oxygen intake.

They hope to be discharged tomorrow. Good job really since they can't leave their room at all because of Covid rules in the building. They're going stir crazy!

VALIGURSKY MAN: THE MALE COVER HERO OF ED VALIGURSKY

Ed Valigursky, US space artist and imagineer of the SWORD Booster Rocket, Spacex MEV2 and Spacex Nova Rocket, was a prolific pulp book and magazine cover illustrator during the 1950's and 60's. 

Looking further at his book cover art, Mr. Valigursky was obviously keen on rockets, robots and monsters. He was also keen on painting young people of both sexes and in particular a dark haired spaceman. 

His hero is classicly handsome, often uniformed and very versatile, a sort of Rock Hudson type in space. There's often a high collar or some red somewhere too. 

Here's a sample gallery of this Valigursky man below  - was it a self portrait? You will find many more googling the artist's name.

Similarly handsome and uniformed females graced Ed's covers and a good example was on the front of the Ace Double, Wandl the Invader.

Do you like Ed's space men and women readers?

THE LEAKY COFFIN TOY

 This could be the strangest toy I've seen on Ebay ever on Moonbase!

From Dee Bee Co. of New York

It's a leaky coffin ..

with a peeing skeleton!

The Ebay seller's listing comment was priceless:

"I can't get it to work!"

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A good thing too!

Do you have a leaky coffin readers?

NINETY NINE

My late Mum would have been 99 today!

Like most kids she was the provenance of my childhood and everything in it. My Mum was the original Moonbase Central. She made it to just 56.

I'll be raising a glass of beer to the old dear tonight and thanking her for all that she did for me and my Sibs God bless her.

Here she is far left with her shades on at Butlins. Yours truly is with my Aunty holding up my new plastic ship. Its around 1964 I would say. Happy days!

HOLD OUT YOUR HAND BOY!

It always amazes me what we had to put up with at school in the Sixties and the early Seventies. 

It was a goddamn battlefield and I'm not talking about the kids. I mean the teachers. They were weaponised. 

Weaponised teachers on a mission to beat the hell out of us kids!

I'm talking about corporal punishment. The legal injury of young bodies in school!

It may seem like a quaint blip in education's history but it was no laughing matter at the time. Allowing teachers to smack, hit, wallop and cane youngsters was a bad idea. Period.

Looking back the thought that on a day when you could be deliriously happy playing Joseph in the school play you could also get the strap several times on each hand executed by the deranged Head of Chemistry seems like some sort of sick joke to me now.

I was strapped. For dancing on a lab table. OK I shouldn't have been on the table before the teacher came in but to actually hit me with a rubber strap for it is ridiculous.

I also had a wooden board rubber thrown at me from the front of the classroom. Being a W I was sat the back. Now that took some umph to wang that rubber all the way to the back. It caught me on the shoulder in a cloud of white chalk-dust but could easily have knocked me out. All for not knowing where we where in David Copperfield! I ask you!

I once saw an art teacher stand on a chair to give him extra height when leaping off to whack some poor kid's hand with a stick. They might as well have given psychopaths baseball bats.

For a vivid glimpse of how it was just watch the old movie Kes, set not too far from where Moonbase is now. There's whacking aplenty in it.

Not all Secondary justice was heinous. For mimicking an English teacher's funny voice I was commanded to write out 100 vocabs - that's words and definitions from a dictionary. I remember Ziggurat was one, as in the Ziggurat of Ur.

Many teachers were fine too. Nice, helpful people who never hit anyone. 

I was never keen on school I don't think. Its blizzard of rules was stifling for me but somehow I managed to get through it in one piece and pick up some O levels, because I enjoyed English Lang and Lit, History and Geography, subjects with words at their heart and for me words and their meaning were everything.

In an arc of supreme irony fifty years later I work in education and despite the school rules being ever present no-one gets walloped by teachers anymore thank God.

Nostalgia can have its bruises. I don't expect everyone to agree.

FAB1 DOME: DOES IT OPEN?

Looking at this image of FAB1 on Sixmania I was amazed to see that the car's dome splits in half and rises up like a sunroof.

http://www.sixmania.fr/wp-content/uploads/la-fabuleuse-histoire-de-la-vraie-fab-1-premiere-partie/real_fab1_015.jpg

or is this the way Parker and Lady Penelope actually got in and out of the car in the Thunderbirds TV show?

Do you know readers?

THE WRECKER WRECK

 

I felt sorry for this wrecked wrecker on auction this year. It must have got into a few major scrapes to end up like that. I just hope it went to a good home with a skilled mechanic!

Luckily I've a whole C21 Wrecker at Moonbase for those JR21 prangs that occur on the Century 21 freeway.

Have you got a wrecker of sorts?

GEEK SALAD SAUERSTOFF

I was gobsmacked to hear today that NASA had succeeded in making a small amount of oxygen on Mars. Perseverance did it using a device onboard, which converts CO2 into the life giving gas. It was enough to last a Martionaut 10 minutes. How amazing is that! I can well foresee in 50 years huge silos of oxygen bristling on the surface of the red planet. Can you?

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I heard a kid use a phrase today, like a straight rainbow, and I thought that's neat. Is that something you've heard? Not sure what it means.

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Another phrase I heard was Killed by Death. I don't think its possible to be killed by death is it? Death is a consequence, not a cause. What do you think?

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I saw my Grandson's favourite cuddly toy in a movie the other day, a soft doggy from Ikea. He calls it Dizzy and has a second one called Doody. It was in the George Clooney vehicle Midnight Sky. A young girl, reminiscent of Aliens' Newt, had it. Maybe Junior should rename one Clooney!

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According to the radio Phil Collins objected to the original title of Easy Lover. He just didn't like it, Choosy Lover. It got me thinking as to what else it might have been: Cheesy Brother? Sleazy Mother? What would you come up with for Phil?

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This clip on Wired blew me away. I thought it was a jungle on Earth bit its the Norgay and Hilary mountains on Pluto at Sunset. Stunning don't you think?

https://www.wired.com/video/watch/sunset-on-pluto#intcid=_cne-watch-pages_e7a4c611-d650-4c36-9a18-bd53f9c05691_entity-topic-similarity-v2

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These Ocean Adventures toy packs look really cool and remind me of Britains and Lone Star frogman toys. Have you come across Ocean Adventures?

https://guide.alibaba.com/shop/ocean-adventure-playset-32-piece-scuba-diver-figures-with-boats-and-playmat-1-35-scale_9695062.html

DO YOU KNOW WHAT FAB3 WAS?

I've always loved FAB1 - like most kids of my age. Its just one of those TV cars that was the perfect form of style and looks and drove straight into the showroom of our memories.

FAB2 was Lady Penelope's yacht, which we've blogged about once or twice. Not sure if Parker was the pilot or whether FAB1 went on board. It would have made a great JR21 toy, maybe using the Vosper  toy as its basis. Would that have worked?

Amazingly there was a FAB3 too! I only found out today. I could never have guessed and I had to chuckle when I read it. It was Lady Penelope's racehorse! Now I've no idea if it appeared on TV and whether Parker was the jockey. Not sure it would have been a decent JR21 toy, but they did release at least three other small toy horses, the Rocking Neddy, Piggy Chariot and Cowboy Joe.

Now please don't tell me: there was a FAB4 too?

FOR MASH GET SMASH!

I used to love the Smash TV ad with the laughing robots. Well nestling in the gorgeous pile of figures and toys on Vectis are two Smash bots. One is a plastic toy and one is a bendy! What else would you like readers?

WOULD IT EVER BE POSSIBLE TO ACTUALLY DRIVE FAB1?

I was thinking about my 65th in five years or 70th in ten years and getting all excited at the thought of test driving a famous car for an hour, if I still have my license and my senses still!

Top of my list would be FAB1, but as there are only two [?] working examples in the world I doubt very much I could pretend to be Parker. Or?

Next would be a Batmobile from the 1966 series. I've no idea how many of these exists, including modern copies, but it seems more likely I could be Adam West for an hour. Or?

Last but not least would be an Aston Martin DB5 as featured in the early Bond films. Again I've no notion of how many exist but even a basic DB5 would be good and does seem feasible. Or?

There are a few runners-up: either of the two UFO cars, the Monkeemobile, the Black Beauty from Green Hornet, the Koach or Dragula from the Munsters, ECTO1 from the Ghostbusters and either Steve McQueen's 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback or the bad guys 1968 Dodge Charger 440 Magnum, both from Bullitt. Do any of these exist as hirable cars?

What would you drive for your birthday treat? What exciting cars have you driven or been in?

courtesy of the image owner The Surry Advertiser

TALES OF HORROR: ILLUSTRATIONS BY IRV DOCKTOR

Hello Woodsy

,

While we are buried in my old books, both actual copies as far back as childhood or replacement copies, my wife only has less than a handful, one of which is pictured.

Tales of Horror by Alan Riefe.

Terranova47

USA

OLD ANDERSON WEBSITES

These are very old Gerry Anderson links online. Where they sites that you visited or maybe still do?

http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~bat/GA/OT-MODEL/?C=M;O=A

http://www.aiai.ed.ac.uk/~bat/GA/GAMMA/

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE DOME

 

RAIDING THE FRIDGE WHEN I GET HOME

I've been enjoying a milkshake and a crumpet after work this week. Nesquick chocolate and cold milk and butter and jam. Yummy!

I've always enjoyed a tasty snack after school and work and now I'm 60 I still do. It's something I've always done as soon as I get in. In fact I don't think I could do anything else until I've had my coming-home treat! Then the serious business of playing began in earnest!

Over the years these snacks have been included Reddy Brek, custards, reduced sugar jam on thick white poppy seed loaf and scotch eggs and salt.

My preference is something sweet though and the milkshake is the clincher.

Do you have a snack when you get in? Did you as a kid?

PAUL'S PASCALL JET PLANES

Hi Woodsy

In addition to the Jubes, I thought you might like to see a packet of Pascall Jet Planes - The Real High Flyers. Soft Jelly Lollies in Fabulous Fruit Flavours. Similar to a wine gum, apart from the shape. 

Many years ago, Jet Planes were a more realistic shape, but now they are rather blob-like objects, with delta wings. Again 180 grams, and Made in Australia. The back of the bag says Sugar Confectionery. Ingredients: Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Invert Sugar, Thickener, Gelatine, Food Acid, Colours, Glazing Agent, and Flavours. 

These too have been around for many years. Do you have these in Britain ?

Yours Sincerely,

Paul Adams from New Zealand

HOW AND WHY DINOSAURS

 

I adored dinosaurs when I was a kid and this How and Why book was one of my favourite reads.

Is it a book you had?