Paramount Hobbies: Sci-Fi at 55 Part III: The Big Boys & Stingray by Rob C.

 After buying my first Paramount kit (probably the Astro Boat Super VII), I noticed a small paragraph in the instructions advising the modeler to send 15 cents for an illustrated brochure. 

When I received the mouth-watering Paramount Hobbies catalog in the mail, I saw all the amazing SF vehicles I had yet to own, and was utterly forlorn when I subsequently wrote to Paramount, asking if they did mail orders, and they replied that no, they did not sell direct to consumers, but only through wholesalers. 

Thus started my years-long obsession to visit every out-of-the-way retail outlet, to try and locate any Paramount kit I could lay my hands on; this perseverance on my part lead to my luck in finding two of the greatest, and rarest, of the Paramount SF kits... see below.

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3007:500 Space Patrol Car XKW (Mahha, Otaki, 1967)

This incredible SF vehicle was one of the first Paramount kits I managed to find, possibly right after locating the Astro Boat Super VII, sometime in early 1969.

 There was a tiny convenience store near my home, called Southport Variety Store, which was also headquarters for an automobile tire center, located in the back. The retail space up front carried all sorts of weird miscellaneous merchandise, oddly including a lot of clearance toys. 

One vivid memory I have is of boxes upon boxes of Multiple Toymakers' “Golden Astronauts” toys, (i.e., Tri-Ang Space-X Toys), which would of course soon become iconic legends of the 1960s space toy phenomenon. A friend of mine was savvy enough to purchase a slew of the “Golden Astronaut” toys, but I was strictly “all models all the time” back then. (This is the store where I also found the two Midori/Paramount Stingray models, see below.) 

What was hilarious about Southport Variety Store is that pretty much every time my friend and I visited, there was one or more big black limousines driving in and out of the garage in back, and we rarely, if ever, saw any regular cars going in to get their tires replaced. 

We thought this odd, but didn't think much about it until one of our last visits, when we entered the store, and the grumpy, rough-looking character at the counter told us to get out, saying “Wholesale only!” Which was odd because we had purchased toys and models there many times previously. 

On our very last visit, we were told at the door, by another somewhat menacing-looking fellow, “Sorry, store is closed. Private meeting.” And as we rode off, we saw two big black limousines pulling into the parking lot. It was only many months later our suspicions were confirmed, by an article in the local newspaper, that Southport Variety Store had been a hub for local organized crime, specifically for fencing stolen goods! 

We immediately pondered the notion of all the beautiful toys and models having been “hot” items, which had “fallen off the truck,” as they used to say back in the day? Which of course made their purchase all the more delicious. 

Back to the model, the Otaki Space Patrol Mahha was an exemplary, streamlined “super car,” and quite large, with many cool design features and details, including: two astronaut-pilots sitting under a movable glass canopy; working headlights; super-sized missiles; a large central cannon; beautiful chrome trim including a wild front grille; a friction motor which shot sparks out of the front of the hood. 

The Mahha was one of the few battery-operated SF vehicles that actually worked, due to the use of regular wheels instead of floppy rubber tank treads. What I thought was curious about the packaging of this model was the rather crude addition of “XKW” to both the box and instruction sheet; perhaps Paramount had originally intended to release the kit as “Mahha,” and somebody in the marketing department thought that name sounded too foreign? 

Anyways, the influence of the then-hot Jaguar XKE is obvious, but under any name, the Mahha is one of the great SF toy vehicle designs of the day. I was so enamored of this kit, I made a crude diagram for my intended paint scheme; I doubt if my first build followed these guidelines very well, as I tried to paint the body white using heavy coats of paint from a spray can. 

My second build, shown here, came out a bit better. Yet I think the XKW holds the record for me: I bought this kit no less than three times, as it was the most accessible of all the Paramount SF kits. 

There was also a fully-assembled toy version of this magnificent vehicle, likely from the same molds, which can be spotted occasionally on eBay, and online archive sites such as Alphadrome. Box: 10 1/2” x 15 1/2” x 2 1/4”. Retail Price: $5.00 USD

3101:400 Jet Drill Space Tank (Otaki, 1967)

I consider my discovery of the Otaki Jet Drill Space Tank and Luna Missile Tank (see below) to be something just shy of a miracle. 

After a full year of searching far and wide for these two coveted SF tanks, which I had seen in the Paramount catalog, I had basically given up; Paramount kits, never popular to begin with, were as rare as hen's teeth a mere year after their original release. 

It was the late summer of 1970, and Father and I were taking our annual summer vacation, visiting several states in New England, including Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire. On our way home to Connecticut, Father stopped to get gas at a small gas station/convenience store somewhere in New Hampshire. Just for kicks, I decided to look inside; once in awhile, stores like this had a small toy or hobby section. 

At first glance, I didn't see anything interesting, but then Father, who had gone inside to buy a soda, said, “Hey, I think there's some of those spaceship models you like over there.” He pointed to a shelf near the middle of the store, between the newspaper rack and the grocery section, and I went to look. I was dumbfounded. 

All that was on the otherwise-empty shelf were three boxes each, of Paramount #3101, Jet Drill Space Tank, and #3102, Luna Missile Tank. I had to blink my eyes several times to make sure I was seeing correctly; for a minute, I thought I was hallucinating. 

I picked up one of each model, and just stared at them for a minute. I briefly pondered whether I could convince Father to let me buy all six kits, in which case he would have to augment my purchase financially. I decided not to press my luck and opted to just get one of each, using my own money. 

As these kits were shrink-wrapped (some Paramount kits came shrink-wrapped, while others did not), I refrained from taking a peek inside until we returned home. 

When I opened the box, it was like a revelation: the Otaki SF kits, the Jet Drill included, were well-designed, and highly detailed for the genre. The smooth, streamlined lines of the Jet Drill were just too cool to describe; I made several sketches of the Jet Drill, and I still think the Jet Drill is the best Mole/Moguras knock-off of the era. 

The only downside to this great kit was that in order to access the battery compartment, one had to unscrew the top half of the body from the lower half, leaving unsightly screws exposed at the front of the vehicle. 

The chromed drill, replete with implausible spears, turned slowly, and the treads worked fairly well for this type of kit (although none of these Japanese space tanks had terribly good treads, which tended to fall off the wheels at the slightest provocation.) But the cool factor for the “Otaki 3” was off the charts. Box: 10 1/2” x 15 1/2” x 2 1/4”. Retail Price: $4.00 USD

3102:400 Luna Missile Tank (Giran Alpha) (Otaki, 1967)

Like the Otaki Jet Drill Moon Tank, I discovered the beautiful, highly elusive Otaki Giran Alfa Missile Tank (dubbed “Luna Missile Tank” by Paramount) at that same New Hampshire Gas Station mentioned previously; to say that this was a watershed moment in my life would be an understatement.

 The Giran Alfa was, simply, a gorgeous full-out “Space Tank,” a genre of tin space toys still enjoying popularity at the time, but rarely seen in kit form (and virtually never seen in the United States). Like its sister, the Jet Drill Moon Tank, the Giran Alfa boasted a beautiful design and an inordinate amount of surface detail, for this genre at least. 

The magnificent glass viewing dome (molded in hot pink) at the front of the vehicle really made the design iconic, and the somewhat elaborate missile launcher just behind it was also impressive, as were a pair of cannons which reminded me of Gatling Guns. 

Like the Jet Drill Moon Tank, the Giran Alfa had crummy, floppy rubber treads which would not stay on, so as usual, it became a static display model. I tried like hell to paint my Giran Alfa exactly as it appeared on the stunning box art, but as you can see my teenage painting limitations came into play. 

Still, this remarkable toy-model remained my pride and joy for many years. Box: 10 1/2” x 15 1/2” x 2 1/4”. Retail Price: $4.00 USD

3103:300 Explorer VII Space Truck (Dash 55, Nippon Hobby, 1968)

The Explorer VII Space Truck was the “black sheep” of the Paramount SF line, as it was the only model produced by Nippon Hobby, a very small model manufacturer, and thus shared no apparent aesthetic or thematic similarities to any of the Midori or Otaki SF models. 

“Explorer VII” was the name given this curious vehicle by Paramount for U.S. release; it was originally marketed in Japan as “Dash 55,” a name reflected with the supplied (and very cool) decals. 

The Dash 55 was a homely, boxy space vehicle, molded in metallic silver, but none the less lovable for that. In addition to the battery-operated, motorized wheels, the vehicle shot little cannonballs automatically out of its front cannon. 

I liked my Dash 55 so much I used it in my Super-8mm Sci-Fi epic, “The Invaders From Mystery Mountain,” although I did not photograph it well, and wish I had used it more extensively. 

All that is left now of my one and only Dash 55 is the clear cockpit canopy. Box: 9” x 13” x 2 3/4”. Retail Price: $3.00 USD

#4101:150 Stingray Atomic Submarine (KSN Midori, ca 1966)

I managed to snag both of the Paramount Stingray models at Southport Variety, that creepy convenience store on the border between Fairfield and Westport which, as mentioned previously, was turned out to be a local Mob headquarters. 

This store, which carried all sorts of odd merchandise, had a big stack of both Stingray models, and I bought one of each at the same time during that glorious summer of 1969. 

Originally manufactured by KSN Midori circa 1966, this smaller kit, although powered by a rubber band, was fairly faithful to the design of the great Supermarionation submarine. 

I never assembled the kit because the tricky paint scheme was way beyond me. Box: 7 1/2” x 10 1/2” x 2 1/2”. Retail Price: $1.50 USD

#4102:150 U.S.N. V-1 Rescue Submarine (Nippon Hobby, 1968)

#4102 was one of the last of the Paramount kits I purchased from Shopper's Town Fair in Bridgeport in 1969; I had already bought all of the SF kits, and this was pretty much all that was left at the end of the summer. 

Although this model is (very loosely) based on a real-life prototype, I always classed it in with the SF kits because of its weird design. Originally commissioned in the late 1960s by the U.S. Navy, the DSRV-1 was a prototype for a Deep Sea Rescue Vehicle, dubbed “Mystic” due to its being assembled in New London, Connecticut, near Mystic seaport (only a stone's throw away from me at the time). 

Manufactured by Nippon Hobby in 1968, the model was extremely crude and toy-like, with very little detail, “powered” by a rubber band. As I couldn't tell what the color was supposed to be based on the impressionistic box art (apparently a deep green in real life), I decided to paint my “V-1” in bold pulp sci-fi colors, as if it were a retro spaceship. Box: 7 1/2” x 10 1/2” x 2 1/2”. Retail Price: $1.50 USD

#4103:400 Motorized Stingray (KSN Midori, ca 1966)

This larger of the KSN Midori Stingray models was battery-operated and powered by a Mabuchi motor. 

The model was (in my opinion) way out of proportion to the prototype: too skinny and with oddly-shaped torpedo tubes; if I recall, the cockpit was “off” too. 

I never got up the courage to build or paint this one either! I thought it nice that Paramount bothered to label Stingray an “Atomic Submarine.”

Box: 10 1/2” x 15 1/2” x 2 1/4”. Retail Price: $4.00 USD

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Looking over this list recently, I realize I was extremely fortunate in being able to obtain 19 out of the 21 SF kits issued by Paramount. 

Many of them I got during their original release window, while a few others I caught up with years later on eBay. The only two kits I never saw anywhere were the LS futuristic racing cars #2009 Jet Flash R-2 and #2010 Jet Cat 9. 

Considering how obscure this line was, even at the time, I have to thank my lucky stars that somehow, I was able to track down so many of these weird and wonderful kits. As of today, I have exactly three Paramount SF models in my collection; all the rest were discarded or given away. 

A few of my special babies, such as the Midori Super Arrow and the Midori Space Command Tank, were donated several years ago to a toy museum in Japan, where they are now proudly on display for tourists. This might sound vaguely egotistical, but even in 1969, I knew there was something “special” about these odd and beautiful kits from Japan. 

There was certainly nothing comparable being made in the U.S., and teenage modelers quickly fell into two camps regarding them: most considered them horrible junk and wouldn't be caught dead with one, while a few others like myself thought they were the coolest model kits they had ever seen, almost like something from another planet. 

I sometimes forget that these exotic products from another land were somewhat on the expensive side for the American teenager; consider that the average 1/32 scale model car kit sold for about 59 cents at the time, whereas some of the Paramount Space Vehicles were asking $5! 

I recall having to do extra neighborhood chores such as lawn-mowing and babysitting to raise funds for some of the more expensive kits. 

Having worked hard to earn these coveted models, they became very important to me, and while my modeling friends were delving into more traditional areas such as the Tamiya 1/35 armor kits just coming into vogue in the U.S. at the time, the Paramount SF kits began my quest for the strange and fantastic in model kits, an obsession with the outlandish I still nurse today!

Rob C

CT

USA