I'm always amazed what's hidden away on British Pathe footage.
In this film, amazingly, Hong Kong toy factory workers are using flattened Project SWORD Cape Kennedy Set boxes as assembly line table covers whilst making racing cars! Its at 1.08 on the counter.
This is a picture of the box top for reference.
A number of things spring to mind watching this footage. Why are Cape Kennedy Set boxes being used like this? Is it because its 1971 and the sales of SWORD toys, having been launched in 1967, will have ended and therefore the boxes are now redundant?
More intriguingly, could this have been the very Hong Kong toy factory that the Cape Kennedy Sets were produced years earlier on behalf of Century 21 Toys?
What do you think?
There are lots of Project SWORD toys on British Pathe. This is just one.
Looks like the facility is very basic, so I think any resource available would have been re-used, as a cost saving exercise. The flat pack box tops would have been bought in from another supplier, so rather than just bin them, the factory is using them as table covers. Output looks to be high, judging by how quick the turnover is, so nothing would be left to waste. I love that red space glider toy the kids are playing with at the end too! Bill
ReplyDeleteYes, what is that glider?
DeleteWow, never seen this footage before! Requires Woodsy's eagle eyes to spot those recycled box covers. Thrilling!
ReplyDeleteIt could well be that the factory at least assembled the Cape Kennedy sets. Because the footage was filmed already in late 1970, seeing the boxes there would make sense also timewise. Not too far apart.
We can but dream!
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