Arto recently picked up the 1950's Spaceways and Adventure Annuals.
Arto says:
I'm thrilled to see those toys, X-300 and the X-400 and Cherilea monsters like the Lizard and the Ant-Man (which I have as metal figures) featured in the Annuals' stories.
(Pictures below.)
I was unaware of this kind of connection until recently, and it adds a whole new dimension to the Pyro / Cherilea lore.
It would be nice to know which came first, the annuals or the toys.
The Pyro toys may have been already around in the U.S. at that time (ca. 1954), but how does the publication of the annuals relate to the launch of their Kleeware / Tudor Rose counterparts?
Was there some kind of planned synchronicity?
Arto
Helsinki Base
The big yellow robot on the cover also did some time as a green plastic variant in the Merit Magic Robot game, made by J & A Randall in 1953, which came with a wand attached to his hand and a magnetic base. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iZVvP0JHwg Bill
ReplyDeleteSo true, Bill. Some sources date the German version Der magische Roboter as early as 1935, so perhaps Cherilea got inspiration for their robot from that game too.
ReplyDeleteThe Denis McLoughlin story in the Annual, The Robot Empire, features also the X-200 and the Space Clipper which were exclusive British additions to the Pyro fleet. So a very British affair all in all!
It's fairly well established that the toys came first. There's a story of Denis McLoughlin visiting Woolworths to buy Tudor Rose spaceships to guide his artwork. The comic Spaceman even features the Wells Brimtoy friction rocket in one of its stories. The earliest sighting of the Johillco spacemen (later Cherilea) is 1953, the same year as the Adventure Annual, so it's a close run thing. Interestingly, it's this comic artwork that provides the earliest date for the Tudor Rose pieces.
ReplyDeleteYes, cheers Brian. Always good to hear from you.
DeleteThanks Brian for your very informative clarification of the matter. Perusing these annuals has added a whole new dimension to my Kleeware / Tudor Rose collecting.
ReplyDeleteThere's a fabulous 100 picture gallery of the Magic Robot game and it's relatives on Board Game Geek. One of the robots looks like the Dux Astro man! https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17568/magic-robot-quiz-game
ReplyDeleteVery, very cool Arto!!! I have the Adventure Annual, but had no idea Cherilea made those figures!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ed! I collected those Cherilea figures well before I learned they featured in the Adventure Annual (co-starring here also the Giant Space Worm). Took a while to get the gang together, though.
DeleteSame here Arto - sometimes it takes me forever to complete a set or series. I start collecting a series, then, when I hit a dead-end collecting I just move on to something else until I re-engage with whatever I had been doing. My Archer soft plastic slot-hand spacemen took well over ten years to complete.
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