More supercool space rides spotted on the web.
A gorgeous loose blue double car.
A classic space ride!
And although not a ride, it's an amazing McDonalds shaped like Thunderbird 5!
What do you think of that?
Wednesday, 25 February 2026
Tuesday, 24 February 2026
Caterpillar Tracks in Thunderbirds by Matteline1968
You may have seen this before on You Tube. It's a fascinating look at toy tracks and treads used by Century 21 model makers in Thunderbirds during the 60's.
There's initially the Vickers tractor and at 6.17 minutes it switches to our friend the Tiger Joe tank, deployed into the Gray and Houseman Road layer and the Crablogger, besides appearing as is.
It's one of a handful of Matteline1968's Thunderbirds kitbash videos on You Tube, as well as his fabulous What If box art and film making techniques like Matte painting.
As with all of his videos on You Tube they're insightful, easy to watch and really well made. Enjoy!
Have you a Crablogger?
Robin Paint and Poster Truck
Hi Woodsy,
I have just discovered what may well be the most beautiful tinplate toy ever made – the Wells-Brimtoy Robin Paint and Poster Truck. Needless to say, I discovered this while looking for something else entirely, and just had to dive straight down yet another rabbit hole.
Not only was this a wind-up clock-work toy truck, the back contained a slide-out tray of water-colour paints (which are nearly always missing from surviving examples). Hooks on the sides of the truck (usually broken off) held a toy ladder on one side, and a paint brush on the other (also usually missing).
Wells was founded in 1919, and Brimtoy in 1923, the two firms merging in 1932. Wells-Brimtoy Distributors Limited was formed in 1949, but a variety of names appear on the toys.
The always useful Brighton Toy Museum site has a page of Wells-Brimtoy advertising (dated 1956), which shows the truck. It has the paint tray extended, and supported by a fold-down leg at the rear.
No.708 Robin Paint and Poster Truck. Clockwork Truck complete with 12 paints in movable palette, paint brush and painter's ladder. Boxed singly in novel coloured carton of which two sides are in black and white outline for child to paint. Size 7 1/4 in. x 3 1/4 in. x 4 in.
Presumably that is the box size ? As usual with post-war Wells-Brimtoy models, the construction is a mix of tinplate and plastic.
Most of the truck is tinplate, including the cab interior, with a coloured plastic cab top in light blue. It is based on the Bedford S-Type truck.
A friction motor is fitted beneath the vehicle, with a wind-up key on the left side. The colour scheme is mainly red and blue.
It has Made in Gt. Britain on the right side of the cab, with more details on the fold-down tail-gate. Here the name of the maker is given as Welsotoys.
The sides of the truck are colourfully marked, with the name of the toy, and a Robin holding a yellow leaf in his beak. I thought that Robin looked familiar – was it anything to do with the Robin comic ?
Robin was a weekly comic published from 1953 to 1969, initially by Hulton Press, whose other titles included Eagle, Girl, and Swift. It was aimed at very young children.
A Robin was the logo of the comic, and the price was printed on the leaf that the little bird is holding. The Boys Adventure Comics blog has a wonderful article, with numerous excellent photos, showing the truck.
What a wonderful toy!
Do you agree?
Eight photographs from Worthpoint
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Will O's Mighty Joe!
Hi Woodsy
Some pics of my Topper Mighty Joe tank. Although, I prefer it in the guise of Kevin's beautifully made SHADO Mobile!
Will O
Q the Movies: Serpents, Snatchers, Sickness and Saltburns
More film watching this long MoonBase winter. This week's treats have been:
Cabin Fever - early 2000' - this was Gorno King Eli Roth's debut and I imagine quite a tame offering to what he directed later ( not seen anything else he's made). CF isn't that gory at all, a sort of heavily diluted Evil Dead. Ive enjoyed it each time I've seen it and Roth even cameos as the cave dwelling junkie with a dog. The most interesting character is the young deputy who's obsession with 'pardying' is hilarious. Oddly enough this actor vanished from the public eye in 2015 ( thanks Wikipedia!). Cabin Fever was remade twenty years later and I doubt it retains the rustic simple charms of the original.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1978 - my, how I love this remake. It's got everything: Seventies New York, creepy dustbin wagons, Donald Sutherland, a young Jeff Goldblum and the gorgeous Brooke Adams, whom I must confess I'm in love with (she even starred in the Stuff!). It's her fabulous smile! Yep, Invasion is a remarkable flick and the grex effects are just superb, the pod birthing scene being truly grotesque. And the leading man from the Fifties original gets a respectful cameo too! A great film experience and altogether chilling - a metaphor for all prejudices everywhere - who can forget that final finger-pointing shriek by Pod Donald!
Q the Flying Serpent - 1982 - a late Seventies- imbued creature feature, once more set in the frenetic Big Apple and a real monster gem. I love this movie! It stars Michael Moriarty, a true impresario of the schlock genre - he was the lead in the brilliant The Stuff - and a golden oldie from my Kung Fu days, David Carradine. The lead actress is fab too, the name Shelley Winters springs to mind but I don't think that's right. Q the monster itself is a little ropey but I really appreciate the effort and together with the skyline world of NYC it really is an eerie experience. The sub-plot of an ancient race of creatures reminds of that other classic, Wolfen, which I must see again. Wow! Q! Bird is the word! It must be a model kit somewhere.
Saltburn - recent - my Missus mentioned this so we had a dabble. The name intrigued me as it's an east coast sea resort near here, where I once purchased loads of vintage boxed crawling spider toys from a clearance store! As for the flick itself, which has nothing to do with that easy coast resort if the same name, it's relatively new so I won't spoil anything. A sumptuous watch about the idle rich - it's lush set looks were influenced by Coppola's Dracula. If you can stand modern English toffs lounging about Saltburn, their sprawling country pile, waiting for anyone to brighten their hollow lives then this is for you!
What have you watched of late?
LPUFO
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I had to look twice at these on an auction last year.
Larger LP astronauts, they've been painted in the style of UFO spacemen and rather well I reckon.
What do you think?
Have you painted any astronauts?
Monday, 23 February 2026
Hands up Hombre!
Woodsy,
As a follow-up to Arto's 'Laramie' gun set, here I am in one of my childhood costumes in 1959.
Dressing up as Cowboys, Indians, Civil War soldiers, or Army men was really big back in the '50s and although I had several costumes as a kid, this is the only photo I have of me in one of them.
Okay to blog (heck, I certainly don't look like that anymore!!).
Notice the TV dinner tray to the left. Did you have those as a kid?
From Fort Las Vegas
Ed
Spectrum is Blue
Ever since I first saw the Traffic Patrol Spectrum knock-off chopper I've been hooked.
First contact was a black and white picture in Dennis Nicholson's Andersonalia Bible in 1996.
A true blog legend, about 13 years later we got to see it in the colourful flesh when blog friend and Scarlet collector Terry H sent in pics of the real thing in his big collection.
It's a gorgeous thing and could easily be mistaken for a proper Bandai toy.
Do you like it? Do you have one?
Sunday, 22 February 2026
Dig for Victory In the Blue Mountains
Hello Woodsy!
Yet another visit to one of the Antique shops in the Blue Mountains...
This is the Victory Theatre in Blackheath, once a cinema, now a two storey cavalcade of old wares!
Some nice tin toys at "Tell 'em they're dreamin'!" prices!
Vintage die-casts
These Corgis are obvious re issues, but not too outragious.
Happy shopping, Moonbasers!
Big Jim's Board
I've seen Action Man board games but not Big Jim's. This looks Italian or Spanish, SOS Emergenza.
Do any of you know Big Jim?
Saturday, 21 February 2026
Lenticular Fairy Tales Books
Hi,
On a recent visit to a second-hand book sale, I discovered a pair of very unusual children's books from the 1960s. Both have a Lenticular photograph inset in to the cover, and I snapped them up.
These were part of a series of Fairy Tale books published between 1966 and 1968. They are hardbacks, with pages of heavy cardboard.
They are 7 1/3 inches by 10 1/2 inches (185 x 262 mm). The Lenticular picture is glued in to a cut-out in the cover, and is 3 1/2 by just over 5 inches (90 x 130 mm).
The interior illustrations are either black and white line drawings, accompanying the text; or double-page colour photographs, using puppets in miniature settings. Only the front cover illustration is of the Lenticular type.
The books were published by the Golden Press in America, but printed in Japan. The copyright notices are for Froebel-Kan Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan; Printed and bound by Toppan Printing Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan; Pictures copyright 1966 by T. Izawa, S. Hijikata and Shiba Productions.
Early books have Golden Press on the cover, while the later books have A Golden Book instead. My two both have 1966 copyright dates.
Some of the books were printed in more than one edition, and have different cover pictures and illustrations, and different copyright dates. It seems strange that they would re-do the books, rather than simply re-print them, using the original pictures.
There were certainly two editions of The Little Mermaid, and The Emperor's New Clothes, and possibly others. I am not sure if this is a full list of titles, but this is what I have found so far.
At least six titles by Hans Christian Andersen (1805–75) - Thumbelina; The Emperor's New Clothes; The Little Tin Soldier; The Snow Queen; The Wild Swans; and The Little Mermaid.
At least four by Charles Perrault (1628-1703) – Sleeping Beauty; Puss in Boots; Little Red Riding Hood; and Cinderella.
At least two by the Brothers Grimm (Jacob 1785-1863, and Wilhelm 1786-1859) – Snow-White; and Hansel and Gretel.
There was also Goldilocks and the Three Bears, no author credited, just Told by Kathleen Lindquist. This one has Pictures by Rose Art Studio, but it was still printed in Japan.
Rob C has pointed out that the style of the puppets and their settings is very similar to such animated films of the 1960s as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (Videocraft International, 1964) and Mad Monster Party (Rankin/Bass Productions, 1967), which were also made in Japan. They also resemble some of the Fairy Tale sets produced for the Viewmaster stereoscopic viewers.
Shiba Productions was founded by Kihachiro Kawamoto (1925-2010) in Japan, in 1958. The company produced book illustrations using puppets, and stop-motion animated films.
There is a Wikipedia page, but it mostly covers the films, rather than the book illustrations. Looks like a very interesting outfit.
I have not come across these Golden Press books before. The Lenticular pictures on the covers are certainly eye catching.
Have you?
Paul Adams from New Zealand
TIGER JOE TANK TV Ad
Mentioned recently as the basis for some Century 21 studios' prop vehicles in the 1960's.
Did you have a Tiger Joe?
BBC Arts - Out-of-this-world spaceship designs based on everyday objects
These are such cool illustrations!
See what you think.
BBC Arts - BBC Arts - Out-of-this-world spaceship designs based on everyday objects https://share.google/YAlezSw2lYTniiI3N
Friday, 20 February 2026
Arto's Laramie Cowboy Set
Arto over at Helsinki Base picked up a pristine example of this Laramie toy gun and holster boxed set.
By Crescent, (and not Larami!) it's got everything a young cowpoke would need on the range.
Do you think this set is TV related or a generic item?
The pics are from the Tradera site.
Looey's Spitfire in Oz!
Hello there! I've been doing a lot of research using Britmodeller! 1/48 scale is too fiddly for my needs. I did buy a Tamiya 1/48 spitfire for background use, but I haven't assembled it yet.
I'm very familiar with those internal details, although mine are twice the size at 1/24 and still a bit small!
I'm in a bit of a landslide at the moment, with a bunch of half completed models.
My mk99 is almost ready for painting, but I realised I needed a tractor to pull it out of the hanger -oops! I need a Hanger first! I might as well bash out some Nissen huts while I'm at it too!
I'm also making a 1/12 scale nose section with spinning prop, for a scene featuring an oil leak!
I'm quite happy with all the stuff underway, but I'll be happier when it's finally camera ready.
Here are some work in progress pics, but not sure if these are really blogworthy yet!
The 3D printed Spitfire is having panel lines etched in by hand.
The grey tractor is a downloaded David Brown 3D mesh model. The blue bits are pieces I've 3D modelled from scratch, to turn it into an RAF tow tug...
The hangar (pics not in order) is laser cut from 3mm MDF with a bumper 60 pack of A4 corrugated card sheets, shipped from China because they seem to have gone out of fashion in Australian craft stores!
Cheers,
Looey
Oz
Kevin's Scratchbuilt UFO SHADO Mobile
Hi,
Here is my scratchbuild of the Shado mobile from UFO. It uses the wheels and tracks from the Topper Toys, Tiger Joe tank.
Cheers,
Kevin
Here is my scratchbuild of the Shado mobile from UFO. It uses the wheels and tracks from the Topper Toys, Tiger Joe tank.
Cheers,
Kevin
Thursday, 19 February 2026
Four Wheels Good
This is a gorgeous toy by Jyesa, the Vehiculo Espacial.
A classic design, there's a Japanese original too.
Anyone got one?
It's Still Not Safe!
Arto sent me these links. Those Jaws are still open!
This too at Ancient Mariner's:
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water ...
Arto
Helsinki Base
Steak Canadian and the Rockin' Boys
I couldn't believe my eyes down at Farmfoods. There in the frozen food compartment was a pile of Steak Canadian! Those flat wafer-thin steaks that fried in seconds!
Wow! Cor! Did that bring back memories. Back in the mid 1970's I'd invite mates round to listen to rockers like Budgie, Skynyrd and Rush on the music-centre in my Folks' breakfast room. I'd raid the chest freezer in the shed and grab some steak canadian. Then I'd peel spuds, slice 'em up and make fab home-made chips. Topped off with marrowfat peas, it was the real reason my rockin' mates came round! 😃 Sometimes I'd change the menu to include frozen chicken and mushroom pies - with my own gravy. I even knew how to make a roux! I was way better at cooking age 14 than I am now!
I shall once again relive those halcyon days soon and make the steak Canadian special again and crank up the stereo. Alas, the rockin' boys are distant memories now.
Did you, do you like Steak Canadian? 🎸
More Japanese Toy Catalogues
A trio of Japanese toy catalogues I found on the net.
Daishin.
Yonezawa.
Horikawa.
See anything you like?
Wednesday, 18 February 2026
Slime Time
I'm blown away by these Close -Up photographers Award pictures of slime moulds and fungi.
https://share.google/U15RAjzc6jGinJ9UB
The bottom one by Barry Webb looks like an alien eyeball city!
Only nature could pull that off!
What do you think?
Waffling
Not having had enough yesterday on Pancake Day our Moonbase grandkids made waffles this morning, with a little help from us.
It's waffle Wednesday!
Do you like waffles?
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Tuesday, 17 February 2026
Polistil Personalities
I love these die-casts. I came across them ages ago and the pics languished in my archive.
Alas I don't know that the characters really -are they TV personalities (I know the Smurfs).
The make is Polistil.
Do you know them?
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Paul Vreede's New Spacex Toys Website
A beautiful and comprehensive site dedicated to the world of Tri-ang SpaceX and Golden Astronaut Toys
Ed Berg's Toy Blog: Toys and Stuff
