tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156181044707591026.post3484098078793041785..comments2024-03-28T16:33:47.864+00:00Comments on MOONBASE CENTRAL: THE SCALE OF THE PROJECT SWORD MOON BASE SETWOODSYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13456645970983569001noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156181044707591026.post-55325783195947320392015-10-04T19:01:52.412+01:002015-10-04T19:01:52.412+01:00Whats for certain is that the toys in the drawing ...Whats for certain is that the toys in the drawing aren't the normal SWORD toys. It would have been HUGE otherwise! This in itself makes it unusual in the SWORD toy range and like you say Arto pushes the the set more towards SpaceX. I have tried many times to find small toys similar to the ones in the drawing. The LEM is the easiest as many companies produced one - AHI, Clifford, Tri-ang themselves. Thene there are tiny LEMs like the Blue Shield toy. The vehicles are harder and the only brand with them in, two of them at least, is the Hover range, which included a rover and a scramble bug. I did a bloglet on them in 2012 <br /><br />http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/hover-craft.html<br /><br />I see what you mean about the Imai die-cast bug Bill. Never considered that one. <br /><br />The other miniature is the Moon Prospector. Where might C21 have gotten one of those?<br /><br />As for the rest of the biudings, I've never seen anything like them. the closest are those in Marx play sets.WOODSYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13456645970983569001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156181044707591026.post-65264126261594285112015-10-04T18:41:34.024+01:002015-10-04T18:41:34.024+01:00Whatever the scale, it would have put the MB set a...Whatever the scale, it would have put the MB set apart from all the rest of the SWORD fleet, closer to range of SpaceX and GA. Was that the reason for (assumed) discarding of the planned release? If released, would it have been a Phase 2 model, along with the Nuclear Ferry?Artonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156181044707591026.post-1918078200023106242015-10-04T10:06:54.279+01:002015-10-04T10:06:54.279+01:00The manual illustration could be based on a work i...The manual illustration could be based on a work in progress design, a lot of the drawings seem to be based on the prototype models featured in Solo. The control box is obviously much too complex looking for such simple actions as controlling a light bulb and a pair of motors, so that may be a stock illustration. The Lunar Module has a pop up action which is very similar to other LEM toys of the period too:<br /><br />http://www.woolworthsmuseum.co.uk/Toys-RaceForSpace.html<br /><br />Its also possible that the Eidai Grip Scramble Bug toy could have been based on a design intended for the Moonbase, at around 3" long, that could make the entire base itself a manageable 2' square base, with Golden Astronaut size figures. The baseplate is very reminiscent of the Spacex vac form moonscape, which also appeared in the Johnny Astro sets, at a slightly bigger scale.WOTANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09284353991724011392noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156181044707591026.post-78035333675718607802015-10-04T09:45:36.783+01:002015-10-04T09:45:36.783+01:00It is the Moon Base mystery Arto. We know more abo...It is the Moon Base mystery Arto. We know more about Mars than we do about this! To be honest, the whole Moon Base set drawn in the Manual doesn't look like a toy, it looks more like a model layout you would see in a display. I can't think of another toy with a control box like that can you? Maybe the equally fabled Imai Moon Base Set model kit described in Dennis Nicholson's book would throw some light on it if one ever surfaced. As to the chronology with SpaceX, whether the Golden Astronaut figures were actually around between 1967-1969 when SWORD toys were available is a good question. Perhaps Century 21 had early access to them or to LP spacemen and vehicles?WOODSYhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13456645970983569001noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2156181044707591026.post-3166448467904042622015-10-03T18:37:45.319+01:002015-10-03T18:37:45.319+01:00So many questions there - Are those really battery...So many questions there - Are those really battery boxes underneath the Base modules? Would not batteries be inside the control box instead? What kind of functions was the control box for? What is the size of the lunar base plate and was it produced separately? What about the small vehicles, would they have used the SpaceX tooling (if that fits choronologically)? Mysteries abound!Artonoreply@blogger.com