Space Firebird Anyone?

Whilst browsing for a VHS I came across this old Anime I guess. Space Firebird. The name has a sort of Gerry Anderson ring to it b

Does anyone know this film or series?

SUITS YOU SIR!

I love this hoverplane. What a design, it can only be Japanese!

My photo note says Mobile Suit Gundam from 1979.

I wish I'd been into Japanese Manga and toys back then age 18 but I wasn't.

Were you?

ULYSSES'S SAUCER

 

This old tin and plastic saucer toy looks fun. There could be something missing on the top. Seen on Todocollecion it was described as Ulysses 31, which has been mentioned before on MC but a show I never saw. Did you like it readers, the show?

TWO FINS COOL

 I came across this the other day. I assume its Super Jetter, the Japanese anime. Does anyone know for sure?

The two finned vehicle immediately reminded me of the old blog legend, the wondrous Telsalda Rocket Firing Space Car.

I just love those rear fins! What a toy! Anyone got one?

What do you think? Connected?

Thunderbird 1 Lives!

Heyas Woodsy, 

We all know of Japan's love for Thundbirds. We've seen tributes, reuse of the models in other shows. The latter is what kindled a start of an idea.

In October of 1972, Warrior of Love Rainbow Man debuted on Japanese TV. It ran until September 1973, giving us 52 episodes about Yamato Takeshi who was a former college wrestling champ with the "Jiyotoko" College Wrestling Club. He also fought in underground fight clubs under the name of "Shitamachi No Kuro Hyo" (The Black Panther of the Underground". More info than you probably would ever want can be found at 

https://web.archive.org/web/20050428064032/http://www.japanhero.com/profiles/rainbowman.htm

Of course any superhero show has to have bad guys for the hero to triumph over. The ones in Rainbow Man are the Die Die Gang. Besides using elite mercenaries, cyborgs, wizards and supernatural monsters, they used "jet fighters". Their planes are actually models of TB=1 with some pieces left off and other pieces put on, giving it a different scale which helped disguise the source. 

There are lots of good angles of them in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kby4i2lEpi8

Cheers!

Lance

USA

A K I R A

LP TETSUJIN DIVER TOY

Back in 2009 Ferryman posted pics of his fabulous LP collection including this wonderful 'ASTRONAUT' with the Moonbus-like MOON EXPLORER pictured on the box. 

Whilst mooching through my Ebay picture archives I came across what appears to be the same figure - this time silver, Japanese and described as a Diver made by (?) or named Tetsujin. 

The nautical Diver backing card really doesn't fit the figure to my mind. You?

Does anybody know more about this robot-like character?

ULYSSES 31 ANYONE?

I saw these old plastic watches on the Spanish Todocollecion.

My lack of Anime knowledge lets me down once again as I know nothing about what I assume is Ulysses 31.

Was it a popular TV show and did you get any merchandise or toys like this?

Captain Future's Toy Cupboard

Brother Midnight's suggestion about mystery header card art lead me to go looking for other possible Captain Future toys.

There are absolutely tons of them online and examples fro allover the world. It must have a been a global  hit when it was on TV in the late 70's!

Here's a Japanese space pistol with brilliant graphics on the back.

Here's Capitan Futuro figure from Mexico maybe?

and here's a French Capitaine Flam figure of Johann.

I'm still not sure it's Captain Future art on the header card I posted yesterday but Captain Future has certainly spawned a whole toy chest of fab stuff over the years.

Have you seen Captain Future or got any collectables?

AKIRA: TETSUO MONSTER PRODUCTION DRAWING

About 15 years ago I acquired a whole genuine envelope full of Studio production drawings from the film Akira released in 1988.

I bought them at the NEC memorabilia event for my old toy stall at toy fairs and my Ebay shop at the time.

They were quite beautiful things, each one initialed by the artist or studio and you could see the animation process clearly as each drawing was a tiny movement on from the last.

Over the years I've sold on these drawings to collectors and I have just one left for posterity.

This one.

At first it appears to be basically a green object inside white clouds.

Having had a handful of the other drawings in this sequence its actually a pipe coil emerging from a foaming sea.

Its most likely the scene in Akira where Tetsuo becomes a huge mechanical globe with pipe-like tentacles churning up the waters in Tokyo Bay.

In the scene Tetsuo battles the Espers and my last drawing is probably this particular scene I've taken as a screengrab.

You can see the entire scene in this short clip on You Tube and the above still is around 1 minute 52 seconds in.

Have you any Akira merchandise or collectables?

Have you seen the film? Do you think it was important?

Mystery Animated Spanish Space Cartoon: SOLVED! Its Il était une fois… l'Espace

I've been seeing this Spanish toy pistol for years on Todocollecion.

What I don't know is the meaning of the artwork.

It looks like a TV show but what?

Well this week I may have found a clue.

I stumbled across this still from what again appears to be the same and even more like an animated TV show.

Beneath the still on this Italian site was a phrase which maybe the name of the show:

Siamo Fatti Così

Does anyone recognise this?

*
POSTSCRIPT!

Eagle-eyed reader Kevin D has cracked it!

Its the BODY SENTINELS cartoon!

Its on You Tube too. Here's an episode.


But why use an educational cartoon for the card art of a toy space pistol in Spain?

Was it simply lifted or was the show popular in continental Europe?

PS. This explains it further! The series appears to have been initially French!

http://www.hellomaestro.fr/once-upon-a-time-life.html


POSTSCRIPT 2:

Kev's cracking of this particular case has lead to dig deeper.

OK, the original French-Japanese cartoon series was called IL ETAIT UNE FOIS ... L'ESPACE or Once Upon a Time in Space and aired in 1982.

In Spain it was called ERASE UNA VEZ .... EL ESPACIO meaning the same and this is what appears on the toy pistol's backing card. It was a TV-related toy after all!

You can read much more about the show in all its forms here on Wiki.

Many more toys and figures were released and here's just one example die-cast by Popy, the spaceship Libellule.

This has been a real education for me as I've never heard of this TV cartoon.

Is it something you saw or collect?