The Making of the Dan Dare Pilot of the Future Pop-Up Book 1953

Woodsy,

Even though the Dan Dare - Pilot of the Future Pop-Up Book from 1953 has been well covered on the Blog before, this piece of information the seller of my example forwarded to me might be of interest. 

Here's a slightly edited version of his written account from 2021 about a close relative who worked on the book:

"Roy Jones Blatchford was a photo lithographer at Purnell's the printers in Paulton, Somerset. He started work at Purnell's in 1948 aged 20 as an apprentice photo lithographer and worked his way up to becoming a chief lithographer. He designed the illustrations for printing and the pop-up designs. My understanding is he worked out how the cardboard would need to be printed, then folded and cut and helped the printers set up the print run. This was a very rare skill as it meant he had to think in 3 dimensions, but arrange printing and cutting in 2 dimensions.

When the printers did a new print run, a copy of the books printed were kept back and safely stored as examples. When Mr. Blatchford was made redundant, he saved the books from disposal as the print works soon closed down. His favourite work was to design the layout of pop-up books."

Photos accompanied here with another Dan Dare book with the same provenance, Dan Dare's Space Annual 1963.

Arto

Helsinki Base

Arto's Cherilea Monsters

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

Arto's Triang Interplanetary Research Unit

Digging into Helsinki Base(ment), I took this photo of my Tri-ang Minic Interplanetary Research Unit Presentation Set. The box set is quite impressive, measuring 48 x 36 x 4 cm.

Hope you like it.

Arto

Helsinki Base

Arto's Wittrock X-300 Mystery

In the case of Wittrock (and the X-300) there has been a development.

Re. the eBay auction of 2012,  I found my old photo files. Unfortunately, I had saved the whole internet page, which is why the photos were reduced to tiny 2 kb micro thumbnails. Except for those box ends, which I had saved separately!

What's more, Alphadrome has stored a photo of that boxed X-300 that was auctioned.

Which enabled me to compile these six photos, the first three featuring the Telex Wittrock box version which was auctioned in 2012, and the last three the Finnish Telex version.

As you may see, the Wittrock box ends state the toy as "Rumskib X-300" in Danish, with item number 123. The visible text on the side panel, "Rymdraket", is in Swedish. And there should be an additional Finnish name "Avaruusraketti" on the other side of the box, since the Space Cruiser itself is marked Telex on the underside (visible when enlarged). So the box says "Space Rocket" in three different Scandinavian languages!

The question remains how that three-language Wittrock box came to exist, and for which market it was aimed?

 Furthermore, it is still unclear whether Wittrock issued the "Rumskib X-300" for the Danish market with an all-Dane box.

For comparison, the same three photos of the standard Telex box version, with Finnish and Swedish box ends.

Arto

Helsinki Base

Wittrock

Telex

Arto's Other X-300: The Pyro Box Set

Dusting off my Pyro 4 Space Ships set of the future, I ook this photo for your delectation.

Anyone else got any of these?

Arto

Helsinki Base

Arto's Wait of 15 years is Over: The Telex X-300!

I've finally obtained a complete example of the X-300 Space Cruiser made in 1955 by the Finnish plastics manufacturer Telex!

Finding a complete one has been my quiet obsession for the last 15 years, and now that it is finally here I took a X-300 family photo! 

Enjoy!

From left: Pyro (US), Telex (FIN) with box, Kleeware (UK).

Have you an X-300?

Arto

Helsinki Base

HIAB space poster by E. Semitjov

Hello

This is a photo of a space poster my brother had spotted in a local antique store and bought for me.

A promotional poster for a Swedish company HIAB (Hydrauliska Industri AB), a provider of heavy duty machinery.

It features a moonbase illustrated by a Swedish journalist and space artist Eugen Semitjov (1923-1987)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugen_Semitjov

Made for the Finnish market in the early Eighties, the text reads "HIAB Is Number One". The poster measures 70 x 50 cm.

Looking closer at HIAB history, it is today part of the Finnish Cargotec Company through numerous company merges.

And looking closer at the poster itself, the artwork might well be made to order by HIAB, as the logo is seen also on the crane in the illustration (if not just added to a pre-existing picture).

Please feel free to blog.

Arto

Helsinki Base

An ICBM under the Floor!

Hello,

Attached a couple of photos of an empty box for an Atlas space rocket, which I bagged from a Finnish auction site Tori.fi. 

After purchase the seller told me that it was found under the floor of they house during renovation. And the house was originally built in 1951!

According to internet hits it seems to be quite scarce. Shame that the rocket has not survived, but the box has great graphics for display.

Is this something you have seen before?

Arto

Helsinki Base

The Zython Figure in Mattel's 1977 German Catalogue

Cor! Here's Arto's original Mattel Zython figure, as it first appeared on the Catacombs website, stood in front of two fabulous Star Maidens dolls.

Here's the image link.

https://catacombs.space1999.net/main/merc/toys/ivmtmattelzythonfinland.jpg

and Arto's recent happy development and very lucky for the blog  -  after years and years of being stashed away, he managed to locate his rare Mattel 1977 German Spielzeug dealer catalogue, showing Mattel's Space 1999 action figures including the elusive Zython.

Enjoy these special photos.

[two above images: courtesy of Arto H.]

AURORA, MEGO AND CO: ARTO'S FANTASTIC JUTHBACKA FINDS

Arto has been kind enough to share pictures of his recent and amazing haul of vintage goodies at the Juthbacka vintage fair on the western coast of Finland.  The Juthbacka fair attracts sellers from Sweden too. 

A super post to end the summer, Feast your eyes!

*

Aurora long box monster kits and Mego monsters, Super Heroes, Star Trek/ Space 1999

Assorted Super Heroes: Batcopter, Secret Wars, Super Powers and an Italian Diabolik figure, a candy box top!

Micronauts, Choc Rockets and Car [I have cropped this image and removed an amazing item that, with Arto's permission, will feature on the blog's anniversary  - our 16th bloggiversary - on September 15th. Watch this space!]

FOR ARTO IT STARTED IN EDINBURGH – WITH A SCREWDRIVER!

Soon after my toy collecting began in 2002 and whilst browsing the internet wonderland, I stumbled upon a Project S.W.O.R.D. Checklist compiled by one Paul Woods. 

I was instantly smitten with the colourful fleet of concept space vehicles, and with the fervent enthusiasm and good humour evident in the toy depictions by the checklist’s author.

July 12th, 2003. Edinburgh, Scotland. On the previous day at the Hamilton Toy Museum in Callander, we were given a tip about a toy shop worth visiting in Edinburgh. It was called Now and Then, at 7-9 West Crosscauseway. On the street we were greeted by a simple a-frame sign with a word “TOYS” written on it. Very promising!

The shop itself was a set of adjacent rooms connected by narrow passages, brimming with all sorts of antiques, including the best collection of old toys we had seen so far. Although most items were placed in display cabinets, there was an air of sweet disarray which added to the magic of the place.

The shopkeeper Alan and his girlfriend Hetty were very friendly, helpful and infinitely patient with my endless questions about toys related to Century 21 and Gerry Anderson’s output. I was such a newbie! As our discussion turned to Project Sword, my friend remembered catching a glimpse of a red arrow-like toy plane in the shop window.

There it was, the Re-Entry Task Force 1 in all its sleekness! My first-ever Project Sword toy contact was true! Alan was not aware that the plane with simple “T1” decals was part of the Sword toy line, so I was happy to reciprocate at least that bit of information.

But there was a downside to this discovery. TF1 was missing its rear exhaust. Huge disappointment! Suddenly, Hetty remembered that there should be another example of the same toy somewhere. Having located it, we were able to see that its nose was broken off – but the black rear exhaust was there.

Solution? Alan handed me a small screwdriver, with which I moved the exhaust of the broken example to the incomplete but otherwise fine TF1. My first-ever Project Sword toy, mended by myself! I was overjoyed, paying £50 for it plus three chosen C21 annuals. Hetty gave me a green Clarks shoebox where this prized possession travelled safe for the rest of our journey. (Still have the box too.)

From there on, I would continue to augment my Project Sword collection through eBay purchases. It would take six more years until I made another significant contact, with one Paul Woods, our Woodsy, through the Moonbase Central Blog he had just started in 2008. The rest is (personal) history!

Arto

Helsinki Base

'Project SWORD' Excerpt from my travel diary   

ARTO'S AWESOME ACQUISITIONS

Woodsy

Sending you these piccies of my recent antico mondo acquisitions.

First up is the X-50 Space Racer, a rare carded version. The blister is in tatters and the racer is missing its nose spike.



Space Capsule & Flying Saucer set on the other hand is in pretty neat condition. I think the combination here is better than the sum of its parts.

In addition, a couple of HK bin toys I came across on the Cleaning Day last Saturday.

I just love this pair of small Power Squadron speed boats, both the colours and the flower stickers. Anything with a flower on it, and I am sold!

Topo Gigio Circus presents Topo the trapeze artist. These kind of HK toys are quite common, but not too many have survived bagged.

What do you think?

Arto

Helsinki Base

See-Through Jumbo

Sorting out my load of Jokimaa car boot sale finds, I wanted to share with you this most interesting discovery and a bit of HK toy salvage - A 747 See-Thru Jumbo Jet!

Made by a Hong Kong manufacturer SN with item number 308 C, the Jumbo Jet has folding wings to fit it into the window box with an illustrated airspace insert.

The see-thru section of the two-floor cabin shows both passenger seating and upper lounge area.

This particular example seems to have been a salesman's sample, judging from the partially removed sticker on the box header.

I just love the idea of see-through / cross-section toys. Puts me instantly in a Nuclear Ferry mode!  Enjoy!

Arto

Helsinki Base

Satellite of Love

Some things a worth the wait.

Even a long one.

This one took me more than a decade!

The Satellite money box was made by a Finnish money box manufacturer MK-tuote in the early 1960's and was probably one of their first designs. 

Even though there are at least five colour variants and an illustrated box it came in, they very rarely come up for sale. 

Complete examples are even more hard to find as the soft plastic antennas are detachable and there is a separate clear plastic display stand too. 

The orb measures 9 cm in diameter.

Hope you like it.

Arto

Helsinki Base

Lorem Ipsum! The Latin Doll's Box Mystery

I thought you might find this case interesting. 

On our way back to north, we stopped at an inaugural Vääksy Antique Fair. A popular event from the start, as you may witness from the photo attached.

At the fair, I came across this British Airways Air Stewardess doll made by Rexard Dolls in the late Seventies - early Eighties.

What caught my eye was a couple of text passages in Latin on the backside of the box, starting with "Lorem ipsum dolor sit nonnomy..." and followed by "ullamcorpor suscipit lab..." on the lower part of the box.

Is British Airways trying to promote Latin as a high-altitude lingua franca? How odd and exciting!

Unfortunately, the answer is quite mundane - and therefore twice as exciting!

Lorem ipsum is a long textual passage of corrupted Latin, a kind of gibberish used by graphic designers as a placeholder for texts to be added later on. In other words, lorem ipsum passages should never end up in final products, as they are only indicating the place where the proper text should be added.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorem_ipsum

Ergo, the box embodies a significant lapse in quality control - a veritable lapsus linguae one could say!

Do you recall a similar case readers?

 Quite unique I would think. I find these kinds of unintentional lapses or errors most interesting - and collectable too!

This last picture is from eBay showing a later, corrected edition of the box back.

Arto

Helsinki Base

ARTO'S UPDATED T IN A CIRCLE/ TAI HING TOYS CHECKLIST

Here's the updated Tai Hing Checklist. 

If any corrections / additions come to mind, please let me know. I have tried to stick to confirmed sightings of names and markings on the toys & boxes.

Arto

Helsinki Base

FUN IN FINLAND

Arto's fabulous collecting never ceases to amaze me. Finland really is the centre of the vintage universe. Its quite incredible what turns up in the far North.

Some of Arto's recent finds include a rare Finnish Flintstones cornflakes teepee and the blog legend that is the 'Space Boat' [Ebay]. This is only the second one Arto or I have ever seen. This second example is yellow rather than the white we saw decades ago.

Arto also recently visited Vintageland, a huge Spring fair at Aino Arena, where all sorts of goodies were on offer. Here are two of Arto's snaps and also the venue's own promo [Petri Matero].

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ve2w6sw_cM

What do you think readers?

Are you going to a collectables, vintage or toy fair this year?

ARTO'S ATOMICS

To celebrate my first two original darts for the Tudor Rose Atomic Ray Pistol, I took this group shot of my arsenal by far. The green one and the black ones are 1950's Finnish clones by Deborex.

Enjoy!

Arto

Helsinki Base