SPACE 2

 

This cool space car turns up a lot on auction and this beauty was one I saved the image of earlier in the summer.

Space 2 is not a version I've seen often but its basic white livery with orange trim looks really great.

Blue Box, Ahi, Blakes 7 - there are many versions. Have you got one?

LINCOLN'S SPARK

 

This space plane design surfaced allover the place back in the day. Most well-known is the Blue Box version and it also emerged as a Blakes 7 space toy seen on MC before.

One of my favourite variations is this Lincoln International rendition. The rear fins are longer and the whole look is sleeker.

The sparking Space Patrol.

Have you got one?

INTO THE BLUE

This little wheeled rocket has legs.

It just keeps on going as a design.

Seen many times on Moonbase its likely origin is in the Blue Box space vehicles series.

This particular rocket is labelled Columbia and NASA and appeared on the Spanish auction site Todocollecion. Its missing its fins.

Here's an early appearance of the range on MC from 15 years ago!

Have you got anything like this?

https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2009/11/blue-box-red-box-and-apollo-moon.html?m=1

Saucery

We've seen this saucer before in different forms. 

This is a wind-up Sace Shuttle. The auction said it was Dump n Go! Ha ha!

I love the look of the white spaceship on the box rear. The big orange antenna is unusual. The basic design of this crops up as a small toy in Apollo Moon Exploring toy sets and we have seen the larger ones like this by Blue Box and even one for Blake's 7.

Is it a range you know?

SPACE DUMP

We've seen many of these space toys on Moonbase over the years.

These are a new variation with radars and are wind-up too.

They also have DUMP 'N' GO action! ha ha

ED'S INVADERS

Years ago I had latched on to a carded green Zee Toys 'Mysterious Invaders' version of Kevin's same spaceship. 

before that I already had the Blue Box version uncarded.

And then of course there were the smaller HG Toys and Apollo Moon Exploring versions.

Have you got anything like this?

Cheers

Ed

Las Vegas

USA

MICHELIN DE JUYBA SPACE PLANES

Here's a fine display car of space planes by Michelin De Juyba of Spain. We've seen them before as part of the Blue Box range of space toys, among others. Do you like them? Do you have one?

WINEX AND BLUE BOX TOYS

 

We may have had this Winex saucer on MC before but it's such a great looking toy that it's back!

The vehicles featured on the box header will be mostly known to all of us as Blue Box space vehicles.

I've never seen this Winex issued saucer as a Blue Box boxed or carded toy. Have you readers?

KNOCKOFFS, SCUM AND VILLAINY

I've been trying to sniff out of any connections between toys of the Sixties and Star Wars.

Lacking sufficient Force this time of the morning my brain is struggling to get past the scum and villainy of my dreams.

Short of tearing this moonbase apart to find the plans, the only thing I can think of is an old link I found in the first months of the blog in 2008 to a website called Secret Fun Spot.

The site had a fun section about Star Wars knockoffs.

Alas the site appears now to be defunct but I did archive a particular image:

Along with obvious C3PO clones made of metal there is a neat set of our friends the Blue Box space vehicles.

Interestingly the Space Car at the bottom of the picture is white. Back in 2008 I'd never seen a white one before and now in 2017 I'm not sure I have yet.

Have you readers?

Why they are Star Wars knockoffs I'm not sure unless the website was only interested in the C3PO bit. Yep, that could be it. What are those toys numbered 18?

What's your fave Star Wars toy, knockoff or collectable?

WILL OSBORNE'S ROCKET BASE USA SHOP DISPLAY

This is my Topper Rocket Base USA shop display with the Blue Box small version in front. I'll send a picture of the actual toy. All the best. Will O.

SPANISH BLUE BOX SPACE JET

Checking Spain's Todocollecion site I was amazed to see our old Blue Box space jet chums moonlighting on a display card issued by Jeysu?

Do you like them?

Sadly the company didn't release the rest of Blue Box's spaceships and plumped for these small chubby planes and open top roadsters.

BLUE BOX SPACE 2

I think this is my favourite version of this space glider, the white Blue Box Space 2.

Do you have a fave version?

McCall's Men

Continuing the astronaut toy theme the 2001 Madelman reminded me of a astronaut previosly blogged, Operation Astronaut from Darth's collection as pictured here from the front and rear. 

What really interests me in both astronaut boxes featured is the use of Robert McCall's art. Operation Astronaut includes a collage of no less than parts of two McCall images pictured below: the astronaut to the left and the small Nuclear Ferry at depth.

LIFE

Look and Learn

You'll remember that two other pieces of McCall's work were also used for the box art of two SWORD toys: the Nuclear Ferry and the Cape Kennedy Set. 

It makes sense that his art would be replicated this way as the late Robert McCall was the foremost space artist of his generation and his works featured prominently during the mid-Sixties in US icon LIFE magazine and UK children's journal Look and Learn.

blue box secret missiles base and other space toys from the athos collection

These super pictures were sent in by reader Athos Chrysafis.

Anyone got any of these Blue Box toys?
[not sure what make the bagatelle is]

Athos is keen to part with them.

*

Here's a similar loose base station by Imperial Toys from their 1979 Apollo Moon Exploring carded range. Picture from auction site.

Their are actually a lot of differences with the Blue Box missile base pictured top.

and I thought it might be like this by Delamare but nope, wrong again! [pic: Alphadrome]

Following Hugh's suggestion I checked Deluxe Reading's rocket base. There's a nice run down of the figures over on the neat Little Warriors blog

http://littlewarriors-indy.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/rocket-base-usa-pt-2.html

and this cool shot of the base station with missiles [ pic: Little Warriors ]

By Jove, Hugh's got it!

Here's the Blue Box version again

*

I Blogged this whilst rock-weeping to the romantic brilliance of Budgie's Young is a World, one of my favourite rock tracks ever. I've been listening to it since 1972! Haling from Wales, Budgie were the best heavy rock trio in the world!

kn space tank spotted

I saw this on Vectis Auctions' site last year.

You don't often see the Space Tank centre right. Its by KN Toys of Hong Kong, part of their Mini Space series. 

The well-known flying saucer next to it often featured in the Blue Box space range.

Didn't they release this far less common space tank as well?

Anyone know the story behind this space tank?

i recognised your foul stench when i was brought on board

I've been trying to sniff out of any connections between toys of the Sixties and Star Wars.

Lacking sufficient Force this time of the morning my Thursday brain is struggling to get past the scum and villainy of my dreams.

Short of tearing this moonbase apart to find the plans, the only thing I can think of is an old link I found in the first months of the blog in 2008 to a website called Secret Fun Spot.

The site had a fun section about Star Wars knockoffs.

Alas the site appears now to be defunct but I did archive a particular image:

Along with obvious C3PO clones made of metal there is a neat set of our friends the Blue Box space vehicles.

Interestingly the Space Car at the bottom of the picture is white. Back in 2008 I'd never seen a white one before and now in 2017 I'm not sure I have yet.

Have you readers?

Why they are Star Wars knockoffs I'm not sure unless the website was only interested in the C3PO bit. Yep, that could be it.

What's your fave Star Wars toy or collectable?

blue box space jumper: is it just an ugly space toy?

I just don't know. This maybe very ugly as space toys go.

But the design does have traction.

I've never seen it in action but I assume it jumps like a grasshopper.

I've seen something similar - at least walking - in old NASA experiments as covered in various Sixties publications like LIFE. There's even footage on YouTube of an early walking test in 1961.

(Sorry, can't find the footage at the mo)

So what do you think readers? Ugly? Authentic? What?

payva and blue box space vehicles by paul v

Morning Woodsy,

RE: Recent Payva Post

Attached is the cardboard rider to a baggie that contained the Blue Box cruiser. You'll see that the three Payva toys shown in your blog piece are derived from these toys.

Since Blue Box appears to've made these toys over a longer period in time (also sold in boxes iirc), it might be they were the original manufacturers. Can't immediately recall another brand that did all four of these toys, but would be happy if another reader would know.

As you state in your blog piece, the cruiser was a popular design with all kinds of copycats. Including LP who made the familiar smaller copy in red, which then turns up in their own packs and many other brands' packs including Imperial's Apollo Moon Exploring series.

Hope that helps

--

Paul Vreede

*

Woodsy recommends: Paul V's own fabulous SpaceX website recently launched including an excellent LP space cruiser toys section here

serie espacial by payva: spain's apollo moon exploring glider and co.

These plastic space toys are from the Serie Espacial by Payva of Spain.

They aren't that big as you can see from the Euro next to this one.

The four vehicle series comprised of: 1. flying saucer, 2. space glider, 3. space jet and 4. rocket [my names] and were numbered as such rather than being named on the boxes. The number was ink stamped on the white panel on the box end as shown below with the number 2.

Toys 3 and 4 are not pictured here.

The red space glider above links this series to Apollo Moon Exploring by Imperial Toys as its the same, although the Spanish version is larger I think [I don't have the Payva toys].

Colour variations may exist of the Payva range. As we have featured many times, several toy outfits released this series in their own name, such as Blue Box, C21st Century and Ahi. They all had different packaging and the decals were specific to the brand I think [this needs checking].

The red glider above was released in different sizes and forms on its own by many toy companies such as HG, Imperial and as a Blakes 7 spacecraft.

Do you have any of these toys readers?

VINTAGE TOYS AT TODAY'S CAR BOOT SALE

Today's mega boot sale in Fitzwilliam was extra ginormous and positively Californian. It was so damn hot, at 28 degrees, almost too hot to bother with the boot sale! Getting in and out was a nightmare too!

I picked up a couple of old Star Wars mini - vehicles but walked past loads of stuff as usual as I find it difficult opening my wallet these days saving for retirement!

Walk pasts included these loose nuggets:

1. Cherilea Action Man green armoured car [huge!]

2. Strike Force Action Man green Truck with tarp, beige Jeep with Trailer and beige Armoured Car

3. Hundreds of Dinky and Matchbox cars

4. Two dozen loose MPC astronauts

5. Various types of plastic Thunderbird 4 inc. the modern movie version

6. Merit Metal Puzzles set

7. Robo Force Motorbike

8. Joe 90 VHS Video

9. Blakes 7 VHS Video

10. A stack of SHOOT comics from 1971

Would you have gone for any of these readers?

The most interesting walk past was a Blue Box Laser Wars set, a toy wholly new to me. It looked quite interesting and space-age'ish: like Manta Force/ M.A.S.K. The box was a bit battered. The vendor said it was 1974 [?] and priced at £35. 

Below is a picture off Ebay of the same set in a much better box. Anyone know Laser Wars?