BUCK ROGERS' RING OF SATURN

Ever since I got my copy of the book Comics Collectables and Their Values in the early 1990's I've adored vintage American comic hero rings.

I've been especially in love with the 1946 Buck Rogers Ring of Saturn.

Interestingly, there were three different heroes using this ring with different stone hues as merchandise, the other two being the Shadow and Jack Armstrong.

You can read about them on the Hakes auction site

https://hakes.com/Auction/ItemDetail/225793/JACK-ARMSTRONG-THE-SHADOW-BUCK-ROGERS-GLOW-IN-THE-DARK-PREMIUM-RING-TRIO-WITH-MAILER-BOX-PAPER

Costing a Cosmic Ransom online nowadays and basically practising making rings I began to mess around with some of my late Father in Law's plumbing parts.

And voila! Before I knew it I had my own Saturn rings, gas rings and rocket rings! Well, sort of. See what you think.

I think my personal favourite is this simple blue and red plastic ring.

Have you any super hero or cereal rings?

STRIKE A POSE BUCK!

 Ed's Archeresque parachutist reminded me of how much I like those old Buck Rogers book cover illustrations with similarly strange and endearing poses as those Archer figures.

My favourite Buck pose is this.

Arms and one knee bent, head looking down in a gas-powered ascent.

At once unreal yet oddly hypnotic, I wonder where this kind of art came from?

Another, even more awkward posture is this, as Buck grabs the top of a tree. It just looks so odd.

Archer Ajax figures are posed in similar ways, which is hard to describe. Is it Art Deco?

Here's Aqua I saw on Ebay.

Just what are these poses readers?

LEGS IN THE 25TH CENTURY

 

The flying leg positions of vintage Buck Rogers art have always intrigued me.

They always appear to be unusual and almost unnatural.

Is this artistic licence or a sign of the times they were created in?

Buck Rogers Screen Debut

Hi

Here is a short Buck Rogers film from the 1930s, with Buck in a space battle with the Tiger Men of Mars. The budget was clearly rather limited, so do not expect too much. 

Given the attire of Wilma Deering, I wonder if fashion designer Mary Quant was a science fiction fan ? At one point Dr Huer urges Buck to 'get above' Killer Kane's ship - how do you get above someone in space ? This was apparently the very first screen appearance of Buck Rogers.

(2) First Buck Rogers Film - YouTube

The background to this short is given on a site called Cafe Roxy. Seems it was made for the 1934 Chicago World's Fair - even though the copyright date on the film is 1935. It did not play in movie theatres, but may have been later used in department stores to help sell Buck Rogers toys.

Café Roxy (caferoxy.blogspot.com)

Paul Adams from New Zealand

FOUR THOMAS SPACEMEN

 I saw these on Etsy or Ebay earlier in the year and thought I'd save the pics because these spacemen are new to me.

Described as Thomas Spacemen I really don't think I've seen them before. They look intriguing too.

This first one is like a gunslinger with cowboy style trousers.

This one has a sort of duck face, almost Tusken Raider. The weapon looks like a Third Reich stick grenade!

This third one is more classically Buck Rogers-ish or Flash Gordon.

This final one has a lovely blue sheen and looks female, with a hint of Metropolis's Maria maybe.

Anyone know anything about Thomas spacemen?

BUCK ROGERS: 25TH CENTURY COLLECTABLES

Hi Woodsy,

You are doing a good job entertaining us all at this strange time.

In case it is of use, here are a few things I culled from the internet, over time, on Buck Rogers.

Most of us probably remember Buck form the rather campy 1970s TV series, but he started in the 1920s, and I believe as a cartoon character he predated Flash Gordon. There is an excellent website based on the collection of the late Roland Anderson, which includes some of the early adventures:

I have included a compilation of what were aptly described as "nifty space ships" from this site. Buck Rogers Comic Strips

Perhaps this was the first large-scale merchandising for a space character. 

There were toys, board games (including a compendium of three, with lovely art) and comic books, as well as a cut-out puppet theatre, with two great backdrops- on the one of the city included here I have superimposed one of the cut-out figures. 

Alas, all out of my price range!

All the best,

Andy B.

UK

Tim-mee Galaxy Warrior vs Buck Rogers Tigerman

Similar pose. Different figures.

Brian F

NJ

USA

Have you any Tim Mee toys?

BUCK ROGERS' RADIO CASTS AND THE FUTURE OF TOYS

Hello, 

Here are pictures of metal recasts from 1930's moulds. The moulds were sold for home casting which was popular back then. BUCK ROGERS OF THE 25TH CENTURY 

They are 2-3" high and being sold on eBay.

The US home castings are always large items, even the 54mm stuff is chunky and basic whereas UK casting sets were almost as fine and detailed as Britain's. The US one's seem to be mostly in scale with large electric train sets. 

Interesting that on your last radio broadcast you discussed toys. Will modern kids play with toys or just electronics? 

Well my 34 year old daughter firmly has the tactile need to hold and read a book. She is not sold on electronic books other than the convenience of when traveling being able to have a library on an i-pad. Even then she will buy and discard a trail of paperbacks. 

We will continue this with our grandson who will inherit books, comics and toys from his mother and me. 

It is a given fact that toy soldiers for example are not played with the way earlier generations did, but by the same token the annoying modern LEGO figures are selling like hot cakes so styles change and with guidance, imagination will be triggered in modern kids if the parents stay engaged. 

My parents generation were upset at the omnipresence of television, I think rather than being passive entertainment it opened knowledge to a wider audience it wasn't just westerns, detective stories and spy stories. Again it depended on parental involvement. 

So I believe there will always be toys of some form to develop hand eye co-ordination other than video games and computers. 

Capt Scarlett, Thunderbirds, Stingray will continue to exist in some form of imaginative entertainment. Not everything will be computer generated. animation, even puppets will be new again one day. 

Regards, 

Terranova47

NYC

FLASH GORDON AND BUCK ROGERS SPOTTED IN NEW JERSEY!

Hi Woodsy.

In answer to your query, I think Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers have a smaller collectors group than, say, Star Trek or Star Wars.

They are aging American icons and younger collectors recognize them less.

In my 50 years of toy collecting, I have come across a few toys, thanks to Flash's old tv shows going into syndication on small local tv stations and Buck's re-imagining hitting the TV screen in the late 70's.

Already having many different kinds of space toys, I welcomed these characters and happily expanded my toy universe. 

I have included photos of Buck Rogers toys by Mego and HG Toys from the 70's and a new Flash Gordon set from toymakers BiffBangPow!

Enjoy!

Brian F NJ USA

UPDATE:

Trimmer Galaxy Warrior vs Buck Rogers Tigerman

courtesy of Brian F