ARTO'S RECENT FUN FINDS

The best find was the no feet "regular" Pez from the 1960's. In regulars, there is no head other than a simple mechanism to eject the candy. These are very desirable in good condition.

Have you anything like this?

I also found a stack of unused colouring books from the U.S. Wondering how they ended up here, the answer was simple: they were all printed in Finland! Must be samples preserved by some printing house. 

I picked up this Fun Time Coloring Book for its marvellous cover illustration, which reminds me of Maurice Sendak's wonderful children's book Where the Wild Things Are.

Arto

Helsinki Base

A SPACEX/ GOLDEN ASTRONAUT COLOURING BOOK?

Recalling Scoop's ace collection of colouring books last month, I was lamenting the fact that that Triang SpaceX/ Golden Astronaut never did one, a colouring book. I'd have loved it as a kid.

Thinking about it, there are quite a few SpaceX-style line drawings in other colouring books to probably create one!

The Man on the Moon colouring books contain quite a few - which Wotan Bill found - and I think there are more finds on the blog of SpaceX-style line drawings.

There's also new-fangled online trickery which allows you to convert pictures to line drawings. Here's a sketchy backing card one I did this morning.

If such a Triang SpaceX/ Golden Astronaut colouring book existed then it would need a cover. 

Any ideas? 

Your Concept drawings, lay-outs, mock-ups and photos and sketches welcomed readers!

We Land on the SpaceX

These line drawings in the vintage We Land on the Moon colouring books are always a thrill, as so many are vehicles we know and love, especially from Triang SpaceX/ Golden Astronaut toys.

See what you think. Links to the fabulous and long-running Dreams of Space blog.

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2017/07/we-land-on-moon-coloring-book-based-on_7.html

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2017/07/we-land-on-moon-coloring-book-based-on_4.html

Klaus Buergle's Nuclear Ferry on Walmart's Rocket Colouring Book

Have a look at the cover of this colouring book from Walmart. 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Rocket-Coloring-Book-Space-Book-Toddlers-Gift-Granddaughter-Perfect-Color-Together-Spacecrafts-Spaceships-Rockets-Shuttles-Starfighter-Aliens-Colorin/154896182

Its the nuclear ferry painted by an artist who featured on Moonbase Central over a decade ago, the great Klaus Buergle.

https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2010/03/back-to-future-with-german-space-artist.html

Klaus's art is simply wunderbar. Sadly Klaus himself died in 2015.

WE LAND ON THE MOON COLOURING BOOK

This colouring books is from 1969. I don't have anything like this. I think there are a few of them in the series.

Have you got any?

We Land on the Moon - Exploring the Moon Colouring Book 1969

Long established blog Dreams of Space has covered many gems over the years and this one is a real corker for fans of Project SWORD and SpaceX toys:

We Land on the Moon: Exploring the Moon Colouring Book from 1969.

There's the Moon Prospector and the MEV 2 for starters.

Have a look and tell me what you think.

https://dreamsofspace.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/we-land-on-moon-coloring-book-based-on_7.html

the mystery of the action colouring book space skull bat

Halloween is approaching and monsters are spreading their wings.

A while back we were wondering what this picture was based on.

Its from the Space Monsters colouring book.

I recently stumbled on this movie art for the film Galaxy of Terror and thought ... hmmm, maybe!

Another contender could be the flying skull bat in House.

Reader Lance suggested the hallway ghost in the original Poltergeist and ....

...the rat bat spider in the Angry Red Planet.

Some dates would help I think.

In the meantime, any more ideas readers?

more monstrous colouring books

I just love monsters. I always did.

My folks called me their little monster so I got to thinking I was one.

I've blogged before about monster colouring books and the one in my bookshelf by World.

Fellow blogger The Cobwebbed Room ......

has even more colouring books like this Space Creatures. 

I don't recognise the critters inside but see if you do!

https://cobwebbedroom.blogspot.co.uk/2012_04_01_archive.html

Have you any monster books?

dreams of space features ats, MEV2, Prospector and booster rocket drawings

Another ATS I noticed this week was over on John Sisson's superlative and long-running space books blog Dreams of Space.

John lovingly posts the picture and text pages from vintage space books and journals and one such is the We Land on the Moon colouring book series.

It features beautiful line drawings of many classic space vehicles including the ATS [SpaceX toy] and Booster Rocket [Project SWORD toy].

Have a look yourself http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/we-land-on-moon-coloring-book-based-on_14.html

There's also a finely drawn Boost Rocket in another volume:

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/we-land-on-moon-coloring-book-based-on_4.html

Even more impressive are the number of drawings in the companion volume, which features the MEV2 [SpaceX toy], Moon Prospector [SpaceX and SWORD toys] and many of the building modules which would have likely featured in the planned Project SWORD Moon Base Set as seen in the SWORD Manual. 

The drawings appear to be copies of Ed Valigursky's  original paintings which appeared in the iconic Man and Space. I agree with blog owner John, this is the best of these colouring books:

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.co.uk/2017/07/we-land-on-moon-coloring-book-based-on_7.html

These drawings would be superb for printing out and colouring or painting. if anyone does any please send me a scan for the blog!

SQUIRM AND THE SNOW DEVILS

Whilst rummaging in the attic I found this neat MONSTERS colouring book.

Published by World, it dates from 1985 and is gruesomely stuffed with a rally of beasts and creatures for kids to colour, some of which rang a distinct bell.

The picture I recognised immediately was this handsome chap sinking into the ground and his arms stretched skywards.

Its obviously based on this shot of the unfortunate Roger played by R.A.Dow in the 1976 worm schlocker Squirm.

This hairy fellow...

... may be based on Micheal Landon in I was A Teenage Werewolf 1957.

This toothy vamp...

.... appears to be based on this still of Lalla Ward in Vampire Circus 1972 [there's a similar and fascinating discussion about this image and Horror Top Trumps by Jim Moon on his blog The Moon Lens]

Googling for more monster colouring books I came across this amazing feature, Monster Gallery, on the uber-awesome Plaid Stallions site about the Monster Gallery colouring book from the early 1970's. The feature establishes that many of the illustrations by Mark Savee became the artwork used on Tomland's 1970's line of Famous Monsters of Legend action figures. These include this Snow Man [picture Plaid Stallions]:

Looking at the actual strange blue haired action figure, which is completely different to the artwork, brings to mind a recent comment made by reader Todd. He suggested that its origin may lie an obscure Italian sci-fi flick called the Snow Devils from 1967.

It concerns an alien race of hairy blue-bodied giants called the Aytia from Callisto hell-bent on icing over the Earth.

It was the fourth film of what is known as the Gamma One Quadrilogy.

and here we have a Snow Devil

compared to the Tomland Snow Man toy

Snow Devil from the side

compared to the Tomland Snow Man side on

and this card illustration of the toy

So what do you think. Is Todd on to something? I think so. The Tomland Snow Man toy has been described as a figure not linked to a film, unlike say, their Fly. Maybe it should have been called a Snow Devil since maybe it might be one!

Oddly enough I couldn't help noticing the similarly blue-skinned bearded appearance of the chap top right on this Dan Dare comic strip, Reign of the Robots from January 1958. The figure is a self-portrait of SWORDmaster Eric Eden no less, of TV21 fame, posing as an Atlantine! Maybe he was really a Snow Devil!