Here's my first entry for the blog's Project SWORD anniversary celebration. Over the years a few SWORD-related toys have managed to fly into Vegas Base, and I've captured pictures of them for the photo album.
From Vegas Base
Ed
This is one of three plastic Novas from Tarheel, all inspired by either Triang SpaceX or Thunderbirds and very close cousins of Project SWORD toys, which Tarheel also issued in North America.
When I saw this Durham Super Serpent I thought it looked familiar.
It wasn't the box, which is really quite nice.
But it was those tyres. They really looked familiar to me.
and here's what it reminds me of, the toy Moon Prospector's tyres, one of which is shown close-up below. Seeing it like this its clear its not the same but maybe related. As I don't own the Durham Serpent I can't compare the size of the two tyre types.
Interestingly Durham was associated with Tarheel Inc. who did indeed release the American Project SWORD Moon Prospector in 1967.
The Snow Boat by that prolific plastic toy outfit Durham Industries. Its an unusual vehicle design and I've certainly not seen it before. This example is online on auction.
Durham, like Tarheel, released toys in bright coloured plastic and Durham issued a lime green Space Glider, which is on the blog.
The listing about the Snow Boat explains:
DURHAM INDUSTRIES INC., NY SUPER SNOW BOAT WITH POWER TREADS AND SPARKING EXHAUST. # 8324, MADE IN JAPAN. ABOUT 10 INCHES LONG. BOAT IS MISSING ITS WINDSHIELD.
Reader Rob from the USA asked me about this image earlier in the Lockdown.
"I was poring over your amazing cull of vintage newspaper pages, and came upon one that really stumped me - although I have a feeling that Swordies will know what they are. They are two toys depicted in the Neisner's ad, and they are blatant knockoffs of Thunderbird 2 and Thunderbird 3, but weird permutations I have never seen before. What are these?"
Rob C
The two toys shown are 2 of the 3 Nova spaceships released by Tarheel Industries in the late 1960's.
We've featured them a few times on Moonbase as they do have Thunderbirds roots.
The left hand rocket is definately a Thunderbird 3 knockoff, but done with great style and the characteristically bright colours of Tarheel's toys.
Interestingly I'd never noticed the similarity of the right-hand toy to Thunderbird 2 before until Rob mentioned it. Yes, its basic form and wings are there!
The toy may have been further inspired by a model in the film Thunderbird 6. See the labels below.
The third toy, not shown in this Newspaper ad for some reason, is the other Nova, a large version of the SpaceX Hawk space jet. Again click on the labels below.
The three Tarheel rockets came in individual window boxes and make great display items. Durham Toys also offered these three toy spaceships on blister cards as rack toys.
When I saw this walking green monster by Durham toys I thought, hmmm, I've seen something like that before.
A book on model kits sprang to mind and then Lindberg.
Lindberg's monster kits.
here they are as they appear on the amazing Universal Monster Army site.
Well, maybe not a match but I think Durham and Lindberg dipped into the same zany pool to come up with the wacky monsters.
What do you think?
*
WOTAN Wades in:
Rather than create a new post, I just thought i'd tag onto this one. It looks to me like these models are influenced by Native American ceremonial masks and costume. Edward S. Curtis spent several years documenting the North American Indian in a series of photographs and ethnology studies and his work is probably the most thorough study of long vanished tribes. But look at the similarity in some of these designs. http://curtis.library.northwestern.edu/curtis/toc.cgi
But Johnny Tarheel is mentioned and the Tarheel Tarboro address, proof positive that Tarheel and Durham were inextricably linked toy brands.
If you have any Tarheel or Durham branded Project SWORD toys like the Glider or the Moon Prospector then you could check if its actually Durham or Tarheel!
The movie Thunderbirds Are Go is a must see for SWORD Fans. Its all about Zero-X after all!
The movie Thunderbird 6 has much to offer too. Besides the amazing Skyship 1 there are some beautiful models too.
I've discussed Brains' tantrum in Thunderbird 6 many times on the blog. Its a painful watch as the angry boffin destroys three superb model craft, all of which were his prototypes [or were they maquetes?] for Thunderbird 6.
If you haven't seen it here's a handy montage of the three models being thrown on the floor, which I found on You Tube.
There is a toy connection to the red model shown above. It involves the Tarheel and Durham toy companies of North Carolina, USA. I first talked about it here years ago and was chuffed to have the idea included in the latest copy of the Gerry Anderson based fanzine ANDERSONIC.
Its interesting to note that the clip's You Tuber has also commented about the potential numbering of these three models if they had all become part of the fleet. Thunderbirds 6, 7 and 8!
This isn't the first time we've seen a Thunderbird 7. Certainly not in the model/toy world. Imai released a Thunderbird 7 in the 1980's.
We now know that this is actually the Snow Train from the Project SWORD universe and more exactly its the Snow Train with its heat shields up ready for magma diving as seen in the Project SWORD Annual.
In this shielded form its called the BEETLE.
Like the red Thunderbird 6 in the clip the Beetle would have made an excellent friction drive toy. Its a real shame that Century 21 Toys never released it as part of the Project SWORD toy range [although C21 did licence the Imai model].
We can get an idea of what a JR21 Beetle might have looked like in this superb mock-up done by collector Ferryman in 2009.
The actual model was released by Imai in orange plastic and intriguingly in plain white.
I shall write about the white version at a later date.
These beautiful toys were recently acquired by long-time blog supporter Astronit.
Astronit kindly sent in this picture for us to drool over!
They are what we know as the Nova rockets but these are made by Durham and not Tarheel. They are also blister carded as opposed to the usual boxes of the Tarheel range.
and the theory was enhanced by the discovery of a Durham Space Glider from the Project SWORD range, a range we usually associate with Tarheel in America.
A recent addition to my Zeroid collection is this Zerak lookalike
from Durham Industries, thanks to a heads up from the mighty Wotan.
As you can see this cheap knock –off toy is pretty much the
same dimensions as an original Zerak, apart from the moulded tracks which hide
a clockwork motor. It should also be noted that the quality of the plastic is
well below an original Zeroid toy.
It appears Durham also did cheap clockwork copies of the other
Zeroid robots, using the miss-spelling - ‘Astroid’ as a collective name for them.
Their simple gimmick was you wound them up using the
sidewinder key. This gave them a forward motion, along with a rotating head.
The head movement worked by means of a long rod attached to a simple gear wheel
running up from the motor.
Comparing the two toys
you’d think that Durham had just gone out and bought an Ideal toy, and just taken
moulds of most of it.
The ‘Astroid’ even fits snugly in Zerak’s control station,
much to Zerak’s annoyance.
