Brick Bay

My Grandson recently built these three space vehicles. They were little bricks in a small lunchbox-style tin. 

A revolving rocket, a satellite and a rover.

All very cool indeed! 

This sort of mini-brick modelling has really taken off, would you agree?

Field Trip

 I took Moonbase Junior in the field next door the other day. Currently fallow, It's a big field with lots to see like a reed bed and old sheds.

The wildlife moment of the hike was an aerial mobbing of a Red Kite by five angry local Buzzards. It was amazing and Junior and me wuz thrilled.

A keen budding archeologist, Junior had a real good look around the hedge edges and the waste tracts for interesting bits.

This is what he found just lying around.

Golfballs, a Shippams potted beef glass jar, a Country Way milk bottle (no idea if the jar or bottle are old), fragments of pot and brick, a shell casing, a bulb bottom ...

.... and this curly bit of ornate glazed pottery, which he said was the best catch.

Amazingly Google Lens ID'd it and it turns out to be the foot of this German lustre ware pot basket! Again, no idea of age. You?

Still, Junior was chuffed with his field trip! 

Bug in a Box

Having given my Grandson, Junior, a few things over the years, it's always fun to spot them still in his room. 

This Soviet watch was a gift earlier this year. With the telltale red star, I think it's a commanders watch. I have another one with a picture of a sub on it.

And who doesn't love the Lunar Bug! This one I restored for Junior a couple years back, putting his initial on the nose.

Junior had another car inside his bug. What did you put in yours?

Superman's not Losing Fans*

🦸🦸

I recently read that Grandparenting is not about reliving our youth, but I reckon some of it is. 

There's a huge joy to be found in showing grandkids stuff we used to do and watch from our younger days. Oftentimes, they'll like it too.

My Grandson, MoonBase Junior, loves Superman. I'm unsure when he first came across Supe but being on his way to 9 he's grown up with him, so it's a real pleasure to watch some Superman together.

Yesterday we chose Superman The Movie, the first of the Christopher Reeves films. 

From 1978, a year after Star Wars, Chris's man of steel is just superb. I was 17 when it first aired and loved it from the get-go, true late Seventies bubblegum to chew and chew.

The movie is interesting to follow, great to look at - Supe flies! -  and its not that violent, which means Junior gets to see it. 

There's lots for modern kids to enjoy too. Lois Lane charging round, Clark's bumbling, Supe changing in a revolving door, Jimmy Olsen getting snapped at by the editor and of course Lex Luthor, the 'greatest criminal mind of the century'. 

Gene Hackman does a fab job bringing out the humour in big-headed Lex, as does his beautiful assistant and gormless goon. Junior loves how he's always accompanied by a daft deep tuba sound!

Which brings us neatly to the music. John Williams's score is simply fantastic, a masterpiece, the highlight being of course the famous duh derder, which compels just about any kid (and grown-ups!) to outstretch their arm Superman style! And yep, Junior and me did it together many times during the film. Priceless.

Who says Grandparenting isn't about reliving your youth! 

Now's where's my cape!

Is this a film you like readers? Any grandparents seen it?

*Play on a line from PFM's Chocolate Kings.

Junior's Lego

 The Grandson Junior loves making Lego Minecraft models.

Here are four of his latest creations.

See what you think.

This sword is from small beads rather than Lego.

Hex Bug Flight Deck

 Junior's on half term and setting up a Hex Bug zip line run.

The tower has Star Wars X-Wing Pilot colours! 

The zip line was then upgraded to a longer one with bugs able to carry loads! 

It so took me back to playing with my Air fix Flight Deck set in the Sixtie's. Now that was a toy! But did you upgrade yours readers? 

Here's a clip on You Tube I found of Super Flight Deck. Is that the original title? I thought it was simply Flight Deck.

https://youtu.be/V4vmsRIhn1E?feature=shared

ALIEN CAGE

 Testing and idea for an animal cage, here's my Aldi trash toothbrush holders on the back of Juniors Fisher Price Safari car.

Cargo: giant toxic alien caterpillar! 

Junior's Moon of Monsters

 MoonBase Junior took these shots and edited them himself on his half-term break with us oldies.

Waddaya reckon?

THE GREEN HORNET LIVES!

 Junior gave his new Green Hornet Black Beauty the Sharpie treatment yesterday.

Not finished yet but Kato looks happy!

Groan Hornet

 Fixing up Junior' Green Hornet scrapper, before he colours it in in two weeks, has been as fiddly as Kato's cap.

The scanner and missile ejector mechanisms are groaningly temperamental and may yet spoil it for Junior. They do work now and then and when they do they fly! I just hope they work when he has a bash! 

Still, my part of the job is nearly done now.

I bought some plastic half-jewels for a squid and filed two down for the green headlights. Some of the Missus's red wire made the trim. 

I also re-chromed the grille.

Kato was missing so a small figure was cut to size, cap heat-flattened and painted.

A new windscreen was added using an old polypocket folder.

The Green Hornet was twisted inwards so some pliers dragged him round to the window again. He's lost his gun but that's life.

I just need to glue Kato in now if Bruce will let me! 

He did!

BEEN HORNET

 I recently bagged this battered die-cast Green Hornet Black Beauty for 99p on the Bay [postage £4].

I adored mine as a kid.

This one is a joint project for Junior and me to do up.

My jobs are the headlights, windscreen and missiles. Junior will colour it back to black when he's back on Moonbase. 

I ordered a cheap repro scanner offa Ebay too ...

... and a front missile.

Fortunately the rear scanner ejector works fine. The front one is temperamental.

No figures; Kato and the Hornet have left the scene.

Next, home made headlights.

Are you doing up a die-cast?

BOY WONDERS

 My Grandson Junior wants to be a rock drummer like Neil Peart from Rush or a scientist like Stephen Hawking.

This winter we've discussed a few bits of science.

We wondered if Earth's mountain climbers would love to climb Olympus Mons on Mars and who might be the first to do it?

We also gawped at this amazing photograph online of a fly's brain and all its neurons. How fantastic! It looks like a peacock!

We also talked about the famous Brisbane pitch drip experiment, the oldest running experiment ever, in which pitch tar drips incredibly slowly over decades.

Junior wanted to do something like it in our kitchen, his own oil and water and food colouring upwards drip! Here's a few snaps I took of the start of the boy wonder's coloured oil in a glass of water experiment.

Enjoy!

Junior asked me which Marvel metal is rarer, Adamantium or Vibranium. I said I'd ask you! Anyone?

JUNIOR'S ESCAPE RAFT

 Last week Junior had fun with LEGO.

He made up a story, The Esca[e Raft, around a couple of vehicles and played for an hour on the floor acting it out. I was so jealous! It was a joy to see!

Here are Junior's creations.

The Galactic Pick-Up*

Today Junior set up my vintage toy called Space Helicopter Rescue by Congost of Spain.

We got it down from the attic.

He explained to me what to write here and chose the title himself*

Junior worked out how to use the old controls, which were quite difficult to handle at first.

The little pilots are magnetic and can be lifted, in theory, from the capsule and the boat. We had to place the pilot onto the helicopter's fishing rod as it proved way too tricky.

All in all a good interesting old toy Junior said and one his Mum - my daughter - got me Christmas 2023, a nice tradition she has established over the last few years where she gets Santa to bring me a vintage space toy for Dad Woodsy (this year was a box of Micronauts). I like this tradition!