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! 

Junior 90

 I've been reading Joe 90 Annual strips to Junior this week before bed. He really likes them - Rat Trap and the like. It's the Annual with Big Rat in the cover.

Junior made a couple of observations: he asked if Mac's Car has the same legs and tyres as his die-cast Lunar Bug? Are they related?

The other thing was whether Joe 90 was as famous as Thunderbirds? We agreed that Thunderbirds was an A-lister, but where is Joe 90? B-list? What else are A and B- listers?

The Garden of the Terracotta Roof Tiles

 Currently plagued by a trapped sciatic nerve I'm basically seat-bound assisting Junior in his garden pursuits as a budding Indiana Jones.

The dig site garnered a whole tray of finds, mostly terracotta, some fossils (he smelt a rat there!) and a 1936 George V One Penny ( he should have smelt a rat there!).

Junior was most excited about four big pieces of old roof tile he dug up. They were really in situ.

With some help from the Seated One he glued them back together. It says Rowley on it quite clearly.

Using a mix of brick dust and PVA Junior filled in the biggest cracks and set it to dry.

No longer a good roof tile, it'll make a fine display item for Junior somewhere out of the rain in the garden. 

Have you ever dug up anything?

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

JUNIOR'S DIG

 Moonbase Junior's here for a week of his summer holidays. Remember them! Six weeks off!

To keep him entertained - for a while - I set up0 an archaeology dig station in the garden. Junior loves fossils and pottery bits.

The work station has trowels, brushes, a small electric file and all manner of other bits.

oh, and a dig trench, where I've hidden various fossils and metal oddments like a 1935 penny.

Were you a budding archaeologist or paleontologist when you were a kid readers?

Sill Life

 A few snaps of a couple of Junior's toy cars on his windowsill before getting him from school.

Kings of the Road

I picked up this vintage green Matchbox Battle Kings Army transporter in Germany in April as part of a car boot lot. In great nick, I gave it Junior yesterday.

It fits really well with his own Super Kings red transporter. Such cool designs. Very Gerry Anderson. Are they fictitious?

But what to carry?

Space Shuttle and Magnetron, no problem!

There's not much the Army green can't handle: even an SPV!

Have you got any transporters readers? Pictures welcomed.

JUNIOR'S STUFF: OH TO BE YOUNG AGAIN!

A few pics of Junior's toys and bobbies.

Did you have a room like this as a kid readers full of your stuff?

Top shelf, Lego Star Wars and Hydraulic Hand.

Beautifully iridescent home-created Bismuth crystals

Pizza Hut SPV beaker from the Easter Bunny [aka Grandma and Grandad!]. We're these only issued in the UK?

Exploratrons in a corner

Fisher Price Alpha Probe and Hot Wheels trucks

The bottom vintage shelf: Magnetron, 007 Moon Buggy, plastic SPV, Lunar Bug and Space Shuttle.

Below is a box of Paldean Fates.

What do you think?