Kev's Kool Moon Buggy and Novas

 Kevin has kindly sent pics of his original SpaceX Moon Buggy ...

.... And scratchbuilt Nova (foreground) and two original SpaceX Nova rockets.

Cor! Or what! 

Manama More Apollo 13

More beautiful stamps from Manama. Here we have a Nova rocket and a Piloted Moon Buggy, both top right and both part of the Triang SpaceX range, which some of you will have. Pictures welcomed! 

East German Rocket Truck

 This East German rocket truck caught my eye.

The rocket has a Spacex-Nova-like look to it and appears to be decorated with the zodiac or constellations.

The bed of the truck carries illustrations of Soviet probes.

The long box suggests the truck had containers on its back too.

An impressive toy from the old DDR.

Do you agree?

Rob's Tarheel Nova II Drawing

Woodsy,

I was going through some old papers, and found this odd drawing I made circa 1970.

It shows a side view of my Tarheel Nova II, along with some strange typewritten "specifications" which I do not recall at all! 

Anyways, there it is, and it gives you an idea of how obsessed I was with that toy at the time!

Rob C

Ct

USA

A NOVA GOOD IDEA

I've always liked the NOVA. It was my favourite SpaceX toy as a kid.

When I saw this small kit years ago on Ebay I snapped it up.

Its a Mexican R&L inspired mini kit, like the ones that were cereal free gifts.

There's a Booster Rocket too and Project SWORD-type Moon Modules, but they are harder to find.

There's often a NOVA floating around on Ebay com.

Have you got anything like this?

NOVA FLIGHT

 Have a gander at this artwork of the SpaceX Nova rocket. Its pretty cool!

https://pixels.com/featured/nova-flight-3-timothy-smith.html

BY GUM! IT'S A NOVA STAMP!

Here's another old and beautiful Manama stamp from the Apollo 13 series, this one showing the Nova rocket we know and love as part part of the SpaceX I range of toys.

Almost certainly copied from Ed Valigursky's original art its still a fine illustration and looks great on its fiery cosmic background.

Manama put out some superb stamps. Do you agree?

MASKING

 

I had to smile when I saw this mask that's available online by Timothy Smith. Its our old friend the SpaceX Nova rocket on the front!

Is this something you would wear?

What would you like on your mask?

PS.

Just had a go at placing a design on a Vistaprint mask online, the Tri-ang SpaceX Moon Base HQ box art!

Far too dear but fun to mess around with!

Have a go yourself on Vistaprint.

https://www.vistaprint.co.uk/masks/all/custom/

BUKI SPACEX LINE DRAWINGS 1983

I saw these on the Bay, Buki space drawings from Israel 1983.

You'll see that a few are the vehicles that inspired the same in the SpaceX toy range. 

Two of them - the Nova capsule and the Nova rocket -  are stylised copies of Ed Valigursky's illustrations from the 1960's Man in Space book.

I think these are great! You?

So, on the cover is a Nova capsule.

The Nova capsule is the first line drawing too.

The far right vehicle is the same as the SpaceX Moon Buggy.

The far right drawing is the Nova rocket.

A SPACEX NOVA ROCKET TOY FREE WITH A BOOK?

About ten years ago I got an old paperback copy of Michael Moorcock's The Back Corridor.

Its the one with the SpaceX Nova Rocket cover [plus another SpaceX bit].

I saw my own Nova rocket and thought ...hmmm.. what if the book had come with a free Nova!

Here are two shots I took of my book and toy together.

This one has the Nova set at the same angle as the cover photo.

This one has the toy in situ for a potential freebie offer!

Have you got any ideas for vintage toys that should come free with books? Maybe books with toys on their covers!

Here's another one, The Best from Fantasy and Science Fiction 19th Series, I've just seen on an auction featuring a mini Colossus Rex from the Outer Space Men universe, who appears on the cover as well.

picture: GBS4783QXQ

*

Pictures of your pairings please!

EAST GERMAN NOVA

This caught my eye. I thought it was a big NOVA like the SpaceX miniature I has a kid.

This is an East German Kosmos rocket and transporter from the DDR.

Anyone got one?

NOW THAT'S A STAMP!

Our friend the SpaceX Nova!

Have you any space stamps?

NOVART: NOVA ROCKET ILLUSTRATIONS

There isn't much Nova rocket art online.

I remember being chuffed finding this Nova stamp 5 years ago. Its one of a number of SpaceXesque stamps out there. 

This is part of the Apollo 13 series from Manama. It appears to be a variation on Ed Valigursky's classic Nova illustration/

But only this week I saw this on the Bay. I think its a Nova design minus the four fuel tanks. Its on the cover of a 1962 journal called Space: Man's New Frontier.

Have you any Nova art?

nova again

Anyone looking for a relatively cheap and slightly unusual addition to their SpaceX toys collection might want to consider a cereal model premium from Mexico.

I understand that these are based on the R&L Kellogg space model style although I have never seen any old adverts for them or seen them available outside of Mexico so they may have been produced solely for that market. They include the Nova Rocket as appears in the SpaceX and Golden Astronaut ranges of toys.

Currently I can see individual 2 Novas on auction:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=nova+rocket&_osacat=220&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xnova+rocket+cereal.TRS0&_nkw=nova+rocket+cereal&_sacat=220

and one as part of much more expensive mixture:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Cereal-Premium-R-L-Space-Age-LOT-x-13-made-in-Mexico-RARE-/112546956073?hash=item1a34524329:g:j7QAAOSwGJlZMEL

Other models, like the Nova, are based on Ed Valigursky's space paintings from the Man and Space book of the 1960's.

I've blogged about these before here: 'Cex Mex and Mexican Valigursky, which even include the building modules for the moon [pair, bottom left] and the Booster Rocket [top right second down]

If you have any maybe built up and painted we'd love to see them! Email address at the bottom of the page!

BRAINS' TRASHED DESIGNS IN THUNDERBIRD 6

Below is the NOVA III by Tarheel Industries of Tarboro, better known to us  for their Project SWORD US copies.

It's one of three NOVA's that formed the series pictured belows: I, II and III: II being a pink Thunderbird 3 lookalike and I a green jet similar to the Spacex HAWK.

The blog covered the origin of NOVA III earlier in 2009, which you can read here and on the Space 1999 Forum here. 

In short the NOVA II is for a short time THUNDERBIRD 6!

At least, its  one of Brains' Thunderbird 6 designs - the red craft at the bottom of the picture below. I don't think the other two designs were ever made as toys. Or?

Here it is once more

and on the floor!

You can see footage of Brains trashing the yellow design in the film about half an hour in here courtesy of You Tube.

I can't find footage of him smashing up the silver jet. Does he?

Brains trashes the red NOVA III design as well around the 43 minute mark here. Do you think that these models are made of wood readers?

In a strange quirk of synchronicity, my favourite wishbone ash song is Throw Down Your Sword and they even mention a NOVA in the first line of the singing here! ha ha

NOVA

PRODUCT PLACEMENT SPACEX STYLE: NOVA AGAIN

 

Eagle-eyed US reader and fellow blogger Ed Berg recently spotted this cool US TV advert on You Tube. Pulp Fiction legend Samual L. Jackson chats away whilst a huge silver Nova rocket zooms across the screen behind him! Wotan, whose seen it too, remarked that it is almost completely the Ed Valigursky illustration brought to life. Talk about shelf life!

 

 

The Nova does have form when it comes to being exploited for its good looks. If you remember we've featured the SpaceX/ Golden Astronaut Nova toy's appearance on Micheal Moorcock's Black Corridor paperback. To can't keep a good Nova down!

 

 

 

PS. I've just noticed that the title of this book, Black Corridor, with its suggestion of a dark path, is similar to the title of the novel which features the Nova's SpaceX stablemate the LAMA, Sinister Barrier. Maybe the black corridor leads to the sinister barrier! Or is it the other way round?

 

 

Readers, any other instances of SpaceX/ Golden Astronaut on film, ads, books, sweet wrappers etc would be welcomed!

COHETE LUNAR VARIANT

The Cohete Lunar by Uniplast has appeared on this blog many times. From Argentina it's main claim to fame for us SWORDie SpaceXers is the fact that the card art rocket is lifted directly from Ed valigursky's original painting of the NOVA rocket, which featured in the Life Man and Space book. There are a number of colour variations of this plastic toy: blue, yellow and red.

 

 

There is also a card art variant by the same company I've recently stumbled across. I don't recognise the artwork at all and I personally much prefer the above NOVA car art.

SOFA NOVA

The thing I love about space toys is that there is always something new to find. The internet has allowed us to trawl the world's collections from the comfort of our sofa. I must admit I like to sofa surf much to my Wife's disgust! A couple of my recent bits of flotsam [or is it jetsam?] revealed some lovely art once I zoomed in a bit. First up is this LP triple deck pack I saw on feebay. Closer inspection of the box side art revealed this cool space glider, which has a hint of the Nuclear Ferry's passenger glider about it. A beautiful image I feel [more to follow on recent LP boxes spotted].

Second is this strange bagged Japanese rocket toy I saw on Noppin - pictured below. The toy is a form of rocket with two peculiar projections on its base.

Zooming in on the base I noticed some space art familiar to SpaceX art fans. It's a dead ringer of the Ed Valigursky Nova Rocket painting, which graces the Man and Space book from the early 1960's [bottom picture]. A beautiful painting and one which does pop up now and then on toys like this and the Argentinian Cohete Lunar backing card, which we've featured before.

 

 

Your sightings of hidden space art and vehicles always welcomed here on Moonbase!