SEEING RED: ARTO'S SECRET SERVICE FIELD GLASSES

I was chuffed to come across this little children's Secret Service Field Glass toy at a local antique shop.

Made in Japan, it even has a small compass helping the user to orientate.

Surprise! It turns out to be a Washington D.C. souvenir! What better disguise for a secret agent than an innocuous tourist eyeing the sights! How clever - How wicked!

Agent Arto

Helsinki Base

PS. I Cannot make the shop name on the price tag. The Union - ?

MORE PLASTIC MODEL T FORDS

 Yet more old plastic toy Model T Fords - at least I think they are! The plastic Secret Service! And both remote controlled!

Have you seen any more model T's?

Secret Santa: A Merry Model T Christmas From Will O!

Hi Woodsy. Santa and Father Stanley Unwin compare their vintage model T Fords!

Wishing you and all Moonbase readers a happy and peaceful Christmas. 

Will O.

UK

BESSIE ANYONE?

 

When I saw this badge online I realised that I know nothing about Bessie. I assume it was Dr. Who's car during the Pertwee years, which is odd because I was there.

Is Bessie a car you're familiar with?

Was it released as a toy?

PS.

Just in!

Here's Kevin D with Bessie!

UFANGLO 1970

 I've been peering at UFO cards this year. There are loads on Ebay for a start.

Here's one that caught my eye, the Anglo #59 "STUDIO", dated 1970.

Its a montage of people and vehicles. There's Forster's car [or is it Straker's?] at the back but is that the vintage car from Secret Service at the side? And is that Aysha walking towards us?

I wonder if the 'studio' ever actually made anything that was shown in the UFO series?

THE SECRET SOFA

I first came across Father Unwin's original Secret Service prop sofa on this old Gerry Anderson props site http://www.gerryandersonprops.com/models.php

The owner of the sofa has it featured further on his own cool modelling site. Here's a modern replica Father Unwin by Duncan Willis on his original Century 21 prop sofa. About half way down his site. 

http://replicagerryandersonpuppets.weebly.com/ 

There's more photographs of the sofa here too 

http://replicagerryandersonpuppets.weebly.com/original.html

Have you any Century 21 props like this or maybe Century 21 offices ephemera like notepads or letterheads?

SUPER TOY PACK SPECIAL AGENT

De-cluttering reveals stuff. I'd forgotten about this Spacial Agent set I had.

In its clear baggy and with a generic header for pocket money type toys, I think I bought it from a Newsagents for 99p in the late 90's.

I was fascinated by spy and agent toys as a nipper and this continued into adulthood. I picked up attache cases and agent sets wherever I could. It was fun selling them on.

I will have squirreled this set away for posterity and now it's surfaced it's part of our latest Ebay sales.

The contents appear to be general agent toys and similar cuffs, pistol, radio and ID card appeared in countless spy sets right into the noughties. Not sure if they're that popular now as the allure of cold war spies and the FBI may have waned in the minds of modern kids.

Did you - do you like spy and secret agent toys?

CHRISTIES' STANLEY UNWIN, SYMPHONY ANGEL AND SAM LOOVER PUPPET PROPS

This just shows how original C21 props move around. This Stanley Unwin puppet and Sam Loover's puppet head were sold at the famous Phillips Anderson sale in 1995 and then fourteen years later surface at Christies for sale again.

These are probably well-known props and their current whereabouts will be known to some of you. Scoop probably knows.

https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/memorabilia/secret-service-1969-5270681-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5270681&sid=cf834972-aeaa-42b7-b013-f4c55fab607f

https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/memorabilia/sam-loover-joe-90-1968-5270680-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=5270680&sid=706cbfeb-4472-4f73-aa36-76872a9110f1

Symphony Angel's puppet head turned up a few year later after a similar journey. Why does it say sold without copyright for an old prop?

https://www.christies.com/lotfinder/lot/captain-scarlet-1395443-details.aspx?from=searchresults&intObjectID=1395443&sid=fdc041a2-7577-4a52-b277-e891e9df1f12

Tenth Birthday Dossier: The Secret Service: Gabriel The Toy Car

We've featured the Dinky Gabriel die cast car a number of times on the blog.

Scoop covered it briefly in his 2012 post: 

http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2012/12/dinky-gabriel-model-t-ford_10.html 

and in more detail in 2016:

 https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2016/08/dinky-gabriel-model-t-ford.html

I've also been reading the superb Dinky TV and Space website, which has a brilliant page on the Dinky Gabriel toy car.

Something new, at least for me, are these similar toy cars related to the Dinky Gabriel shown here with the permission of Dinky TV and Space.

Does your die-cast Gabriel need a secret service?

Photos welcomed!

Tenth BIRTHDAY File: The Secret Service: Gabriel the Model Prop Car

From Model Cars magazine 1969.

What happened to this model?

Anyone know?

TENTH BIRTHDAY SPECIAL GUEST EXCLUSIVE: CHARLES BUSSEY'S SECRET SERVICE GABRIEL CAR

In 2012 I asked the question Where is the Gabriel Car?

Steve Zodiac mentioned a possible location but I didn't chase it up in 2012.

In 2014 Scoop photographed the real Gabriel at Andercon 2014.

Still I didn't follow this up.

Well,for the tenth birthday I did!

I tracked down the owner from an old car showroom photograph and .... got a reply and a clutch of excellent new photographs from a very kind Charles Bussey, who explained how he came to own Gabriel:

Evening Woodsy

You asked for a few details regarding Gabriel.

The few I have which my not already be known are listed below.

I purchased it from Heath Garage in Newmarket.

It was being sold on behalf of Mrs Grade who's husband was the boss of the TV company that produced Thunderbirds and Secret Service for the BBC.

That was in 1968 or thereabouts.

I have used it on a few Model T owners Club rallies but it has not been out for several years.

My wife and I took it to Coventry some years ago for a Gerry Anderson revival meeting where I drove it around the area.

The car was suspended in our old premises in Palace Street Norwich for several years and created a lot of interest from many areas of the public.

That is where someone from The Gerry Anderson organisation spotted it and got in touch.

Her last outing was to an exhibition in London a few years ago but it has not been used since.

I intend to have a drive in it before it is returned to storage. That will however have to wait until new Tubes arrive as three of them are perished and will not hold any air.

I hope this is of use to you and I hope the reunion goes of OK.

I do actually have a video of the car being used in Secret Service.

Best Regards

Charles Bussey

PS. The one thing that I know has gone missing was a one third scale prop model of Gabriel. It was searched for in the '90s but as I understand it was never found. Do you have any info on that.