A Bloggiversary Special: Arto's Plastic Space Bird Get-Together

Here are my Space Birds.

But which one of the birds came first? To me the Hoover blue bird with its illustrated box comes across as the elder. Or maybe both were released simultaneously. 

I'mIt is interesting that the Hoover toy has the logo alongside the item number on its hull, while the Hover one has the number only. - What do we know about the Hoover / Hover connection?

Toys that have all the same distinct perpendicular side wings, first seen on Fireball XL5 and then on the Submarine Aircraft Carrier with C21 ( Century 21) logos on them, and on Space Birds with SB 6 markings, is a lovely feature, which gives the toys their aura.

Funny also that the both the Submarine Aircraft Carrier and the Space Birds are extremely rare. These toys should have been mass-produced, so why the scarcity? 

Never seen any other SB's on the net except for these two examples. It was a lucky strike of a lifetime that I chanced to visit Sandown Park in 2016.

Or maybe one day the doors of a forgotten storage will be opened and there will be a flock of Space Birds flying around the net, just like what happened with the LP Space Motorcycle this year!

Arto

Helsinki Base

THREE COOL TOYS

Arto in Helsinki Base has sent me a few links to three neat vintage toys he's spotted on Ebay this year.

First up is this interesting Space 2001 racing car like the Bluebird record breaker. There were a number of Bluebirds released in the Sixties but this 2001 branded version is new to the blog.

Here's the 1984 JETHRO ZX USAF Space Station Interceptor Rocket Ship by Gata Box Ltd. Arto has pointed out its similarities to the Zero-X nose cone in both shape and name.

Last but not least, the beautiful YT Space Bird, the Japanese version of the Project SWORD Probe Force 3 toy. I initially thought the nose cone was grey but I think I can see small fragments of red paint around it.

What do you think of these toys readers? Would they be nice on Christmas morning under the tree?

EXCLUSIVE! THE MISSING JAPANESE PROBE FORCE NO.3 BOX ART

The Spacebird No.3 is one of several clones of the Project SWORD Probe Force 3 toy.

For years this has been the only and restricted view we had of the Spacebird No.3 box top from Japan.

Not anymore, owing to the immense kindness of blog reader Terry Harle, Moonbase has received this amazing example of the box and the toy!

Here's the box top in all its glory!

Released by Maruman or MAN of Osaka, Japan.

Within lies the toy too.

In this case the silver Spacebird and not the white one originally seen.

A beautiful craft.

The engine cover is light green.

The rear exhausts are red.

All in all, a wonderful addition to the Moonbase fleet thanks to Terry and a huge box art mystery solved!

What do you think?

SPACE BIRD PIONEERS

 

This Louis Glanzman "Tom Corbett" TR-1 illustration from 1953 rings so many toy bells. I saw it on the Zorger Public Domain site.

It reminds me completely of the old plastic Sea Bird featured on MC years ago. What do you think?

BLOGGIVERSARY OPENER: ARTO'S MARUMAN TOY PROBE FORCE 1

Wholly new to the blog is Arto's new find, the Japanese Probe Force 1 by Maruman.

image: simplyrobots

We've seen something very similar on MC years ago but in kit form.

Bill and Arto have kindly supplied me with photos to allow a comparison.

Top: Arto's new toy version, bottom: Bill's old kit version built-up

Arto says: In the "top" photo you may see clearly the sprue marks on the upper wings. The toy measures 32 x 9 cm.

Bill says: "Arto's has slots to clip in a friction motor, whereas mine does not."

The boxes compared: Arto's toy top [a 32.5 x 10 x 4 cm], Bill's kit bottom [32 x 21 x 3.5 cm]

Both versions came with SB decals, SB short for Space Bird.

Arto concludes: Funny how both boxes use the same elements but in a different setting. Must be the same illustrator I guess.

Arto's new Probe Force 1 is the best Project SWORD discovery in years.

Do you like it?

JAPANESE SPACE BIRD

What a beautiful toy.

Have you got one?

HOPPED A CLANGER

Hi,

With regard to asking if anyone has any Space Birds, does this count?

Cluck, cluck,

Kevin D

SEARCHING FOR SPACE BIRDS

I was recently sent a link by blog friend Terry H for a Space Bird No.3, the vintage Japanese Probe Force 3 toy.

In the description were these Japanese characters, which you may find useful using in Google searches of your own if you're interested in the Space Bird.

宇宙戦闘機、SPACE BIRD

There was also a name mentioned, Tsuyama, which could be a makers' name, but the boxes of these toys show the initials YT so I'm unsure what it refers to.

Here are some of the Space Birds I've saved photos of over the years from various online auctions including a couple in the Moonbase collection. The cockpit, engine and jet colours vary. The final shot is of the white version.

Have you got a Space Bird?

red three

Japanese SpaceBird Probe Force Three clone.

Red window and red engine variation.

Courtesy of Terry Harle

[part of my 2009 Freeserve email archive]

CALLING ALL GRAPHIC ARTISTS! WHITE SPACE BIRD BOX ART NEEDED!

Six years ago Bill posted these incredibly exciting and rare pictures of the White SpaceBird No.3, a Japanese variant of the Century 21 Project SWORD Probe Force 3. There are silver versions of this, of which I have seen several, but I've never seen another one of the white ones or the box. It is very rare combination.

As its so unusual I have never seen the full box either. Just the beautiful pictures above from six years ago. As such the top box art remains hidden and unseen in its entirety.

After six years I am getting antsy and want to see it. In an attempt to speed up the process I have tried to create a composite of the box top using parts of all the images above. It is possible that the hidden silver Space Bird is the same image as the one along the box side but I stopped short of using it due to a lack of skill.

Anyway, my Frankenbox is a real rough and ready effort. raw and unfinishable. I am hoping that one of you much more talented graphic artists who read this blog may wish to take up the challenge and can surpass it quite easily! 

For info, further silver Space Birds have been blogged about here and here.

WHITE SPACE BIRD PROBE FORCE 3 MYSTERY: WHAT DOES THE BOX ART LOOK LIKE?

The white version of the Japanese Space Bird [Probe Force] No. 3 remains one of the rarest SWORD toys. Only one example has surfaced since the blog launched in 2008.

This one example appeared on Yahoo Japan. Although we got a good look at the toy itself, the box was unfortunately obscured.

However, enough of the box is visible to see that it's clearly different to that of the silver coloured Space Bird pictured below.

What does the white Space Bird box top look like? I would be grateful for any pictures or links that might shed some light on this on this long-standing mystery.

To help readers, here is the visible white Space Bird box close-up.

WOTAN'S BIRTHDAY! NEW DISCOVERY: OTAKI PROBE FORCE 3 CAR!

To celebrate Wotan's birthday here's another first for the blog to keep up the excitement. I regularly check Japanese modellers' clips on you tube and I had a double take when I saw this!

Is that what I think it is? said my brain, whereas my mouth simply said Oh Shit! It is quite clearly a racing car with a Probe Force 3 body! I'm still totally gobsmacked so I'll let the pictures and You Tube clip from Akasikogorou tell their own story. I give you the Otaki motorised Probe Force 3 on wheels!

and here's a Japanese Probe Force 3 'Space Bird' for comparison. What do you think readers?

 

 

 

 WOTAN WADETH IN:

Possibly based on the Daiya Astro Racer ?

Pic courtesy of Vectis

Theres one on the bay right now

 

 

Re. Comments:

Thanks for the translation Yorkie! Excellent