Birthday Magic! Ed's ADDCO Magic Products and Terranova47's X-200

Woodsy,

After looking at Terranova47's July "OKAY Adventure Annual" post and looking at the photos he shared of his X-200 with the "ADDCO Magic Products" stamping - above - , I started thinking (not too hard mind you - it gives me a headache LOL).

A) I don't believe his X-200 was a '90s re-make, but rather a vintage '50s era piece

B) ADDCO (Advanced Design Development Co.) apparently acquired toys from Pyro, Renwal, and others to use in their 'Magic Guide' series of toys.

Attached are photos of:

Auburn Rubber #518 Fire Truck (eBay)

-A very low-res, copy of ADDCO's Magic Guide instruction sheet dated from 1954 featuring Pyro's X-200 Space Ranger (Worthpoint).

Pyro F7U Cutlass and USAF XF-90 Jet which too have the pins on top (my collection). The ADDCO stamping isn't present on my Cutlass or XF-90.

Renwal No.161 Jet with the ADDCO stamping underneath and the plastic pin sticking up from the fuselage (my collection).

Pyro XF-90 with the stamping present (eBay).

The toy itself - X-200- was similar in concept to Brian H's Tudor Rose Rarity in that two aircraft/spaceships hung down from metal rods, attached to them by lengths of vinyl plastic tubing.

A (windup?) motor on the assembly allowed the planes to fly in circles at breakneck speed. The Auburn fire truck is unusual, and I have no idea what that mechanism entailed.

To-date, I have yet to find a photo of the complete assembly for any Magic Guide toy.

From Vegas Base

Ed

Terranova47's Radio Serial Thrillers

Hello Woodsy,

Here is a book that might interest some readers; SERIAL THRILLERS by Charles Norton.

Mostly it covers BBC Radio serials; PAUL TEMPLE, DICK BARTON, JOURNEY INTO SPACE and from Radio Luxembourg, DAN DARE.

Some blog readers will no doubt remember PAUL TEMPLE from BBC TV in the 1960's. The radio stories began before TV service resumed in the UK.

I remember Dick Barton from my earliest childhood as it was broadcast Monday to Friday at 6:45pm and my parents were glued to the radio listening.

It had a theme tune that was extremely memorable and I still have a book published at the time for kids, which it turned out were the main group of listeners. It includes several of the earliest stories that I was too young to follow.

 A couple of movies were made of the characters one of which has Patrick McNee as a trench coated secret service member, pre Steed.

The time slot eventually was turned over to THE ARCHERS which I believe are still on the air. For me THE ARCHERS is best remembered for one of the funniest episodes of TONY HANCOCK that parodied it as THE BOWMANS. 

This can be found to listen to online and probably best listened to by readers that remember the character, Walter Gabriel.

Journey Into Space was also a comic strip long before the Andersons made space dramas. It had the recognizable voices of David Jacobs and Alfie Bass in the cast.

For me the book is invaluable in having the plots of DAN DARE. This was broadcast not on the BBC but at their commercial rivals, Radio Luxembourg.

The problem for me was that I lived in north London near Alexandra Palace and the BBC signal was so strong static made Dan Dare impossible to listen to.

This is the updated version of Serial Thrillers and it's recommended for anyone with memories of any of these shows.

Terranova47

USA

T Time: Terranova47's Model T Money Box

Hello Woodsy

Back in 2020 when during lock down I was unearthing money boxes, the unconsciously collected collection, I mentioned a Model T Ontario Van money box.

Well here it is, found last month!

Terranova47

USA

P.S. I really hope this is the end, though in writing that I remembered there is a huge ceramic Yellow Cab somewhere in a carton. There may never be an end?

Museum of Brands Gerry Anderson Exhibition

Image: Museum of Brands

Reader Terranova47 spotted an interesting UK event on the Downthetubes site, the Thunderbirds & Space: 1999 – Sci-Fi Toys & Collectables Exhibition.

In London at the Museum of Brands, here's their own Museum link to the exhibition.

 https://share.google/zf9PIiK0YlJWXZWuw

Let us know if you go. Sounds FAB! 

Terranova47's Auto Gyro

Hello Woodsy

Having finished the Flying Jeep I realized that I now had three auto gyros, a somewhat eccentric form of aircraft.

Here they are:

On the left; The Flying Jeep/Hafner Rotarbuggy which didn't get beyond experimental stage. 1940's built in 1/32 scale.

In the foreground; The Cierva C.30 Rota. 1930's. A licensed built version appeared in Doc Savage stories. Over 100 built. Model 1/72 scale

On the right: The McDonald XV-1 Convertiplane 1950's. Two built, this updated the auto gyro idea by also powering the rotor to lift the craft eliminating a long run before the pusher propeller created enough speed for the rotor to provide lift. 

Here shown in Spacefleet colours as per a Frank Hampson reference sketch for Dan Dare. Model approximately 1/48 scale.

Terranova47

USA

Terranova47's Completed Seaview and HMS Sophie Diorama

Hello Woodsy,

Now that it's completely finished, here is my Irwin Allen's Seaview again, passing through The Time Tunnel and threatening Patrick O'Brian's HMS Sophie captained by Jack Aubrey.

An interesting combination of nautical fiction!

Above also is a photo showing the scale of the diorama.

Hope you like it.

Terranova47

USA

Silly Season: Terranova's Pickles

I recently made a couple of batches of pickle cucumbers, which is a family tradition.

Over the years I have obtained a few pickle items, as pictured.

In the foreground is Superpickle a crib toy from the 80's that I bought in NYC when my mother visited from London and passed on her pickle recipe.

The large soft mastachiod Mr Pickle was won by my wife at an amusement park.

On the right is a plastic pickle that was a container for some figures related to 'The Beavis and Butthead Cartoon Show'

When I was assembling the three items to photograph them I noticed that the plastic pickle can be used as a money box so chalk up another part of my collection that was never collected.

This email comes under the heading of newspaper Silly Season.

Terranova47

USA

Hhhh

Terranova47's Breach

Here's my Seaview breaching into a time-warp,

SEAVIEW MEETS PATRICK O'BRIAN!

Let's see Jack Aubrey get out of this one!

Terranova47

NYC

Terranova47's French Foreign Legion Figures and Diorama

Hello Woodsy

As those of us in the Northern Hemisphere enjoy the heat of summer and think of escapes to seaside and sand I sit in the heat of northern Connecticut and at least contemplate sand.

Not the sand of a beach but of the deserts of north Africa. I recently found a box of French Foreign Legion in uniforms appropriate for north Africa in the 1900's which I purchased to recreate one of my favourite comic strips of the 1950's,

LUCK OF THE LEGION in EAGLE comic.

I loved the colour illustration and stories, also bought the books containing novels of the characters. I had been given a number of Pulp Magazines by an older cousin which inevitably contained at least on FFL tale.

The movie with Ray Milland, 'Beau Geste' was great fun, a true adventure and over the years I have acquired reprints of the Sergeant Luck stories ....

and of some of the pulp stories. There is a lot of plot repetition in these stories and none really betters Beau Geste by P.C. Wren as a novel.

I still have my copy of 'The Reluctant Legionnaire' a true tale of helping a Brit escape from serving in the Legion which certainly put off any childhood plans to enlist!

Attached are first progress photos of the figures painted in the diorama, not finished but the best way to see where painting needs improvement.

See what you think.

Terranova47

USA