All at Sea

I have a feeling we've seen this before but here goes, an LP I saw in a charity shop.

Just what are those model ships on the sleeve?

Cover Story

 A couple of space theme record covers caught my eye recently.

The Moog Invasion. Not sure which robot that is buts it's part of a long tradition in the Sixties and Seventies to use toys on the covers. 

This is different, a space vision relying solely on the artists skill. It's Roger Dean's amazing cover for Rameses Space Hymns. 

A rocket-powered church steeple and so beautifully done. 

I first came across this in Roger's big softback Visions. 

What a talent.

Do you like Roger Dean's work?

Captions Required Readers!

 
Quips and witticisms needed, the funnier the better! 

PULP ACTION: ACTION MAN AND GI JOE BOOK COVERS

IF you like to see Action Man/ GI joe used on vintage paperback covers like me then you'll like this site:

 https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2013/05/16/adventures-in-science-fiction-cover-art-plastic-toy-spacemen/

The Men from Planet X

There's something poignant about this cover art. I like the way the alien has its eyes half-closed looking down, perhaps lost in thought. The few strokes to create the spaceship have been done well too and I think it looks great.

The alien is clearly influenced by the Man from Planet X movie poster art ( a film I've yet to see. Have you seen it?)

This is one of many of these posters for the film but I'll be honest, I prefer the Spanish rendition above.

The great Mel Birnkrant took his spark from the same movie for his own Man from Pluto, Electron+, one of the fabulous Colourforms Outerspacemen, which I had as a kid circa 1967..

Here's Mel's own mint carded Electron+.

Those Colorforms backing cards where a thing of beauty, perhaps the best backing cards of all time I would say!

Still, there's always room for more Planet X Men.

Here's Geometric Designs limited edition resin kit.

Have you any men from X readers? 

TAKE COVER

 Spotting more toys on CD covers this time. here's a nice pair of LEMS/ Anyone know the make?

Not sure of this donut station is a toy but I like it! My Mum and Dad had ashtrays that looked just it back in the Sixties!

COVER STORY

Like books, LP covers are a fab store of vintage toys and props. There are hundreds on the net. We've covered a few before on MC over the years and here's a few covers more. Enjoy.

I love this Pink and Perky car. Is that a toy or a prop?

I always liked Burl Ives' snowman but that flying Santa and Reindeer rings a bell. Is it a toy version?

Which Action Man uniform is that?

That's one cool Nova rocket. Do you think they made it for the cover?

I think this is 1955. So what's that gorgeous Fire Engine? Anyone know?

This robot looks familiar. What is it?

Lovely robot collage. What is that bot?

Good Night? Good grief! What can I say! I thought Candy and Andy was bad!

Last but not least is this LP from my youth. It belonged to my older Bruvv. But what is that giraffe? A toy?

Do you know of any old toys on LP covers?

PS. Mentioned in Kev's comment, BBC Space Themes.

ARTHUR'S PROMETHEUS AND THE OX WING

I was blown away by this cover art for Arthur C. Clarke's Prelude to Space from the 1950's. 

Just look at that ship! Its basically a set of super wings!

Don't know the artist but that huge jet-tipped hyper wing totally reminds me of the wings of our fave Century 21 space plane, the Zero-X!

Check it out! 

Below is Imai's plastic wing from their vintage OX Mars Explorer set. 

Its a dead-ringer! What do you think?

Clarke's amazing lunar plane is called Prometheus and predates the Apollo programme by over a decade. 

Prometheus is made up of two sections, Beta and Alpha, and flies to the moon and back in a certain way involving separation.

The novel, Clarke's first, written in 1947 and published 1951, concerns Dirk, a journalist for Interplanetary , who is sent to England and Australia because ...

 'The world's first lunar spacecraft is about to launch. The ship, Prometheus, is built from two separate components -- one designed to travel from Earth's atmosphere to the Moon and back, and the other to carry the first component through Earth's atmosphere and into orbit.'

Wiki describes the Prometheus' separation manoeuvre thus:

 'Beta is a nuclear-powered flying wing which carries Alpha into orbit .... Alpha separates from Beta' 

[above is an extract from a fuller description here]

This could almost be a description of the Zero-X uncoupling from its wing units in space, which we can clearly see in the movie Thunderbirds Are Go 

[courtesy of You Tube]!

Later editions of the book gave Prometheus a chromed finish 

but I still prefer the early cover art with the mega wing!

What about you?

SIMILAR SYNDIC SYNCHRONICITY

Browsing Pinterest I came across The Syndic by CM Kornbluth on Jim Potter's fab pages. Its a book I know not and have never seen the various book covers before. Have you readers?

The cover that caught my eye first was this red one with these two classy modelling mannequins.

I like how the modeller has given them a sort of Star Trek look.

They are made from wooden mannequins like this one universally available. I made a similar sci-fi figure using one a few years back for Wotan's birthday. I made it to look like a Micronaut.

I can't help thinking there's a similarity between the gold head of the model and this Herbert Lom headed robot from the horror film Asylum! or am I seeing things again!

This next copy of The Syndic rang another bell. I would say that the furious soldier on the cover has been more or less lifted from .....

... Warren's Blazing Combat issue number 1, a Frank Frazetta cover I always loved and stared at for ages when I saw it in the pages of Creepy and Eerie. Alas I never got a copy.

What do you think?

My final Syndic is probably its original publication, as a story on Science Fiction Adventures from 1953.

There's just something Thunderbird 5'ish about that antenna sticking out of a space dome. And that looks like a small red Fireball XL5 zooming out of the exit shaft.

What do you reckon?

Have you read the Syndic?

CURTIS COVERS: MORE JOE

Continuing my peek at GI Joe/ Action Man's other job, posing for Curtis Books, here we have him modelling his runabout, the Space Capsule, on When Two Worlds Meet.

The scale of the figure and the spacecraft seems out to me. What do you think?

CURTIS TOY COVER SUNDAY: MONTE CRISTO #99

A controlled murderous solar system!

I don't think this is an Action Man/GI Joe but rather a model kit of an astronaut although I'm unsure which.

Curtis really did like to use toys and models on their book covers! Probably nabbed off the photographer's son!

Anyone recognise the astronaut?

PS.

Is he the same as this one from 1969?

MYSTERY SPACESHIP ON THE IMPOSSIBLE WORLD

Taking a detour from Action Man covers for a day here's another old Curtis Books cover of interest. Maybe!

The Impossible World.

It shows a silver spaceship of sorts bristling with arrays and solar panels.

Knowing that Curtis liked to photograph toys and models for their covers I was wondering if this was a model.

Does anyone know?

ACTION MAN GI JOE CURTIS COVER 4

Yet another Action Man GI Joe cover from Curtis Books! They really made our plastic spaceman work for his oxygen that day. This is the 4th cover and we haven't finished yet!

Is that a different pose to the other covers I see?

ACTION MAN GI JOE BOOK COVERS 3

This third Curtis Books cover appears to have used the same GI Joe Action Man Astronaut image as the last one.

I think they've just flipped it vertically and given it a different foreground.

The object to the side is now clearly visible as a Nova-like rocket, which I assume is a model kit, although I don't know which one. You?

More Curtis covers coming.

GI JOE ACTION MAN BOOK COVERS 2

Here's another old Curtis Books cover using our articulated friend in his astronaut suit.

I hope they paid him!

Not sure what the thingy is next to him.

The figure's pose looks like it was from the same shoot as the last Curtis cover I blogged. Do you agree?

https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2019/04/action-man-gi-joe-book-covers-1.html

More covers to come.

PHANTOM FIGURES FROM FILMS

Fans of Colourforms Outer Space Men will recognise Electron+, The Man from Pluto.

[pic:MCWToys]

Toy creator Mel Birnkrant's inspiration came from the movie The Man from Planet X [1951].

Mel's genius for absorbing older fantasy and sci-fi references into his Outer Space Men has always fascinated me.

I often wonder which other films influenced space figure toys?

To get the ball rolling here's one I'm throwing in the ring.

See the red helmeted guy in this poster for Phantom From Space [1953].....

.... well check out this action figure, a Gi Joe miniature Deep Sea Diver!

What do you think?

Have you any ideas?

R IS FOR ROCKET AND TWO TOY ASTRONAUTS

Always on the lookout for vintage toys on book covers, here's one.

Two spacemen on the front of Ray Bradbury's R is for Rocket.

Are they toy figures readers?

Anyone read the book? I saw this on an auction site.

BILL B'S AURORA FANZINE

Years ago Bill B posted this fabulous image he'd made at his Mars Base home.

Its remained one of my favourite creations on the blog, capturing brilliantly what a SWORD/ Spacex - based magazine cover could look like.

Nice one Bill.

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!

PUZZLE OF THE SPACE PYRAMIDS TOY ASTRONAUT?

I saw this old book cover on Amazon:

Puzzle of the Space Pyramids.

Its not a very high res picture sorry but the space chappie on the front looks like my old Action Man astronaut.

Or it could be a Blue Box or Redbox clone [more on these later!].

What do you think?