Lifting the Lid on the Lincoln Air Strike

Hi Woodsy,

I saw your recent post on the Lincoln International Air Strike Moving Target game – fascinating fun to play in competition or alone. This was one I did not know, and even after some digging, I could not find very much information – it is a really obscure toy.

It is by Lincoln International, and Made in Hong Kong. I would say around the 1960s or 1970s.

The game comprises two clear plastic balls, one inside the other. The inner ball rotates, driven by a wind-up clockwork motor, with a key on the side of the toy.

Both balls have holes in them, and the object of the game appears to be to shoot projectiles through the holes in the outer ball, in to the inner ball, when the holes are aligned. The projectiles come in two colours, so you can tell which player it the best shot.

Two jet planes are mounted on the ends of detachable arms. The jets look to be chrome-plated, and might be based on the North American F-100 Super Sabre, although that is a bit of a guess.

The projectiles are loaded in to the nose of each aircraft, a striker is pulled back, and released firing the missile. One sales listing for the toy gives the dimensions as 24 inches across when assembled, and 6 inches high.

Five photographs from Worthpoint.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Oh Boy it's a Lincoln Toy! But What does it Do?

This is an odd one. 

A Lincoln toy, the Air Strike Moving Target.

It looks like a plastic gerbil house with two jets on gangplanks.

I've no idea how this works!

You?

MONSTROUS HANDS

 I love obscure facts about obscure toys.

Here are Lincoln International's monsters.

I read on the brilliant Plaid Stallions that the hands of the Werewolf, Mummy and the Fly were based on the fabulous hands of the Aurora Wolfman, pictured below.

My own observation is that maybe Imperial's Classic Movie Monster Wolfman has the same hands too.

Have you any of these toys readers?

*

Another hand!

Our Mock Mr. Rock Blister Carded

 It's been awhile since this Mr. Rock mockoff figure was finished.

 I've been waiting for the best blister to fit his 9 inches and wide stance, but more importantly I wanted to do decent justice to Bill's fabulous repro card art.

Today I found a largish clear plastic sushi box in Aldi. It provided the perfect blister, as well as my Japanese lunch. You got a little plastic fish too! Result! 

So here he is, the Moonbase International carded mock Mr. Rock finally finished.

See what you think.

In monochrome as it might have appeared in comic ads.

I added an old price tag this time for a final touch. 

I had to keep this photo as somehow it's captured my ugly mug too! Ha ha

OH BOY! ITS A LINCOLN MONSTER!

For those readers who enjoy monsters like me here's a great video by Plaid Stallions about Lincoln International Monster toys.

Its GRRRRReat!

https://youtu.be/QbOkNDBhrJU?feature=shared

LOCAL CUSTOMS: THE NEW MOONBASE DIY FIGURES: ZYTHON, MR. ROCK AND CO.

I've been having fun finishing off some "Moonbase International" custom figures.

With the arrival of my new baguette plastic blisters and Bill's fabulous backing graphics I was able to complete my custom Zython.

With the card art glued down and trimmed and the figure placed behind its blister, Zython has come out looking great I if I say so myself.

Like the Star Maiden Guard last Autumn, Zython is one of the larger figures we've had a crack at. Its 12 inches tall so need a big blister and a large backing card.

Bill also worked up this superb backing card rear, the first one that we've needed. Interestingly Mattel added Zython to the Space 1999 illustration. Its a shame it only ever saw the light of day in very limited numbers, through a West German comic competition

A smaller figure, at about 9 inches, our version of Lincoln International's Mr. Rock has proven difficult to find a nice blister for. Impatient to mount him on Bill's fantastic backing art, I glued down the graphics on card and deployed an oversize blister for the time being. A WIP. You get the idea. Fascinating!

With those two figures sorted and with more small dolls at the ready, I moved onto a new custom project, inspired once more by odd rare figures I've seen online.

I finagled a headpiece from Fimo and some old PC ribbon cable.

Recognise it? 

Its one of three aliens from the obscure Martian Chronicles figurer range released by Larami. Mine's smaller than an original, at just 6 inches.

Here's my custom Martian placed next to a picture of the original Larami toy as seen in the wonderful Rack Toys book by Brian Heiler.

To get an idea of how it might look on a backing card here's mine on top of the original in the above picture [ original picture credit: Brian Heiler].

So here's this weekend's work together in a huddle showing my latest custom dolls and Bill's really terrific backing cards. A toy tag team effort.

Hope you like them.

LINCOLN AIRFIX BETTA BILDA

Airfix had introduced a range of plastic building bricks in 1955, called Airfix Building Sets. These were revised in the early 1960s, and the Betta Bilda series was available from 1961 to about 1973.

There were various Sets, and packs of accessories. The range was available in a number of countries, including the United States.

The range was specifically intended to make model buildings, which were sized to go with OO and HO scale model railways. They were also in scale with Airfix kits and figures.

At the latest Auckland fair I came across a Betta Bilda set with a New Zealand connection. It was made in New Zealand by Lincoln Industries Limited, under licence to Airfix Products in Great Britain.

The most interesting thing about the set being the joint Airfix and Lincoln logo on the box top. This is based on the Airfix Type 2 logo that was introduced in 1959.

The box features the earliest style of Betta Bilda box art. It is the smallest of the sets available, the No.1, with 'Over 350 Pieces'.

These comprise a mix of white bricks, red doors and window frames, clear plastic windows, and green roofing titles. In the case of Betta Bilda, round pegs really do fit in to square holes.

I have never seen this type of mixed Airfix logo before. Lincoln made Revell kits in New Zealand under licence, but I was not previously aware of a link with Airfix.

My set is missing the instruction sheet, which might contain further information on the range, and what was available in NZ. Still, not bad for $10 NZ (about £5).

The book Forty Years of Airfix Toys, by Jeremy Brook, The Crowood Press, 2019, has a chapter on Betta Bilda. But this only covers the normal British sets.

Have you got any Betta Bilda?

Paul Adams from New Zealand

MOONBASE MR.ROCK: OUR MOCK SPOCK KNOCKOFF

 I've always loved Lincoln International's monsters and Mr. Rock, their Spock knockoff, is a member.

Fabulously rare, very few collectors will ever see one in the Vulcan flesh, never mind own one.

Here's a superb carded example as it appears on www.megocollector.com

This image by www.Lincolnmonsters.com shows in detail the turtle-necked pullover with its zig-zagged armbands and the thunderbird insignia.

The two accessories, both cheap knockoffs themselves from clones of Barbie and GI Joe, are pictured on the terrific www.Plaidstallions.com; a basic pink radio and a flare gun.

So, with a couple of custom Moonbase figures under our belts this Autumn I thought, why not have a crack at Mr. Rock!

First up I looked for the original accessories on Ebay and bingo! I found the radio in America and the flare gun in the UK. Result! All that was needed was a radio handle, which I added using a paper clip and painted it pink.

I paid $5 for the radio and $20 for its shipping. The gun was £1 and £2 postage.

Realising after a while that the jewel of the original toy is the figure itself, a figure that's nigh on impossible to find, I decided to cut my losses and buy a modern Mego Spock set. As it turned out, it was a real bargain at £15 and free postage.

I set about modifying the dressed figure to look more like Mr. Rock; Spock's hair was painted brown, the Star Trek insignia was coloured blue, the trousers were lengthened, a turtle neck was added to the pullover, double zig zag trim was put on each sleeve. and a new thunderbird decal was added to the pullover thanks to Bill.

Here's Spock Mr. Rocked.

Bill did wonders recreating the original Lincoln International card art, which I glued to card.

Here's our figure on the card.

So getting back to the original toy we began with, here's the real Lincoln International Mr. Rock.

Here's the blistered Moonbase International version [blister is temporary].

As soon as I get hold of a much better blister I'll bring the final article to show you.

Hope you like it so far.

Thanks to Bill for another fabulous bit of card art.

BRIAN'S MONSTER BASE BASH: MEGO'S HEROES AND LINCOLN'S MONSTERS SLUG IT OUT!

Reader and monstrous toy collector Brian F, he of Monster Base NJ, has kindly sent me this fabulous snap from a 1976 Montgomery Wards catalogue, which inspired him as only Lincoln Monsters can!

Yes, the Wards catalogue shot gave American kids a mouth-watering and magnificent bust-up between Lincoln International's Monsters and Mego's Greatest Superheroes.

Robin get's to side-kick the Hunchback: Supe get's a right-hook into Wolfie but Frankie has deffo got the better of Green Goblin. He's toast!

You would never have guessed it looking at the catalogue's angelic cover!

Do you have a copy? Do you remember this catalogue?

You can see another Lincoln Monsters fan's reaction to this image on You Tube. Here's Raymond Castile.

https://youtu.be/u9lcWDutcaA?feature=shared&t=1933

Mock Spock: My Custom Mr. Rock Figure

 A pointy-eared cousin of the Lincoln International Monsters, Mr. Rock is rarer than a Vulcan laugh.

A Spock rip-off, this figure has attained legendary status among Lincoln and Mego collectors and is seen, like the Victim, as a bone-fide member of the Lincoln International Monsters.

To create a pauper's version I enlisted my pointy-eared Hornby elf and his trousers.

I added a blue top, coloured the trousers black and re-styled the hair and eyebrows. I added shoes for 'elf and 'appiness! 

I've read that the figure came with a pink radio and a flare gun too.

Grabbing one of my new blisters and finding a picture of Mr.Rock in my copy of the Rack Toys book, I photographed a few different angles.

More of a comical impression of Mr. Rock, a knockoff of a knockoff! 

Live long and bodger.