Won't Get Fuelled Again: 2!

With Looey's comment in mind re. The Soviet vehicle in UFO I remembered I posted this way back in 2011, 15 years ago! I was a mere 50 back then and just started a new job in a High School! 

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Over Easter I treated myself to Derek Medding's superb book, 21st Century Visions, which was going for a song on Amazon. I wasn't dissapointed and have been poring over it ever since. One of the vehicles mentioned is the Russian surface rover shown above [bottom left and right]. It appears in the 1973 episode of UFO called The Responsibility Seat, which you can watch via You Tube.

Around the same time I was also lucky enough to take possession of an Apollo Moon Exploration boxed set, [pictured top right along with a US catalogue ad], which I've been after for years. Inside is a nifty red fuel tanker [pictured top left], which also came carded as part of the 1970 Apollo Moon Exploring range [pictured top centre].

I couldn't help but notice a similarity between the UFO Russian moon rover and the Apollo fuel tanker. Or am I just seeing things as per usual?

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PS. As it's 2026, some of the above 2011 info and ideas maybe obsolete now! 

Lenin's Limo

 I saw this die cast car today in an emporium. 

Made in the USSR.

Is it called a Zul?

Bug in a Box

Having given my Grandson, Junior, a few things over the years, it's always fun to spot them still in his room. 

This Soviet watch was a gift earlier this year. With the telltale red star, I think it's a commanders watch. I have another one with a picture of a sub on it.

And who doesn't love the Lunar Bug! This one I restored for Junior a couple years back, putting his initial on the nose.

Junior had another car inside his bug. What did you put in yours?

Chipolino Automatic

 This caught my eye.

A large boxy toy rifle that reminded me of something else.

I was thinking of my Action Man machine gun.

Not that similar but interestingly the white toy rifle was used as a prop in a 1973 Soviet film called Chipolino.

The toy itself came in a simple Soviet box.

There appears to be a year stamped on the box side: 1969?

Is this a toy rifle or film you know?

(All photos and info: eBay)

East German Rocket Truck

 This East German rocket truck caught my eye.

The rocket has a Spacex-Nova-like look to it and appears to be decorated with the zodiac or constellations.

The bed of the truck carries illustrations of Soviet probes.

The long box suggests the truck had containers on its back too.

An impressive toy from the old DDR.

Do you agree?

I'm a Rocket Tin

Paint tins were essential kit back in the Sixties. No self-respecting boomer would be caught without a tin tray of watercolours.

And so it was in East Germany too. This Varia paint tray is just wonderful with those rocket and satellite illustrations. 

Did you have a tin of paints readers? 

THE SPACE TRAVEL COMMAND CAR BY EHRI

 

This tinplate roadster caught my eye.

A Rocket Commander sports car.

Made by EHRI of the GDR, the former East Germany.

What do you think?

Life imitating Art from Captain Steve

Merry Christmas to you and the rest of the Moonbase Central community!

I thought you would be interested in this, the Soviet Union's Ilyushin IL-40. To me it has a distinct Gerry Anderson like appearance, particularly the 2nd prototype with the elongated nose.

http://www.diseno-art.com/encyclopedia/strange_vehicles/ilyushin_il-40_brawny.html

http://www.aviastar.org/air/russia/il-40.php

I'm a big fan of the blog, and I finally found something to contribute!

Captain Steve

Early Soviet Aircraft Kits

Hi all,
Another of the kit history films from Max's Models on You Tube, this one covers early Soviet plastic aircraft kits, most of which seem to have been modern civil types, with just a few military or WW2 aircraft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5ticIELm1Y

Paul Adams from New Zealand

BISHKEK TRACKED PICKUP LORRY

 

I love this Soviet toy I saw on auction.

I think its by Bishkek and maybe called the Lenin.

The simple angular canopy is just wonderful.

What do you think readers?

RUSSIAN BUG

I love this Soviet moon rover I have in my old photo archive. There aren't any more details with it. It looks maybe metal as well as plastic to me. What do you think?

S P U T N I K

Like Wotan I've now seen Sputnik.

I watched this Russian movie on Netflix last night and I really enjoyed it. I was excited beforehand and that doesn't happen often nowadays. The last time was probably Alien Covenant.

Alien is a good cue to start discussing Sputnik. It has been called a Russian Alien but the nickname doesn't do it justice and certainly ignores the very unique character of this film. After all, being Russian, it was never going to look like an American flick.

I shan't be spoiling anything here though, as its still a film to watch. I can say that its a creature feature set in the 1980's Soviet Union. The Cold War is everywhere and time's are grim.

In fact the starkly bleak look of the Cold War interiors are as dominant a feature of the movie as the shockingly awful beast slithering its way through them.

If you have seen the TV series Chernobyl then you will know what I mean about the almost empty Soviet interiors and entire townscapes for that matter. There is a sparseness that's hard to fathom.

I suppose actually rather than Alien or Prometheus Sputnik has more in common with the American fantasy film The Shape of Water, which is located in equally industrial lab settings. Maybe the space flick Life a little too. Sputnik is no kids' film so forget ET. Its a gory movie like Alien.

Comparisons aside though, Sputnik is well worth a watch. I liked it a lot and has whet my appetite for more Soviet sci-fi. In the meantime I may return to Chernobyl and re-watch that.

Have you seen Sputnik?

SOVIET SPACE BOAT

I saw this old friend again this year. Its a Soviet futuristic boat. About 10 years ago I used it as the cover of an online custom Project SWORD box art project. I called it the SWORD Moon Dart. It doesn't need SWORD to make it look good though. Its a brilliant example of how cool Soviet space toy design was back in the day.

THE SOVIET BOR-4 SPACEPLANES AND THEIR LEGACY

This interesting. By Bart Hendrickx. The Spiral model is fabulous!

http://www.bis-space.com/belgium/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/bor-41.pdf

The Moon. ЛУНА (Luna, 1965 restored coluor) by Pavel Klushantsev

https://youtu.be/aT1s5s2LurM 

so given that Major Matt Mason also had a semi robotic environment suit, which came 1st?? 

Regards 

MJ 

Southcoast base

UK

OF LANDERS AND KOLCHITSKI

Hey Woodsy,

NASA has picked the final 3 lander designs for the Artemis Human Lander System. Some wonderful information from Scott Manley here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t6pLNEXh18

Here is a lot of artwork from Russian illustrator Nikolai Kolchitski. It is all from the 1950's era and you can see some rather familiar designs in some of them. http://www.fandom.ru/about_fan/koltchitsky_1.htm

Stay safe!

Lance

USA

SOVIET SWORD

I love this Soviet/ Bulgarian Mobil space truck by Straume on Ebay.

There's just something appealing about its design.

The coffin style box is so familiar as well to Western toy collectors.

the body is made of thin plastic set over a harder chassis. It must be fragile.

It could even pass as Soviet Project SWORD!

Do you like it?

The listing includes pics of more Soviet space toys; two Lunokhods and a Big Trak!

I wonder widespread such toys were in the old Soviet Union? Were they available everywhere across the bloc?

CZECH OUT THESE SOVIET MATCHBOXES

Hi Woodsy,

Your earlier piece on matchboxes made me remember how much I used to like matchbox labels- and there are some great ones on the 'net.

In cast you want a follow-up, here are some space-oriented matchboxes, I particularly like the Czech moon rover.

Keep healthy,

Andy B.

UK

SOVIET SPACE CULTURE

Storm Kiara is raging outside here in Yorkshire so we've taken heed of the warnings and stayed in.

Just browsing Soviet space art for a MEV-2 post and I came across this interesting looking book.

I wonder if it covers toys?

There were so many Soviet space toys around. Just googling reveals a whole universe of cool toy designs, similar yet completely different to Western releases. Some remind me of Project SWORD!

Has anyone got this book?

Another book that came up was Soviet Space Dogs.

I've grown up with dogs so yep, I'm a dog-lover and can't understand why they sent sentient creatures like dogs into space - never mind monkeys - but hey ho, different times.

I suppose celebrating those dogs as heroes in this book is the least they deserve but its not one for me.

You?

One book I already own is DDR Speilzeug.

Its a glossy coffee-table book picturing hundreds of vintage toys from the old East Germany aka the DDR.

Ironically I bought this in Potsdam after Germany had re-unified. Potsdam was part of East Berlin where just a decade before I would not have been able to be there never mind buy a nostalgic book of old socialist toys!

Incidentally, on the same trip I bought the blue Anker missile launcher featured on the book's cover. It was damaged when Customs rooted through my bag!

Have you any interesting Soviet Union books about culture and toys?

MIR COINCIDENCE?

I like this that I saw online.

"Space Adventure" by New Ray.

I have a feeling that this is the Soviet Mir space station but I'm unsure. The two little bulb-headed vessels look like the Soyuz I've just made.

Has anyone got anything like this?