TV TIMES THUNDERBIRDS PARTY

 Another page from the TV Times Christmas Special 1966.

Kev's Crate Idea

I wanted a suitable box to keep spare batteries in for my model room. 

I thought about vintage lunchboxes or pencil cases to fit the theme but couldn't get a suitable, cheap one. Instead, I scratchbuilt this small replica of a Moonbase Alpha crate.

Boxed off!

Kevin

TIVVY

 As our man, Mish wasn't familiar with TIVVY, the TV Times mascot from the mid sixties, here's a brief look at the magazine's advertising gimmick.

I can just about remember Tivvy and some of the toys associated with the character, as well as the accompanying  sixties Gonk craze.

The idea of a Tivvy character  began to formulate in the mind of  Paul Usher, creative director of the Erwin Wasey Agency , who found the inspiration for Tivvy's look in a Finnish toymakers workshop.

Tivvy is credited to Atelier Fauni, Finland, based on the Gonk figures which Paul Usher found in the Finnish workshop.

Unlike the traditional Scandinavian folklore gnome-like Gonks, with long beards and pointed hats, Tivvy has his own look. He has  round body, something like an owl, flat feet and a long beak, like a duck. He wears a striped vest, and sports, what is described as a Beatle-style hair cut. 

The Tivvy character had his own 'Tivvy Club' in TV Times, which resulted in several items of merchandise, like badges, annuals, a plastic money box from the Trustees Savings Bank, and even a record called Tivvy's Tune!

I seem to recall an animated TV cartoon, too

Tivvy had his own comic strip in TV Comic, and puzzle pages in the annuals. Here's a couple of  examples.

Anyone else remember Tivvy and the sixties Gonks craze? 

Customers!

 Over the summer the Grandkids enjoyed giving away junk from our shed to what they called their 'customers'.

They placed it on our roadside verge with a big FREE sign. Trikes, bust lawn mower, shelves, skirting, crates and more: the whole lot got taken!

The Kids' final offer was this basket of our baking apples. They went too, basket and all! 

Do you ever leave out free stuff readers? 

MODEL SPACE THUNDERBIRD 2

 Continuing with my Thunderbirds theme, here's another quick look at the Model Space 1:144 scale Thunderbird 2.

TV TIMES XMAS 1965

 I've been leafing through some old TV Times, and these pages from the London 1965 Christmas edition caught my eye.

Tivvy had his own page, featuring Jimmy Handley, and a couple of special guests.

For young Anderson fans, Christmas Day that year had a lot to offer. Check out these listings.

Kevin's Moebius Seaview Build

Hi,

I've recently completed this Moebius kit of Seaview. Great model but stupidly big!

Dive, dive!

Kevin

UK

AOSHIMA THUNDERBIRD 1 EARLY VERSION

It's been fun revisiting the Seaview and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, but I think it's now time to move on. 

Now, what to replace it with? 

I've got the Southport Airshow coming up tomorrow, so when it comes to Airshows, Thunderbirds springs to my mind.

Here's some photos of my Aoshima ( AKA DeAgostini or AIP) Thunderbird 1 kit. 

I've got a couple of examples of the kit, but for this I chose the earlier orientation of the wheeled landing legs for this version , as I prefer it's look, and model doesn't need balancing weights. 

I'll post some photos of the ski landing gear version later.