I thought I was hearing things this morning. The BBC newsreader said that SpaceX will be sending a an unmanned supply ship to ISS or International Space Station!
Tri-ang predicted this rendezvous back in 1970! Check out their neat comic advert, above, emblazoned with the cation "Docking with the Photonic Propulsion Space Station...A Vital Manoeuvre in Outer Space Exploration"!
So Swordies, if you were SpaceX Supremo, which toy ship would you send full of food and supplies to the ISS from the SpaceX range or any other for that matter? And what would you fill the cargo hold with?
We have 100 signed-up members/ followers of the blog now! Thanks for all your support Swordies, it means a lot to us. As Project SWORD personnel say in the comics, M.A.C! [dunno what it means though - any ideas?]
Recent visitors to the blog may have noticed a few more modern toys
creeping into what is usually a vintage toy showcase. The main reason
for this is to highlight what I feel is possibly the best designed space
toy ever made. This is a bold statement, considering it goes up against
the likes of Major Matt Mason, Spacex and a host of earlier classic and
well loved toys. But what sets Starcom apart from the rest is the
amount of thought which has been lavished on the line, not just in terms
of vehicle designs, but in the actual play mechanics and features of the
toy.
Generally, contemporary space toys such as the Star Wars line and other
action figure based toys went for the film tie in route. This meant that
the toy was based on a 'real life' vehicle and either had to be made to
resemble the real ship as closely as possible or to accommodate the
standard 3.5 inch action figure which was sweeping the toy world. This
meant that a lot of the Star Wars toys had to be distorted in shape to
fit the figure access, the X Wing for example became fatter and shorter
to allow for a figure to sit inside it. Had the proportions been
maintained , the actual toy would have become unwieldy and too big for a
childs hands.
Starcom overcame this problem in two ways, one by dispensing with the
direct tie-in angle and two, by using a much smaller action figure.
Although the entire line of toys had a very limited run of two years in
the US and then as a re-release in Europe, it is easily one of the best
space toys available.
By being free of a direct tie-in to an external source, the toy
designers at Coleco (famous for ColecoVision video games and Cabbage
Patch Dolls) were able to create designs which were both practical and
exciting. I can't do real justice to the entire line here, but there is
an excellent resource detailing all the info about Starcom here.
Meanwhile, i'd like to look at one or two of the unusual elements in the
range. Part of the genius of the line was its realism. The US Space
Force was intended as a peacekeeping unit, combating the Shadow force of
enemy ships. One of the larger Starcom ships has a large cargo bay in
the rear which is designed to accept a standard size cargo container.
This cargo became a pivotal element in the toy line and certain enemy
ships had the facility to carry the same containers. Two other unique
features added to this element in that all the astronauts have powerful
magnets in their boots and all the toys have discrete metal panels on
them, allowing the figures to securely attach to them. The second and
most important feature was the 'power deploy' mechanism. This was a
cleverly concealed clockwork motor which activated an action feature on
each toy. Pushing a button allowed wings to unfurl, cargo bays to open
and vehicles to open up. Closing the activated element wound the
clockwork motor back up again without the need for keys or more
importantly, batteries.
A prime example of the cargo pod/power deploy feature is the Tornado
Transcopter Gunship. This small vehicle was able to fold up to standard
cargo pod size and slip into the back of the larger Starmax Bomber. A
touch of a button, and the tail and cockpit extended outwards and a few
quick manual changes converted the box-like vehicle into a small heavily
armed gunship. The Battlecrane is another cool example of the
magna-lock feature, again a small cargo pod sized vehicle which opens
out into a hovering cargo handling vehicle, with a magnet underneath
enabling it to pick up the other containers and move them around the
space port.
Deployed Battlecrane and Tornado Transcopter
Battlecrane Cargo Handling
Troop Carrier Pod and MedBay
Deployed MedBay
Field Maintenance Pod and Laser Rat
Keep watch, theres more to follow on Starcom soon!
CS recently supplied me with these lovely shots of a large film tie-in toy, the Valkyrie. Straight from the animated epic Titan A.E, which mixed computer 3d graphics with conventional cel animation, this is a large toy at about 18 " long.
A Beautiful model from a largely overlooked film, the Valkyrie reminds me of the Probe Force series with the elongated fuselage and clustered engines.
The Valkyrie represents a combination of elements, sleek ship design which I love and electronic wizardry which I loathe in toys. The inclusion of 'speech chips' and sound FX represent a turning point in the production of toys. Whereas earlier generations of toys relied upon the inventiveness and imagination of the child to add the sound effects, electronic toys at once added a small selection of stock phrases and sounds, but equally meant that the child no longer had to 'play' withe the toy to get the best from it, it was all pre-packaged at the touch of a button. The unfortunate death of a child after accidentally swallowing a small missile from a Mattel Battlestar Galactica toy in the late seventies also meant that all future toys would be made safe and free from firing missiles, small parts and easily breakable elements, The inclusion of electronic 'FX' was intended to bridge the gap, but for me it just limits the need for creativity at playtime.
After days marching in the blistering sun. Micromen John and George stumble across an amazing artifact - an Aegyptus Time Chamber eroded by the elements, but will it still function?
The Micromen shown here are different from the standard 3 inch figures in that they are actually just over one inch tall. These Takara figures come attached to a small lanyard suitable for use with a mobile phone and each one has the name of the figure - Jesse, John, George and Jack embroidered on the strap. The figure is attached by a small removeable eyelet in the back of the head. The amazing thing is that apart from the elbow joints and ankles, all the main points of articulation are present at this small scale. These cool figures and the fabulous Eagle were donated to the Wotan archive by the extremely generous CS.
"They were close, real close. I couldn't see them yet, but I could feel them,
as if the boat were being sucked upriver and the water was flowing back
into the jungle. Whatever was going to happen, it wasn't gonna be the
way they call it back on Mars."
Some while ago, I posted about my Mattel Battlestar Galactica fleet, bemoaning the fact that I had been unable to find the missing Viper from the standard range fleet. Well just today I am massively pleased to say that I have acquired the last ship for my small fleet. A very nicely made toy, as we might expect from Mattel, about 8 inches long and complete with a small Colonial Warrior pilot.
Underneath the hull are three unobtrusive wheels and the wings pivot upward slightly. The main range was designed to be interchangeable to a small degree, so the front fuselage detaches from the engine array. It was probably one of these models whic was responsible for the fatality in 1979 when an unfortunate child swallowed the red missile and ended up with it lodged in an airway. Consequently, all subsequent releases had the firing mechanism rendered safe, as in this model, allowing the rocket to protrude about 1 cm in lieu of actually firing.
The search for the two missing Micronauts gets serious and expert help
is called in from Starcom. As the area to cover is extensive, the
Starcom team decide to leave nothing to chance and employ a very special
ship for the mission.
The decomissioned Eagle Transporter has been specially adapted to accept cargo pods and extra fuel cells for an extended search and rescue mission. But will the Starcom Team be in time to save John and George ?
I love space ATV's. My favourite toy ATV's are naturally the SWORD Moon Bus and the Scramble Bug, with the SpaceX MOLAB a close second. Not sure how many toy space ATV's there are [is the SPV an ATV?], are you? I think Hot Wheels or Matchbox did one. I imagine there are more kits like the Tamiya U59 from Joe 90. The ATV that would have made a fantastic C21 toy would have been the UFO Lunar Tank [film clip above].
To celebrate ATV's in Sci Fi, above is a gallery of clips from the small and big screens. Which is your favourite ATV? Pics, gifs, clips, links all welcomed.
