REAL SPACE MODELS LUNAR PROSPECTOR

It says lunar Prospector on it but this Real Space Models kit reminds me more of the Spacex Photonic Space Station! In fact its a bigger version of the little Furuta egg toy I used for my mini - Photonic SS earlier in the year. But where is the real thing from Spacex? Someone must have one!

MORE DE LUXE / TOPPER ROCKET BASE SET - BY THE PHILOSOPHIC TOAD

Hello Paul, found an excellent website on De Luxe/ Topper Toys (click on the bottom pic). The 'History' section solves the De Luxe - Topper mystery. And the 'Catalog' section suggests the Rocket set appeared in America as early as 1960!And take a look at 'The 60's'. Doesn't the Operation X 500 look cool (bottom picture)!

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The advertisement I have - top picture - dates to December 1962. It is an announcement in the toy trade magazine British Toys, indicating that De Luxe Toys were being made in Great Britain. Sadly, the quality of the photocopy is appalling, thanks to the British Library. Photocopies from there are a bit hit and miss, depending upon whether or not the person doing was in a 'do I look bovered' mood. you see in the advert are shop displays. I remember a cold, dark, winter evening out with my parents. We passed one of the two excellent toy shops which were within walking distance of home, and in one was the Fire Chief set. It seemed enormous at the time, and extremely exciting, lit up as it was.

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The toy itself was good, but somehow it never did live up to the emotions that window display engendered. Such is the power of advertising. Anyway, the Rocket Base U.S.A. looks like the one Wotan had. But again, this is a window display.What is interesting is that I am pretty sure I did not get the Fire set in 1963; more like 1964 or 1965. So the gap between this advertisement and the remembered shop display is curious. Even moreso is the discrepancy between the first appearance of the rocket set and the year Wotan recalls getting it. I don't think for a minute that he has misremembered; more likely it just means the set continued to be available for the major part of a decade.

'bye,

The Philosophic Toad

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Nice one Philosophic! Topper/ De Luxe/ De Luxe Reading Corporation made some awesome toys didn't they. Checking out that site I remember Johnny Astro so clearly now! Here's more Johnny Astro - those crazy space balloons!

TOPPER ROCKET BASE BY WOTAN

WOTAN Base Instinct 1: First of an occasional look at another of my favourite childhood toys - the Rocket Base! Every Gerry Anderson show worth its salt had a scene with a major missile installation or rocket base in it. The Cuban Missile Crisis had brought ICBMs to the front of public attention and the space race to put a man on the moon meant rockets were everywhere in all shapes and forms. There were (and still are) few things more exciting than seeing a rocket blast off on a trail of flame and every boy wanted to be a part of this. Toy companies quickly churned out loads of different toys to try and catch the zeitgeist of the period and put the drama of the countdown and blastoff into the living rooms of kids everywhere.

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I remember distinctly getting up one bleary xmas morning around '69 to find a massive (to me anyway) cardboard box sat beneath the tree, the Cape Canveral Missile Base! Made by Topper toys of Johnny Seven OMA fame (something which Santa somehow forgot to deliver - and I'm still waiting fat boy!) this was a fabulous toy, with everything you needed to stage a rocket launch. Three main sections comprised of a Rocket Transporter lorry with three ICBMs, a Nike Hercules Missile Bank with three cruise missiles and the huge 'Silo' Base Launcher. On top of all this came a small army of figures - each about 6cm high, well detailed in every pose from high altitude flight suits to heat resistant rescue suits to commanders and mechanics. Water slide decals with eagles, stars and fine grecian mythic names for the rockets like 'Thor', 'Atlas' and 'Jupiter' were ready to be applied to complete the authentic look.

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My original set gradually perished over the following years, but due to the generosity of our host, Woodster and a canny win on ebay last year, I have managed to almost complete a set of this fantastic set. One of my fondest memories of that xmas morning was blasting off a Thor rocket from the silo in front of the xmas tree and it crashing into the branches - fusing all the lights! I recreated this memorable moment last night during the photo shoot and due to the massive power still present in the spring loaded launcher, almost smashed a rocket through the glass roof of the conservatory! Given the caution inherent in every modern toy and the health and safety freaks instilling a 'nanny culture' on every child (and adults too!) in case of accidents - it was great to remember the reckless abandon that was present in sixties toys when atomic rockets, huge cannons and One Man Army guns were the order of the day!
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Happy to help WOTAN, my pleasure. The set looks stunning! Topper the Morning to ya!

YONEZAWA MOON ROCKET XM-12 1956

and here it is! The Yonezawa Moon Rocket XM 12 from 1956! The body looks the same as Cap Scarlet's rebel jet below to me. So which came first - TV21 #242 or this Japanese tinplate toy? BTW the top box is a repro from those ace box-makers at ToyTent. Bottom pic from OzziesRobots.

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PS. The tinplate rocket came first - dated 1956. TV21 #242 from 1969.

MLP SILVER SHIP - IS IT CAPTAIN SCARLET'S REBEL JET?

There appears to be a similarity bewteen the silver ship atop the Spacex MLP rocket and the rebel jet on the cover of the very final issue TV21, #242 (6th September 1969). There's a tinplate Japanese space rocket just like the rebel one too. I shall go and find it.

Picture credits: top - Jim Lewis , Bottom - Mike Burrows

REMCO ASTROTRAIN

I love this Remco Astrotrain on Ebay USA. $100 and its yours! It really does have a swordish feel to it. I can see the earth authorities rounding up casuals and carting them to moonclink in this! Remco really did some brilliant 60's toys.

SPACE GLIDER LINE-UP

left to right: Century 21 Orange, Day Fran Orange, NASA 2001 Red R/C, NASA Orange, Century 21 Grey

Top To Bottom: NASA orange (no box), Day Fran, Century 21 x 2, NASA 2001 R/C

From the Woodsy Collection

Quiz Question: which Gliders are missing?

BLOG EXCLUSIVE 8 - APOGEE BOOKS: THE SAUCER FLEET AND MORE

Blog reader, Darth, runs Apogee Books in Canada and he has kindly offered blog readers a 20% discount on any of the books on his site - click on the pic above. The discount would be a refund post-sale. Just buy and pay for what you want by Paypal from Darth's Apogee site (prices are in $US), let me know your name (contact me here), address and what you've bought/order no. and after confirmation from me then Darth will send you a 20% refund via Paypal. Here's the background for Apogee's latest fab-looking book, The Saucer Fleet:

The Amazing Sequel to The Spaceship Handbook:

The Saucer Fleet by Jack Hagerty & Jon Rogers .

After years of waiting, fans of the superb "Spaceship Handbook" can now finally see the long awaited sequel by Jack Hagerty and Jon Rogers. Available in full colour, hardback, this 328 page monster with over 400 color illustrations includes the same attention to detail first demonstrated in the Spaceship Handbook, but this time applied to Flying Saucers.
Few things are more iconic of the cold war era than the flying saucer. Although the
archetypal "Chariots of the Gods" goes back to antiquity, the concept of a
Flying Saucer as a vehicle of alien (or sometimes human) intelligence entered
our culture in 1947 and has yet to leave.
This book examines the social phenomenon of flying saucers through the lens of the films and other media of the day. You won't find any chapters on Area 51, Roswell or almond-eyed Grays here. What you will find is a detailed and meticulously researched reference on some of the most popular science fiction films of all time.
Prepare for the landing of The Saucer Fleet!

Chapters include:
THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL
TWIN EARTHS
WAR OF THE WORLDS
THIS ISLAND EARTH
FORBIDDEN PLANET
EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS
DISNEYLAND FLYING SAUCERS
LOST IN SPACE
THE INVADERS