Following on from my earlier post, 'The Flying Saucer Enigma', I thought it might be interesting to look at one or two classic saucer designs. I'm not a fan of tin toys at all and the majority of UFO inspired toys came out in the late fifties and early sixties before the plastics revolution took hold. However, I have managed to find some nice toys which uphold the saucer tradition quite well.
First, and possibly the most unique, is the Mettoy Playcraft Saucer from the 'Busybodies' range, an english response to the giant Playmobil range. This is an early seventies toy and is essentially a large frisbee with a cockpit fitted in the centre! It comes with a suitably wigged out alien and opening canopy and can actually fly!
Next we have a much more sturdy toy in the shape of Shinsei UFO Power 'Blue Silver'. This is the flagship of a die-cast series of vehicles mostly comprising bulldozers, excavators and other earth moving equipment with the exception of one or two larger robots. The Blue Silver is a beautifully streamlined craft with tiny alien pilot sat beneath a sleek dome. Two panels open to reveal missile launchers, a standard feature on the series vehicles. No real explanation is given for the aliens apparent love of digging, perhaps they were intended to build all those secret underground bases that conspiracy theorists love!
On a more familiar theme we have a small Hasbro Transformer, whose name escapes me, which bears a passing resemblance to George Adamski's famous UFO photograph. Although almost obviously a model, Adamski purportedly travelled to Venus and other planets with a group of friendly aliens and wrote numerous books about his experiences.
British model car maker Matchbox decided to dabble with an outer space theme shortly after the company was taken over by american giant Mattel. As part of the standard car range it brought out an Interplanetary UFO with folding wings.
Later, as part of the Mega Rig series, Hot Wheels designer Felix Holst added a modular UFO to the range. This chunky toy could be built as a large 15 cm saucer or broken down into a smaller ship and a pair of rovers. The set featured a large robot, a pair of classic 'grey' aliens and an abducted astronaut for good measure!
But for all the complexity and high production values of some toys, flashing lights, electronic effects, multi-configuration and transformation, one of my very favourite saucers has to be the simple 'Space Boomerang'. This tiny toy, barely 2" in diameter, was a regular buy for me from sweet shops and newsagents as a kid. A basic plastic disk with a rotating propellor on the top, a rubber band would send it speeding away into the distance, usually to be lost or broken after a few tries due to the fragility of the plastic. I also recall having a larger, sturdier version, some four or five inches in diameter too.
And finally, being very interested in secret military projects and the whole 'skunk works' idea, I made myself a custom 'stealth saucer', reverse engineered from recovered alien technology, a solar powered garden lamp and some K'nex! (top image!)
