He's Almost Alive!

I'm bunged up and acheing with an inevitable late Summer cold encircled by crumpled tissues, paracetomol and nasal spray on the settee. Oh how the mighty fall, brought down by the smallest things on the planet! When faced with lethargy of this high calibre there's nothing for it but to spend hours browsing Ebay. Here's a few, most likely, mirages seen through my menthol fug.

1. Gumball carded set - interesting mix of Thunderbirds, Playmobil and spacecraft. Is that the 2001 Orion Space Clipper in yellow?

2. Pencil toppers - these guys just reminded me of SWORD!

3. Cake toppers - in the style of Apollo Moon Exploring. I'm amazed how many of these loose sets appear!

4. Moon Ranger Saucer - numbered 355A, which makes it most likely T in a Circle rather than the Cragstan version [but don't quote me as I don't own either!] [The 'A' in the 355A number is fascinating suggesting a variation - anyine got one?]

5. Robot Trapeze - you'll recognise this cutie as he's WOTAN's mate in Apollo Moon Exploring and Moon Platoon sets.

6. Adventure Boy - by Remco 1970. Was he their response to Eldon's Billy Blastoff? I love the rather creepy tag-line 'He's almost Alive!'.  Sounds like me! Where are my tissues!

Toy Wonder: The Robin Dragster

From about 2000 to 2006 I stood at Toy Fairs, large and small, around the North of England. In those days, to stay up to date, I read widely about vintage toys in general and not just my beloved space toys. One of the beauties I was aware of and saw on other more 'select' vintage toy stalls was the Kenner Robin Dragster from the Batman Animated Series. It really was a rather non-descript plastic green and red buggy but it commanded huge prices [and still does] no doubt due to limited sales originally. I personally like the box art more than the toy but nevertheless together they form one of those modern toys that can genuinely be called rare and remains firmly on my Car Boot Finds From Heaven list! If only!

Pictures: Online

X-cellent: The CollectAire Dyna Soar

Although very few if any Dyna Soar toys exist besides the Century 21 SWORD Dyna Soar Space Glider, there are, unlike most other SWORD vehicles, a few actual model kits. These vintage kits appear to be as eagerly sought after by kit collectors as the C21 toy by Sword fans and can be just as expensive. One such kit is by Collect Aire, pictured below, and can fetch over $200/£100 and can be currently seen on Ebay US. Has anyone got this kit?

Picture: Ebay

Time Warp

Obscure Video 1

Woodsy Collection

TIME WARP 1981

Big Box VHS PAL

Pre-Cert [i.e before 1984 Video Recordings Act in UK which 'rated' videos for the first time]

Starring Chip Johnson and Adam West [aka Batman!].

Written and Produced by Anne Spielberg [Steven's sister!]

It casts him into a frightening dimension...Earth. The terrifying truth is he cannot be seen by the inhabitants.

Reveiwed on IMDB [not good!]

I collect big box [large case]  videos and bought this yesterday for 25p at the local boot sale along with three others. Most interestingly it's pre-certification [pre-cert] as it was made in those wild west years at the start of the video boom between the late 1970's and 1984 when countless independent video companies bought the rights to and distributed obscure movies like this. Being pre-cert it hasn't any rating on it like the later PG, 18 etc. Nor has it any later rating stickers stuck on - PG, 18 etc - which means it was either rented from a corner shop between 1981- 84, which is unlikely as there are none of the tell-tale signs of being rented like shop number stickers. More likely, it was probably bought from a shop in the early Eighties and has collected dust ever since, which was itself unusual as video's were hellishly expensive back then costing well in excess of £30 each!

PS. Local charity shops here are no longer accepting or selling Video Cassettes as they do not sell and take up too much space. It really is the final death throws on our High Streets of a once-beloved and ubiquitous technology. Collecting video can only get harder as a result and boot sales will become their final dusty stand.

Happy Autumn

It's officially Autumn here in the UK today. The sun's still shining so we're not panicking yet! I do love the diffused light and russet foliage of this season. Do you like Autumn wherever you are?

May the Foam be With You

Yorkie's comment on the Is Yoda a Muppet post got me looking for the Muppets - Star Wars TV special he kindly mentioned. For those like me who have never seen it here's Part 1 on You Tube. You can find parts 1 and 2 next to it. Cheers Yorkie!

And by way of a concluding thought, I'm staggered as to how much crossover there actually was between the Muppets and Star Wars, none of which I saw at the time. You can check it out on Muppet Wiki! Oh and Wiki put's one rumour to bed: 'Yoda.....has often been misidentified as a Muppet'.

Thunder Subs

Saw a shedload of Thunderbirds The Movie toys today at a Boot Sale including the die-cast sub pictured below. I've also seen the same design as a cheapo miniature plastic toy made in China. Who designed it? Anyone know the story?

Are Car Boots Dead?

Just been to my fourth large Car Boot sale of the summer as the season turns to Autumn here in Northern England. Having been I pose the question: are car boot sales dead with regards to vintage space toys? I haven't found a single thing all summer and I've walked by hundreds of stalls. Now don't get me wrong, there's lots of vintage toys - dinky and corgi die-cast, plastic vehicles, Airfix soldiers etc - and tons of second-generation Gerry Anderson like 1990's/2000's Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet. There was even a loose Matchbox Tracy Island. But as for space toys from the Golden Age of the 1960's and 70's, not a cosmic sausage! Is Ebay to blame for this?

I haven't frequented any toy fairs or antique markets this year but wonder if this apparent dearth of space toys is repeated there as well?

Is this a purely a UK malaise?

PS. mystery modern vehicle seen in a box of modern Thunderbirds toys. Matchbox sized, die-cast. Like a flat space car with stripes. Any clue? Apologies for the artwork!