LEDYBIRDS ARE GO!

Reader Ferryman has kindly sent me these cool shots of his new vintage Mexican Excavator set. Made by Ledy it's called SERIE APOLO EXCAVADOR LUNAR and is bigger than the Imai kit version.

I love the crate-like box! Talk about function over looks! The swirly boxart inside is really wonderful.

ASIMO IS TEN

I saw ASIMO on TV this morning. ASIMO is Honda's walking robot and like the PINO toy ageing in my attic, is now ten years old. As I watch him/her/it walking up and down stairs and greet crowds with raised arms, I find myself feeling astonished and repulsed in equal measure. I can't explain this confusion as I have been a life-long fan of Asimov, Sci Fi, space and robots. Surely ASIMO is simply a further fabulous step for Mankind's ever-advancing technology? In some ways the word 'step' lies behind my dilemma. Somehow robots walking round like us and doing things we do is innately scary in a way perhaps that Chimps would be if they began to talk. Am I feeling threatened? Is this fear cultural or instinctive? Maybe I've seen too many movies like AI, Terminator and Matrix and can't avoid suspecting robot plots and cyberdine assassins! Surely a fear of machines is irrational but our struggle with them goes way back. But seeing ASIMO walking downstairs today, looking like an astronaut stepping off an Apollo lander, sent a shiver up my spine!

See Creatures

 

Possibly because of my childhood exposure to lots of epidodes of Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, 20,000 Leagues and various other deep sea adventures, i've always been fond of sea monsters and other mythical creatures. Disneys animated feature, Atlantis gave rise to some wonderful designs for mecahnical fish and sharks and a massive monster called Leviathan, designed by comic maestro Mike Mignola. Naturally the Mattel toy machine churned out various dolls and vehicles and among them was a Mega Rig scale Leviathan. The Leviathan toy (above) splits into several smaller creatures and connects with other parts in a large playset with tiny 1" figures.

The Multimac toy range which generally includes space themed vehicles which can be broken down like Lego, provided another fine lobster style creature via ebay recently. This garish pink beast seats a 2" figure similar to the Manta Force variety of toys and has lots of interchangeable parts and jointed limbs.

Often copied by Multimac, Tomy Zoids are a massive range of robotic dinosaurs and other creatures. Huge in the late eighties and nineties, the range had a resurgence of interest and was rebranded in Japan a few years ago. The line included all manner of beetles, lizards, fish and even a snail. The later run of Zoids included a wonderful Sea Scorpion which was only made available in Japan.

The Zoids range all include a tiny seated gold figure, like a Spacex astronaut, but dressed like an X-Wing pilot. The range diversified into good and bad models with silver pilots in the enemy machines. Larger models are motorised with battery power and smaller ones by a tiny clockwork motor.

An earlier japanese extension to the Zoids range was Zevle, a range of models that included larger 2.5" articulated figures. Possibly the most impressive was the Zargam Scorpion, a similar size to the Sea Scorpion at over a foot long, it is battery powered and houses a single figure lying prone inside the armoured carapace. The toy was originally red, but i bought a pre-built version which had been decorated in white from the states. The box art for the toys was by one of japans famous mecha artists who painted the art for the Macross series of kits.

My test run of the video post was accompanied by my son Will, who adds enthusiastic commentary to the film! Batteries werent at their best, but it does show the basic range of movement. More to follow soon on the Zoids/Spacex connection..

INCOMING!

SPACEX .v. S.W.O.R.D

First strike by Nuclear Pulse Squadron on Moon Base Air Field.

IT'S WAR!

Super Novas

There's been an unusual flurry of Nova activity online this Autumn. Not only did readers Darth and Ferryman bag a boxed Nova each but a very scarce Durham - made Nova II [the Hawk-like one pictured above] appeared on Ebay. One lucky person is now the proud owner of this American gem. Now all we need is for the box to turn up!

The scarce green Durham Nova appears to be the same as the Tarheel version in the Moon Base fleet pictured boxed below and has the same model number of 5918.

The green Durham Nova reminds me of the super-cool and equally scarce green Durham-made Space Glider which graces Arto's collection. I'll have to ask if it came in a standard Tarheel box.

We've talked before about this apparent relationship between the two American toy companies, Durham and Tarheel and there are many non-SWORD examples on this blog of possible cross-moulding and packaging. The close proximity of their geographical names in Durham and Tarboro [Tarheel] in the state of North Carolina highlights how they may have been possible neighbours with just 96 miles separating them, as you can see in this online map.

                              

                                                                                     

However neat this map might seem though, I can't find any evidence that Durham Industries were ever based in North Carolina. On the contrary, all addressed references on the net appear to be located in New York. 

Location aside, it is unclear whether the relationship between Durham and Tarheel was consensual. Durham Industries, based in New York, had form when it came to knock-offs or derivative works as they are called in legalese. There are a number of old cases and papers, which appear online, such as Durham Industries V. Tomy.

So, the Durham question remains. Any further observations are welcome for posting here.

Aviones Cosmicos

These petit guys have recently joined us here at Moon Base. Made by Bullycan of Spain and called Aviones Cosmicos, they are basically cheap knock-offs of three of our Spacex buddies. It always amazes me how often Spacex and SWORD got re-hashed by other companies. Testiment to their quality and design I reckon. I really do like these Spanish Aviones and I'll be posting more shots of the toys and backing card this week.

Threebay

Three more little beaties I've seen on Fleabay recently are these. From left to right:

1. A Blue Box Space Fighter made in Singapore with brilliant card art. A different variation of this toy seems to turning up every other month and loads have appeared on the blog over the years. Wonder if anyone collects them all? It would make a stunning display.

2. A small moon rover type toy. I've seen similar egg-shaped vehicles before on Ebay but not this one with it's cool Moon Crawler/ Surveyor-style tool-arms.

3. Countdown Inc. Apollo V set: I love this kit and it pre-dates the SWORD Cape Kennedy set. One day I'll treat myself if I can afford the US shipping fees to the UK! Anyone got one that they can stand next to the SWORD set and send me a photo?

Bommy Night Caption Comp

OK Swordies, if your'e taking a break from lighting the fireworks and scoffing your pie 'n' peas then why not have a giggle and send in a what you think either or both of these two Moon Ranger pilots are thinking!