Zeitgeisting

I've been speculating on the nature of Zeitgeist, you know, that stuff that defines a generation. Maybe I've chosen the wrong word but for 'my' childhood generation the prevailing influences are easy to remember: the space race, the monster craze, glam rock, military toys, TV like Thunderbirds and Hanna Barbera cartoons, tank tops and parallels and Butlins. There was much more memorable stuff but that'll do for now.In many ways it helped make me who I am, the cultural bit. Teenage was next and was an equally remarkable time in the Seventies.

But am I simply being overly - nostalgic or was there something special about the Sixties and Seventies? Will every other generation, those of the Fifties, Eighties, Nineties and Noughties, have the same strong sense of a distinct popular culture from that time?

Will the kids of today look back on 2012 and excitedly recall the colour of their mobile phones or favourite computer game? Will they remember the sounds of their Ipod and the cut of their clothes? Is the alluring memory of childhood the same regardless of the prevailing pop culture and does every generation in every land form a distinct whole?

Mini Robot and Me

Wote's post about Robbie and YM3 has reminded me of my own personal favourite bot toy, the petit but wonderful Mini Robot of Japan. I had one of these clockwork fellows when I was a wee droidlet myself. Simple, wobbley and totally unforgettable, with his red body and blue arms. We parted company sometime in the early Seventies - I think the Jawas got him, but I was lucky enough to have a friend who wanted a good home for her own loose Mini Robot. So in the mid-1990's we were once more together. Friends Re-united! Anyone else have a Mini Robot?

Picture: Ebay 2011

Remote Possibilities

Remote control toys were always the Daddies and Zero X was the Daddy of them all. But there were three other remotely-controlled SWORD toys: the spectacular Cape Kennedy Set, the phenomenal Nuclear Ferry and last but not least, the far less-well known Hover version of the Probe Force 3. Thanks to the power of modern technology, you can see the toys above and their respective packaging below.

Broadening the net somewhat and despite not having it's original SWORD name, Imai's Thunderbird 7 is also a remote-controlled plastic toy version of the Beetle [the shielded Snow Train]. OK it's a built-up kit but looking at Ferryman's cool snaps below it looks every bit the SWORD toy [please note that the JR21 box is a custom job created by said Ferryman for his TB7]. Are there any other SWORD r/c  toys?

What are your memories of remote-control toys?

Rubbish TV

A friend of mine recently observed how rubbish TV was over Christmas here in the UK. OK, there were Xmas staples like Alistair Simm's Charles Dickens, Jingle All the Way and Home Alone but no real thought went into any vintage series or unusual oldies over the holidays. No proper Sci-Fi, no real monsters nor were there much ghostly  goings-on. And to add insult to injury, the same films, which are on an endless digital TV loop, are back again now so they didn't really try at all! Pants really! Was this your experience in your part of the world?

A Right Pair of Robots

Woodsy, a follow up to the robots feature. This pair normally decorate my workroom. The silver one at left is Japanese, from the mid 80s; it also appeared as a smaller version in coloured plastic; the one on the right is more recent. This is one of two designs marketed by Hawkin's Bazaar, it's actually a pencil sharpener - the robot can be would by key or by sharpening a pencil!

Andy B

More Magic Robots

After a comprehensive search in the Wotan archive to find the original green robot from the Magic Robot game, it soon became apparent that he had been sold off on ebay back in the early days of my collecting fever. However, the search did remind me of two other fine examples of robotic design from japanese toy maker Masudaya. These small clockwork models, each about 3 inches high, were produced in limited numbers in 1984.

Possibly two of the most iconic robots ever made and before the advent of Star Wars, the inspiration for a whole legion of spin offs and copies. Robbie, the lumbering giant from Forbidden Planet, manages to encompass both the anthropomorphic characteristics of walking and having a deep resonant voice and the whirring, clicking electronic brain from an early computer. His appearance in the 1957 film and in a subsequent feature, the Invisible Boy, spawned millions of tin lookalike toys. This model is all plastic and has a clockwork mechanism that moves him in a mock walking motion with his static legs, by using pins in the feet to wobble him forward.

A second model in the series Robot YM-3 hailed from Irwn Allens Lost in Space tv series and shared similar characteristics to Robbie, the clear glass head, lack of face and the mechanicl brain. YM-3 benefits from a wheeled base and clockwork motor.

Both toys came originally unpainted with minor surface decoration. Looking at them now its almost possible to hear their distinctive, rounded tones reciting classic phrases such as "will sixty gallons be sufficent ?" and "Danger Will Robinson!".

Alphadrome: Home of the Robots

Tonight I did one of my regular searches of Alphadrome 'Home of the Robots', the robot and space toy database and forum run by the botfather himself, Brian Hayes. Brian was the first online UK website owner to take an interest in my penchant for SWORD and published my original and somewhat clunky checklist many moons ago [the friendly Kelly Lannan of Oz kindly did the same over at TV21 as well].

I first came across Brian at northern toy fairs as he always had a great assortment of space and monster toys nestling side by side on his stall. I still have one of his old business cards and magazine ads somewhere. When the SWORD checklist first appeared around 1999 I had an AOL email address. A few enthusiasts succeeded in contacting me through this I think [Wote, Paul V, Mark M] but it changed fairly quickly after that when I left AOL to join Freeserve. As such it became a dead address, which I forgot to update Brian about. So I was pleasantly surprised tonight when I read the following comment from 2010 by him on his forum:

Alphadrome has been fairly tightly preoccupied with traditional vintage pieces but why not accommodate some other interests? For example did you know there's a very popular Project Sword item on the site that has attracted thousands of visitors despite having had NO links. (I've added one now.)

The link Brian refers to is in the Articles section of Alphadrome, where you'll find some great reference material by other space toy enthusiasts.

Brian's also updated his database, which now includes many SWORD and related craft amongst the hundreds of cool space toys. If you haven't already checkout out Alphadrome what are you waiting for! It's the home of the robots!

Imitation is the Sincerest form of, err, Copying

I love it when one thing leads to another.

The boys' comic Hornet isn't really my cup of tea. Searching through numerous issues for advertisements has left me with the impression that World War II never ended. But that might be an unfair view as there was time only for the most cursory of glances through the picture strips.

But one stood out amongst the others. No Return From Zorun is a science fiction story about a man sent to an anarchistic prison planet after being framed for murder. A crashed spacecraft is his chance of escape and revenge.

Apart from the story itself, the artwork is very interesting because the illustrator has clearly been, erm, "inspired" by TV21 comic strips. Take a look at the rear view of the crashed ship. From this angle there is more than a touch of Fireball XL5.

Actually it only looks like Fireball from certain angles. A fuller view shows the overall design is quite different apart from its rear.

Here's another vehicle from the story. This one is called a "Skimmer". But, excuse me, isn't that an Angel Interceptor?

And what about the pilot of Law Corps Patrol Ship Dove-Nine? Surely that's Troy Tempest, albeit sitting on the "wrong" side.

And finally, here is Colonel White with a beard. Is Lieutenant Cass (in the background) wearing a Spectrum Captain's uniform?

All of which leads to this question. Is the Law Corps ship below based on anything? Given the amount of borrowing in the (actually good and worth a read) strip, I'm tempted to think this design might have been copied too. Can anyone identify it?