New SWORD Sightings 2012: Gemini Rocket

Well it's just two weeks into January and already we have two new sightings of SWORD-related material new to the blog.

First up is something I bought from Fleabay [admittedly in December] and it's way cool! It's a vintage Gemini Space Rocket made in Hong Kong by an unknown maker. The rocket toy, not that remarkable, is elastic fired with a small descending parachutist. But it's the backing card that's on interest for on the front and back is artwork of the SWORD Apollo Saturn Rocket no less! Have a look yourself below. I've taken the blister off so that the front is completely visible.

Looking at the artwork of the rocket particularly on the rear of the card you can see that the four base wings are red and the upper body and wings are blue. Comparing this with the three known variations of the Apollo Saturn Rocket - from left to right Sears, Tomy and Century 21 - I feel the art is a deadringer for the Tomy version. Do you agree?

The second sighting of a new SWORD-related item to follow!

TAR FEATURES

Milk Ferry Way,

a custom Tarheelised bit of Woodsy box art wishful thinking.

Wonder why Tarheel in the US never did any of the bigger C21 SWORD toys like this, the Apollo Saturn, Scramble Bug or Zero-X. Come to think of it, you'd have thought that the smaller Dyna Soar and the boxed Cape Kennedy set were eminently marketable as they would have been instantly recognisable to kids Stateside in the late Sixties. What do you think Swordies?

Dome Sweet Dome

Looking at Wote's cool Lego figures with domed helmets reminded me of two friends of mine of the domed variety. Probably the earliest transparent domed helmet figure I recall is Mysterio, above, an early arch-villain and foe of Spidey. Here's the cover of his debut comic from summer 1964.

The second of my domed pals was a favourite toy back in the Sixties, Xodiac, The Man from Saturn and a member of the fabulous Colorforms Outer Space Men, which to my mind were the pinnacle of space toy design and production. The backing cards were also superb and Xodiac's was no exception. I particularly loved the picture of him with his flying device, which looked like a neat Sixties lampshade.

Were there any other domed helmets in the toy or comic world?

Pictures: Ebay

Time Slip

I was thinking about an old TV programme I used to watch in the late 60's/ early 70's called Time Slip. It may have even be one word. I remember one kid actor having thick black plastic specs like I was to get a few years later. For the life of me I can't remember the plot[s]. Anyone recall it?

Go Figure!

Following quickly on from my earlier look at the inherent colour code in various toys, heres another set of Lego figures that link directly to the earlier Kelloggs Bionicle ones. The original line of buildable figures included six hero figures in primary colours. Each figure came with a removeable mask which held a different power or attribute, the masks were initially available in small bags with a random selection of three inside and proved extremely collectable.

As the line grew over the years, large playsets were introduced and these included small scale minifigures of each character. The initial release of the figures were single piece molds with a detachable weapon and reminded me of the fifties and sixties Archer and Tudor Rose spacemen. Each one was produced in a single colour, relative to their larger versions, black, white, brown, blue, green and the leader, red.

Each figure is about 4 cm high on average with a ridiculously oversized weapon. Later sets would introduce multipart poseable figures.

Alvis Has Left The Biulding and Come Back!

Like Wote's Clifford Alvis posted yesterday, Alvis-style vehicles are old favourites on the blog. In no particular order I've selected a few from the archives. Back in Autumn 2009 we featured some custom box art for a SWORD Super Tank based on a cheap plastic toy found in local discount shops [above].

An old friend of mine, we've had the Airfix troop carrier, above, on here a number of times. It'd be great to do a feature on all the old pre-built Airfix military vehicles if anyone can help?

Also back in 09 we had a great time looking into the two land vehicles which featured in Joe 90. First up was the A14 showcased on this old Arrow Films case. Toad, ever helpful, at the time supplied me with two neat video clips as well: the A14 and the other vehicle, the U59, which you can enjoy once again below.

Where there any other Alvis-style TV vehicles [UFO? Thunderbirds? Sci Fi films] or toys?

Soldering On

We recently had the central heating boiler fixed here at Moon Base. I got a gas fitter earthside but it cost me a new set of anti-grav spanners and a zillion creds for the new circuitry. I rescued the old circuit board from the bin and it gave me an idea!

Hey presto! one Circuit City patrolled by Task Force 3!

Starcruiser Redux

The famed Starcruiser model has a chequered history, originally intended as a follow up to Space 1999 as a tv series, the Starcruiser concept never really made it beyond the model kit stage. Originally designed by Martin Bower, the craft was intended as a modular craft for exploring the far reaches of space, with separate units for various missions. The model had more than a passing resemblance to Bowers 'Swift' vehicle which appeared in Space 1999.


Airfix made a rather toylike version of the basic Starcruiser design, a snapfit kit with the various modular elements easily separated even after the kit is complete, to aid play value. I had the kit at release and made a complete hash of the paint job trying to add red stripes to the hull with masking tape. I loved the design of the kit, even though it was a much simpler version of the design i'd seen in the pages of Look-In.

The kit appears to be around the 1/48 scale, judging by the figures which look as if they are sat at the dentists waiting room with hairdryers on their heads. Consequently, one thing I am going to do is substitute the pilots provided for something a little more suitable, Matchbox Mega Rig figures. The poseability and slightly more animated shapes sit better with the toy like feel of the kit.

I've built the kit up without using glue, as each part aside from the clear elements, snaps firmly together. The base kit looks great and really brings memories back, but what I don't want to do is botch up the paint job.

This leaves me with the problem of what to do as I don't want to repeat the mess I made years ago. Also, i don't want to decorate it as it is out of the box and was considering alternate schemes and liveries, plus maybe a few modifications.

One of my all time fave liveries is the style of finish on Zero X, a lovely metallic blue with red highlights. When I got the Revell Nuclear Shuttle model, I finished it in this style and am tempted to try it out on the Starcruiser, but im not sure if it will work. Watch this space!