Task Force 1 and 2: Possible Origins by Grif

Dear Woodsy,
I believe that I may have found the origins of Re-Entry Task Force 1 and 2! In the Jeff Hawke Fan Club magazine “Jeff Hawke’s Cosmos”, issue 2, June 2003, the second half of the first “Jeff Hawke” story “Space Rider” is re-published, having been first published in the “Daily Express” from 15th February to 26th July, 1954.

The attached pictures show two rocket ships from that story. I think you’ll agree that the dart-shaped ship is a lot like TF1, whilst the ship with nacelles on the end of its fins looks even more like TF2! I think that the ring of rocket tubes around the flow-straightener cone on TF2, which are absent on the Jeff Hawke ship, were inspired by the power unit on a ship in “The Dalek Book”, circa 1964, pictured last here [in colour] – this was a “lifeboat” in which the heroes of that story ejected from thair ship seconds before it was destroyed by the Daleks.

Oddly enough, it was a bright orange (a good colour for a lifeboat!), which may have inspired the colour of plastic that the “Re-Entry Task Force” ships were moulded in! Now, as to how a toy designer in Hong Kong was influenced by these ideas......
Grif

PS. re. above a lot like the power unit of Re-Entry Task Force 2, wouldn't you say? BTW, Woodsy, how did you know that the Re-Entry Task Force series were originally called the Rescue Task Force?

Grif

Fair Enough

Just been to a local Sunday Toy Fair/ Swapmeet in a college hall. It's the first one I've been to for ages and I was quite excited as we paid our £2 entrance fees. Alas, it was a big disappointment. It was stall after stall of mostly new boxed die-cast vehicles with some old die-cast scattered about. Mrs. Moonbase was bored rigid! I'd forgotten that small Fairs like this just don't have the room or the clientele for TV related/ Sci Fi toys. That said, one of the first small evening fairs I visited 15 years ago threw up a boxed SWORD Scout, the start of my adult collection, so it's not impossible to find something spacey. But maybe those days are gone? What are your experiences of small provincial swapmeets?

Speeding Scout by Andy B

Woodsy, an attempt to make the ship look as though it's photographed travelling at speed. Andy B.

A Canna Give You More Power Captain!

Woodsy, re. the Star Trek theme, a couple of images enclosed from a flyer in an old video. Andy B

To Boldly Go Where No Kid Has Gone Before

As for many of my generation, Star Trek, The Original Series, was essential viewing when I was growing up in 1960's Lancashire. The very start of the wailing theme music was enough to bring all other activity in the telly room to a standstill and along with assorted siblings we were all glued to the screen. With the words " These are the voyages...." a reverential hush descended over us as we waited breathlessly for the stardate.

There were many fabulous 'original' episodes and I remember fondly Arena with the trerrifying Lizard Man Gorn, the fluffy aliens in The Trouble With Tribbles, Spock raging with a scythe axe in Amok Time, rock monsters [episode?] and a green band of troublesome minstrels [episode?].

But without doubt my number one was Who Mourns for Adonais, set on world ruled by the Greek God Apollo [or so it seemed!]. Who Mourns appealed to me on many levels: I was fascinated by Greek Mythology and will have recently devoured the Collins [or Hamlyn] book on the very subject. I particularly loved Apollo [and Hermes for that matter] and also giant monsters. So when he grew to a huge size and towered over Kirk and co at his Temple, I was in raptures as only a child can be [the only TV show which similarly excited me in my adult form was The X-Files when it first aired].

As crucial a show as Thunderbirds but for different reasons, Star Trek fed my desire to explore new worlds. It is one of the few programmes Mrs. Moonbase and I both saw and loved back then as kids living in different parts of Europe. What was your favourite series and episode[s] in your neck of the woods?

Back on Base

START.....SWORD MediLab 1 has discharged me. Tricorder readings show no damage except severe walloping. Doctor McCoy has returned to the Enterprise. The planned Mission to Mars Base to visit Captain Wotan next orbit is go. Much overnight precipitating and deep luna cold dictate that heavy Earth boots are essential for any critical walkabouts. A SWORD Ambulance as yet not designed [can you help?]. MediVan from Thunderbirds on loan and on standby for further sudden bursts of gravity on ice. Weather Compu readout says: Take your vits, turn up the holo-fire and stay indoors Citizens!....STOP.

ALL MEVVED UP

I recently compared the Soviet Lunnik crawler toy [above left] to the Major Matt Mason Space Crawler by Mattel.

Looking at the Lunnik pictures again it sort of looks like the MEV 2 from the Tri-ang Spacex range [top right]. Both have a slope fronted box body with a clear blister cockpit, just on different faces of the box. Supermodeller Frank May's fabulous white MEV was featured here in 2010 and shows the box body clearly [middle right]. We've seen the box body somewhere else as well as WOTE pointed out the similarities between the MEV 2 and the 007 Moon Buggy [bottom right] in his brilliant Buggy post last year [you can read more about the 007 Moon Buggy on the fab 007 Magazine website].

So what's the story on this box body? When was it first designed? Ed Valigursky painted his wonderful MEV 2 way back in 1966 in the seminal Man and Space book [below]. Was there a NASA concept he based it on?

Saturn 3

Just watched an old space flick on the old VHS format called Saturn 3 from 1980. I sort of enjoyed it but it was a bit tedious at times. Clearly derived from choice cuts from Star Wars [the opening cruiser fly-by scene], Silent Running, Dark Star and Alien to name a few, it still had some merit, mostly through the credentials of the actors: erstwhile A-lister Kirk Douglas, Charlie's Angel Farah Fawcett and a young and rather stiff Harvey Keitel, whose Brooklyn accent was overdubbed!

I thought that the robot was unimaginative, particularly it's unfinished head. The film's redeeming feature is the main ship shown at the end of the film! A snazzy moon ferry, with the same function as our friend the Nuke Ferry [earth to moon to earth shuttles] with a front shuttle-car recalling Thunderbird 4 with a bit of the Spacex Pleasure Cruiser thrown in [particularly the HG Toys snub nose version]!