THUNDERBIRDS KNOCKOFFS: ROCKET FIGHTERS BY BILL EARLE

Hi Woodsy
Not sure whether your web site has dealt with Rocket Fighters as of yet. In case it hasn't then I'm attaching images showing two which I own. The designs for these appear to have been heavily influenced by Thunderbirds; not unlike Thunderbird 7 which was inspired by craft from Project SWORD.

 

Bill Earle

BIRTHDAY VINTAGE TOY QUIZ

OK Folks, it's our Birthday and we'll quiz if we want to so have a go at these brainteasers if you can. ONE ANSWER PER READER PLEASE! This spreads the fun. So that's ONE ANSWER per READER as a COMMENT. Please state the Number of the Question your answering or write out the question! Thanks! So stack the lego, heat the gloop and feel the force! Try not to use the Internet for the ansers until you can't stand it any longer!

1. Which of the Colourforms Outer Space Men resembles the Metaluna Mutant from the film This Island Earth

 

 

2. Only two SWORD vehicles were ever produced, by two different companies, in die-cast. Which toys and which companies?

 

 

3. Barbie was based on an earlier toy doll. What was her name and from which country?

 

 

4. Mattel's Captain Lazer action figure was later re-issued as part of a Sci-Fi movie toy range. Which toy and movie?

 

 

5. What is the most desirable and collectable of all Mattel's 1980's Masters of ther Universe toy range?

 

 

6. What do collectors call the discolouring suffered by some heads on Mego action figures over time?

 

 

7. Which Mario Bava film included a possible inspiration for the Derelict in Ridley Scott's ALIEN?

 

 

8. Aurora made many monster models and included Godzilla, Dracula, Dr.Jekyl, The Prisoner of castle Mare and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. What is fundamentally different about one of these to all the others?

 

 

9. Corgi produced a beautiful Green Hornet Black Beauty die-cast car in the 1960's, which contained miniatures of the Green Hornet and Kato. But who played Kato in the US TV series?

 

 

10. Magic Robot is a famous 'board' game by MERIT but can you describe how was it 'magic'?

 

 

BONUS QUESTION FOR TOTAL SWORDIES! ONE VEHICLE PER ANSWER PER READER!

 

11. In the wider world of Project SWORD-based 'toys', six different plastic vehicles were remote-controlled with a battery-unit connected to the toy by a cable. Can you name the six 'toys' and the manufacturers - one at a time please i.e. one vehicle per answer per reader! This spreads it out and shares the joy!

Birthday Extra: Marx Playsets and Little Green Armies: Ed Ice Berg's Toy Memories

Woodsy,

Sometimes I feel like my entire life was wasted - at least in regards to hobbies. Starting as an early teenager I got interested in HO scale model railroading and that's where I stayed for decades. I never really did much with it and switched to 3-rail O-gauge/tinplate trains in the early '90s. In 1999 I wanted to feature my portable 3-rail train layout with a Little Green Army Man theme using Marx Army trains. I wanted to populate it with vintage toys and so started haunting the local antique malls and toy stores. It was this layout (see attached photos) that REALLY got me into toy collecting. With the passage of time I had forgotten the awesome fun toys I had grown up with: Marx playsets, Little Green Army Men, bin toys of all sorts, Tonka trucks, G.I. Joe's (the original 12" action figures).

 

 

THESE were the fun toys - no spending hours meticulously detailing rolling stock and structures that people wouldn't notice or appreciate anyway - just simple toys straight from the box or packaging with minimal assembly. It was during this searching for vintage toys that my past awoke in me and suddenly I started to remember all those magnificent childhood toys and the fun I had with them. Their memories had been buried deep within just waiting for the day to be reawakened. Well, the rest is history. It's been twenty years now since switching to tinplate trains and between the vintage trains and the vintage toys I've never had so much fun with my hobbies. It ultimately led to my blog and led me to you guys.

Oh, BTW, I still actually have my childhood toy chest! It has a pirate motif. Perhaps one day I'll drag it out and take some photos.

Ed ICE Berg

Birthday Special: Newly Discovered SWORD Memorabilia 1

Vintage Japanese Imai Gift Wrap Paper

issue to Japanese model shops in the late 1960's. The sheets depict cameos of many of Imai's well known vintage box art including the UFO Base series and specifically the Scramble Bug, Moon Prospector and Zero-X.

Woodsy Moonbase Collection.

Happiness is Plastic Boats and Ships on Strings

For the last four years the blog wouldn't have been anything without you readers and your enthusiasm for your childhood treasures.  I would like to invite you to email me pictures and/or stories of your favourite[s]. It could be something from your past, your current collection or a more recent treasure. It could include photographs of your tender years with said treasure or simply the toy itself.

 

 

To get the ball rolling, one of my favourite toys were cheap plastic boats, which my Mum and Dad bought me on our holidays in the 1960's. These were usually spent at one of the various Butlins Holiday camps, which all families seemed to flock to in the UK back then. Butlins camps were full of fountains, eating halls, bingo halls, swimming pools, huge diving boards, beautiful girls, annoying brothers, pirate games and entertainment guards called redcoats. As long as I had a cheap plastic boat [or a plastic sword, shield or helmet for that matter] I was happy. If I was happy, my parents were happy. Simple! And here is the evidence... I'm the little kid with the stripey shirt pleased as punch with my new black and white plastic ship and blue speedboat on a string! Mum looks happy in her sunglasses. My brother's working up his latest cunning plan of how to seperate me from my beloved toy fleet!

Circa 1965

Minehead

 

And here's Arto's cherished treasure....

 

 

"It all started with an ASC Batmobile, given by my godfather back in 1966, and subsequently carefully stripped down to basics by toddler me. Missing battery cover and all, but still works. Baddies beware!"

More Birthday Cards!

Another classic from Mike B

From Rocket Punch

 

"Greetings my friends,

I apologize for not having much communication with you lately, but I could not forget the blog's anniversary. Moonbase Central is still the greatest blog on the internet. Besides my email; the Moonbase is the only site I visit on a regular basis. Keep up the great work!

Cheers,

Rocket Punch" 

BIRTHDAY SPECIAL: TIME FOR T: A T TOYS UPDATE

If you're like reader Arto and me then you'll love toys by Sixties Hong Kong toymaker and SWORD pioneer T in a Circle aka Tai Hing. Besides making the two toys, which I believe Century 21 used as the basis oif the SWORD fleet, the Moon Bus and Prospector, T in a Circle [not to be confused with US firm Tarheel] made tons more cool plastic toys and in particular vehicles. Over the past six months many new T toys have surfaced, which were both new to me and the blog. Enjoy.

Super Hi Way Copter c/o Ferryman

 

 

Moonranger, blue, in unusual flap lid box c/o Arto

Space Capsule, blue, c/o Vectis. The Capsule is clearly based on Japanese tin toys like this Capsule 5 below c/c Alphadrome.

 

 Boeing 707 Battery Operated Jet Plane c/o Ebay. It may have been a copy of Clifford's/H's version below c/o Ferryman.

 

 

Boeing 727 c/o Ebay

Jumbo Jet Boeing 747 c/o Ebay

 

 

Air Plane c/o Woodsy

 

Above: Spanish clone of T's Amphibious Car [below] with different colouring and box art c/o Juguetes Antiguos Sevilla.

 

Last but not least, APOLLO 11 c/o Woodsy, which spun round the ceiling hanging from a nylon cord. There are many other versions by different toymakers inlcuding MOON TREK and this Japanese MOON SCOUT [bottom picture] c/o Ebay.

Footnote: I need a volunteer, who likes T toys, to update the T Checklist on the blog. If anyone is interested please let me know.

FOURTH BIRTHDAY BLOG GIVEAWAY: SWORD LUCKY BAG

OFFER NOW CLOSED!

THANKS EVERYONE. READERS' NAMES IN THE COMMENTS LIST UP TO AND INCLUDING 'DREW' WILL RECIEVE THE GIVEAWAY.

SORRY IF YOU MISSED OUT. WE ONLY HAVE LIMITED STOCK.

To celebrate the blog's fourth birthday Me and Wotan are giving away some special blog lucky bags to our readers, without whom the blog would be just so much spent rocket fuel. The bags are exclusive to the blog, have a custom fan-made header card designed by graphics genius Wotan in the SWORD house-style and contain three small but fun items from the wide world of SWORD. Makes a cool display item!

 

 

Below is a picture of the lucky bag. So as to not spoil the surprise, I have blacked out most if it! You'll just have to get one! To receive your free blog lucky bag just leave your name in the comments section of the post. Limited stock so hurry!