KEVIN D'S SATURN V'S

Hi Woodsy

Here is my scratchbuilt SaturnV, made mainly from an old drain pipe! It is roughly 1/90th scale. I have it in a cabinet with my airfix Saturn1b, an old Vostok kit and various Saturn V's, including a Dragon one, a '3D puzzle' one and a keyring! It does split into stages, but I haven't even moved it for years! (Not unlike the 1/5th scale Apollo spacecraft I once started building, which got too big and heavy to move and now occupies 1/4 of my shed!).

take care,
Kevin

DESERT PATROL JEEP

This was one of my fave toys as a kid in the 1960's, part of my tin Big Four: Desert Patrol Jeep, Mod Monster, Space Frontier Rocket and the Lunar Explorer. I loved them all. Mum and Dad threw them all out when I turned into a spotty teenager. I got new ones when I was no longer spotty. My current Desert Patrol Jeep was bought for £65 in the late 1990's. A battery-operated bump 'n' go flashing -turretted tinplate terror! Anyone else got one or similar?

MYSTERY UFO FROM JAPAN

Reader and Japanese toy collector Paul Kaiju got in touch this weekend about his latest mystery find. If anyone knows what it is please tell us in the comments. Thanks:

 

Hi Paul, Still loving the blog. Just wanted to share some pics of an unusual toy I picked up on my last trip to Japan. I saw it in a case and fell in love. Still trying to find an ID. No markings. It's a wind up. I believe it's a model kit. If it was a kit, the builder did a good job being sparing with glue.
Cheers.
P

Ferryman's Fantastical SWORD Fleet: The SWORD Moon Squad

LtoR: Scramble Bug, Moon Bus, Moon Prospector

Century 21 Toys

1967

THUNDEREGGS

Celtica DJ Bill Everatt kindly alerted me to these cool THUNDERBIRDS egg cups and cosies at UK chain store Marks and Spencer. In this new range they also have a Brains Mug and a neat Thunderbirds Washbag. Well it does get hot and sweaty on Tracy Island. See the full range here. FAB!

Thunderbird 3 by Lincoln International

I’ve had this Lincoln International Thunderbird 3 for donkey’s years. I picked it up at a local toy & cycle shop in the mid sixties.

I’m amazed I still have most of the pieces after all this time. The box is long gone ( the box pictured isn't mine it's just shown  for reference and to stir the odd memory) and the electric motor and wiring along with the wheels would have been put to one side because as a kid I always wanted my toys to look more like their TV counterparts.

Unlike the hard plastic of the Rosenthal toys, the Lincoln used a less rigid polystyrene plastic so even though it was prone to bending the chances of bits breaking were slimmer. The toy came in the form of a snap together kit so the downside was things could come apart and become lost.

There’s no evidence left of the decals I would have applied, and at some point in it’s life I must have decided to add a bit of black paint.

What I do like about it is it’s height of 12”, a full 4” taller than the Rosenthal version. I never owned any other Lincoln Thunderbird or the Fab 1 and I’m intrigued to know how they compare size wise to the Rosenthal ones.

Anyone out there got any of these kits or any memories about them? Or even better, any photos of them would be welcome.

TV21 BOOSTER ROCKET AND GANTRY

SWORD FLEET GROUP SHOT

THE COMPLETE SWORD FLEET

Century 21 Toys and Imai