3D Printing A Zero-X?

I've just watched The Gadget Show's piece about 3D Printing. The idea of everyone printing objects at home is fascinating! Parts, spares, gifts, moving objects and toys are all printable in 3D it would seem. Amazingly the new Skyfall even includes a 'printed' model of the Aston Martin DB5 shown below mid-process! [ref: Daily Mail]

pic: propshop modelmakers ltd / daily mail

 

 

There are problems though for the everage Joe like me: copyright, cost, materials, skills, functionality. Could I really 'print' a complete Zero-X toy one day? Has anyone any experience of 3D Printing?

ANOTHER PARCEL FROM ACME

Just been watching Warner brothers' Looney Tunes cartoons on TV for the first time in years. Wonderful stuff! Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and my favourites, Roadrunner and his arch-enemy Wile. E. Coyote. Beep beep! It's amazing how names stick in the mind from childhood - I was waiting for Wile.E to get a large package from ACME and Mel Blanc and Friz Freling to appear in the credits before they were shown! But who were they?

THE OUTER SPACE MEN: COLOURFORMS, KNOCKOFFS AND MODERN ICONS

I still can't believe that I had all these Colourforms Outer Space Men when I was a kid in the Sixties. Created to tie into the immense success of Mattel's Major Matt Mason these aliens were similarly proportioned, rubberised and bendy. Each figure came on a different blister card containing a weapon and possibly a helmet. They really were fabulously well-designed toys and the backing card art was stunning. Looking back they were probably the most beautiful space toys and packaging of the Sixties but that's just my opinion. Alas, these toys are now as scarce as rocking horse doo doo, especially in the UK and I would need to sell body parts to acquire these again! The inventor of the line, Mel Birnkrant, is still with us and has a brilliant website covering all aspects of the toys' history.

 

 

Although the Colourforms originals are beyond the means of most collectors, the many knockoffs and hybrids aren't and often turn up on, for example, Ebay. One modern knockoff line we have covered before is STAR ATTACK and here's another interesting example currently on offer: Shooting Missile Launcher.

The small figure is a miniature of Colourforms' Electron + figure shown below from the mid -1960's. I have no idea if the domed spaceship is a clone from another line. Anyone?

Like SWORD there's a plethora of Outer Space Men copies, large and small, old and new and also like SWORD, some are within reach of meagre budgets and some aren't. There are some rare vintage Outer Space Men knockoffs commanding eye-watering prices equal to those reached by the original figures. These are the carded  TOY HOUSE SPACE MARAUDER BENDABLES miniatures, of which there are two sets and the larger BULLMARK figures from Japan all pictured below.

pics: LandofCollectables

pic: skullbrainorg

pic: Ebay

 

 

Also like SWORD there is a dedicated fanbase for Outer Space Men [OSM] and it's really huge in the USA. There have been a number of modern re-issued and re-imagined OSM, which would add a cool contemporary feel to a collection. Probably the most well-known are the Four Horsemen toy studio's range of official modern OSM, which, to the joy of their many fans, have emerged in limited-editions and waves at comic cons and on their own online store. Below is an example of their work.

OSM inventor and designer Mel Birnkrant is still creating new concepts for the Four Horsemen to sculpt and bring to life. The most recent is TERRA FIRMA, a voluptuous earthling spacegirl pictured here.

pic: fwoosh

 

Mel's sketches for this figure and all the OSM  can be found on his fabulous website http://melbirnkrant.com/sketchbook/page14.html

 

 

Yep, if I had the brass to collect another classic space line besides SWORD I think it would be the Outer Space Men. What do you think? 

All I Want For Christmas is....

....a white Lotus Esprit like the one in the Spy Who Loved me. Not much really! Santa, are you listening! What do you want readers?

The New Canadian Air and Space Museum Needs Your Help

Hey Paul,

I wanted to let you know that we have been given an amazing opportunity to build a truly excellent air and space museum at Toronto airport. Our museum fundraising campaign went live today. This is where the A.V. Roe and De Havilland archives are kept in Canada. We REALLY need the help of anyone interested in supporting us. Even $5 helps!

The link and video is here. Can you possibly let your contacts know about it please? You might recognise some of the people in the videos!

Thanks very much

Rob

--
Robert D. Godwin
Editor/CEO - CG Publishing Inc/Apogee Space Books
Space Curator - Canadian Air & Space Museum
2116B Prospect Street
Burlington, Ontario L7R1Y9
Canada
Telephone: (905) 637 5737 Facsimile: (905) 637 2631

Moonbase Nieghbours?

I may have company soon on Moonbase. The net is buzzing with news that NASA is considering biulding its own Moonbase! I'll have neighbours to borrow sugar from!

 

 

What would your ideal moonbase look like? Spacex? SWORD? Marx? Which? My own personal favourite, certainly in terms of symmetry and good looks, is the Spacex-like complex pictured on this beautiful old Brooke Bond Race Into Space tea card. More moonbases welcomed!

Collecting Project SWORD from Japan

Collecting Japanese SWORD is an exciting and challenging hobby. There are actual-size toys, model kits and miniature replicas. Here are a few examples of the larger toys and kits. The top Probe Force 1 is a neat model kit of the SWORD probe Force. The biult-up kit is about three-quarters the size of the Century 21 toy. The two Spacbirds are clones of the SWORD Probe Force 3 and there are a number of main body, cockpit and engine colour variations to collect.

 

 

The fourth and final item is the Imai Thunderbird 7 model kit. Taken directly from SWORD, the vehicle is actually the heatshielded Snow Train and in this state is known as the Beetle. It has nothing to do with Thunderbirds. With beautiful artwork by Japan's greatest box artist Shigeru Komatsuzaki this kit is probably the easiest way to start a Japanese SWORD collection, as they do turn up on Ebay and can sometimes be found on dealer sites and in good model shops.

 

 

Let me know if you want any more information about Japanese SWORD or if you are thinking of starting your own collection.  Hajime!

No Strings Attached

By contrast with Scoops beautifully orchestrated TB1 shot, heres a modern Matchbox SkyBusters 'Turbo Tornado' I picked up on holiday. Although modern diecast toys are far removed in terms of design from vintage craft, you can sometimes find the odd aesthetically pleasing and sufficiently 'andersonesque' model.

The same toy with heavy photoshopping. Have to try that fishing line trick!

Also another modern pair - Hot Wheels redesign of a redline classic the Twin Mill and a neat matchbox  6 Wheel ATV.