An Arto Detour

I always used to assume all the good toys came from the far East, but lately i'm thinking all the coolest stuff comes from a lot closer to the arctic circle! Once more Arto at Helsinki Base astounds us with an amazing little item, which provides an interesting diversion from the usual hard core space toy. Arto sent us these photos of a tin plate illustrated with the east german cult animated figures called the Sandmännchen. Nestled behind the plate are three drink coasters too. The intetesting thing for me is the fact that the little chap is sat in a russian Lunochod based vehicle! Arto also found a link to several space based episodes!

http://www.sandmaennchen.de/seit_1959/fuhrpark/beitraege/im_weltraum.html

GET THE BIRD

I've always been a big fan if Mattel toys, especially the Hot Wheels range, which expanded slightly to include 6 die cast jets called Hot Birds. Out of the six, my favourite was always the Stargrazer. I recently picked up a playworn version from the US, a quick respray and some spare decals later and voila!

PROJECT SWORD: PHASE 2 - 12/03/68

TOYS ON COVERS: THE PERMANENT IMPLOSION

 

 

On the cover of paperback The Permant Implosion [1970] is, well its not really a toy, more a working model. These worm-like scramble bugs featured in the Futurama exhibit at the 1964 New York Worlds Fair. Did any of our North American readers get to visit?

NEW TO THE BLOG: THE FONDLY REMEMBERED COLLECTION ZERO-X

 

Attached are some new pictures of a rather neat cast resin Zero-X from supercollector Terry Harle.

 

 

It's completely new to me and new to the blog. It's Japanese and from the "Fondly Remembered Collection". Terry explains that "the model comes completed and is 145mm in length. Minor damage to this one as it has one of the red tips broken off of lift wing 1. It's a bit crude but still wortha a mention maybe."

NERDS AND DWEEBS

Western culture loves to label everybody and everything. Having been a fan of space stuff all my life I've been called all sorts of things from beatnik to wierdo. Fortunately you reach an age when it's not important anymore but being interested in words and how they overlap I often wonder if we agree what they actually mean.

 

 

The words are as follows: dweeb, airhead, nerd, swot, geek, boffin, buff and dork.

 

 

Would anyone like to have a go at defining them? Go on, you know you want to! [similar words from around the world welcomed!]

TOYS ON COVERS: SHOOT AT THE MOON

 

 

Here's another book cover with a space toy used in the cover art. He looks like a plastic spaceman from the 50's but I just can't place him. Anyone?

OUT OF THE DEAD SYSTEM......

......the Dyna Soar fled like a swift from Hell [please continue it readers!]......