JJ ABRAM'S STAR TREK

I saw Star Trek Into Darkness last night at the local Multiplex. I really enjoyed it. JJ Abrams, producer and director, has created an epic Trek, which he's modernised and pumped-up.

 

 

It reminds of the evolution of the James Bond and Batman films. A grittyness and realism is there.

 

 

It bodes well for Abram's Star Wars in a couple of years. Anyone else seen the new Trek film?

ROCKET X THUNDERBIRD 1

 

 

As regular readers will know I'm a bit of a knockoff nut. Always on the look out for new and interesting bootlegs of well-known space toys. here's one I spotted on Fleabay earlier in the year, the gloriously fake Thunderbird 1, the Rocket X VLI Control Missile. VLI apparently means variable light intensity control, which makes it similar to the gorgeous light activated Thunderbird 2 knockoff, the Ray Guard X 2 Rocket Ship.

 

 

Anyone got either of these or seen any other Thunderbird knockoffs?

THANKS FRANK

On Frank Hornbys 150th birthday, what better time can there be to showcase a few model train catalogue covers. The beautifully expressive painted art was my first glimpse of the fascinating world of model trains.

On the Sixth Day

As NASA superstar Commander Hadfield was delivering his final homily from the International Space Station,  I overheard two young people discussing if it was possible to believe in Genesis and Darwinism at the same time?

 

 

In other words, can the scientific explanation of evolution easily sit with that of a religious one?

 

 

I left the youngsters wrestling with creation and pondered on the vanishing point at which physics and religiousness become one, a horizon where no words suffice.

 

 

It struck me that Science Fiction has often employed quasi-religious metaphors to suggest a deeper meaning to the Universe. Clark/ Kubrick's seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey combined mystical imagery and stark science seamlessly: the monolith at the dawn of Man, the ghost in the machine/ computer HAL and the final foetal revelation where death and birth are one in the same in a universe of infinite depth.

 

 

This may not be the best example of what is after all a tricky area. Can you think of works of Sci-Fi which tackle God and Science well?

 

BOOSTER ROCKETS

Another size comparison of an old favourite, the Booster Rocket. Working our way down from the C21 model, we have the Triang Spacex (painted black from royal blue by me in the throes of youth) to the cereal premium version by an unknown Mexican brand, to the tiny red Imai rocket from the Thunderbird 7 kit. These are all known size variations of the ship, the only other incarnation is the orange Hover version of the battery toy. .....unless you know different...?

MARINEVILLE AT SUNSET

There was a rather nice purple sky last night here in Southport so, not one for missing a photo opportunity I grabbed the nearest model from my Man Cave, which just happened to be my old dusty Marineville Tower from a Fanderson long, long ago and took a snap before the Sun finally set.   

T LEAVES

 

In the Nineties I managed to pick up the T Moon Prospector easily. However its stablemate the T Moon Bus remains as elusive as ever for me.

 

 

This lovely T Moon Bus appeared On Ebay earlier in the Spring. Despite bidding I missed out and it left for other shores. I love the fact that it came complete with the instruction sheet. One day I will own such a beauty!

 

 

In the meantime does anyone have a scan of the instruction sheet so that we can get a better look at it?

BANDAI HUMMINGBIRD HELICOPTER

Spectrum’s multi purpose Hummingbird Helicopter from the New Captain Scarlet.

Another of the larger size New Captain Scarlet toys from Bandai.

It’s another great design  with one or two features.

An opening cockpit containing Captain Scarlet and a neat rear rescue hatch.

Although I appreciate a lot of work goes into them, as I've said in the past I’m not being particularly fond of computer generated  cartoons, and I've yet to seriously sit down and watch the series, but I must admit I do like the vehicle designs. Imagine what the show would have been like if, rather than being just CGI,  Gerry had decided to do a live action show with maybe a mix of CGI and proper model effects.