Me and Missus Moonbase have just got back from a short break in the warmer climes of Southern England. We were visiting friends, always good for the soul and re-visiting old haunts in Farnham and Farnborough where we lived in the mid - 1980's.
As always we checked out the charity shops but alas we came away without a sausage. I did, however, see what is probably a really good source of reference material for toy collectors and historians, the ubiquitous vintage Knitting Pattern. There were stacks of 'em - by firms like Patons and Burda.
One particular one pictured a young boy modelling a new itchy woolly jumper and more interestingly, brandishing a Marx Tom Corbett Space Cadet Toy Rifle. The sheet was in black and white and undated but looked very 1950's. Here is the same rifle in all its colourful glory [courtesy of Vectis]:
I consider this blue version to be one of the most beautiful space rifles I've ever seen. From an age before Apollo when art deco still influenced space toys, its just too early for me to have had one as a youngster. I was still amazed to have seen it on a British knitting pattern. Was the toy available in the UK?
Googling knitting patterns and toys reveals what I mean regarding a source for toy pictures: lots of Action Man, Sindy, Barbie and various dolls. I can't find any other space toys featured in any but they'll be out there for sure! Have a browse and if you find any interesting ones - Gerry Anderson, Robots, ray guns - then maybe we could post 'em up here!
