FAIR PLAY AT FUTURAMA

The New York's Worlds Fair in 1964 involved several fabulous model vehicles, principally in the Futurama exhibition.

The three vehicles which to me were the most futuristic are as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

What I've been wondering for some time is whether any merchandise was produced for the Fair, which included these vehicles? Naturally I'm most interested in any toys or models, but where there any posters, brochures, slides, T-shirts or similar depicting them?

 

 

Anyone have any idea?

Frog Days

Just want to apologise for the lack of blogging from yours truly. Summer sunshine keeps luring me outside, where I mow grass, chat to the Missus, snip stuff, read, drink beer, watch frogs and doze in the evening haze. My normal regular output will resume after Summer folks. Enjoy yours.

 

Shoot and Shoot again!

 One of my favourite pursuits as a child was poring over old toy catalogues, making imaginary lists of toys i'd like to have. Most of the catalogues were already out of date by the time I found them, so my chances of acquiring any of the toys was remote. Decades later, Ebay changed all that and suddenly, the vintage toys from my childhood appeared for sale again.

One especially fascinating toy was usually displayed next to the Johnny Seven OMA and was accorded equal footing on my wants list. This was the Gun That Shoots Round Corners and I assumed at a young age that i'd never see one.

But just this week, Ebay came up trumps with a fine quality auction comprising the gun itself, seven of the original softballs and a vintage toy periscope which must have been contemporary with the gun. There's no branding on the periscope, but it looks like a Merit toy.

A vintage tv advert from 1964 also shows a pistol version and a larger combat set for the gun, complete with launching grenade, plane and a pair of bolas. The next workshop project for me is adding the candy container rocket to the guns arsenal, in lieu of the original grenade! The gun is cocked by pulling a wooden shaft at the rear, but the spring is so strong, I doubt many kids would have managed it. releasing the spring fires a blast of air down the barrel, squeezing out the balls from the under barrel magazine.

Needless to say, I had to have a play with it!

 

The pistol version, although advertised with the rifle on the tv [Ad below coutesy of You Tube], is completely different.

 

 

 

A very modern looking gun and oddly enough, modern combat specialists are developing just such a weapon for use in the battlefield today!

History of Email

I worked with computers in the 1980's but never sent an email. I'm not sure when it was invented. The first PC I had with email and internet access was around 1995 I think. For the life of me I can't recall what my first email was about and to whom!

 

When did you send your first email readers?

Toys From The Past Blogspot Mystery Angel Inteceptor

Fellow blogger Juan from Toys From The Past blogspot has published a wonderful article about this group of mystery Spanish die-cast Sci Fi toy spacecraft.

The die-casts include an Angel Interceptor knockoff. Have a read of Juan's article here.

IRON ROAD TO WAR

The mini scale Battlespace Railway mobilises for deployment on the garden front.

A LOT LESS BOVVER

In 1980, Airfix had quite a considerable line of toys as well as model kits, such as Flight Deck, an unusual and popular toy with a Phantom Jet that could land on a small aircraft carrier strip. To compliment this and similar toys, they brought out a Hovercraft and shortly after, the Super Hovercraft.
Using a pair if ducted fans, the model drives air beneath and behind the craft, trapping it in a cushion surrounded by a polythene skirt. The Super version came with a transport bay and Airfix included two nice models from the Dr X Railway playset, a breakdown Truck and an NCL Container wagon. I've managed to find the NCL truck on a low loader, but yet to get the whole playset! I haven't tested the hovercraft, which is supposed to work on water too... The handset us about the size of a food mixer and takes a whopping 5 D cell batteries.

FUTURE WAR

 The worlds of Gerry Anderson always provided a wealth of detail about vehicles in the 21st century and besides the main feature craft, there were always other vehicles on screen to marvel at. This always sparked an interest in futuristic toys for me and one of the late eighties toys which fit neatly into that category was Kenners Megaforce. The series of military toys divided up into two warring factions featuring a range of planes, tanks and heavy artillery. The scale was akin to Galoob Micromachines, so the average tank would be about an inch long. The Backlash bomber (above) had a large tank built in which could be released through a rear bay and the Stratofortress included a special landing pad for fighter aircraft which extended as the swing wings were opened.

 Besides the feature craft in Anderson shows, there were always secondary vehicles to see. The XT Enforcer always reminds me of the type of truck seen hurrying along the tarmac of a base about to be destroyed in Joe 90 or Captain Scarlet. The large tractor unit tows a mobile launch pad with a diecast fighter jet ready to be deployed on the battlefield. The pad rotates to sling the jet underneath a protective cover beneath the trailer during transport.

Probably my favourite vehicle from the series is the Strikemaster Orbital Shuttle, a space glider like craft launched from a heavy tracked transport. The shuttle is carried into orbit by the booster sled and then delivers its cargo of tanks back to earth.

The range included many different and unique vehicles, all accompanied by a fleet of smaller diecast helijets, copters and tanks. Ideal for a compact carpet war!