APOLLO SATURN 1984

Starlog 1984

Apollo Saturn and friend

Re-touched by Woodsy

PROJECT FOOD: MUNCHABLES FOR SWORD AND ANDERSON FANS

A bit of fun on a dark autumn night! I've been trying to think of foodstuffs and eateries that go well with Gerry Anderson TV shows and toys.

First up, Breakaway- Space 1999!

And for SWORD foodies - the Ranger bar!

and FORCE! ha ha

and for that Bump'n'Go Special, try Prospectors!

Your foods and eateries welcomed!

ORIGINAL MOONBASE ALPHA PROP

Some photos of what remains of the original Moonbase Alpha model which was on display at Alpha:2014.

What you see was rescued from being dumped into the dreaded skip after being removed from its plaster covered board when filming was completed. Although it's looking a little worn these days, it still looks pretty impressive to me.

 Moonbase Alpha as it appeared in the Space 1999 series.

FANTASY CUSTOM SWORD NOVEL COVER ART

Re-imagined Cover Art

[originally The Demolished Man]

Small Space

Since buying my vintage rocket sharpener, I've come across a couple of nice rocket pens. The blue rocket is a Kikkerland mini biro, which came in a neat packet of three, with a cool moonscape backing card. The card came in handy for small quick dioramas, using the pen, sharpener and a couple of redundant Kinder Surprise astronauts!

PRECIOUS METAL: THE SPACEX DIE-CAST CHASSIS MOLAB

Another toy I never had was and is the lustrous SpaceX MOLAB [or Mobile Laboratory] by Pippin Rovex Tri-ang pictured above [courtesy of Ferryman]. Its a really futuristic-looking vehicle, more or less a space car and was probably first illustrated for the general public by Alex Schomberg on a Rocket Stories magazine cover. 

I've never seen the front of the backing card for the Triang MOLAB, only the back, so instead I've photoshopped in an image of the rarer US Golden Astronaut boxed version in their Deluxe Die-Cast Chassis sub-range I found on an American auction site years ago. Like a number of SpaceX toys, the MOLAB had a metal baseplate or 'die-cast chassis' as an added gimmick to tempt us kids! [I wonder if this makes them easier to repair?]

The small side missiles look green in the picture. For some reason I thought they were yellow but the green looks great. I bet they were the first things to go bye bye!

Has anyone got a carded or boxed MOLAB?

HELLER DYNA SOAR MODEL OR NOT?

This picture reveals the false alarm of creating fantasy box art in the way I like doing. I had a taste of my own medicine as this Heller Dyna Soar box has been imagineered! In fact the creator has taken his fakery to the limit and produced an entire alternative history of Heller models! Now even I haven't done that with SWORD!

SOUTHPORT AIRSHOW DAY 2

Although I wasn't planning on going to the Airshow on the Sunday, on getting confirmation that the Vulcan would definitely turn up I just couldn't resist it.

The weather was much better, plenty of blue skies with just a few clouds, perfect for more photos.

Here's some of my efforts which I hope you all enjoy.

The aerobatic Jet Provost T5

The Canberra PR9 and the Hawker Hunter

The Hurricane

An American Mustang

The Lancaster, part of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.

The last time we'll see two Lancasters flying together, one from Britain and the one at the rear from Canada.

And finally, the mighty Vulcan XH 558.