KEVIN'S PROGRESS: HOVER TANK UPDATE

 Hi,

I've now made the front grille on the toy version and done the fins on both. Also, as you can see, I've installed a device to absorb Higgs bosons in one to remove any mass from it and therefore remove its gravitational attraction to the Earth. Still need to do the exhaust pipes, guns and complete the turret on the toy version.

Take care,

Kevin D

ROBERTA LEIGH

I was quite sad to hear that author Roberta Leigh died this week. 

Roberta, whose real name was Janey Scott Lewin  is a well known name to Anderson fans as it was some of her children's stories that gave AP Films a chance to produce their early television series.

She'd approached Gerry Anderson and Arthur Provis of A.P. Films after seeing a breakfast cereal  advertisement  for Ricicles, featuring a puppet of Enid Blyton's ,Noddy character that had been produced by the fledgling film company.

The first series was The Adventures of Twizzle which first aired in 1957.

This was followed  by Torchy the Battery Boy in 1960, although A.P. Films only produced the first series. The seccond series was produced by Associated British-Pathe.

During 1962 Roberta went on to create and produce another childrens puppet series, Sara and Hoppity  with Gerry's former partner from A.P. Films, Arthur Provis directing the episodes.

Roberta and Arthur then produced Space Patrol, more or less at the same time as A.P. Films were making Fireball XL5.

Athough both series featured adventures in space,it's interesting to note both series were very different. I loved Fireball XL5 , but as a child I found Space Patrol quite strange. However, both series were required viewing at the time.


Many years later when Network released the Space Patrol series on DVD, amongst the extras were two pilot episodes dealing with science fiction and building on what had been learnt from making Space Patrol.

The first pilot, which was produced in 1964, and again used puppets was called Paul Starr and featured a space hero, voiced by Ed Bishop.

Watching it now it's fairly obvious that it was heavily influenced by the popular children's TV of the time. The hero's space craft launched from an undersea base to a theme extremely reminiscent of A.P. Film's Stingray. The base is also full of robots not unlike Dr Who's arch enemy's !

The other pilot was an ambitious live action space story called The Solarnauts,  Both pilots were great fun to watch, but even as a kid I'd have judged them against Gerry Anderson's shows.

Roberta continued to write childrens books  and romance novels right up to 2007.

Janey Scott Lewin a.k.a Roberta Leigh 1927 -2014

CAPTAIN SCARLET'S SHADOW OF FEAR: IS IT PROJECT SWORD?

Just read this in a listing for a Captain Scarlet VHS, Shadow of Fear, on the Bay:

A second satellite, with the first acting as a decoy, successfully lands on Mars, and so Spectrum seems to have successfully completed "Project Sword", but the whole carefully planned arrangement is placed under threat when one of the participating technicians ostensibly falls dead and is brought back to life by the Mysterons, with one instruction, to sabotage the observatory and to interrupt the satellite's transmission before Earth comes to learn every single detail about the force and prevent them from continuing the war of nerves and retaliation against the planet.

I know it should read "Operation SWORD" but do you think the Captain Scarlet episode writers had the SWORD we know and love in mind? I'm unsure of the time-line here. Captain Scarlet officianadoes, what do you reckon?

SCRATCH FERRY 2: SPRUDEL

Complimenting Bill's post about his old scratch Ferry, Ymir, here's my own from way back in 2009, made from a plastic bottle. I've included the whole original post, text and all, for historical [ or is that hysterical ! ] purposes. I call my Ferry Sprudel. Are there any more scratch Ferries out there?

Remember that mineral water bottle my daughetr brought back from Germany? Well here it is! Being from the 'If you can't afford it then make one' school of thinking and inspired by WOTAN's post last year, here's my poor-man's Nuclear Ferry, complete with friction drive, detachable shuttle, metal braces and docking port! 

To finish I decided to go for a custom box with art based on the 'Space Watch' Nuke Ferry illustration rather than the C21 original. I'm certainly no Martin Bower, more a Blue Peter modeller! Anyways it was a lot of fun to do. SWORD-I-KINS MAJOR: model number 1. Eh voila!

The main parts used were mostly household odds and sods: mineral water bottle, ice lolly form, 2 game playing pieces, 1 coat hanger, a handful of 'roller pen' parts, 1 clear bottle cap, a few rubber bands, tape, model sprue pieces, paper, various old toy parts, lots of super glue and Humbrol paints. Next on the work table: more mini- SWORD!

SCRATCH FERRY 1: YMIR

Following Arto/Woodsys remarkable post on the history of the ferry, I was reminded of an early post I made, just prior to being gifted my own supertoy Ferry. In a remarkable coincidence, I had been making a model ferry from bits of scrap, which had started after picking up a pipe gasket from roadworks near Glenn Field. 

Seeing the elusive Yahoo ferry disappear into the ether, unbidden had fired up my imagination, so I whipped up my own spacex scale Nuclear Ferry. Unbeknownst to me, id shortly after be nursing the real thing! My modelling skills are far below the high bar set by Kevin and Scoop, but suffice for me to make 'fun' models, so I built the Ymir Ferry from odds and sods. Here's the original post and the model itself.

http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/wotan-biulds-nuclear-ferry-from-scratch.html

REMEMBERING MR ANDERSON

A hastily put together photo of the P.E. Supercar to put me in the mood to watch an episode. My earliest memory of watchIing TV was Supercar and here I am well over fifty years later still enjoying it.

Cheers Gerry

ALAS, NOT UNDER THIS YEARS XMAS TREE! AOSHIMA UFO MOONBASE KIT ON YOU TUBE

Well the turkey and stuffing seconds are going down a treat but breaking away from the festivities for half an hour I've been checking You Tube for UFO videos.  I've come across this short film about the UFO Moonbase Kit, which is now on my Xmas list for next year! Although the maker doesn't talk about the Project SWORD vehicles contained in this kit it's still fun to see them on the box and on the sprue. This re-issued Aoshima kit appears to be all white but I am sure that the Imai original was multi-coloured inclusing the SWORD vehicles. Does anybody have the original Imai kit?

FERRY CHRISTMAS: A TIME LINE OF ALL THE FIVE KNOWN NUCLEAR FERRIES

As rare as an empty bowl of Brussel Sprouts at Christmas, if any one toy is top dog at Moonbase it has to be Century 21's  Nuclear Ferry. It certainly is with me and Arto and here is our Ferry Christmas homage.

__________________________

Its Early History on the Blog by Woodsy

[the Ferry names are purely for fun and based on either the original or current owner and or seller / location of the toy]

Delving into Ferries, I was surprised to see that I included a picture of a Nuclear Ferry on the very first day of blogging - 15th September 2008!

• It must have been the first or Bill B Ferry before Terry H acquired it. Darth's comment back then - showing the Ferry to the C21 Nuclear Ferry box artist Bob McCall - is for me the most meaningful thing anyone has ever done as a result of reading the blog and it was day 1! First mention
• 
  
• The next mention is 10 days later with some interesting observations from Darth but no new pictures. Still the Terry Bill Ferry. Second mention
• 
  
• Then came Nuclear Physics and Ferries Everywhere giving us our first look at the SpaceX II Ferry December 2008. 
• 
  
• The next picture on the blog is Nuclear Ferry on Ebay 20th January 2009, which I assume is Pekoday. Bill B had yet to receive the Terry Ferry yet as Bill seriously covets Pekoday here in Missing The Ferry.
• 
  
• The Pekoday and Terry Ferries get blogged together 2 days later and we get the most pictures we've yet seen - from Ebay and Yahoo here. 
• 
  
• Reader Darth had a wonderful plan if he'd have won the Pekoday Ferry. Pity it didn't happen. He got the Nuclear Ferry Blues.
• 
  
• In January 2009 a blog reader sent me this picture which was posted here http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/ferry-interesting.html I think its Pekoday now in Ferryman's hands! 
• 
  
• Then we see Pekoday in all its glory in probably the best Ferry pics we've ever shown  - by Ferryman Feb 2009 in Nuclear Ferry Fab New Pictures.
• 
  
• That same month Bill B found the true origin of the Ferry, the LTV concept drawing Stop Press Nuclear Ferry Definitive.

So by February 2009, just six months into the blog. we'd seen the first or Terry Bill Ferry, the Pekoday Ferry and found out who the box art was by and where the concept came from!

_______________________________

All The Five Known Nuclear Ferries
 Researched by Arto, Assisted by Woodsy

[the names in italics are purely for fun and based on either the original or current owner and or seller / location of the toy]

1. 2008 - Terry Bill or First Ferry

The first sighting of the previously-never-seen toy came via our man in the East, Terry Harle. Despite all the signs of usage and long storage with melt marks, it provided the first opportunity to have a closer look at this magnificent beast. Today in the custody of Wotan Bill B, this example will always carry the glory of being the very first Ferry.

2. 2009, January - Pekoday Ferry

Six months after the launch of the Moonbase Central, the appearance of this Ferry sent tremors through the whole Swordie community. Listed on eBay in Hong Kong, the place of its manufacture, this example came unused in an excellent box, with only slight fading to the top. 

SWORD Manual and Commander badge were included. The bidding was fierce until the last second of the auction with the Ferry fetching a staggering price exceeding USD 800. 

In the course of following weeks, seller Pekoday listed also other SWORD items in MIB condition, suggesting a warehouse find of SWORD and other HK rarities, perhaps of samples or factory remains. Now restored to its full glory by its current owner Ferryman, this example has been ever since - thanks also to great photographic documentation - the seminal piece of the Ferry mythos.

3. 2012, May - Yahoo Ferry

This Ferry, offered on Yahoo Japan in May 2012, went completely under the radar of Moonbase Central until it was brought to light in December 2012. 

Only three pictures remain, showing a complete example with (again) some fading to the box top. Aside the accompanying Commander badge, it interestingly included, not two, but three of the black nose tips of the Passenger Module and the Taxi sections. 

The purpose of the third nose remains a mystery, if something else than just a spare. This example went under the radar of the Sword collecting community, fetching only a modest price of some thousands of yens.

4. 2013, August - Nassau San Ferry

Again a Ferry on eBay from its native Hong Kong, this example showed considerable fading both on the box and on the Ferry itself, suggesting a long display period and exposure to light. 

Upon closer inspection done at the Moonbase Lab, it turned out that it was the Yahoo Ferry all over again! Having the distinct features of a loose nose tip from the Passenger Module and the missing chequered stripe around the nose of the Taxi, it was accompanied by an extra nose tip and a Commander badge but no Manual. 

The auction ended up doubling the previous record of the Pekoday Ferry, exceeding USD 1600. The happy winner was an unnamed U.S. collector.

Nassau San described its history to Woodsy at the time:

This Ferry is from my own collection and I got it from an old Hong Kong toy manufacturing factory / warehouse about 20 years ago. I think that place helped Century 21 Toys company to additional assembly in their space series and other Hong Kong toy companies between the 1950's - 70's. This old factory district was changed to a housing estate and developed by Hong Kong Government. Now when I go to visit again they are just building a modern shopping centre.

5. 2014, October - Moonbase Loan Ferry 

This new Ferry was first seen in October 2014 at the Moonbase Central Weekend display of a complete fleet of SWORD toys. Having lost its wheels and broken its antenna on some previous mission, the boxed Ferry still retained all the prime features of this magnificent toy. 

Contrary to previous Ferries, an Astronaut badge was included along with the Manual. Currently on loan to Woodsy at Moonbase Central from an anonymous benefactor.

6. 2014, November - Helsinki Ferry

The first-ever Ferry to come up for auction in the U.S., this example disappeared from eBay in a split second after it was put up for auction with Buy-It-Now. 

Graded as an old store stock example, despite some minor melt marks, it really lived up to every expectation of a prime example. Missing the Manual and/or Specification Sheet, it came however with red Commander badge. 

Perhaps of note is the fact that, unlike many other old store stock toys auctioned in the U.S., it did not carry an old price tag, pegging the question whether this example was part of an imported stock or just a single sample. Currently undergoing maintenance at Helsinki Base Hangars.

That's the five Ferries folks! But are there any more?