DON BLUTH'S SPACE ACE: THE TOYS

I wrote about a toy line I'd never really looked twice at before the other day: SPACE ACE. Not to be confused with the Ron Turner magazine we promote of the same name, the SPACE ACE toy generated a few intriguing responses.

Its obviously got a keen following and judging by the number of sites on the net covering it and the actual video arcade machines, the following is quite big. The toys are based on a 1980's video game which will gave the toys that crossover appeal with the retro gamer guys, something I've just never caught onto.

All of the toys I've found online appear to be knockoffs of other toys, which I find odd if it was such a popular video game. The toys, or at least one, the Space Ace Robot Playset, cross over into Action Figure collecting and Blackstarr, which you read all about on the cool LITTLE WEIRDO's. 

Here are the two pictures of Space Ace toys I've found online on Ebay over the years and I'm looking at them now in a whole new light. These are just a couple of the toys and collectables that were made. For a more complete listing visit the uber-ace Dragon's Lair Fans site.

SPACE SET and WALKIE TALKIE [Larami]

These two Larami knockoffs feature the Space Ace backing card but I imagine the toys have nothing to do with the game. I say this because both of these are ripoffs of other more established rack toy lines:  Flash Gordon [Larami as well?] and Buck Rogers [HG Toys]. The original toys are shown below:

Arto is a big fan of SPACE ACE and recently wrote in with some cool memories and pictures of some neat paper collectables:

Your blog posting of Space Ace toys today was a happy coincidence, because I [have] an original Space Ace press kit from 1984! So I dug it up for a couple of (shoddy, sorry) piccies. Got the press kit at the Animation Days held in Helsinki back in '84. 

Don Bluth, an ex-animator at Disney who had started his own company, was a pioneering figure introducing arcade games that had animated sequences advancing the game - and as such being precursors of today's video games. Having introduced their pioneering game effort Dragon's Lair some time earlier, Space Ace was their second major video game production, premiering in 1984.

The press kit is a lavish package with game presentation, press releases, and numerous brochures featuring both Dragon's Lair and Bluth Animation's then-in-production first full-length animation The Secret of NIMH. There is also a set of 10 promotional b/w production stills of Space Ace. To give the press kit a vintage feel, also a brochure for Panasonic Laserdisc player is included!

Arto

Any more Space Ace memorabilia in your collections readers?

SOS AUS DEM WELTALL: ARMCHAIR OBSERVATIONS OF THE TOY KIND

Looking at these film stills from the Perry Rhodan flick, SOS aus dem WELTALL [1967], that wheel looks a lot like the Bendix design as featured on our friend the SpaceX MEV2 [Bill's photograph]. No idea what the Perry Rhodan vehicle is. Can't find a better still.

There's also this wacky three legged spacecraft in the film. Its very Victorian looking, like a deep sea divers helmet.

It sort of reminds me of that strange barometer head on the X-70 Astronaut robot pictured below. What do you think?

Anyone seen SOS AUS DEN WELTALL? It has many names including Mission Stardust.

LP THREE LEG DOME SHIP ON 1967 GERMAN FILM POSTER

Blimey, that looks a lot like the LP three-legged dome toy [ shown below courtesy of old Ebay] on this old German film poster for KAMPF DER PLANETAN from 1967 [Battle of the Planets], which may be another title for the Perry Rhodan movie SOS AUS DEN WELTALL [ SOS FROM SPACE].

Have you got a three legged LP spacecraft readers?

SPACE ACE ROBOT PLAYSET

Little Wierdos

There's some figures in this rack toy set that do look familiar. They all have He-Man legs! Anyone know the story behind this, the Space Ace Robot Playset?

PLANETARY SURFACE VEHICLE BY KEITH McNEILL

Not sure how to follow a whole hour of SWORDesque stuff on the radio but here's something I've had on the backburner for a while. 

Here we have the ubercool PLANETARY SURFACE VEHICLE created by the mega-talented modeller and photographer Keith McNeill. You can see all of Keith's online fleet on his website, Space Models Photography. What do you think readers?

It reminds me of a militarised Project SWORD Beetle, the shielded Snow Train, especially the 1972 Imai model version Thunderbird 7 with box art by the Japanese Showa master Shigeru Komatsuzaki as featured below.

SWORDCAST AND SARGE DOUBLE BILL TONIGHT!

We've just heard from our radio producer Bill Everatt that my radio drama Sarge will also be going out sometime after tonight's SWORDcast between 8pm - 9pm UK Time. That's Double SWORDtastic!

So for the price of fresh air you get Bill Everatt, Bill Bulloch, me Woodsy, the 'low down' on Thunderbirds Are Go, some Project Sword and SpaceX AND Sarge! Its a double double bill!

Tune in at 8pm UK Time to Celtica Radio online here.

THIS MONTH'S SWORDCAST IS ON THE RADIO TONIGHT!

Yes, its that time of the month again for another SWORDcast. This time we have a special guest, Bill Everatt, Station Manger of our host radio station, Celtica Radio. Bill started us off on the road to radio three years ago.

Bill, Bill and I will be riffing about our favourite subjects: Gerry Anderson and yes, toys. Like all the best riffs, we give it full throttle, this time on the new Thunderbirds Are Go TV show.

So, be there or be square!

SWORDcast, Celtica Radio [just click], tonight, 8pm UK Time. 

DEVIL GIRL FROM MARS AND HER ROBOT FRIEND

Gerry Anderson was the Sound Editor on the British sci-fi  B- movie Devil Girl From Mars. It was released by the Danzigers in 1954 and featured the titular leather-clad Devil Girl rounding up human men. It also featured this boxy robot.

Looking at the robot, I couldn't help thinking of that boxy robot of the toy world we've featured on the blog, the one I like to call thimble-head: X-70 Astronaut. The X-series of toys were possibly made by JR21, so the Gerry Anderson connection sort of fits in!

What do you think readers?