IMAI ZERO-X TV ADVERT

Ever since we posted this for the first time on MC I thought ot was ace - an original Japanese TV advert for Imai's Zero X kit.

Can you think of any more Zero X TV adverts readers?

MARX GUNG HO COMMANDER OUTFIT

I would have loved this set as a nipper in the Sixties!

Not sure we had it in the UK. 

Any of our American readers remember it?

Gung Ho!

[clip: You Tube]

A FEW FANDERSON TEASER PICS

Some preview phone photos  from The Future is Fantastic.

Brian Johnson and Mike Trim being interviewed; Some original TV21 artwork from Frank Hampson; David Sisson's Stingray; An original Hawk.

EISKONFEKT

Having Europeans in the family has brought me into contact with some things I never came across as a kid in Britain.

In fact there's loads of stuff: TV shows, food, drinks, household items, types of entertainment and toys.

Here are just two:

Eiskonfekt or Ice Confectionary: 

basically these were small cups of chocolate wrapped in a coloured foil cup that were then put in the freezer to freeze. The chocolate itself reminds me of cooking chocolate but creamier. These 'sweets' came in a cellophane bag, which looked  like an icing piping bag in shape. An acquired taste but certainly different. Apart from choc ices, I had never had frozen chocolate before this.

Indoor Fireworks: 

these were boxes of fireworks for lighting indoors! Smaller than their outdoor cousins, there were snowstorms and roman candles for on the table top! Alas, to this day I have never actually seen any working, just heard about them.

You ever come across either of these readers?

LARGE PLASTIC TOY VERSIONS OF THE CORGI PADDLE WAGON AND CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG FROM SPAIN

I loved my die-cast Corgi Popeye Paddle Wagon when I was a wee laddie in the Sixties. So it was with astonishment that I saw this huge replica plastic toy online. Its by Nacoral of Spain and looks sailor man - tastic!

Just as awesome is this equally large plastic copy of the die-cast Corgi Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. By Molto of Spain too, who also did their own versions of the JR21 Thunderbirds toys, it looks truly scrumptious!

Anyone got either of these?

pics; todocollecion

THE SECRET SAM CAMERA: WHAT SORT OF FILM DID IT TAKE?

I absolutely adored my Secret Sam Attache Case by Topper as a kid in the Sixties. It was the number one spy toy that year and a must-have for a budding agent.

I've bought several cases over the years and repaired a few of the items. I even acquired a decent photocopy of the paper sleeve, which came round it in the shops.

One thing I can't recall is whether I actually took pictures with the camera. It was a real camera and did take photographs., as this old advert clip proves [You Tube]. A roll of film wasn't included with the set, which I thought was an error by Topper.

What sort of film would it have taken readers and did any of you take any Secret Sam camera snaps?

THE SCALE OF THE PROJECT SWORD MOON BASE SET

Arto's comment today about whether parts of the fabled project SWORD Moon Base set may exist separately reminded me of this post from Bill in 2009. It concerns scale and is an excellent starting point maybe for discussing the set's constituent bits.

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Project Sword and the space toy industry is full of surprises. If on company isn't copying another, the other was always trying to outdo its competitors by offering bigger, more expansive sets to an eager army of children each Xmas. 

I've always been a huge Sword fan from my very first Task Force 1 to the very recent Nuclear Ferry and I've spent the intervening years poring over the Sword Manual and Annual as (until the advent of the internet) they were the only available sources of information. 

Every year while Sword was hot, I included the Moon Base on my hitlist, and every year it eluded me. Its good to know that I wasn't the only one wondering about it!

Woodster's moonbase project is indeed a big task [ a model ]- and I envy him greatly and look forward to the results! As to the question of scale, one thing always troubled me was the (apparently) massive control box - all those dials and switches seemed awful complex, but re-reading the text in the manual, it clearly states that its a 'four switch control panel', so everything below the four lever switches at the top must be decoration! 

Also, it details the actions for each part, rotating scanner, lifting lem and blinking lights, so complex switches aren't needed. 

Furthermore, looking closely at the main image, you can see what appears to be a battery compartment beneath each module. 



Now assuming these are batteries and all they have to do is power the simple function, they would be 'C' size or similar, making each unit about 6 or 7 inches high (approx 16-18 cm) which would in turn put them at the right size for Spacex sized vehicles.

Also, the text mentions 'miniature versions' of Prospector etc, so its definitely not the huge set we hoped it might be! The figures in comparison to the vehicles would indeed seem to be LP scale as Woodster suggests - pictured is a comparison of the 6cm 'cake topper' size figures and various golden astronauts.

THE JAPANESE THREE: PROJECT SWORD FORERUNNERS

Slowly but surely the origins of Project SWORD toys have revealed themselves over the last 7 years. We now know that it wasn't quite as simple as Century 21 acquiring a toy range in Hong Kong as is often stated, but far more complicated.

One of the sources was Japan and its toy and model industry in the Sixties. Here are the three toys so far identified as the likely foundation for their SWORD equivalents [images have inverted colours for the sheer hell of it!].

MOON RANGER

The Ranger Kit by Nichimo

PROBE FORCE 3

The Monster Car kit by Otaki

APOLLO SATURN

 Ranger Interplanetary Rocket by Tomy

For a full run down of likely origins of the Project SWORD range then check out The New Origins of Project SWORD on this blog. Just Google it.