BLACK AND WHITE CHECKED PATTERNS ON PROJECT SWORD TOYS

Occasionally on Moonbase Central we have discussed the black and white chequered pattern found on some Project SWORD toys. A good example is that found on the top of the Probe Force 1.

Having browsed the net for a possible inspiration for these, I came across this comprehensive article called Painting Rockets by Amy Shira Teitel, an eminent space journalist.

If I have understood Amy's article correctly, the black and white pattern is a remnant of early missile tests and rocketry and it aided observation and filming of rocket or missile body rotation in flight.

Other toys similarly mimicked missiles and this very same checkerboard ring too. Dinky's Honest John is a good example.

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But most checkerboards in the toy world are found on plastic model kits, particularly those of US missiles. Take a look at this Monogram re-issue of its vintage missile arsenal to see a variety of black and white patterning.

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Have you got any toys pr models with the black and white check* on them readers?

* chequered and check/checked appear to interchangeable. Is that correct?

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SR-71 BLACKBIRD IN A NUTSHELL

Kevin's cool SpaceX Reconnaissance 1 flight test picture came alive for me today. I have just watched a TV programme on Quest called Planes That Changed the World. This episode was an hour on the development and testing of the SR-71 Blackbird.

Essentially the programme described its evolution as follows: in the 1950's the USAF and the CIA wanted a miracle spy plane that was supersonic, stratospheric and undetectable.

The current spy plane's success, the U2, was on the wane. One had been shot down in the USSR and the pilot, Gary Powers, captured and paraded on Soviet TV. It was 1960, the year I was born.

The CIA had already asked Kelly Johnson's Skunk Works to develop a plane capable of replacing the U2 in the late 1950's. The project was called Archangel. The team at the Skunk Works wove magic and ingenuity for months until they had a design that answered all three of the CIA's requirements: super fast, super high and invisible to radar. A $96 Million order was placed with Skunk Works for 12 planes.

One of the countless engineering challenges they faced was which material to use in the plane's manufacture. Conventional metals would become white hot at more than supersonic speeds and many were too heavy. The answer was titanium and therein lay another conundrum. To build a dozen Archangels they would need a huge supply and the biggest supplier was ........ the USSR!

Using trojan horse tactics many dummy companies placed orders for enough titanium to make the Skunk Works' new test planes!

Various Archangel's were developed, each one signified with the letter A. After many test flights and solving countless 'open items' or snags the new plane was ready. It was called the RS-71.

Tested at Area 51 the rumour mill of a new UFO plane in the sky went into overdrive, so President Truman went public. During his speech he mistakenly referred to the plane as the SR-71 and rather than contradict the President it became the new name of the world's greatest spy plane, the SR-71 Blackbird.

if any of this is incorrect then do let me know. It has been done from memory after watching the TV earlier this afternoon!

CAPTAIN FUTURE'S GALAXY MISSION AND THOSE LUNAR DOMES

This is the 1967 cover of the book Galaxy Mission by Edmond Hamilton. I don't know who the artist is.

There are those moon domes again! We've seen them before in vintage space art and on some toy box and header art like this UFO rubbers backing card pictured. You even get some plastic ones with Imperial's Apollo Moon Exploring. Addenda: Anonymous has correctly pointed out the back end of Ed Valigursky's MEV2 on this UFO card. Looking at it again I notice that the smaller of the astronauts has an LP toy spaceman pose! And I now think the vehicle behind the MEV2 is based on the toy LP style Moon Bus. What do you think?

Galaxy Mission was number 4 in Hamilton's Captain Future series of books. Anyone know anything about Captain Future? Is he the same as Captain Power?

Addenda:

Anonymous has left the link to this picture by Robert McCall. Its spot on for the source of the top Galaxy Mission cover and elements of the UFO one! Well done! On Galaxy Mission one of the jet-packed astronauts has been spun round to face us and even the Missile's exhaust fumes have been lifted from McCall's original below!

Thunderbirds Redux

Well the movie may have been an utter disaster, but the ship designs were pretty respectable and the Bandai models, were especially fine!

THE NEXT...

NEW PROJECT SWORD DISCOVERY 
IS COMING SOON FOLKS!

ON A KNIFE EDGE

Its odd what gets bagged up in the name of space. These Spanish plastic toy knives do not belong on any space mission I know of. Retractable or not, its the thin end of the wedge.

What do you think readers? What other space turkeys have you seen?

WHEN DID YOU GET YOUR TOYS AS A KID?

When did your stash of comics, toy soldiers, assorted space toys and all your other playstuff increase the most when you were a kid?

Which one was it:

1. Christmas?

2. When you were ill?

3. Summer Holidays?

4. Other Holidays and Festivals?

5. Birthdays?

6. At weekend with your spends?

7. Other times?

ACTION MAN ON OLD VENDING TOY SETS

I do love spotting recognisable toys in knockoff sets. Action Man stuff regularly turned up on carded vending toy packs.

The one above features what appear to be Action Man sized binoculars with miniature tanks and knockoff Airfix infantry. Its by Petrel and called Battle Gears Set.

The set to the left below managed to include cheap versions of Action Man guns: the flare pistol and the lugar!

Finally this old cheapo Frogman Set has better card art than toys. That's because its lifted from the Action Man diver box art from the Sixties!

Have you spotted any more Action Man stuff in other sets readers?