HAVE YOU GOT TRASHY TV CHANNELS?

Have cheapo channels taken over your TV schedules? Their are dozens and dozens of channels available free of charge through Freeview in the UK but they are mostly rubbish in my opinion.

We still have the old gang of the BBC and ITV, who offer decent telly and regular readers will know I love the new Horror Channel - most of the time - but these are the exceptions.

So are you plagued by zillions of trash channels readers?

TV21 171 APRIL 27th 2068: THE CLUE

Project SWORD text and images owned by Century 21 Toys

GREEN HORNET PART 6: POLAR LIGHTS BLACK BEAUTY MODEL KIT

Another popular Green Hornet collectable was the 1/32 scale plastic kit of the Black Beauty produced by Aurora Plastics in 1966.  Polar Lights, using the same tooling re-released the same kit in 1998.

Aurora had a direct involvement in the TV series, as the company built the smaller scale models of Britt Reid’s everyday Chrysler 300 convertible and The Black Beauty for the sequence showing Reid’s garage floor revolving revealing the Green Hornet’s sedan underneath.  This work was done in exchange for the licencing rights for the kit of The Black Beauty.

The model is a fairly simple build. I started by lightly sanding the body with a very fine sandpaper prior to priming. The edge of the rubber tyres also needed a sanding too. As the kit is 99% black, I sprayed everything on the sprues for ease, and brushed a dark wash on the chrome parts to tone them down.

I added some detail to the dashboard, and the rear compartment, but to be honest you can’t really see much inside once everything is put together.  It would have been nice if Aurora (or Polar Lights) had included figures, but considering the scale is 1/32 I don’t suppose it would be too hard  to make up a couple of custom ones.

The front lights are a bane of contention as the kit uses the standard white single lenses on each side ( as seen on some publicity photos), rather than the twin infra-green type each side which are generally seen on screen. Although, as the lights are supposed to revolve depending on which type are needed it’s not technically wrong, it’s just that the infra-green type look better.

The chrome wheel hubs are something else which loses out in the accuracy stakes. Using the dark wash helps to highlight some of the detail, but it’s still a long way from the hubs seen on screen.

The model features protruding radiator grill gas gun, extended rear laser, and banks of missiles front and back, which are all permanent fixtures.

Overall, despite the model’s shortcomings I'm happy with it as a display model, although I think a scale of 1/25 would have been a better size. 

There's very little difference between the Aurora and Polar Lights boxes.

A sixties ad for the Aurora kit.

The previous 5 posts on The Green Hornet:

http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/the-green-hornet-part-1.html
http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/the-green-hornet-part-2-tv-series.html
http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/the-green-hornet-part-3-rise-of-bruce.html
http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/the-green-hornet-part-4-tv-tornado.html
http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2016/04/the-green-hornet-part-5-corgi-black.html

KEV'S COSFORD MODEL LIGHTNING

Hi,

This may not be of interest, but I went to the RAF museum at Cosford last week, never been before, it is excellent. I treated myself to this kit of the English Electric Lightning (bought virtually next to a real one!). 

I have always thought it must've been partly the inspiration for Thunderbird 1. It had incredible speed and an almost vertical climb! Anyway, I'm pleased with how my model turned out.

Take care,

Kevin

PROJECT SWORD SCOUT BOX VARIATIONS: RESEARCH BY ARTO

SCOUT 2 BOXES

There are some box front differences on these Scout 2 boxes. 

The top one above (which I believe is the later issue) has also a somewhat thinner cardboard, and oddly enough a sharper printing quality to the box illustration - qualities which first made me ponder whether it was a very good repro box. 

You can notice the difference in the picture quality for instance on the "A706" code on the side of Scout 2; on the (earlier in my opinion) box version with the more blurred image is looks almost like "A705".

But then there's that "Made in Hong Kong" which has travelled from the long side .......

.....onto one end of the box, below left. Additionally, on the left box below, the Century 21 logo does not touch the horizontal blue bar with SCOUT 2 on it, as it does on the other (presumed earlier) version.

Actually the one missing "Made in Hong Kong" on the side, above left, has a longer text "Made in Hong Kong for Century 21 Toys Limited" on one end of the box. I wonder if this pertains to all three Scouts?

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END FLAPS OF ALL SCOUT BOXES

Here are pictures of all box variants across all three Scouts that I found on the Blog or in my own collection. A short explanation:

V1 = 1-line text CENTURY 21 TOYS LIMITED on end flap

V2 = 2-line text MADE IN HONG KONG for CENTURY 21 TOYS LIMITED

V3 = 2-line text MADE IN HONG KONG FOR CENTURY 21 TOYS LIMITED (all in bold, different colour scheme)

We are missing (at least) Scout 3 box version 1.

[Scout 3 box above is a cleaned-up photocopy of an original. No known examples of an original box known to Moonbase Central]

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I wonder if other blog readers might have more remarks or Scout box variations to add?

Arto

DID YOU HAVE A MUSIC CENTRE?

Did you have a music centre at home? I think we used to call it a stereogram as well, a sort of wooden chest on legs containing a record player and space for albums. 

I think the music centre had a cassette player too maybe?

Do you recall yours?

JAPANESE RESEARCH INTO THE NICHIMO MOON RANGER

"Since the launch of the "accused submarine" for the first time of the power plastic model in Japan in 1959, energetically power model has been released in Japan model (aka Nichimo Corporation) is to launch amphibious expedition vehicles "Frontier" in 1965 you.

Turn the caterpillar and the screw in the motor power, water is also the design of this kit that land was also moving around, the roots of the company's amphibious tanks flourish after, solid chassis design will feel also robust, which is a feature of Nichimo Corporation AFV kit.

フロンティア

チャレンジャー

Next in 1966, has been arranged to smart in a more SF Chick with exactly the same concept, "Challenger" is N. B. It will be released from K.
Although this is a science fiction mecha of hailed as space exploration vehicles, the year that this 1966 is also the year Midori has been released, such as "Beetle II," "Echo 7", hereafter Japan JOSF kit of explosive development It will be.
(Previously in this corner there is a time that introduced the Challenger and the product of Nichimo Corporation, but it will correct it was a mistake. I apologize)



In addition the same year, Challenger will evolve more of retrofuturism feeling full of bubble canopy equipped to "pioneer".
By the way, but was a major futuristic design of about say that even had the same thing in this "pioneer" design at the time of Tin Toy, but whether the mechanism that was its original neta What is it, or of Nichimo Corporation and the toy as a product for such as which is what was in the first, yet in the course of research.

フロンティア

チャレンジャー

Now, the upper structure of the "pioneer" is has been as it is also used in space exploration bulldozer "Ranger", wonders that this kit and hit the obstacle straight ahead, keep on running to automatically back change of direction I had the mechanism.
In fit and in's report Baan unit of the maker of the gear box is the corona, the same thing was also used in non-stop Imai "BB-1 tank".

And in 1968, Nichimo Corporation is first billed as the SF series №1, it up to the slightly revamped the design concept of the SF mecha was outdated design, announces the monumental space exploration vehicles "adventure".

This kit is a single run with one motor, radar rotation, observation tower inside of the light source rotation, but it was super kit to perform a gimmick, such as missile time differential firing, thus epoch-making SF submarine tank debut among JOSF plastic model of Japan the preparation went well-equipped steadily. And ...."

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Translated into English using Google Translate from an original article on the Japanese net by Mizu.

DID YOU SEE YOUR TOYS BEING THROWN AWAY AS A KID?

I had so much stuff as a kid that I don't have now. 

I had literally tons of Action Man gear, Major Matt Mason stuff, Billy Blastoff, die cast cars, Hot Wheels tracks, plastic cars, space toys, a Johnny Seven. games and books, not to mention Project SWORD [including the Zero-X] and SpaceX vehicles and my favourite space figures, Colouforms Outer Space Men!

Where did it all go?

I can honestly say I don't recall ever seeing my parents throw any of it out but they must have done, way back in the early Seventies. 

Maybe they threw it out in installments as I got older? I just don't know.

Did you see your folks throw out your childhood stuff readers?