UFO scratchbuilds by Kevin D

Hi Woodsy

Having just finished watching the excellent UFO blu-ray boxset and with it being so sunny outside, I thought I just had to go and photograph a couple of my models.

Take care,

Kevin D

some more soma: the X711 thunderbird 5: a hing cheong variation

Knockoffs are a favourite of mine and especially Gerry Anderson ones.

The SOMA Thunderbird 5 is just such a knockoff, which I've blogged about many times including its turn as an ice-crusher.

You know the SOMA TB5: white-coloured plastic and known as the Space Ship X-711.

Its often cited as a knockoff of the JR21 TB5, which I've also discussed before in this origin post.

To remind you here it is courtesy of You Tube Japan.

and again here displaying its amazing non-fall action on a table almost looking like a a living thing! [courtesy of You Tube once more]

Here's the SOMA X711 toy on top

and on the bottom showing the non-fall unit and the long thin battery compartment

and on the battery unit lid is the maker's mark,

a HC inside a circular cog, the number 959 and Made in Hong Kong

The oracle that is Alphadrome has long made it clear that he HC stands for HING CHEONG. 

Here's the SOMA HING CHEONG space ship advertised in the Aldens Christmas Catalogue 1978 courtesy of Alphadrome.

So you can imagine how surprised I was to see this on Ebay, an apparently different version of the SOMA spaceship listed by seller Vongold.

It has the same white astronaut in the blister cockpit [just who is he?] but now with the addition of an internal radar or  pedestalled screen.

More tellingly the colour has darkened to a sort of dull gold and the livery around the mid point has changed.

Most exciting of all is the change to the maker's mark and the underside generally. Gone are the long thin battery cover and non-fall unit having been replaced by a much wider battery cover and standard tyres.

The maker's mark has E S added to the number 959. 

I have no idea what E S might signify, have you?

I am excited though as this does appear to be a SOMA variation and perhas even a stepping stone towards that mystery toy which JR21 are often cited as having recycling to make their own Thunderbird 5.

Why do I think this?

Well, the gold colour of this SOMA toy is more akin to the actual JR21 release than the white SOMA.

JR21 issued a deep gold-brown incarnation of the toy as their Thunderbird 5.

Its interesting to look again at the JR21 TB5 logo itself:

A capital H with a globe, the left half of which appears to be a capital C. 

Below this is the number 507. 

Compare this to the circular logo of the SOMA variant  [and all SOMA X711's]: the HC inside the circular cog.

Could the CH seen on the JR21 be the HC seen on the SOMA, which we know stand for Hing Cheong?

What do you think readers?

heritage spaceship by malcolm stokes

Malcolm Stokes drew some of the Project SWORD illustrations.

This is from a wholly different strip called The Heritage, 1973.

Have you got any Malcolm Stokes illustrations?

Shooting the Past at Metropolis Toys by tony k

I'd got the morning off work and decided to enjoy it. I grabbed my camera and a startled Mrs. K. We were off on a flying visit to Warwick. More specifically to Metropolis Toys, an island of solace gleaming with top quality and often rare vintage toys. 

 Former soldier Chris Malbon has enjoyed a lifelong passion for old toys. By definition of his business, he's a full-time professional toy dealer... one of the top ones in the country perhaps... 

..but by inclination he's still very much an old-school collector at heart, with a vast knowledge, appreciation and enthusiasm for the sort of vintage toys that many of us remember and collect.

Chris is well known in the vintage toy world. He's acknowledged in various collectors reference books and he has appeared on the US reality TV series 'Toy Hunter', when star of the show, Jordan Hembrough visited Metropolis Toys whilst hunting toys in the UK (Season 3, Episode 7). 

 Chris has had three previous vintage toy shops before opening Metropolis Toys in Warwick. He's also been a regular face at countless toy fairs for many years. 

I've known Chris for a while. I often wondered if he had an uncanny supernatural intuition which helped him to unearth the kind of rare and desirable vintage toys which most of us only dream about. 

 A person could be forgiven for thinking this, especially when gazing around the mesmerizing merchandise of colourful toys from the past which populate the shop shelves and spellbind the gobsmacked onlooker.

In reality, Chris is a hard working guy with his ear to the ground and his finger firmly on the pulse of the collecting world. Like a Daily Planet reporter chasing a headline story, this middle aged man from Metropolis has his contacts and does the groundwork, often travelling to track down valuable vintage toys, both here and abroad. 

Chris Melbon is discerning when it comes to what he buys and sells... stocking shelves with a volume of top grade vintage toys doesn't come cheap and certainly isn't for the faint hearted seeking instant riches. 

 Chris has survived some tough times and has invested a lifetime of commitment into getting where he is today. He's worked for what he's got.

Little wonder that he's had numerous examples of amazing bygone toys pass through his hands over the years. Far too many to mention in this review... so hopefully a picture is worth a thousand words and the photographs will do Metropolis Toys justice.

Thanks to Chris for being kind enough to allow me to photograph the toys and share them with Moonbase Central.

Tony K

Moonbase Delta

My latest Kinder Egg aquisitions include this cool moonbase set, comprising an Energy, Radar, Weather and Solar pod. Like the Spacex moonbase, they connect together with a small corridor.

 Energy and Solar stations use half of the plastic 'egg' container to form the main hull, with accesories slotting into a series of grooves around the middle.

Weather and Radar Stations - technically, Kinder call these 'Planetary' bases, so we can forgive the anemometer on top of the weather pod! A lick of silver paint was required on some parts such as the radar dish and solar panels to tone down the dayglo coloured plastics, but the colour scheme is reminiscent of the Mysteron base on Mars!

Kinder toys are a huge range with no sign of the series slowing down. Current eggs have gone for more lucrative tie ins such as Minions, Barbie and Transformers, but European releases include much more interesting fare such as small vehicles and figures. The level of detail on some of the toys is amazing, making them suitable for use on standard model dioramas.

There's a great showing of space toys too,which are readily available on the secondary market, which means I don't have to consume huge amounts of sickly chocolate!

the ufo doors of the bmw i8

Despite wearing muddy wellies, yesterday I got to sit in a brand new BMW i8 at an agricultural show, one of just 2000 in the UK.

I have to say the recommended way to enter and sit down in the thing was something from a NASA training manual and getting out was near impossible for an old crusty like me! ha ha.

wikipeadia

To be honest it wasn't the the car's sleek design or its eye-watering one hundred K price tag or even its prestigious name that drew me in.

It was its gull-wings.

These were open and sticking up in the air, which I saw clearly from the pig tent.

All those Seventies supercars of my youth came rushing back to me in one great chestnut dash!

But I was wrong. they weren't gull-wings at all!

The friendly car show-room man stood in the field informed me that the BMW i8 actually has dihedral or butterfly doors.

I admitted to him that I thought they were gull wings.

No he said. 

So to add even more creaking to my ungreased door hinge the informative salesman explained that further sports car door variations over the years have included scissor, canopy and coach.

Shut that door!

So what about those icons we loved on the telly and the toy shelf back in the Sixties and Seventies? What sort of doors did these have? Anyone know?

Straker's Car

Foster's Car

FAB1

Astro1

Alfa Romeo Carabo

Heinkel Bubble Car

BMW Isetta

Matchbox Dodge Charger

Matchbox Shovel Nose

Do you know of any unusual car doors?

kevin's contents

Kev's imagined contents page for a fantasy SpaceX annual.

honley agricultural and vintage tractor show

Me and Missus Moonbase and pals visited Honley Show today, a local agricultural show.

Amongst the many rare breeds, animals and vintage vehicles was this beautiful Porsche tractor from 1961.

More an Art Deco statement than a tractor it was in amazing condition and superb to look at.

There were also some junk stalls and I bagged this plastic space station which I have yet to ID if anyone has any idea.

There was also a crafts tent which included a fabulous recycled plastic bottle spaceship stand called Junk something but I can't recall the name. They even have a website. The recycled toy rockets were stunning too!

A final gem after the show was seeing my pal's Hillman Minx now out of storage. A gorgeous vintage British design in eggshell green.

My pal was telling me that a Hillman Minx was originally to be James Bond's car in Dr.No!

A licence to minx!