brief encounters

To balance things out as Kid suggested, what with all those Action Men today, here's a Barbie wearing not much more than a a pair of SpaceX Hawks as pictured by reader Paul Kaiju.

and perhaps the strangest Ebay listing I've seen all year. This is the opening photo for the sale of a toy robot in Glasgow! Now that's what I call a tight situation!

two decades of action man at moonbase part 1

Before I was a blogger I was a toy collector and for some years in the mid- 2000's a full time toy dealer on Ebay.

During those years Moonbase was often home to vintage Action Man and his chums and occasionally his modern reincarnations as well including the impressive Strike Force range of vehicles all found at car boots and fleamarkets.

Here's a rogues gallery of some of the fighting men and accessories that have passed through my hands. The cheaper figures I was never really able to identify [where it says no ID] but they all sold anyway.

Below: no ID

Below: no ID

Below: no ID

Third from left [blonde]: no ID

Below: no ID. Looks like Mego greying that!

Part 2 to follow tomorrow

steve scout is in the house

This is the Steve Scout figure I found at a local fleamarket. I had to look up the details on his back to work out who he was. I initially had him down for a Little Big Man but he looked too young!

He's posing with my other finds, a 1976 AHI batman parachutist with cape and a 1956 Lesney Prime Mover. The Batman was given to me by a tired seated seller who didn't want to get up to take any money so I insisted on handing her 50 pence!

All three will join my growing Daughter's Wedding Day fund box!

Standing about 8 inches tall, the markings on Steve's back say:

1974 GMF GI  

Kenner Prod

Cin'ti Ohio 45202 

No.7000

Made in Hong Kong

I don't know much about Kenner's Steve Scout or whether he was available much in the UK  in 1974. Having had a quick look online I'm not sure he ever came with a camo soldier one peice like the one he has on. There are no labels on it but maybe its Little Big Man or Madelman?

New Jersey Reader Brian has a similar Craig Cub figure here, who presumably is meant to be even younger than Steve!

Have you any figures like these readers?

Tomy time: new Japanese Apollo Saturn sightings

Its always fun spotting Japanese style Apollo Saturns in new places.

Here's two I clocked this summer.

To the far right you 'll see our friend the Ranger 7 by Tomy.

That's its red and white parachute too.

This, the forerunner of Project SWORD's own rocket, is the one coloured red, white and blue.

This image is from a Japanese book called Nostalgic Tin Toys by Toyoji Takayama. There are three volumes and I think this is volume 3: Trains, Ships, Airplanes published in 1991 pictured below:

And just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water up pop's this little Japanese Glico-style Apollo Saturn lookalike.

Have you any Apollo rocket toys?

There'll be even more exciting Japanese Apollo activity during our birthday week from the 15th September.

gabriel's red sleeves nearly had me

At a fleamarket this weekend I was tempted by a bundle of old action dolls. Basically it was a an old shoebox containing a Red Sleeves figure and four Matchbox Fighting Furies figures.

None were complete as far as I could see and some Furies' limbs were detached and maybe missing.

I had to look up Red Sleeves. Its part of the Gabriel Lone Ranger series from the mid-Seventies.

At forty pounds for the lot I passed and moved on.

What would you have done?

Postscript!

Here's New Jersey reader Brian with his gang of Fighting Furies! The big guy is Brian!

did you have a pair of toy binoculars?

I saw a pair of plastic toy binoculars the other day. They were in a plastic toy shoulder case. All made to look like grown up binoculars.

I was overcome with a memory of just such a pair as a kid in the Sixties!

They were a toy but actually worked and slid in and out of that case with ease. They might have even had plastic caps over the front plastic lenses!

I adored those binoculars and wore them with pride on walks.

Probably made by someone like Thomas Salter maybe.

Did you have a pair?

what do they say in these songs?

For years I've been listening to songs and thinking ..... 'what did they just sing?'.

Here's a small smattering of them. See if you can decipher what they're saying without looking up the lyrics.  I never have so I genuinely don't know. 

If you don't know then amusing suggestions always welcomed as well as more songs for me to blog!

1. I Ain't No Mountain https://youtu.be/ybpaItOwNXo?t=47s

By heavy rock trio Budgie, what is the line this extract starts with? Its sound like ' while I'm paying my soray'.

2. Blinded by the Light  https://youtu.be/lcWVL4B-4pI?t=1m

By songsmiths Manfred Man's Earth Band, what is the line this extract starts with? It sounds like 'wrap up like a doosh'.

3. Bohemian Rhapsody https://youtu.be/fJ9rUzIMcZQ?t=4m2s

By the almighty Queen, what is the line at the start of this extract? It sounds like ' Beelzebub has a devil for a sad formy'.

4. Paper Plane https://youtu.be/k-ciSfZPneY?t=2m5s

By 12 bar blues rockers Status Quo, what is the line this extract starts with? It sounds like' riding in a green grass doitcher car'.

MATTEL EAGLE 1 SPACESHIP

The Eagle 1 Spaceship by Mattel that appeared in 1976, and a toy that's probably my favourite piece of Space 1999 merchandise. I've blogged about it before but I wanted to take a few photos with  a suitable backdrop this time.

http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/mattel-eagle-1.html

It's a big toy, around 21/2 feet long and packed with fun features. It came with simple instructions on how to assemble it, complete with a drawing of the accompanying sprue that contains the smaller parts, and a set of peel - off stickers.

The Beak or Command Module has a top flap allowing access into the cabin. Each of the two seated figures  of John Koenig and Prof. Bergman that came with mine, can be placed inside. The rear Engine Module and Engine Bells can be detached and fitted directly into the back of the Command  Module to make a mini-spaceship.

The brown glue marks are fairly common on all these models.

Although the box says it comes with three figures, I have ended up with five, two seated and three standing. Each of the standing having a likeness of  Koenig, Russell and Bergman, and as I previously mentioned the two seated are Koenig and Bergman.

Unless that's how it this particular one was originally sold, I'm speculating that I probably have figures from another set, not that I'm complaining.

All the figures, including the two seated ones, come with detachable space packs and soft rubbery helmets, split to allow easy removal. The set is supposed to come with four stun guns and one laser rifle. However, mine has ended up with one stun gun and two laser rifles which kinda reinforces my theory about having the odd part from a separate set.

Inside the pod, fold down the (detachable ) door on one side, and a space crane, base hatch cover and  weapons rack are revealed.

The view from the the other side of the pod showing  two swivel chairs.

Seated Koenig and Bergman figures.

Finally, the box. Mine is a little worst for wear but as they're quite bulky it's surprising it's survived at all.