MY OLD MOONZERO BANNER

I found this old GIF banner in my photo archives. A bit of giffy fun.

This was part of my old late 90's/ 00's website, Moonzero Toys, before I launched this blog in 2008.

Did you have a dabble with websites or blogs in the 1990's?

DO YOU MISS YOUR FAMILY?

.... When I say family, I mean the one you grew up with , the one you were with every day and the one in which you played with all those amazing toys as a kid.

Mum, Dad, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, Uncles, Aunts, all that. It seemed vast and constant when I was a kid in the Sixties. It was around me every day until I was 16.

Over the decades it has shrunk dramatically to hardly anything and scattered allover the place. Its unrecognisable to what it was.

Its strange and sad how it happens, shrinking family life. Sometimes all we are left with are the records, books and toys we had.

What do you think readers? Is this your experience?

LEMS, LESA'S AND LUNAR DIORAMAS: OHIO VALLEY SPACEPORT

Check out the beautiful model dioramas of LEMS and LESA's on this lovely site, The Ohio Valley Spaceport.

http://ovsma.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/lost-opportunities-missions-that-never.html

KOLCHAK AGAIN

Been out all night. Now home having a cold beer and watching Kolchak: The Night Strangler from 1974. Set in Seattle its about a killer who's over a hundred years old.

Really enjoying it. I thought we'd blogged about the other TV film before, The Night Stalker, but we haven't. That's excellent as well.

This is similar and has the same film noir newspaper hack style.

Kolchak was like a sort of X-Files back then.

Do you like Kolchak?

PRODUCT ENTERPRISE SKYDIVER

I don't tend to take too many photos of the P.E. Skydiver in a suitable backdrop as the model is very heavy and I suppose is really intended to spend it's days in the display cabinet.

It's weight means suspending it on wires isn't recommended  for obvious reasons. I could simply cheat and just create a photo shopped picture, but I always find those so uninspired and not much fun to do if I'm honest.

I much prefer to try and photograph models like this so they look a little like they would have appeared in an episode.

So to create the minor illusion that the submarine is floating just above the sea bed, my only option is to safely raise it up on a disguised plinth and hope that the willing suspension of disbelief does the rest.

It doesn't always work, but it's a lot more fun to do.

The  model itself, like most of the Product Enterprise models is really nice. Some purists might argue that some of the detailing isn't quite as accurate as it could be, (For example the starboard side of the sail only has the wording 'SHADO', rather then SHADO SKYDIVER' ) and on mine  there's a little over weathering on the detachable SKY 1 but it's certainly not a deal breaker for me, its still a super model.

Seek, Locate, Destroy...

SPANNING THE POND: OUR SPRINGWELL TOY BOATS

Terranova47's boats:

Hello Woodsy,

The Springwell reissue of the Tudor Rose Tugboat was one of four model boats I think. All had the same hull. 

When I bought my tug I also bought the RNLI Lifeboat. 

Now, who's summer holiday at a seaside didn't involve visiting the Lifeboat Station?

As I've owned this since 2005 and I have yet to remove it from it's bag to paint it, that gives you an example of how behind I am with 'projects'.

I didn't find all of my Clockwork Tri-ang boats but did find the RNLI one: my painting guide for the Springwell one.

The red and white Tri-ang cabin cruiser was their basic model.

Two Tri-ang tugs, Annie and Dawn. Dawn missing funnel.

The Tri-ang Jack-in-the-boat. An interesting action toy with an interesting second version that is rarer as I think it was mostly exported, that being one with a Mickey Mouse head. You would have thought Donald Duck would have been more appropriate.

The Nautilus version of the Sutcliff clockwork UnderWunder submarine and an electric WW2 one which is the same principle.

I couldn't find the other 3 or 4 models, but then you've seen the boxes in the my garage, too many boxes not enough time.

Regards,

Terranova47

USA

*

Woodsy's Boats

A few years ago I acquired two plastic boats myself.

The brightly coloured boat had no markings on it at all but the black-hulled boat has this nice header card - it was made in England by one Springwell [Mouldings] Ltd of Tonbridge, Kent. It's not dated or indeed bar coded.

But its biggest secret only revealed itself when I inspected the stern:

It said  TUDOR ROSE LONDON! 

It's a Tudor Rose! 

This old boat has been re-bagged and sold to a modern audience! 

Woodsy

UK

MY TWO SCARIEST BOOK COVERS ..... EVER!

When I was a kid in the Sixties the two scariest book covers in the family bookcase where two horror paperbacks.

Dracula's Guest is the the one I have been able to remember for years and years. With its seeming rapid movements in a circular direction: the flying skeleton, the running wolf and the second wolf and what appears to be a corpse falling down through the mausoleum, its a maelstrom of creepiness and truly gave me the willies!

The second book cover I just couldn't recall .... until

... now!

Its this one, Twisted!

Blimey, this is a trip down cemetery lane!

That cover sent shivers down my spine as a nipper and seeing it again this week it still does!

There's just something about the long-haired, skull, the purple lace curtains and most of all the black snakes and crawlies spewing out from what is presumabley a bed that is distinctly jarring.

I'm so glad I've found it again though

And what about that name! Bram Stoker's pretty fine but Groff Conklin is just priceless!

Do you have any fave book covers, scary or otherwise?

RED ROCKET COVER

I quite like the look of this red rocket on the cover of this old Spanish novel by Peter Kapra.

Do you readers?