BEAR ESSENTIALS

I can't say there's ever been a special bear in my life. At least none that I am aware of.

Of course, I loved TV and film bears like Rupert, Pooh, Baloo, Paddington and Issi Noho [can't remember what that was short for].

Toys eluded me.

I very nearly got hold of a toy Paddington like this about 15 years ago but the deal fell through.

Paddington Bear, the great literary creation of the late Michael Bond, was made into a toy by no less than Jeremy Clerkson's Mum down the road from Moonbase in Doncaster!

I did get hold of a Teddy Ruxpin mint in box from a mixed lot that came in when I was a full time Ebayer. It was an animated Teddy with a cassette player in its back I think. I remember it sold well circa 2005. Made in the 1980's it must have been a very early animated toy.

Talking of Ebaying I once picked up a Sooty glove puppet at a car boot sale. Having listed it on the bay it was snapped up by an Ebayer called I am The Real Sooty! I just hope I didn't actually sell the Real Sooty as it went for a song!

Oddly enough there was a Sooty Museum in Shipley about an hour away from Moonbase. It closed down around 2011.

Was or is there a toy bear in your life readers?

ACTION MAN'S SHINY CUIRASS

When I was a nipper I adored the ceremonial military uniforms Palitoy issued for Action Man.

These included the Grenadier Guard with the big furry busby but more especially the Royal Life Guard.

One of the attractions of this uniform was the beautiful plastic sword and scabbard which came with it.

I was sort of obsessed with swords as a kid and Palitoy's sabre was a no-brainer.

Much later when I started going to toy fairs I was intrigued to see a carded accessory set allover the place, which contained the very same sword and the breastplate I love so much as a little Life Guard.

Looking into it I discovered it to be a 40th Anniversary issue by Modellers Loft. In fact its still available as a new item on their website!

I am still unsure if it's a re-issue of a Palitoy carded set or whether Modellers Loft have issued something new. Do you know readers?

This is the vacuum-packed carded set:

Seeing it I remember savouring the word cuirass as a kid. What a fabulously exotic word! It describes the front and back plates together. The front is commonly known as the breastplate. Another older word for this is the plackart.

The other figures I had which enjoyed a good cuirass were those wonderful plastic knights released by Marx. 

Life size toy armour can still be found on the shelves of toy stores and museum shops. How terrific to dress up as a knight!

Did you like toy swords and cuirasses readers?

KNOCKOFF TOY SUPERCAR CLIPS

When it comes to toys most of Gerry Anderson's iconic creations were knocked off at some point or other, even the early stuff.

Take Supercar.

Here's two Superclones I found on You Tube.

They're both Corona1800sl's clips from Japan.

The first one is the Land of the Giants Space Sled with its mysterious action rings.

I've seen advertisements for this toy where its coloured green too.



and here's maybe a knockoff of a knockoff?

Its the Universe Stunt car again with those mysterious action disks.

Have you these or any other Supercar toys, knockoffs or otherwise?

Gerry Anderson Podcasts

Hey Woodsy,

In case you or the other 'nauts at Moonbase are not aware, Jamie Anderson and Richard James started up a podcast at the beginning of July. It is available all over but I get it from Youtube on the official Gerry Anderson channel. 

Here's a link to the prequel/first episode. Episode four was just published. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDew2wdjvTk&t=329s

Enjoy!

Lance

USA

NOT SO TOTAL RECALL AT ALL

I recently commented that I have a memory like a sieve.

From the vast ocean of childhood the things I recall the best is the flotsam floating on top: the toys, books, records and ornaments.

Entire TV shows have forsaken me and I have no recollection of them at all. Is this a common problem in your late fifties or should I be worried? Whats it like for you?

There are however low murmurs in the deep trenches of my memory, veiled echoes of other things from childhood. Some of these are TV programmes, where I can just about hear a distant theme tune or half-glimpse an blurred opening or sketchy scene.

Dipping into this shadowy pool of ghosts I can feel the following stirring, which you may yourselves recall far better than me:

Belle and Sebastian is just such a glimmer. I recall it was in black and white and featured a very cute kid and a large dog. The lad may have been wearing a turtle neck sweater. It was Swiss or Belgian. Maybe even alpine. I remember that the title music was hauntingly gorgeous but have no inkling of it now. Do you remember this 1960's show?

Similarly haunting was the theme tune to Robinson Crusoe, which I can actually still hum. I can still see the monochrome Robinson running through the surf and taking gull eggs from the cliffs. Not sure how he ate them. Presumably raw. The rest of the show has been washed away I'm afraid. Do you remember it?

Its both pleasing and frustrating in equal measure to only recall snippets of TV from the Sixties. OK, I can google anything these days and re-live the whole thing but I'm trying to swirl the sediment and see what rises first.

Do you suffer from patchy recall of childhood TV?

ACTION TRANSFERS IN SPACE

I was looking through the blog draft archive and found these old pictures.

They appear to be an Action Transfers' Apollo set.

Is that right readers?



MUSINGS ON THE DALEK - INVASION EARTH:2150 A.D. SAUCER

Continuing the Daleks-Invasion Earth: 2050 A.D. theme on the blog, here’s a few more of my previously posted photos.

Here’s the remote control that comes with the large Product Enterprise movie Daleks.

It looks pretty good to me, and wouldn’t take much to make a really nice mode if one ever turned up minus a Dalek.

As for the 'real' thing I really like the unique look of the Dalek Saucer in the film, and can still remember watching it on the big screen way back in the sixties.

From what I can gather there was just one filming miniature which was just under five feet long, and although it appears to get destroyed in the film, it does survive, being replaced by a pre-weakened stunt double.

The model made another cameo appearance in the 1969 Tigon film, The Body Stealers . It 's even  on the film’s poster.

I believe the matt painting showing the rear of the saucer would have been done by artist, Gerald Larn who worked in the Special Effects Dept. under the direction of Ted Samuals at Shepperton Studios. Both the Daleks films were produced by Amicus (although credited to Aaru for contractual reasons) and  special effects man, Ted Samuals worked on other Amicus films – Dr Terror’s House of Horrors, The Skull and The Psychopath, while artist  Gerald Larn worked on Amicus’, Tales from the Crypt.

I'm making the assumption it still exists somewhere, as I believe it was sold at a film props auction a good while back.

Anyone know it's current whereabouts?

SOUTHPORT AIRSHOW 2018

The Southport  Airshow took place at the weekend, and as it’s  also the 100^th Anniversary of the RAF, and I believe our man, Gerry Anderson  had a high regard for the Brylcreem Boys , here’s a few photos I took of some of the aircraft displaying.

The Typhoon AKA the Eurofighter, the most advanced multi role/swing role combat aircraft, and capable of speeds of Mach 2, or about 1.400 mph.

The MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters, which achieved fame during the Korean War.  The number 18 is a reference to Colonel Yuri Gagarin, the first man in space who, in 1968, crashed and died, along with Vladimir Seregin piloting a  MiG -15.

With the Cold War in mind, there was a fly past featuring the MiG 15 and a pair of De Havilland Vampires, maintained by the Royal Norwegian Air Force.

The fly past was accompanied by spectacular beach explosions.

The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight featuring the Avro Lancaster, the Hurricane and the Spitfire.

The ‘Tall in the Saddle’ P-51 Mustang.

Some pyrotechnic effects from ‘Otto’ the Helicopter.

Aerosuperbatics from the Wing Walkers.