WATNEY'S ANYONE?

Hello Woodsy,

Except for an Airfix Scammell, here is my custom Watneys delivery fleet.

Regards,

Terranova47

NYC

MOONBASE JUNIOR'S COSMIC PREZZIES

I spent the day at Moonbasse Junior's Saturday. He's was recently 3 and already he's a real space nut, which is great for me! ha ha

Some of the prezzies he got for his birthday last month are out of this world. Have a look:

The awesome Playmobil Mars Mission.

Do you like it?

I love the detailing on it like this phone and screen. ... very Major Matt Mason!

One of two capsules for the top

Here's the other, Mars Mission Cargo.

And the radar array at the top is bristling with aerials!

Moonbase Junior loves his Hot Wheels [notice a trend developing readers!] and here's a gorgeous new saloon in front of his new Airport Cheery Picker - very SpaceX! - and a lovely little revolving toy of all the planets in our solar system. I would have loved all this lot myself!

Two of his older 49'er Hot Wheels I just can't stop photographing!

Do you have any Hot Wheels, old or new?

and a gorgeous day-glo Hot Wheels on Junior's starry night-light!

and in preparation for the next Moonbase Junior, number 2 [splashdown Easter 2020], this ultra-cool high chair was tucked into a corner. How 2001 is that! Unbelievably someone had chucked it out with the rubbish!

Have you ever found anything interesting in the trash or thrown out on the street?

A LIGHT BULB MOMENT: MY HOME-MADE SPACEX MOLAB TOY DONE!

Well, my junkpile SpaceX MOLAB toy is all done now.

In some respects it was the hardest as I really battled with its odd shape and my lack of decent red paint. I'm disappointed with the results to be honest.

Still, its .... sort of .... MOLAB' ish I hope

The main body is a car headlight bulb with metal e-cig atomisers stuck on each side.

Some play-doh helped smooth out the rear fin and sides.

The rear engines are bashed together from card and tubes and slicked silver.

Added details are bits of lime plastic and a black plastic drawing pin cover for the dome.

A small SpaceX II logo spices up the tail and I've 'written' MOLAB on the other side in tiny capitals. A cheat really. I suppose I'd run out of SpaceX steam by this point!

The window was created by blocking off the shape with a rubber band glued onto the bulb before painting. Once dried I peeled off the band and voila - a windscreen! Bit raggedy but it sort of works!

From the back the whole thing looks OK from a distance!

The filament of the bulb gives the suggestion of something inside the cockpit I hope.

The wheels are blacked rubber rings with silvered drawing pins for hubs. The axles are bits of plastic straw held in place with rubber suspension 'tubes'.

Hope you like it.

Taking a breather now!

IT HAPPENED ONE WINTER 2014: THE VIDEO

Re-posted from 2014

Here's my latest Moonbase Central Production. 

In this video I look at something I was really pleased to get recently from Japan - the Flying Space Rocket display card. 

A bit of a SWORD curio, watch the film and let me know what you think.

SMALL WORLD

Its funny how you recognise actors in films and series years apart. Years apart when you saw them and when they were made too.

Watching Space 1999 off and on this week, which is currently on the UK Horror Channel evenings, I noticed two people I recognised immediately from the world of films.

The scientific chap in 1999 is played by one Barry Morse. With his unmistakable voice and looks I knew I'd seen him before and then I remembered. He's the tailor in the old Amicus horror film anthology Asylum.

Its the segment where the tailor has to produce a sinister suit for Peter Cushing but only work at night! Fabulous stuff and looking online at Barry's career he starred in countless films and series including The Fugitive with David Janssen, which I think I remember. Asylum is one of my favourite horror anthologies!

In another episode of 1999 a dark haired fellow, Zoref, becomes possessed by an alien and eventually walks into what I think is Alpha Bases's atomic reactor. 

I saw a much older version of that actor only this week as well when I watched the all-action flick John Wick 2, starring Keanu Reeves. The actor is of course Ian McShane, who went on to play Lovejoy on the telly in the 80's. Apparently he shared a flat with John Hurt in the Sixties.

Have you seen actors in wildly different things?

IT HAPPENED ONE SUNDAY MORNING IN 2011: THE FIND

Re-posted from 2011

Just occasionally something completely new turns up. Earlier in the year Wotan and Terry Harle found the miniature SWORD spaceships, which were just brilliant. 

Well, browsing this Sunday morning, coffee in hand, I stumbled across the Morphy auctions Space sale archive from 2009 and, lo and behold, contained within was this fantastic Flying Space Rocket shop display from Japan complete with SWORDised header card! 

Looking at the header a bit closer below we can clearly see Task Force 1 and the Booster Rocket. There's also a rocket powered Gemini for good measure! 

I don't recognise the UFO or the trademark. Anyone?

Comparing the header card to the actual SWORD box tops below we can see immediately that the TF1 and Booster Rocket illustrations were lifted wholesale, even down to the SWORD badge on the Booster!

ASTRO PLAY MONEY

You don't often see toy space money.

I was fascinated to see this Astro Play Money by Chemtoy on auction online.

They sum it up as 'inter-planet coins and bills', which hints at the exciting prospect of spending this cash on different planets!

I wonder what kids would wanted to buy on another planet.

What would you have bought as a kid on another planet readers?

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