A L I E N B R I A N

You asked,so here it is. My Kenner Alien. All original parts.

A Christmas gift from my childhood.

BrianF NJ USA

MORE DAZZLING EFFECTS

from Terranova47

USA

CARNIVALS OF SOULS

The other day Brian F posted his great atmospheric snaps of Wildwood pier and rides in the New Jersey night.

It reminded reader Mish of the opening to TV's Journey to the Unknown from 1968 and I agree, its one creepy eerie fairground with a hauntingly whistled theme!

What do you think?

Episodes of this old nerve-tingling series on You Tube.

Another ghostly fairground appeared in Herk Harvey's 1962 weirdster Carnival of Souls. I've seen a colourised version of this film but I have to admit for pure atmosphere I prefer the black and white original, available gratis on You Tube.

One of my fave fairground takes appears in the opening titles of The Lost Boys, that vampire-fest starring the Two Coreys [Haim sadly died in 2010, Feldman still around]  and one Keifer Sutherland from way back in 1987.

There is something eerily sorrowful about the whole idea that young immortals hang around their town's fairground. Yes, I suppose that's the Lost in the title, a reference to Rufio and the gang in Peter Pan, trapped in Neverland forever.

The theme Cry Little Sister has stuck in my mind ever since first seeing this flick in the late Eighties.

Thou shalt not fall! Remember?

Do you like the Lost Boys?

To round off this ride on the fell rim of night here's a tale from my own neck of the woods, the sad demise of Lancashire's own Disneyland, the medieval theme park Camelot.

As if built from straight from the pages of Michael Crichton's Medieval World, Camelot, with castles and candy floss, rose from the earth in 1983. I'd already left Lancashire for pastures new so I never got to sample the delight's of this northern treat in Chorley.

Alas, like the aging knights of the round table themselves, Camelot went to seed and closed its drawbridge in 2012. 

Abandoned, Camelot has become a magnet for the curious. You Tube is bristling with urban explorations into its decaying splendour. Here's a more professional look behind the scenes from TV's the One Show.

Have you an abandoned park or fairground near you? Have you ever come across one readers?

TUESDAY'S MYSTERY

Anyone any idea what this plastic thingy is?

It was in a crate of modern Action Men and Max Steel figures I got in.

Its like a space sled.

"Family Guy: Alien ZOOP!" and other A L I E N S

MJ and me were talking about ALIEN. MJ's sent me this comical link off You Tube!

Not sure what ZOOP means in the title.

https://youtu.be/CMiUgV4_Cds 

and here's another ALIEN inspired clip I would say, the Russian space monster movie Sputnik's latest trailer. Anyone seen it?

and just checking the Kenner ALIEN's presence on You Tube I found Bella's Toy Chest. I'm not showing the clip because if I do I doubt you will bother with Moonbase again!

https://youtu.be/1BAI3fIq2bU

and on the off-chance I searched for the original US TV ad for the Kenner ALIEN and hey presto!

I never had one of the 18 inchers nor for that matter have I had one in my hands, so I can only imagine the sheer plasticy horror that it is. I've heard the skull dome is the first thing to crack. Allegedly they were being sold off in discount stores for pence once their lustre wore off with irate parents. Is that right?

I noticed in this video that the word Grail has become an adjective as in the phrase 'a grail item'. Much shorter than saying its the Holy Grail that's for certain.

Have you got an 18 inch ALIEN?

THREE MEN IN A TUB

I recently picked up this cardboard crate of modern Action Men in a charity shop. It was a very fair price.

This lot of Nineties and Noughties men were on top.

Hidden underneath were two vintage goodies, the Palitoy Mountie's Brutus dog and the Cherilea German Motorcycle and Sidecar!

There may also be a vintage Deep Sea Diver outfit but the figure its in is dated 1992.

Blue, who's 13 now, cast his trained eye over this lot too and gave Brutus a little growl!

Next job is to clean the mildew off some of the figures.

Where's the soap!

Oh ... it's here!

Rub a dub dub!

Getting mould off those rubber limbs aint no joke!

How would you do it readers?

LITTLE THINGS OF PLASTIC

This is yesterday's meagre haul from the local car boot sale. 

I found all of these in the same big box of little bits and bobs. I got the Pikachu for a friend and the Kinder leopard because it reminded me of the big cat seen with Tarzan in the Lone Star set. I got a Tarzan figure two weeks ago so it'll let me play and dream of the real thing!

The two sentry boxes, having googled them, are Timpo ER versions. The yellow monster is the Mad Gasser of Mattoon from Monsters in my Pocket, the shaolin-like character is Kibito from Dragonball Z. The big fellow at the back is a Scooby Doo glow in the dark Zombie.

The blue creature, which I thought was a manticore from something like Dungeons and Dragons, is actually from a horror lucky bags toy range. 

When I listed these toys on Ebay last night the blue monster went straight away!

Wish I'd have bought the whole box of bits now!

Do you like small plastic thingies like these?

W I L D W O O D

HI Woodsy.I have taken my annual visit to Wildwood NJ.The boardwalk ,which is usually not crowded in early August,was even less crowded,probably because of Covid concerns.

The amusement piers are open,with cleaning crews keeping things clean and safe.While I did walk out on the piers,I wasn't so much interested in the rides.My goal was some early Christmas shopping.

The little shops along the boardwalk are famous for unusual items and most are having end of season sales.I also wanted to indulge in a slice of boardwalk pizza.

My choice was an unusual one.Pizza with grilled chicken, barbecue sauce and white cheddar cheese.Surprisingly good! 

I took some pics of the gaudy glitz that best defines the Wildwoods

BrianF 
NJ USA