DINKY 'GABRIEL'

 A few photos of the Dinky Secret Service ‘Gabriel’ Model T Ford (109)

 This version of the Dinky model was produced between 1969 and 1971 and was just a repainted version of their existing Model T Ford die-cast   (475) which was produced between 1964 and 1966.

It features a Father Unwin figure at the wheel and a ‘Gabriel sticker either side.

The only variation I can find is the ‘brass’ radiator, lamps and windscreen surround are replaced at some point during its production with plain silver  metal.

I admit I do have a soft spot for the series which has an uneasy mix of live action and puppets.  Stanley Unwin was the star, although apart from the opening titles he only appeared in long shot.  

He plays a country vicar who leads a double life as a secret government agent working for  B.I.S.H.O.P. (British Intelligence Service Headquarters Operation Priest).  He possesses a fantastical device called The Minimiser which is capable of shrinking anything to 1/3 size, conveniently the same size as a supermarionation puppet.

A photo of the original puppet size model made by Space Models Limited.

The actual 'Gabriel' Model T Ford on display at Andercon.

Only 13 episodes were made, and was the last supermarionation series produced by Gerry & Sylvia Anderson.

THE BLACK HOLE COMICS

 There were plenty of comic book adaptations of The Black Hole. Some I don’t have but here’s a few I do. 

The Gold Key Walt Disney Showcase 54: This is dated January 1980, and is a complete adapted story.  In this Durant is killed by Hans Reinhardt with a laser, rather than being violently impaled by Maximilian, and the hell scenes aren’t there.

The I.P.C.  version released in the U.K. The strip is black & white, but it came with pull-out poster and features.

These split the movie adaptation into two parts, dated March and May, 1980. The final page announces that the next issue is ‘Beyond the Black Hole’.

The third comic ‘Beyond The Black Hole’ is dated July 1980, and as the title suggests it opens with surviving crew of the Palomino, now aboard the Cygnus Probe Ship find themselves in another universe. In this Universe the Cygnus still exists, along with Hans Reinhardt and Maximilian.

These three comics came in a multi pack.

The fourth comic is apparently quite rare. This is simply dated 1980   The film’s poor performance at the box office meant the comic run was cancelled. Two more comics were actually issued but only in Spanish for the Mexican market.

The ‘Beyond the Black Hole’ stories are reprinted in The U.K. Black Hole annual 1981.

A page from the campaign pamphlet.

When it comes to Black Hole comic strips I should mention Walt Disney’s Treasury of Classic Tales.

Walt Disney’s Treasury of Classic Tales was a weekly Sunday newspaper strip that ran from July 1952 until February 1987 which featured adaptations of classic Disney films.

Between 2^nd September 1979 and 24^th February 1980 legendary comic artist Jack ‘King’ Kirby drew a 26 part adaptation of the film, The Black Hole, written by Carl Fallberg, and inked by Mike Royer.

Here’s an example, and the full set has been uploaded at this website here: https://taint-the-meat.com/2018/09/03/black-hole-jack-kirby/

THE BLACK HOLE BAGATELLE

 A few photos of the Black Hole Bagatelle by Marx Toys. I love the painted back drop showing the Cygnus and Palomino spacecraft.

It has paintings of  Old B.O.B. and V.I.N.Cent but oddly no sign of Maximilian.

It shows the crew of the Palomino; Captain Dan Holland, Lieutenant Charlie Pizer, Kate McCrea and Alex Durant. Journalist Harry Booth is absent.

Dr Hans Reinhardt is in the background.

MEGO MAX

 I'm a big fan of Disney's The Black Hole that appeared in 1979. Although the film certainly wasn't the success Disney hoped it would be by any stretch,  it did spawn a lot of spin-off merchandise, and over time has become quite a cult movie.

For me the most popular character was the menacing robot, Maximilian.

At this point in time I don't have many of the small Mego figures,  I  do have a Kate McCrae though, who, in the film had a psychic connection with V.I.N.Cent, the Palomino ship's robot. Was she able to see into Maximilian's evil electronic mind to find out what happened to her father and the rest of the crew of the Cygnus. 

  The metaphysical end of the film is certainly open to several interpretations. Is what we see real or illusion? 

Adrift amongst the strange forces in the Black Hole we see Max and the archetypal mad scientist, Reinhardt somehow fused together. It seems Max and Reinhardt are cursed to spend eternity in a strange realm..

Or is Maximilian content to be the lord of all he surveys.

THE TOYS FROM THE DWARF

 Here are a few photos of the Corgi Red Dwarf set (TY96501) which was released between 2004 and 2007.

 It features the Starbug , and the CGI model version of the Red Dwarf Mining Ship. This set also comes with figures of Dave Lister and Arnold Rimmer.

“Red Dwarf was a Jupiter Mining Corporation vessel developed for the recovery and shipping of mineral ore. Cast adrift three million years into deep space, its sole human inhabitant became vending machine repairman, Dave Lister…who has about as much in mining as he does in personal hygiene.

Red Dwarf’s key shuttlecrafts are its fleet of Starbugs. The Starbug line is adaptable and manoeuvrable, but also prone to crashing at a moment’s notice. Its utter lack of defensive capabilities makes it exactly the kind of ship you don’t want to be stranded in on in hostile space. “

The popular cult sci-fi comedy series created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor,  features Craig Charles as Lister, Chris Barrie as Rimmer, Danny John-Jules as Cat and Robert Llewellyn as Kryten.  It started in the U.K on BBC 2 in 1988 until 1999. The Dave TV channel has continued to produce new episodes from 2009, and a feature length TV film, ‘Red Dwarf: The Promised Land’  was released and shown on Dave this year.

AOSHIMA MOONBASE

 A few photos of the Aoshima UFO Moonbase which was previously released as an Imai kit.

A simple kit kit to put together,but anyone wanting an accurate representation of the studio model will be disappointed as the the kit, like many Japanese kits is more about gimmicks than accuracy.

LET'S GET THIS SHOW STARTED!

As Woodsy and his missus are off to the seaside this coming week he's asked me to hold the fort for a few days, so without further ado I'll start off with a few photos of the famous Red Arrows to open the show...