SUPER NEWS COPTER HELICOPTER BY SH OF JAPAN

I saw this on an old auction.

Its a huge toy plastic News copter.

The front opens to reveal cameras.

The box is a busy one with diagrams and artwork of a pilot.

This toy reminds me of my own Tarheel Super Copter, which I got over ten years ago.

Have you got a big toy copter?

MARTIAN MAGIC TRICKS! MYSTIFY YOUR FRIENDS!

We've talked about Gilbert toys a few times this summer, largely to do with Honey West and their other agents.

Well here's another Sixties TV character that Gilbert got a licence for, My Favourite Martion.

I have yo admit it's not a show I recall here in the UK but it spawned a few neat toys and games.

I'm a fan of big boxed sets and here's The Martian Magic Tricks set I saw on Worthpoint.

Its choc-ful of tricks like the Rebellious Rocket, the Space Visitor and  the Penetrating Meteorite! I can't imagine what any of those are but it sounds like fun!

This set must be hard to find complete. All those trick parts will have got seperated and lost under the fridge the day after Christmas!

Anyone got this set or anything connected to My Favourite Martian?

WHAT A FIGURE!

Here are a few of the action figures I've found at local car boot sales in August. Being on furlough I was able to go to two boot sales a week and it's been great fun.

Scorpio, Callisto and Matt were a real rubbery bargain. Just need to test the bulb in Scorpio's head. They were filthy when I got them but have cleaned up really well. 

Here in this bundle of fun we have a couple of Matchbox monster Howlers, a purple Yolanda Skeleton soldier, an Action Force frogman and more.

The figures I cannot ID are the yellow and black one far left, the black Ninja-style rider next to him, the pink big-eared figure far right bottom and the blue rubbery muscly guy next to him. 

Any ideas gratefully received readers!

Here are those mystery figures. Any clues?

Missing from this lot are some boxed Gormiti toy sets I picked up in Stokely, all new to me!

I hope to squeeze one more car boot sale in before I have to go back to work face-mask and all.

PROBLEM WITH PILES?

There was a clip on TV today about a collector's pile of yachting magazines crashing through a ceiling from an attic.

This did worry me as I do have a lot of old film magazines in our attic, although fortunately I had the joists strengthened when we moved in as my office was up there back then.

Have you piles of magazines stacked up? Where do you keep them?

MYSTERY PARACHUTE

 

I was wondering how this parachute toy I saw online actually worked. Anyone know?

As an aside, the blue cone inside the bag looks amazingly like another space toy part we've featured before. Wotan's legendary spacebird nozzle blogged years ago!

COINCIDENCE OF PRESIDENTIAL PLASTIC

I recently blogged a small Marx Little Deb plastic TV.

I also blogged the Mego JFK plastic chair.

Amazingly I found this snap online of both of them in the same room!

Presidential coincidence!

Just what is the maid saying to JFK?

KEEPING COLLECTORS FED: THE HOAGIE

Hi Woodsy.

I share with you today a local sandwich that you may or may not have seen before.I think we have talked about Delicatessens and what they sell.

There are Polish Delis,German Delis,Jewish Delis,each one specializing in their own type of meats,sliced to order.The delis in my area are mostly Italian,and the meats and cheeses are combined on an Italian roll,perhaps you know as a baguette,and dressed with vegetables and drizzled with olive oil and vinegar.

The finished product is known in these parts as a Hoagie,although the names Hero,Grinder,or Submarine are also used.Although my local Delis make great sandwiches,I prefer to buy the ingredients and make my own.The meats I used are: Genoa Salami,Proscuititni,a type of ham rolled in crushed black peppercorns,and Capocolla,a cured pork sausage rolled in hot and sweet spices.

The cheese is Provolone,and the toppings are lettuce tomato and onions,sprinkled with oregano,salt and pepper, and drizzled with olive oil and red wine vinegar.I have included a stripe of hot pepper relish on top of it all.Roasted red sweet peppers,sliced olives,or pickled eggplant are all optional and definitely welcome.

I include some crunchy Potato chips on the side,these chips are made in neighboring Pennsylvania and are my personal fave.Some of those chips will wind up tucked into the Hoagie,giving it another layer of flavor and some crunch.Are you hungry yet? ; ) 

BrianF NJ USA

HAS LOCKDOWN AFFECTED YOUR COLLECTING?

As my own Lockdown comes to an end and I go back to work next Monday [Yikes!] I was reflecting on how 6 month's furlough has affected my collecting and toy hobby in general.

So much time off allowed me to do a few things I probably wouldn't have done otherwise, namely restoring an old flimsy Ellegi boat box, which was fun and scratchbiulding some Thunderbirds vehicles, which was kicked off with re-legging a JR21 Thunderbird 2 kindly donated to Moonbase.

The scratchbiulding was a second wind of this for me. Last year I had a go at home-making as many SpaceX II vehicles as I could so I'd picked up a few techniques and materials doing that. The Thunderbirds models were great fun to create and a handy 'poor mans' substitute for the Bandai plastic toys, which do command high prices.

The other facet to the hobby that I've rediscovered over the summer is buying and Ebay-selling old toys, which I used to do in earnest back in the Noughties. I must say that this second go is huge fun and as always the best part is finding the toys at car boot sales and charity shops in the first place [no toy fairs though and these are unlikely to re-start till February next year I'm told].

I've found some amazing old toys this summer and will blog about them during the autumn.

I plan to continue buying and Ebaying after I start work again but winter, fatigue and a Corona second wave may have other ideas!

Has lockdown affected your toy hobby at all readers?