BIRTHDAY FEATURE: VAUGHAN'S STAR COMMAND THUNDERBIRD 1

Hi Woodsy,

I don't know if this still relevant as the original post was done three years ago!

I recently came across this on Ebay quite accidentally as it was on my regular searches. I tried doing research on it with no success. Thought I would bid on it anyway as it looked so similar to the Lincoln Toys TB1. I won it with no opposition.

After the win I tried more research and it wasn't until then that I came across your article, that I could verify what it actually was. On the listing it was under the maker Califax and not Calfax. It's surprising the difference a letter can make!

I have attached a few photos of the find.

I didn't know if it was still any interest but I thought I would email anyway.

Vaughan H

Has anyone else got any Star Command toys?

MONKEY BUSINESS!

Some shots I did using the Medicom red suited 2001 astronaut, and imagining what it might look like if Bowman, somehow found himself at the dawn of man, and saw the T.M.A. 0.

BIRTHDAY DOSSIER: PAUL A'S REVIEW OF THE HONEY WEST DVD COMPLETE SERIES

Hi Woodsy

Here is my review of the Honey West DVD set. I do recall seeing this set in a shop several years ago, but I did not buy it at the time, as I did not know very much about the series, and how great it is. If you want to have a look at the series before buying the DVD, it is available to view for free on You Tube. Anyone who liked The Avengers, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and Mission: Impossible should enjoy this series.

To recap, the Honey West TV series of 1965-66 was based on a series of books that had made their debut in 1957, beginning with This Girl For Hire. On television the character was introduced in an episode of the series Burke's Law in 1965. This was followed by a full series with Anne Francis as Honey, and John Ericson as her sidekick Sam Bolt. There were numerous changes from the books. It comprised 30 black and white episodes, all running 25 minutes. It is a really cracking action-adventure series about a female private eye and martial arts expert, who could have held her own with Emma Peel. Anne Francis would later play the re-named Honey Best on an episode of the revived Burke's Law in 1994.

There are several different DVD sets available, some of which include the original Burke's Law episode as an extra - alas, this is not included in my set, which is by VCI Entertainment. The copyright date on the discs is 2008, but the cover says 2009. Here, you get all 30 episodes, on four discs (each with a different picture of the cast), with a fairly limited range of extras. Discs 1 and 2 each include a small photo gallery of mainly black and white photographs. All have a selection of vintage TV commercials for a variety of products, only some of the ads on Discs 3 and 4 have any connection to the show. Total running time 900 minutes, which is 15 hours.

The blurb on the back cover gives a potted history of the show, but does not even mention the original books. This states that 'Honey West was the first dramatic TV show with a female star in an action-adventure role'. A highly dubious claim - there was certainly Sheena: Queen of the Jungle, with Irish McCalla, as far back as 1955. Possibly others as well. 

Given my love of the show, which did not screen in NZ in the 1960s and which I have only just discovered, I really enjoyed the episodes. It is fun, there is plenty of action, with comedy, and great fights - Honey is a dangerous lady. Car lovers will also enjoy it. 

Honey usually drives an AC Shelby Cobra, basically a small British sports car with an American V8 engine, although she has a Jaguar XKE (E Type) in one episode. For undercover and surveillance work there is a Ford Econoline van. In each episode there are many familiar faces from 1960s TV. The best known today would be Richard Kiel (Jaws in the Bond films) in King of the Mountain.

The DVD set is available in Britain, where it has a BBFC PG rating, which actually surprised me, given the level of violence in the show, and the way the BBFC usually hits violence with at least a fully restricted 12 rating. I got my copy from Amazon US, as Amazon UK no longer ships to NZ.

Paul Adams

New Zealand

ANNIE-VERSARY!

 A few shots of my old scratch-built Dan Dare Anastasia, with original 'Red Moon Mystery' window design.

Near Myths

One of the most elusive and distinctive models of the SWORD range is the Nuclear Ferry. Presumed to have been never made and lost in the mists of time, a photo of a battered model of the Ferry was spotted on Yahoo Auctions in Japan in the dying hours of the auction and as the listing was a domestic one, the chances of securing this most unique of toys slipped away into the rays of the rising sun. Presumably snapped up by a discerning collector even though it was listed as a 'space rocket' in damaged condition, it did feature a box and control line battery pack. At the time it was found, I was mid way through a pet project of my own - to build my own ferry based on the available information and illustrations that were then known. 

A few years earlier I had been lucky to find the only extant model of a carded Spacex ferry - and as it had always been my favourite of all SWORD spaceships, I set out to build a large model. Mattel/Matchbox had produced a successful line of rescue toys in 2002 which had an interchangeable action feature and among these was a (roughly) 00/HO scale (about same size as a golden astrounaut) X-33 Lifting Body/Shuttle. This, i felt was ideally suited to form the hardest part of my model, the sleek shuttle at the front. I decided not to make anything too model-like and stick to the clean toy lines. The fuselage of the booster was made from a tennis ball tube and the collar was a gasket from a gas pipe! The only difference i made was adding a long distance comms antenna at the back to balance the rear end (and to give a nod to Discovery in 2001). A few sprays of paint and a little photoshoppery later, I present the Nuclear Ferrys Thor and Ymir arriving in Mars orbit before debarking to land the X 33 crew shuttle at Thetis Base. 

The Marie Celeste of the SWORD fleet has always been the wonderful Nuclear Ferry.  A beautiful and rare thing, especially since it arrived boxed and with Commanders badge, the ferry must have been one of the last creations of the SWORD designers. Compared to some of the other toys such as the Probe Force series or the scramble bug, the toy is a clumsy and unwieldy beast and must have had limited playability for a child. The remote control gives forward movement and tiny pea bulbs in the transparent red engine are whirled around on a small turntable, to give a fabulous 'reactor' effect. 

The large passenger section holds a full crew and the makers also saw fit to pose the tiny astronauts in positions where two have actually left their seats and are making a crew transfer into the cargo module. This mirrors Robert McCalls famous painting for which he was originally credited as being the originator of the design, but recently, David Portree - a space archive manager at Wired magazine,  cast an eye over the blog at my behest, to see if he could identify any of the designs shown here. 

Almost immediately, he identified the Nuclear Ferry as being a concept vehicle proposed by Ling Tenco Vought, an aerospace engineering company, as a lunar transport ship. This bore out C21's claims that it worked out the toy designs based on plans straight from the NASA drawing boards. 

One other major problem I found with the SWORD ferry was the spring loaded cargo module. The Passenger section slips easily from the steel rods either side of the main hull, but the cargo module was designed to blast off in realistic launching fashion, by the touch of a button. Engaging the spring launched mechanism by pushing the module into place revealed two flaws - the docking collar beneath the cargo module didn't line up with the airlock on the passenger section. Also, because of the age of the age of the mechanism - the latch was prone to releasing itself at will, blasting the cargo pod across the room! 

The ferry has appeared twice in toy form, once by Project SWORD and again, later by Triang Spacex. The unusual shape and distinctive form of the ferry has always obsessed me since childhood and along with the Booster Rocket has been a firm favourite. 

GERRY ANDERSON IN A FANZINE FROM 1977 BY TERRANOVA47

Hello Woodsy,

In my ongoing search through boxes of my past I came across one with British comics from the 70's and British Comic Fanzines.

Back in 1970/71 I was working for a small advertising agency in London. We needed reference for a 'pop art' style fist so I went to the local newsagents and looked through the comic racks finding Captain America and Conan. I bought the Capt. America for reference and Conan because a few years before at art school fellow student Chris Achilleos drew Conan inspired by the Frank Frazetta paperback covers.

It ended up being my return to comic collecting as I sought a full run of those two titles and then a few months later along came the British comic, COUNTDOWN. I was hooked.

(I bought the two Marvel comics until 1984 when my daughter was born and cash and space was at a premium.)

I discovered that there were a few dealers around in London and on their racks were fanzines. I wasn't the only adult fond of comics!

Here's one from 1977, I kept subscribing when I moved to the US as now and again there were articles on British comics.

Here is a fans view of The Anderson's which may now 43 years later be of interest to Moonbase readers.

Terranova47

USA

 

BLIMEY MISTER! HAS IT REALLY BEEN 12 YEARS?