BABY'S GOT THE BENDS

GEEK SALAD: WOLFEN TUSKS

A pot-pourri of stuff here. My mind is a cluttered loft so I'll just babble.

I'm currently reading a paperback called Wolfen by Whitley Strieber. A classic 70's horror wolf tome I remember seeing the film years ago. It described a race of super-wolves living in the ruins of 70's New York. These creatures were hidden from humans whilst also feeding on them: vagrants, winos and strays. The problems start when two cops are half eaten. 

The book touches on native American folklore and the high-rise men working on the 'steel'. The invisible beasts stalking humanity remind me of Covid-19 to be honest and I find the idea of urban decay harbouring a secret really interesting. As you'd expect the book goes into more detail and is a proper good read. Haver you seen the film or read the book?

*

I wonder if this oddest of years will be remembered by collectors as a good one? Certainly toy fairs have sadly bit the dust but has Ebay taken their place? Have space-toy collections prospered this year? What's your experience?

*

I've just been reading about the oceans of Ganymede. They are ..... layered! Yep, maybe three oceans, each 100km deep, one on top of the other like a stack of pancakes! The mind boggles!

How amazing it would be to glide and sail through these vast seas in sleek chrome ships.  I seem to recall a book  I read as a teenager which featured subs whizzing through Pliocene oceans. The idea fascinated me. It was called The Many-Coloured Land by Julian May, whom I had assumed was a man but was actually a woman. I had all three books but don't think I read them all, something I ought to rectify. This was the iconic cover of the paperback. Have you read it?

*

Mammoth skulls, with those huge curling tusks are quite primeval things. Mammoths in general really. I remember some fabulous art of the La Brea Tar Pits when I was a kid and stared at it for ages, its epic struggle of a trapped woolly mammoth and a roaring sabre-toothed tiger. For the life of me I can't recall where I saw it. Does it ring any bells readers?

Thunderbird 1 Lives!

Heyas Woodsy, 

We all know of Japan's love for Thundbirds. We've seen tributes, reuse of the models in other shows. The latter is what kindled a start of an idea.

In October of 1972, Warrior of Love Rainbow Man debuted on Japanese TV. It ran until September 1973, giving us 52 episodes about Yamato Takeshi who was a former college wrestling champ with the "Jiyotoko" College Wrestling Club. He also fought in underground fight clubs under the name of "Shitamachi No Kuro Hyo" (The Black Panther of the Underground". More info than you probably would ever want can be found at 

https://web.archive.org/web/20050428064032/http://www.japanhero.com/profiles/rainbowman.htm

Of course any superhero show has to have bad guys for the hero to triumph over. The ones in Rainbow Man are the Die Die Gang. Besides using elite mercenaries, cyborgs, wizards and supernatural monsters, they used "jet fighters". Their planes are actually models of TB=1 with some pieces left off and other pieces put on, giving it a different scale which helped disguise the source. 

There are lots of good angles of them in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kby4i2lEpi8

Cheers!

Lance

USA

HOT DATES

 

As part of this year's spontaneous and ongoing theme of Hot Wheels collecting,  spurred on by the plentiful availability of loose Hot Wheels at car boot sales and carded cars in shops, here are three more I found this Sunday:

From left to right: Cat-a-Pult, Red Baron and Super Cannon 705th.

In a bid to pick only old models at boot sales I always try to seek out just those loose cars with the dull older metal bases.

I also check for years and go for older years embossed on the bases.

However, what you see on the bases are not necessarily the year of the toy's release. They are usually the copyright dates shown. Many models have been re-released many times in different packs and sets.

There are loads of great Hot Wheels online checklists for beginners like me, so I checked all three of the cars I found.

My Cat-a-Pult has a1998 copyright on its base but its actually from the Heat Fleet 5-Pack version from 2003.

On first impressions the Red Baron was my most exciting find, being a redline classic. Mine wasn't a redline and was branded 'Hot Wheels Vintage' and clearly a re-issue once I got it home. Despite being dated 1968 on its base my version was actually released in the Disney Pixar Toy Story Track Set Version from 2009!

My "HW 705th" camouflage version is actually from 2007, although the car is dated 1982 copyright on the base. 

Have you any ambiguous dates on your Hot Wheels?

THE FANTOM 4

 

I saw this on Vectis and thought, hmmm, that's a new one on me.

The Fantom 4 Hover Craft. Its a strange looking toy and appears to be a flying saucer sat inside a launch bay. There's a hint of Major Matt Mason livery about it.

Does anyone know any more about the Fantom 4?

A POCKETFUL OF POSIES

 

A Thunderbird By Any Other Name...

Woodsy,

While I was browsing eBay recently, I ran across these two rare 1960s SF kits by Aoshima Bunka Kyozaisha, which I think you will find intriguing. They are both called "Thunderbird 1," but of course have nothing to do with the famous TV series. 

Both box arts show the same vehicle, in different color schemes and from different angles, but its just a sports car with missiles and fins. Also please note the misspelling of Thunderrbird (sic) on the red vehicle. Another weird sorta Supermarionation spin-off, eh? Even better, this kit was issued in the U.S. by good old Paramount Hobbies, as  "Tiger Jet," probably to avoid confusion/copyright infringement.

Rob C

CT USA

What are you doing at the moment?

I'm watching the news and listing on Ebay.

What are you up to readers?