WILL OSBORNE'S GILBERT 007 ROAD RACE SET

Will found his set!

POTATO HEAD!

 I was reading somewhere that the toys' Mr Potato Head, and Mrs Potato Head are to be joined by gender neutral, Potato Head as a sign of progressive thinking by makers Hasbro.

The popular toy's been around since 1952 apparently, and has gone through a few changes over the years, with its original  idea of simply pinning face parts onto a real potato, replaced by having it's own plastic potato body.

I must admit, while I don't have an issue with Hasbro's decision,  I do wonder what other toys will get a modern makeover to satisfy progressive values.

SKY SHARKS

https://youtu.be/DcoVJsURfk4  

Hi Woodsy! Is this the dumbest movie yet? Brought to by the people behind Iron sky and Sharknado.

I dunno, it looks fun!!
Regards
MJ 

Southcoast Sky Shark Base

FIREFLASH!

    With all this talk of reissued kits, here's a photo of my reissued Aoshima Fireflash model.

Here's a few older photos of Fireflash I've posted on the blog a few times before.

DEATHSTALKER: OH, DEAR!

Having enjoyed re-seeing Beast Master I thought I'd dip my toes deeper into  Sword and Sorcery films beyond the other ones I know like Arnie's Conan.

So I had a go at Deathstalker from the early 80's. 

It was described as a cult hit and a great video rental success. I'd certainly never seen it before but it was available on Prime so I gave it a whirl.

I didn't like it. Compared to Beast Master its a rusty cheap blade unworthy of much sorcery. Sauce on the other hand is a plenty. Deathstalker is an eye-full, a Roger Corman exploitation slop-pot who's dubious high point is a womens' mud wrestling fight.

I found the whole thing tedious and crass. It must be an age thing. Maybe if I'd seen it in the 80's on VHS after several pints of Old Peculiar I might think differently.

Its only redeeming feature is the VHS/ Cinema cover art by the famous Boris Vallejo - do you like his work?

 Please tell me there's no other merchandise for Deathstalker!

DAR! THE BEAST MASTER

I'm currently watching Beast Master on Prime. Its a sword and sorcery flick from the early 80's starring a pumped-up version of Luke Skywalker wearing a loincloth. In fact he's a deadringer for He-Man too!

Anyways, I do like the Beast Master a lot. Beautifully shot, clear simple dialogue and a tale as old as time. Find your destiny, honour your Father and slay the dark lords on the way.  Yes, its Star Wars in sandals.

The central character Dar is a no-nonsense, animal-loving strong guy who has been sorely wronged - his parents slain and his village plundered - by the murderous Junn horde, ably assisted by the high priest of bad teeth, Rip Torn.

There are ziggarats, rings with eyeballs inside [a sure fire merchandise opportunity!], huge swords, three witches and bad guys a plenty.

The stand-outs are Dar's amazing throwing knife, the name of which I forget. Also Kiri, his gorgeous love interest and possibly some of the creepiest monsters ever, the Priests of Ar, who's MO is to encase their victims in their leathery wings and dissolve them, leaving simply a pile of bones! The sound effect is remarkable!

Dar's love of animals is at the heart of Beast Master and was in tune with the environmental movement at the time. It certainly sat well with me being a young dippy hippy.

For film trivialists, the actor playing the helpful rotund villager in the flick is the same jocular chap who is salesman of the year in the grim Halloween III: Season of the Witch.

But perhaps the best performance, besides Dar's, is Rip Torn's High Priest. With his witches and eyeball rings and toothless grin, he really lets rip.

I saw the Beast Master with my girlfriend [now Missus Moonbase] way back in the early 80's in an evening film club showing in a sports arena. It was called the Aula in Recklinghausen in Germany. I can't recall if the film was dubbed or sub-titled or what now but somewhere we still have the cinema ticket, as it was one of the first films we ever saw together. Ah! or should that be, Dar!

Have you seen the Beast Master readers? Is there any merchandising I wonder?

"KOJAK CALLING" -A TALKING BUICK !

 As I'm on a bit of a Kojak fixation at the moment, here's a piece of  merchandise that caught my eye. A pull back and go, talking Kojak Police Car  from Palitoy. The box art shows a Buick Century, although the toy itself is open to some interpretation.  It does say a"well known Kojak phrase" as it moves forward. I wonder what that might be, baby?

TENDER BEGINNINGS

When I saw this Neca 52 Fire Rail Car by Lionel on Ebay I immediately thought of the deign of something else.

It reminded completely of an old Frank Bellamy's futuristic TV21 F1 tender, the inspiration behind the as yet unseen SpaceX II F7 Crash Tender.

What do you think?