MOLD A RAMA WORLD'S FAIR SOUVENIRS

 

I love these Mold A Rama 1962 World's Fair souvenirs.

Were they made at the Fair I wonder?

You got the Century 21 arrow symbol, the Seattle tower and more, but I'm unsure what the other two represent.

These were online so I saved the image. It must have been an amazing experience to go to Seattle's fair in 1962. I was 1.

Not sure if the UK had any national festivals like this in the Sixties. They did in the Fifties.

A VISIT TO CROMFORD MILLS' SCI-FI MODEL EXHIBITION

 I spent this Saturday over at Cromford Mills, a picturesque World Heritage site in Derbyshire, which was hosting a Sci-Fi Model exhibition organised by Gerry & Sylvia Anderson fan and scale modeller, David Sisson, who I should add was ably assisted by several other fellow enthusiasts and members of the Cromford Mills staff.  

In-spite of its relatively small size, all packed into a large marquee, there was a lot to see, and plenty of old and new friends to meet up with thanks to the recent relaxing of many Covid 19 restrictions.

There was, of course no shortage of scale models, original props and costumes all courtesy of David Sisson, Simon Rhodes, Richard Ashton, Bob Bailey, James Burgess, Gary Holland and Scott Goodman.

The Fanderson table was manned by Stephen Brown and his wife, who were giving away Fanderson goodie bags, and there was even a dealers’ table selling some very nice pieces of affordable vintage merchandise thanks to Tony Freeman.

Artist, Graham Bleathman and his wife, Katie were also there, signing and selling prints.

Fireball XL5 fan, Bob Bailey brought along some models and puppets from his collection, including the surviving original Steve Zodiac puppet. The puppet head is apparently a ‘blinker’ and has Mary Turner’s name written in pencil on the inside.

His Fireball XL5 model was made by Martin Bower.

Bob’s scratch-built Robert the Robert, with his scratch-built Venus in the background.

David Sisson brought along plenty of models including Thunderbird 2, Fab 1 and Stingray.

He also had an original Space:1999 spacesuit and original helmet.

I tried the helmet on for size, and I have to be honest it’s not that comfortable. As it was a reasonably warm day it got quite hot inside the helmet fairly quickly and steamed up , and when I  spoke with the visor down  the sound reverberated to the back of helmet. I don’t think I'd want to wear it for too long, I wonder how the actors got on under the hot studio lights!

You can’t have a Sci-Fi model show without Eagles from Space:1999 and modeller, Richard Ashton brought along a fine collection.

Richard also brought along a large Millennium Falcon model. I can’t say I’m a big Star Wars fan but the model is impressive.

He also had a Colonial Viper from the original Battlestar Galactica, and a model Back to the Future DeLorean complete with Marty McFly and 'Doc' Emmett Brown figures.

He also brought along his large ‘work in progress’ Serenity model.

 As I say, the exhibition featured not only models from the worlds of Gerry & Sylvia Anderson, but also Blake’s Seven and classic Doctor Who.

Scott Goodman, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Jon Pertwee was suitably attired as the Third Doctor, and was accompanied by a taller than usual Dalek made by Scott himself, and based on the instructions given in the 1973 Radio Times Tenth Anniversary Doctor Who Special!

Here's Scott aka The Third Doctor, talking to Bob, one of the Cromford Mills staff members, who helped in getting the exhibition off the ground.

                    Daleks did prove popular on the day, especially with the kids!

Blake’s 7 fan, Gary Holland brought along several Blake’s 7 items including a large selection of costumes and props including a screen –used helmet from the episode Countdown, and a screen-used Mini Orac from the episode, Gambit.

                                                A sea-devil head made by James Burgess.

Modeller James Burgess brought along some of his excellent scratch-built puppets he’s using in a digital film he’s making which is based on the H.G.Wells story, The First Men in the Moon.

All in all, an excellent day out, and well worth the trip. Thanks to all those exhibitors, and their helpers. It was great to meet up with them all and other fellow fans after so long.

                                A work in progress Alpha Centuri head

                                                Overlander from Terrahawks

                                                            Let’s hope it’s not too much of a wait till the next one!

SHADO 2 EMERGENCY SQUAD

I've always liked the SHADO2 knockoffs Emergency Squad. 

Its plastic and opens up at the rear, which contains another small vehicle.

This window box seems unfamiliar and I'm not sure we've seen it before on Moonbase. I saw it on an old auction and saved the snap. I quite like the header artwork.

Do you like Emergency Squad readers?

Mighty Casey Diesel Train

Oh wow.! A child-sized ride-on train set with wagons that runs on tracks, and has a re-chargeable battery. This monster is by Remco, and I bet it was super expensive in its day. 

The engine is a modern diesel, called Mighty Casey. Dates from about 1970. What an amazing toy. First up an old TV ad.

(2) Mighty Casey TV commercial - YouTube

Now an unboxing and assembly of what must have been a basic starter set, with an engine, and a circle of track. 

The gentleman in this video was certainly keen, and built an entire layout in his garden, for his grandchildren, using a whole fleet of these engines, wagons, and track, plus several hand-built items. Very impressive. 

The station is called the Shady Rest, which was the name of the hotel in the TV series Petticoat Junction, at which the Hooterville Cannonball would stop, although this was a steam train.

(2) Mighty Casey Backyard Railroad - YouTube

Paul Adams from New Zealand

LITTLE CHEF THUNDERBIRDS ANYONE?

 

I saw this set on Ebay this year. A Little Chef series of Thunderbirds toys. They look quite good.

I've never seen this line before. Have you? When are they from?

VINTAGE HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS: SPRING-LOADED ASHTRAYS

 Kevin mentioned these ashtrays.

These where everywhere in the 60's and 70's. 

They were spring-loaded and by holding down the 'stick' the three steel flaps swung downwards freeing up entry into the lower bowl. To close the flaps you released the stick.

I seem to recall they were really quite noisy!

Here's the table-top version

and the tall portable one.

Do you remember these?

SURF'S UP!

Hi,

A new die-cast. The Hot Wheels Surf's Up model, depicting a surfboarder riding a wave. This made its debut last year as part of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics set, although the copyright date is 2019. It is now available as a regular model.

Only the baseplate is metal, a metallic green. The waves are translucent green plastic, as are the wheels. Sitting on this is a black plastic surfboard, with yellow and turquoise markings. The rider is orange-brown plastic, with the Hot Wheels logo on his back in white. Certainly, a strange 'vehicle'.

Paul Adams, NZ

ED'S CHILDHOOD HOME 1963

Pole lamps, star clocks, mirrored shelves, pole cigarette lighters, and stereo's!
My mom tried so hard to be a 'modern' woman, but her eclectic mix of old and new sometimes just clashed too much to be effective.

Add to that the fact that our house was built around 1904 and was itself too outdated to be considered 'modern' and it wasn't a match made in heaven. You can see the pole cigarette lighter in the last picture to the left of the stereo.

I could've sworn there was a better photo of it but I do have a LOT of photos from back then.

Enjoy!
Ed Berg
USA