THE FORCE AND THE ARM'S MASTER: STUNNING KNOCKOFFS FROM SPACE 1999

 Tuning into Scoop's 1999 vibe here's something weird I spotted.

This is the Remco Space 1999 Stun Gun toy. Nice. Nothing strange here.

But am I seeing things! Check out this The Force water pistol. Is that similar? The maker, Barton Magic Toy, seems to have reversed the stun gun for their deep-space effort.

What do you think readers? 

Here's another bit of Barton magic, the Mean Machine, aimed straight at a bewildered caveman!

Barton weren't alone in the stun gun knockoffery department. Here's the more well-known fake, the Arm's Master seen on Worthpoint! What on Earth is that on the header art? And why Arm's Master? Is that a Space 1999 reference?

As it happens there of loads of Space 1999 toy gun knockoffs, which I would love to see in the flesh. Check out the Catacomb's excellent merchandise guide for  a run-down. Have you got any readers?

https://catacombs.space1999.net/main/merc/vmmcomlock.html

MY PATCHED-UP CORGI ROVER 3500

 Before

After

Tools: acrylic paint pens: white, silver, red and orange.

Very therapeutic!

Any good?

BOTTLE BANK MOONBUS

Since Scoop's ace 2001 Mobius model post I'm seeing Moonbuses everywhere! Here's a blue one near my home aka a recycling skip! Looks like its about to take off!

Have you seen any objects which remind you of Sci-Fi vehicles readers?

MOVIN' ON!

 I think it's time I moved on from 2001 posts, and get back to 1999! So, it's back to the garage studio and some new pics!

2001 MAFEX ASTRONAUT

 The 2001 Space Suit Action Figure from Mafex.

The orange version, representing David Bowman.

The figure is fully poseable, and has a clear display stand.

It comes with three pairs of interchangeable hands – normal, pointing and fist.

The detail and lettering on the suit, chest pack and back pack is excellent, although it does say Clavius Base, rather than Discovery.

The visor is blacked out, as it does at one point in the movie, which actually looks pretty cool to me, and gives the figure a mysterious otherworldly look. 

PAUL'S SIKORSKY COPTER

Hi

In the recent post on the Anglo Gum SPV card, showing the Captain Scarlet SPV and a helicopter, you said that you did not recognise the helicopter. I thought immediately of the American Sikorsky S-51, an early helicopter design, first flown way back in 1943.

The type served with the US Army as the R-5 (R for Rotary wing, a designation that covered both helicopters and autogyros), and the US Navy and Coast Guard as the HO2S and HO3S. The type was also built in Britain by Westland as the Dragonfly, and this was the first British-built helicopter to serve with the British forces.

MOONBASE CENTRAL: ANGLO GUM SPV (projectswordtoys.blogspot.com)

Here are a couple of photos of my Dinky die-cast Westland-Sikorsky WS-51 version, which is tiny. This was first released in 1957, model number 716, and only came in red and cream civil colours, fuselage registration G-ATWX.

The nose windows are painted on in silver, there being no clear parts. The three-bladed main and tail rotors were tinplate, and are frequently missing from surviving examples, so I was very lucky to find a complete model.

The helicopter on the card is a much chunkier design, and the undercarriage is different, but the basic S-51 shape is there.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

BOK COVER: THE WHEELS OF IF

 

I love Hannes Bok art.

His unusual style is unique. This beautiful book cover caught my eye and is a good example of Bok's distinct styling.

Do you like Hannes Bok?

MOEBIUS ROCKET MOON BUS

 The Moebius Moon Rocket Bus from 2001: A Space Odyssey.

As many of you know, former A.P. Films man Brian Johnson left to work on 2001 and took particular inspiration from the front of Rocket Bus when designing the Eagle Transporter seen in Space 1999. 

There’s a brief scene in Space: 1999’s opening episode, ‘Breakaway’ which shows a view through a window of an Eagle landing at Disposal Area 2. This is very reminiscent of a similar scene in 2001, were the Rocket Bus is landing at Tycho.  It’s also been noted that the Tycho excavation site has a similar feel to 1999’s Waste Disposal Area. 

The Rocket bus transports men and supplies across the airless lunar surface, using rockets underneath which maintain an equal distance with the ground, coupled with occasional bursts giving forward thrust.

It has three curious looking landing feet dubbed ‘walkers’, which I imagine are used to maneuverer the landed Bus over short distances. 

In the film, the Rocket Bus travels from Clavius base to the Tycho excavation site were the strange anomaly has been discovered.

The actual filming model was apparently two feet long, and there were rumours that following filming it was stored away at the studio. Sometime later it was subsequently taken home by a crew member, and given to the crew member’s son.  Sadly, so the story goes, it was eventually destroyed by fireworks.  

This is the pre-made 2001 Moon Bus released by Moebius in 2011.

It’s more or less a straight reissue of the vintage Aurora kit released in 1969, although Moebius have altered the front screens to make them more film accurate. Modellers getting the actually Moebius kit are given the option of either using the original Aurora sloping aerodynamic front screen if they desire, or the screen accurate version.

The pre-made Moon Bus might be a bit too conservatively painted for some modellers who strive for  more accurate weathering, but it  has more than enough detail to make it interesting, and is a perfect display model, not unlike the Product Enterprise range.

Like the original Aurora kit it has a removable top, although I’m told that on the original kit this was prone to warping. The top on the Moebius doesn’t appear to suffer this and fits very well.

Inside, there are six astronauts along with their supplies, as well as a pilot and co-pilot. (The original kit appeared to only come with four astronauts)