MOONBASE CENTRAL

Tuesday, 18 January 2022

CENTURY 21 PUBLISHING 2007 FAB MAGAZINE UPDATE

Collector Bernard Dunne has informed me that number 56 of Fanderson's FAB magazine in 2007 [cover pictured] ran a major article on Century 21 and ITC licensing. Some of the more unusual licenses included The Saint, Man in a Suitcase, The Prisoner, the Champions and Department S.

It certainly seems like an article to get hold of. Anyone got this FAB?

Publications stemming from these may be credited as Century 21, although as Bernard has pointed out to me, some maybe uncredited. The Man in a Suitcase Sleeping Cupid paperback was published by the Daily Mail for instance.

Have you any C21 books?

Monday, 17 January 2022

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!

Sunday, 16 January 2022

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