MOONBASE CENTRAL

Sunday, 23 January 2022

1967 DUTCH THUNDERBIRDS GAME BY JUMBO

This caught my eye on Vintage Man Stuff and something I'd not seen before.

A 1967 Thunderbirds board game with 6 grey plastic helmeted figures (6.5 cm high)

What are those figures?

The instructions are in French and Dutch. There is a Jumbo shaped quality card.

Have you got this game?

HAVE TOY FAIRS STARTED UP AGAIN?

Has anyone been to a toy fair lately? Are they up and running in your neck of the world?

How about the UK? Have they started up again?

The Phantom Flyer

Did someone once mention this year a British comic character called The Phantom Flyer, about a Spitfire in the Battle of Britain? Peter Oxley has posted some of these on his site. The stories first appeared in Warlord comic in the 1970s.

'The Phantom Flyer' Battle of Britain illustrated strip - YouTube

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Saturday, 22 January 2022

Parker, Well Done

Just been to a local 'antiques' emporium (or as my wife calls it - posh car boot stalls) in Bygone Times. Originally it sold architectural salvage and vintage goods, but has recently become a large curio store with a mix of vintage and second hand goods. I would hesitate to say antiques, but there are some stalls inside with items which could be classed as antique.

In one corner is a stand with a lot of recent Anderson memorabilia and the odd bit of vintage ware too. High up on the wall hangs what seems to be a FAB1 Pedal Car, or possibly a smaller 'ride on' vehicle from a roundabout. Its been there years and isn't priced, so I assume it belongs to the stallholders display.

Amongst the other stalls were all kinds of other 'collectables', mostly catering to the grey pound - lots of wartime memorabilia, books, stamps, postcards, tools etc. One or two toy stalls with vastly inflated prices for the older items too.

Not much to interest me, apart from a few diecasts, a space book and a nice wooden totem pole. I also saw a nice sixties paint box with a large space scene on the tin, but at £25, left it where it was.

To add to the vintage feel, there are a lot of penny slotmachines which can be operated, like the gypsy fortuneteller and odd animated tableaus like 'haunted house', 'The Burglar' and 'The Mediums Parlour'.

EAGLEMOSS LABORATORY EAGLE

Here's a few photos of the Eaglemoss Laboratory Eagle.

Like the other two Eaglemoss Eagles, the pod is fixed, and the model comes finished in a distinctive light grey colour rather than diamond white. As I've mentioned before, while it probably annoys the purists, I quite like the light grey colour as it gives the Eaglemoss Eagles a unique look.

It has plenty of detailing, and comes with a removable display stand. Each model comes with same booklet describing the Eagle and its function.

I find the Laboratory Pod version the most impressive of the three variations of Eagle models so far released.

I don't how well these models have sold but I'd be happy to see a few more variations brought out as long as they push for a bit of quality control.

The first Eagle Transporter I got originally had a fair number of quality control issues, so much so resulting in me having to have a replacement sent . With the second release, the side-booster Eagle, again it had some minor issues , but was certainly an improvement.

Unsurprisingly this Laboratory Eagle has a couple of niggly alignment imperfections; the portside front landing pad isn't quite level. That's something I can live with as they are suppose to move depending on the terrain, and one of the Pod's support legs isn't in line with the other three. There's also a similar issue with the engine bells.

Obviously these models are a lot cheaper than the far superior Sixteen 12 versions, and I think its fair to say that Eaglemoss don't appear to have the best record when it comes to quality control (I speak from experience having subscribed to the Batman Automobillia set!) But, overall I feel these Eagle models are a welcome addition to the collection, and I'm glad that there's still a few manufacturers out there who are still happy and willing to produce new Space: 1999 merchandise.