STAR TREK SWEET CIGARETTE STAMPS BY PRIMROSE

 Here's a look at the set of 12 Star Trek cards, described as stamps, which came out in 1970, given free for a time in packets of sweet cigarettes by Primrose Confectionary Company Ltd.

Like many youngsters I collected sweet cigarette cards, or candy sticks as they are referred to nowadays, and although these lack any sort of sophistication I still find them nostalgically appealing..

Rather than photos from the series, the stamps show very simple drawings which are printed on very thin paper .

The back of the stamps  have a brief synopsis of the the cover art, and  although generally speaking the narrative has little to do with actual episodes, occasionally a genuine episode title  is incorporated in the narrative ,

As each card is dated AD 2307, it's fair to assume this is beyond the time of the adventures on the stamps, as some of the narrative is written in past tense.

THE SPACE RUNNING CREATURE

I have never seen this toy before, the Space Running Creature. It looks like a fishing rod reel! 

The auction description mentioned Devoto Toys so I assume they were the manufacturer.

Is this a toy you know?

THE MUNSTERS' DRAGULA AUCTION

Hi,

Just found this, a 2021 auction for a large, ride-on model of the Dragula coffin dragster, from The Munsters TV series. Length 65 inches, suitable for a single rider up to six feet tall, with a top speed of 25 mph. Clearly a toy for adults, rather than children.

What do you think?

https://www.mecum.com/lots/CA0821-481893/coffin-go-kart/

Paul Adams from New Zealand

CALLAN AND MORE ON THE SHELVES

Another mooch around a coupla charity shops today here in Yorkshire. Here's a few snaps of some the collectables on the shelves.

What would you have got if anything?

I never knew that Callan aka Edward Woodward made records. Did you?

This shelf contained a handful of 60s and 70s pop annuals at £2 each. Fab, Mirabelle and more.

An Airfix Boeing 737. Cheaper than the original price according to the tag. 

Lots of solid locomotives on bases. Your cup of tea?

Dino Play Set. Very modern but it solved a mystery for me as to where the orange pteranodon is from. I have a loose one!

Lots of Kubrick-style toys, which I don't know much about. Blok It. StikBot. Vidiyo. Any good? A boxed LEGO bionicle style Joker too, not pictured.

Coupla vintage'ish items. A 70's Sindy Scooter, £6 and a topless 1994 Robocop SWAT van, £5.

Where's Valerie Leon?

Seeing Caroline Munro late on every Friday night I got to wondering what happened to Valerie Leon.  Where's her Cellar Club?

I was chuffed to see she's alive and kicking and from the looks of her website very busy  and popular still like Caroline and attending conventions and promoting Carry On films.

Who would you say was more famous back in the day? Caroline or Valerie?

Ray Russell's Sardonic Stories

Late last night I caught the monochrome horror Sardonicus, from 1961, on the telly as part of Caroline Munro's delightful Cellar Club.

Sardonicus is the grim tale of a man with a richtus smile, a gothic affliction with a long heritage, as there is a similar but much older silent film called The Man Who Laughs starring Conrad Veidt.

Veidt's hideously wide smile went on to inspire the Joker's evil grin in Batman, but having seen Sardonicus I wanted to know its own particular source. 

It was inspired by a novella by American writer Ray Russell, creative in residence at Hugh Hefner's Playboy magazine. Having read up on Russell he appears to have been quite a thing back in the Sixties horror and sci Fi writing world, although it was all new to me this morning, something which is always a thrill.

Russell wrote many stories including his Unholy Trinity of Sardonicus, Sagittarius and Sanguineous, Sardonicus being the most well known.

Keen on collecting horror paperbacks I had a look at the availability of these three Playboy novellas. Individually they are very dear and largely in America.

They do appear in two other anthologies. The Unholy Trinity and Haunted Castles. Neither of these is a Yorkshire bargain and originals are expensive. Modern reprints are around fifteen quid.

Whilst I wait for Santa to take me off the Naughty list I'll have a scout round for Ray Russell's later terror take, Incubus, which I know is lurking in the loft.

Have you seen Sardonicus or read Ray Russell readers?

THE BLUE BOX SNAKE: DON'T CORNER IT!

 

This multi-wheeled Snake by Blue Box must have been a fine toy for a kid back in the day.

It was released by Blue Box.

Its twistiness reminds me of my Project SWORD Scramble Bug I had when I was a little 'un.

Do you like the Snake?

PAUL'S MATCHBOX FORD GROUP 6: ITS SUPERFAST!

Hi,

Among the models I picked up at the most recent model fair in Auckland was a Matchbox Ford Group 6 racing car. I already had a Group 6 racer, which I have had for a good 50 years. The new model being in different colours.

The launch of Hot Wheels in 1968, with their low-friction wheels and high performance, saw the sales of Matchbox models drop, especially in the important American export market. Matchbox (and other brands) responded by fitting new low-friction wheels to many existing models, and launching many new models which had Superfast wheels from the outset. The colours were also jazzed up, and metallic shades were introduced, just like Hot Wheels.

The Ford Group 6 car was the third Matchbox model to be given the number 45, and is referred to by collectors as 45c. It replaced the much more sedate Ford Corsair.

It has the copyright date 1969 on the baseplate, although it actually came out in 1970.

The Ford appeared in several striking colour schemes. First, a normal green car. Then metallic medium green, metallic lime green, and finally metallic purple. Window and baseplate colours varied. Early cars had the race number 7 on the nose, but most had 45.

My original car, which I have had since it was new, is a metallic lime green version. The interior is white (or ivory, according to some listings), with a chrome engine, amber tinted windows, a pink baseplate, and the number 45 on the nose.

The box this came in shows a darker green car, with clear windows and the number 7 on the nose. But it is original.

My new model is a darker metallic green, with a white interior, chrome engine, a black baseplate, and the number 7 on the nose. In fact, the car shown on the box of my original model ! This one did not come with a box.

As a boy, I did not care much for the Superfast models, preferring the realism of the Regular Wheel models, despite their lower performance. But there were a few models which I thought really suited the new Superfast wheels, including the Ford Group 6, which was an excellent runner.

The Ford Group 6 was eventually replaced in 1976 by the BMW 3.0 CSL coupe.

Paul Adams from New Zealand