A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER FOR LOOEY

Czech Designer, Artist and Toy Maker John Cervenka was about 25 years older than me. We met during a talk I was giving at Sydney's Powerhouse Museum and became fast friends.

John's Artist wife Vera had died before I met him, but her touch was all over the ramshackle house/studio he lived in the Blue Mountains.

The Dining room was a permanent Christmas fantasia with string lights and Yuletide artworks and decorations. Every year we would have a traditional Czech Christmas Eve Feast in this twinkling wonderland.

Earlier this year John died and his house, filled with his and Vera's paintings, his vintage toys and the small workshop where he hand made tin toys, became a dark locked memory. 

This Christmas Eve, his executor and friends held another feast. It was so much like old times that John's presence was almost palpable.

I was given a wrapped present that felt like an old Airfix kit box. When I unwrapped it, it was a vintage mint in box Astroray Gun. 

I cannot think of a better object to remember my old friend by,

Happy Christmas, Moonbasers....

Looey

Oz

DARK EVE

 Twas the evening tide of Christmas

The light turned into gloom

Spirits woke in soily robes

and hid around the room.

Happy spooky Christmas Eve!

LILY LEDY THUNDERBIRDS AND FIREBALL XL5

 

Some Mexican Lily Ledy Thunderbirds, Fireball XL5 and Bill Blastoff toys from way back when.

What do you think?

COLLECTABLE FIGURE KITS BOOK

While I was digging through the internet, looking for information for the Airfix figure articles, I came across this book. 

I have not heard of this before. Given your interest in figures I wondered if you knew of it ? It is on figure kits, and covers many of the major and even minor producers. It looks as though it would answer a lot of our questions.

Collectible Figure Kits of the 50s, 60s, & 70s, Gordy Dutt, Gordy's/KitBuilders Magazine, 1995. All in black and white.

Anyone got this?

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1995-book-collectible-figure-kits-2059353187

I also came across some interesting information on gold-coloured James Bond Aston Martins. It seems Corgi were not the only company turning out such models. Why gold? Anyone know?

I have finally finished the USS Enterprise Bridge kit. Now to write it up, but I am still working on the Airfix James Bond and Odd Job kit as well. One at a time.

Merry Xmas!

Paul Adams

New Zealand

JAPANESE ZERO-X: MESMERISING MAKER

I could watch - or listen to - this Japanese chap all day. Not to mention, he has a fine Zero-X Imai model to unbox and fit together! What a Christmas morning that would be!

Anyone ever get one of these models?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-BxPq3r1P0

ZERO-X DOWN UNDER: LOOEY'S OXMAS UPDATE

Hello Woodsie,

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Here's my "what we did this year" card. It's probably not spacey enough for Moonbase, but you can blog it if you like.

I've been very busy this year, but computer work takes up so much time.

The Zero-X project has had some cool stuff done but it has been REALLY hard going. I have worked over every element at least four or five times to get something up to the standard I expect.

I'm in the process of cutting out the MEV windows* and I've drawn up etch line patterns to engrave into the hull panels, but everything takes so long and is quite dispiriting when it doesn't work.

I mention Art Toy snap joints on the card, but I still haven't got something in my hand that satisfies me.

* I can see they are not right on the corner edges, so more work there!

Here are some work in progress screen shots so you can see how I'm going. Those caterpillar tracks were done again and again...

Anyway, here's to an exciting 2023!

FAB and Keep on Bloggin'! 

 Looey

Oz

P.S. here's an interesting blog I found on a link through Pinterest...

http://mikuni-model-kits.blogspot.com/2020/06/blog-post.html?m=1

WILL O'S TV21 TIE-IN: JAMES BOND'S ASTON MARTIN

 

TV21 Comic ad and the toy itself!

It's Chriiiiiistmas!

Did you have one?

COLOUR WITCH: THE MAGIC NEW WAY TO PAINT THIS CHRISTMAS!

While I was sorting through some old boxes, I came across a few toy catalogues from various NZ toy shops that I had saved. Mostly early 1970s. One of these contained a half-page ad featuring the Colour Witch markers and paints.

This is from the Toys Galore Christmas Shopping Guide. There is no date on the cover, but there is a competition inside, with a closing date of December 24th, 1970, so the catalogue must be from 1970.

I never had this set, but I do recall seeing it in the shops, and I think there was a TV ad at the time ?

Colour Witch - The Magic New Way to Paint, by Joyment. The set includes four marker pens in the shape of a witch. I assume the details were applied using a printed paper label ? The colours are Cat's Eyes Green, Invisible, Fiery Orange, and Violent Violet. There is a brush shaped like a witch's broom. Plus four small pots of paint, or cauldron colours. These appear to be yellow, red, blue, and black.

There are two small booklets: The Secret of Colour Witch, and Your Colour Witch Painting Book.

The instructions on the box are too small to read, but it seems from the drawings that you drew a picture with the markers, and when this was dry, applied the paint. The paint did not cover the marker lines.

It seems the Invisible marker allowed you to either write secret messages, which were revealed by painting over the words; or you could mark the areas you wanted left white (assuming you were using white paper), apply the paint, and these areas would resist the paint, allowing the white paper to show through. I think.

In 1970 the NZ price was $4.98, which sounds expensive. In 1974 I could get an Airfix Series 1 kit for 99 cents. A four-engined bomber kit would have been less than the price of this set.

It is very hard to find any information on this painting toy, apart from a previous post on Moonbase Central, and this is everything I have.

https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2020/10/colour-witch-magic-new-way-to-paint.html#comment-form

Do you remember Colour Witch?

Paul Adams

NZ