UDVAR HAZY AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM: THE DISCOVERY SPACE SHUTTLE

 

Photographs kindly shared by Terranova47, USA

UDVAR HAZY AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM

At the Udvar Hazy Air & Space Museum, USA, I enjoyed the planes. 

In honor of Moonbase I tried to get some good shots in the space hanger - to follow.

First, here are toys from the museum shop including three 12" female astronaut dolls.

Enjoy 

Terranova47

USA

There's a Tiger in the Tank

This is the modern 2021 Tiger I kit in 1/72nd scale, rather than the old 1964 kit in 1/76th scale.

It is a very good kit, and there is a choice of simple two-piece track units, or more complex tracks with additional wheels, and separate links and lengths of track. Alas, no open hatches with this kit.

I built mine straight from the box, using the two-piece tracks. The colour scheme is Dark Yellow (sand) and Green, with a top coat of white snow camouflage. For a weathered look it is best to use an off-white or very pale grey rather than a pure white.

A very nice model, and more than a match for any Yeti it might encounter!

Paul Adams 

New Zealand

SCUBA DO!

These DOITOOL Scuba Diver Figurines are pretty darn cool. There's something very Thunderball about them and maybe a dash of Sea Devils. 

I like the walking in flippers poses two of them have too!

Anyone got any of these?

Are divers still an iconic figure for kids like they were for our generation?

https://amzn.eu/d/f9l7WTa 

Like Clockwork

Beach shops at holiday destinations would always hold interesting toys in the 1960's and some of my favourite finds often arrived while on holiday in North Wales or occaisionally Devon. One memorable little toy was a clockwork army tank that shot sparks out the front, struck from a small lighter flint.

Just this week I came upon a new version of the tank that I had never seen before, by japanese maker Aoki.

I have come across a clockwork jeep in chrome finish, but never a tank. While this one looked cosmetically similar to my original green one, there are several distinct differences. The first one was all plastic and marketed by Lincoln International and had a turret with two 50 cal cannons. The Aoki version has different surface detailing, a metal chassis and a quad ant-aircraft array.
 

Compare the main body of the Aoki (top) and Lincoln (below).

My original Lincoln version has gone, apart from a turret, so this boxed version is a much more recent addition. At the time I got the first one it was followed up the following year by a Moon Probe version in a small window box.

Again made by Lincoln, with the flint striking sparks that light up the red canopy, rather than simulating gunfire as with the tanks.

From the same line, I discovered a Lunar Drill in the same red white and blue livery on ebay.

courtesy Ed Berg Collection

Addendum - Shortly after publishing this post, blogger Ed Berg sent me some shots of his 'Lunar Drill' in its box - so now I know its a 'Moon Explorer'! cheers, Ed!

My original Moon Probe survives only as the body, which shows the small Spacex scale astronaut driver.

The boxed version is unfortunately missing one of the two radar dishes from the back.

Lincoln released a number of  Mini Wind Up vehicles, which presumably include the army jeep in their number.

So far I have come across this bulldozer with sparks and elevating blade and the Steam Loco with flashing smokestack.

The train has a much larger flint holder and is distinctly different from the other toys. Each one would come with a replacement flint, which in turn could use standard petrol lighter flints inserted. 

Finally a loose sparking Army Jeep. The flint holder is narrower than the tanks and there is no makers mark. Originally the jeep would have a pair of 50 cals on a stand behind the drivers seat. I am on the hunt for a chrome jeep and any info on the line, to see what other models were available.

THE AIRFIX TIGER VERSES THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN!

I have finished off my new Airfix Tiger I (this is the modern 2021 kit, rather than the original Airfix Tiger, which dates back to 1964). A very nice kit. I took some photographs of this with my recent Abominable Snowman model - a re-painted CollectA Orangutan. 

Why is a Tiger battling a Yeti ? Well, according to my revised version of WW2, following the fall of Moscow in 1941 the German Army just kept heading East, until they reached the Himalayas. There they encountered the Yeti, which proved no match for the 88mm gun of the Tiger. Which is why the Abominable Snowman is so rare today.

Due to the difference in scale between the Yeti and Tiger, it was difficult to pose them together without looking silly. This may mean another photo session, with a different adversary.

I have also made a start on the Flyhawk flying boat base. I am starting off with the larger parts, such as the dock and warehouse, before moving on to the Sunderlands. A real challenge.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

GEEK SALAD LEMON PUFF

A youngster tried to convince me recently that Paul McCartney is actually dead and who we see is a lookalike. Evidence for this startling claim included the registration plate of the VW Beetle on the cover of Abbey Road, which purportedly alludes to his death [having just looked I couldn't read it] and the fact that Mr. McCartney has no shoes on the LP cover as he strides across the Zebra crossing. Why being shoeless should denote deceasement is beyond me!

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Being an avid car booter and charity shopper and netter of second hand toys I am noticing increasingly that old batteries are simply left in toys! How inconvenient for the toy collector! Yep, leaky batteries have become the bane of my life of late. Is this a problem for you readers?

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I recently had a discussion with the Missus about a favourite biscuit from the past, the lemon puff. Basically a hard lemony cream filling sandwiched between two layers of puff pastry. Yes, it was almost a cake! My Missus said they were still around. I said definitely not. Any idea readers?

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I recently saw a youngster spitting. I realised that I'd not seen anything like it - the deliberate slow release of spittle towards the ground - since the Seventies when I was a young 'un. The stock in trade of tough kids back then, gobbin' as it was known was everywhere and you did well not to fall into a pool of thick mucus once you left the house! Do you remember kids spitting?

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Is it just me or have the films that Caroline Munro's Friday Night Cellar Club airs become obscurer? What happened to Hammer films? I find I've never heard of what's being shown now. Is it just me?

MODERN MEGO

I had a look at Mego's website https://megofigures.com/

There are modern re-issues of trusted favourites in there like monsters, Star Trek and super heroes. There are also figures from shows, such as Impractical Jokers, that American readers will know but being a Brit I don't I'm afraid.

Ominously the 'latest news' was from way back in 2020, regarding Ultraman. I just hope this isn't a sign of dormancy.

All in all its great to see such an iconic brand having another go so many years after its heyday.

Have you seen it?