Tried to make a special effect!
Here's my TB2 landing.
Touchdown
Kevin
UK
Saturday, 4 November 2023
WE OORT TO VISIT SEDNA!
I'm always amazed at other people's jobs. What they do for a living.
I read that an American University is looking at how to put a lander on Sedna! Can you imagine. What a job. Just the thought is mind-blowing, never mind taking it further. But that's how the Moon Landings started, just a thought.
Sedna is a dwarf planet that just about manages to be a resident of our Solar System. This restless vessel gets so far out into our system's farthest rim that it becomes a mystery object.
Its likely Sedna comes from the Oort cloud, that ethereal ice-flecked bubble that possibly envelopes our Sun's system's outer reaches beyond our imagination. It really does traverse worlds.
Sedna maybe a dwarf but it packs in the air miles like no other. It has an 12,000 year orbit around our star. Twelve thousand years! Can you imagine how big our system must be to accommodate such ambitious mariners as Sedna.
Alas, from its most distant hangout on the darkest edge, 140 billion kilometres away, the next time this dwarf traveller will be nearest our Sun will be July 2076 and I will be long gone. Even then, Sedna will still be 76 AU away, that's 11 billion kilometres to you and me.
I can't imagine landing on Sedna, even when its that close, but I'm glad someone can!
We spent our childhoods playing with space toys and exploring new worlds but how far out would you want to go readers if you could? Camp on Sedna? Cruise the Oort?
Artist's Impression of Sedna
Image: Reuters/ NASA/ JPL-Caltech
BIN TO THE STARS
I saw this auction item and thought what a great bin! I had a few bins as a kid, vintage cars mostly. I would have loved this space bin with its amazing graphics.
Anyone recognise the artwork?
Did you have a good bin when you were a kid?
PYRO PAINT BY NUMBERS AMERICAN INDIANS KITS BY PAUL ADAMS
Pyro made a total of nine Paint-by-Numbers kits in the 1960s. All were re-issues of existing kits, with the addition of paints, a brush, and revised painting instructions.
Following on from their Paint-by-Number Bird kits, released in 1963, there was a Western Figure Series. Comprising six kits: three Cowboys, and three Indians. These came out in 1965.
All the Western kits are usually dated 1958, but it seems they may have come out in two batches, with the Indians appearing first.
The American Indian Series (the name appears on both the box ends and the instruction sheets) comprised three models, all 10 inches high. They were large and well detailed, and had a US retail price of 98 cents.
The kits were moulded in a mid-brown plastic - perhaps chosen as a suitable 'flesh' colour ? Each figure stood on a small base, in the same colour as the rest of the kit.
All the kits had a detailed painting of the figure, with a suitable background, on the box top. Oddly, the Pyro name did not appear on the box lid, only on the sides and ends.
The side of the boxes and the instruction sheets show the three Indian figures, with no mention of the Cowboys - yet the Cowboy boxes show all six figures. Now this is just a guess on my part, but this seems to suggest that the Indians appeared first, with the Cowboys not being released until later.
The 1959 Pyro catalogue lists all six kits, now called the American Western Series.
270-.98 Indian Warrior - carrying bow, spear, and knife
271-.98 Indian Chief - standing, arms crossed, wearing a headdress
272-.98 Indian Medicine Man - wearing a horned headdress, and carrying a rattle and drum
Built examples.
This trio of kits was also released in Britain by Kleeware, although I have only found examples of the Warrior and Medicine Man. Again, the side of the box shows only the three Indian figures.
In 1965 the figures were re-released as Paint-by-Numbers models, and were given new numbers. The box art had the detailed background deleted, leaving just the figure against a plain white background. Despite the inclusion of paints and a brush, the price had increased by only 2 cents, to $1.00.
C281-100 Indian Chief
C282-100 Indian Medicine Man
C283-100 Indian Warrior
All came with an identical palette of paints - black, white, yellow, red, and blue; all supplied in solid cake form. The paints were of a new type, which were water soluble. This was not mentioned on the box tops, but it was heavily promoted on the sides of the boxes.
All the Western kits were now moulded in the same light brown plastic, which was lighter than that previously used for the Indian kits.
The Paint-by-Numbers kits lasted until 1967, by which time the price had increased to $1.50. As far as I am aware they have not been re-issued since.
All 12 photographs from Worthpoint.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
SHOES MAKETH THE BOY
I was admiring Junior's Transformers trainers and thinking back to the themes shoes I had as a kid.
The only ones I can recall are the oft-cited hushpuppies with a compass in the heel and maybe some moonwalkers with a moon surface tread. I think they were Clarks.
I also recall my Style Matchmakers, which were footy shoes endorsed by one George Best no less. Uncomfortable as hell and di nothing for my already useless footy skills. I never did make the school team and remained in the group labelled The Duffers!
Did you have any themed or favourite kids' shoes or slippers readers?
Friday, 3 November 2023
THE MIDORI APOLLO MOON EXPLORER
In the early days of Moonbase a blog legend was the Century 21 Toys Lunar Climber. This was inspired by the Midori kit version from Japan.
I've just found a great family tree for the Midori Apollo Moon Explorer and other 'Beetles', including the Paramount one, on the ace Scalemates site.
Have a gander.
Have you got any of the kits shown?
https://www.scalemates.com/kits/midori-apollo-moon-explorer--1270651
VINTAGE TOY ADVERTISER: MEV2 AND MORE!
Check out these cool space stamps on this ace vintage ad site. It includes 1982 French Cosmos stamps featuring the MEV2!
FANTASY BOX ART: YET MORE!
Here is another video from Matteline1967, showing What If... fantasy box art for kits that never were. This is Part 7.
These are all based on fairly modern Science Fiction movies and TV shows from the 1960s onwards. Lots of great ideas, including a few more Gerry Anderson craft. Just a pity none of them were ever made for real.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
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A beautiful and comprehensive site dedicated to the world of Tri-ang SpaceX and Golden Astronaut Toys
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