Batman boarded the bus but he turned his back on us!
Just then Joker started eyeing me up.
What do you think happened next?
This!
No worries, the police were following us!
Have you ever seen the Joker or Batman in 'real' life or dressed up?
Sunday, 3 December 2023
Troy Boy
I did find one other baby boomer like me at Comic Con! Troy Tempest himself! And I got to hold his raygun!
Oldies rule!
Standby for traction!
The Airfix Scammell Scarab
Further to the recent mention of the Airfix Scammell Scarab kit.
The real thing was one of a series of small, three-wheeled vehicles developed for use by British railway companies, in confined spaces such as a railway goods yard, and for local delivery work. Most were built as tractors for a two-wheeled trailer.
The Airfix kit depicted the 6-ton version of the Scarab, and was part of the Trackside range of model railway buildings and accessories. It was the only vehicle in the range, if you do not count the Travelling Crane.
Kit No.20 included the Scarab tractor unit; a choice of two trailers - a British Railways flatbed, or a Watney's trailer with three wooden barrels (combined capacity 648 Imperial Gallons), plus a mini barrel for the cab roof; and two figures.
The 67-part kit was moulded in cream coloured plastic, and was released in 1962. It was sold in a plastic bag, with a paper header, at a price of 2/- (two old shillings, or 10 New Pence).
The decal sheet included the Watney's markings for the barrels, but there were no clear parts. It was marked as HO & OO Gauge, so it was suitable for use with normal British OO model railways (1/76th scale).
The kit was very short lived, and only appeared in the first two editions of the Airfix catalogue. It was never re-issued by Airfix.
In the 1980s Airfix sold off its railway and trackside kits to Dapol in Wales. Dapol re-introduced many of these kits, including the long-vanished Scammell Scarab, which was now moulded in light grey plastic.
Kit number C-33 was still sold in a plastic bag, with a paper header, although the design changed a few times over the years. Just like Airfix, the assembly instructions were printed inside the header.
Here is a look at the kit, and building the model.
This kit is still available under the Dapol name, for anyone wanting to have a crack at a 1962 vintage model. There have also been a number of die-cast versions.
Four photographs from Worthpoint and Ebay.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Saturday, 2 December 2023
Sindy Incidentally
I recently picked up this old Sindy Buggy in a Saltaire charity shop. Two pounds and a ton of fun sprucing up those decals.
The finished Buggy in the morning frost.
The aerial is borrowed from our Grandson Junior's Lego box.
What do you think?
I sometimes see these buggies in Space 1999 livery. Are they kosher or Code 3 customs?
Get a Grip!
Hi Moonbasers! I've always loved the 1960s Edai Grip toys and their lovely blister packaging. I think they are actually the best packaging (apart from Eaglemoss) ever made - fight me!
Anyway, I've wanted to make my own version for years now and making a nice presentation for my friend's Chitty chitty bang bang Code 3 was the perfect excuse. Long story short, this is how you (with a bit of effort!) can make your own in the comfort of your own garage!
1) My home built Suck-O-Matic vacuum former built from a thrown out vacuum cleaner complete with retractable flex. Most of the structure is made out of 3mm MDF laser cut, but you can do the same with a drill and craft knife. It isn't pretty, but it's very adaptable with bed sizes of 140 x 140mm and 270 x 175mm instantly available.
The package plug is made from 3mm MDF and thick cardboard, coated in polyester resin, sanded and the dings filled with auto putty. You can see the different colours in the putty batches, tinted with spray enamel that allowed me to ensure I had a nice smooth finish. Everything was polished to a high gloss.
2) My heat box is an electric bar heater with the overturn switch disabled so I can lay it on it's back! Over the top is an MDF hood and tapering chimney (covered in reflective aluminium foil to reduce absorbed heat) the double frame on the top, held tight with 9 butterfly nuts has a 1/2 mm PETG plastic sheet securely clamped inside. You could probably salvage some suitable clear sheet from modern packages as PETG is hard to source (mine is leftovers from the Sci Fi film "Infini" that I worked on almost 10 years ago!
3) After a few attempts, I got a Hero grade moulding. You can often reheat your mistakes and try again if there aren't any holes in the sheet plastic.
I had to release the clear bubble from the plug by pushing ice lolly sticks between them and using an air dust-off tool to blow it clear!
4) I already had a scan of a vintage Edai Grip package from my Joe 90 car. I laid out the artwork in Corel Draw or a similar Graphics program. I wanted a painted image of the castle and surrounding lanscape for the inside card. Being not so good at painting AND JUST BLOODY LAZY I went to the Dark Side and prompted some examples in AI them fixed them up in Photoshop. This is a test print on A4 light card from my laser printer. I'm testing staining it with coffee for an aged look, but this is a bit too over the top.
5) Taa Daah! The finished item looking just like a bought one -except that you can't buy one!
Oh what fun I've had!
Looey
Oz Base
Friday, 1 December 2023
POMFRET BREAK
An afternoon's shopping break near Moonbase took us to Home Bargains.
I was impressed with the Gigantosauros .... and the giant price!
These three bad boys growled 'Get your wallet out Woodsy!'
Up the road in an antiques centre I saw boxed Subbuteo. Its not a game I had but I know mates who loved it. Did you readers? My Wife's favourite Solitaire had an appearance too.
Boats and trucks aplenty in this corner.
I had a lightbulb moment when I saw this lamp, one that we had at home when I was a kid. Did you?
Old cameras and cine cameras.
Die-casts. I was sorely tempted by the lime green Speed King at the right. Not sure of the name but it looks familiar. I may have had it as a kid.
In another collectables shop I made a great find in this cabinet, but more of that later. Here's the cabinet after I took my find out. There's a Diddyman statue, a Tonka truck and lots more.
Upstairs was this lovely boxed Scalex boat, one I had or very similar in the Sixties.
Godzilla's sick of Venom's antics and I was once again gobsmacked by how massive modern Paw Patrol vehicles are.
Casdon till, Fisher price phone and more.
Fisher Price record player and lots of old board games.
The orange game that looks like an LP record bottom right above is Waddington's Astro Blitz from 1968. An incredibly thin box, its one of a number of similarly packaged games, all new to me. You? [picture courtesy of BoardGameGeek]
Boxed 2020 reissues of Master of the Universe.
Beautiful old miniature hand transistors. I had one just like this. Did you?
A stack of cassette tape players and a dog radio that I know I had back in the day. Did you have a cassette player readers? What did you record?
Oh what fun we had!
See anything you recognise readers?
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