MOONBASE CENTRAL

Tuesday, 27 February 2024

KEV'S KONAMI

Here is my Konami FAB1 with my TB1 scratchbuild .

Home Parker,

Kevin

PrEDators: Marx Repop Gator

Woodsy,

Here's a predator people can relate to (well, at least if you live in Florida - we don't see many desert gator's in our neck of the cactus) LOL!

This is a repop and came in the Marx (of Miami) Set #4792 Captain Blood and The Buccaneers (1992).

From Vegas Gator Corral

PREDATOR V ALIEN! WHO WAS SCARIER?

We can't have a Predators week without mentioning Predator the movie! Here's the original trailer from, yes, 1987! Its that long ago!

And for those of you who collected the action figures back in the day - it was 7 years before any were released - here's an old 1993 TV ad with Predator's new foe, ALIEN!

and perhaps the one ALIEN toy I would love to find in any condition is the 18 inch Kenner. A thing of legend and like those Mars Attacks cards decades earlier, this lofty beast was just too darn scary for Parents and some kids!

Its official, ALIEN was way scarier than Predator, so c'mon, forget about my tie, man!*

Here's the 18 incher's TV ad that says it all!

Did you or do you have any Predator or ALIEN toys or games or kits readers?

* This post is dedicated to the late great Carl Weathers, who played Colonel Al Dillon in Predator, who sadly passed away this year.

KEV'S SCRATCH-MADE BLAKES 7 'GAMES' THROWING KNIFE

Hi,

A quick scratchbuild of the throwing knife seen in the season 4 Blake's 7 episode 'Games'. The locals use them as a way of expressing their displeasure at the Federation's approach to things.

Vila doesn't endear himself when a trooper questions him about his possession of it. He tells him he found it, 'it was stuck in one of your men'.

Cutting edge.

Kevin

UK.

AURORA COUGAR BY PAUL ADAMS

In the 1960s, the Aurora Plastics Corporation in America produced a small range of Wildlife kits. All depicted the native animals of North America, or various breeds of horse.

Kit number 453-198 depicted a snarling Cougar (or Puma/Mountain Lion) crouching atop a rock, looking down on a fawn. The two models could be assembled and displayed separately, or their bases could be joined together like a jig-saw puzzle.

The models were fairly simple, with a low parts count. But getting rid of all the seams would have been a challenge, followed by painting.

The Cougar comprised only 13 parts, with a five-part base. The fawn was even simpler, with just four parts, and a five-part base.

The animals were moulded in brown plastic, with their rocky bases in grey. The kits also included a palette of solid paint cakes, a jar of dual purpose cement/paint solvent (as was typical at the time), and a brush.

The inclusion of the paints and other items was barely mentioned on the box top. Just 'All Plastic Assembly Kit - Complete With Paints', in rather small writing.

There is a copyright date under the rocky base, which says 1962, but the date on the side of the box is 1963. Unusually for the period, the kit instructions were printed in colour.

No scale was given, but Aurora Model Kits by Thomas Graham says 1/8th scale. Graham says it was only available 1963-66, in its original form, although it was last listed in the 1967 Aurora catalogue.

Most of the other Wildlife kits lasted in to the 1970s, but the Cougar, and the Big Horn Sheep, were dropped around 1966/67.

Aurora then produced a new line of kits called 'Forged Foil', which have the copyright date of 1969 on the boxes. There were just three kits in this series: the Cougar, American Buffalo, and one of the horses.

These were normal plastic kits that were to be covered in metal foil, so that they resembled a bronze statue. Not unlike the old ITC Marvel Metal series from a few years before, but using a different technique.

The Cougar was now numbered 447-350, and came on its own, the fawn having been deleted. The two-piece tree trunk had also been eliminated from the base, leaving just 16 parts in total, and all were moulded in black plastic.

There was also a large, flat base on which to stand the rocky outcrop. This was light brown.

In addition to the plastic parts, the set included a tube of Aurora cement; a jar of Aleene's Tacky Glue for attaching the coloured foil; several sheets of gold/silver foil to cover the model; a brush; and a jar of black paint to apply over the top of the foil to give it an aged look.

Scalemates do not even mention the Forged Foil version. Even more oddly, it is not mentioned in any Aurora catalogues from the 1970s.

I wonder if it was now seen as a craft item, for supply to craft shops, rather than as a normal plastic kit ? The similar, low-relief Coppersmith pictures made by Aurora, were not included in the kit catalogues either, except in the early days.

As far as I am aware, this is the last time the Aurora Cougar was released, in any form.

Ten photographs from Worthpoint

Paul Adams from New Zealand

ED'S MILWAUKEE ROAD SKYTOP TRAIN

Woodsy,

Your post on observation windows really struck a chord!

The first two photo's show what I have running on my train layout right now!

It's from K-Line's Milwaukee Road Hiawatha set from 2002 and represents one of the Skytop Lounge observation cars built by the MR for its famous Hiawatha fleet.

The cars were designed by famous industrial designer Brooke Stevens and first entered service in 1948. The Tri-ang version appears to be a caricature of that car as there was - to my knowledge - no other railroad observation car designed like that.

Also, here's a short video I posted to Y'allTube last week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyYox36_3ts

Las Vegas Skytop

MAGNIFICENCE!

Watching TV I had a deja vu. On the screen was a painting like this one, so linked to my childhood that I had to stop eating and sit up!

It showed a herd of elephants relaxing in the African bush and looking straight ahead, as if they were staring at a camera. The TV informed me that it was by one David Sheppard, Britain's greatest living artist.

I knew it was by David Sheppard when I saw it, as I'd read his name a thousand times on the bottom of the picture just above the white Sixties cheesy frame. It wasn't my picture, it was my Brother's hanging proudly in his bedroom above his stereo and LP rack.

Being older than me I would stare in his room with awe and wonder. This was the lair of a teenager and as such had to be respected and envied in equal measure. Those magnificent Sheppard elephants would say to me; "You may gawp at us but you'll never understand, not like your big brother!"

I can honestly say I loved those elephants but for the life of me I can't be certain which picture it was. Having googled the artist it would seem he liked the pachyderm and painted them with gusto at various points in elephant family life: single bulls, pairs and entire clans! He did the same with lions, which are equally as arresting.

I shall have to ask my brother what happened to his own elephants!

Does anyone else have a wildlife childhood painting [s] they stared at in awe?

Monday, 26 February 2024

A BIG RED PLASTIC MG AND MR. DAGENHAM TOO!

Hi Woodsy

One of the biggest plastic cars I’ve come across is the Sindy MGB. At 18 inches long , it’s obviously big enough to fit Sindy in. It’s made from that greasy blow-moulded plastic like the large action man vehicles.

Will O.