ED'S TIN: THE BANDAI F-104 STARFIGHTER

Woodsy and Moonbasers,

Today we have another tin-litho F-104 Starfighter jet, this time from the Japanese firm of Bandai. 

The Starfighter was among my favorite airplanes and trying to find vintage tin-litho toys in decent shape for an affordable price has become a challenge. I'm going to make an educated guess that this toy was probably made around the '61-'63 time frame. 

Sporting the ubiquitous removable wing with friction motor, it appears as if it also had a sparkling feature. Measuring 6 1/2" (16.5cm) L x 4 1/4" (10.8cm) wingspan it is of course just a caricature, lacking that long, thin rocket-like fuselage of the prototype. 

This toy probably had a rubber tip on the nose which is missing but it does have the obligatory friction motor with sparkling device.

From Vegas Air Field

Ed

USA

Catalogue Cornucopia!

Not kit catalogues as such, but a selection of old toy and model kits from the sixties. The purple dinosaurs and the FROG missile transporter above, always intruiged me in this ace Hamleys catalogue.

Ive also included some Marx, Airfix, Lucky Toys and Hot Wheels along with some classic Dinky!

 

EASTER IS A COMIN' ....

 .... and Moonbase is getting ready!

Are you trimming up for Easter readers?

Rob's Plastic Models Catalogue from 1967

Woodsy,

I recently found an affordable copy of a catalog I had always wanted, the Plastic Models catalog from America's Hobby Center. 

AHC was a popular mail order outfit located in downtown Manhattan, and in the 60s and 70s it was the go-to place for all things related to Model Railroading. 

However, they also carried an extensive line of plastic display models, and I had always wanted to see what exactly they carried back then. The catalog I just snagged off eBay is from 1967, so it has a good cross-section of the hobby at the time. 

In addition to the usual suspects, there were some unusual items and obscure brands in there, so here are a sample of pages from that catalog. Among items of interest are the Revell space series, including the super-rare Space Station and Moon Ship, the Strombecker "Man in Space" Satellite Launcher, Superior Plastics anatomy kits, Aurora "Whoozis" figure kits, and lots of obscure planes and cars. 

A nice trip down nostalgia lane!

Rob C

USA

Mo Marauder

 Picked this Speed King Marauder up in Stamford.

A little touch up and it's ready to roll.

A lovely racer. Did you have one?