Piece of Cape

Picked up these incomplete but appealing figures yesterday with my last ten pence.

No idea what they are although the little chest light in the red caped fella looks familiar. I may have had one on MC before.

Any ideas?

 

Tai Hing Farm Play Set

Always on the look out for new Tai Hing toy sightings, I was fascinated by this I saw on auction.

It certainly says Tai Hing but is it something else?

Yep, Its Tai Hing Chun.

Any relation to the original Tai Hing company we know?

Sunday Funday

Not bad at all at today's boot sale.

I picked up some cheap but unusual die-cast and plastic vehicles and a few other bits:

A G1 Optimus - Any idea how to whiten yellowing?, a Bandai Porsche ScaleRobo 1983 and a Popy Future Machine 1983, both grubby as they come.

A small batch of kit decals

A Four Feather Falls Jigsaw - battered box but my first ever!

Here's a closer look at the Popy Future Machine.

What do you think readers?

 

THE WALTON'S TRUCK BY MEGO

In the 1970s the US toy company Mego produced a range of toys based on The Waltons TV series (1972-81). This was an 8-inch doll line, with poseable figures, which had real clothes.

There was a large Waltons Farmhouse, which was a two-story dolls-house. This was made of fibreboard, with fully washable vinyl surfaces, and furniture. Assembled, it was 35 inches long, and 24 inches high.

The Waltons Country Store, another dolls-house, was released later. This seems to have been the final item in The Waltons Mego range.

There were six character dolls of the main characters: Grandma; Grandpa; Mom; Pop; Johnboy, who was the main character (his father was also named John, so to avoid mix-ups John Jr. was called Johnboy); and his sister Ellen. The other five children in the family were simply ignored.

The star item in the range has to be The Waltons Truck, based on the vehicle in the series, which was a 1929 Ford Model AA pick-up. This was described as a 1930s Ford in the catalogue. The box just said The Waltons Truck.

The doll-sized vehicle was 15 inches long. It was moulded in blue plastic (actually it should be green, with black mudguards). Some of the smaller parts are black plastic, including the wheels. The axles are metal.

The cab was glazed with clear plastic, and both doors opened. It could seat two of the 8 inch dolls.

Moulded beneath the cab are the words '© 1975 LORIMAR PRODUCTIONS INC. - MADE IN U.S.A. Beneath the truck bed is 'MEGO CORP., NEW YORK, N.Y. 10010 - NO.56012'.

The copyright date shown in an old Mego catalogue in this You Tube video, is 1974 Lorimar Productions Inc. That was the date seen on the boxes for the dolls, but the box for the truck is clearly dated 1975 Lorimar Productions Inc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A00dTAIZXIE

The end-opening box has a photograph of the model, with the Johnboy doll at the wheel. The rest of the family, and the Farmhouse, are seen in the background - Waltons Figures and Farmhouse Not Included.

The end of the box repeats the copyright notice, with the 1975 date, and says Mego Corp., New York, N.Y. 10010. The catalogue number of the truck is No.56012.

Apart from being moulded in the wrong colour, this was a nice looking toy.

Four photographs from Worthpoint.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

TANKS A LOT: THE JAMES BOND JET PACK

Jet-packs come up on MC and someone mentioned Gilbert having made the James Bond version. A little digging turned up some photos, and it seems the Jet-pack used the same set of tanks as the Scuba diving set, but with different fittings.

https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2023/08/it-is-rocket-science.html#comment-form

I do not know anything about Action Figures, so these notes are all based on photographs. There may well be other variations.

The Jet-pack seems to have been moulded in light blue, and have a silver bar across the top for the exhausts. 

The Scuba tanks were either light blue or yellow, and had a gauge on the back of the tanks, with an air-hose.

Four photographs from Worthpoint.

have you got anything like this readers?

Paul Adams from New Zealand

ON TARGET

 Ever since we featured the JR21 Dart Gun Set on Moonbase 15 years ago I've been looking for its clones.

These may have been seen here before but with that folding scope they hit the spot.

The Who Dunnits Periscope Dart Gun.

The Inspector Gadget Target Game too.

Anymore like these out there?

KEV'S DR.WHO PROPS

As requested, my Doctor Who replicas and two original props: Cybergun from Silver Nemesis and Vanir helmet from Terminus.

Cheers,

Kevin

UK

LP - I Need A Hand

 Way back in the mists of the late sixties, when space toys were everywhere and could be bought for a few shillings, I got a neat little blue friction drive rocket. It came in a nifty cardboard box which went in the bin about an hour after I got home and began revving it around the lino. On the back of it was a rotund silver spaceman, who would whirl around in gleeful circles as the rocket rolled. Many long hours followed, but ultimately things began to break and fall apart due to careless storage and hard playtimes. The chubby spaceman broke at the shoulder and his arm came away and the rocket itself became separated into another pile of toys. 

Over the years, the rocket would be cannibalised for parts and the little spaceman disappeared from view. Then, somehow he popped up again on the radar and was discovered in the bottom of a box, still smiling, but missing the arm. I tried to repair him in various ways, but always managing to make things worse and wearing more and more of the lovely chrome finish off, till he looked almost black.

Fast forward again to the early 90's and the advent of the internet spurs a revival of my interest in Spacex and Sword toys and after a search online reveals a fellow collector with similar interests, I dug out all my old space toys with a view to sharing some photos. The little spaceman is unearthed again, along with a handful of battered Golden Astronauts. His ship is long gone, but he's still smiling, despite half his body cavity being filled with Plasticine. 

Hit the forward button a decade on and we find that the rocket was one of a small series of toys and quite instrumental in the history of plastic space toys.

https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2009/10/lp-vehicles-me-too-or-me-first-by.html?m=1

Cut to the present and a slow day at work sends me off looking for stuff on ebay and a search for 'thunderbirds model' flags up a listing for a blue rocket, erroneously identified as JR21 Thunderbird 1 Rocket. A swift 'buy it now' later and the rocket begins its trip to a rendezvous with our little space friend.

In preparation for the arrival, I brought out the figure and attached an arm from one of his Golden buddies, patching up the damage with Milliput and coating him in chrome paint pen once more.

A day or two later, the rocket arrived and I knocked up a new radar for the front, which was also missing.

The little metal bar at the back needed a slight straightening, but after fitting the astronaut, the rocket and its rider were happily reunited and are now back in orbit once more!