EMPIRE'S LEGEND OF THE WEST

Its always to see an Empire toy. Empire were the successor to Tarheel of Tarboro, the makers of American Project SWORD.

Here we have a blister carded COCHISE action figure, part of Empire's Legends of the West line.

Have you any Empire toys?

Have you any Wild West toys, games and kits?

Quick, Zip it Up!

A right blast from the past here tonight on the MoonBase. Camping in the garden! It's a terrific new experience for the Grandkids, we hope!

I think it's the early 1970's since I last camped in a garden, back at my parent's house where I grew up in Preston.

Have you camped in the garden readers?

Horrible Hamilton Revisited by Ed

 Ed has kindly sent me some shots of his almost complete Hamilton Invaders toys. These are some of my most favourite space toys from the sixties, which were never fully released in the UK. Remco ran the line from 1964 to 1965 and besides these toys, also produced a helmet and pistol set, so kids could really get down to alien blasting action. In 1964 REMCO introduced its "Hamilton's Invaders Horrible Hamilton" line of toys. The toys capitalized on the bug craze in sci-fi and horror flicks from that era as well as collectors' cards included in packs of bubble gum, such as The Black Scorpion, THEM!, Tarantula and The Deadly Mantis.

All the toys shots below are from Ed's personal collection. take it away Ed!

REMCO made numerous sets which contained a mix of bugs and Defenders. While the sets were very imaginative and should have caught the attention of boys, for some reason the line was a poor seller. It could be that, while the look of the toys was terrific, the inner pull-string spring mechanisms were cheaply made and prone to breakage. As well, the bugs couldn't withstand the rough play that boys are accustomed to and horns, antennas, and pinchers (or pincers or mandibles - whatever) broke off easily. The line was produced into 1965 then was discontinued.

The cardboard cave was only included in the large, boxed sets - those in plain carboard boxes with bold black lettering - of which there were several. The cave resembles a volcano and folds flat for easy inclusion into the packaging. It measures: 13" x 14"D at the bottom x 12"H. It's big enough to fit Horrible Hamilton (the big bug) inside and a couple of the other bugs but you'd be hard-pressed to fit the full complement of bugs.

Horrible Hamilton. This sample has a broken tail piece - it should be longer than what's shown in the photo

There were two medium sized bugs: Remco referred to this as 'The Beetle'. My sample is intact

This is 'The Spider'. My sample is missing the antenna and the pinchers - a common occurrence among these toys

There were three small bugs referred to as 'Grotesque's'. There are wheels underneath allowing them to roll along the floor. My samples are all intact

The opposing forces were called 'The Defenders'. This is the Torpedo Tank and is the largest vehicle in the series. It's also the only one which is battery operated, all the others having pull—string spring mechanisms. This tank would have shot a small diameter 'satellite' as its torpedo, but is missing from my sample

The 'Dwarf Tank. When I hear that term I think of the Japanese Chi-Ha tank from WWII or the tiny Renault and it's a pretty good comparison. These shot little projectiles which are most often lot. My sample has one remaining of the four originally provided.

The now iconic 'Mosquito Jeep'. The inspiration for a long line of copycat toy designs. These shot the same little projectiles as the tank. My sample has one remaining of the four originally provided.

The Hornet Helicopter. An unusual design in that it has no tail boom or rotor. This too had projectiles, but they didn't fire. To release them you tilted the helicopter backwards allowing them to fall out!

The Defending soldiers (six in blue and a white driver). At 70mm, these were quite large for 'Army Man' figures

ED'S HAULERS: PROCESSED PLASTICS

Woodsy and Fellow Moonbaser's,

This Auto Hauler from Processed Plastic is about the same size as the Marx hauler I sent yesterday. I wish I knew PP had these when I was a kid, because some of my favorite vehicle's back then was a series of five that PP produced in the late '50s. I loaded up this hauler with five Caddy's from that series. 

Unlike the Marx hauler, this one has a fully collapsible upper deck to facilitate off-loading of the cars.

From Fast Eddie's Used Car Lot

Ed

USA

Owing to lack of space I've had to screenshot Ed's photos. Sorry.

RAD and the Robots

I bought this old RAD robot waiter awhile back. It was just a few squid. Alas, the power pack is missing. Still, an interesting throwback to a robotic era.

Junior has parked his own big toy robots next to it.

Is there a collective noun for a bunch of bots? 

Did you have a RAD or other home help?

Bowie's Rosedale Organ

My old plastic Rosedale organ has come out of the loft for the Grandkids.

Famously used by Bowie on his Space Oddity album, I adored this thing as a kid.

It's gaspy sound is capable of really beautiful notes and chords.

Did you have a Rosedale or another keyboard instrument readers? 

Quatermass and the Ship

I noticed these two stalwarts of British TV in my cabinet.

The locust martian from Quatermass and the Pit and the Coastguard amphibious boat from the abandoned Gerry Anderson series The Investigator.

Have you got TV and film icons mixed together on your displays readers?

Crack in the Channels

My brother told me about Legend Extra so I retuned our telly and there it was. Channel 69! Where had it been?

Last night I enjoyed the Witches - mentioned here before as it uses Sindy as a prop - and the start of Torture Garden (I had to go to bed).

Tonight it's Odd Thomas - don't know that one - and Tuesday it's Crack in the World. Oh yes! What a film. With the silky voiced Dana Andrews and the couple from Day of the Triffids, it's a terrific flick from the halcyon days of glorious disasters. It features a missile, which is very TV21 too! 

Do you like Crack in the World?