Like Buses

They say you wait ages for a bus in the U.K and then three arrive at once. Seems like a similar effect can be seen in toy collecting, as the LP (Lik Be) Moon Explorer Car or Moon Bus as I prefer to think of it, has three distinct variations, the third of which arrived just this week.

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

The basic vehicle has two main colour schemes of red and blue alternates and a third, later version appeared in one of the larger window boxed sets, with a rocket launcher. I have had the blue and orange versions for some time, but I got the red bodied version this week on eBay. It had suffered over time and has lost a pilot, tail fin and canopy. The radar scanner was damaged too. So a little fixing up was in order and I used a small tank wheel from a kit to rebuild the radar and found a fair approximation of the tail fin in the LEGO box. The canopy was much more problematic, as it fits over a curved body in a small recess. I found a plastic dome of roughly similar shape and sanded it down a little to sit roughly in place. I wasn’t too careful to fit it into place, in case a real version comes along in the future. So it’s far from ideal, but cosmetically pleasing.

Seeing the Bus again after some time, it occurred to me that LP had been borrowing ideas again, as we has seen with the smaller space vehicle range, shown below, which were based on a German Panzer IV tank chassis.

Looking at the wheel arrangement, I recalled that the overlapping idler wheels had been lifted from the panzer division once more, in the form of the fearsome Tiger tank.

So the rocket launcher had been ‘borrowed’ from the Lone Star diecast Modern Army series vehicles and the chassis for the two vehicles had a military origin as well.

 

You can see the pages from the ROCO Minitanks catalogue and the small space vehicle below next to a Minitanks Whirlwind model and the wheel arrangement is almost identical.

Below is an image of the Tiger tank, showing the clear influence of the chassis layout on the Moon Explorer Car too. It seems LP knew a good thing when they saw it and were not above a little plagiarism!

Project Catweazle

Watching an episode of Catweazle this week and saw this!

The Project SWORD Apollo Saturn! 

Bill Ev

UK

ED'S CRICKETS: Golden Astronaut and SpaceX

QUICK! Get the insect spray, this place is crawling with mosquitos!!

Well heck, if I'm gonna send photos of the Mosquito jeep and variants I might as well include the Tri-ang/Golden Astronaut Cricket P1.

From Vegas Base

Ed

USA

Well folks, here's yet another Cricket from the collection, the MPC Golden Astronaut Moon Patrol Cricket. 

When Tri-ang cut its deal with MPC to sell the Spacex line here in the States, MPC marketed them under the 'Golden Astronaut' banner. 

The packaging was changed, some of the colors were changed, and some of the names changed (for example, the orange Tri-ang Forklift 7 became the blue Golden Astronaut Lift Loader). However, in the case of the Cricket, both the Tri-ang and Golden Astronaut versions remained the same. 

As Woodsy has already posted photos of the Tri-ang Cricket - which looks the same as this GA version - I've included only a couple of photos.

From Vegas Base

Ed

The Garden of the Terracotta Roof Tiles

 Currently plagued by a trapped sciatic nerve I'm basically seat-bound assisting Junior in his garden pursuits as a budding Indiana Jones.

The dig site garnered a whole tray of finds, mostly terracotta, some fossils (he smelt a rat there!) and a 1936 George V One Penny ( he should have smelt a rat there!).

Junior was most excited about four big pieces of old roof tile he dug up. They were really in situ.

With some help from the Seated One he glued them back together. It says Rowley on it quite clearly.

Using a mix of brick dust and PVA Junior filled in the biggest cracks and set it to dry.

No longer a good roof tile, it'll make a fine display item for Junior somewhere out of the rain in the garden. 

Have you ever dug up anything?

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

A LOOK AT SMALLSPACE 11: PART 4 SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED

 A final look at  just some of the fabulous model builds  on display at Smallspace.

I was particularly taken by these Anderson related kits displayed and built by Andrew Prentis.

 I'm impressed by this Japanese Doyusha  Stingray kit with an added scratch-built interior.  

Andrew's  excellent UNCL Fireball XL5 build.

Above:Imai Mac's Jet-Air Car

Quatermass and the Pit Martian  resin kit by Mooncrest

                                        Being watched over by a Mooncrest resin Batman

Some of the models brought along by Mamas & Linda of Studio2models.

Below: Richard 'It's an Ashton' Ashton's huge 5 ft. model of Serenity.

Stunning 1:3 built  of TARDIS (1966-1970 VERSION) by Jonathan Sellers 

Below: Studio2models SPV build by Andy Preston

Below: A SHADO Mobile inspired scratch build  by Brian Jones.

A beautiful kit build of the Battle of the Planets, ship, Phoenix by first time exhibitor, Chris Harwood.

Thanks' for looking in!

Ferry Interesting!

 Watching Crack in the World the dangling white missile with the black stripe rang a big bell.

I was thinking about a Mike Noble rocket in TV21 but then I thought of the white Nuclear Ferry main body by Bob McCall as in Look and Learn.

Anyone else seen any Nuclear Ferries or SWORD toys in anything on telly?

I know Bill Ev has. News on this asap!