HOLY SQUIRT! - TO THE BAT ARMOURY!

As I'm away and without access to my bits box, frustratingly, I can't make anything for a while.So, I've been musing over my next likely project post-Dr.Who during the UK's long winter.

Batman!

Or more specifically his toy arsenal. The old stuff, his plastic guns.

Having begun to lift the Crusader's cape a little it's clear that Bat's plastic armoury was and is a vast belfry of weapons.

Unlike Dr.Who, who had a manageable amount of toy munitions, which I'm steadily recreating, Batman was over-armed and tooled up for an endless pretend war with Gotham's hoods.

So I'll start with those I can source as close to the original as I can, before attempting any modifications. Besides, sleuthing online is about all I can do whilst away on family business and fortunately, I like sleuthing toys.

When faced with a TV hit like Batman in the Sixties, toy companies fell over themselves to get a piece of the Knights pie. To get a jump on the competition existing toys were quickly repurposed to exploit the new Gotham blockbuster.

Sourcing these earlier incarnations of  bat guns is a good way of getting hold of examples as near to the original as is feasible, although the prices could still be prohibitive.

Here are a just a few examples I've found so far.

The silver pistol in the sought-after Ideal Batman Utility Belt was previously ....

.... The green pistol in their King Zor set. Holy smokin' Grails! 

The Marx Batman rifle was previously ...

Their famous Flashy Flickers film gun.

The Batman bubble gun, which came with a plastic pit of bubble liquid, was previously a very commonplace water pistol used and re-used by many toy companies. There's a Gerry Anderson iteration of it too.

Here's just one other version, the Spaceman Water Pistol.

A more modern Batman blaster by Kenner was previously ...

... Their Star Wars ESB electronic Laser Rifle or something very similar.

One of my favorites, the Parks Plastics Batman water pistol ......

.... is simply one of the many Parks water pistols like this cool transparent one.

Another favourite, the Robins Holy Squirt, again by Parks ....

... Appears to be their Mau Zee water pistol with a paper label stuck on! 

These are just a few Batty originals. There may well be modern replacements or very similar toys that could be upcycled. Alas, there are also customizers who resort to bootlegging their creations in an attempt to sell new stuff off as old.

Here's a few suspects I spotted on my googling for Batman, all in South America.

I think they've simply added stickers and backing cards to these water pistols commercially available on Amazon, which is fine - I do the same - but then to list them as rare bootlegs on eBay is really not right.

Similarly, although I'm not as certain, this assorted box of Batman stuff is supposedly by IDEAL. It looks to me like a batch of original items thrown together in a home-made box. Again, fine for home use but not to pass off as an Original IDEAL set.

Have you any Batman toy guns or equipment readers?

THUNDERBIRDS - TRAPPED IN THE SHED

 

The BBC reported yesterday that a number of original film cannisters were found in a garden shed, after the death of a film editor, who worked at the Slough Estate. Century 21 Films have taken possession of the cans, some of which were in a sorry state and have begun the laborious process of digitising the content. 

It is reported that the majority of the content is material which had previously aired, but as the films were analysed, it turned out that there was some original content which may have ended up on the cutting room floor, such as extra scenes, which were filmed, but never broadcast. With luck, the new scenes will be shown at some point in the future, if they can be restored fully.

Read the full report here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1e848ewnlno

VW - What’s Bugging Me Now?

It’s funny sometimes, how things mesh together with a weird synchronicity. I was clambering round the loft the other day looking for my catalogue archive and came upon a box with the die cast section in it, as opposed to the kits, which I was after. Later on, during the weekly big shop, I did my usual trawl in the Hot Wheels section while at the cashout and spotted a lovely model of a Volkswagen Pickup. I’ve always loved VW as a brand and am particularly smitten with the latest electric camper van models. So naturally, the pickup went in the basket and came home. On the way, I thought of the other earlier VW models I had and ventured back into the attic to find them.

This new Hot Wheels model is a lovely thing and a far cry from my usual choice of exotics and dragsters, but does seem to have some nice refinements, such as what could be a solar panel array on the rear bed.

It’s small scale instantly brought to mind the early sixties Mettoy Husky range of cars, a derivative of the larger Corgi range, but with a line of simpler toys, to compete with Lesley’s Matchbox share of the market.

Husky toys were a diecast body, but mostly plastic parts, so very light. There were three main VW models, a pickup, a luggage elevator and an elevator truck.

Each uses the same basic body, with some modifications and a plastic accessory. The earliest being the pickup.

The Luggage Handler appeared about 1966 and had a rubber belt on the back, which when wound could load small items.

The Elevator Truck has a telescopic basket arrangement to allow a workman to repair overhead lights etc.

Husky catalogues are few and far between, as Husky toys were mainly marketed in Woolworths stores and provision of catalogues in store - stack it high, sell it cheap - was limited. I have a 1966 and 1968 copy, neither of which show the pickup version, which must date from 1965 or earlier.

The range was very limited at the outset, focussing on utility and passenger vehicles.

After the launch of the Batmobile, the Crimebusters range appeared, with Batboat, James Bond Aston Martin and Man from Uncle Pirahna car.

The 1968 catalogues drops the VW Elevator truck in favour of a Ford chassis.

VW Campers were massively popular in the sixties, so most toy manufacturers made their own version. Naturally Matchbox were ahead of the curve, with a standard VW camper in the 1963 catalogues. My dad ensured I had a good collection of Matchbox cars, buying them religiously on release, except for the early sixties range, which included military models. Although I was enthusiastically encouraged to play with army toys as I grew up, while he was curating the collection for me, he never added the army vehicles, which was a shame. Early catalogues also show gaps in the collection, notably the green VW. The one I have was clearly second hand and probably picked up at a jumble sale and hastily repainted! The 1963 catalogue also shows the Aston Martin racing car, that was only recently added to my collection, many decades later.

The 1968 catalogue also has a VW camper, but with the elevated roof, for extra headroom. I was 6 in 1968 and as a result, was lucky enough to be receiving Matchbox cars on a regular basis, so the range here is much more complete.

Note the green Landrover model, which may have been the basis of the early plastic one which came with some Thunderbird 2 toys, in lieu of a Mole.

The 1968 catalogue also has some unusual models such as the cool Sno-Cat Polar Tractor and six wheel Alvin’s Stalwart.

Again, the Formula racing cars make an appearance, showing the Lotus, BRM and Ferrari. The now dated Aston and Maserati with more upright seats, have been removed.

The 1969 Mattel Hot Wheels catalogue also shows Redlines first foray into Bug territory with the iconic Beach Bomb, with removable surf boards.
 

RACE DAY

Whilst sorting through stuff in the attic, I was reminded of my old Matchbox racing cars and the recent purchase of the green Aston Martin, one of the few that I didn’t receive as a boy in the sixties. I only noticed it by accident, when leafing through an old catalogue. Luckily, I was able to find a fair example quite cheaply on EBay, to add to my fold of classic racers. All are looking battered today, having been well played with and badly stored!

Aston Martin

B.R.M

Lotus

Ferrari

D-Type Jaguar

Maserati

Unknown brand Bristol Cooper