THE GREEN HORNET LIVES!

 Junior gave his new Green Hornet Black Beauty the Sharpie treatment yesterday.

Not finished yet but Kato looks happy!

PASS ME MY SKIPPERS!

I recently saw this box of Skippers liquorice pipes in a Barnsley sweet shop and the memories came flooding back!

I adored these as a kid, the soft chewy liquorice and that zap of sweetness at the end from the sprinkles.

Which liquorice sweets do you recall readers?

MONOGRAM'S MIDGET RACER

Monogram Models was one of the Big Three US kit companies, and had begun making wooden ship kits in 1945, quickly expanding in to aircraft and racing cars. They soon added plastic parts, and in 1954 produced their first all-plastic kits – the same year they released their last new wood and plastic kits.

The first of the all-plastic kits, numbered P1 or PC1, was the Midget Racer. A small racing car, with a driver, and a removable hood to show off the engine.

It was moulded in red plastic, and was to 1/20th scale. The model remained available in to the 1960s, and was re-issued in the 1990s.

After having been unavailable for over 20 years, it was re-issued by Atlantis (a US company which specialises in re-issuing vintage kits by a variety of manufacturers), in 2023. This time the kit was moulded in light blue.

I recently spotted one of these kits in a local model shop, and grabbed it. While racing cars are not my usual subject, the fact that this was the very first, all-plastic kit by Monogram, makes it historically a very important model.

The kit is very well designed, and fits together beautifully. No wonder Monogram had a reputation for quality.

There are 33 parts, plus a small sheet of clear plastic from which to cut the windscreen, and a decal sheet. The instructions consist of a single exploded view, and written directions – follow them.

The parts are a tight, snap fit, so make sure you have things positioned correctly, or it will be difficult to get them apart again without breaking anything. The wheels, steering wheel, brake lever (on the outside of the body) all move, and the hood is removable.

The only problem I had was that the hole on the right rear of the body, where the rear of the exhaust pipe fits, was flashed over, and needed to be opened up. I did not spot that until the body was together, so finding exactly where to drill involved holding the model up to the light.

I finished my model exactly as per the box top illustration. I used Aluminium rather than Silver for most of the metal parts, with Metallic Grey for the exhaust pipe, and Silver for the fasteners around the cockpit edging.

This is a great model, and a real piece of modelling history. Building it is certainly a trip back in time.

Have you made one?

Paul Adams from New Zealand

TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL!

 I love this school box I saw on auction a while back.

There's all sorts going on!

This guy gets it!

and of course there's Captain Thunderpants and the huge tailed unigoat!

What do you think readers?

Who are Addco?

This old Pyro toys auction mention Addco. Who are they anyone?

https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vintage-1954-addco-magic-guide-pyro-488611089

CHEAP 'N' CHEERFUL SCI-FI

 Some photos featuring the two pulp Sci-fi flicks I mentioned in my comment on Woodsy's 'The Shape of Things to Come' movie post.

Starcrash which starred Caroline Munro, and lower down the cast list, David Hasselhoff.

Christopher Plummer appeared as the Emperor of the Universe.

The Sound of Music was never like this!

The Hoff on control bay watch!

No money was spared on the costumes!

Spacehunter:: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (no, not the one in Beneath the Planet of the Apes!)

Peter Strass as Wolff

Molly Ringwald as Niki

THE SPACE-SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME 1979

Between Christmas and New Year during that sleepy hollow when the fairy lights and the TV send you off to sleep mid-afternoon I caught part of a flick released in 1979 called The Shape of Things to Come.

Half-asleep I had thought at first it was an episode of Space 1999 as Barry Morse was in it wearing a white jumpsuit and the whole thing I half-saw had that series' feel to it.

It had nothing to do with Space 1999, nor HG Wells's Shape of Things to Come for that matter. It appeared to me to have been influenced by many different Sci Fi shows and films.

Here are a few glimpses culled from around the web.

Shades of UFO?

Hues of Robby the Robot and the Lost in Space Robot?

Hints of Star Trek?

Glimpses of Star Maidens?

You may know much more about this movie filmed in Canada. Please let us know. 

Have you seen it readers?

GOLDEN ASTRONAUT BILLY BLASTOFF

I saw this golden Billy Blastoff on auction last year and kept the images. It could be part of the South American version, Capitan Boy.

Its a new one on me and I cant decide if the body has simply been painted white to gold by a previous owner. Maybe not/

I like this golden Billy. It sort of fits with the whole Golden Astronaut vibe too.

Looking at it again I'm wondering if its the really tiny version of Billy from South America called Mini Capitan Boy.