JAPANESE MODEL MOON GLOBES

 This British Pathe film captures a Japanese manufacturer whilst making mass-produced lunar globes. 

They look great!

I wonder if you have one?

https://www.britishpathe.com/asset/214341/

MY NEW GREEN EAGLE SPACE GLIDER

Late last year Wotan Bill tipped me off about this elusive Space Glider in Ebay.

Its one of the more obscure 2001 toys, sporting a Spirit of America-style eagle and stars. 

Here are the original auction pictures from mac0405.

Luckily I was able to bag this new green one for a reasonable price and its now stationed in the Moonbase holding area awaiting a full check-up.

Its worth pointing out that the eagle and stars are in fact adhesive clear decals. I think that two 'Spirit of America' title side decals and two US flags should be present but are missing from this one.

You can see them here on this fully-liveried darker green glider I saw years ago on the net [in a different and rather snazzy box].

I had always assumed that these were printed directly onto the plastic but they're not. Based on this I now reckon there are undecorated green 2001 gliders out there, as well Spirit of America decaled versions in all the available colours. Anyone got one?

I have found plain red, white and yellow versions already as seen here in the Moonbase collection, bottom right.

The two remaining 2001 gliders still missing from the Moonbase fleet are these:

an orange glider

and this flame-edged white NASA version 

And, just spotted online today! Mr. Blue! 

I so want one of those! 

What do you think readers?

THE SPACE SQUIRT!

This has to be one of the oddest names for a lunar surface vehicle I've seen, the Space Squirt!

By Sterling Models, I can't see NASA adopting the word Squirt any time soon!

One I saw on an old auction, maybe its a kit that you know readers, for beginners or experts as it says.

I'm not entirely sure what kind of vehicle it is. You? A hovercraft?

KEVIN'S SCRATCHBUILT ROBOTS OF DEATH LASERSON PROBE

Hi,

Just finished this scratchbuild of the Laserson Probe from Robots of Death, a Tom Baker story and one of my favourites.

Please do not throw hands at me.

Kevin

UK

SUGAR SMACKS SPACE AGE MODELS

 

This is a neat short about the space age cereal models by enthusiast Cerealmad I found on You Tube.

Have you got these models?

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