MYSTERY MINIATURE CAR: SOLVED!

 

I saw this little toy car pictured online and thought it looked neat.

It could be a ride car with its two passengers and four wheels.

The box doesn't give too many clues.

Anyone know any more?

*

IDENTIFIED!

Cosmo Roller Coaster!

Thanks Bill!

Magician Looey's Tricks Revealed!

Hello Moonbasers! 

Thanks for your interest In my opening ID shot.

My original comic was inspired almost 30 years ago by seeing a photograph of a tomb statue in a book called Egyptian Disease by Dr Joyce Filer.

It detailed the many ailments that threatened these ancient people. In the section on congential diseases, there was a discussion of the various types of dwarfism and how the Ancient Egyptians believed that affected people were "Lucky", as they associated them with the Gods Ptah and Bes.

Many people are familiar with the exquisite alabaster sculpture of a princess on a barge, found inside Tutankhamen's tomb.

Far fewer (myself included) tend to notice the small female dwarf at the stern, doing all the hard work of steering the boat!

For some reason, this image of an obviously real person spoke deeply to me and I began to wonder who she was. Our of those fantasies was born my comic.

I have always desired that figure, so about ten years ago I decided to make a replica. I have a detailed sequence of it's construction on my Instagram feed here

https://www.instagram.com/lewispmorley/p/CNYleXMBSya/

ANYWAY...

Here are the items needed for filming my ID shot.

A) The statue, shot on a Tamiya rotating plinth against greenscreen.

B) The title lettering, lasercut from MDF, built up with putty and sprayed gold, then mounted on bamboo skewers above a green felt backing

C) A Ferrero Roche chocolates Christmas tree style clear plastic package, hot glued upside down onto a piece of blue glitter cardboard.

The statue was shot rotating 180 degrees.

The lettering was shot with a key light sweeping across the upper edges (very early 80's graphic style!)

The clear cone was placed on the rotating plinth and shot from above.

The three separate elements were then combined in a friend's After Effects program to produce the final effect.

Having been shot at 4K resolution, there was still plenty of detail on the face when subjected to a digital crash zoom. And yes, referencing the Toho Godzilla films was all part of my nostalgic intent! There is a bit of black fringing in the close up, but again this feels like 1960s optical effects, rather than today's digital perfection!

So, the entire effort is me using my Old School techniques and current technology to produce the sort of thing that inspired my childhood!

This will be a love letter to Thunderbirds, Godzilla, The Battle of Britain and 60's popular culture.

Hopefully soon, I will be hanging plastic model Spitfires on sewing thread above models of England's green and pleasant land for the actual filming!

What will the end result be like? Hopefully it will look like Gerry Anderson and Benny Hill decided to make a home movie together!

Thanks for your time at this briefing, Chaps, -Flying Crew Dismissed!

Looey

Oz Base

Moonbase Area 51

 Couple of fun shots I took last week.

The UFO

And the pilot!

Home Run! Our Secret Sam Bazooka Bat

 Here's our latest custom.

Topper's Secret Sam Bazooka Bat.

The wonderful card art is by Bill and I sourced a modern plastic beige baseball bat and white ball, emulating as far as I could the originals. 

This custom take on the bat concludes our Secret Sammery and, together with the Cane Shooter, form our personal homage to the mighty Topper.

Here they are as a pair. See what you think.

Now in the transit station - our bookshelf - before going into storage, here's one more Topper shot.

Next up, the Man from UNCLE Pistol Cane.

Jewels from the Crypt

Researching film props, I remembered the amazing brooch in the 1960's film Tales from the Crypt.

It's the gift left under the Christmas tree for Joan Collins in the fabulous first section, And all Through the House. 

Quite a stunning thing, Joan wasn't that impressed really and besides, she had a madman dressed as Santa to contend with! 

Does anyone know anything about this prop brooch and is there another one like it especially a bit of costume tat anywhere?

Will's Mighty Mike Skyway

Hi.

My mighty Mike set. I remember playing with one when I was young … a little unstable but great fun.( the toy , not me! ) .

Will O

UK

Selby Saunter

A wander round one of our fave towns, Selby, is always fun and today I spotted a few things in the Charities that I thought I'd share.

This Chinese calligraphy set would have been a treat when I was a young teenager in my Kung Fu days. I think the ink rod is grated on the stone with water to produce usable ink. Not sure if the spoon is original. 

This charity had a great stock of old kids books ...

... Including Coral Island published by Bancroft. I loved this hardback as a kid and it's companion Treasure Island. Truly gorgeous cover art. Did you have any Bancrofts?

On the rear is a list of other classic titles.

This Hoppit game is a new one on me. Fabulous box art. I was tempted! 

Not sure what this large white Sports car was. Probably Barbie's ride. Or maybe the Captains?

These two old boxed models were in a window. Quite dear but they looked great I must say. Anyone know them?

This old Spaceflight book was interesting.

There's even a make your own ANT model double-spread! 

I came home with a 1970 softback on Tutunkhamun, £1, that I had as a kid and a boxed set of the Keaton/ Kilmer Batman movie CD's for £2, much cheaper than streaming.

We also bought a bureau.

See anything you like?

Barbie and GI Joe Nissan US TV Ad 1996

 

Well what do you make of that?