A Case of Having To

 I bought a Ryan's World spy case for a squid.

It was empty and there was no way I could find the missing parts cheaply.

So I sprayed it black and set off on a mission!

Hope you don't recognise my new case!

 

CHAD VALLEY STINGRAY GIVE-A-SHOW

 I recently picked up a Chad Valley ‘Stingray’ Give-A- Show projector set, dated 1964, and something I particularly remember owning and enjoying as a youngster.

I can still easily recall projecting the colourful simply drawn comic strip images on the wall, (up to 5 feet square, apparently!) and experiencing further adventures with Troy Tempest and co.

Each of the 16 slides, made up of seven images was a complete, if somewhat brisk story!

In Britain, the Give-A-Show sets, were a repackaged Kenner toys product, an American  company which created the projector sets in 1959, with the intention of providing a unique and simple way for children to engage in story-telling and art. British toy company, Chad Valley sold the toys in the U.K. and Australia. It uses a uniquely designed battery-powered torch fitted with a lens, with a slot in the side which holds the strip of slides. It could also be used to project standard 35mm slide too.

Chad Valley introduced the Give-A -Show projector set in 1962, at the Harrogate Toy Fair. The following year, a set came out featuring Supercar and Fireball XL5.

In 1965, the Stingray Projector set appeared, and fast became a best seller for Chad Valley.

Some might say it’s hardly sophisticated compared to the toys of today, but for a young Stingray fan in the 1960’s it was still great fun. As a point of interest, Kenner and Chad Valley even went on to do a ‘Star Wars’ version in the seventies!

There was also a separate deluxe version which had a special attachment which projected a kaleidoscope pattern which could be used in conjunction with the slides – very psychedelic!

There was also a sound version using a record player playing along to the slide show!

For Gerry & Sylvia Anderson fans, Chad Valley produced slides of Supercar and Fireball XL5 in early compilation sets which shared billing other licenced series like Popeye, Snow White and Winnie the Pooh, but the Stingray set was the first to solely feature the Anderson series.

A similar dedicated set featuring ‘Thunderbirds’ followed, dated 1965. The box artwork showing the Thunderbirds craft looks to me like what Derek Meddings originally envisaged in his preproduction concept art.

At around the same time, for fans of the popular BBC TV sci-fi series, Dr Who. Chad Valley also released a Dr Who set, which shared the spotlight with the Daleks. There is also a picture of a tall Zarbi with it’s mandibles on the TARDIS!

Chad Valley also released individual sets of slides of your favourite shows, for those who already had a Chad Valley projector.

No Captain Scarlet and The Mysterons set appeared for some reason. Maybe Chad Valley didn’t have the licence for that series. However the company did put together a complete mega set combining all the Stingray and Thunderbirds slides.

Other compilation sets were also available which featured a small sample selection of slides from their previously released sets. These included Supercar, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Dr Who and The Daleks.

A further set featuring ‘Joe 90’ appeared some time later, dated 1968. This had the added benefit of having a TV screen printed on the inside of the front cover to project the images onto.

Chad Valley produced lots of different sets featuring many TV tie-ins, including Daktari and Batman, but its the Anderson sets, and in particular, the Stingray set I have the fondest memories of. 

The Chad Valley brand. which still exists today, has its headquarters in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, and is owned by Sainsbury’s. 

Will's Sweeper

We see some lovely things from Dan dare and the eagle comic on moonbase, but here is something from the companion Girl comic. 

A Mettoy carpet sweeper, I think from the 1950's.

Will O.

SPACEX PHOTO ALBUM

 As it's been a packed Spacex afternoon I thought I'd join in, myself, and add a few old photos I've taken over the years of  contributing to the blog of some of my Spacex toys.

Transfer of Affection

Another mainstay of the sixties and seventies playtime were Action Transfers. Letraset made hundreds of inexpensive sets, consisting of a background card and a sheet of rub-down decals to apply at your discretion on the base. The series ranged from small pocket versions to large foldouts about 14" long, to big panoramas and booklets. I loved them and eagerly collected all the space themed ones over the years. Sadly, none survive to this day, but the wonderful website SPLAT Action Transfers have meticulously documented all of the companies output. 

To go with the Spacex art day, I have 'borrowed' some of the imagery from the site to create an imaginary set of Triang Spacex transfers! If only!

 

Rob's Alien Toyscapes

Woodsy,

Here are six “Alien Toyscapes,” gouache on paper, all based on space toy photographs by Ed Berg. 

Thanks to Ed for letting me use his photos as templates, this was a lot of fun.

Rob C

USA

We Land on the Moon

These line drawings in the vintage We Land on the Moon colouring books are always a thrill, as so many are vehicles we know and love, especially from Triang SpaceX/ Golden Astronaut toys.

See what you think. 

Links to the fabulous and long-running Dreams of Space blog.

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2017/07/we-land-on-moon-coloring-book-based-on_7.html

http://dreamsofspace.blogspot.com/2017/07/we-land-on-moon-coloring-book-based-on_4.html