It's the Blog's 17th Birthday!

*** 17 ***

It's MoonBase Central's 17th Birthday!

Yep, it's another bloggiversary!

 Seventeen fab years already! Time flies by like a UFO Interceptor! 

I'd like like to thank my fellow writers Scoop and Wotan Bill for their continuing help, their support and fab articles and also everyone who has contributed to the blog content. It's very much appreciated.

But most of all I'd like to thank you the readers, the cosmic life-blood of MoonBase!

So, quick! Get over here! It's Party Time all day! 

Blast from a Birthday Past: Paul MCaffrey's Project SWORD Illustration

 Part of a previous birthday celebration, I've always loved Paul McCaffrey's artwork for the modern Project SWORD story in the special TV21 #243.

It's just class!

Here's the link to Paul's work:

https://www.coroflot.com/paul_mccaffrey/TV21-243-Project-SWORD

For this year's celebration then why not tune in tomorrow, in 2 short hours, for our 17th anniversary bash! 

There'll be jelly, cake and toys! Lots of toys!

For Your Eye Sockets Only

 What can I say about Alien Earth, the new TV series on Disney+?

Superlatives don't really cover it.

Think supremely fantastic and cringingly yucky in equal measure, maybe somewhere round the dripping joints between films like the Thing and Sputnik grafted onto a waiting open Alien.

Not for the faint-hearted and completely compulsive. 

For me the current icky award goes to one of the show's smaller varmints.

But before I reveal it, it's interesting to dawdle over some precedents ... But watch out!

This golden oldie sets the scene, a movie that terrified me as a kid and one I know as the Trollemburg Terror! Is it one you know?

This is the box art to a model kit.

Cuneo's painted slithering devils spring to mind as well, as introduced to us on MC by Wotan 17 years ago.

I just couldn't help jiggling this into a clip, but it's Cuneo's artistry.

Similarly Bill brought us his fondness for rubber uglies on MC and this oily eye-squid fits right in (a phrase which comes into its own on Alien Earth! 🐙 )

Once more I was compelled to meme it.

But none of these wrigglers can prepare you for the truly cringing orb that is Alien Earth's small and parasitic crawling eye!

You've been warned!

Yuk!

A LOOK AT THE ZICA/GIANT LEAP EAGLE: 1976 TOY

I note that there's been some brand new photos that's surfaced on social media of the eagerly awaited  Eagle:1976.

I pre-ordered one myself last year at the Space: 1999 convention and still wait in anticipation.

 For now here's  some photos I took of the reimagined Eagle: 1976 prototype  created by Zica Toys in partnership with Giant Leap Toys that was briefly displayed at last year's convention.

The toy enthusiastically takes it's inspiration from the classic  Mattel Eagle, which was released back in 1976. It's certainly not a cheap collectable, and is definitely aimed at the more serious collector.

The original Mattel toy was around 21/2 feet long, this new re-imagined one  is around 3 Feet long and is much more detailed, but without losing too much of the look of the original toy.

The pod has the fold down doors either side, the winch, chairs and control panel stickers.

There's also an opening on top of the cockpit to fit the action figure pilots into place.

It comes with two 9.6 cm astronaut action figures, complete with removable helmets (I believe on the finished item the visors will be clear) and a weapons rack.

Although there's been several setbacks since it was first announced it is now due to be released on an unspecified date this coming winter.

Not for everyone I know, and for collectors in the UK I imagine the current postal situation in America isn't going to be helpful, but I think it looks great. A perfect combination of  a toy/model hybrid,

The question now is when will it finally be released?

Terranova47's Radio Serial Thrillers

Hello Woodsy,

Here is a book that might interest some readers; SERIAL THRILLERS by Charles Norton.

Mostly it covers BBC Radio serials; PAUL TEMPLE, DICK BARTON, JOURNEY INTO SPACE and from Radio Luxembourg, DAN DARE.

Some blog readers will no doubt remember PAUL TEMPLE from BBC TV in the 1960's. The radio stories began before TV service resumed in the UK.

I remember Dick Barton from my earliest childhood as it was broadcast Monday to Friday at 6:45pm and my parents were glued to the radio listening.

It had a theme tune that was extremely memorable and I still have a book published at the time for kids, which it turned out were the main group of listeners. It includes several of the earliest stories that I was too young to follow.

 A couple of movies were made of the characters one of which has Patrick McNee as a trench coated secret service member, pre Steed.

The time slot eventually was turned over to THE ARCHERS which I believe are still on the air. For me THE ARCHERS is best remembered for one of the funniest episodes of TONY HANCOCK that parodied it as THE BOWMANS. 

This can be found to listen to online and probably best listened to by readers that remember the character, Walter Gabriel.

Journey Into Space was also a comic strip long before the Andersons made space dramas. It had the recognizable voices of David Jacobs and Alfie Bass in the cast.

For me the book is invaluable in having the plots of DAN DARE. This was broadcast not on the BBC but at their commercial rivals, Radio Luxembourg.

The problem for me was that I lived in north London near Alexandra Palace and the BBC signal was so strong static made Dan Dare impossible to listen to.

This is the updated version of Serial Thrillers and it's recommended for anyone with memories of any of these shows.

Terranova47

USA

RADIO & EARLY TV 1930s TO 1950s RING COLLECTION.

Last winter I read up on one of my fave subjects, collectable Kids' rings.

I own quite a few now but nothing like this amazing early US collection of Radio/ TV show premium rings listed on Hakes a while back.

It's an American treasure trove. Feast your eyes!

 

Do you like them? Did you or do you have any Radio, TV or Comics rings?

Here's the auction description, rings from left to right.

1. G MAN” - 1930s white metal w/solid band, much silver luster remains. NM

         2.  “Capt. Franks Air Hawks” - 1936 Post cereal, luster gone but clean brass. Fine

3.       “ROA” (Radio Orphan Annie) Secret Message - 1937 Ovaltine. NM

4.       “Secret Operator Melvin Purvis Law & Order Patrol” - 1937 Post cereal. NM luster on upper half.

5.       Jack Armstrong Dragon’s Eye/Crocodile - 1940 Wheaties, glow-in-the-dark plastic still glows. VF

6.       Capt. Midnight Whirlwind Whistling ring - 1941 Ovaltine. Never had luster flashing. Clean brass. Exc.

7.       Buck Rogers Ring of Saturn - 1946 Kellogg’s Pep, glow-in-the-dark w/crocodile bands glows intensely. Mint

8.       “Dick Tracy” good luck symbols secret compartment - 1938 Quaker cereal. Exc.

9.       “Dick Tracy” Miller Bros. Hats ring - 1940s, luster off lower outer prong but rest is Mint

10.   “Tom Mix Straight Shooters” Ralston cereal logo ring - 1935, Mint

11.   Tom Mix Look Around ring - 1946 Ralston. Fine

12.   Tom Mix Musical (slide whistle) ring - 1949 Ralston. VF

13.   Tom Mix Magic Light Tiger Eye ring - 1950 Ralston. Mint w/perfectly formed “eye” that glows

14.   Lone Ranger Six-Gun ring - 1947 Kix cereal. Exc.

15.   Lone Ranger Atomic Bomb ring - 1947 Kix cereal. Exc.

16.   Lone Ranger Filmstrip ring - 1949  Cheerios cereal. No film. Fine

17.   Lone Ranger Flashlight ring - 1949 Cheerios cereal. No battery. Exc.

18.   The Green Hornet Secret Compartment glow-in-the-dark ring - 1947 General Mills. Glows, NM

19.   Terry & The Pirates Gold Ore Detector ring - 1947 Quaker cereals. NM

20.   “Sky King” Radar Signal ring - 1947 Peter Pan peanut butter. Glows, Exc.

21.   Sky King Magni-Glo Writing ring - 1949 Peter Pan. Ink is dry but ring still glows. Fine

22.   Sky King Tele-Blinker ring - 1949 Peter Pan. Largest metal premium ring ever produced. Light general wear. Fine

23.   Sky King Aztec Emerald Calendar ring - 1949 Peter Pan. NM-Mint

24.   Roy Rogers Branding Iron ring w/"D" initial - 1948 Quaker cereal. Missing metal cap that held tiny ink pad. VF

25.   Roy Rogers Microscope ring - 1949 Quaker cereals. Fine

26.   Straight Arrow Golden Nugget Cave ring - 1950 Nabisco cereals, Rare, first we've seen showing young girl rather than boy. She points pistol at the camera. Exc.

27.   Cisco Kid on horseback - 1950 w/copyright date on band, issuer unknown. VF

28.   Hopalong Cassidy - 1950 silvered brass, store item and multi-sponsor premium. Mint

29.   Capt. Video Secret Seal ring - 1951 Power House candy bar. Upper cover missing as is typical. Fine

30.   Tom Corbett Space Cadet ring - 1952 Kellogg’s cereal. Silvered brass. Mint

31.   Howdy Doody Jack In Box ring - 1950s Poll Parrott shoes. Plastic, only remnants of foam liner remain inside the box, but plastic ring remains Mint

32.   “Walt Disney’s Davy Crockett” compass ring - c. 1955 Peter Pan. Silvered white metal, compass working. Mint

https://www.hakes.com/Auction/ItemDetail/101754/RADIO-EARLY-TV-1930s-TO-1950s-PREMIUM-RING-COLLECTION 

Replace: 1999

After a couple of glasses of rum I was looking online at the waste tanks on the Dinky eagle and thought .... Hmmm .... What about possible DIY substitutes.

These are excellent repros available on eBay, which could prove expensive if you needed all four.

But they do remind me of cotton reels!

Like these plastic ones....

They even have a sort of radiation pattern on top! 

Or maybe party poppers? Most certainly too big.

Any ideas?

And what about those exhaust bells? 

There's a few possible DIY replacements.

Maybe tyre valve stops?

Not that good.

What would you choose if you had to?

I know, a decent complete Eagle! 

Ha ha!