SWORD OF THE RINGS

I am going through a second major Tolkien phase at the mo. The first was in my teens in the Seventies and the passion has never left me. 

Forty years ago when I was a teenager the only real way to experience the Tolkien was to read his books. There were a few records and radio recordings and a few collectables too. Later there were three animated films. Back then I was so smitten with it all my mates even nicknamed me Gandalf!

Now there's live action Jackson films galore and a whole shire full of precious merchandise. It seems odd to collect Tolkien at all, seeing as his books were largely about the perils of possession. But he did too good a job and the lure of the ring is too great to resist!

Tolkien collectables warrant a blog in their own right - there probably are orcs of them online. I'll stick to what I know and add a little elven spice to Project SWORD and co this year as I rediscover Middle Earth for the second time.

So, for my return I shall call myself - Gandalf the Silver [Surfer]! ha ha!

Anyone else like Tolkien readers?

BUSY DAY

Busy day at work today. I'm gonna need a lift!

REMCO SKY DIVER

This Remco Sky Diver jet looks mega cool and pretty darn big too, but I could be wrong on that. I'd love to see it in action. I'm assuming that the parachutist is ejected from the plane. This toy wouldn't look too bad in a SWORD fleet would it? Anyone got one readers? [picture: www.gijoeinformation.com ] 

CENTURY 21 PROJECT SWORD REPLICA HOVER TANK: CUSTOM MANUAL PAGE

Kevin's fabulous Hover Tank toy has arrived at Moonbase. It looks even more stunning in the flesh than it did in pictures. For it to join the rest of the Moonbase Century 21 fleet, I am planning some custom packaging. Before I attempt a box I thought I'd start to sketch out what the Hover Tank might have looked like in the Project SWORD Official Manual. 

Above are my first "brush strokes" so to speak. Very crude at this stage as I'm unsure which way to go. I'm toying with existing Hover Tank illustrations or maybe doing one myself - the middle one in blue is a first attempt.

Have you ever had a go at custom page for your Project SWORD Manual readers?

CAR BOOT BLUES

I've been to my first car boot sales for six months this morning. I must admit it was the lure of a market stall sausage sandwich which got me out of bed at 7.30 on a Sunday. It used to be so easy! 

Things have changed in the last six months near the local car boots: new housing estates and a decrease in the size of the boot sale as a result. Houses don't half go up quickly!

Anyways, despite a fairly low standard of goods, for which I blame the recession lingering longer in Northern England, there were a few items which caught my eye but alas, did not get me to unstitch my wallet! I've found some pictures which are like the stuff I saw. Sorry, no prices.

Britains yellow Stargard

Battered MSV - the one I saw had no doors!

Dinky Battle Kings K-III - these seem fairly common

Big Trak - not sure when these came out. Din't think I had one in the Sixties

[this site, The Old Robots, shows a Russian version of this too!]

Would you have bought any of them readers?

NEW HORIZONS, NEW TOYS?

New Horizons got me thinking. If Century 21 were creating Project SWORD now, would they use that probe as part of their toy fleet?  Where else would they get ideas? NASA like they did in the Sixties? What other spacecraft would become toys?

NEW YEAR, NEW SUNDAY, NEW HORIZONS

Well, its Sunday morning and NASA's New Horizons probe will begin taking pictures of Pluto today. Ten years on and three billion miles traveled, the probe is limbering up for its proper fly by in Summer. 

Despite its demotion to Dwarf planet, Pluto remains synonymous with mystery and unfathomable distance. Seeing it up close will be truly truly exciting,

In the world of SWORD which ship would you use to get to Pluto?

HAWK CONVAIR ATLAS SPACE STATION SHUTTLE: SCOUT 3 LOOKALIKE

ninfinger

habu2

I've always loved the SWORD Scout 3 ever since I was a kid in the Sixties. Anything that looks remotely like it always catches my eye and here's a good example, the Convair Atlas Space Station shuttle.

The shuttle appears on the 1960 HAWK model box art [ top ]  to the right hand side in an excellent pale yellow colour. The unpainted model is pictured in the middle photo [ and a white one appears over at Fantastic Plastic ] with my red Scout 3 below. I've no idea of the size of the Convair shuttle. Have you?

Any more Scout 3 lookalikes out there readers?