MOONBASE CENTRAL

Friday, 29 April 2022

MEMORY MOWING

Hi Woodsy, The toy lawn mower you remembered last month may be a Webb toy lawnmower from the 60's. It was metal and an exact replica of the full size version, only about half to three quarters of the size. It worked so well you could cut grass with it. Mine is currently in the local museum, so this is the only picture I have of it at the moment. Will O.

Thursday, 28 April 2022

A Very Strange Bus

I am not usually in to buses, but there are exceptions. This French Citroen 55 sight-seeing bus, with custom bodywork by Currus, was built for the Cityrama tour company in Paris in the 1950s.

It was a one-and-a-half decker (a popular layout around that time), with an enclosed bubble roof, and acres of glass. Apparently, it was rather on the warm side on a sunny day. A small fleet of these operated in Paris until the 1980s.

The video mentions that the buses appeared in several French films of the period.

(1) The Cityrama Citroen 55: The Strangest Bus Ever Built? - YouTube

There has been at least one die-cast model made of the vehicle, which was included in a French part-work. The photo is from Worthpoint.

What do you think?

Paul Adams from New Zealand

John Carter of Mars: Barsoom Brawler

Last night I re-watched the film John Carter of Mars.

I must say I really liked it. Some money was clearly spent on the props and sets. In fact there wasn't anything I didn't like. Do you like it?

The animals of Barsoom were great and reminded me of the credible fauna of Star Wars, dewbacks and wampas and so on.

Did it spawn any collectables?

Did all the designs for the craft, weaponry and animalia come from the original writings of Edgar Rice Burroughs do you know?

Ship Shapes

I had a spare half hour at work so I found myself doodling. Before I knew it I had a whole flotilla of frigates and destroyers.

It reminded me of drawing cars, ships and spacecraft and space battles when I was a kid.

Do you/ did you doodle readers? Any vehicles?

Hot Patch-Ups:

Before

After

Wednesday, 27 April 2022

THE RETURN OF THE RETURN OF THE SAINT

I see Forces TV, here in the U.K. has started showing the 1978 ITC series, Return Of The Saint, starring Ian Ogilvy as the 'infamous' Simon Templar.

Fans of The Saint , like me ( A few years back I used to be a member of The Saint fan club) can also catch the monochrome TV series starring Roger Moore, probably the best incarnation, on Talking Pictures TV, and the later Moore colour series on ITV 4.

Check out the two-parter R.O.T.S. story, 'Collision Course', which features a cameo appearance of Saint creator, Leslie Charteris.

Corgi released versions of The Saint's Jaguar XJS, a very stylish car at the time, but I think most people still identify The Saint with the Volvo P1800.

Dog Days

Spring has Sprung in the Moonbase garden. Blue the dog is out and the iron pig is thirsty.

Is your garden or yard blooming?

Systems S.N.A.F.U

Just a quick note to say that I am having difficulty commenting, Google doesn't seem to like it for some reason, I am not sure if anyone else is struggling, but we will work out whats going wrong asap!