Ed's Batmobiles

Woodsy,

Here's a composite shot of my Batmobiles.

From Vegas Bat Cave

Ed

Moonbase Morsels

 Been to a few places this week, an emporium in Rotherham and a boot sale in Fitzwilliam. Both great fun in Spring sunshine.

Here are my purchases.

LtoR: All about Cars by Century 21/ Corgi £2, KO Action Man (I think) 50p, two Lanard GI Joes £1 each, Kirk 50p, Dalek bubble bath £8 and a 2003 long robot vehicle £2. No idea what it is, I just loved it! 

I also picked up a Beastmaster pre-cert big box VHS for £1. Not pictured.

Anything you like readers?

Memories of 2023's Collectors Fair

At the 2023 Auckland collector's fair, I picked up seven kits, and a box of bits (but it was a really lovely box). A mix of modern and vintage kits.

Of course, the vintage kits will not be built. They are rare and precious treasures, to be preserved, still pristine in their boxes.

In the 1960s and 1970s Airfix kits were sold in the USA, usually in different packaging to those sold in Britain (and New Zealand). The Series 1 kits came in cardboard boxes, while in Britain they were still being sold in plastic bags in to the early 1970s.

The artwork on this 1960s Hawker Typhoon is amazing. The colour scheme is bizarre, and nothing like the scheme actually worn by RAF Typhoons.

I have never seen a US Airfix kit in New Zealand before, so I grabbed this one. Inside the box is a normal Airfix Typhoon, in silver-grey plastic.

The Hawk Convair C-131 light transport is really old - the copyright date on the early style box is 1959. This kit too is in silver-grey plastic.

There are 28 parts, including the one-piece wings (rather than the usual upper and lower halves). There are no clear parts for the cockpit or cabin windows.

This Revell Lockheed P2V (later P-2) Neptune box was full of various aircraft parts, mainly fuel tanks. But I bought it for the wonderful box art - an Operation Deepfreeze aircraft on skies taking off in Antarctica.

There is a small note in the lower left hand corner, which says ' Made in New Zealand by Lincoln Industries Ltd, Auckland', along with a Made in New Zealand Kiwi logo. It probably dates from the 1970s.

The French company Heller produced a lot of obscure French aircraft types, including the Mureaux 117 reconnaissance aircraft. This looks to be an original, 1967 kit.

The North American F-107A, was an experimental US jet fighter, first flown in 1956. Only three were built - its most unusual feature was the air intake above the fuselage.

There are not many models of the type. This being a modern Trumpeter kit.

A modern Revell Chance Vought F4U Corsair naval fighter of WW2. This one is destined to receive RNZAF markings.

I also found a 1/72nd scale Monogram P-51B Mustang, which will be covered separately, and a Heller P-39 Airacobra fighter. This had been re-packed in a plastic bag, not its original box.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

The Gun of the Golden Agent: Moonbase Mock-Up

 When we were young 'uns my older brothers and me had stuff lying all over the house. One of these things, not mine, was a die-cast golden cap revolver.

It was probably bought by my older brother mail-order from Ellisdons of Liverpool.

I've never forgotten that golden toy cap gun.

Back Round 1992 I got a copy of Bill Breugman's amazing Toys of the Sixties. And bingo! There inside was what I think that toy was, the Gun of the Golden Agent by Hubley.

You can see it in the book, bottom left, here in a video I did 10 years ago, around the 5.18 minutes mark.

https://youtu.be/OtG-TGgCJFI?feature=shared

Further images online are scant to say the least, a search today revealing only these Hubley 1965 trade catalogue shots.

There is another toy gun that looks a lot like the Gun of the Golden Agent, the Matt Helm SCE By Pilen of Spain.

And one more I found, the Golden Sniper by Crescent, with James Bondish box art.

With the Golden Agent in mind and a wave of nostalgia descending, I thought I'd have a crack at making something like it.

With a Farm Shop plastic revolver, plastic pipes and a few bits, here's my memory lane golden special.

It was spytastic fun. Hope you like it.

Kevin's Blakes 7 Moon Disc

A quick scratchbuild of a Moon Disc from the Blake's 7 TV episode 'Shadow'.

 These plant-like things are slightly mobile and slightly telepathic. 

 However, this being Blake's 7, they are the source of a powerful narcotic that helps fund organized crime!

Where are all the good guys?

Kevin

UK

HORSESH*T BEDKNOBS AND BROOMSTICKS ACTION BED AND DOLL

Seen last year on MC, One of the more unusual items I've found in my action figure reference books is the Horsh*tMan Self-Propelled Bedknobs and Broomsticks Action Bed.

Its an unusual choice for a toy.

It came with a 'Angela Lansbury' doll. Does it look like her?

Amazingly the doll stands up, makes the bed and then pushes it around the floor, before opening the covers, getting in and closing her eyes. 

The bed had mystery and non-fall action, but the doll often walked to the edge of of a table and fell off shouting 'Oh, Broomsticks!'

What a bed!

Has anyone got one?

All the Way to the Bank

 I remember in the pandemic we featured many money boxes.

Here are three more I've seen online of late that I like.

This is a complicated one, a sort of Japanese temple and Torii gate, where the ubiquitous green hand pops out!

The box art explains further but I'm unclear as to what it means. You?

This is another Japanese bank and one which proves you should never carry loose change on a ship near Godzilla! He's saving up! 

This last one I really like, the Guardsman on the tower bottom left. It's so perfectly proportioned and has that Action Man vibe, which would always draw me in.

I can't make out the branding lower left. Can you?

Have you any good money banks and boxes?

Barbie's Monster Truck and 'Vette

I popped in to a shop in my local shopping mall, and discovered two great Barbie die-casts from Hot Wheels. Both were added to my collection.

First up, the Barbie Ultimate Camper Monster Truck. This is not based on the existing Barbie Dream Camper, but is a new design.

It has a truck-type cab, with camper body. The card says 'New for 2023'.

Everything is a deep pink, with green and white swirls, the large Barbie name in white, and the smaller Barbie names in pale pink.

The inner chassis and engine are deep pink plastic, with an outer chassis in black. The front and rear bumpers, the steps, and the interior, are white plastic. Clear blue plastic windows.

The wheels have white tyres, with pink hubs. There is a squashed yellow car for your Barbie Monster Truck to drive over.

Hanging on one of the pegs was a Barbie 1956 Corvette in pink, with a white interior. I already have one of these, but this example lacked the usual white scallops along the sides, and the Corvette name.

My guess is this is not a colour variation, but a factory error, and it has just missed out on the side printing being applied. The card shows what the regular model looks like.

A great pair of models - now to look out for the blue and white version of the Corvette.

Paul Adams from New Zealand