MOONBASE CENTRAL

Sunday, 6 September 2026

Hot Wheels XL

The Hot Wheels range has expanded exponentially in recent years, with more and more different ranges and models being added on a rolling basis. Besides the standard mainline range, there are premium models, limited editions, themed cars and now, a separate range called XL.

Hot Wheels XL are 1:46 as opposed to the usual 1:64 scale cars and are the same size as the older Pull Back Speeder range. Whereas Speeders have a clockwork engine in them, XL models are static and essentially just larger versions of existing cars. Whilst looking for a variant of the Police car above, which is re-decoed as a Japanese style Race Pace car, I came across the latest releases from the XL range. So far, the series is very limited and has around 12 models in total, but one particularly caught my eye. The Small Bloc coupe looks like it has been carved from a block of timber and has been released, along with a couple of similar models in the mainline range.

The bloc range has been designed by Fraser Campbell and consist of the Small Bloc, Long Bloc and Chop n Bloc racer. There’s also a flatbed truck coming to the line as well. The flat, slab like body is very reminiscent of futuristic 1960’s designs from Syd Mead.

Corgi Inter-City Mini-Bus! Wow!

I've always loved this Corgi die-cast. It's just so slick and streamlined, like the OK Toys Transcontinental Express, albeit much smaller.

There's something very Gerry Anderson about the Corgi mini bus, what with the tapered nose and the huge split sunroof.

Digging around* I couldn't find any mention of it appearing in Gerry's shows, certainly not Thunderbirds.

Maybe the dates don't match up?

Anyways, I'd love to see vehicles like this cruising up the M62 to Leeds. The future is now!

Is it a die-cast you had? Do you like it?

* In particular I watched Matteline1968's superb video about toys used in Gerry's shows, which included the OK Toys Transcontinental Express several times no less

https://youtu.be/wlD912KKMhA?is=0IE0lc7_0v08OeHT

MPC/ROUND 2 NUCLEAR WASTE DISPOSAL AREA 2 DIORAMA KIT

Some photos I've taken of the short-lived Space: 1999 Area 2 diorama set which came out 2017, and was designed to be in scale with the MPC 1/48 Eagle kits.

Unsurprisingly I've included my 22" MPC Cargo Eagle sat on a scratch-built landing pad.

It comes with an assortment of parts - astronauts; waste cones and covers; tiny Alpha storage boxes and two 1/44 scale Alpha Moon buggies.

There's also the addition of eight battery-operated floodlights fixed onto two seperate support stands.

There's also an added bonus of a 1/24 scale Alpha Moon buggy I fitted with a couple of LED headlights, and used for a few forced perpective photos.

https://mikeburrowsphotography.co.uk/project/mpc-round-2-space1999-area-2-diorama/

The Superior Amoeba – A Second Look

Hi Woodsy,

Superior Plastics – Custom Molders and Extruders – was a US plastics company that produced a number of educational model kits in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They were based in Chicago, Illinois.

Most of their kits were anatomical, and were part of the Superlon Science Series. Superlon being a hard-wearing industrial plastic that Superior used for their kits.

The models needed to be hard-wearing, as they were heavily promoted for class room use in schools, where they would receive a lot of handling. Several other firms also produced educational kits around this time, including Renwal with their Visible anatomy models.

One kit Superior produced was the Amoeba (copyright date 1963). This included a large, ten-part Protozoa; plus one-piece placque (this is what is says on the box) models of the Euglena and Paramecium; and a display stand.

The models were ‘enlarged more than a thousand times life size’, and everything was moulded in clear plastic. The Amoeba was kit number No.3800:200, and sold for $2.00.

All the Superior models were available either as kits, or fully assembled and painted, ready for class-room use. The assembled version of the Amoeba was No.3875, and sold for $7.50.

Sometime in the 1960s the Superior kit line went to Educational Products, of Oak Lawn, Illinois. Kit number 3800, without a price extension.

Then to Lindberg Products of Skokie, Illinois (copyright date of 1974 on the box). Kit number 1316, in the Natural Science Series.

Eventually the Amoeba ended up with Atlantis Toy and Hobby, Deer Park, New York. Kit number L3800 (combining the L-prefix for Lindberg, with the original Superior kit number), copyright date 2022.

All versions were moulded in clear plastic, although they could be painted on the inside to make the different parts easier to see. These days you can use the clear paints produced by various firms (Humbrol, Tamiya, etc) for tinting transparent parts, mainly on model cars.

The instruction sheet gives plenty of information on the kit subjects, and even has two photographs of the steel Amoeba mould. Unfortunately, the stand in my kit was cracked, but I should be able to fix this.

Now back in 2022 I did a write-up on this kit for Moonbase Central, and I am afraid I was not too kind to the kit. Wondering why on Earth anyone would want such a bizarre subject.

https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-superior-amoeba-model-citizen.html#comment-form

Having just acquired an example, and finally having a chance to examine the parts, I have changed my mind. You can either use it as a scientific display and educational model, as Superior intended; or put it in to a Science Fiction setting.

The upper and lower halves of the Protozoa could be used separately to create various space monsters – such as The Blob, or The Green Slime. It would make a great addition to any Monster collection.

In conclusion, this is a much more interesting kit than you might think. I certainly have plans for mine.

Photos of the Atlantis kit are mine, those of the earlier versions are from Worthpoint.

Paul Adams from New Zealand