For years I've been a fan of MGM's film FORBIDDEN PLANET with Walter Pigeon, Altair IV, the lovely fembot Altaira, the alien Krel and the mighty Robby the Robot. But for me and true to my character, the highlight of the movie could only ever have been the creeping one-toed Monster from the ID (below), a raging screaming manifestation of Dr. Morbius's nightmares. It's menacing footprints and the accompanying sound-effect, a sort of metallic 'boing', was only ever equalled in the film fright-stakes by the boiling tracks of the fire-devil in the seminal NIGHT OF THE DEMON.

And thanks to the wonders of science you can see a clip of the Id Monster on You Tube

Back in the early 1970's when my big brother Steve lived in London he visited a sci-fi comic shop called Dark They Were and Golden Eyed (DTWAGE), which I believe is the name of a Ray Bradbury story. Reputed to be the first comic shop in the UK I can clearly remember our Steve giving me something (?) in the shop's distinctive paper bag emblazoned with a  fabulous black and white drawing of fantastic creatures, orcs and martians. As I was heavilly into the art of Brian Froud, the Brothers Hildebrandt and Roger Dean at the time, the picture was an immediate hit with me. I managed to keep hold of the bag for years but I've no idea where it is now ( but I did write a song with the same name!) And now to the point of this rather long-winded link to the famous movie above, DTWAGE eventually became the first store in the comic megalith that we know now as Forbidden Planet!

Drunk on the sensory feast that is the flim Forbidden Planet, I never got to see the other outing for Robby the Robot, MGM's THE INVISIBLE BOY. I came across an intriguing snippet about it in my new DK ULTIMATE ROBOT BOOK suggesting that in this second film Robby, the pinnacle of manners and generosity on Altair IV, is ultimately taken over by an alien entity hell-bent on world domination and that this is an early example of what we now refer to as a computer virus! Prophetic. The Invisible Boy is now on my Love Film wish list.

The mere mention of an evil alien virus automatically gets me musing about the menacing alter-ego of our friendly Neighbourhood Spider-Man, Venom below. There must be more monsters from the Id and viral martians out there. Anyone got any?

 

Here is the first of two additions I can add to the checklists (in the side-bar) of known toys made by Tarheel and T in a Circle courtesy of Ebay.This is the T IN A CIRCLE NEW FLYING SAUCER with US flag. The T in a Circle logo is, for the first time for the blog, clearly visible on the box along with the model number, 356. You will be familiar with other makes of the same Saucer: JR21 (with Union Jack) and Brohm (German and flagless) and cross-boxing/moulding of probably all three.

The second addition is the TARHEEL ANIMATED CIRCUS TRAIN (sorry, I'm a completist WOTAN!) in all its plastic glory. It came in a long window box with the now familiar Tarheel 'red star' battery operated sticker. The toy had 3 cars and loco, with forward and reverse action, moving doors and animals. It was made in Hong Kong. No model number is visible in the pictures. I am beginning to see a pattern in the colour palette that Tarheel used for their toys as the same bright colours can be seen in virtually all thier range e.g. the NOVA rockets.

Reading a little more about Arthur C. Clarke's CHILDHOOD'S END I was fascinated to discover that the ending of the story inspired the cover art for Led Zepellin's 1970's album THE HOUSES OF THE HOLY! It  clearly entered popular awareness to have influenced music and film. Led Zep were an aquifer of left field literature and in particular Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which sat well with the hippy view of the world and my own. Zep songs which spring to mind include Misty Mountain Hop, The Battle of Evermore and Ramble On. Another Zep tune steeped in the magic of the countryside, although not specifically Tolkien's, is BRON YR AUR STOMP named after a cottage where the band stayed and played near Machynlleth in North Wales. In the late 80's we once stayed with a close friend at Ynis Hir, a Bird Reserve near Machynlleth and although I didn't come across the cottage I was amazed to see sheep with RP daubed on them allegedly belonging to one Robert Plant! Just checking the spelling of Bron Yr Aur I am intrigued to find that the Zep's old cottage in the song is the subject of pilgrimage by fans from all over the world! Still, its a line from their opus Stairway to Heaven that I like the most 'If there's a bustle in your hedgerow don't be alarmed now, it's just a springclean for the may queen'. I love all that green man mythos, which seemed to be everywhere in the 70's. The 80's did a good job of wiping it away for a couple of decades but I reckon it survived in the shadows and like Gandalf the Grey will return one day soon.

Earlier this month I asked if any readers were prepared to share their SOLO #19 (cover above but PS isn't mentioned!) PROJECT SWORD comic strip, the VERY FIRST, with fellow bloggers. I have previously posted the toy ID charts courtesy of the Philosophic Toad but not the actual story. I'm pleased to say that blog reader John Croot has come to the rescue and sent in scans of the very beginning of PROJECT SWORD, it's origin in 3 short b/w pages, dated June 24th 1967. What a great year and summer that was, the same year that the Beatles released their Sgt. Peppers album! Big Thanks again to John for sharing. Enjoy!

There are many things that I find fascinating about this initial SWORD story. The Earth Base is in Australia ( is it explained why later on?) and we see Moon Base in a very similar picture to the one in the Official Manual - they were obviously planning the toy from the off but what happened to it? The Booster Rocket is called the ATOMIC BOOSTER (not to be confused with Atomic Rooster!) and it's front jet the DEEP SPACE PROBE sent off on a mission to Pluto. In fact the whole tone is Star Trekkish, to boldly go... and no mention of the mining element brought in later stories. I talked about the military might of the PROBE FORCE craft earlier this month and lo and behold, they are the 'protectors' of the fleet from the start, something which I never really grasped when I had them as a kid as toys. And Re-Entry Crafts 1 and 3 are personal spaceships - Company cars! - of the SWORD commanders, Sabre and Rapier (Swords, get it! Is there a Foil and Cutlass?)

I love how page 2 gives us some scale - the Nuclear Ferry and Booster are HUGE and the Probes are tiny! And just what is the 'scabbard'? Finally and discussed previously on the blog, the ID chart is hugely interesting - the Booster Rocket toy's fuel tanks look white ( the C21 toy's are blue) and the Re-entry craft look like mock-ups and not actual toys (had they not manufactured them yet?). Only the Probe Force Flights look like the real deal although the black stripe on the PF3 is a bit odd. There is no mention of these vehicles being available as toys in this story. Is there anywhere else in issue #19 or does that happen in a later issue? I wonder when in 1967 the very first toys were in the shops - an area to boldly go into I think. Well I've enjoyed reading this first SWORD story immensely. Thanks again John! Well, I have to ask, has anyone got the next 'exciting episode'?

For further in-depth reading about this issue and all the SWORD comic strips in SOLO and TV21 then go to the definitive website, the Gerry Anderson Complete Comics History (GACCH) by Shaqui Le Vesconte and Kim Stevens.

Holy Bat Swords! Is that ol' Batty astride a sleek and shiney Task Force 2? And it comes in both Gotham red and Arkham blue! ZAP! BLAM! Whatever next, a Joker Ferry! Hee hee. These fab rare Japanese vintage toys were spotted by the Harlemeister - thanks Terry!

Unlike Dinosaurs (the real ones, Thunder Lizards) and Man, who alas never met on the sandy plains of a Triassic Christmas morning, it is totally possible and most likely very probable that SWORD Dyna-Soars and Bat-Man met on many a needle-festooned Yuletide carpet. Unfortunately my parents didn't capture this titanic struggle on film so I ask fellow bloggers, have you got any Bat/SWORD Kodak moments? In fact any SWORD or Vintage toy family snaps would be cool to post if you want to! I'll dig out some old toy shots from my own Jurassic past to kick it off.

In the meantime here's a couple of close-up shots, which came out better than my usual efforts, of the delightful BATMAN SWOOPS DOWN game by Spears of England 1966, part of my Bats collection currently being auctioned on Obey. Sorry, Ebay. A beautiful synergy of plastic, colour and comic genius. - the game that is, not my photo's! Hee hee.

Bloglet composed whilst in the Moonbase Loft listening to the sweet tones of Boston's 'Don't Look Back'. Class!

But is the scale right?

Something's missing from this Tatooine scene but what?

Cheated a bit and used some Blackbird clipart for this. Just couldn't 'fill' right up to the outline in 'Paint'.

"One of the first Project SWORD knock-offs I bought years back is this green Space Glider (pictured below), which on closer scrutiny seems to be much more interesting than its worn looks: a hybrid between three separate brands that have all been connected with SWORD. Bearing N.A.S.A. stickers both on its nose (rectangular) and wings (swordesque arrow-shaped ones), it actually is a Durham toy with a "D globe" logo embossed underneath. The accompanying text says DURHAM INDUSTRIES INC NEW YORK N.Y. 10010 MADE IN HONG KONG No 5934.

However, the item number 5934 is to be found on a box of a wholly different avatar of the Space Glider - the Tarheel one. This grey version (pictured below) differs in many respects from its Durham cousin, which does not come with a nose antenna. The two holes on the nose are covered with coloured plastic polyhedrons (which would suggest that this is of a later design, designed to cover up the initial holes). The green / bright orange colour scheme of the Durham Glider is very striking in comparison with the Tarheel grey.

To complicate matters further, the Tarheel glider does NOT have the normal Tarheel series number 5934 nor the Tarheel logo on the toy but says instead "350 MADE IN HONG KONG". This number in turn would fit into the "T in a circle" series, even though the "T" logo is not present and also the Century 21 series itself, which is the most likely scenario. Note also that in the Tarheel box illustration, the Space Glider has the same kind of stickers as the Durham one - yet the Tarheel toy has none! Since this toy was bought boxed complete with inserts and an instruction sheet (pictured below), there is no reason to doubt that it would not be a Tarheel "original". Go figure!

Cheers Arto"

I love this little Russian space car that's on Ebay. Tinplate and plastic with AT wheels like a Scramble Bug. The big clunky antenna is great! And in space anyone can drive, even happy schoolkids! It's fascinating how the space race played such an important role in popular culture including toys allover the world and specifically in the USA and the USSR in the Sixties/ part of the Seventies. That's certainly gone now sadly.

There's something very SWORD-like about this Taiwan Space Tank by 'L' on Ebay. I've blogged it before but looking at it again it really would sit well in a SWORD toy fleet. From the '2001 Century', it has a Moon Busesque Astrodome and Moon Rangeresque caterpillar tracks. Overall it's probably more akin to the Midori Vanguard Tank that's been on the blog before. This L tank doesn't just drive, it 'forges ahead'!

Bye gum, that's a lot 'o Moons!