SUPERBOY - STOP 'DRAGON' YOUR HEELS...

This is the 1974/'75 AURORA reissue of their '60s SUPERBOY kit.  Unlike the first one, the 'S' emblems on his costume and cape (and KRYPTO's as well) weren't moulded onto the plastic, but supplied as adhesive labels, and the sign was also omitted from this release.  (I typed out the one you see in the photos.)

There's a semi-interesting tale about how I acquired it.  Back around 1981 or '82, someone I know asked me if I'd like a Superboy model.  One of his pals had one, but it had no box or instructions, nor any decals.  His pal didn't want it and was giving it away. "Sure I'll take it!" I said, but no plastic model was forthcoming.  Several months later, the same someone asked me if I wanted an Aurora BATMAN kit, as there was one on sale in Glasgow for a mere £1.50.  I gave him the dosh, he got the kit for me, I started to build it - then we moved house.

In our new house, I completed the Batman model, and sometime around 1984 or so, the same fella said to me one day "Hey, I've got that Superboy kit for you!"  It was at least nine years later (in '93), after having returned to our previous abode in '87, that I finally built and painted it.  (I find it amazing that I completed the kit in the house I lived when first offered it, but didn't actually get until living in another.)  I copied the 'S' symbols from an MPC reissue of the Superman kit, which were slightly different to the Aurora ones, although I didn't discover this until later.

I eventually acquired an instruction sheet so that I had the box art.  If I wanted to, I could now make a facsimile of the box, as it has all the pictorial information required to do so, but there's no hurry.  A few short years ago, MOEBIUS MODELS reissued the 1960s version of the kit, complete with moulded emblems and a facsimile of the original box, the only difference being that it has the Moebius name instead of Aurora's.  It also has the sign that was omitted in the '70s.

So here's my Superboy model, assembled and painted by myself.  Whaddya think, frantic ones?

  

And below is DAVE COCKRUM's original art for the 1974/'75 reissue box.  Have to be honest and say I prefer the original '60s box art.  Dave's is nicely done though.

WHO DID YOU FORGET TO REMEMBER? (Expanded)

This is a re-release from around 20-odd years ago of AURORA's FORGOTTEN PRISONER Of CASTEL MARE (occasionally rendered as Castlemare).  Unlike previous MONOGRAM reissues of Aurora models, the copyright details on the base had not been updated and it still bore the date of 1966 and the Aurora logo.

The reason for this was that previous kit reissues had been under the Monogram brand (hence the date and name of the manufacturer being amended), whereas the Prisoner kit's very first post-Aurora release was as a 'replica' model, complete with original long-box (though without the 'FAMOUS MONSTERS Of FILMLAND' logo*), and therefore the mould for the base had never been altered since its original 1966 production.

(*It was reissued a few years later with the logo restored, and I have that one too.)

I had the glow in the dark version of the kit around 1971, acquired in a swap of my FRANKENSTEIN kit with a nearby neighbour, GEORGE COOPER.  We later swapped back, but I yet recall my fascination with the extra little luminous parts that came with the model.  I took the replacement Prisoner along to George's house sometime in the mid-'90s (he was still living there) to show him, and enjoyed a curious satisfaction in 'connecting' the replacement with the house where George's original had once resided.  Yeah, I know - weird, ain't I?

The kit was reissued again relatively recently by MOEBIUS MODELS, with its luminous parts and the 'Famous Monsters Of Filmland' logo reinstated on the replica Aurora box.  The pictures below are the built and painted Moebius kit and box - I hate to admit it, but it's just a 'tad' more ornately painted than my own.  Drat!  Perhaps I'll tart mine up a bit one day.  Incidentally, back around 1970, WARREN's CREEPY #34 published the Prisoner's 'origin' as a comic strip (see below).  It was similar to EDGAR ALLAN POE's 'The CASK Of AMONTILLADO'.

And in case you were wondering, 'Castel Mare' translates as 'Castle by the Sea'.  Now you know.

Gotta go - somebody in the cellar needs fed!

Okay - here's the strip.  Enjoy.

SO, CRIVVIES - WHAT'S BIG AND GREEN AND LOOKS LIKE A NUMBER 2?

Back around 1966/'67 (possibly '68), I was on a day trip to Ayr with my family when I saw a boy running around on the grass near the seafront with a toy THUNDERBIRD 2.  It was the CENTURY 21 (J. ROSENTHAL) model and I wanted it.  Asking the lad where he'd acquired it, he pointed to a shop on the street, and my mother bought me my very own.  Now, don't get the impression I was spoilt (despite being run over by a steamroller) - the times I was told "No!" far outnumbered the occasions my parents acquiesced to my requests.

I remember taking it into school one day and the teacher allowing me to display it on top of the floor cupboard next to the blackboard - I felt immensely proud of my TB2 and thought the world of it.  It's therefore a surprise to me that I can no longer recollect its precise fate.  It probably got broken over time and eventually discarded, but whether I threw it out or my mother did on one of her routine 'clean-ups', I no longer recall.

I've not yet got around to replacing it, but I did buy the MATCHBOX and VIVID IMAGINATIONS TB2s when they came out, purely because they reminded me of the one I'd had as a kid.  I even bought a jeep (not pictured) to put in the pod, as that was what my childhood toy had instead of a TB4.  Anyway, because the 'modern' versions (playsets) are such great items in their own right, I'd thought I'd show them here for all you lovers of super things to enjoy.  Ain't I kind?

Did any of you have the Century 21 toy as a kid?  Then sing its praises in our comments section.

Update: Well, whaddya know, I finally managed to obtain a replacement for my original JR21 TB2, so cop a curious gander at it in the pulsating piccies below.  Great, innit?  Unfortunately, it didn't have the jeep (I'll track one down later), so I've substituted a TB4 given away with KELLOGG'S SUGAR SMACKS back in the '60s.  Actually, it looks better, but the jeep would still be nice to have.

And below is a 'stand-in' jeep, not an original.  Hopefully, I'll be able to track one down before too long.

And whaddya know - I did.  That's it below.

CORGI'S ASTON MARTIN D.B.5 - THE SPECTRE OF THE 'ORIGINAL' STILL LOOMS LARGE...

Click to enlarge, then click again for optimum size

Well, I said I'd show it when I dug it out, and I finally managed to find it.  What we have here is the original second edition CORGI TOYS ASTON MARTIN D.B.5, alongside the 50th GOLDFINGER Anniversary edition which I featured on the blog a few months back (in March).

As you all know, the first Corgi JAMES BOND car was issued in 1965 and was actually a D.B.4 gold coloured model.  In 1968, Corgi issued a newly tooled version in a slightly larger scale, with extra features and the correct silver birch finish.  As you can see, apart from the Aston Martin insignia on the front of the car, the original has a better paint job and the bulletproof shield extends further from its slot.

On the more recent 007 car, the spoked wheels are merely a moulded impression, whereas on the '68 model, they're actually spoked.  Note also that the air vent doesn't run the entire length of the bonnet, which doesn't follow the curve of the windshield to the same extent.  Further, the line of the doors where the hinges would be on a real car are different to the '68 release.  I find it annoying that a mass-produced toy for kids in the 1960s is made to a higher standard than a limited edition model for (mainly) adult collectors today.

Want to see them bigger?  You know the drill...

However, it could've been worse.  Take look at the mid-'90s model above.  The door outlines were unfinished, the top line of the bonnet was asymmetrical, the over-riders and machine guns didn't appear to be extended even when they were, the passenger barely cleared the roof when ejected (same as the more recent release), the bulletproof shield was too low, the box was uneven, didn't close properly, and its display window was affixed with Sellotape.  Everything about this version was sub-standard, and I'm amazed that Corgi ever allowed it to be released, so abysmally poor was it.

What Corgi needs to do if they ever reissue the car in future (which they will), is to make the eject mechanism stronger, ensure that the passenger doesn't jam between the seat and the 'dashboard' (which it tends to do on both the '90s and modern versions), give it proper spoked wheels, make the bulletproof shield extend further, and - most important of all - give it a richer, fuller finish on the paintwork.

Only then will it be truly worthy of being regarded as the classic collectors' item it undoubtedly once was.  Over 50 years after the release of the original, and what we have today is a second-rate stand-in, not the magnificent diecast toy that children of the '60s enjoyed, and which their grown-up selves still so fondly recall.