Around 1969 or '70 (and two houses later), I saw another one for sale in a Rutherglen shop called JOHNNY'S and bought it immediately. When the toy had first appeared in '63, it was priced at 10/6, but my second one cost only 2/6, no doubt because it was old shop-stock and had lain unsold for years. It met its fate weeks afterwards when it overshot onto a road after me launching it into the sky, and the impact cracked the back wings.
Cut forward to sometime in the '90s and me spotting one for sale in a magazine for collectors (Exchange & Mart). Boxed, and at a mere £90, I sent off the dosh and waited with great anticipation for the replacement for my childhood toy to arrive. I was surprised when it did, because it wasn't exactly as I remembered it, colour-wise. The ones I had as a kid were the same as in the first photo, but this was an all-silver colour with an orange nosecone. (See photo below.)
I assume that the all-silver version was a later release, because it doesn't have an alternate 'Fireball Junior' - nor is it even mentioned in the instructions. Those of you who ever owned this toy will know what I'm talking about. The silver and grey plastic model came with two yellow nosecones, one with fins, and one without (seen in the 2nd and 3rd photos) to attain a higher altitude, whereas the all-silver model was supplied with only an orange one with fins. But how do I know which one was which, sequence-wise?
It's an educated guess of course, but first edition toys usually have all the 'bells and whistles', while subsequent versions are often simplified on cost-cutting grounds, so it seems likely that the single nosecone, all-silver toy was a later release, not the other way around. Anyway, a couple or so years later, I was able to acquire a replacement for the two-tone XL5 for around £250 or thereabouts, the only difference to my original being that the catapult wasn't the exact colour that I seem to remember from my youth. (I'll live.) The one disappointment common to just about everybody who ever owed this toy was that STEVE ZODIAC was just a generic astronaut, rather than the man himself as depicted on the box. Other than that, it was a great toy and is now a highly collectable item.
Not many collectors (any in fact) I've spoken to know about the all-silver model, so it gives me great pleasure to show both of them together on Crivens. Did you own either of these versions as a kid? Feel free to share your reminiscences of them in the comments section. Incidentally, one of the three boxes seen in the photos ia a replica (the middle one), but doesn't it look great?
Thank you for answering a puzzle that has been vexing me for some time now. My problem was the opposite of yours in that, when I was but a wee slip of a lad, I was given an all-silver Fireball XL5 for Christmas. I couldn't understand why, many years later, online photographs showed a different colour for part of the main fuselage when mine was all one colour (although I don't recall Fireball Junior being a different colour). My toy almost met its end before I had even seen it as, for reasons best known only to herself, my older sister (older by TEN YEARS) opened my Christmas present and managed to entangle the strings of both sets of parachutes. Luckily my dad came to the rescue and had everything untangled before lunch. I do remember feeling, as you did, very disappointed with the rather bland and generic astronaut figure. Unfortunately I don't remember what happened to my Fireball, which is a pity. I do recall, though, being afraid to play with it outside in case it got lost. Happy days.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it was a great wee toy, AP, wasn't it? It had to be made of light plastic to float down from the sky, but it was best to have grass underneath for it to land on, otherwise, on the few occasions the parachute didn't open, it would break if it landed on hard ground. You should get the Product Enterprise Fireball - it's diecast and doesn't fly, but it looks great on display and would remind you of your youth. (When your heart was still a fireball.)
ReplyDeleteGot that matey, along with their Supercar and Stingray. FABulous! Have you seen a large diecast Zero X on your travels? It looks awesome, if a little expensive (as one would expect.) Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI've got the Fireball, Stingray, Supercar, SPV, and the SHADO Interceptor and UFO, AP. Haven't seen the Zero X, but was never a fan of it. To me, it was a second-rate copy of XL5 - even down to Fireball Junior.
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