Are you a fan of FIREBALL XL5? Have you got all the merchandise? Nah, me neither! There must've been loads back in the '60s, and I was probably only aware of some of it. I recently noticed on eBay that Fireball cards produced by a company called COMO CONFECTIONERY (and probably given away with sweet cigarettes) have an asking price from £20-£40 each, which means that as there were 52 cards, it'd cost over a grand or two for a full set.
However, the cards have been professionally reprinted and a full set can be had for a mere £9.95 from eBay seller batrobin6. Well, I'm always up for a bargain so I ordered a set and they arrived yesterday, and very well-pleased with them I am too. A nice little slice of the '60s that I missed at the time, but are now part of my XL5 collection. I've used the seller's photos to show you what the cards look like. The pic below is of an original card and a duplicate side-by-side. As you can see, the red is slightly lighter on the reprint, which may have been reproduced from a different original, not the one next to it. It's not uncommon for colour variations to exist between original cards as well.
Incidentally, the reprints (which are discreetly marked on the back as such) are limited to only 500 sets and the seller has 5 sets available, so if you'd like one, better get your skates on and glide straight over to eBay.
Great Set, I may nab a set too,an old friend of mine, who i don't see anymore, had a massive collection of fireball XL5 merch, and Stingray, he's well known among who collectors for his 60's Dalek Collection, I'd love a Reprint Cadet Sweets Dalek Set, that would be ace, although a complete original set is good value at £60.00 on the e bay at the moment.
ReplyDeleteThe Cadet Dalek cards are on the blog in various posts, RD, so you can maybe make your own copies if you have a printer, plenty of ink, and a lot of patience.
ReplyDeleteI got rid of my Printer & Scanner a while ago, the ink cartridges being very expensive, and it was cheaper to get copies at our local copy shop (now Closed)I'll probably buy a set at some point soon, just been reading your various Dalek posts..great stuff.
ReplyDeleteYeah, the ink cartridges for mine are more expensive than the printer, but they've got us over a barrel. Don't leave the XL5 cards too long, RD, the seller has only 5 sets left, and these reprints are becoming more and more collectable.
ReplyDeleteOK will do, BTW..i got issue 1 of countdown, with the poster £48.00 not Bad condition poster has tape marks..ect but the comic grades around VG-..there were 3 first issues on the e bay one went for £8.00 without the poster, and Phil comics had one that went for i think it was £42.00 without the poster..but they (or he) are very popular comic sellers on E bay, as you may have seen...and most comics they sell usually go for more than copy's in the same condition (more or less) from other sellers.
ReplyDeleteThe only sad thing is i wish i would have kept my original Countdown poster, the one that was on my wall for around 4 years, at least until 1975..when the Six Million Dollar man replaced it!
That's not a bad price for the comic with poster right enough, RD - well done. Are you going to try and get another Six Million Dollar Man poster to replace the one you had? I've found that with Phil's Comics, price depends on how many people are chasing a particular item. Sometimes an issue of the same comic can differ in price weeks or months apart, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. The good thing about Phil is that usually there are no hidden surprises and the item matches its description.
ReplyDeleteCheers..Yes I Still Have The Dollar Man Poster, I've had a couple of replacements over the years, its the classic one with the distinctive belt he's wearing, you would know it if you saw it.
ReplyDeleteMy other half got me the Beezer Xmas issue 1973 from Phil comics, and a Beano 68 Xmas issue, and as you say all good, no hidden surprises!
Have you got the four Six Million Dollar Man Annuals, RD? They're quite collectable, though the fourth one is usually over-priced due to its alleged 'rarity'.
ReplyDeleteI have the 76 & 1977 ones, I had the board game too, awful to play, but good to display as part of the collection, my brother had the Figure, which I've inherited from him..and a friend had Oscar Goldmans Office!..which i had no idea existed at the time.
ReplyDeleteI've got the four Annuals, the figure, and a Revell (I think) model of him kicking down a cell door. I've also got three or four hardback novelisations of TV episodes; they're not bad at all.
ReplyDeleteThose Revell Kits Are great, i also have a couple of paperback's, we've been watching season 4 recently, working our way through them all from Season 1, great Saturday morning viewing..and very funny at times,its only until recently watching them all from Season 1 i realised how cheaply made it was...interesting seeing some of the outside shots and recognizing the scenery from Planet of the apes & Kung Fu.
ReplyDeleteI bought the first series a few years back, but was disappointed to see that the pilots were presented in two part episodes, rather than their original TV movie format. The regular episodes could be a bit slow-paced at times, and the slow-motion super-speed looks a bit daft now. Think what they could do with a revival of that series now, eh?
ReplyDeleteI Think we May Soon Find Out..
ReplyDeletehttps://screenrant.com/mark-wahlberg-six-billion-dollar-man-delays-updates/
Yeah, I'd forgotten about that. I just assumed it had been abandoned because it hadn't yet happened.
ReplyDeleteMay be better for everyone if it never does!
ReplyDeleteYou never can tell, RD. I remember friends of mine saying the same thing about Superman the Movie when it was still in the works, and look how that turned out.
ReplyDeleteyes That Was Great..Superman 2 Even Better, but that was still in the days of decent Scripts And Interesting Effects, Rather Than The minimal script, CGI Fest For 3 And a half hours Super Hero Movies we get today.
ReplyDeleteSuperman II never really grabbed me, RD. It had some good bits, but overall, I thought it was a disappointment. Probably something to do with Richard Donner's vision being compromised by Richard Lester.
ReplyDeleteI Loved it a the time, not seen it for a good few years, but it was like the Comic coming alive, and the classic 'Kneel before Zod!' line..I'll have to give it a watch, although my other half hates superman.
ReplyDeleteNot read or heard what Richard Donner's vision for the Movie was, i guess its on a doc somewhere?
I think that's sometimes a mistake, to make a superhero movie exactly like 'the comics coming alive' - witness Superman IV for example. What I mean is that, to work effectively (at least for an audience beyond comics fans), superhero movies need to be based in OUR reality, not a comicbook one. (Which sounds like a contradiction, but hopefully you know what I mean.) The Richard Donner cut of Superman II is available on DVD.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting, but as he never got to direct (or even shoot) some of his intended scenes, it's more a 'next best thing' to what he'd have done if he'd completed the second movie. Still worth seeing.
ReplyDelete