YOU AIN'T NUTHIN' BUT A SPACE BLIMP, FLYIN' ALL THE TIME...

 

It may surprise all you captivated Crivvies to know that although you're reading this post on the run-up to Christmas, I actually typed it in the fading days of September.  You see, had I waited until December rolled around, I may well have forgotten my intention to write it.  (In fact, I had to keep 'refreshing' the draft so that it remained atop my posts, lest I forgot it once it vanished down the line.)  So, what's so important about it that I took the precaution of preparing it well in advance?  Good question.  Do I have a good answer though?  I can but try.  (No promises, mind.)

This will be the first Yuletide that my 'new' Space Blimp Of Christmas (bought on June 28th, delivered on the 30th) has spent with me since it replaced its original long-gone twin, purchased back around the late '60s while I was yet a primary school pupil.  The first one was bought from Woolworth's one dark December early evening, before my parents and myself retired to a nearby cafeteria for a cuppa, maybe even a snack.  Unless I'm combining two separate but similar memories that occurred in the same location, I also had a copy of Smash! with me as well as my new toy.

Why is it called a 'space blimp' though?  Apparently, the Chinese word 'Feichuan' translates as either spaceship, airship, dirigible, or blimp, so presumably the foreign manufacturers (LP Toys) picked the wrong word when they were deciding what to call it in English.  Spaceship would've been slightly more accurate, and then they could've indulged in a bit of alliteration (big fan, as you know) - Santa's Space Ship (if they insist on making it two words) Of Christmas.  (Or perhaps Santa's Space Sleigh would've been better?  Whaddya think?)

My original blimp didn't last too long as it was a bit fragile, but I had the Santa figure right up into my early or mid-teens.  I'd been wanting a replacement for decades, but was hampered by forgetting the toy's actual name.  Then, one day, I saw a photo and description of it on Moonbase Central, and armed with that vital information, I did a post asking if anyone had one they'd be prepared to sell.  (I'd done the same for a Marx Toys Yogi Bear friction-drive scooter, which led to a result.)  Moonbase also made a plea on my behalf a little later, and someone eventually contacted both Crivens and Moonbase to say they were putting one up for auction on eBay.

I messaged the seller and asked him to name his price, but he preferred to take bids, resulting in me getting it for far less than I'd have been willing to pay outright.  Surprisingly, for such a rare toy, there was only one other bidder, and I can imagine his disappointment when he discovered that he hadn't won.  (There was absolutely no way he was ever going to top my bid.   Another example of this very rare toy might never come up for sale again, so I was taking no chances.) 

The thing that appeals to me though, is that the toy appeared not to have been opened since the '60s (apart from the seller to take photos for his listing), and it had certainly never been played with as the 'appendages' (reindeer head and tail, Christmas tree and Santa's sack) were still sealed in their little poly bags.  Once attached to the blimp, they'd be practically impossible to remove without breaking them (apart from the sack) and it's definitely not something I ever intend to try.

So that means that I'm the very first person to assemble and hold this toy in its complete form* since it was first made back in the '60s - almost as if it was waiting for me to buy it - like it had my name on it you could say.  It had lain neglected in its box for decades, unseen and unloved (apart from a collector's love of ownership perhaps) until it passed into my possession, whereupon it became one of my most prized pieces, re-igniting happy childhood memories of so many Christmases ago.  I love a happy ending, don't you?  (Which is why I decided to write about it.)  And to think that this is the very first Christmas the toy's been out of its box - wow!

(*There was also a pre-assembled version of the toy in a larger window display box, which was the one I had in the '60s.  That apart, they were identical in every respect, though the blimp sometimes had a variant colour scheme (red top, blue bottom), probably regardless of whichever box it came in.  I suspect that my replacement's box is the earlier one, and that it was later changed so kids could see the actual toy and not just an illustration, which was retained as a header card on the second version of the box.)

Incidentally, you may think that Santa's sack isn't big enough to hold all the toys and gifts that are delivered every Christmas Eve, but leaving aside any possible magical TARDIS-type attributes it may have for the moment, my explanation is that he uses the sleigh pulled by Rudolph and his chums to deliver the majority of presents, then uses his blimp to deliver any last minute items that people forgot to put on their main list, which is why the sack is smaller.  Or am I taking all this just a little too seriously perhaps?  (Answers on a postcard...)  Merry Christmas when it comes, Crivvies, and God bless us, every one!  (Don't worry, there'll be another post or two before Christmas.)