Where the X-100 Space Scout was a
simple, slightly flimsy 'dime store' one-piece moulding with clip-in wheels,
the next one up - as it were - is a far more substantial piece, made of two
heavier mouldings, glued together, with carpet wheels half-hidden in chunky,
fluted fairings, either side of the fuselage and in the tail.
The rod sticking-up from the silver version
above is for the attachment of a spring-clip or plastic tube, which - in some
larger boxed play-sets - allowed it (with a liberal dose of imagination) to
fly! Basically it went round and round a central pole or handle.
The underside and more views; I don't know
if there is any significance (price-wise) between single-colour mouldings or
bi-coloured one's, or if it was an entirely random thing? If you're old enough
to remember boxes or glass-shelf displays of them in retailers; may I ask - can
you remember if they were sold alongside each-other or at separate times/in
separate price brackets?
Pictured before an auction lot was
'divvied-up' a decade ago; I think it ended-up in my collection, but it may not
have! The marking 'discs' were interchangeable tool-inserts and can read any
one of . . .
Pyro (the Pyro in a pennant cartouch)
USA
Made in USA
Made in Pyro USA (the Pyro in a pennant cartouch)
Made in Pyro USA (the Pyro in a pennant cartouch)
Pyro USA
Kleeware
Kleeware
England
Made in
Kleeware England
Tudor Rose
Tudor * Rose
Tudor * Rose Made In England (separate marking along bodies)
Tudor * Rose
Tudor * Rose Made In England (separate marking along bodies)
Made in England
. . . the last being the one seen here on a
tail fin, there are sometimes two of the discs (larger than release-pin marks)
on the models, particularly the bigger ships (but this only has the one) and
they can also be blanked-off, as it is on the silver one.
The model got a new lease of life with an
almost identical clone in Bill Hanlon's Binary Arts
Corp./Dimestore Dreams range back in the 2000's ('Rhayyy!) but also the
indignity of a marque-downgrade to X-100; the old number of the simple Space
Scout (Boooo!), it also got a simpler (yet more accurate?) 'Spaceship'
re-moniker.
It didn't get its christenings moulded on
its nose which gives it cleaner lines and while it is a very good reproduction
of the original, there are a couple of differences, for instance; its having
slightly heavier widow frames, there are also slightly less-pronounced 'cuffs'
circling the tips of the rocket-engines and the ship's nose, giving it a more
streamlined look.
More on the Dimestore Dreams range here.
A yellow/blue bi-colour here.
Pure 'pulp' and one of my favourite toys,
as while technically I'm too young to be in the generation who had these as
'every-day' toys, there were plenty of old Kleeware
or Tudor Rose ones kicking-around
when I was a kid, either as hand-me-downs or as corner-shop/beach-toy kiosk
old-stock!
Because it's here! Some of you may have
spotted this in the surprise parcel from Chris Smith the other day, well; it's
very timely! Another of the Dimstore
Dreams range, these were more of a homage - I think - than an actual 1950's
model, but I stand to be corrected?
There were about 7 military
vehicles/versions I think, including telecom's, pick-up truck and wrecker
versions of this vehicle and a rather nice 'throwback' motorcycle, I have the
military ones in storage from the press-release stuff reviewed in One Inch Warrior magazine (back in
2000/1?) so we will return to them here at some point!
And speaking of 'Dime Store' - Rodney's Dimestore has added tones of info/data since I last visited it and is well worth a hour or two's surfing if you're at a fag-end in this heat!
And speaking of 'Dime Store' - Rodney's Dimestore has added tones of info/data since I last visited it and is well worth a hour or two's surfing if you're at a fag-end in this heat!
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