J is for Jimson . . . Firefly XYZ Mk. III

I really don't know what the hell's happened to Google, but apparently The Economist magazine was asking the same question the other day? Certainly, if you Google this, using any search-term, you'll be excused for being convinced it doesn't exist, and never did, even though, here is one, and it clearly does!

 

The box is a reproduction, and while the seller was good enough to point that out, and I'd been surprised at it's clean-sample quality, I wouldn't have known for sure; it's not got that comic-book artwork look, of the home printed ones from a few years ago, and if you rolled this down the drive on a dusty day, and then brushed it off, you'd never know it wasn't a Jimson original.

 

It's a big old chunk of half-Space Car and half-Space ship, and the scale - going on the figure - is a bit bigger than I might have been interested in, only a few years ago, but needs must when idiots try to drive!

 

And, while I would have been happy to just ID the driver, in the past, I've now got one to compare with any similar loose chaps in the pile! There is actually minor damage to the rear-right (facing forwards) of the canopy, but, luckily, it isn't actually obvious, at any angle!

 

This pair, sadly, weren't purchased at Sandown, but - as an in-context 'question time' - were seen on evilBay back in 2021,Rocket Racer behind, Explorer in front, and usually sold as generics - "Another plastic toy", "Another siren toy", &etc . . .

 

And, while they could also be Jimson, I don't know, Google doesn't know and Alphadrome seems not to, either! Pilots' say no, styling and portholes, say maybe not, push-and-go motors say possibly, plastic colours say probably, the little radar says absolutely! Obviously, the egg-shaped one is missing a green 'wing'.

 

Jimson stuff does appear in generic packaging sometimes, or seems to, you never know if they aren't close clones, but they also supplied Fairylite and others? Could they be the Mark's I and II?* Coding is 609 and 614, close enough for their similarity to each other, but a long way from Firefly XYZ's 101? Could they, despite the higher numbers, actually be earlier toys? I genuinely don't know - do you?

 

*That's not a serious question, I don't doubt there were never Mk I or II Firefly's, and the Firefly itself, has a very lazy XYZ moniker, before the 'Mark III'!

X is for X-30 Space Explorer

Bought this a while ago, because it was cheap! It was missing something (still is) and the vendor stated that fact as being the reason it was so reasonable, but it was a metallic blue spaceship, I wasn't going to let it go, although there's another reason I had to have it.

This is the little beast...on the launchpad! A Google image-search reveals it's basically a generic (although I believe JR21 carried it at one point), coming either Hong Kong boxed (no.230) or carded, in two versions: as mine (mostly carded) or with gold/dirty-silver painted nose and side-nacelles (boxed) and it's numbered 303 on the base, just to confuse!.

There is a second model with a similar name made by Lucky Products ('LP', No. 103) but with smaller turbines over the wheels, these tend to be pale blue or red, also boxed or carded (with four of their spacemen).

The other reason I had to have one...it's got a dog! An HO-OO'ish, space dog...there's a dog in the cab, with its own seat...how cool is that? Too cool for school, that's how, so go to space...did I say it had a dog...Look! There's a dog in that Space Ship, somebody give it a seat-belt! Pre-dates Wookies...

If you follow some of the links from the image-search, you'll see that the missing piece is a revolving antenna thing (nuclear engine?), anyway, it's a bit naff, very breakable, and the LP one uses a simplified one that looks like a jack from the cheap rack-toy Jacks sets.

Do you know - I managed to get through my entire childhood without ever knowing how to play Jacks. This despite the fact everyone I knew (including my Brother and I) had some kicking around somewhere? I've even watched people playing it without paying attention...you chuck them in the air and there are dice? A dice? Too late now!

So That's what I'll do with this (an idea from Woodsie or Wotan over at Moonbase Central (destination of several of those links)), but I know I've seen little bags of plastic jacks from Christmas crackers with an anodised-chromium type finish in metallic pink, purple or blue, one of which I think will do the trick nicely, so I'm holding out for one to turn-up, if not I may have some in a 'spares tub' in storage!

X is for X-400 Space Explorer

A family tragedy means no urge to write for a few days, this will have to do...

K is for Kleeware

Kleeware were one of a number of companies set up after the war to work with the new plastic materials in order to get the European economies going again, along with the likes of Betterware, Airfix and Tudor Rose they would exchange moulds with American companies; 1 month on 11 months off.

This is the same as the Pyro Plastics model of the same name; X-400 Space Explorer, and came in a boxed set with three other complex ships and two simple 'dime-store' vehicles. For collectors of Space stuff this is one of the 'Holy Grails' which means us generic small-scale collectors don't stand a chance! I had to let this go as part of a deal-split but got to keep a couple of the others, so - You win some you lose some!

The final photograph shows the lot as bought, I got to keep the long thin one, also Kleeware and the little pale-blue one, the two metallic blue ones are also Kleeware, from the same set, the pale-blue one may be Tudor Rose, and the red one was produced in various sizes/colours and window arrangements by various companies and this one may be Ajax?