Bulgarian Dan Dare 'EAGLE' Outline Tin Spaceship

I've seen a lot of stuff from Bulgaria hit the market this past year or so and one of the most interesting - for me at least- are these Dan Dare 'EAGLE' spaceship outline pieces. They're not tin-litho but rather painted tin (or steel). When you look at them it's easy to tell they were masked off and painted vs. having the design lithographed on the metal. From what I've seen there are a variety of patterns with blue fuselages being common but varying detail colors and the paintwork is neatly done. Painted vs. litho is nice because it adds to the overall availability of space toys. The ship measures 9 1/2" (24.13cm) L x 4" (10.16cm) wingspan x 2 1/2" (6.35cm) H. My example was reasonably priced probably because it's a little wonky in the rear :-) with the tail end being twisted somewhat, but generally you can expect to pay around $60 (okay) - $180 (w-a-y too much) for one of these. Enjoy! 

Bulgarian Spaceship

We've got a cool little spaceship today all the way from Bulgaria. When I saw this on the Bay it caught my attention, but coming from Bulgaria the postage was a tad steep. I'd love to have more stuff out of Europe but either the asking prices are sky high or the postage is. To me it doesn't matter what country the toy came out of because space and Sci-fi designs are awesome!

The spaceship is not huge at 8" (20.3cm) L x 3" (7.6cm) wide (max), it's a silver-gray hard plastic with a red hard plastic capsule, runs on a friction motor, and it appears vintage-ish. The capsule is not removable and there are no maker's marks, only the number 2822/5/53. I have absolutely no clue what Bulgarian toy production was like or even if this was actually made there. Could it have been an import from the USSR or Czechoslovakia??? I just don't know. My sample is in fairly decent shape with only a couple of stress fractures on the fins. There's not even much scratching. The front wheel is flat and after examining the assembly it appears to be designed that way. There are no nubs/axles on the strut and the front tire does not have the appearance of having been flattened by a hot blade - it looks to be deliberately cast that way. The toy also does not stand up on the fins, the photo towards the end of the post was accomplished by tilting the board it was resting on!. This was meant to run across a hardwood or tile floor and it's amazing that its survived. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina