F is for Final Round-up . . . Rangers and Scouts

We've looked at the X-200 Space Ranger once or twice here at Small Scale world, so I'm actually going to concentrate on the space scout, which isn't obvious in either of the 1954 annuals, but despite appearing four times in the tag list here, is not covered that well on the blog, with one tag being the X-200 renumbered by Dimestore Dreams and the other mentions being single image posts or follow-ups to other things.

 

But first, I did look at the Premier sculpts (first post in this sequence) once before. I think it's one of these which has joined my fleet, possibly the other 5" Dart - version 6, to use Ed's nomenclature.

 

The back cover of the Adventure Annual shows two versions, the green one having a closer resemblance to the real thing as far as window-panel count is concerned, but I think the other (Swift's ship) is a different variant in real life, the 'bat-wing' tail-planes marking it as a Tudor Rose Space Patrol craft? Image on the right from Ed Berg a while ago.

 

We looked at the Ranger in detail not that long ago, here, and in the strip Swift mutters of the enemy ships that "Those must be the secret X-200's", so he knew his toys! But then they were on the artist's desk!

 

So, to finish-up, the X-100 Scouts; the metallic blue one (probably Kleeware) was in the lot I had to let go, but I've since picked-up a silver one (probably Tudor Rose, it has a hole for hanging/mounting on/off something), while Ed Berg also sent the red-one (Pyro?). In the past we have seen semitransparent Skandi' ones, versions with a floor piece, and I know a push-and-go was made, so quite a versatile little model!

 

And they are all septuagenarians now! To be in British 1954 annuals (printed at the end of 1953, for the Christmas market), they must have been born by Pyro, Thomas and Co., in the US, early 1953 at the latest?

F is for Follow-up - X-200

Brain Sent this as a follow-up to the previous post, it's s cracker! Games Workshop Cybermen I believe, in the classic (to me) layout/physiognomy! They work well!

And a nice side-shot of the ship which was absent from the post the other day!! Silver overalls and giant ear-muffs, they're the Cybermen I hid from behind the sofa! Cheers Brian.

X-200 is for Space Ranger

We have looked at this machine before, but I've ferreted away a few shots of a silver one with the hanging stud (courtesy of Steve Vickers), and shot a bi-coloured one on Adrian's table some time ago, so we might as well have another look at the X-200 Space Ranger from Pyro originally, mould lent to Tudor Rose and probably also issued by Kleeman/Kleeware at some point.

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)

Pyro USA

Kleeware

Kleeware England

Made in Kleeware England

Tudor Rose
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!

M is for More Space Stuff!

This image was sent in by a reader/follower from Finland, who wishes to remain anonymous, however many thanks to him for doing so as there are two bits of real interest here...

First is the reversed colourway for the Space Hawk/Spaceship from Pyro/Poplar, which rather confirms my suspicion that the 'Tudor Rose' one below is actually another Poplar moulding. I was told it was Tudor Rose and the 'Made in England' rather throws you...but the Welsh (in the 50's) weren't as bothered by their status as some are now, and 'England' would get exports more recognition than 'Wales'?

Of more interest in the photograph are the four X-100 Space Scouts at the back, these are in a semi-transparent/marbled plastic, and in conversation with the guy who supplied the photo, the thought is they are local production. If not Finnish, then Scandinavian at least...Now, the Ajax/Beton/Everybody else mounted figures from the very early days of plastic, were carried/produced in Europe by an unknown French company, Airfix, Remsa and, in Denmark, by Riesler...could Riesler have produced these four?

The other two are a silver X-200 Space Ranger like the red one below [this is a pyro original] and an Atomic Space Ship (with a damaged nose), [marked] Tudor Rose.

R is for Ranger, X-200 Space Ranger by Pyro