Those at work who hadn’t seen it in the past were really jazzed by the annual appearance of the question mark sweater Friday night. This is almost the only time of the year I actually wear it, because it looks kinda Christmas-y, and yet it’s kinda me too. And of course not one person knew what (or, perhaps, who) the origin of it was.
It’s toy time in my house – several days ago I got a small package from Japan with some goodies I’d ordered on eBay. Those who know me know of my deep and abiding love for toy representations of real life spacecraft, and these are two that I’ve always wanted decent models of.
Of course, it’s Viking and Voyager, two 1970s space probes whose exploits endlessly engrossed me when I was a kid. I was almost as obsessed with these as I was with video games and Star Wars. This Voyager model, from Japan’s Royal Museum of Science, is just a little bit flimsy, and it’s missing a piece that connects Voyager itself to the display base. I really like this one, but it’s just so delicate – this puppy needs to go in a display case, possibly with some actual Voyager photos and maybe my Voyager mission patch (also seen here). I still think that the Voyager missions are the only unmanned spacecraft that really come close to the sheer inspirational power of the manned space program. There are several other very unique models in this range, including a Soyuz rocket in its launch gantry, and models of Mir and the International Space Station. For me to seriously considering pursuing the other RMS models, I’d have to know whether or not they’re more solid than Voyager here. A bit smaller, but also a bit sturdier, this is a Furuta toy of NASA’s Viking Mars lander. It too has to be assembled, but it’s quite a bit more solidly build than Voyager. (That may not be a fair comparison, since Viking landers were built kinda like tanks, and Voyager probes weren’t.) I was a bit disappointed that the choco egg had been removed from the package! I like this little model, but I’m not sure about seeking out the rest of the Furuta space series (there are almost 20 other NASA/space exploration Furuta toys; there’s also a Furuta Star Trek ship range that I ain’t even gonna touch, for that way lies madness).
My, what a long boom you have! All the better to…
…ROCK, ROCK ON! (Okay, these arrived in a different package.)
Yeah, I’ll admit, this is me trying to distract myself from everything else that’s gone on this week. Sorry for opening my toys early. I think I’m entitled. One other bit of interesting news: apparently Intrada Records is going to release the cleaned-up, remastered original mono recording of Alex North’s unused 2001 soundtrack. This is not the same as the now out-of-print 1993 re-recording, which was conducted and in some cases orchestrated by Jerry Goldsmith; this will be the original 1968 recording conducted by North himself, and is exactly what Stanley Kubrick heard when it was submitted to him. There will be three additional bonus tracks unique to this release that weren’t on the Goldsmith version; whether those are alternate takes or previously undiscovered cues isn’t known. Only 3,000 copies will be pressed. Between this, the February ELO remasters, and the beginning of the Alan Parsons remasters in March, and a new Neil Finn album in March, the first quarter of 2007 looks like it’s gonna kick some serious musical butt.
This Voyager model, from Japan’s Royal Museum of Science, is just a little bit flimsy, and it’s missing a piece that connects Voyager itself to the display base. I really like this one, but it’s just so delicate – this puppy needs to go in a display case, possibly with some actual Voyager photos and maybe my Voyager mission patch (also seen here). I still think that the Voyager missions are the only unmanned spacecraft that really come close to the sheer inspirational power of the manned space program. There are several other very unique models in this range, including a Soyuz rocket in its launch gantry, and models of Mir and the International Space Station. For me to seriously considering pursuing the other RMS models, I’d have to know whether or not they’re more solid than Voyager here.
A bit smaller, but also a bit sturdier, this is a Furuta toy of NASA’s Viking Mars lander. It too has to be assembled, but it’s quite a bit more solidly build than Voyager. (That may not be a fair comparison, since Viking landers were built kinda like tanks, and Voyager probes weren’t.) I was a bit disappointed that the choco egg had been removed from the package! I like this little model, but I’m not sure about seeking out the rest of the Furuta space series (there are almost 20 other NASA/space exploration Furuta toys; there’s also a Furuta Star Trek ship range that I ain’t even gonna touch, for that way lies madness).
One other bit of interesting news: apparently Intrada Records is going to release the cleaned-up, remastered original mono recording of Alex North’s unused 2001 soundtrack. This is not the same as the now out-of-print 1993 re-recording, which was conducted and in some cases orchestrated by Jerry Goldsmith; this will be the original 1968 recording conducted by North himself, and is exactly what Stanley Kubrick heard when it was submitted to him. There will be three additional bonus tracks unique to this release that weren’t on the Goldsmith version; whether those are alternate takes or previously undiscovered cues isn’t known. Only 3,000 copies will be pressed. Between this, the February ELO remasters, and the beginning of the Alan Parsons remasters in March, and a new Neil Finn album in March, the first quarter of 2007 looks like it’s gonna kick some serious musical butt.
I wish my packages came with a set of Cheat Commandos. 🙁
I think NASA models are cool. Thanks for the pics.