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Star Trek Poster by Jim Steranko, Circa 1973

Published August 5, 2014 Jim Steranko , Star Trek Leave a Comment

Star Trek Steranko 1973

Star Trek Ad 1973

Said DeForest Kelley in 1984:

A lot of young people have been brought up in a negative atmosphere… We began when the hippie generation was sitting around, and I think Star Trek gave its members hope.

We told them, ‘There are still new frontiers.’ We showed them a group of adults who really cared for each other and for their fellow man… The young mind is so open, so ready to be saturated

Star Trek premiered in 1966, the same year the Society for Creative Anachronism was founded and one year after publication of the first paperback edition of The Lord of the Rings.

Jim Steranko’s penchant for the psychedelic is brilliantly evident in his earliest comics work.

(Images via Lisa Caplan/Pinterest and They Boldly Went)

Star Trek Action Toy Book (1976)

Published March 28, 2014 Coloring/Activity Books , Star Trek 2 Comments

ST Book 1976-4

ST Book 1976-3

ST Book 1976-2

ST Book 1976

Cardboard Vulcan ears, anyone? Are we sure those those aren’t Vulcan sexual organs? It is a book of action toys.

Various parts of the models moved. From Memory Alpha:

  • Ray gun, with a trigger that can be pushed
  • Klingon cruiser, with a swiveling forward section
  • Tricorder, with a top that swivels open and closed
  • Phaser, with a trigger that opens the front of the phaser into position
  • Communicator, flips open
  • USS Enterprise, with sensor array that moves forward and back
  • Universal translator, with an on/off switch
  • Vulcan ears

There’s also a Kirk with a “spring” arm. (Insert William Shatner overacting to the max joke/scene here.)

ST 1976-2

 

Meco’s Music from Star Trek and The Black Hole (1980)

Published February 5, 2014 '70s Music , Album Covers , Black Hole, The , Records (LPs) and Cassettes , Space Disco , Star Trek , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 12 Comments

Meco Star Trek 1980-1

Meco Star Trek 1980-2

Meco (Domenico Monardo) launched the space disco era with Star Wars and other Galactic Funk (1977), which went platinum. He followed with several disco-ized soundtrack albums, including Encounters of Every Kind (1977), Superman and other Galactic Heroes (1978), and Christmas in the Stars: Star Wars Christmas Album (1980).

Music from Star Trek and The Black Hole (1980) didn’t go over well. The movies bombed at the box office, and the original, now classic soundtracks (by Jerry Goldsmith and John Barry, respectively), resisted the transition to upbeat funk. Meco knew it, and faked most of The Black Hole. The main theme is the only track that clearly resembles Barry’s score.

You can listen to Meco’s “Star Trek Medley” here. The entire Black Hole suite is below.

The album art is by Shusei Nagaoka, who did many memorable sci-fi-themed covers throughout the ’70s, including Out of the Blue (ELO) and Raise! (Earth, Wind & Fire).

A German group called Nostromo, following a very curious disco version of the Alien theme in 1979,  released a 7″ called The Black Hole in 1980. It’s much more faithful to the original, although I like Meco’s misdirected space-funk a little bit more.

Estes Model Rocketry Catalogs, 1976 – 1979

Published January 29, 2014 Battlestar Galactica , Model Rockets , Space Toys/Playsets , Star Trek , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 8 Comments

Estes 1976

Estes 1976-2

Estes 1977

Estes 1977-2

Estes 1978

Estes 1978-2

Estes 1979

Estes 1979-2

Just the front and back covers and a two-page spread from each catalog, but it’s enough to give you an idea of the once proud art of advertising to kids. Beautiful colors, beautiful layouts. Estes was the biggest model rocket company in the ’70s and ’80s. Centuri was second.

(Images via Myndscrape’s Paper Trail)

Christmas Morning, 1978: Everything! (Part Two)

Published December 18, 2013 Christmas , Christmas Morning , Kenner Toys , Six Million Dollar Man, The , Space Toys/Playsets , Star Trek , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 4 Comments

Regular readers will know by now the legend of Mikey Walters. D&D module designer, video game programmer, filmmaker, and compelling interview subject, Mikey has recently unearthed some jaw-dropping home video of several Christmas mornings in the 1970s.

See Mikey caress the Death Star! See Mikey fire the Laser Rifle! See Mikey apply decals to the Tie Fighter, play Electroman with his awesome Dad (“Hi, Mom!”), test the crank of the Star Bird Command Base, from which he launches his Star Bird Avenger into the stars! It’s a video prelude to the photo I posted of Mikey last year.

Here’s another one. Christmas, 1976. Look at him go!

Toys seen here include the incredible Star Trek Mission to Gamma VI playset and a Star Trek Tricorder; The Six Million Dollar Man Mission Control Center and Bionic Transport and Repair Station; the Earthquake Tower (“World’s tallest playset!”); and—wait for it—the Space: 1999 Eagle 1.

See all the videos on Mikey’s YouTube channel, and read about Mikey’s memories of those mornings on his blog.

There was a time when our biggest worry was which amazing present to open first. Here it is, in living color.

Custom Canvas Art Prints: Batman, Star Trek, Star Wars, and More

Published December 16, 2013 Batman , Board Games/Tabletop Games , Star Trek , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) , Trading Cards Leave a Comment

Batman Print

Star Trek Print

Star Wars Print

Voyage Print

It’s probably too late for Christmas, but damn, these are really nice. The images have been digitally recreated by Greg at the Retro Art Blog based on original trading card wrappers, View-Master covers, classic board game covers, classic model covers, and so on. Above is a  small sampling. See the rest at his eBay store, Retro Art Stuff.

Sizes vary depending on what’s being reproduced: board game canvases will look like board games, and trading card canvases will look like a (giant!) pack of trading cards. All of the prints above are 16″ x 20″.  The killer Spock print is based on the cover of an old AMT model kit.

Greg’s also on Facebook.

Movie Theater Marquees: Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Published August 9, 2013 '70s Movies/TV , Black Hole, The , Comic Books , Make Mine Marvel , Movie Theaters/Marquees , Star Trek 2 Comments
Star Trek Marquee 1979

Photo: Gary Fong/San Francisco Chronicle, 1979

Star Trek Marquee 1979-2

Varsity Theatre, Athens, Ohio, 1979. (Photo: Larry Gassan)

Star Trek Marquee ASM #203

From Amazing Spider-Man #203, 1980. Note the Black Hole marquee in the background.

King Frat (second photo) is an Animal House hack job: frat boys stage farting contests, light farts on fire, pull down their pants and fart at girls through car windows, and similar antics involving farts (and erections). The fact that it’s sharing a marquee with Star Trek does not say much for the perception and reception of Star Trek.

(Images via the SF Chronicle, Larry Gassan/Flickr, and The Marvel Project)

Leaf and Topps Star Trek Trading Cards (1967, 1976)

Published August 9, 2013 Star Trek , Trading Cards 3 Comments

ST Cards 1967

Star Trek Cards 1967

Star Trek Cards 1967-2

 

 

 

ST Cards 1976

ST Cards 1976-2

ST Cards 1976-3

ST Cards 1976-4

ST Cards 1976-5

ST Cards 1976-6

See both checklists at The Cardboard Connection. The first series is notorious for inaccuracies (Spock is a “Vulcanian,” many of the descriptions don’t match the pictured scene, etc.). Read the backs of the cards for kicks.

Christmas Morning, 1978: Everything! (Part One)

Published December 19, 2012 Battlestar Galactica , Christmas , Christmas Morning , Comic Books , Remote Control , Space Toys/Playsets , Star Trek , Star Wars (Original Trilogy) 7 Comments

Mikey Christmas 1978

Are you serious? There’s an entire layer of toys that’s covered by other toys!

The Spider-Man comic on the right, underneath the Death Star, is Peter Parker, the Spectacular Spider-Man #27, a Bronze Age key. It marks the first time Frank Miller drew Daredevil.

The ship on the left, above the Radio-Control Racer, is a Star Bird Avenger. Right next to it is the Star Bird Command Base, seen below via John Kenneth Muir.

Star Bird Command Base

The red box under the tree is Tin Can Alley, a shooting game from Ideal. The rifle emitted a light pulse that, if aimed correctly, would knock over the cans on the “range.”

(First image via WEBmikey/Flickr)

(Video via tvdays/YouTube)

Toy Aisle Zen (1976): Space: 1999 and Star Trek

Published August 18, 2012 Space: 1999 , Star Trek , Toy Stores/Toy Aisles/Toy Departments 4 Comments
toy aisle 1976

December 14, 1976. (Stephanie Maze/The SF Chronicle)

This one’s for Lefty Limbo. According to the San Francisco Chronicle article in which the photo appears, the kid is playing with the Star Flash Computer, part of the Moon Base Alpha set. But not so fast. The Star Flash Computer is a different shape and much smaller, as seen below via Plaid Stallions.

mb alpha

I think he’s playing with the Star Trek Command Communications Console from Mego. The boxes (to the left of the kid) are the right size, although I can’t read the writing.

The Star Trek Phaser Gun he’s looking at was made by Remco.

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