UFO and Battle of Britain Dinky Toys on eBay

A few Dinky toys for sale from me on eBay at present, with just one day to run, some of which may be of interest to readers here:

• Dinky UFO Interceptor
Dinky Toys 351 - UFO interceptor from Gerry Anderson's UFO series. For some reason, Dinky inexplicably decided not to go with the colours of the TV series when this model was released in the 1970s and gave this model a green paint job. Condition is as evident in photographs - some bending to the landing struts but otherwise intact and includes missile. No box. Fans generally recommend re-painting to match the show's colours!

• Dinky Spectrum Pursuit Vehicle (SPV)
Dinky Toys 104 - The Dinky Spectrum Persuit Vehicle. cost 22/11 in May 1969. This vehicle is probably only of interest to those seeking parts: there is no missile and there is a fault with the missile launcher 'hatch' which could probably be fixed by someone with experience. Decals also missing but Captain Scarlet figure and treads on back of vehicle are intact.

• Dinky 719 Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mk II
Dinky Toys 719 - Vickers Supermarine Spitfire Mk II, with battery powered propellor (requires D23(?) battery which may no longer be made and untested) and flip down undercarriage (intact). The model was first released in 1969 and production continued until 1976, as one of several Dinky aircraft diecast models. Unboxed. Please note there's damage to the 'aerial' to rear of cockpit.
The real Spitfire Mk II, employed in World War Two, were first delivered to 611 Squadron in August 1940, replacing the Mk I with a more powerful Merlin 12 engine and improved performance.

• Dinky 721 Junkers JU87B Stuka
Dinky Toys721 - Junkers JU87B Stuka. This model comes complete with detachable cap bomb, triggered by release mechanism on side. Paint work is in good condition. The underside wing decals are loose but I have them and will send with the model. This model was first released in 1969 as one of several Dinky aircraft diecast models.
The real Junkers Ju 87, or Stuka as it became universally known, (from Sturzkampfflugzeug or German: dive bomber) was a German combat aircraft operational from 1937 and throughout World War II. Some were fitted with an infamous Jericho-Trompete (Jericho Trumpet) wailing siren — though the siren was only fitted to a few aircraft because of the extra drag induced on the rather slow aircraft.

• Dinky 710 Beechcraft Bonanza S35
Dinky Toys 710 - 710 Beechcraft Bonanza S35. Released in the 1960s in a red and white finish, this model is showing its age, with some paint damage but propeller is intact and removable engine 'hood' is present.
The real plane on which it was based was first flown in 1947 and is still being produced by Hawker Beechcraft so this model may appeal to an owner (17.000 have been built to date).

Art Reviw - 30 stars of tomorrow

Glossy art magazine the Art Review showcases 30 stars of Tomorrow in its March 2008 edition and, although he's not featured on the actual list it self, 2000AD artist Ian Gibson makes a play for some of Charles Saatchi's spare cash by illustrating the cover of the magazine.

• Keep up to date on all things Art Review related here...
http://www.artreview.com/

In Memoriam: Walt Howarth

Cartoonist Lew Stringer reports that Walt Howarth, the prolific artist of many British annual covers of the 1960s and 1970s has died, aged 80.

This is Lancashire reports Walt, whose credits include work on Doctor Who, The Lone Ranger, Dempsey and Makepeace and Bonaza annuals and illustrations for Bolton Wanderers programs in the 1950s, died in his sleep on Thursday morning at the Royal Bolton Hospital.

His wife of 58 years, Renee, said: "He died peacefully, which is the main thing. He kept his sense of humour, right up until the end."

Mr Howarth, a great-grandfather who celebrated his 80th birthday last November, was also a former landlord of the House Without a Name pub in Bradshaw, near Bolton, who began work as an illustrator aged just 16 after attending Tonge Fold School and Bolton Art College.

"Like many artists of his generation, his work was often uncredited, but his work would be familiar to many children due to his prolific and varied output," says Lew. "His career spanned 60 years but he was best known for the many covers he illustrated for the tv theme annuals published by World Distributors such as the early Doctor Who annuals.

"In a pre-DVD age, Walt Howarth had to produce likenesses and representative artwork often based on minimal photo reference."

His work is still in high demand - he painted many spoof Lone Ranger 'covers' before his illness prevented him from working - and special edition packs of Doctor Who cards feature his autograph.

He also created covers for many other popular character items, including scrapbooks and puzzles, and provided concept art for titles such as this 1960s Monsters in Filmland scrapbook which was never put into production, left, which sold for nearly $500 on auction site Hakes in 2006.

"I was very proud to be associated with Walt for the last 10 years or so," commented Steve Penny, owner of Pure Nostalgia which sells Walt's art.

"I have been selling British annuals since 1985," Steve recalls in comments posted on Lew's blog but which Mr Penny has given us permission to reprint here, "and "I have a good many fond recollections of Walt."

"My first words to him were 'Hello, Mr Howarth. You don't know me but you have kept me in business for the last 15 years'!

"Walt didn't only illustrate children's annuals," Steve points out. "He also painted World Distributor comic covers in the 1950's (John Wayne, Cisco Kid, Billy the Kid and many others) and he painted many of the jigsaw puzzles from that era (Coronation Street, Wells Fargo, Bonanza, Doctor Who etc. Every time I met up with him he would come up with a new 'gem', telling me 'I painted that'.

"Walter had a happy disposition and he will be sadly missed by all his friends in the the business."

"He had a wonderful life and loved his job," his wife told local press on announcing his death. "He became down when he could no longer draw.

"Through his drawings his memory will live on."

Walt was a lifelong Bolton Wanderers fan and his family plan to scatter his ashes at the club's ground. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to Derian House children's hospice.

• Biography on Gateway
• Lew Stringer's tribute
• Steve Holland's Tribute on Bear Alley
• This is Lancashire news item
• Walt Howarth Limited Edition Prints

Keep Me In Caramacs!

Sparked by a quick debate on a Yahoo comics group comes news that the British small press might be failing in its legal obligations by not sending copies of their magazines - however short the print run - to the British Library.

Publishers and distributors in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland have a legal obligation to send one copy of each of their publications to the Legal Deposit Office of the British Library within one month of publication.

Paul Scott, editor of UK fanzines Solar Wind and Omnivistascope, reports he recently received a letter from the Agent for Legal Deposit Libraries in London demanding five copies of each issue of his comics "for various institutions", as well as a copy for the British Library.

In addition to the British Library, there is a legal requirement to send copies to the Bodleian Library, Oxford, the University Library, Cambridge, National Library of Scotland, Library of Trinity College, Dublin and the National Library of Wales.

While the Legal Deposit office offers no compensation the National Library of Scotland has, apparently, contacted Paul separately and has offered some payment for past issues.

The request has Paul steamed up on the Omnivistascope blog.

"The Cambridge and Oxford libraries should go on and get on with some real work instead of bothering me because they want the status of having all this crap in their basement," he feels. "Birmingham University, the redbrick I went to certainly doesn't care - they just want to know how much I'm earning so they can sell me a credit card.

"The National Libraries of Wales and Scotland I can understand [but] Trinity College in Ireland is completely beyond me - that's a completely different country!

"Under the Legal deposit law of the UK the British Library should receive two copies of all publication published in the UK. Who knows why. Perhaps its for posterity, perhaps it's just in case the government wants to know what you're up to?

"If they are kept for the rare moment when someone wants to read the comic while I'm alive, then they should help to keep me in sugar free Red Bull and Caramacs and buy one," he fumes.

Still, Paul wonders just what will happen if he doesn't comply. "Perhaps they'll send uniformed officers to comic conventions to seize these comics that have print runs in double figures," he suggests. "I feel a Space Lord story coming on..."

The Legal Deposit Office make it clear on its advice page that, within the terms of the Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003, a 'publisher' is to be understood as anyone who issues or distributes publications to the public. Items published in the United Kingdom and in Ireland are liable for deposit, as are items originally published elsewhere but distributed in the United Kingdom and in Ireland.

The requirement for deposit remains, irrespective of the place of publication or printing, the nature and size of the imprint, or the extent of its distribution.

It also claims there are several advantages to pubishers, no matter how small, to fulfilling the requirrments.

• Publications deposited with the British Library are made available to users in its various Reading Rooms, are preserved for the benefit of future generations, and become part of the national heritage.
• Publications are recorded in the online catalogue, and will remain an essential research tool for generations to come.
• Most of the books and new serial titles are listed in the British National Bibliography (BNB), which is used by librarians and the book trade for stock selection, is available in printed, CD-ROM and MARC Exchange formats, and has a world-wide distribution.

It would certainly be interesting to hear if fanzine editors now plan to comply with the law and innudate the Deposit Office with their publications. You have to wonder what they'll make of Solar Wind, FutureQuake, Zarjaz and Tozzer, to name but a few!

"These libraries would have to build a new wing if they took all of the small press publications produced in the UK in comics alone," Paul Scott suggests.