# New Space Program Cargo for the RR - new LIS kits!



## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Borracho Railway Official Press Release: Aug 13, 1958 

The NCAA in order to keep up with them pesky Ruskies after launching that oversize tennis ball know as Sputnik annouced they would be testing new proposed space exploration designs in the rocky hills and mountains around our sleepy town of Borracho, and as the only really safe way into and out of the Borracho Springs valley, the RR will get the contract to deliver said devices to the tesing locations. NCAA has gracefully provided these artist rendering from the manufacturers. The Chariot may someday roam the surface of Mars or some other strange world, and maybe one we'll all have a Space Pod instead of an automobile...these are indeed heady times are they not? 



















Wow.. how long have I been waiting for these model kits to come out: 

The Space Pod and the Chariot are both 1/24 scale, so they will fit right in. I was only going to pick up the Space Pod until I found that the Chariot was released the same day I went to go pick the Pod, so I got both. They are made by Moebius Models, link provided: 

http://www.moebiusmodels.com/ 

Man I'm glad I decided to date my layout in the late 50's. I might just edge it up abit now to the early 60's /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By vsmith on 08/13/2008 3:27 PM 
Borracho Railway Official Press Release: Aug 13, 1958 
Wow.. how long have I been waiting for these model kits to come out: 


43 years. /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/tongue.gif "Enjoy.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

NCAA????? The National Collegiate Athletic Association????


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## Dave F (Jan 2, 2008)

I had an operational "Chariot" made by Mattell in about 1966 or '67. It ran on some plastic pipes that you could route all over the place, I must have had 40 feet of the stuff. I recall running it under the dining room table, behind the TV and through the livingroom. It would run during the entire episode of LiS ... used to drive my dad nuts..


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Oh you young'uns/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/tongue.gif 

National Civil Aeronatics Administration, the precurser to NASA


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By vsmith on 08/13/2008 9:49 PM
Oh you young'uns/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/tongue.gif" border=0> 
National Civil Aeronatics Administration, the precurser to NASA " border=0>




Young'uns?  Young'uns! /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/pinch.gif 

THANKS!  

At least I can safely say I have never donated funds to any athletic association!!!! 

I don't want to be known as an Athletic Supporter! /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif


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## ralphbrades (Jan 3, 2008)

I assume the model of the Pan Am "Spindrift" is hiding near a bush underneath the lid of a rubbish bin??? 

regards 

ralph


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Thats an Idea! I have the Polar Lights kits for the "Spindrift" but its much closer to HO scale.


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## cjwalas (Jan 2, 2008)

Now Vic, I would have thought your first reaction would have been to make a "rail Chariot". Actually, the Chariot was my favorite thing on the series, especially the first season where they made extensive use of the model. 
Chris


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## ralphbrades (Jan 3, 2008)

But Vic.... 

It would have to be smaller. You could always leave a safety pin and a length of knotted cotton thread at the side of the layout!!!! 

regards 

ralph


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Hmmm. Is there some television series or movie which came out that accounts for the appearance of something tha appears to be out of the early 60s? I mean, why would it come out now?


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By blackburn49 on 08/14/2008 1:55 PM 
Hmmm. Is there some television series or movie which came out that accounts for the appearance of something tha appears to be out of the early 60s? I mean, why would it come out now? 










Please tell me your just being cynical  

You've never heard of or seen "Lost In Space"??? /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/shocked.gif 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_Space 

There's a BIG following in plastic kits for models of anything sci-fi related from this era, from Star Trek to Thunderbirds to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as the new 31" long model of the Seaview also released from Moebius demonstrates.


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By cjwalas on 08/14/2008 10:18 AM 
Now Vic, I would have thought your first reaction would have been to make a "rail Chariot". Actually, the Chariot was my favorite thing on the series, especially the first season where they made extensive use of the model. 
Chris


It crossed my mind, but I'm such a fan of the hardware on that show (not so much of the actual stories themselves  ), I just couldnt do it. 
Besides I think it will make a much more interesting load on a flatcar. I can also just have some fun with it, like parking it next to the gas pump asking for directions or some sort of "accident" while testing it around town, like it hitting one of the antique Model T's that still roam the backwaters of Borracho.


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By vsmith on 08/14/2008 2:25 PM

Posted By blackburn49 on 08/14/2008 1:55 PM Hmmm. Is there some television series or movie which came out that accounts for the appearance of something tha appears to be out of the early 60s? I mean, why would it come out now? 










Please tell me your just being cynical You've never heard of or seen "Lost In Space"??? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_Space There's a BIG following in plastic kits for models of anything sci-fi related from this era, from Star Trek to Thunderbirds to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as the new 31" long model of the Seaview also released from Moebius demonstrates.


Quoting your source: "The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965 and March 6, 1968[/i]." Makes my point: this was a long time ago. Why now? That was 45 years ago. I can can only conclude that someone has decided that we Baby Boomers are still worth targeting for marketing purposes. It just seems odd it would take this long.


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Campy old TV shows and movies sometimes get a following way out of proportion to their actual time on the air or in theaters. I still enjoy the original Star Trek "The Trouble With Tribbles" episode, even though tribbles look as though somebody's pet Bengal tiger had a major hairball problem! 

I was going for a campy "Buck Rogers meets Casey Jones" look when I built the Geneva & New Bern Railroad's Fast Mail. I have even had people ask me whether it was a toy produced in the 1950's. One fellow seemed disappointed when I told him I had built it from a one liter soda bottle. 










It's probably the reason why some of us have too many steam locomotives. (Too many steam locomotives - Is that Really Possible?) /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif 

There are probably a fair number of 30 something folks who are still heavily into Star Wars toys. 

Anyway, it's probably not possible to analyze it. It's just fun to watch the stuff and/or play with the toys. 

Have fun and keep on Trackin', 
David Meashey


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## vsmith (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By blackburn49 on 08/14/2008 4:46 PM
Posted By vsmith on 08/14/2008 2:25 PM

Posted By blackburn49 on 08/14/2008 1:55 PM Hmmm. Is there some television series or movie which came out that accounts for the appearance of something tha appears to be out of the early 60s? I mean, why would it come out now? 










Please tell me your just being cynical You've never heard of or seen "Lost In Space"??? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_in_Space There's a BIG following in plastic kits for models of anything sci-fi related from this era, from Star Trek to Thunderbirds to Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as the new 31" long model of the Seaview also released from Moebius demonstrates.


Quoting your source: "The show ran for three seasons, with 83 episodes airing between September 15, 1965 and March 6, 1968[/i]." Makes my point: this was a long time ago. Why now? That was 45 years ago. I can can only conclude that someone has decided that we Baby Boomers are still worth targeting for marketing purposes. It just seems odd it would take this long.






You've partially answered your own question, how old are you?, if you were born anytime around this period, what toys did you want as a kid, how come you didnt get them, now your older and richer and alot of others in business of the same age are now also remembering those toys and have the means to produce them today. 1+1= ?/DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/tongue2.gif 
A few years ago Polar Lights produces an extremely well selling model of the Jupiter 2 space craft from the series, that I'm sure led to these.


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## blackburn49 (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By vsmith on 08/14/2008 9:58 PM

You've partially answered your own question, how old are you?, if you were born anytime around this period, what toys did you want as a kid, how come you didnt get them, now your older and richer and alot of others in business of the same age are now also remembering those toys and have the means to produce them today. 1+1= ?




It's just a surprise to me to see something like this, apparently out of the blue, nearly half a century after it first appeared. I don't even remember that particular toy back then. It strikes me as incredibly obscure.  What I might have wanted as a kid and failed to get (and I sure don't recall in any case) is irrelevant here.   It is great, of course, to see something so vintage return, especially in 1:24 scale.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

The show has quite a following. 

I have a friend that has made replicas of the laser rifles from the show for sale to others (I made the plexiglass barrel tips for him). He has also made a full sized, motorized replica of the robot from the show. See below: (I labeled it "Bob & Sons" :hehe Several members of the various clubs made certain parts of the robot and shared the extras with the other members in exchange for the parts they made. 

One fan even hired the actor that spoke the lines for the robot, come to his house and record additional lines to be placed in microchips in Christmas cards to send out... open the card and the original robot's voice would give an audible and personalized Christmas Greeting from the family. 

Many people have taken the audio portion of the show and made sound bites out of them. I wrote a program for my friend that will play individual word sound bites in any sentence you type in, so you can make the robot say just about anything you want... the only problems being the very limited vocabulary and the very disjointed inflection caused by lifting words from sentences that were not all uttered in the same level of excitement! 

"Danger, Danger Will Robinson, Danger"


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

So, did the robot ever say, "I think I am in love with your PC" on the show? 

You know, in all these years, and all the star trek episodes I've seen, I've only seen the tribbles once. Notice in "Enterprise," Dr. Phlox feeds tribbles to one of his pets.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Posted By Semper Vaporo on 08/14/2008 10:24 PM
The show has quite a following. 
Many people have taken the audio portion of the show and made sound bites out of them. I wrote a program for my friend that will play individual word sound bites in any sentence you type in, so you can make the robot say just about anything you want... the only problems being the very limited vocabulary and the very disjointed inflection caused by lifting words from sentences that were not all uttered in the same level of excitement! 
"Danger, Danger Will Robinson, Danger" 



When the show first came out, I had a friend who was ga ga /DesktopModules/NTForums/themes/mls/emoticons/hehe.gif for the robot. He had an early Norelco 3" R-T-R and would tape every word of the show, cutting and keeping all of the robot's lines. His ultimate goal (never happened, we were 11-13 years old when the show first aired) was to build a replica and use the sound bites.


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## Semper Vaporo (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By Torby on 08/15/2008 6:10 AM
So, did the robot ever say, "I think I am in love with your PC" on the show? 
You know, in all these years, and all the star trek episodes I've seen, I've only seen the tribbles once. Notice in "Enterprise," Dr. Phlox feeds tribbles to one of his pets.




No such thing as a "PC" back then... not even as an acronym for Political Correctness... so I doubt if the robot ever said that. BUT... 

It has been quite some times since I did this, but as I remember the sound bites, it should be easy to extract the sound "See". I will have to look for "Pea"... Hmmmm... I bet he said "People" at one time, I could split the 1st sylable out. 

I know he said "Love", but (as I remember) it was always with a forelorn drawl that would make the sentence sound really weird. But, then, I never had the complete set of phrases to work with, and the process of extracting individual words/sounds was slow, boring, and excruciatingly mind numbing! 

The first step was to read a list of the contents of the sound bites to see which ones contain the desired words/sounds. Then listen to them and select the ones where the inflection comes closest to matching the others and best fit the purpose of the desired line of speech (difficult and often fruitless). Then load each sound bite into an audio editor (Cooledit), split the desired word out and save it as an individual file. The name of file was the word/sound (e.g.: "I.wav", "Think.wav", etc.). Duplicates (due to different inflections) would be numbered (e.g.: "I.wav", "I1.wav", "I2.wav", etc.) so the sentence inflection could be controlled by including the numbers in the words typed into my program. Homonyms (to, two, too; see, sea, C) could also be used to vary the inflection. 

Then run my program and type in the sentence (including numbers to select the desired inflections or pick a homonym). The program just parced the sentence into file names to play in sequence. 

"I6 think2 I6 am1 in5 love12 with1 your2 pea2 see3."


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