'EPHEMERA'

The following pages are dedicated to the transient ephemera of my own childhood and adolescence - a largely unrelated collection of 'stuff' that I nostalgiacally remember with fondness from the 1970s and beyond. Basically, it's everything that doesn't fit anywhere else on the site! Hopefully you will find something to interest you here...

Airfix HO/00 Toy Soldiers Box Art Box art for the 'TYPE II' or 'BLUE BOX' AIRFIX HO/00 PLASTIC FIGURES from the early 1970s. Any male over the age of 35 will remember owning a vast horde of these things in their childhood. Of course, like everyone else I couldn't wait to get the contents out and instantly discarded the boxes, all of which featured beautiful, evocative art by the amazingly talented Brian Knight. Browse an extensive gallery of Knight's work, including features such as preliminary art and a transcript of an interview with the artist himself.
Matchbox 1:76 Scale Tank Model Kit Box Art Box art for the range of MATCHBOX 1:76 WWII AFV MODEL KITS from the mid 1970s. This gallery spotlights the amazing work of Roy Huxley who, in similar fashion to Brian Knight, was responsible for drawing many a young boy's attention to the product and parting with his pocket-money.
Aurora Prehistoric Scenes Model Kits Box art for the range of AURORA PREHISTORIC SCENES model kits produced in the early 1970s. Sadly, I have yet to identify the artist. Although it's now common knowledge that the late Dave Cockrum was instrumental in the design of these kits, the box art style appears dissimilar to Dave's unique style.
Brooke Bond PG Tips Cards A gallery of BROOKE BOND PG TIPS CARD SETS and card albums. The educational and informative card ranges produced by Brook Bond from the 1960s onwards served to interest many a young child in the fascinating aspects of the subjects featured, assisted by superbly evocative artwork. Currently, this section shows the small number of sets that I own but I hope to expand the range at a future date.
Ron Embleton Captain Scarlet End Credits Art A gallery of the superbly talented Ron Embleton's CAPTAIN SCARLET END CREDITS artwork. Anyone who was addicted to Gerry Anderson's superb show can't fail to remember the exciting artwork shown as the end credits rolled for each episode. Here's a chance to see each picture in all it's glory, free of the end-credits text.
Weetabix Doctor Who Promotion 1 A gallery of images from the first WEETABIX DOCTOR WHO PROMOTION circa 1975. As a child I was captivated by these images and remember actually spending my pocket money on packets of Weetabix just to collect more characters from the set. Feast your eyes on the beautiful artwork of Gordon Archer, who perfectly captured the many monsters and characters of the golden era of Doctor Who.
Weetabix Doctor Who Promotion A gallery of images from the second WEETABIX DOCTOR WHO PROMOTION circa 1976. This second series, while also addictively collectable, did not quite have the appeal of the first. This was largely to the central concept being a modular game with playing pieces rather than stand-up characters with which to recreate adventures. Nevertheless, the promotion was hugely successful and a 'must have' for any Doctor Who follower.
Weetabix Doctor Who Promotion - Redux This page is dedicated to a SUPERB, NEW, ENHANCED VERSION of the second Doctor Who Weetabix promotion (see above item), as created by the extremely talented Chris Morse of 'Faraway Pictures'. The page is intended to act as a free download site for thise new version of the game and is fully sanctioned/approved by Chris.
Weetabix Asterix Promotion A gallery of images from the WEETABIX ASTERIX THE GAUL PROMOTION circa 1976. Another set of card characters and backgrounds scenes with which to re-enact the adventures of the popular Goscinny and Uderzo cartoon hero. Many thanks to Nick Symes for the generous donation of scans.
Weetabix Walt Disney Robin Hood Promotion Another card 'stand-ups' gallery - the WEETABIX WALT DISNEY'S ROBIN HOOD PROMOTION circa 1974. This promotion coincided with the film's release in the UK. Again it featured a set of card characters and backgrounds with which to recreate scenes from the film. Another huge thankyou to Nick Symes for his generous contribution of scans for this section.
Weetabix Star Trek: The Next Generation Promotion A gallery of images from the WEETABIX STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION PROMOTION circa 1995. This promotion comprised background scenes printed on the cereal packet box backs and sets of character stickers with which to create various adventures. The artwork is truly beautiful and appears again due to the generous donation of scans from various kind contributors.
War Picture Library Cover Gallery A cover gallery from the long-running War Picture Library comic title. Despite starting before I was born, War Picture Library continued healthy publication into the 1970s, when I became aware of it, along with the similarly-sized Battle and Commando Picture Libraries. Tough, hard-hitting war stories with great interior art and wonderful covers that drew you hypnotically to them in the newsagent.
Cadburys Monster Bar Chocolate Wrappers True ephemera! A gallery of Cadbury's Chocolate Monster Bar Wrappers and associated adverts. These wrappers appeared on Cadbury's chocolate bars in the early 1970s and featured a comical/freindly monster and flavour text. Series one is shown in its entirety thanks to a recent ebay acquisition. Series two remains, as yet, elusive.
Cadbury Dangerous Animals Cards A superb range of cards from the CADBURY DANGEROUS ANIMALS? promotion, circa 1970. This 48-card set featured beautiful artwork displaying animals with a reputation as being dangerous to man. The flavour text either supported the notion or exploded the myth. Sadly, I do not have the accompanying album to show - just the full set of cards.
Matchboc M.A.C. (Mobile Action Command) Figures & Vehicles A gallery of images from the MATCHBOX MOBILE ACTION COMMAND (M.A.C.) action figure, vehicle & playset range. In 1974 matchbox produced this wonderful range of miniature, articulated action heroes along with a plethora of superbly designed rescue vehicles. Around 1976 Matchbox redesigned the characters into a more 'chunky' form with larger heads, a decision that largely killed off the range as these figures looked grotesque by comparison to their in-proportion predecessors. This gallery concerns itself with the earlier, slimmer range of figures.
Barratt - The Animals Of Secret Island Card Set A gallery of images from the 1975 BARRATT ANIMALS OF SECRET ISLAND card set. This range of cards, aimed at younger children, surrounded the antics of the inhabitants of a secret monster island. Follow the exploits of Dinosaurs Dippydactus & Babydactus and their friends, Hector the Frog, Maxwell the Spider and the Glumph. Seriously influenced by illegal substances.