Before wheels there’s the ubiquitous playroom rocking horse. Here’s one given a sweet ‘update’ only needing the bucking shenanigans of some mini leather jacketed kid with a grin as wide as the curved rails. 🙂
May 21, 2014
A fine combination
Baron con Snoopy and his chirruping sidekick Woodstock take to the open road in a ‘snappy’ model sidecar…
Here’s the item in real-life.
It seems having this pair as driver and chair occupant is quite popular…
February 11, 2014
Boys
A fairground ride to excite any young lad dreaming of speed and adventure on two wheels. They appear to be miniature Beemers so this could be a German attraction. Intent riders and smiles galore nonetheless.
January 21, 2014
A Close Shave
“A bloomin’ combination Gromit!” One way to show off the town square annual display. Here’s a superb show in the guise of our plasticine pals Wallace and his trusty companion Gromit.
Welshman Mike Prankerd went a step further taking an old 500cc BSA, giving it a rich red color and bolting on a similarly colored Watsonian chair complete with stuffed hound and started haring around for public good laughs.
A cracking good show.
Finally one for the album so to speak is this cutaway diagram of the sidecar outfit in a classic technical penned illustration. This is taken from one of the light-hearted Haynes manual for Aardman contraptions used on Wallace’s adventures. It even has the folded-up aircraft piloted by Gromit as his chair is separated from his master and takes to the skies.
Nearly as good as a bit of Wensleydale…
January 9, 2014
Incoming Wounded
It was the keen eared Radar who spoke those words on one of my favorite TV shows. M*A*S*H whereby the insanity of war is given comedic status in a serious belly laughing manner. The staff of the 4077th bump through the highs and lows of a mostly forgotten Korean war.
Though it was mostly Jeeps and bubble canopied Bell choppers some promotion oriented company took it upon themselves to develop a Hawkeye Pierce motorcycling doctor.
It looks more like a cafe racer with broad fairing. He even wears his white surgical apron…whilst looking for this I happened upon a Triumph TR6 and Spitfire advertisement with none other than Alan Alda at the open topped wheel of the sunny yellow TR6.
That’s as good an endorsement that you could want for me!
“I will not carry a gun, Frank. When I got thrown into this war I had a clear understanding with the Pentagon: no guns. I’ll carry your books, I’ll carry a torch, I’ll carry a tune, I’ll carry on, carry over, carry forward, Cary Grant, cash and carry, carry me back to Old Virginia, I’ll even ‘hari-kari’ if you show me how, but I will not carry a gun! –” Hawkeye
P.S.
BJ Hunnicut did have a yellow moto….
San Fransisco 5426 miles
January 7, 2014
Of Stamp & Toy
This small cast metal toy motorcycle has a clunky charm to it that would surely fill any youngsters imagination with two wheeled deeds of daring-do. Indeed it has a striking resemblance to the noted stunt team of the Royal Signal Corps.
Here’s a First Day Cover type commemorative posting of a Royal Mail stamp with the classic Triumph and uniformed white helmet rider tearing across the mailing in fine style. This actual mailing was even more special using Forces mail to an Earls Court Cycle exhibition in 1980. Charming stuff…
December 26, 2013
A day of boxes
Well, the jigsaws are made, the annuals read and the toys played with…. Yup, it’s Boxing Day. Cold Turkey leftovers and yearnings for an old James Bond movie on the telly.
Hope everyone had had a fun, family, friends, food and festive time … Now let’s get back to Fiona Volpe’s scene stealing Beeza Lightning ride in Thunderball…
December 6, 2013
Fit for a prince
We had Prince Wills recently seated ably aboard a Daytona at the Motorcycle Live show a few days ago… Here’s more in the British fold with him trying a Metisse special.
Looks like he needs one for the Royal Estate.
Here’s a classic shot of our man McQueen showing how to handle one of these machines. Air below you and dirt below that.
One item presented to The Duke of Cambridge was a sit-on motorbike for wee Prince Geordie for when he gains a few more pounds and finds his feet. This is all good for the promotion of two wheeled mobility in Blighty!
November 7, 2013
Combination Play
Promoting companionship on the open road for the bairns are fun looking sidecar toys…
Back in the past when engines were a novel device on vehicles the cast iron and painted tin toys were the norm. Latter day examples have plastic parts but are nonetheless as fun for the kids of today. A pair of raccoons dressed the part on this cream and red
They even still have the pressed metal examples …
Lastly but not leastly here’s the great Postman Pat and Jess (his black and white cat). Not in his delivery van but a suitably red motorcycle sidecar.
November 4, 2013
1:6
Scale models are a great way to see how things fit together. I loved my Airfix and Matchbox 1:72 tanks, aircraft and their respective dioramas. Here’s a bolt together motorcycle kit; not quite your Tamiya, which would need several hours or days, but what looks like a fun few minutes nonetheless.
You could even use it to see how much restoration you want to carry out on your ’68. Here’s a real one: assembly required…. Much more FUN!
October 12, 2013
Bert Greeves MBE
After the war Bert shoehorned a lawnmower engine into a wheelchair and invented motorized transport for the disabled. The Invacar was born. That’s where that story ends for us… But a two-wheeled one begins: Bert was a keen trials rider so branched into motorcycling. The most notable model being the Challenger. My first experience of it was a Britain’s toy scrambler.
Here it is in the real world…
A green and white dirtroad killer. A 350cc useful tool which when first competed in ’64 won the Terry Cups Trial under the deft handling by Garth Sheldon. They also met success at the ISDT supplying bikes for the ’63 British team in Czechoslovakia.
Greeve’s are noted for their leading links forks; a simple design which when set up with the correct rubber dampers and trail angle seemed to do the trick. Seen here in trials form and balance over a rocky section.
The main reason I’ve been looking at the Greeve’s is its color scheme: the green and white would be a nice one for the Cub project. Even Mini’s of the sixties had this mint and cream look. Nifty!
September 3, 2013
The Bricks of a Building
The Cub project is currently in an ever increasing number of individual parts. Each to be cleaned, inspected reused or replaced. I have several boxes of zip-lock bags with these components in this mid-restoration filing system. It’s kinda neat knowing each item goes through your fingers.
These aren’t my project but the photos remind me of the excitement of opening Airfix model kits and unfolding the instructions readying the plastic kit for subsequent assembly.
The whiff of polystyrene cement has now been replaced by the hydrocarbon oils and machine cleaners and lubricants. I have a mind to photograph the Cub parts laid out on the floor…
…or a lawn.
…here’s another one!
…brick by brick.
July 30, 2013
Oil Drop Man and his Gal
ESSO not only had the tiger symbol but this cute couple each with a quiff shaped head of a golden oil drop.
Looks like they had fun on two wheels also!
“Happy Go Lively”
This company goes back to Rockefeller and his wealth machine Standard Oil (ess oh being the phonetic initials) Now known as Exxon in the US. They worked on future users with Playmobil toys, here a gas station complete with pumps, canopy and vehicles…
I like to look at some older images, and here is a Triumph ready for a top-up.
Perhaps the Oil Drop mans gal is called Ethel.
July 20, 2013
Tin Machine
Another tin toy… I used to peel these apart like some metallic banana to expose the workings of the clockwork windings or inertia drive. And look where that lead me! Restoring motorcycles for a hobby…
geordiebiker.com 