The Catacombs Catacombs Model Gallery
StarCruiser

Starcruiser

Dinky Starcruiser

After the TV series failed to take off, Gerry Anderson and his business partner Keith Shackleton decided to use the Starcruiser for merchandising. The third Martin Bower model was adapted for toy features, adding the interceptor. Initially the design was offered to Dinky Toys as a die-cast toy. The Eagles had been big hits for Dinky, and they had even produced a "Gerry Anderson designed" Armoured Command Car (602) from the unseen 1973 pilot The Investigator in 1976. But Dinky was in financial difficulties, and the complex design would have been expensive.

Dinky did produce their own range of space toys in 1978, including the Space Battle Cruiser (model number 367) which is very similar to the Starcruiser Interceptor.

Airfix

At the time, Airfix was the parent company of Dinky, and they had also produced two successful Space: 1999 kits, of the Eagle and the Hawk. They took the Starcruiser concept, and released it at the end of 1978. By this time, David Jefferis had been running his comic strip version for nearly 2 years. Jefferis designed the box art, and drew a comic strip for the instruction leaflet.

Airfix box

The Airfix kit (model number 07170-9), as first released in 1978. The box painting was by Terry Hadler, based on David Jefferis art. From 1983 the box dropped the crude cartoon strip at the bottom. It was issued until 1984.

USAirfix box

The original US kit from 1981 by USAirfix has the same number as the UK kit, 07170-9, with photographic box art.

MPC box

The MPC kit (model number 1-1802) released in 1982. This MPC kit used the original Airfix kit by in black plastic, with NASA decals. In 1981, the Airfix company had gone bankrupt, and been bought by US company General Mills, which owned US rival MPC.

Airfix Starcruiser interceptor MPC Starcruiser interceptor

Airfix also released a larger scale Starcruiser interceptor (model number 05174-5) in 1982, again as a "snap-fix" kit. It was reissued by MPC (model number 1-1801) again in black plastic with NASA decals.

In 1979, Airfix considered a follow-up Starcruiser 2. Anderson mentions it in his Starlog 21 column, and Martin Bower did a design for it. The follow-up vehicle was never made.

The Airfix instruction leaflet.

Full page advert from the back of Starlog 21 (1979).

1979 Gerry Anderson marketing leaflet, promoting the Airfix Starcruiser kit and the Space City exhibition. Note the kits were sold from an address in Pinewood Studios.

Thomas Salter Toys "Supa-Posters" from 1978. The art was by David Jefferis, who also did the Look-In strip. Thomas Salter Toys also produced a "Starcruiser Mission Kit" in 1979, which had a gun, radio and charts, with a bit of the same Starcruiser art by Jefferis as this poster. In 1980, it was repackaged as a Buck Rogers "Galactic Mission Control Centre".

Copyright Martin Willey