Space 1999 Eagle Freighter Last Saturday afternoon (20/07/13) I popped into the Pigeonhole in Daventry at just the right moment. The owner of the emporium (the shop is essentially a series of concessions for vendors selling antique, retro, handmade, vintage and collectible stuff) had just purchased a box of Corgi, Dinky and Matchbox toys from a tip shop somewhere and was sorting through them.
Now those that know me will also know that I have a reasonable collection of sixties/seventies model vehicles and seeing this box of ‘treasure’ was quite exciting. The owner, whose name I don’t know but really should, aware of my interest (because I have bought a number of toys from him recently – but don’t tell Mrs Baldwin) was happy to let me sort through the box with him.
All sorts of cool things appeared and amongst them the Dinky spaceship that is the focus of this article. The main ship appeared first and then as the box was emptied the freighter attachment; then one by one the radioactive waste barrels that attach to it; and finally the magnet that attaches to a winding mechanism to raise and lower the barrels.
If you visit my “seventies’ stuff” page, you will see that I have an Eagle pictured that I have owned since childhood. I never had a freighter variant as a kid and when I finished putting this one together, I have to say that I really wanted it.
Having a hopeless poker face, my delight at seeing and rebuilding the Eagle was obvious. The great thing was that the owner was prepared to sell it to me and suggested I make an offer. I rummaged through my wallet, made my bid and the deal was done. I also offered to buy a Dinky Thunderbird 2 (these were originally painted in blue instead of green although I have no idea why) and that offer was accepted too (although a trip to the cash point was required in order to settle).
I am fairly certain that a higher price could have been commanded in the shop or on Ebay for both items but I don’t suppose that Mr Pigeonhole* would have seen a customer so obviously delighted with his purchases. To be fair, he made my day and he knew it and that must have helped improve his – he also made a profit on his original purchase and still had the vast majority of the box left to sell.
The Eagle is now displayed at Baldwin Towers and I have to say that every time I look at it, I feel a real sense of pleasure. To some, including Mrs Baldwin, it’s only a toy - for me it’s a thing of joy!
There is a saying that “one good turn deserves another” and I subscribe to that wholeheartedly. So, Mr Pigeonhole looked after me, my response (aside from buying more stuff, which is inevitable) is to point you to the shop and its Facebook page. If you collect things from the past then the Pigeonhole is somewhere that should be on your radar. Over time I have bought things for myself, Mrs B., my kids, my broader family and my friends because you can be guaranteed to find something different and/or unusual.
To illustrate that further, let me point you back to my seventies’ stuff page. The flip calendar and the butterfly string picture came from Pigeonhole – that’s 10% of the current featured content!
Facebook: pigeonhole Daventry
Address: Bishop Crewe House, North Street (opposite library), Daventry NN11 4GH
** POST UPDATE** 08/08/13 - I can confirm that Mr Pigeonhole should henceforth be recognised as Paul. Paul runs the shop with Dawn and I met him last Saturday morning to exchange pleasantries!
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Now those that know me will also know that I have a reasonable collection of sixties/seventies model vehicles and seeing this box of ‘treasure’ was quite exciting. The owner, whose name I don’t know but really should, aware of my interest (because I have bought a number of toys from him recently – but don’t tell Mrs Baldwin) was happy to let me sort through the box with him.
All sorts of cool things appeared and amongst them the Dinky spaceship that is the focus of this article. The main ship appeared first and then as the box was emptied the freighter attachment; then one by one the radioactive waste barrels that attach to it; and finally the magnet that attaches to a winding mechanism to raise and lower the barrels.
If you visit my “seventies’ stuff” page, you will see that I have an Eagle pictured that I have owned since childhood. I never had a freighter variant as a kid and when I finished putting this one together, I have to say that I really wanted it.
Having a hopeless poker face, my delight at seeing and rebuilding the Eagle was obvious. The great thing was that the owner was prepared to sell it to me and suggested I make an offer. I rummaged through my wallet, made my bid and the deal was done. I also offered to buy a Dinky Thunderbird 2 (these were originally painted in blue instead of green although I have no idea why) and that offer was accepted too (although a trip to the cash point was required in order to settle).
I am fairly certain that a higher price could have been commanded in the shop or on Ebay for both items but I don’t suppose that Mr Pigeonhole* would have seen a customer so obviously delighted with his purchases. To be fair, he made my day and he knew it and that must have helped improve his – he also made a profit on his original purchase and still had the vast majority of the box left to sell.
The Eagle is now displayed at Baldwin Towers and I have to say that every time I look at it, I feel a real sense of pleasure. To some, including Mrs Baldwin, it’s only a toy - for me it’s a thing of joy!
There is a saying that “one good turn deserves another” and I subscribe to that wholeheartedly. So, Mr Pigeonhole looked after me, my response (aside from buying more stuff, which is inevitable) is to point you to the shop and its Facebook page. If you collect things from the past then the Pigeonhole is somewhere that should be on your radar. Over time I have bought things for myself, Mrs B., my kids, my broader family and my friends because you can be guaranteed to find something different and/or unusual.
To illustrate that further, let me point you back to my seventies’ stuff page. The flip calendar and the butterfly string picture came from Pigeonhole – that’s 10% of the current featured content!
Facebook: pigeonhole Daventry
Address: Bishop Crewe House, North Street (opposite library), Daventry NN11 4GH
** POST UPDATE** 08/08/13 - I can confirm that Mr Pigeonhole should henceforth be recognised as Paul. Paul runs the shop with Dawn and I met him last Saturday morning to exchange pleasantries!
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