Adrian Baldwin
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Observations
  • Reviews
  • Blog
  • The Blog Library
  • My 70s Things
  • Contact Me
  • Links

Pigeonholed Eagle Freighter - Space 1999

7/30/2013

0 Comments

 
PictureSpace 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! 

Home
Blog Home
The Blog Library

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Adrian Baldwin

    Blogging for more than a decade

    Archives

    December 2022
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    May 2021
    October 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.