In the 1960s and 1970s, British television screened the best and most exciting action-based of American sci-fi series. Buck Rogers came to ITV on Saturday evenings in the summer of 1980 with Gil Gerard as the space hero, and Erin Gray as the lycra-clad Colonel Wilma Deering. And who can forget Buck's faithful robotic drone Twiki voiced by Warner Brothers cartoon voice-artist Mel Blanc.
Buck Rogers in the 25th Century ran for two seasons, with the second moving away from the futuristic Earth and following the crew of the vessel Searcher as it crossed the galaxy. In this second series, Buck and Wilma were joined by Hawk from a race of Bird People.
The Buck Rogers starfighter is one of the oldest models in my collection. I bought it whilst on holiday on the Norfolk Broads with my family back in 1980. The series had only just started showing on ITV, and the Monogram models of the Starfighter and Draconian Marauder were already in the toy shops. With my pocket money, I could only afford one - so I chose the white Starfighter. The toy shop was off the main market square in Norwich. I assembled and painted it, and it was on show in my bedroom for many years before being relegated to the loft of my home in 1988. I brought it down in the autumn of 2021, stripped and repainted it, and now here it is in all its glory.
The Hawk ship was a rare find. It was 3D printed and painted by an eBay seller who makes such models as a hobby. When I found it (and another!) for sale, I just HAD to have it.