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[raflaunches]

Even at work I’m described as someone who was born 30 years too late. I had known about the charismatic Colonel Dan Dare for years and despite loving what the modern generation call vintage I hadn’t really read any of the Eagle’s famous space pilot until recently. Ironically I was skimming through the Big Finish audio book website for the next Doctor Who release when I spotted that this company did an audio adventure of Dan Dare Voyage to Venus. I bought it and got around to listening to it on the way back home fighting through the wilds of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. I was engrossed within the first five minutes. After listening to the whole audio book I bought the Dan Dare adventures in volume format, essentially exact copies of the Dan Dare section of the Eagle comic. There were differences and I can understand certain changes to keep it within the 60 minute audio CD but I enjoyed it too. I now have all the audio adventures and slowly collecting the paper versions too.
Any way have a listen to the trailer and you’ll be amazed how audio books have changed:


https://www.bigfinish.com/releases/popout/dan-dare-volume-01-1552

[BrianB6]

Are they the ones that were broadcast from Radio Luxembourg during my youth?
6.45 pm until 7.00   I tried not to miss an episode. 

[Bob K]

There were indeed Brian.  I never missed an episode, and still remember the jingles by sponsor Horlicks "Food drink of the night!".  I was also an avid reader of Eagle where the Dan Dare adventures were briliantly illustrated.  You can occasionally pick up the large format books reprinting the cartoon adventures, one series to a book.
In Eagle I always looked forward to the wonderful two page incredibly detailed section illustrations of aircraft, ships and tanks etc.  The signature Tony Lofthouse appeared on many of the best.

[warspite]

Also, Dan Dare also appeared in the 2000AD comic series when it merged with Eagle, having a run for about a year or so but don't remember when (and I am not going looking in the collection in my loft for it either)  .

They also did a detailed drawing of the space ship and shuttle vessel. My 2000AD collection starts at issue 25 because my dad wouldn't pay pocket money for such an extravagant thing like comics and ends when I was about in my 30's, grown up and paying a mortgage stopped it dead in its tracks.

[TailUK]

Haynes (the car manual people) do an excellent "Space Fleet Operations Manual" which has cutaway drawings of the various space ship encountered by Dan Dare.  There also quite a lot about the history of Frank Hampson and his greatest creation, as well.

[unbuiltnautilus]

Also, Dan Dare also appeared in the 2000AD comic series when it merged with Eagle, having a run for about a year or so but don't remember when (and I am not going looking in the collection in my loft for it either)  .

They also did a detailed drawing of the space ship and shuttle vessel. My 2000AD collection starts at issue 25 because my dad wouldn't pay pocket money for such an extravagant thing like comics and ends when I was about in my 30's, grown up and paying a mortgage stopped it dead in its tracks.

Issue 4 for me! I tracked down issues 2 and 3 later though. I think Dan Dare featured through the first thirty to forty issues, but was lost to 2000AD forever when it was planned to re launch Eagle comic, which I don't believe happened. Still have happy memories of the first one hundred issues of 2000AD, Dan Dare and his Space Fortress, Judge Dredd and Walter the Wobot, The Cursed Earth, MACH 1, Flesh! I could go on.........but I wont!

[warspite]

I liked the cursed earth series, when I was a paper lad, a die cast toy of the car/tank came out, but I didn't buy it - I will look on ebay if there is anything out there.

[warspite]

Here it is, based on the 2000AD cursed earth vehicle. Noticed in the comic the droids didn't last long and the tank with a grapple hook went up a near vertical cliff face, when the bike was called for and went into the scrap yard, that cracked me up as a lad.

[Colin Bishop]

Just picked up on this having been away for a couple of days.

Incidentally, Dan Dare has been mentioned previously on the forum such as here: http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,16376.msg162259.html#msg162259

I was brought up on the original Dan Dare strip in Eagle magazine and it gave me an interest in science fiction, especially space opera, that I still have today. I am in fact reading an Alastair Reynolds omnibus at the moment. I generally prefer it to fantasy although I do enjoy Tolkien's Lord of the Rings triology.

It's funny how things have turned out. We should have reached Mars and beyond by now but instead have the internet and mobile phones instead. Social media instead of interplanetary media!

Colin

[warspite]

and aggressive technologically advanced beings hiding our spare rooms - though they are usually referred to as youths

[bfgstew]

My son got hooked on Dan Dare from my father. He had the first volume of the Dan Dare collection and gave it to him, good bed time read for both of us. Ended up with the full set, 5 or 6 I think. This spawned his love for Sci-fi, Star Wars, Star Trek, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet to name but a few. Funny that all the new Star Wars films have been released on his birthday.
He still has all the books and hopefully will pass these on to his kids.

[raflaunches]

I’ve always watched the American sci-fi programs/films such as Star Trek and Star Wars but have always preferred the British versions like Doctor Who, UFO, and the alike. The problem with American produced programs they have to win in the end, Star Trek The Next Generation is a prime example. I watched Star Trek Enterprise and liked it but the American audience didn’t, I like the latest Star Trek Discovery because it’s more realistic but I can guarantee that they’ll cancel it after season two. British versions seem to be more realistic in the respect that like in Doctor Who he may win the day but at what cost, and in Dan Dare the same thing happens but not so darkly!
However I enjoy reading and listening to Dan Dare because it’s light hearted and probably truer to reality of the perception of what everyone thought in the 1950s the future would look like. I, in particular, love the spaceship designs because you can identify with them, if you were asked to draw a spaceship how many of you would draw some thing that is recognisable from Dan Dare?

[rsm]

My Dad was brought up on the original Dan Dare and I used to read his old annuals. I used to get the relaunched Eagle from the 1980s, the new Dan Dare was my favourite strip. I was lucky enough to meet Ian Kennedy the artist who draw many of the new Dan Dare strips. I love his work which has been seen in many comics from Commando to 2000ad (which I still read!).

[jaymac]

 I  Preferred ''Journey into Space'' on the radio all available on CD

[joppyuk1]

I was brought up on Eagle, which had the strip cartoons. Dan Dare, Luck of the Legion, Jeff Arnold, and the technological cutaway drawings in the centre. Also the strip biographies of people like Churchill, Baden-Powell etc. It was from Eagle that I first found out the Good King Wenceslas was a real person, and not just a man in a song. Apart from that, I had to read the other comics properly. I got Hotspur and Wizard, swapping with my cousin for Rover.

[jaymac]

Just think of todays PC ''Limp Along Leslie''   at least . they were real reading .I was  an American comic baron  at school used to get them from  cousins in the states . I sent them some of ours rover adventure   etc.,  my Uncle wrote back and said not to bother  too heavy for them and they were about 3/4 years older than me .Now  you know while they are always so old at High school

[raflaunches]

Well I had my early Christmas today due to deployments to the island in the Med taking place over the festive period.
My hints seem to have paid off! I received from my sister the Haynes Dan Dare Space Fleet Operations Manual and I’ve almost worn the ink off the pages! Mum and Dad got me some Dan Dare Dossier books and some T-Shirts.
I’ve been searching the internet for models and there are none that aren’t tin plate tiny figures or toys but came according a stunning modeller who has scratch built an entire space fleet!

[davidm1945]

I  Preferred ''Journey into Space'' on the radio all available on CD

Oh yes, "Journey into space" - Jet Morgan, Lemmy Barnett, Doc and Mitch...never missed an episode, all we talked about at school.
Journey into space series :-
Operation Luna.
The Red Planet.
The World in Peril.
Written by Charles Chilton - 

Dave.
Sorry to go off topic...

[Bob K]

I reckon that the next ship Nick will be building could possibly be Anastasia 

[raflaunches]

Well who knows!


Here’s an excellent modeller who has built Space Fleet:


http://www.scalemodelnews.com/2016/09/sci-fi-nostagia-fest-master-model-maker.html?m=1

[Colin Bishop]

 I loved Leros' ship. Everything a proper spaceship should look like. 

Colin