October 1958 saw the arrival in the shops of the second instalment of RAF missiles. This must have seemed a very exciting and quite dramatic model when compared to the slightly tame looking Thunderbird that had preceded it.
Made by Bristol, this really must have looked the part, with its four detachable rockets with red outlet ends and bright yellow paintwork contrasting with the white main body. Although the vast majority in the field may well have been in khaki, some were, indeed in this or a similar colour and the whole model was so realistic as evidenced by comparison with the photo of a real thing below.
In this first appearance, the missile comes with the launch platform. Later, there will be a Gift Set to include a transport device for this and an RAF Land Rover to pull it along. In late 1959 you would also be able to purchase each component individually.
Bloodhound's longer range kept it in service until the threat of bomber attack by the Soviet Union disappeared with the dissolution of the union in 1991.
The other new model in this month was the final appearance of the Standard Vanguard III, now with a coat of RAF blue and either a solid black or grey base. As far as I can tell, each appears in roughly equal numbers.
This model will appear in the Rocket Age Gift Set too and stays in production until 1962. That would imply that there might be some around with fixed shaped wheels. However, I have yet to find one so I imagine that, if they do exist at all, they'll be very scarce.
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