One Small Brick

 

The Grandkids recently visited a Lego Cafe in Bingley. Yep, they exist!

This fab Apollo Saturn 5 was on the shelf.

Have you made a Lego space rocket? 

Ed's T. Cohn (aka Superior) Space Port

Woodsy,

What if? That was the premise behind this composition. What would my T. Cohn Space Port (with Lido figures and space vehicles) look like if it was transported to its home world?

Ed

From Vegas Base

Kung Fu Summer

 Over the Summer a friend performed a Praying Mantis kata or kwoon in our garden. It was utterly fantastic!

It took me straight back to those heady Kung Fu days in the early Seventies, when I couldn't get enough of it.

My fave mag was Inside Kung Fu from the States and this early issue really stayed in my mind, with that superb Sifu Quentin Fong cover.

I have a lot of martial arts books from back then but this Praying Mantis by HB Un isn't one of them, although I clearly recall it.

Published by the fabulous Paul H Crompton publishers. I could happily collect everything they published from those glory days!

Do you have any martial arts books?

Bandai Captain Scarlet DX Cheetah 2004

 I never saw the New Captain Scarlet series and the toys seem very elusive. I've hardly ever seen any in the last 22 years car booting since they were released.

They are intriguing reshapes of the boomer classics, an unenviable task for the designer I bet, considering the ubiquitous love for the original Scarlet SPC and the rest of the fleet.

Anyways, I spotted the Bandai Cheetah on Etsy's CapowSciFishop. It's not something I would buy brand new, but I thought I'd post the listing's pics, as its part of Gerry's expanded universe.

Looking at it I guess it's an update on the SPC. I do like its sleek lines and red, black and silver palette. Do you?

It's smooth curves echo the later sweep of the reimagined FAB1, an upgrade that's starting to slowly grow on me and a Vivid toy that I'd probably pick up at a boot sale if it was going cheap.

It sort of reminds me of the 1997 Power Rangers Lightning Cruiser, another fantasy red roadster, but there'll be lots of other designs like this.

Have you any of the New Captain Scarlet toy vehicles readers? 

*

Terranova47's image of the car from Demolition Man 1993. Similar to Bandai's NCS Cheetah?

World Forensic Science Day: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies

Hi Woodsy

I just found this amazing video on You Tube. It is on the use of models – basically doll houses – as police training aids.

Perhaps a little macabre for Moonbase Central, but fascinating. Certainly of interest to anyone who watches TV shows such as Bones or CSI.

A lady named Frances Glessner Lee (1878-1962) made the doll house rooms in the 1940s and 1950s, to help train those investigating real crime scenes. To look for details, and consider everything.

She came from a wealthy family, with connections to the International Harvester farming machine company. She taught forensics, and was made a Police Captain for her work.

It turns out there are a number of videos on this impressive lady.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hdT8PgT19w

https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tFP1zc0SsozqixMKjJg9FLNKy0pzkjNyVEoLilNyUwtVshPUyjNS60oyEnMzEtNUUhJTSzJAADqBBMH&q=nutshell+studies+of+unexplained+death&oq=nutshe&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqDAgBEC4YQxiABBiKBTIPCAAQABhDGOMCGIAEGIoFMgwIARAuGEMYgAQYigUyDAgCEC4YQxiABBiKBTIMCAMQABhDGIAEGIoFMgcIBBAAGIAEMgYIBRBFGDkyDQgGEC4YrwEYxwEYgAQyBwgHEAAYgAQyDQgIEC4YxwEY0QMYgAQyBwgJEAAYjwLSAQk5NDg5ajBqMTWoAgmwAgE&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:a8cbc024,vid:2-6ndwvK3UI,st:0

Wikipedia page on Frances Glessner Lee.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Glessner_Lee

Wikipedia page on the dioramas, or Nutshell Studies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nutshell_Studies_of_Unexplained_Death

There are also two books on the Nutshell Studies.

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death, Corinne May Botz, Monacelli Press, 2004

18 Tiny Deaths, Bruce Goldfarb, Sourcebooks, 2021

There is also a book by Bruce Goldfarb called Unexplained Deaths, 2021 – is this the same as 18 Tiny Deaths ?

Once again, models play a role in the real world. I had never heard of this amazing lady before, but she deserves to be remembered.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

Noddy's Batmobile

Two TV icons together for Batman Day 🦇

Terrahawks Blueprints

Given my recent disparaging comments about Terrahawks , I thought it would be good to see the more positive side of the show, with the vehicles themselves. The toys are really good, but the actual designs of the vehicles are excellent. At the time of airing, I was keen to get my hands on as much Terrahawks material as possible, despite my reservations about the series. One of the less well advertised items was this set of blueprints, illustrated by Philip Rae and designed by Stephen Begg.

For the princely sum of £4.95, I got six A2 sheets with meticulously detailed schematics, a sheet with pre-production sketches and a pvc wallet to hold everything. Here they are in all their monochrome glory!

 

Late Addition - The Tomahawk was designed for the Terrahawks Audio Series and I had the pleasure of seeing an actual physical model of it a few years ago at the Birmingham Games Expo. Its a shame it never made it into the series.

Chris Thompson Portfolio - Terrahawks

Monkey Business

I spotted this statue in a Brussels antique market. And can't rid myself of the impression it's from/for Planet Of The Apes. Can you see what I mean? :)

Paul V