Stop Motion Dinosaurs and Die-cast Cars

Here is another wonderful film from British Pathe. A 1967 colour film showing model dinosaurs being made for use in stop-motion movie work.

Mr Arthur Hayward, who worked for the Natural History Museum in London, is shown making the models. Some were used in films such as One Million Years B.C.

There are several short clips of the final models in action, with one rampaging through city streets, amid a fleet of die-cast vehicles.

These are: Corgi B.M.C. Mini Police Van (dog patrol vehicle); Corgi Aston Martin DB4; I am not sure about the silver car on the right - a Jaguar saloon ? The bus that gets over-turned is the Corgi Major Midland Red Motorway Express Coach.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_oBI385qSE

Paul Adams from New Zealand

PIRANHA MADE ME LUNCH

I'm a voracious fan of the old film Piranha.

I even have a huge original cinema poster of it hanging on my bedroom wall!

So I was thrilled and a little terrified when I cam face to face with the critters in their tank at Tropical World Leeds!

I was convinced they were eyeing me up ..... for dinner ... when I took the above shot!

Have you seen Piranha, the film or the fish?

STOP MOTION CLAY BEASTS

I love claymation.

There's just something about the jerky clay stop motion movements.

Here's a few of my favourite claymation beasts.

Unusually they are all similar creatures.

Here's the Lab scene from Piranha 1978.

The Stop motion mini monster is at the start and right at the end.

Here's the clay creature from Star Wars A New Hope 1977.

Its in an astral chess scene you could call Let the Wookie Win!

Last but not least here's the ape monster  in Equinox 1970

This is a large version of a similar stop motion beast.

Can you think of any more similar claymation creatures?

GREG MARTIN: TEACHER, MODELLER AND FILM MAKER

Yesterday I posted a link to a dormant modelling blog I have always admired.

https://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2019/03/science-fiction-modeller-dormant-but.html

Reader Lewis reported that sadly the blog owner Greg Martin had died some time ago. Lewis knew him personally and having read his obituary ....

https://www.dailymercury.com.au/news/popular-mackay-teacher-and-model-maker-dies/3147668/

 .... its clear that Greg touched the lives of many many people in Australia, where he lived and beyond.

A teacher, a modeller, blogger and a film maker, here are Greg's three video's that I could find on You Tube, a testament to his truly extraordinary modelling and film-making skills. Its as if Greg had come straight from Century 21.

Its such a shame he couldn't carry on enjoying his passion.

A fellow Anderson enthusiast like us, I wanted to celebrate his life in some small way today.

RIP Greg. Gone but not forgotten.

WILLIS O'BRIAN'S CREATIONS

I was mesmerised by this You Tube test footage by Willis O'Brien of his unfinished 1931 stop-motion film 'Creation'.

Featuring somewhat unpleasant dinosaur hunting, I assume that Willis would have made sure the hunter got his comeuppance had he finished!

I hadn't seen this clip before and You Tube has a whole raft of O'Brian related stuff including material on the lost spider pit sequence of King Kong and clips from my beloved Mighty Joe Young movie, where a young Ray Harryhausen gets stuck into the clay.

I first came across Willis O'Brian, the godfather of stop motion, in the pages of Famous Monsters of Filmland and I may still have the very copy from my youth. It featured his original King Kong and dinosaur frame and clay models, which I seem to recall going to Forry Ackerman himself as part of his Ackermansion collection.

I wonder where they are now?

A trip to the loft is required methinks!

Alien VS Predator Stop Motion: Strap This on Your Sorry Alien!

https://youtu.be/X_akqg_vmB8

Dunno if I've ever shared this link with you Woodsy -

Mark J 

Southcoast Base 

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warning: contains plastic violence and lego gore