Ed's 2024 Christmas Tree and Train Display

Woodsy,

Every year I try to do something a bit different with the holiday layouts. This year I wanted two things:

- I wanted a Hogwarts Express

- I wanted to try and use some of my larger buildings, just to see how they would fit on the small 4'x6' table I have

The Hogwarts Express turned out to be a fail. I bought Lionel's cheapest, bottom of the line, battery operated set and it just wasn't suitable for what I had in mind. 

While the engine and cars were able to ride on 3-rail O-gauge track their bodies were more compatible with the smaller S-scale trains. Also, Lionel's cheapest version is also not an accurate copy of the real Hogwarts Express. 

The toy is an A1/A3 class 2-6-2 with 4-wheel tender while the real one is a Hall class 4-6-0 Pacific with 6-wheel tender. Lionel makes a good O-gauge electric version of the Hogwarts Express but at ca$400 for the set, I had to pass it up this year.

Instead, I opted for my trusted Lionel LionChief Polar Express. I have the early LionChief version with black roofed cars (vs. the simulated snow-covered roofs of later versions). Also, the fireman figure in the early version sets is missing his l-o-n-g red beard as seen in the movie. 

Later versions of the set corrected this error. I also acquired the last car Lionel made for this particular series. The boxed set included an engine, tender, and three cars plus Lionel offered four separate sale cars making for a 7-car consist. I was missing the diner car - aka the hot cholate car - and now I have it.

The larger sized buildings worked great and look just fine with the O-gauge train. I was going to add a couple of German Schreiber Bogen large playhouses (cardstock kits) but never got around to assembling them. 

The left side of the layout is a happy mixture of North Pole, Polar Express, Grinch and other figures and accessories as well as the large buildings.

 The right side of the layout is a forest. It could probably use some figures to make it more of an enchanted forest but for now I'm okay with it. 

Quite frankly guys, The Cave has so many Christmas decorations I could turn the entire living room into a Christmas train display!

In past years I used poly fiber batting as snow ground cover. As nice as that stuff looks as 'snow', it's next to impossible to get small figures, tress, and accessories to stand up on it. This year I covered the board with a plain white tablecloth - works just fine!

From The North Pole Vegas Annex

Ed

Enjoy!

UNSCRAMBLING THE MARSH BUG

 If you like the Project SWORD Scramble Bug then take a look at the origin of the tyres in Popular Mechanics way back in the American south in the 1930's.

https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=vtoDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA529&dq=%22marsh+buggy%22+popular+mechanics&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwismdyurt78AhVKRUEAHZEqB-sQ6AF6BAgDEAI#v=onepage&q=%22marsh%20buggy%22%20popular%20mechanics&f=false

For more on this click on the labels at the base of the post.

THE LEGACY

 We have been staying in a hotel called The Legacy.

The name immediately brings to mind that 1978 schlocker, of the same name, starring occasional actor but forever frontman of The Who, one Roger Daltrey.

Daltrey's most famous part in the film is the tracheotomy using a kitchen knife and a biro. I think he'd swallowed a chicken bone. Needless to say, he doesn't survive the operation on the dining room floor, making the number of relatives left at the film's will reading one fewer.

The central protagonists in The Legacy are a young couple on a motorbike, one moustachioed Sam Elliott and actress Katherine Ross, an on-screen couple who later married in real life!

I enjoy these old deathbed movies, where the family is summoned to hear the will. Dementia 13 is another stranger one and a slightly different take is Frogs, where the family gathers for Patriarch Ray Milland's birthday in the bayou. Its ribbeting!

Have you seen any of these readers?

Season's Greetings from Monster Base!

The Sauropods gathered

On a cold Winter's night

To bask in the glow

Of the Yule firelight

To all,Merry Christmas

Is their wish, it's true

But they want to wish Woodsy

Happy Birthday, too!

Christmas Best wishes to all at Moonbase!

-BrianF 

Monster Base 

NJ USA

THE AIRFIX SR-N1 HOVERCRAFT

Airfix are to re-issue their 1/72nd scale Saunders-Roe SR-N1 hovercraft kit, in the Vintage Classics range. This kit was last seen in the 16th Edition Catalogue (dated January 1979).

The kit was initially released in 1960. As far as I know, it was always moulded in a silver-grey plastic, and there were 46 parts, including a clear windscreen.

The kit first appeared in a plastic bag, but was later put in to a cardboard box. Oddly, it was always grouped in with the aircraft kits.

The SR-N1 was built by the Saunders-Roe aircraft company, to test the hovercraft theories of Mr C.S. Cockerell. It was the first hovercraft in the world, and therefore a very significant craft.

This was one of the more unusual Airfix kits, the sort of model you just did not see in the shops in New Zealand in the 1970s. Only in the Airfix Catalogues.

At this time one of the major sources of kits for me was a chain of toy shops called Martin's Toys and Hobbies (now long gone), which sold toys, nursery furniture, and bicycles. They had a large store in Customs Street, in the central city of Auckland.

I hardly ever got to go to this shop, but I do remember it was the only place I ever saw this hovercraft kit, and I snapped it up. I never did build mine, but with the re-issue I will finally have a chance to build the model.

Dinky also did a die-cast version of the SR-N1 at about the same time.

I am sure this kit will be of great interest to many Moonbase Central readers. To celebrate the re-issue, here are some photos of the various header and box designs used over the years.

Most of the photographs are from Worthpoint, with the shot of the Vintage Classics box from Airfix.

Paul Adams from New Zealand

SPACE 2

 

This cool space car turns up a lot on auction and this beauty was one I saved the image of earlier in the summer.

Space 2 is not a version I've seen often but its basic white livery with orange trim looks really great.

Blue Box, Ahi, Blakes 7 - there are many versions. Have you got one?

G U N S T A

 I'm unsure what this Japanese toy or kit is but it looks amazing! Is it Lego?

https://gumpla.jp/other/1071398

MOON AND SPACE ORBITER

 

I've deffo never seen this space toy before. You?

Its the Space Orbiter that came free with Nabisco's Great Honey Crunchers.

Looks like its a blow pipe with a levitating ball.

You can find out more on New Hampshire's amazing Timepassagesnostalgia site, from where I borrowed the images.