News Views Etc . . . All Sorts of Stuff Piling Up!

It's been raining! Sadly only a pathetic drizzle so I'll have to water tomorrow, the grass - both the verges and the lawn - are looking like they did last July, or do in an average August, but we're only  a few days beyond May, and while it's fun to joke about this year being one of "Floods, Fires and Pestilence already, what's next; Aliens?", the fact is the weather in the last few years has become increasingly erratic and severe, and that the 33% who still think Trump's doing a good job, that the 46% who voted for the Tories (who've spent 41 years dismantling the post war 'deal'), those lumpen, meat-faced reactionaries who don't want to listen to experts, have failed to understand what's actually happening!

Anyway, it meant I could get some toy stuff done, and there's a post scheduled for tomorrow, things have sort of piled-up and I'll have to clear the decks a bit, PW178 needs a review as 179 is here already, while Peter has sent me two lots since I last Blogged H is For...'s; so one's next, then I have  a nice lot from Chris Smith with some very interesting bits and bobs, some shelfie stuff, loads of Toy Fair posts (but obviously I'm dragging them out for as long as I can!! Maybe forever?) and various other things including most of the stuff I mentioned last time as I haven't got round to that either!

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In the meantime here's a few links to interesting stuff

Pollution

Old hat but worth a reminder from time-to-time, every action has a reaction and all that!

Found Objects

Ongoing development of Poznań’s Rynek Lazarski district unearths Toy Soldiers

Power Rangers

Fun factor of 100% here!

Videos

• I'm not sure if this one has been on Moonbase, but I found it looking for something else!

• While this is the little girl who wants army-girls! (Yahoo)

Sci-Fi on Tor!

Lovely article on modelling and gaming with science-fiction miniatures here

Mattel Made M16's!

Nooooooooooooooot! But it's an good tale with a link to the Duke!

The Times Magazine on Toy Soldiers?

You have to subscribe to actually read it, so I can't say how good it may or may not be, it might be the last word on the subject, it might be a faux-humorous puff-piece! If you subscribe to The Times, let us know!

My Modern Met

Now I'm back on Faceplant (blame Covid-19!), these keep popping-up in my feed as I subscribed years ago!

• Japanese Miniatures
• French Minatures ( I posted this on FB's 'Freinds of PW' the other day)
  
• Fantastical Behemoths (may have had this one before, we've had the artist, but I think it was his 'Church Tanks' last time?)
• Yoga Joes (now in rainbow-colour sets, still cost too much; the .gif's fun!)

And they all tend to have further, related links at the bottom of the page.

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Toys in the Media

Both culled from Faceplant, both financial advert stuff, both probably Preiser, both seem to be the same figure, both following a long-shadow trope; so either the same PR-firm or the same image library? The latter brings to mind the frailty of all;

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Obituaries

Plastic Warrior Magazine 178 carried the sad news that Stewart Asquith had passed away (many tributes here), he was of greater importance to the wargaming and modelling-publishing arms of our extended hobby universe, but I know he always kept in touch with the PW team and contributed to both PW and 1"W, he will be missed by many, while Issue 179 had the equally sad news that we've lost Roy Dilly, big in Toy Soldiers and author of several books in my library, there's a memorial thread here, and the equally sad news that Les White has left us, he of all those conversion articles in PW itself, while a collector unknown to me has an obit' here Kenneth Jones, Cederhurst, Columbia, USA - all a bit grim I think you'll agree.

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Other Toy News

• Toy sales have surged during lockdown, but the bulk has been online which might prove bad news for retailers going foward?
• Toy Soldiers the platform game has announced a new version is coming . . . Toy Soldiers II!
• Basket of Toy Soldiers here
• The Cartamundi-owned Hasbro board-game factory in Boston, Massachusetts has converted to making facemasks for the Covid-19 fight.