About Me
- Hugh Walter
- No Fixed Abode, Home Counties, United Kingdom
- I’m a 60-year-old Aspergic gardening CAD-Monkey. Sardonic, cynical and with the political leanings of a social reformer, I’m also a toy and model figure collector, particularly interested in the history of plastics and plastic toys. Other interests are history, current affairs, modern art, and architecture, gardening and natural history. I love plain chocolate, fireworks and trees, but I don’t hug them, I do hug kittens. I hate ignorance, when it can be avoided, so I hate the 'educational' establishment and pity the millions they’ve failed with teaching-to-test and rote 'learning' and I hate the short-sighted stupidity of the entire ruling/industrial elite, with their planet destroying fascism and added “buy-one-get-one-free”. Likewise, I also have no time for fools and little time for the false crap we're all supposed to pretend we haven't noticed, or the games we're supposed to play. I will 'bite the hand that feeds', to remind it why it feeds.
Monday, September 22, 2025
M is for Meet Stiggy the Coo!
Wednesday, February 24, 2021
T is for There Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
I was apologising to a correspondent and regular Blog Fan, the other day, for leaving not one but two poultry posts at the top of the home-page for three months (an irony in itself as the fascist Folgor once accused me of only posting 'cartoon mice and ducks' or something similar!), when he suggested I'd have been better-off calling the second one "There's nobody here but us chickens", which gave me this great idea!
I will get back in to posting in a week or so, one can't mope forever, but in the meantime; here are those chickens . . .
They are some of the finest ivory carving you're likely to see, each pegged to the stand with a separate rod of ivory, funny stuff these days as you can't buy it, and you can't sell it, for perfectly obvious and 'good' reasons, so you can only enjoy the surviving stuff from yesteryear, while hopefully remaining conscious of what was wrong with it all along . . . Trump's Mid-West matrons might still believe in the Old Testament's invitation to us to hold dominion over everything, but it hasn't worked out that well has it?
About a perfect 54mm compatible, the cock slightly larger (but more fluffed-up) than the Britains' ones, it's an odd game of pooh-sticks isn't it, which will come first; the last living elephant or the loss of the right to even own something like this?
Cheers Andy!
One night farmer Brown was
takin' the airs
Locked up the barnyard with the greatest of care
Down in the hen house, somethin' stirred
When he shouted, "Who's there?"
This is what he heard
“There ain't nobody here
but us chickens
There ain't nobody here at all
So calm yourself and stop that fuss
There ain't nobody here but us
We chickens tryin' to sleep and you butt in
And hobble, hobble hobble hobble with your chin”
“There ain't nobody here
but us chickens
There ain't nobody here at all
You're stompin' around and shakin' the ground
You're kickin' up an awful dust
We chicken's tryin' to sleep and you butt in
And hobble, hobble hobble hobble, it's a sin”
“Tomorrow is a busy day
We got things to do, We got eggs to lay
We got ground to dig and worms to scratch
It takes a lot of settin', gettin' chicks to hatch”
“Ohh, there ain't nobody
here but us chickens
There ain't nobody here at all
So quiet yourself and stop that fuss
There ain't nobody here but us
Kindly point that gun the other way
And hobble, hobble hobble off and hit the hay”
“Tomorrow is a busy day
We got things to do, we got eggs to lay
We got ground to dig and worms to scratch
It takes a lot of settin', gettin' chicks to hatch”
“There ain't nobody here
but us chickens
There ain't nobody here at all
So quiet yourself and stop that fuss
There ain't nobody here but us
And kindly point that gun the other way
And hobble, hobble hobble off and hit the hay”
“Hey, hey, boss man, what
do ya say?
It's easy pickings
Ain't nobody here but us chickens”
Late shot - Britains hen comparison
Thursday, April 18, 2019
E is for Eggtastic!
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
News, Views Etc . . . Catching-up
Mitchell Gaudet's glass 'toy soldier' sculp
More painted 'army men' in art - no artist, this is commercial 'home-decor' four-hundred and sixty-quid; I'm in the wrong business!
Barney's site's news!
"We are delighted to announce that we have been chosen to sell a substantial plastics collection on behalf of London collector, Roger Saunders. It is a fabulous single-owner collection of mainly plastic toy soldiers, by Britains and Herald, a feature of which is the large number of early trade boxes and packaging, with many rare gems. Most of the collection was amassed by Roger during the 1970's and has only now come to market for the very first time. There are a number of rare and sought after items and we have listed the first few (farm) models today with many more to follow over the coming weeks."
Monday, March 4, 2019
News, Views Etc . . . Catch-up!
London Toy Fair Reports 2019 - Bandai
Next London Toy Fair post was sent to those who know best!
http://projectswordtoys.blogspot.com/2019/02/bandais-thunderbirds-are-go-at-london.html
Outrage
The Daily Wail getting hysterical . . . again! What would they have made of Yorkville's Importhaus! The Mirror joined-in because nobody does outrage like the Tabloids! Still, unaffordable publicity for PSR - Go Dave!
Toy Soldiers in Art
Al-Dowayan
RIP
Another collector has shuffled-off to the great toy-box while we were distracted.
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
News, Views Etc . . . Jason Stieva's Pirate Ship ++
https://mymodernmet.com/jason-stieva-ghost-pirate-ship/?fbclid=IwAR1kTaht-l8DANC6ndW_AALhU1RmZrulOxgBiSUQVRKkBP0a7yXQlTnmWX0
Meanwhile, fans of new poured-metal might be interested in the news that Fleurbaix have a Faceplant page.
https://www.facebook.com/fleurbaixtoysoldiers/
Brian Berke sent the next link, I was going to hold it for a Lego-only News-Views, but there's so much in the pipeline, that may not be 'till after Christmas, and this is fun scrolling for when the in-laws are driving you mad in a couple of weeks (20 sleeps or something 'till the big day!) so it can go here . . .
http://toronto.transitbricks.com/torontos-forgotten-horsecars/
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Y is for Yarn Bombers! Fake Cover!!
S is for Still in Fleet!
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
News, Views etc . . . Toys in Art
Wednesday, January 24, 2018
News, Views Etc . . . Breaking - "A load of old rubbish - but is is art?"
Hi Hugh,
There is an art exhibition on here in Sydney I thought you might like. It's called 'Jurassic Plastic', and its basically dinosaurs made from thrown out toys!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ulperc33jo2oadw/jurassicplastic.jpg?dl=0&raw=1
Closer in on the dinosaurs face, you get to see how many bits they're made from:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/btwicgwub6or95u/head.jpg?dl=0&raw=1
There are about a dozen dinosaurs roaming the floor. The landscapes across the floor were amazing too, colour graded into various toy types:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/gx6t9rtemkq7qy1/landscape.jpg?dl=0&raw=1
No small scale stuff unfortunately (i found one Matchbox US infantry clone in amongst things), but some Japanese anime oddities. I wondered if anyone can id this bloke, about 1/50th scale:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/v52ces9g2b90oo0/mysteryfigure.jpg?dl=0&raw=1
Hope you like it, exhibit is Jurassic Plastic by artist Hiroshi Fuji, if folks want to Google more.
Cheers,
Tom
Sydney Festival Page
Tom's Blog
Thanks Tom, we love this stuff!
Saturday, May 21, 2016
M is for Mount Whomore...
Sent in by Blog visitor Jon Alderfer (who lives near Philadelphia in the US, has sold work to Heavy Metal magazine in the past and collects Disney, Dr. Who, Marx, and Britains [etc...!]), this is his own work and I'm privileged to post it here...talented stuff; thanks Jon.
Now; who do I see about hiring rock-drills...do you need a permit...is it in a national park....what will Smokey the Bear have to say about it...?
Sunday, December 6, 2015
S is for Shit Pile
Lui Wei's Shit Pile
This kind of art is so popular at the moment our glorious leader, the inadequate cockwomble David Cameron has just cobbled-together nearly 16 airworthy aircraft to go and make lots more of these all over the Middle East, not something we haven't been trying to perfect for some time, but then when you really want to make people want to kill you, you need to really make the effort!
Saturday, June 21, 2014
T is for That There Interweb Thing
Knitted Toy Soldier
Life-sized Card Toy Soldier
Personalised Toy Soldier Mug
Toy soldiers in art from 1876, I can see French Zouaves and Cuirassiers? (Lucotte/Mignot?)
Antonio Mancini - Boy with Toy Soldiers
For hollow-cast fans; auction news of a major collection coming-up for sale next weekend in the States;
OTSA - present the James A. Henderson collection
British Pathe visits Peter Cushing with his model soldier collection...
Peter Cushing and his Toy Soldiers
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
News, Views Etc...Links, Art Etc...
So a round-up of recent bookmarks and other stuff which may be of interest to others....
Setting off with My Modern Met who I've rediscovered through Facebook;
Pierre Javelle and Akiko Ida play with food!
and
Zeng Chunhui carves wood
while
Brian McCarty makes us think about war
Further afield this made me laugh;
Knitler and the Knotsies
In Morgantown - West Virginia, Toy Soldiers are being used to teach....art and history by the looks of things!;
The Dominion Post/Charleston Gazette
Meanwhile, my namesake has some rather nice watercolours here;
Carlota Attlee Fine Art
And looking at the life-size fad we visited before;
Not a Game!
Wrapping-up this post...
A Company History Prinze August - from the horses mouth!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
S is for Self-indulgence
Still here? Oh well then, I'll try and explain, but really you need to have 'been there' or have to be familiar with the back-story, and I have to be careful what I say, because - unlike some of the staff involved - I don't want to libel or slander anyone.
So, certain things happened, some more stuff happened, I was exonerated in an internal investigation, certain other stuff then happened which was outrageous, I held my ground (with the help of my Disability Advisor and the County Psychologist [try spelling that when you've got bits of brain missing]), leading to a Chief Executive's No. 2 making an assurance that doesn't seem to have been kept, which all came down to my kicking my heels in the studio today waiting for nothing much else to happen as our tutor kept wandering off to 'meetings' - a dangerous thing to do with no cover and a studio full of adult students with 'issues'!
As a result, and because I'd taken all my files off and cleared the PC's history, cookies and the rest of that tedious stuff (registry mend, disc-clean, defrag, etc...), I was mucking about with Google, looking-up Photoshop blogs and AutoCAD tutorials on Youtube, when I put the following in to the search bar....
....and got bollocks up as the first result! Try it, it works, with or without the apostrophe! Like I said, you really needed to be there, just take my word for it, it's funnier than it looks to you - casual viewer! And a half-dozen visitors (by request) will - I suspect - be tickled. I also suspect if you put 'Google' in any random sentence you stand a good chance of getting bollocks, but then everyone knows that!!
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
M is for Morris Museum Morristown
Morris Museum - Morristown
Monday, November 12, 2012
C is for Canucks
Paper
wraps
Stone
Sunday, October 21, 2012
S is for Soldiers in Society
Big Tex 'Bought-it'
Then we'd better get the 'Adult' stuff dealt with;
Chen-yang Wang (Artist)
Don't click on the image/link if you are easily shocked, a prude, or in some other way tied to religious mores or small-mindedness of some variety...it's art, apparently!
Meanwhile Scott B. Leach has got some of his cartoons on to Penn's Sunday School;
Atheist Toy Soldiers
We've seen a coloured 'Flag' - here's a Black & White version;
Valerie Leonard
This on the other hand seems a bit silly;
Chocolate from Stephen J Shanabrook
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
D is for Dispatches!
Dragonframe Animation
while night maneuvers are getting pretty explosive over here;
Bright Sparks
And I hate the 'Mail', why do I do it to myself!!









