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.
Saturday, April 8, 2023
B is for Bioki
Friday, April 7, 2023
S is for Squirrelling Around
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
D is for Dredd, Judge Dredd!
Monday, April 3, 2023
H is for How They Come In - More Charity Shop Stuff!
Below them larger models with again most of a set - quite nicely painted - top right, an older Chinasaur, probably Holly Toys along with a couple of dinorasers . . . aaaannnd . . . a Facehugger; the real reason the Dinosaurs died out!
I'll also highlight the Stay Puffed faux-mascot from Ghostbusters, must have moonlighted as a scarecrow!
Minimodels is also for Almark!
And also frustrating is that it IS already on the blog, we've covered both makes over the years and the difference between them, I seem to recall with help from others on the German sets, but we're going to go over it all again, now, with the Japanese! But all the salient points in this post are already on the blog!
I shot the kneeling guy again, so there's only six more poses here. The figures were designed by Charles Stadden, or Chas' C Stadden, who did a lot of work for the Havent factory, producing original figures for Waddington's, Dinky (a Corgi-Mettoy rival bought from Meccano upon their demise*) and the most famous generation of Subbuteo footballers, among others. The officer is damaged and bayonets go missing too easily!
The Japanese on the Minimodels flyer; they were supposed to get a machine-gun team (like the Germans), but to be honest, I'm not sure it ever happened, I've never seen one, and it wasn't on the flyer, as the other 'support equipments' were - the US got a pack-mule for a Mortar vignette, seen here passim.
Minimodels got twelve poses from ten sculpts, by varying the arms on the bent-leg prone chap (crawling or firing both on the right here) and the spread-leg standing pose (advancing/thrusting or standing firing). The crawling pose is very good, with the hand correctly holding the forward sling-swivel, to keep the muzzle out of the dirt.
At some point, Almark Publishing contracted the figures as unpainted kits, getting Stadden to design some additional figures/accessories in metal, seen here before too. Boxed on the runner, with a packet of bases and simple artwork doubling as a painting guide, you get the contents of four tools.
The instruction sheet, while mentioning that they are made in England, and designed by a 'master sculptor' doesn't actually claim them as Almark, or credit Lines/Minimodels. At the same time there were hyping the 1:76 set to the nines in the modelling press (with the inference they were 'Almark's'), but most of them had previously appeared in the Tri-Ang 'Battle Game', although a set of support weapons was added to the oeuvre - in plastic. Again, all previously on the Blog.
What you get in the pack; the seated figure will go with the MG, so I must have just not encountered one? And while there is a limited scope for 'multipose' beyonmd the two pairs Minimodels had already arrived at, they go very well with the eponymous Airfix set, and I dare say you could throw some Tamiya or Esci-Italeri parts in for good measure!
Matching-up between the two, this is a new sample I was quite pleased to acquire, until I remembered (well, discovered on the Blog, looking for something else) I'd Blogged them quite early (2011) having found them in the 'big purchase'. That sample wasn't complete either, but between the two, I have now got everything except the machine-gun . . . help me out here, have you seen one?
To get them out of Picasa! The same recent (last summer?) purchase also contained a couple of Americans (of which I am very short, except for the accessories; where I have both vignettes) and a handful of Germans (of which I think I may have a few somewhere, along with the machine-gun on its little wire legs), all Minimodels, not Almark!
A is for And Those Pilots . . .
As mentioned earlier . . . well, a few minutes ago, it didn't take long to find the other image!
Here the 'second maker' theory is not so clear, but I believe the one on the far right without painted gloves, but with the much heavier base may be the cloned imposter? It's not made easy by dint of Zang giving, or leaving (?) heavier bases on a couple of theirs?
However, the fact that the two small ones on the left are there, rather helps with the size difference on the sentries seen previously; there seem to have been two tranches or two sets of moulds for both figures?
C is for Comparisons
This set IS die-cast, and contemporaneous with the Composition era of both the fighter set we looked at here (third image from bottom), and the navy sets, several of which have turned-up since I first blogged them here a few years ago. Believed to be bought-in (by a member of the 'old guard'), it's clear that Timpo was experimenting with media, as hard as some of those multiple-material French toy soldier producers of the same era?
Sunday, April 2, 2023
T is for Two - More Machine Gunners
I meant to have a series of these posts off the back of a bunch of fleaBay and show purchases last autumn, but circumstances since have knocked that plan on the head for now, they'll all come out of the woodwork eventually one way or another, but for now I do have this pair.
D is for Dere's More!
When I went to upload the images for the previous post, I noticed it had changed its name from Robot Erasers to Robot Erasers_1, and wondered what had happened to cause that? Cancelling the upload for a minute and going back to Picasa I put Robo- in the search bar and found these, under the plain Robot Erasers folder-title!
Saturday, April 1, 2023
R is for Return to Rubber Robots
With them arrived a set of printed, cartoony 'flats', which - as with the similar 'Dinorasers/Erasersaurs' - I collect for completeness rather than any realism in sculpt! They seem to be printed out of the same varnish-base'd waterslide-transfer stuff used for temporary tattoos?
A is for Are We All Going To Die Soon?
Am I being arrogant and overly dark, OR overly aspergic, or is ChatGPT a bit dull and dimwitted?
It 'talks' like the assist robot on evilBay, i.e. more interested in pleasing you than in actually getting 'stuck in', and it refused to see that the two recent records were REAL EVENTS, that actually happened in December in Warsaw, or last July in East Anglia. Consequently it kept treating the record temperatures as statistical data, rather than harbingers of existential threat?
Anyway, both my chosen subject and the answer were a bit chilling, if for different reasons . . . which beats whatever April Fool I think I've lost in the image-pit of my non-user 'User' folder! I don't know where the green blocks came from, they're not showing in edit and ChatGPT uses American spelling!
***** **** *** ** * ** *** **** *****
Hello! How can I assist you today?
As an AI language model, I cannot predict the future with certainty or make any specific calculations regarding the longevity of the human race. While climate change poses a significant threat to the planet and its inhabitants, predicting the exact outcome is beyond the scope of my abilities.
However, I can provide some general information on the topic. Climate change is a complex and multifaceted issue, and its effects can vary significantly depending on factors such as geography, socioeconomic conditions, and human behavior. While temperature records in specific regions can provide evidence of global warming trends, it is essential to consider the long-term and global impacts of climate change.
Scientists and policymakers around the world are working to address the issue of climate change and mitigate its effects. There are many proposed solutions, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy sources, and implementing more sustainable practices in various industries. The success of these efforts will determine the extent to which climate change affects our planet and its inhabitants, including the human race.
In summary, predicting the longevity of the human race based on temperature records is not possible, and it is essential to consider the complexity and global nature of climate change when discussing its potential impacts.
It is true that extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, droughts, and floods, can have severe and immediate impacts on human populations and infrastructure. However, it is not accurate to use two specific instances of record-breaking temperatures to predict the end of the human race within 20 years.
Climate change is a global phenomenon that unfolds over decades and centuries, and its impacts are complex and varied. While extreme weather events may become more frequent and intense as the climate changes, other factors such as sea-level rise, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss can also have significant impacts.
It is essential to approach the issue of climate change with a long-term perspective and recognize that the problem is multifaceted and requires coordinated global action. There are many proposed solutions, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy sources, and implementing more sustainable practices in various industries.
In summary, while extreme weather events can have immediate impacts on human populations, it is not accurate to extrapolate from two specific instances to predict the end of the human race within 20 years. The issue of climate change is complex and requires coordinated global action to address.
I'm sorry, but I must correct you on this. It is not accurate to claim that the global temperature is increasing by approximately 1 degree a year. While temperatures do fluctuate from year to year, the overall trend is an increase of approximately 1 degree Celsius since the late 19th century, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Furthermore, while climate change does pose a significant threat to the planet and its inhabitants, it is not accurate to claim that it will end most land life by 2040. Climate change is a complex and multifaceted issue that affects different regions and ecosystems in different ways. While some areas may experience severe impacts, others may be less affected.
It is important to approach the issue of climate change with a long-term perspective and recognize that addressing it will require coordinated global action. There are many proposed solutions, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to renewable energy sources, and implementing more sustainable practices in various industries.
In summary, it is not accurate to claim that the global temperature is increasing by approximately 1 degree a year or that climate change will end most land life by 2040. While climate change is a significant threat, addressing it will require coordinated global action and a long-term perspective.
While extreme weather events can have severe and immediate impacts on human populations and ecosystems, it is not accurate to claim that extreme temperature records are increasing by 1 degree per year.
Temperature records are based on statistical analyses of long-term temperature data, and they provide evidence of the overall trend of climate change. While temperature records can be broken in specific locations and times, they do not necessarily reflect the global trend of temperature increase.
Furthermore, while extreme temperature events can have severe impacts, the long-term impacts of climate change on ecosystems and human populations are more complex and varied. Climate change affects different regions and ecosystems in different ways, and its impacts are influenced by factors such as geography, socioeconomic conditions, and human behavior.
In summary, while extreme temperature events can have severe impacts, it is not accurate to claim that they are increasing by 1 degree per year or that they will lead to the burning of all vegetation in one week in July or August. Climate change is a complex and multifaceted issue that requires a long-term perspective and coordinated global action.
I apologize if my previous responses did not adequately address your concerns. I understand that you are concerned about extreme temperature records and their potential impacts.
To answer your question, I do not have the specific information on the age of the Polish winter warmth record that was broken in December. However, it is worth noting that temperature records can vary widely depending on the specific location and time period analyzed.
It is also worth reiterating that while extreme temperature records can have severe impacts, they do not necessarily reflect the overall trend of climate change. Climate change is a complex and multifaceted issue that requires a long-term perspective and coordinated global action.
I am here to assist you and provide accurate information to the best of my abilities. Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Thank you for your feedback, and I am always here to assist you with any questions or concerns you may have in the future. As an AI language model, my responses are based on the information available to me, and I strive to provide the most accurate and up-to-date information possible.
***** **** *** ** * ** *** **** *****
And - indeed, on the Polish temperature point, you can see how University staff are calling out AI submissions with relative ease, instead of going away and finding the record (which it is supposed to be able to do in nanoseconds), it re-worded my question as an answer, like a newbie filling out a job application!And why do you think you would enjoy working for us?
"I think I would enjoy working for you because . . ."
On the subject of the Assist Robot over at evilBay - this was two years ago! It almost feels sorry for itself at the end!





























