New Ship Models

I'm always on the hunt for new sources of 1:2400 ship models and recently I stumbled across this site called Shapeways.com. Among a lot of other stuff they offer ship models in a variety of scales, including 1:1200, 1:1250, 1:2400, 1:3000, 1:4800, 1:6000 and then a few larger ones in the 1:700, 1:600 and even 1:500 scales. Some of the larger scales are mostly airplanes but the smaller ones have a lot of ships. They also have spaceships for those who are so inclined - and sometimes I am. Anyway, I sent them an order and a couple of weeks later I got my ships - they actually make them just for you. They are different plastic materials and are very light - in fact if you blow hard you would blow your fleet away. Solution - don't blow on your ships!! Pictured at top is the Indian carrier Vikramaditya - formerly the Soviet/Russian Baku and then Admiral Gorshkov, which has just begun sea trials and is due to be delivered later this year. Next is the French nuclear carrier Charles de Gaulle, which is pretty unique. Then to the left is the Italian carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi, which I had a few Superior Harrier models for. The ship in front is the advanced destroyer Zumwalt, which is under construction now. Then the little guy to the left is the Thai coastal defense ship Ratanakosindra, two of which were built in the 1920's and lasted into the 1960's and 1970's. I like the detail and the ships in the line fill gaps no other company currently is filling. Definitely worth a look.

Where Did Princess Leia Get the Ear-Muffs Hair?

I haven't really pondered where George Lucas came up with the hair style we first see on Princess Leia in the first Star Wars movie - Whoops, I guess it was the fourth movie. Whatever. Anyway, I have seen a similar hairstyle on Sarah Douglas in the movie People that Time Forgot, which was released in August 1977. Star Wars was released in May 1977 and they were both made in England (or at least parts of them were) so chances are that some of the same hair stylists were working on both movies. Then I came across a couple of early appearances of Batgirl/Barbara Gordon in issues of Detective Comics and low-and-behold - ear-muffs! In the late 1960's. Don't know if there was any influence there or it was just a fluke but it's always sort of fun to speculate about. Anyway, it worked out for a nice Babs Gordon conversion to use the head from a Princess Leia in white outfit coupled with a Leia on Bespin body. I think the force was with me.

Kid Eternity Villain - Brute

A man's life is in the balance and Kid Eternity travels to earth to intervene before the fellow dies fifty years too soon. Along the way he encounters a horrible, beastly brute of a man named - well - Brute. Turns out the Brute is an arch criminal who is diverting chemicals for his own nefarious reasons. Kid Eternity battles the Brute, calling up different characters from Eternity to aid him, and in the end justice, and the Kid, prevails and the fellow who came near to dying too soon will get that fifty extra years of life. Brute was sort of one of those mindless, force of nature kind of guys who runs roughshod over anyone who gets in his way. For the figure I used a Mission Impossible Ethan Hawke body and the head from a Cops figure that had that sort of leering, criminal expression on his face. I even used my paint pen to give the Brute five-o'clock shadow and arm hair.

Kid Eternity - the Yellow Peril Gargot

In a story of intrigue and the movements of a mysterious briefcase Kid Eternity moves in strange circles and in the end confronts an Asian of unknown nationality or allegiance. Looking back at comics during the Golden Age reveals some of the racial stereotypes of the period. Blacks were typically played for laughs and-especially following Pearl Harbor-Asians were often depicted as the Yellow Peril. In this Kid Eternity story from 1947 that is still the case. Gargot is the leader of a small nest of agents provocateur trying to obtain the briefcase through any means necessary. Kid Eternity ends up calling out the Light Brigade to bring them to task. Gargot himself was made using a Spy Kids-2 McDonough figure and the head from a GI Joe bad guy named Mindbender.

Kid Eternity - Amazons and their mates

In this adventure Kid Eternity encounters a long lost tribe of Amazons and their mates. Although in the story the ladies all dress in similar attire with bronze bras, blue skirts and red capes, I decided I liked the more traditional attire so my group of Amazons is dressed accordingly. These include two figures from the Phoenix Follies line (upper right and lower left), a Superior Models figure (upper left) and the lady in the robes (lower right) I can't remember the manufacturer of. All are metal miniatures. In the story the women of this particular society certainly rule the roost and the men-folk have taken on the more traditional women's roles of cooking, cleaning and passing gossip around the hearth. For the men I chose a metal miniature of Socrates (on right), although I'm not sure he was ever noted for his dishpan hands, and a senator from a Roman chess set made of plastic. I actually like using chess pieces for some minor characters where they fit into my collection. It gives another area of diversity in selecting appropriate figures.

Kid Eternity - The Alamo Defenders

Kid Eternity needs to drive off a band of rowdies so who does he call up? Why, the Alamo Defenders of course. Led by Colonel Travis (on the right) and including the famous mountain man and senator Davy Crockett. The artist who drew this particular story had all of the defenders dressed in buckskins but I doubt that would have been the case and most of the depictions of Travis I've seen have him in uniform. I'm not sure that Crockett wore a beard much but I had a mountain man figure (from Superior Models) and I thought he would fit in nicely with the period. The Travis figure was made from a Zorro Captain Ramone (I think it was) and the head from a Han Solo. Not too much else needs to be said about these guys.

Kid Eternity - Charles Martel

When Charles Martel was called up from Eternity by the Kid I confess I didn't know a lot about him. Come to find out he was a brilliant general and administrator who was humble enough to turn down titles such as King and Consul for the more austere Duke and Prince of the Franks. Appearing on the scene in the early 700's, Charles had the rare gift for the Middle Ages of being both a strategic and tactical master, capable of adapting his tactics on the fly in the heat of battle. In a number of instances he triumphed despite the fact that he faced superior numbers and weaponry. Arab conquests in the 7th Century had disrupted Mediterranean trade routes leading to a decline in the European economy. If Charles Martel had not halted Islamic expansion into Europe from 732 onward it could have led to economic disaster for the Europeans. Certainly a pivotal charater of the period and as it turns out the grandfather of Charlemagne. The figure is a French pewter figure of Charles Martel I painted.