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On the workbench. Unknown Maker figures used to illustrate the line used to slip to the front of the line at music venues…

“Sketching” with my favourite ‘doodle an idea tool’ program: Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. Two Stadden 54mm Cuirassiers posed in front of an Italeri Diorama piece. The Wall Lantern is a repurposed remnant from a Lindberg ship model’s stern that somehow ended smashed on the rocks of life tabletop and storage mishaps provide so many bits for the spare parts box.)

The Valiant Miniatures “Alien Princess and Pet” is part of their Stardate: 3000 sci-fi line, a niche but beloved series of metal miniatures from the late 20th century. While not as widely known as Valiant’s historical miniatures, the 54mm scale ‘Alien Princess and Pet’ has become a cult favorite among collectors who appreciate obscure sci-fi sculpts from the golden age of metal miniatures. Alien Princess and Pet figure was likely released in the late 1970s. The Princess is seen here in the courtyard of the Marx Toys Robin Hood pressed tin castle playset, first released in the mid-1950s, as part of Louis Marx & Co.’s iconic line of tin litho play environments. It became a cherished example of postwar American toy design, blending cinematic fantasy with durable metal craftsmanship. 

A Hasegawa 1/72 DAK Kubel Wagen with Airfix cousin in the background. Non-armoured vehicles are often referred to as Soft Skins. In the 1970s, they brought the Kubel Wagon back under the name ‘The Thing’…I saw one done up in Wehrmacht colours and markings, and in place of a unit symbol was a ‘baby-on-board’ symbol.

Two Nap Prussian and one Austrian in 30mm …Scruby (The Dean of Modern American Table Top Gaming) Vintage figures…through a BeFunky Filter…

I’m a table-top Real Estate Tycoon…Ho/OO Dapol ex-AirFix…Detached House (Kit CO27) and Schuco/Piccolo made Mercedes 170V. Image Used Befunky Filter.

Interior of the Zvezda Castle and an unknown maker’s Ghost from a set of Knights. The air is crisp. The leaves are falling and the Ghost goes…’BOO!’

Based on two gifts purchased long ago at the Seattle-born and died Bartell’s Drugs.

Here is an ‘X’ Grok watercolour interpretation of a photo of an AirFix Matador Truck and an infantryman. Based on the well-known OO/HO AirFix Matador Truck and the new AirFix WW II British Infantry set. Experimenting with various AI image editors and makers. Instead of having the AI program imagine and create the scene based on a verbal or written instruction, I set up what I have in mind with pieces from the Stearns Collection, then run them through AI and other standard Digital Editors.

A Footnote: I have often published ‘Airfix’ as ‘AirFix’ simply to reproduce the Magic of the Brand Name on my youthful, early reading abilities…a form of nostalgia, actually.