Miniatur Wunderland

Miniatur Wunderland in Hamburg, Germany claims to be the largest model railroad layout in the world (and probably is).  Its site is pretty impressive.  If you visit it check out not only at the main gallery photos, but also the ones sent in by visitors.  Here are a few scenes:

click photos to enlarge

Lunchtime Dioramas

These interesting lunchables are from Yuri Yamamoto's blog:  Yuri Yammamoto

Michael Paul Smith's remarkable Elgin Park

I've been wanting to post about this for a while.  Michael Paul Smith creates photographs his car models in very realistic sets, or more accurately in sets that he makes look real.  This is not easy to do, but as you can see, he gets all the details right  - color, layout, depth of field, composition, etc.  Sometimes I can't tell if they are real life size photographs, or models, which is a great compliment to his abilities.  As a photographer I very much appreciate his ability.  Some of my photos of models appear on this blog, and I also have a site at MorningImage.com if anyone is curious about my work (future post to come).

Meanwhile, if you check out his Flicker page, you will see he is publishing a book of his photographs which will be available on Amazon on May 1 (Elgin Park: An Ideal American Town).  He has also been written about in this article by the New York Times.

I'm posting some of his work here, but his Flicker site also has other cool stuff like his recreations of old period photographs, using old appliances and period touches.  Well worth a visit.

click photos to enlarge

Norman Bates' Home Sweet Home

A company called Round2 has put out a model of the famous house from Hitchcock's Psycho - the dreaded Bates Mansion.  The model comes with lights and a even a creepy mother figure to put in the second story window.

Scene from the 1960 Hitchcock film, 

Discs, Dolls and Superman vs. Muhammad Ali

Here are some more finds from the final day of the 2011 International Toy Fair.

Photos by Tom Casesa.  Click to enlarge

These two photos look really great enlarged:

Colorful Pocket Discs (like frisbees) from Phd Productions, a Fair Trade Federation Member.  Their interesting story can be found on their site.

Terry Griffen of Phd Productions giving one a spin.

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland collection from the Tonner Doll Company.

An unexpected match: Superman vs. Muhammad Ali (from DC Comics).

Darth Vader and an army of Storm Troopers.  These are the ArtFx figures from Kotobukia.

The Storm Troopers come in packs of 2 and retail for around $75.  

Like Safari Ltd (see posts from the past few days), Schleich makes play figures  Here are a few scenes.  including their Animal Nursery and a few leopards getting a bird's eye views of the scene.  The last shows some royal folk hanging out in a turret.

Toy expert Mac Malikowski of Skullduggery Magic and Toys in front of the Safari Ltd. booth.

Great Safari Ltd. dioramas at the Toy Fair (Part 2)

Here is the second part of the Safari Ltd. diorama posting.   These dios showcase Civil War figures, a T-Rex and friends, a woodland scene, and various odds and ends.

Photos by Tom Casesa.  Click to enlarge.

"So I sez 'Mryna, don't take nothin' smaller than 5 karats' "