Lemax Set#32128 2013 3 Figures and 2016 Halloween Set-up The Haunted Village Pt 2

Here's a set of Lemax figures I picked up a few years ago for just such an occasion. I haven't worked much on the set-up the past few days - been busy taking pics of Marx train accessories. But anywho, these three figures are actually trick-or-treater's but they look spooky enough for me. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

The Marx Haunted Forest before set-up

That tree looks friendly enough kids but I wouldn't go in there if I were you!

'Frankie' is waiting at the cemetery for...?

Halloween Set-up for 2016

I've been wanting to do some kind of Halloween set-up, or layout, or whatever, for years now. Long time readers of the blog have followed my projects on building several spooky houses from paper over the years. Also, during the past few years I've been acquiring Halloween themed toys. Well, this year I decided to do something with all these things. It's not gonna be super special, just something for me to keep my mind active and play a little as time permits - and there's precious little of it any more.

Ya know, it's funny but I'm not really a Halloween person. Nope, just not that much into it at all, yet there's still something fascinating about it and I still like a lot of the imagery and toys but I'm generally not into the macabre, gruesome, or slash-&-hack type of films that have caught the public's attention over the past several decades. I grew up during a time when Dracula with Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff's Frankenstein or Lon Chaney's The Wolfman were about as nasty as it got. My favorite films tend to run along the lines of Abbot & Costello Meet...Frankenstein, The Wolfman, The Invisible Man, etc., Hold That Ghost, old Vincent Price thrillers, Halloween Town (lord knows why - it's goofy as heck, but it has Debbie Reynolds and I like it). I was also okay with the Christopher Lee/Peter Cushing series of Dracula and Doctor Van Helsing series of films as well. Keeping all that in mind, the set-up I've been working on has a little of the spooky, a little of the macabre, and a little fun and mirth. Let's get started - Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Two of my very best favorite sites for Halloween themed paper models is Ravensblight and Haunted Dimensions by Ray Keim. Here are the projects I've built and blogged over the years:

We'll start this year's Halloween fest with a few toys I bought at Michael's Craft Store last year. These spooky little boogers are only about 1 1/2" (3.81cm) H but when placed in water grow to be BIG. I like their small size and am not gonna mess with gettin' 'em wet so you'll see them on the display in their original small format.

Here's a sneak preview of the set-up being laid out

What a mess!

Pyro Small Army Wrecker - OD HP

I think after this Small Army Wrecker from Pyro, I have one more from the series to post. There are a few more vehicles in the series but I don't have them all - yet :-) With all those heavy duty trucks toolin' around the countryside, a wrecker like this is gonna come in handy from time to time and the toy is nice because of its working winch. It measures 3 1/4" (8.25cm) L x 1 3/8" (3.49cm) W x  1 1/2'" (3.81cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Small Army Beverage Delivery Truck - OD HP OR Battery Delivery Truck?

Long time blog reader John M. (Mal) pointed out that this may be a delivery truck for batteries. When I first looked at the truck it did appear as if the molded in details looked like batteries and not cases of soft drinks but I went with the soft drink delivery truck scenario instead because:

- I couldn't find any real good pics on-line of a '50s era battery delivery truck with open sides - the pics all showed closed sided panel vans and such

- the outline of the the truck just screams Coke! (or Dr. Pepper, or Pepsi, or....)

- and besides, delivering soft drinks to the troops is more fun. Can you imagine some Private running up to his squad yelling, "The battery truck is here, the battery truck is here!! Whoopee!"  yeah, not so much

All that being said, because the rest of the trucks in the series are heavy duty haulers and maintainers it could still very well be a battery truck needed to help service the fleet. Although I don't have the original box for these things I have seen pics of it on the web and Pyro really didn't give a specific name to each truck. They were simply part of a set of Army Service Trucks.

What do you think readers?

Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Pyro Small Army Tractor & Stake Bed Trailer - OD HP

We're nearing the end of our look at Pyro's fleet of small Army Service Trucks. Today we have a stakebed tractor/trailer combo. The staked sides is actually a one-piece insert which fits into the flatbed trailer allowing Pyro to make use of one casting for multiple variations. The truck measures 5 1/2" (13.97cm) L x 1 3/8" (3.49cm) W x 1 3/8" (3.49cm) H. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina