Safari Ltd No. 10119 Twilight Dragon - Night Watch

Haven't felt like doin' much of late, but I did get around to doing just a little bit of work on the train layout, but not enough to warrant a post yet. Got the dragon bug again and did a few pictures in Photoshop like the one shown here. Nothing fancy but sitting at the computer seems a bit more fun at the moment than actually getting up and doing stuff! LOL The photo essay for this Twilight Dragon was already posted back in Feb 2019 so I didn't have to re-take any photos. Enjoy! Opa Fritz 

Miner Industries Playset No. 1750 Westward Ho! Wild West Playset

I haven't done much out in The Cave this past couple of weeks so thought it would be nice to post this Miner Industries Westward Ho! playset. My set was missing a few pieces but was still in decent enough shape to warrant inclusion into the collection. Most of the fence pieces, the flag, and the printed inserts for the streetfront were missing as was the wagon hitch which I had an extra of (found after taking these pics). The figures are 45mm, the teepee is 5 1/2" (13.97cm) H, and the streetfront is 10" (25.4cm) W when folded to represent a street 'block'. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

The three landforms are different than what's pictured on the box cover - a usual practice for MPC/Multiple/Miner

The set included two identical sheets of cardboard cut-outs

Department 56 #6007411 1/43 Scale Cast Resin "The Munsters Koach"

There's an old saying: "Beggar's can't be choosers" and for years now I've pitched a fit over how the toy industry had totally ignored making any 1/43 scale The Munsters Koach or Dragula in 1/43 scale diecast versions. I mean, Johnny Lightning has a nice little 1/64th scale Koach...

...and Ertl has a beautiful 1/18 scale Koach

and there are a plethora of other television and movie diecast vehicle's available in 1/43 scale EXCEPT The Munsters Koach. Why have they been excluded?

To the rescue - more or less - is this year's offering from Department 56, the company well known for its beautiful holiday buildings and accessories. Cast resin is a different animal than diecast metal. It simply doesn't allow for the same amount or fideltiy to detail as diecast and this version of the Koach reflects that. Detailing is a bit crude and much of it is molded on vs. separately applied as one would see on a diecast model. Details are painted, not plated, thereby giving a dullish overall appearance to the thing, and the wheels are glued on - not free rolling. As I said, resin is a different animal than diecast and while this is about as good as one can expect from resin - understand that if you choose to buy one of these it's for the nostalgia and for having a Munsters Koach in 1/43 scale - not becaase it's a highly-detailed scale model. The Koach measures 5" (12.7cm) L x 2 1/4" (5.71cm) W x 2" (5.08cm) H, and really is a nice addition to any Halloween display as long as as you accept it for what it is. Enjoy! Opa Fritz

While the figures are a bit large, they look much better alongside this Koach than the more diminutive Johnny Lightning version

Dept 56 (L) & Johnny Lightning (R)

Just For Fun

Just another vignette on the Halloween layout done with the train buffs in mind!