“Al…Bob Here. I have a new post for “My Other Hobby”.
Halloween is a big celebration in our neighborhood because there are so many families with children who look forward to it every year.
Most of our neighbors put up Halloween decorations, some more elaborate than others. Because our house is located on a corner lot, our front yard is an ideal location for Halloween decorations.
And because I love to make stuff, our decorations seem to get a little more elaborate every Halloween.
In past years, our Halloween decorations consisted mainly of giant insects, specifically spiders and scorpions, which we placed in the front yard of our old house.
I constructed the bodies from large trash cans (the scorpion) and flower pots (the spider). The legs and other body parts were made of wood and the eyes were LEDs.
As you can see, some years the exhibits were more gruesome than others. I don’t use the giant insects anymore (my wife doesn’t much like bugs).
The first Halloween after we moved into our new house I constructed the horse-drawn hearse (except for the wheels which I purchased). I had originally intended to make a full-size horse skeleton from plywood but was fortunate enough to find the plastic skeleton you see in the photographs.
I also purchased the two dog skeletons and the tombstones. The next Halloween I added skulls, assorted bones, a casket with a paper mache zombie and a vulture.
I have long been a big fan of the movie “Monte Python and the Holy Grail”. The “bring out your dead” scene was the inspiration for the plague cart. The two bodies on the cart and the vulture are sculpted from paper mache. Adults seem to appreciate the plague cart more than the children.
Because the city where we live has a large Hispanic population, we get lots of Halloween visitors who celebrate the Mexican Holiday, Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead).
Many of the children who trick-or-treat at our house are dressed in Day of the Dead costumes. So, this Halloween, I used lots of Day of the Dead masks to decorate the hearse. I also put two Day of the Dead skeletons on our veranda.
I also typically decorate the front porch with a paper mache witch, a black cat, assorted pumpkins and a little zombie boy with an ax in his skull (gruesome I know but the children love it).
When we have Halloween parties in our home, I put out my paper mache “Nightmare Before Christmas” life-size figures of Jack Skellington, Sally and Zero the dog.
This year was more of a challenge because of social distancing but it didn’t interfere with the fun. I constructed a rope and pully hoist system to lower a skeleton holding a candy-filled caldron from our veranda.
The little ghosts and goblins took candy from the caldron. When the caldron was empty, I hoisted it to the top of the veranda, refilled it with candy and lowered it back down. The children loved it. I think we will use the skeleton caldron again next year.
I read and enjoyed the post with the very nice Military layout. I noticed some of the reply’s asked about N scale size tanks and armored vehicles. Not only do I have an N scale layout, I collect Tank models.
I have sent a few pictures of N scale tanks from my collection of about 75.
There are several makers of N scale vehicles out there.
Look up N scale tanks on ebay to find some of these. There are models available in all eras from WW1 to modern day stuff.
“As a professional pilot, I have always enjoyed visiting museums when I travel.
Last year I decided to start a blog about aviation museums. I publish an issue once a month (totally a hobby- no cost, no advertising) and I am up to 15 issues.
I prefer to write about smaller, lesser known museums and there are many.
Besides just enjoying the writing, I think I have provided support to the museums by giving them exposure.
I have written about a variety of museum types, one of the most interesting was in Omaka New Zealand.
This museum houses the collection of Sir Peter Jackson (director of the Hobbit) and all the planes are displayed in unique ways.A couple of years ago, my son and I flew to Montana and Wyoming and visited the Museum of Flight and Aerial Fire Fighting in Greybull, Wyoming (issue 3).
With wild fires raging in the western US, this museum about the history of fighting fires from the air is very timely.
I live in Kitty Hawk North Carolina and I have written twice about the Wright Brother’s Memorial.
The first part (issue 6) is about the small museum which beautifully tells the story of the Wright Brothers.
Part 2 (issue 7) shows the extensive grounds and details of the December 17, 1903 first flight. I am always moved by standing at the very spot where flying history was made.
My most recent issue (15) is the American Helicopter Museum in West Chester Pa.
One of the many interesting displays there is one of the prototypes of the amazing V-22 Osprey.It is fun to write about old aircraft including this C-1A in the Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum, Willow Grove, PA (issue 10).
I have over 50 carrier landings in this particular airplane- it does make me feel old to see it in a museum!
In each issue, I also write about other attractions in the area, good places to eat, as well as hours and costs. Each issue is full of photos and is really fun to write. Check it out!
Well Model railways sort of get put on the back shelf during the summer months, for one its too warm in the loft , and the other is I do have a passion for colour in my garden and keeping Koi Carp.
Koi I have kept for nearly 40 years now, the latest pond I built some 14 years ago when I moved here to the East Coast, and a few of the Koi are now about 14/16 years of age, along with some smaller ones I added about 4 years ago.
They can live to be 60 years and more. There are some beautiful colours, but these days to buy Japanese top quality you will pay a fortune, mine are mainly Israeli, but do have 2 in there that are Japanese.
When I first started you could buy a good quality Japanese at say 10” for about £45 /£50… these days you would be paying £500, hence more have turned to Israeli which are as much as half the price…. makes Model Railways look less expensive
Regards
Dave”
A huge thanks to Dave for sharing his other hobby with us.
His garden is a delight – what a wonderful place to sit and watch the Koi.
Please do leave a comment below and share your thoughts.
“Model railroading is certainly one of my favorite hobbies but not my only one. I also love old cars.
When I was a teenager growing up in Northeast Texas during the late fifties there were only two ways you could ever hope to get a date. The best way was to play football on the local high school team, but I was too small and certainly not athletically gifted. The only other way was to have a really cool car. Thus, began my life-long passion.
I have had many cool cars over the past 60 years. My first, which my father bought for me when I was 15, was a 1948 Ford convertible. As I recall, it cost about $200.00, and needless-to-say, I wish I still had it. Like most other old car fanatics, I mourn the ones that got away.
In addition to that old Ford, I remember most fondly my 1955 Chevrolet Bellaire, my 1960 MGA roadster, and my 1966 Mustang.
My current “money pit” (my wife’s description) is the 1951 Mercury you see in these photographs. It is without a doubt my favorite and I will never sell it. I can’t because my 17-year-old daughter wants it when I am too old to drive.
I have owned the Mercury for about eight years. It was in remarkably good shape when I bought it. The previous owner was still driving the car almost every day, and it had been very well maintained.
I have done some body modifications but nothing too dramatic. I lowered the car a little and added a custom grill, lake pipes (side exhaust pipes), spotlights, reversed chrome wheels with baby moon hubcaps, and a custom interior.
All these modifications are period correct (they were popular back in the 1950’s).
One of my favorite photographs is the one in which my car is parked beside a yellow “lead sled”.
Believe-it-or-not, the yellow car is also a 1951 Mercury. It has been chopped (a section removed from the top), channeled (the body lowered on the frame), and extensively customized. “Slammed to the ground” is the popular term used to describe cars modified to this extent. What a contrast. Actually, I like my Mercury better.
When I first restored the Mercury, it had a Flat Head V8 which made about 110 horsepower and a three-speed manual transmission with over drive. It did not have power steering, power brakes, or most importantly if you live on the Texas Gulf Coast, an air conditioner.
About four years ago I decided to modernize the car. I had a front clip fabricated that includes independent front suspension, power steering and power disk brakes. I
replaced the Flat Head V8 with a new 350 cubic inch Chevrolet V8 (almost triple the horsepower of the Flat Head). The new engine is mated to an automatic transmission.
I converted the electrical system from 6 volt to 12 volt and installed an aftermarket air conditioner.
The original AM radio still works, but it takes about three minutes for the tubes to warm up. So, I had a new sound system installed.
The result is a car that is much more fun to drive. I try to drive it at least once a week, and until recently, I took it to one or two local car shows a month.
Most of the photograph I have included were taken at one of the local shows called “Cars in the Park”.
You will probably not be surprised to learn that the Mercury attracts a lot of attention.
Thank you so much for the opportunity to share one of my other hobbies with you.
Bob”
A huge thanks to Bob for sharing his other hobby with us.
What an utterly beautiful car!
Please do leave any comments below.
Best
Al
PS If you’d like to see Bob’s model railroad, it’s here.
