During my childhood (late 1960s, through the 1970s) I was often more interested in kids television programmes for their miniature portrayals of buildings and landscapes, rather than the programme's storyline. There were some exceptions that always held my attention, such as Trumpton, Chigley, Camberwick Green, Captain Scarlet, Thunderbirds, Michael Bentine's Potty Time, to name a few, and these must have had an influence on my hobbies.
In keeping with my love of nostalgia, I have just completed another scenic backdrop for my gaming table. Now this idea came from a programme which failed to capture my attention, but it does now have a fun link to my gaming table. I will be interested to see if any UK visitors can recognise which television programme it derives from.
Nice work MGB!
ReplyDeleteCheers MJT. I was working on it over three days, and it's nice that it scales so well with my 54mm collection. I am wondering if any gamers will work out what the TV link is. A member of my family knew straight away, but confessed he did not expect me to want to reproduce it, lol.
DeleteMichael
I vaguely recognise it but may be I was too old to have watched the programme at the time!
DeleteI wonder, MJT, if anyone will own up to knowing, lol. It is a 1970s children's programme.
DeleteMichael
Looks in the style of Camberwick Green?
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid not, Terranova47. I think my 3D buildings were probably influenced by that great series. But this flat backdrop is very similar to the original 1970s programme.
DeleteMichael
That's lovely!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tim, feel free to voice a guess as to where the original derives.
DeleteMichael
Ein toller Hintergrund 👏
ReplyDeleteEr erinnert mich irgendwie an Thomas, the Tank engine...
Gruß aus Germany
Stefan
Hallo Stefan, ich kann eine gewisse Ähnlichkeit mit den Buchillustrationen der Lokomotive „Thomas the Tank“ erkennen. Aber es kommt nicht von dort. Grüße, Michael
DeleteLooks like a Cornish fishing village which has gone a bit up=market touristy! Crystal Tipps and Alistair? Hector's House? I haven't a clue, just listing my favourites!
ReplyDeleteH
Hi Hugh, It is rural England, and your Crystal Tipps is perhaps getting warmer, in some ways. I will let it run for a day or so, and will then put up the answer.
DeleteMichael
A lovely backdrop Michael, very colorful! It's nice to surround yourself with things that have a special meaning to you! Well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Brad. I won't claim this programme was one of my favourites, it wasn't. But it appeared a lot on UK television for some period of time. It never made it outside these islands, being peculiarly English. Now the TV theme tune floats into my head every time I view the backdrop, lol.
DeleteMichael
Some time in the 70s there was a puppet version of Larry The Lamb, in colour, and the buildings were very simple structures. I still have some of the accompanying paperbacks with various townscape views on the covers.
ReplyDeleteHi Joppy. No, it's not Larry the Lamb. By the way, I too remember that series, 1974. It included one episode in which Toy Town went to war with Arkville. This episode appears to have been largely removed in all contemporary reproductions. If I remember, the author was a veteran of WW1, and it may have influenced his decision to include such as a story. Even as a child, I was surprised by the content of that episode, I was also rather excited, too. I vaguely remember toy soldiers marching, cannons, etc.
DeleteMichael
IMDB has this listed as the Great Toytown War 1974 with a large gallery of photos / screenshots . This was not on the LP audio version of the TV programmes that we oddly had as youngsters.
Deletehttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt20124466/mediaindex/?ref_=tt_mv_sm
The Answer has now been added as a postscript. MGB
ReplyDeleteI'm too old for Rainbow!
ReplyDeleteSame here, Tim. But during the school holidays, the TV was left on in my home, and this show was broadcasting at midday, five days a week, during much of the seventies. And as changing channels meant getting out of the chair, the risks were high, lol.
DeleteMichael
Odd to think how often I saw Rainbow as a child and didn't recognise the intro style but as you say the hills cover this up.
ReplyDeleteAt first I was going to suggest it was from one of the scenes from David Mckee's Mr. Ben, based on the line style of some of the wonky houses and doors but the figures were the wrong style and it didn't have that urban grittiness.
I watched on YouTube the intro again and now have the tune stuck in my head as an ear worm. Thanks MGB!
Hi Mark, while I was drawing and then painting the backdrop that same tune kept playing in my head. Understandable in the beginning, it began to haunt me as the day progressed, lol. If I did not already have a fair sized collection of model buildings, I would have built some of those appearing in Trumpton, for the nostalgic fun of it.
DeleteMichael
Mark, thank you very much for that link to the search engine for IMDB. It was wonderful seeing the photos of the Great Toytown War, confirming my memories dating back to 1974. What a shame the episode is not available on DVD. Interestingly, I think it might be possible to cast up some figures wearing the uniforms for both Toytown and Arkville.
DeleteThanks again, Michael