Brother Meredith
Member
The setting may be otherworldly, but those green Britains zoo fences sent me down a whole other rabbit hole of nostalgia! 
Tartarus Rim 2024
- Thread starter symphonicpoet
- Start date
twisted moon
Moderator
i thought you were going to say she found a mine.
symphonicpoet
Moderator
^Thank you! I still feels it's underdeveloped, since I'm always reading glorious blogs and seeing the incredible shots people like Padre and Magpie put out there. I really need to do another proper story post. I have an idea where to go next, but I'm a little torn about one particular decision, and I can never seem to get games off regularly enough. Let me see what I can do. I need to get a bit more painting done. The last couple of weeks have slowed me down a a bit. Again. Time to get back off my rump and sit down at the painting table again. On . . . oh yeah . . . my rump. Time to get back on my rump, but in a different chair? (I am a man of many chairs.)
symphonicpoet
Moderator
Well, what's left of her is right at the outflow from a creek in a tunnel. And there was a mine collapse not too far away recently. (On the other side of the river and some miles north. That sucked much of two football pitches into a hole.) There are mines to be found, but none of them are especially explosive. (Though quite a few are under a lot of water at this point. You can even go scuba diving in one of them.) But this was just a mundane flooding event. (Assuming you can call a river gradually getting fifty feet deeper and a couple of miles wider mundane.)
symphonicpoet
Moderator
All manner of fences around here are a similar shade of green, so they make me happy. Most of the local schoolyards have old fences that look a bit like that, albeit shorter. (And with spikier bits on top.) The local zoo's fences aren't like that anymore, but I'm fairly confident they once were. (And some of them might still have been during my childhood.) The fences are from one of my father's childhood toys, I believe. Of a zoo, no less. So . . . you're thinking correctly. (And British zoos were undoubtedly part of the inspiration behind our own. We have a fair few parks trying to be British.)The setting may be otherworldly, but those green Britains zoo fences sent me down a whole other rabbit hole of nostalgia!
Brother Meredith
Member
Ha! Not sure if you got the reference, but Britains was/is a British toy manufacturer of some prestige. They were primarily farm based toys when I was young, but plenty of toy soldiers too. Remember having that green zoo fencing as a child. Used other toy fencing from their ranges as terrain and encounters too.
symphonicpoet
Moderator
^Ooh, guilty as charged! I did not get the reference. I figured you just meant zoos in the UK have or had green fences, since so many things here have similar looking and similar colored fences in real life. I was completely unaware there was a British toy company called Britains. I guess that's what those fences are? I probably have the farm/zoo animals that went with them in the bits box. You make me think I ought to take a look at the bay and see what other wonderful toys can be found. 
Thank you for the explanation!
Thank you for the explanation!
Brother Meredith
Member
No worries! My dad went through a phase collecting his childhood fantasies in the form of Britains farm toys. They were originally made of lead! By the time I was into them they had converted to plastic production.^Ooh, guilty as charged! I did not get the reference. I figured you just meant zoos in the UK have or had green fences, since so many things here have similar looking and similar colored fences in real life. I was completely unaware there was a British toy company called Britains. I guess that's what those fences are? I probably have the farm/zoo animals that went with them in the bits box. You make me think I ought to take a look at the bay and see what other wonderful toys can be found.
The actual figures are of a slightly bigger scale than 25mm, but the fencing, animals and scenics didn’t feel too out of place.
ManicMan
Member
I thought Britains was a quite well known british toys company but a few months ago someone did a video on how people didn't seam to know some of there non-farm related toys.. but cause I'm that kinda person.. Britains was founded by W. Britains (to whom the company is named after, before they dropped the W), formed around early 1890s, techinally still going making them pretty much Britian's oldest farm toy company, but they are now owned I think by Tomy (which is Takara Tomy's non-Japanese name). Basically, there metal toy soldiers because THE size and style used for years. Which of course, lent into miniature wargaming, so they are quite a key part in the whole history of the hobby.
I think another company brought the rights to use the W. Britains branding so... they are kinda two companies now ^_^; I think they started to move to plastics in the early 70s..
I think another company brought the rights to use the W. Britains branding so... they are kinda two companies now ^_^; I think they started to move to plastics in the early 70s..
Brother Meredith
Member
I loved their sci-fi sets…
symphonicpoet
Moderator
Huh! I had no idea. They're not as well known over here in the US, at least not in my generation, though obviously they made it. Tomy was pretty popular during my youth. And all of that stuff works pretty well with things like Marx and Lionel, which the most popular sorts of model trains in the US for a long time. All of that stuff was sort of "toy scale" at one time. (And some of it still is.) I very much think my father used them with his early toy/model trains. (And I use some of those same trains with my wargaming toys every once in a while.) Neat!
Also, I had no idea some plastic fences from an old toy box (handy as they are) would become the stars of the show. You can't help but smile at life sometimes.
Also, I had no idea some plastic fences from an old toy box (handy as they are) would become the stars of the show.
You can't help but smile at life sometimes.