Our October Running Day, In Pictures

Last week Brighton Toy and Model Museum proudly hosted another of our famous Running Days. These days are a rare treat, and one that you won’t see in most museums, for it is on running days that we take down the Perspex screens that come between our visitors and our exhibits and actually set the toys and models in motion, just as they were made to be.

A lot of museums, quite naturally, don’t do this kind of thing. After all, every moment’s use adds a little more to the wear of the trains that we have on display, and eventually that wear mounts up. So we only run our model trains for a few hours per year, and to let our visitors view them in their glory, the screens have to come down.

You wouldn’t think that the Perspex would make so much difference! While it never impedes the view of the model trains, buildings and bridges we have on display, it does reflect light and get in the way of leaning right up close to the trains. So, as long as you don’t touch, we don’t mind if you lean in to get a better look, or even take photos (without flash of course).

However, as the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words, so please enjoy our photoblog of Markiln, Hornby, Minic, Bing, Bassett-Lowke trains, buildings and bridges, some of which, such as the Marklin railway bridge, we believe to be the only surviving examples.

Ray Harryhauseun, The Man Who Brought Gods to Life

Many kids my age, 44 next month, will remember sitting and watching with awe the monsters, gods and titans created by Ray Harryhausen. The sixties, seventies and eighties were a golden age of stop motion animation, and most of that was driven by the films that Harryhausen worked on.

And you’ll be astonished by the range of movies that feature his work. Of course there are the Greek epics that everyone will be familiar with, Clash of the Titans, Jason and the Argonauts, and the Sinbad movies. These features brought a whole new dimension to the Swords and Sandals genre. No more would you have Roger Moore galloping around scrubby bits of Italy, France and Yugoslavia clumsily yet successfully flirting with the Sabine Women. Now the Heroes would do battle with unimaginable beasts, skeletons that have grown from dragons teeth and great bronze statues brought magically to life.

Harryhausen started working on blending animation and live action in the 1940s with the Mighty Joe Young, the story of love, deceit, and a giant gorilla. Later he would work on classics such as The Valley of Gwangi, where cowboys meet dinosaurs for the first time and try to put them into a Mexican circus, then the sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; The Mysterious Island in which escaped prisoners of the American Civil War find themselves on the eponymous island fighting against internal divisions, prejudice, and fearsome freaks of nature, including a giant bees, crabs and a chicken.

Not only did Harryhausen create these fabulous puppets, he also painted many of the mattes and backdrops which make the films that he worked on so convincing. The techniques he used seem obvious today, but when you look at many of the films which feature early CGI, they are as clunky and unconvincing as any wire and foam model, if not more so (Star Wars Episode IV Special Edition, with the scenes tacked on in the 90s, I’m looking at you…) .

If you were one of those kids who used to get so excited about each new release of a Harryhausen film, you probably wouldn’t have even known his name, but you’d know the movies when you saw them. The films he worked on were so much more than simply vehicles for his outstanding, ground-breaking special effects. They were story led, and the creatures featured added to the story, they were genuine characters without being gratuitously inserted or showboating.

These films have become classics and are still enjoyed by whole families, and the techniques Harryhausen developed are being used again as CGI, although it is better than it was, still doesn’t quite match up to using models and maquettes, especially where budgets are a major consideration. These films are also being recognised as art today. Not just within the genre of film art either;  Harryhausen is enjoying an exhibition at the Tate Museum of Modern Art, where his puppets and paintings of backgrounds and mattes are being displayed until the 19th of November. Not only does it feature the props that were used in our favourite films, it also features some of his creative art. It should come as no real surprise that Harryhausen also worked in bronze, creating beautiful masterpieces in metal, as well as their on film analogues. You’ll also see the relationship from the genuine architecture of ancient cities, its representation in classical art, and how that informed his dioramas as well as the mythical menagerie which heroes, immortals and fair maidens would very frequently get squashed or eaten by.

More news on the entertainments lined up for the Brighton Toy and Model Museum Steampunk Soiree.

As you’re no doubt aware, we’ve had Adriano Fettuccini booked for our steam punk event for a few weeks and we’re looking forward to that very much, but we’re also able to announce more attractions for your edification and delight.

Music and Poetry

First of all, we can now confirm that we have Rohan K on the bill, adding to the musical component. Rohan is a writer, composer, poet and violinist.

Further to the entertainments, we also have a stall which will be supplied and manned by Belle Epic. Belle Epic are a vintage costumer, collector and restorer of vintage and antique apparel. Their finest wares will be on display and for sale, fitting with the Steampunk theme.

Costume and Competition

And did we mention hats? Love hats. I was thinking of becoming a milliner when I was at college. So it’s with a great deal of anticipation that we’re also able to introduce the good people of The Yellow Book who will be bringing a range of hats and headgear for you to try on. Because you’re not properly dressed without a hat. It’s probably a moot point, but being a steampunk soiree, most attendees will want to come in full, appropriate dress. However, this isn’t absolutely necessary. It’s not just for those who live a steampunk life, it’s also for those who love the ethic, the aesthetic and those who love people who live steampunk.

And I know how shy and retiring Steampunk devotees are, so it’s necessary to warn you that a photographer will be in attendance making images of the finest dressed.

Now, onto the most important aspects of the evening; the much vaunted and highly charged excitement that is surrounding the tea duelling. Tiffin Masters and Mistresses from all over the country have been approached. However, as the saying goes, many are called, yet few are chosen. So we plumped for whoever was available. The tea duel will be open to all, unless you a) don’t like tea, b) you don’t like Malted Milk, or c) you think such things are silly. We anticipate the calibre of the combatants will be very high, with duellists having gone away to dojos to refine and hone their duelling skills. I for one went and had a cuppa and a biccy with my nan, because she knows many of the most ancient arts. She’s 89 after all.

Book your tickets to the Steampunk Soiree online through our Facebook Events page, on Eventbrite or call in at the museum. We’re on Trafalgar Street, directly under Brighton Train Station.

Doors open at 7pm, 28th October 2017. Admission is £5.00 Call 01273 749494 for more details.