Harriers

For a (slight) change, instead of another post about collecting diecast model helicopters, here’s the latest on my growing collection of Harrier jump-jets. 

My favourite airplane since childhood, I remember reading magazine articles about the original Hawker Siddeley aircraft, way back in the early 1970s. At the time, it seemed to me this was a sci-fi innovation, an S/VTOL jet fighter that could fly like something from one of Gerry Anderson’s genre TV shows.

The first seven planes I bought are in various scales. The all-blue version is a BAe Sea Harrier FRS mk.1 (circa 1982), an inexpensive but highly detailed Amercom model at 1:72 scale. My set of three Matchbox editions have (left to right) US Marines, RAF, and Royal Navy markings/ colours, but - of course - these are big-wheeled toys and not especially accurate models of the aircraft.

The silver-coloured Harrier II is another RAF variant, and the model is produced by Del Prado at approx 1:100 scale. The plane tagged as ‘NASA 719’ (on its tail-fin) is a Harrier AV-8C, one of two such aircraft used for testing and training purposes at the Ames Research Centre. This model was made in 2005 by Corgi, approx 1:100 scale, as part of their ‘100 years of flight’ range. There’s also a 1:72 scale edition of this, but (at £40 boxed!) I simply can’t afford to buy one. 

Finally, I have a large version of the AV-8 Harrier (built by McDonald Douglas for the USMC) at 1:40 scale. This model is 14 inches from nose to tail, with a wingspan of nine inches. Bought unboxed/ second-hand, the model has clearly had a bit of shelf wear, but it’s only been on display, not played with, so its condition is still very good. 

There are no manufacturer’s details on the model, but I found out that it’s made by Toy Zone, as part of their Air Power range - military replica series.

LonCon 3

This year’s Worldcon in London was a significant improvement on the already-great experience of Glasgow’s event in 2005, with so many interesting media and literature panels that I ended up missing lots of things. There was simply too much good stuff going on, over this SF convention’s five-day run (of panel talks, movies, and shows), to choose from.

Thursday's programme featured Melinda Snodgrass moderating a 'History of Blockbusters' (which I thought neglected Irwin Allen as godfather of that cinema format); and the irreverent/ silly fun of a stageplay about TV puppet-hero 'Captain Tartan', marred by a ridiculous half-hour queue to get seats. Throughout the long weekend, the screening programme by Sci-Fi London presented an impressive variety of TV and movie items, launching with steampunk feature, War Of The Worlds: Goliath, a Malaysian produced anime sequel to Wells’ story, with a voice-cast that included Adrian Paul.
 

Friday began with a discussion about ambiguity in fiction, and an entertaining media-related panel on 'Godzilla at 60'. Janie Fenn moderated the 'Space on Screen' panel that included Paul McAuley and Alastair Reynolds, and Gravity and Elysium were moving targets for criticism. The philharmonic orchestra assembled for LonCon 3 was clearly the highlight of the convention’s music programme, and I thought the interpretation of Doctor Who’s theme was stunning. If the BBC ever allows another big-screen production, something very like this would be a perfect score. 

 

I enjoyed the 'Politics of Utopia' panel on Saturday morning, where Kim Stanley Robinson and Maureen Kincaid Speller talked a lot good sense about a complex topic, and threads of that discussion were picked up by the following panel on what the SF term 'Banksian' means. On a tiny stage, two-hander 'Terminal Zone' was a play (by Andrew J. Wilson, circa 1993) about Rod Serling facing up to cancellation of Twilight Zone on TV. After the talk by artist Chris Achilleos, the late movie was a baffling sci-fi mystery, Cycle, which borrowed heavily from the imagery of Tron and 2001: A Space Odyssey, but lacked enough hints of narrative coherence to be fully entertaining, even as experimental art-house SF.

On Sunday, the media panel about spy-fi was amusing, and honest about cross-genre campiness. After that, I saw a TV screening of one episode from a BBC documentary about apocalyptic SF The Martians & Us: The End Of The World As We Know It, with contributions from the usual British genre suspects and thoughtful narration by Peter Capaldi. The science panel about 'Speculative Design' had some fascinating comments, but failed to focus on its topic beyond discussing the contrast between commerce and creativity, and industry versus art. Retro TV screening The Other Man (a 'lost' episode from the ITV-play series), was alternative history that starred Michael Caine and John Thaw. It was incomplete, and shown here mainly for its curiosity value, but this might be a worthwhile TV movie if a full restoration project ever becomes possible. 'War on Science' was a divisive topic, and the panel of working scientists discussing it neglected religion, in favour of profit, as the primary motivation for damage caused to research and studies. Scandinavian black comedy LFO: The Movie was a witty, and occasionally hilarious, low-budget SF drama about a mind-control system, and the ultimate effect upon its haunted inventor.

The last day started with an excellent panel on the 'Image as Idea' in genre cinema, Nick Lowe and Adam Roberts dominated the entertaining discussion, which ranged between intellectualism and artistry. Prof. David Southwood’s inspired talk, 'Science Fact and Science Fiction', proved to be a nostalgic reverie from the heart of a retired space engineer. I enjoyed every minute of his commentary on genre history. An 'Interview with Jim Burns' covered his 40-year career as a major SF/ fantasy artist. The final TV screening was the episode Fifteen Million Merits, from anthology series Black Mirror, created by Charlie Brooker. 15MM is a dystopian satire about consumerism and trash-TV. I can’t say that it’s tempted me to buy the DVD set, but I suspect the rest of this British series is worth seeing.

My suggestion for another British event is 'HALcon' 2018 (worth a WorldCon bid?), to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kubrick and Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Wouldn't that SF con be something to look forward to?

Hover-time

An update on my collection of diecast model helicopters...

Bought an Agusta NH-500E, a licence-built Italian version of the MD-500E (above). This completes my set of the 500 series, as I have already got several Hughes 369 and 500C or D models. This one has the pointed nose, along with the usual 5-blade main rotors and T-shaped tail fin. The model is by New Ray at 1:32 scale.

Also got an Agusta Westland AW-109S Grand, in Ferrari livery (below), another New Ray model, but this one is a larger helicopter so it's at 1:43 scale.

The Grand is a stretched version of the AW-109 Power (Hirundo), pictured below.

I got this model last year. It's in Italian police colours, and was imported from Italy. It's another New Ray model at 1:43. You can see an AW-109 helicopter in Avengers Assemble, where it's the SHIELD transport in the movie's crash sequence.

TTA mags

New issues from TTA Press, just received -

INTERZONE #253 has my ‘Laser Fodder’ column of DVD & blu-ray reviews:

If... (7/10)
Gagarin: First In Space (6/10)
Her (6/10)
Under The Skin (7/10)
The Night Is Young (5/10)
Frau im Mond (5/10)

    Farting Excuses: also received
Mirage Men
Escape From Planet Earth
Hunting The Legend

BLACK STATIC #41 (with my name on the front cover, again... yay for me!) includes my ‘Blood Spectrum’ column:

    Massive Spoilers!
    (Sorry, but did that get your attention?)  

The Last Horror Movie (3/10)
Cellar Dweller (4/10)
Demon Legacy (3/10)
Pit And The Pendulum (6/10)
I, Frankenstein (5/10)
Re-Animator (8/10)
The Pit [aka: Jug Face] (4/10)
True Detective (7/10)
True Blood - season 6 (7/10)
13 Sins (6/10)
Rapture (6/10)
Haunter (4/10)

    Drudge Work: also received
    (Be a critic; they said. It’ll be fun; they said.)

The Forgotten
The Attic
Delivery
Devil's Due

Copterama

Habit or hobby? Another update about my collection of diecast model helicopters... 

With its blue tail and American bird motif, the Sikorsky SH-60F Ocean Hawk (US Navy) - made in 1:72 scale by Amercom - looks great, and it completes a range of all the ’Hawk variants that I could find.

Adding to my European helicopter models, I bought a Dutch navy version of the N.H.I. NH-90 Marine NFH (NATO frigate helicopter).

It’s a highly detailed 1:87 scale model by Schuco, and its light grey finish contrasts with the green and black German army NH-90 TTH (tactical transport helicopter) model - produced at 1:72 scale by Amercom - that I got in March this year.

Now my shelf load of Russian helicopters is practically complete, I also bought a couple of models from Poland, including a PZL SW-4 Puszczyk - trans: Tawny Owl (Amercom - 1:72), which looks like the Polish equivalent of a Eurocopter AS-350 A-Star.

 

 

This 1930s style Bat-gyro plane, in a new casting from the Johnny Lightning brand, is a metal kit produced at 1:64 scale.