Guy Fawkes - 'Remember, remember the Gunpowder Plot'

Guy Fawkes being arrested in 1603.

Guy Fawkes was born in April 1570 at York. He was brought up in a family and country of Protestants. However, he was Catholic and refused to attend Protestant services.

At the age of 21, Fawkes sold his estate and went to Europe to fight for Catholic Spain against the Protestant Dutch. In 1603 he was made captain. That same year he appealed to King Philip III of Spain to support a rebellion in England against James I. Philip refused to give his support.


While fighting for Spain at Flanders, Fawkes meet Thomas Wintour, who asked him to join a plot which would become known as the Gunpowder Plot.

After 18 months of planning, the plot failed when Fawkes was arrested at midnight on 4 November 1605 under the Houses of Lords. With him they found 36 barrels of gunpowder was found in a cellar directly below where the King would have sat to open Parliament the next day.

He was tortured for two days by James I's spymaster, Robert Cecil. After which, Fawkes confessed to it all. He was then sentenced to death - to be hanged, drawn and quartered. However, he jumped from the gallows, breaking his neck and so avoiding the horror of being cut down while still alive, having his testicles cut off and his stomach opened and his guts spilled out. His dead body was then hacked into quarters and his remains were sent to four corners of the Kingdom to serve as a warning.

Google's Art & Culture - Online Galleries

Now Google's Art & Culture is an really interesting and probably is the biggest of the on-line museum and art galleries catalogs out there. Maybe, because Google is a billion pound company or as they have started this project a long time ago and they have built it up to what it is today from there. Now I am not going to take a look at all about this amazing site has to offer, as this would be like reviewing the internet itself, a impossible task.

When the Art Project first started in 2011, the site had a huge collection of scanned works of art. For the first time you could take a close look at works of art and learn about the pieces; and the artiest who made them. You could see the artist brush strokes and the detail of the art work which you might have never been able to do at a art gallery. The project has evolved and now you can do and see so much more. 

At the moment I believe the site is a beta test and might be changed or updated to something even better than what's up at the moment but I see this as really unlikely.

You can take a look at articles, artefacts, art work, museum collection, Google Earth drop-in historic and museum/art galleries; historical accounts on events, people and so much more. 

Now with the artefacts, art work and museum collections you take a close look at individual objects with high detail. The site allows you to look close to objects for the first time. This makes you feel like you are looking at the object face-to-face or with a magnifying glass. Allowing you to see everything from the artist's brush strokes to every tiny detail.

Now there is a fabulous section of the site were you can digitally drop into a historic locations or museum/art galleries. In the same style as the drop-in setting of Google Earth, this allows to take a virtual tour of the location. This gives you idea of what the place it like and also allows to take a closer look of the highlights of the exhibits, giving you a taster of what you can see.

Now I could go on and on about this site as there is so much of it to take about.

The whole site is amazing. However, the only thing that I can say which is bad is the size of the collection they provide you. Now to many that's not a problem and it isn't but it is a problem if you can't search through all which they have. For example you have 1,692 of them. You get a search engine to search things, this is great if you know what you are looking for. However, can't possible know what they have to offer if you don't know and you are simply browsing. In my opinion it would be far easier with a filter system allowing you to select specific theme, century, topic etc. In the way they provide you, you would need to sieve through all what they have to find something you wish to take a look at. The other problem is the search engine itself as if you spell anything wrong, the search engine will not recognize it or give you alternatives search. So at the end you will turn up with your search with practically nothing.

Although it has some problems I must give Google a huge amount of credit. This site is what museums should inspire to with their own on-line catalog or gallery. 

My Build: The Face

'The Face' was something that was a first for me to do, a unplanned build and with no real design what so ever. The build was originally inspired by Nathan Sawaya's amazing Lego artwork, such as many of his builds at 'The Art Of The Brick'. 

Very much unlike this model, Sawaya's artwork is planned, only builds with simplest parts, such as 2x4 or 2x2 bricks and also uses a uniform colour. Now this model was built up of anything I had to hand which seemed to make the build structurally sound. 

As you can see the model is made up multiple amount of colours from Lego's palette. What might not be obvious is that I used a lot of different types of bricks to create the model, these included, corner, technic and slopped bricks, etc. 

The whole thing is hollow but to keep some of the structure together there are some technic beams to hold a lot of it all up.

I don't know about you but I think as a first try at sculpting with Lego, that bad. I might later on build another out of one colour, like Sawaya. You never know it might even look 10x better than this one.

Brickmania Tiger I Ausf. H Review

The Tiger I Ausf. H German Heavy Tank by Brickmania is a black box edition, a large, detailed and extremely limited kit. Amazingly designed by the leading designer and owner of Brickmania, Daniel Siskind. 

This is a huge kit has equal amount of detail throughout the model. I would say this kit is very accurate to the original vehicle and is up there with the best of the Brickmania kits.  

The instructions are displayed in a high quality booklet. Right at the front of the booklet you have the history of the tank, with images of the real thing. The step by step stages of the build is very easy to do and understand. The booklet itself is better than those provided by Lego with their own kits.

This kit only comes with one exclusive Panzer officer minifigure and one Brickarms' MG34 .

The kit comes with two types of stickers to allow the builder to choose what type of Tiger they want to have. You can have to choose for a Schwere Panzerabteilung 501 or 502.

The stickers are of high quality and not likely to peal off anytime soon. In someway I would say the stickers are better then those done by Lego.

However there isn't just stickers in this kit. You get two of these exclusive printed 1x1 round tiles for the exhausts of the engine.

As I said before you also get interior details which you don't normally get in Brickmania kits. You only get these sort of detail with a black box edition. You get seating for the driver and the gunner. On top of this all of you get the engine located at the back of the tank.

What you also don't see often in smaller kits is suspension. This is because the way to do this at a smaller model is really hard to pull off. With a large model the technique to do this is able to be put in as there is enough space to do so. 

 The only problem I can find with this kit is there are some weak-points which you sometimes get with Brickmania's kits. However, as I normally say to get this type of detail you have to sacrifice stability to achieve accuracy.    

The historical kit comes to $395/£301.60 and it is worth every penny. I have to say that the Brickmania black box edition kits are always expensive but are the most detailed and high quality item which Brickmania produces.

The Weirdest Museums!

A few weeks ago I went into one of the most weirdest museums I have ever laid my eyes on. Now this inspired me to go and find out more about other really weird museums that might be out there. Surprisingly there are a lot. However, there was nothing on the one I went to, the National Poo Museum. Yes you read correctly, a museum about Poo. Now I will go into what they actually have on display and other weird museums below.

The National Poo Museum

Sandown, Isle of Wight.

Now they don't have open excrement simply placed on a shelf for you to examine, they aren't that weird. Each donation which the museum has is clinically displayed within a transparent plastic globe to preserve the specimen in its natural state. Now you can see a wide range of excrement, from human baby to lion. But be sure not to miss the cat poo in a kid's shoe.

Icelandic Phallological Museum
Reykjavik, Iceland.

This museum is the home to 215 penises and other peniles of most of the land and sea mammals found in Iceland. Now if you think I am joking about this, you couldn't be more wrong. But do take a look at their range of items, from the blue wale to mice. The subject matter of the museum is unusual and strange, the museum itself is totally serious. In entering you will be able to learn all about the world of Phallology, the study of penises, and their place in history, art and society. 

Currywurst Museum
Berlin, Germany.

The Germans love their sausages so why not have a museum dedicated to the Currywurst. At the ketchup-red museum display is a multi-scenery exhibit allowing the visitor to experience the sounds of sausages sizzling and smell exotic spices as they go around the rest of the museum. The museum has even recreated a food cart so visitors can go in and imagine making their favorite snacks. 

The Museum of Bad Art
Brookline and Somerville, Massachusetts, USA.

The only museum dedicated to celebrating bad artwork in all its forms. Why go to see quality art when you can see terrible pieces of art which some people may relate to or make them feel talented. As you walk through the galleries you will see artworks with clashing colours, out of proportion figures and lack of talent. So if you are feeling down about your art course, or even think you aren't good enough to make it as artist, then just spend a day here and you'll never worry about it ever again.

Parasite Museum
Tokyo, Japan

This museum is home to over 300 varieties of parasites including a 30 foot tapeworm. On top of this the museum has set up a scientific research center to study the small and the huge of the parasitic world. You might very eat or go to exotic place ever again but at least you will learn something about these disgusting critters. 

Sulabh International Museum of Toilets
New Delhi, India

This museum looks at the entire evolution of the toilet throughout history. The museum as been able to trace the toilet back through history till 4,500 years ago. You'll be able to see all, from chamber pot to Victorian toilet seats. In this museum even the rest rooms are in someway a exhibit.

Museum of Funeral Carriages
Barcelona, Spain

This museum is a basement at the city's Municipal Funeral Services. Here visitors are taken to the dusty basement by a security guard. Down there you can make your way around the exhibit's ornate carriages, some of which date back to the 18th century.

Hair Museum
Avanos, Turkey

This museum was created by Chez Galip, in rural Turkey. The museum is home to his huge collection of more than 16,000 women's hair samples. To make things even creepier the museum is located in a small, dark cave. Don't worry they let you keep your hair on.

Paris Sewers Museum
Paris, France
 

When I say sewers museum, I mean a museum in the sewer. Paris has a network of tunnels were visitors are introduced to the world of sewage disposal from the 13th century drainage systems to the first closed sewers in the late 19th century. Guides talk about the history of keeping Paris clean and for the stronger stomached  visitor you can have a walking tour of the tunnels.

Museum of Broken Relationships
Zagreb, Croatia
 

This museum is revolve around the concept of failed relationships and their ruins. Visitors are welcome to add to the collection with their own experiences and gifts from broken relationships. The artifacts include rings, clothing, Valentine's Day gifts and the occasional fuzzy pink handcuffs. However, I wouldn't go with you other half, as they might just contemplate on the relationship they are already in. 

International Cryptozoology Museum
Portland, Maine, USA
 

Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals and search for animals who haven't had their existence proven yet. These include Bigfoot and the Yeti. The collection includes specimens and artifacts which relate to mythical creatures. These are hair and poo samples, and native art which supposedly  support the idea of the existence of the creature. Who knows they might even convert you to a believer. 

Museum of Witchcraft
Cornwall, England

Did you know that Cornwall is the home to the largest collection on witchcraft. The museum has categories of everything from devil worship and satanism to the persecution of witches. Visitors can see dipping chairs used to 'prove' a woman was a witch and voodoo dolls, which were used to inflict pain on others. Along side all of this, the museum has a library of over 3,000 books on witchcraft. This is especially great if you are thinking of taking up the art of witchcraft, so this museum is a great starting point for you.

Museum of Medieval Torture Instruments
Amsterdam, Netherlands

This museum is home to over 100 torture devices with the exhibit dedicated to the history of human cruelty. Which is a bit unsettling. The gruesome displays include a guillotine, stretching tables, screws to crush fingers, head and other parts of the body and the Judas chair, a chair of nails. However, the museum does advertise a serious message on that there are executioners still being employed and the death penalty is still exists in many countries around the world today. 

Dog Collar Museum
Leeds Castle, Kent, England

The museum is home to over 100 dog collars. These include a range of different dog collars spanning from five centuries, these include strong collars designed to control haunting dogs, to the fashion item of the 21st century collar. So this is a interesting museum for all dog lovers alike. 

Ice Cream Museum
Los Angeles, USA

Saving the best to last is one of the delicious museums I have ever heard of, the Ice Cream Museum. A brightly coloured environment where your imagination can go wild. From giant ice lolly and jelly bears art work to a pool of sprinkles you can mess around in. The museum's goal is to bring people together and think they do it well, with their exhibits help people have fun, be inspired and gain amazing new memories. Might be on the list of weird museums but should also be on the list of best and awesome museums you must go to.  

The July Plot (Operation Valkyrie)

Lieutenant Colonel
Claus von Stauffenberg
1907-1944

The July Plot (or Operation Valkyrie) was a plan to assassinate the leader of Germany and the Nazi party, Adolf Hitler. The plan was to kill Hitler and then seize the state and replace the government with a new one to prevent destruction by the Allies by ending the war. The plot was planned and executed by a group of German military leaders who saw that Hitler was driving Germany to defeat. Even if they failed they wanted to show history that not all German's and army officers followed Hitler's beliefs and views blindly.

The leaders of the plot were Colonel General Ludwig Beck, former chief of the army general stuff, Colonel General Friedrich Olbricht and Major General Henning von Tresckow. 

However since 1933, there had been many attempts of assassination of Hitler by various groups. So Hitler became suspicious and was heavily guarded and often changed his schedule at short notice. 

The Wolf's Lair after the July Plot.

During a meeting at the Wolf's Lair with Hitler and more then 20 German officers and stuff, a bomb in a briefcase under the table went off during the meeting on the 20th July 1944. The briefcase was planted by Lieutenant Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the chief of staff of the reserve army. Stauffenberg said he had to make a phone call and left the room. Moments later the briefcase exploded which killed three officers. However, Hitler suffered only minor injuries.

After the bomb went off Stauffenberg believed Hitler was dead and flew to Berlin to start operation Valkyrie. Valkyrie was to use the reserve army to takeover the Nazi regime. Although, without confirmation of the death of Hitler the plan was at a standstill. General Friedrich Fromm, Commander of the reserve army and member of the plot, turned on his fellow conspirators to cover up his involvement, after he learned of the news that Hitler was still alive.

Stauffenberg and Olbricht
being shot on 21st July 1944.

Stauffenberg and Olbricht were arrested and shot on 21st July. Then hundreds of people who were suspected of being involved in the plot were arrested. Around 200 of them were executed. Tresckow committed suicide after he heard about the plot failed. Beck also committed suicide after he was arrested rather than stand trial. Erwin Rommel, a highly respected field marshal who was also linked to the plot, committed suicide to protect his family from facing a trial (as Rommel was a popular figure, the Nazis covered up the truth of his death and even gave him a state funeral). Fromm was shot in 1945 for his involvement. 

After the plot, Hitler believed it was fate he survived. "Having escaped death..." Hitler stated, "I am now more convinced that the great cause which I survive ... can be brought to a good end."   

On 30th April 1945, before Germany surrendered, Hitler committed suicide. The Wolf's Lair was blown up in January 1945 by the Soviet Army. I like to believe members of the July Plot ideas and beliefs to show not all Germans believed the same crazy views as Hitler.

500 Years of the Royal Mail - Online Museum

LEGO postman with a LEGO
Penny Black, first and
rarest British stamp from 1840.

Well you don't see many of these every day, a on-line museum for the 500 years of the Royal Mail. Now I know some museums are doing digital stored collection and I am happy to see this happening more and more as years go on. You can go to museums without leaving the comfort of your own home or pay for entry. These stored collections catalogs get the collection out to the public easier (one of the fundamental principles of a museum) and are great for researchers to see what they have before inquiring to see the items. 

This beautifully done on-line archive of images of portraits, documents, engravings, artefacts, stamps etc. Each image is provided with a few paragraphs of information describing what it is and the history behind the item you have selected. The layout almost gives a similar style to some social media sites, e.g. Instagram or Pinterest. A unusual way of displaying this but I think it works really well.

You have 6 categories to choose from to help you narrow down your search of items and information. Although the images and information is repeated in some of the different categories provided. The categories include:

• Moments in History - taking a look at the main milestones of the Royal Mail.
• Stamps - taking a look at main milestones in design and changes of the history of Stamps.
• The Beginning of the Royal Mail - obviously looking at the beginning of the Royal Mail and how it came about. 
• World Firsts - taking a look at what the Royal Mail started first in the world of the postal service.
• Iconography - taking a look at the visual images, symbols, or modes of representation collectively associated with the Royal Mail.
• People - taking a look at all the people who were involved in the Royal Mail and how they impacted it.

To help you even farther with navigation around the site you have a filter system in which you can select for all an item you are specific looking for. So you can choose the century the item was made or used in and which category you wish it to be from and the order they are all listed in. For example I want everything from the 1500s, themed to The Beginning of the Royal Mail and be viewed by latest - oldest items. 

Another feature with this section is you have a option to favorite items that you like best and gives you a opportunity to come back to them later on.   

Victorian post

Now you also have a search engine to search for specific item. However, if you don't visit the site often you can't possibly know what is there specifically. So this is only good if you know you way around and know what is actually there to see. 

Now it doesn't stop there you have the Features section which house additional thing to take a look at. This are some:

• By Land, Sea and Air - this section talks about the evolution of how the post got from a) to b) and how this benefited society. 
• The Letters of our Lives Campaign - a campaign to collect letters on hidden social and political history of the UK through the people who lived it.
• And so much more...

Now this is a great public resource which the Royal Mail had provided us. The complete collection which is provided here can be interesting to a Royal Mail enthusiast, Stamp collectors or any history buff who fancies knowing more on the Royal Mail and its history behind the British postal service we know today.

Brickmania Panzer III Ausf H set REVIEW!

Now you are probably wondering why am I reviewing a Brickmania set that has been sold-out late last year. Well not all of them have sold-out, you can still buy the Panzer III Ausf H at Brickmizimo. 

Now lets look at the set itself. Designed by Daniel Siskind, owner and main designer of Brickmania in September 2015. However, a new generation of this model is out now. This new model isn't much different to the original but has small details and improvements. 

At Brickmizimo this kit is 149.50 euros/$168.58/£117.44. I believe this isn't a huge difference to the original price of the model at Brickmania. 

The instructions are printed with high quality paper and ink. With these you also get a history section at the back of the booklet. This shows a very small section of the background behind the tank itself. 

Of course with most of Brickmania's larger models you also get a certificate of authenticity and the box is numbered and signed by Daniel (the designer).

You only get one custom printed minifig, a Panzer officer. I would have liked it if he was given a side-arm but he is great on his own.  

Now the antenna can be adjusted up and down. However, when it is up it gets in the way of the main gun of the tank. Also it is very fragile as it is attached with a minifig studded back piece. 

Now what really annoys me with this kit is the tracks. They are too small for the wheels and ever once in a while they slip off completely. However, I do believe on the new version, the tracks are bigger to remedy this problem.

The 1x2 1 studded tile which attaches the gun to the turret makes the main gun weak to adjust.

The sides of the tank that which protect the tracks we fragile and move a lot as they are only attached with one stud. 

This model is great but it does have some problems with the design but luckily in the new version which is out now most or not all are fixed in the redesign. 

Brick Shakespeare: Tragedies & Comedies book REVIEW

Brick Shakespeare
by McCann, Sweeney & Thomas

The Brick Shakespeare books takes a unique look at Shakespeare's most famous plays. The version I got housed two books one on the tragedy plays and the other comedy. You can buy them separately depending on what plays you wish to read. With the version I got you receive a double sided poster with Lego Romeo and Juliet on one side and The Taming of the Shrew on the other.

Poster of The Taming
of the Shrew

As the all of the plays they decided to recreate in the book are long they haven't created the full versions. So they handpicked the scenes which are the most interesting and significant to the story-line. 

This whole book is illustrated by scene by scene photos. The sets they uses in the images to illustrate the books are very basic. They hardly house imagination or effort put towards the design of them. They could have done better. I have seen many books similar to these with far more interesting sets which background the scenes they recreate. 

I don't normally talk about the covers of book in my reviews but with this one I am going to make a exception. They are unusual. The cover isn't of one picture like most but it is made up of many. Now I don't know about you but I never really seen many books like that. I see what they are trying to do with this; they are trying to showcase all the plays they are depicting in the book but this me think of some Instagram page and not a book cover.   

Poster of Romeo and Juliet

As I said above each play is depicted in Lego images in a scene by scene style which isn't unusual for Lego books like these ones. However, the script which is written below of each frame is placed within a scroll like backdrop and the font made to look like handwriting. This way of displaying the plays seem silly and unnecessary. This trying to create a theatrical feel to the book. I see what they are trying to achieve with this; they are trying to make it seem old to give the reader a sense of place. Although this only makes me see a childish feel for the book.   

Brickmania Flak 36 8.8 CM Anti-Aircraft Gun - REVIEW!

The Flak 36 8.8 CM Anti-Aircraft Gun is a custom LEGO WW2 Brickmania set. As most of Brickmania builds, the gun is designed by Daniel Siskind, owner and main designer.

This set is about $50/£34.29 for a 137 LEGO pieces, is good value for a Brickmania set. With this set you don't get any minifigs. However, if you purchase the Flakkorps upgrade you get three custom German Soldier minifigs, five BrickArms artillery shells and two LEGO shovels. However, this is $45 on-top of the original price, making it $95/£65.15. Buying the items separately wouldn't make much difference to the price. 

Building this set is a bit fiddly at times but it is moderately easy to put together. The instruction manual is made up of high quality paper and ink. The instructions themselves are simple to follow stages of the build.

The gun itself is full with great little details. The gun is able yo be adjusted up, down and side to side just like the real thing, allowing you to shoot down enemy planes. The only problem I have with this set is it is very fragile and parts down fall off regularly when used. Also the light blue axis for the seat of the gun.