Lego WW1 Video - The Battle of the Somme - stopmotion

On July 1st, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme began. The British sent thousands of soldiers over the tops of the trenches to take the German positions on the opposite side. The Germans, however, knew the attack was coming and were very well prepared. The advancing British were quickly cut down by rifles, machine guns, and artillery. Although some of the British were able to break through the German lines, the majority were unsuccessful. Altogether, the British suffered 57,000 casualties making it the bloodiest day in their history to this day. The Battle of the Somme would go on for another four months and claim the lives of thousands more.

Please use the link below to watch the video from JD Brick Production :

WW2 German Lineol-made Flak 36 battery in firing position

The German WW2 heavy Flak 8.8 cm gun batteries consisted of four guns arranged in a quadrilateral with a main fire control centre some 100m away. An auxiliary command centre was positioned centrally between the four guns. The battery was usually protected against low level attacks by two or three troops of light 20mm Flak 30. When the flak batteries pinpointed an aircraft the guns were fired in salvoes designed to burst in a sphere about 50m in diameter. Each gun could fire a shell to 20,000ft and could knock out an aircraft within 25m of a shell burst. Shrapnel could still inflict severe damage on an aircraft at up to 200m from the burst. This Flak 8.8 cm gun, the projector, the stereoscopic rangefinders (Entfernungsmesser) and the majority of the Flak crew soldiers were produced by Lineol in 30s. You can also see some Flak and Wehrmacht soldiers produced by Elastolin, Schusso and Durso.

Cannons from Millmount Tower overlooking Drogheda town

Millmount Fort is without doubt one of the most dominant features of Drogheda, sited as it is atop its great mound, and clearly visible from most parts of the town and the surrounding areas. It was fortified as a motte by the Normans in the 12th century and a castle was later built on its summit. The fort offered Cromwell the strongest resistance he encountered during the siege of 1649. About 1808, the old fortifications were demolished and the present  tower and defensive perimeter was erected.

The fort was considerably damaged when it was shelled from the town by Free State forces during the civil war in 1922 and was finally restored by Drogheda Corporation. It has been open to the public since June 2000.On December 13th 2008 , two replica 8lb cannons were fired for the first time and a new permanent Military Exhibition opened by the Mayor of Drogheda , Clr Frank Maher .

War Years Remembered Museum (Northern Ireland, Ballyclare)

War Years Remembered was established in 1994 by David McCallion. The collection spans over 100 years of military and social history during the greatest two impacts of the twentieth century, The Great War and The Second World War. War Years Remembered has grown over the years, from a not for profit organisation to a registered charity. Its final goal is to find a permanent home and seek registered museum status. We aim to further develop the collection of vehicles, medals, personal items & stories, ephemera and photographs. We also hold many unique items which cannot be found in any other museum. Our dream is to become a major attraction that will provide an enjoyable, interesting and educational experience to all who visit. The journey does not end here. As War Years Remembered evolves, the collection evolves growing larger from the generosity of items donated by you the public so that your own family's story can be told. We pride ourselves in preservation, protection and presentation as well as the restoration of items held within the collection (http://www.waryearsremembered.co.uk/).

My collection of WW 2 Gama tanks (Panzerwaffe)

Gama is the acronym for Georg Adam Mangold, founder of the company in Fürth, Germany in 1882. Georg Adam Mangolde began making tinplate mechanical toys and production continued through World War II, the Occupation era and into the late 1950s with a wide range of lithographed tinplate. In the 1930s, the rise of militarism in Germany saw a resurgence in production of military toys and the Panzer was top of the list! Gama offered tanks in sizes from 3.5" to 7.5" inches in length in wind up with sparking flint mechanisms. The smallest tank at my photos is not Gama, this tank was produced by Gescha (Germany). The panzer officers are produced by German makers as well - Elastolin and Lineol. Some of the panzer soldier figures are Gama made. These 7cm Gama figures are fully compatible to those produced by Elastolin & Lineol.