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How to get on the "Insider" list at the Castle.

By The Armorer on March 7, 2005 | | Comments (22)

When you travel, and visit cool museums, or just see tanks, guns, and airplanes on display someplace, send the Armorer pictures. Individual or CD, for the 'Virtual Museum" tours the Armorer is constructing. The Armorer can deal with prints, too - (though Wal-Mart and other places will digitize 'em for yaz!). Like Jack at Random Fate, or SangerM and others have done - now we add...

Randy K. - currently gallivanting through the UK, who sent these teasers from the Imperial War Museum (a museum housed, appropriately enough, in the famously-named former Bedlam Mental Hospital...

The 15-inch Guns out front:

Hi-res.

Hi-res.

Data plate.

A bit smaller, more intimate, a wakizashi blade:

Hi-res.

Data plate.

Thanks, Randy!

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22 Comments

By John of Arghhh! on March 7, 2005 10:33 AM
Oh - and museums like the Museum of Science and Industry are cool, too. Or the Natural History Museum in Denver... and railroad museums. Or cars. Doesn't just have to be implements of death and destruction...
 
By cw4billt on March 7, 2005 10:38 AM
Oooooh. DVDs of the parties...
 
By cw4billt on March 7, 2005 11:35 AM
And the Aviation Museum at Osh Kosh. The day after the airshow. With no crowds...
 
By Barb on March 7, 2005 11:51 AM
I'll rummage through our pics from the "Hôtel des Invalides" in Paris and see what I can find that's usable. I remember being thoroughly impressed with the Cavalry display, complete with horses! And there were tons (literally) of cannon around...
 
By AFSister on March 7, 2005 12:22 PM
Maybe I'll send you some from the USAF Museum in Dayton.... btw, Randy- that is one BIG ASS GUN!
 
By Dr_Funk on March 7, 2005 12:44 PM
When the new Canadian National War Museum opens this year, I'll get you some pictures from there, John.
 
By John of Arghhh! on March 7, 2005 1:51 PM
Les Invalides! Wright-Pat! National War Museum! I'm in heaven... and I'll still have to visit 'em all (in the case of Wright-Pat and Les Invalides, *again*)! Thanks all! Now if we can just get someone to Bovington, St Cyr (during the live-running days), Tankograd and down to the Mary Rose/HMS Warrior/HMS Victory in Plymouth...
 
By cw4billt on March 7, 2005 2:31 PM
How 'bout the Constellation in Baltimore Inner Harbor?
 
By Alan on March 7, 2005 3:02 PM
Have you dipped into the jetsicle collection? http://www.genx40.com/archives/jetsciles/ Alan
 
By John of Arghhh! on March 7, 2005 3:14 PM
Bill - believe that's the Constitution - and SWWBO has that covered on her upcoming trip to Balitmore. Fort McHenry, too. Of course, she may choose to make me accompany her to carry the camera, I dunno. Oops. My bad. Confused Boston with Baltimore. You are, of course, correct Bill. The Armorer's bad.. Alan - yes, I have dipped into your Jetsicle collection. Precisely the sort of thing I was talking about. But I wasn't going to swipe and post your stuff... because that would be rude. I'll prolly link it though, when I'm ready to unveil the Virtual Tours.
 
By John of Arghhh! on March 7, 2005 3:27 PM
Oh, and Allan - there really is a giftie in the mail - but given the source it's coming from, it can take some time...
 
By Randy K on March 7, 2005 5:33 PM
AFSister... Yah, that was the first think I thought too! I just got back from a tour of here: http://www.shepherd-neame.co.uk/ My new Brother-in-Law is a brewer there! :) So I got a tour while he was working tonight which was cool. I'll send John a few of the pics tonight, but the rest will have to wait until my Brother-in-Law goes over them with me to put a narrative together so it makes sense. John, let me know if you see anything you like on the web site and I'll bring a few back for you.
 
By Neffi on March 7, 2005 8:13 PM
Ahh.. the IWM. I lived in England for 10 years (mom is English) and spent many, many hours (days)there. I understand that the items on display represent only 1/6th of the inventory, the excess of which is stored in several warehouses and is rotated through the museum as time and space allows. (this info from an associate curator during my last visit in 1990) He also said there are crates and crates of stuff gathered over several hundred years of world military dominance which have not seen the light of day since they were stored.... oooooooooooh gimme a crowbar and a pass from the Queen...
 
By Justin K on March 7, 2005 8:26 PM
Thats a beautiful brace of cannons there. What are they, about 35-40 calibers long? That wakasashi is lovely too. The makers-mark is still clear on the tang, the wave on the blade and polish job are excellent (from what I can see from the photo), as well as the engraving in the groove.
 
By Barb on March 7, 2005 11:29 PM
John - Pics on the way, including one (not very good) of a castle :-)
 
By Lucius Severus Pertinax on March 8, 2005 12:02 AM
The english always did make really splendid double-barreled fowling pieces. :) PULL!!
 
By Ben on March 8, 2005 2:05 AM
Ah, my favourite London museum. Thought it does a wonderful job of putting things in perspective. (That rotating photo display of smiling groups taken just before disaster strikes is particularly chilling. Like the Royal Newfoundland Regiment in early 1916, or the crew of HMS Hood in 1941, or...)
 
By Collin Baber on March 8, 2005 6:26 AM
From Lao Tze: Whoever finds beauty in weapons Delights in the slaughter of men; And who delights in slaughter Cannot content himself with peace.
 
By John of Argghhh! on March 8, 2005 7:17 AM
Collin - patent bullshit, but thanks anyway! Well, upon reflection, there can be a kernel of truth in there... for some people. Which is generally the case with aphorisms like that. I prefer from Mahan:
When the neccessity for arms ceases, armaments will disappear. The basic causes of war are not armaments, but in human minds.
I delight in all things mechanical - the ultimate expression of an idea inside a human mind made real. A nicely done (or crudely done but functional) steam engine will engender as much excitement in me as a nice example of a Gatling gun. But I personally reject the second line - you can 'delight' in weapons, and not delight in slaughter. And if the second line is false, the whole thing fails.
 
By Big Squid on March 8, 2005 7:27 AM
Have you ever gone to the Washington Navy Yard and checked out the piece of 19-inch armor from a Japanese battleship? The boys at Dahlgren put it on a stand then fired a 16-inch armor piercing shell at it. I don't know what is more impressive; the fact that you could actually armor a warship so heavily, or the fact that a shell could pierce it so dramatically.
 
By John of Arghhh! on March 8, 2005 9:25 AM
Squid - no, I haven't - but I will now!
 
By Alan on March 8, 2005 1:02 PM
John - looking forward to it. But if it is a WWII tank slowing clanking its way up I-81 to the Thousand Islands Bridge, we are going to have questions at Canadian customs!
 
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