This week’s handmade co-op puzzle won’t defox itself. If you’re a dab hand at quizzes, lateral thinking, and search engine sleuthing, why not help out.
Veteran defoxer Colonel_K supplied the theme and the bulk of the clues for this collage foxer. Roman merely tweaked here and there, and applied some PaintShop pizzazz. As usual, ID the hidden theme and explain the presence of each component to complete the defox.
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SOLUTIONS
Last week’s ‘33 Things Wot You Might Find in China’ missing vowels foxer
1. JN – jian () or juno (Nutfield)
2. TN KMN – tank man (Nutfield)
3. LBBR D – liubo board (Colonel_K)
4. BN QDMFL R – Banqiao Dam failure (Phlebas)
5. SL TPLC – salt police () or salt palace (Electric Dragon)
6. CL RLCHN NLT – Claire Lee Chennault (Colonel_K)
7. TNHC RM DL – Tianhe core module (Colonel_K)
8. MNGMN G – ming ming (Electric Dragon)
9. HML N – hua mulan (Colonel_K)
10. TG RLPN GGRG – tiger leaping gorge (ylla)
11. XNPP R – xuan paper (Colonel_K)
12. MPR SSDWG RCX – Empress Dowager Cixi (Nutfield)
13. CH NG DJ – chengdu j-20 (Colonel_K)
14. RDC TNC MP – re-education camp (Colonel_K)
15. F VGRTKL NS – five great kilns (Nutfield)
16. KYNG – keying (a_monk)
17. W W – ai weiwei (Zwack23)
18. GR TLPFRW RD – great leap forward (Nutfield)
19. RPTNGCRS SBW – repeating crossbow (Nutfield)
20. G NTW LDGSP GD – Giant Wild Goose Pagoda (Phlebas)
21. PX – pixiu () or puxi (Phlebas)
22. LTSS H – lotus shoe (Nutfield)
23. SRCLTR – sericulture (Phlebas)
24. YNG TZLLGTR – yangtze alligator (Nutfield)
25. FRBD DNCTY – forbidden city (Zwack23)
26. RBR TFRTN – robert fortune (ylla)
27. LT TLR DBK – little red book (Nutfield)
28. JDB RLS T – jade burial suit (Nutfield)
29. NNJN GDCD – nanjing decade (Colonel_K)
30. NLC TSFCN FCS – Analects of Confucius (Nutfield)
31. WR LDSLR GSTSTNBD DH – worlds largest stone buddha (Nutfield)
32. T HSR CFT HCV DPN D MC – the source of the COVID-19 pandemic (Nutfield)
33. SC TYFRG HTSNDH RM NSFS TS – Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists (Nutfield)
Stilt fighting in the Belgian city of Namur?
Top Right – Aleksandr Orlov from Compare the Market Meerkats
The main picture appears to be jousters on stilts in Namur, although not the wikipedia picture
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stilts#/media/File:Echasseurs-Echasse-Or-Fetes-de-Wallonie-3-Skuds.jpg
Found the exact picture here:
https://echasseurs.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/steltenlopers-gevechten-namen-skuds.jpg
The music appears to be Row Row Row Your Boat…
Gah, just came back to post that.
You should have just not noticed and posted anyway, that’s what I did 🙂
Probably irrelevant, but it’s a slightly odd version in 4/4 time.
Stamp – Tall Ships Stamp Cutty Sark 1869 Brick “Hector Ship” Transportation S/S MNH (Mrs Nutfield) – Togolese
It’s 250 years this month since the most famous voyage of the Hector, but I don’t think anything else there is having an anniversary.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_(ship)
The missile is the V2 Launch site at White Sands: (With Mrs Nutfield)
http://scopeviews.co.uk/V2LaunchSite.htm
Here is the view from google maps: US-70, Las Cruces
https://www.google.fr/maps/@32.4258783,-106.5629024,3a,47.7y,177.32h,99.86t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s8yd3GP6PV26FN1GJbvWZvw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
And the missile there is a Nike Hercules.
Bottom left: General Tojo as depicted on a US “Enemy Ears Are Listening!” poster
https://www.loc.gov/item/2017694092/
I’m getting a James Bond feeling link between them, i think the link is Bond Villains.
HECTOR Gonzales
General ORZOV
TOJO was the wrestling name of Oddjob.
There’s a Mr White from Quantum/Spectre in the Daniel Craig films (White Sands)
I wonder if it just Moonraker?
That has Orlov and the main rocket is based on a V2?
General Gogol appears in other films, but I think Orlov is only in Octopussy?
For Your Eyes Only has:
Oddjob (TOJO)
NAMUR (Emile Loque escaped from prison there)
HECTOR Gonzales
Roger Moore Bond films, maybe?
Top left: Panzerkampfwagen V “Panther” Upper front glacis hit by ISU-152 from 1200m
https://www.reddit.com/r/DestroyedTanks/comments/acm6hn/panzerkampfwagen_v_panther_upper_front_glacis_hit/
The thing below the Stilt fighters is a steam powered fire engine, but can’t find the exact model or city it is from.
Button’s Hand Fire Engine No. 1 – hand-powered rather than steam. In Springfield, MA.
https://springfieldmuseums.org/collections/item/fire-engine-side-stroke-water-pump-l-button-sons-waterford-ny/
Missile on the left is also a V2 rocket:
https://www.alamy.com/stock-image-photograph-of-a-v-2-rocket-the-worlds-first-long-range-guided-ballistic-165895985.html
Also available from the NOAA Photo Library:
https://photolib.noaa.gov/Collections/NOAA-In-Space/Rockets-and-Launches/emodule/709/eitem/22935
The right hand bathtub is an Aurora bath on sale at Victorian Plumbing:
https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk/aurora-1700-x-700mm-2th-steel-enamel-bath-with-grips-anti-slip
The middle one is a Hereford on sale at Bathroom Mountain:
https://www.bathroommountain.co.uk/hereford-v2-1700×700-square-single-ended-bath-c53020
And the other is a Mode Tate double-ended freestanding bath, available from Victoria Plum:
https://victoriaplum.com/product/mode-tate-double-ended-freestanding-round-bath
I suspect the link is just that they’re baths. The SALE formatting is from Google’s suggestions rather than a common source.
The Tower in the bottom right is the Powder Tower in Prague
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Prag_Pulverturm.jpg
Still not solved? Tut, tut.
Anyway, must dash. I have a meeting in the park with the opposition about an abducted scientist.
(Exits humming)
(The above is probably more crimson Surströmming than clue)
Disappointed my man Odoric of Pordenone didn’t make last week’s Things found in China Foxer.
Top right logo: Palisades Entertainment/Palisades Toys
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palisades_Toys
In a final effort to get this I’ve collated all the clues with a guess at what the relevant detail is:
Stilt jousting in the Belgian city of Namur
Aleksandr Orlov, Russian defector (and insurance meerkat)
Row Row Row Your Boat, song sung in rounds
Stamp “Hector Ship” from Togo, most famous journey migrating settlers from Scotland to Nova Scotia
White Sands missile range site in New Mexico, site of V2 testing, first atomic bomb test, Nike Hercules missile pictured
V2 missile
General Tojo as depicted on a US “Enemy Ears Are Listening!”
Panther (tank)
Button’s Hand Fire Engine No. 1 – hand-powered rather than steam. In Springfield, MA.
Bath
Powder Tower in Prague
Palisades Toys logo, maker of licensed toys from films and TV, maybe it’s one of their shows
I’ve run through many themes but nothings working
Any ideas? We’re running out of time.