Check for Wordpress Thumbnail and display dummy if not there - php

Question

got another question to ask:
I would like to display post thumbnails with the post title underneath. I have managed to work that out through asking on here, however now I would like to add a function that checks for a thumbnail and if none is available displays a dummy image.
Here is my try, which does display the thumbnail (if there) but not the dummy (if no thumbnail is attached):
<div class="gallery_container_wrapper">
<?php query_posts( $args ); if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
<div class="gallery_image_container">
<a href="<?php the_permalink(); ?>" title="<?php the_title_attribute(); ?>">
<div class="gallery_image_thumb">
<?php if ( has_post_thumbnail() ) {
the_post_thumbnail('thumbnail'); }
else {
echo
'<img src="http://www.kunstamkasten.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/gallery_dummy.jpg" />'
; } ?>
</div>
<div class="gallery_title">
<h2>
<?php the_title(); ?>
</h2>
</div>
</a>
</div>
<?php endwhile; else : ?>
<p><?php _e( 'Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.' ); ?></p>
<?php endif; ?>
<?php wp_reset_query(); ?>
</div>
What am I doing wrong here?

Answer 1

This code works for me. Yours is virtually identical.
<?php if ( has_post_thumbnail() ) : ?>
<?php the_post_thumbnail(); ?>
<?php else : ?>
<img src="<?php echo get_template_directory_uri(); ?>/images/sunlit_path_banner.jpg" alt="Sunlit Path" />
<?php endif; ?>
Note: I also cut and pasted your code and tested on my WP install, and it worked fine.
Or... try this alternative to the if condition:
<?php if ( get_the_post_thumbnail( get_the_ID() ) ) {
the_post_thumbnail('thumbnail'); }
else {
echo
'<img src="http://www.kunstamkasten.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/gallery_dummy.jpg" />'
; } ?>