The South Australian Aviation Museum, at Port Adelaide, displays aircraft, aircraft engines, and rockets of relevance to South Australia and the history of aviation and the aerospace industry in Australia.

 

The museum’s origins can be traced to 1984 when it was started by a group of enthusiasts interested in aviation history and aircraft restoration.

In 1990 it became the official aviation museum for South Australia when it was awarded Provisional Accreditation by the History Trust of South Australia.

The following year it became responsible for the State’s historical aviation collection.

After several moves, the museum was set up at its present site in 2006.

A second hangar was added in 2017 to accommodate the growing collection.

 

*The building that now houses the Aviation Museum is an exhibit in its own right as it is a World War Two Pentad Aircraft Hangar.

 

The hangar is a 1943 design exclusive to Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm Airfields. It differs from conventional aircraft hangars in that it has sloping walls at an angle of eight degrees. The reason for the angle of the walls was to deflect the gale force winds often encountered at the usually more remote Fleet Air Arm airfields.

 

An interesting aspects of its construction is that all the frame sections are in six foot (1.8m) lengths. This made shipping and assembly a much simpler task. Originally the main doors could be fully opened and with 2200 square metres of floor space and plenty of height it could house quite large aircraft or a number of smaller aircraft. The hangar originally came to Darwin in WWII (1940–1945) and was used to house aircraft defending Darwin during some of the 67 Japanese air raids on that town. The building was brought to Port Adelaide after the war ended and was used as a wool store at Ocean Steamers Road for many years.

 

In 1996 it was occupied by this Museum. In 2005 the hangar was shifted to the present location and refurbished by the South Australian Government Department for Transport, Energy & Infrastructure. Adjoining extensions were added as workshop and administration areas at the same time.

Ref: South Australian Aviation Museum

 

*The Vickers Vimy G-EAOU aircraft was flown from England to Australia in 1919 by Ross Smith and Keith Smith, South Australian born pilots.

For some time the aircraft was placed at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra: however it is now enclosed in a protective pavilion located at the Smith brothers’ home town of Adelaide.

 

Sir Ross Macpherson Smith KBE, MC & Bar, DFC & Two Bars, AFC was an Australian aviator. He and his brother, Sir Keith Macpherson Smith, were the first pilots to fly from England to Australia, in 1919.

The brothers were born on 20 December 1890 in Adelaide, and on 4 December 1892 at Semaphore, Adelaide, sons of Scottish-born Andrew Bell Smith, station manager, and his wife Jessie, née Macpherson, born in Western Australia. In 1897 Andrew Smith became the manager of the Mutooroo Pastoral Co. and Mutooroo station, a property of some 3000 sq. miles (7700 km²). Both Keith and Ross were educated at Queen's School, Adelaide (as boarders), and for two years at Warriston School, Moffat, Scotland, their father's birthplace.

 

Ross Smith had served in the cadets and the militia before World War One when he left Australia as a sergeant with the 3rd Light Horse Regiment in October 1914: he was at Gallipoli the following year. He was later commissioned and was at the battle of Romani (in the Sinai) in August 1916. The next year he volunteered for the Australian Flying Corps.

 

Flying with No 1 Squadron AFC, Smith took part in attacks, aerial photography missions, and bombing raids on Turkish forces. On one occasion he landed in the face of the enemy to rescue a downed comrade. During his extensive war service he was twice awarded the Military Cross, received the Distinguished Flying Cross three times, as well as the Air Force Cross.

A gifted flyer, Smith became experienced in flying his squadron’s twin-engined Handley Page 0/400 bomber: on occasion Lawrence of Arabia was his passenger. While still with the flying corps, he made pioneering flights from Cairo to Calcutta, and from Calcutta to Timor.

 

On 12 November 1919, assisted by his brother Keith and two mechanics, Wally Shiers and Jim Bennett, he set out to fly from England to Australia in a large Vickers Vimy bomber. It was an epic 28 day flight, completed at an average speed of 137 kilometres per hour, but not without mishap. On their arrival, the pioneering flyers were welcomed home as national heroes. The brothers were knighted. Their mechanics were commissioned and awarded Bars to their Air Force Medals. The £10,000 reward offered by the South Australian Government was divided into four equal shares.

 

In a Vickers Vimy (a type similar to the 0/400 bomber), supplied by the manufacturer, and with Keith as assistant pilot and navigator and accompanied by two mechanics, the attempt began from Hounslow, England, on 12 November 1919. Flying conditions were very poor and most hazardous until they reached Basra on 22 November. From Basra to Delhi, a distance of 1600 miles (2575 km), they spent 25½ hours in the air out of 54. A poor landing-area at Singora and torrential rain almost brought disaster on 3 December. Disaster again almost came at Sourabaya where the aircraft was bogged and had to take off from an improvised airstrip made of bamboo mats. By 9 December, however, they were at Timor, only 350 miles (563 km) from Darwin. The crossing was made next day and at 3.50 p.m. on 10 December they landed in Darwin. The distance covered in this epic flight was 11,340 miles (18,250 km). It took just under 28 days with an actual flying time of 135 hours at an average speed of 85 mph (137 kmph).

 

SIR ROSS SMITH'S ARRIVAL

According to the latest official information Sir Ross Smith and his party are expected to arrive in Adelaide on Thursday afternoon next, assuming that the overhaul of the aeroplane proves to be satisfactory. After the aviators have flown over the metropolitan area, including Malvern, Hawthorn, Unley, Henley Beach, Port Adelaide, Woodville, Norwood, and Goodwood, they will soar above soar above Gilberton and Prospect, and thence proceed to the Northfield aerodrome, escorted by whatever aeroplanes may be able to meet them.

 

At the aerodrome they will be met by their parents and the official party, including the members of the Welcome Committee—the Premier (Hon A H Peake), who is Chairman, the Lord Mayor of Adelaide (Mr F B Moulden), the District Commandant (Brig-Gen Antill CB CMG), the Director of the Tourist Bureau (Mr V H Ryan), the secretary of the committee, and the secretary of the Aero Club (Captain Matthews).

The Premier has asked that the time of the arrival of the aviators shall be as nearly as possible 2.30pm.

The District Commandant, with the aid of the police and members of the Australian Army Reserve, will keep the enclosure at Northfield clear.

 

After the greeting and formal introductions there the party will proceed to the city. From St Peter’s Cathedral they will be escorted by mounted police, and on arriving at Parliament House, where the Returned Soldiers' Association Band will be in attendance, addresses of welcome will be delivered by the Lieutenant-Governor (Sir George Murray) and the Premier.

In the evening Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith will be entertained by their old comrades of the 3rd Light Horse at the Town Hall: on the following day there will be a civic reception by the Lord Mayor. The Welcome Committee desires particularly to warn the public against the danger of crowding the enclosure at Northfield, and points out that the machine will not come to a full stop immediately it reaches the ground. [Ref: Journal (Adelaide) 13-3-1920]

 

SIR ROSS SMITH IN ADELAIDE

Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith were given a civic reception this morning. The Lord Mayor (Mr F B Moulden) said that in the Smith family there were three sons, and all enlisted: in the Shiers family six sons, and five enlisted, while the other mechanic, Sergeant Bennett, was an only son. The Lord Mayor handed to Sir Ross Smith an address of welcome and congratulations from the inhabitants of the Northern Territory. [Ref: Argus (Melbourne) 25-3-1920]

 

ROUND of FESTIVITIES

Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith spent a quiet morning, although the telephone to their home has been ringing almost continuously with messages of congratulation from friends and strangers.

They spent yesterday afternoon inspecting the Vickers-Vimy at Northfield, where a military picket of 12 men is posted to protect the machine.

 

This afternoon the aviators are being entertained by the Commonwealth Club. A tremendous crowd was present, and the reception to the guests lasted for several minutes. Tonight their friends are giving them a private dance in a large city hall.

Mr F B Moulden, the Lord Mayor is arranging a party in their honour at the Town Hall on Monday.

 

On Saturday afternoon Sir Ross Smith will lay the foundation stone of the War Chapel at St Peter's Church, Glenelg.

Sir Keith Smith goes to the races on that day. [Ref: Herald (Melbourne) 25-3-1920]

 

THE ROSS SMITH SEASON

The Adelaide Town Hall has been too limited in capacity for intending patrons, many of whom have been unable to gain admission to hear the story and see the films of “The Great Flight”.

The programme is divided into two sections, the first being from Darwin to Adelaide, photographed from the Vickers-Vimy by Captain Frank Hurley. In the second half Sir Ross Smith relates his experiences in racy vein between the 'story' with screen illustrations.

No one returning to Adelaide has ever been given a more enthusiastic ovation than Sir Ross Smith received on Monday night. [Ref: Register 10-5-1920]

 

Sir Ross Smith will make his final appearance in Adelaide at the St Peters Town Hall, on Thursday night prior to leaving on Friday for Tasmania. The story of the flight will be told for the last time in South Australia, and as Sir Keith and Sir Ross will be leaving for England early in August there is no likely return visit of the flight pictures in Adelaide.

The plan of reserve seats [is] at Dorling’s Sweet Shop, next to the Town Hall, St Peters. [Ref: Daily Herald 26-5-1920]

 

SHY AUSTRALIA FLIERS. Two rather shy-looking young men, bronzed and smiling (states The London Daily Mail of February 24), yesterday received endless congratulations from unknown people, autographed menu cards, and made two speeches— “more dangerous” they said, 'than flying to Australia’.

They were Sir Ross Smith and his brother, Sir Keith Smith— both of Adelaide— who flew to Australia in 1919 and were entertained at luncheon yesterday by the Overseas Club and Patriotic League at The Hyde Park Hotel. Memories of their romantic 11,000 miles journey were recalled when they spoke. With hardly a reference to their difficulties, both of them spoke in the first breath of their two mechanics, and avowed they would never have “got through” without them. When Sir Keith Smith mentioned his father and mother, who were waiting for them in their own home at the end of the journey, applause drowned the rest of the sentence.

 

Major-Gen Seely, who presided, recalled that the Air Ministry classified the day on which the brothers left England (November 12 1919) as “Class 5” which meant it was totally unfit for flying. [Ref: Register 5-4-1921]

 

ROSS SMITH MEMORIAL. THE UNVEILING ON SATURDAY

The Ross Smith Memorial in Creswell Gardens perpetuates a nation's admiration for South Australia's "most distinguished son," as the Lieutenant-Governor termed Sir Ross Smith on Saturday.

As the Lieutenant-Governor (Sir George Murray) was unveiling the memorial, the drone of circling aeroplanes recalled the deeds with which Sir Ross Smith won distinction as the first Australian air pilot in Palestine during the war, and carried the thoughts of the spectators back to the 12,000 miles pioneer flight with which the Smith brothers and their mechanics placed the seal of achievement on an audacious ambition.

 

With the face of Sir Ross Smith's figure to the rising sun, the statue is placed between the pathway to the Adelaide Oval entrance and the bank of the Torrens. To a large crowd of people the Lieutenant-Governor told how Sir Ross Smith had his mind turned to aviation from the time he landed in Egypt, and how he became the most famous pilot and observer in the East. His was the only aeroplane to take part in Lord Allenby's triumphal march into Cairo after the war.

 

In a letter to his mother during the war he spoke of the joy he would experience in flying straight to Australia to take Mr P Waite for a flight to Mutooroo Station, probably the germ of the famous enterprise.

Dr A A Lendon related Sir Ross Smith's desire, expressed to his mother during his last visit to Adelaide, that a monument to the Third Light Horse should occupy the place chosen for his own. The doctor went on to point out how fitting it was that the Ross Smith memorial should be placed there, and associated that gallant corps with it.

 

Sir George Murray was also filling the position of Lieutenant-Governor when Sir Ross Smith reached Adelaide after the flight, and at the time the aviator was killed while preparing for a flight around the world and his performance of the ceremony on Saturday was a natural completion of such notable coincidences. The time of the ceremony was an inconvenient one, but the crowd which assembled testified to the place Sir Ross Smith occupied in public esteem. At the conclusion of the ceremony there was a general movement inward to inspect the statuary, admiration of which was openly expressed. A guard of honour was provided by Queen's School, the present pupils of which were thus linked with a former scholar, whose name has become imperishable. [Ref: Register 12-12-1927]

 

Flight of 1922

The next proposal, to fly round the world in a Vickers Viking amphibian, ended in disaster. Both brothers travelled to England to prepare for the trip and on 13 April 1922, while Ross and his long-serving crew member Bennett were test flying the aircraft at Weybridge near London, it spun into the ground from 1000 feet (305 m), killing both. Keith, who arrived late for the test flight witnessed the accident. The flight was abandoned. The bodies of Sir Ross Smith and Lieutenant Bennett were brought home to Australia.

 

SIR ROSS SMITH

BODY TAKEN TO ADELAIDE

Wednesday—The Commonwealth liner ‘Largs Bay’ has brought home the bodies of Sir Ross Smith and Lieutenant Bennett. Sir Keith Smith was present at the Outer Harbor to watch the landing of the casket containing his brother's remains. Both bodies were conveyed from London in the forward hold of the vessel, but were kept separate from the cargo.

 

The casket holding the embalmed body of Sir Ross Smith was encased in a lead coffin, on the outside of which was a wooden case to prevent damage. Both coffins were under the direct care of the ship’s officers.

 

There was a large gathering on the wharf when the ship's siren gave a salute as the casket was lifted from the hold. As it came into the view of the crowd, draped with the Australian flag, every head was bared, and silence prevailed as it was lowered to the wharf. A band of sailors from the ship bore the coffin to the conveyance which was to take it to St Peter's Cathedral.

 

The first floral tribute to the dead hero from this State was a bunch of red geraniums, which was put on the coffin as a mark of respect from the sailors at the Outer Harbor. The flags on all the vessels and buildings at the harbor were at half-mast. No ceremony was attached to the conveyance to Adelaide of the coffin. After it had been removed from the case it was transferred to a hearse and was taken to the cathedral.

 

Although the public had been notified that there would be no admission to the cathedral until three o'clock in the afternoon a number of people had collected in the vicinity.

 

The Dean of Adelaide met a small official procession at the cathedral gates. Inside the building the precentor (Dr Milne) and Archdeacon Bussell preceded the coffin to a position between the choir stalls, where trestles had been placed to receive it. The coffin is of oak, lead lined and sealed, and bears the following inscription:

"Captain Sir Ross Macpherson Smith, KBE, MC, DFC, AFC died at Brooklands, 13th April, 1923 aged 29 years."

 

Nearly 30 airmen will participate in the funeral. [Ref: Recorder (Port Pirie) 15-6-1922]

 

THE LATE SIR ROSS SMITH

FUNERAL IN ADELAÏDE TODAY

THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE ATTEND

Adelaide. Thursday.

General Leane represented Lord Forster, the Governor-General, at the late Sir Ross Smith's funeral in Adelaide today. Thousands of people viewed the body lying in state at the Cathedral yesterday, and thousands watched the funeral procession today The city was deserted. The public offices, business places, and hotels were closed. The Town Hall bells were tolled, and flags were at half-mast. Mr Bickersteth, headmaster at St. Peter's College, delivered a brief address. Seventy Australian airmen participated. An aircraft trailer was used to carry the coffin and another carried the flowers.

The firing party at the graveside consisted of 40 men.

 

Three military aeroplanes flew over the route as the procession was making its way to the cemetery.

 

The interment was in the North-road cemetery, the grave being dug in a plot of green lawn close to the entrance of the picturesque little chapel. [Ref: Barrier Miner (Broken Hill) 15-6-1922]

 

LAID TO REST

SIR ROSS SMITH'S FUNERAL

The remains of Sir Ross Macpherson Smith, aviator and soldier, were laid to rest this afternoon in soil of his beloved homeland. Enormous crowds of sorrowing people assembled in the vicinity of St. Peter's Cathedral and thronged the route to the North Road Anglican Cemetery, desiring to pay a last tribute of respect to the memory of the illustrious airman. At the Cathedral the solemn service of mourning was held, immediately after which the body was borne from the edifice by members of the Royal Australian Flying Corps and placed on an aeroplane trailer at the head of the State Funeral cortege, which was of unprecedented dimensions.

 

From an early hour this morning a continuous procession of thousands of people filed quietly and sadly past the body as it lay in state in the Cathedral, draped with the British colours and guarded by members of the RAFC with arms reversed.

 

At the Cathedral the service, which was of a most impressive character, was conducted by Dean Young, and was attended by Mr and Mrs Andrew Smith, parents of Sir Ross Smith, and also by Mr and Mrs John Fordyce, of Melbourne (uncle and aunt of the deceased), and Sir Keith Smith and Lieutenant W Shiers, who flew with Sir Ross and Lieutenant Bennett to Australia in the Vickers Vimy. There was a fine muster of Sir Ross Smith's former comrades in the Third Light Horse, and other branches of the AIF.

 

We are not unmindful of his comrade, Lieutenant Bennett, who died with him, and whose body is to be laid to rest on Saturday, in Melbourne. [Ref: Daily Telegraph (Sydney) 16-6-1922]

   

A3 Gay Crusader at Grantham about 1958 and before a double chimney and trough deflectors were fitted.

Hans van Eijsden Photography, The Netherlands

MUA: Martina Kató

 

Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM with 3-stop ND filter on full frame.

 

Light: An Elinchrom Quadra ELB 400 with one Pro head as key light from the front into an Elinchrom Maxi Spot with silver deflector, triggered via Skyports.

I measured the light with the Sekonic L-758DR.

 

Postprocessing: Some local adjustment curves, some local cloning.

 

Portfolio: www.hansvaneijsden.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hansvaneijsdenphotography

A feisty medium tank with a turret reinforced with Stalinium armor which can deflect asteroids, and nuclear bombs with its sleek shape, and the blessing of Allah.

Armed with a 122mm main gun, and a 14.7mm machine gun.

Final model will have a different gun, and will be dubbed the Mk 54 Mobarez.

 

Not to happy with this pic, but screw it I'm exhausted, been up since yesterday morning. Also need to make the light tan around the gun match the hull because I don't like how it looks.

The brightness of the deflector dish will be toned down quite a bit once I glue the photo-etch grills in place.

Should still be bright enough though.

EDITED ON FEBRUARY 6, 2021

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(Geonosis, a few minutes after Black Moon Squad enters the tower)

________________________________________________

 

"Commander, the droids have us outnumbered! We're running low on ammunition and cover! What are your orders?!"

 

"Keep fighting, Flash! We just got to hold out 'til Kydan and his men get here!"

 

"Copy that, ma'am!"

 

'If he gets here in time, that is...', the blonde haired Jedi Knight woman though to herself, before deflecting an energy blast back with her green bladed lightsaber.

 

Down below the sixth floor within the research tower, Rilicia and her squad, White Claw, had breached the large room of what little cargo there was left, having defeated some B1 Battle Droids and B2 Super Battle Droids in the vicinity. They had all just begun to head towards the next set of stairs to the seventh floor before being entrapped within the cargo bay, the door before them sealed off. To make matters worth, the reinforcements that were suppose to aid the other droid forces earlier had finally caught up to them; containing B1 Battle Droids, B2 Super Battle Droids, a few, but deadly, Droidekas and one single DSD1 Dwarf Spider Droid, all charging up to them all, pinning them back to take cover.

 

Rilicia thought that it was a nightmare. "Boomer, we need that Spider Droid gone!"

 

"Working on it, commander!" Boomer cried out, rushing to reload his rocket launcher in hand. After a few seconds, he lifts the launcher in the air and aims it right at the droid, using the automatic targeting computer for better success.

 

"Suck on this, you clanker!"

 

Pulling the trigger, the missile launches out from the rocket launcher, flying right towards the Spider Droid at high speed. With little time to react, the missile makes a clean hit, creating a massive explosion that engulfed almost the entire droid itself, destroying both the Spider Droid, one Super Battle Droid and a couple Battle Droids that had been around it.

 

Boomer places the rocket launcher down before cheering out loud. "Ha ha! Take that, you junkies!"

 

"Good work Boomer, that takes ca-," Rilicia paused for a brief moment before looking at her other clone soldier, Wilow, who had just taken down a simple battle droid. When she saw the Super Battle droid aim its wrist blaster at him, she cried out, "Wilow, get down!"

 

"Wha-!" Before Wilow could even finish whatever he was going to say, he felt the sudden, burning stings in his chest plate, multiple shots piercing right through him. "GAH!"

 

Rilicia winced and mourned the death of her fellow trooper, who had dropped to the ground. But even though she had lost her fellow trooper, that wasn't gonna stop her from defeating the droid forces. She and her squad had come too far to surrender and lay down their lives now. They had to hold this position!

 

She looked behind her to one of her other troopers, who was currently slicing his way through the control panel next to the sealed door. "Hacker! How's it coming with that door?!"

 

"Its taking a little longer than I would have hoped ma'am," he replied, just pulling two small blue and black wires out as it caused it to spark. "I don't know how much longer it'll take to get her open!"

 

Rilicia sighed silently in annoyance. She wasn't mad with Hacker, but more with their current situation before them all. "Then work as fast as you can! Otherwise, those droids will call for reinforcements! And frankly, we don't have enough ammunition or men for that!"

 

"Copy that, Commander! I'm on it!"

 

"Hang on boys! Droidekas incoming!"

 

As soon as she turned her attention back to the droids, two large, brown metallic machines, known as Droidekas, rolled into the fray of the battle, deploying themselves right beside the remaining Super Battle Droids as they began to blast away at the remaining clones and Jedi commander. If that wasn't enough; one of the remaining Super Battle Droids was able to hit one of the soldiers, named Kuros, gunning the clone right down to the ground just as the last droid had done to Willow earlier. They were all beginning that this was the final line of defense; either kill or be killed.

 

Dodging the incoming gunfire from the opposite side, Flash ducks beside next to Boomer and behind his commander. "I don't think we can hold out much longer commander! We're down to three men!"

 

Although she hated to admit it, Lieutenant Flash was right. Their entire squad was now slimmed down to three men. It was now up to Flash, Boomer, Hacker, and herself to survive and hold the line. Even though the odds were against them, they had no other choice. This was their final stand alright, and they all knew it.

 

"...Then we'll go down by taking them with us, Lieutenant." She looks to the rest of her remaining soldiers around her, who were all looking at her awaiting her final order as their leader. "White Claw Squadron, take out as many as you can! No mercy!"

 

"Sir, yes ma'am!" They all shouted as Flash, Boomer, and even Hacker all picked themselves out from their cover and began to open fire at the droid forces, hoping to take down whatever they can with them. Rilicia jumped out of her own cover, igniting her green saber and started to deflect the incoming fire from the Super Battle Droids and droidekas.

 

As the entire squadron made their final attempts against the droids, from behind the droid enemy, a few unknown blue energy shots are heard and seen from behind, taking out two of the five Super Battle Droids. Then, out of one of the droidekas that was continuing to barrage the clones and Jedi with its ray shield on surrounding it, slowly begins to float in midair as the shield itself deactivates and all shots from it was ceased to a halt.

 

None of them knew what was happening, but the clones stopped firing at the droids, taking cover once again and only poking their helmets out to look beyond the battlefield. Even Rilicia was totally confused to what was happening, as well.

 

She looked at the droids dumbfounded. "What the blazes...?"

 

Taking a moment to see what was causing the droids to act weird and stop firing at them, Flash looked behind the enemy to see if the source of their actions was the case. When he did, he realized what was happening. "Ma'am, look!"

 

In an instant, the droideka was flung right towards the right, smashing into the metal wall as it somewhat exploded and sparked simultaneously, falling back onto the steel floor with a thud. From behind the droids was but Kydan and Black Moon Squad, rushing towards them as they began to focus all their efforts on the remaining droids before them all.

 

Kydan activates his purple blade, pointing the saber directly at the droids. "Alright boys, take them out!"

 

As the last of his words escaped his lips. each one chose to target the last droideka as they caught it off guard, creating enough it could make a full turn around. With just the right amount of attacks, the droideka was too vulnerable and utterly was shredded away from the gunfire shots.

 

Meanwhile, Kydan chose to pursue one of the last Super Battle Droids while Rilicia took the chance to attack the other from behind, both of them slicing each droid's arms off and cutting them in half at the exact same time.

 

As the two collapsed tot he ground in pieces, White Claw made a cheer of victory as they knew the battle was finally over. Rilicia, sighing in relief, turns her gaze towards Kydan with a bright smile. She was so glad that they came in the nick of time, but was also worried about them when they attacked the tower outside earlier. Though, she was overjoyed that he was okay.

 

"Kydan!" She rushed up to him before coming to a halt in front of him, forcefully restraining herself to not hug him. "Thank the Force your alright! We thought your team was wiped out."

 

"We thought the same about you guys when we couldn't make any contact with you," Kydan admitted, a small smile forming on his lips. "But, thanks to Scanner, he was able to locate where you and your squad were. If he hadn't, we would have never got here in time. I'm just glad your safe, Rilicia."

 

Rilicia was slightly caught off from his last comment, a small blush appearing on her cheek bones. Hoping to avoid the embarrassment, she smiled and replied back, "Well, I'm glad your safe too Kydan. Thanks for saving me and my team."

 

Kydan blushed back, rubbing the back of his neck in his own embarrassment with a small chuckle. "O-Oh, j-just doing my job as a Jedi."

 

Not fully understanding what was going on between their two commanders, Flash and R.S. approached them both, their helmets being held between their arms. Flash spoke up first, "Commanders, Hacker just finished hacking through the main door. Area is secured and are ready to proceed to the labs on your orders."

 

"Excellent. What is our loses Leuitenant?" Rilicia questioned them.

 

"We lost Wilow and Curos in the battle. We're down to three men in the squad ma'am. Our squad is down to a task force, and we don't have enough numbers to overrun the tower. Any ideas, ma'am?"

 

It was true, their numbers have dwindled to only a small task force all because of her actions. She should be feeling guilt for the whole outcome, but knew that it wouldn't help her if she started to blame herself. She then murmurs to herself, not satisfied with it all. "This might be harder than I expected..."

 

Kydan understood what she meant. Being under the command of many lives was very challenging, and it's difficult to figure out if you will carry out the right or wrong orders during the battles before and after. It wasn't very pleasant.

 

With a broad grin, Kydan spoke up. "Well, I guess it's a good thing you have us then, huh Rilicia?"

 

"Still, who knows how much tougher it's gonna be when we reach the labs. If Eclipse is still there, he'll definitely be ready for us."

 

Kydan's grin grows even more, "Then we'll use that to our advantage. Flash, you and your men have any thermal detonators left?"

 

When Kydan looked to the rest of White Claw Squadron, he saw the three clones searching through their plastic white pouches and backpacks for any detonators they had left. Fortunately for them, each one of them was carrying one each.

 

Flash and his men showed the commander their last grenades. "Uh, yes sir. Each of us have at least one. But if you don't mind me asking; why?"

 

"Cause, Lieutenant, we're gonna need to be blowing ourselves a new 'entrance'?"

 

"Uh...'new entrance', sir?"

 

He chuckles at the soldier. "You'll understand once we get in there."

 

Rilicia just giggles from Kydan's comment, while Flash just tilted his head in an utterly confused state. With a simple smirk, Kydan turns his attention to Rilos, Scanner and Hopper who were just approaching them all.

 

"Rilos? I need you and the rest of the team to secure and hold this position until we get back. There's no telling what or when the droids will be coming back."

 

"Understood sir," Rilos replied, both he and his men cocking their weapons. "We'll contact you if we see any droids in the vicinity."

 

"Good man," the young Jedi nodded with a smile. He turns to Rilicia and her men, his smile not faltering in the slightest. "Alright, lets get in there and capture that Mandalorian."

 

"Lets just hope we're not too late," Rilicia hoped as she, Kydan and the team rushed out of the room and through the corridors of the tower, leaving the rest to protect the area for escape.

________________________________________________

 

(Ten minutes after losing contact with droid forces...)

________________________________________________

 

Inside the laboratory, droid unit K-17, ex-assistant droid of Alurak, scrambles across the entire lab in preparations for the enemies' arrival. With one last objective left to accomplish, K17 quickly contacts its master, revealing a small blue silhouette appears before it.

 

"My lord, our reinforcements have all been eliminated below the lab," K-17 addresses, "We no longer have reinforcements available."

 

'It is of little concern,' the mysterious man replies to the droid, unfazed by the news. 'We have accomplished what we needed here. Do what you can to keep the Jedi and Republic away from our mission. We do not need any interference.'

 

"Understood, sir," K-17 said, nodding its head. "We'll hold them here."

 

As the hologram projecting the silhouette disappears in front of K-17, the two battle droids that are guarding the doorway to the lab start to hear a small knocking noise from the other side of the room. The one on the left notices the noise as it looks, first, to the door and then back at it's counterpart.

 

"Did you hear that?" It asked the other droid.

 

"I didn't hear anything," the other replied, slightly shaking it's thin stick-like head. "You must be hearing things again."

 

The droid looks to the door. "I could have sworn I heard something. It sounded like a knock."

 

"Your sensors must be malfunctioning again," the other said to it. "You should head down to repairs later, get yourself a che-"

 

Before the droid could finish it's sentence, they both suddenly start hearing a small, quiet beeping noise from the other side. This time, both of them looked to the door, utterly confused as to what the sound is.

 

"What is that sound?"

 

"Sounds like some sort of 'beeping' noise."

 

"Wait a minute...isn't that what they call a-"

 

"Get back!" a man's voice shouted from the other side of the metal doorway.

 

Immediately, the two droids looked at one another with concerned voices, "Uh-oh..." With that, the doorway in front of them shattered into multiple pieces, blasting off across the laboratory, striking at few of the droids that were protecting the room as they broke into piles of scrap metal.

 

K-17 picked itself up from hiding underneath the panel, slightly shaken from the surprise attack, before seeing a handful of clones rushing into the room, followed by none other but Kydan and Rilicia who both had their swords ignited into pure energy blades.

 

The droid assistant coward backwards slowly as it started shouting commands to the remaining three battle droids and the single super battle droid in the room. "Don't just stand there! Blast them already!"

 

But before the droids could even retaliate against their foes, Flash and his clone brothers were far too quick on the draw as they all gunned down the four security droid guards in the room, leaving only K-17 alone without any droid support or reinforcements to depend on. The clones and the two young Jedi all had their blades and blasters directed at the droid assistant, who was now terrified as it could be.

 

Not knowing what to do, the droid raised it's thin metal arms in the air slowly as he spoke, "Uh...I...surrender myself?" But as it's words left its voice box, Boomer had taken the shot first, piercing a clean energy blast right between the droid's memory band and eyes. With that, the droid assistant collapsed onto the ground, shutting itself down permanently.

 

Flash shook his head slightly at Boomer, "Couldn't resist, could ya' brother?"

 

"What? Like that droid was gonna talk," Boomer shrugged innocently and truthfully, causing half of the team to slightly chuckle.

 

"So much for meeting with the assassin himself," Rilicia said in disappointment. "He must have escape the tower the moment we all breached inside."

 

"Well if anything, we can see if he left anything valuable for us to take back for Republic Intelligence," Kydan replied in a hopeful matter, strolling up to one of the computer panels in the center. "So let's get to work, and fast."

 

"Right. Flash, have the others guard the door while we hack into the computer main frames. We don't want to have anymore surprises left in this place."

 

"Copy that, ma'am."

 

As Flash, Boomer, R.S. and Hopper stayed near the exploded doorway watching for any droid reinforcements to start marching to them, Kydan, Rilicia and Hacker got to work on trying to slice through the mainframes of what was Alurak's personal files.

 

Fifteen minutes passes as Kydan, Rilicia and Hacker continue to slice through the mainframes for any information about Alurak or any other important documents on what the Separatist were doing here. So far, however, none of them were making much progress.

 

"Anything yet Rilicia?" Kydan sighed as he looked over his shoulder for a brief moment before turning his attention back to the mainframe.

 

"I got...nothing. How about you Hacker?"

 

Hacker shook his head in a 'no' fashion. "Nothing. Its looks like he wiped out everything inside the computers before he left the tower. He knew that we would come."

 

"Which was why that droid assistant stayed behind, so he could have insurance of wiping out the data..." Kydan's frustration was building up slowly, but just made it worse when he smashed his fisted hands on the computer in front of him. "Karabast!"

 

Noticing and sensing his frustration, Rilicia approaches him and places a delicate hand on his shoulder to try to calm him down, as well as comfort him at the same time. "Relax Kydan. No need to get all worked up about it. Besides, there's always a next time. When we meet him again, we'll be more than ready."

 

Reluctantly, Kydan knew that she was right. She was always right, as a matter of fact. True, it wasn't a complete lost just yet. They still have a mission to finish, and that's what he was going to do. Complete the mission and go home, simple as that.

 

Exhaling some air as he collected himself calmly, he smiles to her. "You're right, Rilicia. I shouldn't let my anger get the better of me. That's not what a Jedi would let happen, and I shouldn't give into it so easy. I appreciate it a lot. Thank you."

 

A small pink blush appears on her cheeks as she gives him a gentle and sincere smile. But then she lets a frown to form on her lips as she lets go of his shoulder, obviously causing some confusion to her young Jedi friend. Friend, that was what they were right now. But somewhere, deep down in her heart, she wanted something...more. Of course she knew that it was forbidden in the Jedi Order, in fact, it was severe punishment for having such an attachment like that! But she knew that she had to tell him, and right now was the time. The more she keeps hold onto the feeling, the more it will eat at her. And the more she waits will be the day when it will be too late.

 

Taking a large, deep breath to try and calm herself, she looks to Kydan in the eyes as her own eyes shine in the bright light that was directly above her. That same small blush she had now turning to a lingering shaded red. "Kydan? There's...there's something I need to tell you."

 

Kydan cocked his head a bit, still unsure of what was going on with her. "Sure, what is it?"

 

Taking a moment adjust herself, she takes another deep breath before choosing her words correctly. "Kydan, we've been through so much all these years. We've known each other since we were just younglings, and on the day we met at the funeral in the Jedi Temple. And, throughout all that time, I can always remember the best times we had going on missions together. And I remember all the amazing things we've done together as we grown up, and none of that has left me to this day. In fact...I don't want those times to end anytime soon..."

 

Still not understanding what she was trying to say, he urges her to continue. "What are you trying to say, Rilicia?"

 

"W-What I'm trying to say is...um, well...what I'm trying to say exactly is...is that...I..."

 

"Go on..."

 

"I...Kydan, I lo-"

 

Just before she could finally complete her sentence to him, Flash approaches them from the doorway. His body language was giving them both an obvious worry and concern. "Commanders, we've been trying to contact Rilos and the rest of his squad, but there hasn't been any response."

 

Kydan's eyes widen as his concern peaked. It wasn't normal for a clone to not respond back when being contacted. He has a strong feeling that something is definitely wrong. "Something must have happened to them. We need to get back down to the cargo area and check on them. There's nothing left for us to do here, anyhow."

 

"Yes sir! Let's move White Claw Squad!"

 

The clones of White Claw all not in compliance to their sergeant's orders, all of them moving into the hallway. Kydan was close behind them, just making his way out before he looked over his shoulder to see Rilicia had not moved an inch from her spot. He could see disappointment and, what appeared to be, sadness written across her entire face. Her eyes looked more glassy than before, much more than from before.

 

Concern washed over him quickly, not really knowing what to say to her. "Rilicia, is everything alright?"

 

Snapping out of her own sadness, she looks to Kydan who was staring at her with his concerned expression. She didn't want him to see her sadness, let alone her disappointment. She was a Jedi Knight, and a Jedi does not look weak to anyone, especially their closest friends. Doing he best to hide her expression, she immediately changes her mood rubbing her glassy eyes with her sleeve. "Y-Yeah, I'm good. Let's get moving!"

 

Brushing past him as fast as her legs could bare, her last expression of sadness returns as she tries her best to hide her face from Kydan and the clones before her. Kydan looked to Rilicia for a moment when the clones looked to him in question. He shrugs at them in response, not really knowing what was going on with her. With that, he and the others follow behind the young Jedi Knight as they make haste back to the cargo bay.

________________________________________________

 

I hope all of you enjoyed the third part of the "Star Wars The Jedi Mercenary" series so far. And like I have said last time, these next chapters were taken back years ago so we are very sorry that they aren't perfect. But I still hope you have enjoyed them nonetheless.

 

But, putting all that aside, I hope you can all give us your thoughts and feedback about hope the series is so far by giving this and the other chapters either a comment and/or fave. if we're asking too much, then just reading them for yourself is good too. Anyways, Thank you all for the countless support, and as always, have a fan-building-tastic day/night ! See ya' in the next one!

 

- Director K.W.

Hans van Eijsden Photography, The Netherlands

 

Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM on full frame.

 

Light: Large clamshell setup with the Elinchrom ELC 1000 through a large Deep Octa with silver deflector and inner diffuser without grid from the front-top-side, which creates the soft but slightly higher contrast in her face. Elinchrom ELC 500 with small strip box from the front-bottom-side, to lower the density of the shadows. I measured the light with the Sekonic L-758DR.

 

Postprocessing: Some local adjustment curves, some local cloning, greyscale conversion.

 

Portfolio: www.hansvaneijsden.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hansvaneijsdenphotography

ADL Demonstrator SN59AWX was the Enviro 400 trialled on Jersey. Note the damage to the nearside tree deflector

I can probably recite Toy Story 1, 2 and 3 verbatim. We've watched the movies so many times in recent months at Maisie's request. She loves them. So much so, that we bought her Woody and Buzz Lightyear dolls for Christmas, although I think Jack has actually played with them more. Maybe she'd prefer if they actually came to life. Who knows?

 

I wanted to have a play with a light setup this evening so thought it would be fun to take a photograph of Buzz. Somewhat overkill with the size of the modifiers for a small toy but it was straightforward enough to get the look I was after.

 

I used Joel Grimes' method, that I'd recently seen on Kelby Training, to process Buzz in Photoshop, which turned out to be pretty quick work. I then extracted the figure and spent quite some time just messing around with the background. It was generated using Knoll Light Factory, which is a great plugin for generating all kinds of weird and wonderful lighting effects. A bit of warping, colourizing (to match Buzz's wings) and radial gradients for the white light sources and you get what you see here. All good fun.

 

Ironically, when Maisie got home today she asked to watch Mary Poppins! Go figure.

  

Strobist:

 

04/52: Infinity (Setup)

 

Ranger A Head, B port at 2.0, 135 Midi Octa with both diffusers, behind Buzz

Ranger Quadra A Head, B port at 4.4, 130x50 Strip with both diffusers, rear camera left

Ranger Quadra A Head, B port at 4.4, 130x50 Strip with both diffusers, rear camera right

Ranger Quadra A Head, B Port at 0.4, 70cm White Maxisoft with silver deflector and sock, above camera

 

Triggered by Skyport Speed

Hans van Eijsden Photography, The Netherlands

 

Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM on full frame.

 

Light: Large clamshell setup with the Elinchrom ELC 1000 through a large Deep Octa with silver deflector, outer diffuser and inner diffuser without grid from the front-top-side, which creates the soft but slightly higher contrast in her face. Elinchrom ELC 500 with small strip box from the front-bottom-side, to lower the density of the shadows. I measured the light with the Sekonic L-758DR.

 

Postprocessing: Some local adjustment curves, some local cloning.

 

Portfolio: www.hansvaneijsden.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hansvaneijsdenphotography

Billy Christopoulos, goalie for the U.S. Air Force Academy Falcons, deflects a shot as the Falcons met the University of Calgary Dinos in an exhibition college hockey matchup at the Academy's Cadet Ice Arena in Colorado Springs, Colo., Oct. 5, 2015. The Falcons defeated Calgary 5-0. Air Force opened its regular season against the No. 5 ranked University of Denver Pioneers at the Cadet Ice Arena Oct. 9. (U.S. Air Force photo/Mike Kaplan)

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The TIE/LN starfighter, or TIE/line starfighter, simply known as the TIE Fighter or T/F, was the standard Imperial starfighter seen in massive numbers throughout most of the Galactic Civil War and onward.

The TIE Fighter was manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems and led to several upgraded TIE models such as TIE/sa bomber, TIE/IN interceptor, TIE/D Defender, TIE/D automated starfighter, and many more.

 

The original TIEs were designed to attack in large numbers, overwhelming the enemy craft. The Imperials used so many that they came to be considered symbols of the Empire and its might. They were also very cheap to produce, reflecting the Imperial philosophy of quantity over quality.

 

However, a disadvantage of the fighter was its lack of deflector shields. In combat, pilots had to rely on the TIE/LN's maneuverability to avoid damage. The cockpit did incorporate crash webbing, a repulsorlift antigravity field, and a high-g shock seat to help protect the pilot, however these did next to nothing to help protect against enemy blaster fire.

 

Due to the lack of life-support systems, each TIE pilot had a fully sealed flight suit superior to their Rebel counterparts. The absence of a hyperdrive also rendered the light fighter totally dependent on carrier ships when deployed in enemy systems. TIE/LNs also lacked landing gear, another mass-reducing measure. While the ships were structurally capable of "sitting" on their wings, they were not designed to land or disembark their pilots without special support. On Imperial ships, TIEs were launched from racks in the hangar bays.

 

The high success rate of more advanced Rebel starfighters against standard Imperial TIE Fighters resulted in a mounting cost of replacing destroyed fighters and their pilots. That, combined with the realization that the inclusion of a hyperdrive would allow the fleet to be more flexible, caused the Imperial Navy to rethink its doctrine of using swarms of cheap craft instead of fewer high-quality ones, leading to the introduction of the TIE Advanced x1 and its successor, the TIE Avenger. The following TIE/D Defender as well as the heavy TIE Escort Fighter (or TIE/E) were touted as the next "logical advance" of the TIE Series—representing a shift in starfighter design from previous, expendable TIE models towards fast, well armed and protected designs, capable of hyperspace travel and long-term crew teams which gained experience and capabilities over time.

 

The TIE/E Escort, was a high-performance TIE Series starfighter developed for the Imperial Navy by Sienar Fleet Systems and it was introduced into service shortly before the Battle of Endor. It was a much heavier counterpart to the agile and TIE/D fighter, and more of an attack ship or even a light bomber than a true dogfighter. Its role were independent long range operations, and in order to reduce the work load and boost morale a crew of two was introduced (a pilot and a dedicated weapon systems officer/WSO). The primary duty profile included attack and escort task, but also reconnoiter missions. The TIE/E shared the general layout with the contemporary TIE/D fighter, but the cockpit section as well as the central power unit were much bigger, and the ship was considerably heavier.

 

The crew enjoyed – compared with previous TIE fighter designs – a spacious and now fully pressurized cockpit, so that no pressurized suits had to be worn anymore. The crew members sat in tandem under a large, clear canopy. The pilot in front had a very good field of view, while the WSO sat behind him, in a higher, staggered position with only a limited field of view. Both work stations had separate entries, though, and places could not be switched in flight: the pilot mounted the cockpit through a hatch on port side, while the WSO entered the rear compartment through a roof hatch.

 

In a departure from the design of previous TIE models, instead of two parallel wings to either side of the pilot module, the TIE Escort had three quadanium steel solar array wings mounted symmetrically around an aft section, which contained an I-s4d solar ionization reactor to store and convert solar energy collected from the wing panels. The inclusion of a third wing provided additional solar power to increase the ship's range and the ship's energy management system was designed to allow weapons and shields to be charged with minimum loss of power to the propulsion system.

 

Although it was based on the standard twin ion engine design, the TIE/E’s propulsion system was upgraded to the entirely new, powerful P-sz9.8 triple ion engine. This allowed the TIE/E a maximum acceleration of 4,220 G or 21 MGLT/s and a top speed of 144 MGLT, or 1,680 km/h in an atmosphere — almost 40 percent faster than a former standard TIE Fighter. With tractor beam recharge power (see below) redirected to the engines, the top speed could be increased to 180 MGLT in a dash.

In addition to the main thrusters located in the aft section, the TIE Escort's triple wing design allowed for three arrays of maneuvering jets and it featured an advanced F-s5x flight avionics system to process the pilot's instructions. Production models received a class 2, ND9 hyperdrive motivator, modified from the version developed for the TIE Avenger. The TIE/E also carried a Sienar N-s6 Navcon navigation computer with a ten-jump memory.

 

Special equipment included a small tractor beam projector, originally developed for the TIE Avenger, which could be easily fitted to the voluminous TIE Escort. Models produced by Ysanne Isard's production facility regularly carried such tractor beams and the technology found other uses, such as towing other damaged starfighters until they could achieve the required velocity to enter hyperspace. The tractor beam had limited range and could only be used for a short time before stopping to recharge, but it added new tactics, too. For instance, the beam allowed the TIE/E crews to temporarily inhibit the mobility of enemy fighters, making it easier to target them with the ship's other weapon systems, or prevent enemies from clear shots.

 

The TIE Escort’s weapons systems were primarily designed to engage bigger ships and armored or shielded targets, like armed freighters frequently used by the Alliance. Thanks to its complex weapon and sensor suite, it could also engage multiple enemy fighters at once. The sensors also allowed an effective attack of ground targets, so that atmospheric bombing was a potential mission for the TIE/E, too.

.

The TIE Escort Fighter carried a formidable array of weaponry in two modular weapon bays that were mounted alongside the lower cabin. In standard configuration, the TIE/E had two L-s9.3 laser cannons and two NK-3 ion cannons. The laser and ion cannons could be set to fire separately or, if concentrated power was required, to fire-linked in either pairs or as a quartet.

The ship also featured two M-g-2 general-purpose warhead launchers, each of which could be equipped with a standard load of three proton torpedoes or four concussion missiles. Depending on the mission profile, the ship could be fitted with alternative warheads such as proton rockets, proton bombs, or magnetic pulse warheads.

Additionally, external stores could be carried under the fuselage, which included a conformal sensor pallet for reconnaissance missions or a cargo bay with a capacity for 500 kg (1.100 lb).

 

The ship's defenses were provided by a pair of forward and rear projecting Novaldex deflector shield generators—another advantage over former standard TIE models. The shields were designed to recharge more rapidly than in previous Imperial fighters and were nearly as powerful as those found on capital ships, so that the TIE/E could engage other ships head-on with a very high survivability. The fighters were not equipped with particle shields, though, relying on the reinforced titanium hull to absorb impacts from matter. Its hull and wings were among the strongest of any TIE series Starfighter yet.

 

The advanced starfighter attracted the attention of several other factions, and the Empire struggled to prevent the spread of the technology. The ship's high cost, together with political factors, kept it from achieving widespread use in the Empire, though, and units were assigned only to the most elite crews.

 

The TIE/E played a central role in the Empire's campaign against rogue Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, and mixed Defender and Escort units participated in several other battles, including the Battle of Endor. The TIE Escort continued to see limited use by the Imperial Remnant up to at least 44 ABY, and was involved in numerous conflicts, including the Yuuzhan Vong War..

  

The kit and its assembly:

Another group build contribution, this time to the Science Fiction GB at whatifmodelers.com during summer 2017. Originally, this one started as an attempt to build a vintage MPC TIE Interceptor kit which I had bought and half-heartedly started to build probably 20 years ago. But I did not have the right mojo (probably, The Force was not strong enough…?), so the kit ended up in a dark corner and some parts were donated to other projects.

 

The sun collectors were still intact, though, and in the meantime I had the idea of reviving the kit’s remains, and convert it into (what I thought was) a fictional TIE Fighter variant with three solar panels. For this plan I got myself another TIE Interceptor kit, and stashed it away, too. Mojo was still missing, though.

 

Well, then came the SF GB and I took it as an occasion to finally tackle the build. But when I prepared for the build I found out that my intended design (over the years) more or less actually existed in the Star Wars universe: the TIE/D Defender! I could have built it with the parts and hand and some improvisation, but the design similarity bugged me. Well, instead of a poor copy of something that was more or less clearly defined, I rather decided to create something more individual, yet plausible, from the parts at hand.

 

The model was to stay a TIE design, though, in order to use as much donor material from the MPC kits as possible. Doing some legwork, I settled for a heavy fighter – bigger than the TIE Interceptor and the TIE/D fighter, a two-seater.

Working out the basic concept and layout took some time and evolved gradually. The creative spark for the TIE/E eventually came through a Revell “Obi Wan’s Jedi Starfighter” snap fit kit in my pile – actually a prize from a former GB participation at phoxim.de (Thanks a lot, Wolfgang!), and rather a toy than a true model kit.

 

The Jedi Fighter was in so far handy as it carries some TIE Fighter design traits, like the pilot capsule and the characteristic spider web windscreen. Anyway, it’s 1:32, much bigger than the TIE Interceptor’s roundabout 1:50 scale – but knowing that I’d never build the Jedi Starfighter OOB I used it as a donor bank, and from this starting point things started to evolve gradually.

 

Work started with the cockpit section, taken from the Jedi Starfighter kit. The two TIE Interceptor cockpit tubs were then mounted inside, staggered, and the gaps to the walls filled with putty. A pretty messy task, and once the shapes had been carved out some triangular tiles were added to the surfaces – a detail I found depicted in SW screenshots and some TIE Fighter models.

 

Another issue became the crew – even though I had two MPC TIE Interceptors and, theorectically, two pilot figures, only one of them could be found and the second crewman had to be improvised. I normally do not build 1:48 scale things, but I was lucky (and happy) to find an SF driver figure, left over from a small Dougram hoovercraft kit (from Takara, as a Revell “Robotech” reboxing). This driver is a tad bigger than the 1:50 TIE pilot, but I went with it because I did not want to invest money and time in alternatives. In order to justify the size difference I decided to paint the Dougram driver as a Chiss, based on the expanded SW universe (with blue skin and hair, and glowing red eyes). Not certain if this makes sense during the Battle of Endor timeframe, but it adds some color to the project – and the cockpit would not be visible in much detail since it would be finished fully closed.

 

Reason behind the closed canopy is basically the poor fit of the clear part. OOB, this is intended as an action toy – but also the canopy’s considerable size in 1:50 would prevent its original opening mechanism.

Additional braces on the rel. large window panels were created with self-adhesive tape and later painted over.

 

The rear fuselage section and the solar panel pylons were scratched. The reactor behind the cockpit section is actually a plastic adapter for water hoses, found in a local DIY market. It was slightly modified, attached to the cockpit “egg” and both parts blended with putty. The tail opening was closed with a hatch from the OOB TIE Interceptor – an incidental but perfect match in size and style.

 

The three pylons are also lucky finds: actually, these are SF wargaming/tabletop props and would normally be low walls or barriers, made from resin. For my build, they were more or less halved and trimmed. Tilted by 90°, they are attached to the hull with iron wire stabilizers, and later blended to the hull with putty, too.

 

Once the cockpit was done, things moved more swiftly. The surface of the hull was decorated with many small bits and pieces, including thin styrene sheet and profiles, steel and iron wire in various strengths, and there are even 1:72 tank tracks hidden somewhere, as well as protective caps from syringes (main guns and under the rear fuselage). It’s amazing how much stuff you can add to such a model – but IMHO it’s vital in order to create some structure and to emulate the (early) Star Wars look.

  

Painting and markings:

The less spectacular part of the project, even though still a lot of work because of the sheer size of the model’s surface. Since the whole thing is fictional, I tried to stay true to the Imperial designs from Episode IV-VI and gave the TIE/E a simple, all-light grey livery. All basic painting was done with rattle cans.

Work started with a basic coat of grey primer. On top of that, an initial coat of RAL 7036 Platingrau was added, esp. to the lower surfaces and recesses, for a rough shading effect. Then, the actual overall tone, RAL 7047, called “Telegrau 4”, one of Deutsche Telekom’s corporate tones, was added - mostly sprayed from abone and the sides onto the model. Fuselage and panels were painted separately, overall assembly was one of the final steps.

 

The solar panels were to stand out from the grey rest of the model, and I painted them with Revell Acrylic “Iron Metallic” (91) first, and later applied a rather rich wash with black ink , making sure the color settled well into the many small cells. The effect is pretty good, and the contrast was slightly enhanced through a dry-brushing treatment.

 

Only a few legible stencils were added all around the hull (most from the scrap box or from mecha sheets), the Galactic Empire Seal were inkjet-printed at home, as well as some tactical markings on the flanks, puzzled together from single digits in "Aurebash", one of the Imperial SW languages/fonts.

For some variety and color highlights, dozens of small, round and colorful markings were die-punched from silver, yellow, orange, red and blue decal sheet and were placed all over the hull - together with the large panels they blur into the the overall appearance, though. The hatches received thin red linings, also made from generic decals strips.

 

The cockpit interior was a bit challenging, though. Good TIE Fighter cockpit interior pictures are hard to find, but they suggest a dark grey tone. More confusingly, the MPC instructions call for a “Dark Green” cockpit? Well, I did not like the all-grey option, since the spaceship is already monochrome grey on the outside.

 

As a compromise I eventually used Tamiya XF-65 "Field Grey". The interior recieved a black ink in and dry-brushing treatment, and some instruments ansd screens were created with black decal material and glossy black paint; some neon paint was used for sci-fi-esque conmtraol lamps everywhere - I did not pay too much intention on the interior, since the cockpit would stay closed, and the thick clear material blurs everything inside.

Following this rationale, the crew was also painted in arather minimal fashion - both wear a dark grey uniform, only the Chiss pilot stands aout with his light blue skin and the flourescent red eyes.

 

After an overall black ink wash the model received a dry brusing treatment with FS 36492 and FS 36495, for a weathered and battle-worn look. After all, the "Vehement" would not survive the Ballte of Endor, but who knows what became of TIE/E "801"'s mixed crew...?

Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, and some final cosmetic corrections made.

 

The display is a DIY creation, too, made from a 6x6" piece of wood, it's edges covered with edgebonder, a steel wire as holder, and finally the display was paited with semi-matt black acrylic paint from the rattle can.

  

A complex build, and the TIE/E more or less evolved along the way, with only the overall layout in mind. Work took a month, but I think it was worth the effort. This fantasy creation looks pretty plausible and blends well into the vast canonical TIE Fighter family - and I am happy that I finally could finish this mummy project, including the surplus Jedi Starfighter kit which now also find a very good use!

 

An epic one, and far outside my standard comfort zone. But a wothwhile build!

 

Here is the motion of the Batplane and the jet blast deflector. This is also a glimpse of the MOC during construction.

Construction is complete on the main flame deflector in the flame trench at Launch Complex 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The flame deflector will safely deflect the plume exhaust from NASA's Space Launch System rocket during launch. It will divert the rocket's exhaust, pressure and intense heat to the north at liftoff. The Exploration Ground Systems Program at Kennedy is refurbishing the pad to support the launch of the SLS rocket and Orion on Exploration Mission-1, and helping to transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

 

Pitbull or Victim?

 

Sarah Palin cannot have it both ways. The media is not calling her on these dirty tricks of the campaign trail. Senator Obama, Hilary Clinton, and other Democrats are bending over backwards to be polite and yes, even kind to Sarah Palin in the last several weeks. Why does she get a "pass" from the media? Why a "pass" from the public? If she wants to "hit and run", then treat her as any hard-nosed and political fighter would be treated. It's not a gender issue. She is "hockey mom" by her own self-identification. She described herself as a pitbull with lipstick. This woman needs to be able to "take it like a man" if she wants to play with the big dogs. She says she is a Feminist, so this is verrry interesting. A true Feminist will not start a brawl without being able to stand up for themselves. "Poor Sarah"? I think not! Every time she hits the campaign trail and performs as the "attack dog" she was intended to be, any statements she makes go into the public mind and follows Conservative strategy of a tried and true Republican politics blueprint:

 

1. Say something SIMPLE. (Worked for Reagan.)

 

2. Say it often and get favorable media to broadcast the same SIMPLE message over and over.

 

3. Go for a popular, SIMPLE answer to complex issues and ignore in-depth dialogue. ("Drill, Baby, Drill!") After all, the public has no need for details, just get the slogan right.

 

4. Ignore any attempts by those who seek to clarify and "truth-check": even more, to answer critics by screaming "discrimination" due to her gender. Deflect attention to in-depth policy issues by baiting opponents. If an opponent replies, scream that you are victimized and insulted. This works, by the way.

 

5. And last but not least, get the Conservative Right media to broadcast with derision all statements made by McCain and Palin as complete and utter truth. After all, the public is so gullible and so in need of SIMPLE answers that this repetition will WORK!

Harsh but fair tram stop protectors at street level tram stops in Spencer St, Melbourne (AU). Cars hitting deflectors generally will finish up turned on their side. (c)Henk Graalman 2021

The Butterfly house is so named because it was built in 1950 right on one-half acre of rocky Pacific cliffs outside Carmel to mimic a butterfly or, more likely, a seabird. It offers a near transparent view of the sea from almost every angle. The original architect and owner was Frank Wynkoop. The roof of the home and a window on the ocean side were built at a steep angle to deflect wind and water — the northern coast of California gets an “Irene-like” beating sometimes, too. It was always an architectural stunner, though locals predicted it wouldn’t stay on it’s rocky perch for long. Well, guess what? Sixty years and one amazing renovation later – by the original architect’s sons – the Butterfly House was bolted 6 feet deep into the rock and remains more than ever one of the most amazing homes in the U.S.

 

The renovation and updating could not have been more sensitive, and the home has been restored to its historic mid century origins, with the exception of the kidney-shaped pool, which was filled in by previous owners. (The home has only had three owners in those 61 years). The home and restoration project is featured on the cover of Trends Magazine. Click here to read more about current home owner Joe Walter and architects Thor and Ian Wynkoop, children of the original architect, on page 38. The story is fascinating. The home was re-conditioned and spiffed up, secured and restored: for example, the cantilevered west deck and lights under were repaired to illuminate the surf at night. The tar roof was replaced with a pebble roof. The home was an open-space plan around a swimming pool courtyard — when the buried kidney pool was too damaged to restore, a new rectangle pool was constructed with a black plaster interior that reflects the sky and maintains heat.

 

My favorite part is how a built-in sunken bench in the living room was unearthed by the sons, and restored. They recalled sitting on that bench for hours as children, watching the surf.

 

The Butterfly House now has four bedroom suites instead of the original five bedrooms, plus an office, is only 3,041-square-feet, but looks larger because of the lines. It is anchored into California’s rocky northern California Pacific shoreline and has panoramic views from Point Lobos to Pebble Beach, where Concours De Elegance takes place every August. The home is within a good, healthy walking distance of Carmel-By-The-Sea. As I found out, walking hills out there leaves you a lot more breathless when you are from the flatlands!

 

Mike Canning of Carmel Realty Co. has the listing. Price, oh God, did you have to ask? $19.2 million. That’s all. But you might want to be forewarnd: locals tell me that it sits above the Kelp and Sewer beds, where kale and seaweed on the beach sometimes decompose and smell. Guess that makes beach walks very romatic!

 

Always like how I find a way to diffuse/deflect/ (ignore)

those Oh-too-ambitious Security Guards

in todays downtown Office Towers....

 

She wound up giving me a tour of it when

I explained- hipped-her-to-

my "street-cred"!

 

;P

A unique sunrise this morning with the sunlight being deflected by the mist rising off the open water in -12°C air temperature. The 20 mph winds were blowing the mist around and also causing the wind chill to drop to -23°C . . . fortunately I only had to open the front door for this image.

 

Not a normal autumnal image . . . but it's still about two weeks to the start of winter. ;-)

The beautiful Kristel.

Hans van Eijsden Photography, The Netherlands

 

Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM on full frame.

 

Light: Simple setup with the Elinchrom ELC 1000 through a Deep Octa with silver deflector and inner diffuser from the left-top-side, feathering the light, which creates the high contrast in her face. I measured the light with the Sekonic L-758DR.

 

Postprocessing: Some local adjustment curves, BW conversion, some local cloning.

 

Portfolio: www.hansvaneijsden.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hansvaneijsdenphotography

For Macro Monday - Herbs and Spices.

(drum roll) Presenting.... Cloves, Chilli and Turmeric!

 

haha the cloves on their own looked kinda bland so they needed 'dressing up' with chilli and turmeric.

 

Natural sunlight from the window deflected off some handheld oblique white paper for a soft light effect --- the hi-tech gear of the common man (or woman).

 

I haven't touched the saturation in pp - just the light and contrast.

Did some more work on the back wall around the deflector dish.

1989 Leyland Roadtrain 4x2 artic, F30 GYA, of the now defunct Chard & Axminster Transport, in their distinctive turquoise livery and big CAT logo, complete with roof deflector.

Light: very close to Elinchrom beauty dish (silver, 70cm) + opal deflector + grid

(Taris system, moments after the events of Chapter 8)

 

Outside of the Separatist base, Throte, Egile and the last of the Clone Troopers keep up their attacks against the Sith General, Gualo Rotinth. However, their attacks are having no affect against him as he easily deflects their blaster shots back towards them. Already a few have died from his defense and Gualo was making sure to torture the rest of the Republic forces before slaying them all.

 

In a matter of speaking, Gualo himself was enjoying the intense fight.

 

So focused on the Republic soldiers, he almost didn't see Kydan and Calena quickly charging at him from each side. They both figured that if the rest of the Republic soldiers could keep Gualo in place for just a few more moments, they could end this battle once and for all.

 

However, Gualo figured out their plan quickly as he swiftly deactivates his saber and spins to dodge a couple blaster shots. Just passing him, he uses the Force to create a massive pulse, causing everyone to be sent flying backwards. Reactivating his lightsaber, Gualo takes a defensive stance as Kydan and Calena, who had endured the Force Pulse, quickly approach him.

 

But, to Gualo's surprise, Kydan comes to a complete stop, confused as to what he was doing. Curiously and cautiously, he turns his head around to Calena, only to be met with her blade coming for him. With only a short time to react, he blocks her attack, his saber only inches away from his face.

 

At the same time, Kydan comes from the other side, his vibroblade raised in the air as he prepares to strike Gualo down. Gualo just smirked at them, realizing what they were trying to accomplish.

 

Gualo- "Heh, this again?"

 

Like before, Gualo breaks the blade lock and jumping over Kydan backwards, avoiding his attempted attack.

 

Gualo- "Using the same moves won't save you, Republic scum!"

 

As he just lands on his feet, he was suddenly hit by Kydan's Force Push, powerful enough to send him flying backwards, skidding across the platform towards the building

 

Kydan- "That was never my intention, Gualo..."

 

Gualo stared wide eyed at Kydan. Did he just use a Force Push on him? The only ones that could possibly use those moves were...

 

Gualo- "Your...your no mercenary. Your a Jedi!"

 

Finally getting up to their feet, Throte, Egile and the Clone Troopers were able to hear what Gualo had just said. Underneath Throte's helmet, his expression was in complete shock. Many could even say and tell that he had tons of thoughts crossing through his mind just by the frozen stance he was in.

 

Egile- *Thoughts* 'Kedone...is a Jedi?'

 

Kydan narrowed his eyes at Gualo. So much for keeping that part a secret he thought to himself. Truthfully, he was going to tell them all that he was a Jedi after the battle was over, but the situation they were in now...it was too soon. This wasn't how he wanted it to turn out.

 

Kydan- "...Yes, I am."

 

After a few moments of silence, Gualo finally spoke up, giving off a devious grin, and then laughing menacingly.

 

Gualo- "Hahaha! This is just perfect! Another Jedi to kill today! I can definitely say that I will have the unspeakable pleasure of killing two Jedi with one blade! Like your master, you shall fall along with him!"

Kydan- "As long as I live Gualo, you won't be getting that chance again."

 

Kydan glances towards Calena who was already taking her position.

 

Kydan- "Ready?"

Calena- *Nods* "Yeah..."

 

Quickly, Kydan and Calena once again charge directly at Gualo, who was also charging at them as well, with their blades were ready to strike down the other. All at once, their blades collided with each other, locking themselves in.

 

Gualo- "Hmph...you both seem to have tremendous strength...but that alone will not be enough to defeat me!"

 

Gualo forcefully breaks the blade lock and uses the Force to create lightning, electrifying both Kydan and Calena. The Force Lightning was so strong that it was able to send them both flying backwards across the platform, causing an after shock through them after they crashed.

 

Slowly, Gualo approaches them both. He turns his attention towards Kydan as he readies his saber for the final kill.

 

Gualo- "This ends for you both...Jedi."

 

But before Gualo could even make a move against Kydan, out of nowhere, Egile tackles Gualo back, just about knocking him off his feet.

 

Egile- You'll have to go through us to get to them, you monster!

 

Quickly, as Egile and the soldiers took chase after Gualo, one of the Clone Sergeants and a clone rushes towards the both of them to check their conditions.

 

772nd Clone Sergeant- "You two okay?"

Kydan- "Yeah, were fine..."

772nd Clone- "Here, let me help you up ma'am."

Calena- "Thanks..."

772nd Clone Sergeant- "We'll draw his attention away for now. Meanwhile, you two get ready to finish him. We'll hold him off until then."

 

With that, the Clone Sergeant and the other Republic soldiers rush towards Gualo as they keep his attention on them only while Kydan and Calena take a moment to recover.

 

Approaching him slowly, Calena walks beside him, waiting for him to give them the orders on what to do at this point.

 

Kydan- "Calena? Do you think you can keep his attention away from me for five seconds?"

 

Calena stared at him puzzled. She absolutely had no idea what he was now thinking, but she knew that it had to be a last resort plan of some kind. Going with whatever he was planning, she nods.

 

Calena- "Yeah...I can. But what are you gonna do?

Kydan- "...Something that I won't be proud of doing."

 

Not wanting to press the matter any further, she nods once more and then rushes towards the others. For a brief moment, he watches the battle from the other side. What he was going to do was one of the many things that he wished he didn't have to do. It's what made him such an outcast to everyone, even to the Jedi Order.

 

Appearing next to him was Dark, giving him a cautious and serious look in his eyes.

 

Dark- "Are you sure you wanna do this?"

Kydan- "..."

Dark- "I mean, you know what happened last time...and that alone caused us and everyone else a lot of pain and fear. Even the Order had wanted it banned and forbidden."

Kydan- "I'm not confident about this either, but...it's our last chance. We have to win this battle. I promised Master Turin that I would save them all...and I attend to keep that oath. I can't just watch them all die because of me."

 

Dark gave him a blank expression. He knew that when Kydan was this serious, it meant that he wasn't going to go back on it. No matter what, Dark was always supportive about these things, and has never doubted his friend's abilities. And he wasn't about to judge him on that now.

 

Dark- "...Alright then. I'm right beside you."

 

Rolling up his right sleeve, he takes a deep breath as he focus all his energy into his arm using the Force and another mysterious ability. In a matter of seconds, his arm began to shade into a black color, producing blue and black streams of electricity from his shoulder down to the ends of his finger tips. His arm appeared to have been changed into some type of ancient armor.

 

Kydan's breaths started getting heavier. He has, in his life, hardly ever used this ability this much. The last time he did something like this...was when his father was still alive, which was nearly eleven years ago.

 

Kydan- *Groans in pain* "This...have better 'gynero'...bloody work..."

_________________________

 

Fourth Wall: ('Gynero', meaning hopeful)

_________________________

 

Dark- "Just don't over exert yourself this time..."

 

Groaning, he looks towards Dark and smirks.

 

Kydan- "I plan not to bud..."

 

Reaching into his robes, he pulls out his own lightsaber, producing a purple blade from the hilt. Grasping the saber in his left hand tightly, he swiftly charges towards the others with tremendous speed, shades of darkness trailing behind him. His only hope was that this ability will end Gualo once and for all. Otherwise...there would be dire consequences.

 

At the very same time, Calena continues to hold out against Gualo on her own. Egile, Throte and the others were all knocked out one by one injured, leaving herself and Gualo to fight each other. But fighting Gualo on her own was becoming too much for a single person to do.

 

Using his last ounce of strength left, Gualo creates one last massive Force Pulse, sending Calena flying backwards, causing her to crash hard on the platform.

 

Chuckling, Gualo approaches Calena who was trying to get back up, but to no prevail. She was too injured and exhausted to stand at the moment.

 

Gualo- "Hehehe. This is where your lives come to an end, Republic scum..."

 

Slowly, Gualo raises his saber at Calena, aiming for her neck to decapitate her. He could sense her fears building...and it felt wonderful to him. The pure fear and hesitance in another life form felt ecstatic.

 

Gualo- "Farewell, Siruhnian..."

 

Before his saber could pierce into her neck, out of nowhere, Kydan blocks his attempted assassination, utterly saving Calena's life. This caused Gualo to go into a state of shock and wide eye. Where in the world did he come from?

 

Gualo- "How did you--?!"

 

But before Gualo could even finish his own sentence, Kydan used his unknown abilities to send him flying backwards with the sound of a loud thud and groan.

 

Kydan- "HAAAAA!!!"

 

Crying out in a loud voice, Kydan swiftly reaches Gualo in nothing but a black fog as he pierces him with a black, electrical blue thrust in the stomach. Gualo suddenly coughed up a bit of blood from his mouth. His breathing was slowly fading, as well as his own life.

 

Without hesitation, Kydan yaks his arm out of him as Gualo drops to the ground on his knees, his expression filled with shock of the major outcome. His last thought was; how he was beaten so quickly from a low life Jedi Padawan as the boy?

 

Gualo- "...I...I lost...?"

 

With his dying words, Gualo slumps to the ground dead, with his surprised expression still left on his face along with his half opened eyelids. The battle was now finally over.

 

Kydan takes in a sharp deep breath, losing his concentration on his abilities. Slowly, his arm begins to turn back to his normal skin color, the black and blue colors fading away into nothing but a mist.

 

Not realizing it, Kydan suddenly dropped to his knees, staring directly at Gualo's lifeless, dead body.

 

Kydan- "I...I did...? Did we win?"

 

To answer his own question, he suddenly heard a cry of cheering and joy from behind. Turning his head, he saw Calena, Egile and all the soldiers celebrating him.

 

Egile- "Kydan! You did it! You took down the Sith!"

Calena- "Great work Kydan!"

 

All at once, he felt happy yet confused as to why he was being cheered.

 

Kydan- "N-no! Really, I-I didn't really do--"

Clone Trooper 1- "Tremendous work!"

Clone Trooper 2- "You did it sir!"

Clone Trooper 3- "We've recaptured Taris!"

 

For some reason, Kydan felt hit heart rejoice somehow. He had never had anyone cheer or celebrate him on anything in his life. He figured that this is what it meant to have lots of friends who aren't afraid of you. He could feel himself blushing and flustered from them. He felt...happy for once.

 

Kydan- "W-well I-"

Throte- WHY?!

 

Suddenly, everyone stops cheering as they turn their attention to Throte who had walked up to them all with his two troopers trailing behind.

 

Throte- "Why did you let Higer die!?"

 

Kydan felt confused. He didn't know what Throte meant by the clone's words.

 

Kydan- "...Let him die?"

 

Snapping his head at Kydan, he glares directly at him with anger in his eyes and expression.

 

Throte- "Of course! We all saw it at the beginning! You knew Gualo's skill techniques that he was using against us! If you would have told us about Gualo's skills back on the Acclamator, he wouldn't have died! What else is shocking is that your a Jedi! You had the power to save him...but yet, you just stood there and let him die in front of us all!"

 

The soldiers that were listening started to whisper and nodded at Throte's comments. It seemed that he had a lot of points to consider. The only two people that didn't respond to his comments were Calena and Egile.

 

772nd Clone Sergeant- "Of course he's a Jedi! That's how he knew the Sith's skills in the battle! That's how he was able to beat him so easily! He knew all about it and never attended to tell us at all! There are other Jedi among us, isn't there!? If so, the come fourth and speak up!"

 

Glancing around, the soldiers try to pinpoint anyone that were a Jedi amongst them all. Calena and Egile were starting to feel a bit concerned at the moment.

 

At this, Kydan started to worry and be afraid. All of them knowing that he was a Jedi working undercover and hiding among them was bad. Calena and Egile were the only two people that knew that he was a Jedi and had no problem with it. Yet, it was the others that they were all concerned about.

 

He shut his eyes tightly without anyone seeing, trying to come up with a solution to this problem. Or even hoping that this would all go away. But, sadly, he couldn't think of anything. There was nothing else he could do.

 

Then, unexpectedly, a vision with him and Master Turin appears in his mind, replaying the last event that had taken place.

 

Turin- "Kydan...promise...promise me this...that you will protect them...everyone...in this war...as many...as you can...no matter the cause..."

 

Gaining slightly a bit of confidence, Kydan knew what he had to do. He had to believe what he thought was the right course of action, what was best for him, the Republic and the Jedi Order. Staring at Gualo's dead corpse, he grabs the cloak and armor off him.

 

Then, for some apparent and sudden reason, Kydan started to laugh. And not like your typical normal laugh.

 

Kydan's laughter began to become even louder and louder, causing everyone to stare at him, confused as to why he was now suddenly laughing like a maniac. They thought he had suddenly just lost it.

 

Kydan- "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! A Jedi?"

 

He starts to stand up, grasping Gualo's cloak and armor in his hands. His eyes seemed to falter among them, now not visible.

 

Kydan-" I wish you wouldn't compare me to those insignificant fools. They are all pathetic...and weak."

Throte- "What?"

 

Slowly, he starts to walk up to Throte and the others, still not showing his eyes to any one of them.

 

Kydan- Those thousands of Clone Troopers that died were all but cadets, not even worthy yet of the title of soldier. Heck, they didn't even know how to hold their blasters correctly. Not to mention, their aiming when shooting was totally inaccurate. But you. All of you. You are all better than they ever would and could be, even greater than you could even imagine yourselves.

 

Throte and the other soldier's expression's changed to a pure surprise. They were a bit shocked at what Kydan was just speaking.

 

Kydan- "But me...I am not like them. I have surpassed all of the Jedi. I have faced more difficult challenges and trials in my entire life then them, and I can assure you, Gualo was the weakest among the many others that I've met and fought. The Jedi ccan only dream of what I have gone through in my years. The reason I knew about his techniques is due to many reasons."

 

Kydan stops and stands in front of Throte and a few other soldiers, with Calena and Egile on the left side of him. Picking up his head, his eyes were now clear as day. However, they had suddenly changed. They weren't the gentle, kind brown chocolate colored eyes he had just recently. No. They were now the color of a red, piercing rose bud, staring at them all with black pupil eyes. Just the sight of his eyes caused a bit of tension and fear around them.

 

Kydan- "I know many things that even the Jedi and Sith would say to be...unnatural. I know more than the information brokers and the crime lords across the galaxy could ever learn. I am something that the Force can't even comprehend alone."

Throte- "...Wh-what? That's...that's far worse than any Jedi or Sith! Y-your a beast! A vicious monster!"

 

At the same time, everyone, except for Calena and Egile who were just glancing around themselves, started to call out different names at Kydan. They called him "freak", "monster", "demon", "rogue", and so many more. Yet, there was one interesting name that caught his attention among them. And it sounded perfect.

 

Clone Trooper- Your a freak! A dark, fiendish, mercenary freak!

Kydan- "Hmm...the Dark Mercenary...I like the sound of that. Yes, I am Kydan Witress, the Dark Mercenary. I have been trained to acknowledge both the light and dark side of the Force. I do prefer more of the darker techniques, if you asked me."

 

Glancing down, Kydan stared at the cloak and clothing that he had taken from Gualo's corpse.

 

Kydan- "So for now on, don't get me mixed up with those Jedi whelps or Sith-spits."

 

Quickly, he throws the black cloak over him, covering himself up with Sith robes, followed by a hood, now covering his eyes. Throwing Throte and the others a devious grin, he turns around and starts walking towards the landing platform, where he waited for his ship to pick him up. Throte and the others watched him walk away, not trying to take a chance to catch him. His own words were enough to frighten them all already.

 

As Kydan approaches the platform, where his ship, the Black Shadow had now just landed, he prepares to enter his ship. But before he could even step onto the ship, Calena runs up to him.

 

Calena- Kydan!

 

Kydan just stood there, waiting for her to speak. He figured there was no sense of talking at the moment, not with all what just happened back there. He didn't even turn around to face her.

 

Calena- "Why? Why did you say all that?"

 

Biting his lip, he knew that he needed to lie.

 

Kydan- "Because...it's the best thing to do."

Calena- "Kydan..."

Kydan- "...Here's some advise for you."

 

He finally looks over his shoulder as he begins to speak.

 

Kydan- "The Force is very strong within you. History states that the Irune clan bloodline were told to hold a strong connection to the Force as it was passed down for many generations in your family. I can assure you that you will become a great Jedi, once you have reached to Knighthood. Remember these words well; whenever someone asks you to join them, or even asks for their help: No matter what you do...lend out your hand and do whatever you can for them. Never turn your back away from those people. Even under the worst of circumstances imaginable."

Calena- "......"

Kydan- *Smirks* "Like all you Jedi say; May the Force be with you...always."

 

With that, without another word, Kydan walks up the ramp and enters his fighter. The ramp then closes up as the ship begins to hover above the platform, flying towards the atmosphere and into the far reaches of space...

_________________________

  

So I'll try to keep this nice and short; This. Was. A. Looong chapter to write! We had spent perhaps nearly two to three days when we wrote all of this! I'm just glad that we finally completed it at last.

 

As for this build, I actually thought that it was a bit interesting. We kinda wanted to take the image from KOTOR 1's Taris with its platforms and what not, and this is what we would imagine the platforms would look like these days. But like I said before, I'll let you guys decide if it looks good or not. If you want to see more pics of the chapters, again, go on over to MOC-pages and check them out for yourself!

 

Anyways, thank you all for your wonderful comments, faves and support so far and please continue to give us some feedback on how the story is going and what we could approve on even. Again, thank you all and, as always, have a fan-tucking-tastic day/night! See ya' in the next one.

 

- Director K.W.

Hans van Eijsden Photography, The Netherlands

MUA: Martina Kató

 

Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM on full frame.

Light: An Elinchrom ELB 400 with one HS head as key light from the front into an Elinchrom Deep Octa with translucent deflector and without inner diffusor, triggered via the Skyport Plus HS. Light from the back is ambient light.

 

Postprocessing: Some local adjustment curves, some local cloning.

Portfolio: www.hansvaneijsden.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hansvaneijsdenphotography

Light Class All Purpose Starfighter.

Manufacturer : Int-zeta Corporation

Armament :

Twin Proton Cannons

Twin Laser Cannons

Deflector Shields

Hyperdrive Class 1.5

Same 42 class steam locomotives however with different smoke deflectors for one. Rheine 1970. © Henk Graalman

Elinchrom ranger RX A head in a white soflite with silver deflector high camera right

ranger quadra behind the wall camera left, behind the subject

Hans van Eijsden Photography, The Netherlands

Model: Kristel de Sera

 

Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM on full frame.

 

Light: An Elinchrom ELB 400 with one HS head as key light from the front into an Elinchrom Deep Octa with silver deflector and with inner diffusor, triggered via the Skyport Plus HS. Light from the back is ambient light.

 

Postprocessing: Some local adjustment curves, some local cloning.

 

Portfolio: www.hansvaneijsden.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hansvaneijsdenphotography

Hans van Eijsden Photography, The Netherlands

 

Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM on full frame.

 

Light: Large clamshell setup with the Elinchrom ELC 1000 through a Maxi Spot with silver deflector without grid from the front-top-side, which creates the ultra high contrast in her face. Elinchrom ELC 500 with small strip box from the front-bottom-side, to lower the density of the shadows. Elinchrom ELC 500 through a dish on the background. I measured the light with the Sekonic L-758DR.

 

Postprocessing: Some local adjustment curves, some local cloning.

 

Portfolio: www.hansvaneijsden.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hansvaneijsdenphotography

Kannika's traditional Thai Food.. I was testing a new Gary Fong deflector for the Nissin i40 that I use with my Fuji X-T1 and decided to shoot this offering. It was not prepared for photographing so presentation isn't as nice as it could be, but more important are the colors that were produced by the X-T1 using this flash combination. I thought worth sharing.

   

running with deflectors 6100 and morayshire leave llangollen--I can hardly imagine a more clashing set of liveries!

  

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

Some background:

The TIE/LN starfighter, or TIE/line starfighter, simply known as the TIE Fighter or T/F, was the standard Imperial starfighter seen in massive numbers throughout most of the Galactic Civil War and onward.

The TIE Fighter was manufactured by Sienar Fleet Systems and led to several upgraded TIE models such as TIE/sa bomber, TIE/IN interceptor, TIE/D Defender, TIE/D automated starfighter, and many more.

 

The original TIEs were designed to attack in large numbers, overwhelming the enemy craft. The Imperials used so many that they came to be considered symbols of the Empire and its might. They were also very cheap to produce, reflecting the Imperial philosophy of quantity over quality.

 

However, a disadvantage of the fighter was its lack of deflector shields. In combat, pilots had to rely on the TIE/LN's maneuverability to avoid damage. The cockpit did incorporate crash webbing, a repulsorlift antigravity field, and a high-g shock seat to help protect the pilot, however these did next to nothing to help protect against enemy blaster fire.

 

Due to the lack of life-support systems, each TIE pilot had a fully sealed flight suit superior to their Rebel counterparts. The absence of a hyperdrive also rendered the light fighter totally dependent on carrier ships when deployed in enemy systems. TIE/LNs also lacked landing gear, another mass-reducing measure. While the ships were structurally capable of "sitting" on their wings, they were not designed to land or disembark their pilots without special support. On Imperial ships, TIEs were launched from racks in the hangar bays.

 

The high success rate of more advanced Rebel starfighters against standard Imperial TIE Fighters resulted in a mounting cost of replacing destroyed fighters and their pilots. That, combined with the realization that the inclusion of a hyperdrive would allow the fleet to be more flexible, caused the Imperial Navy to rethink its doctrine of using swarms of cheap craft instead of fewer high-quality ones, leading to the introduction of the TIE Advanced x1 and its successor, the TIE Avenger. The following TIE/D Defender as well as the heavy TIE Escort Fighter (or TIE/E) were touted as the next "logical advance" of the TIE Series—representing a shift in starfighter design from previous, expendable TIE models towards fast, well armed and protected designs, capable of hyperspace travel and long-term crew teams which gained experience and capabilities over time.

 

The TIE/E Escort, was a high-performance TIE Series starfighter developed for the Imperial Navy by Sienar Fleet Systems and it was introduced into service shortly before the Battle of Endor. It was a much heavier counterpart to the agile and TIE/D fighter, and more of an attack ship or even a light bomber than a true dogfighter. Its role were independent long range operations, and in order to reduce the work load and boost morale a crew of two was introduced (a pilot and a dedicated weapon systems officer/WSO). The primary duty profile included attack and escort task, but also reconnoiter missions. The TIE/E shared the general layout with the contemporary TIE/D fighter, but the cockpit section as well as the central power unit were much bigger, and the ship was considerably heavier.

 

The crew enjoyed – compared with previous TIE fighter designs – a spacious and now fully pressurized cockpit, so that no pressurized suits had to be worn anymore. The crew members sat in tandem under a large, clear canopy. The pilot in front had a very good field of view, while the WSO sat behind him, in a higher, staggered position with only a limited field of view. Both work stations had separate entries, though, and places could not be switched in flight: the pilot mounted the cockpit through a hatch on port side, while the WSO entered the rear compartment through a roof hatch.

 

In a departure from the design of previous TIE models, instead of two parallel wings to either side of the pilot module, the TIE Escort had three quadanium steel solar array wings mounted symmetrically around an aft section, which contained an I-s4d solar ionization reactor to store and convert solar energy collected from the wing panels. The inclusion of a third wing provided additional solar power to increase the ship's range and the ship's energy management system was designed to allow weapons and shields to be charged with minimum loss of power to the propulsion system.

 

Although it was based on the standard twin ion engine design, the TIE/E’s propulsion system was upgraded to the entirely new, powerful P-sz9.8 triple ion engine. This allowed the TIE/E a maximum acceleration of 4,220 G or 21 MGLT/s and a top speed of 144 MGLT, or 1,680 km/h in an atmosphere — almost 40 percent faster than a former standard TIE Fighter. With tractor beam recharge power (see below) redirected to the engines, the top speed could be increased to 180 MGLT in a dash.

In addition to the main thrusters located in the aft section, the TIE Escort's triple wing design allowed for three arrays of maneuvering jets and it featured an advanced F-s5x flight avionics system to process the pilot's instructions. Production models received a class 2, ND9 hyperdrive motivator, modified from the version developed for the TIE Avenger. The TIE/E also carried a Sienar N-s6 Navcon navigation computer with a ten-jump memory.

 

Special equipment included a small tractor beam projector, originally developed for the TIE Avenger, which could be easily fitted to the voluminous TIE Escort. Models produced by Ysanne Isard's production facility regularly carried such tractor beams and the technology found other uses, such as towing other damaged starfighters until they could achieve the required velocity to enter hyperspace. The tractor beam had limited range and could only be used for a short time before stopping to recharge, but it added new tactics, too. For instance, the beam allowed the TIE/E crews to temporarily inhibit the mobility of enemy fighters, making it easier to target them with the ship's other weapon systems, or prevent enemies from clear shots.

 

The TIE Escort’s weapons systems were primarily designed to engage bigger ships and armored or shielded targets, like armed freighters frequently used by the Alliance. Thanks to its complex weapon and sensor suite, it could also engage multiple enemy fighters at once. The sensors also allowed an effective attack of ground targets, so that atmospheric bombing was a potential mission for the TIE/E, too.

.

The TIE Escort Fighter carried a formidable array of weaponry in two modular weapon bays that were mounted alongside the lower cabin. In standard configuration, the TIE/E had two L-s9.3 laser cannons and two NK-3 ion cannons. The laser and ion cannons could be set to fire separately or, if concentrated power was required, to fire-linked in either pairs or as a quartet.

The ship also featured two M-g-2 general-purpose warhead launchers, each of which could be equipped with a standard load of three proton torpedoes or four concussion missiles. Depending on the mission profile, the ship could be fitted with alternative warheads such as proton rockets, proton bombs, or magnetic pulse warheads.

Additionally, external stores could be carried under the fuselage, which included a conformal sensor pallet for reconnaissance missions or a cargo bay with a capacity for 500 kg (1.100 lb).

 

The ship's defenses were provided by a pair of forward and rear projecting Novaldex deflector shield generators—another advantage over former standard TIE models. The shields were designed to recharge more rapidly than in previous Imperial fighters and were nearly as powerful as those found on capital ships, so that the TIE/E could engage other ships head-on with a very high survivability. The fighters were not equipped with particle shields, though, relying on the reinforced titanium hull to absorb impacts from matter. Its hull and wings were among the strongest of any TIE series Starfighter yet.

 

The advanced starfighter attracted the attention of several other factions, and the Empire struggled to prevent the spread of the technology. The ship's high cost, together with political factors, kept it from achieving widespread use in the Empire, though, and units were assigned only to the most elite crews.

 

The TIE/E played a central role in the Empire's campaign against rogue Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin, and mixed Defender and Escort units participated in several other battles, including the Battle of Endor. The TIE Escort continued to see limited use by the Imperial Remnant up to at least 44 ABY, and was involved in numerous conflicts, including the Yuuzhan Vong War..

  

The kit and its assembly:

Another group build contribution, this time to the Science Fiction GB at whatifmodelers.com during summer 2017. Originally, this one started as an attempt to build a vintage MPC TIE Interceptor kit which I had bought and half-heartedly started to build probably 20 years ago. But I did not have the right mojo (probably, The Force was not strong enough…?), so the kit ended up in a dark corner and some parts were donated to other projects.

 

The sun collectors were still intact, though, and in the meantime I had the idea of reviving the kit’s remains, and convert it into (what I thought was) a fictional TIE Fighter variant with three solar panels. For this plan I got myself another TIE Interceptor kit, and stashed it away, too. Mojo was still missing, though.

 

Well, then came the SF GB and I took it as an occasion to finally tackle the build. But when I prepared for the build I found out that my intended design (over the years) more or less actually existed in the Star Wars universe: the TIE/D Defender! I could have built it with the parts and hand and some improvisation, but the design similarity bugged me. Well, instead of a poor copy of something that was more or less clearly defined, I rather decided to create something more individual, yet plausible, from the parts at hand.

 

The model was to stay a TIE design, though, in order to use as much donor material from the MPC kits as possible. Doing some legwork, I settled for a heavy fighter – bigger than the TIE Interceptor and the TIE/D fighter, a two-seater.

Working out the basic concept and layout took some time and evolved gradually. The creative spark for the TIE/E eventually came through a Revell “Obi Wan’s Jedi Starfighter” snap fit kit in my pile – actually a prize from a former GB participation at phoxim.de (Thanks a lot, Wolfgang!), and rather a toy than a true model kit.

 

The Jedi Fighter was in so far handy as it carries some TIE Fighter design traits, like the pilot capsule and the characteristic spider web windscreen. Anyway, it’s 1:32, much bigger than the TIE Interceptor’s roundabout 1:50 scale – but knowing that I’d never build the Jedi Starfighter OOB I used it as a donor bank, and from this starting point things started to evolve gradually.

 

Work started with the cockpit section, taken from the Jedi Starfighter kit. The two TIE Interceptor cockpit tubs were then mounted inside, staggered, and the gaps to the walls filled with putty. A pretty messy task, and once the shapes had been carved out some triangular tiles were added to the surfaces – a detail I found depicted in SW screenshots and some TIE Fighter models.

 

Another issue became the crew – even though I had two MPC TIE Interceptors and, theorectically, two pilot figures, only one of them could be found and the second crewman had to be improvised. I normally do not build 1:48 scale things, but I was lucky (and happy) to find an SF driver figure, left over from a small Dougram hoovercraft kit (from Takara, as a Revell “Robotech” reboxing). This driver is a tad bigger than the 1:50 TIE pilot, but I went with it because I did not want to invest money and time in alternatives. In order to justify the size difference I decided to paint the Dougram driver as a Chiss, based on the expanded SW universe (with blue skin and hair, and glowing red eyes). Not certain if this makes sense during the Battle of Endor timeframe, but it adds some color to the project – and the cockpit would not be visible in much detail since it would be finished fully closed.

 

Reason behind the closed canopy is basically the poor fit of the clear part. OOB, this is intended as an action toy – but also the canopy’s considerable size in 1:50 would prevent its original opening mechanism.

Additional braces on the rel. large window panels were created with self-adhesive tape and later painted over.

 

The rear fuselage section and the solar panel pylons were scratched. The reactor behind the cockpit section is actually a plastic adapter for water hoses, found in a local DIY market. It was slightly modified, attached to the cockpit “egg” and both parts blended with putty. The tail opening was closed with a hatch from the OOB TIE Interceptor – an incidental but perfect match in size and style.

 

The three pylons are also lucky finds: actually, these are SF wargaming/tabletop props and would normally be low walls or barriers, made from resin. For my build, they were more or less halved and trimmed. Tilted by 90°, they are attached to the hull with iron wire stabilizers, and later blended to the hull with putty, too.

 

Once the cockpit was done, things moved more swiftly. The surface of the hull was decorated with many small bits and pieces, including thin styrene sheet and profiles, steel and iron wire in various strengths, and there are even 1:72 tank tracks hidden somewhere, as well as protective caps from syringes (main guns and under the rear fuselage). It’s amazing how much stuff you can add to such a model – but IMHO it’s vital in order to create some structure and to emulate the (early) Star Wars look.

  

Painting and markings:

The less spectacular part of the project, even though still a lot of work because of the sheer size of the model’s surface. Since the whole thing is fictional, I tried to stay true to the Imperial designs from Episode IV-VI and gave the TIE/E a simple, all-light grey livery. All basic painting was done with rattle cans.

Work started with a basic coat of grey primer. On top of that, an initial coat of RAL 7036 Platingrau was added, esp. to the lower surfaces and recesses, for a rough shading effect. Then, the actual overall tone, RAL 7047, called “Telegrau 4”, one of Deutsche Telekom’s corporate tones, was added - mostly sprayed from abone and the sides onto the model. Fuselage and panels were painted separately, overall assembly was one of the final steps.

 

The solar panels were to stand out from the grey rest of the model, and I painted them with Revell Acrylic “Iron Metallic” (91) first, and later applied a rather rich wash with black ink , making sure the color settled well into the many small cells. The effect is pretty good, and the contrast was slightly enhanced through a dry-brushing treatment.

 

Only a few legible stencils were added all around the hull (most from the scrap box or from mecha sheets), the Galactic Empire Seal were inkjet-printed at home, as well as some tactical markings on the flanks, puzzled together from single digits in "Aurebash", one of the Imperial SW languages/fonts.

For some variety and color highlights, dozens of small, round and colorful markings were die-punched from silver, yellow, orange, red and blue decal sheet and were placed all over the hull - together with the large panels they blur into the the overall appearance, though. The hatches received thin red linings, also made from generic decals strips.

 

The cockpit interior was a bit challenging, though. Good TIE Fighter cockpit interior pictures are hard to find, but they suggest a dark grey tone. More confusingly, the MPC instructions call for a “Dark Green” cockpit? Well, I did not like the all-grey option, since the spaceship is already monochrome grey on the outside.

 

As a compromise I eventually used Tamiya XF-65 "Field Grey". The interior recieved a black ink in and dry-brushing treatment, and some instruments ansd screens were created with black decal material and glossy black paint; some neon paint was used for sci-fi-esque conmtraol lamps everywhere - I did not pay too much intention on the interior, since the cockpit would stay closed, and the thick clear material blurs everything inside.

Following this rationale, the crew was also painted in arather minimal fashion - both wear a dark grey uniform, only the Chiss pilot stands aout with his light blue skin and the flourescent red eyes.

 

After an overall black ink wash the model received a dry brusing treatment with FS 36492 and FS 36495, for a weathered and battle-worn look. After all, the "Vehement" would not survive the Ballte of Endor, but who knows what became of TIE/E "801"'s mixed crew...?

Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, and some final cosmetic corrections made.

 

The display is a DIY creation, too, made from a 6x6" piece of wood, it's edges covered with edgebonder, a steel wire as holder, and finally the display was paited with semi-matt black acrylic paint from the rattle can.

  

A complex build, and the TIE/E more or less evolved along the way, with only the overall layout in mind. Work took a month, but I think it was worth the effort. This fantasy creation looks pretty plausible and blends well into the vast canonical TIE Fighter family - and I am happy that I finally could finish this mummy project, including the surplus Jedi Starfighter kit which now also find a very good use!

 

An epic one, and far outside my standard comfort zone. But a wothwhile build!

 

My build for the Starfighter Teleport Game 2013.

 

Landing gear tucked behind fore deflector shielding.

Frame:*SURLY* steamroller

Headset:*CHRIS KING* nothreadset

Front folk:*WHISKY* NO.7 road plus fork

Wheel:*PHIL* L/F track hub x ム *H PLUS*archetype rim

Tire:*TERAVAIL* washburn tire

Handle:*FAIRWEATHER* b903 bullmoose bar

Grip:*ERGON* GP1 ergo grips

Brake lever:*PAUL* canti lever

Saddle:*WTB* silverado

Seatpost:*THOMSON* masterpiece seatpost

Crank: *SUGINO* SG75 crank

Bottom bracket: *PHILWOOD* square taper BB

Pedal:*MKS*ALLWAYS

Cog:*PHILWOOD* 1/8 track cog

Rear fender:*ZEFAL* deflector fender

Hans van Eijsden Photography, The Netherlands

 

Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM on full frame.

 

Light: Large clamshell setup with the Elinchrom ELC 1000 through a Deep Octa with silver deflector from the front-top-side, which creates the ultra high metallic contrast in her face. Elinchrom ELC 500 with small strip box from the front-bottom-side, to lower the density of some shadows. Elinchrom ELC 500 through a dish on the background. I measured the light with the Sekonic L-758DR.

Postprocessing: Some local adjustment curves, some local cloning.

 

Portfolio: www.hansvaneijsden.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hansvaneijsdenphotography

QJ 1892 (high deflectors) hauled a coaltrain on the line Baotou - Dongsheng - Shenmu.

 

China, Nov. 1997 (scanned slide)

The catchlights tell the tale.

 

Strobist Info:

 

Single 580EX II in a Westcott RapidBox Duo at 1/2 power, 24mm zoom, on axis, supported by a Manfrotto 420B boom. Deflector plate, inner baffle, outer diffuser and egg crate grid in place. Yongnuo YN622C-TX trigger.

 

42 inch white reflector, on axis, below subject's chest.

Just a steam Train based off the Prussian P8 with smoke deflectors

Name: Silver Sentry (The second incarnation of the hero.)

 

Secret Identity: Sam Sterling.

 

Age: Mid-twenties.

 

Skills/Powers:

 

Cybernetic suit that grants enhanced strength and the power of flight, just as with the original Silver Sentry.

 

Gleaming finish on the shield and the suit can deflect all manner of energy and laser beams, and even some small projectiles.

 

Thanks to upgrades from the secret labs at Watt-Tech, the Sentry's shield can be magnetized to pull weapons away from his attackers, or with the polarity reversed it can knock back attackers and disable electronic devices with a focused EMP (Electro-Magnetic Pulse) blast.

 

Background/Origin Story:

 

"Who will take up the gleaming mantle to be the new Silver Sentry?" That question had been on the minds of the citizens of New Brickton for years after the disbanding of the original League of Heroes. Without their gleaming sentinel of liberty, the city just didn't feel the same. Little did the people know that their shining hero would return in the form of the meek and brainy Sam Sterling. Through a serendipitous twist of fate, the meek WattTech lab worker used a suit of experimental body armor to stop the criminal Fire Bug from stealing an experimental flame thrower from high security storage at Watt Tower.

 

Upon hearing about the bravery of his employee, and witnessing an aptitude in the young man for the advanced body armor, William Watts began secretly training Sam to use the new and improved Silver Sentry battle suit. After only a few brief months of running simulations, the fateful day came when the New Brickton Penitentiary erupted in a fiery explosion, engulfing Midtown in chaos and once again uniting all of the heroes into a new League of Heroes.

 

Sam Sterling quickly distinguished himself as the city's new protector, and in the aftermath of the Battle for New Brickton, the young hero would take a leadership role in the new League of Heroes.

 

To learn the fate of the original Silver Sentry... click here... www.flickr.com/photos/10211834@N07/9424539892/in/pool-llh

Looking like a waif from a Japanese movie, the blinkered SY rearranges the wagons at Zhalai Nouer, Nei Mongol in the far north of China. December 2006. © David Hill.

my kismet craves your karma

my bones are alone in my body

the charm of a faithful pharmacy

a shoddy shell contains my innards

my mind knows all about blizzards

I once was where I am

and I'll be there again

a boy in the middle of men

some believe we've been carefully

or carelessly connected

just carry me home

before the wall is erected

(defiled by definitions deflected)

let me tell you why

I live by the sea

I'm a refugee

from me

  

© Steve Skafte

  

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Come on Smile Smile More & More From Me. 55,721 views yes I can see.

From Wendy & Keith

 

History

 

Thalidomide was created by Grünenthal in 1953 and was used in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a "wonder drug" to treat morning sickness, headaches, coughs, insomnia and colds. Thalidomide was marketed in the UK under the name Distaval in 1958, and advertisements emphasized the drug's complete safety, using phrases such as “non-toxic” and “no known toxicity”.

However, in 1961 an Australian doctor, William McBride, wrote to the Lancet after noticing an increase in deformed babies being born at his hospital – all to mothers who had taken Thalidomide.

Between 1958 and 1962 tens of thousands of women throughout Europe found that the baby they were carrying unaccountably miscarried, or, worse, after they gave birth were told it was stillborn. Thousands more discovered that their babies had severe birth defects, missing arms, legs, or with severe reductions to these limbs, or even worse, damage to their internal organs, brain, heart, kidneys, intestines, genitals, etc. During 1962 record keepers began to count all of the children living who were born damaged by the drug. The only complete records are of those who survived long enough to participate in the national compensation schemes, which were established in Germany, Britain, Japan, Sweden and Australia in the 1970s. The difficulty in uncovering the full toll of the disaster begins with the unknown numbers of miscarriages and stillbirths (possibly up to ten times the number of live births), and the widespread practice of infanticide.

The Thalidomide injuries did not stop once the babies were born. At the age of fifty, the Thalidomide Trust’s records show that around half of all survivors are coping with chronic pain – mainly from muscles and joints (musculo-skeletal pain), largely as a result of the challenges of living with missing or damaged limbs. For many, their bodies are deteriorating far faster than able-bodied people. Several have been told words to the effect “your body is getting the problems of someone in their seventies”, which at forty to fifty years of age is not good news. At least a quarter are coping with developing neurological problems, tingling, numbness, and pain in their affected limbs. This means that a person may be holding a cup, for instance, and the next thing they know is it has fallen to the floor and broken, because of the numbness in their hand. For these survivors, the disaster is still slowly unfolding in their day-to-day lives.

Grünenthal scientists were not only negligent in failing to withdraw the drug when reports of problems came in, or for failing to test it according to the standards of the time, but more than most companies they were very well placed to anticipate the possibility that Thalidomide would cause birth defects.

Grünenthal initially denied claims that the drug hadn’t been extensively tested according to the standards of the time, but once the scandal became undeniable, they sought to deflect blame and limit damage.

In 1961 Thalidomide was eventually withdrawn after being found to be a teratogan - a cause of birth defects. 12 years later, the UK company Distillers Biochemicals Limited (now Diageo) – which was responsible for distributing the drug in the UK – reached a compensation settlement following a legal battle by the families of those affected.

Based on incomplete medical evidence and unrealistic expectations of Thalidomide survivors future needs this settlement has turned out to be at an inadequate level. With all Thalidomide survivors in the UK now over the age of 50, it is no longer sufficient to deal with their rising cost of living, and the dramatic deterioration of their health.

To this day, Grünenthal have never accepted responsibility for the suffering caused by Thalidomide. On September 1st 2012, The Grünenthal Group released a statement containing an apology, stating that it "regrets" the consequences of the drug, which led to babies being born without limbs during the 1950s and 1960s. Although the statement was welcomed by some Thalidomide survivors, it is still not an acceptance of responsibility. They just want to live a comfortable life, and that means Grünenthal should be held accountable and pay for their mistake financially.

 

Spanish

Historia

La talidomida fue creado por Grünenthal en 1953 y fue utilizado a finales de 1950 y principios de 1960 como una "droga milagrosa" para el tratamiento de las náuseas, dolores de cabeza, tos, insomnio y resfriados. La talidomida fue comercializada en el Reino Unido bajo el nombre Distaval en 1958, y destacó los anuncios de seguridad completa del medicamento, utilizando frases como "no tóxico" y "no hay toxicidad conocida".

Sin embargo, en 1961 un médico australiano, William McBride, escribió a la revista The Lancet después de notar un aumento en los bebés que nacen deformes en su hospital - todo a las madres que habían tomado Talidomida.

Entre 1958 y 1962, decenas de miles de mujeres de toda Europa descubrieron que el bebé que llevaban inexplicablemente abortado, o, peor aún, después de dar a luz se les dijo que estaba muerto. Miles de personas descubrieron que sus bebés nacieron con defectos congénitos graves, los brazos, las piernas, que faltan o con reducciones severas a estos miembros, o peor aún, el daño a sus órganos internos, cerebro, corazón, riñones, intestinos, genitales, etc Durante 1962 guardianes de los registros empezó a contar toda la vida los niños que nacieron dañado por la droga. Los únicos registros completos son de los que sobrevivieron lo suficiente como para participar en los sistemas nacionales de indemnización, que se establecieron en Alemania, Gran Bretaña, Japón, Suecia y Australia en la década de 1970. La dificultad para descubrir el número de víctimas del desastre comienza con los números desconocidos de abortos involuntarios y mortinatos (posiblemente hasta diez veces el número de nacidos vivos), y la práctica generalizada del infanticidio.

Las lesiones de la talidomida no se detuvo una vez que los bebés nacieron. A la edad de cincuenta años, los registros de la confianza talidomida muestran que cerca de la mitad de todos los sobrevivientes están lidiando con el dolor crónico - principalmente de músculos y articulaciones (dolor musculoesquelético), en gran parte como resultado de los desafíos de vivir con la falta o ramas dañadas. Para muchos, sus cuerpos se deterioran mucho más rápido que las personas sanas. Algunos han dicho palabras en el sentido de "su cuerpo está recibiendo los problemas de alguien en los setenta", que a los cuarenta o cincuenta años de edad no es una buena noticia. Al menos una cuarta están lidiando con el desarrollo de problemas neurológicos, hormigueo, entumecimiento y dolor en las extremidades afectadas. Esto significa que una persona puede ser la celebración de una taza, por ejemplo, y lo siguiente que sé es que ha caído al suelo y se rompe, debido a la sensación de adormecimiento en la mano. Para estos sobrevivientes, el desastre está siendo poco a poco se desarrolla en su día a día.

Grünenthal científicos no sólo fueron negligentes al no haber retirado la droga cuando los informes de problemas de vino, o por no probarlo de acuerdo a los estándares de la época, pero más que la mayoría de las empresas que estaban muy bien situados para prever la posibilidad de que la talidomida haría causar defectos de nacimiento.

Grünenthal inicialmente negó las acusaciones de que el medicamento no ha sido ampliamente probado de acuerdo con los estándares de la época, pero una vez que el escándalo se hizo innegable, trataron de desviar la culpa y limitar el daño.

En 1961, la talidomida fue finalmente retirada después de haber sido encontrado para ser un teratogan - una de las causas de los defectos congénitos. 12 años después, el Reino Unido, Distillers Company Limited (ahora Bioquímicos Diageo) - encargada de la distribución de la droga en el Reino Unido - llegó a un acuerdo de compensación después de una batalla legal por las familias de los afectados.

Sobre la base de evidencia incompleta médica y expectativas poco realistas de la talidomida futuro sobrevivientes necesita esta solución ha resultado ser en un nivel adecuado. Con todos los sobrevivientes de la talidomida en el Reino Unido ahora más de 50 años de edad, ya no es suficiente para hacer frente a su creciente costo de vida, y el dramático deterioro de su salud.

A día de hoy, Grünenthal nunca ha aceptado la responsabilidad por el sufrimiento causado por la talidomida. El 1 de septiembre de 2012, el Grupo Grünenthal emitió una declaración que contenga una disculpa, diciendo que "lamenta" las consecuencias de la droga, lo que llevó a los bebés que nacen sin extremidades durante los años 1950 y 1960. Aunque la declaración fue bien recibida por algunos sobrevivientes de la talidomida, no es todavía una aceptación de responsabilidad. Ellos sólo quieren vivir una vida cómoda, y eso quiere decir Grünenthal deben rendir cuentas y pagar por su error financieramente.

 

Italian

Storia

La talidomide è stato creato da Grünenthal nel 1953 ed è stato utilizzato alla fine del 1950 e 1960 come un "farmaco miracoloso" per curare la malattia di mattina, mal di testa, tosse, insonnia e raffreddori. La talidomide è stato commercializzato nel Regno Unito con il nome di Distaval nel 1958, e la pubblicità ha sottolineato sicurezza del farmaco, con frasi come "non tossico" e "nessuna tossicità conosciuto".

Tuttavia, nel 1961 un medico australiano, William McBride, ha scritto al Lancet dopo aver notato un aumento delle nascite di bimbi malformati essendo nati a suo ospedale - tutti da madri che avevano assunto talidomide.

Tra il 1958 e il 1962 decine di migliaia di donne in tutta Europa ha scoperto che il bambino che portavano inspiegabilmente abortito, o, peggio, dopo che ha dato alla luce hanno detto che era morto. Altre migliaia hanno scoperto che i loro bambini hanno gravi difetti di nascita, braccia, gambe, mancanti o con gravi riduzioni a queste arti, o peggio ancora, danni ai loro organi interni, cervello, cuore, reni, intestino, genitali, ecc Nel 1962 custodi record cominciò a contare tutta la vita i bambini che sono nati danneggiati dal farmaco. Le uniche registrazioni complete sono di coloro che sono sopravvissuti abbastanza a lungo per partecipare ai sistemi di indennizzo nazionali, che sono stati stabiliti in Germania, Gran Bretagna, Giappone, Svezia e Australia nel 1970. La difficoltà nello scoprire il bilancio del disastro inizia con i numeri sconosciuti di aborti spontanei e nati morti (forse fino a dieci volte il numero di nati vivi), e la pratica diffusa di infanticidio.

Le lesioni Talidomide non si è fermata una volta che i bambini sono nati. All'età di 50, del Trust talidomide i tabulati mostrano che circa la metà di tutti i sopravvissuti stanno affrontando con dolore cronico - principalmente da muscoli e le articolazioni (il dolore muscoloscheletrico), soprattutto a causa delle sfide della vita con mancanti o arti danneggiati. Per molti, i loro corpi si stanno deteriorando molto più veloce di persone abili. Molti hanno detto parole per l'effetto "il tuo corpo è sempre il problema di qualcuno nei loro anni settanta", che a 40-50 anni di età non è una buona notizia. Almeno un quarto stanno affrontando con lo sviluppo di problemi neurologici, formicolio, intorpidimento e dolore a carico degli arti colpiti. Ciò significa che una persona può essere in possesso di un tazza, per esempio, e la prossima cosa che so è che è caduto a terra e rotto, a causa del torpore in mano. Per questi sopravvissuti, il disastro è ancora lentamente svolgendo nel loro giorno per giorno la vita.

Grünenthal scienziati non erano solo negligenza nel non ritirare il farmaco quando i report di problemi è venuto in, o per non aver testarlo secondo gli standard del tempo, ma più che la maggior parte delle aziende erano molto ben disposti ad anticipare la possibilità che Thalidomide avrebbe causare difetti di nascita.

Grünenthal inizialmente smentito che il farmaco non era stato ampiamente testati secondo gli standard del tempo, ma una volta che lo scandalo è diventata innegabile, hanno cercato di deviare la colpa e di limitare i danni.

Nel 1961 talidomide è stata infine ritirata dopo essere stato trovato per essere un teratogan - una causa di difetti di nascita. 12 anni dopo, i Distillers Company Limited, Regno Unito Biochemicals (ora Diageo) - incaricata di distribuire il farmaco nel Regno Unito - ha raggiunto un accordo di compensazione a seguito di una battaglia legale da parte delle famiglie delle persone colpite.

Sulla base di prove mediche incomplete e le aspettative non realistiche del futuro Thalidomide sopravvissuti ha bisogno di questa soluzione si è rivelata essere ad un livello insufficiente. Con tutti i sopravvissuti Talidomide nel Regno Unito ora di età superiore ai 50 anni, non è più sufficiente per affrontare la loro crescente costo della vita, e il drammatico deterioramento della loro salute.

Fino ad oggi, la Grünenthal non hanno mai accettato la responsabilità per la sofferenza causata dal talidomide. Il 1 ° settembre 2012, il Gruppo Grünenthal ha rilasciato una dichiarazione che contiene delle scuse, affermando che esso "deplora" le conseguenze della droga, che ha portato a bambini nati senza arti nel corso del 1950 e 1960. Anche se la dichiarazione è stata accolta da alcuni sopravvissuti talidomide, non è ancora una assunzione di responsabilità. Vogliono solo vivere una vita comoda, e questo significa che Grünenthal dovrebbero essere ritenuti responsabili e pagare per il loro errore finanziario.

  

Japanese

 

サリドマイドは1953年にGrünenthalによって作成されたとつわり、頭痛、咳、不眠や風邪を治療するための「特効薬」として、1950年代後半から1960年代初頭に使用された。サリドマイドは1958年に名称Distavalの下に英国で販売された、と広告はそのような「非毒性」と「知られていない毒性」などのフレーズを使用して、薬剤の完全な安全性を強調した。

サリドマイドを取っていた母親にすべて - しかし、1961年にオーストラリアの医師、ウィリアム·マクブライドは、彼の病院で生まれた赤ちゃん変形の増加に気付いた後、Lancet誌に手紙を書いた。

1958と1962の間で十ヨーロッパ全土の女性の何千人もの彼らは誕生それは死産だったと言われたた後に、彼らがどういうわけか運んでいた赤ちゃんが、悪化し流産し、またはことがわかった。もっと自分の赤ちゃんは1962レコードキーパーの間に脚、またはなど彼らの内臓、脳、心臓、腎臓、腸、生殖器、これらの手足、またはさらに悪いことに、ダメージに深刻な減少を伴う重度の先天性欠損、不足している武器を持っていたことを発見した何千も薬剤によって損傷生まれた生きたすべての子を数えるようになった。唯一の完全な記録は、1970年代にドイツ、イギリス、日本、スウェーデン、オーストラリアで設立された国家補償方式、に参加するのに十分な長生き残った人々のである。災害を完全に通行料を暴くの難しさは、流産や死産の未知数（おそらく生児出生の10倍の数まで）、および嬰児の広範な練習から始まる。

赤ちゃんが生まれた後にサリドマイドの怪我は停止しませんでした。主に筋肉や関節（筋骨格痛）から、大部分が欠落しているか損傷し手足と共に生きるの挑戦の結果として - 50歳の時、サリドマイドトラストの記録は、すべての生存者の約半数が慢性疼痛に対処していることを示している。多くの人にとって、自分の体は健常人よりもはるかに速く悪化している。いくつかは、年齢の四〇から五〇歳で良いニュースではない、「あなたの体は70代の誰かの問題を得ている」旨の言葉を言われている。少なくとも、四半期には、彼らの影響を受けた四肢の発達神経学的な問題、うずき、しびれ、痛みに対処されています。これは、人が、たとえば、カップを保持することができ、彼らが知っている次の事は、それが原因で彼らの手のしびれのため、床に落ちたし、壊れていることを意味します。これらの生存者のために、災害はまだゆっくりと彼らの日々の生活の中で展開されている。

Grünenthalの科学者は問題の報告が入ってきたときだけでなく、薬剤を撤回することができないで怠慢だったか、失敗するのは時間の基準に従ってそれをテストするための、より多くの企業よりも、彼らは非常によく可能性を予想するために置かれたサリドマイドだろうと先天性欠損症を引き起こす。

Grünenthalは当初、薬物が広く、時間の基準に従ってテストされていなかったの主張を否定したが、スキャンダルは否定できないとなったら、それらを非難し、限界ダメージを偏向しようとした。

先天性欠損症の原因は - 1961年にサリドマイドは、最終的にteratoganであることが判明された後に撤回された。 12年後、英国の会社ラーズ·バイオケミカルズ·リミテッド（現ディアジオ） - 英国で薬物を分配するための責任があった - 被災者の家族による法廷闘争以下の補償和解に達した。

この和解は、不十分なレベルであることが判明した不完全な医学的証拠とサリドマイド生存者の将来の非現実的な期待に基づいている必要がありますベース。英国内のすべてのサリドマイドの生存者で、今50歳以上、それはもはや彼らの生活費の上昇、そして自分の健康の劇的な悪化に対処するのに十分ではありません。

この日に、Grünenthalはサリドマイドによって引き起こされる苦しみの責任を受け入れたことがありません。 9月1日2012年、Grünenthalグループは、赤ちゃんへ導いたそれを "後悔"薬の影響は、1950年代と1960年代に手足ずに生まれていることを示す、謝罪を含む声明を発表した。文はいくつかのサリドマイド生存者に歓迎されたものの、それはまだ責任の受け入れではありません。彼らはただ、快適な生活をしたい、それがGrünenthalが責任を負うと財政的に自分の過ちのために支払うべきであることを意味します。

 

Saridomaido wa 1953-nen ni Grünenthal ni yotte sakusei sa reta to tsuwari, zutsū, seki, fumin ya kaze o chiryō suru tame no `tokkōyaku' to shite, 1950-nendai kōhan kara 1960-nendai shotō ni shiyō sa reta. Saridomaido wa 1958-nen ni meishō Distaval no shita ni Igirisu de hanbai sa reta, to kōkoku wa sono yō na `hi dokusei' to `shira rete inai dokusei' nado no furēzu o shiyō shite, yakuzai no kanzen'na anzen-sei o kyōchō shita. Saridomaido o totte ita hahaoya ni subete - shikashi, 1961-nen ni ōsutoraria no ishi, U~Iriamu· makuburaido wa, kare no byōin de umareta akachan henkei no zōka ni kidzuita nochi, ransetto-shi ni tegami o kaita. 1958 To 1962 no ma de jū yōroppa zendo no josei no nan sen-ri mo no karera wa tanjō soreha shizandatta to iwa retata nochi ni, karera ga dō iu wake ka hakonde ita akachan ga, akka shi ryūzan shi, matawa koto ga wakatta. Motto jibun no akachan wa 1962 rekōdokīpā no ma ni ashi, matawa nado karera no naizō, nō, shinzō, jinzō, chō, seishokki, korera no teashi, matawa saraniwaruikoto ni, damēji ni shinkokuna genshō o tomonau jūdo no senten-sei kesson, fusoku shite iru buki o motte ita koto o hakken shita nan sen mo yakuzai ni yotte sonshō umareta ikita subete no ko o kazoeru yō ni natta. Yuiitsu no kanzen'na kiroku wa, 1970-nendai ni Doitsu, Igirisu, Nihon, suu~ēden, ōsutoraria de setsuritsu sa reta kokka hoshō hōshiki, ni sanka suru no ni jūbun'na naga ikinokotta hitobito nodearu. Saigai o kanzen ni tsūkō-ryō o abaku no muzukashi-sa wa, ryūzan ya shizan no michisū (osoraku nama-ji shussei no 10-bai no kazu made), oyobi midorigo no kōhan'na renshū kara hajimaru. Akachan ga umareta nochi ni Saridomaido no kega wa teishi shimasendeshita. Omoni kin'niku ya kansetsu (suji kokkaku-tsū) kara, daibubun ga ketsuraku shite iru ka sonshō shi teashi to tomoniikiru no chōsen no kekka to shite - 50-sai no toki, saridomaidotorasuto no kiroku wa, subete no seizon-sha no yaku hansū ga mansei tōtsū ni taisho shite iru koto o shimeshite iru. Ōku no hito ni totte, jibun no karada wa kenjō hito yori mo haruka ni hayaku akka shite iru. Ikutsu ka wa, nenrei no shi rei kara go rei-saide yoi nyūsude wanai, `anata no karada wa 70-dai no dareka no mondai o ete iru' mune no kotoba o iwa rete iru. Sukunakutomo, shihanki ni wa, karera no eikyō o uketa shishi no hattatsu shinkeigakutekina mondai, uzuki, shibire, itami ni taisho sa rete imasu. Kore wa, hito ga, tatoeba, kappu o hoji suru koto ga deki, karera ga shitte iru tsugi no koto wa, sore ga gen'in de karera no te no shibire no tame, yuka ni ochitashi, kowarete iru koto o imi shimasu. Korera no seizon-sha no tame ni, saigai wa mada yukkuri to karera no hibi no seikatsu no naka de tenkai sa rete iru. Grünenthal no kagaku-sha wa mondai no hōkoku ga haitte kita toki dakedenaku, yakuzai o tekkai suru koto ga dekinaide taimandatta ka, shippai suru no wa jikan no kijun ni shitagatte sore o tesuto suru tame no, yori ōku no kigyō yori mo, karera wa hijō ni yoku kanōsei o yosō suru tame ni oka reta Saridomaidodarou to senten-sei kesson-shō o hikiokosu. Grünenthal wa tōsho, yakubutsu ga hiroku, jikan no kijun ni shitagatte tesuto sa rete inakatta no shuchō o hitei shitaga, sukyandaru wa hiteidekinai to nattara, sorera o hinan shi, genkai damēji o henkō shiyou to shita. Senten-sei kesson-shō no gen'in wa - 1961-nen ni Saridomaido wa, saishūtekini teratogandearu koto ga hanmei sa reta nochi ni tekkai sa reta. 12-Nen-go, Igirisu no kaisha rāzu· baiokemikaruzu· rimiteddo (gen diajio) - Igirisu de yakubutsu o bunpai suru tame no sekinin ga atta - hisai-sha no kazoku ni yoru hōtei tōsō ika no hoshō wakai ni tasshita. Kono wakai wa, fujūbun'na reberudearu koto ga hanmei shita fukanzen'na igaku-teki shōko to Saridomaido seizon-sha no shōrai no higenjitsutekina kitai ni motodzuite iru hitsuyō ga arimasu bēsu. Igirisu-nai no subete no Saridomaido no seizon-sha de, ima 50-sai ijō, sore wa mohaya karera no seikatsu-hi no jōshō, soshite jibun no kenkō no gekitekina akka ni taisho suru no ni jūbunde wa arimasen. Kono Ni~Tsu ni, Grünenthal wa Saridomaido ni yotte hikiokosa reru kurushimi no sekinin o ukeireta koto ga arimasen. 9 Tsuki 1-nichi 2012-nen, Grünenthal gurūpu wa, akachan e michibiita sore o" kōkai"-yaku no eikyō wa, 1950-nendai to 1960-nendai ni teashizu ni umarete iru koto o shimesu, shazai o fukumu seimei o happyō shita. Bun wa ikutsu ka no Saridomaido seizon-sha ni kangei sa reta mono no, sore wa mada sekinin no ukeirede wa arimasen. Karera wa tada, kaitekina seikatsu o shitai, sore ga Grünenthal ga sekininwoou to zaisei-teki ni jibun no ayamachi no tame ni shiharaubekidearu koto o imi shimasu.

  

Welsh

 

Thalidomid ei greu gan Grünenthal ym 1953 ac fe'i defnyddiwyd yn y 1950au hwyr a'r 1960au cynnar fel "cyffur rhyfeddod" i drin salwch bore, cur pen, peswch, anhunedd ac annwyd. Thalidomid ei farchnata yn y DU o dan yr enw Distaval ym 1958, a hysbysebion yn pwysleisio diogelwch cyflawn y cyffur, gan ddefnyddio ymadroddion megis "heb fod yn wenwynig" a "dim gwenwyndra hysbys".

Fodd bynnag, yn 1961 meddyg Awstralia, William McBride, ysgrifennodd at y Lancet ar ôl sylwi cynnydd mewn babanod deformed cael eu geni yn ei ysbyty - i gyd i famau a oedd wedi cymryd Thalidomide.

Rhwng 1958 a 1962 degau o filoedd o ferched ledled Ewrop gwelwyd bod y baban eu bod yn cario miscarried anesboniadwy, neu, yn waeth, ar ôl iddynt roi genedigaeth Dywedwyd wrthym ei fod yn farw-anedig. Mae miloedd mwy darganfod bod gan eu babanod namau geni difrifol, breichiau goll, coesau, neu gyda gostyngiadau difrifol i aelodau hyn, neu hyd yn oed yn waeth, difrod i'w organau mewnol, yr ymennydd, y galon, yr arennau, coluddion, organau cenhedlu, ac ati Yn ystod 1962 geidwaid record dechreuodd i gyfrif pob un o'r plant sy'n byw a anwyd niweidio gan y cyffur. Yr unig cofnodion cyflawn yn y rhai a oroesodd yn ddigon hir i gymryd rhan yn y cynlluniau iawndal cenedlaethol, a sefydlwyd yn yr Almaen, Prydain, Japan, Sweden ac Awstralia yn y 1970au. Yr anhawster mewn datgelu y doll llawn y drychineb yn dechrau gyda nifer anhysbys o gamesgor a marw-enedigaethau (o bosibl hyd at ddeg gwaith y nifer o enedigaethau byw), ac mae'r arfer cyffredin o babanladdiad.

Nid oedd yr anafiadau Thalidomide oedd yn rhoi'r gorau unwaith y bydd y babanod eu geni. Ar hanner cant oed, cofnodion yr Ymddiriedolaeth Thalidomid yn dangos bod tua hanner yr holl goroeswyr yn ymdopi â phoen cronig - yn bennaf o gyhyrau a chymalau (poen cyhyrysgerbydol), yn bennaf o ganlyniad i heriau o fyw gyda aelodau goll neu wedi'u difrodi. I lawer, mae eu cyrff yn dirywio yn llawer gyflymach na phobl abl. Mae nifer wedi cael gwybod y geiriau i'r perwyl "eich corff yn cael y problemau y bydd rhywun yn eu saithdegau", a oedd yn 40-50 mlwydd oed nad yw newyddion da. Mae o leiaf chwarter yn ymdopi â datblygu problemau niwrolegol, pinnau bach, diffyg teimlad, a phoen yn eu coesau yr effeithir arnynt. Mae hyn yn golygu y gall person gael ei dal cwpan, er enghraifft, a'r peth nesaf eu bod yn gwybod ei fod wedi disgyn i'r llawr ac yn torri, oherwydd y diffyg teimlad yn eu llaw. Ar gyfer goroeswyr hyn, mae'r drychineb yn dal yn datblygu yn araf yn eu bywydau o ddydd i ddydd.

Gwyddonwyr Grünenthal oedd nid yn unig yn esgeulus wrth fethu i dynnu'r cyffur pan ddaeth adroddiadau am broblemau mewn, neu am fethu i brofi ei fod yn ôl y safonau ar y pryd, ond yn fwy na'r rhan fwyaf o gwmnïau eu bod mewn sefyllfa dda iawn i ragweld y posibilrwydd y byddai Thalidomide achosi namau geni.

Grünenthal i ddechrau gwadu honiadau nad oedd y cyffur wedi cael ei brofi'n helaeth yn ôl y safonau ar y pryd, ond unwaith y bydd y sgandal daeth yn ddiymwad, maent yn ceisio symud y bai a therfyn difrod.

Ym 1961 Thalidomide ei dynnu'n ôl yn y pen draw ar ôl ei gael i fod yn teratogan - un o achosion o namau geni. 12 mlynedd yn ddiweddarach, mae'r DU Distillers Biochemicals cwmni Limited (Diageo erbyn hyn) - a oedd yn gyfrifol am ddosbarthu'r cyffur yn y DU - cyrraedd setliad iawndal yn dilyn brwydr gyfreithiol gan deuluoedd y rhai yr effeithir arnynt.

Yn seiliedig ar dystiolaeth feddygol anghyflawn a disgwyliadau afrealistig o oroeswyr Thalidomide anghenion y dyfodol setliad hwn wedi troi allan i fod ar lefel annigonol. Gyda'r holl goroeswyr Thalidomid yn y DU bellach dros 50 oed, ei bod yn ddigonol i ddelio â'u cynnydd mewn costau byw, ac mae'r dirywiad dramatig ar eu hiechyd mwyach.

Hyd heddiw, erioed Grünenthal wedi derbyn cyfrifoldeb am y dioddefaint a achosir gan Thalidomide. Ar 1 Medi 2012, rhyddhawyd y Grŵp Grünenthal datganiad sy'n cynnwys ymddiheuriad, gan ddweud ei fod yn "difaru" y canlyniadau y cyffur, a arweiniodd at fabanod yn cael eu geni heb aelodau yn ystod y 1950au a'r 1960au. Er bod y datganiad yn ei groesawu gan rai goroeswyr Thalidomid, nid yw'n dal i fod yn derbyn cyfrifoldeb. Maent yn unig yn awyddus i fyw bywyd cyfforddus, ac mae hynny'n golygu y dylai Grünenthal fod yn atebol ac yn talu am eu camgymeriad yn ariannol.

  

Hans van Eijsden Photography, The Netherlands

MUA: Martina Kató

 

Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM with 3-stop ND filter on full frame.

 

Light: An Elinchrom Quadra ELB 400 with one Pro head as key light from the front into an Elinchrom Maxi Spot with silver deflector, triggered via Skyports.

I measured the light with the Sekonic L-758DR.

 

Postprocessing: Some local adjustment curves, some local cloning.

 

Portfolio: www.hansvaneijsden.com

Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/hansvaneijsdenphotography

www.thestar.com/news/insight/article/610023

 

more STORE FRONT: The Disappearing Face Of New York here: urbanimagephotography.com/JamesandKarlaMurraySTOREFRONT.html

 

What should we make of empty big-box stores?

MICHAEL STUPARYK/TORONTO STAR

"While we routinely mourn the disappearance of the small storefront, we rarely ask what happens to the texture of a city when a big-box store closes shop.

For starters, a new language to describe the concrete ephemerality would help.

Bigness, it seems, 'has yet to find its own poetic dimension'

Mar 29, 2009 04:30 AM

Comments on this story (11)

Ryan Bigge

SPECAL TO THE STAR

 

Except for the fact that they're rapidly disappearing, the hundreds of aging New York shops captured in the new book Store Front share little in common. Having spent eight years snapping up the modest beauty and idiosyncratic style of drugstores, bakeries, barbershops, butchers, luncheonettes, beauty salons, fish markets, florists, candy stores, diners, delis and corner groceries in the five boroughs of New York, photographers James T. and Karla L. Murray argue in the book's introduction that "These storefronts have the city's history etched in their façades."

 

Like people, storefronts absorb and deflect the abrasions of time very differently. Some, such as the Frank Bee 5¢ to $1.00 Store in the Bronx and Barney Greengrass (The Sturgeon King) in Manhattan, retain pristine signage, their stores serving as both museums and functional retail locations. Others, such as Ideal Dinettes in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighbourhood, are resigned to the elegant decay of rust and corrosion, a slow, graceful withering away.

 

And some are such community fixtures that they no longer require perfect signage, like the I Y L E S store in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant (add a "B" at the beginning and two "C"s in the middle) or the AIR stylists in Bensonhurst. (The "H" is dislocated, rather than missing, and drifts slowly down toward the awning.)

 

The Murrays note in their intro that about a third of the shops documented in their book are now gone. And while their interviews with proprietors raise the usual issues relating to survival, gentrification, chain-store incursion and the importance of community, Store Front works best as an aesthetic defence of small stores.

 

(For a sample, visit www.flickr.com/photos/jimandkarlamurray.)

 

Not every establishment is pretty, but each is unique, and the neighbourhood texture they provide is invaluable. Our own Queen and Spadina, for example, is no longer the same intersection without the Stem Open Kitchen, and Queen and Bathurst is still struggling to overcome the abscess created by last year's fire.

 

Often we realize what is gone only in retrospect, but the future of retailing, at least in the form of big-box stores, is so incontrovertibly hideous that the loss of an I Y L E S store is felt immediately.

 

Futuristic films such as Idiocracy and Wall-E posit Costcos with 16,702 aisles and a global conglomerate called Buy n Large, respectively, and neither store appears to be particularly attractive. As Joel Stein noted in Time magazine back in September 2006, "The problem is, Idiocracy is so aesthetically displeasing – its vision of the future so purposely, gaudily, corporately ugly – that even showing a second (of the trailer) made people refuse to see it."

 

Fussing about appearances might sound nitpicky, but as artist Julia Christensen's recent book, Big Box Reuse, demonstrates, the most significant problem with Buy n Larges is, paradoxically, their impermanence and architectural inflexibility. Not impermanence as in rapidly crumbling walls or leaky roof, but rather, like a young, moulting grasshopper jettisoning a too-small exoskeleton, Wal-Mart has a habit of abandoning stores. (Their website www.walmartrealty.com lists almost 150 empty stores for lease.) This is not due to falling profits, but rather the opposite: the need to expand and grow, just like a grasshopper. As Christensen writes, "It is actually cheaper for the company to build an entirely new store from scratch than it would be to interrupt business at the old building in order to renovate."

 

Large buildings traditionally required a significant investment in labour and material and implied, by their very existence, a hedge against the passage of time. Department stores could be considered the original category killers, but they certainly looked glamorous doing so. Even 20th-century malls have a certain flair to them. As architect Veronica Madonna writes in Concrete Toronto, "Like the Great Pyramids perched in the desert, the (former) Simpson's building of the Yorkdale Shopping Centre sits like a great monolithic structure in an asphalt landscape."

 

Building big used to mean building in a meaningful fashion. But big-box stores offer size without heft. "The buildings exude an ephemeral quality," Christensen notes, "imparted by the frequency with which corporations vacate the structures, and yet the dead weight of an empty big-box building does not simply go away."

 

But rather than simply complain, Big Box Reuse tries to figure out what can be done with a leftover concrete cube. Through 10 case studies, she demonstrates how Wal-Marts and Kmarts have been converted into libraries, health centres, Minnesota's Spam Museum, even a chapel.

 

This last reuse has a certain poetic justice, given the reverent worship of the late Sam Walton, described by Barbara Ehrenreich in Nickel and Dimed as "the Cult of Sam."

 

For Christensen, reanimating a concrete corpse requires both physical renovations and psychological shifts, an application of imagination to transform what is into what could be. Preventing new big boxes from being built, however, necessitates a different kind of mental recalibration. Abetted by the convenience of the car and ample free parking, mega-retailing is not an easy habit to cease. As if to underscore this, Philip Preville's October 2008 Toronto Life article defending the (now-defeated) Leslieville SmartCentre was titled "Resistance is Futile." Or, to quote the (fictitious) mayor of Seattle in the 1992 film Singles, "People love their cars."

 

If big boxes are here to stay, then introducing, or reintroducing, aesthetics into the debate seems reasonable. Of course, there's always a danger of sounding like a persnickety Karl Lagerfeld when daring to suggest that something is amiss about enormous boxes on the hillside filled with ticky-tacky.

 

But being a snob can produce results. Wal-Mart met unusually strong resistance when it tried to open a location in Vancouver a few years ago. After their proposed store was rejected by Vancouver city hall for not being environmentally suitable, Wal-Mart hired architect Peter Busby, who specializes in sustainable buildings, to make a big green box. After spending almost two years on the project, Busby, in 2005, unfurled a blueprint for a store with skylights, small windmills, an innovative geothermal heating and cooling system, rainwater recovery, and a parking lot of permeable asphalt.

 

Alas, it was never built. Vancouver city council said no to the store a second time, citing traffic congestion and increased emissions. But it was this kind of leverage and input over the design and impact of large retail that appeared to be lacking in the Leslieville debate – resistance, we were told, was apparently futile. And the Wal-Mart-in-Vancouver story has a happy ending, provided you're Julia Christensen: the Cult of Sam eventually decided to buy and renovate an old Costco instead.

 

Along with better boxes, a new language to describe and debate the concrete ephemerality of the current behemoths would be a useful step forward. As Andrew Blauvelt, curator of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, writes in the preface to the suburban-art collection Worlds Away, "bigness has yet to find its own poetic dimension."

 

In Concrete Reveries, philosopher Mark Kingwell suggests we might have to start by learning to appreciate the texture of the evil grey material: "It has swirls and patterns, little islands and continents stained on the extended map of its face. Concrete is beautiful, never more so than in the rain."

 

Meanwhile, in its rethinking of Brutalism (an architectural attempt to reign in the excesses of modernism), Concrete Toronto reminds us that even a mall can be more than a place to buy stuff. For Veronica Madonna, the Sears building has hints of "social utopian ideology," and "its exaggerated parapet, tilted slightly forward and reaching up to the sky, suggests endless possibilities."

 

Along with thinking about the outside of the box, we need to consider what occurs within. Chicago-based photographer Brian Ulrich takes surreptitious photographs of the activity within the big boxes. In the introduction to Worlds Away, Blauvelt comments on the suburban ennui that Ulrich's portraits capture and asks: "Is it shocking to see this beautifully composed portrait of someone pushing a cart through Costco?"

 

New Jersey-based artist Stefanie Nagorka, also in Worlds Away, builds paving-stone sculptures in the aisles of Home Depot, thus putting art in the middle of commerce, and turning the items for sale into art.

 

Although the Home Depot once planned for the Queen and Portland condo development is no more, it could have been an interesting experiment in medium box retailing. Indeed, for LTL Architects, a New York firm that enjoys speculations and what-ifs, it represented the future of retail-residential co-habitation. Their New Suburbanism proposal, included in Worlds Away, stacks apartments and housing on the roofs of big-box stores: "The residential neighbourhood above and the commercial zone below are physically separate and perceptually distinct, although each influences the other."

 

The computer sketches and maquettes generated by LTL are whimsical, strange and counter-intuitive – perhaps even impossible. But at least they aren't ugly."

In its final guise with larger smoke deflectors.but prior to being numbered as 60097.