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Developing old films can bring back lots of memories. 2014 I guess. Back when my Zenit still worked and we still had this fluffy love fur ball warming up our lives.
This 35mm Fomapan 100 Classic film photo was developed at Caffenol Lab, using Cawanol developer.
Cawanol is available online via: www.caffenollab.com for you to develop black and white film at home.
( Photograph made with the Canon AL-1 camera and a Canon FD 50mm F1.8 S.C. lens. Location: The Big Apple )
My first attempt of home-developing E-6 in a 3-bath Tetenal kit using Jobo CPP-2 with FAILED temperature regulation.
Yes, the color balance isn't spot on, partially due to chemical process and temperature but there are some scanner software tweaks to blame as well. From what I saw through the film against the window and on the scanner, it's pretty close. Some ppl scared me not to expect much from a 3-bath kit but I can live with the result.
Processing went like this:
- 1st developer 7'00" at 39C
- aprox 2'30" washing, total of 3 rinses (same temperature)
- 2nd color developer 7'00" at already dropped 38.5C
- aprox same washing procedure as before
- bleach 7'00" at now close to 38C
- aprox 6'00" washing with 4 or 5 rinses of water at the same 38C +/- 1C
- dipped in a tank with stabilizer for a minute, afterwards dipped in a distilled water and hanged to dry
Jobo failed to regulate temperature so I used tapped hot water to reach a bit over 40C then let it naturally cool down. At point when chemicals were at 39C I started with the first bath, following as stated.
Fire Hydrant.
Taken in Alpbach, Austria.
24/6/18
Yashica Mat TLR camera with yellow filter
Ilford HP5+ 400 120 format film, 6 X 6.
Developed by me.
Rodinal 1+50, 11 mins, 20C, water stop, Fomafix p, spiral tank.
Scanned with Epson Scan V550.
Adjusted in darktable running in Linux Mint.
116007.
Long exposure, Mamiya RB67, 180mm, yellow filter, Ilford HP5+, self developed in stock ID-11.
Please take a look at my most interesting photos Or take a look at my entire portfolio
St Arnaud. Population 2,000.
Gold was discovered here in 1855 prompting the development of the furthest west goldfield from Bendigo. A town was surveyed on St Arnaud Creek in 1858 and it was named St Arnaud. It was named St Arnaud after the French Crimean War army commander Jacques Leroy de St Arnaud. St Arnaud had fought alongside British troops in the Crimea in 1854 against the Russians. After leading the French and British troops to victory in the famous Battle of Alma he fell ill with fever and died three days later. Empire spirit and loyalty was high in the mid-1850s hence the town’s name. It developed slowly despite the alluvial gold in the district. Deep shaft gold reef mining did not start until 1883 when the Lord Nelson Company was formed. It operated until 1913.
The first major public structure in the town was a Protestant school built in 1857 followed by a Wesleyan Methodist church in 1862. By then the town had hotels, stores and its own newspaper. By the 1870s the town had three flourmills as it is surrounded by good grain growing country and agriculture was boosted with the arrival of a railway line from Dunolly in 1878 with the railway station built in 1879. St Arnaud was well serviced with churches. The Anglican Church was built in 1865, the Catholic Church was built in 1875 (and still exists as the Salvation Army Hall) and a Presbyterian Church was built in 1876 beside the town lake and Queen Mary Botanic Gardens. The current Catholic Church was built in 1906. The Anglican Church of 1865 was added to in 1877 and it eventually became the Pro Cathedral for the diocese from 1916 to 1977 when the Anglican Bishop resided in St Arnaud. It is a striking church with its five lateral gables. Also located in this heritage area of St Arnaud is the Mechanics Institute built in 1882 and the Masonic Temple constructed in 1926 although the Masons were established in St Arnaud in 1870.
The commercial buildings of St Arnaud were concentrated in the Main Street along with a number of local and state government buildings. These include the former Crown Lands Office built in 1876 to handle land selection by the farmers, the former Courthouse built in 1883, the former Kara Kara Shire Hall built in an Art Deco Federation style in 1902, the old Fire Station completed in 1883 and the impressive Town Hall and Soldiers Memorial Hall complex. The foundation stone of the Town Hall was laid in 1869 with the Soldiers Memorial façade being added in 1928. A large concert hall was also added to the Town Hall in 1935. The commercial buildings of the Main Street include the Botanical Hotel built as a two storey structure in 1905 after the earlier building which dated from 1857 was burnt down. The complex of Crones Buildings has a wonderful filigree wrought iron balcony. It was built in 1910 just before the gold mining ceased. The other outstanding building is the former London Chartered Bank which is now the ANZ bank. It has Federation and French Empire architectural features with unusual wrought iron decorations on what at first sight appears to be a domestic building rather than a commercial bank. It opened in 1889. Along the Main Street are many commercial premises dating from the 1870s and 1880s. As grain farming was the mainstay of the region it is not surprising the McGraths Farm Machinery building is one of the grand structures of the street. Stylistically it dates from the 1900 to 1910 period. Now the metal grain silos are works of art with one depicting a gold miner panning for gold and the other his wife. Kyle Torney, a locally born and raised artist, painted the silos during his covid lockdown. He also painted a series of murals in the same tonings and style around the town.
Shot with a Minolta CLE
Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 lens
Fujifilm 200 (US) film
Shot at EI 200 and developed normally
Developed by The Darkroom
Scanned with a Coolscan 9000ED
Kottingwörth developed from a settlement on an island ("Werder") in the Altmühl river. The first wooden church may date back to the time of Christianisation. The first stone church was built in the 12th century. It got consecrated between 1183 and 1195. The towers were built between 1250 and 1310. In the first half of the 16th century, the towers were raised. In the years 1760/61, the medieval church building was replaced by a baroque new building.
The oldest part of the church is the basement of the west tower, dated to the 13th century. Around 1310 the choir of the church (now the Vitus chapel) was adorned with frescoes. During the renovation work in the chapel in 1891 these murals were rediscovered under a coat of paint. The paintings are still well preserved.
Under the dome are a "Majestas Domini" (Christ in Majesty), the four evangelists (two by two) and two saints.
Leica CL • Voigtländer Nokton classic 35mm F1.4 VM
Ilford Pan 400 @200 film developed in Caffenol CL 60min @20°C
Scanned with Plustek OpticFilm 120 at 3200dpi with Silverfast AI Studio
Gypsweieren • Luxembourg
I visited Fraserburgh on Tuesday 13th of November 2018, after a few hours at the harbour I made my way to Kinnaird Lighthouse Museum.
I decided to walk along the harbours path rather than drive, as I made my way towards the museum I came across this historic building.
I post its tragic history below, thanks to Wiki etc for the research.
The Winetower
The Winetower is a small three-storey tower located approximately 50 metres (160 ft) from Kinnaird Head Lighthouse.
The tower has been dated to the 16th-century, and may have gained its name through use as a store associated with the castle
The tower is accessed via the second floor, and contains elaborate carved stone pendants.
It is reputed that in the cave below, one of the Fraser family imprisoned his daughter's boyfriend, leaving him to drown there.
The daughter then jumped from the roof of the tower. There is red paint on the rocks below to illustrate her blood. According to local tradition, the tower is said to be haunted.
Castle
Kinnaird Head Castle and the adjacent Wine Tower are two of the best preserved structures of the ancient “nine castles of the knuckle” situated along the Buchan coast.
The 16th century castle was built by the Frasers of Philorth to demonstrate dominance and power over their planned town of Fraserburgh.
Falling out of fashion, the castle was sold to the Northern Lighthouse Board in 1787 to be converted into Scotland’s first mainland lighthouse, making Kinnaird Head unique among Scotland’s castles.
As well as the tower itself, original features such as the old castle kitchens and elements of the grand hall can be seen by visitors.
Discover the castle’s unique 450 year story of continual reinvention and survival from castle, to lighthouse, to museum.
The adjacent Wine Tower is an ancient pre-reformation building steeped in mystery and curiosity, dramatically perched over the crashing waves.
Visit the upper vaulted chamber of the Wine Tower to view seven preserved roof pendants, carved in stone, showing the Fraser’s family connections and commitment to the faith.
The monument consists of the upstanding remains of a 16th century tower, originally an ancillary building associated with the nearby Kinnaird Head Castle.
The tower retains its original scale and form and contains unusual sculptural detail in the form of seven carved stone bosses.
The bosses depict heraldic symbols of the Frasers and affiliated families, the royal arms of Scotland and the coat of arms of Christ. They demonstrate the familial connections and interests of the Frasers of Philorth.
The tower was built in the 16th century, probably in the latter half of the century. One of the carved bosses bears the Arms of Fraser impaling Ogilvie, commemorating the marriage of Sir Alexander Fraser, 8th Laird of Philorth, and his first wife Magdalen Ogilvie in 1559.
This suggests the tower could not have been built before this date unless the bosses are insertions into an older building. The figure of eight gun loops below the windows in the upper floor also suggest a late 16th century date.
The purpose of the tower is uncertain. It originally stood at the edge of the courtyard of Kinnaird Head Castle flanked by the now demolished doocot tower, and was part of the castle complex. It has been interpreted as a private chapel built for Magdalen Ogilvie, the Roman Catholic wife of Alexander Fraser (Bryce 1987).
The semi-defended nature of the upper chamber may support this interpretation, along with the decoration of one of the carved bosses with the symbols of Christ, known as the Arma Christi.
However, the room is not obviously a chapel; it is oriented north-south with a fireplace occupying the east wall and there are no features indicating a specific ecclesiastical use.
The remaining bosses depict the heraldic symbols of the Frasers and other families, rather than religious symbols.
It is likely the tower has served several different purposes since its construction in the 16th century.
The tower was used as a powder magazine and store during the 19th century and is recorded as being used as a store for the nearby lighthouse in 1914.
Scientific study of the monument would allow us to develop a better understanding of the overall form of the tower (for instance did it have additional fllors) and its relationship with the wider castle complex. It would also help our understanding of the chronology of the site, including its date of origin, original purpose and changing use and status.
The monument has the potential to enhance our understanding of the date of construction and function of the tower and its relationship to the nearby castle. It can add to our knowledge of construction techniques and architectural preferences of the time, and the way in which the fashion and function of such buildings developed.
The carved stone bosses have the potential to further the study of craftsmanship, design influences and artistic significance and enhance our knowledge of sculpture and heraldry. They can add to our knowledge of the religious, social and political history of late 16th century Scotland.
Contextual Characteristics
The monument is the only surviving ancillary structure of the nearby Kinnaird Head Castle (which was converted into Scotland's first mainland lighthouse in 1787). Although most castles were provided with additional buildings such associated features rarely survive.
Additionally, the seven finely carved stone bosses within the tower are of particular significance. Similar carvings are found at the castles of Gight (scheduled monument reference SM2508; Canmore ID 19800), Craig (listed building reference LB2736; Canmore ID 17245), Towie-Barclay (listed building reference LB16405; Canmore ID 19196) and Delgatie (listed building reference LB16421; Canmore ID 19251).
The bosses in the Wine Towner are particularly well carved and their presence in an otherwise plainly decorated ancillary tower is unusual. The tower therefore is an unusual survival of a structure associated with a late medieval/early modern castle.
The Wine Tower has the potential to broaden our understanding of the nature and chronology of late medieval/early modern defensible houses and their ancillary structures, their place within the landscape of northeast Scotland, and the development and use of such sites over time.
Associative Characteristics
The tower is connected with a legend which tells the story of the 17th century daughter of the head of the Fraser family who fell in love with a piper. Her father imprisoned the piper in a cave which supposedly runs below the Wine Tower and locked his daughter in the tower above.
During a high tide the piper drowned and the daughter leapt to her death from the window to the rocks below. Until recently the lighthouse keepers threw red paint on the spot as a tribute when they were painting the lighthouse.
Statement of National Importance
This monument is of national importance because it makes a significant addition to our understanding of the date, construction, use and development of late medieval/early modern defensible houses and their ancillary structures. It is an impressive structure that retains its field characteristics and contains unusual sculptural detail in the form of seven stone bosses carved with heraldic designs. The tower makes a significant contribution to today's landscape and would have been a prominent part of the historic landscape. The loss or damage of the monument would diminish our ability to appreciate and understand the character and development of tower houses and their ancillary structures. It would reduce our understanding of religious, social and political history during the late medieval and early post-medieval periods, as well as the development of such sites over time.
Archaeology Notes
The Wine Tower is most probably so called because it was the wine-cellar of those who at one time resided in the nearby castle which is now the lighthouse. Under this tower is a cave more than 100 feet in length.
Wine Tower: No satisfactory explanation of its existence has been produced for this tower. It is clearly a 16th century work, subsequent to the first quarter of that century, and built by the Frasers. It is built of very rough masonry in three stories, all vaulted, with walls about 5 ft thick and measures externally 26 feet 7 inches by 21 feet by 27 feet high. It is probably connected with the cave below.
Lord Saltoun (Saltoun 1963) states that the Wine Tower and Kinnaird were 'almost certainly successors one of another'.
They were two of a chain of castles along the Buchan coast probably originated by the Comyns in the 13th century.
It has been associated with one of the north-east’s most gruesome legends.
And now, the mysterious Wine Tower at the Scottish Museum of Lighthouses in Fraserburgh is being opened for guided tours later in the summer.
It was built in the 16th century and the Kinnaird Head structure is the oldest building in the port.
The Wine Tower was said to be a store for the old Fraserburgh Castle and there was even a suggestion it was a hidden Catholic chapel.
But the building is perhaps best known as the site of one of Aberdeenshire’s darkest tales.
Legend has it that in the late 1500s, Sir Alexander Fraser, the 8th Laird of Philorth was so enraged by his daughter, Isobel’s romantic dalliance with a piper that he had the musician chained in a sea cave below the tower.
The piper drowned and the distraught Isobel killed herself by jumping on to the rocks below.
It has been claimed the piper can still be heard playing in the cave during stormy conditions.
The tower used to have four different levels, but only three of these still remain.
Each level can be accessed through hatches and stairs placed on the side of the building and different rooms.
Lynda McGuigan, manager of the Museum of Scottish Lighthouses, said they have decided to reopen it after demand from visitors.
She added they had to keep it closed to deter people who damaging the interior.
Ms McGuigan said: “We had a problem with vandals kicking stairs and doors in the past.
“It has not been open on a regular basis and the tours will be an extra.
“We realised people wanted to see inside it, so we are going to open it for a one-off.”
The tower will open for a single daily tour over July and August.
[BjD] Belial Japan Develop.
slurl.com/secondlife/Gomorra/150/252/2299
[BjD] Customer's gallery.
www.flickr.com/groups/1332562@N25/
Eros et Thanatos
Belial Japan Develop
St Albans is in southern Hertfordshire, England, around 22 miles (35 km) north of London, beside the site of a Catuvellauni settlement and the Roman town of Verulamium and on the River Ver. St Albans is Hertfordshire's oldest town, a modern city shaped by over 2000 years of continuous human occupation.
Pre-Roman and Roman times
The town is first recorded as Verulamium, a Celtic British Iron Agesettlement whose name means 'the settlement above the marsh'. After the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, it developed as Verulamium and became one of the largest towns in Roman Britain and the capital city . Built mainly of wood, it was destroyed during the revolt of Boudica in AD 60-61, but was rebuilt and grew to feature many impressive town houses and public buildings. It was encircled by gated walls in AD 275.
The Romans leave
The Roman City of Verulamium slowly declined and fell into decay after the departure of the Roman Army in AD 410. However, its ruined buildings provided building materials to build the new monastic and market settlement of St Albans which was growing on the hill above, close to the site of Saint Alban's execution. In the Norman Abbey tower, you can still see the Roman bricks removed from Verulamium.
Much of the post-Roman development of St Albans was in memorial to Saint Alban, the earliest known British Christian martyr, executed in AD 250 (the exact date is unknown, with scholars suggesting dates of 209, 254 and 304). The town itself was known for some time by the Saxon name 'Verlamchester'. A shrine was built on the site of his death following Emperor Constantine's adoption of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire. In the 5th century a Benedictine monastic church was constructed.
The Abbey is founded
Another abbey was founded by King Offa of Mercia in 793. The settlement grew up around the precincts of another It was 350 feet (110 m) long with a tower and seven apses.
A nunnery, Sopwell Priory, was founded nearby in 1140 by Abbot Geoffrey de Gorham.
The head of the abbey was confirmed as the premier abbot in England in 1154. The abbey was extended by John of Wallingford (also known as John de Cella) in the 1190s, and again between 1257 and 1320 but financial constraints limited the effectiveness of these later additions.
In August 1213 the first draft of Magna Carta was drawn up in St Albans Abbey.
The Liberty of St Albans was given palatine status by Edward I. In 1290 the funeral procession of Eleanor of Castile stopped overnight in the town and an Eleanor cross was put up at a cost of £100 in the Market Place. The cross, which stood for many years in front of the 15th century Clock Tower, was demolished in 1701.
A market was running outside the abbey from the 10th century; it was confirmed by King John of England in 1202 and by a Royal Charter of Edward VI in 1553.
Conflict
Abbey Gateway from the 1360s
During the 14th century the Abbey came into increasing conflict with the townsfolk of St Albans, who demanded rights of their own. This led, among other things, to the construction of a large wall and gate surrounding the Abbey (for instance, the Great Gatehouse, the "Abbey Gateway", which is the only surviving monastic building other than the Abbey Church, dates from 1365).
Richard of Wallingford, a local landowner, who had presented demands to Richard II on behalf of Wat Tyler in London, brought news of this to St Albans and argued with the abbot over the charter. However, this was short lived. Once the 14-year-old king had regained control of the capital and then the whole country, Grindcobbe was tried in the Moot Hall (on the site of the present-day W H Smith stationery shop, where a plaque commemorates the event) and adjudged a 'traitor' alongside John Ball('the mad priest of Kent', one of the rebel leaders who had escaped from Smithfield, London to Coventry) and more than a dozen others. He was hanged, drawn and quartered in July 1381.
Another notable building dating from around this time, the Clockhouse belfy or Clock Tower, built between 1403 and 1412, seems to have been intended both as a visible and audible statement of the town's continuing civic ambitions against the power of the Abbot.
During the Wars of the Roses two battles were fought in and around St Albans. The First Battle of St Albans on 22 May 1455 was a Lancastriandefeat that opened the war. The Lancastrian army occupied the town but the Yorkist forces broke in and a battle took place in the streets of the town. On 17 February 1461 the Second Battle of St Albans on Bernards Heath north of the town centre resulted in a Lancastrian victory.
Following the Reformation, the Abbey was dissolved in 1539 and the Abbey Church sold to the town in 1553 for £400: it became a Protestant parish church for the borough and the Lady Chapel was used as a school. The Great Gatehouse was used as a prison until the 19th century, when it was taken over by St Albans School. In May 1553, in response to a public petition, the first royal charter for the town was issued by King Edward VI, granting it the status of borough. The charter defined the powers of the mayor and councillors, then known as burgesses, as well as specifying the Wednesday and Saturday market days which continue to this day.
In 1555, during the reign of Queen Mary I, a Protestant Yorkshire baker, George Tankerfield, was brought from London and burnt to death on Romeland because of his refusal to accept the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.
During the English Civil War (1642–45) the town sided with parliament but was largely unaffected by the conflict.
An early transport hub
Three main roads date from the medieval period - Holywell Hill, St Peter's Street, and Fishpool Street. These remained the only major streets until around 1800 when London Road was constructed, to be followed by Hatfield Road in 1824 and Verulam Road in 1826.
Verulam Road was created specifically to aid the movement of stage coaches, since St Albans was the first major stop on the coaching route north from London. The large number of coaching inns is, in turn, one reason why the City has so many pubs today (another being that it was, and remains, a major centre for Christian pilgrimage).
The railway arrived in 1868, off-setting the decline in coaching since the 1840s.
Growth was always slow and steady, with no sudden burst: in 1801 there were 6,000 people living in St Albans; in 1850 11,000; in 1931 29,000; and in 1950 44,000.
The City Charter
In 1877, in response to a public petition, Queen Victoria issued the second royal charter, which granted city status to the borough and Cathedral status to the former Abbey Church. The new diocese was established in the main from parts of the large Diocese of Rochester. Lord Grimthorpe financed a £130,000 renovation and rebuilding of the then dilapidated cathedral, which is most apparent in his generally poorly regarded Neo-Gothic rebuild of the west front (1880–1883). However, without Grimthorpe's money, it seems reasonable to assume that the Abbey Church would now almost certainly be a ruin, like many other former monastic churches, despite the work performed under Sir George Gilbert Scott in the years 1860 to 1877.
The city's football club (St Albans City F.C.) was founded in 1880.
Ralph Chubb, the poet and printer, lived on College Street in St Albans from 1892 to 1913, and attended St Albans School. His work frequently references the Abbey of St Albans, and he ascribed mystical significance to the geography and history of the town.
World War I
In September 1916, following an attack on St Albans, the German Airship SL 11 became the first airship to be brought down over England. But when London Colney was attacked, the nation was so angered it became united in its battle.
Modern growth
Between the wars
In the inter-war years St Albans, in common with much of the surrounding area, became a centre for emerging high-technology industries, most notably aerospace. Nearby Radlett was the base for Handley Page Aircraft Company, while Hatfield became home to de Havilland. St Albans itself became a centre for the Marconi plc company, specifically, Marconi Instruments. Marconi (later part of the General Electric Company) remained the city's largest employer (with two main plants) until the 1990s. A third plant - working on top secret defence work - also existed. Even Marconi staff only found out about this when it closed down. All of these industries are now gone from the area.
In 1936 St Albans was the last but one stop for the Jarrow Crusade.
Post-war growth
The City was expanded significantly after World War II, as government policy promoted the creation of New Towns and the expansion of existing towns. Substantial amounts of local authority housing were built at Cottonmill (to the south), Mile House (to the south-east) and New Greens (to the north). The Marshalswick area to the north-east was also expanded, completing a pre-war programme.
In 1974 St Albans City Council, St Albans Rural District Council and Harpenden Town Council were merged to form St Albans District Council(part of a much wider local government reorganisation).
The 2001 census returns show a population of 129,000 for St Albans City and District, which had risen to 140,664 at the 2011 census.
It was a shame that this coach developed the problem it did as it was a luxury spec Paramount however I understand already its on the road with its new owners Abbey Travel of Leicester. It's seen here at services in Didcot before meeting it's new owners.
On April 23, 2006, I rode a Speeder from Cordele to Plains, Georgia on a trip sponsored by NARCOA (aka North American Rail Car Owners Association). Since I don't own a Motor Car (aka a Speeder), I rode with a friend who owns two Motor Cars. The Next Day, Monday April 24, 2006, I spent another Day (near Cordele) to get a more comprehensive look at the SAM Short Line Tourist Line and the surrounding area.
One of the places I visited was Veterans Park, where I found some Military Antiques to Photograph, such as this 155 mm Howitzer MA1918A3.
The Long Tom 155mm GUN M1 is mounted on a Carriage. It is a Superior Artillery Weapon with Excellent Long Range. Accuracy. It's apparently the only US ARMY Towed Artillery Weapon.
This LVT-3 Bushmaster was Manufactured by Borg-Warner Corp. and was modified to an LVT-3C by Continental Aviation & Engineering in 1950. This Landing Craft was Waterproof, withstood Heavy Surf. and had TREADS designed for Water & Sans rather than Land Travel. It was developed and had a Strong Stern Landing Ramp suited for Cargo Hauling rather than Troop Transportation with it's Twin Cadillac V-8 Model 42 Engines.
"2,992 LVT-3's were built for the United States Marine Corps. Production Issues delayed Combat Introduction at Okinawa until 1945.
In 1949, plans were implemented to Modernize LVT-3C's. In 1950, Overhead Armor was added to the protect the Troops. The Modified Version, named LVT-3C Bushmaster, were the Backbone of Marine amtrac units in the Korean War. They were prominent in Landings at Inchon, Attacks across the Han River and the Evacuation of Hungarian Harbor.
90 mm Schneider lens. Toyo 45A field camera. 4x5 Adox/Efke 50 at 32 EI developed in Tanol for 12 minutes at 22 C. Scanned in colour.
Ach! It's all connected. Eddie Bauer (1899-1986), whose name is so prominent on the middle-lad's sweater, was born on Orcas Island in the state of Washington, USA. An outdoorsman, nearly one winter having frozen to to death on a fishing trip he decided to develop a line of sports clothing which today - as is obvious from this photo - travels the world.
Curious as to the name Orcas Island, I discovered that it is named after Don Juan Vincente de Guemes, Pacheco de Padilla, Horcasitas y Aguayo, Conde de Revillagigedo (1740-1794), a viceroy of New Spain (Mexico etc.) from 1789-1794). A reforming man of many social and governmental initiatives, he funded and sent out expeditions to open up the northern frontiers of America on the Pacific. Hence Bauer's island received it's name 'Orcas' after one of his titles. Among Don Juan's many educational projects was the establishment of a College of Mining. And that brings us back to Lembang above Bandung just under the still sulphurously burbling volcano, the Tangkuban Perahu.
The majestic views here and the volcanoes generally of Java were of the greatest interest to Franz Junghuhn (1809-1864), a German-born but Dutch explorer of Java and Sumatra (and one of the developers of the quinine plantations of Java). Interested in everything natural from minerology, mining, anthropology and botany to medicine and fauna, he was also one of the the founders of modern, secular but theistic humanism in the Netherlands. Junghuhn spent much of his time late in life in a small cottage on the very lip of the crater; he died in his house in Lembang with a view to his beloved mountains, and he is buried just inside the town in a pretty little garden square where his stele is surrounded by varieties of the cinchona (quinine shrub).
A fascination for the Tangkuban Perahu stimulated not a few colonial lads to take up the field of mine engineering, studying first at Utrecht or Delft in the homeland, and then returning to the Java of their youth to work in colonial economy and development.
And - as an elderly former colonial once said to me - 'I still recall and long for the taste of Bubur Ayam - Chicken Porridge - as we bought it from the little carts in the streets of Bandung!' There's one on the left in this picture. I doubt that Eddie Bauer had any notion of such a thing...
Just look at the smiles on those faces!
The Lockheed P-38 Lightning was a World War II American fighter aircraft built by Lockheed. Developed to a United States Army Air Corps requirement, the P-38 had distinctive twin booms and a single, central nacelle containing the cockpit and armament. Named "fork-tailed devil" (der Gabelschwanz-Teufel) by the Luftwaffe and "two planes, one pilot" (2飛行機、1パイロット Ni hikōki, ippairotto?) by the Japanese, the P-38 was used in a number of roles, including dive bombing, level bombing, ground-attack, night fighting, photoreconnaissance missions, and extensively as a long-range escort fighter when equipped with drop tanks under its wings.
The P-38 was used most successfully in the Pacific Theater of Operations and the China-Burma-India Theater of Operations as the mount of America's top aces, Richard Bong (40 victories) and Thomas McGuire (38 victories). In the South West Pacific theater, the P-38 was the primary long-range fighter of United States Army Air Forces until the appearance of large numbers of P-51D Mustangs toward the end of the war.
The P-38 was unusually quiet for a fighter, the exhaust muffled by the turbo-superchargers. It was extremely forgiving, and could be mishandled in many ways, but the rate of roll in the early versions was too slow for it to excel as a dogfighter. The P-38 was the only American fighter aircraft in production throughout American involvement in the war, from Pearl Harbor to Victory over Japan Day.
Design and development[edit]
Lockheed designed the P-38 in response to a February 1937 specification from the United States Army Air Corps. Circular Proposal X-608 was a set of aircraft performance goals authored by First Lieutenant Benjamin S. Kelsey (later Brigadier General) and First Lieutenant Gordon P. Saville (later General) for a twin-engine, high-altitude "interceptor" having "the tactical mission of interception and attack of hostile aircraft at high altitude." Kelsey recalled in 1977 that he and Saville drew up the specification using the word interceptor as a way to bypass the inflexible Army Air Corps requirement for pursuit aircraft to carry no more than 500 lb (227 kg) of armament including ammunition, as well as the restriction of single-seat aircraft to one engine. Kelsey was looking for a minimum of 1,000 lb (454 kg) of armament. Kelsey and Saville aimed to get a more capable fighter, better at dog-fighting and at high-altitude combat. Specifications called for a maximum airspeed of at least 360 mph (580 km/h) at altitude, and a climb to 20,000 ft (6,100 m) within six minutes, the toughest set of specifications USAAC had ever presented. The unbuilt Vultee XP1015 was designed to the same requirement, but was not advanced enough to merit further investigation. A similar single-engine proposal was issued at the same time, Circular Proposal X-609, in response to which the Bell P-39 Airacobra was designed. Both proposals required liquid-cooled Allison V-1710 engines with turbo-superchargers and gave extra points for tricycle landing gear.
The Lockheed design team, under the direction of Hall Hibbard and Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, considered a range of twin-engine configurations, including both engines in a central fuselage with push-pull propellers.
The eventual configuration was rare in terms of contemporary fighter aircraft design, with only the preceding Fokker G.1, the contemporary Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Luftwaffe reconnaissance aircraft, and the later Northrop P-61 Black Widow night fighter having a similar planform. The Lockheed team chose twin booms to accommodate the tail assembly, engines, and turbo-superchargers, with a central nacelle for the pilot and armament. The XP-38 gondola mockup was designed to mount two .50-caliber (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns, with 200 rpg, two .30-caliber (7.62 mm) Brownings, with 500 rpg, and a T1 Army Ordnance 23-mm (.90 in) autocannon with a rotary magazine as a substitute for the non-existent 25-mm Hotchkiss aircraft autocannon specified by Kelsey and Saville. In the YP-38s, a larger John Browning-designed, Colt-made M9 37-mm (1.46 in) autocannon with 15 rounds replaced the T1. The 15 rounds were in three 5-round clips, an unsatisfactory arrangement according to Kelsey, and the M9 did not perform reliably in flight. Further armament experiments from March to June 1941 resulted in the P-38E combat configuration of four M2 Browning machine guns, and one Hispano 20-mm (.79 in) autocannon with 150 rounds.
P-38 armament, concentrated in the nose of the aircraft
Clustering all the armament in the nose was unlike most other U.S. aircraft, which used wing-mounted guns with trajectories set up to crisscross at one or more points in a convergence zone. Nose-mounted guns did not suffer from having their useful ranges limited by pattern convergence, meaning that good pilots could shoot much farther. A Lightning could reliably hit targets at any range up to 1,000 yd (910 m), whereas other fighters had to pick a single convergence range between 100 and 250 yd (230 m). The clustered weapons had a "buzz saw" effect on any target at the receiving end, making the aircraft effective for strafing as well. The rate of fire was about 650 rounds per minute for the 20×110-mm cannon round (130-gram shell) at a muzzle velocity of about 2,887 ft/s (880 m/s), and for the .50-caliber machine guns (43–48-gram rounds), about 850 rpm at 2,756 ft/s (840 m/s) velocity. Combined rate of fire was over 4,000 rpm with roughly every sixth projectile a 20-mm shell. The duration of sustained firing for the 20-mm cannon and .50-caliber machine guns was approximately 14 seconds and 35 seconds, respectively.
The Lockheed design incorporated tricycle undercarriage and a bubble canopy, and featured two 1,000-hp (746 kW) turbo-supercharged 12-cylinder Allison V-1710 engines fitted with counter-rotating propellers to eliminate the effect of engine torque, with the superchargers positioned behind the engines, with the exhaust side of the units exposed along the dorsal surfaces of the booms. Counter-rotation was achieved by the use of "handed" engines, which meant that the crankshaft of each engine turned in the opposite direction of its counterpart. The V-12 engines required changing only the spark plug firing order in order for the direction of the crankshaft to be reversed, according to the General Motors Allison V-1710 Service School Handbook.
It was the first American fighter to make extensive use of stainless steel and smooth, flush-riveted butt-jointed aluminum skin panels. It was also the first fighter to fly faster than 400 mph (640 km/h).
Pacific theater
Wartime poster encouraging greater production of P-38s
The P-38 was used most extensively and successfully in the Pacific theater, where it proved ideally suited, combining excellent performance with very long range, and had the added reliability of two engines for long missions over water. The P-38 was used in a variety of roles, especially escorting bombers at altitudes between 18–25,000 ft (5,500-7,600 m). The P-38 was credited with destroying more Japanese aircraft than any other USAAF fighter. Freezing cockpits were not a problem at low altitude in the tropics. In fact, since there was no way to open a window while in flight as it caused buffeting by setting up turbulence through the tailplane, it was often too hot; pilots taking low altitude assignments would often fly stripped down to shorts, tennis shoes, and parachute. While the P-38 could not out-turn the A6M Zero and most other Japanese fighters when flying below 200 mph (320 km/h), its superior speed coupled with a good rate of climb meant that it could utilize energy tactics, making multiple high-speed passes at its target. Also, its focused firepower was even more deadly to lightly armored Japanese warplanes than to the Germans'. The concentrated, parallel stream of bullets allowed aerial victory at much longer distances than fighters carrying wing guns. It is therefore ironic that Dick Bong, the United States' highest-scoring World War II air ace (40 victories solely in P-38s), would fly directly at his targets to make sure he hit them (as he himself acknowledged his poor shooting ability), in some cases flying through the debris of his target (and on one occasion colliding with an enemy aircraft which was claimed as a "probable" victory). The twin Allison engines performed admirably in the Pacific.
Postwar operations[edit]
The end of the war left the USAAF with thousands of P-38s rendered obsolete by the jet age. The last P-38s in service with the United States Air Force were retired in 1949.[82] A total of 100 late-model P-38L and F-5 Lightnings were acquired by Italy through an agreement dated April 1946. Delivered, after refurbishing, at the rate of one per month, they finally were all sent to the AMI by 1952. The Lightnings served in 4 Stormo and other units including 3 Stormo, flying reconnaissance over the Balkans, ground attack, naval cooperation and air superiority missions. Due to unfamiliarity in operating heavy fighters, old engines, and pilot errors, a large number of P-38s were lost in at least 30 accidents, many of them fatal. Despite this, many Italian pilots liked the P-38 because of its excellent visibility on the ground and stability on takeoff. The Italian P-38s were phased out in 1956; none survived the inevitable scrapyard.
Surplus P-38s were also used by other foreign air forces with 12 sold to Honduras and 15 retained by China. Six F-5s and two unarmed black two-seater P-38s were operated by the Dominican Air Force based in San Isidro Airbase, Dominican Republic in 1947. The majority of wartime Lightnings present in the continental U.S. at the end of the war were put up for sale for US$1,200 apiece; the rest were scrapped. P-38s in distant theaters of war were bulldozed into piles and abandoned or scrapped; very few avoided that fate.
Variants:
Over 10,000 Lightnings were manufactured in all, becoming the only U.S. combat aircraft that remained in continuous production throughout the duration of American participation in World War II. The Lightning had a major effect on other aircraft; its wing, in a scaled-up form, was used on the L-049 Constellation.
Popular culture
1950 Studebaker Champion
Harley Earl arranged for several of his designers to view a YP-38 prototype shortly before World War II, and its design directly inspired the tail fins of the 1948–1949 Cadillac
The P-38 was also the inspiration for Raymond Loewy and his design team at Studebaker for the 1950 and 1951 model-year Studebakers.
The whine of the speeder bike engines in Return of the Jedi was partly achieved by recording the engine noise of a P-38, combined with that of a North American P-51 Mustang.
Studebaker Champion Convertible (1950)
Studebaker was proud to be "First by Far With a Postwar Car," but after three years on the market, its vehicles very much needed a distinctive new look for their carried-over bodies. In fact, the 1950-1951 Studebaker origins were as a counterpoint to the post-war car, when celebrated styling consultant Raymond Loewy decided his staff should look to the heavens for inspiration.
Perhaps no automaker is more identified with a single design than Studebaker with its 1950-1951 "bullet-nose" cars. The feisty South Bend independent didn't invent the "spinner" front end -- the 1948 Tucker and 1949-1950 Ford used similar themes, as have several European models. Studebaker's styling differed mainly in degree.
Ads called it "The Next Look," implying it would start a trend. It didn't, but that mattered little to company executives, who were content to chalk up sales unmatched in Studebaker's previous 48 years of auto production and in any of the next 16.
When Studebaker contracted Loewy Associates to design all-new 1947 models, Exner and Cole worked up their own proposal in secret -- with the advantage of engineering parameters not made available to the "official" Loewy team. It was this design that management ultimately chose and introduced in mid 1946. Studebaker was two years ahead of the competition -- "First by Far With a Postwar Car," as ads blared. To Exner's chagrin, advertising credited Loewy with the new styling.
Loewy promptly fired Exner for his treachery and replaced him with Bob Bourke, Exner's subordinate and friend. Bourke, who made significant contributions to the '47 design, would head Loewy's South Bend studio into 1955, after which Studebaker and Loewy parted company.
People loved the 1947 Studebakers, the little-changed '48s, and the modestly updated '49s. Though the fresh styling concealed mostly prewar mechanical concepts, refinements were made to improve longevity and reliability.
For example, the low-price Champion had arrived in spring 1939 with a lightweight L-head six of 164.3 cubic inches. This went to 169.6 cubic inches and 80 horsepower for 1941-49, then added five horsepower. The costlier Commanders used a larger six dating from Studebaker's 1932 Rockne. By 1949, this engine was up to 245.6 cubic inches and 100 horsepower.
The 1947-1949 models were a great sales success, lifting Studebaker to eighth in the U.S. industry with a market share of 4.12 percent. Production was at record levels. So were corporate profits -- $27.56 million in calendar 1949 alone. Things looked great, and were about to get even better.
The bullet-nose idea had been on Bourke's drawing board since 1940-1941, when he first sketched several elements of the eventual 1950 Studebaker. Chief among them was a protruding nose with flanking pontoon fenders suggesting the front of an airplane.
Public reaction is what matters in the auto industry, and "The Next Look" 1950 Studebaker, featuring the company's signature "bullet-nose" look for the first time, was a winner -- more popular than even the 1947. Sales began in August 1949, nearly a month ahead of other 1950 cars.
For all this hoopla, the 1950s were identical to the 1947-49 models except for the bullet nose, minor trim, and vertical instead of horizontal taillights. However, the new front end added an inch to wheelbases, taking Champions to 113, Commanders to 120. Both lines again offered two- and four-door sedans, a convertible, and a five-passenger Starlight coupe with its distinctive panoramic rear window.
Demand for the bullet-nose '50s proved so strong that Studebaker added a third shift at its large South Bend factory and ran its Southern California and Hamilton, Ontario, assembly plants at or near capacity. A 14-month model "year" (July 15, 1949, to September 27, 1950) produced 343,164 cars -- the most for any vehicle in Studebaker's long history. By the end of 1950, company employment was up to 25,000, a peacetime record.
Text for the Lockheed P-38 Lightning has been taken from Wikipedia. Text regarding the 1950 Studebaker Champion Convertible has been reproduced from sections of the website "How Stuff Works".
This Lockheed P-38 Lightning from 1941, and 1950 Studebaker Champion Convertible has been created in Lego miniland-scale for Flickr LUGNuts 79th Build Challenge, - "LUGNuts goes Wingnuts", - featuring automotive vehicles named after, inspired by, or related to aircraft.
This is the Donside Village Hydro Turbine located within the nature reserve , I've taken some info from their website on the story behind the project to install and utilise the turbine to produce HydroElectricity.
The micro hydro scheme is located at a bend of the River Don, at the edge of the former papermill which is now being re-developed for a variety of other purposes, including residential housing, with the riverside being developed by the community for recreational use and wildlife value.
The land for the hydro was secured from the landowner and developer, Sanctuary Group, by the community for the generation of renewable energy.
By short-cutting this bend in the river, the hydro makes use of the gradually sloping river bed that falls over a depth of about 2.5m and covers a distance of 200m. The hydro scheme will be fed by a new lade and make full extent of the natural fall by cutting across the bend.
A feasibility study indicated that the site has the potential to generate about 400kW of power but under the current government energy subsidy regime (Feed-in-Tariff ) a scale of 100kW is the most economically feasible.
Donside Village has an enviable location on the banks of the River Don approximately 4km from the city centre of Aberdeen. It is on the site of the former Donside Papermill in the wider Tillydrone community. The papermill occupied the site until its closure in 2001 and demolition in 2006.
The site has been, and continues to be re-developed into a sustainable mixed community one of the UK’s largest Registered Social Landlords; Sanctuary Housing.
Inside the original boundary of the former papermill, new modern energy efficient flats and houses have been built, with a mix of social housing, part buy and owner occupied properties. The properties overlook the river which will be designed and landscaped by the community as an amenity for people and wildlife from the local community and beyond.
This community is known as Donside. It is represented by the Donside Community Association, made up of the residents and friends of Donside Village.
Hydroelectricity involves the conversion of energy stored in water held at a height as it travels to a lower level. The flow of water drives a mechanical shaft which then drives an electric generator.
The vertical fall of the water, known as the head, is essential for hydropower generation. Fast-flowing water on its own does not contain sufficient energy for useful power production.
Aberdeen Community Energy have purchased and installed a Landustrie Hydropower Screw Turbine for the Donside Hydro.
Some background:
The VF-1 was developed by Stonewell/Bellcom/Shinnakasu for the U.N. Spacy by using alien Overtechnology obtained from the SDF-1 Macross alien spaceship. Its production was preceded by an aerodynamic proving version of its airframe, the VF-X. Unlike all later VF vehicles, the VF-X was strictly a jet aircraft, built to demonstrate that a jet fighter with the features necessary to convert to Battroid mode was aerodynamically feasible. After the VF-X's testing was finished, an advanced concept atmospheric-only prototype, the VF-0 Phoenix, was flight-tested from 2005 to 2007 and briefly served as an active-duty fighter from 2007 to the VF-1's rollout in late 2008, while the bugs were being worked out of the full-up VF-1 prototype (VF-X-1).
The space-capable VF-1's combat debut was on February 7, 2009, during the Battle of South Ataria Island - the first battle of Space War I - and remained the mainstay fighter of the U.N. Spacy for the entire conflict. Introduced in 2008, the VF-1 would be out of frontline service just five years later, though.
The VF-1 proved to be an extremely capable craft, successfully combating a variety of Zentraedi mecha even in most sorties which saw UN Spacy forces significantly outnumbered. The versatility of the Valkyrie design enabled the variable fighter to act as both large-scale infantry and as air/space superiority fighter. The signature skills of U.N. Spacy ace pilot Maximilian Jenius exemplified the effectiveness of the variable systems as he near-constantly transformed the Valkyrie in battle to seize advantages of each mode as combat conditions changed from moment to moment.
The basic VF-1 was built and deployed in four minor variants (designated A, J, and S single-seater and the D two-seater/trainer) and its success was increased by continued development of various enhancements including the GBP-1S "Armored" Valkyrie exoskeleton with enhanced protection and integrated missile launchers, the so-called FAST (“Fuel And Sensor Tray”) packs that created the fully space-capable "Super" Valkyries and the additional RÖ-X2 heavy cannon pack weapon system for the VF-1S “Super Valkyrie”.
After the end of Space War I, the VF-1 continued to be manufactured both in the Sol system and throughout the UNG space colonies. Although the VF-1 would be replaced in 2020 as the primary Variable Fighter of the U.N. Spacy by the more capable, but also much bigger, VF-4 Lightning III, a long service record and continued production after the war proved the lasting worth of the design.
In the course of its career the versatile VF-1 underwent constant upgrade programs. For instance, about a third of all VF-1 Valkyries were upgraded with Infrared Search and Track (IRST) systems from 2016 on, placed in a streamlined fairing in front of the cockpit. This system allowed for long-range search and track modes, freeing the pilot from the need to give away his position with active radar emissions, and it could be used for target illumination and guiding precision weapons. Many Valkyries also received improved radar warning systems, with receivers, depending on the systems, mounted on the wingtips, on the fins and/or on the LERXs. Improved ECR measures were also mounted on some machines, typically in conformal fairings on the flanks of the legs/engine pods. Specialized reconnaissance and ECM sub-versions were developed from existing airframes, too.
The VF-1 was without doubt the most recognizable variable fighter of Space War I and was seen as a vibrant symbol of the U.N. Spacy even into the first year of the New Era 0001 in 2013. At the end of 2015 the final rollout of the VF-1 was celebrated at a special ceremony, commemorating this most famous of variable fighters. The VF-1 Valkryie was built from 2006 to 2013 with a total production of 5,459 VF-1 variable fighters with several variants (VF-1A = 5,093, VF-1D = 85, VF-1J = 49, VF-1S = 30, VF-1G = 12, VE-1 = 122, VT-1 = 68). However, beyond this original production several “re-built” variants existed, too, and remained active in many second line units and continued to show its worthiness years later, e. g. through Milia Jenius who would use her old VF-1 fighter in defense of the colonization fleet, even after 35 years after the type's service introduction!
General characteristics:
All-environment variable fighter and tactical combat Battroid, used by U.N. Spacy, U.N. Navy, U.N. Space Air Force. 3-mode variable transformation; variable geometry wing; vertical take-off and landing; control-configurable vehicle; single-axis thrust vectoring; three "magic hand" manipulators for maintenance use; retractable canopy shield for Battroid mode and atmospheric reentry; option of GBP-1S system, atmospheric-escape booster, or FAST Pack system
Accommodation:
Single pilot in Marty & Beck Mk-7 zero/zero ejection seat
Dimensions:
Battroid Mode:
Height 12.68 meters
Width 7.3 meters
Length 4.0 meters
Fighter Mode:
Length 14.23 meters
Wingspan 14.78 meters (at 20° minimum sweep)
Height 3.84 meters
Empty weight: 13.25 metric tons
Standard take-off mass: 18.5 metric tons
MTOW: 37.0 metric tons
Power Plant:
2x Shinnakasu Heavy Industry/P&W/Roice FF-2001 thermonuclear reaction turbine engines, output 650 MW each, rated at 11,500 kg in standard or in overboost (225.63 kN x 2);
4x Shinnakasu Heavy Industry NBS-1 high-thrust vernier thrusters (1 x counter reverse vernier thruster nozzle mounted on the side of each leg nacelle/air intake, 1 x wing thruster roll control system on each wingtip);
18x P&W LHP04 low-thrust vernier thrusters beneath multipurpose hook/handles
Performance:
Battroid Mode: maximum walking speed 160 km/h
Fighter Mode: at 10,000 m Mach 2.71; at 30,000+ m Mach 3.87
g limit: in space +7
Thrust-to-weight ratio: empty 3.47; standard TOW 2.49; maximum TOW 1.24
Transformation:
Standard time from Fighter to Battroid (automated): under 5 sec.
Min. time from Fighter to Battroid (manual): 0.9 sec.
Armament:
1x Mauler RÖV-20 anti-aircraft laser cannon in the "head" unit, firing 6,000 pulses per minute
1x Howard GU-11 55 mm three-barrel Gatling gun pod with 200 RPG, fired at 1,200 rds/min
4x underwing hard points for a wide variety of ordnance, including
12x AMM-1 hybrid guided multipurpose missiles (3/point), or
12x MK-82 LDGB conventional bombs (3/point), or
6x RMS-1 large anti-spaceship reaction missiles (2/outboard point, 1/inboard point), or
4x UUM-7 micro-missile pods (1/point) each carrying 15 x Bifors HMM-01 micro-missiles,
or a combination of above load-outs and other guided and unguided ordnance
The kit and its assembly:
After a long time, I found enough mojo to tackle another ARII 1:100 VF-1, but this time in Battroid mode. Unlike the simple Fighter mode kits, ARII’s Battroid kit of the iconic Valkyrie is more demanding and calls for some structural modifications to create a decent and presentable “giant robot” model – OOB, the model remains quite two-dimensional and “stiff”. The much newer WAVE kit in 1:100 scale is certainly a better model of the VF-1, but I love the old ARII kits because of their simplicity.
The kit is a “Super Valykrie” model, but it donated its FAST pack extra parts to a space-capable VF-1 Fighter build a long time ago and has been collecting dust in The Stash™ (SF/mecha sub-department at the Western flank) since then. The complete Battroid model was still left, though, even with most of the decals, and when I recently searched for artwork/visual references for another Macross project I came across screenshots from the original TV series of a canonical VF-1 that I had been planning to build for some years, and so I eventually set things in motion.
The kit was basically built OOB, but it received some upgrades. More severe surgery would be necessary to create a “good” Battroid model – e. g. creating vertical recesses around the torso – but this is IMHO not worthwhile. These updates included additional joints in the upper arms and legs, created with styrene tubes, as well as a new hip construction made from coated steel wire and styrene tube material that allows a three-dimensional posture of the legs - for a more vivid appearance and more dynamic poses. Other small mods that enhance the overall impression are “opened” exhausts inside of the feet and a different, open left hand. The GU-11 pod/handgun was taken OOB, it just received a shoulder belt created with painted masking tape. The single laser cannon on the head received a fairing made from paper tissue drenched with white glue.
Even though the model kit itself is not complex, it is a very early mecha kit: the VF-1 Battroids already came with vinyl caps (some of the contemporary ARII Macross models did not feature these useful items yet), but the model was constructed in an “onion layer” fashion that makes building and painting a protracted affair, esp. on arms and legs. You are supposed to finish a certain section, and then you add the next section like a clamp, while areas of the initial section become inaccessible for sanding and painting inside of the new section. You can only finish the single sections up to basic painting, mask them, and then add the next stage. Adding some joints during the construction phase helped but building an ARII VF-1 Battroid simply takes time and patience…
Painting and markings:
As mentioned above, this Valkyrie’s livery is canonical and it depicts a so-called “Alaska Guard” VF-1, based at the U.N. Spacy’s headquarters at Eielson Air Force Base in the far North of the United States around 2008/9. Several Battroid mode VF-1s in this guise appear during episode #15 of the original Macross TV series and offer a good look at their front and back, even though close inspection reveals that the livery was – intentionally or incidentally – not uniform! There are subtle differences between the VF-1s from the same unit, so that there’s apparently some room for artistic freedom.
However, this rather decorative livery IMHO works best on a VF-1 Battroid model, because the green areas, esp. on head and arms, mostly disappears when the Valkyrie transforms into Fighter mode – in the original TV livery the VF-1 is completely white from above, just with green wing tips and rudders on the V-tail.
A full profile of an “Alaska Guard” VF-1 with more details concerning markings and stencils can furthermore be found in Softbank Publishing’s (discontinued) “Variable Fighter Master File VF-1 Valkyrie” source book, even though these drawings show further differences to the original TV appearance. In the book the unit is identified as SVF-15 “Blue Foxes”, evolved from the real USAF’s 18th Aggressor Squadron in 2008. Looking at the VF-1’s colors, this unit name appears a bit odd, because the livery is basically all-white with olive-green trim? This could be a simple translation issue, though, because “blue” and “green” are in written Japanese described with the same kanji (青, “ao”). On the other side, the 18th Aggressor Squadron was/is nicknamed “Blue Foxes”? Strange, strange…
To ease painting, the model was built in sub-assemblies (see comments above) and treated separately. To avoid brush painting mess with the basic white, the sub-sections received a coat of very light grey (RAL 7047 Telegrau) and a pure white tone, both applied from rattle cans with an attempt to create a light shading effect. The green trim and further details were added with brushes. I used Revell 360 (Fern Green, RAL 6025), because it is a strong but still somewhat dull/subdued tone that IMHO matches the look from the TV series well. Some detail areas like the air intake louvres, the hollow of the knees and the handgun were painted in medium grey (Humbrol 140), so that the contrast to the rest was not too strong. The “feet” received an initial coat of Humbrol 53 (Iron) as a dark primer.
In “reality”, parts of the VF-1’s torso in Battroid mode are actually open – the kit is very simplified. To create an optical illusion of this trench and to visually “stretch” the rather massive breast section, the respective areas were painted with dark grey (Humbrol 79). There are also many position lights all around the hull; these were initially laid out with silver, the bigger ones received felt tip pen details, and they were later overlaid with clear acrylic paints.
Once the basic painting had been done, a light black ink washing was applied to the parts to emphasize engraved panel lines and recesses. After that the jet exhaust ‘feet’ were painted with Humbrol’s Steel Metallizer and some post-shading through dry-brushing was done, concentrating on the green areas. This was rather done for visual plasticity than for a worn look: this Valkyrie was supposed to look quite bright and clean, after all it’s from a headquarter unit and not an active frontline vehicle.
The feet received a thorough graphite treatment, so that the Metallizer’s shine was further enhanced. Some surface details that were not molded into the parts (esp. around the shoulders and the covers of the main landing gear) were painted with a thin black felt tip pen.
Stencils and markings were taken from the kit’s OOB decal sheet. The thin bands around the arms and legs were created with generic 1mm decal strips and all the vernier thrusters (sixteen are visible on the Battroid) were created with home-printed decals – most of them are molded into the parts and apparently supposed to be painted, but the decals are a tidier and more uniform solution.
Before the final assembly, the parts received a coat with matt acrylic varnish. As final measures some black panel lines were emphasized with a felt tip pen and color was added to several lamps and small windows with clear paints.
I can hardly remember when I built my last VF-1 Battroid, but tackling this one after a long while was a nice distraction from my usual what-if builds. I am pleased that this model depicts a canonical Valkyrie from the original TV series beyond the well-known “hero” liveries. Furthermore, green is a rare color among VF-1 liveries, so that it is even more “collectible”.
While the vintage ARII kit is a rather limited affair, adding some joints considerably improved the model’s impression, even though there are definitively better kit options available today when you want to build a 1:100 Battroid — but these do certainly not provide this authentic “Eighties feeling”.
Snatched from the streets of San Diego in late March 2016 by a group of masked assailants, Diz has been spending some time (voluntarily) working on a guest post covering motion picture film development at home.
If you've ever thought about shooting and developing your own motion picture stock ...
emulsive.org/articles/developing-motion-picture-film-dark...
Articles, Experiments
#C41, #Darkroom, #Developing, #Diz, #ECN2, #Kodak, #Kodak_250D_5207, #Kodak_500T_5219, #Kodak_50D_5203
Stanmer Park, Brighton
Rolleiflex 3.5F, expired T-Max 400 @ 200 iso, stand developed in Rodinal 1+100 for 1 hour.
Voigtländer Vito III (lens: Ultron 50mm f/2) / waist-level
Kodak TriX 400 @ ISO 3200
Minolta Autometer IVF / Epson Perfection 4490
Self-developed with Kodak HC-110 (dilution H)
Development details on FilmDev
Semi-stand: 45 mins at 20 Celsius (a huge thanks to drasticgroove for his contribution, helping me getting the proper developing times on this one.)
'Dilutions spreadsheet' provided by Ralph Lundvall
© 2016 Prezioso PH
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Hey you! You didn't know that you can now follow my street work at my secondary Tumblr blog www.tumblr.com/blog/smilefromthestreetsyoushoot, did ya? Amazing, isn't it.
Ok, you go now, enjoy it, why not? Of course you will. I know, you know it.
Douglas Fir trees in the forest at Wayne Park in Bothell, WA.
Camera: Ricoh Diacord L
Lens: Rikenon f/3.5 8cm
Film: Fujifilm Acros II
Developer: Beerenol (Rainier beer)
+++ 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 Su-21 attack aircraft had its roots in the Su-15 interceptor, which itself was a development of Sukhoi's tailed-delta Su-9 and Su-11 interceptor fighters. Construction of the Su-15 (internal project designation T-58) began in mid-1960, state acceptance tests of the respective T-58-8M1 interception complex with radar and air-to-air missiles started in August 1963.
In 1966 series production at Novosibirsk began, the first pre-series Su-15 interceptor made its first flight from Novosibirsk on 6 March 1966. Once identified as a new service aircraft, NATO christened the type 'Flagon'. While the Su-15 was in series production, a number of improved design features were developed, tested and subsequently introduced with a new production series of the interceptor.
In 1969, under the influence of the Vietnam conflict and the conclusion that dedicated ground attack aircraft were needed in a modern battlefield, the Sukhoi OKB investigated options for a new close-support "mudfighter" aircraft. One option was a derivative of the Su-15, designated the "T-58Sh" -- the suffix "Sh" stood for "shturmovik (storm bird)", a general Soviet name for a close-support aircraft.
The T-58Sh design was based on the Su-15 fuselage and engine installation with two Tumansky R-13-300 turbojets, but with considerable modifications. These included totally new wings and stabilizers - the orginal delta wing for high speed gave way to tapered wings with a constant 40° sweep, and the horizontal stabilizers were modified, too. The original fin was kept, though, as well as most of the landing gear installation, even though the front wheel retracted backwards now, since the complete nose up until spar no. 10 had been redesigned: instead of the interceptor's large radome, a slanted, considerably shorter nose improved the field of view for the pilot. In its tip it housed a 'Fon' laser rangefinder as well as a missile guidance antenna. A Doppler radar was housed under the nose, too, and an ASP-PF gunsight and a PBK-2 bomb sight optimized for lob-bombing were installed. The cockpit was completely armored, as well as parts of the lower fuselage around the engine section. All internal tanks (holding 4.500kg/9.921lb of fuel in the fuselage as well as in the wings) were self-sealing.
Another novelty was the freshly developed, built-in Gatling cannon, the GSh-30A, also known as 9A-621. This formidable, six-barreled weapon had a pneumatic mechanism (instead of en electric system, which was used in US types like the M61 'Vulcan' gun), fired 30mm shells and achieved a staggering fire rate of 5.000rpm. The cannon's magazine held 280 rounds - a shift of fuel tanks from the fuselage into the new wings with more internal space allowed the belly installation behind the front wheel well. Furthermore, a total of nine external weapon hardpoints allowed an ordnance load of up to 5.500kg (12.115lb), which included laser-guided smart bombs/missiles as well as tactical nuclear weapons.
Two T-58Sh prototypes were completed, and the first of these flew on 6 April 1968, the second on 26 September 1968. After State Acceptance Trials the Su-15Sh entered service in 1970 - in parallel, OKB Mikoyan was also working on a ground attack variant of its MiG-23 VG fighter, the later MiG-27, which flew in 1971 for the first time.
This advantage in time to service worked in favor of the Suchoj aircraft, which was so different from its Su-15 origins that it received a new service-designation, Su-21 (which was, by Western observers, often miss-attributed to the late Su-15 interceptor versions with ogive radomes and new double-delta wings).
By 1972, four squadrons were equipped with the new aircraft. Interestingly, none of the Su-21 were deployed to Afghanistan. Instead, the new fighter bombers were exclusively allocated to Attack Regiments in the potential Western conflict theatre, two of them based in Poland and two in Eastern Germany.
The basic version of the aircraft was produced at Factory 31, at Tbilisi, in the Soviet Republic of Georgia. Between 1969 and 1975, 182 Su-21 were produced. Much like the Su-15 interceptor variants, there were no exports, the Soviet/Russian Air Force remained the only operator - the more versatile MiG-23/27 filled that role. Later, foreign customers would receive the Su-25K from Sukhoi's export program, as well as the Su-20 and 22 VG fighter bombers.
During its service career, the Su-21 was constantly upgraded. One of the most significant changes was an MLU programme which, among others, introduced the 'Shkval' optical TV and aiming system, which was coupled with a new 'Prichal' laser rangefinder and target designator in an enlarged nosecone. This system enabled the aircraft to carry out all-weather missions, day and night, and also allowed to deploy the new 'Vikhr' laser-guided, tube-launched missiles, which were very effective against armored vehicles.
These updated aircraft received the designation Su-21D ('dorabotanyy' = updated). Two respective prototypes were built in 1982–84, and all aircraft were brought to this standard until 1988.
The only engagement of the Su-21 in a real combat scenario was its employment during the First Chechen War - which also signalized the type's retirement, after the conflict was over. Together with other Russian Air Force air assets, The Su-21s achieved air supremacy for Russian Forces, destroying up to 266 Chechen aircraft on the ground. The entire Air Force assets committed to the Chechen campaign between 1994 and 1996 performed around 9,000 air sorties, with around 5,300 being strike sorties. The 4th Russian Air Army had 140 Su-17Ms, Su-21Ds, Su-24s and Su-25s in the warzone supported by an A-50 AWACS aircraft. The employed munitions were generally unguided bombs and rockets with only 2.3% of the strikes using precision-guided munitions.
The Su-21 was a controversial aircraft. It was relatively reliable, benefitting from its two engines and solid armor, which was seen as one of the most important features for a true battlefield aircraft - inofficially, it was nicknamed 'ома́р' ('lobster') among the crews.
It had a high payload and was a very stable weapon platform. But the type suffered from the fact that it was an interceptor derivate which had originally been designed for dashes at Mach 2.5 at high altitudes. Consequently, the airframe had to be enforced to withstand higher G loads at low level flight and with heavy external loads, so that it was basically overweight. The extra armor did not help much either.
Additionally, the R-13 jet engines (basically the same that powered the 3rd generation MiG-21MF) were thirsty, even when running without the afterburner extra power, so that the type's range was very limited. Its ability to dash beyond Mach 1 even at low altitudes was of little tactical use, even though its high rate of acceleration and climb made it ideal for suprise attacks and delivery of tactical nuclear weapons - the latter was the main reason why the type was kept in service for so long until it was replaced by Su-24 bombers in this role.
Another source of constant trouble was the GSh-30A cannon. While its firepower was overwhelming, the vibrations it caused while firing and the pressure blasts from the nozzles could badly damage the aircraft's lower fuselage. There had been several incidents when the front wheel covers had literally been blown apart, and in one case the gun itself detached from its fuselage mount while firing - hitting the aircraft itself from below!
In the end, the Su-21 could not live up to the expectations of its intended role - even though this was less the aircraft's fault: the military demands had been unclear from the beginning, and the T-58Sh had been a second- choice solution to this diffuse performance profile.
Eventually the MiG-27 and also the Su-17/22 family as well as the biggher Su-24 tactical bomber, thanks to their variable geometry wings, proved to be the more flexible aircraft for the ground attack/fighter bomber role. But the lessons learned from the Su-21 eventually found their way into the very successful, subsonic Su-25 ('Frogfoot') family. The last Su-21D was retired in January 1997, after a service career of 25 years.
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length (with pitot): 17.57 m (57 ft 6 1/4 in)
Wingspan: 12.24 m (40 ft 1 in)
Height: 4.84 m (15 ft 10 in)
Empty weight: 11.225 kg (24.725 lb)
Loaded weight: 17.500 kg (38.580 lb)
Powerplant:
2× Tumansky R-13-300 turbojets,each rated at 40.21 kN (9,040 lbf) dry and at 70.0 kN (15,730 lbf) with afterburner
Performance
Maximum speed: 1.250km/h (777mph/674nm) at sea level
Range: 1.380 km (855 ml)
Ferry range: 1.850 km (1.146 mi)
Service ceiling: 17.000 m (55.665 ft)
Armament
1× GSh-30A gatling gun with 280 RPG in the lower fuselage
9× hardpoints (three under the fuselage, three under each wing) for a weapon load of up to 5.500kg (12.115lb),
including iron bombs, unguided missiles and rocket pods, guided weapons, napalm tanks or gun pods; two R-60 (AA-8 "Aphid") AAMs were typically carried for self-defense on the outer pylon pair
The kit and its assembly:
This whif actually has a real background, as outlined above - OKB Sukhoi actually worked in the late 60ies on a Su-15 derivate as a specialized attack aircraft, since the Soviet Forces lacked that type. The ground attack types then in service were the vintage MiG-17 and converted MiG-19 fighters, as well as the fast but very limited Su-7 - either outdated fighters or a fighter-bomber with insufficient range and payload.
Specifications for a ground attack aircraft were unclear at that time, though. Supersonic capability was still seen as a vital asset for any military aircraft, and WWII tactics were still the basis for close air support duties. The T-58Sh was eventually one design direction that would keep development time and costs low, starting with a proven basic airframe and adapting it to a new (and very different) role.
The Su-15, from which the T-58Sh was derived, originally was a Mach 2 interceptor, solely armed with missiles. Making THIS a ground attack aircraft surely was a huge step. The projected Su-15Sh, how the aircrfat was also called, was still to be supersonic, since this was seen as a vital asset at that time. This concept would eventually be a dead end, though, or, alternatively, result in the lighter and much cheaper MiG-27 tactical fighter in the 70ies. But it should still take some more years until a subsonic, simple and dedicated aircraft (the T-8, which made its maiden flight in 1975 and became later the Su-25 'Frogfoot') would be the 'right' direction for the new shturmovik. The Su-15Sh actually never left the drawing board, the swing-wing Su-17/20/22 more or less took its place in real life.
With that background my idea was to build a model of the ground attack Su-15 derivate in front line service in the mid 80ies, at the Cold War's peak and used by the Group of Soviet Forces in (Eastern) Germany. The Su-21 designation is fictional. But since the aircraft would be SO different from the Su-15 interceptor I can hardly imagine that it would have been called Su-15Sh in service. Since its cousin, the MiG-27, also received a new designation, I decided to apply the Su-21 code (which was never applied to a real aircraft - those Su-15 versions called Su-21 are just misnomers or speculations of Western 'experts' when the Iron Curtain was still up).
As a coincidence, I had all 'ingredients' at hand:
● Fuselage and fin from a PM Model Su-15
● Nose section from an Academy MiG-27 (leftover from the Q-6 kitbach)
● Wings and horizontal stabilizers from an ESCI A-7
The A-7 wings have slightly more sweep than what the drafted T-58Sh had (45° vs. 40°), as far as I can tell from profiles, but otherwise they fit in shape and size. I just cut the orginal leading edge away, sculpted a new front from putty, and the result looked very good.
What became tricky were the landing gear wells. Part of the Su-15 landing gear retracts into the lower fuselage, and mating this with the Corsair's wings and the potential space for the landing gear there did not match up properly -the wings would end up much too far behind.
After some trials I decided to cut out the landing gear wells on the lower side of the wings, relatively far forward, and cut out a part of the lower fuselage, reversed it, so that the landing gear wells woukd be placed about 5mm further forward, and the wings were finally attached to the fuselage so that these would match the respective openings on the fuselage's bottom. This was more or less the only major and unexpected surgery, and the original Su-15 landing gear could be retained.
Using the A-7's stabilizers was also a bit off the original concept (the T-58Sh appeared to keep the original parts), but I found that the more slender but wider A-7 parts just made the aircraft look more homogenous?
Grafting the MiG-27 cockpit (which was taken OOB) onto the fuselage was not a big problem, since the intersection is of simple shape and fits well by height and width. I made a vertical cut on the Su-15 fuselage in the middle of the air intake area, which would later be hidden through the air intakes. The latter were taken from the Su-15, but simplified: the intake became simple and "vertical", and the large, orginal splitter plates were replaced by the shorter speiceimen from the MiG-27 kit. The fit almost perfectly, are just a bit short, so that a small hole had to be filled with styrene strips on the lower side.
The fin was taken OOB, just as on the propsed real aircraft. The resulting side profile reminds VERY much of a Dassault Étendard on steroids...? The whole thing also looks a bit like the missing link between the Su-15 and the later Su-24 fighter bomber - esp. when you know the Fencer's fixed-wing T-6 prototype.
Externally, the gatling gun (also taken from the leftoevr MiG-27) and a total of nine hardpoints were added - three under the fuselage, flanking the gun, and six under the outer wings.
Since the Su 15 is a pretty large aircraft, I used the opportunity to equip the aircraft with serious air-to-ground ordnance, a pair of TV-guided Kh-29T (AS-14 "Kedge") missiles from an ICM USSR weapon set and a pair of R-60 AAMs, leftover from an ESCI Ka-34. Furthermore, chaff/flare dispensers were added to the rear upper fuselage, as well as some antennae and the pitots.
Actually, this kitbash was less complicated as expected. Needed lots of putty, sure, but this would also have been needed on the OOB Su-15 from PM Models, as it is a primitive and crude model kit. Here, it found a good use. One drawback is, though, that the surface lacks detail: the PM Model Su-15 is bleak (to put it mildly), and the re-used A-7 wings lost much of their engraved details to leftover paint or sanding - paint tricks would have to mend this.
Painting and markings:
As a frontline service aircraft, this one would receive a tactical camouflage pattern. The Soviet Air Force offers a wide range of options, ranging from boring to bizarre, and I settled for a typical four-color camouflage with light blue undersides:
● Humbrol 119 (Light Earth)
● Humbrol 159 (Khaki Drab)
● Humbrol 195 (Chrome Oxide Green, RAL 6020)
● Testors 2005 (Burnt Umber)
● Humbrol 115 (Russian Blue) for the lower surfaces
The paint scheme was inspired by a East Germany-based Su-17, the colors are guesstimates, based on pictures of real-life Soviet aircraft.
Cockpit interior was painted in typical, infamous Soviet/Russian turqoise (*Argh*), the complete landing gear was painted in Aluminum (Humbrol 56); the wheel discs became bright green (Humbrol 131), di-electric panels (e .g. the fin tip) received a coat in Forest Green (Humbrol 149, FS 34092).
The model was weathered through some counter-shading with lighter tones of the five basic colors, a wash with black ink and some additional stains and blotches with different shades of green and brown, including Humbrol 98 118, 128, 151 - even some RLM 82 from Testors found its way onto the aircraft!
Decals and markings were puzzled together from various aftermarket sheets, and are based on real life pictures of Soviet/Russian aircraft based in Eastern Germany.
I also added some bare metal stains at the leading edges and soot stains around the gun. Since the kitbashed model was pretty bleak, I tried to add painted panel lines - using a thin brush and a mix of matt varnish and black. The counter-shading applied before enhances this effect, and if you do not look too closely at the model, the result is O.K.
Finally, everything was sealed under a coat of matt acrylic varnish.
Finally had some activity at El Franco Lee this past week and this huge cloud began to catch a bit of the setting sun. Photo was taken with my old venerable Sony A700 at the park.
DSC00373ulp
Llwyn-on Reservoir, avers John Newman in the Glamorgan edition of The Buildings of Wales (uniform with the Pevsner volumes covering England), was completed in 1926. Engineer Charles H Priestley. In 1884 the corporation of Cardiff was granted powers to build dams in the headwaters of the Afon Taf and Llwyn-on was to be completed in 1915; however, the project was delayed by the First World War. The village of Ynys-y-Felin was drowned and the city corporation paid for a new Capel Bethel on the east side of the reservoir.
New, or almost new developer here ...Adox FX39 II. I bought a tiny 100ml bottle about a year ago, just to try it out, and was favourably impressed. The film I'd used then was Kodak T-Max 400, but this was Ilford Delta 400, expired in August 2017. FX39 was a Geoffrey Crawley formulation for Paterson. If I've understood correctly, the "II" version reduced its vulnerability to deterioration during transport. Like fine wines, some developers do not travel well. Hmmm. Grain can be a thing of beauty, but it can have two undesirable "looks", which I think of as "porridgy" and "scratchy". This is scratchy. The appearance is not unlike the "digital noise" I remember from my ludicrous, eight-year flirtation with digital. Now. I did a stupid thing. I picked up the wrong beaker and poured a small amount of stop bath into the tank instead of developer. Following a sharp intake of breath I emptied the stop bath (my personal cheapskate kitchen-grade citric acid solution) down the sink and thrice rinsed the tank with 20°C water. Phew! Shoud be all right. Good job it wasn't the fixer. I don't know whether this mishap might have influenced the look of the photographs. I hadn't used Delta 400 with this developer before and it was an expired film. Some of the shots were unpleasantly contrasty too. I think I'll cut back a bit on Massive Dev's 13 minutes next time.
The first light in the day shines on Mt.Furano. From Genshigahara ( ancient times field ), Tokachidake mountain range, Taisetsu national park, Furano, Hokkaido.
Ficasix, Fujinar 75mm F3.5, Portra 400, developed normally.
Bigger sizes: www.flickr.com/photos/threepinner/16672108374/sizes/l
I thought that this photo was the little sister in the second photo (www.flickr.com/photos/addie-b/7701320452/in/photostream/) but now that I've viewed it in a larger size, I'm not 100% sure. If it is, she's got short hair and a romper rather than a dress (though it does have a flower print) . But, it could possibly be a little boy. This is one of very few of the pictures that has no developer's mark on the back, so that might signal it as an earlier picture, but the other ones with blank backs are later. I really don't know what to think and the time frame it was taken in really depends on who's in the picture too. Any opinions?
Whoever it is, he or she seems to be well on his/her way to achieving the level of stoicism that the boy from the first few pictures displays.
There is what looks like a name written on the back which might settle the question if anyone can make it out. I'll post a scan of the reverse below.
On another note, I do believe that's the backside of a rocking horse in the bottom left corner. I didn't notice it until last night when I was taking the picture over to the printer to scan it.
*UPDATE*- After taking a closer look at another one of the pictures ( www.flickr.com/photos/addie-b/7733811116/in/photostream/ ) I think this is the same little girl in that picture, but I'm not quite sure who she is. It's possible that she's the sister of the little boy from the first few pictures, but I'm more inclined to think that she's another little girl altogether. Perhaps a cousin or just a neighborhood kid.
Shen Hao TFC45-IIB | Schneider-Kreuznach Tele Xenar | Fuji Provia 100F 100
Scanned with DSLR
Home developed in CineStill D6
Restoration Christian Reformed Church, Middleville, Michigan.
For our 50th wedding anniversary Corky and I decided to drive from Rochester to Michigan to celebrate with some long-time dear friends. We went to church with them that Sunday morning.
Olympus OM-2
Ilford HP5+ developed in D76
Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner
#ilfordhp5plus, #ilfordphoto, #olympus_om2 #om2, #blackandwhite, #shootfilmstaypoor, #ishootfilm,
#church, #restorationchristianreformedchurch, #restorationcrc,