RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909–11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried 2,224 people.

Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand emigrants from Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – a third of her total passenger and crew capacity.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading westwards towards New York. On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm (ship's time; UTC-3). The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. A disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class – were left aboard due to a "women and children first" protocol followed by the officers loading the lifeboats. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by the RMS Carpathia a few hours later.

The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Many of the survivors lost all of their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their primary bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors, notably the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, were accused of cowardice for leaving the ship while people were still on board, and they faced social ostracism.

The wreck of the Titanic remains on the seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). Since its rediscovery in 1985, thousands of artefacts have been recovered from the sea bed and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, films, exhibits and memorials.

Belfast has opened the Iconic Titanic Signature Building which will house Titanic Belfast ® it is iconic in design and houses a world class visitor attraction. It is located at Titanic Quarter (East Belfast). The exhibition is based on the theme of the Titanic and the wider subject of Belfast’s shipbuilding and maritime heritage. Of such scale, the building is likely to become Northern Ireland’s largest and most successful built attraction.

Meanwhile Victoria Square are marking the Anniversary with an uplifting sculpture.

Over 14,000 balloons were used to create the sculpture

A new 45-ft balloon sculpture celebrating the Titanic is being unveiled at Victoria Square in Belfast.

The sculpture will be covered in more than 14,000 balloons and is 1/22 scale model of the Titanic itself.

It was crafted by Portadown-based sculptor Fiona Fisher and her team.

The sculpture was commissioned by Victoria Square in conjunction with the Titanic Foundation.The floating artwork will act as a centre-piece for a month-long series of events for the Titanic's 100th anniversary.

As part of the commemorations, a Titanic-themed art exhibition will feature alongside a 3D representation of the ship's famous staircase.

It is hoped the model will qualify as the world's biggest balloon exhibition of the Titanic.

What began as a hobby for Ms Fisher soon turned into a full-time job that has taken her around the world over the last 13 years.

"Luckily I've been to Dallas, Las Vegas, Buenos Aires, Trinidad, Japan, Lebanon, Taiwan, Russia, and pretty much all over Europe," she said.

"I've made lots of sculptures. A replica of a Ferrari, a giant Guinness pint and lots of different things."

It is not the first time Victoria Square has attempted to attract customers using art work.

Last April, an 18-tonne sand sculpture of the Giant's Causeway was commissioned by the centre in conjunction with the National Trust.

Ultimately that ended in disappointment as vandals destroyed the attraction after just two weeks.

When asked if she was worried someone might destroy the sculpture, Ms Fisher warned it might not be a good idea.

"If somebody tried to jump on top of ours I think they'd be in for a shock. They'd fall 20-ft or more so I don't think that'd be a good idea."

“

I've made lots of sculptures. A replica of a Ferrari, a giant Guinness pint and lots of different things

Fiona Fisher, Balloon sculptor

The concept came about almost by accident as Ms Fisher was putting up elaborate balloon decorations in the shopping complex as part of last years' Halloween celebrations.

"Last October, we were putting up decorations for the centre and the manager suggested doing something for the Titanic anniversary. We suggested doing something in balloons and that's where it all started from."

Although the ambitious structure is not the world's largest balloon model, it is in the process of being verified by Guinness World Records as the biggest balloon model of the Titanic.

Victoria Square Centre manager Hugh Black said the display was "fabulous".

"The Titanic theme is great for Belfast. The whole Titanic experience is great for the Northern Ireland tourism industry and we want to be a part of it. I think it will bring a lot of people," he said.

The temporary sculpture will remain in place for about two to three weeks at which point air will begin to seep from the balloons.

Due to that New Jersey was the slowest on phasing out the bad old outdated red trapezoid Children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO because of some mean teachers at school forcing some ice cream trucks to keep their red trapezoid and made a bad and mean-spirited law of ice cream trucks requiring those bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO which is extremely confusing to people who are death, color blind, can't read or don't speak English in some of New Jersey, I hereby MOST Amazon warehouses in New Jersey to all be converted into Blue's Clues Handy Dandy Notebook prop replica manufacturing plants, Corbeil School Bus manufacturing plants, Chalkboard Manufacturing Plants to bring back the good friendly schools with green chalkboards and electric mechanical wall bells FOREVER and convert most Amazon prime trucks in New Jersey into better and safe updated ice cream trucks with the good awesome current updated yellow trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word CHILDREN SLOW CROSSING and School bus stop signs which are octagon shape for the state of New Jersey to also include disabled people in the future too and tear apart the last remaining of the ice cream trucks with the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO and recycle all of them into brand new Blue's Clues Handy Dandy notebook prop replicas and reuse the arm the bad old outdated red trapezoid Children Slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO for the brand new stop signs of the new school buses of the future. And for this Schools will also bring back green chalkboards and electric mechanical wall bells and Corbeil school buses and adding in more Disney Snow White and Pinocchio stuff, Corduroy the Bear with two buttons on his green corduroy overalls, Blue's Clues Steve Notebooks, Little Golden Books and other kind-spirited stuff FOREVER quickly and also for schools to get rid of mean teachers, that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes, triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends, Bogen Multicom 2000 systems, mean-spirited angers like Frankie Foster's anger in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Chief Wiggums meanly aiming his guy in modern Simpsons, and other mean-spirited stuff FOREVER quickly.

I cleared out a dozen rolls of outdated film from my refrigerator a few weeks ago. Don't want to use it because its old.

So as not to waste it, I shot it. Kind of a symbolic show of the triumph of digital over film.

Harf.

The spray to the right was interesting.

My flash was doing the funnies. First its humid, so the voltage that I can run is lower. Then, about ten of my pictures were spoiled by a low exposure. Very strange. When I triggered by hand, the exposure was good. But when the pellet triggered things, the exposure was several stops low.

Irritating.

This too will change.

Cheers.

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909–11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried 2,224 people.

Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand emigrants from Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – a third of her total passenger and crew capacity.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading westwards towards New York. On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm (ship's time; UTC-3). The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. A disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class – were left aboard due to a "women and children first" protocol followed by the officers loading the lifeboats. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by the RMS Carpathia a few hours later.

The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Many of the survivors lost all of their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their primary bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors, notably the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, were accused of cowardice for leaving the ship while people were still on board, and they faced social ostracism.

The wreck of the Titanic remains on the seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). Since its rediscovery in 1985, thousands of artefacts have been recovered from the sea bed and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, films, exhibits and memorials.

Belfast has opened the Iconic Titanic Signature Building which will house Titanic Belfast ® it is iconic in design and houses a world class visitor attraction. It is located at Titanic Quarter (East Belfast). The exhibition is based on the theme of the Titanic and the wider subject of Belfast’s shipbuilding and maritime heritage. Of such scale, the building is likely to become Northern Ireland’s largest and most successful built attraction.

Meanwhile Victoria Square are marking the Anniversary with an uplifting sculpture.

Over 14,000 balloons were used to create the sculpture

A new 45-ft balloon sculpture celebrating the Titanic is being unveiled at Victoria Square in Belfast.

The sculpture will be covered in more than 14,000 balloons and is 1/22 scale model of the Titanic itself.

It was crafted by Portadown-based sculptor Fiona Fisher and her team.

The sculpture was commissioned by Victoria Square in conjunction with the Titanic Foundation.The floating artwork will act as a centre-piece for a month-long series of events for the Titanic's 100th anniversary.

As part of the commemorations, a Titanic-themed art exhibition will feature alongside a 3D representation of the ship's famous staircase.

It is hoped the model will qualify as the world's biggest balloon exhibition of the Titanic.

What began as a hobby for Ms Fisher soon turned into a full-time job that has taken her around the world over the last 13 years.

"Luckily I've been to Dallas, Las Vegas, Buenos Aires, Trinidad, Japan, Lebanon, Taiwan, Russia, and pretty much all over Europe," she said.

"I've made lots of sculptures. A replica of a Ferrari, a giant Guinness pint and lots of different things."

It is not the first time Victoria Square has attempted to attract customers using art work.

Last April, an 18-tonne sand sculpture of the Giant's Causeway was commissioned by the centre in conjunction with the National Trust.

Ultimately that ended in disappointment as vandals destroyed the attraction after just two weeks.

When asked if she was worried someone might destroy the sculpture, Ms Fisher warned it might not be a good idea.

"If somebody tried to jump on top of ours I think they'd be in for a shock. They'd fall 20-ft or more so I don't think that'd be a good idea."

“

I've made lots of sculptures. A replica of a Ferrari, a giant Guinness pint and lots of different things

Fiona Fisher, Balloon sculptor

The concept came about almost by accident as Ms Fisher was putting up elaborate balloon decorations in the shopping complex as part of last years' Halloween celebrations.

"Last October, we were putting up decorations for the centre and the manager suggested doing something for the Titanic anniversary. We suggested doing something in balloons and that's where it all started from."

Although the ambitious structure is not the world's largest balloon model, it is in the process of being verified by Guinness World Records as the biggest balloon model of the Titanic.

Victoria Square Centre manager Hugh Black said the display was "fabulous".

"The Titanic theme is great for Belfast. The whole Titanic experience is great for the Northern Ireland tourism industry and we want to be a part of it. I think it will bring a lot of people," he said.

The temporary sculpture will remain in place for about two to three weeks at which point air will begin to seep from the balloons.

Drive-Thru only McDonald's restaurants with no dine in options MUST BE BANNED and NEVER EVER get revived in the future because the drive-thru only McDonald's restaurants with no dine in options have no dine options and forcing us to eat in vehicles which is not safe anymore and also forcing us to bring back the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO back on ice cream trucks which is extremely bad and confusing to people who are deaf, color blind, can't read or don't speak English and abandon Corbeil School buses and other school buses with an electric stop arm which is extremely bad and these Drive-Thru only McDonald's restaurants are forcing us to pollute the environment and having Eastern cottontail rabbits extinct which is very bad and especially I do collaborate with other companies like McDonald's and safety improvements to McDonald's PlayPlaces and ice cream trucks and especially I am making a new law for all ice cream trucks to have the current updated yellow trapezoid Children slow crossing warning blades that word CHILDREN SLOW CROSSING and school bus stop signs and bringing back Corbeil School buses and building extra more School Buses with an electric stop arm and restoring all of the abandoned Corbeil School buses and restoring all of the abandoned school buses with an electric stop arm and abandon all ice cream trucks with the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO and a new law for all McDonald's restaurants to be McEyebrows with the yellow and orange striped awnings and better safe updated indoor PlayPlaces and making a new law for all schools to be set up like Middleborough, Hilltop School from Timothy Goes to School, and or my DeVry building in North Brunswick NJ and making it a new law for all business including stores to have both brick and mortar and online . I hope this McDonald's shuts down anymore along with Corbeil school buses must take over all of the bad convenience stuff so we will have a better and safe future and people need options in business and all McDonald's restaurants need dining areas but the PlayPlaces are still optional even though McDonald's is making better and safe update to the PlayPlaces. Good thing I I have made a better McDonald's of the future. SHAME on modern Simpsons (The Simpsons seasons 19 and later) on making all of those mean-spirited stuff like brick and mortar stores being obsolete and people expressing anger in a mean scary way and the bad things coming back and I know we always need brick and mortar stores. So modern Simpsons (The Simpsons seasons 19 and later) MUST END IMMEDIATELY and all master tapes of Modern Simpsons (The Simpsons seasons 19 and later) must all be smashed into pieces and recycled into brand new Blue's Clues Handy Dandy notebook prop replicas. Whereas big McDonald's restaurants with the new modern late 1990s McEyebrow exterior and extra more dine in options MUST BE KEPT FOREVER because they save the environment from pollution and help us keep all of the good important things like brick and mortar stores, Corbeil School Buses, School buses with an electric stop arm, green chalkboards and electric mechanical wall bells, My DeVry/Chamberlain building in North Brunswick, NJ, and all of the buildings in Nassau Park Pavilion in Princeton, NJ and Blue's Clues Steve notebooks, Corduroy the bear with two buttons on his overalls, Disney Snow White and Pinocchio stuff etc and ditch and get rid of the bad things from the old days when Blue's Clues didn't existed yet such as pear-shaped wrecking balls and ice cream trucks with the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO and Bogen Multicom 2000 systems. And this is one of the bad influences modern Simpsons (seasons 19 and later) have gave us because in modern Simpsons (seasons 19 and later) Chief Wiggums expresses anger in a mean scary way by yelling and screaming, aiming his gun, meanly gnashing his teeth, meanly yelling I'M VERY CROSS WITH YOU, and yelling GOD IN HELL and GOD DAMN HELL and getting people arrested for having autism, having a disability, or being non-white and in modern Simpsons (seasons 19 and later) Chief Wiggums was having convience taking over good imporant traditional stuff and ruining my golden toddlerhood by online taking over brick and mortar stores, having Bogen Multicom 2000 take over school bells, banning nostalgic inducing stuff like Disney Snow White and Pinocchio stuff and Corduroy the Bear with two buttons on his green corduroy overalls and Steve notebooks, and bringing back the bad things from the early 1990s such as pear shaped wrecking balls and ice cream trucks with the bad old outdated misred trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO which is extremely confusing to a lot of disabled people and also in modern Simpsons (seasons 19 and later) Chief Wiggums even restored that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes, triangular eyes, and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends which I know will never ever happen in real and I am super mad at Fox Broadcasting for continuing on modern Simpsons as of when Funeral for a Fiend first aired in 2007 which all of the mean spirited stuff. So this is why all broadcasts of The Simpsons MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be ONLY reruns of classic Simpsons (first 18 seasons of The Simpsons). This is why all schools MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be set up like Middleborough, Hilltop School from Timothy Goes to School, and or my DeVry building in North Brunswick, NJ and all with green chalkboards, electric mechanical wall bells, and Corbeil school buses and other school buses with electric stop arms, and only kind-spirited stuff like Disney Snow White and Pinocchio stuff and Corduroy the Bear with two buttons on his green corduroy overalls and Steve Notebooks etc, and no mean-spirited stuff like Bogen Multicom 2000 and that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends and no processed foods in the school lunches. This is why McDonald's restaurants MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be McEyebrows with the yellow and orange striped awnings, arch wedge the new aluminum exterior I have created, or the original 1970s version of the iconic double sloped mansard roof and better and safe updated indoor PlayPlaces with low and safe steps and slides and green chalkboards and or just the dining room option (no playplace), This is why all ice cream trucks MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be all updated to the current updated yellow trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word CHILDREN SLOW CROSSING and or school bus stop signs and that all ice cream trucks MUST BE BY LAW MANDEDTED TO GET RID of the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO for good, This is why Crayola Crayon boxes MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be new modern 1997 boxes. This is why school PA systems MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be Rauland Telecenter or PA systems with no bell tones. The Vengaboys song, We like to Party MUST BE BANNED and never ever get revived in the future because this song annoys people very bad and reminds them of T.R. Chula's white saliva and I never ever want anything on T.R. Chula's white saliva and especially in 2004, they introduced the worst and most creepy mascot to Six Flags who was called Mr. Six who will also be banned too because he danced to this annoying song we all hate and this is one of the reasons why Six Flags MUST SHUT DOWN forever and get replaced by Corbeil School Bus Manufacturing Plants and we want the world to be a friendlier place too not with this annoying song by the Vengaboys. This song doesn't only annoy me this song also annoys Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Buffett. Mr. Six the mascot of Six Flags of 2004 MUST BE BANNED and NEVER EVER get revived in the future because Mr. Six is so bald, annoying, and freaky and freaks people out and have killed the happiness of the late 1990s which is getting restored forever. And Mr. Six have danced to the worst annoying song we all hate which is called "We Like to Party" and also have restored the worst Tom and Jerry cartoon "Tom and Jerry: The Movie" with some bratts were getting bad advice from this movie with convience taking over good old fashioned traditional stuff is the exaggerated house demolition in 1992's Tom and Jerry the movie with a pear-shaped wrecking ball destroying the beautiful old fashioned living house and replacing it with a garage full of ice cream trucks with the bad old outdated confusing misleading red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO which is extremely mean-spirited and is a yield sign that says stop which is extremely wrong and confusing to people who are deaf, color blind, can't read, or don't speak English. Also old fashined traditional stuff are extremely important not just conviences. Good thing I am making safety collaborations by updating all ice cream trucks to all have the current updated yellow trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word children slow crossing and or school bus swing arm stop signs which are octagon shaped especially I know for a fact in all traffic signs the shape is the most important not just the word and color especially in all stop signs the octagon shape is the most important not just the word and color in the 2000s when McDonald's had super-size which made our economy gone bad. So when Mr. Six gets Banned we will all tear apart the Six Flags buses used in the Six Flags commercial when Mr. Six was the masscot as new playplace play equipments for McDonald's restaurants and we will also smash the music box inside of these Six Flags buses into pieces so we will never ever hear that annoying song "We like to Party" ever again. So T.R. Chula the evil tarantula from Fievel Goes West MUST BE BURNED INTO ASHES IN A FIRE and extinguish his white saliva for good. Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992) MUST BE BANNED never ever get revived in the future because Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992) does have an upsetting unrealistic house demolition with an old fashioned pear-shaped wrecking ball destroying a beautiful old fashioned living house because of it being decades old ruining nostalgia and ruining my golden toddlerhood and abused many Blue's Clues Steve fans making them think the wrecking ball destroyed the handy dandy notebooks which we all love because the destroyed house at the beginning of Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992) does look slightly identical to the Blue's Clues House and now even the destroyed Handy Dandy Notebooks are getting mended back together. So I hereby Tom and Jerry: The Movie (1992) to BE BANNED FOREVER due to abusing Blue's Clues Steve Fans like me. Tom and Jerry: The Movie MUST BE BANNED because it has an unrealistic house demolition with a very bad old fashioned wrecking ball that upsets people so bad and abused many Blue's Clues Steve Fans and some bratts were getting bad advice from this movie with convience taking over good old fashioned traditional stuff is the exaggerated house demolition in 1992's Tom and Jerry the movie with a pear-shaped wrecking ball destroying the beautiful old fashioned living house and replacing it with a garage full of ice cream trucks with the bad old outdated confusing misleading red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO which is extremely mean-spirited and is a yield sign that says stop which is extremely wrong and confusing to people who are deaf, color blind, can't read, or don't speak English and polluting the environment and putting Eastern cottontail rabbits extinct. Also old fashined traditional stuff are extremely important not just conviences. Good thing I am making safety collaborations by updating all ice cream trucks to all have the current updated yellow trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word children slow crossing and or school bus swing arm stop signs which are octagon shaped especially I know for a fact in all traffic signs the shape is the most important not just the word and color especially in all stop signs the octagon shape is the most important not just the word and color.

. Similar to modern Simpsons (seasons 19 and Later) 1992's Tom and Jerry the movie is another bad media showing convience taking over good important traditional stuff with a pear-shaped wrecking ball destroying a beautiful old fashioned living house and replace the house with convient high rise appartment building with a garage full of ice cream trucks with the bad old oudated confusing misleading red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO which was mean-spirited and ruining my golden toddlerhood. In the 2000s, Warner Bros reviving 1992's Tom and Jerry the movie and and selling too many DVD copies of that movie surpassing Corduroy the Bear and his buttons was all McDonald's corporation and Bogen Communication's fault because the super size at McDonald's was brainwashing many people by reviving the bad old 1992 Tom and Jerry movie and popularizing Bogen Multicom 2000 and their mean spirited bell tones that are haunted chimes that don't sound like a bell at all scaring off kids especially kids with autism and making them not want to go to school and abandoning my golden toddler stuff like Corduroy the Bear with two buttons on his green corduroy overalls but good thing I am undoing all of the bad influence the super size gave us by restoring my golden toddlerhood, safety improvements, kindness improvements, reviving Nelvana's version of Corduroy the Bear with the premiere of Two Buttons again and Forever fixing Betty Quan's upsetting mistake for good by showing that they did get Corduroy's button out of the storm drain and put Corduroy's button back on Corduroy the Bear's green corduroy overalls and that corduroy the bear does have two buttons on his green corduroy overalls forever and bringing back all nostalgic inducing stuff like green chalkboards and electric mechanical wall bells etc and create a nostalgic inducing future. So this is why all broadcasts of The Simpsons MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be ONLY reruns of classic Simpsons (first 18 seasons of The Simpsons). This is why all schools MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be set up like Middleborough, Hilltop School from Timothy Goes to School, and or my DeVry building in North Brunswick, NJ and all with green chalkboards, electric mechanical wall bells, and Corbeil school buses and other school buses with electric stop arms, and only kind-spirited stuff like Disney Snow White and Pinocchio stuff and Corduroy the Bear with two buttons on his green corduroy overalls and Steve Notebooks etc, and no mean-spirited stuff like Bogen Multicom 2000 and that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends and no processed foods in the school lunches. This is why McDonald's restaurants MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be McEyebrows with the yellow and orange striped awnings, arch wedge the new aluminum exterior I have created, or the original 1970s version of the iconic double sloped mansard roof and better and safe updated indoor PlayPlaces with low and safe steps and slides and green chalkboards and or just the dining room option (no playplace), This is why all ice cream trucks MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be all updated to the current updated yellow trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word CHILDREN SLOW CROSSING and or school bus stop signs and that all ice cream trucks MUST BE BY LAW MANDEDTED TO GET RID of the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO for good, This is why Crayola Crayon boxes MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be new modern 1997 boxes. This is why school PA systems MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be Rauland Telecenter or PA systems with no bell tones. And this is why Nelvana and Hanna-Barbera MUST TAKE OVER Warner Bros. Animation. The reality is that demolition are based on how bad the building is damaged not on how old the building is like in 1992's Tom and Jerry the movie.

* * * * * * * *

Myanmar, previously known as Burma, what a surprisingly amazing place. We booked this holiday to get out of our comfort zone of easy beach holidays in the Maldives. There were several times when we wondered why we did it, travel in Myanmar consists mainly of long, sometimes tedious journeys on outdated transport systems. But now, in hindsight, we realise that this was the only way to truly get a feel of how the country and people are living day to day. And by far, more so than any other holiday we have had, the people are the most memorable thing we brought back with us. They are totally charming, polite, honest, resilient, hard working and most of all truly happy people. Their sincerely happy smiles, some of which we thankfully managed to capture in our photo's, are what we mostly remember and will stay with us forever.

We all know, or think we know, about the bad old days of the Burmese regime, so we obviously had a few reservations about what we were letting ourselves in for, but as it turned out, Myanmar must be the safest place we have ever been to. There is zero crime here, 85% of the country are buddhists and all the people seem to be true to Buddha's teachings of compassion, honesty, right mindedness, right living and non-harming to any living thing. Admittedly, although the country is now a democracy, the military still retains a certain amount of power, so I guess there is still an undercurrent going on albeit out of sight of the regular tourist. However, all the people we spoke to are so much happier now, they are more or less free to speak openly, without fear of reprisals and they all feel positive about the path the country is on now.

As for the landscape, what can I say, there is nowhere like it on earth! Outside the cities the whole country seems to be in some sort of 200 year old time warp. The people are mostly farmers on small plots of land using ox carts to plough the fields and living in houses made of bamboo, wood and matting. The wierdest thing is most of them have solar power, mainly for a bit of light and to charge their mobile phones! Everyone is on their phone here.....just like the rest of the world I guess. Also, there are temples, pagodas and stupas everywhere you look, especially in Bagan, which is like the Mecca of Myanmar. We were there for the Full Moon Festival where thousands of Burmese monks and Myanmar people gather from all over the country to celebrate for three days at the Ananda Pagoda in Bagan. After possibly days travelling they stay awake for most of the three days and nights watching entertainment which includes dance, theatre, chants, recitations and singing as well as stand up comedy. Amazing belief.

A word about One Stop Travel & Tours the Myanmar company we booked with. We found them via recommendations on Tripadvisor and so glad we used them. They never asked for a deposit, they booked all our hotels, train & boat journeys, balloon ride and one internal flight all on an email handshake! We just paid them in US Dollars on arrival, saving us thousands on UK travel brochure rates, and they never let us down once. The guides were all good guys and always there to greet us at the various destinations on our tour/trek, sometimes waiting hours when the transport was late. A special thanks to Leo our Yangon guide and Eaint at the One Stop office. After leaving our Nikon Coolpix A camera charger at home we trawled the shops of Yangon eventually finding a replacement.......only to leave it plugged in the wall at our next hotel in Mandalay! We were now a ten hour boat journey away in Bagan, but a call to Eaint at the One Stop office and they got it to us two days later just before we moved on! A huge thank you to all at One Stop as this holiday produced without doubt our most amazing photographs ever!

Myanmar has been open to mainstream tourism for five years now, a lot of the people speak English now so it is relatively easy to holiday there. We are so glad we went there before it really changes, there is still a huge amount of charm and old worldliness about the place that you will not find in any other country. If you are prepared to switch off from the 21st century and just accept it for what it is you will be richly rewarded with amazing memories of a landscape like no other and a fascinating people who are genuinely happy to see you.

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To view the rest of my Photography Collection click on Link below:

www.flickr.com/photos/nevillewootton/albums

* * * * * * * *

Photography & Equipment sponsored by my web business:

www.inlinefilters.co.uk

We are UK's leading Filter Specialists, selling online to the Plant, Agricultural, Commercial Vehicle and Marine Industries.

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PLEASE NOTE: I take Photographs purely as a hobby these days so am happy to share them with anyone who enjoys them or has a use for them. If you do use them an accreditation would be nice and if you benefit from them financially a donation to www.sightsavers.org would be really nice.

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RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909–11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried 2,224 people.

Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand emigrants from Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – a third of her total passenger and crew capacity.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading westwards towards New York. On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm (ship's time; UTC-3). The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. A disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class – were left aboard due to a "women and children first" protocol followed by the officers loading the lifeboats. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by the RMS Carpathia a few hours later.

The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Many of the survivors lost all of their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their primary bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors, notably the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, were accused of cowardice for leaving the ship while people were still on board, and they faced social ostracism.

The wreck of the Titanic remains on the seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). Since its rediscovery in 1985, thousands of artefacts have been recovered from the sea bed and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, films, exhibits and memorials.

Belfast has opened the Iconic Titanic Signature Building which will house Titanic Belfast ® it is iconic in design and houses a world class visitor attraction. It is located at Titanic Quarter (East Belfast). The exhibition is based on the theme of the Titanic and the wider subject of Belfast’s shipbuilding and maritime heritage. Of such scale, the building is likely to become Northern Ireland’s largest and most successful built attraction.

Meanwhile Victoria Square are marking the Anniversary with an uplifting sculpture.

Over 14,000 balloons were used to create the sculpture

A new 45-ft balloon sculpture celebrating the Titanic is being unveiled at Victoria Square in Belfast.

The sculpture will be covered in more than 14,000 balloons and is 1/22 scale model of the Titanic itself.

It was crafted by Portadown-based sculptor Fiona Fisher and her team.

The sculpture was commissioned by Victoria Square in conjunction with the Titanic Foundation.The floating artwork will act as a centre-piece for a month-long series of events for the Titanic's 100th anniversary.

As part of the commemorations, a Titanic-themed art exhibition will feature alongside a 3D representation of the ship's famous staircase.

It is hoped the model will qualify as the world's biggest balloon exhibition of the Titanic.

What began as a hobby for Ms Fisher soon turned into a full-time job that has taken her around the world over the last 13 years.

"Luckily I've been to Dallas, Las Vegas, Buenos Aires, Trinidad, Japan, Lebanon, Taiwan, Russia, and pretty much all over Europe," she said.

"I've made lots of sculptures. A replica of a Ferrari, a giant Guinness pint and lots of different things."

It is not the first time Victoria Square has attempted to attract customers using art work.

Last April, an 18-tonne sand sculpture of the Giant's Causeway was commissioned by the centre in conjunction with the National Trust.

Ultimately that ended in disappointment as vandals destroyed the attraction after just two weeks.

When asked if she was worried someone might destroy the sculpture, Ms Fisher warned it might not be a good idea.

"If somebody tried to jump on top of ours I think they'd be in for a shock. They'd fall 20-ft or more so I don't think that'd be a good idea."

“

I've made lots of sculptures. A replica of a Ferrari, a giant Guinness pint and lots of different things

Fiona Fisher, Balloon sculptor

The concept came about almost by accident as Ms Fisher was putting up elaborate balloon decorations in the shopping complex as part of last years' Halloween celebrations.

"Last October, we were putting up decorations for the centre and the manager suggested doing something for the Titanic anniversary. We suggested doing something in balloons and that's where it all started from."

Although the ambitious structure is not the world's largest balloon model, it is in the process of being verified by Guinness World Records as the biggest balloon model of the Titanic.

Victoria Square Centre manager Hugh Black said the display was "fabulous".

"The Titanic theme is great for Belfast. The whole Titanic experience is great for the Northern Ireland tourism industry and we want to be a part of it. I think it will bring a lot of people," he said.

The temporary sculpture will remain in place for about two to three weeks at which point air will begin to seep from the balloons.

Though the A-4 Skyhawk was by no means outdated by 1962, the US Navy began work on a replacement with better range and heavier payload. The designs submitted would be necessarily heavier than the A-4, but this was not seen as much of a problem, nor was a lack of speed: the Navy was willing to trade subsonic performance for increased range and more bombs. Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) submitted a design based loosely on its successful F-8 Crusader fighter, which was enough to beat out three other designs, and it was ordered into production as the A-7A Corsair II, named for the successful Chance-Vought fighter of World War II.

Though the A-7 was based on the F-8, the two shared very little other than basic configuration: the A-7 was stubby and wide, and definitely subsonic as intended, though it initially used the same powerplant as the F-111 Aardvark. Turn performance was excellent, if acceleration was indifferent, but the centerpiece of the Corsair II was its integrated bomb delivery system. This included the APQ-116 radar, a heads-up display, traveling map display below the radarscope, and a digital computer. Ease of maintenance was also emphasized. With no problems encountered in flight testing, the A-7A entered fleet service in 1967.

It was immediately committed to fighting in Vietnam. Though A-7s would only see action in the tail end of Operation Rolling Thunder, they were to be used extensively in South Vietnam, due to their accuracy: A-7s were capable of putting ordnance within sixty feet of friendly troops, making it well-liked. The Navy liked the USAF's A-7D variant, and subsequently adopted it, with changes for naval operations, as the A-7E. This was to be the definitive model of the Corsair II, and surviving A-7As and A-7Bs were converted to E standard.

It was a mixed batch of A-7 models that finished the war in Vietnam: A-7Bs were mostly used in the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) Wild Weasel role, and increasingly Corsair IIs were armed with precision weapons such as the AGM-62 Walleye, which proved capable enough to destroy the infamous Thanh Hoa Bridge—albeit temporarily—in 1972. The workhorse A-7 also struck targets in the Hanoi area extensively, making it second only to the B-52 in amount of ordnance dropped on the North Vietnamese capital. Navy A-7s from USS Coral Sea participated in the last combat missions of the Vietnam War, the Mayaguez rescue mission in May 1975. 98 Navy A-7s were shot down during the conflict.

Following the end of the Vietnam War, the A-7 replaced the A-4 in Navy light attack squadrons, standardizing on the A-7E. Aside from minor upgrades, this would remain the type used by Navy units for the duration of the Corsair II’s career. A-7s would go on to participate in every military operation undertaken by the United States in the 1980s—attacks on Lebanon and the invasion of Grenada in 1983, operations against Libya in 1985, during the “Tanker War” in the Persian Gulf in 1987, and finally in the First Gulf War in 1991. In these operations, the A-7 was able to use its pinpoint bombing ability to good use; in Libya and the Persian Gulf, Corsair IIs attacked and sank numerous Libyan and Iranian patrol boats with unguided bombs. It also was the Navy’s Wild Weasel of choice during the 1980s, using the Vietnam-era Shrike before upgrading to the far superior HARM.

In Operation Desert Storm, two A-7 squadrons from John F. Kennedy were used both to attack fixed targets with “iron” bombs and Walleyes in “tank plinking”—knocking out Iraqi tanks with precision weapons. Despite there being less than 30 A-7s in theater, these aircraft were able supplements to the USAF’s A-10s and F-111s.

The First Gulf War was the A-7’s swan song. The last squadrons gave up their Corsair IIs for F/A-18 Hornets by May 1991, ending nearly thirty years of operations. Some ex-Navy A-7s were passed on to Greece, Portugal, and Thailand, and some still remain in service with Thailand and Greece. Of the 1569 A-7s built, about half were Navy types, and today 20 former US Navy A-7s are on display as gate guards and museum pieces.

152681 is one of the oldest A-7s left in the world, and joined the US Navy sometime in the mid-1960s. Its early career is a bit hazy, but it is known to have served with VA-122 ("Flying Eagles") and VA-125 ("Rough Riders") at NAS Lemoore, California; both VA -122 and VA-125 were Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS), more colloquially known as a Replacement Air Group (RAG). The purpose of the FRS/RAG units is to train pilots for combat deployments and provide replacement aircraft for any losses. It is not known if 152681 saw combat during Vietnam.

As the Navy replaced their earlier A-7As with A-7Es, 152681 was relegated to the Naval Reserve in 1976, and finished its career with VA-203 ("Blue Dolphins") at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. It was probably retired around 1983 and became a ground instruction trainer at NATTC Millington, Tennessee until 1991, when it was declared surplus. It was donated to the Prairie Aviation Museum and went on display later that year.

The Prairie Aviation Museum has done a superb job in restoring 152681, and it wears the the green and white rudder stripes of VA-125. The small "S" behind the cockpit is a Safety award. This was during Open Cockpit Day at Prairie, but I got there shortly before the museum closed, so the canopy was already shut on 152681.

As it turns out, this isn't my family's first "experience" with 152681: here is a picture taken during its time with VA-122: www.flickr.com/photos/31469080@N07/51091437323/in/photost...

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

In 1932, the United States Navy contracted the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to produce a modern, two-seat fighter design for use on its growing family of aircraft carriers. Curtiss responded by putting forth their Model 73 - a two-seat monoplane design featuring a single set of parasol wings fitted high atop the fuselage, and the US Navy designated the prototype as XF12C-1.

The Model 73 was powered by a single Wright R-1510-92 Whirlwind 14 series radial piston engine and sported a modern retractable undercarriage. The Curtiss product achieved first flight in 1933 though, by the end of the year, the US Navy had revamped their requirement and categorized the XF12C-1 prototype as the "XS4C-1 scout plane". Once again, this time in early 1934, the US Navy reorganized their needs and labeled the XS4C-1 as the "XSBC-1 dual-role scout-bomber". Curtiss fitted a Wright R-1820 Cyclone series radial piston engine to the design and testing of the prototype ensued.

To ensure something of a legacy, the SBC Helldiver was in fact the last biplane aircraft to be purchased by the United States Navy. The longest Curtiss SBCs to survive were 12 aircraft at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, which were stricken off-charge on 31st October 1944.

General characteristics:

Crew: two; pilot and observer gunner

Length: 28 ft 1⅝ in (8.57 m)

Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)

Height: 10 ft 5 in (3.17 m)

Wing area: 317 ft² (29.4 m²)

Empty weight: 4,552 lb (2,065 kg)

Loaded weight: 7,080 lb (3,211 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 7,632 lb (3,462 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Wright R-1820-34 radial engine, rated at 850 hp (634 kW)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 234 mph (203 knots, 377 km/h) at 15,200 ft (4,600 m)

Cruise speed: 175 mph (152 knots, 282 km/h)

Range with internal fuel: 405 mi (352 nmi, 652 km)

Service ceiling: 24,000 ft (7,320 m)

Rate of climb: 1,630 ft/min (8.28 m/s)

Armament:

1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) forward-firing M1919 Browning machine gun

1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun firing rearward on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit

1× underfuselage hardpoint for a bomb of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg)

or a 45-U.S.-gallon (170-liter) fuel tank

2× underwing hardpoints for 100 lb (45 kg) bombs or flares

The kit and its assembly:

The Curtiss SBC is a kind of ugly duckling and certainly not an aircraft that left any serious impression in history. Nevertheless, its odd mix of modern and vintage design features makes it an interesting subject, and I wanted to build one for a long time. The extended timeframe for the “Old Kit Group Build” at whatifmodelers.com was a welcome motivation to finally dig out a Heller SBC kit (moulds date back from 1979, Matchbox countered with another SBC only one year later) from the stash and build it.

The kit did not see any whiffy mod, was built basically OOB, but received some detail changes and additions. These include a machine gun dummy in the observer’s station, a scratched bomb displacement swing as well as underwing hardpoints, some superficial cockpit and landing gear opening details, as well as lowered flaps and the wiring between the wings – thankfully, only little work of the latter was necessary on the relatively modern biplane design, even though may of the wing wirings are double, so that the work was still challenging. As per usual, I reverted to heated sprues, glued to the kit before painting. The crew (Hobby Master soft vinyl figures) was only added for the beauty pics – in order to make this possible the long greenhouse canopy was cut into four pieces and the sliding parts left unglued to the fuselage.

Otherwise, the kit itself is an easy build with good detail (raised panel lines, though), just the plastic is a bit thin and wobbly, making a good fit not easy. This was not made easier by the fact that the part with the struts for the upper wings had been squashed and bent through other sprues in the box. Getting them back into shape and place for a proper fit was not easy, but with patience and some trial-and-error I was able to save the situation.

Painting and markings:

AFAIK, the SBCs in US Navy service were initially either left in bare metal (with some colorful pre-war squadron markings and the characteristic yellow wings), and, later, some machines operated in the Pacific TO received the early USN Blue Grey/Light Gull Grey livery, and, alternatively, some were painted all-over light-grey (FS 36440?).

I could not find any proof concerning SBCs being operated on carriers in the Atlantic TO, in fact it seems that the SBC was only carried on board of a single carrier, USS Lexington (CV-2). But I deemed the compact aircraft to be pretty suited for smaller escort ships - similar to the Grumman F4F Wildcat, which soldiered on, too, for a long time despite being a pre-war design.

This idea was the basis for my what-if model, and resulted in a machine painted accordingly in the “Atlantic ASW Scheme” with Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231) on the upper surfaces and off-white undersides, with a high waterline. Rather simple and unspectacular, but it suits the SBC well and is rarely seen on USN model kits, most tend to end up in Pacific TO colors.

For painting I used Humbrol 106 (RAF Ocean Grey) and 147 (FS 36495) – both are darker than the authentic tones, but the latter were used for shading (Humbrol 140 and 34, respectively). Reason behind this is that I deemed esp. pure white to be too bright as basic color, leaving no room for post-shading on panels and details. Effectively, it’s a kind of overall pre-shading procedure.

The cockpit became US Interior Green (Humbrol 226), while the visible interior of the landing gear and the cowling became zinc chromate yellow (Humbrol 81), a nice, colorful detail.

The kit was lightly weathered with black ink, too, and received only minimal markings in the form of “Stars & Bars” and a tactical code – another typical feature of machines operated in the Atlantic. As a little (yet authentic) design twist I applied American roundels with a red border, which were mandatory only for a short period in mid-1943 – for the built, fictional SBC they would fit well, and AFAIK this insignia variant lingered on for some time, so that even in late 1943 these must still have been a frequent sight.

After simulating some soot and oil stains as well as flaked paint on the fuselage and leading edges, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

Again, a relatively simple but subtle whif version of a rather unpopular and forgotten aircraft – but I must say that the Atlantic scheme suits the anachronistic SBC well. With the other colorful details (green cockpit, yellow engine parts, red roundel edges) I was able to make the simple kit look more interesting than expected.

Collection Name: RG104 Department of Economic Development Commerce and Industrial Development (CID) Photograph Collection

Photographer/Studio: Unknown

Description: People work in a large room full of tables of IBM 2915 computers. These were typically used by airline companies and travel agencies to make reservations.

Coverage: United States - Missouri

Date: 1970-1971

Rights: public domain

Credit: Courtesy of Missouri State Archives

Image Number: RG104_CIDPrints_049_017.tif

Institution: Missouri State Archives

These postcards with old photos are still commonly sold in the city today

This view of the Embarcadero is from 1992, shortly after the Embarcadero Freeway was demolished. Pier 26(?) is still standing below the Bay Bridge, there's no Muni tracks, and Rincon Park and the plaza in front of the Ferry Building have yet to be built.

Please see the updated graphic which shows the open pedestrian crosswalk.

and into the junk pile.

Wordpool.

A friend of mine at work went to the Star Trek Sale recently (June 27, 2010) and finally received shipment of his auction prize, Gene Roddenberry's Rolodex. Inside were several surprises. Not only was Shatner's info in there, so was Nimoy's, Carl Sagan's secretary, Astronaut Walter (Wally) Schirra, his wife (Majel) mobile phone number, all the numbers to house phones at his house, many relatives (surprisingly a lot are doctors in Georgia... does that make you think or what?!) and much, much more. I'm sure most if not all of the data here is very outdated and many of the people are no longer with us that are included on the cards, but it's cool anyway. I'm hoping to get a chance to shoot a photo of the actual Rolodex sometime, if he feels it is safe enough to bring it to work. What a treasure!

My friend is considering checking out some of the numbers to see if they're still current. Who knows...

** October 2010: This rig is very outdated but remains to show the progression of my setups through my Camera Gear set. You can view my most current and often-used setup here.**

Flash on, next picture is flash off.

Flash diffuser mounted (with tape, for now...I spent a long time making an elaborate wire support, and it didn't work out. Oh well.) Looks rough, works great. I actually have to diffuse it further with paper for many subjects, it is so bright.

Can also see my rig with the kit lens (18-55) mounted in reverse in front of my 60mm macro with a 62-52mm step-down ring and a 52mm male-male reversing ring. I have to hold the aperture on the front lens open manually; ten staples happen to be the perfect size to do so (older SLR lenses had a ring, which made it much easier).

It's a crappy shot, just uploaded for the tech aspect. Sorry for the poor quality, taken with old point-and-shoot.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

When, towards late 1945, the Einheits-Chassis for the German combat tanks (the "E" series of medium and heavy tanks) reached the front lines, several heavily armed anti-aircraft turrets had been developed, including the 30mm Kugelblitz, based on the outdated Panzer IV, the "Coelian" turret with various armament options for the Panzer V Panther hull, and there were twin 55 mm as well as single and even 88mm cannon systems for the new E-50, E-75 and E-100 chassis'.

Until the end of hostilities, probably thirty Sd.Kfz. 282/1s were completed from newly built (Ausf. F, recognizable through the simpler all-metal wheels) or from refurbished earlier Panzer V chassis of various types before production switched in early 1946 to the E-50 chassis which had eventually become available in sufficient numbers.

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, radar operator, observer, driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner)

Weight: 41.2 tonnes (40.4 long tons; 45.3 short tons)

Length (hull only): 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in)

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

4,60 m (15 ft 1 in) overall

Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels

Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:

15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.15 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 48 km/h (30 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (160 mi)

Power/weight: 15.39 PS (11.5 kW)/tonne (13.77 hp/ton)

Engine:

Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

ZF AK 7-200 gear; 7 forward 1 reverse

Armament:

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun in the front glacis plate with 2.500 rounds

Optional MG 34 or 42 machine gun with 1.500 rounds on the turret

The kit and its assembly:

Another submission to the “Recce & Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in July 2021, and actually a good occasion to tackle a project that I had on my list for some years. A long while ago I bought a resin conversion set with a (purely fictional) Heer ‘46 anti-aircraft surveillance radar system, based on an E-50 chassis. Unfortunately, I cannot identify the manufacturer, but this 1:72 conversion set was/is nicely molded, with delicate details, no bubbles or flash and it even came with a commander figure for an optional open hatch on top as well as a pair of delicate brass antennae.

Even though I could have mounted this replacement turret onto a Trumpeter or Modelcollect E-50/75 chassis, I rather decided to create an earlier (1945 time frame) interim vehicle on a late Panzer V ‘Panther’ basis, mostly because it would be more compact and I doubt that brand new E-50/75s would have been “wasted” on second line/support vehicles like this mobile surveillance/commando post for anti-aircraft units?

The Panther chassis is the old Hasegawa kit for an Ausf. G tank from 1973, chosen because of its good fit, simplicity and the vinyl tracks, which I prefer. However, the kit clearly shows its age and some weak/soft details (e. g. the gratings on the engine deck), but it was enough for my plans and easy to handle.

Both turret and hull were built separately and basically OOB, combined with an adjusted turret ring. The Kdo 40’s “antlers” are to be glued directly to the turret’s flanks, but I reinforced the connections with wire. I also replaced the set’s brass antennae with heated sprue material and used a surplus PE detail set from a Modelcollect E-50/75 to hide the crude engine openings and change the overall look of the Panther a little. Some storage boxes as well as spare track links were added to the flanks, stuff collected from the scrap box.

To emphasize the refurbished character of the vehicle I left away the Panther’s side skirts – these were easily lost in battle, anyway, and probably have rather been allocated to battle tanks than to 2nd line support vehicles, despite leaving the Panther’s lower hull under the mudguards vulnerable.

Painting and markings:

Even though the paint scheme on this model is based on German standard colors, it is a little special. Late in real-world WWII some Panzer Vs received a unique, uniform RAL 6003 (Olivgrün) factory finish instead of the usual all-over RAL 7028 (Dunkelgelb) or the bare oxide red primer finish, onto which the frontline units would add individual camouflage, depending on the theatre of operations and whatever paint or application tool was at hand. This special green livery was adopted for the model, including the new turret. The individual camouflage consists of diagonal stripes in Dunkelgelb and Rotbraun (RAL 8017), added on top of the green basis with rather sharp and straight edges and only to the vertical surfaces. The practice to leave out the horizontal surfaces was called “Sparanstrich” (literally “economy paintwork”), an attempt to save the more and more scarce paint.

This rather odd style was actually applied to several late war Panther tanks – even though I am personally not certain about this pattern’s effectiveness? Maybe a kind of dazzle effect was sought for?

The basic green became a modern-day RAL 6003 from the rattle can (which is very close to FS 34102, just a tad lighter), applied in a rather cloudy fashion on top of an initial coat of Oxide Red primer (RAL 3009) overall, also from the rattle can. On top of that the stripes were painted with a brush, partly masked but mostly free-handedly. For some variation I used this time Tamiya XF-60 (a rather pale interpretation of Dunkelgelb which IMHO lacks a greenish hue and rather looks like a desert sand tone) and XF-64 (a rich whole milk chocolate tone) to create the additional camouflage, not fully opaque so that the impression of thinly/hastily applied paint was reinforced.

Once dry, the whole surface received a very dark brown washing with thinned acrylic paint and surface details were emphasized through dry-brushing with earth brown and beige.

For a different look (and to break up the tank’s bulky outlines) I applied camouflage nets to the model, realized with gauze bandages drenched in Tamyia XF-62 (Olive Drab) and mounted into place around the turret and at the front of the hull while still slightly wet.

Decals were puzzled together from various German tank sheets. The kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, what also fixed the cammo nets in place. The originally shiny black vinyl tracks were also painted/weathered, with a wet-in-wet mix of grey, iron, black and red brown (all acrylics). Once mounted into place, mud and dust were simulated around the running gear and the lower hull with a greyish-brown mix of artist mineral pigments.

Not a spectacular build, but I am happy that I eventually had the opportunity and motivation to tackle this project that had been lingering for years in the The Stash™. The result looks really good – the anonymous resin set is/was excellent, and combined with the Panther hull, the whole thing looks very credible. I am only a bit sad that the odd, almost artistic camouflage got a little lost under the cammo nets and the equipment on the hull, and the dust/dirt on the lower areas blurs the three basic colors even more. Well, you cannot have everything at once, and I might re-use this scheme on a “cleaner” future build.

Outdated Mall Directory

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

The SAAB B31 was a Swedish jet-powered multirole aircraft, originally designed to serve as a tactical bomber, ground attack, reconnaissance and interceptor aircraft. In the aftermath of the Second World War, Sweden set about the rebuilding and modernization of its armed forces. Regarding aviation, jet propulsion had been identified as the powerplant of the future, and experience with the SAAB 21R, which had been converted from a propeller-pusher aircraft into a jet-powered fighter and attack aircraft in 1947, bolstered confidence in the home industry’s competence. The Saab 21R was only an interim solution, though. One hundred and twenty-four aircraft were planned but this number was reduced to only 64 and they were mainly used as fighter-bombers. The Flygvapnet’s standard post-war bomber, the Saab 18, a twin piston-engine design from 1944, was outdated, too, and its performance was regarded as inadequate for the Fifties. This led to a major development initiative for modern jet aircraft for the Flygvapnet in 1946, which spawned the Saab 29 ‘Tunnan’ fighter and the Saab B31 light bomber. Both aircraft were initially designed around the de Havilland Goblin turbojet of British origin, but when the more powerful de Havilland Ghost became available, this was chosen as the standard powerplant. Both aircraft incorporated such modern features as swept wings or ejection seats.

When the Saab 32’s fighter version, the J 32B, eventually became operational in 1958, it was clear that the heavy and highly limited twin-engine J31B would not remain in service for much longer. By 1963 all machines had been retired from frontline service, initially stored in reserve but scrapped by 1970. Two machines remained operational, though: as flying test beds for the Swedish Air Force’s Försökscentralen (FC) at Malmen AB, where they served until 1981 – primarily to test radar and missile guidance systems, and as radar targets for war games and anti-aircraft unit trainings.

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 15,76 m (51 ft 7 1/2 in)

Wingspan: 16.96 m (55 ft 2/3 in)

Height: 4,21 m (13 ft 9 1/2 in)

Wing area: 45 m2 (480 sq ft)

Empty weight: 9,000 kg (19,823 lb)

Gross weight: 17,500 kg (38,546 lb)

….Max takeoff weight: 19,000 kg (41,850 lb)

Fuel capacity: 5,100 L (1,350 US gal / 1,120 imp gal) maximum internal fuel

plus 2x 570 L (150 US gal, 120 imp gal) optional drop-tanks

Powerplant:

2× Svenska Flygmotor RM2F centrifugal-flow turbojet engine (Rolls Royce Ghost), each with

4,750 lbf (21.1 kN) dry thrust at 10,250 rpm and

5,400 lbf (24.02 kN) with temporary water-alcohol injection

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1,090 km/h (677 mph, 588 kn; Mach 0.9) at 10,000 ft (3,000 m)

Cruise speed: 732 km/h (455 mph, 395 kn)

Stall speed: 150 km/h (92.8 mph, 80.6 kn) with approach power

Combat range: 1.850 km (1,145 mi, 995 nmi) on internals

Ferry range: 2.200 km (1,375 mi, 1,195 nmi) with 2× 570 l drop-tanks

Service ceiling: 16,200 m (53,062 ft)

Rate of climb: 40 m/s (7.681 ft/min)

Wing loading: 87.1 lb/sq ft (388 kg/m²)

Thrust/weight: 0.32

Armament:

4× 20 mm (0.79 in) akan m/47C (license produced Hispano Mark V) autocannon with 220 RPG

48× 75 mm (3.0 in) srak m/55 (Bofors 75 mm (3.0 in) rocket "Frida") unguided air-to-air missiles

with contact fuze high-capacity warhead on retractable rack in ventral bay

(not used operationally, later completely deleted in favor of a second water-alcohol tank)

2× wet underwing hardpoints outside of the engine nacelles for 600 kg (1.321 lb) each;

alternatively a pair of Rb24 (AIM9-B Sidewinder) IR-guided air-to-air missiles

The model and its assembly:

While it does not look spectacular, the J31 (actually my second use of this designation for a Swedish Fifties all-weather fighter, the first was an A.W. Meteor NF.14, but the “31” was lent from the Spitfire PR.XIX in Swedish service as S31) was a major creation feat. It all started with a discussion with fellow Swedish board member Pellson at whatifmodellers.com about Saab prototypes, esp. the early designs. That made me wonder about a twin-jet engine aircraft, something that could replace the Saab 18 bombers much like the BAC Canberra with the RAF’s Mosquito – and looking at similar international projects of the time like the Soviet Il-29 and Yak-25 as well as the French S.O. 4050 Vautour I thought that something similar could work well for Sweden, too.

My concept started with a primary light bomber and attack role, much like the B18 and the Canberra, with the outlook to develop a radar-bearing all-weather fighter from it, which was direly needed in Sweden in the Mid-Fifties and led to the procurement of two interim types in real life, the J30 (Mosquito night fighter) and the J33 (Venom night fighter), while plans were made to equip the J29 with a radar and the Saab 32 already on the drawing boards, even though the latter’s fighter version would be delayed well into the Sixties.

The core of the build was a leftover fuselage from a Matchbox F3D Skyknight – from an incomplete kit that came OOB with one of its three sprue trees double (even though in different colours!). The canopy was also still there, and now I eventually found a good use for it. However, not much more would be taken over from the Skyknight, because the overall layout would be much different, dictated by the bulky centrifugal flow engines that were (only) available to Sweden in the late Forties and which also powered the successful J29 Tunnan. The engines could, due to their diameter and the need for ducts, not be buried in the fuselage, so that they would go under the wings, directly attached to them as in the Il-29 and Vautour. The wings would be slightly swept (around 20°), as a compromise between modernism (as on the J29) and good range/endurance, and shoulder-mounted for good ground clearance and to avoid FOP (an issue of the Yak-25).

Since the engine pods should not be too large and bulky I decided that the main wheels would not retract into them (à la Il-28) and rather follow the Vautour route: with a tandem arrangement retracting into the fuselage and with small outrigger wheels. This had, for the original bomber version, the benefit, that the internal bomb bay could become longer than with a more conventional tricycle landing gear arrangement that would full retract into the hull, much like the Douglas A3D/B.66, with a wider track. And it would look more exotic, too.

With this concept I started a donor parts safari and started work on the fuselage. First major feat was to clean the F3D’s flanks from its original engine fairings – thankfully the Matchbox kit provides them as separate parts, so omitting them was simple, but there were enough major recesses and areas beyond the F3D’s basically teardrop shape hull that had to be filled and PSRed, including the original wing attachment points in the hull’s middle.

Another issue was the cockpit, which was missing through the double sprues. I was lucky to find an original Matchbox F3D tub in the spare box, from my first Skyknight build ever in the late Eighties (then built as a Vietnam era EF-10). New seats were procured as well as two (ugly) pilot figures and a dashboard from an Italeri Tornado IDS. However, the cockpit would later cause some more trouble…

The nose was generously filled with steel balls to keep it down (you never know…), and once the hull was closed, I implanted a new rear landing gear well. In the meantime, I kept searching for engine nacelle and wing parts – both turned out to be challenging. Not that I had not enough material to choose from, but I wanted to make the parts to be as authentic as possible – the nacelles conveying a centrifugal engine inside (see the Gloster Meteor for reference), and the light wing sweep angle as well as the desire for a not-too-modern look made the wing choice really hard.

The nacelles were completed first. I remembered some leftover parts from a Matchbox Meteor night fighter, mainly the intakes, which would be perfect. But the rest of the nacelles took a while to materialize. Eventually I found engine pods from a Hobbycraft Su-25, which are separate pieces. They had a more or less square diameter shape, but their size was good and so I combined them with the round (and bigger!) Meteor NF.14 intakes, after having added trimmed-down intake cones from a Trumpeter Il-28 inside, and PSRing the different shapes into something …more natural. Even though outrigger wheels would later be added I omitted eventual wells at this point, because I had to define the stance through the tandem main wheels first, and this was still tbd.

The wing donors became a lengthy affair. At one point I became so desperate that I tried to use the wing tips from a VEB Plasticart 1:100 Tu-20/95 bomber, but that failed (thankfully!) because the parts turned out to be warped and simply too ugly for the build. I did not find any suitable material in The Stash™, tested wings from an A-6 and an F-14, nothing worked well. I eventually procured – in a forlorn move – a vintage Revell 1:113 B-47 kit. Horrible thing, but its outer wings were useful, even though they required massive modifications. Their roots were cut away to reduce span and their angle was set at about 20°; the slender tips were also cut off, resulting in an almost trapezoid shape with a slightly extended wing chord at the trailing edge of the roots. Lots of PSR was required to improve the surface and to fill some gaps from the OOB engine pod attachment points of the B-47. Ugh.

At that point I had also already found a good fin: from an Academy/Minicraft 1:144 B-1B bomber! This not only offered a very Fifties-esque round and swept shape, it also had suitable attachment points for the stabilizers for a cruciform tail, which appeared necessary due to the engines’ wing position. As a side benefit, I could use the B-47’s wing tips as stabilizers, even though they had to be PSRed a lot, too.

To attach the new wings to the F3D fuselage I made cutouts at shoulder height, but the engine pods were first mounted and PSRed under the wings. More putty and sanding mess, but it was worthwhile.

In the meantime I worked on the landing gear and used parts from the ugly VEB Plasticart Tu-20/95 to scratch a tandem layout with twin wheels and a significant nose-up stance (due to the rear wheels’ position beyond the aircraft’s centre of gravity). Once this was settled and the wings in place I could work on the outrigger wheels. These were procured from a Matchbox 1:72 Sea Harrier and mounted in scratched fairings under the engine pods, so that they could semi-retract. With the ground clearance defined by the main wheels a suitable position and length for the outriggers could be found, and in the end the J31 has a proper stance with all four legs on the ground.

Painting and markings:

I like to apply simple liveries to weird builds, and for the J31 I settled upon a NMF finish – which was typical for the contemporary J29 Tunnan fighters, too. Only the reconnaissance versions as well as the fighters of as single operational unit were ever camouflaged (in dark green and dark blue). The only other realistic cammo option would have been the standard Swedish uniform dark green over blue grey. But bare metal appeared IMHO much better suited.

As a non-standard measure the model received an overall thin coat of grey primer, primarily to identify dents and notches on its many PSRed surface areas – a good move, because a lot of small flaws could be identified and treated before a final overall coat with “White Aluminium” from a rattle can (Duplicolor, RAL 9006) was applied and details like the radome, antennae (both in black) and the landing gear and its wells (in a light bronze tone, seen on Saab 29s and 32s) were painted in detail. I think the silver underlines the J31’s clean lines well?

The model received a light black ink washing, less for true weathering but to emphasize engraved details and for a “cloudier” look of the NMF surfaces. This was further enhanced through a careful treatment with grinded graphite (which adds a truly metallic shine to the paint), and since a lot of surface details were lost through PSR I did some manual panel-shading with different silver tones and re-created panel lines all over the hull with a soft pencil, mostly free-handedly. Quite simple, but it improves the overall impression a lot.

Decals were puzzled together. The Swedish roundels came from a generic TL-Modellbau sheet, the “T” on the tail was scratched from generic white and blue stripes from the same manufacturer. The blue band around the nose was made with the same material, plus a white “T” – inspired by tactical markings from some J29s from the Fifties. Some stencils were collected from the scrap box, and black walkway borders added to the wings’ upper surfaces and the spine behind the cockpit. As a side benefit these hide some lingering inconsistencies on the wing surfaces well.

Finally, the model was sealed with semi-gloss acrylic varnish (Italeri) for a shiny finish, except for the radomes, which became matt.

It might not look spectacular or exciting, but I am quite proud of this “second” J31, because it not only was a major kitbashing project, it also conveys the Fifties “look and feel” I wanted to catch, like its contemporaries S.O. 4050 Vautour, Yak-25, or even the stillborn Baade Ba-152 airliner. From that point it turned out very well, and going for a simple NMF livery was IMHO also a good move – the J31 has a certain “space age” look? At least, this is what you can get when you combine major parts from F3D, B-47. B1, Il-28, Su-25, Tu-95 and a Gloster Meteor… 😉

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

In 1932, the United States Navy contracted the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to produce a modern, two-seat fighter design for use on its growing family of aircraft carriers. Curtiss responded by putting forth their Model 73 - a two-seat monoplane design featuring a single set of parasol wings fitted high atop the fuselage, and the US Navy designated the prototype as XF12C-1.

The Model 73 was powered by a single Wright R-1510-92 Whirlwind 14 series radial piston engine and sported a modern retractable undercarriage. The Curtiss product achieved first flight in 1933 though, by the end of the year, the US Navy had revamped their requirement and categorized the XF12C-1 prototype as the "XS4C-1 scout plane". Once again, this time in early 1934, the US Navy reorganized their needs and labeled the XS4C-1 as the "XSBC-1 dual-role scout-bomber". Curtiss fitted a Wright R-1820 Cyclone series radial piston engine to the design and testing of the prototype ensued.

To ensure something of a legacy, the SBC Helldiver was in fact the last biplane aircraft to be purchased by the United States Navy. The longest Curtiss SBCs to survive were 12 aircraft at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, which were stricken off-charge on 31st October 1944.

General characteristics:

Crew: two; pilot and observer gunner

Length: 28 ft 1⅝ in (8.57 m)

Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)

Height: 10 ft 5 in (3.17 m)

Wing area: 317 ft² (29.4 m²)

Empty weight: 4,552 lb (2,065 kg)

Loaded weight: 7,080 lb (3,211 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 7,632 lb (3,462 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Wright R-1820-34 radial engine, rated at 850 hp (634 kW)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 234 mph (203 knots, 377 km/h) at 15,200 ft (4,600 m)

Cruise speed: 175 mph (152 knots, 282 km/h)

Range with internal fuel: 405 mi (352 nmi, 652 km)

Service ceiling: 24,000 ft (7,320 m)

Rate of climb: 1,630 ft/min (8.28 m/s)

Armament:

1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) forward-firing M1919 Browning machine gun

1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun firing rearward on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit

1× underfuselage hardpoint for a bomb of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg)

or a 45-U.S.-gallon (170-liter) fuel tank

2× underwing hardpoints for 100 lb (45 kg) bombs or flares

The kit and its assembly:

The Curtiss SBC is a kind of ugly duckling and certainly not an aircraft that left any serious impression in history. Nevertheless, its odd mix of modern and vintage design features makes it an interesting subject, and I wanted to build one for a long time. The extended timeframe for the “Old Kit Group Build” at whatifmodelers.com was a welcome motivation to finally dig out a Heller SBC kit (moulds date back from 1979, Matchbox countered with another SBC only one year later) from the stash and build it.

The kit did not see any whiffy mod, was built basically OOB, but received some detail changes and additions. These include a machine gun dummy in the observer’s station, a scratched bomb displacement swing as well as underwing hardpoints, some superficial cockpit and landing gear opening details, as well as lowered flaps and the wiring between the wings – thankfully, only little work of the latter was necessary on the relatively modern biplane design, even though may of the wing wirings are double, so that the work was still challenging. As per usual, I reverted to heated sprues, glued to the kit before painting. The crew (Hobby Master soft vinyl figures) was only added for the beauty pics – in order to make this possible the long greenhouse canopy was cut into four pieces and the sliding parts left unglued to the fuselage.

Otherwise, the kit itself is an easy build with good detail (raised panel lines, though), just the plastic is a bit thin and wobbly, making a good fit not easy. This was not made easier by the fact that the part with the struts for the upper wings had been squashed and bent through other sprues in the box. Getting them back into shape and place for a proper fit was not easy, but with patience and some trial-and-error I was able to save the situation.

Painting and markings:

AFAIK, the SBCs in US Navy service were initially either left in bare metal (with some colorful pre-war squadron markings and the characteristic yellow wings), and, later, some machines operated in the Pacific TO received the early USN Blue Grey/Light Gull Grey livery, and, alternatively, some were painted all-over light-grey (FS 36440?).

I could not find any proof concerning SBCs being operated on carriers in the Atlantic TO, in fact it seems that the SBC was only carried on board of a single carrier, USS Lexington (CV-2). But I deemed the compact aircraft to be pretty suited for smaller escort ships - similar to the Grumman F4F Wildcat, which soldiered on, too, for a long time despite being a pre-war design.

This idea was the basis for my what-if model, and resulted in a machine painted accordingly in the “Atlantic ASW Scheme” with Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231) on the upper surfaces and off-white undersides, with a high waterline. Rather simple and unspectacular, but it suits the SBC well and is rarely seen on USN model kits, most tend to end up in Pacific TO colors.

For painting I used Humbrol 106 (RAF Ocean Grey) and 147 (FS 36495) – both are darker than the authentic tones, but the latter were used for shading (Humbrol 140 and 34, respectively). Reason behind this is that I deemed esp. pure white to be too bright as basic color, leaving no room for post-shading on panels and details. Effectively, it’s a kind of overall pre-shading procedure.

The cockpit became US Interior Green (Humbrol 226), while the visible interior of the landing gear and the cowling became zinc chromate yellow (Humbrol 81), a nice, colorful detail.

The kit was lightly weathered with black ink, too, and received only minimal markings in the form of “Stars & Bars” and a tactical code – another typical feature of machines operated in the Atlantic. As a little (yet authentic) design twist I applied American roundels with a red border, which were mandatory only for a short period in mid-1943 – for the built, fictional SBC they would fit well, and AFAIK this insignia variant lingered on for some time, so that even in late 1943 these must still have been a frequent sight.

After simulating some soot and oil stains as well as flaked paint on the fuselage and leading edges, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

Again, a relatively simple but subtle whif version of a rather unpopular and forgotten aircraft – but I must say that the Atlantic scheme suits the anachronistic SBC well. With the other colorful details (green cockpit, yellow engine parts, red roundel edges) I was able to make the simple kit look more interesting than expected.

This was meant to take on the world this was, but sadly it didn’t get very far! The Rover 800 had so many possibilities, so many variants could have been derived from it, but unfortunately the management was once again very quick to nip this beautiful car in the bud, and the Rover 800 would join that long line of ‘what-could-have-been’ motors that seem to pave British motoring history.

The origin of the Rover 800 goes back to the late 1970’s, when nationalised British car manufacturer and all around general failure British Leyland was absolutely desperate to fix its seemingly endless list of problems. The company had now garnered a reputation for creating some of the worst, most outdated cars of all time, the likes of the Morris Marina, the Austin Allegro and the Triumph TR7 being derided in both critical and customer reviews. A mixture of strike action by uncontrollable Trade Unions led by the infamous Red Robbo had meant that cars were only put together for a few hours per day on a three day week. As such, reliability was atrocious on a biblical scale, be it mechanical, cosmetic or electrical.

As such, in 1979, British Leyland began talks with Japanese car manufacturer Honda to try and help improve the reliability of their machines. The pioneer of this brave new deal was the Triumph Acclaim of 1980, BL’s first reliable car and not a bad little runabout. Basically a rebadged Honda Ballade, the Acclaim wasn’t meant to set the world ablaze, but it certainly helped get the company back onto people’s driveways, selling reasonably well thanks to its reliable mechanics (even if rust was something of an issue). As such, BL decided that from now on it would give its fleet a complete overhaul, basing their new models on Japanese equivalents. From 1984, the Rover 200 arrived on the scene, again, a rebadged Honda Ballade, while the Maestro and the Montego ranges also took on several tips from their Japanese counterparts, though they were primarily based on British underpinnings.

The Rover 800 however spawned quite early on, in 1981 to be exact. Following the catastrophic failure of the Rover SD1 in the American market, which only sold 774 cars before Rover removed itself from the USA altogether, the company was desperate to get another foothold across the pond. As such, the new project, dubbed project XX, would be the icing on the cake in terms of British Leyland’s fleet overhaul, a smooth and sophisticated executive saloon to conquer the world. However, plans were pushed back after the launch of the Montego and the Maestro, and thus project XX wouldn’t see the light of day again until about 1984.

Still in production and suffering from being long-in-the-tooth, the Rover SD1 was now coming up on 10 years old, and though a sublime car in terms of style and performance, it was now struggling in sales. Rover really needed to replace this golden oldie, and thus project XX was back on. In the usual fashion, Honda was consulted, and it was decided that the car would be based on that company’s own executive saloon, the Honda Legend. Jointly developed at Rover’s Cowley plant and Honda’s Tochigi development centre, both cars shared the same core structure and floorplan, but they each had their own unique exterior bodywork and interior. Under the agreement, Honda would supply the V6 petrol engine, both automatic and manual transmissions and the chassis design, whilst BL would provide the 4-cylinder petrol engine and much of the electrical systems. The agreement also included that UK-market Honda Legends would be built at the Cowley Plant, and the presence of the Legend in the UK would be smaller than that of the Rover 800, with profits from the 800 shared between the two companies.

Launched on July 10th, 1986, the Rover 800 was welcomed with warm reviews regarding its style, its performance and its reliability. Though driving performance was pretty much the same as the Honda Legend, what put the Rover above its Japanese counterpart was its sheer internal elegance and beauty, combined with a differing external design that borrowed cues from the outgoing SD1. The 800 also provided the company with some much-needed optimism, especially following the gradual breakup of British Leyland by the Thatcher Government between 1980 and 1986.

Following her election in 1979, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher took a no nonsense attitude to the striking unions, and the best form of defence was attack. To shave millions from the deficit, she reduced government spending on nationalised companies such as British Airways, British Coal Board, British Steel and British Leyland by selling them to private ownership. For British Leyland, the slow breakup of the company started with the sale of Leyland Trucks and Buses to DAF of Holland and Volvo, respectively. 1984 saw Jaguar made independent and later bought by Ford, but when rumours circulated that the remains of British Leyland would be sold to foreign ownership, share prices crashed, and the company was privatised and put into the hands of British Aerospace on the strict understanding that the company could not be sold again for four years. With this move, British Leyland was renamed Rover Group, the Austin badge being dropped, and the only remaining brands left being the eponymous Rover and sporty MG.

In the light of this tumultuous period, many of Rover and MG’s projects had to be scrapped in light of turbulent share prices and income, these projects including the Austin AR16 family car range (based largely off the Rover 800) and the MG EX-E supercar. The Rover 800 however was the first model to be released by the company following privatisation, and doing well initially in terms of sales, hopes were high that the Rover 800 would herald the end of the company’s troubled spell under British Leyland. The Rover 800 was planned to spearhead multiple Rover ventures, including a return to the US-market in the form of the Sterling, and a coupe concept to beat the world, the sublime Rover CCV.

However, British Leyland may have been gone, but their management and its incompetence remained. Rather than taking the formation of Rover Group as a golden opportunity to clean up the company’s act, to the management it was business as usual, and the Rover 800 began to suffer as a consequence. A lack of proper quality control and a cost-cutting attitude meant that despite all the Japanese reliability that had been layered on these machines in the design stage, the cars were still highly unreliable when they left the factory.

Perhaps the biggest sentiment to the 800’s failure was the Sterling in America. The Sterling had been named as such due to Rover’s reputation being tarnished by the failure of the unreliable SD1. Initial sales were very promising with the Sterling, a simple design with oodles of luxury that was price competitive with family sedan’s such as the Ford LTD and the Chevy Caprice. However, once the problems with reliability and quality began to rear their heads, sales plummeted and the Sterling very quickly fell short of its sales quota, only selling 14,000 of the forecast 30,000 cars per annum. Sales dropped year by year until eventually the Sterling brand was axed in 1991.

With the death of the Sterling came the death of the CCV, a luxury motor that had already won over investors in both Europe and the USA. The fantastic design that had wooed the American market and was ready to go on sale across the States was axed unceremoniously in 1987, and with it any attempt to try and capture the American market ever again.

In 1991, Rover Group, seeing their sales were still tumbling, and with unreliable callbacks to British Leyland like the Maestro and Montego still on sale, the company decided to have yet another shakeup to try and refresh its image. The project, dubbed R17, went back to the company’s roots of grand old England, and the Rover 800 was the first to feel its touch. The R17 facelift saw the 800’s angular lines smoothed with revised light-clusters, a low-smooth body, and the addition of a grille, attempting to harp back to the likes of the luxurious Rover P5 of the 1960’s. Engines were also updated, with the previous M16 Honda engine being replaced by a crisp 2.0L T16, which gave the car some good performance. The car was also made available in a set of additional ranges, including a coupe and the sport Vitesse, complete with a higher performance engine.

Early reviews of the R17 800 were favourable, many critics lauding its design changes and luxurious interior, especially given its price competitiveness against comparable machines such as the Vauxhall Omega and the Ford Mondeo. Even Jeremy Clarkson, a man who fervently hated Rover and everything it stood for, couldn’t help but give it a good review on Top Gear. However, motoring critics were quick to point out the fact that by this time Honda was really starting to sell heavily in the UK and Europe, and people now asked themselves why they’d want to buy the Rover 800, a near carbon-copy of the Honda Legend, for twice the price but equal performance. Wood and leather furnishings are very nice, but not all motorists are interested in that, some are just interested in a reliable and practical machine to run around in.

As such, the Rover 800’s sales domestically were very good, it becoming the best-selling car in the UK for 1992, but in Europe not so much. Though Rover 800’s did make it across the Channel, the BMW 5-Series and other contemporary European models had the market sown up clean, and the Rover 800 never truly made an impact internationally. On average, the car sold well in the early 1990’s, but as time went on the car’s place in the market fell to just over 10,000 per year by 1995. Rover needed another shake-up, and the Rover 75 did just that.

In 1994, Rover Group was sold to BMW, and their brave new star to get the company back in the good books of the motoring public was the Rover 75, an executive saloon to beat the world. With this new face in the company’s showrooms, the Rover 800 and its 10 year old design was put out to grass following its launch in 1998. Selling only around 6,500 cars in its final full year of production, the Rover 800 finished sales in 1999 and disappeared, the last relic of the British Leyland/Honda tie up from the 1980’s.

Today the Rover 800 finds itself under a mixed reception. While some argue that it was the last true Rover before the BMW buyout, others will fervently deride it as a Honda with a Rover badge, a humiliation of a Rover, and truly the point where the company lost its identity. I personally believe it to be a magnificent car, a car with purpose, a car with promise, but none of those promises fulfilled. It could have truly been the face of a new Rover in the late 1980’s, and could have returned the company to the front line of the motoring world, at least in Britain. But sadly, management incompetence won again for the British motor industry, and the Rover 800 ended its days a lukewarm reminder that we really didn’t know a good thing until it was gone.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

When, towards late 1945, the Einheits-Chassis for the German combat tanks (the "E" series of medium and heavy tanks) reached the front lines, several heavily armed anti-aircraft turrets had been developed, including the 30mm Kugelblitz, based on the outdated Panzer IV, the "Coelian" turret with various armament options for the Panzer V Panther hull, and there were twin 55 mm as well as single and even 88mm cannon systems for the new E-50, E-75 and E-100 chassis'.

Until the end of hostilities, probably thirty Sd.Kfz. 282/1s were completed from newly built (Ausf. F, recognizable through the simpler all-metal wheels) or from refurbished earlier Panzer V chassis of various types before production switched in early 1946 to the E-50 chassis which had eventually become available in sufficient numbers.

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, radar operator, observer, driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner)

Weight: 41.2 tonnes (40.4 long tons; 45.3 short tons)

Length (hull only): 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in)

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

4,60 m (15 ft 1 in) overall

Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels

Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:

15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.15 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 48 km/h (30 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (160 mi)

Power/weight: 15.39 PS (11.5 kW)/tonne (13.77 hp/ton)

Engine:

Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

ZF AK 7-200 gear; 7 forward 1 reverse

Armament:

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun in the front glacis plate with 2.500 rounds

Optional MG 34 or 42 machine gun with 1.500 rounds on the turret

The kit and its assembly:

Another submission to the “Recce & Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in July 2021, and actually a good occasion to tackle a project that I had on my list for some years. A long while ago I bought a resin conversion set with a (purely fictional) Heer ‘46 anti-aircraft surveillance radar system, based on an E-50 chassis. Unfortunately, I cannot identify the manufacturer, but this 1:72 conversion set was/is nicely molded, with delicate details, no bubbles or flash and it even came with a commander figure for an optional open hatch on top as well as a pair of delicate brass antennae.

Even though I could have mounted this replacement turret onto a Trumpeter or Modelcollect E-50/75 chassis, I rather decided to create an earlier (1945 time frame) interim vehicle on a late Panzer V ‘Panther’ basis, mostly because it would be more compact and I doubt that brand new E-50/75s would have been “wasted” on second line/support vehicles like this mobile surveillance/commando post for anti-aircraft units?

The Panther chassis is the old Hasegawa kit for an Ausf. G tank from 1973, chosen because of its good fit, simplicity and the vinyl tracks, which I prefer. However, the kit clearly shows its age and some weak/soft details (e. g. the gratings on the engine deck), but it was enough for my plans and easy to handle.

Both turret and hull were built separately and basically OOB, combined with an adjusted turret ring. The Kdo 40’s “antlers” are to be glued directly to the turret’s flanks, but I reinforced the connections with wire. I also replaced the set’s brass antennae with heated sprue material and used a surplus PE detail set from a Modelcollect E-50/75 to hide the crude engine openings and change the overall look of the Panther a little. Some storage boxes as well as spare track links were added to the flanks, stuff collected from the scrap box.

To emphasize the refurbished character of the vehicle I left away the Panther’s side skirts – these were easily lost in battle, anyway, and probably have rather been allocated to battle tanks than to 2nd line support vehicles, despite leaving the Panther’s lower hull under the mudguards vulnerable.

Painting and markings:

Even though the paint scheme on this model is based on German standard colors, it is a little special. Late in real-world WWII some Panzer Vs received a unique, uniform RAL 6003 (Olivgrün) factory finish instead of the usual all-over RAL 7028 (Dunkelgelb) or the bare oxide red primer finish, onto which the frontline units would add individual camouflage, depending on the theatre of operations and whatever paint or application tool was at hand. This special green livery was adopted for the model, including the new turret. The individual camouflage consists of diagonal stripes in Dunkelgelb and Rotbraun (RAL 8017), added on top of the green basis with rather sharp and straight edges and only to the vertical surfaces. The practice to leave out the horizontal surfaces was called “Sparanstrich” (literally “economy paintwork”), an attempt to save the more and more scarce paint.

This rather odd style was actually applied to several late war Panther tanks – even though I am personally not certain about this pattern’s effectiveness? Maybe a kind of dazzle effect was sought for?

The basic green became a modern-day RAL 6003 from the rattle can (which is very close to FS 34102, just a tad lighter), applied in a rather cloudy fashion on top of an initial coat of Oxide Red primer (RAL 3009) overall, also from the rattle can. On top of that the stripes were painted with a brush, partly masked but mostly free-handedly. For some variation I used this time Tamiya XF-60 (a rather pale interpretation of Dunkelgelb which IMHO lacks a greenish hue and rather looks like a desert sand tone) and XF-64 (a rich whole milk chocolate tone) to create the additional camouflage, not fully opaque so that the impression of thinly/hastily applied paint was reinforced.

Once dry, the whole surface received a very dark brown washing with thinned acrylic paint and surface details were emphasized through dry-brushing with earth brown and beige.

For a different look (and to break up the tank’s bulky outlines) I applied camouflage nets to the model, realized with gauze bandages drenched in Tamyia XF-62 (Olive Drab) and mounted into place around the turret and at the front of the hull while still slightly wet.

Decals were puzzled together from various German tank sheets. The kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, what also fixed the cammo nets in place. The originally shiny black vinyl tracks were also painted/weathered, with a wet-in-wet mix of grey, iron, black and red brown (all acrylics). Once mounted into place, mud and dust were simulated around the running gear and the lower hull with a greyish-brown mix of artist mineral pigments.

Not a spectacular build, but I am happy that I eventually had the opportunity and motivation to tackle this project that had been lingering for years in the The Stash™. The result looks really good – the anonymous resin set is/was excellent, and combined with the Panther hull, the whole thing looks very credible. I am only a bit sad that the odd, almost artistic camouflage got a little lost under the cammo nets and the equipment on the hull, and the dust/dirt on the lower areas blurs the three basic colors even more. Well, you cannot have everything at once, and I might re-use this scheme on a “cleaner” future build.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

When, towards late 1945, the Einheits-Chassis for the German combat tanks (the "E" series of medium and heavy tanks) reached the front lines, several heavily armed anti-aircraft turrets had been developed, including the 30mm Kugelblitz, based on the outdated Panzer IV, the "Coelian" turret with various armament options for the Panzer V Panther hull, and there were twin 55 mm as well as single and even 88mm cannon systems for the new E-50, E-75 and E-100 chassis'.

Until the end of hostilities, probably thirty Sd.Kfz. 282/1s were completed from newly built (Ausf. F, recognizable through the simpler all-metal wheels) or from refurbished earlier Panzer V chassis of various types before production switched in early 1946 to the E-50 chassis which had eventually become available in sufficient numbers.

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, radar operator, observer, driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner)

Weight: 41.2 tonnes (40.4 long tons; 45.3 short tons)

Length (hull only): 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in)

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

4,60 m (15 ft 1 in) overall

Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels

Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:

15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.15 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 48 km/h (30 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (160 mi)

Power/weight: 15.39 PS (11.5 kW)/tonne (13.77 hp/ton)

Engine:

Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

ZF AK 7-200 gear; 7 forward 1 reverse

Armament:

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun in the front glacis plate with 2.500 rounds

Optional MG 34 or 42 machine gun with 1.500 rounds on the turret

The kit and its assembly:

Another submission to the “Recce & Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in July 2021, and actually a good occasion to tackle a project that I had on my list for some years. A long while ago I bought a resin conversion set with a (purely fictional) Heer ‘46 anti-aircraft surveillance radar system, based on an E-50 chassis. Unfortunately, I cannot identify the manufacturer, but this 1:72 conversion set was/is nicely molded, with delicate details, no bubbles or flash and it even came with a commander figure for an optional open hatch on top as well as a pair of delicate brass antennae.

Even though I could have mounted this replacement turret onto a Trumpeter or Modelcollect E-50/75 chassis, I rather decided to create an earlier (1945 time frame) interim vehicle on a late Panzer V ‘Panther’ basis, mostly because it would be more compact and I doubt that brand new E-50/75s would have been “wasted” on second line/support vehicles like this mobile surveillance/commando post for anti-aircraft units?

The Panther chassis is the old Hasegawa kit for an Ausf. G tank from 1973, chosen because of its good fit, simplicity and the vinyl tracks, which I prefer. However, the kit clearly shows its age and some weak/soft details (e. g. the gratings on the engine deck), but it was enough for my plans and easy to handle.

Both turret and hull were built separately and basically OOB, combined with an adjusted turret ring. The Kdo 40’s “antlers” are to be glued directly to the turret’s flanks, but I reinforced the connections with wire. I also replaced the set’s brass antennae with heated sprue material and used a surplus PE detail set from a Modelcollect E-50/75 to hide the crude engine openings and change the overall look of the Panther a little. Some storage boxes as well as spare track links were added to the flanks, stuff collected from the scrap box.

To emphasize the refurbished character of the vehicle I left away the Panther’s side skirts – these were easily lost in battle, anyway, and probably have rather been allocated to battle tanks than to 2nd line support vehicles, despite leaving the Panther’s lower hull under the mudguards vulnerable.

Painting and markings:

Even though the paint scheme on this model is based on German standard colors, it is a little special. Late in real-world WWII some Panzer Vs received a unique, uniform RAL 6003 (Olivgrün) factory finish instead of the usual all-over RAL 7028 (Dunkelgelb) or the bare oxide red primer finish, onto which the frontline units would add individual camouflage, depending on the theatre of operations and whatever paint or application tool was at hand. This special green livery was adopted for the model, including the new turret. The individual camouflage consists of diagonal stripes in Dunkelgelb and Rotbraun (RAL 8017), added on top of the green basis with rather sharp and straight edges and only to the vertical surfaces. The practice to leave out the horizontal surfaces was called “Sparanstrich” (literally “economy paintwork”), an attempt to save the more and more scarce paint.

This rather odd style was actually applied to several late war Panther tanks – even though I am personally not certain about this pattern’s effectiveness? Maybe a kind of dazzle effect was sought for?

The basic green became a modern-day RAL 6003 from the rattle can (which is very close to FS 34102, just a tad lighter), applied in a rather cloudy fashion on top of an initial coat of Oxide Red primer (RAL 3009) overall, also from the rattle can. On top of that the stripes were painted with a brush, partly masked but mostly free-handedly. For some variation I used this time Tamiya XF-60 (a rather pale interpretation of Dunkelgelb which IMHO lacks a greenish hue and rather looks like a desert sand tone) and XF-64 (a rich whole milk chocolate tone) to create the additional camouflage, not fully opaque so that the impression of thinly/hastily applied paint was reinforced.

Once dry, the whole surface received a very dark brown washing with thinned acrylic paint and surface details were emphasized through dry-brushing with earth brown and beige.

For a different look (and to break up the tank’s bulky outlines) I applied camouflage nets to the model, realized with gauze bandages drenched in Tamyia XF-62 (Olive Drab) and mounted into place around the turret and at the front of the hull while still slightly wet.

Decals were puzzled together from various German tank sheets. The kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, what also fixed the cammo nets in place. The originally shiny black vinyl tracks were also painted/weathered, with a wet-in-wet mix of grey, iron, black and red brown (all acrylics). Once mounted into place, mud and dust were simulated around the running gear and the lower hull with a greyish-brown mix of artist mineral pigments.

Not a spectacular build, but I am happy that I eventually had the opportunity and motivation to tackle this project that had been lingering for years in the The Stash™. The result looks really good – the anonymous resin set is/was excellent, and combined with the Panther hull, the whole thing looks very credible. I am only a bit sad that the odd, almost artistic camouflage got a little lost under the cammo nets and the equipment on the hull, and the dust/dirt on the lower areas blurs the three basic colors even more. Well, you cannot have everything at once, and I might re-use this scheme on a “cleaner” future build.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

When, towards late 1945, the Einheits-Chassis for the German combat tanks (the "E" series of medium and heavy tanks) reached the front lines, several heavily armed anti-aircraft turrets had been developed, including the 30mm Kugelblitz, based on the outdated Panzer IV, the "Coelian" turret with various armament options for the Panzer V Panther hull, and there were twin 55 mm as well as single and even 88mm cannon systems for the new E-50, E-75 and E-100 chassis'.

Until the end of hostilities, probably thirty Sd.Kfz. 282/1s were completed from newly built (Ausf. F, recognizable through the simpler all-metal wheels) or from refurbished earlier Panzer V chassis of various types before production switched in early 1946 to the E-50 chassis which had eventually become available in sufficient numbers.

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, radar operator, observer, driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner)

Weight: 41.2 tonnes (40.4 long tons; 45.3 short tons)

Length (hull only): 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in)

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

4,60 m (15 ft 1 in) overall

Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels

Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:

15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.15 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 48 km/h (30 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (160 mi)

Power/weight: 15.39 PS (11.5 kW)/tonne (13.77 hp/ton)

Engine:

Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

ZF AK 7-200 gear; 7 forward 1 reverse

Armament:

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun in the front glacis plate with 2.500 rounds

Optional MG 34 or 42 machine gun with 1.500 rounds on the turret

The kit and its assembly:

Another submission to the “Recce & Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in July 2021, and actually a good occasion to tackle a project that I had on my list for some years. A long while ago I bought a resin conversion set with a (purely fictional) Heer ‘46 anti-aircraft surveillance radar system, based on an E-50 chassis. Unfortunately, I cannot identify the manufacturer, but this 1:72 conversion set was/is nicely molded, with delicate details, no bubbles or flash and it even came with a commander figure for an optional open hatch on top as well as a pair of delicate brass antennae.

Even though I could have mounted this replacement turret onto a Trumpeter or Modelcollect E-50/75 chassis, I rather decided to create an earlier (1945 time frame) interim vehicle on a late Panzer V ‘Panther’ basis, mostly because it would be more compact and I doubt that brand new E-50/75s would have been “wasted” on second line/support vehicles like this mobile surveillance/commando post for anti-aircraft units?

The Panther chassis is the old Hasegawa kit for an Ausf. G tank from 1973, chosen because of its good fit, simplicity and the vinyl tracks, which I prefer. However, the kit clearly shows its age and some weak/soft details (e. g. the gratings on the engine deck), but it was enough for my plans and easy to handle.

Both turret and hull were built separately and basically OOB, combined with an adjusted turret ring. The Kdo 40’s “antlers” are to be glued directly to the turret’s flanks, but I reinforced the connections with wire. I also replaced the set’s brass antennae with heated sprue material and used a surplus PE detail set from a Modelcollect E-50/75 to hide the crude engine openings and change the overall look of the Panther a little. Some storage boxes as well as spare track links were added to the flanks, stuff collected from the scrap box.

To emphasize the refurbished character of the vehicle I left away the Panther’s side skirts – these were easily lost in battle, anyway, and probably have rather been allocated to battle tanks than to 2nd line support vehicles, despite leaving the Panther’s lower hull under the mudguards vulnerable.

Painting and markings:

Even though the paint scheme on this model is based on German standard colors, it is a little special. Late in real-world WWII some Panzer Vs received a unique, uniform RAL 6003 (Olivgrün) factory finish instead of the usual all-over RAL 7028 (Dunkelgelb) or the bare oxide red primer finish, onto which the frontline units would add individual camouflage, depending on the theatre of operations and whatever paint or application tool was at hand. This special green livery was adopted for the model, including the new turret. The individual camouflage consists of diagonal stripes in Dunkelgelb and Rotbraun (RAL 8017), added on top of the green basis with rather sharp and straight edges and only to the vertical surfaces. The practice to leave out the horizontal surfaces was called “Sparanstrich” (literally “economy paintwork”), an attempt to save the more and more scarce paint.

This rather odd style was actually applied to several late war Panther tanks – even though I am personally not certain about this pattern’s effectiveness? Maybe a kind of dazzle effect was sought for?

The basic green became a modern-day RAL 6003 from the rattle can (which is very close to FS 34102, just a tad lighter), applied in a rather cloudy fashion on top of an initial coat of Oxide Red primer (RAL 3009) overall, also from the rattle can. On top of that the stripes were painted with a brush, partly masked but mostly free-handedly. For some variation I used this time Tamiya XF-60 (a rather pale interpretation of Dunkelgelb which IMHO lacks a greenish hue and rather looks like a desert sand tone) and XF-64 (a rich whole milk chocolate tone) to create the additional camouflage, not fully opaque so that the impression of thinly/hastily applied paint was reinforced.

Once dry, the whole surface received a very dark brown washing with thinned acrylic paint and surface details were emphasized through dry-brushing with earth brown and beige.

For a different look (and to break up the tank’s bulky outlines) I applied camouflage nets to the model, realized with gauze bandages drenched in Tamyia XF-62 (Olive Drab) and mounted into place around the turret and at the front of the hull while still slightly wet.

Decals were puzzled together from various German tank sheets. The kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, what also fixed the cammo nets in place. The originally shiny black vinyl tracks were also painted/weathered, with a wet-in-wet mix of grey, iron, black and red brown (all acrylics). Once mounted into place, mud and dust were simulated around the running gear and the lower hull with a greyish-brown mix of artist mineral pigments.

Not a spectacular build, but I am happy that I eventually had the opportunity and motivation to tackle this project that had been lingering for years in the The Stash™. The result looks really good – the anonymous resin set is/was excellent, and combined with the Panther hull, the whole thing looks very credible. I am only a bit sad that the odd, almost artistic camouflage got a little lost under the cammo nets and the equipment on the hull, and the dust/dirt on the lower areas blurs the three basic colors even more. Well, you cannot have everything at once, and I might re-use this scheme on a “cleaner” future build.

Old Radio Control Airplane Parts

Traffic lights and street furniture give some of the game away in this apparently timeless scene, with cars and buses absent for a moment.

Minolta Dynax 700si and severely outdated (1998) Fujichrome Sensia 200 colour slide film, rated ISO 100 (+1 EV); some colour correction in Photoshop.

* * * * * * * *

Myanmar, previously known as Burma, what a surprisingly amazing place. We booked this holiday to get out of our comfort zone of easy beach holidays in the Maldives. There were several times when we wondered why we did it, travel in Myanmar consists mainly of long, sometimes tedious journeys on outdated transport systems. But now, in hindsight, we realise that this was the only way to truly get a feel of how the country and people are living day to day. And by far, more so than any other holiday we have had, the people are the most memorable thing we brought back with us. They are totally charming, polite, honest, resilient, hard working and most of all truly happy people. Their sincerely happy smiles, some of which we thankfully managed to capture in our photo's, are what we mostly remember and will stay with us forever.

We all know, or think we know, about the bad old days of the Burmese regime, so we obviously had a few reservations about what we were letting ourselves in for, but as it turned out, Myanmar must be the safest place we have ever been to. There is zero crime here, 85% of the country are buddhists and all the people seem to be true to Buddha's teachings of compassion, honesty, right mindedness, right living and non-harming to any living thing. Admittedly, although the country is now a democracy, the military still retains a certain amount of power, so I guess there is still an undercurrent going on albeit out of sight of the regular tourist. However, all the people we spoke to are so much happier now, they are more or less free to speak openly, without fear of reprisals and they all feel positive about the path the country is on now.

As for the landscape, what can I say, there is nowhere like it on earth! Outside the cities the whole country seems to be in some sort of 200 year old time warp. The people are mostly farmers on small plots of land using ox carts to plough the fields and living in houses made of bamboo, wood and matting. The wierdest thing is most of them have solar power, mainly for a bit of light and to charge their mobile phones! Everyone is on their phone here.....just like the rest of the world I guess. Also, there are temples, pagodas and stupas everywhere you look, especially in Bagan, which is like the Mecca of Myanmar. We were there for the Full Moon Festival where thousands of Burmese monks and Myanmar people gather from all over the country to celebrate for three days at the Ananda Pagoda in Bagan. After possibly days travelling they stay awake for most of the three days and nights watching entertainment which includes dance, theatre, chants, recitations and singing as well as stand up comedy. Amazing belief.

A word about One Stop Travel & Tours the Myanmar company we booked with. We found them via recommendations on Tripadvisor and so glad we used them. They never asked for a deposit, they booked all our hotels, train & boat journeys, balloon ride and one internal flight all on an email handshake! We just paid them in US Dollars on arrival, saving us thousands on UK travel brochure rates, and they never let us down once. The guides were all good guys and always there to greet us at the various destinations on our tour/trek, sometimes waiting hours when the transport was late. A special thanks to Leo our Yangon guide and Eaint at the One Stop office. After leaving our Nikon Coolpix A camera charger at home we trawled the shops of Yangon eventually finding a replacement.......only to leave it plugged in the wall at our next hotel in Mandalay! We were now a ten hour boat journey away in Bagan, but a call to Eaint at the One Stop office and they got it to us two days later just before we moved on! A huge thank you to all at One Stop as this holiday produced without doubt our most amazing photographs ever!

Myanmar has been open to mainstream tourism for five years now, a lot of the people speak English now so it is relatively easy to holiday there. We are so glad we went there before it really changes, there is still a huge amount of charm and old worldliness about the place that you will not find in any other country. If you are prepared to switch off from the 21st century and just accept it for what it is you will be richly rewarded with amazing memories of a landscape like no other and a fascinating people who are genuinely happy to see you.

* * * * * * * *

To view the rest of my Photography Collection click on Link below:

www.flickr.com/photos/nevillewootton/albums

* * * * * * * *

Photography & Equipment sponsored by my web business:

www.inlinefilters.co.uk

We are UK's leading Filter Specialists, selling online to the Plant, Agricultural, Commercial Vehicle and Marine Industries.

* * * * * * * *

PLEASE NOTE: I take Photographs purely as a hobby these days so am happy to share them with anyone who enjoys them or has a use for them. If you do use them an accreditation would be nice and if you benefit from them financially a donation to www.sightsavers.org would be really nice.

* * * * * * * *

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

When, towards late 1945, the Einheits-Chassis for the German combat tanks (the "E" series of medium and heavy tanks) reached the front lines, several heavily armed anti-aircraft turrets had been developed, including the 30mm Kugelblitz, based on the outdated Panzer IV, the "Coelian" turret with various armament options for the Panzer V Panther hull, and there were twin 55 mm as well as single and even 88mm cannon systems for the new E-50, E-75 and E-100 chassis'.

Until the end of hostilities, probably thirty Sd.Kfz. 282/1s were completed from newly built (Ausf. F, recognizable through the simpler all-metal wheels) or from refurbished earlier Panzer V chassis of various types before production switched in early 1946 to the E-50 chassis which had eventually become available in sufficient numbers.

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, radar operator, observer, driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner)

Weight: 41.2 tonnes (40.4 long tons; 45.3 short tons)

Length (hull only): 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in)

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

4,60 m (15 ft 1 in) overall

Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels

Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:

15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.15 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 48 km/h (30 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (160 mi)

Power/weight: 15.39 PS (11.5 kW)/tonne (13.77 hp/ton)

Engine:

Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

ZF AK 7-200 gear; 7 forward 1 reverse

Armament:

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun in the front glacis plate with 2.500 rounds

Optional MG 34 or 42 machine gun with 1.500 rounds on the turret

The kit and its assembly:

Another submission to the “Recce & Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in July 2021, and actually a good occasion to tackle a project that I had on my list for some years. A long while ago I bought a resin conversion set with a (purely fictional) Heer ‘46 anti-aircraft surveillance radar system, based on an E-50 chassis. Unfortunately, I cannot identify the manufacturer, but this 1:72 conversion set was/is nicely molded, with delicate details, no bubbles or flash and it even came with a commander figure for an optional open hatch on top as well as a pair of delicate brass antennae.

Even though I could have mounted this replacement turret onto a Trumpeter or Modelcollect E-50/75 chassis, I rather decided to create an earlier (1945 time frame) interim vehicle on a late Panzer V ‘Panther’ basis, mostly because it would be more compact and I doubt that brand new E-50/75s would have been “wasted” on second line/support vehicles like this mobile surveillance/commando post for anti-aircraft units?

The Panther chassis is the old Hasegawa kit for an Ausf. G tank from 1973, chosen because of its good fit, simplicity and the vinyl tracks, which I prefer. However, the kit clearly shows its age and some weak/soft details (e. g. the gratings on the engine deck), but it was enough for my plans and easy to handle.

Both turret and hull were built separately and basically OOB, combined with an adjusted turret ring. The Kdo 40’s “antlers” are to be glued directly to the turret’s flanks, but I reinforced the connections with wire. I also replaced the set’s brass antennae with heated sprue material and used a surplus PE detail set from a Modelcollect E-50/75 to hide the crude engine openings and change the overall look of the Panther a little. Some storage boxes as well as spare track links were added to the flanks, stuff collected from the scrap box.

To emphasize the refurbished character of the vehicle I left away the Panther’s side skirts – these were easily lost in battle, anyway, and probably have rather been allocated to battle tanks than to 2nd line support vehicles, despite leaving the Panther’s lower hull under the mudguards vulnerable.

Painting and markings:

Even though the paint scheme on this model is based on German standard colors, it is a little special. Late in real-world WWII some Panzer Vs received a unique, uniform RAL 6003 (Olivgrün) factory finish instead of the usual all-over RAL 7028 (Dunkelgelb) or the bare oxide red primer finish, onto which the frontline units would add individual camouflage, depending on the theatre of operations and whatever paint or application tool was at hand. This special green livery was adopted for the model, including the new turret. The individual camouflage consists of diagonal stripes in Dunkelgelb and Rotbraun (RAL 8017), added on top of the green basis with rather sharp and straight edges and only to the vertical surfaces. The practice to leave out the horizontal surfaces was called “Sparanstrich” (literally “economy paintwork”), an attempt to save the more and more scarce paint.

This rather odd style was actually applied to several late war Panther tanks – even though I am personally not certain about this pattern’s effectiveness? Maybe a kind of dazzle effect was sought for?

The basic green became a modern-day RAL 6003 from the rattle can (which is very close to FS 34102, just a tad lighter), applied in a rather cloudy fashion on top of an initial coat of Oxide Red primer (RAL 3009) overall, also from the rattle can. On top of that the stripes were painted with a brush, partly masked but mostly free-handedly. For some variation I used this time Tamiya XF-60 (a rather pale interpretation of Dunkelgelb which IMHO lacks a greenish hue and rather looks like a desert sand tone) and XF-64 (a rich whole milk chocolate tone) to create the additional camouflage, not fully opaque so that the impression of thinly/hastily applied paint was reinforced.

Once dry, the whole surface received a very dark brown washing with thinned acrylic paint and surface details were emphasized through dry-brushing with earth brown and beige.

For a different look (and to break up the tank’s bulky outlines) I applied camouflage nets to the model, realized with gauze bandages drenched in Tamyia XF-62 (Olive Drab) and mounted into place around the turret and at the front of the hull while still slightly wet.

Decals were puzzled together from various German tank sheets. The kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, what also fixed the cammo nets in place. The originally shiny black vinyl tracks were also painted/weathered, with a wet-in-wet mix of grey, iron, black and red brown (all acrylics). Once mounted into place, mud and dust were simulated around the running gear and the lower hull with a greyish-brown mix of artist mineral pigments.

Not a spectacular build, but I am happy that I eventually had the opportunity and motivation to tackle this project that had been lingering for years in the The Stash™. The result looks really good – the anonymous resin set is/was excellent, and combined with the Panther hull, the whole thing looks very credible. I am only a bit sad that the odd, almost artistic camouflage got a little lost under the cammo nets and the equipment on the hull, and the dust/dirt on the lower areas blurs the three basic colors even more. Well, you cannot have everything at once, and I might re-use this scheme on a “cleaner” future build.

An outdated culvert previously blocked fish migration under both eastbound and westbound US 101 travel lanes near Port Angeles. The new bridge at Bagley Creek increases the probability of salmon migrating through the channel and simulating a natural creek environment.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

In 1932, the United States Navy contracted the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to produce a modern, two-seat fighter design for use on its growing family of aircraft carriers. Curtiss responded by putting forth their Model 73 - a two-seat monoplane design featuring a single set of parasol wings fitted high atop the fuselage, and the US Navy designated the prototype as XF12C-1.

The Model 73 was powered by a single Wright R-1510-92 Whirlwind 14 series radial piston engine and sported a modern retractable undercarriage. The Curtiss product achieved first flight in 1933 though, by the end of the year, the US Navy had revamped their requirement and categorized the XF12C-1 prototype as the "XS4C-1 scout plane". Once again, this time in early 1934, the US Navy reorganized their needs and labeled the XS4C-1 as the "XSBC-1 dual-role scout-bomber". Curtiss fitted a Wright R-1820 Cyclone series radial piston engine to the design and testing of the prototype ensued.

To ensure something of a legacy, the SBC Helldiver was in fact the last biplane aircraft to be purchased by the United States Navy. The longest Curtiss SBCs to survive were 12 aircraft at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, which were stricken off-charge on 31st October 1944.

General characteristics:

Crew: two; pilot and observer gunner

Length: 28 ft 1⅝ in (8.57 m)

Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)

Height: 10 ft 5 in (3.17 m)

Wing area: 317 ft² (29.4 m²)

Empty weight: 4,552 lb (2,065 kg)

Loaded weight: 7,080 lb (3,211 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 7,632 lb (3,462 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Wright R-1820-34 radial engine, rated at 850 hp (634 kW)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 234 mph (203 knots, 377 km/h) at 15,200 ft (4,600 m)

Cruise speed: 175 mph (152 knots, 282 km/h)

Range with internal fuel: 405 mi (352 nmi, 652 km)

Service ceiling: 24,000 ft (7,320 m)

Rate of climb: 1,630 ft/min (8.28 m/s)

Armament:

1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) forward-firing M1919 Browning machine gun

1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun firing rearward on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit

1× underfuselage hardpoint for a bomb of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg)

or a 45-U.S.-gallon (170-liter) fuel tank

2× underwing hardpoints for 100 lb (45 kg) bombs or flares

The kit and its assembly:

The Curtiss SBC is a kind of ugly duckling and certainly not an aircraft that left any serious impression in history. Nevertheless, its odd mix of modern and vintage design features makes it an interesting subject, and I wanted to build one for a long time. The extended timeframe for the “Old Kit Group Build” at whatifmodelers.com was a welcome motivation to finally dig out a Heller SBC kit (moulds date back from 1979, Matchbox countered with another SBC only one year later) from the stash and build it.

The kit did not see any whiffy mod, was built basically OOB, but received some detail changes and additions. These include a machine gun dummy in the observer’s station, a scratched bomb displacement swing as well as underwing hardpoints, some superficial cockpit and landing gear opening details, as well as lowered flaps and the wiring between the wings – thankfully, only little work of the latter was necessary on the relatively modern biplane design, even though may of the wing wirings are double, so that the work was still challenging. As per usual, I reverted to heated sprues, glued to the kit before painting. The crew (Hobby Master soft vinyl figures) was only added for the beauty pics – in order to make this possible the long greenhouse canopy was cut into four pieces and the sliding parts left unglued to the fuselage.

Otherwise, the kit itself is an easy build with good detail (raised panel lines, though), just the plastic is a bit thin and wobbly, making a good fit not easy. This was not made easier by the fact that the part with the struts for the upper wings had been squashed and bent through other sprues in the box. Getting them back into shape and place for a proper fit was not easy, but with patience and some trial-and-error I was able to save the situation.

Painting and markings:

AFAIK, the SBCs in US Navy service were initially either left in bare metal (with some colorful pre-war squadron markings and the characteristic yellow wings), and, later, some machines operated in the Pacific TO received the early USN Blue Grey/Light Gull Grey livery, and, alternatively, some were painted all-over light-grey (FS 36440?).

I could not find any proof concerning SBCs being operated on carriers in the Atlantic TO, in fact it seems that the SBC was only carried on board of a single carrier, USS Lexington (CV-2). But I deemed the compact aircraft to be pretty suited for smaller escort ships - similar to the Grumman F4F Wildcat, which soldiered on, too, for a long time despite being a pre-war design.

This idea was the basis for my what-if model, and resulted in a machine painted accordingly in the “Atlantic ASW Scheme” with Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231) on the upper surfaces and off-white undersides, with a high waterline. Rather simple and unspectacular, but it suits the SBC well and is rarely seen on USN model kits, most tend to end up in Pacific TO colors.

For painting I used Humbrol 106 (RAF Ocean Grey) and 147 (FS 36495) – both are darker than the authentic tones, but the latter were used for shading (Humbrol 140 and 34, respectively). Reason behind this is that I deemed esp. pure white to be too bright as basic color, leaving no room for post-shading on panels and details. Effectively, it’s a kind of overall pre-shading procedure.

The cockpit became US Interior Green (Humbrol 226), while the visible interior of the landing gear and the cowling became zinc chromate yellow (Humbrol 81), a nice, colorful detail.

The kit was lightly weathered with black ink, too, and received only minimal markings in the form of “Stars & Bars” and a tactical code – another typical feature of machines operated in the Atlantic. As a little (yet authentic) design twist I applied American roundels with a red border, which were mandatory only for a short period in mid-1943 – for the built, fictional SBC they would fit well, and AFAIK this insignia variant lingered on for some time, so that even in late 1943 these must still have been a frequent sight.

After simulating some soot and oil stains as well as flaked paint on the fuselage and leading edges, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

Again, a relatively simple but subtle whif version of a rather unpopular and forgotten aircraft – but I must say that the Atlantic scheme suits the anachronistic SBC well. With the other colorful details (green cockpit, yellow engine parts, red roundel edges) I was able to make the simple kit look more interesting than expected.

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909–11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried 2,224 people.

Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand emigrants from Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – a third of her total passenger and crew capacity.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading westwards towards New York. On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm (ship's time; UTC-3). The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. A disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class – were left aboard due to a "women and children first" protocol followed by the officers loading the lifeboats. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by the RMS Carpathia a few hours later.

The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Many of the survivors lost all of their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their primary bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors, notably the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, were accused of cowardice for leaving the ship while people were still on board, and they faced social ostracism.

The wreck of the Titanic remains on the seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). Since its rediscovery in 1985, thousands of artefacts have been recovered from the sea bed and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, films, exhibits and memorials.

Belfast has opened the Iconic Titanic Signature Building which will house Titanic Belfast ® it is iconic in design and houses a world class visitor attraction. It is located at Titanic Quarter (East Belfast). The exhibition is based on the theme of the Titanic and the wider subject of Belfast’s shipbuilding and maritime heritage. Of such scale, the building is likely to become Northern Ireland’s largest and most successful built attraction.

A symbolic statue made by world-renowned Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie has been unveiled at Titanic Belfast.

‘Titanica’, a female figure designed to represent hope and positivity.

Gillespie has had work commissioned across the world, from Moscow to LA, but Titanica is his first work in Northern Ireland.

Titanica has been placed on the plaza in front of the iconic Titanic Belfast building, the world’s largest Titanic visitor attraction which will formally open on Saturday.

The bronze sculpture with a high-bolted brass base is a life-size female figure, similar to female figureheads which historically rested on the bows of ships as a symbol of good fortune.

Gillespie said: “I visited Titanic Quarter early last year and was so inspired by the stunning architecture and the energy of the development and the construction working there that I was moved to make something special for the area.

“I spent the next 12 months working on the sculpture and it is a real honour to have my work displayed in front of Titanic Belfast, one of the most impressive architectural designs in Europe. I hope Titanica provides as much joy for those who see her as I had in making her.”

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

When, towards late 1945, the Einheits-Chassis for the German combat tanks (the "E" series of medium and heavy tanks) reached the front lines, several heavily armed anti-aircraft turrets had been developed, including the 30mm Kugelblitz, based on the outdated Panzer IV, the "Coelian" turret with various armament options for the Panzer V Panther hull, and there were twin 55 mm as well as single and even 88mm cannon systems for the new E-50, E-75 and E-100 chassis'.

Until the end of hostilities, probably thirty Sd.Kfz. 282/1s were completed from newly built (Ausf. F, recognizable through the simpler all-metal wheels) or from refurbished earlier Panzer V chassis of various types before production switched in early 1946 to the E-50 chassis which had eventually become available in sufficient numbers.

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, radar operator, observer, driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner)

Weight: 41.2 tonnes (40.4 long tons; 45.3 short tons)

Length (hull only): 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in)

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

4,60 m (15 ft 1 in) overall

Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels

Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:

15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.15 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 48 km/h (30 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (160 mi)

Power/weight: 15.39 PS (11.5 kW)/tonne (13.77 hp/ton)

Engine:

Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

ZF AK 7-200 gear; 7 forward 1 reverse

Armament:

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun in the front glacis plate with 2.500 rounds

Optional MG 34 or 42 machine gun with 1.500 rounds on the turret

The kit and its assembly:

Another submission to the “Recce & Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in July 2021, and actually a good occasion to tackle a project that I had on my list for some years. A long while ago I bought a resin conversion set with a (purely fictional) Heer ‘46 anti-aircraft surveillance radar system, based on an E-50 chassis. Unfortunately, I cannot identify the manufacturer, but this 1:72 conversion set was/is nicely molded, with delicate details, no bubbles or flash and it even came with a commander figure for an optional open hatch on top as well as a pair of delicate brass antennae.

Even though I could have mounted this replacement turret onto a Trumpeter or Modelcollect E-50/75 chassis, I rather decided to create an earlier (1945 time frame) interim vehicle on a late Panzer V ‘Panther’ basis, mostly because it would be more compact and I doubt that brand new E-50/75s would have been “wasted” on second line/support vehicles like this mobile surveillance/commando post for anti-aircraft units?

The Panther chassis is the old Hasegawa kit for an Ausf. G tank from 1973, chosen because of its good fit, simplicity and the vinyl tracks, which I prefer. However, the kit clearly shows its age and some weak/soft details (e. g. the gratings on the engine deck), but it was enough for my plans and easy to handle.

Both turret and hull were built separately and basically OOB, combined with an adjusted turret ring. The Kdo 40’s “antlers” are to be glued directly to the turret’s flanks, but I reinforced the connections with wire. I also replaced the set’s brass antennae with heated sprue material and used a surplus PE detail set from a Modelcollect E-50/75 to hide the crude engine openings and change the overall look of the Panther a little. Some storage boxes as well as spare track links were added to the flanks, stuff collected from the scrap box.

To emphasize the refurbished character of the vehicle I left away the Panther’s side skirts – these were easily lost in battle, anyway, and probably have rather been allocated to battle tanks than to 2nd line support vehicles, despite leaving the Panther’s lower hull under the mudguards vulnerable.

Painting and markings:

Even though the paint scheme on this model is based on German standard colors, it is a little special. Late in real-world WWII some Panzer Vs received a unique, uniform RAL 6003 (Olivgrün) factory finish instead of the usual all-over RAL 7028 (Dunkelgelb) or the bare oxide red primer finish, onto which the frontline units would add individual camouflage, depending on the theatre of operations and whatever paint or application tool was at hand. This special green livery was adopted for the model, including the new turret. The individual camouflage consists of diagonal stripes in Dunkelgelb and Rotbraun (RAL 8017), added on top of the green basis with rather sharp and straight edges and only to the vertical surfaces. The practice to leave out the horizontal surfaces was called “Sparanstrich” (literally “economy paintwork”), an attempt to save the more and more scarce paint.

This rather odd style was actually applied to several late war Panther tanks – even though I am personally not certain about this pattern’s effectiveness? Maybe a kind of dazzle effect was sought for?

The basic green became a modern-day RAL 6003 from the rattle can (which is very close to FS 34102, just a tad lighter), applied in a rather cloudy fashion on top of an initial coat of Oxide Red primer (RAL 3009) overall, also from the rattle can. On top of that the stripes were painted with a brush, partly masked but mostly free-handedly. For some variation I used this time Tamiya XF-60 (a rather pale interpretation of Dunkelgelb which IMHO lacks a greenish hue and rather looks like a desert sand tone) and XF-64 (a rich whole milk chocolate tone) to create the additional camouflage, not fully opaque so that the impression of thinly/hastily applied paint was reinforced.

Once dry, the whole surface received a very dark brown washing with thinned acrylic paint and surface details were emphasized through dry-brushing with earth brown and beige.

For a different look (and to break up the tank’s bulky outlines) I applied camouflage nets to the model, realized with gauze bandages drenched in Tamyia XF-62 (Olive Drab) and mounted into place around the turret and at the front of the hull while still slightly wet.

Decals were puzzled together from various German tank sheets. The kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, what also fixed the cammo nets in place. The originally shiny black vinyl tracks were also painted/weathered, with a wet-in-wet mix of grey, iron, black and red brown (all acrylics). Once mounted into place, mud and dust were simulated around the running gear and the lower hull with a greyish-brown mix of artist mineral pigments.

Not a spectacular build, but I am happy that I eventually had the opportunity and motivation to tackle this project that had been lingering for years in the The Stash™. The result looks really good – the anonymous resin set is/was excellent, and combined with the Panther hull, the whole thing looks very credible. I am only a bit sad that the odd, almost artistic camouflage got a little lost under the cammo nets and the equipment on the hull, and the dust/dirt on the lower areas blurs the three basic colors even more. Well, you cannot have everything at once, and I might re-use this scheme on a “cleaner” future build.

the 10104, one of four prototypes, were never built into a serie, as thyristor technology became outdated, and the later Re460 had asynchronous drive, these units eventually ended up with the SOB, Summer 1986

Due to that New Jersey was the slowest on phasing out the bad old outdated red trapezoid Children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO because of some mean teachers at school forcing some ice cream trucks to keep their red trapezoid and made a bad and mean-spirited law of ice cream trucks requiring those bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO which is extremely confusing to people who are death, color blind, can't read or don't speak English in some of New Jersey, I hereby MOST Amazon warehouses in New Jersey to all be converted into Blue's Clues Handy Dandy Notebook prop replica manufacturing plants, Corbeil School Bus manufacturing plants, Chalkboard Manufacturing Plants to bring back the good friendly schools with green chalkboards and electric mechanical wall bells FOREVER and convert most Amazon prime trucks in New Jersey into better and safe updated ice cream trucks with the good awesome current updated yellow trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word CHILDREN SLOW CROSSING and School bus stop signs which are octagon shape for the state of New Jersey to also include disabled people in the future too and tear apart the last remaining of the ice cream trucks with the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO and recycle all of them into brand new Blue's Clues Handy Dandy notebook prop replicas and reuse the arm the bad old outdated red trapezoid Children Slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO for the brand new stop signs of the new school buses of the future. And for this Schools will also bring back green chalkboards and electric mechanical wall bells and Corbeil school buses and adding in more Disney Snow White and Pinocchio stuff, Corduroy the Bear with two buttons on his green corduroy overalls, Blue's Clues Steve Notebooks, Little Golden Books and other kind-spirited stuff FOREVER quickly and also for schools to get rid of mean teachers, that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes, triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends, Bogen Multicom 2000 systems, mean-spirited angers like Frankie Foster's anger in Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends and Chief Wiggums meanly aiming his guy in modern Simpsons, and other mean-spirited stuff FOREVER quickly.

Headington Quarry Mummers Play, Boxing Day 2015

For dyxum.com film challenge (one-third keepers) #2

Tamron AF 28-300 zoom

Minolta Dynax 7

Outdated (June 2008) Jessops Diamond 2 Everyday 400 (Made in USA)

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

When, towards late 1945, the Einheits-Chassis for the German combat tanks (the "E" series of medium and heavy tanks) reached the front lines, several heavily armed anti-aircraft turrets had been developed, including the 30mm Kugelblitz, based on the outdated Panzer IV, the "Coelian" turret with various armament options for the Panzer V Panther hull, and there were twin 55 mm as well as single and even 88mm cannon systems for the new E-50, E-75 and E-100 chassis'.

Until the end of hostilities, probably thirty Sd.Kfz. 282/1s were completed from newly built (Ausf. F, recognizable through the simpler all-metal wheels) or from refurbished earlier Panzer V chassis of various types before production switched in early 1946 to the E-50 chassis which had eventually become available in sufficient numbers.

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, radar operator, observer, driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner)

Weight: 41.2 tonnes (40.4 long tons; 45.3 short tons)

Length (hull only): 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in)

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

4,60 m (15 ft 1 in) overall

Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels

Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:

15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.15 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 48 km/h (30 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (160 mi)

Power/weight: 15.39 PS (11.5 kW)/tonne (13.77 hp/ton)

Engine:

Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

ZF AK 7-200 gear; 7 forward 1 reverse

Armament:

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun in the front glacis plate with 2.500 rounds

Optional MG 34 or 42 machine gun with 1.500 rounds on the turret

The kit and its assembly:

Another submission to the “Recce & Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in July 2021, and actually a good occasion to tackle a project that I had on my list for some years. A long while ago I bought a resin conversion set with a (purely fictional) Heer ‘46 anti-aircraft surveillance radar system, based on an E-50 chassis. Unfortunately, I cannot identify the manufacturer, but this 1:72 conversion set was/is nicely molded, with delicate details, no bubbles or flash and it even came with a commander figure for an optional open hatch on top as well as a pair of delicate brass antennae.

Even though I could have mounted this replacement turret onto a Trumpeter or Modelcollect E-50/75 chassis, I rather decided to create an earlier (1945 time frame) interim vehicle on a late Panzer V ‘Panther’ basis, mostly because it would be more compact and I doubt that brand new E-50/75s would have been “wasted” on second line/support vehicles like this mobile surveillance/commando post for anti-aircraft units?

The Panther chassis is the old Hasegawa kit for an Ausf. G tank from 1973, chosen because of its good fit, simplicity and the vinyl tracks, which I prefer. However, the kit clearly shows its age and some weak/soft details (e. g. the gratings on the engine deck), but it was enough for my plans and easy to handle.

Both turret and hull were built separately and basically OOB, combined with an adjusted turret ring. The Kdo 40’s “antlers” are to be glued directly to the turret’s flanks, but I reinforced the connections with wire. I also replaced the set’s brass antennae with heated sprue material and used a surplus PE detail set from a Modelcollect E-50/75 to hide the crude engine openings and change the overall look of the Panther a little. Some storage boxes as well as spare track links were added to the flanks, stuff collected from the scrap box.

To emphasize the refurbished character of the vehicle I left away the Panther’s side skirts – these were easily lost in battle, anyway, and probably have rather been allocated to battle tanks than to 2nd line support vehicles, despite leaving the Panther’s lower hull under the mudguards vulnerable.

Painting and markings:

Even though the paint scheme on this model is based on German standard colors, it is a little special. Late in real-world WWII some Panzer Vs received a unique, uniform RAL 6003 (Olivgrün) factory finish instead of the usual all-over RAL 7028 (Dunkelgelb) or the bare oxide red primer finish, onto which the frontline units would add individual camouflage, depending on the theatre of operations and whatever paint or application tool was at hand. This special green livery was adopted for the model, including the new turret. The individual camouflage consists of diagonal stripes in Dunkelgelb and Rotbraun (RAL 8017), added on top of the green basis with rather sharp and straight edges and only to the vertical surfaces. The practice to leave out the horizontal surfaces was called “Sparanstrich” (literally “economy paintwork”), an attempt to save the more and more scarce paint.

This rather odd style was actually applied to several late war Panther tanks – even though I am personally not certain about this pattern’s effectiveness? Maybe a kind of dazzle effect was sought for?

The basic green became a modern-day RAL 6003 from the rattle can (which is very close to FS 34102, just a tad lighter), applied in a rather cloudy fashion on top of an initial coat of Oxide Red primer (RAL 3009) overall, also from the rattle can. On top of that the stripes were painted with a brush, partly masked but mostly free-handedly. For some variation I used this time Tamiya XF-60 (a rather pale interpretation of Dunkelgelb which IMHO lacks a greenish hue and rather looks like a desert sand tone) and XF-64 (a rich whole milk chocolate tone) to create the additional camouflage, not fully opaque so that the impression of thinly/hastily applied paint was reinforced.

Once dry, the whole surface received a very dark brown washing with thinned acrylic paint and surface details were emphasized through dry-brushing with earth brown and beige.

For a different look (and to break up the tank’s bulky outlines) I applied camouflage nets to the model, realized with gauze bandages drenched in Tamyia XF-62 (Olive Drab) and mounted into place around the turret and at the front of the hull while still slightly wet.

Decals were puzzled together from various German tank sheets. The kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, what also fixed the cammo nets in place. The originally shiny black vinyl tracks were also painted/weathered, with a wet-in-wet mix of grey, iron, black and red brown (all acrylics). Once mounted into place, mud and dust were simulated around the running gear and the lower hull with a greyish-brown mix of artist mineral pigments.

Not a spectacular build, but I am happy that I eventually had the opportunity and motivation to tackle this project that had been lingering for years in the The Stash™. The result looks really good – the anonymous resin set is/was excellent, and combined with the Panther hull, the whole thing looks very credible. I am only a bit sad that the odd, almost artistic camouflage got a little lost under the cammo nets and the equipment on the hull, and the dust/dirt on the lower areas blurs the three basic colors even more. Well, you cannot have everything at once, and I might re-use this scheme on a “cleaner” future build.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

When, towards late 1945, the Einheits-Chassis for the German combat tanks (the "E" series of medium and heavy tanks) reached the front lines, several heavily armed anti-aircraft turrets had been developed, including the 30mm Kugelblitz, based on the outdated Panzer IV, the "Coelian" turret with various armament options for the Panzer V Panther hull, and there were twin 55 mm as well as single and even 88mm cannon systems for the new E-50, E-75 and E-100 chassis'.

Until the end of hostilities, probably thirty Sd.Kfz. 282/1s were completed from newly built (Ausf. F, recognizable through the simpler all-metal wheels) or from refurbished earlier Panzer V chassis of various types before production switched in early 1946 to the E-50 chassis which had eventually become available in sufficient numbers.

Specifications:

Crew: Five (commander, radar operator, observer, driver, radio-operator/hull machine gunner)

Weight: 41.2 tonnes (40.4 long tons; 45.3 short tons)

Length (hull only): 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in)

Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only

4,60 m (15 ft 1 in) overall

Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels

Fuel capacity: 720 litres (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:

15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.15 in)

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 48 km/h (30 mph)

Operational range: 250 km (160 mi)

Power/weight: 15.39 PS (11.5 kW)/tonne (13.77 hp/ton)

Engine:

Maybach HL230 P30 V-12 petrol engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)

ZF AK 7-200 gear; 7 forward 1 reverse

Armament:

1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun in the front glacis plate with 2.500 rounds

Optional MG 34 or 42 machine gun with 1.500 rounds on the turret

The kit and its assembly:

Another submission to the “Recce & Surveillance” group build at whatifmodellers.com in July 2021, and actually a good occasion to tackle a project that I had on my list for some years. A long while ago I bought a resin conversion set with a (purely fictional) Heer ‘46 anti-aircraft surveillance radar system, based on an E-50 chassis. Unfortunately, I cannot identify the manufacturer, but this 1:72 conversion set was/is nicely molded, with delicate details, no bubbles or flash and it even came with a commander figure for an optional open hatch on top as well as a pair of delicate brass antennae.

Even though I could have mounted this replacement turret onto a Trumpeter or Modelcollect E-50/75 chassis, I rather decided to create an earlier (1945 time frame) interim vehicle on a late Panzer V ‘Panther’ basis, mostly because it would be more compact and I doubt that brand new E-50/75s would have been “wasted” on second line/support vehicles like this mobile surveillance/commando post for anti-aircraft units?

The Panther chassis is the old Hasegawa kit for an Ausf. G tank from 1973, chosen because of its good fit, simplicity and the vinyl tracks, which I prefer. However, the kit clearly shows its age and some weak/soft details (e. g. the gratings on the engine deck), but it was enough for my plans and easy to handle.

Both turret and hull were built separately and basically OOB, combined with an adjusted turret ring. The Kdo 40’s “antlers” are to be glued directly to the turret’s flanks, but I reinforced the connections with wire. I also replaced the set’s brass antennae with heated sprue material and used a surplus PE detail set from a Modelcollect E-50/75 to hide the crude engine openings and change the overall look of the Panther a little. Some storage boxes as well as spare track links were added to the flanks, stuff collected from the scrap box.

To emphasize the refurbished character of the vehicle I left away the Panther’s side skirts – these were easily lost in battle, anyway, and probably have rather been allocated to battle tanks than to 2nd line support vehicles, despite leaving the Panther’s lower hull under the mudguards vulnerable.

Painting and markings:

Even though the paint scheme on this model is based on German standard colors, it is a little special. Late in real-world WWII some Panzer Vs received a unique, uniform RAL 6003 (Olivgrün) factory finish instead of the usual all-over RAL 7028 (Dunkelgelb) or the bare oxide red primer finish, onto which the frontline units would add individual camouflage, depending on the theatre of operations and whatever paint or application tool was at hand. This special green livery was adopted for the model, including the new turret. The individual camouflage consists of diagonal stripes in Dunkelgelb and Rotbraun (RAL 8017), added on top of the green basis with rather sharp and straight edges and only to the vertical surfaces. The practice to leave out the horizontal surfaces was called “Sparanstrich” (literally “economy paintwork”), an attempt to save the more and more scarce paint.

This rather odd style was actually applied to several late war Panther tanks – even though I am personally not certain about this pattern’s effectiveness? Maybe a kind of dazzle effect was sought for?

The basic green became a modern-day RAL 6003 from the rattle can (which is very close to FS 34102, just a tad lighter), applied in a rather cloudy fashion on top of an initial coat of Oxide Red primer (RAL 3009) overall, also from the rattle can. On top of that the stripes were painted with a brush, partly masked but mostly free-handedly. For some variation I used this time Tamiya XF-60 (a rather pale interpretation of Dunkelgelb which IMHO lacks a greenish hue and rather looks like a desert sand tone) and XF-64 (a rich whole milk chocolate tone) to create the additional camouflage, not fully opaque so that the impression of thinly/hastily applied paint was reinforced.

Once dry, the whole surface received a very dark brown washing with thinned acrylic paint and surface details were emphasized through dry-brushing with earth brown and beige.

For a different look (and to break up the tank’s bulky outlines) I applied camouflage nets to the model, realized with gauze bandages drenched in Tamyia XF-62 (Olive Drab) and mounted into place around the turret and at the front of the hull while still slightly wet.

Decals were puzzled together from various German tank sheets. The kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, what also fixed the cammo nets in place. The originally shiny black vinyl tracks were also painted/weathered, with a wet-in-wet mix of grey, iron, black and red brown (all acrylics). Once mounted into place, mud and dust were simulated around the running gear and the lower hull with a greyish-brown mix of artist mineral pigments.

Not a spectacular build, but I am happy that I eventually had the opportunity and motivation to tackle this project that had been lingering for years in the The Stash™. The result looks really good – the anonymous resin set is/was excellent, and combined with the Panther hull, the whole thing looks very credible. I am only a bit sad that the odd, almost artistic camouflage got a little lost under the cammo nets and the equipment on the hull, and the dust/dirt on the lower areas blurs the three basic colors even more. Well, you cannot have everything at once, and I might re-use this scheme on a “cleaner” future build.

The turn of the century heralded a transformation in policing at Ashton-in-Makerfield. The number of officers was further increased, and plans were soon laid for a new station to complement the increasingly outdated facilities at Warrington Road. Sergeant Williams had been replaced at the latter by Devonshire man George Baker, who arrived from Ince in 1899 on promotion to sergeant (Lancashire Archives ref. PLA 11/24) , but it was now considered appropriate to further raise the profile of the Section by assigning to it a dedicated inspector.

Originally from Balsall Heath, Birmingham, and employed in the city's famous Jewellery Quarter, James Thomas Palmer had joined the Lancashire County Constabulary on 13 April 1878. Described as being of fair complexion, 5 ft 7inches tall with grey eyes and brown hair, he was assigned initially to the Ormskirk and then to the Rochdale Division. On 14 November 1887 he was given permission to marry Alice Frost of Rougham in Suffolk, and did so on 27 December. He returned to Ormskirk in 1896 on promotion to the rank of inspector but on 25 November 1900 was “very severely reprimanded” -“reprimanded” for the second time- after being found “Drinking in Station Hotel, Nelson at 12.40am 15th Nov, 1900, whilst on duty”. His removal to Ashton on 1 December 1900 was in fact part of the punishment for this transgression; he was also to forego any possibility of a pay increase for 2 years, although this was later reduced by 7 months on receipt by the Chief Constable of a “satisfactory” report from the Divisional superintendent at Wigan.

James Palmer initially resided at “Sunnyside Villas”, 57 Bolton Road, with his wife Alice and their 5 sons. He occurs incidentally in the following Wigan Examiner report of “lively scenes at Ashton” in September 1903, perhaps illustrating why the posting was deemed a fit punishment for his earlier misdemeanour at Nelson:

“AN ASHTON “RIOT - POLICE ATTACKED - ESCAPE OF PRISONERS

A story of lively scenes at Ashton was related to Mr J Smith, Dean Powell, and Mr T Barton, the magistrates at the Wigan County Police Court, on Monday, when two young men made their appearance in the dock. The first prisoner was Patrick Dowd, who pleaded guilty to having been drunk and disorderly but denied assaulting a constable whilst in the execution of his duty. Police-constable Sharp informed the bench that at 10.30 on Saturday night, hearing a disturbance in Barber's square, he went there and found the prisoner and others using filthy language. He asked them to be quiet and go home but they refused and Dowd became violent, “tupping” witness in the stomach, causing it to swell. Witness closed with him, and a large crowd gathered round. A riot ensued and the prisoner got away but was afterwards arrested. Police-constable Kent corroborated, and mentioned that whilst Dowd had been in the police cells he had threatened what he would do for Sharp. Inspector Palmer deposed to Sharp's neck having been swollen. Prisoner, who denied that he ever touched the constable, was fined 5s for drunkenness and 10s and costs for the assault. Owen Brien, whose left eye was considerably discoloured, was also charged with being drunk and disorderly and with assaulting a policeman. Police-constable Kent stated that when he and Sharp went to Barber's square Brien was with the last prisoner. A large number of persons were shouting, and when witness requested them to go home Brien threw a jug of beer at him and then butted him in the stomach. Witness closed with him, and during the struggle his whistle was torn off and thrown away, and he had not since been able to find it. With the assistance of the crowd Brien escaped, but he was subsequently apprehended at his home. Prisoner alleged that the witness gave him his black eye, but the officer contended that it was caused by his falling against the kerbstone. Fines of 1s and costs for drunkenness and 10s and costs for the assault were inflicted”.

Later that year Inspector Palmer suffered the loss of his 12-year-old son Thomas, a victim of scarlet fever. Several members of the Ashton Police Section attended the funeral at St Thomas' Church, Sergeant Richard Hanlon and PCs George Hird, Frederick Kent and Arthur Sharpe acting as bearers.

Having sufficiently redeemed himself, James Palmer left Ashton at the end of June 1909 to take up an appointment as Superintendent of the Church Division. He was discharged from the force on 1 October 1919, retiring on an annual pension of £353-6-8 (Lancashire Archives ref. PLA 11/21).

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909–11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried 2,224 people.

Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand emigrants from Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – a third of her total passenger and crew capacity.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading westwards towards New York. On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm (ship's time; UTC-3). The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. A disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class – were left aboard due to a "women and children first" protocol followed by the officers loading the lifeboats. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by the RMS Carpathia a few hours later.

The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Many of the survivors lost all of their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their primary bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors, notably the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, were accused of cowardice for leaving the ship while people were still on board, and they faced social ostracism.

The wreck of the Titanic remains on the seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). Since its rediscovery in 1985, thousands of artefacts have been recovered from the sea bed and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, films, exhibits and memorials.

Belfast has opened the Iconic Titanic Signature Building which will house Titanic Belfast ® it is iconic in design and houses a world class visitor attraction. It is located at Titanic Quarter (East Belfast). The exhibition is based on the theme of the Titanic and the wider subject of Belfast’s shipbuilding and maritime heritage. Of such scale, the building is likely to become Northern Ireland’s largest and most successful built attraction.

A symbolic statue made by world-renowned Irish sculptor Rowan Gillespie has been unveiled at Titanic Belfast.

‘Titanica’, a female figure designed to represent hope and positivity.

Gillespie has had work commissioned across the world, from Moscow to LA, but Titanica is his first work in Northern Ireland.

Titanica has been placed on the plaza in front of the iconic Titanic Belfast building, the world’s largest Titanic visitor attraction which will formally open on Saturday.

The bronze sculpture with a high-bolted brass base is a life-size female figure, similar to female figureheads which historically rested on the bows of ships as a symbol of good fortune.

Gillespie said: “I visited Titanic Quarter early last year and was so inspired by the stunning architecture and the energy of the development and the construction working there that I was moved to make something special for the area.

“I spent the next 12 months working on the sculpture and it is a real honour to have my work displayed in front of Titanic Belfast, one of the most impressive architectural designs in Europe. I hope Titanica provides as much joy for those who see her as I had in making her.”

What do you think when you hear the word ‘vintage?’ Do you think antique? Something that’s older than you are? Maybe something that’s outdated, like a wall-mounted phone, a record player, that sort of thing?

Well, when it comes to watches nobody passed a law on the definition of the word, but accepted rules of thumb are 25 to 30 years old and older. (A good working definition for ‘antique’ is 100 years old and older.

Will A Vintage Rolex Last A Long Time?

And so, with Rolex watches, a vintage watch may still be in very active service for its owner. For instance, a ‘vintage’ ref. 14060 Submariner produced in 1990 is an excellent candidate for a daily wear. As would Datejusts, Day-Dates, and just about any other model produced in the 1980s. To a lot of Rolex aficionados, it seems like a 30 year old watch is just getting worn in. Not worn out.

Just what is it about vintage watches? Why are they so cool these days? Is it that you can buy a great, solid, well-functioning watch at a fraction of retail prices? That’s obviously part of it. Like a car, much of the depreciation has been absorbed by the time the piece gets to you.

Birth Year Watch

Birth year watches are another hot commodity. With folks looking to honor their birth year, they’re looking more and more for a watch that was manufactured and/ or sold the year they were born. And a 30 year old watch is a perfect candidate, with much of its service life still in front of it.

Collectability is yet another angle. Consider the Paul Newman Daytona watch for its rarity, for instance. The venerable Rolex chronographs are beautiful in their own right, and bear the moniker of Cool Hand Luke himself. (It’s crazy to think these watches languished on jeweler shelves for years at a time back in the day, isn’t it?) And all one has to do is look at auction results from the last few years to see the price of such watches is heading north, not south.

And what about the story behind individual references. Consider the Submariner ref. 6538 Big Crown. this is the watch made famous with the undersized NATO strap tying the piece to the wrist of none other than James Bond himself. And you can have one too, if you want to sell your house.

So here’s the deal. Like land, they’re not making any more of those older vintage watches – unless you count the watches being made today. But… they won’t be vintage for another 30 years at least. Can you wait that long? Sure, buy up a few new Submariners and Daytonas, and maybe a Datejust or two. Stick ‘em under your mattress to be taken out in 2047.

Meantime, do yourself a favor and pick up a watch or two that were made back in the big-hair 1980s. We think you’ll be glad you did. After all, Bob’s has built their reputation on watches like that.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

With the end of the conflict in Africa in early 1974, the Portuguese Armed Forces went through a reorganization and shifted their focus back from counter-insurgency to honoring Portugal's commitments to NATO and preparing for a possible conflict in Europe against the Warsaw Pact. The Portuguese Air Force's F-86F Sabre and G.91 fighters were considered to be outdated in both the air defense and ground attack roles to face Soviet forces in the European operations theater. Furthermore, only a few Sabre fighters were actually in service due to problems with the engines and lack of spare parts.

The last Saab 35 in Swedish service was retired in 1999, the last Saab 35 Draken was withdrawn from military use in Austria in 2005 – 50 years after the type first flew. However, several aircraft still fly today in private operators’ service.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 15.35 m (50 ft 4 in)

Wingspan: 9.42 m (30 ft 11 in)

Height: 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in)

Wing area: 49.2 m2 (530 ft²)

Airfoil: 5%

Empty weight: 7,865 kg (17,339 lb)

Gross weight: 11,000 kg (24,251 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 11,914 kg (26,266 lb)

Powerplant:

1× Svenska Flygmotor RM6C (license-built Rolls Royce Avon with Swedish afterburner)

turbojet engine, 56.5 kN (12,700 lbf) thrust dry, 78.4 kN (17,600 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: 2,450 km/h (1,520 mph, 1,320 kn) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft)

Maximum speed: Mach 2

Range: 1.120 km (605 nmi; 696 mi); clean, internal fuel only

Ferry range: 2,750 km (1,480 nmi; 1,710 mi) with four external 500 l drop tanks

Service ceiling: 20,000 m (66,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 199 m/s (39,200 ft/min)

Wing loading: 231.6 kg/m² (47.4 lb/ft²)

Thrust/weight: 0.7

Takeoff roll: 800 m (2,625 ft)

Armament:

2× 30 mm AKAN M/55 ADEN cannon with 100 rounds per gun

4× hardpoints with a capacity of 2,900 kg (6,393 lb); typical interceptor ordnance:

2× 500 l ventral drop tanks and 2× AIM-9 Sidewinder under the wings

The kit and its assembly:

This what-if model came as a spontaneous idea when I browsed through the WWW for inspiration. I stumbled upon the history of the Portuguese Air Force and the fact that it did not operate any dedicated interceptor for 15 years – this task was taken over by the PAF’s A-7s(!) until the F-16 arrived in the Nineties This gap offered a lot of whiffing potential, and I had actually considered to build a whiffy FAP Mirage III for some time, since I knew that this was, together with the F-5, the favored type. However, there was also serious consideration of the Saab 35 as potential fighter alternative, too!

I found this idea so weird/exotic that I decided to build a Draken in FAP colors. The kit is the Hasegawa model, in a Revell re-boxing. I also considered the vintage Revell Saab 35 (a mold from 1957!), but after I saw the kit in a current re-boxing from Polish company Akkura, I took the chance of a reasonably priced Hasegawa kit instead. While the Akkura kit is crisply molded, it would take a lot of work to create a satisfactory “modern” Draken from it. I also had a Heller kit in store (my personal favorite), but I did not want to “sacrifice” it for this project.

The Hasegawa/Revell kit was basically built OOB. The kit is a simple, straightforward affair, with fine recessed engravings and good fit, but it’s IMHO far from extraordinary. It also has its flaws: the dashboard is totally blank, any instruments have to be created by yourself or taken from the decal sheet. There are ejection marks on the wheels and the landing gear covers, and the fit quality of some areas (e .g. the seam between the fuselage and the afterburner section) calls for PSR. The two-piece canopy is thin, very clear and fits well, the landing gear is sufficiently detailed – including the interior of the main landing gear wells.

For the FAP version I did not change much; I just replaced the seat (which OOB looks fine, I just wanted “something else”), added a radar warning antenna to the fin’s tip and chaff dispensers around the tail section, all carved from styrene profiles.

Unfortunately, the Revell re-boxing just comes with a pair of launch rails and underwing pylons, but no AA weapons at all. That’s acceptable for the anniversary machine that you can build from the kit, but leaves the other option, a grey, Swedish J35 H, without any ordnance.

The drop tanks on my build are OOB, together with their ventral hardpoints, and I added a pair of decent AIM-9J Sidewinders from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapon set for a suitable interceptor ordnance. The launch rails were recycled from the kit: they are actually missile rails with attachment points to mount them under the air intakes. The rails were separated and then attached to the OOB underwing pylons, this worked very well.

Painting and markings:

The livery was not an easy choice. Initially I favored a uniform pale grey livery with blue squadron markings, inspired by the late F-86s of FAP 51 squadron, but found this, despite being a plausible look for an interceptor, to look quite boring. For the same reason I rejected an Austria-style “Hill II” scheme or a light-grey USN-inspired “Compass Ghost” livery. The Hellenic “Ghost” wraparound scheme was another potential option, but I recently used something similar on another whif build (the Catalonian L-159 ALCA), and it would not have a typically Portuguese Cold War look.

Keeping in style with the FAP’s livery fashion during the Eighties, I rather settled upon a USAF SEA scheme, which was carried by many PAF aircraft during the Eighties, e .g. the A-7P, the G.91, and their replacement from 1993 onwards, the Alpha Jet. Instead of a wraparound version for ground attack aircraft, I rather gave the Draken light grey undersides.

The camouflage pattern itself was improvised, since I did not want to copy an existing delta wing aircraft (e.g. the USAF’s F-102 or F-106 SEA pattern, or the Belgian Mirage Vs). The basic colors are Humbrol 75 (Bronze Green; the authentic tone is FS 34079, but this lacks IMHO contrast to the lighter green), 117 (FS 34102) and 118 (FS 30219) from above, and Humbrol 28 (FS 36622) underneath.

A large ventral section was, typical for the J 35, left in bare metal, since leaking fuel and oil would frequently eat away any paint there. The section was painted with Steel Metallizer (ModelMaster) and later treated with Matt Aluminum Metallizer (Humbrol).

Internal details like the cockpit and the landing gear were painted with the help of Swedish and Austrian Saab 35 reference pictures. The cockpit tub was painted in a dark, bluish green (Humbrol 76) with grey-green (Revell 67) side walls. A piece of paper tissue covers the cockpit’s back wall, since the kit leaves a visible and rather ugly seam there, which is only partly hidden behind the seat.

The landing gear and its respective wells were painted with Humbrol 56 (Aluminum Dope), parts of the struts were painted in a bright turquoise (a mix of Humbrol 89 and 80; looks quite weird, but I like such details!). The front wheel received a dark green mudguard (Humbrol 30), the same color was also partially used on the extended emergency current generator. Missiles and launch rails were painted in gloss white (Humbrol 22).

As per usual, the model received a light black ink wash and some post-shading in order to emphasize the panels and dramatize the surface. Some extra weathering was done around the gun ports and the jet nozzle with graphite.

For markings I used the contemporary A-7Ps as benchmark: they were minimal, there were even no squadron markings or other decorations, and I think they even lacked roundels on their wings!

I gave the Draken slightly more markings: The small FAP roundels come from a PrintScale A/T-37 sheet, the fin flashes are from a TL Modellbai sheet and the tactical codes belong to a Japanese T-4 trainer. Most stencils were taken from the Revell OOB sheet, which also includes decals for the reddish sealer around the cockpit windows.

I didn’t want to leave the Draken without any squadron marking, though, so I gave it a blue band on top of the fin, as a reminiscence of the FAP 51 squadron’s markings, the former final F-86 operator which became 201 squadron in the early Eighties. These were simply done with layered white and blue decal stripes.

Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri), except for the black radome, which received a sheen varnish coat.

A relatively simple whif project, since the model was mostly built OOB with just minor cosmetic changes. However, despite its exotic operator, the USAF South East Asia scheme suits the Draken well, the whole thing looks disturbingly convincing!?

It’s also a kind of tribute build for “Sport16ing”, apparently a great fan of my what-if builds who frequently re-posts pictures and background stories (with kind permission to do so!) at deviantart.com.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

With the end of the conflict in Africa in early 1974, the Portuguese Armed Forces went through a reorganization and shifted their focus back from counter-insurgency to honoring Portugal's commitments to NATO and preparing for a possible conflict in Europe against the Warsaw Pact. The Portuguese Air Force's F-86F Sabre and G.91 fighters were considered to be outdated in both the air defense and ground attack roles to face Soviet forces in the European operations theater. Furthermore, only a few Sabre fighters were actually in service due to problems with the engines and lack of spare parts.

The last Saab 35 in Swedish service was retired in 1999, the last Saab 35 Draken was withdrawn from military use in Austria in 2005 – 50 years after the type first flew. However, several aircraft still fly today in private operators’ service.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 15.35 m (50 ft 4 in)

Wingspan: 9.42 m (30 ft 11 in)

Height: 3.89 m (12 ft 9 in)

Wing area: 49.2 m2 (530 ft²)

Airfoil: 5%

Empty weight: 7,865 kg (17,339 lb)

Gross weight: 11,000 kg (24,251 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 11,914 kg (26,266 lb)

Powerplant:

1× Svenska Flygmotor RM6C (license-built Rolls Royce Avon with Swedish afterburner)

turbojet engine, 56.5 kN (12,700 lbf) thrust dry, 78.4 kN (17,600 lbf) with afterburner

Performance:

Maximum speed: 2,450 km/h (1,520 mph, 1,320 kn) at 11,000 m (36,089 ft)

Maximum speed: Mach 2

Range: 1.120 km (605 nmi; 696 mi); clean, internal fuel only

Ferry range: 2,750 km (1,480 nmi; 1,710 mi) with four external 500 l drop tanks

Service ceiling: 20,000 m (66,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 199 m/s (39,200 ft/min)

Wing loading: 231.6 kg/m² (47.4 lb/ft²)

Thrust/weight: 0.7

Takeoff roll: 800 m (2,625 ft)

Armament:

2× 30 mm AKAN M/55 ADEN cannon with 100 rounds per gun

4× hardpoints with a capacity of 2,900 kg (6,393 lb); typical interceptor ordnance:

2× 500 l ventral drop tanks and 2× AIM-9 Sidewinder under the wings

The kit and its assembly:

This what-if model came as a spontaneous idea when I browsed through the WWW for inspiration. I stumbled upon the history of the Portuguese Air Force and the fact that it did not operate any dedicated interceptor for 15 years – this task was taken over by the PAF’s A-7s(!) until the F-16 arrived in the Nineties This gap offered a lot of whiffing potential, and I had actually considered to build a whiffy FAP Mirage III for some time, since I knew that this was, together with the F-5, the favored type. However, there was also serious consideration of the Saab 35 as potential fighter alternative, too!

I found this idea so weird/exotic that I decided to build a Draken in FAP colors. The kit is the Hasegawa model, in a Revell re-boxing. I also considered the vintage Revell Saab 35 (a mold from 1957!), but after I saw the kit in a current re-boxing from Polish company Akkura, I took the chance of a reasonably priced Hasegawa kit instead. While the Akkura kit is crisply molded, it would take a lot of work to create a satisfactory “modern” Draken from it. I also had a Heller kit in store (my personal favorite), but I did not want to “sacrifice” it for this project.

The Hasegawa/Revell kit was basically built OOB. The kit is a simple, straightforward affair, with fine recessed engravings and good fit, but it’s IMHO far from extraordinary. It also has its flaws: the dashboard is totally blank, any instruments have to be created by yourself or taken from the decal sheet. There are ejection marks on the wheels and the landing gear covers, and the fit quality of some areas (e .g. the seam between the fuselage and the afterburner section) calls for PSR. The two-piece canopy is thin, very clear and fits well, the landing gear is sufficiently detailed – including the interior of the main landing gear wells.

For the FAP version I did not change much; I just replaced the seat (which OOB looks fine, I just wanted “something else”), added a radar warning antenna to the fin’s tip and chaff dispensers around the tail section, all carved from styrene profiles.

Unfortunately, the Revell re-boxing just comes with a pair of launch rails and underwing pylons, but no AA weapons at all. That’s acceptable for the anniversary machine that you can build from the kit, but leaves the other option, a grey, Swedish J35 H, without any ordnance.

The drop tanks on my build are OOB, together with their ventral hardpoints, and I added a pair of decent AIM-9J Sidewinders from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapon set for a suitable interceptor ordnance. The launch rails were recycled from the kit: they are actually missile rails with attachment points to mount them under the air intakes. The rails were separated and then attached to the OOB underwing pylons, this worked very well.

Painting and markings:

The livery was not an easy choice. Initially I favored a uniform pale grey livery with blue squadron markings, inspired by the late F-86s of FAP 51 squadron, but found this, despite being a plausible look for an interceptor, to look quite boring. For the same reason I rejected an Austria-style “Hill II” scheme or a light-grey USN-inspired “Compass Ghost” livery. The Hellenic “Ghost” wraparound scheme was another potential option, but I recently used something similar on another whif build (the Catalonian L-159 ALCA), and it would not have a typically Portuguese Cold War look.

Keeping in style with the FAP’s livery fashion during the Eighties, I rather settled upon a USAF SEA scheme, which was carried by many PAF aircraft during the Eighties, e .g. the A-7P, the G.91, and their replacement from 1993 onwards, the Alpha Jet. Instead of a wraparound version for ground attack aircraft, I rather gave the Draken light grey undersides.

The camouflage pattern itself was improvised, since I did not want to copy an existing delta wing aircraft (e.g. the USAF’s F-102 or F-106 SEA pattern, or the Belgian Mirage Vs). The basic colors are Humbrol 75 (Bronze Green; the authentic tone is FS 34079, but this lacks IMHO contrast to the lighter green), 117 (FS 34102) and 118 (FS 30219) from above, and Humbrol 28 (FS 36622) underneath.

A large ventral section was, typical for the J 35, left in bare metal, since leaking fuel and oil would frequently eat away any paint there. The section was painted with Steel Metallizer (ModelMaster) and later treated with Matt Aluminum Metallizer (Humbrol).

Internal details like the cockpit and the landing gear were painted with the help of Swedish and Austrian Saab 35 reference pictures. The cockpit tub was painted in a dark, bluish green (Humbrol 76) with grey-green (Revell 67) side walls. A piece of paper tissue covers the cockpit’s back wall, since the kit leaves a visible and rather ugly seam there, which is only partly hidden behind the seat.

The landing gear and its respective wells were painted with Humbrol 56 (Aluminum Dope), parts of the struts were painted in a bright turquoise (a mix of Humbrol 89 and 80; looks quite weird, but I like such details!). The front wheel received a dark green mudguard (Humbrol 30), the same color was also partially used on the extended emergency current generator. Missiles and launch rails were painted in gloss white (Humbrol 22).

As per usual, the model received a light black ink wash and some post-shading in order to emphasize the panels and dramatize the surface. Some extra weathering was done around the gun ports and the jet nozzle with graphite.

For markings I used the contemporary A-7Ps as benchmark: they were minimal, there were even no squadron markings or other decorations, and I think they even lacked roundels on their wings!

I gave the Draken slightly more markings: The small FAP roundels come from a PrintScale A/T-37 sheet, the fin flashes are from a TL Modellbai sheet and the tactical codes belong to a Japanese T-4 trainer. Most stencils were taken from the Revell OOB sheet, which also includes decals for the reddish sealer around the cockpit windows.

I didn’t want to leave the Draken without any squadron marking, though, so I gave it a blue band on top of the fin, as a reminiscence of the FAP 51 squadron’s markings, the former final F-86 operator which became 201 squadron in the early Eighties. These were simply done with layered white and blue decal stripes.

Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri), except for the black radome, which received a sheen varnish coat.

A relatively simple whif project, since the model was mostly built OOB with just minor cosmetic changes. However, despite its exotic operator, the USAF South East Asia scheme suits the Draken well, the whole thing looks disturbingly convincing!?

It’s also a kind of tribute build for “Sport16ing”, apparently a great fan of my what-if builds who frequently re-posts pictures and background stories (with kind permission to do so!) at deviantart.com.

Outdated kitchen

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

In 1932, the United States Navy contracted the Curtiss-Wright Corporation to produce a modern, two-seat fighter design for use on its growing family of aircraft carriers. Curtiss responded by putting forth their Model 73 - a two-seat monoplane design featuring a single set of parasol wings fitted high atop the fuselage, and the US Navy designated the prototype as XF12C-1.

The Model 73 was powered by a single Wright R-1510-92 Whirlwind 14 series radial piston engine and sported a modern retractable undercarriage. The Curtiss product achieved first flight in 1933 though, by the end of the year, the US Navy had revamped their requirement and categorized the XF12C-1 prototype as the "XS4C-1 scout plane". Once again, this time in early 1934, the US Navy reorganized their needs and labeled the XS4C-1 as the "XSBC-1 dual-role scout-bomber". Curtiss fitted a Wright R-1820 Cyclone series radial piston engine to the design and testing of the prototype ensued.

To ensure something of a legacy, the SBC Helldiver was in fact the last biplane aircraft to be purchased by the United States Navy. The longest Curtiss SBCs to survive were 12 aircraft at NAS Jacksonville, Florida, which were stricken off-charge on 31st October 1944.

General characteristics:

Crew: two; pilot and observer gunner

Length: 28 ft 1⅝ in (8.57 m)

Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)

Height: 10 ft 5 in (3.17 m)

Wing area: 317 ft² (29.4 m²)

Empty weight: 4,552 lb (2,065 kg)

Loaded weight: 7,080 lb (3,211 kg)

Max. take-off weight: 7,632 lb (3,462 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Wright R-1820-34 radial engine, rated at 850 hp (634 kW)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 234 mph (203 knots, 377 km/h) at 15,200 ft (4,600 m)

Cruise speed: 175 mph (152 knots, 282 km/h)

Range with internal fuel: 405 mi (352 nmi, 652 km)

Service ceiling: 24,000 ft (7,320 m)

Rate of climb: 1,630 ft/min (8.28 m/s)

Armament:

1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) forward-firing M1919 Browning machine gun

1× 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine gun firing rearward on a flexible mount in the rear cockpit

1× underfuselage hardpoint for a bomb of up to 1.000 lb (454 kg)

or a 45-U.S.-gallon (170-liter) fuel tank

2× underwing hardpoints for 100 lb (45 kg) bombs or flares

The kit and its assembly:

The Curtiss SBC is a kind of ugly duckling and certainly not an aircraft that left any serious impression in history. Nevertheless, its odd mix of modern and vintage design features makes it an interesting subject, and I wanted to build one for a long time. The extended timeframe for the “Old Kit Group Build” at whatifmodelers.com was a welcome motivation to finally dig out a Heller SBC kit (moulds date back from 1979, Matchbox countered with another SBC only one year later) from the stash and build it.

The kit did not see any whiffy mod, was built basically OOB, but received some detail changes and additions. These include a machine gun dummy in the observer’s station, a scratched bomb displacement swing as well as underwing hardpoints, some superficial cockpit and landing gear opening details, as well as lowered flaps and the wiring between the wings – thankfully, only little work of the latter was necessary on the relatively modern biplane design, even though may of the wing wirings are double, so that the work was still challenging. As per usual, I reverted to heated sprues, glued to the kit before painting. The crew (Hobby Master soft vinyl figures) was only added for the beauty pics – in order to make this possible the long greenhouse canopy was cut into four pieces and the sliding parts left unglued to the fuselage.

Otherwise, the kit itself is an easy build with good detail (raised panel lines, though), just the plastic is a bit thin and wobbly, making a good fit not easy. This was not made easier by the fact that the part with the struts for the upper wings had been squashed and bent through other sprues in the box. Getting them back into shape and place for a proper fit was not easy, but with patience and some trial-and-error I was able to save the situation.

Painting and markings:

AFAIK, the SBCs in US Navy service were initially either left in bare metal (with some colorful pre-war squadron markings and the characteristic yellow wings), and, later, some machines operated in the Pacific TO received the early USN Blue Grey/Light Gull Grey livery, and, alternatively, some were painted all-over light-grey (FS 36440?).

I could not find any proof concerning SBCs being operated on carriers in the Atlantic TO, in fact it seems that the SBC was only carried on board of a single carrier, USS Lexington (CV-2). But I deemed the compact aircraft to be pretty suited for smaller escort ships - similar to the Grumman F4F Wildcat, which soldiered on, too, for a long time despite being a pre-war design.

This idea was the basis for my what-if model, and resulted in a machine painted accordingly in the “Atlantic ASW Scheme” with Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231) on the upper surfaces and off-white undersides, with a high waterline. Rather simple and unspectacular, but it suits the SBC well and is rarely seen on USN model kits, most tend to end up in Pacific TO colors.

For painting I used Humbrol 106 (RAF Ocean Grey) and 147 (FS 36495) – both are darker than the authentic tones, but the latter were used for shading (Humbrol 140 and 34, respectively). Reason behind this is that I deemed esp. pure white to be too bright as basic color, leaving no room for post-shading on panels and details. Effectively, it’s a kind of overall pre-shading procedure.

The cockpit became US Interior Green (Humbrol 226), while the visible interior of the landing gear and the cowling became zinc chromate yellow (Humbrol 81), a nice, colorful detail.

The kit was lightly weathered with black ink, too, and received only minimal markings in the form of “Stars & Bars” and a tactical code – another typical feature of machines operated in the Atlantic. As a little (yet authentic) design twist I applied American roundels with a red border, which were mandatory only for a short period in mid-1943 – for the built, fictional SBC they would fit well, and AFAIK this insignia variant lingered on for some time, so that even in late 1943 these must still have been a frequent sight.

After simulating some soot and oil stains as well as flaked paint on the fuselage and leading edges, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

Again, a relatively simple but subtle whif version of a rather unpopular and forgotten aircraft – but I must say that the Atlantic scheme suits the anachronistic SBC well. With the other colorful details (green cockpit, yellow engine parts, red roundel edges) I was able to make the simple kit look more interesting than expected.

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner that sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City. The sinking of Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. She was the largest ship afloat at the time of her maiden voyage. One of three Olympic class ocean liners operated by the White Star Line, she was built between 1909–11 by the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast. She carried 2,224 people.

Her passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand emigrants from Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia and elsewhere seeking a new life in North America. The ship was designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury, with an on-board gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high-class restaurants and opulent cabins. She also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use. Though she had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, she lacked enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Due to outdated maritime safety regulations, she carried only enough lifeboats for 1,178 people – a third of her total passenger and crew capacity.

After leaving Southampton on 10 April 1912, Titanic called at Cherbourg in France and Queenstown (now Cobh) in Ireland before heading westwards towards New York. On 14 April 1912, four days into the crossing and about 375 miles south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm (ship's time; UTC-3). The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards in a number of locations on her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea. Over the next two and a half hours, the ship gradually filled with water and sank. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly filled. A disproportionate number of men – over 90% of those in Second Class – were left aboard due to a "women and children first" protocol followed by the officers loading the lifeboats. Just before 2:20 am Titanic broke up and sank bow-first with over a thousand people still on board. Those in the water died within minutes from hypothermia caused by immersion in the freezing ocean. The 710 survivors were taken aboard from the lifeboats by the RMS Carpathia a few hours later.

The disaster was greeted with worldwide shock and outrage at the huge loss of life and the regulatory and operational failures that had led to it. Public inquiries in Britain and the United States led to major improvements in maritime safety. One of their most important legacies was the establishment in 1914 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), which still governs maritime safety today. Many of the survivors lost all of their money and possessions and were left destitute; many families, particularly those of crew members from Southampton, lost their primary bread-winners. They were helped by an outpouring of public sympathy and charitable donations. Some of the male survivors, notably the White Star Line's chairman, J. Bruce Ismay, were accused of cowardice for leaving the ship while people were still on board, and they faced social ostracism.

The wreck of the Titanic remains on the seabed, gradually disintegrating at a depth of 12,415 feet (3,784 m). Since its rediscovery in 1985, thousands of artefacts have been recovered from the sea bed and put on display at museums around the world. Titanic has become one of the most famous ships in history, her memory kept alive by numerous books, films, exhibits and memorials.

Belfast has opened the Iconic Titanic Signature Building which will house Titanic Belfast ® it is iconic in design and houses a world class visitor attraction. It is located at Titanic Quarter (East Belfast). The exhibition is based on the theme of the Titanic and the wider subject of Belfast’s shipbuilding and maritime heritage. Of such scale, the building is likely to become Northern Ireland’s largest and most successful built attraction.

This outdated bathroom was viewed in an equally outdated restaurant in Utah, U.S.A.

All Bogen Multicom installation manuals and user manuals will all be shredded into pieces and recycle into brand new Blue's Clues Handy Dandy Notebook prop replicas because Bogen Multicom systems have horrible bell tones that are extremely haunted chimes that sound like a steam whistle which scared people and not made them want to go to school and have ruined our schools in the past years and killed the education industry and I am reviving the education industry with all and only happy stuff like green chalkboards and electric mechanical wall bells and Walt Disney's animated films Snow White and Pinocchio, Corduroy the Bear with two buttons on his green Corduroy overalls and Jack and Jill posters and Blue's Clues handy dandy notebook prop replicas and kind and respectful teachers that help and take care of students and all other happy stuff which all MUST BE KEPT FOREVER in schools not scary and bad stuff like Bogen Multicom 2000 systems, the weird freaky scary evil looking grumpy face they used to have on Gordon in the old live-action model version of Thomas and Friends, mean teachers that yell at students, nor ice cream trucks with the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word "IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO" which all MUST BE BANNED. Frankie Foster MUST BE BANNED Frankie Foster yells, screams, makes freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes replicating that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends and meanly gnashing her teeth when she gets mad which is mean-spirited because it is okay to get mad but it is not okay to yell, scream, make freaky spikey eyelashes triangular eyes, aim guns, destroy people's toys and belongings or any other mean spirited things when getting mad whereas Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy MUST BE KEPT FOREVER because Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy are kind-hearted, caring, respectful, helpful and other kind-spirited stuff just like the Disney Character Pinocchio which makes Raggedy Ann, Raggedy Andy, and the Disney Character Pinocchio extremely school appropriate because media does have to be kind-spirited like Walt Disney's animated films Snow White and Pinocchio, Corduroy The Bear with two buttons on his overalls, Blue's Clues, and Raggedy Ann and Andy and other kind-spirited media in order for it to be school appropriate not with mean inappropriate anger with freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes etc replicating that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends like Frankie Foster does in Forster's Home for Imaginary Friends. Mean teachers getting students arrested for having autism or other disabilities MUST BE BANNED because that is very mean and hurtful and causes trauma to students with autism and other disabilities especially in modern Simpsons (The Simpsons seasons 19 and later) Chief Wiggums was getting people arrested for having autism and other disabilities is why modern Simpsons MUST END IMMEDIATELLY and that Nelvana's version of Corduroy the Bear MUST BE REVIVED with the premiere of Two Buttons again and Forever IMMEDIATELY and a lot of big schools with Bogen Multicom 2000 also have mean teachers getting students arrested for having autism or other disabilities is another reason why Bogen Multicom 2000 is a very mean-spirited PA System along their bell tones not sounding like a bell at all especially the in this picture of a mean teacher getting a boy arrested for having autism is in a school with a Bogen Multicom 2000 and allowing mean spirited stuff and allowing an ice cream truck to keep the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO is why I am dead furious with Bogen Communications and Fox Broadcasting and getting students arrested for having autism or other disabilities is one of the extremely bad impact modern Simpsons (The Simpsons seasons 19 and later) has gave us along with reusing bad things they used to make in the past and how to be mean and scary which are extremely bad. So this is why all broadcasts of The Simpsons MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be ONLY reruns of classic Simpsons (first 18 seasons of The Simpsons). This is why all schools MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be set up like Middleborough, Hilltop School from Timothy Goes to School, and or my DeVry building in North Brunswick, NJ and all with green chalkboards, electric mechanical wall bells, and Corbeil school buses and other school buses with electric stop arms, and only kind-spirited stuff like Disney Snow White and Pinocchio stuff and Corduroy the Bear with two buttons on his green corduroy overalls and Steve Notebooks etc, and no mean-spirited stuff like Bogen Multicom 2000 and that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends and no processed foods in the school lunches. This is why McDonald's restaurants MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be McEyebrows with the yellow and orange striped awnings, arch wedge the new aluminum exterior I have created, or the original 1970s version of the iconic double sloped mansard roof and better and safe updated indoor PlayPlaces with low and safe steps and slides and green chalkboards and or just the dining room option (no playplace), This is why all ice cream trucks MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be all updated to the current updated yellow trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word CHILDREN SLOW CROSSING and or school bus stop signs and that all ice cream trucks MUST BE BY LAW MANDEDTED TO GET RID of the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO for good, This is why Crayola Crayon boxes MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be new modern 1997 boxes. This is why school PA systems MUST BE BY LAW MANDATED to be Rauland Telecenter or PA systems with no bell tones. And this is why Nelvana and Hanna-Barbera MUST TAKE OVER Warner Bros. Animation and Fuzzy Door Productions. And from now on the only childrens' books from the McDonald's double-sloped mansard era people MUST reuse in schools, republish, restore, reprint, and re-create are ONLY little golden books with the classic character train back cover template with Tootle pulling the long train of characters and Donald duck waving the flag saying "The World of Little Golden Books" not any of those old Thomas books with pictures from the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends so we will never ever have to deal with that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends ever again. That mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes, triangular eyes, and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends is the worst mean spirited anger imagery because the way how that face is modeled was depicting Gordon the Big engine about to kill people by running over them and about to come out of the TV and kill the viewers of the show by running over them which is very bad and murding is the worst crime. Original photo credited to TrustaMann on Deviantart.com. Parents and Teachers being mean to them and destroying their kid's toys and belongings and yelling "GOD DAM HELL" and "GOD IN HELL" as a punishments MUST BE BANNED AND ILLEGAL EVERYWHERE FOREVER!!!!!!!! because Parents and Teachers taking away and destroying kid's toys and stuff as a punishment is being mean to kids and hurts their feelings real bad and cry which is extremely bad and parents and teachers use scary inappropriate behaviors like yelling "GOD DAM HELL" and meanly yell I'm so god dam cross with you whey they take away kid's toys and stuff needs to stop forever. And at Holly Springs school in my 5th grade school year there were mean teachers that got mean and super mad at me and took away my Steve notebook and forced me to see the freaky spikey eyelashes, razor blade forehead wrinkles, and triangular eyes they used to had on Gordon's grumpy face in the old model version of Thomas and Friends which scared me and other kids real bad when they meanly called me bad just because I made one bad choice and I am a good boy and always try to be kind and respectful. And in the old model version of Thomas and Friends, Gordon looked like an evil man with a gun when he gets grumpy is why I hate the old model version of Thomas and Friends and say that the old model version of Thomas and Friends MUST BE BANNED and good thing I the kind and respectful teachers gave me back my Steve Notebook. Also in my 5th grade year at Holly Springs there was a preschool class with a secondary teachers being mean and got super mad at the little kid and took away his toys and stuff and destroyed them and made the little kid sit in the hallway and and forced and made the little kid to see the freaky spikey eyelashes, razor blade forehead wrinkles, and triangular eyes they used to had on Gordon's grumpy face in the old model version of Thomas and Friends and the little kid cried real hard and I felt bad for the little kid but at least Santa mended the little kids destroyed toys back together at his workshop and gave the toys back to the little kid and at also it is a good thing Thomas and Friends moved to from live action models to CGI animations which is better and friendlier and made Gordon have a more accurate grumpy face similar to Homer Simpson in classic Simpsons episodes. This is why Bogen Multicom 2000 systems MUST BE BANNED from schools and that Bogen Communications MUST SHUT DOWN FOREVER. Especially, that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes, triangular eyes, and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends is the worst mean spirited anger imagery because the way how that face is modeled was depicting Gordon the Big engine about to kill people by running over them and about to come out of the TV and kill the viewers of the show by running over them which is very bad and murding is the worst crime. Eventhough I am not worried about the mean teachers at Holly Springs school anymore, I still occasionally have nightmares about the mean teachers at Holly Springs school, one night I had 2 nightmares of the mean teachers at Holly Springs school and the first nightmare was in Mrs. Monic's room with the mean teachers at Holly Springs threatening to give me a punishment day by destroying my Steve notebook and forcing me to see that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends and the mean then the mean teachers told me to shut up in a slow monster voice with teeth sticking together and then I woke up and realized it was only a dream and the second nightmare with the mean teachers at Holly Springs school the mean teachers were forbidding me to revive Nelvana's version of Corduroy the Bear with the premiere of Two Buttons again and Forever fixing Betty Quan's upsetting mistake for good and the mean teachers then were calling me a bad boy and then destroyed my Steve notebook and had Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends kill me by running me over with that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends and sending my soul to where the devil lives but good thing God came and angrily confronted the mean teachers at Holly Springs school and angrily destroyed that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends and angrily put a grinning smile face on the live action model version of Gordon the Big engine and made the live action model version of Gordon the Big engine inanimate forever as his punishment and revived me and mended my Steve notebook back together and God told me that I am not a bad boy and then allowed me to revive Nelvana's version of Corduroy the Bear with the premiere of Two Buttons again and Forever fixing Betty Quan's upsetting mistake showing that they did get Corduroy's button out of the storm drain and put Corduroy's button back on Corduroy the Bear's green corduroy overalls and Corduroy the Bear does have two buttons on his green corduroy overalls forever. Especially when I was in 5th grade at Holly Springs, my anxiety had in my head of the mean teachers making evil magic giant steel crates to lock kids in with slamming lift doors forcing kids to see that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends and the mean teachers having live action model version of Gordon the Big engine shoot a gun at the kids in the steel crate with that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends and the mean teachers having the live action model version of Gordon the Big engine kill the kids in the steel crate by running them over with that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes and triangular eyes and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends and I had been having this scary thought since 5th grade at Holly Springs when the mean secondary teachers from Mrs. Monic's room was giving a little kid a punishment day in the hall and was giving me the idea of killing myself by setting my own body on fire I had this bottled up since 5th grade at Holly Springs school. This is why I am collaborating to make everything great again as when I revive Nelvana's version of Corduroy the Bear with the premiere of Two Buttons again and Forever fixing Betty Quan's upsetting mistake for good by showing that they did get Corduroy's button out of the storm drain and put Corduroy's button back on Corduroy the Bear's green corduroy overalls and Corduroy the Bear does have two buttons on his green corduroy overalls forever. This is why Bogen Multicom 2000 systems MUST BE BANNED from schools and that Bogen Communications MUST SHUT DOWN FOREVER. Especially, that mean scary looking grumpy face with the freaky spikey eyelashes, triangular eyes, and razor blade forehead wrinkles they used to have on Gordon in the old live action model version of Thomas and Friends is the worst mean spirited anger imagery because the way how that face is modeled was depicting Gordon the Big engine about to kill people by running over them and about to come out of the TV and kill the viewers of the show by running over them which is very bad and murding is the worst crime. And parents and teachers being mean to kids and destroying their kid's toys and belongings as punishments was giving me the idea of killing myself by setting my own body on fire. And schools with a Bogen Multicom 2000 even recommend the inappropriate phrases about body parts from American Dad and Family Guy and the goofs Mickey Mouse's iconic red short overalls with yellow buttons and no shoulder straps being low waisted and looking like a loincloth they used to make Before Blue's Clues was ever created they used to make minor goofs of Mickey Mouse's iconic red short overalls with yellow buttons and no shoulder straps occasionally being low waisted and looking like a loincloth and having the buttons marking the human penises referencing the inappropriate phrases about body parts from American Dad and Family Guy is extremely vulgar and reminds me of when Corduroy's button was in a storm drain at the end of Cute as a Button which made me extremely upset but good thing I am working for Nelvana reviving Nelvana's version of Corduroy the Bear with the premiere of Two Buttons again and Forever fixing Betty Quan's upsetting mistake for good by showing that they did get Corduroy's button out of the storm drain and put Corduroy's button back on Corduroy the Bear's green corduroy overalls and Corduroy the Bear does have two buttons on his green corduroy overalls forever. They MUST CENSOR the inappropriate phrases about body parts in ALL future American Dad and Family Guy broadcasts because the inappropriate phrases about body parts from American Dad and Family Guy are so gross and inappropriate and so annoying and cringy like Dee Dee's laugh from Dexter's Laboratory and the inappropriate phrases about body parts from Family Guy are making me worried for Corduroy's button and the author of the Corduroy (Nelvana TV series) episode Betty Quan was also watching Dexter's Laboratory and having on DeeDee laughing in the episode of Dexter's Laboratory she was watching while writing the Corduroy episode Cute as a Button is why the Corduroy episode Cute as a Button does have an upsetting ending where Corduroy's button fell in a storm drain across the street from Lisa and Corduroy's apartment Building and forgot to show that they did get Corduroy's button out of the storm drain and put Corduroy's button back on Corduroy the Bear's green corduroy overalls and that Corduroy the Bear does have two buttons on his green corduroy overalls forever and in that storm drain, right after when the button fell in DeeDee from Dexter's Laboratory made Mowgli from Disney's 1967 animated film The Jungle Book fall on Corduroy's button and lay his stomach on the bottom of the storm drain and Corduroy's button was going on the front of Mowgli's bright red cotton fabric loincloth shorts and DeeDee was laughing about it which made me super upset which caused me to have guilt of Corduroy the Bear on December 2009 and what made my guilt of Corduroy the Bear worse was that a student at my middle school Dean Rusk in Canton Georgia named Jessie Burris told me a mean lie that an alligator ate Corduroy's button, yelled out the inappropriate phrases about body parts from American Dad and Family Guy at me, and then she punched me in the shoulder, then she told me to move on from my golden nostalgic toddler stuff like riding on school buses and bring back the bad things from the early 90s such as pear-shaped wrecking balls and ice cream trucks with the bad old outdated red trapezoid children slow crossing warning blades that word IF-SAFE STOP THEN-GO (which are extremely confusing to people who are deaf, color blind, can't read, or don't speak English and we need to help out those people out too) and then she told me that she liked DeeDee's annoying idiotic laugh from Dexter's Laboratory and the inappropriate phrases about body parts from American Dad and Family Guy which made me even more upset and worried for Corduroy and his button causing me to have anxiety with my guilt of Corduroy the Bear and all of that I was overeating so much food on December 2009 by making my bowl of Fruity Pebbles super big, munching giant stacks of salt and Vinegar Pringles Potato ships, and having a lot of extra school lunches and I was eating all of these foods all at once nervously for Corduroy and his button and then on exams week on my 8th grade school year on December 2009, I was having a sick stomach with green spots from overeating and then I had to rush to the restroom at my middle school Dean Rusk in Canton, Georgia and I was puking in the restroom bin at my middle school Dean Rusk in Canton Georgia and they had to send me home and skip the exam eventhough I wanted to take the exam and succeed in school. But good thing I am fixing Betty Quan's upsetting mistake by reviving the Nelvana TV show Corduroy with the premiere of an entirely new episode titled Two Buttons again and Forever which is the sequel to Cute as a Button showing that they did get Corduroy's button out of the storm drain and put Corduroy's button back on Corduroy the Bear's green corduroy overalls and that Corduroy the Bear does have two buttons on his green corduroy overalls forever and that I am writing and producing a lot more entirely new Corduroy episodes with Corduroy the Bear having two buttons on his green corduroy overalls instead of one and I am re-editing all season 1 episodes with Corduroy the Bear having two buttons on his green corduroy overalls instead of one and re-editing Betty Quan's Cute as a Button with the beginning of Two Buttons again and Forever as the alternative ending. Good thing I have decided to give up Family Guy because the inappropriate phrases about body parts from American Dad and Family Guy are making me worried for Corduroy's button and the other reason why I have decided to give up Family Guy is because I will have kids of my own when I live in Toronto reviving Nelvana's version of Corduroy the Bear with the premiere of Two Buttons again and Forever fixing Betty Quan's upsetting mistake for good by showing that they did get Corduroy's button out of the storm drain and put Corduroy's button back on Corduroy the Bear's green corduroy overalls and Corduroy The Bear does have two buttons on his green corduroy overalls forever. And my own kids will be a son named Pinocchio William Joseph Rich and a daughter named Pollyanna Wendy Lisa Rich. Good thing Disney now always have the waist of Mickey Mouse's iconic red short overalls with yellow buttons and no shoulder straps have the waist going all the way up to the chest and no longer having minor goofs of the overalls being low waisted and looking like a loincloth and I know for a fact all pants with two buttons going horizontally up in the front are overalls no matter if they have shoulder straps or not because pants always have the waist going all the way up to the chest if they have two buttons going horizontally up in the front no matter if they have shoulder straps or not. As one of my collaborations when I revive Nelvana's version of Corduroy the Bear with the premiere of Two Buttons again and Forever Fixing Betty Quan's upsetting mistake for good I will censor these stupid minor goofs of Mickey Mouse's overalls.

Well....this one was in good enough shape it didn't need the extra punch of the AN-6 developer but sorta cool anyway. No post color saturation adjustments made. AN-6 is a high contrast color developer used by the aerial film industry for the creation of topographical maps. Does wonders on outdated film too.

Petty Officer 1st Class David Skena climbs a structure to replace an outdated 155 millimeter lantern with a self-contained LED Caramanah light, Sunday, March 1, 2016, in Buzzards Bay. Skena is an electrician’s mate stationed with Aids to Navigation Team Woods Hole. ANT Woods Hole is responsible for maintaining 250 buoys, 20 lighthouses, and 54 structures along the coast of southeastern Massachusetts. The team uses a 26-foot Trailerable Aids to Navigation Boat to service structures and lighthouses. All 250 buoys are serviced using a 49-foot Buoy Utility Stern Loading boat. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Barresi)