Yangon (Burmese: ရန်ကုန်, MLCTS rankun mrui, pronounced: [jàɴɡòʊɴ mjo̰]; formerly known as Rangoon, literally: "End of Strife") is the capital of the Yangon Region of Myanmar, also known as Burma. Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government relocated the capital to the purpose-built city of Naypyidaw in central Myanmar. With over 7 million people, Yangon is Myanmar's largest city and is its most important commercial centre.

 

Yangon boasts the largest number of colonial-era buildings in the region, and has a unique colonial-era urban core that is remarkably intact. The colonial-era commercial core is centred around the Sule Pagoda, which reputed to be over 2,000 years old. The city is also home to the gilded Shwedagon Pagoda — Myanmar's most sacred Buddhist pagoda. The mausoleum of the last Mughal Emperor is located in Yangon, where he had been exiled following the Indian Mutiny of 1857.

 

Yangon suffers from deeply inadequate infrastructure, especially compared to other major cities in Southeast Asia. Though many historic residential and commercial buildings have been renovated throughout central Yangon, most satellite towns that ring the city continue to be profoundly impoverished and lack basic infrastructure.

 

ETYMOLOGY

Yangon (ရန်ကုန်) is a combination of the two words yan (ရန်) and koun (ကုန်), which mean "enemies" and "run out of", respectively. It is also translated as "End of Strife". "Rangoon" most likely comes from the British imitation of the pronunciation of "Yangon" in the Arakanese language, which is [rɔ̀ɴɡʊ́ɴ].

 

HISTORY

EARLY HISTORY

Yangon was founded as Dagon in the early 11th century (c. 1028–1043) by the Mon, who dominated Lower Burma at that time. Dagon was a small fishing village centred about the Shwedagon Pagoda. In 1755, King Alaungpaya conquered Dagon, renamed it "Yangon", and added settlements around Dagon. The British captured Yangon during the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–26), but returned it to Burmese administration after the war. The city was destroyed by a fire in 1841.

 

COLONIAL RANGOON

The British seized Yangon and all of Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War of 1852, and subsequently transformed Yangon into the commercial and political hub of British Burma. Yangon is also the place where the British sent Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor, to live after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Based on the design by army engineer Lt. Alexander Fraser, the British constructed a new city on a grid plan on delta land, bounded to the east by the Pazundaung Creek and to the south and west by the Yangon River. Yangon became the capital of all British-ruled Burma after the British had captured Upper Burma in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885. By the 1890s Yangon's increasing population and commerce gave birth to prosperous residential suburbs to the north of Royal Lake (Kandawgyi) and Inya Lake. The British also established hospitals including Rangoon General Hospital and colleges including Rangoon University.

 

Colonial Yangon, with its spacious parks and lakes and mix of modern buildings and traditional wooden architecture, was known as "the garden city of the East." By the early 20th century, Yangon had public services and infrastructure on par with London.

 

Before World War II, about 55% of Yangon's population of 500,000 was Indian or South Asian, and only about a third was Bamar (Burman). Karens, the Chinese, the Anglo-Burmese and others made up the rest.

 

After World War I, Yangon became the epicentre of Burmese independence movement, with leftist Rangoon University students leading the way. Three nationwide strikes against the British Empire in 1920, 1936 and 1938 all began in Yangon. Yangon was under Japanese occupation (1942–45), and incurred heavy damage during World War II. The city was retaken by the Allies in May 1945.

 

Yangon became the capital of Union of Burma on 4 January 1948 when the country regained independence from the British Empire.

 

CONTEMPORARY YANGON

Soon after Burma's independence in 1948, many colonial names of streets and parks were changed to more nationalistic Burmese names. In 1989, the current military junta changed the city's English name to "Yangon", along with many other changes in English transliteration of Burmese names. (The changes have not been accepted by many Burmese who consider the junta unfit to make such changes, nor by many publications, news bureaus including, most notably, the BBC and foreign nations including the United Kingdom and United States.)

 

Since independence, Yangon has expanded outwards. Successive governments have built satellite towns such as Thaketa, North Okkalapa and South Okkalapa in the 1950s to Hlaingthaya,

 

Shwepyitha and South Dagon in the 1980s. Today, Greater Yangon encompasses an area covering nearly 600 square kilometres.

 

During Ne Win's isolationist rule (1962–88), Yangon's infrastructure deteriorated through poor maintenance and did not keep up with its increasing population. In the 1990s, the current military government's more open market policies attracted domestic and foreign investment, bringing a modicum of modernity to the city's infrastructure. Some inner city residents were forcibly relocated to new satellite towns. Many colonial-period buildings were demolished to make way for high-rise hotels, office buildings, and shopping malls, leading the city government to place about 200 notable colonial-period buildings under the Yangon City Heritage List in 1996. Major building programs have resulted in six new bridges and five new highways linking the city to its industrial back country. Still, much of Yangon remains without basic municipal services such as 24-hour electricity and regular garbage collection.

 

Yangon has become much more indigenous Burmese in its ethnic make-up since independence. After independence, many South Asians and Anglo-Burmese left. Many more South Asians were forced to leave during the 1960s by Ne Win's xenophobic government. Nevertheless, sizable South Asian and Chinese communities still exist in Yangon. The Anglo-Burmese have effectively disappeared, having left the country or intermarried with other Burmese groups.

 

Yangon was the centre of major anti-government protests in 1974, 1988 and 2007. The 1988 People Power Uprising resulted in the deaths of hundreds, if not thousands of Burmese civilians, many in Yangoon where hundreds of thousands of people flooded into the streets of the then capital city. The Saffron Revolution saw mass shootings and the use of crematoria in Yangoon by the Burmese government to erase evidence of their crimes against monks, unarmed protesters, journalists and students.

 

The city's streets saw bloodshed each time as protesters were gunned down by the government.

 

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit Yangon. While the city had few human casualties, three quarters of Yangon's industrial infrastructure was destroyed or damaged, with losses estimated at US$800 million.

 

In November 2005, the military government designated Naypyidaw, 320 kilometres north of Yangon, as the new administrative capital, and subsequently moved much of the government to the newly developed city. At any rate, Yangon remains the largest city, and the most important commercial centre of Myanmar.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Yangon is located in Lower Burma (Myanmar) at the convergence of the Yangon and Bago Rivers about 30 km away from the Gulf of Martaban at 16°48' North, 96°09' East (16.8, 96.15). Its standard time zone is UTC/GMT +6:30 hours.

 

CLIMATE

Yangon has a tropical monsoon climate under the Köppen climate classification system. The city features a lengthy wet season from May through October where a substantial amount of rainfall is received; and a dry season from November through April, where little rainfall is seen. It is primarily due to the heavy rainfall received during the rainy season that Yangon falls under the tropical monsoon climate category. During the course of the year 1961 to 1990s, average temperatures show little variance, with average highs ranging from 29 to 36 °C and average lows ranging from 18 to 25 °C.

 

CITYSCAPE

Until the mid-1990s, Yangon remained largely constrained to its traditional peninsula setting between the Bago, Yangon and Hlaing rivers. People moved in, but little of the city moved out. Maps from 1944 show little development north of Inya Lake and areas that are now layered in cement and stacked with houses were then virtual backwaters. Since the late 1980s, however, the city began a rapid spread north to where Yangon International airport now stands. But the result is a stretching tail on the city, with the downtown area well removed from its geographic centre. The city's area has steadily increased from 72.52 square kilometres in 1901 to 86.2 square kilometres in 1940 to 208.51 square kilometres in 1974, to 346.13 square kilometres in 1985, and to 598.75 square kilometres in 2008.

 

ARCHITECTURE

Downtown Yangon is known for its leafy avenues and fin-de-siècle architecture. The former British colonial capital has the highest number of colonial period buildings in south-east Asia. Downtown Yangon is still mainly made up of decaying colonial buildings. The former High Court, the former Secretariat buildings, the former St. Paul's English High School and the Strand Hotel are excellent examples of the bygone era. Most downtown buildings from this era are four-story mix-use (residential and commercial) buildings with 4.3 m ceilings, allowing for the construction of mezzanines. Despite their less-than-perfect conditions, the buildings remain highly sought after and most expensive in the city's property market.

 

In 1996, the Yangon City Development Committee created a Yangon City Heritage List of old buildings and structures in the city that cannot be modified or torn down without approval. In 2012, the city of Yangon imposed a 50-year moratorium on demolition of buildings older than 50 years. The Yangon Heritage Trust, an NGO started by Thant Myint-U, aims to create heritage areas in Downtown, and attract investors to renovate buildings for commercial use.

 

A latter day hallmark of Yangon is the eight-story apartment building. (In Yangon parlance, a building with no elevators (lifts) is called an apartment building and one with elevators is called a condominium. Condos which have to invest in a local power generator to ensure 24-hour electricity for the elevators are beyond the reach of most Yangonites.) Found throughout the city in various forms, eight-story apartment buildings provide relatively inexpensive housing for many Yangonites. The apartments are usually eight stories high (including the ground floor) mainly because city regulations, until February 2008, required that all buildings higher than 23 m or eight stories to install lifts. The current code calls for elevators in buildings higher than 19 m or six stories, likely ushering in the era of the six-story apartment building. Although most apartment buildings were built only within the last 20 years, they look much older and rundown due to shoddy construction and lack of proper maintenance.

 

Unlike other major Asian cities, Yangon does not have any skyscrapers. Aside from a few high-rise hotels and office towers, most high-rise buildings (usually 10 stories and up) are "condos" scattered across prosperous neighbourhoods north of downtown such as Bahan, Dagon, Kamayut and Mayangon. The tallest building in Yangon, Pyay Gardens, is a 25-story condo in the city's north.

 

Older satellite towns such as Thaketa, North Okkalapa and South Okkalapa are lined mostly with one to two story detached houses with access to the city's electricity grid. Newer satellite towns such as North Dagon and South Dagon are still essentially slums in a grid layout. The satellite towns - old or new - receive little or no municipal services.

 

ROAD LAYOUT

Downtown Yangon's road layout follows a grid pattern, based on four types of roads:

 

Broad 49-m wide roads running west to east

Broad 30-m wide roads running south to north

Two narrow 9.1-m wide streets running south to north

Mid-size 15-m wide streets running south to north

 

The east-west grid of central was laid out by British military engineers Fraser and Montgomerie after the Second Anglo-Burmese War. The city was later developed by the Public Works Department and Bengal Corps of Engineers. The pattern of south to north roads is as follows: one broad 30 m wide broad road, two narrow streets, one mid-size street, two more narrow streets, and then another 30 m wide broad road. This order is repeated from west to east. The narrow streets are numbered; the medium and broad roads are named.

 

For example, the 30 m Lanmadaw Road is followed by 9.1 m-wide 17th and 18th streets then the medium 15 m Sint-Oh-Dan Road, the 30-foot 19th and 20th streets, followed by another 30 m wide Latha Road, followed again by the two numbered small roads 21st and 22nd streets, and so on.

 

The roads running parallel west to east were the Strand Road, Merchant Road, Maha Bandula (née Dalhousie) Road, Anawrahta (Fraser) Road, and Bogyoke Aung San (Montgomerie) Road.

 

PARKS AND GARDENS

The largest and best maintained parks in Yangon are located around Shwedagon Pagoda. To the south-east of the gilded stupa is the most popular recreational area in the city – Kandawgyi Lake. The 61-ha lake is surrounded by the 45-ha Kandawgyi Nature Park, and the 28-ha Yangon Zoological Gardens, which consists of a zoo, an aquarium and an amusement park. West of the pagoda towards the former Hluttaw (Parliament) complex is the 53-ha People's Square and Park, (the former parading ground on important national days when Yangon was the capital.) A few miles north of the pagoda lies the 15-ha Inya Lake Park – a favorite hangout place of Yangon University students, and a well-known place of romance in Burmese popular culture.

 

Hlawga National Park and Allied War Memorial at the outskirts of the city are popular day-trip destinations with the well-to-do and tourists.

 

Yangon Book Plaza, the first and biggest book shop in Myanmar was opened on February 26, 2017 on the fifth floor of Than Zay Market in Lanmadaw Township, Yangon.

 

ADMINISTRATION

Yangon is administered by the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC). YCDC also coordinates urban planning. The city is divided into four districts. The districts combined have a total of 33 townships. The current mayor of Yangon is Maung Maung Soe. Each township is administered by a committee of township leaders, who make decisions regarding city beautification and infrastructure. Myo-thit (lit. "New Towns", or satellite towns) are not within such jurisdictions.

 

TRANSPORT

Yangon is Burma's main domestic and international hub for air, rail, and ground transportation.

 

AIR

Yangon International Airport, located 19 km from the centre, is the country's main gateway for domestic and international air travel. The airport has three terminals, known as T1, T2 and T3 which is also known as Domestic. It has direct flights to regional cities in Asia – mainly, Doha, Dubai, Dhaka, Kolkata, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul, Guangzhou, Taipei, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Kunming and Singapore. Although domestic airlines offer service to about twenty domestic locations, most flights are to tourist destinations such as Bagan, Mandalay, Heho and Ngapali, and to the capital Naypyidaw.

 

RAILWAYS

Yangon Central Railway Station is the main terminus of Myanmar Railways' 5,403-kilometre rail network whose reach covers Upper Myanmar (Naypyidaw, Mandalay, Shwebo), upcountry (Myitkyina), Shan hills (Taunggyi, Lashio) and the Taninthayi coast (Mawlamyaing, Dawei).

 

Yangon Circular Railway operates a 45.9-kilometre 39-station commuter rail network that connects Yangon's satellite towns. The system is heavily utilized by the local populace, selling about 150,000 tickets daily. The popularity of the commuter line has jumped since the government reduced petrol subsidies in August 2007.

 

BUSES AND CARS

Yangon has a 4,456-kilometre road network of all types (tar, concrete and dirt) in March 2011. Many of the roads are in poor condition and not wide enough to accommodate an increasing number of cars. The vast majority of Yangon residents cannot afford a car and rely on an extensive network of buses to get around. Over 300 public and private bus lines operate about 6,300 crowded buses around the city, carrying over 4.4 million passengers a day. All buses and 80% of the taxis in Yangon run on compressed natural gas (CNG), following the 2005 government decree to save money on imported petroleum. Highway buses to other cities depart from Dagon Ayeyar Highway Bus Terminal for Irrawaddy delta region and Aung Mingala Highway Bus Terminal for other parts of the country.

 

Motor transportation in Yangon is highly expensive for most of its citizens. As the government allows only a few thousand cars to be imported each year in a country with over 50 million people, car prices in Yangon (and in Burma) are among the highest in the world. In July 2008, the two most popular cars in Yangon, 1986/87 Nissan Sunny Super Saloon and 1988 Toyota Corolla SE Limited, cost the equivalent of about US$20,000 and US$29,000 respectively. A sports utility vehicle, imported for the equivalent of around US$50,000, goes for US$250,000. Illegally imported unregistered cars are cheaper – typically about half the price of registered cars. Nonetheless, car usage in Yangon is on the rise, a sign of rising incomes for some, and already causes much traffic congestion in highway-less Yangon's streets. In 2011, Yangon had about 300,000 registered motor vehicles in addition to an unknown number of unregistered ones.

 

Since 1970, cars have been driven on the right side of the road in Burma, as part of a military decree. However, as the government has not required left hand drive (LHD) cars to accompany the right side road rules, many cars on the road are still right hand drive (RHD) made for driving on the left side. Japanese used cars, which make up most of the country's imports, still arrive with RHD and are never converted to LHD. As a result, Burmese drivers have to rely on their passengers when passing other cars.

 

Within Yangon city limits, it is illegal to drive trishaws, bicycles, and motorcycles. Since February 2010, pickup truck bus lines have been forbidden to run in 6 townships of central Yangon, namely Latha, Lanmadaw, Pabedan, Kyauktada, Botahtaung and Pazundaung Townships. In May 2003, a ban on using car horns was implemented in six townships of Downtown Yangon to reduce noise pollution. In April 2004, the car horn ban was expanded to cover the entire city.

 

RIVER

Yangon's four main passenger jetties, all located on or near downtown waterfront, mainly serve local ferries across the river to Dala and Thanlyin, and regional ferries to the Irrawaddy delta. The 35-km Twante Canal was the quickest route from Yangon to the Irrawaddy delta until the 1990s when roads between Yangon and the Irrawaddy Division became usable year-round. While passenger ferries to the delta are still used, those to Upper Burma via the Irrawaddy river are now limited mostly to tourist river cruises.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

Yangon is the most populous city by far in Burma although estimates of the size of its population vary widely. All population figures are estimates since no official census has been conducted in Burma since 1983. A UN estimate puts the population as 4.35 million in 2010 but a 2009 U.S. State Department estimate puts it at 5.5 million. The U.S. State Department's estimate is probably closer to the real number since the UN number is a straight-line projection, and does not appear to take the expansion of city limits in the past two decades into account. The city's population grew sharply after 1948 as many people (mainly, the indigenous Burmese) from other parts of the country moved into the newly built satellite towns of North Okkalapa, South Okkalapa, and Thaketa in the 1950s and East Dagon, North Dagon and South Dagon in the 1990s. Immigrants have founded their regional associations (such as Mandalay Association, Mawlamyaing Association, etc.) in Yangon for networking purposes. The government's decision to move the nation's administrative capital to Naypyidaw has drained an unknown number of civil servants away from Yangon.

 

Yangon is the most ethnically diverse city in the country. While Indians formed the slight majority prior to World War II, today, the majority of the population is of indigenous Bamar (Burman) descent. Large communities of Indians/South Asian Burmese and the Chinese Burmese exist especially in the traditional downtown neighborhoods. A large number of Rakhine and Karen also live in the city.

 

Burmese is the principal language of the city. English is by far the preferred second language of the educated class. In recent years, however, the prospect of overseas job opportunities has enticed

 

some to study other languages: Mandarin Chinese is most popular, followed by Japanese, and French.

 

RELIGIONS

The primary religions practiced in Yangon are Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Shwedagon Pagoda is a famous religious landmark in the city.

 

MEDIA

Yangon is the country's hub for the movie, music, advertising, newspaper and book publishing industries. All media is heavily regulated by the military government. Television broadcasting is off limits to the private sector. All media content must first be approved by the government's media censor board, Press Scrutiny and Registration Division.

 

Most television channels in the country are broadcast from Yangon. TV Myanmar and Myawaddy TV are the two main channels, providing Burmese-language programming in news and entertainment. Other special interest channels are MWD-1 and MWD-2, MRTV-3, the English-language channel that targets overseas audiences via satellite and via Internet, MRTV-4 and Channel 7 are with a focus on non-formal education programs and movies, and Movie 5, a pay-TV channel specializing in broadcasting foreign movies.

 

Yangon has three radio stations. Myanmar Radio National Service is the national radio service and broadcasts mostly in Burmese (and in English during specific times.) Pop culture oriented Yangon City FM and Mandalay City FM radio stations specialize in Burmese and English pop music, entertainment programs, live celebrity interviews, etc. New radio channels such as Shwe FM and Pyinsawaddy FM can also be tuned with the city area.

 

Nearly all print media and industries are based out of Yangon. All three national newspapers – two Burmese language dailies Myanma Alin (မြန်မာ့အလင်း) and Kyemon (ကြေးမုံ), and the English language The New Light of Myanmar — are published by the government. Semi-governmental The Myanmar Times weekly, published in Burmese and in English, is mainly geared for Yangon's expatriate community. Over twenty special interest journals and magazines covering sports, fashion, finance, crime, literature (but never politics) vie for the readership of the general populace.

 

Access to foreign media is extremely difficult. Satellite television in Yangon, and in Burma, is very expensive as the government imposes an annual registration fee of one million kyats. Certain foreign newspapers and periodicals such as the International Herald Tribune and the Straits Times can be found only in a few (mostly downtown) bookstores. Internet access in Yangon, which has the best telecommunication infrastructure in the country, is slow and erratic at best, and the Burmese government implements one of the world's most restrictive regimes of Internet control. International text messaging and voice messaging was permitted only in August 2008.

 

COMMUNICATION

Common facilities taken for granted elsewhere are luxury prized items in Yangon and Burma. The price of a GSM mobile phone was about K1.1 million in August 2008. In 2007, the country of 55 million had only 775,000 phone lines (including 275,000 mobile phones), and 400,000 computers. Even in Yangon, which has the best infrastructure, the estimated telephone penetration rate was only 6% at the end of 2004, and the official waiting time for a telephone line was 3.6 years. Most people cannot afford a computer and have to use the city's numerous Internet cafes to access a heavily restricted Internet, and a heavily censored local intranet. According to official statistics, in July 2010, the country had over 400,000 Internet users, with the vast majority hailing from just two cities, Yangon and Mandalay. Although Internet access was available in 42 cities across the country, the number of users outside the two main cities was just over 10,000.

 

LIFESTYLE

Yangon's property market is the most expensive in the country and beyond the reach of most Yangonites. Most rent outside the centre and few can afford to rent such apartments. (In 2008, rents for a typical 60 to 70 m2 apartments in the centre and vicinity range between K70,000 and K150,000 and those for high end condos between K200,000 and K500,000.)

 

Most men of all ages (and some women) spend their time at ubiquitous tea-shops, found in any corner or street of the city. Watching European football (mostly English Premier League with occasional La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga) matches while sipping tea is a popular pastime among many Yangonites. The average person stays close to his or her residential neighbourhood. The well-to-do tend to visit shopping malls and parks on weekends. Some leave the city on weekends for Chaungtha and Ngwesaung beach resorts in Ayeyarwady Division.

 

Yangon is also home to many pagoda festivals (paya pwe), held during dry-season months (November – March). The most famous of all, the Shwedagon Pagoda Festival in March, attracts thousands of pilgrims from around the country.

 

Yangon's museums are the domain of tourists and rarely visited by the locals.

 

Most of Yangon's larger hotels offer some kind of nightlife entertainment, geared towards tourists and the well-to-do Burmese. Some hotels offer traditional Burmese performing arts shows complete with a traditional Burmese orchestra. The pub scene in larger hotels is more or less the same as elsewhere in Asia. Other options include karaoke bars and pub restaurants in Yangon Chinatown.

 

Due to the problems of high inflation, the lack of high denomination notes, and the fact that many of the population do not have access to checks, or credit or debit cards, it is common to see citizens carrying a considerable amount of cash. (The highest denomination of Burmese currency kyat is 10 000 (~US$10.)) Credit cards are only rarely used in the city, chiefly in the more lavish hotels. Credit cards are also accepted in the major supermarket and convenience store chains.

 

SPORTS

As the city has the best sporting facilities in the country, most national-level annual sporting tournaments such as track and field, football, volleyball, tennis and swimming are held in Yangon. The 40,000-seat Aung San Stadium and the 32,000-seat Thuwunna Stadium are the main venues for the highly popular annual State and Division football tournament. Until April 2009, the now defunct Myanmar Premier League, consisted of 16 Yangon-based clubs, played all its matches in Yangon stadiums, and attracted little interest from the general public or commercial success despite the enormous popularity of football in Burma. Most Yangonites prefer watching European football on satellite TV. Teams such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City are among the favorite European teams among the Yangonites. It remains to be seen whether the Myanmar National League, the country's first professional football league, and its Yangon-based club Yangon United FC will attract a sufficient following in the country's most important media market.

 

Yangon is also home to annual the Myanmar Open golf tournament, and the Myanmar Open tennis tournament. The city hosted the 1961 and 1969 South East Asian Games. During colonial times, cricket was played mostly by British officials in the city. First-class cricket was played in the city in January 1927 when the touring Marylebone Cricket Club played Burma and the Rangoon Gymkhana. Two grounds were used to host these matches, the BAA Ground and the Gymkhana Ground. These matches mark the only time Burma and Rangoon Gymkhana have appeared in first-class cricket, and the only time first-class cricket has been played in Burma. After independence cricket all but died out in the country.

 

Yangon has a growing population of skateboarders, as documented in the films Altered Focus: Burma and Youth of Yangon. German non-profit organization Make Life Skate Life has received permission from the Yangon City Development Committee to construct a concrete skatepark at Thakin Mya park in downtown, and plans to complete the park in November 2015.

 

ECONOMY

Yangon is the country's main centre for trade, industry, real estate, media, entertainment and tourism. The city represents about one fifth of the national economy. According to official statistics for FY 2010–2011, the size of the economy of Yangon Region was 8.93 trillion kyats, or 23% of the national GDP.

 

The city is Lower Burma's main trading hub for all kinds of merchandise – from basic food stuffs to used cars although commerce continues to be hampered by the city's severely underdeveloped banking industry and communication infrastructure. Bayinnaung Market is the largest wholesale centre in the country for rice, beans and pulses, and other agricultural commodities. Much of the country's legal imports and exports go through Thilawa Port, the largest and busiest port in Burma. There is also a great deal of informal trade, especially in street markets that exist alongside street platforms of Downtown Yangon's townships. However, on 17 June 2011, the YCDC announced that street vendors, who had previously been allowed to legally open shop at 3 pm, would be prohibited from selling on the streets, and permitted to sell only in their townships of residence, presumably to clean up the city's image. Since 1 December 2009, high-density polyethylene plastic bags have been banned by city authorities.

 

Manufacturing accounts for a sizable share of employment. At least 14 light industrial zones ring Yangon, directly employing over 150,000 workers in 4,300 factories in early 2010. The city is the centre of country's garment industry which exported US$292 million in 2008/9 fiscal year. More than 80 percent of factory workers in Yangon work on a day-to-day basis. Most are young women between 15 and 27 years of age who come from the countryside in search of a better life. The manufacturing sector suffers from both structural problems (e.g. chronic power shortages) and political.

 

problems (e.g. economic sanctions). In 2008, Yangon's 2500 factories alone needed about 120 MW of power; yet, the entire city received only about 250 MW of the 530 MW needed. Chronic power shortages limit the factories' operating hours between 8 am and 6 pm.

 

Construction is a major source of employment. The construction industry has been negatively affected by the move of state apparatus and civil servants to Naypyidaw, new regulations introduced in August 2009 requiring builders to provide at least 12 parking spaces in every new high-rise building, and the general poor business climate. As of January 2010, the number of new high-rise building starts approved in 2009–2010 was only 334, compared to 582 in 2008–2009.

 

Tourism represents a major source of foreign currency for the city although by south-east Asian standards the number of foreign visitors to Yangon has always been quite low - about 250,000 before the Saffron Revolution in September 2007. The number of visitors dipped even further following the Saffron Revolution and Cyclone Nargis. The recent improvement in the country's political climate has attracted an increasing number of businessmen and tourists. Between 300,000 and 400,000 visitors that went through Yangon International in 2011. However, after years of underinvestment, Yangon's modest hotel infrastructure - only 3000 of the total 8000 hotel rooms in Yangon are "suitable for tourists" - is already bursting at seams, and will need to be expanded to handle additional visitors. As part of an urban development strategy, a hotel zone has been planned in Yangon's outskirts, encompassing government- and military-owned land in Mingaladon, Hlegu and Htaukkyant Townships.

 

EDUCATION

Yangon educational facilities has a very high number of qualified teachers but the state spending on education is among the lowest of the world. Around 2007 estimate by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies puts the spending for education at 0.5% of the national budget. The disparity in educational opportunities and achievement between rich and poor schools is quite stark even within the city. With little or no state support forthcoming, schools have to rely on forced "donations" and various fees from parents for nearly everything – school maintenance to teachers' salaries, forcing many poor students to drop out.

 

While many students in poor districts fail to reach high school, a handful of Yangon high schools in wealthier districts such as Dagon 1, Sanchaung 2, Kamayut 2, Bahan 2, Latha 2, and TTC provide the majority of students admitted to the most selective universities in the country, highlighting the extreme shallowness of talent pool in the country. The wealthy bypass the state education system altogether, sending their children to private English language instruction schools such as YIEC or more widely known as ISM, or abroad (typically Singapore or Australia) for university education. In 2014, international schools in Yangon cost at least US$8,000 a year.

 

There are over 20 universities and colleges in the city. While Yangon University remains the best known (its main campus is a part of popular Burmese culture e.g. literature, music, film, etc.), the nation's oldest university is now mostly a graduate school, deprived of undergraduate studies. Following the 1988 nationwide uprising, the military government has repeatedly closed universities, and has dispersed most of undergraduate student population to new universities in the suburbs such as Dagon University, the University of East Yangon and the University of West Yangon. Nonetheless many of the country's most selective universities are still in Yangon. Students from around the country still have to come to study in Yangon as some subjects are offered only at its universities. The University of Medicine 1, University of Medicine 2, Yangon Technological University, University of Computer Studies and Myanmar Maritime University are the most selective in the country.

 

HEALTH CARE

The general state of health care in Yangon is poor. According to a 2007 estimate, the military government spends 0.4% of the national budget on health care, and 40% to 60% on defense. By the government's own figures, it spends 849 kyats (US$0.85) per person. Although health care is nominally free, in reality, patients have to pay for medicine and treatment, even in public clinics and hospitals. Public hospitals including the flagship Yangon General Hospital lack many of the basic facilities and equipment.

 

Wealthier Yangonites still have access to country's best medical facilities and internationally qualified doctors. Only Yangon and Mandalay have any sizable number of doctors left as many Burmese doctors have emigrated. The well-to-do go to private clinics or hospitals like Pun Hlaing International Hospital and Bahosi Medical Clinic. Medical malpractice is widespread, even in private clinics and hospitals that serve the well-to-do. In 2009 and 2010, a spate of high-profile deaths brought out the severity of the problem, even for the relatively well off Yangonites. The wealthy do not rely on domestic hospitals and travel abroad, usually Bangkok or Singapore, for treatment.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Battersea Power Station London

AMC Gremlin

The AMC Gremlin is usually a subcompact car or truck launched within 1970 in addition to created in addition to sold within a, two-door human body type in the states in addition to Canada (1970-1978) by simply Us Power generators Firm (AMC) — and also within South america (1974-1978) ...

i1.wp.com/www.autocars.asia/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/AM...

www.autocars.asia/amc-gremlin/

In order to replace the lovable 328 of the late 90's, Ferrari's next product really had to get inventive. The 348 was an interesting product of the company, but often forgotten, overshadowed mostly by the successful F355 that replaced it, and the classical lines of the 328 it replaced.

 

The 348, badged as the rather unfortunately chosen 348TB for the coupé, Trasversale Berlinetta (or Tuberculosis, okay I'm sorry!) and 348TS, Spider, for the Targa versions, entered the market in 1989 to replace the 1985 328, which itself was a development of the 308 that dated back to 1975. The 348 featured a naturally aspirated 3.4L version of the Ferrari quad-cam, four-valve-per-cylinder V8 engine. As with its predecessors, the model number was derived from this configuration, with the first two digits being the displacement and the third being the number of cylinders.

 

The engine, which produced 300hp, was mounted longitudinally and coupled to a transverse manual gearbox, like the Mondial T with which the 348 shared many components. This was a significant change for Ferrari, with most previous small Ferraris using a transverse engine with longitudinal transmission. The T in the model name 348TB and TS refers to the transverse position of the gearbox. Overall, 2,895 examples of the 348 tb and 4,230 of the 348 ts were produced.

 

The 348's styling differed from previous models with straked side air intakes and rectangular taillights resembling the Testarossa. The F355 that replaced it returned to the styling cues of the 328 with round tail lights and rounded side air scoops. Fifty-seven "Challenge" models were built for owners who wanted a more "track-ready" car.

 

The 348 was fitted with dual-computer engine management using twin Bosch Motronic ECUs, double-redundant anti-lock brakes, and self-diagnosing air conditioning and heating systems. Late versions built after 1993 have Japanese-made starter motors and Nippondenso power generators to improve reliability, as well as the battery located within the front left fender for better weight distribution.

 

However, all these developments and more to the Ferrari formula eventually came to the development of the company's next big hit to show that it wasn't an ageing automotive dinosaur producing the same archaic designs. In 1994, the company's latest magnum-opus, the F355, burst onto the scene and set the entire motoring world ablaze. A car more manageable than the F40, but still possessing that spark that had kept the Ferrari badge going through those slow years in the late-70's and through the 80's.

 

With the release of the F355, the 348 seemed almost pedestrian and was axed in 1995 after 8,844 members had been built. Although some felt that the 348 would be blessed with instant classic status like the 328 it replaced, the 348 had trouble finding a gap in the preservation market, leaving it to fall into comparative obscurity. Like the Mondial, the 456 and the Testarossa, the 348 is a car that is often forgotten, outdone by the stylish F40 and the mighty F355's of the 1990's. Because of this, the 348 is a hard car to come by, and even when people do come across it, it's often mistaken for a 355 or a Testarossa.

 

But to be honest, hopefully someday the 348 will find itself some true classic status among the many great Ferrari cars that have preceded and succeeded it, after all, it's still a Ferrari, and on merit alone that's worth the price of admission!

Changes from the M2A include a dorsal cannon gimbal rotation of 90°, viewports for gunner, upgraded thrusters, 50% increase in cargo clamper capacity, upgraded power generator and hyperdrive, Fore cannons with greater orientation capabilities, and a couple viewports in the main corridor. Oh, and it's colored differently.

Minolta SRT101, MC Rokkor 135mm f2.8, Kodachrome 25, Epson V700

For this month’s LUGNuts challenge we could build anything we want...so long as it was a Toyota Tacoma. As variety is key, I made mine into a sight anyone would like to see if ever they were stranded in a blizzard...an industrious 2008 Tacoma snowplow complete with a working wench, power generator and an access cab to keep a couple of weary passengers warm and dry. The color scheme and function was based on the Star Wars Snowspeeder. Yep.

Last night I attended a pre season friendly game between Wakefield Trinity and Wigan Warriors. The game was staged as a testimonial for the long standing Wakefield stalwart and Wigan born Matty Ashurst. Wigan are the pre season favourites for the Super league and Wakefield the pre season favourites for the lower division , the Chsmpionship. Wigan had a few of their star backs missing and Wakefield were without their established Stand Off and Scrum Half. On paper this was a non contest, but for 63 minutes the two teams competed as though they were of a similar standing. Alas with Wakefield leading 22-12 the referee finally (quite rightly) called the game off as the floodlights tripped and the lights went out. It seems that as well as having had a new main stand built Wakefield have had new power generators installed. They clearly failed. Regardless it was great to be back on the terraces and having seen the effort on behalf of the team hopefully I will see many more games this season. Good luck to both teams in their respective leagues this year.

It isn't much to look at, but this old piece of equipment is a steam powered generator. Seen on the turbine deck of an abandoned power plant.

 

Still containing all of it's copper windings, the device is just too large and heavy for the typical scrapper/junkie to disassemble and tear apart.

There is a huge facility underground the earth. There is a prison and a small room with the power generator.

  

a Solo Operation build for Eurobrick's "Great Brick War" www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/172387-g...

Olympus digital camera

Shot on iPhone 7 Plus.

I've taken countless pics around the Brisbane Powerhouse but never from this angle. Snapped this week on the CityCat ride to work.

This used to be a power generator station - now it's a funky arts venue.

Somewhere in Limburg, BELGIUM

 

Last Saturday my cousin got married and I had the honor to photograph this fantastic day. They choose to have a winter wedding and boy did they get what they wanted. Because of the unexpected snow we almost didn't get there.

 

Between church and reception I asked them to jump in the car and give me 15 minutes to make some pics in the snow before the sun would set. I saw this vineyard, pulled over and took some pictures.

 

We exposed for the spectacular sunset and lit the couple with a Hensel Porty Lithium 12 battery powered generator. To soften the light we attached the fantastic Hensel beautydish to the Porty Head. This was close to full power.

 

Check out my blog: www.bertstephani.com/blog

or our photography project: www.squeezethelime.com

Iconic, robust, practical. This is my 3rd version of the iconic ship that has graced the screens, tv shows and in print. I took a step back from my first version and reworked the entire model.

 

Red 5, Luke's main ship. Stickers from the UCS model and custom ones were used. I may add more later, but that may be for the Gray model version.

 

Many other x-wing designs have come since my 2016 model as well as new LEGO parts that helped shape this ship.

 

Like my original design this model features a durable internal structure and frame that allows you to hold the ship in front of the cockpit.

 

I also included internal components like my previous model to help define the various parts shown in the X-Wing cross sections. Life support, compressors, coils, power converters, power generator, flight computer, repulsorlift, hydraulic lines, communications antenna, sensor computer, primary sensor array, and a functional cargo bay.

 

The Landing gear was another story. Since my model is a display one I wanted to not have a working rear landing gear until LEGO develops more curved slopes that would help shape the engines. Instead, I used a similar design from my previous model to swap out for landing mode or flight mode. The front landing gear fits snug into the ship.

 

I am particularly proud that my cockpit design from version 1 found its way back into my latest model with slight modifications to allow the side panels to properly stay together.

 

Custom parts are used here. I Cut a few curved windows to make the Laser magnetic flashback suppressors. I also cut a ribbed flexible hose to fit inside the cockpit. I took a flat 2x2 tile and drilled a hole inside it to slide the technoic axle through. LEGO currently has a 2x2 round tile with a hole, but I needed a square one.

 

Brickarms has great monoclips and u-clips that work great for smaller ideas, such as my joystick or holding parts inside the cylinders.

 

The stand design is great, but I think it would work better if I swap out some parts and have several technique axles run through it and into the x-wing.

 

HSS STENA EXPLORER arriving at Dún Laoghaire on a sailing from Holyhead on June 23, 2007.

 

Click here for more photographs of HSS STENA EXPLORER: www.jhluxton.com/Shipping/Shipping-Companies-Short-Sea-Fe...

  

HSS STENA EXPLORER (later ONE WORLD KARADENIZ and currently KARADENIZ LIFESHIP) operated on Stena Line's Holyhead–Dún Laoghaire service between Wales and Ireland until 2014.

 

In 2015 the ship was was sold to Karadeniz Holding to be used as a floating office, research space and alternative power generator in Karmarine shipyard in Yalova near Istanbul, Turkey,

 

Stena Explorer was constructed by Finnyards in Rauma, Finland, at a cost £65 million. Construction commenced in June 1994 and was completed in February 1996, before entering service in April 1996.

 

The vessel is a catamaran, and was designed with the aim of providing a comfortable and fast service. The sailing time between Holyhead and Dún Laoghaire was 99 minutes.

 

Power is provided by four GE Aviation gas turbines driving four KaMeWa waterjets for propulsion.

 

The HSS class of ferries were designed to allow quick turnarounds at port. A specially designed linkspan provides ropeless mooring and allows quick loading, unloading and servicing. Vehicles are loaded via two of the four stern doors and park in a "U" configuration. When disembarking, vehicles drive straight off via the other two doors.

HSS STENA EXPLORER spent the majority of her career sailing on her original route between Holyhead and Dún Laoghaire.

 

Due to increasing world price of oil the Stena HSS had her crossing time extended to around 119 minutes in a bid to trim her fuel bill. Over the years, the Stena HSS' timetable has gradually been reduced from an initial five round-trips a day, down to just one round-trip a day.

 

Stena Line replaced the vessel with STENA LYNX III, which ran twice daily from 15 March 2010 to the end of 2010 apart from May to September, when Stena Explorer operated the route once daily to relieve the Stena Lynx so she could run on the Fishguard – Rosslare route.

 

On 26 May 2010, Stena Line re-instated HSS STENA EXPLORER back on the Holyhead – Dún Laoghaire route one month earlier than planned.

 

On 14 September 2010, HSS STENA EXPLORER left the Holyhead – Dún Laoghaire route with her last 2010 sailing being the 13:15 departure from Dún Laoghaire. Stena Lynx III operated the route until Sunday 9 January 2011. STENA EXPLORER returned on 1 April 2011 and will operate the route until 13 September 2011 on a one sailing a day basis.

 

Between 9–22 June 2011, HSS STENA EXPLORER operated two round trips a day, due STENA ADVENTURER, which operated on Stena Lines' Holyhead – Dublin service receiving her annual refit.

 

On 4 February 2015, Stena Line announced that the HSS service to Dún Laoghaire was to be withdrawn and not restarted for 2015 with HSS STENA EXPLORER being withdrawn from service.

 

All services from Holyhead would be concentrated on Dublin Port, served by both Stena Line and Irish Ferries.

 

On 1 November 2015, she departed on tow from Holyhead and arrived in Turkey on 17 November.

 

Renamed ONE WORLD KARADENIZ she was in Karmarine shipyard in Yalova, near Istanbul, Turkey.

 

The owner, Karadeniz Holding, had converted it into an "earthquake-resistant" floating office, research space and alternative power generator for the community of Istanbul. It is part of Karadeniz' Powerships project.

 

In 2024 renamed KARADDENIZ LIFESHIP the vessel has been providing refuge for those made homeless in the 2023 Turkish earthquake.

V300 JAS : ERF ECX rigid 8x4 drop-side platform truck of The WONDER CIRCUS - carrying power generators.

 

V300 JAS was previously operated by Nottinghamshire based John A Stephen as a curtain-sided builders supply truck.

 

The Embankment, Peterborough.

 

13-04-2025

Lacepede Bay/ Port Caroline/Kingston.

Lacepede Bay was named by Nicholas Baudin on his 1802 voyage. The first exploration of this area was by Governor Grey and friends who went along the Coorong in 1844 to check out the country. It took them two weeks to get to what is now Kingston. The party went on to Mt Burr, Mt Gambier and ended up at Rivoli Bay from where they took a government ship back to Adelaide. The first settlers in the district were the Cooke brothers Archibald and James who squatted on the Maria Run in 1845 as the best land near Naracoorte and Penola was already being squatted by then. Other early pastoralists near Maria Creek were the Kendles, James Brown, Andrew Dunn, and the Morris brothers and almost all were Scottish. The Cooke property was on Maria Creek which ran into the Coorong draining much of the South East. They already had runs around Wellington and along the lower Murray- hence the township Cooke Plains near Tailem Bend. The area had been named earlier and was already famous by then for the Maria Massacres of 1840. The Maria left Adelaide bound for Hobart in June 1840. About the 28th June it was wrecked off the coast near Lacepede Bay but the crew and passengers managed to get to shore and the local Aborginal people were helping them with food and water as they tried to get help from Adelaide. Whilst waiting for help the sailors began trying to take advantage of the local Aboriginal women. As a form of reprisal 25 of the 26 survivors were killed. It was a month after these events before news of the wreck reached Adelaide and a police investigation was made. Two Ngarrindgeri men were hung and 65 taken as prisoners.

 

Kingston was surveyed as a private town in 1858 on property owned by Sir George Kingston (his son Charles Cameron Kingston became Premier of SA 1893-99) the first Surveyor General of SA and the designer of parts of Government House, the Old Adelaide Jail, and the house called Cummins at Novar Gardens. Recent historical work now argues that Kingston was the designer of the city plan of Adelaide not Colonel William Light and that Light only rubber stamped the location for the city selected by Kingston! The historical evidence is compelling and convincing. The first land surveyed in the district was put up for sale in 1855. Kingston bought 2 sections of land, and the Cooke brothers bought 10 sections to complement their leasehold run. Governor MacDonnell named the town after his Surveyor General. Once the town of Kingston was established the Cooke brothers saw the potential of the area and built the first jetty. They were largely responsible for the wool stores which were built in the town. The telegraph line from Adelaide to Mt Gambier had passed through the town in 1858. So although Kingston was the land speculator and founder of the town, Archibald and James Cooke were the real founders of the town. They erected the Kingston Arms Hotel in 1859 to service the needs of the passengers on the new coach service from Meningie to Robe and onwards. Once the pub was operating Cooke then petitioned the government for a police officer in the settlement. Nothing happened until after the government gazetted a government town adjoining the private township of Kingston which it did in 1860 the year before the Hundred of Lacepede was surveyed and declared. The government of course wanted the commercial life of the town to centre near the government services of police, gaol and post office. In 1866 the town got a police station and in 1869-70 a post office and court house. Kingston’s town on the foreshore declined especially after the building of the government jetty in the government town in 1860. The government town got a new hotel, the Royal Mail which accommodated visiting judges, and travellers on the mail run to Port MacDonnell.

 

It was the Cooke brothers who petitioned the government to declare a port at Kingston, and they also petitioned the government for a railway to the Tatiara district around Bordertown. They opposed any suggestion of expanding the port of Robe or building a railway to Robe. The government, who controlled Customs and all official ports, did not declare a port at Kingston until 1865 when they named it Port Caroline. The port was successful immediately as the Cooke brothers were ready to start an international shipping firm by then just as Ormerod did in Robe. When the government later decided to build the first railway in the South East from Kingston and Lacepede Bay to Naracoorte and the Tatiara the future of Kingston was well and truly assured. The narrow gauge railway to Naracoorte opened in 1876 and Kingston became the most important port in the South East. The commencement of the railway provoked a building boom in Kingston in the late 1870s. It also brought two Melbourne shipping companies to Kingston as well who competed with a limited expansion of James Cooke’s shipping firm. By the 1870s Kingston was the main South East port for exporting of wool and grain. Wool was shipped from Kingston direct to England until the end of World War One and after that most wool went direct by road or rail to Melbourne or Geelong, not Adelaide. The port closed in the late 1920s.

 

Meantime in 1865 Mrs James Cooke worked to establish the first Free Presbyterian Church in Kingston. The Congregationalists, the largest denomination in Kingston opened their church in 1868 with an accompanying school that served all children in the town. The institute opened in 1869. There was even an Aborginal school for Aborginal children in the 1870s run by a friend of Mrs James Cooke. By the turn of the 20th century new drainage schemes and closer settlement acts had opened up much of the hinterland to small properties but pastoralism still dominated the district. Deep-sea and lobster fishing became a significant industry in the 1890s and has continued into the present. In the 1880s the Salt Creek Petroleum Oil Company had been formed and had sunk deep shafts searching for oil near the Coorong but this was not successful. Kingston’s continued prosperity relied on pastoralism.

 

Hanson Street, Kingston.

Starting at the esplanade near the jetty look for:

•1890s villa house on the corner of the esplanade (jetty built by Cooke in 1863) opposite the Lacepede Motel- the Harbour Master’s House. Like other government buildings it was in the “government town” of Port Caroline.

•The old power generator in the park. The towns’ first power supply.

•Opposite that is the only remaining of the original three Cooke Brothers wools stores. Note the wide doors used by a spur railway line that went right into the building. Now being used by the adjoining Royal Mail Hotel opened in 1872.

•Next look at the original Court House- now a bakery. Built 1869-70.

•

•Kingston Post Office- Georgian symmetry and arches with classical features and decoration. Note square based, pyramid finials on the roof line balustrade. Built in 1867, after Port Caroline declared in 1865.

•In the side street from the Post Office go and look at the original Police Station, lockup, and for a time, the first Court House. It is now an antique shop. Built 1864 in the Georgian style with arched windows.

•Diagonally opposite the Post Office is the old Bank of Adelaide, now a private residence since 1970.

•On the next corner is the modern Council Chambers. If you turn up this street to the left you will see the original Council Chambers (1870s). Almost next door to it is the War Memorial Gardens. The railway line used to pass through this area.

•Opposite the War memorial Gardens you can see the original Station Master’s House. The station, now demolished was next door to it. Now return to the Main Street- Hanson Street. You can see some old cottages etc also in the main street.

 

The Atmospheric Research Observatory (ARO) at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station during the winter of 2009. ARO is placed out in the "Clean Air Sector," upwind of the power generators and vehicle activity in order to measure the cleanest air on Earth.

Claymills Pumping Station is a restored Victorian sewage pumping station on the north side of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was designed by James Mansergh and used to pump sewage to the sewage farm at Egginton.

 

The main pumping plant consists of four Woolf compound, rotative, beam pumping engines. These are arranged in mirror image pairs, in two separate engine houses, with a central boiler house (containing five Lancashire boilers with economisers) and chimney. The engines were built in 1885 by Gimson and Company of Leicester. All the engines are similar, and the following description is limited to only one, but applicable to all.

 

The high-pressure cylinder is 24-inch bore by 6-foot stroke, and the low-pressure cylinder is 38-inch bore by 8-foot stroke. Steam is distributed by means of double beat 'Cornish' valves, mounted in upper and lower valve chests. The cylinders act on one end of the beam, via Watt's parallel motion. The beam itself is 26 feet 4 inches between end centres, 4 feet deep at the centre, weighs 13 tons and is carried on 12-inch-diameter (300 mm) bearings.

Microscale NCS base, complete with anti-meteorite defence laser turret, landing strip with warehousing, elevated monorail, power generator and all sorts of goodies.

 

The tan baseplates are supposed to recall the sand-coloured terrain always shown on the original CS sets' box art, and also because I don't have baseplates in light bluish grey.

Shot of the Saltend Power Station.

 

Saturday night is "Strictly come dancing in our house" night again so, I checked the weather forecast, saw it was going to be dry and clear, packed up my gear and got out of Dodge.

I was at Saltend last week albeit during the day, I thought then that it would be a good place to do a night shoot. I soon changed that to an early evening shoot when I realised just how bloody dark and noisy it gets when the old sun goes down. I ask ya, I'm 6ft 4" and I still found myself forever looking over my shoulder. What a plonker.............anyway

 

Saltend is a hamlet in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, in an area known as Holderness. It is situated on the north bank of the Humber just outside the Hull eastern boundary on the A1033 road. It forms part of the civil parish of Preston.

Salt End is dominated by a BP chemical works and a gas-fired power station owned by International Power.

 

Wiki

Saltend Power Station was commissioned in 2000 by Entergy an American power generator. It was later sold to Calpine Corporation, also an American power generator, in August 2001 for £562 million. In July 2005, Salt End was sold to International Power and Mitsui (70:30 share) for £500 million. The site was built by Mitsubishi (MHI) and Raytheon.

The station is run on gas using single shaft 3 x Mitsubishi 701F gas Turbines machines with Alstom 400 MWe generators. The station has a total output of 1200 MW; of that 100 MW is allocated to supply BP Chemicals. Each gas turbine has a Babcock Borsig Power (BBP) heat recovery steam generator, which all lead to one steam turbine per unit (single shaft machine means Gas turbine and Steam Turbine are on the same shaft). The waste product of electricity generation is steam at the rate of about 120 tonnes/hr which is sold to BP Chemicals to use in their process. This makes Salt End one of the most efficient power stations in the UK.

Water Power generator in an abandoned paper mill

Microscale NCS base, complete with anti-meteorite defence laser turret, landing strip with warehousing, elevated monorail, power generator and all sorts of goodies.

 

The tan baseplates are supposed to recall the sand-coloured terrain always shown on the original CS sets' box art, and also because I don't have baseplates in light bluish grey.

On our way to Iceland's Leirnhjúkur crater we passed the Krafla Geothermal Power Station. Two of us, myself and a Lebanese engineer, were utterly fascinated with the scene and insisted on stopping for photography. The others thought we were crazy, but humored us for a few minutes.

 

The Krafla power plant is Iceland's largest geothermal power generator, producing 60 MW from 33 boreholes. It is only two kilometers from the Leirhnjúkur crater whose eruptions nearly shut down the plant before it came online.

 

Some background:

The MBR-04 series were the first combat-ready Destroids and the most successful land-combat weapon Destroids that were built with OverTechnology of Macross. The abbreviation MBR (Main Battle Robot) indicates the model was developed as a walking humanoid weapon emphasizing the heavy armor firepower of an artillery combat vehicle, designed to replace mainline battle tanks. The Type 04 series was developed jointly by Viggers and Chrauler. Unlike the variable fighters, which had to be designed to accommodate transformation mechanisms, the MBR series featured a structure with a large capacity that allowed plenty of room for machinery and armor.

 

The initial development line, the "Tomahawk" multipurpose battle robot and comparable in its intended role with former main battle tanks, had inferior anti-aircraft abilities, even though it boasted firepower like no other biped vehicle from the Destroid series. Originally, the Tomahawk was just called "MBR Mk. I", but once its systems and structural elements became the basis for other models, its designation changed into the "Type 04" Destroid. The main frame from the waist down, a module which consolidated the thermonuclear reactor and ambulatory OverTechnology system of the Destroids, was common to all of the Type 04 series of biped battle robots. Production line integration using this module was a key goal of Destroid development, and the quick development of further variants.

 

The ADR-04-Mk. X Defender Destroid was one of these family members, a walking weapon developed using OverTechnology for deployment by the United Nations Military. During development of the MBR-04-Mk I, a version of the Destroid ambulatory system with the anti-aircraft Contraves system (for use during the early stages of battle) was simultaneously being developed in a joint effort by Viggers-Chrauler under direction from the United Nations. This initial support Destroid, tentatively designated ADR-04-Mk. II, which still shared many components and even hull sections with the Tomahawk, did not progress beyond prototype stage - primarily because of a focus on the Tomahawk as UN's primary ground weapon. It nevertheless provided vital input for the ADR-04-Mk. X Defender, which became an important defensive asset to protect ground troops and vital locations, as well as for operations in space on board of the SDF-1.

 

Designed for the purpose of super-long-range firing in atmosphere and space, the Defender was rolled out in March 2009 and immediately put into action against the Zentraedi military. Unfortunately, the cost of the unit was high and posed significant difficulties for manufacturing, especially installing the high-definition targeting system, which lead to a bottleneck during mass production.

 

The ADR-04-Mk. X Defender's only weapons were two stub arms, each featuring a pair of large-caliber, specialized interception capability guns instead of manipulators, similar to the eventual mass-produced MBR-04-Mk. VI Tomahawk. The anti-aircraft engagement model (anti-tank class) wide-bore guns each fired 500 rounds per minute and all four barrels firing in combination were able to unleash continuous 2,000 rounds per minute, even though only short bursts of four rounds or just single shots were typically fired to save ammunition. The 78 mm rounds were aimed via an Erlikon Contraves fire control system and fired at an impressive muzzle velocity of 3,300 meters per second. A wide range of ammunition types could be fired, including HE, AP, APDS high speed, massive kinetic impact rounds, EMP grenades and rounds with chaff/flare/thermal mist charges. The internal belt magazines made it was possible to load up to three different types per twin gun and deliberately switch between them. The overall supply was, however, rather limited.

 

The rotating mechanism structure of the upper body allowed the unit to respond quickly to enemies approaching even from the rear, for a full 360° coverage of the whole hemisphere above the Destroid. Due to the independent arms, the Defender could even engage two targets separately and split its firepower among them. Additionally, the targeting system was capable of long-range firing in space and could perform extremely precise shooting at long distances in a vacuum/zero-G environment. Hence, the Defender Destroid was more a next generation anti-aircraft tank and in service frequently moonlighted as a movable defensive turret. However, despite featuring a common Destroid ambulatory system, the Defender's mobility was rather limited in direct comparison with a variable fighter Battroid, and it lacked any significant close-combat capability, so that it remained a dedicated support vehicle for other combat units.

 

180 ADR-04-Mk. X Defenders were ordered, built and operated by UN ground and space forces, about half of them were deployed on board of SDF-1. During the First Space War, around sixty more Defenders were converted from revamped MBR-04 series chassis, mostly from battle-damaged Tomahawks, but some later Phalanx' units were modified, too.

During its career the Defender was gradually upgraded with better sensors and radar systems, and its armament was augmented, too. A common upgrade were enlarged ammunition bays on the shoulders that could hold 50 more rounds per gun, even though this stressed the ambulatory system since the Defender's center of gravity was raised. Therefore, this modification was almost exclusively executed among stationary "gun turret" units. Another late upgrade was the addition of launch rails for AMM-1 anti-aircraft missiles on the gun pods and/or the torso. Again, this was almost exclusively implemented on stationary Defenders.

 

A short-range sub-variant, under the project handle "Cheyenne", was developed in 2010, too, but it was only produced in small number for evaluation purposes. It was based on the Defender's structure, but it carried a different armament, consisting of a pair of 37 mm six-barrel gatling guns plus AMM-1 missiles, and a more clutter-resistant radar system against fast and low-flying targets. The Cheyenne was intended as a complementary aerial defense unit, but the results from field tests were not convincing, so that the project was mothballed. However, in 2012 the concept was developed further into the ADR-04-Mk.XI "Manticore", which was fully tailored to the short-range defense role.

  

General characteristics:

Equipment Type: aerial defense robot, series 04

Government: U.N. Spacy

Manufacturer: Viggers/Chrauler

Introduction: March 2009

Accommodation: 1 pilot

 

Dimensions:

Height 11.37 meters (overall)

10.73 meters (w/o surveillance radar antenna)

Length 4.48 meters (hull only)

7.85 meters (guns forward)

Width 8.6 meters

Mass: 27.1 metric tons

 

Power Plant:

Kranss-Maffai MT828 thermonuclear reactor, output rated at 2800 shp;

plus an auxiliary GE EM10T fuel power generator, output rated at 510 kW

 

Propulsion:

2x thrust nozzles mounted in the lower back region, allowing the capability to perform jumps,

plus several vernier nozzles around the hull for Zero-G manoeuvers

 

Performance:

Max. walking speed: 72 kph when fully loaded

 

Design features:

- Detachable weapons bay (attaches to the main body via two main locks);

- Type 966 PFG Contraves radar and fire control set (a.k.a. Contraves II)

with respective heat exchanger on the upper back

- Rotating surveillance antenna for full 360° air space coverage

- Optical sensor unit equipped with four camera eyes, moving along a vertical slit,

protected by a polarized light shield;

- Capable of performing Zero-G manoeuvers via 16 x thrust nozzles (mounted around the hull);

- Reactor radiator with exhaust ports in the rear;

- Cockpit can be separated from the body in an emergency (only the cockpit block is recovered);

- Option pack featuring missiles or enlarged ammunition bays;

 

Armament:

2x Erlikon 78mm liquid-cooled high-speed 2-barrel automatic cannon with 200 rounds each,

mounted as arms

  

The kit and its assembly:

A kind of nostalgia trip, because my first ever mecha kit I bought and built in the Eighties was this 1:100 Destroid Defender! It still exists, even though only as a re-built model, and I thought that it was about time to build another, “better” one, to complete my collection of canonical Macross Destroids.

 

With this objective, the vintage kit was built basically OOB, just with some detail enhancements. The biggest structural change is a new hip joint arrangement, made from steel wire. It allows a more or less flexible 3D posture of the legs, for a more dynamic “walking” pose, and the resulting gaps were filled with paper tissue drenched in white glue and acrylic paint.

A more cosmetic change concerns the Defender’s optical sensor array on its “head”. OOB it just consists of a wide “slit” with a square window – very basic, but that’s how the defender is depicted in the TV series. However, I have a Macross artbook with original design sketches from Studio Nue, which reveal more details of this arrangement, and these include a kind of louvre that covers the mobile sensor array’s guide rails, and the sensor array itself consists of several smaller optical units – the relatively new 1:72 Defender from WAVE features these details, too, but the old 1:72 Defender from Arii (and later Bandai) also only has a red box, even though under a clear cover, which is IMHO dubious, though. The louvres were created from hemispherical styrene profile bits, the sensor array was scratched with a front wheel from an 1:100 VF-1 and more styrene bits.

 

The guns/arms were taken OOB, but I reduced the opening at the shoulder (and with it the angle the arms can be swiveled) with styrene profile material, which also hides the foo fit of the shoulder halves that hold the guns and a reinforcement styrene plate inside of them.

While I could have enlarged the ammunition boxes on the Defender’s shoulders (they are extended backwards), I left them in the original and OOB configuration. Another hull mod I eventually did not carry out were clear replacements for the molded searchlights. Having some visible depth and true clear covers would have been nice, but then I doubted the benefits vs. the mess their integration into the body would mean, so that I went for a simple paint solution (see below).

 

A final cosmetic modification tried to improve the look of the shanks – but it did not help much. On the Defender, there are two continuous ridges that run across the lower legs. This is a molding simplification and wrong because the Defender (and all other 04-Series chassis’) only features the ends of the ridges.

I tried to sand the inner sections away, but upon gluing the parts finally together I realized that the fit of these parts is abysmal, and PSRing on the resulting concave surface between the leftover humps was a nightmare. Did not work well, and it looks poor.

 

With this in mind, a general word about the Arii 1:100 Destroids with the Series 04 chassis: there are three kits (Defender, Tomahawk and Phalanx), and you’d expect that these used the same lower body just with different torsos. But that’s not the case – they are all different, and the Defender is certainly the worst version, with its odd “toe” construction, the continuous ridges and the horrible fit of the lower leg halves as well as the shoulders that hold the stub arms. The Tomahawk is better, but also challenging, and IMHO, when you are only looking for the lower body section, the Phalanx is the best kit or the trio.

  

Painting and markings:

This Defender was supposed to remain canonical and close to the OOB finish, so this became a simple affair.

All Macross Destroids tend to carry a uniform livery, and esp. the Tomahawk/Defender/Phalanx family is kept in murky/dull tones of green, brown and ochre: unpretentious "mud movers".

The Defender appears to carry an overall olive drab livery, and I settled on RAL 7008 (Khakigrau), which is - according to the RAL color list - supposed to be a shade of grey, but it comes out as a dull, yellowish green-brown.

This tone was applied overall from a rattle can, and the few contrast sections like the ammunition boxes or the dust guards of the knee joints were painted with NATO olive green (RAL 6014, Gelboliv, Revell 46). The hull was later treated with Modelmaster Olive Drab (FS 34087), which adds a more greenish hue to the basic paint.

 

The kit received a thorough black ink washing, then some dry-brushing with Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill) was applied. The decals came next, taken from the OOB sheet, plus four decals for those vernier thrusters that had not been molded into the kit’s surface. The only change is a different piece of “nose art” on the left leg, replacing the original, rather small decal. It actually belongs to a Czech AF MiG-21MF (one of the two famous Fishbeds from Pardubice in 1989, aircraft “1114”) and filled the bumpy area over the lower leg’s seam (see above) well – a kind of visual distraction from the PSR mess underneath...

 

Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, its major sub-assemblies put together. The optical sensors received lenses with clear paint over a silver base. The large searchlights were painted, too, with a silver base plus white and clear blue reflections on top, covered with a generous coat of Humbrol’s Clearfix to mimic a clear, glossy cover.

After final assembly, some mineral pigments were dusted onto the model’s lower areas with a soft, big brush.

  

I knew that the Defender was trouble, but esp. the legs turned out to be horrible to build. However, the small cosmetic changes really improve the model’s look, and I am quite happy with the result.

Some background:

The MBR-04 series were the first combat-ready Destroids and the most successful land-combat weapon Destroids that were built with OverTechnology of Macross. The abbreviation MBR (Main Battle Robot) indicates the model was developed as a walking humanoid weapon emphasizing the heavy armor firepower of an artillery combat vehicle, designed to replace mainline battle tanks. The Type 04 series was developed jointly by Viggers and Chrauler. Unlike the variable fighters, which had to be designed to accommodate transformation mechanisms, the MBR series featured a structure with a large capacity that allowed plenty of room for machinery and armor.

 

The initial development line, the "Tomahawk" multipurpose battle robot and comparable in its intended role with former main battle tanks, had inferior anti-aircraft abilities, even though it boasted firepower like no other biped vehicle from the Destroid series. Originally, the Tomahawk was just called "MBR Mk. I", but once its systems and structural elements became the basis for other models, its designation changed into the "Type 04" Destroid. The main frame from the waist down, a module which consolidated the thermonuclear reactor and ambulatory OverTechnology system of the Destroids, was common to all of the Type 04 series of biped battle robots. Production line integration using this module was a key goal of Destroid development, and the quick development of further variants.

 

The ADR-04-Mk. X Defender Destroid was one of these family members, a walking weapon developed using OverTechnology for deployment by the United Nations Military. During development of the MBR-04-Mk I, a version of the Destroid ambulatory system with the anti-aircraft Contraves system (for use during the early stages of battle) was simultaneously being developed in a joint effort by Viggers-Chrauler under direction from the United Nations. This initial support Destroid, tentatively designated ADR-04-Mk. II, which still shared many components and even hull sections with the Tomahawk, did not progress beyond prototype stage - primarily because of a focus on the Tomahawk as UN's primary ground weapon. It nevertheless provided vital input for the ADR-04-Mk. X Defender, which became an important defensive asset to protect ground troops and vital locations, as well as for operations in space on board of the SDF-1.

 

Designed for the purpose of super-long-range firing in atmosphere and space, the Defender was rolled out in March 2009 and immediately put into action against the Zentraedi military. Unfortunately, the cost of the unit was high and posed significant difficulties for manufacturing, especially installing the high-definition targeting system, which lead to a bottleneck during mass production.

 

The ADR-04-Mk. X Defender's only weapons were two stub arms, each featuring a pair of large-caliber, specialized interception capability guns instead of manipulators, similar to the eventual mass-produced MBR-04-Mk. VI Tomahawk. The anti-aircraft engagement model (anti-tank class) wide-bore guns each fired 500 rounds per minute and all four barrels firing in combination were able to unleash continuous 2,000 rounds per minute, even though only short bursts of four rounds or just single shots were typically fired to save ammunition. The 78 mm rounds were aimed via an Erlikon Contraves fire control system and fired at an impressive muzzle velocity of 3,300 meters per second. A wide range of ammunition types could be fired, including HE, AP, APDS high speed, massive kinetic impact rounds, EMP grenades and rounds with chaff/flare/thermal mist charges. The internal belt magazines made it was possible to load up to three different types per twin gun and deliberately switch between them. The overall supply was, however, rather limited.

 

The rotating mechanism structure of the upper body allowed the unit to respond quickly to enemies approaching even from the rear, for a full 360° coverage of the whole hemisphere above the Destroid. Due to the independent arms, the Defender could even engage two targets separately and split its firepower among them. Additionally, the targeting system was capable of long-range firing in space and could perform extremely precise shooting at long distances in a vacuum/zero-G environment. Hence, the Defender Destroid was more a next generation anti-aircraft tank and in service frequently moonlighted as a movable defensive turret. However, despite featuring a common Destroid ambulatory system, the Defender's mobility was rather limited in direct comparison with a variable fighter Battroid, and it lacked any significant close-combat capability, so that it remained a dedicated support vehicle for other combat units.

 

180 ADR-04-Mk. X Defenders were ordered, built and operated by UN ground and space forces, about half of them were deployed on board of SDF-1. During the First Space War, around sixty more Defenders were converted from revamped MBR-04 series chassis, mostly from battle-damaged Tomahawks, but some later Phalanx' units were modified, too.

During its career the Defender was gradually upgraded with better sensors and radar systems, and its armament was augmented, too. A common upgrade were enlarged ammunition bays on the shoulders that could hold 50 more rounds per gun, even though this stressed the ambulatory system since the Defender's center of gravity was raised. Therefore, this modification was almost exclusively executed among stationary "gun turret" units. Another late upgrade was the addition of launch rails for AMM-1 anti-aircraft missiles on the gun pods and/or the torso. Again, this was almost exclusively implemented on stationary Defenders.

 

A short-range sub-variant, under the project handle "Cheyenne", was developed in 2010, too, but it was only produced in small number for evaluation purposes. It was based on the Defender's structure, but it carried a different armament, consisting of a pair of 37 mm six-barrel gatling guns plus AMM-1 missiles, and a more clutter-resistant radar system against fast and low-flying targets. The Cheyenne was intended as a complementary aerial defense unit, but the results from field tests were not convincing, so that the project was mothballed. However, in 2012 the concept was developed further into the ADR-04-Mk.XI "Manticore", which was fully tailored to the short-range defense role.

  

General characteristics:

Equipment Type: aerial defense robot, series 04

Government: U.N. Spacy

Manufacturer: Viggers/Chrauler

Introduction: March 2009

Accommodation: 1 pilot

 

Dimensions:

Height 11.37 meters (overall)

10.73 meters (w/o surveillance radar antenna)

Length 4.48 meters (hull only)

7.85 meters (guns forward)

Width 8.6 meters

Mass: 27.1 metric tons

 

Power Plant:

Kranss-Maffai MT828 thermonuclear reactor, output rated at 2800 shp;

plus an auxiliary GE EM10T fuel power generator, output rated at 510 kW

 

Propulsion:

2x thrust nozzles mounted in the lower back region, allowing the capability to perform jumps,

plus several vernier nozzles around the hull for Zero-G manoeuvers

 

Performance:

Max. walking speed: 72 kph when fully loaded

 

Design features:

- Detachable weapons bay (attaches to the main body via two main locks);

- Type 966 PFG Contraves radar and fire control set (a.k.a. Contraves II)

with respective heat exchanger on the upper back

- Rotating surveillance antenna for full 360° air space coverage

- Optical sensor unit equipped with four camera eyes, moving along a vertical slit,

protected by a polarized light shield;

- Capable of performing Zero-G manoeuvers via 16 x thrust nozzles (mounted around the hull);

- Reactor radiator with exhaust ports in the rear;

- Cockpit can be separated from the body in an emergency (only the cockpit block is recovered);

- Option pack featuring missiles or enlarged ammunition bays;

 

Armament:

2x Erlikon 78mm liquid-cooled high-speed 2-barrel automatic cannon with 200 rounds each,

mounted as arms

  

The kit and its assembly:

A kind of nostalgia trip, because my first ever mecha kit I bought and built in the Eighties was this 1:100 Destroid Defender! It still exists, even though only as a re-built model, and I thought that it was about time to build another, “better” one, to complete my collection of canonical Macross Destroids.

 

With this objective, the vintage kit was built basically OOB, just with some detail enhancements. The biggest structural change is a new hip joint arrangement, made from steel wire. It allows a more or less flexible 3D posture of the legs, for a more dynamic “walking” pose, and the resulting gaps were filled with paper tissue drenched in white glue and acrylic paint.

A more cosmetic change concerns the Defender’s optical sensor array on its “head”. OOB it just consists of a wide “slit” with a square window – very basic, but that’s how the defender is depicted in the TV series. However, I have a Macross artbook with original design sketches from Studio Nue, which reveal more details of this arrangement, and these include a kind of louvre that covers the mobile sensor array’s guide rails, and the sensor array itself consists of several smaller optical units – the relatively new 1:72 Defender from WAVE features these details, too, but the old 1:72 Defender from Arii (and later Bandai) also only has a red box, even though under a clear cover, which is IMHO dubious, though. The louvres were created from hemispherical styrene profile bits, the sensor array was scratched with a front wheel from an 1:100 VF-1 and more styrene bits.

 

The guns/arms were taken OOB, but I reduced the opening at the shoulder (and with it the angle the arms can be swiveled) with styrene profile material, which also hides the foo fit of the shoulder halves that hold the guns and a reinforcement styrene plate inside of them.

While I could have enlarged the ammunition boxes on the Defender’s shoulders (they are extended backwards), I left them in the original and OOB configuration. Another hull mod I eventually did not carry out were clear replacements for the molded searchlights. Having some visible depth and true clear covers would have been nice, but then I doubted the benefits vs. the mess their integration into the body would mean, so that I went for a simple paint solution (see below).

 

A final cosmetic modification tried to improve the look of the shanks – but it did not help much. On the Defender, there are two continuous ridges that run across the lower legs. This is a molding simplification and wrong because the Defender (and all other 04-Series chassis’) only features the ends of the ridges.

I tried to sand the inner sections away, but upon gluing the parts finally together I realized that the fit of these parts is abysmal, and PSRing on the resulting concave surface between the leftover humps was a nightmare. Did not work well, and it looks poor.

 

With this in mind, a general word about the Arii 1:100 Destroids with the Series 04 chassis: there are three kits (Defender, Tomahawk and Phalanx), and you’d expect that these used the same lower body just with different torsos. But that’s not the case – they are all different, and the Defender is certainly the worst version, with its odd “toe” construction, the continuous ridges and the horrible fit of the lower leg halves as well as the shoulders that hold the stub arms. The Tomahawk is better, but also challenging, and IMHO, when you are only looking for the lower body section, the Phalanx is the best kit or the trio.

  

Painting and markings:

This Defender was supposed to remain canonical and close to the OOB finish, so this became a simple affair.

All Macross Destroids tend to carry a uniform livery, and esp. the Tomahawk/Defender/Phalanx family is kept in murky/dull tones of green, brown and ochre: unpretentious "mud movers".

The Defender appears to carry an overall olive drab livery, and I settled on RAL 7008 (Khakigrau), which is - according to the RAL color list - supposed to be a shade of grey, but it comes out as a dull, yellowish green-brown.

This tone was applied overall from a rattle can, and the few contrast sections like the ammunition boxes or the dust guards of the knee joints were painted with NATO olive green (RAL 6014, Gelboliv, Revell 46). The hull was later treated with Modelmaster Olive Drab (FS 34087), which adds a more greenish hue to the basic paint.

 

The kit received a thorough black ink washing, then some dry-brushing with Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill) was applied. The decals came next, taken from the OOB sheet, plus four decals for those vernier thrusters that had not been molded into the kit’s surface. The only change is a different piece of “nose art” on the left leg, replacing the original, rather small decal. It actually belongs to a Czech AF MiG-21MF (one of the two famous Fishbeds from Pardubice in 1989, aircraft “1114”) and filled the bumpy area over the lower leg’s seam (see above) well – a kind of visual distraction from the PSR mess underneath...

 

Finally, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish, its major sub-assemblies put together. The optical sensors received lenses with clear paint over a silver base. The large searchlights were painted, too, with a silver base plus white and clear blue reflections on top, covered with a generous coat of Humbrol’s Clearfix to mimic a clear, glossy cover.

After final assembly, some mineral pigments were dusted onto the model’s lower areas with a soft, big brush.

  

I knew that the Defender was trouble, but esp. the legs turned out to be horrible to build. However, the small cosmetic changes really improve the model’s look, and I am quite happy with the result.

Character Creation

 

Batman[b] is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book Detective Comics on March 30, 1939.

 

In the DC Universe, Batman is the alias of Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American playboy, philanthropist, and industrialist who resides in the fictional Gotham City. His origin story features him swearing vengeance against criminals after witnessing the murder of his parents, Thomas and Martha, as a child, a vendetta tempered by the ideal of justice. He trains himself physically and intellectually, crafts a bat-inspired persona, and monitors the Gotham streets at night. Kane, Finger, and other creators accompanied Batman with supporting characters, including his sidekicks Robin and Batgirl; allies Alfred Pennyworth and James Gordon; love interest and occasional adversary Catwoman; as well as foes such as the Penguin, the Riddler, Two-Face, and his archenemy, the Joker, among others.

 

Kane conceived Batman in early 1939 to capitalize on the popularity of Superman. Along with Kane, Finger substantially developed the concept from a generic superhero into something more bat-like. They drew inspiration from pulp fiction characters like the Shadow, Sherlock Holmes, & The Green Hornet. Batman received a spin-off publication, Batman, in 1940.

 

Kane and Finger introduced Batman as a ruthless vigilante who frequently killed or maimed criminals, but he evolved into a just, tempered superhero with a stringent moral code that prohibits killing during the 1940s. Unlike most superheroes, Batman does not possess any superpowers, instead relying on his intellect, fighting skills, and wealth.

 

The 1960s Batman television series used a camp aesthetic, which continued to be associated with Batman for years after it ended. Various creators worked to return Batman to his darker roots in the 1970s and 1980s, culminating with the 1986 miniseries The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller.

 

DC has featured Batman in many comic books, including comics published under its imprints such as Vertigo and Black Label; he has been considered DC's flagship character since the 1990s. The longest-running Batman comic, Detective Comics, is the longest-running comic book in the United States. Batman is frequently depicted alongside other DC superheroes, such as Superman and Wonder Woman, as a member of organizations such as the Justice League and the Outsiders.

 

In addition to Bruce Wayne, other characters used the Batman persona, such as Jean-Paul Valley / Azrael in the 1993–1994 "Knightfall" story arc; Dick Grayson, the first Robin, from 2009 to 2011; and Jace Fox, the son of Wayne's ally Lucius, since 2021. DC has also published comics featuring alternate versions of Batman, including the incarnation seen in The Dark Knight Returns and its successors, the incarnation from the Flashpoint (2011) event, and numerous interpretations in comics published under the Elseworlds label.

 

Batman is one of the most iconic characters in popular culture and has been listed among the greatest comic book superheroes and characters ever created. He is one of the most commercially successful superheroes, and his likeness has been licensed and featured in various media and merchandise sold around the world; this includes toy lines such as Lego Batman and video games such as the Batman: Arkham series.

 

Batman has been adapted in many live-action and animated television series and films. Adam West portrayed him in the 1960s Batman television series, and he has been portrayed in film by Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney, Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, and Robert Pattinson. Many actors, most prolifically Kevin Conroy, have provided Batman's voice in animation and video games. In September 2024, Batman was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, being the first superhero to receive the honor.

 

Publication History

 

Creation and early history

 

In early 1939, following the success of Superman, DC Comics' editors requested more superheroes.[7] Bob Kane created Batman, initially drawing a character with red tights, bat wings, and a domino mask. Bill Finger, a collaborator, made significant contributions by suggesting a cowl, cape, gloves, and a darker costume.[8] The character's alter ego, Bruce Wayne, was inspired by historical figures Robert the Bruce and Mad Anthony Wayne.[9] Batman's early adventures drew inspiration from contemporary pulp fiction and characters like Zorro and the Shadow, establishing Batman as a master detective with a dark, brooding persona driven by the murder of his parents.[10][11]

 

Golden, Silver and Bronze Ages

 

Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 in 1939. Early stories were dark, featuring a Batman who did not shy away from killing. The character quickly became popular, leading to his own solo title in 1940. Robin, Batman's sidekick, was introduced in 1940, lightening the tone and boosting sales. Over the next few years, Batman's rogues' gallery expanded with iconic villains like the Joker and Catwoman.

 

The 1950s saw Batman in lighter, science fiction-influenced stories. However, declining sales led to a 1964 revamp by editor Julius Schwartz, who returned Batman to his detective roots and updated his appearance. The 1966 Batman TV series introduced a campy, humorous tone, which was reflected in the comics until its cancellation in 1968. In the 1970s, writers Dennis O'Neil and Neal Adams restored Batman's dark, gritty nature, a trend that continued despite fluctuating sales.

 

Modern Age and reboots

 

In the Modern Age of Comic Books Batman comics have undergone significant transformations, reflecting changing storytelling trends and audience interests. Beginning with seminal works like The Dark Knight Returns in the 1980s, which reintroduced Batman in a grittier, more mature context, the character's narrative evolved to explore deeper themes and darker tones. This period also saw the exploration of Batman's origins and psyche through works like Batman: Year One, and Batman: The Killing Joke, which delved into the complexities of heroism and villainy.

 

In the 1990s, storylines such as "Knightfall" introduced new adversaries like Bane, who physically and mentally challenged Batman, leading to a temporary replacement by Jean-Paul Valley. The aftermath of an earthquake in "No Man's Land" depicted Gotham City in chaos, further pushing Batman to new limits of heroism and survival.

 

Entering the 21st century, Grant Morrison's influential run introduced Damian Wayne as Batman's son and heir, bringing familial dynamics and a new generation of challenges to the forefront. Morrison's storytelling also delved into surreal and existential themes, such as in Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis, which tested Batman's resolve and sanity against cosmic threats and personal demons.

 

The New 52 reboot in 2011 refreshed Batman's continuity while preserving core elements of his character. This era introduced modern interpretations of classic storylines, like Night of the Owls, where Batman confronts the Court of Owls, a clandestine society controlling Gotham for centuries. The chilling return of the Joker in "Death of the Family" explored the intricate relationships within Batman's extended family of allies and adversaries. More recent developments under DC Rebirth and Infinite Frontier have continued to evolve Batman's universe, exploring new characters like Gotham and Gotham Girl, and tackling contemporary issues within the context of Gotham City's ever-evolving landscape of crime and heroism.

 

Bruce Wayne

 

Batman's secret identity is Bruce Wayne, a wealthy American industrialist. As a child, Bruce witnessed the murder of his parents, Dr. Thomas Wayne and Martha Wayne, which ultimately led him to craft the Batman persona and seek justice against criminals. He resides on the outskirts of Gotham City in his personal residence, Wayne Manor.

 

Wayne averts suspicion by acting the part of a superficial playboy idly living off his family's fortune and the profits of Wayne Enterprises, his inherited conglomerate. He supports philanthropic causes through his nonprofit Wayne Foundation, which in part addresses social issues encouraging crime as well as assisting victims of it, but is more widely known as a celebrity socialite.

 

In public, he frequently appears in the company of high-status women, which encourages tabloid gossip while feigning near-drunkenness with consuming large quantities of disguised ginger ale since Wayne is actually a strict teetotaler to maintain his physical and mental prowess. Although Bruce Wayne leads an active romantic life, his vigilante activities as Batman account for most of his time. While Bruce Wayne is never depicted as being especially religious, he is ethnically Jewish on his mother's side; his maternal cousin Batwoman (Kate Kane) is practising. His father, Thomas, raised Bruce as a Christian.

 

Various modern stories have portrayed the extravagant, playboy image of Bruce Wayne as a facade. In Batman Unmasked, a television documentary about the psychology of the character, behavioral scientist Benjamin Karney notes that Batman's personality is driven by Bruce Wayne's inherent humanity; that "Batman, for all its benefits and for all of the time Bruce Wayne devotes to it, is ultimately a tool for Bruce Wayne's efforts to make the world better". Bruce Wayne's principles include the desire to prevent future harm and a vow not to kill. Bruce Wayne believes that our actions define us, we fail for a reason, and anything is possible.

 

Writers of Batman and Superman stories have often compared and contrasted the two. Interpretations vary depending on the writer, the story, and the timing. Grant Morrison notes that both heroes "believe in the same kind of things" despite the day/night contrast their heroic roles display. Morrison notes an equally stark contrast in their real identities. Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent belong to different social classes: "Bruce has a butler, Clark has a boss." T. James Musler's book Unleashing the Superhero in Us All explores the extent to which Bruce Wayne's vast personal wealth is important in his life story, and the crucial role it plays in his efforts as Batman.

 

Will Brooker notes in his book Batman Unmasked that "the confirmation of the Batman's identity lies with the young audience ...he doesn't have to be Bruce Wayne; he just needs the suit and gadgets, the abilities, and most importantly the morality, the humanity."

 

Personality

 

Batman's primary character traits can be summarized as "wealth; physical prowess; deductive abilities and obsession". The details and tone of Batman comic books have varied over the years with different creative teams. Dennis O'Neil noted that character consistency was not a major concern during early editorial regimes: "Julie Schwartz did a Batman in Batman and Detective and Murray Boltinoff did a Batman in the Brave and the Bold and apart from the costume they bore very little resemblance to each other. Julie and Murray did not want to coordinate their efforts, nor were they asked to do so. Continuity was not important in those days."

 

The driving force behind Bruce Wayne's character is his parents' murder and their absence. Bob Kane and Bill Finger discussed Batman's background and decided that "there's nothing more traumatic than having your parents murdered before your eyes". Despite his trauma, he sets his mind on studying to become a scientist and to train his body into physical perfection to fight crime in Gotham City as Batman, an inspired idea from Wayne's insight into the criminal mind. He also speaks over 40 languages.

 

Another of Batman's characterizations is that of a vigilante; in order to stop evil that started with the death of his parents, he must sometimes break the law himself. Although manifested differently by being re-told by different artists, it is nevertheless that the details and the prime components of Batman's origin have never varied at all in the comic books, the "reiteration of the basic origin events holds together otherwise divergent expressions".

The origin is the source of the character's traits and attributes, which play out in many of the character's adventures.

 

Batman is often treated as a vigilante by other characters in his stories. Frank Miller views the character as "a dionysian figure, a force for anarchy that imposes an individual order". Dressed as a bat, Batman deliberately cultivates a frightening persona in order to aid him in crime-fighting, a fear that originates from the criminals' own guilty conscience.

 

Miller is often credited with reintroducing anti-heroic traits into Batman's characterization, such as his brooding personality, willingness to use violence and torture, and increasingly alienated behavior. Batman, shortly a year after his debut and the introduction of Robin, was changed in 1940 after DC editor Whitney Ellsworth felt the character would be tainted by his lethal methods and DC established their own ethical code, subsequently he was retconned to have a stringent moral code, which has stayed with the character of Batman ever since. Miller's Batman was closer to the original pre-Robin version, who was willing to kill criminals if necessary.

 

Others as Batman

 

On several occasions former Robin Dick Grayson has served as Batman; most notably in 2009 while Wayne was believed dead, and served as a second Batman even after Wayne returned in 2010. As part of DC's 2011 continuity relaunch, Grayson returned to being Nightwing following the Flashpoint crossover event.

 

In an interview with IGN, Morrison detailed that having Dick Grayson as Batman and Damian Wayne as Robin represented a "reverse" of the normal dynamic between Batman and Robin, with, "a more light-hearted and spontaneous Batman and a scowling, badass Robin". Morrison explained their intentions for the new characterization of Batman: "Dick Grayson is kind of this consummate superhero.

 

The guy has been Batman's partner since he was a kid, he's led the Teen Titans, and he's trained with everybody in the DC Universe. So he's a very different kind of Batman. He's a lot easier; He's a lot looser and more relaxed."

 

Over the years, there have been numerous others to assume the name of Batman, or to officially take over for Bruce during his leaves of absence. Jean-Paul Valley, also known as Azrael, assumed the cowl after the events of the Knightfall saga. Jim Gordon donned a mecha-suit after the events of Batman: Endgame, and served as Batman in 2015 and 2016. In 2021, as part of the Fear State crossover event, Lucius Fox's son Jace Fox succeeds Bruce as Batman in a 2021 storyline, depicted in the series I Am Batman, after Batman was declared dead.

 

Additionally, members of the group Batman Incorporated, Bruce Wayne's experiment at franchising his brand of vigilantism, have at times stood in as the official Batman in cities around the world. Various others have also taken up the role of Batman in stories set in alternative universes and possible futures, including, among them, various former proteges of Bruce Wayne.

 

Enemies

 

Batman faces a variety of foes ranging from common criminals to outlandish supervillains. Many of them mirror aspects of the Batman's character and development, often having tragic origin stories that lead them to a life of crime. These foes are commonly referred to as Batman's rogues gallery. Batman's "most implacable foe" is the Joker, a homicidal maniac with a clown-like appearance. The Joker is considered by critics to be his perfect adversary, since he is the antithesis of Batman in personality and appearance; the Joker has a maniacal demeanor with a colorful appearance, while Batman has a serious and resolute demeanor with a dark appearance. As a "personification of the irrational", the Joker represents "everything Batman opposes".

 

Other long-time recurring foes that are part of Batman's rogues gallery include Catwoman (a cat burglar anti-heroine who is variously an ally and romantic interest), the Penguin, Ra's al Ghul, Two-Face (Harvey Dent), the Riddler, the Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Bane, Clayface, and Killer Croc, among others. Many of Batman's adversaries are often psychiatric patients at Arkham Asylum.

 

Allies

 

Alfred Pennyworth, Batman's loyal butler and father figure, first appeared in Batman #16 (1943). After Bruce Wayne's parents were killed, Alfred raised Bruce and became one of the few people to know his secret identity. He is often portrayed as a steadying presence in Bruce's life, offering both emotional support and practical assistance in Batman's crime-fighting endeavors. More than just a caretaker, Alfred is a trusted ally and sometimes sidekick, sharing Wayne Manor with Bruce and contributing to Batman's mission.

 

One of Batman's most crucial allies is Commissioner James Gordon. Their relationship is built on mutual respect and a shared commitment to justice in Gotham City. In Batman: Year One, Gordon and Batman learn to trust each other, which transforms their efforts against crime into a more effective partnership. Gordon's perspective as a police officer complements Batman's vigilantism, allowing them to tackle Gotham's challenges together. Another important ally is the Justice League, which further emphasizes the importance of collaboration. Batman's relationship with Superman showcases how their contrasting ideologies can complement each other. In stories like World's Finest, their friendship highlights how Batman's methods benefit from Superman's optimism and strength.

 

Sidekicks

 

Robin, Batman's vigilante partner, has been a widely recognized supporting character for many years; each iteration of the Robin character, of which there have been five in the mainstream continuity, function as members of the Batman family, but additionally, as Batman's "central" sidekick in various media.

 

Bill Finger stated that he wanted to include Robin because "Batman didn't have anyone to talk to, and it got a little tiresome always having him thinking." The first Robin, Dick Grayson, was introduced in 1940. In the 1970s he finally grew up, went off to college and became the hero Nightwing. A second Robin, Jason Todd was introduced in the 1980s, following Dick Grayson's departure from the role. Initially impulsive and rebellious, Jason's tenure as Robin was controversial among fans. In 1988, DC held a fan vote to determine his fate in the iconic A Death in the Family storyline, where the Joker brutally beat Jason with a crowbar and left him to die in an explosion. The fans voted for his death. However, Jason was later resurrected and returned as the antihero Red Hood.

 

The third Robin in the mainstream comics is Tim Drake, who first appeared in 1989. He went on to star in his own comic series, and goes by the name Red Robin, a variation on the traditional Robin persona. In the first decade of the new millennium, Stephanie Brown served as the fourth in-universe Robin between stints as her self-made vigilante identity the Spoiler, and later as Batgirl.

 

After Brown's apparent death, Drake resumed the role of Robin for a time. The role eventually passed to Damian Wayne, the 10-year-old son of Bruce Wayne and Talia al Ghul, in the late 2000s.[58] Damian's tenure as du jour Robin ended when the character was killed off in the pages of Batman Incorporated in 2013.

 

Batman's next young sidekick is Harper Row, a streetwise young woman who avoids the name Robin but followed the ornithological theme nonetheless; she debuted the codename and identity of the Bluebird in 2014. Unlike the Robins, the Bluebird is willing and permitted to use a gun, albeit non-lethal; her weapon of choice is a modified rifle that fires taser rounds. In 2015, a new series began titled We Are...Robin, focused on a group of teenagers using the Robin persona to fight crime in Gotham City. The most prominent of these, Duke Thomas, later becomes Batman's crimefighting partner as The Signal.

 

Romantic interests

 

Batman's romantic history spans decades, filled with relationships that reflect his struggle between personal happiness and his duty as Gotham's protector. His first love interest was Julie Madison, introduced in Detective Comics #31 (1939). Though engaged to Bruce Wayne, she left due to his distant and playboy persona, highlighting the conflict between Bruce's dual life and his desire for a normal relationship.

 

Selina Kyle, also known as Catwoman, is perhaps the most notable figure in Batman's romantic history. Debuting in Batman #1 (1940), their relationship is characterized by a blend of romance and rivalry. Over the years, they have shared intense connections, often navigating the fine line between love and conflict. Their relationship culminated in an engagement during the DC Rebirth.

 

Another important figure is Vicki Vale, a journalist introduced in Batman #49 (1948). Vicki's attempts to uncover Batman's true identity lead to a complicated romantic involvement that waxed and waned over the years, especially during the early 1980s when their relationship became more serious.

 

Talia al Ghul, introduced in Detective Comics #411 (1971), is another key player in Batman's love life. Their relationship is fraught with conflict due to her father, Ra's al Ghul, and his criminal ambitions. Despite the challenges, their love story resulted in the birth of Damian Wayne, who would grow to become the latest Robin and add a new layer of complexity to Batman's character.

 

Additionally, Batman's relationship with Wonder Woman has been explored in various storylines, including a passionate kiss in JLA (2003) during a moment of crisis. However, their relationship remains largely unexplored, often overshadowed by their respective commitments.

 

Abilities

 

Skills and training

 

Batman has no inherent superhuman powers; he relies on "his own scientific knowledge, detective skills, and athletic prowess". Batman's inexhaustible wealth gives him access to advanced technologies, and as a proficient scientist, he is able to use and modify these technologies to his advantage.

 

In the stories, Batman is regarded as one of the world's greatest detectives, if not the world's greatest crime solver. Batman has been repeatedly described as having a genius-level intellect, being one of the greatest martial artists in the DC Universe, and having peak human physical and mental conditioning. As a polymath, his knowledge and expertise in countless disciplines is nearly unparalleled by any other character in the DC Universe. He has shown prowess in assorted fields such as mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, and several levels of engineering. He has traveled the world acquiring the skills needed to aid him in his endeavors as Batman. In the Superman: Doomed story arc, Superman considers Batman to be one of the most brilliant minds on the planet.

 

Batman has trained extensively in various fighting styles, making him one of the best hand-to-hand fighters in the DC Universe. He possesses a photographic memory, and has fully utilized his photographic memory to master a total of 127 forms of martial arts. In terms of his physical condition, Batman is described as peak human and far beyond an Olympic-athlete-level condition, able to perform feats such as easily running across rooftops in a Parkour-esque fashion, pressing thousands of pounds regularly, and even bench pressing six hundred pounds of soil and coffin in a poisoned and starved state.

 

Superman describes Batman as "the most dangerous man on Earth", able to defeat an entire team of superpowered extraterrestrials by himself in order to rescue his imprisoned teammates in Grant Morrison's first storyline in JLA.

 

Batman is strongly disciplined, and he has the ability to function under great physical pain and resist most forms of telepathy and mind control. He is a master of disguise, multilingual, and an expert in espionage, often gathering information under the identity of a notorious gangster named Matches Malone. Batman is highly skilled in stealth movement and escapology, which allows him to appear and disappear at will and to break free of nearly inescapable deathtraps with little to no harm. He is also a master strategist, considered DC's greatest tactician, with numerous plans in preparation for almost any eventuality.

 

Batman is an expert in interrogation techniques and his intimidating and frightening appearance alone is often all that is needed in getting information from suspects. Despite having the potential to harm his enemies, Batman's most defining characteristic is his strong commitment to justice and his reluctance to take a life. This unyielding moral rectitude has earned him the respect of several heroes in the DC Universe, most notably that of Superman and Wonder Woman.

 

Among physical and other crime fighting related training, he is also proficient at other types of skills. Some of these include being a licensed pilot (in order to operate the Batplane), as well as being able to operate other types of machinery. In some publications, he even underwent some magician training.

 

Technology

 

Batman utilizes a vast arsenal of specialized, high-tech vehicles and gadgets in his war against crime, the designs of which usually share a bat motif. Batman historian Les Daniels credits Gardner Fox with creating the concept of Batman's arsenal with the introduction of the utility belt in Detective Comics #29 (July 1939) and the first bat-themed weapons the batarang and the "Batgyro" in Detective Comics #31 and 32 (Sept. and October 1939).

 

Personal armor - Batsuit

 

Batman's batsuit aids in his combat against enemies, having the properties of both Kevlar and Nomex. It protects him from gunfire and other significant impacts, and incorporates the imagery of a bat in order to frighten criminals.

 

The details of the Batman costume change repeatedly through various decades, stories, media and artists' interpretations, but the most distinctive elements remain consistent: a scallop-hem cape; a cowl covering most of the face; a pair of bat-like ears; a stylized bat emblem on the chest; and the ever-present utility belt. His gloves typically feature three scallops that protrude from long, gauntlet-like cuffs, although in his earliest appearances he wore short, plain gloves without the scallops. The overall look of the character, particularly the length of the cowl's ears and of the cape, varies greatly depending on the artist. Dennis O'Neil said, "We now say that Batman has two hundred suits hanging in the Batcave so they don't have to look the same ...Everybody loves to draw Batman, and everybody wants to put their own spin on it."

 

Finger and Kane originally conceptualized Batman as having a black cape and cowl and grey suit, but conventions in coloring called for black to be highlighted with blue. Hence, the costume's colors have appeared in the comics as dark blue and grey; as well as black and grey. In the Tim Burton's Batman and Batman Returns films, Batman has been depicted as completely black with a bat in the middle surrounded by a yellow background. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy depicted Batman wearing high-tech gear painted completely black with a black bat in the middle. Ben Affleck's Batman in the DC Extended Universe films wears a suit grey in color with a black cowl, cape, and bat symbol. Seemingly following the suit of the DC Extended Universe outfit, Robert Pattinson's uniform in The Batman restores the more traditional gray bodysuit and black appendage design, notably different from prior iterations by mostly utilizing real world armor and apparel pieces from modern military and motorcycle gear.

 

Batmobile

 

The 1966 television Batmobile, built by George Barris from a Lincoln Futura concept car

Batman's primary vehicle is the Batmobile, which is usually depicted as an imposing black car, often with tailfins that suggest a bat's wings.

 

Batman also has an aircraft called the Batplane (originally a relatively traditionally, but bat-motifed plane, later seen as the much more unique "Batwing" starting in the 1989 film), along with various other means of transportation.

 

In proper practice, the "bat" prefix (as in Batmobile or batarang) is rarely used by Batman himself when referring to his equipment, particularly after some portrayals (primarily the 1960s Batman live-action television show and the Super Friends animated series) stretched the practice to campy proportions. For example, the 1960s television show depicted a Batboat, Bat-Sub, and Batcycle, among other bat-themed vehicles. The 1960s television series Batman has an arsenal that includes such "bat-" names as the Bat-computer, Bat-scanner, bat-radar, bat-cuffs, bat-pontoons, bat-drinking water dispenser, bat-camera with polarized bat-filter, bat-shark repellent bat-spray, and Bat-rope. The storyline "A Death in the Family" suggests that given Batman's grim nature, he is unlikely to have adopted the "bat" prefix on his own. In The Dark Knight Returns, Batman tells Carrie Kelley that the original Robin came up with the name "Batmobile" when he was young, since that is what a kid would call Batman's vehicle.

 

The Batmobile, which was before frequently depicted to resemble a sports car, was redesigned in 2011 when DC Comics relaunched its entire line of comic books, with the Batmobile being given heavier armor and new aesthetics.

 

Utility belt

 

Batman keeps most of his field equipment in his utility belt. Over the years it has shown to contain an assortment of crime-fighting tools, weapons, and investigative and technological instruments. Different versions of the belt have these items stored in compartments, often as pouches or hard cylinders attached evenly around it.

 

Since the 1989 film, Batman is often depicted as carrying a projectile which shoots a retractable grappling hook attached to a cable (before this, a he employed a traditionally thrown grappling hook.) This allows him to attach to distant objects, be propelled into the air, and thus swing from the rooftops of Gotham City.

 

An exception to the range of Batman's equipment are hand guns, which he refuses to use on principle, since a gun was used in his parents' murder. In modern stories in terms of his vehicles, Batman compromises on that principle to install weapon systems on them for the purpose of non-lethally disabling other vehicles, forcing entry into locations and attacking dangerous targets too large to defeat by other means.

 

Bat-Signal

 

When Batman is needed, the Gotham City police activate a searchlight with a bat-shaped insignia over the lens called the Bat-Signal, which shines into the night sky, creating a bat-symbol on a passing cloud which can be seen from any point in Gotham. The origin of the signal varies, depending on the continuity and medium.

 

In various incarnations, most notably the 1960s Batman TV series, Commissioner Gordon also has a dedicated phone line, dubbed the Bat-Phone, connected to a bright red telephone (in the TV series) which sits on a wooden base and has a transparent top. The line connects directly to Batman's residence, Wayne Manor, specifically both to a similar phone sitting on the desk in Bruce Wayne's study and the extension phone in the Batcave.

 

Batcave

 

The Batcave is Batman's secret headquarters, consisting of a series of caves beneath his mansion, Wayne Manor. As his command center, the Batcave serves multiple purposes; supercomputer, surveillance, redundant power-generators, forensics lab, medical infirmary, private study, training dojo, fabrication workshop, arsenal, hangar and garage. It houses the vehicles and equipment Batman uses in his campaign to fight crime. It is also a trophy room and storage facility for Batman's unique memorabilia collected over the years from various cases he has worked on.

 

Fictional Character History

 

The Man Who Laughs

 

Gotham City got its first taste of Batman's greatest enemy, the Joker, when the police found an abandoned warehouse filled with mutilated corpses, all having ghastly rictus grins on their faces. While Batman was tracking down the killer, the Joker himself appeared on live TV, on a news report on Arkham Asylum, killing the reporter with his mysterious laughing venom and predicting the deaths of some of the richest individuals in Gotham. Bruce wondered whether the Joker was a deformed version of the Red Hood, a criminal who fell into chemical waste while being engaged by Batman. The Joker carried out his hits as promised, using his venom, despite Batman's efforts to stop him. The city was thrown into chaos when he invaded a prison facility and sets its inmates free, providing them with weapons and killing all of its guard personnel in the process.

 

The criminals wrought great havoc throughout the city, but ware apprehended by Batman. When the Joker's next target became Bruce Wayne, Wayne Manor came under strict surveillance and guard by the police, rendering Bruce unable to act as Batman. He secretly injected himself with some Joker venom he had gathered. The venom took instant effect, and Bruce was rushed to the hospital.

 

But on the way, Alfred Pennyworth administered him with an antidote that Bruce had synthesized after careful study, and as Bruce recovered, he understood the Joker's true plan. He had gained an understanding of what drove the Joker while under the effects of the venom and had realized that Bruce Wayne's assassination was only a diversion from his real mission, which was killing everyone in Gotham City by poisoning its water reservoir, which Batman deduced from the clues he had gained in the last few days while tracking the Joker. He found and stopped the Joker at the reservoir and refrains from killing him, though not without giving him a severe beating. The Joker was confined to the reopened Arkham Asylum.

 

The Long Halloween

 

In Batman's early years, his main objective was to take down Gotham's biggest crime lord Carmine "The Roman" Falcone. To do this, Batman required the help of two of Gotham's finest, "hero cop" Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent. Despite dealing massive blows to the criminal empire, the Roman still stood tall until a killer by the name of Holiday started making his move and killing a member of the Falcone Crime family on every occasion.

 

Over the course of the story, the trio's morals are put into question, notably Dent's, who has let it be known that he does not care for the deaths of criminals and even contemplated stealing some of the weakened Roman's money. Jealous by the attention Holiday has received, the Joker attempts to release his gas on Gotham Square on New Year's Eve to kill everyone in attendance, and hopefully Holiday but he is stopped by Batman.

 

Later on, it is revealed that Dent owned the same type of gun that was used in the Holiday murders, turning him into a prime suspect. Despite Gordon's suspicions, Batman refuses to believe that his friend, who shares his love for justice, would be a killer. On the Roman's birthday, Sal Maroni, Falcone's rival, is set to testify against Carmine, prosecuted by Dent.

 

Just as things seemed to go Dent's way, Maroni ends up throwing acid in the attorney's face, physically and mentally scarring him. After being rushed to the hospital, Harvey escapes in a crazed state and kills a doctor. Gordon moves Maroni to a new cell, suspecting that he may be Holiday's next target.

 

Surely enough, Holiday makes his move and kills Maroni, and just as he is about to kill Gordon, who was escorting the gangster, Batman appears just in time to save his friend and take down the killer, and he is revealed to be Falcone's son, Alberto, who holds a grudge against his father for neglecting him and keeping him out of the family business. A while later, Dent makes his return, with half his face disfigured, now calling himself Two-Face. He regroups all the costume freaks including Joker, Scarecrow, and Poison Ivy, among others, and bursts into the disgraced Roman penthouse to signify the change that has come to Gotham.

 

Batman appears and takes down the villains except for Dent who holds Falcone hostage. Despite Batman's pleads, Two-Face ends up killing Falcone and then surrenders himself. In the end, when confronted by Batman and Gordon, Dent claims that his methods were the most effective in taking down Falcone. Despite witnessing the corruption of their friend, Batman and Gordon's resolve remains strong and they both vow to never give up on ridding Gotham of evil.

 

Dark Victory and Robin

 

In the aftermath of Roman's death, Falcone's daughter, Sofia Gigante has taken over the family business and vows to kill Two-Face who managed to escape from Arkham Asylum. Meanwhile, a killer by the name of Hangman has been killing various cops and implying that Two-Face is responsible. A gang war erupts between the crime families and the costumed freaks, recruited by Two-Face, and in the crossfire, circus acrobats, the Flying Graysons are killed by Falcone associate, Tony Zucco, leaving the performers' son, Dick, an orphan.

 

Feeling sympathy for the child and remembering his own trauma, Bruce Wayne adopts Dick as his son. However, since Bruce was too busy trying to stop the war as Batman, Dick would often sneak out at night looking for his parent's killer. A terrified Tony Zucco, who knows that Batman is looking for him, is confronted by Dick and due to his poor health, ends up dying of a heart attack. Realizing the boy's vigilante tendencies, Bruce reveals his identity and decides to train him to avoid his death. It is later revealed that Hangman is actually Sofia Gigante and sets Gotham on fire to bring Dent out of hiding but before she could kill him, Batman saves him, allowing Dent to kill her and escape into the sewers with the rest of the super-villains with Batman in pursuit.

 

In the climactic battle, Two-Face and his villainous group find themselves in the bat cave but Dick's presence prevented them from discovering Batman's secret. Batman and Dick end up fighting off and defeating the villains once and for all. In the end, Batman offers Dick a chance to live a normal life away from vigilantism, but Dick insists on joining his war, and so, he becomes Robin, assisting Batman in his mission, and thus the Dynamic Duo was born.

 

Tales of the Ghul

 

While trying to stop the criminal Doctor Dark, who was leading the League of Assassins at the time, Batman meets the enigmatic Talia Al Ghul, who was kidnapped by Dark in an attempt to blackmail her father, the wealthy Ra's Al Ghul. Batman saves Talia and she ends up falling in love with the Dark Knight. One night, Batman discovers that Robin has been kidnapped and then, Ra's Al Ghul, who has used his immense resources to discover Batman's secret identity, appears to him in the Bat-Cave to ask for his help, as his daughter has also been kidnapped, possibly by the same person who kidnapped Robin.

 

The two work together and, accompanied by Ra's' faithful bodyguard Ubu, travels the world looking for the kidnapper. Batman solves various puzzles and obstacles thrown in his path, and after finding both Talia and Robin, he deduces that Ra's was behind the entire ordeal as a personal test, which Ra declares he has passed. Ra's reveals that he wants to change the world into a better place, but to that, he wants to eradicate most of mankind. However, he is growing old and reveals that this machination took place because he needed a successor, and Batman has proven himself worthy of that position as well as the affections of his only daughter, Talia. However, Batman, appalled by his view of the world, sees him as a dangerous criminal mastermind and vows to stop him at all costs.

 

In his crusade to take down the criminal mastermind, he discovers in the story that Ra's has lived for centuries due to the mystical Lazarus Pit, which restores Ra's youth as well as gives him immense strength that allowed him to defeat Batman in a fight. In his pursuit of Ra's and his league, Batman finds himself in Nanda Parbat where Ra's challenges him to a swordfight. After fighting a stalemate, a scorpion stings Batman, leaving him incapacitated. Though Ra's sees Batman as a worthy foe, because he refused his offer, he leaves him to die.

 

However, Talia, still having feelings for the Dark Knight, gives him a final kiss that contained the antidote. Batman recovers from the scorpion's poison, and in a fit of rage, confronts Ra's, who was immobilized with fear at the sight of the recovered vigilante, and decisively defeats him. In the end, Batman embraces Talia and offers her the chance to come back with him, but she refuses, because, despite her feelings for Bruce, she feels that she must remain by her father's side.

 

Just Another Kid on Crime Alley

 

During an encounter with the Joker, Robin is seriously wounded and the media believes him to be dead. Worried about Dick's safety, Batman decides to keep it that way and retires the Robin mantle, but Dick's insists that he will remain a crime-fighter and he would, later on, become the superhero known as Nightwing. On the anniversary of his parent's death, Batman, as is his tradition, keeps watching over Crime Alley, the site of that tragic night. However, on his way back to the Batmobile, he finds a young street orphan by the name of Jason Todd attempting to steal the tires of the car. Though impressed by the kid's courage, he decides to take him to a school for the homeless, but when it is revealed that the school housed criminals, Batman, with Jason's help, takes it down.

 

With nowhere for Jason to go and at the risk of him becoming another criminal on the streets, Batman decides to take Jason in as his own son, and seeing his potential to be a hero and also partly due to the loneliness he experienced after Dick Grayson's departure, offers Jason the mantle of Robin, which Jason gladly accepts. Batman later discovers that Jason's mother died of an overdose and his father was a reluctant partner of Two-Face, who ended up getting killed by the criminal. Although Batman attempted to hide this from Robin, fearing what he may do, his faith in Jason is restored when Robin, having discovered Two-Face's acts, spared him even though he had the chance to avenge his father's death. This made Batman see Jason as a worthy sidekick.

 

A Death in the Family

 

As time passed, it quickly became evident to Batman that Jason was far from the ideal crime-fighter. His conduct on the field was in stark contrast to that of Batman's cold professionalism. Jason would often thrust himself into exceedingly dangerous situations, endangering both student and mentor, giving vent to his inner emotions, which seemed to be dominated by rage. This became even more evident when Jason seemingly killed a serial rapist who had walked free after causing the death of one of his victims. Batman soon realized Robin hadn't coped with the death of his parents and felt it was best to make him inactive.

 

Back at his birthplace in Crime Alley, Jason finds his birth certificate and learns that his mother wasn't the late Catherine Todd, but that three women could be his mother, and all there are out of the country, so he left off in search of the first one, in the Middle East where he coincidentally meets up with Batman who was there tracking down the Joker. Together, they thwart the Joker's plans and take down the terrorists, but to Jason's dismay, the suspected woman is not his mother.

 

Continuing their investigation, and after an encounter with the deadly assassin Lady Shiva, they eventually track down Sheila Haywood, who was working in famine relief efforts in Ethiopia and it is revealed that she is, in fact, Jason's real mother. Bruce leaves Jason to spend time with his mother while he chases after the Joker, but it is later revealed that Sheila was being blackmailed by the Joker into giving him shipments of medical supplies that he can sell in the black market while transferring his deadly Joker gas to relief destinations.

 

Batman orders Jason to stay put while he chases the Joker, but Jason defies Batman's orders and leaves for the warehouse to find his mother. Jason manages to find her and reveals his secret identity to her, but she turns him over to the Joker in an attempt to save her own life. Joker savagely beats Jason with a crowbar, then detonates an explosion that kills both Jason and his mother.

 

Batman arrives just as the explosion goes off, and as he searches through the rubble, he finds, to his horror, the corpse of Jason. Batman grieves over the horrible site and vows to avenge Jason's death and take down the Joker once and for all. Batman vengefully tracks down the Joker, and though he manages to stop his latest death plot, the madman escapes, ending this counter the same way as others, unresolved. Batman continues grieving over Jason's death, considering it to be his greatest failure, and vows to never endanger anyone else in this line of work. Since then, he keeps Jason's costume in a glass casing in the Bat-Cave as a memorial, underneath it reads "A Good Soldier".

 

A Lonely Place of Dying

 

After Jason's tragic death, Batman became more violent and almost self-destructing when he battled crime. Tim Drake, a young boy who witnessed the death of the Graysons, noticed the dark nature of Batman after the loss of Robin. Tim once idolized the Flying Graysons and was in attendance when Dick's parents were killed. He also idolized Batman and Robin, as he saw them as heroes. Tim was able to deduce that Dick Grayson was, in fact, Robin when he noticed the costumed fighter perform an acrobatic move that only Dick could do, and knowing that the former acrobat was adopted by Bruce Wayne, he pieced things together and deduced that the millionaire is indeed Batman. He had figured out that the original Robin was Dick Grayson and thus, Bruce Wayne had to be Batman.

 

Tim knew that Batman needed an ally in his war and after being unsuccessful in convincing Dick to return to the role, Dick petitions Bruce to train Tim to become the next Robin, to keep Batman sane, but Batman refuses, vowing to never endanger anyone but himself in his war on crime. Meanwhile, Two-Face is on the loose and has prepared a plot to kill Batman once and for all, and this would have happened if not for the timely intervention of Tim Drake, wearing the Robin costume with Alfred's blessing and providing the necessary distraction for Batman to defeat his foe. In the end, both Alfred and Nightwing insist that the boy is capable of doing much good, especially under the guidance of Batman, and after much reluctance, Batman ends up agreeing. After a grueling training regime, Tim finally becomes the new Robin.

 

Knightfall

 

After a long time of hard work, Batman and Robin finally succeed in placing all of the worst villains in Arkham Asylum and thus apparently ensuring peace for Gotham. At one point he also encounters Jean-Paul Valley who is called Azrael, a victim of "The System" who was brainwashed into becoming an assassin for the sinister order known as The Order of Dumas, but Batman comforts Valley and takes him in as an ally to fight crime alongside him and reject his previous life.

 

Just when it seemed that Gotham was at peace, a new villain makes his way to Gotham seeking to conquer it and defeat its guardian, the Batman. The villain, known only as Bane, destroys the walls of Arkham and frees every single inmate to rage havoc on the city. Batman, who was also sick at the time, is forced to run a gauntlet of his worst enemies, putting both his body and mind to the test.

 

After a series of plots and encounters that weigh heavily on him, mentally and physically, fighting the likes of the Mad Hatter, the Ventriloquist, Amygdala, Victor Zsasz, Firefly, Riddler, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Scarecrow, Joker, and Two-Face, as well as encountering Bane's henchmen Zombie, Trogg and Bird, Batman finally manages to put them all back in prison however still oblivious to the mastermind behind this Gauntlet.

 

Batman finally returns home to rest only to be confronted by Bane, whose plan has come full circle and has come to Gotham to conquer it and defeat its protector. Though having almost no strength left, Batman accepts Bane's challenge and has one final fight. However, he is no match for this skilled foe, whose strength has also increased due to a drug known as Venom, and despite his best efforts Batman is horribly beaten and has his back broken by Bane in his own Batcave, paralyzing him.

 

Bane throws Batman's body in the middle of a crowded street so that everyone sees the fall of the Dark Knight. Before his identity is compromised, Alfred and Robin quickly take him back to the manor to nurse him back to health. However, his will is just as broken as his body, as he realizes that he cannot don the costume again, and since Gotham needs a protector, he entrusts the mantle of Batman to Jean-Paul Valley and instructs a distraught Robin to be his ally.

 

Knightquest and Knightsend

 

After his paralysis, Batman is tended to by Shondra Kinsolving, a doctor whom Bruce met before and the two shared romantic feelings. However, one night, Shondra is kidnapped along with one of her patients, Jack Drake, Robin's father, and so, despite being in a wheelchair, Bruce, along with Alfred go after the kidnappers, and track them down to London, leaving Gotham under the care of Robin (who is oblivious to his father's kidnapping) and the new Batman. It is revealed in the story that Shondra had psychic powers, and was kidnapped by her brother Asp who intended to use those powers for his own gain. Bruce is caught in a telepathic exchange between Shondra and Asp, and the energy released causes Bruce to regain mobility of his legs.

 

Now healed, he defeats Asp and saves Drake and Shondra, but the doctor's mental state was regressed to childhood due to the drugs given to her by her brother and she loses all memory of her relationship with Bruce. Preparing to get back into shape and regain his strength, Batman seeks the help of the skilled martial artist and assassin, Lady Shivam who agrees with the condition that he must kill. After several weeks of intense training, when it was time for Batman to kill, he refuses, causing Shiva to send variously skilled assassins after him to force his hand. Bruce defeats the assassins and appears to kill the final one, much to Shiva's delight. However, he had used a technique that appeared to be lethal even though it was not. With his strength now regained, Batman is ready to come back to Gotham.

 

Meanwhile, back in Gotham, Valley, now operating as Batman, attempts to track down Bane, who has now taken control of Gotham's underworld. However, Valley's brainwashing by the Order resurfaces, causing him to become more violent and to start losing control over his sanity. Donning a new tech-heavy costume and refusing Robin as a partner, Valley becomes a far darker and much more violent Batman and eventually manages to defeat Bane and end his reign of terror.

 

As the new Batman watches over Gotham, his vicious and reckless methods became intolerable by Robin, especially when he caused the deaths of the villain the Abattoir and his victims. When Robin tried to reason with him, Valley lashed out at him, almost killing him as he now considers himself to be superior to the real Batman. When Batman returns, having healed from his back injury, Jean-Paul tried to kill him to prove his superiority but Batman defeats and tricks him into removing his costume, thereby getting rid of "the system" in his head. Humbled and regretting his actions, Valley admits to Bruce that he (Bruce) is the one and only Batman and vows to redeem himself in his eyes.

 

Though having regained the use of his legs, Batman decides to travel the world to fully regain his strength, and in his absence gives the mantle to the man he should have given it to in the first place, Nightwing until he comes back.

 

No Man's Land

 

Gotham is struck by a massive Earthquake, one which claims the lives of many people in Gotham. Batman had anticipated the arrival of an earthquake and had all Wayne-funded buildings be protected from such an event, including Oracle's Watchtower and Tim Drake's home, however, his own house did not receive such protection because that may compromise his identity as Batman.

 

Bruce and Alfred barely survive the earthquake, and once out of the rubble, Batman watches in horror his city in ruins and there's nothing he could do about it. With most of the city destroyed, criminals run rampant around the remains, and chaos ensues to the point where Gotham is declared a No Man's Land by the government and it is cut off from the rest of the country. Batman travels to Washington, and as Bruce Wayne does his best to convince Congress to help the city he loves, but he fails to do so, causing him to be distraught and almost loses all hope himself in exile until he is motivated back into action by Talia Al Ghul.

 

Meanwhile in Gotham, with very limited food and resources, new rules are applied and the criminals divide the city into territories and use spray paint to claim ownership of said territories. Members of the GCPD that stayed in Gotham are now known as the Blue boys and they try to maintain order in Gotham. Others join the fight as well, including Oracle, who monitors the entire city and serves as information broker while Helena Bartinelli aka the Huntress, dons a Batman-inspired costume to be more effective as a crime-fighter.

 

Batman eventually returns and adapts to the new rules of Gotham, using spray paint to mark his territory and does everything he can to help his city. He allows Huntress to operate as Batgirl for a while until Two-Face's gang invades his territory and kill several people. Helena was forced to flee and when she refuses to follow Batman's orders anymore, he forces her to relinquish the Batgirl mantle.

 

When things become more dire Batman assembles all his allies including Nightwing, Robin, Jean-Paul Valley and Oracle as well as new Batgirl, the mute Cassandra Caine, who proved herself when she saved Gordon's life from her father the assassin David Caine, and they all fight to take back their city.

 

No Man's Land comes to an end thanks to Lex Luthor, who used legal and illegal means as well as political machinations to fund the renovation of Gotham city all in an attempt to take over himself. Batman allows Luthor to do his work while having Catwoman collect necessary evidence against Luthor regarding his illegal business, thereby preventing Lex from claiming ownership over Gotham.

 

Hush

 

Batman finds himself to be the target of a mysterious conspiracy that pits him against some of his worst villains. While giving chase to Catwoman who was under Poison Ivy's mind control, his bat-rope is cut, causing him to fracture his skull though he is eventually saved by his childhood friend and surgeon Thomas Elliot. Later on, Batman and Catwoman track down Poison Ivy to Metropolis and despite using a mind-controlled Superman against them, Batman manages to get past the Man of Steel and stop the villain. Over the course of this adventure, Batman and Catwoman start to develop a relationship and Batman even reveals his identity to her.

 

Later on, after encounters with Killer Croc, Ra's Al Ghul, Joker and Scarecrow, all seemingly manipulated under the same conspiracy as well as the apparent death of his friend Tommy, he is confronted by someone claiming to be Jason Todd, Batman's old sidekick who was killed years ago, however it turned out to be another ruse.

 

Frustrated and desperate to know who has been manipulating all these villains, Batman investigates further until the villain known as Hush finally makes his presence known and reveals that he is in fact, Tommy Elliot. Tommy had always hated his parents and wanted them dead to collect his inheritance, so he staged a car accident that caused his father's death but Bruce's father managed to save his mother, and because of this Tommy held a grudge against the entire Wayne family. He faked his death using Clayface to throw Batman off his trail, as he was the mastermind behind the entire ordeal. After the intervention of Gordon and a recovered Harvey Dent, Hush falls into a river and manages to escape.

 

In the aftermath, Batman learns that Riddler was the one who told Hush his secret having learned it after using the Lazarus Pit to cure himself of cancer. However, Batman warns Riddler that if he ever decides to reveal this information again, he will feel the wrath of Ra's Al Ghul, ensuring his silence. After all these events, Batman has become more suspicious, causing him to drive Catwoman away as he won't allow himself to fall in love again.

 

War Drums and War Games

 

When Tim Drake's father discovers his alter-ego, Tim is forced to retire as Robin and Batman goes back to working alone, that is until Stephanie Brown, aka the young vigilante known as Spoiler and Tim's ex-girlfriend, petitions to be the next Robin, and though reluctant at first, as he previously didn't see her as hero material, Bruce ends up accepting with the condition that she follow his every order. After training her, he hands her a costume and she officially becomes the fourth Robin. Though initially there were some problems, especially when she used lethal force on the villain Mr. Zsasz, she starts proving herself when she handily takes down Tiger Moth.

 

Stephanie's infectious energy and enthusiasm grow on Batman and he starts to see her as a worthy partner. However, while tracking down the assassin Scarab, she disobeys Batman's order to stay put and ends up getting herself held hostage and almost compromising the mission. Because of that, Batman ends her tenure as Robin. Determined to win back Batman's trust, Stephanie steals from the Bat-cave one of his contingency plans that was supposed to take place in case of crime in Gotham got too out of control. The plan, which she put into motion behind Batman's back, dealt with unifying all the Gotham crime-families under one man, Matches Malone.

 

What Stephanie didn't know was that Malone is actually one of Batman's underground alter-egos, and because Malone was not present at the staged meeting between crime-lords, things went awry and a huge gang war raged in Gotham, causing the deaths of many. Batman's reputation takes a major hit when he is seen by the media in broad day light holding the dead body of a young student who was killed in the crossfire of the gang war, and even more so when makes several morally questionable actions, including forcefully taking over command of the GCPD (which the results in the death of many), and attempting to put his underground ally, Orpheus, as the leader of all the gangs, but the Black Mask makes his move, kills Orpheus and becomes Gotham's kingpin of crime instead.

 

Another consequence of this war was Stephanie Brown's death after intense torture at the hands of Black Mask. Batman was at her side in her last moments and comforted her with the fact that she did earn her place as Robin.

 

Under the Red Hood

 

After the recent war, Batman has lost too much. Robin, Batgirl and Oracle have left Gotham City, Stephanie Brown is dead, Nightwing is injured, the GCPD sees Batman as a criminal and the Black Mask controls all crime in Gotham. However, a mysterious figure known as The Red Hood has been making his move on Black Mask's operations and taking control of his gangs.

 

While intercepting one of Black Mask's shipments, Batman and Nightwing encounter Red Hood for the first time, and as they chase after him, they encounter the cyborg Amazo, which they barely manage to defeat. The Red Hood then steals another one of Mask's shipments tries to blackmail him, but the meeting turns sour with Freeze and Batman and Nightwing getting involved, and all the villains end up escaping. However, during the battle, Batman is intrigued by Red Hood's skills, as he sees something familiar.

 

While intercepting another one of Black Mask's operations, Red Hood is confronted by Batman where they fight to a stalemate. Red Hood finally takes off his mask and to Batman's horror, reveals that he is in fact, Jason Todd, the Robin who apparently died many years ago and even gives him samples of his DNA to prove it before escaping.

 

It is revealed in the story that Jason came back after he was dipped in a Lazarus Pit by Talia Al Ghul. After this revelation, Alfred offers to remove Jason's memorial from the Cave, but Batman refuses, claiming that the recent developments don't change anything.

 

After Red Hood blows up Black Mask's penthouse, the desperate crime lord seeks the help of Deathstroke of the Secret Society, who sends Hyena, Captain Nazi and Count Vertigo to kill the Red Hood. Batman intervenes and together they manage to take down the trio of super-villains, but not without Red Hood killing one of them and escaping.

 

After tricking Black Mask into killing the last of his lieutenants, Red Hood, who has been holding the Joker captive, challenges Batman to come to Crime Alley to end things once and for all. After apprehending Black Mask, Batman complies and meets up with Jason. After an intense back and forth fight, Batman defeats Jason and apologizes for failing him.

 

Disgusted, Jason reveals that the reason he holds a grudge against Batman is that he never killed Joker to avenge his death. He then holds Joker hostage and throws Bruce a gun, and challenges him to make a choice: either kill Joker or kill him. Batman refuses both choices and ends up incapacitating Jason with a Batarang. An ecstatic Joker ends up blowing the entire place and in the aftermath, Jason manages to escape.

 

Infinite Crisis

 

Bruce also becomes more suspicious of other heroes, creating a super satellite called Brother Eye, which is stolen and eventually causes the death of Ted Kord. Things then hit a personal low for Bruce during the story Infinite Crisis when he almost murders megalomaniac Alex Luthor. Bruce realizes his morality is at an all-time low and decides to take a sabbatical from fighting crime.

 

⚡ Happy 🎯 Heroclix 💫 Friday! 👽

_____________________________

 

A year of the shows and performers of the Bijou Planks Theater.

 

Secret Identity: Bruce Wayne

 

Publisher: DC

 

First appearance: Detective Comics #27 (March 30, 1939)

 

Created by: Bob Kane (Writer)

Bill Finger (Artist)

 

DC Comics Nanoscene

The Batcave

2020, Jada Toys

 

First appearance cover:

www.flickr.com/photos/paprihaven/51710275435/

Edda Ferd, PSV – Hybrid Platform Supply Vessel

 

The Edda Ferd is a platform supply vessel used to support oil rig operations in the North Sea.

 

A new build, the Østensjø Edda Ferd has been designed with a focus on quality, safety and efficiency. This is the first integration of a Corvus Energy ESS and Siemens’ BlueDrive PlusC propulsion system.

 

Name: Edda Ferd

Type: 92.6 m Platform Supply Vessel (PSV)

Duty: North Sea Offshore Drilling Platform Service & Support

Pack: 40 x 6.5kWh

Capacity: 260kWh

Bus Voltage : 888VDC

Partners: Østensjø Rederi, Siemens, Corvus Energy

 

Edda Ferd, PSV is based in Haugesund, Norway operating in the North Sea.

 

General

Operator:Østensjø Rederi AS

Built:2013

Builder:Astilleros Gondan. Spain

Yard no.:444

Call sign:LAZO7

Flag:NIS

Port of Registry:Haugesund

IMO no.:9625504

MMSI No.:259161000

Classification:DnV +1A1, SF, E0, OFFSHORE SERVICE VESSEL+, SUPPLY, DK(+), DYNPOS-AUTR, HL(2.8), LFL*, CLEAN DESIGN, NAUT-OSV(A), COMF-V3-C2, OIL REC, DEICE

Safety regulations:NMA, Trade Worldwide within GMDSS A3, Solas 1974/1978, International Convention on Load Lines, Pollution Prevention - MARPOL 1973/1978, INLS Certificate

 

Dimensions

Length o.a.:92,6 m

Length b.p.:82,2 m

Breadth mld.:20,6 m

Depth mld.:9,0 m

Draft max.:7,2 m

Air draft:32,46m

Tonnage - Deadweight

Deadweight:5122 t

Gross tonnage:4870 GT

Net tonnage:1462 NT

Deck loading capacities

Cargo deck:1038 m2

 

Deck equipment

Anchor chain:2 x 11 shacles.

Anchor Windlass / Mooring Winch:15,5 tons.

Mooring winch:Forward: 2 x 16 tons Aft: 2 x 10 tons

Deck cranes:Port: 1 x MacGregor SWL1,5 t@ 8m / Starboard: 1 x MacGregor SWL 3,0 t @ 10m

Tugger winches:2 x 15 tons.

 

Propulsion

General:Battery Hybrid Power Station and 2 x VSP each 2700 kW. 2 x AC asynchronous water-cooled motors each 2700 kW.

Main engines:2 x MAK 6M25C a` 2000kW - 2 x MAK 9M25C a`3000 kW

Fuel type:MDO /MGO

Auxiliaries / Electrical power

Generators:2 x Simens generator 2222 kW / 2 x Simens generator 3333 kW

Emergency generator:Caterpillar Emergency generator 158 kW

 

Speed / Consumption

Max speed / Consumption:abt. 16,0 knots

Main propellers

Maker:Voith Schneider propellers

Type:2 x 2700 KW

 

Thrusters

Bow thrusters:2 x 1400 kW FP , electric driven low noise tunnel thrusters. Plus 1 x 800 kW RIM tunnel thruster

Bridge / Manoeuvering

Bridge controls:5 control stands. (forward, 2 x aft, starboard, port)

Loading / Discharging:Simens IAS. Remote monitoring of all tanks including loading/discharging operations and start/stop of all pumps.

 

Dynamic positioning system

Type:Kongsberg K-Pos.

Approval / Class:DNV DYNPOS-AUTR. IMO Class 2

Reference systems:DPS 112, DPS 132, CyScan, Mini-Radascan

Sensors:3 x Gyro, 3 x Motion Reference Unit, 2 x Wind sensor

ERN number:99,99,99,99

Liquid tank capacities

Marine Gas Oil:1100 m3 included 2 chemical and 4 special prod. tanks connected to fuel system.

POT water:1000 m3

Drill Water/Ballast:2280 m3

Mud:Mud/Brine system 513 m3. Special product system 370 m3. Total 883 m3.

Brine:Brine/mud system 513 m3. Special product system 702 m3. Total 1215 m3

Base oil:Total 702 m3. When using combined tanks.

Methanol:Total 440 m3. When using combined tanks.

Special products LFL/LFL*:720 m3

Drill Cuttings:720 m3

 

Liquid discharge

Fuel Oil pumps:2 x 150 m3/h- 9 bar

Brine pumps:2 x 100 m3/h – 22.5 bar.

Liquid Mud pumps:2 x 100 m3/h – 24 bar.

Specal products pumps:2 x 100 m3/h – 9 bar.

Drill water pumps:1 x 250 m3/h – 9 bar.

Drill cutting pumps:4 x 40 m3/h – 9 bar.

Fresh water pumps:1 x 250 m3/h – 9 bar.

Methanol pumps:2 x 75 m3/h – 9 bar .

Slop system:1 x 20 m3/h

Tank washing system:1 x 30 m3/h

Discharge piping:5"

Bulk tank capasities

Bulk Cement Tanks:4 tanks. Total capacity: 260 m3

Bulk Discharge:2 x 100 t/hr

Navigation equipment

Radar:1 x Furuno FCR-2827 S /ARPA - 1 x Furuno FAR-2837 S / ARPA

Electronic Chart System:2 x TECDIS

Compass:3 x Simrad Gyro GC 80

Autopilot:Simrad AP-70

Echo Sounder:Furuno FE-700

Navtex:Furuno NX-700A

DGPS:Furuno GP-150

AIS:Furuno FA-150

Voyage data recorder:Furuno VR-3000

LRIT:Sailor 6130 LRIT

Log:Furuno DS-80

 

Communication equipment

General:GMDSS installation in accordance with IMO regulations for vessels operating within Sea Area A3

GMDSS Radio MF/HF Transceivers & DSC:1 x Furuno FS-1575

VHF:2 x GMDSS Furuno FM-8900 / 3 x GMDSS Jotron TR-20 portable / 3 x Sailor 6248

GMDSS EPIRB:1 x Jotron 40 S Mk2 - 1 x Jotron 45 S Mk2

GMDSS SART:2 x Kannad SARTII

UHF:6 x Motorola GM-360 - 6 x Motorola GP-340 ATEX

Sattelite system:1 x Inmarsat / 1 x Iridium

 

Accommodation

Total no. berths:38 x Beds

Total no. of cabins:27 x Cabins

Single cabins:16 x Single cabins

Double cabins:11 x Double cabins

Office:2 x Offices

Hospital:1 x Hospital

Ventilation/A-C for accommodation:High pressure single-pipe fully redundant ventilation system. Full heating/AC throughout the accommodation

Other:Messroom, Dayrooms, Conferenceroom, Gymnasium,Galley,Dry Provitions,Freezing room, Wardrobes.

 

Lifesaving / rescue

Approved lifesaving appliances for:40 persons

Liferafts:6 x 25 persons

Rescue/MOB boat:Alusafe 770 Mk2 - Twin installation.

Fire-fighting/foam:Water/Foam pump/ monitors covering cargo deck area

Tanuki Corp. introduces its fastest-ever (conventional propulsion) production starfighter, the "Seiryu" Class Superfighter. Featuring four "firedemon" engine modules mated to the longest fuselage extender/power generator module available, benchmark testing reveals 400% thrust output compared to the base model "Oni" Class Defender that first introduced this engine.

 

To commemorate this momentous occasion, Tanuki Corp. has produced a scant 100 of these "Special Edition" fighters featuring the unique blue and green color scheme inspired by its namesake (Seiryu being the Japanese word for Azure, or Blue-green, Dragon).

 

Production models will be available in the standard array of colors, and can be painted to specification for a nominal fee dependent on quantity ordered.

 

LDD Files

- "Seiryu" Class Superfighter, Special Edition (Blue/Green color scheme)

- "Seiryu" Class Superfighter (Color-coded modules)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Swami Ramdev (Hindi: स्वामी रामदेव), born as Ram Krishna on 11 January 1971,[1] is popularly known as Baba Ramdev. He has gained wealth and notoriety through ventures in yoga, alternative medicine and agriculture, as well as his advocacy on Indian political issues.[2]

  

He was born as Ram Krishn to Gulab Devi and Ram Nivas in the village Saiyad AliPur (Alipur) of Mahendragarh district in Haryana state of India. According to the affidavit filed by him to the Passport Office[1] his date of birth is 11 January 1971. He was inspired by the portraits of Ram Prasad Bismil and Subhas Chandra Bose that were hung in his room.[3] According to his statements in an open Yog Shivir at Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh when he grew up and read the autobiography of Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil, his mind was totally cleansed. After completing his middle education of eighth standard from Shahbajpur Haryana, he joined Aarsh (Arya) Gurukul, Khanpur and studied Sanskrit and Yoga under the guidance of Acharya Praduman.

 

After he received teachings from Acharya Baldevji, he renounced worldly life, entering into Sanyas and changed his name from Ram Krishn to Ramdev.[4] (Note: The Hindi word swami means master of conscience).

 

In Kalva Gurukul of Jind district in Haryana India he offered free training of Yog to villagers for some time. Then he moved to Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh and spent several years studying ancient Indian scriptures at Gurukul Kangri Vishwavidyalaya. This included a rare book of Aurobindo Ghosh, Yogik Sadhan, translated from Bangla into Hindi by Pandit Ram Prasad Bismil.[5] After reading this small booklet he went to the caves of Himalaya and practiced intense self-discipline and meditation. According to Sanjay Upadhyaya's book "Ramdev - Myth and Reality", Ramdev fell seriously ill in his childhood and through his recovery discovered his techniques of yoga and meditation.

  

He shot into prominence when he started the Divya Yog Mandir Trust with the company of Acharya Bal Krishna. In 2003, Aastha TV began featuring him in its morning yoga slot. Within a few years, he had gathered a huge following.[6] He is known for his efforts of popularizing yoga. The New York Times called him "an Indian, who built Yoga Empire, a product and symbol of the New India, a yogic fusion of Richard Simmons, Dr. Oz and Oprah Winfrey, irrepressible and bursting with Vedic wisdom".[7] His yog-camps are attended by a large number of people in India and abroad.

  

His flagship project is Patanjali Yog Peeth (a registered Trust which was inaugurated on August 6, 2006 by Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, then Vice President of India). The primary aim of this institution is to build India the world's largest centre for Ayurved and Yoga with the facilities of treatment, research and training.[8][9]

 

At present the trust offers treatment to those who cannot afford to pay and for the rest, it is provided at a reasonable cost. Various institutions and medical organizations are also run by the Patanjali Yoga Peeth Trust to study and improve the effectiveness of yoga against diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, etc. Recently the second phase of Patanjali Yoga Peeth has also started its working.

  

Patanjali Ayurved College, Patanjali Chikitsalaya, Yog Gram, Go-Shala, Patanjali Herbal Botanical Garden, Organic Agriculture Farm, Patanjali Food And Herbal Park Ltd are some of its affiliated institutions which are run under the guidance of Swami Ramdev and his close associate Acharya Bal Krishn. Some useful books are also published by its sister concern Divy Prakashan.

 

Yog Sandesh is the authorised journal Patanjali Yoga Peeth which is being published in 11 languages viz. Hindi, English, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Nepali, Kannada and Telugu. Monthly readership of this multi-lingual journal is more than one million.[10]

 

Patanjali Yog Peeth has acquired a Scottish Island for about £2 million which was donated by Mr.Sam and Mrs. Sunita Poddar, originally from India and living in Scotland for 25 years, have been running the UK branch of the Patanjali Yoga Peeth Trust.[11] The Little Cumbrae Island, off the fishing town of Largs in Scotland, will also serve as the Patanjali Yog Peeth's base overseas, where yoga will be taught. This project will be run by Patanjali Yogpeeth (UK) Trust.[12] They have plans to set up a wellness retreat there.

  

Ramdev has clarified that he has no political ambitions and is not interested in starting a political party, but feels it's his obligatory duty to reform social and political ambiguities apart from popularising yoga and thus strengthen the country.[13][14]

 

He has raised a number of political, social and economic issues through his yoga camps (in Hindi Yog Shivir). Most of the issues raised by him demand a drastic change in the governance policies of India.

[edit] Bharat Swabhiman

 

For changing governance policies, he has initiated a movement named Bharat Swabhiman along with Rajiv Dixit.

 

The five goals[15] of Bharat Swabhiman campaign are:

 

100% voting

100% nationalist thought,

100% boycott of foreign companies and adoption of swadeshi,

100% unification of the people of the nation and

100% yoga-oriented nation.

 

As a part of campaign, Baba Ramdev has been organising yoga camps across India to create awareness amongst people against corruption and black money.

 

On agriculture and dietary practices

 

In many yog shivira (yoga camps), he has raised the issue of increased consumption of fast foods, packed foods and soft drinks by the people. According to him these products can cause diseases and so they must not be eaten. He has also claimed that commercially available aerated drinks are harmful to due to the presence of phosphoric acids, preservatives, unknown chemicals and emulsifiers. He claims that these drinks are very harmful to the entire body and especially the stomach lining if consumed. He has also made statements along the lines of "Cold Drinks means Toilet Cleaner" and has claimed that these cold drinks are more effective at cleaning toilets than commercially available toilet cleaners.[16] He urges people in his public meetings to pledge not to consume commercial aerated drinks, to protect individual health as well as to avoid Indian wealth being transferred to multinational companies. Instead he advices the public to consume hot water, milk or traditional Indian juices only so that India may become prosperous.

 

He has also claimed that the use of fertilizers and pesticides has led to an undue economic load on farmers and increased the profits of large business houses involved in the business. He also claims that these practices are harmful to the general public, since the farming produce is contaminated with inorganic fertilizers and pesticides.[17] Due to this practice, the farming land is also becoming barren. He also blames corrupt practices for the miserable conditions of the poor farmers and other backward class of the society. He says that although agriculture is the biggest area which can contribute enough to India's economy yet it's farmers are the most poverty stricken class of the country. He says if villages improve then there will be a completely different India[18]

[edit] Illegal mining

Further information: Illegal mining in India

 

According to Baba Ramdev, there is permission for only 200 mining leases but about one lakh illegal mines are operational in the country.[19] Baba Ramdev argues that illegal mining is the biggest source of black money and that corrupt people are eying the natural resources of the country, which are present in abundant amount. Natural resources include gold, copper, coal, iron, oil and other natural resources. Plunder of natural resources is the most devastating form of national crime, according to Ramdev, yet it is the least reported.

 

According to conservative estimates India has natural resources worth around 10,000 lakh crore.[citation needed] Das Hajar Lakh Crore is the exact phrase used by Baba Ramdev to quote the figure at his gatherings. Baba Ramdev says that the natural resources of the country must be protected otherwise corrupt people would sell every bit of it and stash the money in tax havens. Contrary to the popular belief of tax evasion being the source of black money, Baba Ramdev points out that the nation's wealth is being plundered from the natural resources and that has resulted into the huge stockpile of black money in various tax havens.

 

Protests against black money

 

Baba Ramdev was the first to raise the issue of black money publicly in 2008[citation needed], before the assembly elections of 2009. Estimations indicate a total of Rs. 400 lakh crore, or nearly 9 trillion USD, of Indian black money outside the country[citation needed]. This is so much money that every Indian constituency could get up to 50 thousand crore for development[citation needed]. The money has been pulled outside the country via physical and technical means, with hawala, under/over invoicing being some common methods[citation needed]. Money laundering started on a large scale since 1990[citation needed].

 

In April 2011 Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, confirmed that there are Indian names on Swiss bank accounts.[20] Switzerland is not the only tax havens where Indian black money is stashed. Other tax havens include Dubai, Liechtenstein, Italy, and others[citation needed]. Switzerland made an official statement that, if the Indian government approaches them, they are willing to declare the names of Indian account holders[citation needed]. However, no such approach has been made by Indian government. Baba Ramdev has said that most of the money belongs to the ministers, government officials and bureaucrats[citation needed].

 

Apart from this, there is an estimated Rs. 100–150 lakh crore of black money in India's internal economy. India's total GDP is in the range of 60 lakh crore and economists[who?] suggest that at least twice of this amount is circulating in black, which is roughly between 100 and 150 lakh crore[citation needed]. Ramdev has suggested many measures to curb the amount of black money circulating inside the internal economy. Baba Ramdev pointed out that total currency note circulation in India is 10 lakh crore. If the GDP is 60 lakh crore, then currency note circulation should be 1/50 of that amount, which is only 2 lakh crore. A basic economy concept states that a currency note can travel 50 to 100 transaction points over a year. Hence if RBI has circulated 10 lakh crore of currency then the total Indian economy should be at least 50 × 10 lakh crore = 500 lakh crore. This clearly indicates that there is huge amount of black money circulating inside the internal economy and an equally high amount of unaccounted wealth is being siphoned out of the country every year by corrupt ministers and bureaucrats.

 

Swami Ramdev has been associated with the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement and was involved in the Jan Lokpal agitation[21]

 

In February 2011, he gave the following steps for eradication of black money:[22]

 

Declare all Indian wealth lying outside the country illegally as national wealth.

Agree to and accept the U.N. Convention against Corruption – pending since 2006.

Access, monitor and disrupt payment gateway servers enabling corrupt people to manage money in tax havens.

Scrutinizing accounts of people having credit/debit cards of foreign banks without any foreign work/relation.

Disabling operations of any bank from a tax haven country.

Withdrawal and demonetizing of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000 currency notes – so as to avoid misuse of unaccounted money and quick arrest of the entire locally circulated black money, bribing, and fake note traffic.

Death penalty provision for the corrupt persons in Indian Penal Code.

 

Many countries like USA, Germany and other smaller African countries have adopted similar steps to get back their black money. However in India the government calls Ramdev's idea as impractical. The practicality of such steps has been called into question.[13]

 

He has raised the issue of Indian money stashed away illegally in Swiss banks, which is estimated to be anywhere between 1 and 1.5 trillion USD. He says that the government must take immediate action and bring back the money as it belongs to the people of India. Not only this, he openly charges that this black money has been taken out of the country illegally and also very strongly demands a capital punishment to all those Indians or non-resident Indians, who acquire, handle and stash black money. He suggests that Mauritius route is a tax haven for black money operators in India and this route should be cut effectively by the Indian government. He had also demanded (as early as September 2009) the removal of currency of denominations of Rs. 500 and Rs. 1000, saying that this would curb corruption, black money and terrorism.[23][24]

[edit] Anticorruption rally on 27 February 2011 at Ramlila Maidan

 

On 27 February 2011 Baba Ramdev held a large rally of over 1 lakh people at the Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi to protest against corruption. Those present at the rally included Baba Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna, Ram Jethmalani, Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Swami Agnivesh and many others. All members spoke and explained how corruption was rampant in the country and how the government itself was indulging in it. The most highlighted topic was Indian black money lying in tax havens of Switzerland.

 

Arvind Kejriwal mentioned that Anna Hazare would hold a fast in April 2011 to put pressure on the government to enact the JanLokPal Bill.

 

It is a noticeable fact that no major news channel covered this event[citation needed].

[edit] Bhrashtachar Mitao Satyagrah 4 June 2011 at Ramlila Maidan

[edit] Preface

 

Baba Ramdev launched the Bhrashtachar Mitao Satyagrah which was held at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi on 4 June 2011. Key demands were:[citation needed]

 

Declare all illegal wealth/black money lying in foreign countries, which belong to Indians as National Property.

Declaring money laundering as a National Crime and should be punishable.

Investigate and shut down the Mauritius route of foreign investment.

Sign and ratify the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, pending since 2006

Recall Rs. 1000 and Rs. 500 notes to curb corruption, bribery and illegal flow of money in the internal economy of the country.

Enact a strong Lokpal bill.

Establish infrastructure to deliver medical and engineering education in Indian Languages.

Enact Public Service Delivery Guarantee Act to enable all citizens to avail government/public services easily and quickly

Enact the Kisan Vetan Ayog to establish standards for payment of wages to farmers and classify farming as skilled labour.

 

[edit] Protest at Delhi

 

Baba Ramdev declared to go on an Anshan (indefinite fast) on June 4, 2011 at Ramlila Ground Delhi[25] to pressure the Central Government to root out corruption from India and bring back the black money stashed away in various financial institutions abroad. After this declaration the government was said to have set up a panel to suggest steps to curb black money and its transfer abroad, in an apparent bid to placate Ramdev.[26]

 

When Ramdev arrived at Delhi airport on June 1, four senior ministers of the UPA government met him on the airport and tried to persuade him by telling of the government's initiative on corruption.[27] On 4 June morning 65,000 followers of the yoga teacher had gathered at Ramlila Ground[28] By noon queues extending up to 3 km from the entry point of Ramlila Grounds and were seen chanting 'Vande Mataram'. In the evening a press conference was organised by Kapil Sibbal made public a letter from Ramdev's camp to call off their agitation. Ramdev took it as a betrayal of the Government and hardened the position by declaring not to take back his Satyagrah until a proper government ordinance is announced in place of forming a committee.

 

Satyagrah was going on even in the night of 4 June 2011. Sources informed Baba Ramdev that a huge police force can try to clear Ramlila Ground and if it is not done they can also kill him in a fake encounter or set fire in the tents.[29] At midnight, a huge team of 10,000 officers of the Delhi Police and RAF raided the ground when most of the Satyagrahis were sleeping on the and Ramdev was also sleeping on the dias along with his core group.[30] A large police force lobbed tear gas shells and lathicharged to evict the crowd from 1a.m. to 4 a.m. The tent was set on fire at many places. Cold water was thrown over power generators to create complete darkness to prevent any video recording of the whole attack. However most media persons recorded what was going on.

 

Police had arranged buses to drop supporters at railway stations and bus stands in advance; had ammunition ready and all the policemen were in battle-gear wearing vests and helmets and kept some ambulances on standby. Ramdev was arrested while attempting to disguise himself in women's clothing.[31]

 

Delhi Police forcefully detained Ramdev at Safdargunj Airport in complete isolation for a few hours and then deported him to his Ashram in Haridwar via helicopter.[32] Police fired tear gas, lathcharged people who were reportedly peacefully fasting. 53 persons were injured and treated at the Lok Nayak Jai Prakash (LNJP) hospital, AIIMS trauma center, and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.[33][34][35] Government stopped media person or anybody to enter the hospital to check the injured. Protesters huddled near the Metro station, bus depots and railway stations. Many walked down to Gurdwara Bangla Sahib and other nearby Ashrams.[36] According to New Delhi railway station authorities, supporters continued to leave in batches through the course of the day. While several supporters spent the day in a park near Ramlila Maidan, others took shelter in Arya Samaj at Paharganj.[37]

 

Baba Ramdev was taken by police out side Delhi and was banned from entering Delhi for 15 days. After being banned from entering Delhi for the next 15 days, Union Home Secretary G. K. Plillai said the Baba was on his way to his Ashram at Haridwar under police custody.[38] On reaching Haridwar, Swami Ramdev declared in a press conference that his fast unto death will continue.

 

About 5,000 supporters were still missing according to Baba Ramdev.[39] Dr. Jaideep Arya, a key advisor of Ramdev’s team, said that about 19 girls students from the Chotipur Gurukul, who were seated near the dais, are estimated to be still missing.[40] Suman, women’s representative of the Trust, said many of these girls were roughed up when the police tried to reach Swamiji and were crying since police officials were pulling their hair, dragging them badly and their clothes were torn. Police, however, said no one was missing.[40] A senior police officer reported that they were forced to retaliate after Baba Ramdev's supporters started throwing stones and flower pots at them.[41] Police also released CCTV footage to prove that no woman was beaten by them.[42] TV channels were telecasting the footage of the scene in Ramlia Ground.

[edit] Aftermath of the Delhi protest and fast unto death

 

Ramdev accused the government of cheating him, and alleged that there was a conspiracy to kill him and that he was threatened during a meeting with senior ministers.[43] All political parties other than the Congress Party condemned the police action, called it undemocratic and naked fascism,[44] deplorable and shortsighted.[45] [46] It was even compared it with the Emergency[44] and the Jalianwala.[44] Apart from politicians, he was also supported by civil societies as well. A senior poet laureate Dr Madan Lal Verma 'Krant' wrote an article on his blog KRANT and said that the action of the government was more shameful than the Jalianwala of British period. He argued that the British Government had ordered firing in the day whereas Indian Government took such a brutal action after midnight when all of the protesting persons (hi.satyagrahi) were sleeping.[47] Activist Anna Hazare termed the crackdown of the agitation a strangulation of democracy. He said: "There was no firing otherwise the eviction was similar to Jallianwala Bagh massacre".[48] He boycotted his lokpal panel meeting with the government on 6 June and decided to go on a one day fast on 8 June. His allies RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal, former Law MinisterShanti Bhushan, and Swami Agnivesh also criticised the police action to evict the hunger strikers forcefully[49] Protests were held in many different parts of the country.[50] Protest were held in Bangalore, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jammu and Lucknow as well as among other several cities of India.[51]

 

Soon after this, a vacation bench of the Supreme Court of India comprising justice B. S. Chauhan and justice Swatantra Kumar issued notices to the Union Home Secretary, Chief Secretary of Delhi, Delhi Administration, and Delhi Police Commissioner asking them to respond within two weeks, after taking suo motu cognizance of forceful eviction of yoga guru Baba Ramdev and his followers from the Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi.[52] The National Human Rights Commission also issued notices on June 6, 2011 to the Government of India and Delhi State Government seeking reports within two weeks on the midnight crackdown on Baba Ramdev’s supporters at Ramlila ground.[53] After being evicted from Delhi, Baba Ramdev wanted to continue his fast from Noida but was denied permission by the Uttar Pradesh government. Many pepole like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also forced him to end his fast. Ultimately, he decided to continue his idefinite fast satyagraha at Haridwar only from 4 June 2011 onwards.[54][55][56] After repeated attempts to end his fast Baba Ramdev's health worsened and was taken to the Himalaya Institute of Medical Sciences on the seventh day of his fast.[57][58][59]

[edit] End of hunger strike

 

Baba Ramdev ended his fast on the ninth day by drinking a glass of juice at Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Dehradun, where he was recuperating from the seventh day of his fast. After repeated request from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and various other saints he ended his fast.[60] Political reactions came in from all major parties expressing their happiness about ending the fast. BJP Spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said they have a "sense of satisfaction" that the fast has ended. Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy said that the fast was "successful" and termed the government as "monstrous". While the ruling party Congress spokesperson Janardan Dwivedi gave a reaction by saying it as "good".[61]

[edit] Anti-Ramdev campaign by Congress

 

Hours after 4 June, the Congress-led UPA government started a massive campaign against Baba Ramdev, Acharya Balkrishna and Patanjali Yogpeeth Trust. Multiple allegations were raised against Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balkrishna.

 

Some of them being:

 

Baba Ramdev is involved in tax evasion.

Acharya Balkrishna is a Nepali staying illegally in India.

Baba Ramdev exports products that are banned in USA.

Acharya Balkrishna has a fake Indian passport.

Donations received by Baba Ramdev consist of black money.

 

Congress party launched a booklet to criticise and expose Ramdev during its election campaign in Uttar Pradesh for the 2012 elections. [62] [63]

 

However as investigations were carried out by various agencies at both state and centre level, eventually nothing was found wrong with either Baba Ramdev or Acharya Balkrishna. Acharya Balkrishna was cleared of fake passport charges.[64] NEW DELHI, July 25: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) of India has approached the External Affairs Ministry seeking revocation of the passport of Balkrishna, an aide for Yoga guru Ramdev, as the agency alleged that it was procured on the basis of fake documents.

 

Views on AIDS and sex education

 

In December 2006, Swami Ramdev claimed to cure diseases such as AIDS and cancer through yoga and ayurvedic drugs sold by his Divya Yoga Mandir Trust. He also went on to suggest that sex education should be replaced by yoga, as his way to AIDS awareness, prevention and a cure.[81] "Sex education in schools need [sic] to be replaced by yoga education," Ramdev told reporters at the state health minister's residence. As a consequence of these public statements he was sent a cease and desist order by the Indian Union Health Ministry to avoid making such claims in the future, and the civil society threatened legal action.[82] In response, Ramdev retracted his statement and said the claims were not directly his, but those of patients who practiced yoga.[83]

[edit] Claims of curing cancer

 

Other press reports quoted him as claiming to have a cure for cancer of the breast, liver, prostate, uterus, pituitary gland, and brain, as well as leukemia, by practicing breathing exercises. In a residential camp held in Yog Gram, Haridwar during 19–25 June 2008, several cancer patients stepped forward to recount first-hand stories of their successful bouts with prostate and breast cancer and leukemia using Pranayam, or breathing exercises.[84] Swami Ramdev has claimed to have documented proof of his successes, but has failed to provide any to the media or the Health Ministry.

[edit] Views on homosexuality

 

In July 2009, when Delhi High Court gave a verdict under decriminalizing homosexuality in Delhi, the swami called a press conference and said, "This verdict of the court will encourage criminality and sick mentality. This kind of thing is shameful and insulting to all of us. We are blindly following the West in everything. This is breaking the family system in India. Homosexuals are sick people, they should be sent to hospitals for treatment. If the government brings this law, I will take this matter to the streets of Delhi in protest."[85]

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramdev

| Facebook Page | Website | 500px |

 

Meet Christine, one of my long-time roommates. She's an electrical engineer, so you can imagine the house being full of nerdy remarks. In fact, her boyfriend is quite possibly the most unique person (to put it gently) I've ever met. If any of you have watched The Big Bang Theory, they're exactly like that. Let's just say that I even have my own little "Sheldon" friend (not as OCD crazy, but the personality and randomness is very similar) -> Christine's boyfriend. "Sheldon" likes to pollute my Facebook wall w/ miscellaneous comic book strips & pictures that he finds funny. They are actually quite funny too haha. I always hear random tantrums and facts about trains & their power generators to programming to playing Diablo to quantum physics to... you get the idea. Everytime I came home, I'd come back to something very different and hilarious. Hardcore nerds. These people make living fun. Lol.

 

Christine is probably the most sane out of all them... :P

www.paulacheesephotography.com

Lacepede Bay/ Port Caroline/Kingston.

Lacepede Bay was named by Nicholas Baudin on his 1802 voyage. The first exploration of this area was by Governor Grey and friends who went along the Coorong in 1844 to check out the country. It took them two weeks to get to what is now Kingston. The party went on to Mt Burr, Mt Gambier and ended up at Rivoli Bay from where they took a government ship back to Adelaide. The first settlers in the district were the Cooke brothers Archibald and James who squatted on the Maria Run in 1845 as the best land near Naracoorte and Penola was already being squatted by then. Other early pastoralists near Maria Creek were the Kendles, James Brown, Andrew Dunn, and the Morris brothers and almost all were Scottish. The Cooke property was on Maria Creek which ran into the Coorong draining much of the South East. They already had runs around Wellington and along the lower Murray- hence the township Cooke Plains near Tailem Bend. The area had been named earlier and was already famous by then for the Maria Massacres of 1840. The Maria left Adelaide bound for Hobart in June 1840. About the 28th June it was wrecked off the coast near Lacepede Bay but the crew and passengers managed to get to shore and the local Aborginal people were helping them with food and water as they tried to get help from Adelaide. Whilst waiting for help the sailors began trying to take advantage of the local Aboriginal women. As a form of reprisal 25 of the 26 survivors were killed. It was a month after these events before news of the wreck reached Adelaide and a police investigation was made. Two Ngarrindgeri men were hung and 65 taken as prisoners.

 

Kingston was surveyed as a private town in 1858 on property owned by Sir George Kingston (his son Charles Cameron Kingston became Premier of SA 1893-99) the first Surveyor General of SA and the designer of parts of Government House, the Old Adelaide Jail, and the house called Cummins at Novar Gardens. Recent historical work now argues that Kingston was the designer of the city plan of Adelaide not Colonel William Light and that Light only rubber stamped the location for the city selected by Kingston! The historical evidence is compelling and convincing. The first land surveyed in the district was put up for sale in 1855. Kingston bought 2 sections of land, and the Cooke brothers bought 10 sections to complement their leasehold run. Governor MacDonnell named the town after his Surveyor General. Once the town of Kingston was established the Cooke brothers saw the potential of the area and built the first jetty. They were largely responsible for the wool stores which were built in the town. The telegraph line from Adelaide to Mt Gambier had passed through the town in 1858. So although Kingston was the land speculator and founder of the town, Archibald and James Cooke were the real founders of the town. They erected the Kingston Arms Hotel in 1859 to service the needs of the passengers on the new coach service from Meningie to Robe and onwards. Once the pub was operating Cooke then petitioned the government for a police officer in the settlement. Nothing happened until after the government gazetted a government town adjoining the private township of Kingston which it did in 1860 the year before the Hundred of Lacepede was surveyed and declared. The government of course wanted the commercial life of the town to centre near the government services of police, gaol and post office. In 1866 the town got a police station and in 1869-70 a post office and court house. Kingston’s town on the foreshore declined especially after the building of the government jetty in the government town in 1860. The government town got a new hotel, the Royal Mail which accommodated visiting judges, and travellers on the mail run to Port MacDonnell.

 

It was the Cooke brothers who petitioned the government to declare a port at Kingston, and they also petitioned the government for a railway to the Tatiara district around Bordertown. They opposed any suggestion of expanding the port of Robe or building a railway to Robe. The government, who controlled Customs and all official ports, did not declare a port at Kingston until 1865 when they named it Port Caroline. The port was successful immediately as the Cooke brothers were ready to start an international shipping firm by then just as Ormerod did in Robe. When the government later decided to build the first railway in the South East from Kingston and Lacepede Bay to Naracoorte and the Tatiara the future of Kingston was well and truly assured. The narrow gauge railway to Naracoorte opened in 1876 and Kingston became the most important port in the South East. The commencement of the railway provoked a building boom in Kingston in the late 1870s. It also brought two Melbourne shipping companies to Kingston as well who competed with a limited expansion of James Cooke’s shipping firm. By the 1870s Kingston was the main South East port for exporting of wool and grain. Wool was shipped from Kingston direct to England until the end of World War One and after that most wool went direct by road or rail to Melbourne or Geelong, not Adelaide. The port closed in the late 1920s.

 

Meantime in 1865 Mrs James Cooke worked to establish the first Free Presbyterian Church in Kingston. The Congregationalists, the largest denomination in Kingston opened their church in 1868 with an accompanying school that served all children in the town. The institute opened in 1869. There was even an Aborginal school for Aborginal children in the 1870s run by a friend of Mrs James Cooke. By the turn of the 20th century new drainage schemes and closer settlement acts had opened up much of the hinterland to small properties but pastoralism still dominated the district. Deep-sea and lobster fishing became a significant industry in the 1890s and has continued into the present. In the 1880s the Salt Creek Petroleum Oil Company had been formed and had sunk deep shafts searching for oil near the Coorong but this was not successful. Kingston’s continued prosperity relied on pastoralism.

 

Hanson Street, Kingston.

Starting at the esplanade near the jetty look for:

•1890s villa house on the corner of the esplanade (jetty built by Cooke in 1863) opposite the Lacepede Motel- the Harbour Master’s House. Like other government buildings it was in the “government town” of Port Caroline.

•The old power generator in the park. The towns’ first power supply.

•Opposite that is the only remaining of the original three Cooke Brothers wools stores. Note the wide doors used by a spur railway line that went right into the building. Now being used by the adjoining Royal Mail Hotel opened in 1872.

•Next look at the original Court House- now a bakery. Built 1869-70.

•

•Kingston Post Office- Georgian symmetry and arches with classical features and decoration. Note square based, pyramid finials on the roof line balustrade. Built in 1867, after Port Caroline declared in 1865.

•In the side street from the Post Office go and look at the original Police Station, lockup, and for a time, the first Court House. It is now an antique shop. Built 1864 in the Georgian style with arched windows.

•Diagonally opposite the Post Office is the old Bank of Adelaide, now a private residence since 1970.

•On the next corner is the modern Council Chambers. If you turn up this street to the left you will see the original Council Chambers (1870s). Almost next door to it is the War Memorial Gardens. The railway line used to pass through this area.

•Opposite the War memorial Gardens you can see the original Station Master’s House. The station, now demolished was next door to it. Now return to the Main Street- Hanson Street. You can see some old cottages etc also in the main street.

 

Factory Black 1930 Leica I/III Conversion | Leitz Nickel 5cm f2 Summar | Kodak Tri-X 400 | Kodak HC110b

  

Here's the camera! www.flickr.com/photos/johnnymartyr/36107521521/in/datepos...

The Sevan Voyageur(IMO: 9390977, Port of Registry: Nassau) is a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading platform (FPSO), which is used as a floating production and storage for hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons are stored in tanks in the hull of the platform and are transported by shuttletankers or by pipe line to onshore refineries. The hull is fitted with machinery, power generators, transformators, electric boards, fire control systems, ballast pumps and cargo pumps.

 

The main components on deck are living quarters with control rooms, workshop, life vessels, helipad, cranes, on- and offloading system for oil, and anchorwinches.

 

The FPSO also has a processing plant for hydrocarbons installed on deck. Depending on characteristics of the field, the processing plant has different modules for processing oil, gas, and water.

The ship is moored at the Keppel Verolme shipyard in Rotterdam where it will be finished and made ready for production.

imagine this micro city few years into the future. Say 2050. Civilisation has broken down. Humans have used all the resources of the planet. The land is pounded by acid rain. Technologies have been forgotten.

This is what is left. A clutchful of houses protected by umbrellas, basic power generators. And a rocket, ready to take the last remaining stragglers to the stars ...

 

Apologies for my slightly negative mood. The world doesn't seem to be a particularly nice place at the moment.

Didcot Power Station does it's bit to kill the planet. This isn't the only pollution caused by the power plant, it's fed continuously by long, snaking diesel-powered coal trains that belch fumes into the atmosphere on a similar scale.

 

The government could combat this by supplying every home and business with wind powered generators and arrays of solar panels. But I guess there's no profit in that for the supply companies so they won't be going down that road in a hurry.

XE1070E

Women. Back in 1917 they were not seen very often at BASF. In fact their appearance had something of an exotic character here at the gas engine power house or at the production facilities in general. During World War One, however, it became increasingly common for women to work in place of men – although only until the men returned to their jobs. It was not until after World War Two that the notion of women in the workforce lost the character of a temporary ‘emergency measure’. The first communications officers that BASF sent abroad, for example, included two women. They did public relations work for the company in France and Spain in the 1960s.

More about BASF history: www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/about-basf/history/index

First time I've seen this ship since October 2017, though captured a few videos and photos of her in brilliant sunshine down at the harbour today Thursday 7th February 2019.

 

General

Operator:Østensjø Rederi AS

Built:2007

Builder:Astilleros Gondan

Yard no.:432

Call sign:LNVQ3

Flag:Norwegian International

Port of Registry:Haugesund

IMO no.:9356995

Classification:DNV, 1A1, Supply Vessel, SF, E0, ICE C, DYNPOS- AUTR, CLEAN, Comfort-C(3)-V(3), LFL* Registered notations: DK(+) and HL(2.8), PMS, ISM

Safety regulations:NMA, Worldwide within GMDSS A3, Solas 1974/1978, International Convention on Load Lines, Pollution Prevention - MARPOL 1973/1978, NLS Certificate

Dimensions

Length o.a.:85,8 m

Length b.p.:77,4 m

Breadth mld.:19,2 m

Depth mld.:8,0 m

Draft max.:6,5 m

Air draft:36 m

Tonnage - Deadweight

Gross tonnage:3706 MT

Net tonnage:1111 MT

Deadweight max:4100 MT

Lightweight:2920 MT

Deck loading capacities

Deck measurements:57,4 m x 16,2 m . 4 pipe lengths a’ 12,2 m

Outside deck area:910 m2

Deck cargo capacity:2900T, 10T/m2

Deck equipment

Anchor chain:7 shackles SB, 8 shackles PS. Type: 48 mm DNV K3 Stud Link

Anchor Windlass / Mooring Winch:2 x anchor windlass/mooring winches forward

Mooring winch:2 aft

Deck cranes:Hydramarine 1 x 4 T at 10 m. 1 x 1,5 T at 8 m

Tugger winches:2 x 10 T

 

Propulsion

General:Diesel electric propulsion plant. 2 x Voith Propellers, each 2800 kW. Two AC asynchronous water-cooled motors each 2500 kW (2992 bhp)

Main engines:4 x Mitsubishi

Fuel type:MDO / MGO

Auxiliaries / Electrical power

 

Generators:4 x Mitsubishi, each 1920 kW

Harbour generator:338 kW, 690 V, 60 Hz

Emergency generator:99 kW, 690 V, 60 Hz

Speed / Consumption

Max speed / Consumption:15,5 knots

Economy speed / Consumption:10 knots, 9 m3/day

DP-operations (weather dependent):5 tonnes/day

Stand by offshore:4 tonnes/day

In port:1 tonnes/day

Main propellers

Maker:2 x Voith

Type:VSP 32R5

 

Thrusters

Bow thrusters:2 x Brunvoll Tunnel thrusters, each 1400 kW. Type: Super silent. 1 x Brunvoll Tunnel thruster, 800 kW. Type: RDT

Bridge / Manoeuvering

Bridge controls:Bosch Rexroth, Brunvoll. 5 complete bridge control stands (forward, 2 x aft, starboard, port)

Loading / Discharging:Wartsila IAS. Remote monitoring of all tanks including loading/discharging operations and start/stop of all pumps

Dynamic positioning system

Type:Kongsberg Simrad Green DP21

Approval / Class:DNV DYNPOS-AUTR. IMO Class 2

Reference systems:DPS 116, DPS 112, Fanbeam, Radascan

Sensors:3 x Gyro, 2 x Motion Reference Unit, 2 x Wind sensor

ERN number:99,99,99

 

Liquid tank capacities

Marine Gas Oil:1180,8 m3

Drill Water/Ballast:1130 m3

Slop tanks:74 m3

Mud:720 m3

Brine:720 m3

Base oil:230 m3

Methanol:166 m3

Special products LFL/LFL*:429 m3

Drill Cuttings:430 m3

Grey water:28 m3

Sewage tanks:28 m3

Liquid discharge

Fuel Oil pumps:1 x 250 m3/h at 9 bar

Brine pumps:2 x 150 m3/h at 24 bar. 2 systems

Liquid Mud pumps:2 x 100 m3/h at 24 bar. 2 systems

Specal products pumps:2 x 100 m3/h

Drill water pumps:1 x 250 m3/h at 9 bar

Fresh water pumps:1 x 250 m3/h at 9 bar

Methanol pumps:2 x 75 m3/h at 90 mWG

Slop system:1 x 40 m3/h

Tank washing system:1 x 60 m3/h

Discharge piping:5"

Bulk tank capasities

Bulk Cement Tanks:5 tanks, each 69 m3. Total 365 m3

Bulk Discharge:2 compressors, each 30,5 m3/min at 6,0 - 6,5 bar (87 - 90 psi). Designed discharge rate min. 100 tonnes/h each compressor

Navigation equipment

Radar:1 x Furuno FAR-2117 3 cm ARPA. 1 x Furuno FAR-2837S 10 cm ARPA

Electronic Chart System:2 x Telchart 2026 ECDIS

Compass:3 x Simrad Gyro GC 80

Autopilot:1 x Robertson AP9 MK 3

Echo Sounder:1 x Furuno FE 700 with digital depth indicator

Navtex:1 x Furuno NX 700

DGPS:2 x Furuno GP90

AIS:1 x FA 150

Voyage data recorder:1 x Furuno VD 3000

LRIT:1 x Sailor TT-300 LT mini C

Log:1 x Furuno DS 80 with remote displays

Communication equipment

General:GMDSS installation in accordance with IMO regulations for vessels operating within Sea Area A3

GMDSS Radio MF/HF Transceivers & DSC:1 x Furuno FS 2570 C

GMDSS VHF portable:3 x Jotron TR-20

VHF:2 x Sailor RT2048

GMDSS EPIRB:1 x Jotron 40S Mk 2. 1 x Jotron 45 SX

GMDSS SART:2 x Jotron Tron

GMDSS Inmarsat C:2 x Furuno Felcom 15

UHF:2 x fixed Motorola GM 360. 8 x portable Motorola GP340

Sattelitte sytem:1 x Sevsat. 1 x Iridium

Mobile Telephone:GSM Telephones

E-mail:GSM/SAT on ComBox

Sat TV system:SeaTel

 

Accommodation

Total no. berths:23 x Beds

Total no. of cabins:19 x Cabins

Single cabins:15 x Single cabins

Double cabins:4 x Double cabins

Office:2 x Offices

Hospital:1 x Hospital

Ventilation/A-C for accommodation:High pressure single-pipe fully redundant ventilation system. Full heating/AC throughout the accommodation

Other:2 x Dayroom, Messroom, Gymnasium, Sauna, Laundry, Wardrobe

 

Lifesaving / rescue

Approved lifesaving appliances for:LSA approved for 23 persons

Liferafts:4 x 25 persons

Rescue/MOB boat:Fast Rescue Craft - Weedo FRB 600, Approved for 10 persons

Fire-fighting/foam:Water/Foam pump/monitor covering cargo deck area

 

Other

Anti roll system:2 x Passive roll reduction tanks. Active roll reduction with Voit Schneider system

Power outage because of the storm. One home with a power generator.

Iconic, robust, practical. This is my 3rd version of the iconic ship that has graced the screens, tv shows and in print. I took a step back from my first version and reworked the entire model.

 

Red 5, Luke's main ship. Stickers from the UCS model and custom ones were used. I may add more later, but that may be for the Gray model version.

 

Many other x-wing designs have come since my 2016 model as well as new LEGO parts that helped shape this ship.

 

Like my original design this model features a durable internal structure and frame that allows you to hold the ship in front of the cockpit.

 

I also included internal components like my previous model to help define the various parts shown in the X-Wing cross sections. Life support, compressors, coils, power converters, power generator, flight computer, repulsorlift, hydraulic lines, communications antenna, sensor computer, primary sensor array, and a functional cargo bay.

 

The Landing gear was another story. Since my model is a display one I wanted to not have a working rear landing gear until LEGO develops more curved slopes that would help shape the engines. Instead, I used a similar design from my previous model to swap out for landing mode or flight mode. The front landing gear fits snug into the ship.

 

I am particularly proud that my cockpit design from version 1 found its way back into my latest model with slight modifications to allow the side panels to properly stay together.

 

Custom parts are used here. I Cut a few curved windows to make the Laser magnetic flashback suppressors. I also cut a ribbed flexible hose to fit inside the cockpit. I took a flat 2x2 tile and drilled a hole inside it to slide the technoic axle through. LEGO currently has a 2x2 round tile with a hole, but I needed a square one.

 

Brickarms has great monoclips and u-clips that work great for smaller ideas, such as my joystick or holding parts inside the cylinders.

 

The stand design is great, but I think it would work better if I swap out some parts and have several technique axles run through it and into the x-wing.

 

Dutch Barge 22M 1912

 

Extra Details

LyingSouth Devon

Fuel capacity:200.0 Ltr (44.0 G) Total - 1 Tanks

Water capacity:800.0 Ltr (176.0 G) Total - 1 Tanks

 

Mechanical

 

Engine1 X Diesel 355hp

Engine make and modelDoosan L126TI 11.1 Liter (2006)

Engine HoursNot Recorded

Engine Cooled: Indirect

Steering: Wheel

Drive: Shaft

Prop(s): 3 Blade Bronze

Fuel consumption (approx): Not Recorded

Cruising speed (approx): 8 Knots

Max speed (approx): 12 Knots

 

Dimensions

 

LOA: 22.00m

Beam: 4.26m

Draft Max: 1.78m

Displacement: 110,000kg (242,550.0lbs)

Storage: On Mooring

 

Electrical Systems

 

12 volt battery, 2 batteries charged by: engine, solar panels, shore power, generator

 

Construction

 

Construction: Steel

Underwater profile: Other

Finish: 2 Pack Finish

Flat Bottomed hull with concrete ballast and double plated in 6mm steel plate

Water Blasted Hull and 2 Pack Primer and Antifouled Jan 2016

New Anodes Jan 2016

Holding Tank not plumbed

Currently 1 Day tank for fuel

 

Accommodation

 

Total # of berths: 5

No. of double berths: 2

No. of single berths: 1

Cabin(s): 3

Handbasin: 1

Heads: 1 Heads (Electric)

Another shot from the zombie stuff me and my friends/family done a while ago.

 

Models : William Cruickshanks , Richard Dallas, Pamela Monaghan

Make-up: Pamela Monaghan (sister)

Assistant: Jim Cuzen

Smoke Machine : S&M Lighting

Power Generator : Bewing Auto Centre

 

Also I had a loan of a generator and smoke machine from some friends to do this shot.. so I am very grateful to everyone that helped and had fun.

   

Lighting:

 

Strobe in softbox ouside window, softbox to the back left, softbox to the front right and a speedlight behind them inside an old work light/lantern giving the orange glow to the smoke.

 

Smoke machine was just to the right of the models, under them.

 

I had never used strobes with smoke before.. quite fun but also tricky as you can easily light up large sections of smoke lighting parts of the frame you don't want light.

 

Diagram in comments.

 

Microscale NCS base, complete with anti-meteorite defence laser turret, landing strip with warehousing, elevated monorail, power generator and all sorts of goodies.

 

The tan baseplates are supposed to recall the sand-coloured terrain always shown on the original CS sets' box art, and also because I don't have baseplates in light bluish grey.

Tribunal de Justiça do Distrito Federal e Territórios

Fiat Ducato 2011

veículo adaptado pela Rontan

DCCO Power Generator