View allAll Photos Tagged Reactive

The secret to any lady's heart:

slabs of Composite Reactive Armor and a hunched profile.

  

Inspired and a tribute to the HARPIA and OSPREY some fantastic designs by Christian Salge.

Au ras des pâquerettes, dans une rue de Paris 20ème.

La mosaïque originale d'Invader avait été posée le 30 juillet 2000 (30 points). Elle avait été volée.

Elle a été réactivée en janvier 2016.

Ne pas tarder à prendre la mosaïque en photo : deux carreaux au centre sont déjà cassés.

iss067e19982 (July 19, 2022) --- NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren is seen performing Forward Osmosis Membrane operations. Assessing the Performance of Urease-phospholipid Reactive Forward Osmosis Membranes for Water Reclamation Aboard the ISS (Forward Osmosis Membrane) tests reactive membranes for water reclamation in microgravity as compared to 1g on Earth.

iss067e19981 (July 17, 2022) --- NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren is seen performing Forward Osmosis Membrane operations. Assessing the Performance of Urease-phospholipid Reactive Forward Osmosis Membranes for Water Reclamation Aboard the ISS (Forward Osmosis Membrane) tests reactive membranes for water reclamation in microgravity as compared to 1g on Earth.

The 2017-2018 franc sand boom brought some bizarre consists to the CN, if it had reasonably round wheels and could create reactive effort we ran it. This July afternoon in 2018 found quite the dogs breakfast of power for another sand train to Eola. That Soo sd60 made several rounds through the system that summer, even led a train or two of I recall, sadly I wasn’t on any of them nor was I in any position to shoot them but I do know it happened. In fact a few weeks later I would tie down a sand train in Eola next to that same Soo 60 that led a sand lord the night before. I don’t know why I didn’t snap a picture of that one. I did get to run this one however, albeit with the wrong leader... The sand boom went bust by 2019 with fracking operations in Oklahoma and Texas utilizing inferior but abundant and cheap local sand, some blame the CN’s inability to move the product in a timely fashion for that shift. It was fun while it lasted however! Today we still run a good bit of sand on the CN, it all goes north to Canada these days. We run them in pairs, S773-S771, occasionally doubling them up at the border to create 30k ton monsters.

Oh Harbie! His reactivity has let him down today! We are hoping for a family break or two away this year now Tim is in remission and it's much easier to go away without Harbie - lovely as he is! It's a bit like being Harbie's carer and even carers need a break sometimes!

 

So I went on a dog boarding site and found a nice women in the city who is free for the dates I gave her. She came round a few weeks ago to meet Harbie and hear all about him and suggested a trial day for free - 24 hours in her home. She has a cat and we told her it could cause problems but she assured us the cat tends to stay out of the way and so we were quite happy with her confidence. Harbie made friends with the young woman straight away, as he usually does!

 

Today was the day of the trail and this morning around 8am she came to collect him, telling us she would bring him same time tomorrow morning. Harbie trotted off happily towards her car, tail swooshing from side to side.

 

Unfortunately, less than 2 hours later I had a phone call saying it wasn't working out. Although he would be the only dog boarding at hers I think she likes to walk a few dogs together and she said he was being so reactive and she didn't want to upset him - it wouldn't be fair on him. So he's back home again! A failed trial and back to the drawing board for the hunt for someone confident enough to look after him!

 

By the way, we pass this window quite often on our walks and I noticed the stained glass dog picture in the window as the colours really remind me of Harbie when he's sitting with his back to me! Same brown shape on his head.

Off to the vet's tonight with Harbie as he's had a dodgy tummy for more than a week now. I had hoped it would improve on its own but things are still softer than they should be! (The Pro-Kolin didn't help, Sarah)

 

It's more complicated if Harbie is ill as it's quite a walk to the vet and he is reactive to dogs and I really can't do it on my own, so I've booked the last appointment of the afternoon and Tim and I will share the walk.

 

Harbie is eating okay and walks all right, but he's been waking at least twice a night, wanting to go in the garden, so obviously something's amiss. Fingers crossed we can sort thing soon.

  

Again, a major conversion of an Aoshima (ex Gunze Sangyo) stock PA-36 kit. This one has no OAV paradigm (much like the former "Guntos" conversion), it is rather the interpretation of an idea on the basis of a Dorvack Powered Armor.

This time, the idea was “Russian battle tank”, with both modern and historic elements. Another, separate idea was to apply a brown color scheme to a PA – and finally, both came together in this kit.

 

The inspiration for a Russian version came originally when I saw MiG Production’s KV-X2 resin kit of a fictional 4-legged tank which carries a modified KV-2 tank turret on top. This thing looked steampunk, but blunt. And “ground pressure” of “ballistic window” obviously had not been anything the designer(s) had ever heard of. But… what if a Dorvack PA would accompany it?

 

Additionally, I was reading a very interesting book about modern battle tanks, 'Kampfpanzer - heute und morgen', written by Rolf Hilmes in 2007 – it will probably never be published in any other language than German... It offered lots of state-of-the art picture material and also technical information, as well as insights into design philosophies of modern military combat vehicles around the world.

 

The final inspirational spark lured finally in my bathroom! One morning, while pondering about these ideas, I used my deo, and... saw the lines and forms of the can’s spray head! *BINGO*! This form would be a perfect addition to a basic PA-36 kit, changing its helmet lines into a much bulkier design. Consequently, the 'PA-36S' (the 'S' suffix was inspired by the famous Russian WWII shtormovik ground attack planes) project was born. And its name would also fit: “Nove горбун”, or “gorbach”, which means “hunchback” in Russian language – also a reminiscence, to the Ilyushin Il-20 ground attack aircraft prototype.

 

Work started quickly. The spray head from the can was surprisingly easy to transplant, even though major putty work was necessary to make the lines flush. The spray head's plastic was also a bit waxy (I suppose it is PVC), but with super glue and the help of Tamiya putty, everything held together. Surprisingly, the parts fitted well, and the result looks really COOL and pretty different from the round standard PA design – but still consistent.

 

From there, I incorporated many Russian tank design elements. Since Russian battle tanks are primarily designed for assault/charge attacks, I decided that the front would need extra protection. The new bulky head already suggests this, but as an additional measure I applied reactive armour plating on the upper body and the front areas, wherever possible/plausible and where it would not hamper mobility – keeping the look in line with the Russian KONTAKT system.

The necessary explosive plates were cut from 1mm polystyrol plates, glued onto the hull, sanded with a brass brush on a mini drill in order to achieve a softer and irregular look, and finally the bolts were manually added with small tips of casein glue.

 

Further modifications include custom knee caps/protectors. These are parts from a plundered Gundam Endless Waltz “Serpent Custom” kit in 1:144 scale, adapted to their new position and embedded with putty. From the same kit also come the shoulder shields – also modified, dented and put on extenders on the upper arms, so that there is room between them and the arm. The idea behind them is to offer additional protection from hollow explosive charges for the hull, esp. the shoulder and air intake area. These new shields actually had to be added, because the original horizontal shoulder shields in front of the jet pack’s air intakes could not be fitted anymore – the air intakes were replaced by scrap parts from an Airfix Kamov Ka-25 helicopter in 1:72. This helicopter kit also donated two searchlights, which were added on the PA’s front hull.

 

Furthermore, many small details were changed or added. First of all, a new visor unit with 3 lenses was implanted in the front with a protective frame. These parts come from a PAM-74AM’s hand weapon, and they give the PA-36S quite a grunty retro look. On the PA’s top, the typical hump on the left side was replaced by a bigger/longer piece (a 1:48 scale WWII bomb half). On the back, a heat exchanger (for those cold Russian nights…) was placed and surrounded by reactive armour plates. If I remember correctly, this part comes from the horrible 1:72 'Aliens' Dropship kit from Halcyon and was modified. The PA-36's typical pipelines on the right shoulder were replaced with more rustic, self-made pieces. These hoses are actually made from Christmas tree decoration: fine metal coils, which were fitted onto a steel thread and then cut and bent into shape.

The feet also received some tuning, making them broader in order to improve the PA’s weight distribution in the field and offer improved hold. These parts come from an ESCI 1:72 Jagdpanzer IV kit (track and side skirt parts).

 

For active defensive measures, I added an IR decoy device on a pole on the PA's back. This thing looks similar to the current Russian ARENA radar defence system's sensor boom. Additionally, on the PA’s helmet sides and on the back, small laser detectors were added, inspired by the similar real Russian SCHTORA (russ. Штора, “curtain”) system. In case of enemy detection and laser designation, the system will trigger IR smoke dischargers (on the PA, four smoke mortars are placed on the left shoulder – parts from an Arii 1:100 Super Valkyrie) for emergency defence.

 

For armament, I settled for the standard R6 gun which comes with the stock kit, but also modified it for a beefier look. While the basis was kept, a short barrel extension was added and a nozzle brake (from a PAM-74C “Dunc” kit) put in the front. The idea was to create a gun with a smaller calibre, which would not only fire “slow” HE ammunition (which I suppose the R6 cannon uses – it looks like a mortar or howitzer), but faster AP shells. The impressive nozzle break is supposed to catch the stronger recoil of this different weapon concept, and it looks good ;)

On the blank (an ugly!) back of the gun, some technical parts were added which “simulate” recoil and gas pressure compensators. The huge, basically empty box on top of the gun (A visor unit? A camera? A bread basket?) received 3 lenses which double the PA’s new 3-lobed visor unit. Finally, a set of flexible, fabric-covered cables connects the gun with an adapter box on the PA’s breast (the original PA-36 has a small flap under its visor for this purpose). This gun then received my personal designation R6M, “M” for modified , an authentic Russian suffix.

 

From the beginning, this PA conversion was to be painted in a single colour. Since all-green PA’s frequently appear in the TV series (see e. g. episode 14 & 16) and will definitively show up in my collection, I settled on brown. Another factor was the background picture (see above), which had much influence on the kit's finish. And finally, since I have seen several pictures of all-brown/dark sand Russian WWII tanks, the single brown colour seemed to be plausible. Mmm… brown. Or better: коричневый цвет!

 

The basic overall tone is Tamiya’s XF-64 “Red Brown”, everywhere. Some details like the inside of the visor unit were painted with Testor’s 2002 “Burnt Umber” from the figure colour series for extra contrast. The joints received a mix of Gold (Testors 1144), a bit gun metal (Humbrol 53) and Burnt Umber.

 

After a first turn of dry painting with Humbrol 186 and 118, decals were applied. Numbers and unit markings come from a 1:35 scale WWII Russian tank sheet from German decal specialist Peddinghaus. The many light grey Russian labels come from the vast decal sheet of Italieri/Testor’s MiG-37 “Ferret B” kit in 1:72 scale, and typical Dorvack markings come from the original PA-36 and a spare PAM-74 decal sheet. Sadly, most of them disappeared under the final coat of snow...

“Nose art” on the HD-R6M gun consists of a hand-written “плохая новость”, which simply means “Bad news”. What else to expect from this tank on legs? But this, too, unfortunately disappeared under the snow.

 

After a matte varnish coat the kit received a thorough black ink wash in order to point out the reactive armour plating. Then, several turns with dry paint, including hemp, gulf war sand, light grey, sand and chocolate (Humbrol 168, 187, 64, 63 and 98, respectively) were applied to point out the many surface details. Some dents and blank edges were added with dry-brushed silver, but sparsely. Also, some smoke was simulated with black and dark grey paint (Humbrol 33 and 32), and as a final step some rust and oil was simulated with water-based acrylic paint in burnt umbra and sienna.

 

In order to enhance the heavy duty impression (and remind of harsh conditions this piece might encounter), the PA finally received a mud treatment around its legs. Plaster, mixed with grass filament, fine sand and water-based mixing colour, was prepared in a shallow bowl and the kit’s feet simply stumped into this artificial sludge – leaving the mud and splashes wherever they might end up.

From above, the kit then received a coat or light snow, made from coloured joint mortar (white, plaster is too grayish!), rinsed through a fine mesh onto the kit which was sprayed with water.

 

Finally, I must say that this kit was an interesting experience. On one side, it surely was plain fun to convert such a kit into something very different, seeing a vague idea taking shape. But on the other side, this project also has the more or less serious claim to incorporate realistic defence technology – and while building the kit, I became aware how tricky it actually is to construct and protect something like a tank from various battlefield dangers, and how naïve mecha can come along.

This picture is NOT for sale, or to be used without explicit permission by me and Reactiveparts in any form what so ever outside the Flickr comunuty. Private use may be granted following proof a generous donation to a Charity . Thanks NiloFido

Because Baggins is traffic-reactive, there are not a lot of places where he can walk safely off-leash -even some of our urban beaches are too close to a road. Fortunately, this park is about 20 minutes by car from my house and is a safe place and a beautiful place to walk, especially on week-days when it is quiet. I got several very lovely shots of B on this day, but when I posted three of them on Facebook this one was the overwhelming favourite.

Once more, new pics from a old kit (from ~2009), from which I originally had only taken three shots.

 

This is another, fictional major conversion of an Aoshima (ex Gunze Sangyo) stock PA-36 kit. This one has no OAV paradigm (much like the former "Guntos" conversion), it is rather the interpretation of an idea on the basis of a Dorvack Powered Armor.

 

This time, the idea or theme was “Russian battle tank”, with both modern and historic elements. Another, separate idea was to apply a brown color scheme to a PA – and finally, both came together in this model.

 

The inspiration for a Russian version came originally when I saw MiG Production’s KV-X2 resin kit (anyone remember?) of a fictional 4-legged tank which carries a modified KV-2 tank turret on top. This thing looked steampunk, but blunt and IMHO totally unbalanced, and until today I wonder where a driver would be located? "Ground pressure” or “ballistic windows” obviously had also not been anything the designer(s) had ever heard of. But… what if a Dorvack PA would accompany it?

 

Additionally, I was reading a very interesting book about modern battle tanks, 'Kampfpanzer - heute und morgen', written by Rolf Hilmes in 2007, highly recommended if you are into tank technology. It offered lots of state-of-the art picture material and also technical information, as well as insights into design philosophies of modern military combat vehicles around the world.

 

The final inspirational spark lured finally in my bathroom! One morning, while pondering about these ideas, I used my deo, and... saw the lines and forms of the can’s spray head! *BINGO*! This form would be a perfect addition to a basic PA-36 kit, changing its helmet lines into a much bulkier design. Consequently, the 'PA-36S' (the 'S' suffix was inspired by the famous Russian WWII shtormovik ground attack planes) project was born. And its name would also fit: “Nove горбун”, or “gorbach”, which means “hunchback” in Russian language – also a reminiscence, to the Ilyushin Il-20 ground attack aircraft prototype.

 

Work started quickly. The spray head from the can was surprisingly easy to transplant, even though major putty work was necessary to make the lines flush. The spray head's plastic was also a bit waxy (I suppose it is PVC), but with super glue and the help of Tamiya putty, everything held together. Surprisingly, the parts fitted well, and the result looks really COOL and pretty different from the round standard PA design – but still consistent.

 

From there, I incorporated many Russian tank design elements. Since Russian battle tanks are primarily designed for assault/charge attacks, I decided that the front would need extra protection. The new bulky head already suggests this, but as an additional measure I applied reactive armour plating on the upper body and the front areas, wherever possible/plausible and where it would not hamper mobility – keeping the look in line with the Russian KONTAKT system.

The necessary explosive plates were cut from 1mm polystyrol plates, glued onto the hull, sanded with a brass brush on a mini drill in order to achieve a softer and irregular look, and finally the bolts were manually added with small tips of casein glue.

 

Further modifications include custom knee caps/protectors. These are parts from a plundered Gundam Endless Waltz “Serpent Custom” kit in 1:144 scale, adapted to their new position and embedded with putty. From the same kit also come the shoulder shields – also modified, dented and put on extenders on the upper arms, so that there is room between them and the arm. The idea behind them is to offer additional protection from hollow explosive charges for the hull, esp. the shoulder and air intake area. These new shields actually had to be added, because the original horizontal shoulder shields in front of the jet pack’s air intakes could not be fitted anymore – the air intakes were replaced by scrap parts from an Airfix Kamov Ka-25 helicopter in 1:72. This helicopter kit also donated two searchlights, which were added on the PA’s front hull.

 

Furthermore, many small details were changed or added. First of all, a new visor unit with 3 lenses was implanted in the front with a protective frame. These parts come from a PAM-74AM’s hand weapon, and they give the PA-36S quite a grunty retro look. On the PA’s top, the typical hump on the left side was replaced by a bigger/longer piece (a 1:48 scale WWII bomb half). On the back, a heat exchanger (for those cold Russian nights…) was placed and surrounded by reactive armour plates. If I remember correctly, this part comes from the horrible 1:72 'Aliens' Dropship kit from Halcyon and was modified. The PA-36's typical pipelines on the right shoulder were replaced with more rustic, self-made pieces. These hoses are actually made from Christmas tree decoration: fine metal coils, which were fitted onto a steel thread and then cut and bent into shape.

The feet also received some tuning, making them broader in order to improve the PA’s weight distribution in the field and offer improved hold. These parts come from an ESCI 1:72 Jagdpanzer IV kit (track and side skirt parts).

 

For active defensive measures, I added an IR decoy device on a pole on the PA's back. This thing looks similar to the current Russian ARENA radar defence system's sensor boom. Additionally, on the PA’s helmet sides and on the back, small laser detectors were added, inspired by the similar real Russian SCHTORA (russ. Штора, “curtain”) system. In case of enemy detection and laser designation, the system will trigger IR smoke dischargers (on the PA, four smoke mortars are placed on the left shoulder – parts from an Arii 1:100 Super Valkyrie) for emergency defence.

 

For armament, I settled for the standard R6 gun which comes with the stock kit, but also modified it for a beefier look. While the basis was kept, a short barrel extension was added and a nozzle brake (from a PAM-74C “Dunc” kit) put in the front. The idea was to create a gun with a smaller calibre, which would not only fire “slow” HE ammunition (which I suppose the R6 cannon uses – it looks like a mortar or howitzer), but faster AP shells. The impressive nozzle break is supposed to catch the stronger recoil of this different weapon concept, and it looks good ;)

On the blank (an ugly!) back of the gun, some technical parts were added which “simulate” recoil and gas pressure compensators. The huge, basically empty box on top of the gun (A visor unit? A camera? A bread basket?) received 3 lenses which double the PA’s new 3-lobed visor unit. Finally, a set of flexible, fabric-covered cables connects the gun with an adapter box on the PA’s breast (the original PA-36 has a small flap under its visor for this purpose). This gun then received my personal designation R6M, “M” for modified , an authentic Russian suffix.

 

From the beginning, this PA conversion was to be painted in a single colour. Since all-green PA’s frequently appear in the TV series (see e. g. episode 14 & 16) and will definitively show up in my collection, I settled on brown. Another factor was the background picture (see above), which had much influence on the kit's finish. And finally, since I have seen several pictures of all-brown/dark sand Russian WWII tanks, the single brown colour seemed to be plausible. Mmm… brown. Or better: коричневый цвет!

 

The basic overall tone is Tamiya’s XF-64 “Red Brown”, everywhere. Some details like the inside of the visor unit were painted with Testor’s 2002 “Burnt Umber” from the figure colour series for extra contrast. The joints received a mix of Gold (Testors 1144), a bit gun metal (Humbrol 53) and Burnt Umber.

 

After a first turn of dry painting with Humbrol 186 and 118, decals were applied. Numbers and unit markings come from a 1:35 scale WWII Russian tank sheet from German decal specialist Peddinghaus. The many light grey Russian labels come from the vast decal sheet of Italieri/Testor’s MiG-37 “Ferret B” kit in 1:72 scale, and typical Dorvack markings come from the original PA-36 and a spare PAM-74 decal sheet. Sadly, most of them disappeared under the final coat of snow...

“Nose art” on the HD-R6M gun consists of a hand-written “плохая новость”, which simply means “Bad news”. What else to expect from this tank on legs? But this, too, unfortunately disappeared under the snow.

 

After a matte varnish coat the kit received a thorough black ink wash in order to point out the reactive armour plating. Then, several turns with dry paint, including hemp, gulf war sand, light grey, sand and chocolate (Humbrol 168, 187, 64, 63 and 98, respectively) were applied to point out the many surface details. Some dents and blank edges were added with dry-brushed silver, but sparsely. Also, some smoke was simulated with black and dark grey paint (Humbrol 33 and 32), and as a final step some rust and oil was simulated with water-based acrylic paint in burnt umbra and sienna.

 

In order to enhance the heavy duty impression (and remind of harsh conditions this piece might encounter), the PA finally received a mud treatment around its legs. Plaster, mixed with grass filament, fine sand and water-based mixing colour, was prepared in a shallow bowl and the kit’s feet simply stumped into this artificial sludge – leaving the mud and splashes wherever they might end up.

From above, the kit then received a coat or light snow, made from coloured joint mortar (white, plaster is too grayish!), rinsed through a fine mesh onto the kit which was sprayed with water.

 

Finally, I must say that this kit was an interesting experience. On one side, it surely was plain fun to convert such a kit into something very different, seeing a vague idea taking shape. But on the other side, this project also has the more or less serious claim to incorporate realistic defence technology – and while building the kit, I became aware how tricky it actually is to construct and protect something like a tank from various battlefield dangers, and how naïve mecha can come along.

ENFIN !! Ma page a été réactivée ! OUF

Happy Christmas from Harbie to you!

Since 500px was renewed this week, i decided to reactive my old account. I think i've gotten better since i first made my account there. I'll only upload my favourite shots so i currently have six shots on there..

 

So please check me out @ 500px!

 

I recommend viewing this large and on black

 

• • •

Prints available at my website

500px

Behance

Twitter

One thing I have taught Harbie recently is the middle command! It's not 100% reliable and only works indoors where he's not on a lead, although I often do it when I get home from a walk and I'm getting the key out to open the front door. (I check there are no dogs around to distract him first!). Mostly I do this when I'm making sandwiches in the kitchen. This is my view looking down. The inset photo is a treat for sitting nicely! (It's not me giving birth to a dog!!!!)

 

Middle is one of the most useful things that you can teach your dog. It is getting your dog to stand in between your legs, and even move around with you as you walk if you practice!

At first it seems like a really cool trick – and yes, it totally is. However it is also so much more than that! Middle has so many uses and once you start using it yourself, you will find you start to call on it all the time.

A middle for a dog is like a person holding someone’s hand. It can make them feel safe and connected to you. It allows them to communicate with you, that they are perhaps worried or concerned, not feeling entirely secure or even that they just want to be close to you and have fun. (from Boomerang dogs)

Once more, new pics from a old kit (from ~2009), from which I originally had only taken three shots.

 

This is another, fictional major conversion of an Aoshima (ex Gunze Sangyo) stock PA-36 kit. This one has no OAV paradigm (much like the former "Guntos" conversion), it is rather the interpretation of an idea on the basis of a Dorvack Powered Armor.

 

This time, the idea or theme was “Russian battle tank”, with both modern and historic elements. Another, separate idea was to apply a brown color scheme to a PA – and finally, both came together in this model.

 

The inspiration for a Russian version came originally when I saw MiG Production’s KV-X2 resin kit (anyone remember?) of a fictional 4-legged tank which carries a modified KV-2 tank turret on top. This thing looked steampunk, but blunt and IMHO totally unbalanced, and until today I wonder where a driver would be located? "Ground pressure” or “ballistic windows” obviously had also not been anything the designer(s) had ever heard of. But… what if a Dorvack PA would accompany it?

 

Additionally, I was reading a very interesting book about modern battle tanks, 'Kampfpanzer - heute und morgen', written by Rolf Hilmes in 2007, highly recommended if you are into tank technology. It offered lots of state-of-the art picture material and also technical information, as well as insights into design philosophies of modern military combat vehicles around the world.

 

The final inspirational spark lured finally in my bathroom! One morning, while pondering about these ideas, I used my deo, and... saw the lines and forms of the can’s spray head! *BINGO*! This form would be a perfect addition to a basic PA-36 kit, changing its helmet lines into a much bulkier design. Consequently, the 'PA-36S' (the 'S' suffix was inspired by the famous Russian WWII shtormovik ground attack planes) project was born. And its name would also fit: “Nove горбун”, or “gorbach”, which means “hunchback” in Russian language – also a reminiscence, to the Ilyushin Il-20 ground attack aircraft prototype.

 

Work started quickly. The spray head from the can was surprisingly easy to transplant, even though major putty work was necessary to make the lines flush. The spray head's plastic was also a bit waxy (I suppose it is PVC), but with super glue and the help of Tamiya putty, everything held together. Surprisingly, the parts fitted well, and the result looks really COOL and pretty different from the round standard PA design – but still consistent.

 

From there, I incorporated many Russian tank design elements. Since Russian battle tanks are primarily designed for assault/charge attacks, I decided that the front would need extra protection. The new bulky head already suggests this, but as an additional measure I applied reactive armour plating on the upper body and the front areas, wherever possible/plausible and where it would not hamper mobility – keeping the look in line with the Russian KONTAKT system.

The necessary explosive plates were cut from 1mm polystyrol plates, glued onto the hull, sanded with a brass brush on a mini drill in order to achieve a softer and irregular look, and finally the bolts were manually added with small tips of casein glue.

 

Further modifications include custom knee caps/protectors. These are parts from a plundered Gundam Endless Waltz “Serpent Custom” kit in 1:144 scale, adapted to their new position and embedded with putty. From the same kit also come the shoulder shields – also modified, dented and put on extenders on the upper arms, so that there is room between them and the arm. The idea behind them is to offer additional protection from hollow explosive charges for the hull, esp. the shoulder and air intake area. These new shields actually had to be added, because the original horizontal shoulder shields in front of the jet pack’s air intakes could not be fitted anymore – the air intakes were replaced by scrap parts from an Airfix Kamov Ka-25 helicopter in 1:72. This helicopter kit also donated two searchlights, which were added on the PA’s front hull.

 

Furthermore, many small details were changed or added. First of all, a new visor unit with 3 lenses was implanted in the front with a protective frame. These parts come from a PAM-74AM’s hand weapon, and they give the PA-36S quite a grunty retro look. On the PA’s top, the typical hump on the left side was replaced by a bigger/longer piece (a 1:48 scale WWII bomb half). On the back, a heat exchanger (for those cold Russian nights…) was placed and surrounded by reactive armour plates. If I remember correctly, this part comes from the horrible 1:72 'Aliens' Dropship kit from Halcyon and was modified. The PA-36's typical pipelines on the right shoulder were replaced with more rustic, self-made pieces. These hoses are actually made from Christmas tree decoration: fine metal coils, which were fitted onto a steel thread and then cut and bent into shape.

The feet also received some tuning, making them broader in order to improve the PA’s weight distribution in the field and offer improved hold. These parts come from an ESCI 1:72 Jagdpanzer IV kit (track and side skirt parts).

 

For active defensive measures, I added an IR decoy device on a pole on the PA's back. This thing looks similar to the current Russian ARENA radar defence system's sensor boom. Additionally, on the PA’s helmet sides and on the back, small laser detectors were added, inspired by the similar real Russian SCHTORA (russ. Штора, “curtain”) system. In case of enemy detection and laser designation, the system will trigger IR smoke dischargers (on the PA, four smoke mortars are placed on the left shoulder – parts from an Arii 1:100 Super Valkyrie) for emergency defence.

 

For armament, I settled for the standard R6 gun which comes with the stock kit, but also modified it for a beefier look. While the basis was kept, a short barrel extension was added and a nozzle brake (from a PAM-74C “Dunc” kit) put in the front. The idea was to create a gun with a smaller calibre, which would not only fire “slow” HE ammunition (which I suppose the R6 cannon uses – it looks like a mortar or howitzer), but faster AP shells. The impressive nozzle break is supposed to catch the stronger recoil of this different weapon concept, and it looks good ;)

On the blank (an ugly!) back of the gun, some technical parts were added which “simulate” recoil and gas pressure compensators. The huge, basically empty box on top of the gun (A visor unit? A camera? A bread basket?) received 3 lenses which double the PA’s new 3-lobed visor unit. Finally, a set of flexible, fabric-covered cables connects the gun with an adapter box on the PA’s breast (the original PA-36 has a small flap under its visor for this purpose). This gun then received my personal designation R6M, “M” for modified , an authentic Russian suffix.

 

From the beginning, this PA conversion was to be painted in a single colour. Since all-green PA’s frequently appear in the TV series (see e. g. episode 14 & 16) and will definitively show up in my collection, I settled on brown. Another factor was the background picture (see above), which had much influence on the kit's finish. And finally, since I have seen several pictures of all-brown/dark sand Russian WWII tanks, the single brown colour seemed to be plausible. Mmm… brown. Or better: коричневый цвет!

 

The basic overall tone is Tamiya’s XF-64 “Red Brown”, everywhere. Some details like the inside of the visor unit were painted with Testor’s 2002 “Burnt Umber” from the figure colour series for extra contrast. The joints received a mix of Gold (Testors 1144), a bit gun metal (Humbrol 53) and Burnt Umber.

 

After a first turn of dry painting with Humbrol 186 and 118, decals were applied. Numbers and unit markings come from a 1:35 scale WWII Russian tank sheet from German decal specialist Peddinghaus. The many light grey Russian labels come from the vast decal sheet of Italieri/Testor’s MiG-37 “Ferret B” kit in 1:72 scale, and typical Dorvack markings come from the original PA-36 and a spare PAM-74 decal sheet. Sadly, most of them disappeared under the final coat of snow...

“Nose art” on the HD-R6M gun consists of a hand-written “плохая новость”, which simply means “Bad news”. What else to expect from this tank on legs? But this, too, unfortunately disappeared under the snow.

 

After a matte varnish coat the kit received a thorough black ink wash in order to point out the reactive armour plating. Then, several turns with dry paint, including hemp, gulf war sand, light grey, sand and chocolate (Humbrol 168, 187, 64, 63 and 98, respectively) were applied to point out the many surface details. Some dents and blank edges were added with dry-brushed silver, but sparsely. Also, some smoke was simulated with black and dark grey paint (Humbrol 33 and 32), and as a final step some rust and oil was simulated with water-based acrylic paint in burnt umbra and sienna.

 

In order to enhance the heavy duty impression (and remind of harsh conditions this piece might encounter), the PA finally received a mud treatment around its legs. Plaster, mixed with grass filament, fine sand and water-based mixing colour, was prepared in a shallow bowl and the kit’s feet simply stumped into this artificial sludge – leaving the mud and splashes wherever they might end up.

From above, the kit then received a coat or light snow, made from coloured joint mortar (white, plaster is too grayish!), rinsed through a fine mesh onto the kit which was sprayed with water.

 

Finally, I must say that this kit was an interesting experience. On one side, it surely was plain fun to convert such a kit into something very different, seeing a vague idea taking shape. But on the other side, this project also has the more or less serious claim to incorporate realistic defence technology – and while building the kit, I became aware how tricky it actually is to construct and protect something like a tank from various battlefield dangers, and how naïve mecha can come along.

A l'aéroport Roissy Charles de Gaulle, pas très loin du terminal 1.

La mosaïque originale signée Invader avait été posée par Invader le 26 juillet 2002.

Elle avait été arrachée ... et a été réactivée en septembre 2017.

On peut y accéder à pied assez facilement depuis la gare de RER B Aéroport CDG, terminaux 1 et 3.

Sur Flashinvaders, cette mosaïque vaut 50 points.

Being reactive sometimes pays off. I lucked out that these awesome firefighters were headed down the street I was on tonight. I had been using my Pentax's great IBIS for low light handheld shots when the passed by, which ended up making for a great panning shot.

 

Shot with Pentax K1, SMC Pentax-DA 35mm F2.4 AL (full frame mode), and a Tiffen Black Pro Mist 1/8 filter

The sides have reactive armor and I will be coating the front of the turret in it. I have yet to put the gun on and put gears on the internal contraption I made that helps the turret to move through a knob sticking out of the back of the hull.

Will post a completed photo by the end of next week.

Btw I'm in London, so, sorry for the lack of updates.

I just received the Vandor Snow White Heat Reactive Ceramic Teapot from Amazon. It holds 42 fluid ounces and is about 7.5'' H x 10'' W x 6'' D. One side has an image of the Evil Queen. The other side has an oval area that starts out black. When the pot is filled with hot water, a full color image of Snow White holding the poison apple appears after a short time. Because of its special elements, the teapot is not microwave, dishwasher or stove top safe.

 

Vandor 33008 Disney Snow White Heat Reactive Sculpted Ceramic Teapot

Amazon.com

Price: $35.68 Free Shipping for Prime Members

• Size: 6 x 10 x 7.5 Inches

• Unique custom-sculpted design

• Hand-painting combined with printed artwork creates exquisite details

• Made with high-quality ceramic

• Heat reactive design changes when filled with hot liquid

• Arrives in full-color gift box

Our Bosnian dog, Harbie, is very reactive towards other dogs when we're out - he has improved in the three years we've had him, but I don't think we'll ever be able to get right up to other dogs (the vet agrees). We think it's a mixture of excitement, anxiety, frustration - very hard to tell, but when we have a bad moment he'll bark (very loudly) and leap around like a puppy - very off-putting for other dog owners! Usually, as long as we keep our distance and I have a bag of treats, we can pass without drama.

 

Anyway, a few times a year we like to treat him to a run in a bookable dog park - there are several 'paw paddocks' outside our city. They quite cheap to book per hour and it means Harbie can fun free and not upset anyone. His recall is rubbish, but he's always happy to follow us back to the car. We allow time as we don't want the next booking to turn up while we are there, but we've never had any trouble rounding him up. Squeaky dog toys generally get his attention, if necessary!

 

Tim drove us to the Fareham Paw Paddock today - here are some photos from our trip.

Once more, new pics from a old kit (from ~2009), from which I originally had only taken three shots.

 

This is another, fictional major conversion of an Aoshima (ex Gunze Sangyo) stock PA-36 kit. This one has no OAV paradigm (much like the former "Guntos" conversion), it is rather the interpretation of an idea on the basis of a Dorvack Powered Armor.

 

This time, the idea or theme was “Russian battle tank”, with both modern and historic elements. Another, separate idea was to apply a brown color scheme to a PA – and finally, both came together in this model.

 

The inspiration for a Russian version came originally when I saw MiG Production’s KV-X2 resin kit (anyone remember?) of a fictional 4-legged tank which carries a modified KV-2 tank turret on top. This thing looked steampunk, but blunt and IMHO totally unbalanced, and until today I wonder where a driver would be located? "Ground pressure” or “ballistic windows” obviously had also not been anything the designer(s) had ever heard of. But… what if a Dorvack PA would accompany it?

 

Additionally, I was reading a very interesting book about modern battle tanks, 'Kampfpanzer - heute und morgen', written by Rolf Hilmes in 2007, highly recommended if you are into tank technology. It offered lots of state-of-the art picture material and also technical information, as well as insights into design philosophies of modern military combat vehicles around the world.

 

The final inspirational spark lured finally in my bathroom! One morning, while pondering about these ideas, I used my deo, and... saw the lines and forms of the can’s spray head! *BINGO*! This form would be a perfect addition to a basic PA-36 kit, changing its helmet lines into a much bulkier design. Consequently, the 'PA-36S' (the 'S' suffix was inspired by the famous Russian WWII shtormovik ground attack planes) project was born. And its name would also fit: “Nove горбун”, or “gorbach”, which means “hunchback” in Russian language – also a reminiscence, to the Ilyushin Il-20 ground attack aircraft prototype.

 

Work started quickly. The spray head from the can was surprisingly easy to transplant, even though major putty work was necessary to make the lines flush. The spray head's plastic was also a bit waxy (I suppose it is PVC), but with super glue and the help of Tamiya putty, everything held together. Surprisingly, the parts fitted well, and the result looks really COOL and pretty different from the round standard PA design – but still consistent.

 

From there, I incorporated many Russian tank design elements. Since Russian battle tanks are primarily designed for assault/charge attacks, I decided that the front would need extra protection. The new bulky head already suggests this, but as an additional measure I applied reactive armour plating on the upper body and the front areas, wherever possible/plausible and where it would not hamper mobility – keeping the look in line with the Russian KONTAKT system.

The necessary explosive plates were cut from 1mm polystyrol plates, glued onto the hull, sanded with a brass brush on a mini drill in order to achieve a softer and irregular look, and finally the bolts were manually added with small tips of casein glue.

 

Further modifications include custom knee caps/protectors. These are parts from a plundered Gundam Endless Waltz “Serpent Custom” kit in 1:144 scale, adapted to their new position and embedded with putty. From the same kit also come the shoulder shields – also modified, dented and put on extenders on the upper arms, so that there is room between them and the arm. The idea behind them is to offer additional protection from hollow explosive charges for the hull, esp. the shoulder and air intake area. These new shields actually had to be added, because the original horizontal shoulder shields in front of the jet pack’s air intakes could not be fitted anymore – the air intakes were replaced by scrap parts from an Airfix Kamov Ka-25 helicopter in 1:72. This helicopter kit also donated two searchlights, which were added on the PA’s front hull.

 

Furthermore, many small details were changed or added. First of all, a new visor unit with 3 lenses was implanted in the front with a protective frame. These parts come from a PAM-74AM’s hand weapon, and they give the PA-36S quite a grunty retro look. On the PA’s top, the typical hump on the left side was replaced by a bigger/longer piece (a 1:48 scale WWII bomb half). On the back, a heat exchanger (for those cold Russian nights…) was placed and surrounded by reactive armour plates. If I remember correctly, this part comes from the horrible 1:72 'Aliens' Dropship kit from Halcyon and was modified. The PA-36's typical pipelines on the right shoulder were replaced with more rustic, self-made pieces. These hoses are actually made from Christmas tree decoration: fine metal coils, which were fitted onto a steel thread and then cut and bent into shape.

The feet also received some tuning, making them broader in order to improve the PA’s weight distribution in the field and offer improved hold. These parts come from an ESCI 1:72 Jagdpanzer IV kit (track and side skirt parts).

 

For active defensive measures, I added an IR decoy device on a pole on the PA's back. This thing looks similar to the current Russian ARENA radar defence system's sensor boom. Additionally, on the PA’s helmet sides and on the back, small laser detectors were added, inspired by the similar real Russian SCHTORA (russ. Штора, “curtain”) system. In case of enemy detection and laser designation, the system will trigger IR smoke dischargers (on the PA, four smoke mortars are placed on the left shoulder – parts from an Arii 1:100 Super Valkyrie) for emergency defence.

 

For armament, I settled for the standard R6 gun which comes with the stock kit, but also modified it for a beefier look. While the basis was kept, a short barrel extension was added and a nozzle brake (from a PAM-74C “Dunc” kit) put in the front. The idea was to create a gun with a smaller calibre, which would not only fire “slow” HE ammunition (which I suppose the R6 cannon uses – it looks like a mortar or howitzer), but faster AP shells. The impressive nozzle break is supposed to catch the stronger recoil of this different weapon concept, and it looks good ;)

On the blank (an ugly!) back of the gun, some technical parts were added which “simulate” recoil and gas pressure compensators. The huge, basically empty box on top of the gun (A visor unit? A camera? A bread basket?) received 3 lenses which double the PA’s new 3-lobed visor unit. Finally, a set of flexible, fabric-covered cables connects the gun with an adapter box on the PA’s breast (the original PA-36 has a small flap under its visor for this purpose). This gun then received my personal designation R6M, “M” for modified , an authentic Russian suffix.

 

From the beginning, this PA conversion was to be painted in a single colour. Since all-green PA’s frequently appear in the TV series (see e. g. episode 14 & 16) and will definitively show up in my collection, I settled on brown. Another factor was the background picture (see above), which had much influence on the kit's finish. And finally, since I have seen several pictures of all-brown/dark sand Russian WWII tanks, the single brown colour seemed to be plausible. Mmm… brown. Or better: коричневый цвет!

 

The basic overall tone is Tamiya’s XF-64 “Red Brown”, everywhere. Some details like the inside of the visor unit were painted with Testor’s 2002 “Burnt Umber” from the figure colour series for extra contrast. The joints received a mix of Gold (Testors 1144), a bit gun metal (Humbrol 53) and Burnt Umber.

 

After a first turn of dry painting with Humbrol 186 and 118, decals were applied. Numbers and unit markings come from a 1:35 scale WWII Russian tank sheet from German decal specialist Peddinghaus. The many light grey Russian labels come from the vast decal sheet of Italieri/Testor’s MiG-37 “Ferret B” kit in 1:72 scale, and typical Dorvack markings come from the original PA-36 and a spare PAM-74 decal sheet. Sadly, most of them disappeared under the final coat of snow...

“Nose art” on the HD-R6M gun consists of a hand-written “плохая новость”, which simply means “Bad news”. What else to expect from this tank on legs? But this, too, unfortunately disappeared under the snow.

 

After a matte varnish coat the kit received a thorough black ink wash in order to point out the reactive armour plating. Then, several turns with dry paint, including hemp, gulf war sand, light grey, sand and chocolate (Humbrol 168, 187, 64, 63 and 98, respectively) were applied to point out the many surface details. Some dents and blank edges were added with dry-brushed silver, but sparsely. Also, some smoke was simulated with black and dark grey paint (Humbrol 33 and 32), and as a final step some rust and oil was simulated with water-based acrylic paint in burnt umbra and sienna.

 

In order to enhance the heavy duty impression (and remind of harsh conditions this piece might encounter), the PA finally received a mud treatment around its legs. Plaster, mixed with grass filament, fine sand and water-based mixing colour, was prepared in a shallow bowl and the kit’s feet simply stumped into this artificial sludge – leaving the mud and splashes wherever they might end up.

From above, the kit then received a coat or light snow, made from coloured joint mortar (white, plaster is too grayish!), rinsed through a fine mesh onto the kit which was sprayed with water.

 

Finally, I must say that this kit was an interesting experience. On one side, it surely was plain fun to convert such a kit into something very different, seeing a vague idea taking shape. But on the other side, this project also has the more or less serious claim to incorporate realistic defence technology – and while building the kit, I became aware how tricky it actually is to construct and protect something like a tank from various battlefield dangers, and how naïve mecha can come along.

A Ukrainian tank T-72 with reactive armour is stationed at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre (IPSC), during Operation UNIFIER, in Starychi, Ukraine on November 4, 2015

 

Photo: Canadian Forces Combat Camera, DND

IS01-2015-0006-035

~

Un char d’assaut ukrainien T-72 équipé d’un blindage réactif est stationné au Centre international de sécurité et de maintien de la paix au cours de l’opération UNIFIER, à Starychi, en Ukraine, le 4 novembre 2015.

 

Photo : Caméra de combat des Forces canadiennes, MDN

IS01-2015-0006-035

audio reactive solid. work in progress (with futuredeluxe)

Steel shot-activated targets during a PG Practical Shoooters - www.facebook.com/pgpracticalshooters (PGPS) IDPA Match at the Protective Services Training Academy (PSTA)

Arcadia: 1/60 VF-0S Phoenix x Reactive Armor

We are so excited to introduce the Lightweaver Moss Set – a dynamic, reactive ground cover found nowhere else on the grid! Featuring 5 unique shape variants, 9 vibrant emissive colors, glowing light particles, immersive sound effects, and deep customization options including fade speed, light range, color volume, glow intensity, and more. Perfect for fantasy builds, fae realms, or magical pathways. This is the first in the all-new Lightweaver Groundcovers line, setting the stage for an enchanting world ahead. Exclusively premiering at the Enchantment Nevermore event, opening Friday, August 8. Don’t miss your chance to experience magic underfoot — only at Enchantment!

Open August 8-31

LM: maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nymphai/220/136/3082

Follow Cerridwen’s Cauldron:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CerridwensCauldronSL/

Marketplace: marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/23335

Instagram: www.instagram.com/cerridwenscauldronsl/

FLICKR: www.flickr.com/groups/cerridwenscauldron/

Discord: discord.gg/FdvVhKECT5

Primfeed: www.primfeed.com/elicio.ember

Composition of 2 audio sculpted forms.

Generated using S.A.R.A (Synchronous Audio Reactive Algorithms) - a custom software built in c++/opengl for real-time procedural audio reactive visual generation.

Demo here: vimeo.com/accidentally/sara

pxn_patterner, audio reactive patternizer fx

Image from my audio-reactive contribution to "Chosen Moments".

 

vimeo.com/55233470

Optare Versa V1170 operating a reactive Metro Rail Replacement service.

 

NOTE: Social distancing rules were followed while taking this photo. To comply with the "Essential Journeys only" guidance, Public Transport was not used to reach or return from the location of this photo.

One way of focusing intense beams of x-rays down to individual nanometers involves bending them through the stacks of atomically thin materials inside multilayer Laue lenses. These drop-like domes were carved through a process called reactive ion etching, which produced the striped bubbles in this false-colored electron microscope capture. Each dark line signified a marker layer built into these ultra precise lenses. This flawed prototype—the final lenses actually look much more like symmetrical towers—helped scientists perfect the synthesis process and prepare lenses to focus x-rays to within a single nanometer using instruments like Brookhaven’s forthcoming National Synchrotron Light Source II.

Version of T-64, upgraded with Kontact reactive armour after repairing.

Intro to Fibre Reactive Dyes

the workroom

Toronto, ON

May 2015

Once more, new pics from a old kit (from ~2009), from which I originally had only taken three shots.

 

This is another, fictional major conversion of an Aoshima (ex Gunze Sangyo) stock PA-36 kit. This one has no OAV paradigm (much like the former "Guntos" conversion), it is rather the interpretation of an idea on the basis of a Dorvack Powered Armor.

 

This time, the idea or theme was “Russian battle tank”, with both modern and historic elements. Another, separate idea was to apply a brown color scheme to a PA – and finally, both came together in this model.

 

The inspiration for a Russian version came originally when I saw MiG Production’s KV-X2 resin kit (anyone remember?) of a fictional 4-legged tank which carries a modified KV-2 tank turret on top. This thing looked steampunk, but blunt and IMHO totally unbalanced, and until today I wonder where a driver would be located? "Ground pressure” or “ballistic windows” obviously had also not been anything the designer(s) had ever heard of. But… what if a Dorvack PA would accompany it?

 

Additionally, I was reading a very interesting book about modern battle tanks, 'Kampfpanzer - heute und morgen', written by Rolf Hilmes in 2007, highly recommended if you are into tank technology. It offered lots of state-of-the art picture material and also technical information, as well as insights into design philosophies of modern military combat vehicles around the world.

 

The final inspirational spark lured finally in my bathroom! One morning, while pondering about these ideas, I used my deo, and... saw the lines and forms of the can’s spray head! *BINGO*! This form would be a perfect addition to a basic PA-36 kit, changing its helmet lines into a much bulkier design. Consequently, the 'PA-36S' (the 'S' suffix was inspired by the famous Russian WWII shtormovik ground attack planes) project was born. And its name would also fit: “Nove горбун”, or “gorbach”, which means “hunchback” in Russian language – also a reminiscence, to the Ilyushin Il-20 ground attack aircraft prototype.

 

Work started quickly. The spray head from the can was surprisingly easy to transplant, even though major putty work was necessary to make the lines flush. The spray head's plastic was also a bit waxy (I suppose it is PVC), but with super glue and the help of Tamiya putty, everything held together. Surprisingly, the parts fitted well, and the result looks really COOL and pretty different from the round standard PA design – but still consistent.

 

From there, I incorporated many Russian tank design elements. Since Russian battle tanks are primarily designed for assault/charge attacks, I decided that the front would need extra protection. The new bulky head already suggests this, but as an additional measure I applied reactive armour plating on the upper body and the front areas, wherever possible/plausible and where it would not hamper mobility – keeping the look in line with the Russian KONTAKT system.

The necessary explosive plates were cut from 1mm polystyrol plates, glued onto the hull, sanded with a brass brush on a mini drill in order to achieve a softer and irregular look, and finally the bolts were manually added with small tips of casein glue.

 

Further modifications include custom knee caps/protectors. These are parts from a plundered Gundam Endless Waltz “Serpent Custom” kit in 1:144 scale, adapted to their new position and embedded with putty. From the same kit also come the shoulder shields – also modified, dented and put on extenders on the upper arms, so that there is room between them and the arm. The idea behind them is to offer additional protection from hollow explosive charges for the hull, esp. the shoulder and air intake area. These new shields actually had to be added, because the original horizontal shoulder shields in front of the jet pack’s air intakes could not be fitted anymore – the air intakes were replaced by scrap parts from an Airfix Kamov Ka-25 helicopter in 1:72. This helicopter kit also donated two searchlights, which were added on the PA’s front hull.

 

Furthermore, many small details were changed or added. First of all, a new visor unit with 3 lenses was implanted in the front with a protective frame. These parts come from a PAM-74AM’s hand weapon, and they give the PA-36S quite a grunty retro look. On the PA’s top, the typical hump on the left side was replaced by a bigger/longer piece (a 1:48 scale WWII bomb half). On the back, a heat exchanger (for those cold Russian nights…) was placed and surrounded by reactive armour plates. If I remember correctly, this part comes from the horrible 1:72 'Aliens' Dropship kit from Halcyon and was modified. The PA-36's typical pipelines on the right shoulder were replaced with more rustic, self-made pieces. These hoses are actually made from Christmas tree decoration: fine metal coils, which were fitted onto a steel thread and then cut and bent into shape.

The feet also received some tuning, making them broader in order to improve the PA’s weight distribution in the field and offer improved hold. These parts come from an ESCI 1:72 Jagdpanzer IV kit (track and side skirt parts).

 

For active defensive measures, I added an IR decoy device on a pole on the PA's back. This thing looks similar to the current Russian ARENA radar defence system's sensor boom. Additionally, on the PA’s helmet sides and on the back, small laser detectors were added, inspired by the similar real Russian SCHTORA (russ. Штора, “curtain”) system. In case of enemy detection and laser designation, the system will trigger IR smoke dischargers (on the PA, four smoke mortars are placed on the left shoulder – parts from an Arii 1:100 Super Valkyrie) for emergency defence.

 

For armament, I settled for the standard R6 gun which comes with the stock kit, but also modified it for a beefier look. While the basis was kept, a short barrel extension was added and a nozzle brake (from a PAM-74C “Dunc” kit) put in the front. The idea was to create a gun with a smaller calibre, which would not only fire “slow” HE ammunition (which I suppose the R6 cannon uses – it looks like a mortar or howitzer), but faster AP shells. The impressive nozzle break is supposed to catch the stronger recoil of this different weapon concept, and it looks good ;)

On the blank (an ugly!) back of the gun, some technical parts were added which “simulate” recoil and gas pressure compensators. The huge, basically empty box on top of the gun (A visor unit? A camera? A bread basket?) received 3 lenses which double the PA’s new 3-lobed visor unit. Finally, a set of flexible, fabric-covered cables connects the gun with an adapter box on the PA’s breast (the original PA-36 has a small flap under its visor for this purpose). This gun then received my personal designation R6M, “M” for modified , an authentic Russian suffix.

 

From the beginning, this PA conversion was to be painted in a single colour. Since all-green PA’s frequently appear in the TV series (see e. g. episode 14 & 16) and will definitively show up in my collection, I settled on brown. Another factor was the background picture (see above), which had much influence on the kit's finish. And finally, since I have seen several pictures of all-brown/dark sand Russian WWII tanks, the single brown colour seemed to be plausible. Mmm… brown. Or better: коричневый цвет!

 

The basic overall tone is Tamiya’s XF-64 “Red Brown”, everywhere. Some details like the inside of the visor unit were painted with Testor’s 2002 “Burnt Umber” from the figure colour series for extra contrast. The joints received a mix of Gold (Testors 1144), a bit gun metal (Humbrol 53) and Burnt Umber.

 

After a first turn of dry painting with Humbrol 186 and 118, decals were applied. Numbers and unit markings come from a 1:35 scale WWII Russian tank sheet from German decal specialist Peddinghaus. The many light grey Russian labels come from the vast decal sheet of Italieri/Testor’s MiG-37 “Ferret B” kit in 1:72 scale, and typical Dorvack markings come from the original PA-36 and a spare PAM-74 decal sheet. Sadly, most of them disappeared under the final coat of snow...

“Nose art” on the HD-R6M gun consists of a hand-written “плохая новость”, which simply means “Bad news”. What else to expect from this tank on legs? But this, too, unfortunately disappeared under the snow.

 

After a matte varnish coat the kit received a thorough black ink wash in order to point out the reactive armour plating. Then, several turns with dry paint, including hemp, gulf war sand, light grey, sand and chocolate (Humbrol 168, 187, 64, 63 and 98, respectively) were applied to point out the many surface details. Some dents and blank edges were added with dry-brushed silver, but sparsely. Also, some smoke was simulated with black and dark grey paint (Humbrol 33 and 32), and as a final step some rust and oil was simulated with water-based acrylic paint in burnt umbra and sienna.

 

In order to enhance the heavy duty impression (and remind of harsh conditions this piece might encounter), the PA finally received a mud treatment around its legs. Plaster, mixed with grass filament, fine sand and water-based mixing colour, was prepared in a shallow bowl and the kit’s feet simply stumped into this artificial sludge – leaving the mud and splashes wherever they might end up.

From above, the kit then received a coat or light snow, made from coloured joint mortar (white, plaster is too grayish!), rinsed through a fine mesh onto the kit which was sprayed with water.

 

Finally, I must say that this kit was an interesting experience. On one side, it surely was plain fun to convert such a kit into something very different, seeing a vague idea taking shape. But on the other side, this project also has the more or less serious claim to incorporate realistic defence technology – and while building the kit, I became aware how tricky it actually is to construct and protect something like a tank from various battlefield dangers, and how naïve mecha can come along.

Once more, new pics from a old kit (from ~2009), from which I originally had only taken three shots.

 

This is another, fictional major conversion of an Aoshima (ex Gunze Sangyo) stock PA-36 kit. This one has no OAV paradigm (much like the former "Guntos" conversion), it is rather the interpretation of an idea on the basis of a Dorvack Powered Armor.

 

This time, the idea or theme was “Russian battle tank”, with both modern and historic elements. Another, separate idea was to apply a brown color scheme to a PA – and finally, both came together in this model.

 

The inspiration for a Russian version came originally when I saw MiG Production’s KV-X2 resin kit (anyone remember?) of a fictional 4-legged tank which carries a modified KV-2 tank turret on top. This thing looked steampunk, but blunt and IMHO totally unbalanced, and until today I wonder where a driver would be located? "Ground pressure” or “ballistic windows” obviously had also not been anything the designer(s) had ever heard of. But… what if a Dorvack PA would accompany it?

 

Additionally, I was reading a very interesting book about modern battle tanks, 'Kampfpanzer - heute und morgen', written by Rolf Hilmes in 2007, highly recommended if you are into tank technology. It offered lots of state-of-the art picture material and also technical information, as well as insights into design philosophies of modern military combat vehicles around the world.

 

The final inspirational spark lured finally in my bathroom! One morning, while pondering about these ideas, I used my deo, and... saw the lines and forms of the can’s spray head! *BINGO*! This form would be a perfect addition to a basic PA-36 kit, changing its helmet lines into a much bulkier design. Consequently, the 'PA-36S' (the 'S' suffix was inspired by the famous Russian WWII shtormovik ground attack planes) project was born. And its name would also fit: “Nove горбун”, or “gorbach”, which means “hunchback” in Russian language – also a reminiscence, to the Ilyushin Il-20 ground attack aircraft prototype.

 

Work started quickly. The spray head from the can was surprisingly easy to transplant, even though major putty work was necessary to make the lines flush. The spray head's plastic was also a bit waxy (I suppose it is PVC), but with super glue and the help of Tamiya putty, everything held together. Surprisingly, the parts fitted well, and the result looks really COOL and pretty different from the round standard PA design – but still consistent.

 

From there, I incorporated many Russian tank design elements. Since Russian battle tanks are primarily designed for assault/charge attacks, I decided that the front would need extra protection. The new bulky head already suggests this, but as an additional measure I applied reactive armour plating on the upper body and the front areas, wherever possible/plausible and where it would not hamper mobility – keeping the look in line with the Russian KONTAKT system.

The necessary explosive plates were cut from 1mm polystyrol plates, glued onto the hull, sanded with a brass brush on a mini drill in order to achieve a softer and irregular look, and finally the bolts were manually added with small tips of casein glue.

 

Further modifications include custom knee caps/protectors. These are parts from a plundered Gundam Endless Waltz “Serpent Custom” kit in 1:144 scale, adapted to their new position and embedded with putty. From the same kit also come the shoulder shields – also modified, dented and put on extenders on the upper arms, so that there is room between them and the arm. The idea behind them is to offer additional protection from hollow explosive charges for the hull, esp. the shoulder and air intake area. These new shields actually had to be added, because the original horizontal shoulder shields in front of the jet pack’s air intakes could not be fitted anymore – the air intakes were replaced by scrap parts from an Airfix Kamov Ka-25 helicopter in 1:72. This helicopter kit also donated two searchlights, which were added on the PA’s front hull.

 

Furthermore, many small details were changed or added. First of all, a new visor unit with 3 lenses was implanted in the front with a protective frame. These parts come from a PAM-74AM’s hand weapon, and they give the PA-36S quite a grunty retro look. On the PA’s top, the typical hump on the left side was replaced by a bigger/longer piece (a 1:48 scale WWII bomb half). On the back, a heat exchanger (for those cold Russian nights…) was placed and surrounded by reactive armour plates. If I remember correctly, this part comes from the horrible 1:72 'Aliens' Dropship kit from Halcyon and was modified. The PA-36's typical pipelines on the right shoulder were replaced with more rustic, self-made pieces. These hoses are actually made from Christmas tree decoration: fine metal coils, which were fitted onto a steel thread and then cut and bent into shape.

The feet also received some tuning, making them broader in order to improve the PA’s weight distribution in the field and offer improved hold. These parts come from an ESCI 1:72 Jagdpanzer IV kit (track and side skirt parts).

 

For active defensive measures, I added an IR decoy device on a pole on the PA's back. This thing looks similar to the current Russian ARENA radar defence system's sensor boom. Additionally, on the PA’s helmet sides and on the back, small laser detectors were added, inspired by the similar real Russian SCHTORA (russ. Штора, “curtain”) system. In case of enemy detection and laser designation, the system will trigger IR smoke dischargers (on the PA, four smoke mortars are placed on the left shoulder – parts from an Arii 1:100 Super Valkyrie) for emergency defence.

 

For armament, I settled for the standard R6 gun which comes with the stock kit, but also modified it for a beefier look. While the basis was kept, a short barrel extension was added and a nozzle brake (from a PAM-74C “Dunc” kit) put in the front. The idea was to create a gun with a smaller calibre, which would not only fire “slow” HE ammunition (which I suppose the R6 cannon uses – it looks like a mortar or howitzer), but faster AP shells. The impressive nozzle break is supposed to catch the stronger recoil of this different weapon concept, and it looks good ;)

On the blank (an ugly!) back of the gun, some technical parts were added which “simulate” recoil and gas pressure compensators. The huge, basically empty box on top of the gun (A visor unit? A camera? A bread basket?) received 3 lenses which double the PA’s new 3-lobed visor unit. Finally, a set of flexible, fabric-covered cables connects the gun with an adapter box on the PA’s breast (the original PA-36 has a small flap under its visor for this purpose). This gun then received my personal designation R6M, “M” for modified , an authentic Russian suffix.

 

From the beginning, this PA conversion was to be painted in a single colour. Since all-green PA’s frequently appear in the TV series (see e. g. episode 14 & 16) and will definitively show up in my collection, I settled on brown. Another factor was the background picture (see above), which had much influence on the kit's finish. And finally, since I have seen several pictures of all-brown/dark sand Russian WWII tanks, the single brown colour seemed to be plausible. Mmm… brown. Or better: коричневый цвет!

 

The basic overall tone is Tamiya’s XF-64 “Red Brown”, everywhere. Some details like the inside of the visor unit were painted with Testor’s 2002 “Burnt Umber” from the figure colour series for extra contrast. The joints received a mix of Gold (Testors 1144), a bit gun metal (Humbrol 53) and Burnt Umber.

 

After a first turn of dry painting with Humbrol 186 and 118, decals were applied. Numbers and unit markings come from a 1:35 scale WWII Russian tank sheet from German decal specialist Peddinghaus. The many light grey Russian labels come from the vast decal sheet of Italieri/Testor’s MiG-37 “Ferret B” kit in 1:72 scale, and typical Dorvack markings come from the original PA-36 and a spare PAM-74 decal sheet. Sadly, most of them disappeared under the final coat of snow...

“Nose art” on the HD-R6M gun consists of a hand-written “плохая новость”, which simply means “Bad news”. What else to expect from this tank on legs? But this, too, unfortunately disappeared under the snow.

 

After a matte varnish coat the kit received a thorough black ink wash in order to point out the reactive armour plating. Then, several turns with dry paint, including hemp, gulf war sand, light grey, sand and chocolate (Humbrol 168, 187, 64, 63 and 98, respectively) were applied to point out the many surface details. Some dents and blank edges were added with dry-brushed silver, but sparsely. Also, some smoke was simulated with black and dark grey paint (Humbrol 33 and 32), and as a final step some rust and oil was simulated with water-based acrylic paint in burnt umbra and sienna.

 

In order to enhance the heavy duty impression (and remind of harsh conditions this piece might encounter), the PA finally received a mud treatment around its legs. Plaster, mixed with grass filament, fine sand and water-based mixing colour, was prepared in a shallow bowl and the kit’s feet simply stumped into this artificial sludge – leaving the mud and splashes wherever they might end up.

From above, the kit then received a coat or light snow, made from coloured joint mortar (white, plaster is too grayish!), rinsed through a fine mesh onto the kit which was sprayed with water.

 

Finally, I must say that this kit was an interesting experience. On one side, it surely was plain fun to convert such a kit into something very different, seeing a vague idea taking shape. But on the other side, this project also has the more or less serious claim to incorporate realistic defence technology – and while building the kit, I became aware how tricky it actually is to construct and protect something like a tank from various battlefield dangers, and how naïve mecha can come along.

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