View allAll Photos Tagged Realization
Towards the end of the Korean War, the USAF came to the realization that their transport fleet was becoming obsolete. The C-46 Commandos and C-47 Skytrains in service were no longer adequate, while the C-119 Flying Boxcar was having difficulties. In 1951, the USAF issued a requirement for a new tactical transport, an aircraft that would need to carry at least 72 passengers, be capable of dropping paratroopers, and have a ramp for loading vehicles directly into the cargo compartment. Moreover, it must be a “clean sheet” design, not a conversion from an existing airliner, and the USAF preferred it be a turboprop design. Five companies submitted designs, and six months later the USAF chose Lockheed’s L-402 design—over the misgivings of Lockheed’s chief designer, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, who warned that the L-402 would destroy the company. Little was Johnson to know that, fifty years later, the L-402—designated C-130 Hercules by the USAF—would still be in production, and one out of only five aircraft to have over 50 years of service with the original purchaser.
The C-130 was designed to give mostly unfettered access to a large cargo compartment—the ramp forms an integral part of the rear fuselage, the wing is mounted above the fuselage, and the landing gear is carried in sponsons attached to the fuselage itself, while the fuselage has a circular design to maximize loading potential. The high wing also gives the C-130 good lift, especially in “high and hot” situations. The Allison T56 turboprop was designed specifically for the Hercules, and has gone on to become one of the most successful turboprop designs in history.
After two YC-130 prototypes, the Hercules went into production as the C-130A in 1956, to be superseded by the improved C-130B in 1959. The latter became the baseline Hercules variant: C-130As had three-blade propellers and a rounded “Roman” nose, while the B introduced the more familiar, longer radar nose and four-blade propellers. (Virtually all A models were later retrofitted to the long nose, though they kept the three-blade propellers.) In the 50 years hence, the basic C-130 design has not changed much: the C-130E introduced underwing external fuel tanks, while the C-130H has a slightly different wing. Even the new C-130J variant only introduced new engines with more fuel efficient six-bladed propellers: the basic design remains the same. Lockheed also offers stretched versions of the Hercules, initially as a civilian-only option (the L-100-30); the British Royal Air Force bought this version as the C-130K and it was later adopted by other nations, including the United States.
The basic C-130 is strictly a transport aircraft, but the versatility of the aircraft has meant it has been modified into a dizzying number of variants. These include the AC-130 Spectre gunship, the HC-130 rescue aircraft and WC-130 weather reconnaissance version. Other versions include several dozen EC-130 electronic warfare/Elint variants, KC-130 tankers, and DC-130 drone aircraft controllers. The USAF, the US Navy, and the US Marine Corps are all C-130 operators as well. Besides the United States, there are 67 other operators of C-130s, making it one of the world’s most prolific aircraft, with its only rivals the Bell UH-1 Iroquois family and the Antonov An-2 Colt biplane transport. C-130s are also used extensively by civilian operators as well as the L-100 series.
The “Herky Bird,” as it is often nicknamed, has participated in every military campaign fought by the United States since 1960 in one variation or the other. During Vietnam, it was used in almost every role imaginable, from standard transport to emergency bomber: as the latter, it dropped M121 10,000 pound mass-focus bombs to clear jungle away for helicopter landing zones, and it was even attempted to use C-130s with these bombs against the infamous Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. (Later this capability was added as standard to MC-130 Combat Talon special forces support aircraft; the MC-130 is the only aircraft cleared to carry the GBU-43 MOAB.) It was also instrumental in resupplying the Khe Sanh garrison during its three-month siege. Hercules crews paid the price as well: nearly 70 C-130s were lost during the Vietnam War. In foreign service, C-130s have also been used heavily, the most famous instance of which was likely the Israeli Entebbe Raid of 1976, one of the longest-ranged C-130 missions in history. C-130s are often in the forefront of humanitarian missions to trouble spots around the world, most recently in the 2011 Sendai earthquake disaster in Japan.
As of this writing, over 2300 C-130s have been built, and most are still in service. It remains the backbone of the USAF’s tactical transport service; attempts to replace it with the Advanced Tactical Transport Program (ATTP) in the 1980s and to supplement it with the C-27J Spartan in the 2000s both failed, as the USAF realized that the only real replacement for a C-130 is another C-130.
This rather anonymous C-130H is a prepainted kit; my intention at some point is to repaint it and give it some character. For now, it sits on my shelf as a proud representation of arguably the greatest transport ever produced. It wears the present overall AMC Gray camouflage used by USAF C-130 units.
- One-off
- Fantastic design, dramatic look
- An accessible dream
This exceptional body is the realization of the dream of a truly passionate collector. It was triggered off by the discovery of the photos of a convertible Bucciali TAV 30, exhibited in the 1931 and the 1932 editions of the Paris Motor Show, at the Grand Palais. He completely fell in love with this exceptional car. These rare photos were published in the excellent book by Christian Huet on Bucciali cars, published in 2004.
Before going any further, a little history is in order. This enigmatic brand bears the name of Paul-Albert Bucciali, who often managed to realize his wildest of dreams. In 1930, he designed a body that had all the elements of drama and seduction: long hood, lowered chassis, low-profile windows and very large wheels, like those of the Bugatti Royale. The original curve of the front fender hugged the wheel to extend horizontally back to the height of the chassis. The sides of the long hood were visually cleaned up to receive a large "arrow-like stork", like the one he had used on his fighter plane, a Spa 26, one of the six squadrons of these Storks from World War I. After preparing the drawings in the Bucciali workshop at Courbevoie, the "project" was entrusted to the famous coachbuilder Saoutchik. The body was built on the old chassis TAV 2 of 1928, which was stripped of all its mechanicals. This was a car specifically for the motor show, designed to find a buyer, who would then be able to finance the production of the new S chassis and the gearbox of the TAV 3. A buyer actually came through in 1931, but he wanted a sedan body and not a convertible! For this beautiful convertible, there was no buyer at all, so it was destroyed in 1934.
Realizing his dream became an obsession for the collector, who decided in 2010, to buy a complete Cord L29 FWD chassis. It was powered by an 4.9-liter in-line eight from Lycoming. The Bucciali brand still existed, so he got the authorization in 2012 to carry out a reproduction of the convertible TAV 30 of 1931, under certain conditions of maintaining quality, and the right to make just one example. The original document is part of the file that comes with the car.
The making of this ambitious project was entrusted to the Bonnefoy workshop, in Cher, which fabricated the frame members by extending and modifying the Cord chassis, by developing the suspension system and the steering linkages to fit the larger wheels that were specially made for this prototype. Though based on a wooden frame, the body is made of sheet steel, while the hood, doors and trunk lid are in aluminum. The owner, with the Bonnefoy workshop, customized the achievement, by changing the color of the bodywork and of the storks and adding a rear boot. Completed in 2013, the result was most impressive and car was specially exhibited at the Retromobile Salon of 2014, where the car starred. This outstanding achievement was the subject of a compliance certificate issued by the Bucciali brand and this certificate will be given to the buyer too.
Once a dream has been fulfilled, it usually fades away with time, giving way to another. This is the reason the current owner is putting his dream Bucciali-Cord on sale. Just four authentic Buccialis remain in the world today; therefore, this spectacular car is a very unique opportunity to acquire the only official copy which is both impressive and unrivaled.
Sale Retromobile 2016 by Artcurial Motorcars
5 Février 2016
Estimation € 500.000 - 700.000
Sold for € 596.000
Salon Retromobile 2016
Paris Expo - Porte de Versailles
Paris - France
Februari 2016
In 1960, the US Army came to the realization that it had no real scout helicopter: the OH-13 Sioux could operate effectively in the role, but it was aging and its slow speed made it vulnerable to ground fire. The O-1/L-19 Birddog was a good scout aircraft, but it did not have the mobility of a helicopter. With this in mind, the Army issued a requirement for a Light Observation Helicopter (LOH). The new helicopter needed reasonably high speed, good visibility from the cockpit, and be not too expensive. Bell, Hiller and Hughes all developed prototypes; in 1965, the Army chose Hughes' Model 369 as the OH-6A Cayuse, and placed an order for 1300 helicopters.
The Army was then presented with a problem. Hughes did not have a large factory, and was run by the mercurial and unpredictable Howard Hughes: there was a real concern that Hughes could not deliver the order. Moreover, the Army learned that Hughes had deliberately undercut Bell's and Hiller's bids to win the contract, and as such was taking massive losses on the OH-6. The Army then reopened the competition, and Bell's OH-58A Kiowa won this time: the Army would use both helicopters. As for Hughes, the company would later make up the losses by marketing the OH-6 as the Model 369 and later the Model 500.
The OH-6A entered service in 1966, and was sent to Vietnam soon thereafter. Though given the name Cayuse (as part of the US Army's tradition of naming helicopters after native tribes), this name never stuck: instead, the helicopter was nicknamed Loach, after the LOH project name and its buglike appearance. Loaches were quickly armed with field modification kits to carry machine guns, and were usually paired with the also newly-arrived AH-1 Cobra as a "Pink Team." The job of the Pink Team was to scout ahead of the UH-1 "slicks" carrying troops: the OH-6 would come over at low level to see if it drew ground fire. If it did, it would then call in the AH-1s to attack the enemy position and clear the landing zone. This hunter-killer team proved very effective, if dangerous to the OH-6 crews: of 1420 OH-6s built, 842 were shot down over Vietnam.
Because of the heavy losses over Vietnam, the scout role after the war was gradually taken over by the OH-58A, which was cheaper to buy and easier to maintain. OH-6s began to be passed on to Reserve and National Guard units, but got a new lease on life after 1980: the Army still needed a small helicopter that could land in places the OH-58 or UH-1 could not. The OH-6 was the only aircraft that fit the bill, and several dozen were seconded to Task Force 158 in preparation for an operation to free the American hostages in Tehran, Iran. The hostages were freed by the Iranians themselves in 1980, but the Army recognized the need for an elite force trained in night operations, and renamed the unit Task Force 160--known to its crews as the "Nightstalkers."
TF 160 proved its worth during Operation Prime Chance, the United States' undeclared naval and air war against Iran in 1988, and the OH-6s were redesignated MH-6 (for transport OH-6s) and AH-6 (for armed versions). Nicknamed "Little Birds" by their crews, TF 160 worked closely with the elite and secretive Delta Force, most notably in the Battle of Mogadishu in 1993, where they were the only gunships available to the beleaguered Army forces in the Somalian city. The standard OH-6 has been retired from Army units, but the MH-6 and AH-6 remain in service. The Cayuse also remains operational with Spain and Japan, though in both cases it is being replaced.
Built as 67-6381 in 1968, this OH-6A was sent directly to South Vietnam, where it served from 1969 to 1971, mainly with the 17th Cavalry Regiment at Di An. After the regiment was withdrawn from Southeast Asia, 67-6381 was relegated to an unknown Army National Guard unit, along with most of the Loach fleet. It was retired in the 1980s and donated to the English Field Air and Space Museum in Texas, but when that museum closed in 2007, 67-6381 was moved to the Pima Air and Space Museum.
67-6381 is displayed hanging from the ceiling in Pima's main hangar, appearing as it would have in 1970; the white triangle on the fuselage is a tactical marking, while the red tailfins identified an aircraft of the 17th Cavalry.
Dress: Jomo - Chinese Court Costume (free from lucky board)
Hairdo: Tableau Vivant - Gloster
Skin: Belleza - Aiko in pale
In the early 1950s, air forces around the world came to the realization that it made little sense to train pilots on older piston-engined trainers, then expect them to go from those aircraft to high-performance jets without a high accident rate. Most nations with an aviation industry then embarked on designing jet trainers and a training syllabus entirely with jets.
For the Soviet Union, it would not only need a jet trainer, it would need thousands of them, to equip not only its own air force, but those of the Warsaw Pact and client states. The Khrushchev regime learned that two of the Pact nations were working on their own trainers--Aero of Czechoslovakia was designing the L-29 Delfin (Dolphin), while PZL of Poland was working on the TS-11 Iskra (Spark). Surprisingly for the Soviet Union, it issued a requirement for the jet trainer and opened it up to a competition between the two aircraft.
Aero's L-29 was designed to be everything a trainer should be: easy to fly, easy to maintain, forgiving of mistakes, and capable of simple aerobatics. As Soviet doctrine called for aircraft capable of operating from austere airstrips, the L-29 was given a strengthened landing gear, and for either weapons training or in emergencies, could be equipped with four underwing hardpoints for bombs, rockets or gunpods. It was not particularly fast and considered underpowered, but that was less important in a trainer.
The L-29 would first fly in 1959, and went up against the TS-11 in 1961. To the surprise of many, considering the TS-11 was faster, the L-29 was declared the winner. Suspecting politics and wishing to keep some independence, the Polish Air Force would never use the Delfin, and would make the Iskra its primary jet trainer. For the rest of the Warsaw Pact and the Soviet Union, the L-29 would go into production. NATO would give it the reporting name of Maya.
Some 27 nations would eventually fly L-29s, as trainers, but occasionally in combat as well: Egyptian L-29s were pressed into service during the 1973 Yom Kippur (October) War as ground attack aircraft, and they were also used in the Biafran War of 1967-1970 and the First Nagorno-Karabakh War of 1988-1994 between Azerbaijan and Armenia. In these cases, the Delfin did not do well, but it was never intended to fight against modern air defenses. Saddam Hussein reportedly converted a number of his L-29s to drones, intended to carry poison gas towards Coalition forces in 2003, though they never flew.
While the L-29 was adequate, as aircraft got faster and more manueverable, the Delfin was becoming obsolete. In response, Aero designed the L-39 Albatros, a more advanced trainer, and L-29 production ended in 1974 after 3665 had been produced. Though most L-29 users replaced it with the L-39, some continued with the Delfin, and Angola and Georgia would use it as late as 2016. After the end of the Cold War, many Delfins became available on the open market, and while not as common as its Western equivalent--the T-33 Shooting Star--or its successor the L-39, L-29s are found in small numbers in the warbird community, and a few have raced in the Reno Air Races.
This L-29 is a former Bulgarian Air Force example, delivered in 1968; it probably flew with the Georgi Benkovski Training Base at Dolna Mitropoliya Air Base. Disposed of as surplus in 2001, Bort 53 became N443KT when it was bought by an American warbird collector. It has since gone through a few owners, but when I saw it in June 2023, it was at the Santa Maria Museum of Flight, where it may be on permanent display. The markings have begun to fade, but in theory N443KT is still flyable.
Towards the end of the Korean War, the USAF came to the realization that their transport fleet was becoming obsolete. The C-46 Commandos and C-47 Skytrains in service were no longer adequate, while the C-119 Flying Boxcar was having difficulties. In 1951, the USAF issued a requirement for a new tactical transport, an aircraft that would need to carry at least 72 passengers, be capable of dropping paratroopers, and have a ramp for loading vehicles directly into the cargo compartment. Moreover, it must be a “clean sheet” design, not a conversion from an existing airliner, and the USAF preferred it be a turboprop design. Five companies submitted designs, and six months later the USAF chose Lockheed’s L-402 design—over the misgivings of Lockheed’s chief designer, Clarence “Kelly” Johnson, who warned that the L-402 would destroy the company. Little was Johnson to know that, fifty years later, the L-402—designated C-130 Hercules by the USAF—would still be in production, and one out of only five aircraft to have over 50 years of service with the original purchaser.
The C-130 was designed to give mostly unfettered access to a large cargo compartment—the ramp forms an integral part of the rear fuselage, the wing is mounted above the fuselage, and the landing gear is carried in sponsons attached to the fuselage itself, while the fuselage has a circular design to maximize loading potential. The high wing also gives the C-130 good lift, especially in “high and hot” situations. The Allison T56 turboprop was designed specifically for the Hercules, and has gone on to become one of the most successful turboprop designs in history.
After two YC-130 prototypes, the Hercules went into production as the C-130A in 1956, to be superseded by the improved C-130B in 1959. The latter became the baseline Hercules variant: C-130As had three-blade propellers and a rounded “Roman” nose, while the B introduced the more familiar, longer radar nose and four-blade propellers. (Virtually all A models were later retrofitted to the long nose, though they kept the three-blade propellers.) In the 50 years hence, the basic C-130 design has not changed much: the C-130E introduced underwing external fuel tanks, while the C-130H has a slightly different wing. Even the new C-130J variant only introduced new engines with more fuel efficient six-bladed propellers: the basic design remains the same. Lockheed also offers stretched versions of the Hercules, initially as a civilian-only option (the L-100-30); the British Royal Air Force bought this version as the C-130K and it was later adopted by other nations, including the United States.
The basic C-130 is strictly a transport aircraft, but the versatility of the aircraft has meant it has been modified into a dizzying number of variants. These include the AC-130 Spectre gunship, the HC-130 rescue aircraft and WC-130 weather reconnaissance version. Other versions include several dozen EC-130 electronic warfare/Elint variants, KC-130 tankers, and DC-130 drone aircraft controllers. The USAF, the US Navy, and the US Marine Corps are all C-130 operators as well. Besides the United States, there are 67 other operators of C-130s, making it one of the world’s most prolific aircraft, with its only rivals the Bell UH-1 Iroquois family and the Antonov An-2 Colt biplane transport. C-130s are also used extensively by civilian operators as well as the L-100 series.
The “Herky Bird,” as it is often nicknamed, has participated in every military campaign fought by the United States since 1960 in one variation or the other. During Vietnam, it was used in almost every role imaginable, from standard transport to emergency bomber: as the latter, it dropped M121 10,000 pound mass-focus bombs to clear jungle away for helicopter landing zones, and it was even attempted to use C-130s with these bombs against the infamous Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. (Later this capability was added as standard to MC-130 Combat Talon special forces support aircraft; the MC-130 is the only aircraft cleared to carry the GBU-43 MOAB.) It was also instrumental in resupplying the Khe Sanh garrison during its three-month siege. Hercules crews paid the price as well: nearly 70 C-130s were lost during the Vietnam War. In foreign service, C-130s have also been used heavily, the most famous instance of which was likely the Israeli Entebbe Raid of 1976, one of the longest-ranged C-130 missions in history. C-130s are often in the forefront of humanitarian missions to trouble spots around the world, most recently in the 2011 Sendai earthquake disaster in Japan.
As of this writing, over 2300 C-130s have been built, and most are still in service. It remains the backbone of the USAF’s tactical transport service; attempts to replace it with the Advanced Tactical Transport Program (ATTP) in the 1980s and to supplement it with the C-27J Spartan in the 2000s both failed, as the USAF realized that the only real replacement for a C-130 is another C-130.
The RAF began buying C-130s in the early 1970s to replace a plethora of heavy transports, such as the Armstrong-Whitworth Argosy and Bristol Beverley. Though designated C-130K by Lockheed, the RAF called them Hercules C.1. The RAF was among the first to order the stretched L-100-30 as the Hercules C.3, though these were also referred to as C-130Ks.
XV218, shown here, was a standard (non-stretched) Hercules C.1; it is somewhat anonymous, but was probably assigned to 47 Squadron at RAF Lyneham, UK. It arrived at Sembach AB, West Germany, at the 1980 airshow to provide mission support for the Red Arrows. XV218 shows off standard RAF camouflage of dark gray and dark green at the time, with light gray undersides.
XV218 later received an air refueling probe and served in the Falklands War of 1982. It was retired in favor of the Hercules C.4 (C-130J) sometime around 2005, and was later scrapped.
By the beginning of the 1970s, the nations of Western Europe had come to the realization that a dedicated strike aircraft was desperately needed. Most of NATO was depending on the F-104G Starfighter as their primary interdiction and strike aircraft, while France had only aging Mysteres and modified Mirage IIIs. The United Kingdom did not even have that: the promising TSR.2 had been cancelled, as had a British version of the F-111 Aardvark. Moreover, the UK also lacked an interceptor, relying on the outdated Lightning F.6. Finally, as the emerging European Common Market (the forerunner of the European Union) sought to distance itself from the United States, Western Europe desired an aircraft designed by Europeans for Europeans, rather than depending on American designs.
All parties agreed that the new Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MRCA) should be a twin-engined dedicated strike aircraft, with variable-sweep wings that would allow it high dash speed at low-level to the target, yet allow it to operate from short runways or semi-improved fields. Political infighting over who would lead the MRCA project led France to withdraw from the program, followed by Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands, leaving just West Germany, Britain, and Italy by 1971. Production of the MRCA would be divided between Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Bohm (MBB) of Germany, the British Aircraft Company (BAC) of the UK, and Fiat of Italy, under the umbrella of Panavia; the engines would similarly be produced by all three nations, with Britain’s Rolls-Royce in the lead, as Turbo-Union. Though Germany preferred a single-seat aircraft and the UK wanted an interceptor, the nations agreed to a two-seat aircraft to lessen the pressure on the pilot, while the MRCA would also be developed as an interceptor to satisfy the British requirement. The emphasis, however, was on the immediate development of a strike aircraft.
With the finalization of the aircraft design, what became the Panavia Tornado came together relatively quickly, with the first prototype flight in August 1974. Testing also went smoothly: the loss of two prototypes to crashes was traced to problems with the variable-flow intakes and the thrust reverser, which had been added to the design to improve its short-field landing performance. The strike version, designated Tornado IDS (Interdiction/Strike) for Germany and Italy, and Tornado GR.1 for Britain, entered service in 1979. Despite the hopes of the Panavia partners, the Tornado was never an export success, with only Saudi Arabia purchasing the aircraft: the F-16 and Mirage F.1 were cheaper alternatives, with more weapons options and less mechanically complex.
The Tornado IDS nonetheless proved to be a superb aircraft, with excellent handling in all flight profiles, and open to continual improvement. After the success of the American Wild Weasel program, Germany and Italy opted for a further development of the Tornado IDS to a dedicated anti-SAM aircraft, the Tornado ECR (Electronic Countermeasures/Reconnaissance).
The Tornado would never be called on to fight a war in Central Europe against the Soviet Union, which it had been designed to do. Instead, its first combat would come in the deserts of Iraq in the First Gulf War. RAF Tornados were tasked specifically with runway interdiction of Iraqi airfields—tactics that had been practiced often in anticipation of a Third World War. The result was near-disastrous: Iraqi antiaircraft fire accounted for three Tornados in as many days, as RAF pilots had trained to use terrain avoidance in Europe to mask them from ground fire; in Iraq, there was no terrain to hide behind. This forced the Tornado force to medium altitudes and freefall bombs only, as the Tornado IDS/GR.1 lacked the ability to launch precision-guided munitions.
The Tornado has since done better. Continually improved to carry a wide variety of weaponry, including the ALARM antiradar missile, Brimstone antitank missile, Kormoran and Sea Eagle antiship missiles, and American-built JDAMs, Tornados from Germany, Italy, and the UK have participated in wars in Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya. In Afghanistan, German Tornado ECRs have been invaluable using their onboard sensors to detect improvised explosive devices, while Italian Tornado IDS and RAF Tornado GR.4s essentially grounded the Libyan Air Force in the first days of the conflict by hitting runways and hangars; RAF Tornados flew from bases in the UK to Libya in the longest missions since the 1982 Falklands conflict. RAF, Luftwaffe, and AMI Tornado IDS/GR.4s will remain in service until at least 2025, to be replaced by either more Typhoons or the F-35 Lightning II. With 992 Tornados produced, the aircraft has easily been the most successful European aircraft built since World War II.
When one of the members of the local game club passed away in 2010, he left behind a fairly large collection of GHQ Miniatures, meant for tabletop wargaming. His collection was mostly unpainted, so I got permission to go ahead and finish them. This Tornado IDS is painted as a German Marineflieger Tornado, optimized for the antiship role: two AS.34 Komoran antiship missiles are carried beneath the wings, along with two ECM pods (I think; at this scale, it's hard to tell). No markings were included, since these minis were long out of the box, so I handpainted some German markings. This is the 1990s-era Marineflieger camouflage, with wraparound two shades of dark gray.
It turned out well enough, considering the tiny scale: the GHQ aircraft are made in 1/285 scale so that they're the same size as the company's vehicles.
Little Lion Man
Came to the realization tonight that I am really bad at pool. Didn't win one game, and the one I came closest on I sank the 8-ball in the wrong pocket. Je joue terrible.
Realized I'v never taken the opportunity to introduce myself. My name is Constantine. I'm a photography, currently going for a journalism degree. That may change.
Royal Constantine's Tumblr - Usually a brain dump, various ideas and links to stuff I like.
Royal Constantin's Twitter - Dumb jokes, iPhone pictures, general dumbness.
Monster's Are Everywhere - Criminally neglected blog. I'll get to it, I swear.
Constantine Human on DeviantArt - Pretty much the same photos as this. Very dull.
So that's me. Come, join me, we can chat. I also have Buzz, you can reach me on Gmail with soulbain AT gmail DOT com. I really hope spam crawlers haven't figured out that secret code yet.
I'd like to learn about you. You're the most interesting person I haven't met yet.
STROBIST: One Interfit EX150 through softbox placed slightly to my right, one Interfit EX150 BARE right behind me. Triggered by hotshoe cable.
- One-off
- Fantastic design, dramatic look
- An accessible dream
This exceptional body is the realization of the dream of a truly passionate collector. It was triggered off by the discovery of the photos of a convertible Bucciali TAV 30, exhibited in the 1931 and the 1932 editions of the Paris Motor Show, at the Grand Palais. He completely fell in love with this exceptional car. These rare photos were published in the excellent book by Christian Huet on Bucciali cars, published in 2004.
Before going any further, a little history is in order. This enigmatic brand bears the name of Paul-Albert Bucciali, who often managed to realize his wildest of dreams. In 1930, he designed a body that had all the elements of drama and seduction: long hood, lowered chassis, low-profile windows and very large wheels, like those of the Bugatti Royale. The original curve of the front fender hugged the wheel to extend horizontally back to the height of the chassis. The sides of the long hood were visually cleaned up to receive a large "arrow-like stork", like the one he had used on his fighter plane, a Spa 26, one of the six squadrons of these Storks from World War I. After preparing the drawings in the Bucciali workshop at Courbevoie, the "project" was entrusted to the famous coachbuilder Saoutchik. The body was built on the old chassis TAV 2 of 1928, which was stripped of all its mechanicals. This was a car specifically for the motor show, designed to find a buyer, who would then be able to finance the production of the new S chassis and the gearbox of the TAV 3. A buyer actually came through in 1931, but he wanted a sedan body and not a convertible! For this beautiful convertible, there was no buyer at all, so it was destroyed in 1934.
Realizing his dream became an obsession for the collector, who decided in 2010, to buy a complete Cord L29 FWD chassis. It was powered by an 4.9-liter in-line eight from Lycoming. The Bucciali brand still existed, so he got the authorization in 2012 to carry out a reproduction of the convertible TAV 30 of 1931, under certain conditions of maintaining quality, and the right to make just one example. The original document is part of the file that comes with the car.
The making of this ambitious project was entrusted to the Bonnefoy workshop, in Cher, which fabricated the frame members by extending and modifying the Cord chassis, by developing the suspension system and the steering linkages to fit the larger wheels that were specially made for this prototype. Though based on a wooden frame, the body is made of sheet steel, while the hood, doors and trunk lid are in aluminum. The owner, with the Bonnefoy workshop, customized the achievement, by changing the color of the bodywork and of the storks and adding a rear boot. Completed in 2013, the result was most impressive and car was specially exhibited at the Retromobile Salon of 2014, where the car starred. This outstanding achievement was the subject of a compliance certificate issued by the Bucciali brand and this certificate will be given to the buyer too.
Once a dream has been fulfilled, it usually fades away with time, giving way to another. This is the reason the current owner is putting his dream Bucciali-Cord on sale. Just four authentic Buccialis remain in the world today; therefore, this spectacular car is a very unique opportunity to acquire the only official copy which is both impressive and unrivaled.
Sale Retromobile 2016 by Artcurial Motorcars
5 Février 2016
Estimation € 500.000 - 700.000
Sold for € 596.000
Salon Retromobile 2016
Paris Expo - Porte de Versailles
Paris - France
Februari 2016
... I was sitting on my back porch, observing that holiest of rituals ... Saturday morning. For me all is well on a Saturday morning if I can start it sitting on my back porch looking over a cup of coffee at my flowers, tomato and basil plants, occasionally observing the blue sky through the green cover of the now full-leaved oaks and poplars that line the back boundary behind my apartment. Distracted only occasionally as a squirrel chides a cat from the neighboring yard, tail twitching in time like a rodent-metronome. From the stereo in the living room NPR provides the background entertainment.
It was a week after my latest experience with the Ukranian couple selling flowers by the Thai restaurant. Maybe they are Romanian, I’m sure Romanian passports would surely enable them to buy those heavy black shoes.
This particular Saturday morning I scanned the back boundary of my apartment-kingdom and my eyes fell upon “the soil.” Sure I had soil! It was the last of a bag of “Sta-Green Premium Container Mix with Fertilizer.” I dumped it into a plastic hanging basket left from something I had planted last year. I the followed the old couples directions to a “t”. After placing the soil into the container I dove my index finger into the dirt up to my knuckles. Then I carefully separated the small seedlings (why aren’t they called plant-lings?) And carefully inserted them filling in around them with the nutrient enhanced loam. Yeah, they were a little closer than he had instructed but I knew I would re-pot them into other containers after they grew a bit. Then following her sing-song instruction “plant-today ... water tomorrow” well ... ok ...truth is I forgot them for a day. And I almost panicked when I realized I had actually neglected to water the gift of “a miracle.” My heart sank and I actually worried that if they indeed held some magic power it had wilted overnight right there in my $1.99 plastic hanging basket, like so many neglected plants at a chain hardware store. So I loving watered them trusting that they would indeed recover, since they were after all magic plants of hearty Ukrainian stock ....
I was thinking about none of this mind you at the time my eyes fell upon the white 10" basket of about six plant-lings of 3 to 8 inches in height. My mind was in its Saturday morning place ... coffee, trees, sky, NPR ... suddenly I could not help but laugh out loud, fortunately without a mouthful of coffee because it surely would have sprayed everything within 4 feet of where I sat. As my gaze fixed momentarily on this basket I recognized the plant right away ... “it is a marigold...”