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Arctic Sunrise - a GREENPEACE ship arrived in Lyme Regis in May 2013 to support local fishermen under threat from the ‘unfair’ quota system.
Arctic Sunrise docked in Lyme Bay in the afternoon of Wednesday 29th May where it was met by a flotilla of local boats.
“Greenpeace has brought the Arctic Sunrise to Lyme Regis as part of its UK campaign to support endangered local fishing communities who are under threat from a quota system which unfairly favours the most powerful and destructive boats."
“Under the current disastrous policy, boats under 10 metres long, which make up 77 per cent of the UK fleet and provide 65 per cent of our fishing jobs, only receive 4 per cent of UK quota.”
Lyme Bay fishermen Angus Walker was among those to greet Arctic Sunrise.
He said: “For as long as there have been people living along this piece of coastline there has been fishing – we have historical evidence tracing it back more than a thousand years.
That tradition of local fleets employing local people is now vanishing."
“The fisherman with a boat under 10 metres in length has become an endangered species due to EU and UK policies."
“This is mismanagement on a monumental scale, and we welcome Greenpeace’s support in trying to sort this mess out.”
*30th May 2013 at 3.30 a.m
A new political agreement between ministers in the UK and the European parliament ( Brussels ) was thrashed out and news filtered through --
( details to be arranged )
" Our fisheries minister must bring about change in UK waters, giving our small-scale sustainable fleet a fair deal. !!"
" It gives British Fisheries Minister Richard Benyon a very clear mandate to turn around UK fishing by rewarding those fishermen who operate sustainably and feed back into the local economy.
This agreement means Benyon must at last give the low-impact sector a Fair Catch "
Another clear night last night and a long exposure shot of the viaduct near Holmes Chapel. Extra lighting came from two trains headed south crossing the span, headlights from the nearby road and some high power torch light painting (thanks Martin).
The fisheye tends the reduce the scale of the 105ft high viaduct, built in 1842.
Sony A700 / Samyang 8mm Fisheye
EWS Railnet Class 47/7 47787 'Victim Support' had charge of the Virgin Trains stock forming the 1O10 09:10 Liverpool Lime Street Cross Country service to Weymouth, recorded at Didcot East.
D1757 was delivered from Brush Falcon Works in September 1964. It would carry the numbers 47163, 47610 and 47823 in BR ownership prior to joining the EWS Railnet fleet as illustarted. It would be stored in 2004 prior to purchase for preservation, joining the West Coast Railway Company (WCRC).
All images on this site are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, transmitted, manipulated or used in any way without expressed written permission of the photographer. All rights reserved – Copyright Don Gatehouse
ENGLISH CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTOR IN CROMWELL ERA COSTUME TIE'S HIS SHOE LACES USING A MUNICIPAL PARK SEAT FOR SUPPORT. AT AN EAST LONDON BOROUGH SUBURB STREET PARK VENUE EVENT LONDON ENGLAND
Tom Hoffman, InSight Project Manager, NASA JPL reacts to the first image to be seen from the Mars InSight lander shortly after confirmation of a successful touch down on the surface of Mars, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 inside the Mission Support Area at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. InSight, short for Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport, is a Mars lander designed to study the "inner space" of Mars: its crust, mantle, and core. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
We had to interrupt the proceedings when Hector decided his needs were more important than ours. So what else is new? 😉
New parts, new versions of Batman characters!
Left to right:
Red Hood - new red hood! Had to do it.
Man-Bat - "new" head and legs - had a moment after I saw someone use the legs for Beast, I think.
Jim Gordon - new torso and "new" head - I actually found the head pretty used and scratched up, but a little editing and y'all will never know.
Spoiler - I finally have a purple hood!!! Literally have been waiting to use this piece for this character for years.
Alfred Pennyworth - "new" torso combined with the legs was a combo that came up in reference to a version from the LEGO Batman game I think? I've had this built for a while, IDK.
Support it on LEGO IDEAS : ideas.lego.com/projects/2d338638-5679-42b6-b8d7-7c0166bab999
Yes it is a functioning telescope, just like 21323 Grand Piano is a functioning piano. Meaning, you can see what's in the sky, but not actual stars, nor the real Moon.
So how does it work ? There's a light brick hidden inside the model. It is activated by pressing the lens, and the light passes through a decorated transparent piece (sets like 75810, 10273 or 70917 use this principle), magnifying glasses (I know, the way they are placed on the model is not realistic, but it's for LEGO IDEAS), bounces on a "mirror" (a tile with a shiny sticker), so when you look through the eyepiece, you can see what you could see if you looked through an actual telescope.
Since it could be a bit boring to always see the same thing, my entry comes with four different patterns, that were designed by Thi's studs. There's a galaxy, Jupiter with the Galilean moons, the Moon, and the Solis Magna system. Jupiter and the Moon are a reference to Galileo Galilei, who invented the telescope and discovered the existence of satellites orbiting Jupiter. The Solis Magna system is a nod to BIONICLE.
The model is made of 231 parts, and you can see it in 3D on Mecabricks : www.mecabricks.com/en/models/oK2w7Rk029k
this is not my work...I am just a photographer taking hdr pictures.
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: I Do Not Condone Any Acts Of Vandalism Nor Do I Participate In Such Criminal Activity. I Am Simply An Observant and Take Photos Of This Graffiti You Have Come Across. ALSO I Will Not Condone Any Usage Of My Photos To Support Any Legal Matter Involving These Acts Of Vandalism Therefore YOU ARE NOT WELCOME TO VIEW OR TAKE THIS MATERIAL For ANY Purpose...
Tactical Support Unit 1 - 2016 International 7500/Seagrave 4x4
As usual with reflective tape and logos. Custom chromed parts for the compartment door handles and the grille. Really hope you like this new beast. I'm very proud on how the design turned out, especially of the cab.
This series of Photographs documents our visit to the Atlanta Botanical Garden. This Photograph shows a pedestrian Bridge and it's Support Structure. The area near the entrance is quite hilly; the various paths go up and down and cross over and under several Bridges. The series of Paths in this area is called the Canopy Walk and passes through the Cascades Garden.
The Georgia Botanical Garden is located at 1911 Sweetbay Dr, Gainesville, GA 30501, but uses the Mailing Address of 1345 Piedmont Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30309. The City of Gainesville is the County Seat of Halls County, Georgia. The Botanical Garden encompasses 30 Acres in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area (Midtown Atlanta).
Further Information about the Georgia Botanical Garden Can be found at:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Botanical_Garden
In June 2018, my wife & I attended a Family Wedding at the Hilton Garden Inn, 275 Baker Street NW in Atlanta, Georgia. One end the hallway on the on the 13 Floor (they call it Floor PH) gave me a Great View of the CSX Tracks, while the other end of the hallway gave me a great view of the Skyview Ferris Wheel across the street from Centennial Olympic Park.
Since we were in Atlanta for several days, we had some time to visit the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, which which were located approx 3.2 Miles from our Hotel.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The OV-10 Bronco was initially conceived in the early 1960s through an informal collaboration between W. H. Beckett and Colonel K. P. Rice, U.S. Marine Corps, who met at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California, and who also happened to live near each other. The original concept was for a rugged, simple, close air support aircraft integrated with forward ground operations. At the time, the U.S. Army was still experimenting with armed helicopters, and the U.S. Air Force was not interested in close air support.
The concept aircraft was to operate from expedient forward air bases using roads as runways. Speed was to be from very slow to medium subsonic, with much longer loiter times than a pure jet. Efficient turboprop engines would give better performance than piston engines. Weapons were to be mounted on the centerline to get efficient aiming. The inventors favored strafing weapons such as self-loading recoilless rifles, which could deliver aimed explosive shells with less recoil than cannons, and a lower per-round weight than rockets. The airframe was to be designed to avoid the back blast.
Beckett and Rice developed a basic platform meeting these requirements, then attempted to build a fiberglass prototype in a garage. The effort produced enthusiastic supporters and an informal pamphlet describing the concept. W. H. Beckett, who had retired from the Marine Corps, went to work at North American Aviation to sell the aircraft.
The aircraft's design supported effective operations from forward bases. The OV-10 had a central nacelle containing a crew of two in tandem and space for cargo, and twin booms containing twin turboprop engines. The visually distinctive feature of the aircraft is the combination of the twin booms, with the horizontal stabilizer that connected them at the fin tips. The OV-10 could perform short takeoffs and landings, including on aircraft carriers and large-deck amphibious assault ships without using catapults or arresting wires. Further, the OV-10 was designed to take off and land on unimproved sites. Repairs could be made with ordinary tools. No ground equipment was required to start the engines. And, if necessary, the engines would operate on high-octane automobile fuel with only a slight loss of power.
The aircraft had responsive handling and could fly for up to 5½ hours with external fuel tanks. The cockpit had extremely good visibility for both pilot and co-pilot, provided by a wrap-around "greenhouse" that was wider than the fuselage. North American Rockwell custom ejection seats were standard, with many successful ejections during service. With the second seat removed, the OV-10 could carry 3,200 pounds (1,500 kg) of cargo, five paratroopers, or two litter patients and an attendant. Empty weight was 6,969 pounds (3,161 kg). Normal operating fueled weight with two crew was 9,908 pounds (4,494 kg). Maximum takeoff weight was 14,446 pounds (6,553 kg).
The bottom of the fuselage bore sponsons or "stub wings" that improved flight performance by decreasing aerodynamic drag underneath the fuselage. Normally, four 7.62 mm (.308 in) M60C machine guns were carried on the sponsons, accessed through large forward-opening hatches. The sponsons also had four racks to carry bombs, pods, or fuel. The wings outboard of the engines contained two additional hardpoints, one per side. Racked armament in the Vietnam War was usually seven-shot 2.75 in (70 mm) rocket pods with white phosphorus marker rounds or high-explosive rockets, or 5" (127 mm) four-shot Zuni rocket pods. Bombs, ADSIDS air-delivered/para-dropped unattended seismic sensors, Mk-6 battlefield illumination flares, and other stores were also carried.
Operational experience showed some weaknesses in the OV-10's design. It was significantly underpowered, which contributed to crashes in Vietnam in sloping terrain because the pilots could not climb fast enough. While specifications stated that the aircraft could reach 26,000 feet (7,900 m), in Vietnam the aircraft could reach only 18,000 feet (5,500 m). Also, no OV-10 pilot survived ditching the aircraft.
The OV-10 served in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Navy, as well as in the service of a number of other countries. In U.S. military service, the Bronco was operated until the early Nineties, and obsoleted USAF OV-10s were passed on to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms for anti-drug operations. A number of OV-10As furthermore ended up in the hands of the California Department of Forestry (CDF) and were used for spotting fires and directing fire bombers onto hot spots.
This was not the end of the OV-10 in American military service, though: In 2012, the type gained new attention because of its unique qualities. A $20 million budget was allocated to activate an experimental USAF unit of two airworthy OV-10Gs, acquired from NASA and the State Department. These machines were retrofitted with military equipment and were, starting in May 2015, deployed overseas to support Operation “Inherent Resolve”, flying more than 120 combat sorties over 82 days over Iraq and Syria. Their concrete missions remained unclear, and it is speculated they provided close air support for Special Forces missions, esp. in confined urban environments where the Broncos’ loitering time and high agility at low speed and altitude made them highly effective and less vulnerable than helicopters.
Furthermore, these Broncos reputedly performed strikes with the experimental AGR-20A “Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS)”, a Hydra 70-millimeter rocket with a laser-seeking head as guidance - developed for precision strikes against small urban targets with little collateral damage. The experiment ended satisfactorily, but the machines were retired again, and the small unit was dissolved.
However, the machines had shown their worth in asymmetric warfare, and the U.S. Air Force decided to invest in reactivating the OV-10 on a regular basis, despite the overhead cost of operating an additional aircraft type in relatively small numbers – but development and production of a similar new type would have caused much higher costs, with an uncertain time until an operational aircraft would be ready for service. Re-activating a proven design and updating an existing airframe appeared more efficient.
The result became the MV-10H, suitably christened “Super Bronco” but also known as “Black Pony”, after the program's internal name. This aircraft was derived from the official OV-10X proposal by Boeing from 2009 for the USAF's Light Attack/Armed Reconnaissance requirement. Initially, Boeing proposed to re-start OV-10 manufacture, but this was deemed uneconomical, due to the expected small production number of new serial aircraft, so the “Black Pony” program became a modernization project. In consequence, all airframes for the "new" MV-10Hs were recovered OV-10s of various types from the "boneyard" at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona.
While the revamped aircraft would maintain much of its 1960s-vintage rugged external design, modernizations included a completely new, armored central fuselage with a highly modified cockpit section, ejection seats and a computerized glass cockpit. The “Black Pony” OV-10 had full dual controls, so that either crewmen could steer the aircraft while the other operated sensors and/or weapons. This feature would also improve survivability in case of incapacitation of a crew member as the result from a hit.
The cockpit armor protected the crew and many vital systems from 23mm shells and shrapnel (e. g. from MANPADS). The crew still sat in tandem under a common, generously glazed canopy with flat, bulletproof panels for reduced sun reflections, with the pilot in the front seat and an observer/WSO behind. The Bronco’s original cargo capacity and the rear door were retained, even though the extra armor and defensive measures like chaff/flare dispensers as well as an additional fuel cell in the central fuselage limited the capacity. However, it was still possible to carry and deploy personnel, e. g. small special ops teams of up to four when the aircraft flew in clean configuration.
Additional updates for the MV-10H included structural reinforcements for a higher AUW and higher g load maneuvers, similar to OV-10D+ standards. The landing gear was also reinforced, and the aircraft kept its ability to operate from short, improvised airstrips. A fixed refueling probe was added to improve range and loiter time.
Intelligence sensors and smart weapon capabilities included a FLIR sensor and a laser range finder/target designator, both mounted in a small turret on the aircraft’s nose. The MV-10H was also outfitted with a data link and the ability to carry an integrated targeting pod such as the Northrop Grumman LITENING or the Lockheed Martin Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP). Also included was the Remotely Operated Video Enhanced Receiver (ROVER) to provide live sensor data and video recordings to personnel on the ground.
To improve overall performance and to better cope with the higher empty weight of the modified aircraft as well as with operations under hot-and-high conditions, the engines were beefed up. The new General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines improved the Bronco's performance considerably: top speed increased by 100 mph (160 km/h), the climb rate was tripled (a weak point of early OV-10s despite the type’s good STOL capability) and both take-off as well as landing run were almost halved. The new engines called for longer nacelles, and their circular diameter markedly differed from the former Garrett T76-G-420/421 turboprop engines. To better exploit the additional power and reduce the aircraft’s audio signature, reversible contraprops, each with eight fiberglass blades, were fitted. These allowed a reduced number of revolutions per minute, resulting in less noise from the blades and their tips, while the engine responsiveness was greatly improved. The CT7-9Ds’ exhausts were fitted with muzzlers/air mixers to further reduce the aircraft's noise and heat signature.
Another novel and striking feature was the addition of so-called “tip sails” to the wings: each wingtip was elongated with a small, cigar-shaped fairing, each carrying three staggered, small “feather blade” winglets. Reputedly, this installation contributed ~10% to the higher climb rate and improved lift/drag ratio by ~6%, improving range and loiter time, too.
Drawing from the Iraq experience as well as from the USMC’s NOGS test program with a converted OV-10D as a night/all-weather gunship/reconnaissance platform, the MV-10H received a heavier gun armament: the original four light machine guns that were only good for strafing unarmored targets were deleted and their space in the sponsons replaced by avionics. Instead, the aircraft was outfitted with a lightweight M197 three-barrel 20mm gatling gun in a chin turret. This could be fixed in a forward position at high speed or when carrying forward-firing ordnance under the stub wings, or it could be deployed to cover a wide field of fire under the aircraft when it was flying slower, being either slaved to the FLIR or to a helmet sighting auto targeting system.
The original seven hardpoints were retained (1x ventral, 2x under each sponson, and another pair under the outer wings), but the total ordnance load was slightly increased and an additional pair of launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinders or other light AAMs under the wing tips were added – not only as a defensive measure, but also with an anti-helicopter role in mind; four more Sidewinders could be carried on twin launchers under the outer wings against aerial targets. Other guided weapons cleared for the MV-10H were the light laser-guided AGR-20A and AGM-119 Hellfire missiles, the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System upgrade to the light Hydra 70 rockets, the new Laser Guided Zuni Rocket which had been cleared for service in 2010, TV-/IR-/laser-guided AGM-65 Maverick AGMs and AGM-122 Sidearm anti-radar missiles, plus a wide range of gun and missile pods, iron and cluster bombs, as well as ECM and flare/chaff pods, which were not only carried defensively, but also in order to disrupt enemy ground communication.
In this configuration, a contract for the conversion of twelve mothballed American Broncos to the new MV-10H standard was signed with Boeing in 2016, and the first MV-10H was handed over to the USAF in early 2018, with further deliveries lasting into early 2020. All machines were allocated to the newly founded 919th Special Operations Support Squadron at Duke Field (Florida). This unit was part of the 919th Special Operations Wing, an Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the United States Air Force. It was assigned to the Tenth Air Force of Air Force Reserve Command and an associate unit of the 1st Special Operations Wing, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). If mobilized the wing was gained by AFSOC (Air Force Special Operations Command) to support Special Tactics, the U.S. Air Force's special operations ground force. Similar in ability and employment to Marine Special Operations Command (MARSOC), U.S. Army Special Forces and U.S. Navy SEALs, Air Force Special Tactics personnel were typically the first to enter combat and often found themselves deep behind enemy lines in demanding, austere conditions, usually with little or no support.
The MV-10Hs are expected to provide support for these ground units in the form of all-weather reconnaissance and observation, close air support and also forward air control duties for supporting ground units. Precision ground strikes and protection from enemy helicopters and low-flying aircraft were other, secondary missions for the modernized Broncos, which are expected to serve well into the 2040s. Exports or conversions of foreign OV-10s to the Black Pony standard are not planned, though.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2
Length: 42 ft 2½ in (12,88 m) incl. pitot
Wingspan: 45 ft 10½ in(14 m) incl. tip sails
Height: 15 ft 2 in (4.62 m)
Wing area: 290.95 sq ft (27.03 m²)
Airfoil: NACA 64A315
Empty weight: 9,090 lb (4,127 kg)
Gross weight: 13,068 lb (5,931 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 17,318 lb (7,862 kg)
Powerplant:
2× General Electric CT7-9D turboprop engines, 1,305 kW (1,750 hp) each,
driving 8-bladed Hamilton Standard 8 ft 6 in (2.59 m) diameter constant-speed,
fully feathering, reversible contra-rotating propellers with metal hub and composite blades
Performance:
Maximum speed: 390 mph (340 kn, 625 km/h)
Combat range: 198 nmi (228 mi, 367 km)
Ferry range: 1,200 nmi (1,400 mi, 2,200 km) with auxiliary fuel
Maximum loiter time: 5.5 h with auxiliary fuel
Service ceiling: 32.750 ft (10,000 m)
13,500 ft (4.210 m) on one engine
Rate of climb: 17.400 ft/min (48 m/s) at sea level
Take-off run: 480 ft (150 m)
740 ft (227 m) to 50 ft (15 m)
1,870 ft (570 m) to 50 ft (15 m) at MTOW
Landing run: 490 ft (150 m)
785 ft (240 m) at MTOW
1,015 ft (310 m) from 50 ft (15 m)
Armament:
1x M197 3-barreled 20 mm Gatling cannon in a chin turret with 750 rounds ammo capacity
7x hardpoints for a total load of 5.000 lb (2,270 kg)
2x wingtip launch rails for AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional Bronco update/conversion was simply spawned by the idea: could it be possible to replace the original cockpit section with one from an AH-1 Cobra, for a kind of gunship version?
The basis is the Academy OV-10D kit, mated with the cockpit section from a Fujimi AH-1S TOW Cobra (Revell re-boxing, though), chosen because of its “boxy” cockpit section with flat glass panels – I think that it conveys the idea of an armored cockpit section best. Combining these parts was not easy, though, even though the plan sound simple. Initially, the Bronco’s twin booms, wings and stabilizer were built separately, because this made PSR on these sections easier than trying the same on a completed airframe. One of the initial challenges: the different engines. I wanted something uprated, and a different look, and I had a pair of (excellent!) 1:144 resin engines from the Russian company Kompakt Zip for a Tu-95 bomber at hand, which come together with movable(!) eight-blade contraprops that were an almost perfect size match for the original three-blade props. Biggest problem: the Tu-95 nacelles have a perfectly circular diameter, while the OV-10’s booms are square and rectangular. Combining these parts and shapes was already a messy PST affair, but it worked out quite well – even though the result rather reminds of some Chinese upgrade measure (anyone know the Tu-4 copies with turboprops? This here looks similar!). But while not pretty, I think that the beafier look works well and adds to the idea of a “revived” aircraft. And you can hardly beat the menacing look of contraprops on anything...
The exotic, so-called “tip sails” on the wings, mounted on short booms, are a detail borrowed from the Shijiazhuang Y-5B-100, an updated Chinese variant/copy of the Antonov An-2 biplane transporter. The booms are simple pieces of sprue from the Bronco kit, the winglets were cut from 0.5mm styrene sheet.
For the cockpit donor, the AH-1’s front section was roughly built, including the engine section (which is a separate module, so that the basic kit can be sold with different engine sections), and then the helicopter hull was cut and trimmed down to match the original Bronco pod and to fit under the wing. This became more complicated than expected, because a) the AH-1 cockpit and the nose are considerably shorter than the OV-10s, b) the AH-1 fuselage is markedly taller than the Bronco’s and c) the engine section, which would end up in the area of the wing, features major recesses, making the surface very uneven – calling for massive PSR to even this out. PSR was also necessary to hide the openings for the Fujimi AH-1’s stub wings. Other issues: the front landing gear (and its well) had to be added, as well as the OV-10 wing stubs. Furthermore, the new cockpit pod’s rear section needed an aerodynamical end/fairing, but I found a leftover Academy OV-10 section from a build/kitbashing many moons ago. Perfect match!
All these challenges could be tackled, even though the AH-1 cockpit looks surprisingly stout and massive on the Bronco’s airframe - the result looks stockier than expected, but it works well for the "Gunship" theme. Lots of PSR went into the new central fuselage section, though, even before it was mated with the OV-10 wing and the rest of the model.
Once cockpit and wing were finally mated, the seams had to disappear under even more PSR and a spinal extension of the canopy had to be sculpted across the upper wing surface, which would meld with the pod’s tail in a (more or less) harmonious shape. Not an easy task, and the fairing was eventually sculpted with 2C putty, plus even more PSR… Looks quite homogenous, though.
After this massive body work, other hardware challenges appeared like small distractions. The landing gear was another major issue because the deeper AH-1 section lowered the ground clearance, also because of the chin turret. To counter this, I raised the OV-10’s main landing gear by ~2mm – not much, but it was enough to create a credible stance, together with the front landing gear transplant under the cockpit, which received an internal console to match the main landing gear’s length. Due to the chin turret and the shorter nose, the front wheel retracts backwards now. But this looks quite plausible, thanks to the additional space under the cockpit tub, which also made a belt feed for the gun’s ammunition supply believable.
To enhance the menacing look I gave the model a fixed refueling boom, made from 1mm steel wire and a receptor adapter sculpted with white glue. The latter stuff was also used add some antenna fairings around the hull. Some antennae, chaff dispensers and an IR decoy were taken from the Academy kit.
The ordnance came from various sources. The Sidewinders under the wing tips were taken from an Italeri F-16C/D kit, they look better than the missiles from the Academy Bronco kit. Their launch rails came from an Italeri Bae Hawk 200. The quadruple Hellfire launchers on the underwing hardpoints were left over from an Italeri AH-1W, and they are a perfect load for this aircraft and its role. The LAU-10 and -19 missile pods on the stub wings were taken from the OV-10 kit.
Painting and markings:
Finding a suitable and somewhat interesting – but still plausible – paint scheme was not easy. Taking the A-10 as benchmark, an overall light grey livery (with focus on low contrast against the sky as protection against ground fire) would have been a likely choice – and in fact the last operational American OV-10s were painted in this fashion. But in order to provide a different look I used the contemporary USAF V-22Bs and Special Operations MC-130s as benchmark, which typically carry a darker paint scheme consisting of FS 36118 (suitably “Gunship Gray” :D) from above, FS 36375 underneath, with a low, wavy waterline, plus low-viz markings. Not spectacular, but plausible – and very similar to the late r/w Colombian OV-10s.
The cockpit tub became Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, Humbrol 140) and the landing gear white (Revell 301).
The model received an overall black ink washing and some post-panel-shading, to liven up the dull all-grey livery. The decals were gathered from various sources, and I settled for black USAF low-viz markings. The “stars and bars” come from a late USAF F-4, the “IP” tail code was tailored from F-16 markings and the shark mouth was taken from an Academy AH-64. Most stencils came from another Academy OV-10 sheet and some other sources.
Decals were also used to create the trim on the propeller blades and markings on the ordnance.
Finally, the model was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri) and some exhaust soot stains were added with graphite along the tail boom flanks.
A successful transplantation – but is this still a modified Bronco or already a kitbashing? The result looks quite plausible and menacing, even though the TOW Cobra front section appears relatively massive. But thanks to the bigger engines and extended wing tips the proportions still work. The large low-pressure tires look a bit goofy under the aircraft, but they are original. The grey livery works IMHO well, too – a more colorful or garish scheme would certainly have distracted from the modified technical basis.
08/12/2024, Punta Arenas, Chile.
An American owned, Cayman island registered, offshore support vessel engaged in oceanographic research.
Keel laid on 11/12/2008, launched on 01/07/2010, and completed on 06/10/2011, by Construcciones Navales Paulino Freire, Vigo, Spain (703)
7,238 g.t. & 6,300 dwt., as:
'Polar Queen' to 2021, &
'Falkor (too)' since.
Propulsion:
2 × 3800 kW (5096 hp) Voith Schneider VSP 36R6EC/300-2 propellers
1 × 1,350 kW (1,810 hp) Rolls Royce TT2400 DPN CP azimuthal thruster (retractable)
2 Rolls Royce UL 2001 CP bow thrusters 1,400 kW (1,877 hp.).
Power:
Diesel-electric, 10,260 kW (13,759 hp)
6 MAN 9L21/31 diesel generators of 1710 kW (2293 hp)
Speed:
15.85 knots (29.35 km/h; 18.24 mph) (maximum)
Photos are with the kind permission of Ovanes Agaryan.
_______________________
RV Falkor (Too) is an oceanographic research vessel refitted during the years 2021 and 2022 from the former offshore vessel MS Polar Queen. The vessel was purchased by the Schmidt Ocean Institute in March 2021 as a replacement for the RV Falkor.
The Norwegian company Sea4 AS had commissioned the construction of two new ships at the Astillero Freire in Vigo, Spain in November 2007. The design of the two ships was developed by a Norwegian naval engineering company and the ship design company Skipsteknisk AS. , initially called ST-254L CD. It is similar to the previously developed ST-253 design, which was also built at Astillero Freire with hull number 701. This shorter vessel, the Volstad Surveyor, was later refitted at the Damen shipyard and renamed OceanXplorer 1.
Vessels with hull numbers 702 and 703 were scheduled to be delivered in February and August 2010 and operated by the two subsidiaries Sea4 I Shipping Ltd. and Sea 4 II Shipping Ltd. The keel of hull number 703, the later Polar Queen, was placed on December 11, 2008. However, there was a six-month delay due to the global financial crisis. In September 2009, it was announced that GC Rieber Shipping had taken over Sea4's subsidiaries for a total of approximately NOK 800 million because no charter arrangements had been made for the newbuilds at that time.5 Finally, the Polar Queen was delivered to GC Rieber on October 6, 2011.
GC Rieber had signed a two-year charter contract with Oceanografía S.A. of C.V. for the Mexican state oil company Pemex, starting offshore services in the Gulf of Mexico in November 2011. However, before the contract expired, a maritime lien arose between GC Rieber and Oceanografía. As a result, a federal judge in Texas ordered a United States marshal to seize the vessel.
Beginning in October 2012, the Polar Queen was chartered by Houston-based Boa Marine Services Inc., a subsidiary of Norwegian BOA Offshore AS. The charter party was later extended until April 2015.
From April to December 2017, the vessel was used to transport equipment and personnel for the construction of the Nordsee One offshore wind farm in the German North Sea.
From 2018 to 2020, the Polar Queen was used for so-called accommodation services in the North Sea during the summer months. A walkway installed aboard the vessel allowed technicians and engineers to walk to the normally unmanned facilities of the Forties Unity offshore platform in the Forties oil field, in order to carry out scheduled maintenance or repairs. When their shift ended, they could walk back to the boat where they had their accommodation.
GC Rieber announced the sale of the vessel on February 23, 2021 and the Schmidt Ocean Institute confirmed the purchase a month later. The ship set sail for Spain and arrived in Vigo in April 2021 to begin refitting.
When I arrived at my Far South Cottage, I found these notifications from the local council under the front door mat. Although my house escaped, it was an unexpected reminder of what might have been.
SMC TAKUMAR 55mm f2
Day 11 of Pentax Forum's Daily in January 2020 Challenge.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff meet with NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, NASA astronaut candidate Andre Douglas, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, and NASA STEM interns, Monday, Aug. 29, 2022, at the Operations and Support Building II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Vice President was to watch the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I flight test, however the launch attempt was halted at approximately 8:30 a.m. ET. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Support teams work around the SpaceX Crew Dragon Resilience spacecraft shortly after it landed with NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Shannon Walker, and Victor Glover, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi aboard in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Panama City, Florida, Sunday, May 2, 2021. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission was the first crew rotation flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket with astronauts to the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)
Image taken 26.06.2016 by David Moth. At Fly Party 2016,Montagnana Aerodromo Nr Montagnana (PD) Italy.
Technology image of the week:
A prototype version of a self-sustaining life-support system, intended to allow humans to live in space indefinitely, is seen in Spain’s University Autònoma of Barcelona.
This is the pilot plant of the international ESA-led Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative, or MELiSSA, a mini-ecosystem behind airtight glass.
Today, International Space Station crews must be resupplied from Earth, but such supply lines will become impractical as explorers venture farther out into space.
Instead, the 11-nation MELiSSA seeks to perfect a regenerative life-support system that could supply astronauts with all the oxygen, water and food they require.
The pilot plant hosts a multi-compartment loop with a light-powered bioreactor and a culture of oxygen-producing algae to keep ‘crews’ of three rats alive and comfortable for months at a time. While the algae yield oxygen and trap carbon dioxide, the rats do exactly the reverse.
A MELiSSA-based experiment is being run on the International Space Station. In May, experts will gather to discuss MELiSSA and closed-loop life support systems, along with topics such as air, water and waste recycling and food production.
Credit: ESA/UAB
Showing their support for Armed Forces Day, The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards proudly display the flag at the Palace of Holyrood in Edinburgh.
Armed Forces Day will be on Saturday, 28 June 2014.
It's an opportunity to do two things. Firstly, to raise public awareness of the contribution made to our country by those who serve and have served in Her Majesty's Armed Forces, Secondly, it gives the nation an opportunity to Show Your Support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community: from currently serving troops to Service families and from veterans to cadets.
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© Crown Copyright 2014
Photographer: MARK OWENS/ HQ Scotland
Image HQScot-2014-026-0776.jpg from www.defenceimages.mod.uk
Use of this image is subject to the terms and conditions of the MoD News Licence at www.defenceimagery.mod.uk/fotoweb/20121001_Crown_copyrigh...
For latest news visit www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence
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