Sponsored images from 
View allAll Photos Tagged contracting
Warrington's Own Buses operate a closed-door peak and lunch time shuttle between the various office facilities on Birchwood Park and Birchwood railway station / shopping centre. Normally this would be operated by one of the two deckers to wear an advert livery for Birchwood Park Estates, but with most of the offices closed or on minimal staffing at the moment due to Covid-19 and the shuttle running on a reduced timetable, the capacity is not needed. An empty VDL SB120 / Wright 72 (DK07EZO) was seen on the service on the afternoon of 14/05/20 whilst I enjoyed a bike ride.
Circa 2018, Port of Felixstowe, Suffolk, England.
Stern tug for the 'Rio Bravo'.
Keel laid on 18/10/2007, launched on 11/04/2008 and completed on 16/09/2008 by Song Cam, Haiphong, Vietnam under Damen, Gorinchem sub-contract (512226)
250 g.t. and 150 dwt., 70 tons bollard pull, as:-
'Svitzer Sky'.
Photo with the permission of Martin Dobák
N231FL - B-727-22C - Contract Air Cargo
(reg. to International Trading Co. of Yukon, Oklahoma City/OK) -
at Hamilton International Airport (YHM)
operated still in basic Purolator c/s - visible registration is only "N23"
c/n 19.205 - built in 1967 for United Airlines -
operated by Kelowna Flightcraft air Charter between 02/1994 and 05/2002 as C-FKFP -
leased to All Canada Express between 08/1995 and 07/1996 -
retired in 2011 - stored at Kelowna (YLW)
No - this is not an AEW-727 !
C-47-DL 41-18401 N150D
This aircraft was originally ordered as a DST, or Douglas Sleeper Transport, in 1941. However, with the U.S. Army Air Forces took over her contract, impressing her for war service before her completion. She was delivered to the USAAF as C-47 41-18401 at Douglas Aircraft’s Factory in Long Beach, California on June 23rd, 1942 one of very few C-47s completed at this facility. The aircraft never became part of a formal military squadron however, heading straight into service with Pan American Airways on July 2nd, 1942. She served mostly out of North Africa and the Middle East at this time.
Following WWII, the aircraft was transferred to the French Air Force, joining them on November 20th, 1945 and serving faithfully for the next two decades before being sold on to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) in January, 1967. There is some indication that the aircraft served with the Ugandan Air Force for a period before her retirement from the IDF in November, 1995.
-On 6 June 2019, for the 75th anniversary and as part of the commemorations of D-Day landings, a flight of 21 Dakotas carrying paratrooper re-enactors flew from Duxford in England to Sannerville in Normandy. This was one of the largest, perhaps the largest, gatherings of C-47/DC-3/Dakota aircraft for over 75 years.
www.curbsideclassic.com/rampside-classic/runway-classic-t...
McGill's currently have the temporary contract to operator the 100 "Riversider" between George Square and the Riverside Transport Museum via the SECC and Hydro. The service in now on its third operator in little over two years of operation having seen First (twice), McColls, Balloch and now McGill's.
The 100 contract is currently being re-tendered for commencement in October for between 3-5 years using two SPT supplied all Electric 31-seater Optare Solos.
A sightly lower capacity than this articulated Mercedes-Benz Citaro!
This card was also included as well as the Joker.
When I was in the Army I played a huge amount of Bridge, I have not played now for about 40 years.
Bath Bus Company (RATP, Burnett) brand new Volvo B5TL/MCV on A4 Air Decker and South Gloucestershire Bus & Coach Van Hool TX 21 Altano (left hand drive) on contracted Megabus service M18 in Dorchester Street, Bath. Ex-Megabus Rotterdam, then Stagecoach Midlands.
A move of contract cars including those of McKinley Explorer and Princess Cruise lines departs the Denali station and heads north toward Fairbanks. The ARR does a good amount of business during the summer (in 2010 it did anyway) with these operations. Lodges along the line at Talkeetna and Denali host cruise passengers and the connections with air travel at Fairbanks and Anchorage and direct service to cruise ships at Whittier, Anchorage, and Seward make for a very dynamic operation. The forest of conifers, aspen and alders make for a nice mosaic of shades of greens.
Yesterday, the 28 passed to Metroline West from their Willesden Junction garage using existing VWs scattered from HD,HT and AH, with the contract to last until 2027. On the first day there were some curtailments and broken down buses but having a route go from electric to diesel is pretty cool. This is a change that I really like because it’s nice to have B9TLs as it’s proper allocation once again. Here is VW1394 starting its journey from Kensal Rise.
LX03BWF Dennis Trident / Alexander ALX400 H45/22D.
New to Stagecoach East London as 17792.
Tetley's Motor Services Limited, Leeds.
On a Harrogate school contract.
Fore/dorsal angled view.
Name: S.S. Bessemer
Registration Number: KCC-1894 (Kolter Construction Contract Number 1,894)
Affiliation: Kolter Mining, Refining, and Fuel.
Class Name: Bessemer class
Type: Deep Space Mining Operations Flagship
Commissioned: Circa late 2500’s, post recent major conflict
Specifications:
Length: 1,844 meters (184.4 studs, 58.1 inches, 4.83 feet, 147.5 cm model)
Width: 503 meters (50.3 studs, 15.8 inches, 40.2 cm model)
Height: 484 meters, 398 meters without dorsal comms array, (48.4 studs, 15.2 inches, 38.7 cm model)
Crew: 2,950 standard complement + capacity for crew families, as well as smaller guest quarters for up to 2,000 additional personnel to be moved to/from mining operations.
Armament: 1 super-heavy coaxial particle beam cannon, (primarily for asteroid mining, but also more than capable of defensive action,) 4 dual-mounted heavy particle cannon turrets, 8 dual-mounted medium particle cannon turrets, 2 coaxial fore medium particle cannons, 80 quad-mounted 80mm anti-fighter flak railgun turrets.
Defensive systems:
Hull: Super-heavy steel alloy hull with carbon nanotube/buckypaper composite layers as spall lining.
Armor plating: steel, titanium alloy, tungsten, ceramic, and carbon nanotube composite armor layers against asteroids/other space debris, kinetic weapons, kinetic spalling, particle, laser, and plasma fire. Thick composite armor provides excellent survivability, but with very high mass. Some battleships are less armored than this ship.
Bulkheads: Extensive titanium bulkhead support network.
Structural integrity field: High power system designed for significant cargo mass placing stress on the frame, or to withstand asteroid impacts to the hull.
Shielding: Internally housed high power adaptive particle field repulsing shielding system capable of surviving significant punishment. Some older battleships have less robust shielding.
Powerplant: 1 primary matter-antimatter reactor with extensive fuel reserves, 2 secondary fusion reactors with extensive fuel reserves. Multiple massive power capacitors. Extensive heatinks.
Propulsion: 1 massive primary fusion engine for sub-lightspeed travel, 1 internal FTL core capable of moderate FTL speed, long range travel, and 32 large reaction control thrusters for slow but dependable below light speed maneuvering.
Computer systems: Single supercomputer core with onboard Virtual Intelligence system.
Comms and Sensors: Local and FTL comms arrays. Radar, LIDAR, infrared, multi-spectral, and additional other local area sensors systems, along with extensive FTL sensors.
Additional Systems: High power artificial singularity for both artificial gravity generation and inertial dampening, allowing for 1G gravity even when hauling an entire cargo hold full of heavy-metal. 6 massive blast furnaces for refining metal ore, an enormous central cargo hold system, 4 fuel refining tanks, 4 massive fuel storage tanks, and an internal rail system for moving ore and personnel.
Embarked Craft: 2 Thunderbird class super-heavy cargo/personnel shuttles, 2 Hurricane class heavy cargo/personnel shuttles, 20 heavy mining drones, 24 medium mining drones, 2 gunships of variable class, 2 heavy fighter/bombers of variable class, potential for multiple additional light shuttles and fighters.
Background: After seeing both the devastation to outlying areas of space caused by the recent Great War, and the corruption within the Federal Defense Navy (working title) Admiralty, Captain David Courtland retired honorably from military service and went to helm his family’s generations old mining company, Kolter Mining, Refining, and Fuel; one of the largest mining companies in United Earth Federation space. (Working title.)
He wanted to take the company, already a reputable and successful business, in a new direction. That direction was the disputed, war-torn, no-man’s-waste-land of space known as The Divide, (working title) situated between the major powers of the galaxy. Life in The Divide was desperate, with little hope for the many people stranded in the ruins, poverty, and crime infested land. None of the major powers could intervene without starting another territorial war, and as such, pirates, gangs, and unscrupulous mega-corporations ruled supreme.
Courtland wanted to make a difference to this sorrowful place, and with trillions of credits and a Fortunes 1,000 company at his control, he had the means to at least begin; although even he lacked the ability to single-handedly remedy the myriad of woes The Divide faced.
David’s plan was simple, to move significant mining operations to The Divide, thus:
1: Creating new, safe, well-paying, good jobs for both an area and an industry that seldom offered such things.
2: Allowing for the placement of company security forces to deter pirate activity around major settlements.
3: Providing tax-free revenue to fund new schools, hospitals, food, water, shetler, and other charitable activities in The Divide.
But to do it, he required a new kind of mining vessel, as well as additional security forces. Thus he contacted Nelson Heavy Industries, who in turn partnered with AxonTech Interstellar Systems for some components, to place an order for a line of custom massive deep space mining operation flagships with enhanced combat capabilities and capable of operating in the remotest reaches of space for months or even years at a time. And so the Bessemer class was born.
The Bessemer class is unlike any mining vessel ever produced before it. Certainly significantly larger mining ships existed, but these were typically little more than unarmed, slow moving things with small engines; closer to a semi-mobile starbase than a combination frontier battleship/mining vessel. But Courtland required something unique. Something that could move faster, survive more punishment, and something that had teeth; not a fragile, barely moving thing that would only sit in safe areas of space. Courtland needed a mighty sheepdog in a world of sheep and wolves.
Bessemer class vessels are 1,844 meters long, and possess more armor, firepower, and shielding than many pre Great War battleship designs. Almost any pirate or local gang would be terrified of the sight of over a mile of steel and particle cannons; clad in Kolter white, green, and yellow.
But the Bessemer, and others of her class, are not merely warships masquerading as civilian craft. They are heavy mining machines that live up to their name; a steel producing process that revolutionized the industry of Earth some seven hundred years earlier. The Bessemer and her sister ships are capable of blasting metal-rich asteroids to bits with their coaxial mining particle beam cannon, and then having swarms of automated mining drones devour any valuable deposits within before unloading the materials into the Bessemer’s ore hold for the internal rail system to run any raw ore through her six corvette sized forges, and then having the refined metal shunted to her cavernous lower hold, while any waste material from the refining process is vented directly into space.
Ships of this class are outfitted with a sizable hangar, advanced sensor suite, extensive internal cargo bays, and large cargo pod clamps that allow it to act in the capacity of miner, defensive ship, operations command center, and even freighter and personnel carrier should usual shipping to outlying mining sites be disrupted.
But capable as they are, these are not the spartan mining vessels with unlivable working conditions that some shady companies have been known to operate. These space-faring cities of steel feature robust safety systems, spacious and comfortable crew quarters, multiple restaurants, multiple mess-halls, multiple shops for clothing, food, electronics, and other items, an arcade, multiple gyms with weights, various weight and cardio machines, martial arts areas, gymnastics equipment, along with a walking track, a small bowling alley, an olympic sized swimming pool, a multi-sport stadium, a greenhouse, hydroponics bays, a small stage/concert area, several computer labs, a library, a small movie theater, crew lounges and break areas, a salon/spa, a bar/club, chapels, classroom/daycare areas, office areas, as well as repair stations, enough dry and frozen storage to keep everyone fed for extended missions, advanced workshops, astrotography, laboratories, guest bunk-rooms, and a starbase grade medical center.
Not everyone is happy about Kolter Mining’s efforts, however. While Courtland founded the Kolter Foundation to aid those in need, he also lobbied for what came to be known as the Kolter Bill to be passed. Mining employees out in the colonies loved the added protections this afforded them. But the executives of Kolter’s rival mining companies operating out of Earth’s colony worlds quickly found themselves facing laws that favored the profits of Kolter and their already developed safety systems and excellent treatment of employees. What’s more, the Federal Defense Navy Admiralty have been continually frustrated that rather than helping to line their pockets as part of the military industrial complex, Courtland has been working tirelessly to reveal their corruption and hidden support of crime in outlying areas of space.
What’s more, there are even rumors that Courtland is now working with, and possibly even helping to fund, a mercenary vigilante unit out in The Divide known as the Phoenix Command Group, founded by Jonathan Scarlett, another former Federal Defense Navy Captain who ran afoul of the Admiralty.
The wealthy and corrupt among the Admiralty, military industrial complex, crime syndicates, and corrupt businesses running shady operations out in The Divide are deeply troubled by these rumors. But those who are now citizens of no nation, and who have known nothing but hopelessness and need for years, have a slight spark of hope rising like a Phoenix.
IRL info: This digital SHIP was made in Bricklink’s Studio software from September 11th to September 30th, 2021. I did not originally plan to participate in SHIPtember, but I couldn’t resist. It is 184 studs (58.1 inches) long, 50 studs wide, and 48 studs high. It is comprised of 23,470 pieces, which I believe makes it my highest piece-count SHIP to date, and means that the model itself has a mass of 973.502 ounces, or 60.843 pounds, or 27.597 kilograms, which most likely makes it my heaviest SHIP as well as my most piece intensive. (I really need to learn to build a little more hollow.) Note that it uses all real pieces/colors that are available for sale on Bricklink. (Albeit at a price that makes attempting to build it in physical bricks highly impractical.) It is 100% connected, and should be at least somewhat stable in real life. I would want to reinforce the fore-end with more Technic, and switch out the longest Lego Technic axle holding the engine for an aftermarket stainless steel version. I cannot guarantee that various sections built out from the main SNOT and Technic frame would be totally stable without slight redesign of a few bits. It would also require a hefty display stand of some kind.
The current pictures are WIP to show the completed status of the build itself. Better renders done by importing the Studio build into Mecabricks, replacing any pieces that fail to load or change position, and then exporting to Blender for higher quality rendering, and finally hopefully doing some cool backgrounds with GIMP, will hopefully follow before whatever October picture deadline is decided on. Please do not use these early pictures in the poster if time remains, as I hope to provide better ones. Thank you for reading this lengthy description. Have a cookie.
If this ship had a theme song, this magnificent piece by Clamavi De Profundis would be it: youtu.be/Xm96Cqu4Ils
Optare Solo . M850 . B27F
New to Stagecoach Cambus ( 47354 ) during June-2006 . Coming to this Operator during the Summer of 2019 .
In spite of my Camera not catching the destination display . This vehicle is working in to Bishop's Stortford on Essex County Council contracted Route 7B from Stansted Airport , Essex .
Dunmow Road , Bishop's Stortford , Hertfordshire .
Thursday morning 07th-November-2019 .
twitter.com/KeltruckLtd/status/990148390930481152
New #Scania XT G410 joins the Scania only #Prichards fleet #TomPrichard #TomPrichardContacting #Llantrisant #Wales #SouthWales #Cymru #CF72 #ScaniaXT prichardholdings.co.uk
Cracking job, Peter Harris!
#SuppliedByKeltruck keltruckscania.com/suppliedbykeltruck
Contract Mission: Ivan Drackoff - Leader of the Shazir Cell in Bandaud
23.
Right after he grab a syringe and inject Drackoff
"Dagger clear"
Volvo B12B/Caetano Enigma.
ex National Express C049.
Departing Birmingham Airport car park on the JLR contract.
5 Nov 14
+++ 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:
Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson, vice president of engineering and research at Lockheed's Skunk Works, visited USAF air bases across South Korea in November 1951 to speak with fighter pilots about what they wanted and needed in a fighter aircraft. At the time, the American pilots were confronting the MiG-15 with North American F-86 Sabres, and many felt that the MiGs were superior to the larger and more complex American design. The pilots requested a small and simple aircraft with excellent performance, especially high speed and altitude capabilities. Armed with this information, Johnson immediately started the design of such an aircraft on his return to the United States.
Work started in March 1952. In order to achieve the desired performance, Lockheed chose a small and simple aircraft, weighing in at 12,000 lb (5,400 kg) with a single powerful engine. The engine chosen was the new General Electric J79 turbojet, an engine of dramatically improved performance in comparison with contemporary designs. The small L-246 design remained essentially identical to the Model 083 Starfighter as eventually delivered.
Johnson presented the design to the Air Force on 5 November 1952, and work progressed quickly, with a mock-up ready for inspection at the end of April, and work starting on two prototypes that summer. The first prototype was completed by early 1954 and first flew on 4 March at Edwards AFB. The total time from contract to first flight was less than one year.
The first YF-104A flew on 17 February 1956 and, with the other 16 trial aircraft, were soon carrying out equipment evaluation and flight tests. Lockheed made several improvements to the aircraft throughout the testing period, including strengthening the airframe, adding a ventral fin to improve directional stability at supersonic speed, and installing a boundary layer control system (BLCS) to reduce landing speed. Problems were encountered with the J79 afterburner; further delays were caused by the need to add AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. On 28 January 1958, the first production F-104A to enter service was delivered.
Even though the F-104 saw only limited use by the USAF, later versions, tailored to a fighter bomber role and intended for overseas sales, were more prolific. This was in particular the F-104G, which became the Starfighter's main version, a total of 1,127 F-104Gs were produced under license by Canadair and a consortium of European companies that included Messerschmitt/MBB, Fiat, Fokker, and SABCA.
The F-104G differed considerably from earlier versions. It featured strengthened fuselage, wing, and empennage structures; a larger vertical fin with fully powered rudder as used on the earlier two-seat versions; fully powered brakes, new anti-skid system, and larger tires; revised flaps for improved combat maneuvering; a larger braking chute. Upgraded avionics included an Autonetics NASARR F15A-41B multi-mode radar with air-to-air, ground-mapping, contour-mapping, and terrain-avoidance modes, as well as the Litton LN-3 Inertial Navigation System, the first on a production fighter.
Germany was among the first foreign operators of the F-104G variant. As a side note, a widespread misconception was and still is that the "G" explicitly stood for "Germany". But that was not the case and pure incidence, it was just the next free letter, even though Germany had a major influence on the aircraft's concept and equipment. The German Air Force and Navy used a large number of F-104G aircraft for interception, reconnaissance and fighter bomber roles. In total, Germany operated 916 Starfighters, becoming the type's biggest operator in the world. Beyond the single seat fighter bombers, Germany also bought and initially 30 F-104F two-seat aircraft and then 137 TF-104G trainers. Most went to the Luftwaffe and a total of 151 Starfighters was allocated to the Marineflieger units.
The introduction of this highly technical aircraft type to a newly reformed German air force was fraught with problems. Many were of technical nature, but there were other sources of problems, too. For instance, after WWII, many pilots and ground crews had settled into civilian jobs and had not kept pace with military and technological developments. Newly recruited/re-activated pilots were just being sent on short "refresher" courses in slow and benign-handling first-generation jet aircraft or trained on piston-driven types. Ground crews were similarly employed with minimal training and experience, which was one consequence of a conscripted military with high turnover of service personnel. Operating in poor northwest European weather conditions (vastly unlike the fair-weather training conditions at Luke AFB in Arizona) and flying low at high speed over hilly terrain, a great many Starfighter accidents were attributed to controlled flight into terrain (CFIT). German Air Force and Navy losses with the type totaled 110 pilots, around half of them naval officers.
One general contributing factor to the high attrition rate was the operational assignment of the F-104 in German service: it was mainly used as a (nuclear strike) fighter-bomber, flying at low altitude underneath enemy radar and using landscape clutter as passive radar defense, as opposed to the original design of a high-speed, high-altitude fighter/interceptor. In addition to the different and demanding mission profiles, the installation of additional avionic equipment in the F-104G version, such as the inertial navigation system, added distraction to the pilot and additional weight that further hampered the flying abilities of the plane. In contemporary German magazine articles highlighting the Starfighter safety problems, the aircraft was portrayed as "overburdened" with technology, which was considered a latent overstrain on the aircrews. Furthermore, many losses in naval service were attributed to the Starfighter’s lack of safety margin through a twin-engine design like the contemporary Blackburn Buccaneer, which had been the German navy air arm’s favored type. But due to political reasons (primarily the outlook to produce the Starfighter in Southern Germany in license), the Marine had to accept and make do with the Starfighter, even if it was totally unsuited for the air arm's mission profile.
Erich Hartmann, the world's top-scoring fighter ace from WWII, commanded one of Germany's first (post-war) jet fighter-equipped squadrons and deemed the F-104 to be an unsafe aircraft with poor handling characteristics for aerial combat. To the dismay of his superiors, Hartmann judged the fighter unfit for Luftwaffe use even before its introduction.
In 1966 Johannes Steinhoff took over command of the Luftwaffe and grounded the entire Luftwaffe and Bundesmarine F-104 fleet until he was satisfied that the persistent problems had been resolved or at least reduced to an acceptable level. One measure to improve the situation was that some Starfighters were modified to carry a flight data recorder or "black box" which could give an indication of the probable cause of an accident. In later years, the German Starfighters’ safety record improved, although a new problem of structural failure of the wings emerged: original fatigue calculations had not taken into account the high number of g-force loading cycles that the German F-104 fleet was experiencing through their mission profiles, and many airframes were returned to the depot for wing replacement or outright retirement.
The German F-104Gs served primarily in the strike role as part of the Western nuclear deterrent strategy, some of these dedicated nuclear strike Starfighters even had their M61 gun replaced by an additional fuel tank for deeper penetration missions. However, some units close to the German borders, e.g. Jagdgeschwader (JG) 71 in Wittmundhafen (East Frisia) as well as JG 74 in Neuburg (Bavaria), operated the Starfighter as a true interceptor on QRA duty. From 1980 onwards, these dedicated F-104Gs received a new air superiority camouflage, consisting of three shades of grey in an integral wraparound scheme, together with smaller, subdued national markings. This livery was officially called “Norm 82” and unofficially “Alberich”, after the secretive guardian of the Nibelung's treasure. A similar wraparound paint scheme, tailored to low-level operations and consisting of two greens and black (called Norm 83), was soon applied to the fighter bombers and the RF-104 fleet, too, as well as to the Luftwaffe’s young Tornado IDS fleet.
However, the Luftwaffe’s F-104Gs were at that time already about to be gradually replaced, esp. in the interceptor role, by the more capable and reliable F-4F Phantom II, a process that lasted well into the mid-Eighties due to a lagging modernization program for the Phantoms. The Luftwaffe’s fighter bombers and recce Starfighters were replaced by the MRCA Tornado and RF-4E Phantoms. In naval service the Starfighters soldiered on for a little longer until they were also replaced by the MRCA Tornado – eventually, the Marineflieger units received a two engine aircraft type that was suitable for their kind of missions.
In the course of the ongoing withdrawal, a lot of German aircraft with sufficiently enough flying hours left were transferred to other NATO partners like Norway, Greece, Turkey and Italy, and two were sold to the NASA. One specific Starfighter was furthermore modified into a CCV (Control-Configured Vehicle) experimental aircraft under control of the German Industry, paving the way to aerodynamically unstable aircraft like the Eurofighter/Typhoon. The last operational German F-104 made its farewell flight on 22. Mai 1991, and the type’s final flight worldwide was in Italy in October 2004.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 54 ft 8 in (16.66 m)
Wingspan: 21 ft 9 in (6.63 m)
Height: 13 ft 6 in (4.11 m)
Wing area: 196.1 ft² (18.22 m²)
Airfoil: Biconvex 3.36 % root and tip
Empty weight: 14,000 lb (6,350 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 29,027 lb (13,166 kg)
Powerplant:
1× General Electric J79 afterburning turbojet,
10,000 lbf (44 kN) thrust dry, 15,600 lbf (69 kN) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,528 mph (2,459 km/h, 1,328 kn)
Maximum speed: Mach 2
Combat range: 420 mi (680 km, 360 nmi)
Ferry range: 1,630 mi (2,620 km, 1,420 nmi)
Service ceiling: 50,000 ft (15,000 m)
Rate of climb: 48,000 ft/min (240 m/s) initially
Lift-to-drag: 9.2
Wing loading: 105 lb/ft² (510 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.54 with max. takeoff weight (0.76 loaded)
Armament:
1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M61A1 Vulcan six-barreled Gatling cannon, 725 rounds
7× hardpoints with a capacity of 4,000 lb (1,800 kg), including up to four AIM-9 Sidewinder, (nuclear)
bombs, guided and unguided missiles, or other stores like drop tanks or recce pods
The kit and its assembly:
A relatively simple what-if project – based on the question how a German F-104 interceptor might have looked like, had it been operated for a longer time to see the Luftwaffe’s low-viz era from 1981 onwards. In service, the Luftwaffe F-104Gs started in NMF and then carried the Norm 64 scheme, the well-known splinter scheme in grey and olive drab. Towards the end of their career the fighter bombers and recce planes received the Norm 83 wraparound scheme in green and black, but by that time no dedicated interceptors were operational anymore, so I stretched the background story a little.
The model is the very nice Italeri F-104G/S model, which is based on the ESCI molds from the Eighties, but it comes with recessed engravings and an extra sprue that contains additional drop tanks and an Orpheus camera pod. The kit also includes a pair of Sidewinders with launch rails for the wing tips as well as the ventral “catamaran” twin rail, which was frequently used by German Starfighters because the wing tips were almost constantly occupied with tanks.
Fit and detail is good – the kit is IMHO very good value for the money. There are just some light sinkholes on the fuselage behind the locator pins, the fit of the separate tail section is mediocre and calls for PSR, and the thin and very clear canopy is just a single piece – for open display, you have to cut it by yourself.
Since the model would become a standard Luftwaffe F-104G, just with a fictional livery, the kit was built OOB. The only change I made are drooped flaps, and the air brakes were mounted in open position.
The ordnance (wing tip tanks plus the ventral missiles) was taken from the kit, reflecting the typical German interceptor configuration: the wing tips were frequently occupied with tanks, sometimes even together with another pair of drop tanks under the wings, so that any missile had to go under the fuselage. The instructions for the ventral catamaran launch rails are BTW wrong – they tell the builder to mount the launch rails onto the twin carrier upside down! Correctly, the carrier’s curvature should lie flush on the fuselage, with no distance at all. When mounted as proposed, the Sidewinders come very close to the ground and the whole installation looks pretty goofy! I slightly modified the catamaran launch rail with some thin styrene profile strips as spacers, and the missiles themselves, AIM-9Bs, were replaced with more modern and delicate AIM-9Js from a Hasegawa air-to-air weapons set. Around the hull, some small blade antennae, a dorsal rotating warning light and an angle-of-attack sensor were added.
Painting and markings:
The exotic livery is what defined this what-if build, and the paint scheme was actually inspired by a real world benchmark: some Dornier Do-28D Skyservants of the German Marineflieger received, late in their career, a wraparound scheme in three shades of grey, namely RAL 7030 (Steingrau), 7000 (Fehgrau) and 7012 (Basaltgrau). I thought that this would work pretty well for an F-104G interceptor that operates at medium to high altitudes, certainly better than the relatively dark Norm 64 splinter scheme or the Norm 83 low-altitude pattern.
The camouflage pattern was simply adopted from the Starfighter’s Norm 83 scheme, just the colors were exchanged. The kit was painted with acrylic paints from Revell, since the authentic tones were readily available, namely 75, 57 and 77. As a disrupting detail I gave the wing tip tanks the old Norm 64 colors: uniform Gelboliv from above (RAL 6014, Revell 42), Silbergrau underneath (RAL 7001, Humbrol’s 127 comes pretty close), and bright RAL 2005 dayglo orange markings, the latter created with TL Modellbau decal sheet material for clean edges and an even finish.
The cockpit interior was painted in standard medium grey (Humbrol 140, Dark Gull Grey), the landing gear including the wells became aluminum (Humbrol 56), the interior of the air intakes was painted with bright matt aluminum metallizer (Humbrol 27001) with black anti-icing devices in the edges and the shock cones. The radome was painted with very light grey (Humbrol 196, RAL 7035), the dark green anti-glare panel is a decal from the OOB sheet.
The model received a standard black ink washing and some panel post-shading (with Testors 2133 Russian Fulcrum Grey, Humbrol 128 FS 36320 and Humbrol 156 FS 36173) in an attempt to even out the very different shades of grey. The result does not look bad, pretty worn and weathered (like many German Starfighters), even though the paint scheme reminds a lot of the Hellenic "Ghost" scheme from the late F-4Es and the current F-16s?
The decals for the subdued Luftwaffe markings were puzzled together from various sources. The stencils were mostly taken from the kit’s exhaustive and sharply printed sheet. Tactical codes (“26+40” is in the real Starfighter range, but this specific code was AFAIK never allocated), iron crosses and the small JG 71 emblems come from TL Modellbau aftermarket sheets. Finally, after some light soot stains around the gun port, the afterburner and some air outlets along the fuselage with graphite, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
A simple affair, since the (nice) kit was built OOB and the only really fictional aspect of this model is its livery. But the resulting aircraft looks good, the all-grey wraparound scheme suits the slender F-104 well and makes an interceptor role quite believable. Would probably also look good on a German Eurofighter? Certainly more interesting than the real world all-blue-grey scheme.
In the beauty pics the scheme also appears to be quite effective over open water, too, so that the application to the Marineflieger Do-28Ds made sense. However, for the real-world Starfighter, this idea came a couple of years too late.
At ESA's Living Planet Symposium the Copernicus Anthropogenic Carbon Dioxide Monitoring mission has taken another step forward as ESA authorises the mission’s prime contractor, OHB, to continue the development of the first satellite and, in parallel, start the production on the mission’s second satellite. The contract was signed by Simonetta Cheli, ESA’s Director of Earth Observation Programmes, and Wolfgang Paetsch, Member of OHB’s Management Board.
Credits: ESA/JürgenMai
Ashley Travel of Renishaw S992YOO Volvo Olympian Alexander RH passing Eckington Bus Station for an Eckington School contract on 17 May 2018.
Ex Scotbus, new in 1998 as Dublin Bus RV389 registered 98-D-20389.
Dutch postcard by Takken, no. 1560. Photo: Paramount.
Yesterday, 29 November 2021, elegant American actress Arlene Dahl (1925) passed away. She was one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Hollywood. The former MGM star achieved notability during the 1950s. She has three children, the eldest of whom is actor Lorenzo Lamas. Arlene Dahl was 96.
Arlene Carol Dahl was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1925. She was the daughter of Idelle (née Swan) and Rudolph S. Dahl, a Ford Motor dealer and executive. Dahl's mother was involved in local amateur theatre. As a child, Dahl took elocution and dancing lessons and was active in theatrical events at Margaret Fuller Elementary School, Ramsey Junior High School, and Washburn Senior High School. After graduating from Washburn High School. The following year, she was voted Miss Rheingold Beer of 1946. The Rheingold ad campaign was one of the most famous beer campaigns from the 1940s through the 1950s. There was a Miss Rheingold contest each year, and by the early 1950s, more than 25 million votes were cast annually. The winner received a cash payment as well as a modeling contract and many other opportunities. Dahl held various jobs, including performing in a local drama group and briefly working as a model for department stores. Dahl briefly attended the University of Minnesota, and then went to Chicago where she was a buyer for Marshall and Brown and worked as a model. She travelled to New York where she successfully auditioned for a part in the play Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston. This led to her getting the lead in another play, Questionable Ladies which was seen by a talent scout from Hollywood. Dahl had an uncredited bit in Life with Father (1947). She was promoted to leading lady in My Wild Irish Rose (David Butler, 1947) with Dennis Morgan. The film was a big hit and was nominated for an Academy Award in 1948. This led to an offer from MGM for a long-term contract. At MGM she played a supporting role in the romantic comedy The Bride Goes Wild (Norman Taurog, 1948). She remained there to play the female lead in a Red Skelton comedy A Southern Yankee (Edward Sedgwick, 1948). Both were very popular. Eagle-Lion hired her to star as the female lead in Reign of Terror (Anthony Mann, 1949), then at MGM she acted opposite Van Johnson in the Film Noir Scene of the Crime (Roy Rowland, 1949), Robert Taylor in the Western Ambush (Sam Wood, 1950), Joel McCrea in The Outriders (Roy Rowland, 1950), Fred Astaire and Skelton in the musical Three Little Words (Richard Thorpe, 1950), and Skelton again in Watch the Birdie (Jack Donohue, 1950). Of these MGM films, only The Outriders was not profitable.
MGM gave Arlene Dahl the lead in several B-films, such as the drama Inside Straight (Gerald Mayer, 1951) and the Film Noir No Questions Asked (Harold F. Kress, 1951). Both flopped. Dahl was hired by Pine-Thomas Productions who signed her to a multi-picture contract and put her in a swashbuckler with John Payne, Caribbean Gold (Edward Ludwig, 1952). She went to Universal to co-star with Alan Ladd in a French Foreign Legion story, Desert Legion (Joseph Pevney, 1953), then Pine-Thomas used her again in Jamaica Run (Lewis R. Forster, 1953) opposite Ray Milland, and Sangaree (Edward Ludwig, 1953). In the latter, Paramount's first 3-Dimensional film release, Fernando Lamas starred. Lamas and Dahl soon marred. She supported Bob Hope in the comedy Here Come the Girls (Claude Binyon, 1953). Dahl and Lamas reunited on the adventure film The Diamond Queen (John Brahm, 1953) at Warners. In 1953 Dahl played Roxanne on stage in a short-lived revival of Cyrano de Bergerac opposite Jose Ferrer. Dahl played the ambitious Carol Talbot in Woman's World (Jean Negulesco, 1954) at Fox, and she was Rock Hudson's leading lady in Universal's adventure war film Bengal Rifles (Laslo Benedek, 1954). She began writing a syndicated beauty column in 1952 and opened Arlene Dahl Enterprises in 1954, marketing cosmetics and designer lingerie. Dahl began appearing on television, including episodes of Lux Video Theatre and The Ford Television Theatre. In 1954, she played Ilsa in a TV adaptation of Casablanca. She and John Payne were reunited in a Film Noir, Slightly Scarlet (Allan Dwan, 1956), alongside Rhonda Fleming, another red-haired star. Dahl made some films in England for Columbia: Wicked as They Come (Ken Hughes, 1956) and Fortune Is a Woman (Sidney Gilliat, 1957) with Jack Hawkins. In 1957 she sued Columbia for $1 million saying the film's advertisements for Wicked as They Come were "lewd" and "degraded" her. A judge threw out the suit. Dahl hosted the short-lived TV series Opening Night (1958) and had the female lead in the adventure film Journey to the Center of the Earth (Henry Levin, 1959), opposite James Mason and Pat Boone. She was injured on set making the latter, but it turned out to be one of her most successful films.
In 1960, Arlene Dahl played the role of Lucy Belle in the episode 'That Taylor Affair' of Riverboat, alongside Darren McGavin. The same year she married Texas oilman Christian Holmes and announced her retirement from acting. The marriage did not last but Dahl increasingly diversified her work to become a lecturer, and beauty consultant as well as continuing her acting. She had a supporting role in Kisses for My President (Curtis Bernhardt, 1964) and could be seen on TV in Burke's Law, and Theatre of Stars. In the cinema, Dahl appeared in the French drama Du blé en liasses/Big Bank Roll (Alain Brunet, 1969) opposite Marcel Dalio and Jean Richard, the French-Italian crime-drama Les Chemins de Katmandou/The Pleasure Pit (André Cayatte, 1969) with Renaud Verley and Jane Birkin, and the Western The Land Raiders (Nathan Juran, 1970), starring Telly Savalas. Dahl returned to Broadway in the early 1970s, replacing Lauren Bacall in the role of Margo Channing in Applause. On TV, she appeared in a TV movie The Deadly Dream (Alf Kjellin, 1971) with Janet Leigh, and guest-starred on Love, American Style (1971), Jigsaw John (1976), Fantasy Island (1981), and The Love Boat (1979-1987). Her focus was on business by now. After closing her company in 1967, she began working as a vice president at ad agency Kenyon and Eckhardt that same year. Dahl moved to Sears Roebuck as director of beauty products in 1970, earning nearly $750,000 annually, but left in 1975 to found her short-lived fragrance company Dahlia. In 1981, Dahl declared bankruptcy. From 1981-1984, Dahl appeared on the soap opera One Life to Live as Lucinda Schenck Wilson. The character was planned as a short-termed role (she guest-starred from late 1981 to early 1982 and in late 1982), but Dahl was later offered a one-year contract to appear on the series from September 1983 to October 1984. Later, she starred in the film A Place to Hide (Scott Thomas, 1988) opposite Dana Ashbrook.
Arlene Dahl was married six times. In the early 1950s, she met actor Lex Barker; they wed in 1951 and divorced the following year. Dahl went on to marry another matinee idol, Fernando Lamas. In 1958, Dahl and Lamas had their only child, Lorenzo Lamas. Shortly after giving birth to Lorenzo, Dahl slowed and eventually ended her career as an actress, although she still appeared in films and on television occasionally. Dahl and Lamas divorced in 1960, and Dahl later remarried. In addition to Lorenzo Lamas, Dahl has two other children: a daughter Christina Carole Holmes (1961) by third husband Christian R. Holmes, and a second son, Rounsevelle Andreas Schaum (1970), by her fifth husband, Rounsevelle W. Schaum. Her fourth husband was Alexis Lichine (1964-1969). Dahl has been married to Marc Rosen, a packaging designer, since 1984. She has six grandchildren, one of whom is Shayne Lamas, and two great-grandchildren. In 1980, she entered the field of astrology, writing a syndicated column and later operating a premium phone line company. Dahl has written more than two dozen books on the topics of beauty and astrology. Her last feature film role was in Night of the Warrior (Rafal Zielinski, 1991), which starred her son, Lorenzo Lamas. Dahl also guest-starred on episodes of the TV shows Renegade (1995-1997) and Air America (1999), which also starred her son. And she had a role in the soap opera All My Children (1995). Arlene Dahl divided her time between New York City and West Palm Beach, Florida. She passed away in Manhattan, New York City.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
And, please check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.
I could have gone after Tim and Steph again. But I just didn't. I don't know if it's something from....Jackie, that's his name! Jackie slamming pieces of the cement floor against my skull, or if I just didn't have the motivation to go on. Or the heart. You see, The guy who put that contract on them...uh...Sherman? He's a moron. Him and that aging cow that tried to pay in shiny rocks. If anyone was a bigger idiot than them, though, it was me. I told Jackie I wouldn't hurt him, that I don't like bringing children into my work. But using him like I did, I might as well have mailed one of his fingers to his surrogate brother and sister. There was no need to bring him into something like this, and worst of all I pretty much broke one of my rules. Broke it into tiny, bite-sized pieces. For bringing harm to a kid like Jackie, I think I deserve a punishment. Maybe a self-exile. Five to ten years perhaps. Sounds fair. Apologizing to Tim and his friends might help. Probably gonna throw it in my face, but I'd say its about what I deserve. Don't know if I have the money to last a decade, though. Maybe... Oh, damn it! That phone's ringing again. That moron Sherman probably wondering why his teeth got kicked in by three ticked-off teens. This is ridiculous, I gotta tell this idiot that the contract's off.
"Listen Sherman, you call me again and Gotham's underworld's gonna become a bit more open, got it? I'm done!"
"I don't know who this Sherman is, but he sounds disappointing...I need a guy like you, Slade. Someone who can do stuff only you can.....
Well, like I said...ten years ain't gonna be kind to the wallet...
twitter.com/prichards1995/status/1101452418695479296
March 1st can only mean one thing... three brand new trucks have arrived and are out on the road! #Prichards #growingfleet #19plates #scania #suppliedbykeltruck
With the Summer holidays about to end and new contracts acquired by Lillyhall depot for the transportation of mummy's little darlings to and from their various educational establishments, sundry vehicles have arrowed in to that location and are currently being prepared for the onslaught.
Two of these are from the new to Cumberland batch of K***DAO registered Volvo B10s, Nos.20711 & 20712, currently equipped with 2+3 seating, acommodating 63.
It's been a few years since the withdrawal of the last of this batch to operate from this depot so it was bordering on nostalgia to see No.20711 sitting at a damp Lillyhall this morning.
Scania K340 Caetano Levante L555 SGB (originally FJ56 OBZ) outside Hammersmith Hospital yesterday, 2nd February, 2022, with a scrolling destination for the C1 contract. Is this still with Lewis Coaches?
Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber made a surprise landing at the Gardner Municipal Airport in Gardner Kansas. My good friend Tulsa Reid notified me of this and I was one a few that was able to see this bird up close and personal. More pictures of this historic aircraft coming forthwith.
Betsy’s Biscuit Bomber, N47SJ, is a C-47B-1-DK built at Oklahoma City as part of contract AC-40652 for 607 aircraft. Unlike the other aircraft of the Dakota Squadron, she has been a military girl all her working life and, as such, is one of the most original C-47s left – as well as being one of the lowest time airframes. The astrodome for star shots and drift meter for dead reckoning remain in place and very little of the upgrading seen in civil versions is apparent.
June 6, 2019 marked the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion of Normandy France. Seventy-five years ago, on this date almost 160.000 Allied troops stormed the Normandy beaches to start the liberation of Western-Europe. The assault was preceded by 24.000 troops who parachuted in or came by glider. The most important aircraft to support the airborne assault was formed by over 800 Douglas C-47 Skytrains (Dakotas). These winged work horses carried the brunt of all men into battle across the English Channel and may well be called the “Unsung Heroes”.
Technical Specs:
•Aircraft Max Gross
weight: 25,200 lbs.
•Wingspan: 95’
•Cruise speed: 125 kts
The Betsy Biscuit Bomber was repainted with full Normandy invasion stripes because it was slated to be involved in the first flight of aircraft over the French beaches for the commemoration events. There were a number of events planned that included re-enactment paratroopers jumping out of the fleet of C-47s. This aircraft was expected to be at the front of the group due to the authenticity of the aircraft.
Betsy Biscuit Bomber was delivered to the US Army Air Corps in April of 1944, and entered the European Theatre in September. Betty’s Biscuit Bomber missed D-Day, but was involved in the European Theatre for the rest of the war). After the war, the airplane was loaned to the Belgian Air Force from 1946-1952. From Belgium it went to the French Air Force, then the Israeli Air Force. It served with the Israeli Air Force until 1999, when an aircraft collector bought a batch of C-47s from the Israelis and relocate them to Canada. We acquired and flew the airplane home to California in 2007. We’ve been operating the airplane on the air show circuit since 2009.
This airplane is unique due to the amount of original equipment that is still present in the airplane. Since it never served in civilian service, many of the military accoutrements were never removed from the airplane. This C-47 has one of the lowest time airframes in the world at only about 9700 hours of total airframe time.