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Lens: Jupiter 8 50mm f/2.
Temporarily retiring this bike as I steal parts for a different build. May get some brazing work done on the frame to make it feel less clunky, but have to sit with it and see if it's worth it.
This image was captured with a Nikon D-200 camera modified for infrared. Enhanced color conversion d with a 28-300 mm VR II I lens using the Nikon electronic file format (.Nef) file was post processed using capture NX 2.0 software.
Black and White conversion was done in Photoshop CS5 using a combination of NiK Silverefex and the Versace multi channel mixer conversion technique. .
For consideration only, no reproduction without prior permission.
#Nikon100 #nikonlove #kelbyone #photography #onOne @NikonUSA
#NikonD200 #NikonNoFilter #niksoftware #nikonUSA #Epson
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Hover conversions for classic vehicles! Keep those old cars on the new roads with hover-drive retrofit kits from Sirius Cyberdine Industries! Don't be bound to the ground any longer! No more expensive tires! Greater comfort and ride-handling! Each kit is custom-designed for the classic auto of choice, and once prototyped, will be available in SCI inventory until all documented examples of that make/model are extinct. From cruisers, to sports cars, to utility vehicles, let SCI become your vendor of choice for updating your ride!
Latest acquisition: a Leica II of 1932 however modified by Leitz probably in the early 1950-ties:
1. addition of synchronized flash, flash became very popular short after WWII, therefore Leitz offered this conversion for older Leica models;
2. upgraded shutter speed: top speed became 1/1000 sec in stead of the old 1/500.
3. apart from these technical bits, the camera was completely overhauled, and therefore it became a new topplate and baseplate, a new shell, new chromium knobs and fittings in stead of the older nickel ones. Therefore almost a complete new camera which explains why these factory conversions were very expensive at the time.
A northbound flask train stands in the centre roads at Workington on 7 June 1984. Between the two RBX barrier wagons is MJJ flatrol 550003 built in 1969 at Shildon. The TOPS codes for these wagons seemed to change frequently and were always a bit confusing to me. The batch that included 550003 (seen here) is often quoted in railway publications as XKB (until 1983 when they became air brake only and designated FNA). The TOPS panel on this picture is unclear but has obviously been overpainted to (possibly) FKB or FXB. This overpainting probably reflects the modification made to this wagon when it had a sliding cover added.
In the 1980s BNFL decided they wanted flasks to be covered. This gave an extra level of security but also weather protection. In the 1970s, radioactive contamination was occasionally detected on flasks in transit. The levels were extremely low, but one source of the contamination was thought to be rainwater flushing out small amounts of material from areas of the flask that were normally inaccessible. Keeping the flasks dry also ensured nothing could be flushed off the wagon.
The new design of stainless clad FNAs were introduced in 1984 but - as an interim measure - older open, steel framed wagons like this one were converted, with the new girder work to support the sliding cover clearly visible here. Also, note the fillet inserted to block the gap between the sliding cover support girder and the floor of the well.
Just finished up this model! I had a lot of fun working on this guy for my collection, I just might make another one!
Making a Class 69 out of a Class 56.
CCTV keeps a close watch on the site. Turned wheels are ready for delivery.
1:76 scale OO gauge
Wakefield Model Railway Show 2022.
+++ 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 Panther tank, officially Panzerkampfwagen V Panther (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with ordnance inventory designation Sd.Kfz. 171, was a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern and Western Fronts from mid-1943 to the end of the war. The Panther was intended to counter the Soviet T-34 medium tank and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV. Nevertheless, it served alongside the Panzer IV and the heavier Tiger I until the end of the war. It is considered one of the best tanks of World War II for its excellent firepower, protection, and mobility although its reliability in early times were less impressive.
The Panther was a compromise. While having essentially the same Maybach V12 petrol (700 hp) engine as the Tiger I, it had better gun penetration, was lighter and faster, and could traverse rough terrain better than the Tiger I. The trade-off was weaker side armor, which made it vulnerable to flanking fire. The Panther proved to be effective in open country and long-range engagements.
The Panther was far cheaper to produce than the heavy Tiger I. Key elements of the Panther design, such as its armor, transmission, and final drive, were simplifications made to improve production rates and address raw material shortages. Despite this the overall design remain described by some as "overengineered". The Panther was rushed into combat at the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 despite numerous unresolved technical problems, leading to high losses due to mechanical failure. Most design flaws were rectified by late 1943 and early 1944, though the bombing of production plants, increasing shortages of high-quality alloys for critical components, shortage of fuel and training space, and the declining quality of crews all impacted the tank's effectiveness.
Though officially classified as a medium tank, at 44.8 metric tons the Panther was closer to a heavy tank weight and the same category as the American M26 Pershing (41.7 tons), British Churchill (40.7 tons) and the Soviet IS-2 (46 tons) heavy tanks. The Panther's weight caused logistical problems, such as an inability to cross certain bridges, otherwise the tank had a very high power-to-weight ratio which made it highly mobile.
The Panther was only used marginally outside of Germany, mostly captured or recovered vehicles, some even after the war. Japan already received in 1943 a specimen for evaluation. During March–April 1945, Bulgaria received 15 Panthers of various makes (D, A, and G variants) from captured and overhauled Soviet stocks; they only saw limited (training) service use. In May 1946, Romania received 13 Panther tanks from the USSR, too.
After the war, France was able to recover enough operable vehicles and components to equip its army and offer vehicles for sale. The French Army's 503e Régiment de Chars de Combat was equipped with a force of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, in the 501st and 503rd Tank Regiments. These remained in service until they were replaced by French-built ARL 44 heavy tanks.
In 1946, Sweden sent a delegation to France to examine surviving specimens of German military vehicles. During their visit, the delegates found a few surviving Panthers and had one shipped to Sweden for further testing and evaluation, which continued until 1961.
However, this was not the Panther’s end of service. The last appearance by WWII German tanks on the world’s battlefields came in 1967, when Syria’s panzer force faced off against modern Israeli armor. Quite improbably, Syria had assembled a surprisingly wide collection of ex-Wehrmacht vehicles from a half-dozen sources over a decade and a half timeframe. This fleet consisted primarily of late production Panzer V, StuGIII and Jagdpanzer IVs, plus some Hummel SPAAGs and a handful Panthers. The tanks were procured from France, Spain, and Czechoslovakia, partly revamped before delivery.
All of the Panthers Syria came from Czechoslovakia. Immediately after Germany’s collapse in May 1945, the Soviet army established a staging area for surrendered German tanks at a former Wehrmacht barracks at Milovice, about 24 miles north of Prague, Czechoslovakia. By January 1946, a total of roughly 200 operational Panzer IVs and Panthers of varying versions were at this facility. Joining them was a huge cache of spare parts found at a former German tank repair depot in Teplice, along with ammunition collected from all over Czechoslovakia and the southern extremity of the Soviet occupation zone in Germany. Throughout 1946, the Czechoslovak government’s clean-up of WWII battlefields recovered more than one hundred further tank wrecks, of which 80 were pieced back together to operational status and handed over to the Czechoslovakian Army,
In early 1948, the now-nationalized CKD Works began a limited upkeep of the tanks, many of which had not had depot-level overhauls since the war. A few were rebuilt with a Czechoslovak-designed steering system, but this effort was halted due to cost. These tanks remained operational in the Czechoslovak army until the end of 1954, when sufficient T-34s were available to phase them out.
A Syrian military delegation visited Prague from 8 April – 22 April 1955. An agreement was struck for the sale, amongst other items, of 45 Panzer IVs and 15 Panthers. Despite their obsolescence the Czechoslovaks were not about to just give the tanks away and demanded payment in a ‘hard’ western currency, namely British pounds. The cost was £4,500 each (£86,000 or $112,850 in 2016 money), far above what they were probably worth militarily, especially considering the limited amount of foreign currency reserves available to the Damascus government. The deal included refurbishment, a full ammunition loadout for each, and a limited number of spare parts. Nonetheless, the deal was closed, and the tanks’ delivery started in early November 1955.
The Syrians were by that time already having dire problems keeping their French-sourced panzers operational, and in 1958, a second contract was signed with CKD Works for 15 additional Panzer IVs and 10 more Panthers, these being in lesser condition or non-operational, for use as spare parts hulks. An additional 16 refurbished Maybach engines for both types were also included in this contract, as well as more ammunition.
The refurbished Panthers for Syria had their original 7.5 cm KwK 42 L70 replaced with the less powerful Rheinmetall 7.5 cm KwK 40 L48 gun – dictated by the fact that this gun was already installed in almost all other Syrian tanks of German origin and rounds for the KwK 42 L70 were not available anymore. and the Panther’s full ammo load was 87 rounds. The KwK 40 L48 fired a standard APCBC shell at 750 m/s and could penetrate 109 mm (4.3 in) hardened steel at 1.000 m range. This was enough to take out an M4 Sherman at this range from any angle under ideal circumstances. With an APCR shell the gun was even able to penetrate 130 mm (5.1 in) of hardened steel at the same distance.
Outwardly, the gun switch was only recognizable through the shorter barrel with a muzzle brake, the German WWII-era TZF.5f gunsight was retained by the Syrians. Additionally, there were two secondary machine guns, either MG-34s or MG-42s, one coaxial with the main gun and a flexible one in a ball mount in the tank’s front glacis plate.
A few incomplete Panther hulls without turret were also outfitted with surplus Panzer IV turrets that carried the same weapon, but the exact share of them among the Syrian tanks is unknown – most probably less than five, and they were among the batch delivered in the course of the second contract from 1958.
As they had been lumped all together in Czechoslovak army service, the Syrians received a mixed bag of Panzer IV and Panther versions, many of them “half-breeds” or “Frankensteins”. Many had the bow machine gun removed, either already upon delivery or as a later field modification, and in some cases the machine gun in the turret was omitted as well.
An obvious modification of the refurbished Czech export Panthers for Syria was the installation of new, lighter road wheels. These were in fact adapted T-54 wheels from Czechoslovakian license production that had just started in 1957 - instead of revamping the Panthers’ original solid steel wheels, especially their rubberized tread surfaces, it was easier to replace them altogether, what also made spare parts logistics easier. The new wheels had almost the same diameter as the original German road wheels from WWII, and they were simply adapted to the Panther’s attachment points of the torsion bar suspension’s swing arms. Together with the lighter main gun and some other simplifications, the Syrian Panthers’ empty weight was reduced by more than 3 tonnes.
The Czechoslovaks furthermore delivered an adapter kit to mount a Soviet-made AA DShK 12.7mm machine gun to the commander cupola. This AA mount had originally been developed after WWII for the T-34 tank, and these kits were fitted to all initial tanks of the 1955 order. Enough were delivered that some could be installed on a few of the Spanish- / French-sourced tanks, too.
It doesn’t appear that the Czechoslovaks updated the radio fit on any of the ex-German tanks, and it’s unclear if the Syrians installed modern Soviet radios. The WWII German Fu 5 radio required a dedicated operator (who also manned the bow machine gun); if a more modern system was installed not requiring a dedicated operator, this crew position could be eliminated altogether, what favored the deletion of the bow machine gun on many ex-German Syrian tanks. However, due to their more spacious hull and turret, many Panthers were apparently outfitted with a second radio set and used as command tanks – visible through a second whip antenna on the hull.
A frequent domestic Panther upgrade were side skirts to suppress dust clouds while moving and to prevent dust ingestion into the engines and clogged dust filters. There was no standardized solution, though, and solutions ranged from simple makeshift rubber skirts bolted to the tanks’ flanks to wholesale transplants from other vehicles, primarily Soviet tanks. Some Panthers also had external auxiliary fuel tanks added to their rear, in the form of two 200 l barrels on metal racks of Soviet origin. These barrels were not directly connected with the Panther’s fuel system, though, but a pump-and-hose kit was available to re-fuel the internal tanks from this on-board source in the field. When empty or in an emergency - the barrels were placed on top of the engine bay and leaking fuel quite hazardous - the barrels/tanks could be jettisoned by the crew from the inside.
Inclusive of the cannibalization hulks, Syria received a total of roughly 80 former German tanks from Czechoslovakia. However, at no time were all simultaneously operational and by 1960, usually only two or three dozen were combat-ready.
Before the Six Day War, the Syrian army was surprisingly unorganized, considering the amount of money being pumped into it. There was no unit larger than a brigade, and the whole Syrian army had a sort of “hub & spokes” system originating in Damascus, with every individual formation answering directly to the GHQ rather than a chain of command. The Panthers, Panzer IVs and StuG IIIs were in three independent tank battalions, grossly understrength, supporting the normal tank battalions of three infantry brigades (the 8th, 11th, and 19th) in the Golan Heights. The Jagdpanzer IVs were in a separate independent platoon attached to a tank battalion operating T-34s and SU-100s. How the Hummel SPGs were assigned is unknown.
The first active participation of ex-German tanks in Syrian service was the so-called “Water War”. This was not really a war but rather a series of skirmishes between Israel and Syria during the mid-1960s. With increasing frequency starting in 1964, Syria emplaced tanks on the western slope of the Golan Heights, almost directly on the border, to fire down on Israeli irrigation workers and farmers in the Galilee region. Surprisingly (considering the small number available) Syria chose the Panzer IV for this task. It had no feature making it better or worse than any other tank; most likely the Syrians felt they were the most expendable tanks in their inventory as Israeli counterfire was expected. The panzers were in defilade (dug in) and not easy to shoot back at; due to their altitude advantage.
In 1964, Syria announced plans to divert 35% of the Jordan River’s flow away from Israel, to deprive the country of drinking water. The Israelis responded that they would consider this an act of war and, true to their word, engaged the project’s workers with artillery and sniper fire. Things escalated quickly; in 1965, Israeli M4 Shermans on Israeli soil exchanged fire with the Syrian Panzer IVs above inconclusively. A United Nations peacekeeping team ordered both sides to disengage from the border for a set period of time to “cool off”, but the UN “Blue Berets” were detested and considered useless by both the Israelis and Syrians, and both sides used the lull to prepare their next move. When the cooling-off period ended, the Syrians moved Panzer IVs and now some Panthers, too, back into position. However, the IDF had now Centurion tanks waiting for them, with their fire arcs pre-planned out. The Cold War-era Centurion had heavy armor, a high-velocity 105mm gun, and modern British-made optics. It outclassed the WWII panzers in any imaginable way and almost immediately, two Syrian Panzer IVs and a Panther were destroyed. Others were abandoned by their crews and that was the end of the situation.
Syria’s participation in the Six Say War that soon followed in 1967 war was sloppy and ultimately disastrous. Israel initially intended the conflict to be limited to a preemptive strike against Egypt to forestall an imminent attack by that country, with the possibility of having to fight Syria and Jordan defensively if they responded to the operations against Egypt. The war against Egypt started on 5 June 1967. Because of the poor organization of the Syrian army, news passed down from Damascus on the fighting in the Sinai was scarce and usually outdated by the time it reached the brigade level. Many Syrian units (including the GHQ) were using civilian shortwave radios to monitor Radio Cairo which was spouting off outlandish claims of imaginary Egyptian victories, even as Israeli divisions were steamrolling towards the Suez Canal.
Syrian vehicles of German origin during the Six Day War were either painted overall in beige or in a dark olive drab green. Almost all had, instead of tactical number codes, the name of a Syrian soldier killed in a previous war painted on the turret in white. During the Six Day War, no national roundel was typically carried, even though the Syrian flag was sometimes painted to the turret flanks. However just as the conflict was starting, white circles were often painted onto the top sides of tanks as quick ID markings for aircraft, and some tanks had red recognition triangles added to the side areas: Syrian soldiers were notoriously trigger-happy, and the decreased camouflage effect was likely cancelled out by the reduced odds of being blasted by a comrade!
During the evening of 5 June, Syrian generals in Damascus urged the government to take advantage of the situation and mount an immediate invasion of Israel. Planning and preparation were literally limited to a few hours after midnight, and shortly after daybreak on 6 June, Syrian commanders woke up with orders to invade Israel. The three infantry brigades in the Golan, backed up by several independent battalions, were to spearhead the attack as the rest of the Syrian army mobilized.
There was no cohesion at all: Separate battalions began their advance whenever they happened to be ready to go, and brigades went forward, missing subunits that lagged behind. A platoon attempting a southern outflank maneuver tried to ford the Jordan River in the wrong spot and was washed away. According to a KGB report, at least one Syrian unit “exhibited cowardice” and ignored its orders altogether.
On 7 June, 24 hours into their attack, Syrian forces had only advanced 2 miles into Israel. On 8 June, the IDF pushed the Syrians back to the prewar border and that afternoon, Israeli units eliminated the last Egyptian forces in the Sinai and began a fast redeployment of units back into Israel. Now the Syrians were facing serious problems.
On 9 June, Israeli forces crossed into the Golan Heights. They came by the route the Syrians least expected, an arc hugging the Lebanese border. Now for the first time, Syria’s panzers (considered too slow and fragile for the attack) were encountered. The next day, 10 June 1967, was an absolute rout as the Syrians were being attacked from behind by IDF units arcing southwards from the initial advance, plus Israel’s second wave coming from the west. It was later estimated that Syria lost between 20-25% of its total military vehicle inventory in a 15-hour span on 10 June, including eight Panthers. A ceasefire was announced at midnight, ending Syria’s misadventure. Syria permanently lost the Golan Heights to Israel.
By best estimate, Syria had just five Panthers and twenty-five Panzer IVs fully operational on 6 June 1967, with maybe another ten or so tanks partially operational or at least functional enough to take into combat. Most – if not all – of the ex-French tanks were probably already out of service by 1967, conversely the entire ex-Spanish lot was in use, along with some of the ex-Czechoslovak vehicles. The conflict’s last kill was on 10 June 1967 when a Panzer IV was destroyed by an Israeli M50 Super Sherman (an M4 Sherman hull fitted with a new American engine, and a modified turret housing Israeli electronics and a high-velocity French-made 75mm gun firing HEAT rounds). Like the Centurion, the Super Sherman outclassed the Panzer IV, and the Panther only fared marginally better.
Between 1964-1973 the USSR rebuilt the entire Syrian military from the ground up, reorganizing it along Warsaw Pact lines and equipping it with gear strictly of Soviet origin. There was no place for ex-Wehrmacht tanks and in any case, Czechoslovakia had ended spares & ammo support for the Panzer IV and the Panthers, so the types had no future. The surviving tanks were scrapped in Syria, except for a single Panzer IV survivor sold to a collector in Jordan.
Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator)
Weight: 50 tonnes (55.1 long tons; 45.5 short tons)
Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) hull only
7.52 m (24 ft 7¾ in) overall with gun facing forward
Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only
3,70 m (12 ft 1¾ in) with retrofitted side skirts
Height: 2.99 m (9 ft 10 in)’
Ground clearance: 56 cm (22 in)
Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels
Fuel capacity: 720 liters (160 imp gal; 190 US gal),
some Syrian Panthers carried two additional external 200 l fuel drums
Armor:
15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.93 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 56 km/h (35 mph)
Operational range: 250 km (160 mi) on roads; 450 km (280 mi)with auxiliary fuel tanks
100 km (62 mi) cross-country
Power/weight: 14 PS (10.1 kW)/tonne (12.7 hp/ton)
Engine & transmission:
Maybach HL230 V-12 gasoline engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)
ZF AK 7-200 gearbox with 7 forward 1 reverse gear
Armament:
1× 7,5 cm KwK 40 (L/48) with 87 rounds
2× 7.92 mm MG 34 or 42, or similar machine guns;
one co-axial with the main gun, another in the front glacis plate
with a total of 5.100 rounds (not always mounted)
Provision for a 12.7 mm DShK or Breda anti-aircraft machine gun on the commander cupola
The kit and its assembly:
A rather exotic what-if model, even though it’s almost built OOB. Inspiration came when I stumbled upon the weird Syrian Panzer IVs that were operated against Israel during the Six Day War – vehicles you would not expect there, and after more than 20 years after WWII. But when I did some more research, I was surprised about the numbers and the variety of former German tanks that Syria had gathered from various European countries, and it made me wonder if the Panther could not have been among this shaggy fleet, too?
I had a surplus Dragon Panther Spähpanzer in The Stash™, to be correct a “PzBeobWg V Ausf. G”, an observation and artillery fire guidance conversion that actually existed in small numbers, and I decided to use it as basis for this odd project. The Dragon kit has some peculiarities, though: its hull is made from primed white metal and consists of an upper and lower half that are held together by small screws! An ambiguous design, because the parts do not fit as good as IP parts, so that the model has a slightly die-cast-ish aura. PSR is necessary at the seams, but due to the metal it’s not easy to do. Furthermore, you have to use superglue everywhere, just as on a resin kit. On the other side, surface details are finely molded and crisp, even though many bits have to be added manually. However, the molded metal pins that hold the wheels are very robust and relatively thin – a feature I exploited for a modified running gear (see below).
For the modified Panther in my mind I had to retrograde the turret back to a late standard turret with mantlet parts left over from a Hasegawa kit – they fitted perfectly! The PzBeobWg V only comes with a stubby gun barrel dummy. But I changed the armament, anyway, and implanted an aftermarket white metal and brass KwK 40 L48, the weapon carried by all Syrian Panzer IVs, the Jagdpanzer IVs as well as the StuG IIIs. This standardization would IMHO make sense, even if it meant a performance downgrade from the original, longer KwK 42 L70.
For a Syrian touch, inspired by installations on the Panzer IVs, I added a mount for a heavy DShK machine gun on the commander’s cupola, which is a resin aftermarket kit from Armory Models Group (a kit that consists of no less than five fiddly parts for just a tiny machine gun!).
To change and modernize the Panther’s look further, I gave it side skirts, leftover from a ModelCollect T-72 kit, which had to be modified only slightly to fit onto the molded side skirt consoles on the Panther’s metal hull. A further late addition were the fuel barrels from a Trumpeter T-54 kit that I stumbled upon when I looked for the skirts among my pile of tank donor parts. Even though they look like foreign matter on the Panther’s tail, their high position is plausible and similar to the original arrangement on many Soviet post-WWII tanks. The whip antennae on turret and hull were created with heated black sprue material.
As a modern feature and to change the Panther’s overall look even more, I replaced its original solid “dish” road wheels with T-54/55 “starfish” wheels, which were frequently retrofitted to T-34-85s during the Fifties. These very fine aftermarket resin parts (all real-world openings are actually open, and there’s only little flash!) came from OKB Grigorovich from Bulgaria. The selling point behind this idea is/was that the Panther and T-54/55 wheels have almost the same diameter: in real life it’s 860 vs. 830 mm, so that the difference in 1:72 is negligible. Beneficially, the aftermarket wheels came in two halves, and these were thin enough to replace the Panther’s interleaved wheels without major depth problems.
Adapting the parts to the totally different wheel arrangement was tricky, though, especially due to the Dragon kit’s one-piece white metal chassis that makes any mods difficult. My solution: I retained the inner solid wheels from the Panther (since they are hardly visible in the “3rd row”), plus four pairs of T-54/55 wheels for the outer, more rows of interleaved wheels. The “inner” T-54/55 wheel halves were turned around, received holes to fit onto the metal suspension pins and scratched hub covers. The “outside” halves were taken as is but received 2 mm spacer sleeves on their back sides (styrene tube) for proper depth and simply to improve their hold on the small and rounded metal pin tips. This stunt worked better than expected and looks really good, too!
Painting and markings:
Basically very simple, and I used pictures of real Syrian Panzer IVs as benchmark. I settled for the common green livery variant, and though simple and uniform, I tried to add some “excitement” to it and attempted to make old paint shine through. The hull’s lower surface areas were first primed with RAL 7008 (Khakigrau, a rather brownish tone), then the upper surfaces were sprayed with a lighter sand brown tone, both applied from rattle cans.
On top of that, a streaky mix of Revell 45 and 46 – a guesstimate for the typical Syrian greyish, rather pale olive drab tone - was thinly applied with a soft, flat brush, so that the brownish tones underneath would shine through occasionally. Once dry, the layered/weathered effect was further emphasized through careful vertical wet-sanding and rubbing on all surfaces with a soft cotton cloth.
The rubber side skirts were painted with an anthracite base and the dry-brushed with light grey and beige.
The model then received an overall washing with a highly thinned mix of grey and dark brown acrylic artist paint. The vinyl tracks (as well as the IP spare track links on the hull) were painted, too, with a mix of grey, red brown and iron, all acrylic paints, too, that do not interact chemically with the soft vinyl.
The decals/markings are minimal; the Arabian scribble on the turret (must be a name?), using the picture of a Syrian Panzer IV as benchmark, was painted in white by hand, as well as the white circle on the turret roof. The orange ID triangles are a nice contrast, even though I was not able to come up with real-life visual evidence for them. I just found a color picture of a burned T-34-85 wreck with them, suggesting that the color was a dull orange red and not florescent orange, as claimed in some sources. I also found illustrations of the triangles as part of 1:35 decal sets for contemporary Syrian T-34-85s from FC Model Trend and Star Models, where they appear light red. For the model, they were eventually cut out from decal sheet material (TL-Modellbau, in a shade called “Rotorange”, what appears to be a good compromise).
Dry-brushing with light grey and beige to further emphasize edges and details followed. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic vanish overall, and some additional very light extra dry-brushing with silver was done to simulate flaked paint. Dirt and rust residues were added here and there with watercolors. After final assembly, the lower areas of the model were furthermore powdered with mineral pigments to simulate dust.
The idea of a modernized WWII Panther: a simple idea that turned into a major conversion. With the resin DShK machine gun and T-54/55 wheel set the costs of this project escalated a little, but in hindsight I find that the different look and the mix of vintage German and modern Soviet elements provide this Panther with that odd touch that sets it apart from a simple paint/marking variation? I really like the outcome, and I think that the effort was worthwhile - this fictional Panther shoehorns well into its intended historical framework. :-D
Yet another one that's spent many months awaiting completion! This is another client commission which sees the OOC Wright Eclipse 1 converted into the low entry, high floor version christened the Commuter by Wrights.
An interesting concept that never took off with very few hitting the road - one as a demonstrator with Translink, a couple with Stagacoach and other odd examples spotted in Yorkshire and Scotland. According to 'The Wright Way' book, there were only four actually built.
I doubt I will exceed that number of conversions!!
Thanks are particularly due here to Paul Dudfield and James Dawkins without whose help in providing essential information, the conversion would still be on the outstanding job list. Thanks Guys!!
Time to move on from the Streetdeck I think! It's a complex conversion to achieve with every version demanding something different , and it's getting very time consuming at the expense of other projects. With a real danger now that it will become a chore rather than an enjoyable exercise.
So there will be no more Streetdeck conversions done for the forseeable future.
There are other interesting projects lined up for the new year, some very complex, others routine - but for now at least, they won't include Streetdecks in any variation.
Hover conversions for classic vehicles! Keep those old cars on the new roads with hover-drive retrofit kits from Sirius Cyberdine Industries! Don't be bound to the ground any longer! No more expensive tires! Greater comfort and ride-handling! Each kit is custom-designed for the classic auto of choice, and once prototyped, will be available in SCI inventory until all documented examples of that make/model are extinct. From cruisers, to sports cars, to utility vehicles, let SCI become your vendor of choice for updating your ride!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Bell P-39 Airacobra was a fighter produced by Bell Aircraft produced for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. It was one of the principal American fighters in service when the United States entered combat. It had an unusual layout, with the engine installed in the center fuselage, behind the pilot, and driving a tractor propeller in the nose with a long shaft. Although its mid-engine placement was innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the absence of an efficient turbo-supercharger, preventing it from performing high-altitude work, and it only had a limited fuel capacity. For this reason, it was rejected by the RAF for use over western Europe but adopted by the USSR, where most air combat took place at medium and lower altitudes.
The P-39 was an all-metal, low-wing, single-engine fighter, with a tricycle undercarriage and an Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled V-12 engine mounted in the central fuselage, directly behind the cockpit. The Airacobra was one of the first production fighters to be conceived as a "weapons system"; in this case the aircraft (known originally as the Bell Model 4) was designed to provide a platform for the 37 mm (1.46 in) T9 cannon. This weapon, which was designed in 1934 by the American Armament Corporation, a division of Oldsmobile, fired a 1.3 lb (0.59 kg) projectile capable of piercing .8 in (20 mm) of armor at 500 yd (460 m) with armor-piercing rounds. The 90 in (2,300 mm)-long, 200 lb (91 kg) weapon had to be rigidly mounted and fire parallel to and close to the centerline of the new fighter. The complete armament fit consisted of the T9 cannon with a pair of Browning M2 .50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns mounted in the nose. This changed to two .50 in (12.7 mm) and two .30 in (7.62 mm) guns in the XP-39B (P-39C, Model 13, the first 20 delivered) and two .50 in (12.7 mm) and four .30 in (7.62 mm) (all four in the wings) in the P-39D (Model 15), which also introduced self-sealing tanks and shackles (and piping) for a 500 lb (230 kg) bomb or drop tank.
It would have been impossible to mount the weapon in the fuselage, firing through the cylinder banks of the Vee-configured engine and the propeller hub as could be done with smaller 20mm cannon. Weight, balance and visibility considerations meant that the cockpit could not be placed farther back in the fuselage, behind the engine and cannon. The solution adopted was to mount the cannon in the forward fuselage and the engine in the center fuselage, directly behind the pilot's seat. The tractor propeller was driven with a 10-foot-long (3.0 m) drive shaft made in two sections, incorporating a self-aligning bearing to accommodate fuselage deflection during violent maneuvers. This shaft ran through a tunnel in the cockpit floor and was connected to a gearbox in the nose of the fuselage which, in turn, drove the three- or (later) four-bladed propeller by way of a short central shaft. The gearbox was provided with its own lubrication system, separate from the engine; in later versions of the Airacobra the gearbox was provided with some armor protection.
The glycol-cooled radiator was fitted in the wing center section, immediately beneath the engine; this was flanked on either side by a single drum-shaped oil cooler. Air for the radiator and oil coolers was drawn in through intakes in both wing-root leading edges and was directed via four ducts to the radiator faces. The air was then exhausted through three controllable hinged flaps near the trailing edge of the center section. Air for the carburetor was drawn in through a raised oval intake immediately aft of the rear canopy. Because of the unconventional layout, there was no space in the fuselage to place a fuel tank. Although drop tanks were implemented to extend its range, the standard fuel load was carried in the wings, with the result that the P-39 was limited to short-range tactical strikes.
The fuselage structure was unusual and innovative, being based on a strong central keel that incorporated the armament, cockpit, and engine. Two strong fuselage beams to port and starboard formed the basis of the structure. These were angled upwards fore and aft to create mounting points for the T9 cannon and propeller reduction gearbox and for the engine and accessories respectively. A strong arched bulkhead provided the main structural attachment point for the main spar of the wing. This arch incorporated a fireproof panel and an armor plate between the engine and the cockpit. It also incorporated a turnover pylon and a pane of bullet-resistant glass behind the pilot's head. The arch also formed the basis of the cockpit housing; the pilot's seat was attached to the forward face as was the cockpit floor. Forward of the cockpit the fuselage nose was formed from large removable covers. A long nose wheel well was incorporated in the lower nose section – the Airacobra was the first fighter fitted with a tricycle undercarriage. The engine and accessories were attached to the rear of the arch and the main structural beams; these too were covered using large removable panels. A conventional semi-monocoque rear fuselage was attached aft of the main structure.
Because the pilot was above the extension shaft, he was placed higher in the fuselage than in most contemporary fighters, which in turn gave the pilot a good field of view. Access to the cockpit was by way of sideways opening "car doors", one on either side. Both had wind-down windows. As only the right-hand door had a handle both inside and outside, this was used as the normal means of access and egress. The left-hand door could be opened only from the outside and was for emergency use, although both doors could be jettisoned. In operational use, as the roof was fixed, the cockpit design made escape difficult in an emergency.
The Airacobra saw combat throughout the world, particularly in the Southwest Pacific, Mediterranean and Soviet theaters. In both western Europe and the Pacific, the Airacobra found itself outclassed as an interceptor and the type was gradually relegated to other duties. It often was used at lower altitudes for such missions as ground strafing. Beyond the USAAF and the USSR, other major users of the type included the Free French, the Royal Air Force, and the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force. Minor operators were Australia, the Netherlands (the ML-KNIL) and New Zealand.
In 1942, the threat of attack seemed real: the city of Darwin was bombed, New Guinea was invaded, and Japanese reconnaissance aircraft overflew Auckland and Wellington. The New Zealand Government hurriedly formed 488 Squadron's pilots, battle-experienced from the fall of Singapore in February 1942, into the RNZAF's first active fighter unit: No. 14 Squadron. The unit was established under Squadron Leader John MacKenzie at Masterton on 25 April 1942, equipped with North American Harvards, a handful of P-40 Kittyhawks and leftover Brewster Buffaloes from the disbanded 488 Squadron, and with 23 re-conditioned P-39D Airacobras, on loan from the U.S. Fifth Air Force (5 AF) after having been repaired in Australia. The Airacobras were initially used by the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) as a stop-gap interceptor in rear areas until more P-40s could be obtained, but the lack of first-line aircraft soon forced them into battle.
The Allied plan was for the Americans to defeat the Japanese by island hopping north across the Pacific. This plan involved bypassing major Japanese bases, which would continue to operate in the allied rear. The RNZAF was given the job of operating against these bypassed Japanese units. At first, maritime patrol and bomber units moved into the Pacific, followed by 15 Squadron with Kittyhawks. In April 1943, a year after forming, 14 Squadron moved to the rear base at Espiritu Santo to resume action against the Japanese. The unit was now primarily equipped with P-40s, which became the primary RNZAF fighter of the era. But 14 Squadron also received thirty-six new P-39Qs, too, which had the wing-mounted pairs of 0.30 in (7.62 mm) machine guns replaced with a 0.50 in (12.7 mm) with 300 rounds of ammunition in a pod under each wing and 231 lb (105 kg) of extra armor. Due to their limited performance at altitude and their tendency to stall in a tight turn and possibly go into a flat spin (due to the engine behind the center-of-gravity), which many a pilot did not recover from, the P-39s were primarily used for ground attack and reconnaissance missions, and against naval targets close to the shorelines, e .g. troopships.
For the remainder of the war, 14 Squadron rotated between forward and rear bases in the Pacific and 6-week periods of home leave in New Zealand. On 11 June 1943, 14 Squadron moved to the forward base of Kukum Field on Guadalcanal—on its first contact with the enemy, the following day, six Japanese aircraft were destroyed. The squadron later deployed to different bases in the South Pacific as demanded: In November 1943, 14 Squadron moved for the first time to New Georgia, followed by Bougainville in February 1944, Green Island in December, and Emirau in July 1945. In 1944, No. 14 Squadron became one of thirteen RNZAF squadrons re-equipped with Vought F4U Corsairs, which replaced all remaining P-39s. By this time the Japanese fighters had been all but eliminated and the unit increasingly attacked ground targets.
General characteristics:
Crew: One
Length: 30 ft 2 in (9.19 m)
Wingspan: 34 ft 0 in (10.36 m)
Height: 12 ft 5 in (3.78 m)
Wing area: 213 sq ft (19.8 m²)
Empty weight: 6,516 lb (2,956 kg)
Gross weight: 7,570 lb (3,434 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 8,400 lb (3,810 kg)
Powerplant:
1× Allison V-1710-85 V-12 liquid-cooled piston engine,
delivering 1,200 hp (890 kW) at 9,000 ft (2,743 m) at emergency power,
driving a 3-bladed constant-speed propeller
Performance:
Maximum speed: 389 mph (626 km/h, 338 kn)
Stall speed: 95 mph (153 km/h, 83 kn) power off, flaps and undercarriage down
Never exceed speed: 525 mph (845 km/h, 456 kn)
Range: 525 mi (845 km, 456 nmi) on internal fuel
Service ceiling: 35,000 ft (11,000 m)
Rate of climb: 3,805 ft/min (19.33 m/s) at 7,400 ft (2,300 m), using emergency power
Time to altitude: 15,000 ft (4,600 m) in 4 minutes 30 seconds, at 160 mph (260 km/h)
Wing loading: 34.6 lb/sq ft (169 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.16 hp/lb (0.26 kW/kg)
Armament:
1× 37 mm (1.5 in) M4 cannon with 30 rounds, firing through the propeller hub
4× 0.5 in (12.7 mm) Browning M2 machine guns,
two synchronized with 200 RPG in the nose, one with 300 RPG under each outer wing
1× ventral hardpoint for up to 500 lb (230 kg) of bombs or a drop tank
The kit and its assembly:
This was a quick project, a simple “livery whif” based on a profile drawing of a fictional RNZAF P-39, created by fellow board member PantherG at whatifmodellers.com and published in June 2021. Since the fictional livery aspect of this build would be the centerpiece, I chose the cheap and simple Hobby Boss P-39 kit from 2007 as basis. There are two Hobby Boss kits of the P-39: an N and a Q boxing, but both are identical and only differ through the decals. To build an N, you leave away the underwing gun pods, and for a Q you cut away the machine gun barrels from the wings.
The kit is rather primitive and sturdy, but it still needs some PSR around the fuselage seams. However, from the outside the Hobby Boss kit is a decent representation of a P-39 – if you want a (really) quick build and/or you are on a budget, it’s O.K. The kit was built OOB, I just added a pilot figure to the (primitive) cockpit with seat belts made from masking tape, since this would be the only detail inside to be recognizable, and I added a radio set behind the seat to fill the empty space above the engine cover. The openings for the fuselage-mounted machine guns had to be carved into the hull. I used the OOB propeller mount with its thin steel axis, because it is more compact than my own usual styrene tube arrangement – the leftover space in the nose was filled with lead to keep the front wheel on the ground. However, the literally massive tail of the model necessitated even more nose weight, so that the front landing gear well was partly filled with lead, too. Not pretty, but the lead beads are only visible directly from below – and it was eventually enough to keep the nose down!
Painting and markings:
This model is not a 1:1 hardware rendition of PantherG’s drawing, rather a personal interpretation of the idea that the RNZAF had operated the P-39 in the PTO around 1943. However, I took over the basic USAAF livery in overall Olive Drab 41 with Neutral Grey 43 (FS 36173) undersides, plus generous Medium Green 42 (~FS 34094) contrast blotches on the edges of the aerodynamic surfaces to break up the aircraft’s outlines.
The paints became Tamiya XF-62 (IMHO the best rendition of the USAAF tone) with Humbrol 105 (FS 34097) for the additional wing cammo, and Humbrol 165 (RAF Medium Grey, a lighter tone than Neutral Grey) underneath. 105 was chosen because it gives a good contrast to the Olive Drab background, and it is not too bluish. The cockpit interior and the landing gear wells were painted in zinc chromate green - Humbrol 159 was used.
A black ink washing and some post-panel-shading followed, with stronger weathering on the upper surfaces to simulate sun-bleaching. The markings are roughly based on a contemporary RNZAF P-40M, and it is a wild mix. The ex-USAAF camouflage would not be used by the RNZAF, but the white ID bands on wings and fuselage as well as the white spinner are typical for the time. The same goes for the roundels, which still contained tiny red discs at the fuselage roundels’ center. Oddly, very different roundels were carried above and below the wings. As a repaired and re-badged ex-USAAF aircraft, I added overpainted markings of this former operator – the serial number on the fin as well as the former bars of the American markings were painted over with (a sort of) Foliage Green (Humbrol 172).
The national markings, the serial number and the small nose art came from a Rising Decals sheet for various RNZAF aircraft types, while the white stripes were improvised with generic decal sheet material (TL Modellbau). The RAF-style tactical code was not carried by the RNZAF’s machines, but I added them, anyway, because they might have been left over from early RNZAF operations. However, together with the white ID bands, there’s a lot going on along the fuselage – white code letters would certainly have been “too much”. The code letters in Medium Sea Grey came from an Xtradecal sheet, and due to the little space on the rear fuselage the unit code “HQ” was placed on the nose – in a fashion similar to the RAAF’s few P-39s.
After a light black ink washing and some post shading and weathering (e. g. exhaust stains with graphite), the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and wire antennae from heated sprue material added.
Well, from the construction perspective, this was a very simple project, and despite the Hobby Boss kit’s basic constriction, the result looks quite good. Even the canopy – normally a weak spot of these kits – looks decent. And I was lucky that I could cramp enough weight into the nose space that the model actually rests on all of its wheels. The camouflage is not spectacular, either, just the markings, esp. the ID bands, caused some headaches, but thanks to generic white decal stripes even such details lose their horror. A nice-looking what-if Airacobra, and I feel inclined to create a contemporary ML-KNIL machine someday, too. :D
Another Ragged Victorian B&W conversion. I am experimenting with Lightroom, Photoshop and Nik Effex to try to get the right look.
tried something new tonight with yuliya.
only photoshop here was a conversion to B&W.
came out pretty interesting, i think ill keep trying this technique in the future
this is a vintage Rhino troop carrier tank in the colours of Uncle Nugles whorshippers at the time of posting for sale by me on the swedish auction site Tradera, just wanted to show some of the things I sell for you :)
selling my old toys :)
Peace and Noise!
Hover conversions for classic vehicles! Keep those old cars on the new roads with hover-drive retrofit kits from Sirius Cyberdine Industries! Don't be bound to the ground any longer! No more expensive tires! Greater comfort and ride-handling! Each kit is custom-designed for the classic auto of choice, and once prototyped, will be available in SCI inventory until all documented examples of that make/model are extinct. From cruisers, to sports cars, to utility vehicles, let SCI become your vendor of choice for updating your ride!
[...] el hecho me dolió, pues comprendí que el incesante y vasto universo ya se apartaba y que ese cambio era el primero de una serie infinita. Cambiará el universo pero yo no, pensé con melancólica vanidad [...]
El Aleph
From a my flat photo taken in Chengyang, Guangxi, China
CROSSVIEW
To view 3D pics cross your eyes focusing between at the pictures until both images overlap one another in the middle.
Per vedere le foto in 3D incrociare (strabuzzare) gli occhi fino a che le due immagini si sovrappongono formandone una sola centrale.
while in albay, bicol, philippines my son and i came across this old cemetery , which is always a lure for a taphophile like me. took photos of some niches and gravestones, some dating back to the 19th century. after some research and investigation i found out that the land of this cemetery had been sold and will be due for conversion and development into a mall or a shopping centre. well, i'm lucky i was able to take some photos for posterity. here are some images of this moment
Before RM conversion in Feb 78. The driver has changed the blind ready for the return trip. Its probably a staff cut from Palmers Green....
Wat Pho made a great impression on me. This isn't the best of pictures (although I like the perspective and the lighting) and it certainly isn't novel in any way. But it represents a special day and that, for me, is more than enough reason for posting it. It marks my conversion - not to Buddhism but to a state where I no longer care about whether my pictures make Explore. Many of you will have made this transition ages ago and others of you won't have even faced the problem. But those of you who have been caught by the same addiction will know what I mean.
Wat Pho is the oldest and largest Buddhist temple in Bangkok and it shelters the largest Buddha in Thailand, the Reclining Buddha. Built as a restoration of an earlier temple on the same site, work on Wat Pho began over 200 years ago. Wat Pho is also the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.
The Reclining Buddha (Phra Buddhasaiyas) was created as part of of a restoration project (1824-51) and is 46 meters long and 15 meters high. His body is covered in gold plating and he is decorated with mother-of-pearl inlay on his eyes and the soles of his feet. The reclining nature of the Buddha represents the attainment of nirvana. He is not sleeping, as wrongly described by many books.
This shot is taken from the My Thai - a cocktail of shots set.
My last batch of Polaroid pinhole conversions. Another project for friend / fine art photographer, Shaun Gothwaite. I believe she was to use these in a class she was teaching.('04)
A: chopped and capped bodies, prepped for mounting shutters.
B: front halves in various focal lengths.
C: 28mm F.L.
D: 35mm F.L.
E: 48mm F.L.
F: 73mm F.L.. this one requires no chopping. it is equivalent to
a 26mm focal length on a 35mm camera.
I should add that i am not posting these as a promotion to my building services ("'sorry"). Rather, as ideas for anyone interested.
Photo from the Andreas Rink collection, slide kindly provided for scanning by Florian Weiß.
München-Riem
mid- to late 1960s
HA-MAE
VEB Ilyushin Il-14P
14803029
Malév Hungarian Airlines
HA-MAE is taxiing in to the field after landing on runway 25. I have several reports of this airframe at Riem: 31 July 1965 (together with HA-MAF), 22 June 1968, 5 October 1968, 23 November 1968, 11 January 1969 and 18 January 1969 (Information from Klaus Held’s Riem chronicle). Probably there were more visits.
Information from airliners.net - thanks to Dmitry Belov (slightly adapted):
VEB Ilyushin Il-14P c/n 14803029 built in East Germany by VEB Flugzeugwerke Dresden in 1958. Delivered to Malév in April 1958 as HA-MAE, converted to Il-14P(T) in March 1966. Sold to USSR May 1970, flown there in June 1970. Became CCCP-61663 and converted to Il-14LR ice-reconnaissance aircraft. Later wfu and stored at Nizhniye Kresty. The fuselage was transported to Yakutsk in 2005 and was still there in May 2020.
History of this airframe (in Russian) including photos:
russianplanes.net/reginfo/40536
Detailed history of this airframe from il-14.hu:
The aircraft was completed on April 1, 1958 at the aircraft factory near Dresden and landed at Ferihegy on March 8, 1958. It received its airworthiness certificate on 28 March 1958.
On 14 April, Malév presented the Il-14P aircraft to the press during a sightseeing flight over Lake Balaton. On 20 May 1961, the aircraft, which originally had 26 seats, was upgraded with a double seat, making it a 28-seater. On 20 May 1961, the crew was increased by a further four. During this conversion, the windows next to and opposite the entrance door were replaced by emergency exit hatches which opened from the inside. On May 5, 1962, the parachutists of the Szabolcsmegyei Flying Club, with the participation of the best parachutists of the country, made a record jump from 8070 metres in the area of Nyíregyháza.
From 28 January 1964, it could accommodate 36 passengers, like the other aircraft. The aircraft's empty weight was then increased to 12330 kg. By 1964 it had flown 4841 hours.
Malév, after putting the Il-18 aircraft into service, requested the delivery of a replacement engine in case of a possible engine failure abroad. A freighter aircraft was needed that could perform this task, so on the basis of a modification plan, the HA-MAE was converted into a large freighter version at the Dresden factory on 18 March 1966. Its type designation was changed to IL-14T (Il-14PT).
At the end of the 1960s, Malév no longer needed the Il-14 aircraft, so after removing the Hungarian-related markings, it was sold to the Soviet Union. On 05 June 1970, it took off from Ferihegy and flew out of Hungarian airspace at 11:25 and was removed from the register on the same day. After conversion to an ice-field reconnaissance aircraft, Il-14LR served as an ice-search aircraft at Aeroflot Krasnoyarsk base under registration CCCP-61663. On 5 February 1972, it was still in service according to a Minri record. After being taken out of service, the aircraft was dismantled in 2003 and the fuselage was transported to Krasnoyarsk, where the wing of the aircraft with registration CCCP-41863 was rebuilt.
In 2009, only the fuselage was seen lying on the ground, in a rapidly deteriorating state.
Source: www.il-14.hu/?page_id=711 (translated using DeepL)
HA-MAE with Malév at BUD in 1962 (earlier colours, postcard):
www.flickr.com/photos/92585522@N05/34132643856
Remains of CCCP-61663 at Nizhniye Kresty (CYX) in July 1992:
www.flickr.com/photos/pslg05896/7096484791
Fuselage still at Yakutsk Якутск - Туймаада (YKS/UEEE) in May 2020:
Scan from slide (unknown brand).