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I always find a visit to the Northeast and in and around Teesside and Redcar interesting, particular with the sole allocation of in the UK of Turkish built Temsa Avenue's.
Redcar depot is the only place to operate the type, originally having a batch new on '59' and '10' plates, 4700 to 4120. Two were lost to fire damage early on but the remainder of the batch seem to operate fine. In later years, the dealer stock of Arriva Bus & Coach (UK dealer of the type) who failed to sell any to any other operator, despite various hires and demonstrations were sent to join the others at Redcar. 4722-6 on '11' plates were incidentally used on hire to the ill-fated Arriva Malta operation. 4721 has a different history to them all, having been allocated on long term demonstration to First West Yorkshire, even carrying First Barbie livery and evaluated on a variety of routes, it subsequently failed to find favour and no orders resulted. It also saw hire / demonstration use to a variety of UK operators including Richard Brothers in West Wales that hired in this example for a short time, along with what became 4726 YJ11 GHG, I actually sampled the later in service in Aberystwyth.
Anyway, 4721 operates on a common route for the type, the 63 between Redcar and Middlesbrough. Notable that 4721-6 still carry the older 'interurban' livery at the time of capture, whilst lower numbers in the Arriva 2017 livery.
Seemingly I snapped the same bus on the same route in 2022: www.flickr.com/photos/196463094@N07/52379091638/
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some Background:
On 23 January 1992, the Lithuanian Minister of Defense signed an order establishing the staff for the Aviation Base of the Aviation Service. But an actual base in the Šiauliai airport territory (Barysiai airfield) was not established until March, when according to the ordinance of the Government of Lithuanian Republic, all the infrastructure, buildings, territory and 24 An-2 aircraft were passed from ”Lithuanian Airlines" to the Aviation Service of the Ministry of Defense in January 1992.
On 12 June 1992, the first time after regaining the independence of Lithuania, An-2 aircraft, marked with the double cross of Vytis on its wings – the distinguishing sign of Lithuanian Air Force – took off from Barysiai airfield. This date is considered to be the Aviation Base foundation date. In February 1993 four L-39C Albatros aircraft were brought from Kyrgyzstan.
After 1 March 1993 Aviation Service was reformed to the Lithuanian Air Force and Aviation Base was renamed the First Aviation Base of the Lithuanian Air Force. In January 1994 Lithuania officially applied for NATO membership, and the country also looked out for a relatively cheap multi-purpose fighter that would fulfill both air space defence and attack tasks, the latter primarily against potential targets at sea (e. g. fast hoovercraft landing ships operated by the Russian Baltic Fleet).
After evaluating several options, the Lithuanian Air Force settled for a surprising aircraft: the venerable MiG-21! After the demise of the Soviet Union, several international companies started to offer conversion and upgrade programs for the widely used tactical fighter, about 5.000 specimen had been built to date. One of the first companies to enter the market was Israel Aircraft Industries: IAI's Lahav Division of (IAI) had developed the so-called MiG-21 2000 upgraded fighter and ground attack version, based on the MiG-21bis and the export MiG-21MF fighter aircraft.
The MiG-21 2000 upgrade provided modifications to the cockpit configuration, avionics architecture and weapons systems, enabling the MiG-21 2000 to compete with Western developed fighters like the F-16 and to make the transition to Western standards. The aircraft's original systems and components were retained wherever mission effectiveness was not compromised.
IAI Lahav augmented the original weapons system by introducing an EL/M-2032 radar, developed by IAI Elta Electronic Industries, based in Ashdod. The radar, which uses a low sidelobe planar array antenna and pulse Doppler beam sharpening, provides all-altitude, all-aspect look-up / look-down and shoot-down capability, as well as beyond-visual-range capability. In order to make the radar compatible with Western ordnance, a new armament interface and control unit were added, too, which enabled computerized control and release of weapons, including third and fourth-generation air-to-air missiles and precision-guided munitions of Western and Eastern provenance.
This system also gave the pilot the ability to use blind attack as well as continuously computed impact point (CCIP) and dive-toss bombing techniques. CCIP bombing involves the deployment of air-to-ground weapons, using the HUD to indicate the impact point for release of the weapons. Dive-toss bombing involves the release of air-to-ground weapons at the end of a steep dive manoeuver towards the target.
The MiG-21 2000 cockpit featured a new pilot-friendly layout that overcame the shortcomings of the original cockpit layout, which was crowded and lacked most of the desired man-machine interface characteristics. It incorporated a head-up display (HUD), eye-level multifunction color displays, hands on throttle and stick control (HOTAS), solid-state charge coupled device (CCD) camera, videotape recorder, and a one-piece windshield.
The MiG-21 2000 could be equipped with a display and sight helmet (DASH) system, supplied by Elbit of Haifa, which enabled the pilot to aim the weapons simply by looking at the target. The system worked by measuring the pilot's line of sight relative to the aircraft, and transferred the information to the aircraft's sensors, avionics and weapon systems. The helmet displayed vital information, such as the missile line of sight, missile status, flight information and warning data, on the visor. The DASH helmet allowed the pilot to fly head-up and off-boresight and assisted the pilot to detect, identify and shoot earlier.
IAI Lahav's upgrade package could be tailored to meet the customer's specific operational and budgetary requirements - the Lithuanian package included the radar, cockpit and also the DASH update and was rumored to cost around 4 Mio. USD per aircraft, and Lithuania was, together with Romania (where 110 MiG-21 were to be updated), lead customer.
As conversion basis, Lithuania purchased fifteen MiG-21 airframes for an unknown sum from the Ukraine, which had inherited a considerable MiG-21 fleet after the demise of the Soviet Union but did not (want to) operate it. The deal included thirteen airworthy MiG-21bis fighters and two MiG-21U trainers with few flying hours on the clocks, and - stripped off any military equipment - the small fleet was gradually transferred as disassembled kits via air ferry in Antonov Airlines An-124 transporters to Aerostar in Romania for conversion, starting in early 1996.
The first batch of Lithuanian MiG-21 2000, three fighters and one trainer, arrived in mid-1997 from Bacau on their own power and with civil Ukrainian registrations, and the Lithuanian Air Force’s fighter squadron, the Naikintuvu Eskadra, became ready for service in February 1998.
The rest of the country’s small MiG-21 fleet was delivered in the course of the same year, and these aircraft were semi-officially christened "Globėjas" (Guardian). Since the late Nineties, the Globėjas fighters provide the backbone of Lithuania's air defenses, with aircraft holding Quick Reaction Alert. QRA missions – so-called Alpha Scrambles – have constantly been on the rise thanks to the Russia’s increased aggression towards NATO. The MiG’s have regularly launched to intercept and shadow Russian Air Force Il-20 intelligence gathering aircraft over the Baltic Sea, as well as Tu-16 and Tu-95 patrols and even some Sukhoi Su-27s.
Lithuanian pilots use “hit and run” style tactics to deal with air threats, due to the limited range and endurance of their mounts - but this is of little concern due to the country's relatively small size and the defensive nature of the machines' tasks. While the Globėjas lack a beyond-visual range missile, although they could carry one, they have the ability to carry a range of different short-range air-to-air missiles like the Israeli Python III, which Lithuania procured from Rafael in Haifa as primary air-to-air missile.
After Lithuania joined NATO organization in 2004, its (alongside Latvia's and Estonia's) air space has been protected by NATO. NATO members provide usually 4 fighter aircraft, based in Lithuania, to police the Baltic States’ airspace, where they support the Lithuanian MiG-21 fleet. The duties rotate between NATO members (which started in March 2004 with Belgium Air Force F-16s) and most NATO members that operate fighters have made temporary deployments to Lithuania.
The Lithuanian Globėjas were also in regular demand as a simulated threat, and have gone up against US F-16s, F-15s, F/A-18s and A-10s, as well as the many different European fighter types that frequently rotate into the small country, including the Eurofighter, German F-4F Phantom IIs or French Mirage 2000.
Anyway, the Globėjas' airframes sooner or later reached their flying hour limits, and will be phased out towards 2020. As a replacement Lithuania will begin taking delivery of its first batch of ex-Portuguese F-16s in 2016, while the Baltic States are considering in the near future to protect their airspace on their own.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Length: 14.5 [126] m (47 ft 7 in)
Wingspan: 7.154 m (23 ft 6 in)
Height: 4 m (13 ft 6 in)
Wing area: 23.0 m² (247.3 ft²)
Empty weight: 5,846 kg (12,880 lb)
Gross weight: 8,825 kg (19,425 lb)
Powerplant:
1× Tumansky R25-300, rated at 40.21 kN (9,040 lbf) thrust dry
and 69.62 kN (15,650 lbf) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: 2,175 km/h (1,351.48 mph)
Maximum speed: Mach 2.0
Landing speed: 350 km/h (190 kts)
Range: (internal fuel) 1,210 km (751 miles)
Service ceiling: 17,800 m (58,400 ft)
Rate of climb: 225 m/s (44,280 ft/min)
Armament:
1x internal 23 mm GSh-23 cannon
5x hardpoints for a wide range of guided and unguided ordnance of up to 3.310 lb (1.500 kg).
In QRA configuration the Lithuanian MiG-21 typically carry two or four Rafal Python III short
range air-to-air missiles and an 800l drop tank on the centerline pylon.
Against ground targets, unguided bombs of up to 1.100 lb (500kg) caliber or unguided rockets
can be carried; alternatively, a Rafael LITENING laser designation pod and three
Griffin Mk. 82 LGBs or a single Mk. 84 LGB can be carried, or optically guided weapons like up
to four AGM-65 Maverick or a single GBU-8.
The kit and its assembly:
This kit is the entry for the 2016 "One Week Group Build" at whatifmodelers.com, which ran from 29th of April until 8th May (so, actually nine days...). I had this project earmarked for the recent "Cold War" GB, but it fell outside of the build's time horizon. But despite the dubious kit as basis, I tackled the build since I had anything else already at hand.
The basis is the MiG-21-93 demonstrator kit from Ukrainian manufacturer Condor, one of the many reincarnations of the venerable KP MiG-21bis, but with some updates. You get, for instance, engraved, very fine panel lines, some typical details were added like the wraparound windscreen (wrong shape, though) and the radar warning fairing on the fin as well as an extra sprue with modern Russian ordnance – apparently from some other kit!
On the downside, there's overall mediocre fit due to the molds' age, some dubious details (anything appears softened or blurred…) or the simple lack thereof (e. g. there’s no ventral gun fairing at all). But there’s nothing that could not be mended, and after all this is just a whiffy version.
Since there was only one week time to build the thing and make beauty pics, the whole project remained close to OOB status, even though a lot of detail changes or additions were made in order to convert the Russian MiG-21-93 into an earlier but similar Israeli MiG-21 2000 derivative.
These mods include:
- A Martin Baker ejection seat, with wire trigger handles
- HUD made from clear styrene
- Lowered flaps
- An added jet pipe/interior for the otherwise bleak exhaust (parts from a Kangnam Yak-38)
- Hydraulic pipes on the landing gear, made from very thin wire
- Some more/different blade antennae
- Measuring vanes on the pitot boom
- Different GSh-23 gun fairing, from an Academy MiG-23
- Thinner blast deflector plates under the anti-surge doors
- A pair of Python III AAMs, plus respective launch rails
- Different centerline drop tank, from an F-5E
- Scratched chaff/flare dispensers under the rear fuselage (as carried by the MiG-21 2000 demonstrator)
Building the model went straightforward, but it took some putty work to fill some seams, dents and holes all around the kit. Biggest issue was a hole in front of the cockpit screen, where simply not enough styrene had been injected into the mould!
Painting and markings:
The Lithuanian Air Force as operator for this build was chosen because it would not only fit into the real world timeline (even though I doubt that there would have been any budget for this aircraft at that time, even if MiG-21s had not been upgraded at all...) and because the potential livery would be very simple: contemporary L-39 trainers, C-27L Spartan as well as some L-410 and Mi-8 transporters carry a uniform, dull grey livery. Why not apply it on an air superiority fighter, too?
Finding an appropriate tone was not easy, though. Some sources claim the grey tone to be FS 36306, others refer to FS 36270 or "close to Blue/Grey FS35237", but IMHO none of the cited Federal Standard tones works well. Real world Lithuanian aircraft appear pretty dark and dull, and the color also features a greenish, slate grey hue - it's a unique color indeed.
After some trials (and also wishing to avoid mixing) I settled for Humbrol 111 (German Field Grey, a.k.a. Uniform Grey) as basic tone. It's a rather dark choice, but I wanted some good contrast to the national markings. A full wraparound livery appeared a little too dark and boring, so I added light blue wing undersurfaces (Humbrol 115). The kit received a light black in wash and some panel shading, primarily in order to add some life to the otherwise uniform surface.
Details were painted according to real world MiG-21 pics: the cockpit became classic teal with light grey instrument panels, plus OOB decals for the dashboard and side consoles. The landing gear struts were painted in a light, metallic grey (Humbrol 127 + 56) while the wells were painted in an odd primer color, a mix of Aluminum, Sand and Olive Drab. Parts of the covers were painted with Humbrol 144 (Blue Grey), seen on a modernized real world MiG-21. The wheel discs became bright green.
IAI's MiG-21 2000 demonstrator from 1993 had a black radome (as well as later Romanian LanceR Cs), so I adapted this detail for my build. Other typical di-electric fairings on a MiG-21's hull were painted in slightly darker camouflage colors, while the fin's leading edge became dark grey.
The blast deflector plates received yellow and black warning stripes, and some potentially dangerous parts for the ground crews like the pointed anti-flutter booms were painted red. The Python IIIs were simply painted all-white, mounted on grey launch rails - a harsh contrast to the dull rest of the aircraft.
Main markings come from a Blue Rider Publishing aftermarket sheet for modern Lithuanian aircraft. This set also includes the small Air Force crests, which I put on the nose, as well as the typical, blue tactical codes.
The stencils come from the scrap box, the small Lithuanian flag stripes on the tail rudder were created from single decal stripes, a personal addition inspired by Lithuanian C-27J transporters. They add some more color to the otherwise murky Baltic MiG fighter.
The silver ring around the air intake as well as the stripes at the flaps and the rudder were created with simple decal stripes instead of paint.
Finally, after I added some graphite soot around the jet exhaust and some panle lines with a pencil (e .g. the blow-in doors and airbrake outlines), the kit was sealed with hardly thinned Revell matt acrylic varnish, trying to create a really dull finish.
A tough build, despite being mostly OOB, but the details took their toll. This Baltic MiG does not look flashy, but, with IAI's real world MiG-21 2000 as well as the LanceR conversion for Romania in the Nineties, this one is pretty plausible. And with the simple paint scheme, the MiG-21 looks even pretty chic!
+++ 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 XP-68A owed its existence to the manufacturer’s rather disappointing outcome of its first jet fighter design, the XP-59A Airacomet. The Airacomet was a twin jet-engined fighter aircraft, designed and built during World War II after Major General Henry H. "Hap" Arnold became aware of the United Kingdom's jet program when he attended a demonstration of the Gloster E.28/39 in April 1941. He requested, and was given, the plans for the aircraft's powerplant, the Power Jets W.1, which he took back to the U.S. He also arranged for an example of the engine, the Whittle W.1X turbojet, to be flown to the U.S., along with drawings for the more powerful W.2B/23 engine and a small team of Power Jets engineers. On 4 September 1941, he offered the U.S. company General Electric a contract to produce an American version of the engine, which subsequently became the General Electric I-A. On the following day, he approached Lawrence Dale Bell, head of Bell Aircraft Corporation, to build a fighter to utilize it. As a disinformation tactic, the USAAF gave the project the designation "P-59A", to suggest it was a development of the unrelated, canceled Bell XP-59 fighter project. The P-59A was the first design fighter to have its turbojet engine and air inlet nacelles integrated within the main fuselage. The jet aircraft’s design was finalized on 9 January 1942 and the first prototype flew in October of the same year.
The following 13 service test YP-59As had a more powerful engine than their predecessor, the General Electric J31, but the improvement in performance was negligible, with top speed increased by only 5 mph and a slight reduction in the time they could be used before an overhaul was needed. One of these aircraft, the third YP-59A, was supplied to the Royal Air Force, in exchange for the first production Gloster Meteor I for evaluation and flight-offs with domestic alternatives.
British pilots found that the YP-59A compared very unfavorably with the jets that they were already flying. The United States Army Air Forces were not impressed by its performance either and cancelled the contract when fewer than half of the originally ordered aircraft had been produced. No P-59s entered combat, but the type paved the way for the next design generation of U.S. turbojet-powered aircraft and helped to develop appropriate maintenance structures and procedures.
In the meantime, a new, more powerful jet engine had been developed in Great Britain, the Halford H-1, which became later better known as the De Havilland Goblin. It was another centrifugal compressor design, but it produced almost twice as much thrust as the XP-59A’s J31 engines. Impressed by the British Gloster Meteor during the USAAF tests at Muroc Dry Lake - performance-wise as well as by the aircraft’s simplicity and ruggedness - Bell reacted promptly and proposed an alternative fighter with wing-mounted engine nacelles, since the XP-59A’s layout had proven to be aerodynamically sub-optimal and unsuited for the installation of H-1 engines. In order to save development time and because the aircraft was rather regarded as a proof-of-concept demonstrator instead of a true fighter prototype, the new aircraft was structurally based on Bell’s current piston-engine P-63 “Kingcobra”. The proposal was accepted and, in order to maintain secrecy, the new jet aircraft inherited once more a designation of a recently cancelled project, this time from the Vultee XP-68 “Tornado” fighter. Similar to the Airacomet two years before, just a simple “A” suffix was added.
Bell’s development contract covered only three XP-68A aircraft. The H-1 units were directly imported from Great Britain in secrecy, suspended in the bomb bays of B-24 Liberator bombers. A pair of these engines was mounted in mid-wing nacelles, very similar to the Gloster Meteor’s arrangement. The tailplane was given a 5° dihedral to move it out of the engine exhaust. In order to bear the new engines and their power, the wing main spars were strengthened and the main landing gear wells were moved towards the aircraft’s centerline, effectively narrowing track width. The landing gear wells now occupied the space of the former radiator ducts for the P-63’s omitted Allison V-1710 liquid-cooled V12 engine. Its former compartment behind the cockpit was used for a new fuel tank and test equipment. Having lost the propeller and its long drive shaft, the nose section was also redesigned: the front fuselage became deeper and the additional space there was used for another fuel tank in front of the cockpit and a bigger weapon bay. Different armament arrangements were envisioned, one of each was to be tested on the three prototypes: one machine would be armed with six 0.5” machine guns, another with four 20mm Hispano M2 cannon, and the third with two 37mm M10 cannon and two 0.5” machine guns. Provisions for a ventral hardpoint for a single drop tank or a 1.000 lb (550 kg) bomb were made, but this was never fitted on any of the prototypes. Additional hardpoints under the outer wings for smaller bombs or unguided missiles followed the same fate.
The three XP-68As were built at Bell’s Atlanta plant in the course of early 1944 and semi-officially christened “Airagator”. After their clandestine transfer to Muroc Dry Lake for flight tests and evaluations, the machines were quickly nicknamed “Barrelcobra” by the test staff – not only because of the characteristic shape of the engine nacelles, but also due to the sheer weight of the machines and their resulting sluggish handling on the ground and in the air. “Cadillac” was another nickname, due to the very soft acceleration through the new jet engines and the lack of vibrations that were typical for piston-engine- and propeller-driven aircraft.
Due to the structural reinforcements and modifications, the XP-68A had become a heavy aircraft with an empty weight of 4 tons and a MTOW of almost 8 tons – the same as the big P-47 Thunderbolt piston fighter, while the P-63 had an MTOW of only 10,700 lb (4,900 kg). The result was, among other flaws, a very long take-off distance, especially in the hot desert climate of the Mojave Desert (which precluded any external ordnance) and an inherent unwillingness to change direction, its turning radius was immense. More than once the brakes overheated during landing, so that extra water cooling for the main landing gear was retrofitted.
Once in the air, the aircraft proved to be quite fast – as long as it was flying in a straight line, though. Only the roll characteristics were acceptable, but flying the XP-68A remained hazardous, esp. after the loss of one of the H-1s engines: This resulted in heavily asymmetrical propulsion, making the XP-68A hard to control at all and prone to spin in level flight.
After trials and direct comparison, the XP-68A turned out not to be as fast and, even worse, much less agile than the Meteor Mk III (the RAF’s then current, operational fighter version), which even had weaker Derwent engines. The operational range was insufficient, too, esp. in regard of the planned Pacific theatre of operations, and the high overall weight precluded any considerable external load like drop tanks.
However, compared with the XP-59A, the XP-68A was a considerable step forward, but it had become quickly clear that the XP-68A and its outfit-a-propeller-design-with jet-engines approach did not bear the potential for any service fighter development: it was already outdated when the prototypes were starting their test program. No further XP-68A was ordered or built, and the three prototypes fulfilled their test and evaluation program until May 1945. During these tests, the first prototype was lost on the ground due to an engine fire. After the program’s completion, the two remaining machines were handed over to the US Navy and used for research at the NATC Patuxent River Test Centre, where they were operated until 1949 and finally scrapped.
General characteristics.
Crew: 1
Length: 33 ft 9 in (10.36 m)
Wingspan: 38 ft 4 in (11.7 m)
Height: 13 ft (3.96 m)
Wing area: 248 sq ft (23 m²)
Empty weight: 8,799 lb (3,995 kg)
Loaded weight: 15,138 lb (6,873 kg)
Max. take-off weight: 17,246 lb (7,830 kg)
Powerplant:
2× Halford H-1 (De Havilland Goblin) turbojets, rated at 3,500 lbf (15.6 kN) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 559 mph (900 km/h)
Range: 500 mi (444 nmi, 805 km)
Service ceiling: 37,565 ft (11,450 m)
Rate of climb: 3.930 ft/min (20 m/s)
Wing loading: 44.9 lb/ft² (218.97 kg/m²)
Thrust/weight: 0.45
Time to altitude: 5.0 min to 30,000 ft (9,145 m)
Armament:
4× Hispano M2 20 mm cannon with 150 rounds
One ventral hardpoint for a single drop tank or a 1.000 lb (550 kg) bomb
6× 60 lb (30 kg) rockets or 2× 500 lb (227 kg) bombs under the outer wings
The kit and its assembly:
This whiffy Kingcobra conversion was spawned by a post by fellow user nighthunter in January 2019 at whatifmodelers.com about a potential jet-powered variant. In found the idea charming, since the XP-59 had turned out to be a dud and the Gloster Meteor had been tested by the USAAF. Why not combine both into a fictional, late WWII Bell prototype?
The basic idea was simple: take a P-63 and add a Meteor’s engine nacelles, while keeping the Kingcobra’s original proportions. This sounds pretty easy but was more challenging than the first look at the outcome might suggest.
The donor kits are a vintage Airfix 1:72 Gloster Meteor Mk.III, since it has the proper, small nacelles, and an Eastern Express P-63 Kingcobra. The latter looked promising, since this kit comes with very good surface and cockpit details (even with a clear dashboard) as well as parts for several P-63 variants, including the A, C and even the exotic “pinball” manned target version. However, anything comes at a price, and the kit’s low price point is compensated by soft plastic (which turned out to be hard to sand), some flash and mediocre fit of any of the major components like fuselage halves, the wings or the clear parts. It feels a lot like a typical short-run kit. Nevertheless, I feel inclined to build another one in a more conventional fashion some day.
Work started with the H-1 nacelles, which had to be cut out from the Meteor wings. Since they come OOB only with a well-visible vertical plate and a main wing spar dummy in the air intake, I added some fine mesh to the plate – normally, you can see directly onto the engine behind the wing spar. Another issue was the fact that the Meteor’s wings are much thicker and deeper than the P-63s, so that lots of PSR work was necessary.
Simply cutting the P-63 OOB wings up and inserting the Meteor nacelles was also not possible: the P-63 has a very wide main landing gear, due to the ventral radiators and oil coolers, which were originally buried in the wing roots and under the piston engine. The only solution: move the complete landing gear (including the wells) inward, so that the nacelles could be placed as close as possible to the fuselage in a mid-span position. Furthermore, the - now useless - radiator openings had to disappear, resulting in a major redesign of the wing root sections. All of this became a major surgery task, followed by similarly messy work on the outer wings during the integration of the Meteor nacelles. LOTS of PSR, even though the outcome looks surprisingly plausible and balanced.
Work on the fuselage started in parallel. It was built mainly OOB, using the optional ventral fin for a P-63C. The exhaust stubs as well as the dorsal carburetor intake had to disappear (the latter made easy thanks to suitable optional parts for the manned target version). Since the P-63 had a conventional low stabilizer arrangement (unlike the Meteor with its cruciform tail), I gave them a slight dihedral to move them out of the engine efflux, a trick Sukhoi engineers did on the Su-11 prototype with afterburner engines in 1947, too.
Furthermore, the whole nose ahead of the cockpit was heavily re-designed, because I wanted the “new” aircraft to lose its propeller heritage and the P-63’s round and rather pointed nose. Somewhat inspired by the P-59 and the P-80, I omitted the propeller parts altogether and re-sculpted the nose with 2C putty, creating a deeper shape with a tall, oval diameter, so that the lower fuselage line was horizontally extended forward. In a profile view the aircraft now looks much more massive and P-80esque. The front landing gear was retained, just its side walls were extended downwards with the help of 0.5mm styrene sheet material, so that the original stance could be kept. Lots of lead in the nose ensured that the model would properly stand on its three wheels.
Once the rhinoplasty was done I drilled four holes into the nose and used hollow steel needles as gun barrels, with a look reminiscent of the Douglas A-20G.
Adding the (perfectly) clear parts of the canopy as a final assembly step also turned out to be a major fight against the elements.
Painting and markings:
With an USAAF WWII prototype in mind, there were only two options: either an NMF machine, or a camouflage in Olive Drab and Neutral Grey. I went for the latter and used Tamiya XF-62 for the upper surfaces and Humbrol 156 (Dark Camouflage Grey) underneath. The kit received a light black ink wash and some post shading in order to emphasize panels. A little dry-brushing with silver around the leading edges and the cockpit was done, too.
The cockpit interior became chromate green (I used Humbrol 150, Forest Green) while the landing gear wells were painted with zinc chromate yellow (Humbrol 81). The landing gear itself was painted in aluminum (Humbrol 56).
Markings/decals became minimal, puzzled together from various sources – only some “Stars and Bars” insignia and the serial number.
Somehow this conversion ended up looking a lot like the contemporary Soviet Sukhoi Su-9 and -11 (Samolyet K and LK) jet fighter prototype – unintentionally, though. But I am happy with the outcome – the P-63 ancestry is there, and the Meteor engines are recognizable, too. But everything blends into each other well, the whole affair looks very balanced and believable. This is IMHO furthermore emphasized by the simple paint scheme. A jet-powered Kingcobra? Why not…?
Lots of vultures around this stretch of beach, perhaps 15 at the moment. But probably a rich source of protein from nearby wildlife refuge (island). Crescent City, California
We finally have nightstands! Thanks to World Market for these now discontinued floor models (why?!), we actually have bed-side storage! Yay!!
Now with the bed and nightstands in place, we had to re-evaluate the industrial floating shelves idea. Instead of having them on this wall (which might make things seem cluttered and cramped - which is exactly what I'm trying to avoid), we decided to possibly do them on the opposite wall (the one I'm standing against to get this shot).
He suggested (!!) to possibly DIY some industrial pipe shelving, which I love just as much as the floating shelves!
I'm trying to convince him that I really need a vanity, instead of the tiny sink/mirror in our bathroom that we always end up struggling around when we're trying to get ready at the same time. I absolutely fell head-over-heels for this style of shelves, and I really think we could pull something like that off on the wall in our bedroom. Plus, this chair would be just PERFECT!
A girl can dream, right? ;)
I can't wait to show off the whole room when it's totally finished!
Staff Sgt. Jasen Wrubel, a regimental drillmaster, evaluates Platoon 1004, Alpha Company, 1st Recruit Training Battalion, during an initial drill evaluation Nov. 17, 2014, on Parris Island, S.C. Drillmasters, experts on the Marine Corps Drill and Ceremonies Manual, grade recruits on their discipline and appearance. Wrubel, 30, is from Roseville, Mich. Alpha Company is scheduled to graduate Jan. 9, 2015. Parris Island has been the site of Marine Corps recruit training since Nov. 1, 1915. Today, approximately 20,000 recruits come to Parris Island annually for the chance to become United States Marines by enduring 13 weeks of rigorous, transformative training. Parris Island is home to entry-level enlisted training for 50 percent of males and 100 percent of females in the Marine Corps. (Photo by Cpl. Jennifer Schubert)
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by Anne Madsen
DrawMore - Graphic Facilitation & Visual Recording
Contact:
drawmorestuff (at) gmail.com
Evaluation:
is systematic determination of merit, worth, and significance of something or someone using criteria against a set of standards.
CP 2210, a rebuilt GP20 "Aardvark," led a track evaluation train westbound along the IC&E on 6-25-13, inspecting the track at a leisurely 20 MPH here at Irene Road near Kirkland, IL.
evaluation on calculator. Please feel free to use this image that I've created on your website or blog. If you do, I'd greatly appreciate a link back to my blog as the source: CreditDebitPro.com
Example: Photo by Credit Score Guide
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Mike Lawrence
evaluation on board. You are allowed to use this image on your website. If you do, please link back to my site as the source: creditscoregeek.com/
Example: Photo by creditscoregeek.com
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Mike Cohen
A McDonnell Douglas F-15E Strike Eagle of the 422d Test and Evaluation Squadron "Green Bats" from Nellis AFB heads out to the range.
The 422nd Test and Evaluation Squadron is a composite unit that conducts operational tests of the latest hardware and software enhancements for all fighter and attack aircraft in the USAF inventory prior to release to combat forces.
Yes, the Titan is Japanese bred but as Nissan would say, it’s designed in California, engineered in Michigan, tested in Arizona, built in Mississippi and powered by Indiana and Tennessee. Pickups trucks are as American as the White House so the game plan for sales success of the 2016 full-size was to focus on core truck aficionados by poignantly meeting all of their needs and demands. After a full day of evaluations in Scottsdale, AZ we can say that we vividly “remember the Titans” and boy have they grown up since debuting in 2003.
Princess of South Africa Barbie head on a painted-to-match Volks Dollfie Plus body. The Mbili sculpt is still one of my favorites from Mattel--enough that I forgive the rag-doll floppiness of the body.
Here's one of my 2019 "Aviation Nation" photographs. Please use responsibly and feel free to comment if you have any questions, thank you!
PHOTO CREDIT: Joe A. Kunzler Photo, AvgeekJoe Productions, growlernoise-AT-gmail-DOT-com
evaluation on board. You are allowed to use this image on your website. If you do, please link back to my site as the source: creditscoregeek.com/
Example: Photo by CreditScoreGeek
Thank you!
Mike Cohen
A paratrooper with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, teaches soldiers with the Ukrainian Land Forces on how to conduct cardiopulmonary resuscitation and take appropriate action, in the correct sequence, to restore breathing and, if necessary, the pulse Nov. 25, 2015, during a combat lifesaver training as part of Fearless Guardian II at the International Peacekeeping and Security Center near Yavoriv, Ukraine. The Ukrainian Land Forces begin the first week of training where soldiers from the Joint Multinational Training Group-Ukraine will instruct on how to conduct infantry-based, defensive-focused training at the individual and collective levels including medical training in combat lifesaver and casualty evacuation. (U.S. Army photo by Capt. Russell M. Gordon, 10th Press Camp Headquarters)
They're not quite report cards in the usual sense, but every few months, I need to evaluate longtime students. Happily, this usually means positive progress, and students wave them like flags as they run to share their good news.
In the early 70's Leyland sent a National across here from Canberra to be evaluated by the ARA.
Mercedes was chosen and these shots show the bus awaiting shipment back to Oz.
March 1975
桃園市復興區 Fuxing District, Taoyuan City
Camera Model : Canon EOS R5
Shooting Mode : Manual Exposure
Tv( Shutter Speed ) : 1/200
Av( Aperture Value ) : 9.0
Metering Mode : Evaluative Metering
ISO Speed : 800
Lens : RF24-105mm f/2.8L IS USM Z
Focal Length : 105.0mm
Flash Type : External Flash : E-TTL flash metering
Shutter curtain sync : First-curtain synchronization
White Balance Mode : Auto
AF Mode : Servo AF
Servo AF : Case 2
Picture Style : Standard
Sharpness : Strength 4
Sharpness : Fineness 2
Sharpness : Threshold 3
影像品質 : RAW(Photoshop Lightroom Classic)轉JPEG檔
影像後製軟體 : Photoshop Lightroom Classic
版權所有不得轉載 © All rights reserved
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media
without my explicit permission.
(Note: This post will be dynamically updated until around 01:30 AM Pacific time Monday, January 18, 2010, or whenever I get tired and go to bed.)
Evaluating a set of Skullcandy Lowrider headphones tonight...
Sound output source: Front headphone/line out jack on a Dell Inspiron 530 home computer running Windows XP SP3
Sound board: Realtek HD Audio (WDM) onboard system main board.
Software used: Apple iTunes 9.0.2.25 for Windows
Media Player Classic 6.4.9.1
K-Lite Mega Codec Pack
Audio sample log with notes:
"A Little Respect" - Erasure, AAC format, 128 kbps - "I need to upgrade this to 256 kbps stat!"
"Jeremy" - Pearl Jam, mp3 format, 192 kbps - "I should pull out some CDs, and make this a fair comparison"
"Sanctify Yourselves" - Simple Minds, mp3 format, 224 kbps - "Hmmm..."
"Shout" - Tears For Fears, mp3 format, 160 kbps - "TOO LOUD!!! ~_~;"
"Hyperactive" - Thomas Dolby, mp3 format, 192 kbps - "Tell me about your mother... ("Let me tell you about my mother..." ^_^;)
"Anarchy In The U.K." - Sex Pistols, mp3 format, 192 kbps - "Sounds awfully damn flat for 192 kbps, I hope that's just the song or the encoding"
"Cliches Of The World (B Movie)" - The Kinks, AAC format, 256 kbps - "About as good, or better than the cassette I had it on when I was a kid."
"Panic" - The Smiths, mp3 format, 128 kbps - "Oh, well... I still like The Smiths - I'll queue this for a 256 kbps rerip, and FLAC it as well."
"Pop Muzik" - M, mp3 format, 160 kbps - "Grew up with it for 30 years, damn near wore down a 45 of it. Now, if I could only find the B-side version of 'M Factor' - It's a different mix from the album version."
"Don't Disturb This Groove" - The System, mp3 format, 160 kbps - "Never get tired of this song."
"Your Woman" - White Town, AAC format, 256 kbps - "I like this song, and remember when it would get played regularly on KOME-FM in San Jose around 1997. I am not ashamed to say that I have performed this song at karaoke. I would probably perform it in public at karaoke. Yes, it was A GUY who sang this song, in fact, the GUY who IS 'White Town' ^_^;"
"Fantastic Voyage" - Lakeside, mp3 format, 223 kbps approx. (VBR encode) - "Aw, yeah... Only con so far about these headphones is the cord is TOO SHORT! I can't stand up while plugged into the computer."
"Labour of Love" - The Kinks, AAC format, 256 kbps - "Another good one, no major ickiness so far with these headphones. I guess I got what I paid for... Continuing onward."
"Bad Boys" - Wham!, mp3 format, 128 kbps - "Sounds about as good as it does coming out the harman/kardon desktop speakers and subwoofer. This song is one of my guilty pleasures, and another karaoke favorite."
"Promises, Promises" - Naked Eyes, mp3 format, 160 kbps - "More of my teenage high school years coming back..."
"Notorious" - Duran Duran, mp3 format, 160 kbps - "No, No, Notorious! Not quite as good as their early stuff, but I can still listen to it - I actually like 'The Skin Trade' almost as much, or more than this."
"To Live And Die In L.A." - Wang Chung, 153 kbps approx. (VBR) - "Another classic... Man, I feel old tonight."
"Demoliton Man" - The Police, mp3 format, 192 kbps - "The song that came before the film."
"The Chauffeur" - Duran Duran, mp3 format, 128 kbps - "Not bad, but I have the CD, I could rerip this - I seem to recall being on a campaign to have nothing LESS THAN 192 kbps in my digital collection. Wait, I heard flaws and hissing - This is getting a re-rip, with the rest of the RIO album."
"Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" - Wham!, mp3 format, 160 kbps - "And the guilty pleasures continue..."
"The Hanging Garden" - The Cure, mp3 format, 192 kbps - "Ah, yeah..."
"The Spice Must Flow" - Eon, mp3 format, 160 kbps - "If I wasn't tethered to the computer, I'd get up and dance...."
"Another Nail For My Heart" - Squeeze, mp3 format, 128 kbps - "Ugly hiss... I can hear it. Need to find the disc and re-rip this one too... What was I thinking?"
"Blood Money" - Sisters of Mercy, AAC format, 256 kbps - "Nice... (Last song of the experiment, before I unplug and go to external speakers for sleep...)"
Experiment halting after this song.
Verdict: I got what I paid for, I'm happy. I will take great care not to get them broken.
Evaluation team members and participants of the SUSI-Scholars Exchange Program during a focus group interview in Vietnam.
For the Twisted Fairytales project, the initial idea was to use the story of 'Sleeping Beauty' but then chose to do 'The Gingerbread Man' as I thought it would be simpler and less time constraining. Being a gingerbread, the character design was very simple and the story only needed two types of characters, them being 'The Gingerbread Man' and the cannibals (the fox not being needed as only his head would be featured) so I used a template and created two gingerbreads. The main character would feature two round, black eyes and 3 black buttons and the cannibals would have a grass skirts, spears, a bloodstained shirt and an angry expression as standard.
The story went that The Gingerbread Man kills the fox after he learns of his intention to eat him, he then tries to find a town where he would be safe. The Gingerbread Man finds a town which unbeknownst to him is inhabited by cannibals, the cannibals capture the gingerbread man and march him over to a pot where he is cooked and eaten. The story never differentiated throughout the project as what I had in mind seemed elegantly simple and the idea of having cannibals always stuck as it sticks to the theme of Twisted Fairytales and adds a unique twist to the original fairytale where instead of being eaten by any of the people or animals in the town, he is instead ironically eaten by his own kind.
The story featured medias such as pencil to plan out each scene, watercolored and cheap paints to fill the scene and fine liner pens to go around characters and scenery to make them more bold. I marked out the paper and used square card to create the boxes and used a small gingerbread cookie-cutter to create the characters and make sure they were all proportionate.
Though happy with the overall storyboard If I were to change anything I would add more features to The Gingerbread Man (e.g. tie, scarf) as he looks slightly plain and colourless in comparison to the cannibals as he only has black eyes and black buttons and the cannibals have green, grass skirts.