Some peshmergas take me to the front lines of the war against ISIS. I find myself in the Taza area, just south of Kirkuk, on the road to Baghdad.

According to them, very few journalists come here. Some even said that I was the only was they saw. Nonetheless, it is a key strategic location. It is very dangerous there since Kirkuk is divided: Kurds in the north, ISIS in the south. All along the front lines you can see different units roaming about little traditional houses. Some are kept by old Kurdish vets from the 1980s wars.

Many vets have returned to war, despite being well past middle-aged and having children and grandchildren. Some even behind comfortable lives in Europe to come back, like a Swiss colonel I met. For them, it is their duty to fight for their region. Despite being autonomous and having a large secessionist movement, Kurdistan is not recognized as a state distinct from Iraq. “Some terrorists come along and now the whole world calls them the ‘Islamic State’,” complains one peshmerga, “For decades we have been trying to make the state of Kurdistan and we’ve gotten nothing!”

They have very few weapons, most of them are pre-Cold War AK47s. Some even date back to 1960. They still work, but the Kurdish forces ask for more efficient guns since ISIS has the latest weapons taken (or given) from the Iraqi army who in turn was supplied by coalition forces.

Many vets have only one working eye. The other was lost in previous wars. Once night falls, it becomes very difficult to monitor the 1000km long border. They don’t even have night vision equipment.

Last week it rained for 5 days, and it was impossible to see or hear anything. Some ISIS guys tried to gain territory, but the Kurds successfully fought them off. Their 4 wheel drives were stuck in the mud while ISIS’s brand new hummers were able to move about without issue. From the front line you can see ISIS flags. Since they told me to pack light, I didn’t bring a zoom lens. Sorry! You can see the smoke from their kitchen and even see men running from house to house.

ISIS is only 500 meters from the Kurdish position but nobody seems afraid. Peshmerga know that death is part of their fate, and even if they look like an army from another century, they will defend themselves and their country to the very end. For them, it is the highest honor to die for Kurdistan.

They protect the Baghdad road, but a few weeks ago lost it. After heavy fighting, they regained it, killing 3 Chechen ISIS fighters in the process.

Since peshmerga don’t have armored cars, it is very dangerous for them to go around safely.

The car I took to go on the front lines was very slow and made in the 80s. If we were chased by ISIS cars, we wouldn’t have stood a chance. In one day, all the materiel I saw included AK47s, a tank, an RPG, and a few gun old machines. Even if the pehsmergas say that this equipment works well, they are disappointed not to receive new ones, as Europe and USA promised.

The day after my visit, France made lot of bombings in the area, as ISIS was too close. Peshmergas take a lot of pictures, not only for souvenirs, but also to fight ISIS on the new front: social media.

They fear the roads they do not know well as ISIS pays the local farmers to put mines. Even in times of war, peshmergas are among the most welcoming people in the world. They regularly offer food and drinks.

When it was time for me to go back to the safety of Erbil, circumstances changed. The north road was closed because of an ISIS attack. The only way out was to send me through the south road that crossed Kirkuk. Let’s just say that safety there was not ideal. I had to hide my camera, and we crossed Kirkuk with an escort of armed peshmergas and a civilian car.

The soldiers were all nervous since Kirkuk is very dangerous, especially at the check points. As soon as a car was driving next to ours for too long, they were shouting at the driver to go away.

If a man was crossing the road too slowly, they threatened to hit him. These methods, employed by ISIS suicide bombers, have claimed the lives of hundred in Kirkuk. Once on the Kurdish side, they found a Kurdish taxi driver to bring me safely back to Erbil.

© Eric Lafforgue

www.ericlafforgue.com

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

Some background:

Both the T-62 and T-64 were innovative in their own ways, but not successful in the long run because of their cost, complicated features, rushed production, or primitive FCS. The T-54/55 had been a highly successful export for the Soviet Union, but so far, nothing replaced it in this area. Due to their age and the never-ending competition between ammo and armor with the west, a new MBT with a large gun was needed. This model had to incorporate some innovations but had to be mature enough to exploit them fully and be fast enough to catch up with other vehicles. Overall, WARPAC quickly needed a replacement for its aging fleet of T-54/55s (the T-62 was only adopted by Bulgaria and the T-64 was even denied to the Warsaw Pact allies). So a “mobilization” model was called for, even though the T-64 was still in development.

Although in its general shape the T-72 superficially resembled previous designs, and especially the T-62 (small turret, low hull, very long gun), there were many differences in the drivetrain, turret design, engine, main gun and equipment. Compared to western standards, its specifics were regarded as drawbacks, being too small, cramped and uncomfortable. It was believed in the west the crewmen had to be of small stature (1.60 m or 5ft 3in), but after the fall of the iron curtain, it appeared to have been officially 1.75 m (5ft 9in). For its designers and commanders, the vehicle was in line with the experience of the Soviet armored forces during the “Great Patriotic War”. The USSR modeled its tanks along a specific tactical use. Tanks were generally low, nimble and fast, being difficult to hit, contrary to western tanks, which were, comparatively, at least 50 cm (1ft 8in) taller – and the T-72 was even 60 cm lower than its potential opponents!

The height requirement also helped to keep the total weight largely under the NATO practice. This allowed a great deal of mobility despite an aged V-12 diesel. For example, two T-72 could cross a bridge instead of waiting in line to cross it one at a time. This low profile was a problem when fording rivers more than 5 meters (16 ft) deep and a comprehensive sealing procedure, a snorkel and tightly waterproof interior were needed. These fittings also helped NBC protection, rendered possible by a synthetic fabric made of boron compound lining which reduced (but did not) radiations. There was also an extensive air filter system with safety valves and constant over-pressure. This helped eliminate any poisonous contamination as well as residual fumes that could leak out from the autoloader. Overall vision was not outstanding, with a set of extremely small periscope viewports. The hull construction called for an RHA (rolled homogenous armor) hull made of cast steel.

Crew comfort was seen as unnecessary, due to the survivability rates on the battlefield. The same law applied to a relatively non-refined interior and the simple, rugged, but efficient firing equipment, which was designed for mass production and easy maintenance. Any fragile and/or non-standard piece of equipment was therefore eliminated before production. This explained not only the production scale itself - much bigger than their western counterparts - but also the tank’s export success. Such manufacturing principles allowed costs to be kept very low, and at the same time produced a rugged piece of equipment which was durable, with part standardization (= interchangeability) and relatively low-tech, which was an advantage in many pre-industrial countries, both for maintenance and upgrades.

The hull’s basic RHA construction was augmented by spaced armor, which was upgraded to the T-64 standard composite armor in 1979. In the early 1980s, T-72s received additional add-on armor along with rubber side skirts, and, in the late 1980s, full ERA made of active protective tiles was generalized. At the origin, the basic cast armor was about 280 mm (11 in) at the thickest, with the nose up to 80 mm (3.1 in) and the glacis made of a 200 mm (7.9 in) thick laminated armor, well inclined. This gave a virtual equivalent of 500–600 mm (20–24 in) thickness against direct fire.

The turret was small in comparison to the T-62 and even the T-55, due to the elimination of the loader and its replacement by an auto-loader. The latter picked-up its rounds directly from a horizontal storage area (horizontally auto-fed), contrary to the faster and much more complex vertical actuators of the T-64 main gun automatic loader. The commander cupola was situated to the right rear, with four vision blocks, one periscope (later equipped with infrared sight), and a standard night illuminator. The gunner’s hatch was situated on the right-hand side and slightly angled down to the turret side.

The V12 was basically derived from the WW2 era 500 hp T-34 engine. Rugged and well-tested, it was also shared with the T-54/55 and T-62 families, meaning a lot of parts were interchangeable. It was capable of 780 hp (582 kW), which made the T-72 look underpowered compared to western tanks of the time, but its performances were kept high due to the lightweight hull. It was also much faster and nimbler than the T-62 and even the T-55. This engine was coupled to a synchromesh, hydraulically assisted, seven forward/one reverse gears transmission. The steering system is a traditional dual-tiller layout, rather than the steering wheel/yoke familiar in the west, imposing constant two-hands handling. By the 1980s, the powerplant upgraded to the new 840 bhp (630 kW) V-84 diesel.

The suspension set was a moderately new one, combining traditional torsion bars and shock dampers on the last and two first roadwheel sets. There were six evenly spaced sets of rubberized roadwheels per side. These roadwheels were completely redesigned and partly hollow, like the T-64 roadwheels, but made of steel rather than aluminum, due to costs and durability. They were also smaller and much lighter than the traditional “starfish” model, imposing four sets of return rollers to support the upper tracks. The tracks themselves were similar to the previous models, but not advanced like those of the T-64.

By 1973, the T-72 was accepted for service and over 25,000 units were built, but the production lines never really shut down. The T-72, in its modernized form, now represents the bulk of the Russian armored forces, and was adopted by the best armored units in all Eastern Europe forces. It was widely exported despite its price -double of that of a T-55- because it represented a good compromise, not complicated to operate and maintain, with many commonalities with previous models. It was a real upgrade in firepower, protection, speed and even fire accuracy compared to previous models, and even contemporary western MBTs. Unlike the T-62, the T-72 became an instant hit, was well-modernized over decades and is still frontline today, in thirty-six armies, including the Iraq.

Due to a ban on weapons deliveries after the Iran-Iraq war (where Iraq lost some 60 T-72Ms), a covert agreement was found to pass Czech-built M1 parts for a local assembly which was done as the “Asad Babil” or “Lion of Babylon”. There were armed with downgraded FCS and LRF, and a poor-quality glacis plate armor. Like the “Saddam”, a local adaptation of the M1 (downgraded for desert warfare), some suspensions’ shock absorbers were removed and a local-built searchlight was added on the right-hand-side. Saddams and Asad Babils were seen in action by 1991 and again in 2001 gulf war. Iraq had about 1000 T-72s, M, M1, but also the locally built Saddam and Asad Babil in 1990. After 2003, their numbers had dwindled to 375, and only 125 were listed in the new Iraqi Army - even though there were negotiations to procure up to 2.000 revamped T-72 by 2009.

But this deal did not come to fruition, and in 2010 twelve mothballed Iraqi T-72 survivors, mostly only hulls with engines but without a turret or armament, were modified into anti-aircraft systems, through the adaptation of the British Marksman short range air defense system developed by Marconi.

The Marksman system consists of a turret which carries a Marconi Series 400 radar and two Swiss Oerlikon 35 mm anti-aircraft autocannons. It is similar to the German Gepard system in terms of performance, ammunition carried and effective range of the ammunition, and intended to provide low-level air-defense for tank battalions.

The Marconi 400 series frequency agile surveillance and tracking X/J-band radar is able to detect targets out to 12 km in search mode and 10 km in tracking mode. The additional laser distance measure device functions up to 8 km. The turret can traverse a full 360 degrees and has an elevation range of −10 to +85 degrees. The magazines hold 460 fragmentation rounds and 40 armor-piercing anti-tank rounds. The vehicle is operated by only three crew members: commander, gunner, and driver. The commander and the gun operator in the turret both have gyro-stabilized optical aiming devices, and there are three communication radios in the vehicle for fire guidance and communications. The Swiss 35 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft guns have a rate of fire of 18 rounds per second and the fragmentation round has a muzzle velocity of 1,175 m/s. The effective range of the weapons is 4,000 meters. For self-defense, the vehicle is also equipped with eight Wegmann 76 mm smoke dischargers, a 7.62 mm assault rifle, and a flare gun.

In 2014 the Iraqi Army's T-72 battle tanks and the Marksman SPAAGs were actively involved in the Iraqi Civil War, an armed conflict which began in January 2014 with the Iraqi insurgency and which escalated into a civil war with the conquest of Fallujah, Mosul, Tikrit and in the major areas of northern Iraq by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS or IS). Even though no enemy aircraft were deployed, the T-72 Marksman SPAAGs proved to be very effective against lightly or unarmored vehicles and semi-fortified dugouts at medium range. The conflict ended in December 2017.

Specifications:

Crew: Three (commander, gunner, driver)

Weight: 47.2 tonnes (52.1 short tons)

Length: 8.06 m (26 ft 3 in) with turret forward and guns in march position

6.95 m (22 ft 10 in) hull only

Width: 3.59 m (11 ft 9 in)

Height: 4.46 metres (14 ft 7 1/2 in)

Suspension: torsion-bar

Ground clearance: 0.49 m (19 in)

Fuel capacity: 1,200 L (320 U.S. gal; 260 imp gal)

Engine:

V-92S2F V12 Diesel engine with 1,130 hp (840 kW)

Transmission:

Synchromesh, hydraulically assisted, with 7 forward and 1 reverse gears

Armor:

Steel and composite armour with ERA

250 mm (10 in) maximum in the hull front

Performance:

Speed:

- Maximum, road: 80 km/h (50 mph)

- Sustained, road: 60 km/h (37 mph)

- Cross country: up to 45 km/h (28 mph)

Operational range: 460 km (290 mi)

700 km (430 mi) with additional fuel drums

Power/weight: 18 hp/t

Armament:

2× 35 mm Oerlikon autocannon with 460 fragmentation rounds and 40 anti-tank rounds

The kit and its assembly:

Well, this is a rather simple, whiffy tank model. I have always been a fan of AA tanks, but there are only a few model kits in 1:72 scale, esp. of modern vehicles like the German Gepard, the American Sargeant Baker or the Finnish T-55 Marksman.

However, recently the German short run producer Silesian Models released a resin aftermarket conversion set with the Marksman turret, and I immediately was hooked and started wondering with which hull I could combine it? The resin set is actually intended for an M60 chassis, and while I found it to be a good idea I wanted a personal alternative. Using the Finnish T-55 variant as benchmark, I wondered if the Marksman system could be combined with a more modern hull of Soviet/Russian origin, and the omnipresent T-72 became an almost natural choice. Searching for a potential operator I eventually came across the New Iraqi Army, which operated the T-72 since the Eighties kept it in service until today.

The conversion is very simple and straightforward. The Modelcollect T-72 chassis was built OOB, using optional parts from the kit for the eight spoke wheels and a simple glacis plate without ERA. The side skirts were cut back.

A curious feature of the kit is the lower hull: it is a white metal piece instead of injected plastic, and the suspension parts are an integral part of this piece. This creates no major problem, though, and lowers the kit's CoG. You just need some superglue in order to attach the wheels and the upper hull parts, even though the latter can simple be attached in a snap-fit style. Overall detailling is superb and the fit is very good, too.

The nicely detailed Silesian Models resin Marksman turret went together well, too, even though the gun barrels were slightly bent. Some cleaning was necessary, but that has to be expected from such a short run kit. The turret also comes with an adapter plate for the M60 turret bearing, but it turned out to be too wide for the T-72 hull. So I simply cut out the T-72 kit's turret underside and glued it under the Marksman turret - and this worked very well and even had the bonus that I did not have to modify the kit's original turret bearing.

The only other addition are the wire antennae on the Marksman turret, made from heated sprue material.

Painting and markings:

Very straightforward, too. I used real life Iraqi T-72s as benchmark and chose a typical desert scheme, with an overall sand tone on top of which some brown mottles had been added. For the sand tone I used a car color: a Sixties Volkswagen tone called "Mexicobeige", applied with a rattle can. The brown mottles were later added with a small brush and they were mixed from Humbrol 29 (RAF Dark Earth) and 66 (Olive Drab) in a 2:1 ratio.

The Arabian tactical code number actually belongs to a MiG-29 (from a Begemot sheet), while the New Iraqi Army flag and the grey/green marking were printed with an inkjet at home on white decal paper.

The kit received a light dry-brushing treatment with Humbrol 168 (Hemp) and also a light wash with a highly thinned mix of red brown and grey. A coat of matt acrylic varnish sealed the model.

After the track segments had been mounted, the running gear was dusted with fine artist pigments, and another dusting treatment was finally applied to the upper hull, too, once the tank model had been fully assembled.

An interesting result, and even though the T-72/Marksman combo is fictional, the resulting SPAAG looks very plausible, even "natural"? The modern Iraqi colors and markings suit it well, too. Besides, a relatively quick and pleasant build/conversion, completed in less than five days.

Carrs Lane, Birmingham

Shahnaj Ahmed Priya, 20, studies BBA and is currently in her 3rd year at Jagannath University. She lives at Narinda in Dhaka. She lives with her parents and her younger brother. Her father works as an automobile mechanic, but currently is out of work. She volunteers for Bidyanando Foundation to help the marginalized people who are affected the most due to the Covid-19 pandemic. She got to know about volunteering through a post on Facebook and was inspired to work for the foundation. She packs essential food items, and will continue volunteering until the ordeal is over.

Photo: UN Women/Fahad Abdullah Kaizer

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

The Sea Fury was a British fighter aircraft designed and manufactured by Hawker. It was the last propeller-driven fighter to serve with the Royal Navy, and also one of the fastest production single piston-engined aircraft ever built. Developed during the Second World War, the Sea Fury entered service two years after the war ended. The Sea Fury proved to be a popular aircraft with a number of overseas militaries, and it was successfully used during the Korean War in the early 1950s where it could keep up with 1st generatiom jet fighters like the MiG-15.

Since 1975, Thai Marines have been assigned to Narathiwat as Marine Corps special forces, and this. after ten years of frequent and successful use, was the end of the Thai Tubro Furies - the type was retired in late 1975. Two specimen were sold into the USA and the remaining airframes (a total of 5 had been lost, two through accidents and three had been shot down by AA fire) were scrapped.

General characteristics

Crew: One

Length: 36 ft 2 in (11.05 m)

Wingspan: 38 ft 43⁄4 in (11.69 m)

Height: 15 ft 101⁄2 in (4.84 m)

Wing area: 280 ft2 (26.01 m2)

Empty weight: 10.500 lb (4.767 kg)

Loaded weight: 14,100 lb (6.400 kg)

Max. takeoff weight: 15,650 lb (7.105 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Allison T56 turboshaft engine rated at 2.206 kW (3.000 hp) plus 750 lbs of residual thrust

Performance:

Maximum speed: 490 mph (427 knots, 790 km/h) at 18,000 ft (5,500 m)

Range: 700 mi (609 nmi, 1,126 km) with internal fuel;

1,040 mi (904 nmi, 1,674 km) with two drop tanks

Service ceiling: 35,800 ft (10,910 m)

Rate of climb: 4,320 ft/min (21.9 m/s)

Armament:

4× 20 mm (.79 in) Hispano Mk V cannons in the wings

Eight underwing hardpoints for an external load of 4.000 lb (1.814 kg),

including bombs, unguided rockets, napalm tanks or drop tanks

The kit and its assembly:

This is tehe second build of the same kit conversion idea - spinning forth the initial fictional background story. Well, the combination of a WWII figher design and a C-130 Hercules sounds unlikely, but that's what I built. The idea of revamped piston-engine aircraft for a post-WWII-use has its charm and continually brings forth impressive designs, so here's another contribution to that wild bunch of whifs.

Inspiration came with a set of 1:72 aftermarket C-130J resin engine nacelles from OzMods, which I had bunkered a while ago. This time the engine was mated to a two-seater, the simple but solid "Bagdad Fury" from Pioneer2/PM Models. The Hercules engines are an almost perfect fit - the original fuselage just had to be cut away behind the original exhaust reflectors. Some sculpting had to be done on both sides, and the wing roots filled up in order to match the new, more narrow engine, but things went really smoothly. Additionally, the rear cockpit opening had to be faired over, and the canopy had to be adjusted a little.

For the turboprop's exhaust I drilled up oval holes on the fuselage flanks, under the cockpit, and inserted styrene tubes - the best position I could think of?

The spinner comes from the OzMods set, too, but the C-130J sickle-shaped propeller blades were just a bit too modern and too large for the Sea Fury. I was lucky to have some spare blades from a Pavla propeller set for the Academy B-24 Liberator - these were attached to the pointed spinner, and it looks menacing!

Otherwise, only littel things were changed. In the cockpit a new seat and a dashboard cover were added. The underwing hardpoints were new, too, and I added some antennae for a more modern and purposeful look of the aicraft.

All pylons are new, and the bomb ordnance was puzzled together from the spares box (P-47 drop tanks and four unguided rocket pods from the Revell G.91).

Painting and markings:

When searching for a potential user after the PAF I came across Thailand; the country had operated a handful of Fairey Fireflys after WWII, but these had to be retired in the early 50ies and the Thai Navy lost its air arm. These machine probably carried standard Extra Dark Sea Grey/Sky liveries.

One of these is on display in the Thai Air Force museum - and probably in a garish, non-authentic livery with a light blue underside, and very light grey uppers. Anyway, it looks odd enough to incorporate the concept onto my whiffy Turbo Fury...

The basic colors are Revell 57 (RAL 7000, very close to FS 35237) and FS 34515 for the lower sides. The Thailand (Navy) markings come from a Fairey Firefly aftermarket decal sheet, and suit the Fury well. Tactical codes and the "RTMC.

The cockpit interior was kept in very dark gray, the landing gear is in Aluminum.

Again, the "Turbo Fury" looks very conclusive, and the conversion is rather simple. Acutally, I might add a third chapter and build another one, since history opens an interesting "final use" to this aircraft. Maybe more in some time...

+++ 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 Heinkel He 162 Volksjäger ("People's Fighter"), the name of a project of the Emergency Fighter Program design competition, was a German single-engine, jet-powered fighter aircraft fielded by the Luftwaffe in World War II. It was designed and built quickly and made primarily of wood as metals were in very short supply and prioritised for other aircraft. Volksjäger was the Reich Air Ministry's official name for the government design program competition won by the He 162 design. Other names given to the plane include Salamander, which was the codename of its construction program, and Spatz ("Sparrow"), which was the official name given to the plane by Heinkel.

The first He 162 C-0 (registered with the Stammkennzeichen VN+DA and designated "M48") made its successful maiden flight at Heinkel's production facility at Salzburg in Austria on 7th of May 1945. The initial flight tests, which only lasted two weeks, were positive. Esp. the handling and directional stability had improved in comparison with the rather trappy He 162 A, and despite the higher weight due to more fuel and the bigger wings, the He 162 C-0's performance was better than the He 162 A's. Beyond the better handling characteristics, top speed was slightly higher (plus 20 km/h or 15 mph) and the aircraft's endurance was almost doubled. Plans were made to replace the He 162 A soon on the production lines, but with the end of hostilities the He 162 C program was prematurely terminated. Two more prototypes (M49 and 50) were under construction at Salzburg when the Red Army arrived, and all airframes including the project's documentations were destroyed - probably by German engineers who tried to prevent them to fall into Allied hands.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1, pilot

Length (incl. pitot): 10, 73 m (35 ft 1 1/2 in)

Wingspan: 8,17 m (26 ft 9 in)

Height: 2.6 m (8 ft 6 in)

Wing area: 16.4 m2 (177 sq ft)

Empty weight: 1.980 kg (4.361 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 3.500 kg (7.710 lb)

Fuel capacity of 1,020 litres (270 US gallons)

Powerplant:

1× BMW 003E-1 axial flow turbojet, rated at 7.85 kN (1,760 lbf)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 810 km/h (503 mph) at normal thrust at sea level;

865 km/h (537 mph) at 6000 m; using short burst of extra thrust

Range: 1.800 km (1.110 mi)

Service ceiling: 13.000 m (42.570 400 ft)

Rate of climb: 1.650 m/min (5.400 ft/min)

Armament (as flown):

2× 20 mm MG 151/20 autocannons with 120 RPG

The kit and its assemby:Painting and markings:

As a prototype aircraft I wanted something unusual, but nothing flashy or too exotic. I iamgined that the He 162 C prototype might have been converted from an existing airframe, so I gave some parts of the model (tail cone, upper fuselage, engine pod) standard He 162 A colors, RLM 81, 82 and 76.

However, for the modified cockpit section and the new ing attachment points, I decided to add section in natural metal finish, and as a special detail I added greenish filler that was used on panel seams. The nose cone became RLM 02, for more variety.

The makeshift look was further emphasized through wing panels that were left in bare laminated wood look, with metal tips and camouflaged rudders. The wooden texture was created with a basis of Humbrol 63 (Sand) and some poorly-stirred Humbrol 62 (Leather) added on top with a flat, rather hard brush. Very simple, but the effect - at least at fist glance - is very good, and the unusual color makes the model look much more interesting than camouflaged surfaces.

The markings were puzzled together from various sources, including German crosses from a Special Hobby Fw 189 sheet and from TL Modellbau. The Stammkennzeichen and the "M48" designation were created with single black decals letters, also from TL Modellbau.

Finally, after a black ink washing and some post-shading, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.

A nice and simple what-if/Luft '46 project, done in less than a week. And for the attempt to create a model of a paper project (beyond pure fantasy), I am happy with the result, the model comes pretty close to the drawings, even though noone can tell what a real prototype might have looked like.

MTA Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye and Interim MTA New York City Transit President Sarah Feinberg announce the launch of a dedicated COVID-19 vaccination center for MTA employees at 130 Livingston St. on Tue., February 23, 2021. Chairman Foye and several employees received their first vaccine.

(Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit)

Scenes of healthcare workers at Thailand Bamrasnaradura Infectious Disease Institute, Ministry of Public Health.

During this coronavirus outbreak, workforce shortages have gotten worse and nurse-midwives around the world have had to sacrifice in the hospitals around the clock and with limited personal protective equipment.

Photo: UN Women/Pathumporn Thongking

This rebel fighter didn't bother setting down his FN rifle during his buzz cut at Ajdabiya's relatively peaceful western gate, near the front line in eastern Libya.

Competitions are tight around Queen Victoria's Market as practically everyone were on the same merchandises.

So to step up the game, this big guy here had to cover the frontline and give a good ol' shoutout!

★Sony DSC-RX1, Zeiss Sonnar T* 35mm f/2

My photos are available as stock photos through: iStock | Getty

Follow me on: Twitter | Facebook

Or visit me here: www.facesbyling.com

Thank you all! ありがとうございました! 谢谢大家! Grazie a tutti! Terima kasih semua!

This is the armor set from the Shadow Packs in SWTOR. I think it works best as armor for Yuun.

British Empire Reenactors

Image taken at Sedgefield Front-Line Multi-era Reenactment Event 2018

Carrs Lane, Birmingham

London Ambulance Service is 50 years old today (Wednesday 1 April) and will be celebrating with ‘ambulance drivers’ from the sixties meeting 21st century paramedics in old and new vehicles.

Fifty years ago suited ‘ambulance drivers’ picked up patients and took them straight to hospital but today, highly skilled clinicians, many with paramedic science degrees, diagnose and treat patients at the scene of incidents.

Chief Executive Dr Fionna Moore said: “Back in the old days we used to ‘scoop and run’ patients straight to hospital. There was just a stretcher, a splint and breathing apparatus in the back of an ambulance and staff had eight weeks training.

“In contrast, today, we have a wide range of frontline staff, from emergency ambulance crew, through to advanced and consultant paramedics and have a paramedic at director-level on our Trust Board. Increasingly, our paramedics have a three-year paramedic science degree. They carry up to 30 different drugs and make life and death decisions about the most appropriate place to take a patient for treatment. Our ambulances are now kitted out with defibrillators to restart patients’ hearts and ECG machines to detect heart attacks.”

Peter Hayman, 74, who worked for the Service from 1965 to 1994, attended the ceremony at County Hall to mark the creation of the new ambulance service. He said: “I remember we introduced an inflatable splint which we thought was revolutionary because all we really had back then was a satchel of bandages and dressings but it’s nothing compared to the kit they have on an ambulance today.”

While technology and training has transformed the Service, Fionna says one thing which hasn’t changed is the commitment of ambulance staff to the health and well-being of Londoners.

She said: “Fifty years ago the whole of the UK only had one million emergency calls for an ambulance. In London alone we now receive over 1.7m a year.

“Ambulance and control room staff are committed, caring and compassionate people who continue to work in extremely challenging situations to help save the lives of Londoners.”

During PBS’ FRONTLINE “American Patriot” session at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour in Pasadena, CA on Sunday, January 15, 2017, reporters Sarah Childress and Karen Duffin join producer and director Richard Rowley and FRONTLINE series executive producer Raney Aronson-Rath to discuss the violent battle between a ranching family in the West and the federal government.

(Premieres April 4, 2017)

All photos in this set should be credited to Rahoul Ghose/PBS

Extracts from a book on German warfare, achievements and other important events. Circa WWI or early interbellum period.

Nice set of pictures from the frontlines. On the left a soldier with a M1916 gasmask and canister, armed with a Gew98 and a S98nA bayonet. On the right an MG crew (LMG08), again with gasmasks and M1916 steel helmets.

+++ 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 "Entwicklung" tank series (= "development"), more commonly known as the E-Series, was a late-World War II attempt by Germany to produce a standardized series of tank designs. There were to be six standard designs in different weight classes, from which several specialized variants were to be developed. This intended to reverse the trend of extremely complex tank designs that had resulted in poor production rates and mechanical unreliability.

At the time of the Sd.Kfz. 192/3’s introduction, anti-aircraft aiming was already augmented by mobile radar systems like the “Würzburg” device or special command vehicles like the Sd.Kfz. 282 “Basilisk” which combined an autonomous radar system with a powerful visual rangefinder and an integrated analogue range calculator, the Kommandogerät 40. However, fire control development had continued, and at least one Sd.Kfz. 192/3 was used in late 1946 during trials to fully automatize gun aiming and firing remotely through electric drives through “slaving” a turret to an external director. This was a modified Sd.Kfz. 282/1 that successfully controlled the Sd.Kfz. 192/3 via cable from an elevated location 50 m away from the SPAAG’s firing position. The objective of these trials was to connect several anti-aircraft weapons to a single command unit with improved sensors and high accuracy under any weather condition for concentrated and more effective fire and an improved first shot hit probability.

Specifications:

Crew: Sixe (commander, gunner, two loaders, radio operator, driver)

Weight: 64 tonnes (71 short tons)

Length: 7.27 m (23 ft 10 ¾ in) (hull only)

9.57 m (31 ft 4 ½ in) with gun forward

Width: 3.88 m (12 ft 9 in)

Height 3.46 m (11 ft 4 in)

3.81 m (12 ft 6 in) with commander cupola

Ground clearance: 495 to 510 mm (1 ft 7.5 in to 1 ft 8.1 in)

Suspension: Conical spring

Fuel capacity: 720 liters (160 imp gal; 190 US gal)

Armor:

30 – 60 mm (1.2 – 2.4 in)

Performance:

Speed

- Maximum, road: 44 km/h (27.3 mph)

- Sustained, road: 38 km/h (24 mph)

- Cross country: 15 to 20 km/h (9.3 to 12.4 mph)

Operational range: 160 km (99 miles)

Power/weight: 14 PS/tonne (12.5 hp/ton)

Engine:

V-12 Maybach HL 234 gasoline engine with 900 PS (885 hp/650 kW)

Transmission:

ZF AK 7-200 with 7 forward 1 reverse gears

Armament:

1× 8,8 cm Flak 41 L/72 anti-aircraft cannon with 57 rounds in turret and hull

1× 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 42 with 2.400 rounds, remote-controlled on the commander cupola

The kit and its assembly:

This fictional German SPAAG never existed, not even on the drawing boards. But I wondered, after ModelCollect had released an E-100 SPAAG with a twin 88mm gun some years ago, why there was no lighter vehicle with the powerful 88 mm Flak in a closed turret? There were plans to mount this weapon onto a tracked chassis in real life, but it would have been only lightly armored. Then I recently came across a whiffy aftermarket resin turret with a single 88 mm Flak, based on the Tiger II’s Porsche turret, and I liked the idea – even though the rather MBT-esque aftermarket turret looked rather dubious and too small for my taste – esp. the potential angle of the AA weapon appeared insufficient. From this basis the idea was born to create a personal interpretation of a Flak 41 in a fully enclosed turret on a tank chassis.

The basis became the Trumpeter 1:72 E-75 kit of the twin 55 mm Flak with its boxy turret. While I initially considered a totally different turret shape, I eventually settled on a generic design that would have been used for a variety of weapons. This appeared more realistic to me and so I stuck to the Rheinmetall AA turret. However, due to the heavy weapon its certainly massive mount and bulky recoil system as well as the long rounds and a crew of four, I decided to enlarge the Rheinmetall turret. The turret was cut into a front and rear half and an 8 mm wide plug, made from 1.5 mm styrene sheet, was implanted and PSRed. To keep the turret rotatable, the rear extension had to be raised, so that the “oriel” could move over the air intake fairings on the engine cover.

Due to the longer roof, some details were modified there. The most obvious addition is a commander cupola on the left, taken from an early Panzer IV, together with a MG 42 and a small shield on a swing arm, inspired by the remote-controlled installation on some Jagdpanzer 38(t) Hetzer. A stereoscopic rangefinder was added to the turret flanks and a periscope added to one of the loader’s hatches. A cover for a ventilator was added on the right side of the roof, together with a cover for a vertical grenade launcher underneath.

Using the original turret as base, the model’s movable mount for the twin 55 mm guns was retained and the rear extension would also become a good visual balance for the new main weapon. The armor at barrels’ base was cut off and a 1:72 Flak 41, taken from a Zvezda field gun kit, was glued to it, together with parts of the field gun’s recoil system and styrene bits to blend the new gun into the rest of the turret.

The E-75 chassis was taken OOB, since it would be a standardized vehicle basis. Outwardly the hull did not bear recognizable differences to the lighter E-50, which it is supposed to represent, just with more wheels to better cope with the bulky and heavy new turret.

Thankfully, this Trumpeter kit’s vinyl tracks were molded in black – sometimes they come in a sandy beige, and it’s a PITA to paint them! As another bonus, Trumpeter’s running gear on the 1:72 E-50/75 model is of a more sturdy and simpler construction than the one on the alternative ModelCollect kit(s), making the assembly and esp. the mounting of the tracks much easier. The Trumpeter kit is simpler than the comparable ModelCollect models with the E-50/75 basis, but the result is visually quite similar.

Painting and markings:

The paint scheme uses once more typical German late WWII "Hinterhalt" camouflage colors, namely Dark Yellow, Olive Green and Red Brown. This time, however, to adapt the livery to the boxy hull and the huge turret, the pattern ended up as a kind of a splinter scheme – inspired by a real Panzer V Panther from the Eastern Front in 1943.

The basic colors became Humbrol 57 (Buff) for the RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb, in this case as a rather pale (stretched?) shade, plus large areas of brown (RAL 8017, I used this time Humbrol 98 for a darker and less reddish shade) and Humbrol 86 for the green (RAL 6003), which appears quite pale in contrast to the dark brown. The camouflage was applied over an overall coat of sand brown as a primer coat, with the intention of letting this uniform basis shine through here and there. The distribution of the darker colors is quite unique, concentrating the brown on the vehicle’s edges and the green only to the flanks of hull and turret. However, the pattern works well on the huge E-50/75, and I can imagine that it might have worked well in an urban environment, breaking up the tank’s outlines.

As a match for the upper hull the wheels were painted uniformly in the same standard colors –without any pattern, because this would be very eye-catching while on the move. The many delicate tools on the tank’s hull are molded, and instead of trying to paint them I tried something else: I rubbed over them with graphite, and this worked very well, leaving them with a dark metallic shine. Just some wooden handles were then painted with a reddish brown.

Decals/marking came next, everything was procured from the scrap box. The Balkenkreuze came from a Hasegawa Sd.Kfz. 234/2 “Puma”, the tactical code from a TL-Modellbau sheet and the small unit badges on front and back from an UM Models Bergehetzer. A dry brushing treatment with light grey followed, highlighting surface details and edges, and after painting some details and adding some rust marks with watercolors followed a coat of matt varnish.

The tracks were painted with a cloudy mix of dark grey, red brown and iron acrylic paints, and mounted after hull and running gear had been assembled. The antennae, made from heated spure material, were mounted to the turret and, finally, the tank’s lower areas were dusted with a greyish-brown mineral pigment mix, simulating dust and mud residue.

This project was realized in just two days, made easy through the Trumpeter kit’s simple construction. Most work went into the extended turret and the different main weapon, but all parts mostly fell into place – and the result looks IMHO quite believable. In fact, the E-50/75 with a Flak 41 reminds a bit of the Italian Otomatic 76 mm SPAAG from the late Eighties?

Amir Khaled, 18, stopped by the makeshift barber shop at Ajdabiya's western gate to get a buzz. He said he wants Muammar Gaddafi to be gone by the time his hair grows back.

Rolleiflex 2.8F, Trix, xtol

This is the armor set from the Shadow Packs in SWTOR. I think it works best as armor for Yuun.

+++ 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 Curtiss P-40 Warhawk was an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter and ground-attack aircraft that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry into production and operational service. The Warhawk was used by most Allied powers during World War II, and remained in frontline service until the end of the war.

The squadron claimed 34 aircraft destroyed July to December 1940, but lost 26 aircraft itself, with 16 pilots killed and three badly wounded. After the Battle of Britain ended, the squadron engaged in convoy patrols, interspersed with escort duty to medium bombers in their attack on objectives in occupied France, but got totally rid of the Tomahawks, which were in service replaced by the more capable Kittyhawk (P-40D) and mostly transferred to RAF training units or to the Soviet Union in the course of the Land Lease program.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 31 ft 9 in (9.68 m)

Wingspan: 37 ft 4 in (11.38 m)

Height: 10 ft 7 in (3.23 m)

Wing area: 235.94 ft² (21.92 m²)

Airfoil: NACA2215 / NACA2209

Empty weight: 5,600 lb (2,636 kg)

Loaded weight: 7,464 lb (3,393 kg)

Powerplant:

1× Allison V-171-33 liquid-cooled V12 engine, 1,040 hp (750 kW) at take-off,

driving a three blade Curtiss Electric constant spee propeller

Performance:

Maximum speed: 350 mph (307 kn, 565 km/h)

Cruise speed: 270 mph (235 kn, 435 km/h)

Range: 730 mi (640 nmi, 1,175 km) on internal fuel

Service ceiling: 29,000 ft (8,800 m)

Rate of climb: 2,656 ft/min (810 m/min)

Armament:

2× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns with 235 RPG above the engine;

one hardpoint under the fuselage for bombs or a drop tank

The kit and its assembly:

This is the first submission to a ‘Battle of Britain’ Group Build at whatifmodelers.com that runs Sep.-Dec. 2015, in rather strict limits concerning time frame, region and potential hardware.

This one is nothing fancy – and the P-40B just falls into the GB’s historic window, even though it arrived too late for 46 Squadron’s Norway expedition. But the Tomahawk had just become available when the Squadron regrouped.

The model is Trumpeter’s P-40B, a very nice kit, built almost OOB. I just added a camera opening on the left flank fuselage (drilled open and filled with Humbrol Clearfix) and a camera fairing under the rear fuselage - similar to real life mods that were made to some RAF Tomahawks when they were found to be unsuitable as fighters.

As an extra I removed the wing machine guns and filled their casing ejection openings , as a plausible weight-saving measure.

The propeller received a home-cooked styrene tube adapter with a long metal axis that allows free spin for photographs.

The radiator exhaust was placed in a slightly opened position and the inside filled with dark, foamed styrene as light/sight barrier.

Painting and markings:

The original plan had been to paint the Tomahawk in the unique scheme that the Hurricanes of 46 Squadron in Norway carried: Temperate Land scheme with black/white wing undersides, but the fuselage flanks and the fin were painted in a pale grey, the fin flash was painted over, too!

Even though the Tomahawk did not take part in the Norway campaign, the squadron’s later duties over the Channel and open sea made a similar livery plausible, so I stuck with the idea - and it yields an interesting look, together with other standard RAF design elements of the mid-1940 period.

The kit was painted in RAF Dark Green/Dark Earth and Canadian Voodoo Grey (all Modelmaster enamels), the black and white wings with Revell acrylics. The black spinner matches the look of RAF Hurricanes and Spitfires of the mid to late 1940 era.

The roundels and code letters were puzzled together – again, 46 Squadron Hurricanes from the Norway campaign were the benchmark, but I added a fin flash. Some light weathering was done, as well as panel shading with lighter tones of green, brown and grey. Finally, matt varnish was applied.

A simple project, but very ‘underneath the radar’. And the relatively ‘colorful’ livery sets this one well apart from the standard Temperate Land Scheme Hurricanes and Spitfires of the Battle of Britain period in 1940.

Victory Show 2013

OKY822X a Leyland Leopard / Plaxton Suoreme 6 Exp C53F that was new to Squirrels Coaches it was also in the Stevensons fleet and then passed to Burman Travel before ending up in the Frontline buses fleet . It is seen here in the Frontline yard, just outside lichfield

Artist: Ru Zhai

Manga/Game: Girls Frontline

Character: Ak-15

manhwa18.cc

+++ 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 Nakajima J9N Kitsuka (中島 橘花, "Orange Blossom", pronounced Kikka in Kanji used traditionally by the Japanese) was Japan's first jet aircraft. In internal IJN documents it was also called Kōkoku Nigō Heiki (皇国二号兵器, "Imperial Weapon No.2"). After the Japanese military attaché in Germany witnessed trials of the Messerschmitt Me 262 in 1942, the Imperial Japanese Navy issued a request to Nakajima to develop a similar aircraft to be used as a fast attack bomber. Among the specifications for the design were the requirements that it should be able to be built largely by unskilled labor, and that the wings should be foldable. This latter feature was not intended for potential use on aircraft carriers, but rather to enable the aircraft to be hidden in caves and tunnels around Japan as the navy began to prepare for the defense of the home islands.

The second Kikka is on display at the NASM Udvar-Hazy Center in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar.

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 8.125 m (26 ft 8 in)

Wingspan: 10 m (32 ft 10 in)

Height: 2.95 m (9 ft 8 in)

Wing area: 13.2 m² (142 sq ft)

Empty weight: 2,300 kg (5,071 lb)

Gross weight: 3,500 kg (7,716 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 4,080 kg (8,995 lb)

Powerplant:

2× Ishikawajima Ne-130 or Ne-230 axial-flow turbojet engines

with 8.83 kN/900 kg or 8.68 kN/885 kg thrust, respectively

Performance:

Maximum speed: 812 km/h (505 mph, 438 kn)

Range: 980 km (610 mi, 530 nmi) with internal fuel

Service ceiling: 12,000 m (39,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 12.9 m/s (2,540 ft/min)

Wing loading: 265 kg/m² (54 lb/sq ft)

Thrust-to-weight ratio: 0.43

Armament:

2× 30 mm (1.181 in) Type 5 cannon with 50 RPG in the nose

1× ventral hardpoint for a 500 l drop tank or a single 500 kg (1,102 lb) or 800 kg (1,764 lb) bomb

The kit and its assembly:

This is submission #4 for the “Captured!” group build at whatifmodellers.com in late 2020. Loot from WWII certainly makes a good theme, and I remembered a real world J2M3 that I had built some time ago – in RAF markings and tested by the ATAIU-SEA in Singapore in late the 1945. For a more whiffy touch I delved through The Stash™ for options and found an AZ Models Nakajima “Kikka” single seater – as Japan’s first jet fighter, a suitable contender, even more so because no aircraft of this type made it in time to frontline units.

The AZ Models kit is a simple affair, but that's also its problem. In the box things looked quite good, detail level is on par with a classic Matchbox kit. But unlike a Matchbox kit, the AZ Models offering does not go together... I had to fight everywhere with poor fit, lack of locator pins, ejection marks - anything a short run model kit can throw at you! Things turned out really bad: One upper wing half was bent so much that I tried to counter the flaw with force - and the part broke! Furthermore, PSR was necessary almost everywhere – but especially around the wing/engine pod intersection and the area where the wings are inserted into the fuselage. Huh! What worked surprisingly well is the IP canopy, though.

Personal additions are lowered flaps (easy to realize) and some additional struts for the landing gear.

Painting and markings:

The captured aircraft theme was settled from the start, but I wanted to offer more than just a “rebadging” with RAF roundels on an IJN green/grey airframe. In order to add some visual spice, my idea became to present an irregular "one-aircraft-made-from-two-wrecks" finish, with parts in differing tones and even some primed or bare metal areas.

I gave the model an overall coat of aluminum (with Red Stars added, this would have made another interesting whif!) and started adding cloudy shades of IJN Green (ModelMaster and Tamiya) and sections with RAF Dark Green to the upper surfaces, and light grey underneath, with the aluminum underneath shining through here and there. One engine was furthermore painted in a shaggy Japanese primer red brown. I furthermore added overpainted IJN markings with U.S. olive drab for some more contrast, even though would later be at least partly hidden under decals.

The cockpit was painted in a greenish yellow primer (trying to simulate a typical “bamboo” shade that was used in some late-war IJN cockpits), while the landing gear and the flaps’ interior was painted in dull aluminum (Humbrol 56).

A black ink washing was applied for more weathering and contrast. the yellow leading edge markings were created with decal material. RAF roundels came from the scrap box, the “FE 269” code was created with single white 3mm letters. The “ATAIU-SEA” titles were painted with a thin brush and white acrylic paint, and sanded down a bit once dry, for a weathered look.

Finally, the kit received a mixed coat of semi-gloss and matt acrylic varnish.

I had the Kikka earmarked for a different build, but I think this ATAIU livery adds an interesting twist to the model, it looks pretty plausible. Besides, the Kitsuka is a pretty, elegant aircraft, and it's relatively small (even petit) when compared with a contemporary Me 262 or a Meteor!

Combined Platform Ladder (CPL) 152, a Mercedes Actros 4144K equipped with a Vema 553 TFL 55m (180ft) articulated aerial platform.

This is one of only two rigs of its kind in service with the SCDF. They are equipped with a pump, hoses, nozzles and basic tools.

This truck has now been redeployed to Station 12 and renumbered as CPL122.

TIGHTEN UP: SOUND SYSTEM LEGENDS SPECIAL!

SATURDAY 5TH JANUARY 2013

Silver Bullet

5 Station Place

LONDON N4

Doors: 08:30-03:30

FREE B4 10pm / £3 til 11am / Then £4 til mawnin'!

First the bad news - we've just found out that for reasons beyond his control (and ours!) RAS DIGBY is unable to make tomorrow night's session. We wish him all the best and will definitely be hooking up with him later in the year so don't fear!

Now the good news - standing in for the Sir Jessus legend, we welcome back the mighty NATTY FRONTLINE - the dubplate master! People are still talking about his last session with us when he went dub for dub with 'The Ras' - dropping exclusive classic material and some SERIOUS B-LINES for the Silver Bullet Massive! Expect no less of him this time around - Natty Frontline ALWAYS delivers the musical goods! Short notice? For sure! Short changed? NEVER!

JUMBO of the mighty JAVA HI-POWER is regarded as one of the finest selectors to ever put needle to dubplate! Java were one of the ruling Sounds back when Sounds ruled and to be a top selector in such a competitive arena, in an era where new ground was being broken constantly, speaks volumes for the great man's skill, judgement and all around quality. He is quite simply gonna mash it up! Welcome back also!

The full Tighten Up Crew will be in attendance with MC CHAMPIAN rocking the mic and selectors MISTAH BROWN & TIM P laying the rock solid musical foundation from which BIG TINGS will be built!

Trust we!

TIGHTEN UP/TRASH & READY! is presented in association with TUFF SCOUT/Out On The Floor Records - purveyors of fine vinyl situated at 10 Inverness Street, NW1 7HJ London Borough of Camden Tel: 020 7485 9958

www.facebook.com/pages/Out-On-The-Floor-Record-Shop/16427...

The the first platoon of the third regiment is having a rest.

More information and pics up: THE BRICK TIME

Don't forget to visit our BrickLink-Shop: THE BRICK TIME - BL Store

Victory Show 2014

The Thing, Iron Man, Sasquatch, Hulk, Thor and Hercules - Classic Marvel Figurine Collection

Dutch postcard by M. Bonnist & Zonen, Amsterdam, no. B 480. Photo: Paramount. Herbert Marshall and Marlene Dietrich in Angel (Ernst Lubitsch, 1937). Collection: Marlene Pilaete.

Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) is regarded as the first German actress to become successful in Hollywood. Throughout her long career, she constantly re-invented herself, starting as a cabaret singer, chorus girl and film actress in 1920s Berlin, she became a Hollywood movie star in the 1930s, a World War II frontline entertainer, and finally an international stage show performer from the 1950s to the 1970s, eventually becoming one of the entertainment icons of the 20th century.

Herbert Marshall (1890-1966), was a popular English cinema and theatre actor. He overcame the loss of a leg in World War I to enjoy a long career in Hollywood, first as a romantic lead opposite stars like Marlene Dietrich and Greta Garbo, later as a fine character actor.

For more postcards, a bio and clips check out our blog European Film Star Postcards.

Oslo, Norway

2016 © Håvard Storvestre Photography

All Rights Reserved

www.oslostreets.no

President Cyril Ramaphosa and Deputy President David Mabuza who chairs the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Vaccines, receiving South Africa’s first consignment of COVID-19 vaccine from the Serum Institute of India (SII) at the Oliver Reginald Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

The SII has been licensed to produce a vaccine that has been developed by the multinational pharmaceutical and bio pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca, in collaboration with the University of Oxford.

The aim of the vaccination programme is to achieve immunity across the population. The arrival of the first consignment will give effect to the rollout of the vaccination programme. The first phase of the vaccination programme will prioritise around 1.2 million frontline health workers.

Government is coordinating the vaccine programme through the committee chaired by Deputy President Mabuza, and it focuses on procurement, distribution, actual vaccination, monitoring, communication and mobilisation.

The President and Deputy President are joined by Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize, Acting Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, High Commissioner of the Republic of India His Excellency Jaideep Sarkar and Dr Morena Makhoana, Chief Executive Officer of Biovac.[Photo:GCIS]

Model : Cynthia Scheppin

The the first platoon of the third regiment is having a rest.

More information and pics up: THE BRICK TIME

Don't forget to visit our BrickLink-Shop: THE BRICK TIME - BL Store

The the first platoon of the third regiment is having a rest.

More information and pics up: THE BRICK TIME

Don't forget to visit our BrickLink-Shop: THE BRICK TIME - BL Store

The pennant of the first platoon.

More information and pics up: THE BRICK TIME

Don't forget to visit our BrickLink-Shop: THE BRICK TIME - BL Store

@Germany, Lower Saxony, Winsen/Nettelberg

Frontline pre-launch website designed by Sheta