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Just got back from my 2018 Asian Trip to Okinawa of Japan and Hainan of China; I'd also stopped by the Botanical Garden of Taipei (Taiwan) and improved my flight shot this species. A tough bird to find in N America and Europe, but plentiful here in this park.
If you hadn't heard his story; here it is again:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/8326275/500-birdwatchers-...
Seneca Improved View 5x7, Osaka Wide Field 120mm f/6.3, New Guy negative collodion + acetone (5 months old), glass negative
f/16, 80 seconds
Negative developer applied for 80 seconds as well.
Only on negatives do I get all these black marks.
Judging the negatives after drying, despite having clean blacks, they appear close to being too dense even for salt printing. We shall see eventually.
Much improved and rebooted.
Class 302 unit no 284 passes Ripple Lane yard with a Tilbury line service for London Fenchurch Street. Note the contrast between 'heavily industrial' (railway yard, pylons galore) and Thames marsh 'pastoral' (cattle grazing). Behind the concrete ramp on the left can be seen locos of classes 31, 37 and 47.
The original model are nose-heavy, so his stability implies that great stress is needed in the short tail in order to compensate the tendency to drop the nose.
The answer is to extend the twin booms as to incorporate little fixed wings forward of C.of G. to gain extra nose lift, and also to change completely the tail assembly in favor of a very strong tri-assembly that acts in the air stream of the counterrotating propellers.
Also, with this picture I used for the first time a layer method to paint upper and lower paint schemes in the same image.
Llandudno station has suffered somewhat in the last 30 years or so, back in the last days of 25's and 40's on holiday trains along the coast, we're talking perhaps 1982/83, the LNWR station still had it's full trainshed roof.
Come the late 80's it was chopped back, there was further removal over the next decade, the place was basically left to fall down. There was talk over several years in the mid to late noughties of restoration, building a new transport interchange, tarting it all up, but it came to nought.
Then in 2012, Network Rail, Arriva Trains Wales, the Welsh Assembly and Conwy Council found a pot of gold under a tree or something. £5.2 million later, and whilst Llandudno station is still only a shadow of it's former self, at least it's a tidy and decidedly more welcoming shadow.
It's 10pm on a Saturday. All the place needs in this picture is passengers and trains. Alas the last train out is at 2144...
26 July 2014
Some background:
The idea for a heavy infantry support vehicle capable of demolishing heavily defended buildings or fortified areas with a single shot came out of the experiences of the heavy urban fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. At the time, the Wehrmacht had only the Sturm-Infanteriegeschütz 33B available for destroying buildings, a Sturmgeschütz III variant armed with a 15 cm sIG 33 heavy infantry gun. Twelve of them were lost in the fighting at Stalingrad. Its successor, the Sturmpanzer IV, also known by Allies as Brummbär, was in production from early 1943. This was essentially an improved version of the earlier design, mounting the same gun on the Panzer IV chassis with greatly improved armour protection.
While greatly improved compared to the earlier models, by this time infantry anti-tank weapons were improving dramatically, too, and the Wehrmacht still saw a need for a similar, but more heavily armoured and armed vehicle. Therefore, a decision was made to create a new vehicle based on the Tiger tank and arm it with a 210 mm howitzer. However, this weapon turned out not to be available at the time and was therefore replaced by a 380 mm rocket launcher, which was adapted from a Kriegsmarine depth charge launcher.
The 380 mm Raketen-Werfer 61 L/5.4 was a breech-loading barrel, which fired a short-range, rocket-propelled projectile roughly 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) long. The gun itself existed in two iterations at the time. One, the RaG 43 (Raketenabschuss-Gerät 43), was a ship-mounted anti-aircraft weapon used for firing a cable-spooled parachute-anchor creating a hazard for aircraft. The second, the RTG 38 (Raketen Tauch-Geschoss 38), was a land-based system, originally planned for use in coastal installations by the Kriegsmarine firing depth-charges against submarines with a range of about 3.000 m. For use in a vehicle, the RTG 38 was to find use as a demolition gun and had to be modified for that role. This modification work was carried out by Rheinmetall at their Sommerda works.
The design of the rocket system caused some problems. Modified for use in a vehicle, the recoil from the modified rocket-mortar was enormous, about 40-tonnes, and this meant that only a heavy chassis could be used to mount the gun. The hot rocket exhaust could not be vented into the fighting compartment nor could the barrel withstand the pressure if the gasses were not vented. Therefore, a ring of ventilation shafts was put around the barrel which channeled the exhaust and gave the weapon something of a pepperbox appearance.
The shells for the weapon were extremely heavy, far too heavy for a man to load manually. As a result, each of them had to be carried by means of a ceiling-mounted trolley from their rack to a roller-mounted tray at the breech. Once on the tray, four soldiers could then push it into the breech to load it. The whole process took 10 minutes per shot from loading, aiming, elevating and, finally, to firing.
There were a variety of rocket-assisted round types with a weight of up to 376 kg (829 lb), and a maximum range of up to 6,000 m (20,000 ft), which either contained a high explosive charge of 125 kg (276 lb) or a shaped charge for use against fortifications, which could penetrate up to 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) of reinforced concrete. The stated range of the former was 5,650 m (6,180 yd). A normal charge first accelerated the projectile to 45 m/s (150 ft/s) to leave the short, rifled barrel, the 40 kg (88 lb) rocket charge then boosted this to about 250 m/s (820 ft/s).
In September 1943 plans were made for Krupp to fabricate new Tiger I armored hulls for the Sturmtiger. The Tiger I hulls were to be sent to Henschel for chassis assembly and then to Alkett, where the superstructures would be mounted. The first prototype was ready and presented in October 1943. By May 1944, the Sturmtiger prototype had been kept busy with trials and firing tests for the development of range tables, but production had still not started yet and the concept was likely to be scrapped. Rather than ditch the idea though, orders were given that, instead of interrupting the production of the Tiger I, the Sturmtigers would be built on the chassis of Tiger I tanks which had already been in action and suffered serious damage. Twelve superstructures and RW 61 weapons were prepared and mounted on rebuilt Tiger I chassis. However, by August 1944 the dire need for this kind of vehicle led to the adaptation of another chassis to the 380 mm Sturmmörser: the SdKfz. 184, better known as “Ferdinand” (after its designer’s forename) and later, in an upgraded version, “Elefant”.
The Elefant (German for "elephant") was actually a heavy tank destroyer and the result of mismanagement and poor planning: Porsche GmbH had manufactured about 100 chassis for their unsuccessful proposal for the Tiger I tank, the so-called "Porsche Tiger". Both the successful Henschel proposal and the Porsche design used the same Krupp-designed turret—the Henschel design had its turret more-or-less centrally located on its hull, while the Porsche design placed the turret much closer to the front of the superstructure. Since the competing Henschel Tiger design was chosen for production, the Porsche chassis were no longer required for the Tiger tank project, and Porsche was left with 100 unfinished heavy tank hulls.
It was therefore decided that the Porsche chassis were to be used as the basis of a new heavy tank hunter, the Ferdinand, mounting Krupp's newly developed 88 mm (3.5 in) Panzerjägerkanone 43/2 (PaK 43) anti-tank gun with a new, long L71 barrel. This precise long-range weapon was intended to destroy enemy tanks before they came within their own range of effective fire, but in order to mount the very long and heavy weapon on the Porsche hull, its layout had to be completely redesigned.
Porsche’s SdKfz. 184’s unusual petrol-electric transmission made it much easier to relocate the engines than would be the case on a mechanical-transmission vehicle, since the engines could be mounted anywhere, and only the length of the power cables needed to be altered, as opposed to re-designing the driveshafts and locating the engines for the easiest routing of power shafts to the gearbox. Without the forward-mounted turret of the Porsche Tiger prototype, the twin engines were relocated to the front, where the turret had been, leaving room ahead of them for the driver and radio operator. As the engines were placed in the middle, the driver and the radio operator were isolated from the rest of the crew and could be addressed only by intercom. The now empty rear half of the hull was covered with a heavily armored, full five-sided casemate with slightly sloped upper faces and armored solid roof, and turned into a crew compartment, mounting a single 8.8 cm Pak 43 cannon in the forward face of the casemate.
From this readily available basis, the SdKfz. 184/1 was hurriedly developed. It differed from the tank hunter primarily through its new casemate that held the 380 mm Raketenwerfer. Since the SdKfz. 184/1 was intended for use in urban areas in close range street fighting, it needed to be heavily armoured to survive. Its front plate had a greater slope than the Ferdinand while the sides were more vertical and the roof was flat. Its sloped (at 47° from vertical) frontal casemate armor was 150 mm (5.9 in) thick, while its superstructure side and rear plates had a strength of 82 mm (3.2 in). The SdKfz.184/1 also received add-on armor of 100 mm thickness, bolted to the hull’s original vertical front plates, increasing the thickness to 200 mm but adding 5 tons of weight. All these measures pushed the weight of the vehicle up from the Ferdinand’s already bulky 65 t to 75 t, limiting the vehicle’s manoeuvrability even further. Located at the rear of the loading hatch was a Nahverteidigungswaffe launcher which was used for close defense against infantry with SMi 35 anti-personnel mines, even though smoke grenades or signal flares could be fired with the device in all directions, too. For close-range defense, a 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun was carried in a ball mount in the front plate, an addition that was introduced to the Elefant tank hunters, too, after the SdKfz. 184 had during its initial deployments turned out to be very vulnerable to infantry attacks.
Due to the size of the RW 61 and the bulkiness of the ammunition, only fourteen rounds could be carried internally, of which one was already loaded, with another stored in the loading tray, and the rest were carried in two storage racks, leaving only little space for the crew of four in the rear compartment. To help with the loading of ammunition into the vehicle, a loading crane was fitted at the rear of the superstructure next to the loading hatch on the roof.
Due to the internal limits and the tactical nature of the vehicle, it was intended that each SdKfz. 184/1 (as well as each Sturmtiger) would be accompanied by an ammunition carrier, typically based on the Panzer IV chassis, but the lack of resources did not make this possible. There were even plans to build a dedicated, heavily armored ammunition carrier on the Tiger I chassis, but only one such carrier was completed and tested, it never reached production status.
By the time the first RW 61 carriers had become available, Germany had lost the initiative, with the Wehrmacht being almost exclusively on the defensive rather than the offensive, and this new tactical situation significantly weakened the value of both Sturmtiger and Sturmelefant, how the SdKfz 184/1 was semi-officially baptized. Nevertheless, three new Panzer companies were raised to operate the Sturmpanzer types: Panzer Sturmmörser Kompanien (PzStuMrKp) ("Armored Assault Mortar Company") 1000, 1001 and 1002. These originally were supposed to be equipped with fourteen vehicles each, but this figure was later reduced to four each, divided into two platoons, consisting of mixed vehicle types – whatever was available and operational.
PzStuMrKp 1000 was raised on 13 August 1944 and fought during the Warsaw Uprising with two vehicles, as did the prototype in a separate action, which may have been the only time the Sturmtiger was used in its intended role. PzStuMrKp 1001 and 1002 followed in September and October. Both PzStuMrKp 1000 and 1001 served during the Ardennes Offensive, with a total of four Sturmtiger and three Sturmelefanten.
After this offensive, the Sturmpanzer were used in the defence of Germany, mainly on the Western Front. During the battle for the bridge at Remagen, German forces mobilized Sturmmörserkompanie 1000 and 1001 (with a total of 7 vehicles, five Sturmtiger and two Sturmelefanten) to take part in the battle. The tanks were originally tasked with using their mortars against the bridge itself, though it was discovered that they lacked the accuracy needed to hit the bridge and cause significant damage with precise hits to vital structures. During this action, one of the Sturmtigers in Sturmmörserkompanie 1001 near Düren and Euskirchen allegedly hit a group of stationary Shermans tanks in a village with a 380mm round, resulting in nearly all the Shermans being put out of action and their crews killed or wounded - the only recorded tank-on-tank combat a Sturmtiger was ever engaged in. After the bridge fell to the Allies, Sturmmörserkompanie 1000 and 1001 were tasked with bombardment of Allied forces to cover the German retreat, as opposed to the bunker busting for which they had originally been designed for. None was actually destroyed through enemy fire, but many vehicles had to be given up due to mechanical failures or the lack of fuel. Most were blown up by their crews, but a few fell into allied hands in an operational state.
Total production numbers of the SdKfz. 184/1 are uncertain but, being an emergency product and based on a limited chassis supply, the number of vehicles that left the Nibelungenwerke in Austria was no more than ten – also because the tank hunter conversion had top priority and the exotic RW 61 launcher was in very limited supply. As a consequence, only a total of 18 Sturmtiger had been finished by December 1945 and put into service, too. However, the 380 mm Raketen-Werfer 61 remained in production and was in early 1946 adapted to the new Einheitspanzer E-50/75 chassis.
Specifications:
Crew: Six (driver, radio operator/machine gunner in the front cabin,
commander, gunner, 2× loader in the casemate section)
Weight: 75 tons
Length: 7,05 m (23 ft 1½ in)
Width: 3,38 m (11 ft 1 in)
Height w/o crane: 3,02 m (9 ft 10¾ in)
Ground clearance: 1ft 6¾ in (48 cm)
Climbing: 2 ft 6½ in (78 cm)
Fording depth: 3 ft 3¼ (1m)
Trench crossing: 8 ft 7 ¾ in (2,64 m)
Suspension: Longitudinal torsion-bar
Fuel capacity: 1.050 liters
Armour:
62 to 200 mm (2.44 to 7.87 in)
Performance:
30 km/h (19 mph) on road
15 km/h (10 miles per hour () off road
Operational range: 150 km (93 mi) on road
90 km (56 mi) cross-country
Power/weight: 8 hp/ton
Engine:
2× Maybach HL120 TRM petrol engines with 300 PS (246 hp, 221 kW) each, powering…
2× Siemens-Schuckert D1495a 500 Volt electric engines with 320 PS (316 hp, 230 kW) each
Transmission:
Electric
Armament:
1x 380 mm RW 61 rocket launcher L/5.4 with 14 rounds
1x 7.92 mm (0.312 in) MG 34 machine gun with 600 rounds
1x 100 mm grenade launcher (firing anti-personnel mines, smoke grenades or signal flares)
The kit and its assembly:.
This fictional tank model is not my own idea, it is rather based on a picture of a similar kitbashing of an Elefant with a Sturmtiger casemate and its massive missile launcher – even though it was a rather crude model, with a casemate created from cardboard. However, I found the idea charming, even more so because the Ferdinand/Elefant was rather a rolling bunker than an agile tank hunter, despite its powerful weapon. Why not use the same chassis as a carrier for the Sturmtiger’s huge mortar as an assault SPG?
The resulting Sturmelefant was created as a kitbashing: the chassis is an early boxing of the Trumpeter Elefant, which comes not only with IP track segments but also alternative vinyl tracks (later boxing do not feature them), and casemate parts come from a Trumpeter Sturmtiger.
While one would think that switching the casemate would be straightforward affair, the conversion turned out to be more complex than expected. Both Elefant and Sturmtiger come with separate casemate pieces, but they are not compatible. The Sturmtiger casemate is 2mm wider than the Elefant’s hull, and its glacis plate is deeper than the Elefant’s, leaving 4mm wide gaps at the sides and the rear. One option could have been to trim down the glacis plate, but I found the roofline to become much too low – and the casemate’s length would have been reduced.
So, I used the Sturmtiger casemate “as is” and filled the gaps with styrene sheet strips. This worked, but the casemate’s width created now inward-bent sections that looked unplausible. Nobody, even grazed German engineers, would not have neglected the laws of structural integrity. What to do? Tailoring the casemate’s sides down would have been one route, but this would have had created a strange shape. The alternative I chose was to widen the flanks of the Elefant’s hull underneath the casemate, which was achieved with tailored 0.5 mm styrene sheet panels and some PSR – possible through the Elefant’s simple shape and the mudguards that run along the vehicle’s flanks.
Some more PSR was necessary to blend the rear into a coherent shape and to fill a small gap at the glacis plate’s base. Putty was also used to fill/hide almost all openings on the glacis plate, since no driver sight or ball mount for a machine gun was necessary anymore. New bolts between hull and casemate were created with small drops of white glue. The rest of the surface details were taken from the respective donor kits.
Painting and markings:
This was not an easy choice. A classic Hinterhalt scheme would have been a natural choice, but since the Sturmelefant would have been converted from existing hulls with new parts, I decided to emphasize this heritage through a simple, uniform livery: all Ferdinand elements would be painted/left in a uniform Dunkelgelb (RAL, 7028, Humbrol 83), while the new casemate as well as the bolted-on front armor were left in a red primer livery, in two different shades (Humbrol 70 and 113). This looked a little too simple for my taste, so that I eventually added snaky lines in Dunkelgelb onto the primer-painted sections, blurring the contrast between the two tones.
Markings remained minimal, just three German crosses on the flanks and at the rear and a tactical code on the casemate – the latter in black and in a hand-written style, as if the vehicle had been rushed into frontline service.
After the decals had been secured under sone varnish the model received an overall washing with dark brown, highly thinned acrylic paint, some dry-brushing with light grey and some rust traces, before it was sealed overall with matt acrylic varnish and received some dirt stains with mixed watercolors and finally, after the tracks had been mounted, some artist pigments as physical dust on the lower areas.
Again a project that appeared simple but turned out to be more demanding because the parts would not fit as well as expected. The resulting bunker breaker looks plausible, less massive than the real Sturmtiger but still a menacing sight.
Improve your knowledge by knowing how to fight the mobile virus and cure them @ gadget-junction.blogspot.com
Lola continues to get better :)
Next blood draw is in a couple days, hopefully we can reduce the daily dose of steroids.
Vehicles like this one are commonly referred to as 'utes' here in Australia.
"A ute, originally an abbreviation for "utility" or "coupé utility", is a term used in Australia and New Zealand to describe vehicles with a tray behind the passenger compartment, that can be driven with a regular driver's license."
(wikipedia)
CORAL SEA (July 15, 2019) The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110) receives supplies from an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter, assigned to the "Island Knights" of Helicopter Sea Combat (HSC) squadron 25, during a replenishment-at-sea with the dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Mathew Perry (T-AKE 9). William P. Lawrence is currently participating in Talisman Sabre 2019. A bilateral, biennial event, Talisman Sabre is designed to improve U.S. and Australian combat training, readiness and interoperability through realistic, relevant training necessary to maintain regional security, peace and stability. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Caledon Rabbipal/Released)
I’m a registered nurse.
In 2009 I had to go to Texas to be with my father who had been admitted to one or our nations ‘esteemed’ health care facilities. It was not a nursing home, this was a hospital. He died eventually, having never been able to get the hell away from the hospital. I could only enforce handwashing so many times by his nurses and CNA’s that worked with him. He was immunocompromised from his medicines and they were lazy. (honestly, I know the difference between lazy and busy-keep in mind that I’m a nurse). They finally gave him an infection that killed him. That was the final cause of death, but also listed on the death certificate was malnutrition. I took this and wrote it back then, but it seems like the whole episode should be revisited from time to time.
Feel free to check out the set ‘Goodbye America’ as well as the set about Texas. The whole dying process was recorded there in Texas-as well as some attempts (bad ones) of mine to get some artistic shots…couldn’t focus on them very well...
My father couldn’t use his right arm due to a previous fracture (created when they removed the tumor that had been in the bone for 5 years and had gone undiagnosed-the doctor never looked at the xrays he had ordered)
He could not sit up without assistance due to weakness and malnutrition. See where this table is in relationship to where he is? His meal is on that table.
Probably a good thing because at least 12 times during my time in Texas they served him food that is forbidden for dialysis patients (yes, food that could have killed him). Everyone including the case manager and charge nurse just giggled when I asked them ‘WHY?’ They rolled their eyes and said, ‘Oh, we go around and around with dietary all the time’. I said again, “Why?” They had no answer. Attempts to go up the chain of command in the hospital were equally as futile and infuriating.
I wondered when I initially got to Texas how he gotten so skinny…I wondered why he was so weak. He wasn’t in the hospital that long before I got there and he was able care for himself completely prior to admission. I wondered why the nurses hadn’t told me he was back on dialysis in my frequent phone converations with them. I wondered why they had failed to mention that he was curled in a fetal position covered with scabies and non verbal…(this was the state I found him in when I arrived-at the time of the above photo he had improved slightly and I had treated him myself several times for the scabies)
Also on that table: his dentures, glasses, and phone and call light. (about two weeks later they completely lost his dentures and said it was ‘impossible’ to have a dentist come fit him and make a new pair. They also lost his glasses and hearing aids.)
How long before you would go crazy? How long before you’d die? How long would you be able to fight for yourself despite being ill and trying to ‘heal'? Why should I feel terrible because I couldn’t stay at the hospital 24-7? Aren’t they responsible for ANYTHING? (Actually they forced me to leave during the night times.)
He had great insurance. His bills are paid. And there were a LOT of them. Staggering amounts of money were thrown into this miserable team of idiots that was meant to help him improve. Healthcare has officially now become wealthcare.
I will never have anything elective done in this country. I will go overseas again and again. (I had a hip replacement a year after my father died-in India…and I had an amazingly good outcome AND experience and it cost less than a fifth of what they would have tried to bill me here in this ‘land of the free’.)
If I ever end up a victim of health care, I hope to die quickly before they can steal my dignity and slowly and inhumanely snuff out MY fire.
Many people in Vancouver were given a second chance to photograph a re-lit Olympic Cauldron for two days.
The new pool underneath and internal lights that change colours are fantastic improvements. This is the image that visitors from all over the world should ideally have been able to to bring back home with them.
Vancouver, British Columbia
Tara Miah (50) is a farmer from Rajguru in Rahamanbari union, Barisal, Bangladesh. He used seeder fertilizer drills to plant wheat on his fields. Previously, this was done manually. SFD has resulted in a better harvest for Tara Miah.
Ranak Martin/
I had a few hours walking through Fraserburgh Harbour capturing as many vessels as I could on 19th April 2018, its a fine busy harbour and when the sun shines you can capture the trawlers etc at their best .
Fraserburgh Harbour is situated in Aberdeenshire in the North East corner of Scotland and is ideally positioned for the fishing grounds of the North and East of Scotland, as well as being in close proximity to the North Sea oil and gas fields and the emerging offshore renewables market. The location also makes it well placed for trade with Scandinavia and the Baltic sea ports.
Google and Wiki have the folowing info on this fine town.
Fraserburgh (/ˈfreɪzərbrə/; Scots: The Broch or Faithlie, Scottish Gaelic: A' Bhruaich) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland with a population recorded in the 2001 Census at 12,454 and estimated at 12,630 in 2006.
It lies at the far northeast corner of Aberdeenshire, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Aberdeen, and 17 miles (27 km) north of Peterhead. It is the biggest shellfish port in Europe, landing over 12,000 tonnes in 2008, and is also a major white fish port and busy commercial harbour.
History
The name of the town means, literally, 'burgh of Fraser', after the Fraser family that bought the lands of Philorth in 1504 and thereafter brought about major improvement due to investment over the next century. Fraserburgh became a burgh of barony in 1546. By 1570, the Fraser family had built a castle (Fraserburgh Castle) at Kinnaird's Head and within a year the area church was built. By the 1590s the area known as Faithlie was developing a small harbour.
In 1592, Faithlie was renamed Fraserburgh by a charter of the Crown under King James VI. Sir Alexander Fraser was given permission to improve and govern the town as Lord Saltoun. At present this title is still in existence and is held by Flora Fraser, 20th Lady Saltoun and head of Clan Fraser. The Royal Charter also gave permission to build a college and university in Fraserburgh allowing the Lord Saltoun to appoint a rector, a principal, a sub-principal, and all the professors for teaching the different sciences.
A grant from the Scottish Parliament in 1595 allowed the first college building to be erected by Alexander Fraser, and in 1597 the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland recommended the Rev. Charles Ferme, then minister at the Old Parish, to be its first (and only) principal.
In 1601, Fraserburgh became a burgh of regality. The college, however, closed only a decade or so after Ferme's arrest on the orders of James VI for taking part in the 1605 General Assembly, being used again only for a short time in 1647 when King's College, Aberdeen temporarily relocated owing to an outbreak of plague. A plaque commemorating its existence may be seen on the exterior wall of the remains of the Alexandra Hotel in College Bounds.
Fraserburgh thereafter remained relatively quiet until 1787 when Fraserburgh Castle was converted to Kinnaird Head Lighthouse, Scotland's first mainland lighthouse. In 1803, the original 1571 church building was replaced and enlarged to seat 1000 people. The Auld Kirk was to be the standing authority in the town up until the 1840s.
The Statistical Account on the Parish of Fraserburgh, written between 1791–1799 (probably 1791) by Rev. Alexander Simpson of the Old Parish Church, shows that the population of Fraserburgh was growing with peaks due to seasonal employment. He records a population of about 2000 in 1780 of whom only 1000 resided in the town.
There was an additional population of 200 in the village of Broadsea. He makes a point of the arrival of Dr. Webster in Fraserburgh in 1755 claiming that the population then only stood at 1682. By the time the account was written the population had increased by 518 souls since 1755. Rev. Simpson also gives accounts of deaths, births and marriages. Between 1784-1791, he claims to have an average of 37 baptisms, 14 marriages and 19 deaths per year. The statistical account mentions activities with the harbour. He describes the harbour as small but good, telling that it had the capability to take vessels with '200 tons burden' at the time the account was written.
The account also mentions that Fraserburgh had tried and succeeded in shipbuilding especially after 1784. His account finishes speaking of a proposed enlargement of the harbour. He claims that the local people would willingly donate what they could afford but only if additional funding was provided by the Government and Royal Burghs.
The second statistical account, written as a follow up to the first of the 1790s, was written in January 1840 by Rev. John Cumming. He records population in 1791 as 2215 growing to only 2271 by 1811, but increasing massively to 2954 by 1831. He considered the herring fishing, which intensified in 1815, to be the most important reason for this population boom. By 1840 he writes that seamen were marrying early with 86 marriages and 60 births in the parish in the space of one year. On top of this increased population, he explains that the herring season seen an additional 1200 people working in the Parish. There is also mention of the prosperity of this trade bringing about an increase in general wealth with a change in both dress and diet. Cumming also records 37 illegitimate children from 1837–1840 although he keeps no record of death.
The prosperity of the economy also brought about improvement within the town with a considerable amount of new houses being built in the town. The people were gaining from the herring industry as in real terms rent fell by 6% from 1815 to 1840. Lord Saltoun was described as the predominant land owner earning £2266,13s,4d in rents.
This period also saw the extension of the harbour with a northern pier of 300 yards built between 1807–1812 and, in 1818, a southern pier built by Act of Parliament. Cumming states that no less than £30,000 was spent developing the harbour between 1807 and 1840 by which time the harbour held eight vessels of 45–155 tons and 220 boats of the herring fishery.
A railway station opened in 1865 and trains operated to Aberdeen via Maud and Dyce, as well as a short branch line to St. Combs. It was, however, closed to passengers in 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts, though freight trains continued to operate until 1979, after which the station site was redeveloped. Currently, the closest operating station is Inverurie, 56 km (35 miles) away.
Climate[
Fraserburgh has a marine climate heavily influenced by its proximity to the sea. As such summer highs and winter lows are heavily moderated, with very mild winter temperatures for a location so far north. The differences between seasons are very narrow as a result, with February averaging highs of 6.7 °C (44.1 °F) and August 17.2 °C (63.0 °F).[6] As a result of its marine influence, there is significant seasonal lag, with September being milder than June and October has slightly milder nights than May, in spite of a massive difference of daylight. The climate is overcast and wet with 1351.8 hours of sunshine. Temperature extremes have ranged from 26.6.C (July 1995) down to -14.4.C (February 1991) 747.7 millimetres (29.44 in) of precipitation per annum.
A farmer displays the grains from a crop just harvested on an IMAS on-farm trial in Embu, Kenya. The Improved Maize for African Soils (IMAS) project is developing varieties that would do well with the little fertilizer farmers can afford to apply. On average, farmers in Africa use 9 kilograms of maize per hectare of cropland.
Credit: F. Sipalla/CIMMYT
much improved IL-86, but with a shorter fuselage. much better engines and very much longer range as a result. These can fly from Moscow directly to Los Angeles if required.
Bellows taped, reinstalled, back fit to the standard. This is about full draw for this bellows. Gonna have to do, no budget for new right now. To do: Lensboard retainers (have a strip of brass at the ready), grind a new glass, and a couple lensboards...
The Expeditionary Light Tank is an improved version of the M8 AGS (Armoured Gun System) designed and manufactured by the Company BAE Systems. This tank was presented for the first time to the public at AUSA (U.S. Army Association Annual Meeting and Exposition) which was held in Washington D.C. from the 12 to 14 October 2015. The vehicle is proposed by BAE Systems to meet the US Army's requirement for a Mobile Protected Firepower capability, which would involve an expeditionary light tank that could be air-dropped or transported by C-130 military aircraft. The BAE Systems solution is based on the purpose-built M8 Armored Gun System, modernized with mature technologies from the CV90 family of infantry fighting vehicles and the Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The mission for this vehicle is to have the ability to be airdropped behind an enemy lines and takes a position until the arrival of the main forces. Main armament of the BAE Systems Expeditionary Light Tank (ELT) is similar to the M8 AGS with one 105 mm gun is fully stabilised in both axes with an elevation of +20º and a depression of -10º through a frontal 270º arc. Turret traverse is a full 360º. Turret traverse and weapon elevation are hydraulic with manual controls for emergency use. The ELT is fitted with an automatic ammunition loader located in the left side of the turret with 21 rounds of 105mm ready to fire that gives the capacity to fire 12 rounds per minute. The tank can carry a total of 30 rounds. The gun can fire a full range of ammunition as APFSDS-T (Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot - Tracer), APERS (anti-personnel ammunition), WP (White phosphorus), HEAT (High explosive anti-tank) and HESH (High-explosive squash head). A 7.62mm machine gun is mounted to the right side of the main armament and one 12.7mm heavy machine gun is mounted on the commander's cupola. A bank of eight grenade launchers is mounted on each side at the front of the turret. A bank of eight grenade launchers is mounted to front left side of the turret. The ELT can be fitted with two armour package. The level 2 armour package increases level of protection with a combat weight of 20,800 kg. The level 3 armour package increases the survivability against anti-tank guided missile and RPG (Rocket-Propelled Grenade) threats with a weight of 23,580 kg. The Expeditionary Light Tank could use the same engine as the M8 AGS which is motorized with a six-cylinder Detroit Diesel Model 6V-92TA developing 550 hp at 2,400 rpm. The BAE Systems Expeditionary Light Tank is equipped with gunner sight including an Infra-Red Equipment (HIRE), and is also equipped with digital fire-control computer coupled with wind sensors mounted on the turret roof.
An improved scan, this time from a 6x4.5cm negative, of an image previously uploaded. Class 37 no. 37207 shunts a couple of wagons to allow access to a rake of hoppers at Peak Forest on Friday 17th June 1988.
Seneca Improved View 5x7, Bausch & Lomb 5x7 Tessar 1c f/4.5, Arista Ortho Litho 3.0 @ ISO 1.5
f/22, 1 second
Developed by inspection in tray. Dektol 1+30.
Lately these negatives have been super weird. They come out a tan color and are very thin in density even though I stop the development when the highlights start to block up. They scan fine but couldn't be used for any sort of printing. Weird.
List of changes:
#1 More defined eyes
#2 Fixed fur details
#3 Less yellow, but looks like this due to lighting
Seneca Improved View 5x7 + 4x5 reducing back, Osaka 120mm f/6.3, 4x5 Fuji Velvia 100 (expired 2014)
Developed in a Paterson 5-reel tank on a Unicolor Uniroller motor base using CineStill's DynamicChrome warmtone 1st developer for E-6. Diluted 1+1 per packet instructions, and developed at 104F (40C) for 9 minutes.
The DynamicChrome makes dense images that do not look good like normal slides. The film is almost opaque. Supposedly this is good for scanning but I can't tell. They did scan fine this time, unlike last. It definitely adds a warmth to the photos that the scanner then tries to correct out so you may have to play with settings. I think I'm done with it though.
Starting to notice a magenta shift in this film. Going to need to finish it off soon. And apparently the scanner needs service because a lot of my medium format stuff is looking out of focus.
A widened SR 9 in Clearview will require new traffic signals for the extra lanes. Bigger traffic poles with longer arms extending out over the highway are being installed. A worker here helps position one of the new posts. The pole will hold traffic lights, street signs and pedestrian signals.
Rover 3.5 litre P5B (1967-73) Engine 3528cc V8 Saloon Production 9099 Coupe (+ 11501 Saloon)
Registration Number FRB 325 L
ROVER ALBUM
www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623690660271...
The P5 Rover is a series of large luxury Saloons and Coupes, designed by David Bache and first introduced in the form of a 3 litreSaloon in 1958.
The final iteration of the P5 appeared in September 1967 powered by a former Buick 3528cc V8. Rover had lacked the funds and time to develope their own V8 so instead decided to redevelope a lightweight aluminium concept engine that Buick had not taken up. They made it considerably stronger, which added some weight but still maintained the engine's light and compact features with an output of 160bhp. When compared to its predecessor, the aluminium engine enabled the car to offer improved performance and fuel economy with greater power and the lesser weight. Borg Warner Type-35 automatic transmission, hydrosteer variable ratio power steering became standard.
The exterior was mostly unchanged, apart from bold '3.5 Litre' badging, a pair of fog lights which were added below the head lights, cars rode on Rostylewheels with black painted inserts The P5B existed as both the 4-door coupe and saloon body style until end of production.
The 3½ Litre saloon variant was a favourite of high-ranking Government Ministers, and served as Prime Ministerial transport for Harold Wilson, Edward Heath, James Callaghan and Margaret Thatcher. As testament to their suitability, the last batch of P5Bs to roll off the Rover line in June 1973 were purchased by the British government and placed in storage, to be released for government use as required, resulting in relatively new looking examples wafting through whitehall and Westminster for almost a decade after the end of production. When Margaret Thatcher entered Downing Street in 1979 after her election victory, she was driven in a 1972 model. It was during Thatcher's eleven-year tenure that the P5 was eventually phased out as a Prime-Ministerial car, in favour of the Jaguar XJ.
Queen Elizabeth II also owned an Arden Green Rover P5B Saloon JGY 280 which is on display at the Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, Warwickshire .
Many Thanks for a fan'dabi'dozi 26,051,000 views
Shot 09:06:2014 ar The Luton Classic Car Show, Stockwell Park, Luton REF 102-627
Improved Luke custom and Leia from Splinter Of The Mind's Eye with custom backpacks.
IMG_4973_181004-1_Low
BREAKFAST SESSION
Still Unfinished Business: How We Can Improve Economic Outcomes for Women
8:00 - 9:15 a.m. ET
Location: Gramercy West
The COVID-19 pandemic magnified existing gender inequalities at work and at home. Women were especially vulnerable to employment and income losses and the increasing burden of unpaid work, threatening to reverse decades of progress expanding women’s economic opportunity. The digital gender gap, which has barely improved over the last decade, has further hindered women’s ability to acquire skills and access online employment and financial services. Closing the gaps between men and women in the workplace could increase the global GDP by 26 percent, benefiting both advanced and developing countries, and many of the tools needed to build inclusive economies exist. This session will discuss actions to support gender parity, including policies and programs that support women’s employment, leadership opportunities, recognition of unpaid work, and efforts to close the digital gender divide.
This session will explore:
•How can we reduce the gender imbalance in unpaid work to support those who need care and those who provide care—from fiscal policies that support employment and protect incomes to family-friendly childcare and flexible work policies?
•How do we scale progress in key areas, including financial and digital inclusion, women’s leadership and representation, and pay parity?
•How do other interventions in gender equality—including addressing girls’ education, violence against women, and maternal health—improve economic outcomes for women?
Speakers:
•Temie Giwa-Tubosun, CEO and Founder, LifeBank
•Robin Wright, Co-Founder, Pour Les Femmes Foundation
•Vanessa Roanhorse, CEO, Roanhorse Consulting
•Cherie Blair, CBE QC, Founder, Cherie Blair Foundation for Women
• Hillary Rodham Clinton, Former Secretary of State
•Kathy Hochul, Governor, New York State
•Olivia Walton, Founder & Managing Partner, Ingeborg Investments
•Maria Teresa Kumar, Founding President and CEO, Voto Latino
+++ 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:
Armored wheeled vehicles were developed early in Germany, since they were not subject to the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty. The Sd.Kfz. 234 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 234, or Special Purpose Vehicle 234) belonged to the ARK series (the type designation of the chassis) and was the successor to the earlier, eight-wheeled Sd.Kfz. 231/232/233 family. The Sd.Kfz. 234 incorporated several innovative features, including a monocoque chassis with eight wheels, and an air-cooled Tatra 103 diesel engine for use in North Africa. The latter gave the vehicle an extraordinary range of more than 600 miles (1.000 km). The vehicle had eight-wheel steering and drive and was able to quickly change direction thanks to a second, rear-facing, driver's seat. Chassis were built by Büssing-NAG in Leipzig-Wahren, while armoured bodies were provided by Deutsche Edelstahlwerke of Krefeld and turrets by Daimler Benz in Berlin-Marienfelde and Schichau of Elbing, with engines from Ringhoffer-Tatra-Werke AG of Nesseldorf.
The first and possibly best known version to reach frontline service was the Sd.Kfz. 234/2 ‘Puma’. It had a horseshoe-shaped turret armed with a 5cm L/60 gun, which was originally intended for the VK 1602 Leopard light tank. Even though it was a reconnaissance vehicle, the armament made it possible to take on lighter armored vehicles, and it was produced from late 1943 to mid-1944. This variant was replaced in production by the second version, the Sd.Kfz. 234/1, which had a simpler open turret (Hängelafette 38) armed only with a light 2 cm KwK 38 gun; it was manufactured from mid-1944 to early 1945.
The SdKfz 234/3, produced simultaneously with the 234/1, served as a support for the reconnaissance vehicles with more firepower. It had an open-topped superstructure, in which a short-barreled 7.5cm K51 L/24 gun was installed. This gun was intended primarily for use against soft targets, but when using a hollow charge shell, the penetration power exceeded that of the 5cm L/60 gun. This variant was produced from mid-1944 to the end of 1944, before switching production to the 234/4 and other variants. The Sd.Kfz. 234/4 replaced the L/24 gun with the 7.5cm L/46 PaK 40. This was yet another attempt to increase the mobility of this anti-tank gun; however, with this weapon the 234 chassis had been stretched to its limits, and it only carried limited ammunition (twelve rounds) due to lack of storage space. This variant was manufactured from the end of 1944 on in limited numbers.
Another interesting use of the chassis was the Sd.Kfz 234/6. When, towards late 1945, the Einheitschassis for the German combat tanks (the ‘E’; series) reached the front lines, several heavily armed anti-aircraft turrets had been developed, including the 30mm Kugelblitz, based on the outdated Panzer IV, the ‘Coelian’ turret with a twin 37mm cannon (mounted on the Panzer V Panther hull), but also twin 55 and even 88mm cannons on the new E-50, E-75 and E-100 chassis'. With alle these new vehicles and weapons, firepower was considerably increased, but the tank crews still had to rely on traditional visual tracking and aiming of targets. One potential solution for this flaw, in which the German Heeresleitung was highly interested from the start, was the use of the Luftwaffe’s radar technology for early target identification and as an aiming aid in poor weather conditions or at night. The German Luftwaffe first introduced an airborne interception radar in 1942, but these systems were still bulky and relied upon large bipolar antenna arrays. Esp. the latter were not suitable for any use in a ground vehicle, lest to say in a tank that could also carry weapons and ammunition as an independent mobile weapon system.
A potential solution at least for the mobility issue appeared in late 1944 with the development of the FuG 240 ‘Berlin’, a new airborne interception radar. It was the first German radar to be based on the cavity magnetron, which eliminated the need for the large multiple dipole-based antenna arrays seen on earlier radars, thereby greatly increasing the performance of the night fighters which carried the system. The FuG 240 was introduced by Telefunken in April 1945, primarily in Junkers Ju 88G-6 night-fighters, behind a streamlined plywood radome in the aircrafts’ nose. This so greatly reduced drag compared to the late-model Lichtensteins and Neptun radars that the fighters regained their pre-radar speeds, making them much more effective esp. against heavy and high-flying Allied bombers. The FuG 240 was effective against bomber-sized targets at distances of up to 9 kilometers, or down to 0.5 kilometer, which, as a side benefit, eliminated the need for a second, short-range radar system.
Right before the FuG 240's roll-out with the Luftwaffe the Heer insisted on a ground-based derivative for its anti-aircraft units. The Luftwaffe reacted very reluctantly, but heavy political pressure from Berlin convinced the RLM to share the new technology. Consequently, Telefunken was ushered to adapt the radar system to armored ground vehicles in February 1945.
It soon became clear that the FuG 240 had several drawbacks and was not perfectly suited for this task. Ground clutter and the natural horizon greatly limited the system's range, even though its 9 km range made high-altitude surveillance possible. Furthermore, the whole system, together with its power supply and the dirigible dish antenna, took up a lot of space. Its integration into an autonomous, tank-based anti-aircraft vehicle was still out of reach. The solution eventually came as a technical and tactical compromise: armed anti-aircraft tanks were to be grouped together in so-called Panzer-Fla-Züge, with an additional radar surveillance and guidance unit, so that the radar could guide the tank crews towards incoming targets, which would still rely on individual visual targeting.
The first of these dedicated guidance vehicles became the ‘Funkmess-/Flak-Kommandowagen Sd.KfZ 234/6’, which retained its secondary reconnaissance role. Together with Telefunken, Daimler Benz developed a new turret with a maximum armor of 30mm and a commander's cupola that would hold most of the radar equipment. This was christened ’Medusa’, after the monster from Greek mythology with snake hair and a petrifying sight, and during the system’s development phase, the radar's name was adopted for the whole vehicle, even though it never was official.
The turret held a crew of two, while the Sd. Kfz 234 chassis remained basically unchanged. Despite the cramped turret and the extra equipment, the Sd.Kfz. 234/6 was not heavier than its earlier brethren, because it remained unarmed, just a manually-operated FlaMG on the turret roof was available for self-defense. A heavier armament was not deemed necessary since the vehicle would either stay close to the heavily armed tanks it typically accompanied, or it would undertake lone reconnaissance missions where it would rely on its high speed and mobility. The vehicle's crew consisted of four: a driver in the front seat, a commander and a radar operator in the turret and a radio operator/second driver in the hull behind the turret, facing rearwards.
The Medusa antenna array was installed at the turret's front. The dish antenna, hidden under a hard vinyl cover, had a diameter of 70cm (27 1/2 inches), and it was directly adapted from the airborne FuG 240. Power output was 15kW, with a search angle of +80/− 5° and a frequency range: 3,250–3,330MHz (~10 cm). Range was, like the airborne variant, 0.5–9.0 kilometer. Power came from a separate generator directly attached to the vehicle’s Tatra diesel engine, hidden under an armored fairing on the bonnet that partly obscured the rear driver's field of view.
Beyond the radar system, the vehicle was furthermore equipped with a visual coincidence range finder, installed right through the turret. The system worked as follows: Light from the target entered the range finder through two windows located at either end of the instrument. At either side, the incident beam was reflected to the center of the optical bar by a pentaprism, and this optical bar was ideally made from a material with a low coefficient of thermal expansion so that optical path lengths would not change significantly with temperature. The reflected beam first passed through an objective lens and was then merged with the beam of the opposing side with an ocular prism sub-assembly to form two images of the target which were viewed by the observer through the eyepiece. Since either beam entered the instrument at a slightly different angle the resulting image, if unaltered, would appear blurry. Therefore, in one arm of the instrument, a compensator was integrated which could be adjusted by the operator to tilt the beam until the two images matched. At this point, the images were said to be in coincidence. The degree of rotation of the compensator determined the range to the target by simple triangulation, allowing the calculation of the distance to the observed object.
The optical bar had a span of 230 cm (90.75 in) and went right through the turret, just above the radar device installation. For the most effective range it even protruded from the turret on both sides like pylons, an arrangement that quickly earned the vehicle several nicknames like ‘Hirsch’, ‘Zwoender’ (a young stag with just two antlers) or ‘Ameise’ (ant). Fixed target reading with the rangefinder was effective on targets from 2,700 to 14,500 yards. Aerial courses could be recorded at all levels of flight and at a slant range between 4,000 and 12,000 yards - enough for visual identification beyond the group's effective gun ranges and perfectly suitable for long range observation.
The first Sd.Kfz. 234/6s reached, together with the first new FlaK tanks, the front units in summer 1945. Operating independently, they were primarily allocated to the defense of important production sites and of the city of Berlin, and they supported tank divisions through visual reconnaissance and general early warning duties. In due course they were supported and partly replaced by the bigger and more capable ‘Basilisk’ system, which had, due to the sheer bulk of the equipment, to be mounted on a tank chassis (initially on the Panzer V ‘Panther’ as the Sd.Kfz. 282/1 and from early 1946 onwards on the basis of the new Einheitspanzer E-50 hull as the Sd.Kfz. 282)
Operationally, the Sd. Kfz 234/6 was surprisingly successful, even though the radar remained capricious, its performance very limited and the unarmored equipment at the turret’s front was easily damaged in combat, even by light firearms. But the Sd.Kfz 234/6 offered, when the vehicle was placed in a location with a relatively free field of view (e. g. on a wide forest clearance or in an open field), a sufficient early warning performance against incoming bombers at medium to high altitudes, esp. when the general direction of incoming aircraft was already known.
The radar system even allowed a quick alert against low-flying aircraft, esp. when operating from higher ground. The radar information reduced the anti-aircraft tank/gun crews' reaction time considerably and allowed them to be prepared for incoming targets at the right altitude, direction and time. Hit probability was appreciably improved since quick passes of aircraft could be pre-determined.
Until the end of hostilities, probably fifty Sd.Kfz 234/6 were built new or converted from existing 8x8 chassis. Beyond this, the relatively light ‘Medusa’ device was furthermore mounted on outdated tracked armored vehicles like the Panzer III and IV, of which another forty vehicles were produced as Funkmess-/Flak-Kommandowagen III and IV.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander, radar operator, driver, radio operator/2nd driver)
Weight: 11,500 kg (25,330 lb)
Length: 6.02 m (19 ft 9 in)
Width: 2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)
Height: 2.84 meters (9 ft 4 in) w/o AA machine gun
Suspension: Wheeled (Tires: 270–20, bulletproof), with leaf springs
Track width: 1.95 m (6 ft 4 1/2 in)
Wading depth: 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in)
Trench crossing capability: 2m (6 ft 6 1/2 in)
Ground clearance: 350 mm (13 3/4 in)
Climbing capability: 30°
Fuel capacity: 360 l
Fuel consumption: 40 l/100 km on roads, 60 l/100 km off-road
Armor:
9-30 mm (.35-1.18 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 80 km/h (49 mph)
Operational range: 950 km (590 mi)
Power/weight: 19 PS/t
Engine:
Air-cooled 14,825 cc (905³ in) Tatra 103 V12 diesel engine,
with 157 kW (220 hp) output at 2.200 RPM
Transmission:
Büssing-NAG "GS" with 3 forward and reverse gears, eight-wheel drive
Armament:
1× anti aircraft 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 42 with 2.800 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This whiffy and almost Ma.K-looking vehicle was inspired by the late WWII anti-aircraft tanks that never made it into hardware. I wondered how the gap between the simple visual aiming and the next logical step to surveillance and tracking radars could have been achieved, and the German airborne radars were a suitable place to start.
The idea of a dedicated vehicle was a logical step, since it would take many more years to develop a system that would be compact enough to be carried together with effective armament in just a single vehicle. It would take until the Sixties that such stand-alone systems like the Soviet ZSU-23-4 (1965) or the AMX-13 DCA (1969) would be produced.
I chose the light Sd.Kfz. 234 as basis because I do not think that a full armored tank would be devoted to a limited radar operation role, and instead of relying on heavy armor I deemed a light but fast vehicle (just like many other later AA tanks) to be the more plausible solution.
Basically, this is an OOB Hasegawa Sd.Kfz. 234/3, the “Stummel” with the short 7.5cm gun and an open hull. The latter was closed with 1mm styrene sheet and a mount for a turret added.
The turret itself is based on an Italeri Matilda Mk. II turret, but with a highly modified front that holds a resin ‘Cyrano’ radar (actually for an 1:72 Mirage F.1C) on a movable axis, an added rear extension and the antler fairings for the visual coincidence range finder. As a side note, similar systems were to be integrated into German late WWII combat tanks (e. g. in the Schmalturm), too, so this is another plausible piece of technology.
A German tank commander figure (from a vintage ESCI kit) populates the open hatch of the commander's cupola, the AA machine gun with its mount is an addition from the scrap box.
On the hull, the only modification is the additional generator fairing above the engine, for a slightly modified silhouette.
Painting and markings:
The turret looks weird enough, so I wanted a simple, yet typically late-WWII-German camouflage. I settled upon a geometric variation of the Hinterhalt three-tone scheme, primarily with dark yellow and olive green fields and stripe and a few red brown additions - inspired by a real late war Panther tank.
The basic color is RAL 7028 (modern variant, though), applied from the rattle can on the semi-finished hull and turret as a primer. On top of that, the shapes were added with acrylic dark grey-green (RAL 7009, Revell 67) and red brown (Humbrol 180) with a brush. The less bright colors were chosen on purpose for a low contrast finish, and the edgy shapes add a slightly SF-ish look.
A black ink wash and some dry-brushing along the many edges were used to weather the model and emphasize details. After decals had been applied, the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and some artist pigments were added around the wheels and lower hull in order to simulate dust and dirt. On the lower chassis, some pigments were also cluttered onto small patches of the acrylic varnish, so that the stuff soaks it up, builds volume and becomes solid - the perfect simulation of dry mud crusts.
A whiffy tank kit with a long background story - but the concept offers a lot of material to create a detailed story and description. And while the vehicle is a fantasy creation, it bears a weird plausibility. Should be a nice scenic addition to a (whiffy, too) German E-75 Flak tank (to be built some day)?
Ferrari 360 Spider (2000-05) Engine 3586cc V8 394bhp
Registration Number K 13 VRN (Cherished number, originally allocated cica 1992, for issue from Preston)
FERRARI ALBUM
www.flickr.com/photos/45676495@N05/sets/72157623665054999...
Designed by Goran Popovic at Pininfarina the Ferrari 360 (Type F131) is a two-seater, mid-engine, rear wheel drive sports car, introduced as a replacement for the F355. Ferrari joined forces with Alcoa to produce the entirely new aluminium space frame that was 40% stiffer and 28% lighter than the outgoing F355. The body was styled by Pininfarina returning to the rounded appearance of the 1960's cars. The new V8 common to all versions was only slightly larger and more powerful than the F355's 3.6ltr but the lighter frame and added stiffness improved performance
The Spider version was unveiled at the 2000 Geneva Motorshow. The 360 had been designed with a convertible variant in mind with strengthened sills, stiffened the front of the floorpan and redesigned the windscreen frame. With the rear bulkhead stiffened to cut out engine noise from the cabin. The convertible's necessary dynamic rigidity is provided by additional side reinforcements and a cross brace in front of the engine. Due to use of light aluminium construction throughout, the Spider weighs in only 60 kg (130 lb) heavier than the coupé. Mechanical specification as for the Modena Coupe
Diolch am 84,245,753 o olygfeydd anhygoel, mae pob un yn 90cael ei werthfawrogi'n fawr.
Thanks for 84,245,753 amazing views, every one is greatly appreciated.
Shot 01.08-2021 exiting the Silverstone Festival 01.08.2021 Ref 149-125