Zaoll modification in progress)

Modification of the Original Lego 10246 Detective's Office set. Built from 2 sets and some spare parts....it is 56 studs wide in stead of 32 studs.

Now available at the Team Wildfire Mainstore in-world.

street fart

Between giants (with a tiny modification)

Work in progress:

modifications of 'Taiga' face mold, sculpting on the cast porcelain part - beginning.

Рабочий процесс:

модификации модели лица "Тайга", изменение скульптуры на фарфоровой отливке - начало.

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+++ 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 Brewster F2A Buffalo was an American fighter aircraft which saw service early in World War II. Designed and built by the Brewster Aeronautical Corporation, it was one of the first U.S. monoplanes with an arrester hook and other modifications for aircraft carriers. The Buffalo won a competition against the Grumman F4F Wildcat in 1939 to become the U.S. Navy's first monoplane fighter aircraft. Although superior to the Grumman F3F biplane it replaced, and the early F4Fs, the Buffalo was largely obsolete when the United States entered the war, being unstable and overweight, especially when compared to the Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero.

It is not entirely clear how many Japanese aircraft the Buffalo squadrons shot down, although RAAF pilots alone managed to shoot down at least 20. Eighty were claimed in total, a ratio of kills to losses of just 1.3 to 1. Additionally, most of the Japanese aircraft shot down by the Buffalos were bombers. The Hawker Hurricane, which fought in Singapore alongside the Buffalo from 20 January, also suffered severe losses from ground attack; most were destroyed.

General characteristics

Crew: one

Length: 26 ft 4 in (8.03 m)

Wingspan: 35 ft 0 in (10.67 m)

Height: 12 ft 0 in (3.66 m)

Wing area: 209 sq ft (19.4 m²)

Empty weight: 4,732 lb (2,146 kg)

Max takeoff weight: 7,159 lb (3,247 kg)

Powerplant:

1 × Wright R-1820-40 Cyclone 9 9-cyl air-cooled radial piston engine, 1,000 hp (745.7 kW)

Performance:

Maximum speed: 321 mph (517 km/h; 279 kn)

Cruise speed: 161 mph (140 kn; 259 km/h)

Range: 965 mi (839 nmi; 1,553 km)

Service ceiling: 33,200 ft (10,119 m)

Rate of climb: 2,440 ft/min (12.4 m/s)

Armament:

1× .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine gun with 200 rounds and

1× .30 in (7.62 mm) AN Browning machine gun with 600 rounds,

both synchronized above the engine, firing through the propeller disc

2× 0.50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns with up to 450 RPG, one per wing

The kit and its assembly:

A simple and rather subtle what-if build – or that was what I thought it to be. When I read the Hawker Hurricane book from the “Planes and Pilots” series, I came across several aircraft in early SEAC markings and wondered about a Buffalo with blue 18” roundels – the RAF machines could have carried these markings in early 1942, and that became the model’s simple concept.

The kit is the Matchbox Buffalo. It is rather simple but has the benefit of being a de-navalized export version with a different cowling and tail. On the other side it also features some (IMHO wrong) details from the USN version like the cuffed Curtiss Electric propeller, which should rather be slightly smaller uncuffed Hamilton Standard propeller, the life raft behind the pilot and the open sight. However, I did not want to invest a fortune into a Hasegawa kit (which has the different tail as an optional part). The Hobby Boss F2A is another cheap alternative, but it is an American carrier aircraft, just like the Airfix kit that even comes with rivets galore as an unwelcome bonus. The vintage Aoshima kit is also there, but no option anymore. Special Hobby also does an F2A – but it’s again the American Navy aircraft, and quite expensive.

The Matchbox Buffalo was basically built OOB, I just drilled up the gun ports and tried to make the engine louvres edges a little crisper, so that they rather look like outlets and not like un-PSRed seams. The flaps were lowered for a lively look. A British reflector sight was added to the cockpit as well as a retrofitted rear-view mirror to the canopy, and struts for the roll bar were mounted behind the pilot seat instead of the OOB life raft from the US Navy F2A. The propeller was replaced, too, because the Matchbox kit’s cuffed version also belongs onto an USN aircraft and not an export B-239/339. A scratched pitot was added to the port wing.

Real trouble struck the project when the plastic turned out to be brittle of age – and this showed in inconvenient places. A major issue became the landing gear: the delicate struts broke off just as I tried to carefully release the parts from the sprues. And the rather massive canopy suddenly “silvered” from many vertical micro-cracks after I had glued it into place – before that it just had a slightly milky tint, so that I still used it but left the cockpit closed. However, once in place the front section almost went blind (at first, I thought this was humidity from ink washings!), and I considered a vacu canopy replacement – but this turned out to be prohibitively expensive, and I retained the flaw. The landing gear had to be modified to work. The struts were glued back together with plastic and super glue, while the covers were replaced with thinner styrene sheet and the supporting struts were replaced with thinner material, too.

Painting and markings:

Straightforward choice, even though with detail twists. The Buffalo received the contemporary RAF Temperate Land Scheme, with upper camouflage in Dark Green and Dark Earth. Since the aircraft was supposed to be relatively freshly re-painted, I used stronger shades for the green and the brown, namely IJA Green from Modelmaster and Humbrol 26 (khaki matt, which is less reddish than Dark Earth but slightly darker). The underside was painted in a non-regular Sky Blue, a color that was used instead of Sky or Medium Sea Grey on some SEAC fighter aircraft. I used Humbrol 47 (Sea Blue).

The model received a light black ink washing and some dry-brushed post-panel shading – even though it was not supposed to look too weathered or worn, since it would be a freshly revamped Singapore survivor in a new unit.

The small all-blue SEAC roundels and the fin flash came from an Academy P-47D, and they look odd on the Buffalo, making it look bigger as it actually is – but they could have been used on them, had the type “survived” some more months into 1942. White ID markings, e. g. bands on wings and tail surfaces, were not common at the model’s intended time frame yet, so I just gave it a propeller tip in Sky (Tamiya XF-21) and a fuselage band in the same color – the latter taken from the Matchbox OOB decal sheet and the color on the spinner adapted to the decal (with Humbrol 23).

The tactical code was created from single white 6 mm letters (from TL Modellbau). AFAIK, some SEAC units rather used such smaller letters in a non-regular font for their machines, you frequently find Spitfires and Hurricanes with similar codes, and it works well on the short Buffalo. The aircraft’s serial number is fictional (but close to the RAF Buffalos’ range) and was created with single black 2mm “W”s and numbers from a re-boxed Matchbox Gloster Gladiator (Revell).

After some soot stains around the guns and the exhausts with graphite, the model was sealed with matt acrylic varnish and a wire antenna made from heated black sprue material was added between the mast and the fin.

A relatively simple what-if interim build, building- and painting-wise, but the kit’s age caused some serious trouble that could only be partly mended. The landing gear could be saved, even though it shows its damage, but the blind clear windscreen really bugs me. Nevertheless, a “late” SEAC Buffalo is an interesting sight. A rather subtle whif, and the all-blue roundels suit it well.

new modification of last model of KAMAZ dump trucks КАМАЗ-6520 - model -53 with max load 20 tons has improved classic 11.76 liter V8 diesel 740.735-400 with increased to 400 hp power and Euro-5 ecological level (Ad blue technology) as the air suspension of cabine.

The construction of the NEFAZ plant began in 1972 in Neftekamsk, Bashkiria, specifically to provide the Kamsky Automobile Plant (KAMAZ), which was under construction, with spare parts and component parts for trucks in accordance with a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR from December 7, 1970. Since 1977 and up to the present time NEFAZ has been the main producer of dump trucks on KAMAZ chassis. On May 19, 1982, the 100 thousandth KAMAZ-5511 dump truck was produced. In 2000 the development of a large capacity first class city bus was started and in September of the same year a prototype vehicle was produced. The first bus of the Nefaz-5299 family rolled off the assembly line on December 6, 2000. In 2001 115 buses were produced, which were delivered to Ufa, Ishimbai, Sterlitamak, Sibai, Neftekamsk, Kumertau, Beloretsk and Oktyabrsky. At present NEFAZ-5299 is the whole family of Russian buses, which are produced as high-floor (since 2000), low-floor (since 2004), full-floor (since 2011) city, suburban and long-distance buses with diesel and gas engine, as well as trolleybus (since 2008) and electric bus (since 2012) variants. The base model has undergone three significant design restyles (in 2005, 2013 and 2018). NEFAZ-5299 is one of the most popular city bus models in modern Russia: more than 10,000 copies have been produced in 15 years of production. In August 2018, the KAMAZ-6282 electric bus, a joint development of NEFAZ and KAMAZ, was released.

The Colosseum or Coliseum is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of travertine, tuff, and brick-faced concrete, it is the largest amphitheatre ever built.

The Colosseum is situated just east of the Roman Forum. Construction began under the emperor Vespasian in AD 72, and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (81–96).

The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, having an average audience of some 65,000; it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.

The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Read more here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colosseum

Rome, Italy. 02.11.2017.

As the “Thin Slice” aircraft were being developed, 14 C-130Es were purchased for SOG in 1965 for similar modifications. The first aircraft were production C-130Es from 1964 without specialized equipment and produced at Lockheed’s facility in Marietta, Georgia. Three production aircraft per month were fitted with the Fulton STARS (then ARS) system. While awaiting the ARS equipment, the C-130s were ferried to Greenville, Texas, for painting by Ling-Temco-Vought Electrosystems with a low-radar reflective paint that added 168 kg (370 lbs) weight. The velvet black and green scheme drew the nickname “Blackbird.” As the installation was completed, the Blackbirds were returned to Ontario to install the electronics package, code-named “Rivet Clamp.” These modified aircraft became known as “Clamps,” and collectively redesignated “Combat Talon” in 1967.

In this image, a C-130E “Blackbird” (serial number: 64-0551) sits on the apron at Hurlburt Field at Eglin AFB in Florida. The Rivet Clamps, originally designated C-130E(I)sp, were equipped with an electronic and infrared (IR) countermeasures suite and the SPR2 multimode radar was later upgraded to the AN/APQ-115 TF/TA unit. The radar was adapted from the Texas Instruments AN/APQ-99 radar used in the RF-4C Phantom photo reconnaissance aircraft, featuring terrain following/terrain avoidance (TF/TA) and mapping radar modes to enable it to operate at low altitudes at night and in all weather conditions. The radar also helped the “Clamps” to avoid known enemy radar and anti-aircraft weapons concentrations.

Beginning in 1970, Texas Instruments and Lockheed Air Service worked to adapt the existing AN/APQ-122 Adverse Weather Aerial Delivery System (AWADS) with terrain following/terrain avoidance modes to replace the original APQ-115, which suffered throughout its life with an unacceptably adverse mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) rate. In 1970, they succeeded, coupling the APQ-122 with the Litton LN-15J Inertial Navigation System (INS). Known as MOD-70, the modified radar was installed in all 12 operational Combat Talons and the four “Heavy Chain” test beds between 1971 and 1973. The system proved so successful that it continued in service until the late 1980s. Following the completion of MOD-70, the Combat Talons were divided into three designations: C-130E(CT) for the “Clamp” aircraft, C-130E(Y) for the “Yank” (formerly “Yard”) Talons, and C-130E(S) for the “Swap.” These various designations and aircraft were consolidated in 1977 as the MC-130E Combat Talon. The Combat Talon became the Combat Talon I in 1984 with the authorization to modify 24 C-130Hs to Combat Talon II specifications.

Full Spectrum modification, with front mounted 680nm cut-off filter (Infrared) IR

Old Fair Oaks Bridge over the American River , shot from the American River Parkway, Fair Oaks, California

Septum in corso.

piercingforum.forumcommunity.net/

1985 – 1986 Citroën BX 16 RS Break (Pick-up modification)

We were parked with our white BX Break when something yellow, at the same time familiar and strange, caught our attention. Unfortunately, it was too fast... We then guessed where it could have come from, and found a garage. Later, it was there, as expected (and hoped!)

So this was once a rare BX Break phase.1 / mk.1, if I understood right, as petrol, therefore BX 16 RS. I don't hope that it was a very rare 19 TRS Break (which has the BX 19 GT engine).

I felt sad for this rare BX, but then the owner told me that shortly after he had bought it, a tree fell on it during a storm. So instead of scrapping it, he transformed it to a pick-up!

Modification includes : rebuilding jaw so no longer spring action, and rebuilding club/weapon so it fits in hand properly. Grimlock was painted with MANY shades of metallic paint, and went through 45 stages of dry brushing and detail effects to make him look like old worn metal. He was clear coated in a prismatic lacquer paint, giving his metal parts a full spectrum of color at certain angles of light. Then clear coated in a high-gloss lacquer.

please don't ask me if it hurt. That has become a very boring question.

Taken with IR modification

Northern Class 158 Express Sprinter DMU 158859 passes through Uttoxeter station working from Heaton to Crewe where it was heading to receive internal and external modifications.

Colosseum

Following, a text, in english, from the Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia:

The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.

Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started between 70 and 72 AD[1] under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus,[2] with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81–96).[3] The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).

Capable of seating 50,000 spectators,[1][4][5] the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

Although in the 21st century it stays partially ruined because of damage caused by devastating earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome. It is one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions and still has close connections with the Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum.[6]

The Colosseum is also depicted on the Italian version of the five-cent euro coin.

The Colosseum's original Latin name was Amphitheatrum Flavium, often anglicized as Flavian Amphitheater. The building was constructed by emperors of the Flavian dynasty, hence its original name, after the reign of Emperor Nero.[7] This name is still used in modern English, but generally the structure is better known as the Colosseum. In antiquity, Romans may have referred to the Colosseum by the unofficial name Amphitheatrum Caesareum; this name could have been strictly poetic.[8][9] This name was not exclusive to the Colosseum; Vespasian and Titus, builders of the Colosseum, also constructed an amphitheater of the same name in Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli).[10]

The name Colosseum has long been believed to be derived from a colossal statue of Nero nearby.[3] (the statue of Nero itself being named after one of the original ancient wonders, the Colossus of Rhodes[citation needed]. This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate solar crown. Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.

In the 8th century, a famous epigram attributed to the Venerable Bede celebrated the symbolic significance of the statue in a prophecy that is variously quoted: Quamdiu stat Colisæus, stat et Roma; quando cadet colisæus, cadet et Roma; quando cadet Roma, cadet et mundus ("as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world").[11] This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus (as in, for instance, Byron's poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage). However, at the time that the Pseudo-Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.

The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly being pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheatre. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.[12]

The name further evolved to Coliseum during the Middle Ages. In Italy, the amphitheatre is still known as il Colosseo, and other Romance languages have come to use similar forms such as le Colisée (French), el Coliseo (Spanish) and o Coliseu (Portuguese).

Construction of the Colosseum began under the rule of the Emperor Vespasian[3] in around 70–72AD. The site chosen was a flat area on the floor of a low valley between the Caelian, Esquiline and Palatine Hills, through which a canalised stream ran. By the 2nd century BC the area was densely inhabited. It was devastated by the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64, following which Nero seized much of the area to add to his personal domain. He built the grandiose Domus Aurea on the site, in front of which he created an artificial lake surrounded by pavilions, gardens and porticoes. The existing Aqua Claudia aqueduct was extended to supply water to the area and the gigantic bronze Colossus of Nero was set up nearby at the entrance to the Domus Aurea.[12]

Although the Colossus was preserved, much of the Domus Aurea was torn down. The lake was filled in and the land reused as the location for the new Flavian Amphitheatre. Gladiatorial schools and other support buildings were constructed nearby within the former grounds of the Domus Aurea. According to a reconstructed inscription found on the site, "the emperor Vespasian ordered this new amphitheatre to be erected from his general's share of the booty." This is thought to refer to the vast quantity of treasure seized by the Romans following their victory in the Great Jewish Revolt in 70AD. The Colosseum can be thus interpreted as a great triumphal monument built in the Roman tradition of celebrating great victories[12], placating the Roman people instead of returning soldiers. Vespasian's decision to build the Colosseum on the site of Nero's lake can also be seen as a populist gesture of returning to the people an area of the city which Nero had appropriated for his own use. In contrast to many other amphitheatres, which were located on the outskirts of a city, the Colosseum was constructed in the city centre; in effect, placing it both literally and symbolically at the heart of Rome.

The Colosseum had been completed up to the third story by the time of Vespasian's death in 79. The top level was finished and the building inaugurated by his son, Titus, in 80.[3] Dio Cassius recounts that over 9,000 wild animals were killed during the inaugural games of the amphitheatre. The building was remodelled further under Vespasian's younger son, the newly designated Emperor Domitian, who constructed the hypogeum, a series of underground tunnels used to house animals and slaves. He also added a gallery to the top of the Colosseum to increase its seating capacity.

In 217, the Colosseum was badly damaged by a major fire (caused by lightning, according to Dio Cassius[13]) which destroyed the wooden upper levels of the amphitheatre's interior. It was not fully repaired until about 240 and underwent further repairs in 250 or 252 and again in 320. An inscription records the restoration of various parts of the Colosseum under Theodosius II and Valentinian III (reigned 425–455), possibly to repair damage caused by a major earthquake in 443; more work followed in 484[14] and 508. The arena continued to be used for contests well into the 6th century, with gladiatorial fights last mentioned around 435. Animal hunts continued until at least 523, when Anicius Maximus celebrated his consulship with some venationes, criticised by King Theodoric the Great for their high cost.

The Colosseum underwent several radical changes of use during the medieval period. By the late 6th century a small church had been built into the structure of the amphitheatre, though this apparently did not confer any particular religious significance on the building as a whole. The arena was converted into a cemetery. The numerous vaulted spaces in the arcades under the seating were converted into housing and workshops, and are recorded as still being rented out as late as the 12th century. Around 1200 the Frangipani family took over the Colosseum and fortified it, apparently using it as a castle.

Severe damage was inflicted on the Colosseum by the great earthquake in 1349, causing the outer south side, lying on a less stable alluvional terrain, to collapse. Much of the tumbled stone was reused to build palaces, churches, hospitals and other buildings elsewhere in Rome. A religious order moved into the northern third of the Colosseum in the mid-14th century and continued to inhabit it until as late as the early 19th century. The interior of the amphitheatre was extensively stripped of stone, which was reused elsewhere, or (in the case of the marble façade) was burned to make quicklime.[12] The bronze clamps which held the stonework together were pried or hacked out of the walls, leaving numerous pockmarks which still scar the building today.

During the 16th and 17th century, Church officials sought a productive role for the vast derelict hulk of the Colosseum. Pope Sixtus V (1585–1590) planned to turn the building into a wool factory to provide employment for Rome's prostitutes, though this proposal fell through with his premature death.[15] In 1671 Cardinal Altieri authorized its use for bullfights; a public outcry caused the idea to be hastily abandoned.

In 1749, Pope Benedict XIV endorsed as official Church policy the view that the Colosseum was a sacred site where early Christians had been martyred. He forbade the use of the Colosseum as a quarry and consecrated the building to the Passion of Christ and installed Stations of the Cross, declaring it sanctified by the blood of the Christian martyrs who perished there (see Christians and the Colosseum). However there is no historical evidence to support Benedict's claim, nor is there even any evidence that anyone prior to the 16th century suggested this might be the case; the Catholic Encyclopedia concludes that there are no historical grounds for the supposition. Later popes initiated various stabilization and restoration projects, removing the extensive vegetation which had overgrown the structure and threatened to damage it further. The façade was reinforced with triangular brick wedges in 1807 and 1827, and the interior was repaired in 1831, 1846 and in the 1930s. The arena substructure was partly excavated in 1810–1814 and 1874 and was fully exposed under Benito Mussolini in the 1930s.

The Colosseum is today one of Rome's most popular tourist attractions, receiving millions of visitors annually. The effects of pollution and general deterioration over time prompted a major restoration programme carried out between 1993 and 2000, at a cost of 40 billion Italian lire ($19.3m / €20.6m at 2000 prices). In recent years it has become a symbol of the international campaign against capital punishment, which was abolished in Italy in 1948. Several anti–death penalty demonstrations took place in front of the Colosseum in 2000. Since that time, as a gesture against the death penalty, the local authorities of Rome change the color of the Colosseum's night time illumination from white to gold whenever a person condemned to the death penalty anywhere in the world gets their sentence commuted or is released,[16] or if a jurisdiction abolishes the death penalty. Most recently, the Colosseum was illuminated in gold when capital punishment was abolished in the American state of New Mexico in April 2009.

Because of the ruined state of the interior, it is impractical to use the Colosseum to host large events; only a few hundred spectators can be accommodated in temporary seating. However, much larger concerts have been held just outside, using the Colosseum as a backdrop. Performers who have played at the Colosseum in recent years have included Ray Charles (May 2002),[18] Paul McCartney (May 2003),[19] Elton John (September 2005),[20] and Billy Joel (July 2006).

Exterior

Unlike earlier Greek theatres that were built into hillsides, the Colosseum is an entirely free-standing structure. It derives its basic exterior and interior architecture from that of two Roman theatres back to back. It is elliptical in plan and is 189 meters (615 ft / 640 Roman feet) long, and 156 meters (510 ft / 528 Roman feet) wide, with a base area of 6 acres (24,000 m2). The height of the outer wall is 48 meters (157 ft / 165 Roman feet). The perimeter originally measured 545 meters (1,788 ft / 1,835 Roman feet). The central arena is an oval 87 m (287 ft) long and 55 m (180 ft) wide, surrounded by a wall 5 m (15 ft) high, above which rose tiers of seating.

The outer wall is estimated to have required over 100,000 cubic meters (131,000 cu yd) of travertine stone which were set without mortar held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.[12] However, it has suffered extensive damage over the centuries, with large segments having collapsed following earthquakes. The north side of the perimeter wall is still standing; the distinctive triangular brick wedges at each end are modern additions, having been constructed in the early 19th century to shore up the wall. The remainder of the present-day exterior of the Colosseum is in fact the original interior wall.

The surviving part of the outer wall's monumental façade comprises three stories of superimposed arcades surmounted by a podium on which stands a tall attic, both of which are pierced by windows interspersed at regular intervals. The arcades are framed by half-columns of the Tuscan, Ionic, and Corinthian orders, while the attic is decorated with Corinthian pilasters.[21] Each of the arches in the second- and third-floor arcades framed statues, probably honoring divinities and other figures from Classical mythology.

Two hundred and forty mast corbels were positioned around the top of the attic. They originally supported a retractable awning, known as the velarium, that kept the sun and rain off spectators. This consisted of a canvas-covered, net-like structure made of ropes, with a hole in the center.[3] It covered two-thirds of the arena, and sloped down towards the center to catch the wind and provide a breeze for the audience. Sailors, specially enlisted from the Roman naval headquarters at Misenum and housed in the nearby Castra Misenatium, were used to work the velarium.[22]

The Colosseum's huge crowd capacity made it essential that the venue could be filled or evacuated quickly. Its architects adopted solutions very similar to those used in modern stadiums to deal with the same problem. The amphitheatre was ringed by eighty entrances at ground level, 76 of which were used by ordinary spectators.[3] Each entrance and exit was numbered, as was each staircase. The northern main entrance was reserved for the Roman Emperor and his aides, whilst the other three axial entrances were most likely used by the elite. All four axial entrances were richly decorated with painted stucco reliefs, of which fragments survive. Many of the original outer entrances have disappeared with the collapse of the perimeter wall, but entrances XXIII (23) to LIV (54) still survive.[12]

Spectators were given tickets in the form of numbered pottery shards, which directed them to the appropriate section and row. They accessed their seats via vomitoria (singular vomitorium), passageways that opened into a tier of seats from below or behind. These quickly dispersed people into their seats and, upon conclusion of the event or in an emergency evacuation, could permit their exit within only a few minutes. The name vomitoria derived from the Latin word for a rapid discharge, from which English derives the word vomit.

Interior

According to the Codex-Calendar of 354, the Colosseum could accommodate 87,000 people, although modern estimates put the figure at around 50,000. They were seated in a tiered arrangement that reflected the rigidly stratified nature of Roman society. Special boxes were provided at the north and south ends respectively for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins, providing the best views of the arena. Flanking them at the same level was a broad platform or podium for the senatorial class, who were allowed to bring their own chairs. The names of some 5th century senators can still be seen carved into the stonework, presumably reserving areas for their use.

The tier above the senators, known as the maenianum primum, was occupied by the non-senatorial noble class or knights (equites). The next level up, the maenianum secundum, was originally reserved for ordinary Roman citizens (plebians) and was divided into two sections. The lower part (the immum) was for wealthy citizens, while the upper part (the summum) was for poor citizens. Specific sectors were provided for other social groups: for instance, boys with their tutors, soldiers on leave, foreign dignitaries, scribes, heralds, priests and so on. Stone (and later marble) seating was provided for the citizens and nobles, who presumably would have brought their own cushions with them. Inscriptions identified the areas reserved for specific groups.

Another level, the maenianum secundum in legneis, was added at the very top of the building during the reign of Domitian. This comprised a gallery for the common poor, slaves and women. It would have been either standing room only, or would have had very steep wooden benches. Some groups were banned altogether from the Colosseum, notably gravediggers, actors and former gladiators.

Each tier was divided into sections (maeniana) by curved passages and low walls (praecinctiones or baltei), and were subdivided into cunei, or wedges, by the steps and aisles from the vomitoria. Each row (gradus) of seats was numbered, permitting each individual seat to be exactly designated by its gradus, cuneus, and number.

The arena itself was 83 meters by 48 meters (272 ft by 157 ft / 280 by 163 Roman feet).[12] It comprised a wooden floor covered by sand (the Latin word for sand is harena or arena), covering an elaborate underground structure called the hypogeum (literally meaning "underground"). Little now remains of the original arena floor, but the hypogeum is still clearly visible. It consisted of a two-level subterranean network of tunnels and cages beneath the arena where gladiators and animals were held before contests began. Eighty vertical shafts provided instant access to the arena for caged animals and scenery pieces concealed underneath; larger hinged platforms, called hegmata, provided access for elephants and the like. It was restructured on numerous occasions; at least twelve different phases of construction can be seen.[12]

The hypogeum was connected by underground tunnels to a number of points outside the Colosseum. Animals and performers were brought through the tunnel from nearby stables, with the gladiators' barracks at the Ludus Magnus to the east also being connected by tunnels. Separate tunnels were provided for the Emperor and the Vestal Virgins to permit them to enter and exit the Colosseum without needing to pass through the crowds.[12]

Substantial quantities of machinery also existed in the hypogeum. Elevators and pulleys raised and lowered scenery and props, as well as lifting caged animals to the surface for release. There is evidence for the existence of major hydraulic mechanisms[12] and according to ancient accounts, it was possible to flood the arena rapidly, presumably via a connection to a nearby aqueduct.

The Colosseum and its activities supported a substantial industry in the area. In addition to the amphitheatre itself, many other buildings nearby were linked to the games. Immediately to the east is the remains of the Ludus Magnus, a training school for gladiators. This was connected to the Colosseum by an underground passage, to allow easy access for the gladiators. The Ludus Magnus had its own miniature training arena, which was itself a popular attraction for Roman spectators. Other training schools were in the same area, including the Ludus Matutinus (Morning School), where fighters of animals were trained, plus the Dacian and Gallic Schools.

Also nearby were the Armamentarium, comprising an armory to store weapons; the Summum Choragium, where machinery was stored; the Sanitarium, which had facilities to treat wounded gladiators; and the Spoliarium, where bodies of dead gladiators were stripped of their armor and disposed of.

Around the perimeter of the Colosseum, at a distance of 18 m (59 ft) from the perimeter, was a series of tall stone posts, with five remaining on the eastern side. Various explanations have been advanced for their presence; they may have been a religious boundary, or an outer boundary for ticket checks, or an anchor for the velarium or awning.

Right next to the Colosseum is also the Arch of Constantine.

he Colosseum was used to host gladiatorial shows as well as a variety of other events. The shows, called munera, were always given by private individuals rather than the state. They had a strong religious element but were also demonstrations of power and family prestige, and were immensely popular with the population. Another popular type of show was the animal hunt, or venatio. This utilized a great variety of wild beasts, mainly imported from Africa and the Middle East, and included creatures such as rhinoceros, hippopotamuses, elephants, giraffes, aurochs, wisents, barbary lions, panthers, leopards, bears, caspian tigers, crocodiles and ostriches. Battles and hunts were often staged amid elaborate sets with movable trees and buildings. Such events were occasionally on a huge scale; Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia in 107 with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators over the course of 123 days.

During the early days of the Colosseum, ancient writers recorded that the building was used for naumachiae (more properly known as navalia proelia) or simulated sea battles. Accounts of the inaugural games held by Titus in AD 80 describe it being filled with water for a display of specially trained swimming horses and bulls. There is also an account of a re-enactment of a famous sea battle between the Corcyrean (Corfiot) Greeks and the Corinthians. This has been the subject of some debate among historians; although providing the water would not have been a problem, it is unclear how the arena could have been waterproofed, nor would there have been enough space in the arena for the warships to move around. It has been suggested that the reports either have the location wrong, or that the Colosseum originally featured a wide floodable channel down its central axis (which would later have been replaced by the hypogeum).[12]

Sylvae or recreations of natural scenes were also held in the arena. Painters, technicians and architects would construct a simulation of a forest with real trees and bushes planted in the arena's floor. Animals would be introduced to populate the scene for the delight of the crowd. Such scenes might be used simply to display a natural environment for the urban population, or could otherwise be used as the backdrop for hunts or dramas depicting episodes from mythology. They were also occasionally used for executions in which the hero of the story — played by a condemned person — was killed in one of various gruesome but mythologically authentic ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death.

The Colosseum today is now a major tourist attraction in Rome with thousands of tourists each year paying to view the interior arena, though entrance for EU citizens is partially subsidised, and under-18 and over-65 EU citizens' entrances are free.[24] There is now a museum dedicated to Eros located in the upper floor of the outer wall of the building. Part of the arena floor has been re-floored. Beneath the Colosseum, a network of subterranean passageways once used to transport wild animals and gladiators to the arena opened to the public in summer 2010.[25]

The Colosseum is also the site of Roman Catholic ceremonies in the 20th and 21st centuries. For instance, Pope Benedict XVI leads the Stations of the Cross called the Scriptural Way of the Cross (which calls for more meditation) at the Colosseum[26][27] on Good Fridays.

In the Middle Ages, the Colosseum was clearly not regarded as a sacred site. Its use as a fortress and then a quarry demonstrates how little spiritual importance was attached to it, at a time when sites associated with martyrs were highly venerated. It was not included in the itineraries compiled for the use of pilgrims nor in works such as the 12th century Mirabilia Urbis Romae ("Marvels of the City of Rome"), which claims the Circus Flaminius — but not the Colosseum — as the site of martyrdoms. Part of the structure was inhabited by a Christian order, but apparently not for any particular religious reason.

It appears to have been only in the 16th and 17th centuries that the Colosseum came to be regarded as a Christian site. Pope Pius V (1566–1572) is said to have recommended that pilgrims gather sand from the arena of the Colosseum to serve as a relic, on the grounds that it was impregnated with the blood of martyrs. This seems to have been a minority view until it was popularised nearly a century later by Fioravante Martinelli, who listed the Colosseum at the head of a list of places sacred to the martyrs in his 1653 book Roma ex ethnica sacra.

Martinelli's book evidently had an effect on public opinion; in response to Cardinal Altieri's proposal some years later to turn the Colosseum into a bullring, Carlo Tomassi published a pamphlet in protest against what he regarded as an act of desecration. The ensuing controversy persuaded Pope Clement X to close the Colosseum's external arcades and declare it a sanctuary, though quarrying continued for some time.

At the instance of St. Leonard of Port Maurice, Pope Benedict XIV (1740–1758) forbade the quarrying of the Colosseum and erected Stations of the Cross around the arena, which remained until February 1874. St. Benedict Joseph Labre spent the later years of his life within the walls of the Colosseum, living on alms, prior to his death in 1783. Several 19th century popes funded repair and restoration work on the Colosseum, and it still retains a Christian connection today. Crosses stand in several points around the arena and every Good Friday the Pope leads a Via Crucis procession to the amphitheatre.

Coliseu (Colosseo)

A seguir, um texto, em português, da Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre:

O Coliseu, também conhecido como Anfiteatro Flaviano, deve seu nome à expressão latina Colosseum (ou Coliseus, no latim tardio), devido à estátua colossal de Nero, que ficava perto a edificação. Localizado no centro de Roma, é uma excepção de entre os anfiteatros pelo seu volume e relevo arquitectónico. Originalmente capaz de albergar perto de 50 000 pessoas, e com 48 metros de altura, era usado para variados espetáculos. Foi construído a leste do fórum romano e demorou entre 8 a 10 anos a ser construído.

O Coliseu foi utilizado durante aproximadamente 500 anos, tendo sido o último registro efetuado no século VI da nossa era, bastante depois da queda de Roma em 476. O edifício deixou de ser usado para entretenimento no começo da era medieval, mas foi mais tarde usado como habitação, oficina, forte, pedreira, sede de ordens religiosas e templo cristão.

Embora esteja agora em ruínas devido a terremotos e pilhagens, o Coliseu sempre foi visto como símbolo do Império Romano, sendo um dos melhores exemplos da sua arquitectura. Actualmente é uma das maiores atrações turísticas em Roma e em 7 de julho de 2007 foi eleita umas das "Sete maravilhas do mundo moderno". Além disso, o Coliseu ainda tem ligações à igreja, com o Papa a liderar a procissão da Via Sacra até ao Coliseu todas as Sextas-feiras Santas.

O coliseu era um local onde seriam exibidos toda uma série de espectáculos, inseridos nos vários tipos de jogos realizados na urbe. Os combates entre gladiadores, chamados muneras, eram sempre pagos por pessoas individuais em busca de prestígio e poder em vez do estado. A arena (87,5 m por 55 m) possuía um piso de madeira, normalmente coberto de areia para absorver o sangue dos combates (certa vez foi colocada água na representação de uma batalha naval), sob o qual existia um nível subterrâneo com celas e jaulas que tinham acessos diretos para a arena; Alguns detalhes dessa construção, como a cobertura removível que poupava os espectadores do sol, são bastante interessantes, e mostram o refinamento atingido pelos construtores romanos. Formado por cinco anéis concêntricos de arcos e abóbadas, o Coliseu representa bem o avanço introduzido pelos romanos à engenharia de estruturas. Esses arcos são de concreto (de cimento natural) revestidos por alvenaria. Na verdade, a alvenaria era construída simultaneamente e já servia de forma para a concretagem. Outro tipo de espetáculos era a caça de animais, ou venatio, onde eram utilizados animais selvagens importados de África. Os animais mais utilizados eram os grandes felinos como leões, leopardos e panteras, mas animais como rinocerontes, hipopótamos, elefantes, girafas, crocodilos e avestruzes eram também utilizados. As caçadas, tal como as representações de batalhas famosas, eram efetuadas em elaborados cenários onde constavam árvores e edifícios amovíveis.

Estas últimas eram por vezes representadas numa escala gigante; Trajano celebrou a sua vitória em Dácia no ano 107 com concursos envolvendo 11 000 animais e 10 000 gladiadores no decorrer de 123 dias.

Segundo o documentário produzido pelo canal televisivo fechado, History Channel, o Coliseu também era utilizado para a realização de naumaquias, ou batalhas navais. O coliseu era inundado por dutos subterrâneos alimentados pelos aquedutos que traziam água de longe. Passada esta fase, foi construída uma estrutura, que é a que podemos ver hoje nas ruínas do Coliseu, com altura de um prédio de dois andares, onde no passado se concentravam os gladiadores, feras e todo o pessoal que organizava os duelos que ocorreriam na arena. A arena era como um grande palco, feito de madeira, e se chama arena, que em italiano significa areia, porque era jogada areia sob a estrutura de madeira para esconder as imperfeições. Os animais podiam ser inseridos nos duelos a qualquer momento por um esquema de elevadores que surgiam em alguns pontos da arena; o filme "Gladiador" retrata muito bem esta questão dos elevadores. Os estudiosos, há pouco tempo, descobriram uma rede de dutos inundados por baixo da arena do Coliseu. Acredita-se que o Coliseu foi construído onde, outrora, foi o lago do Palácio Dourado de Nero; O imperador Vespasiano escolheu o local da construção para que o mal causado por Nero fosse esquecido por uma construção gloriosa.

Sylvae, ou recreações de cenas naturais eram também realizadas no Coliseu. Pintores, técnicos e arquitectos construiriam simulações de florestas com árvores e arbustos reais plantados no chão da arena. Animais seriam então introduzidos para dar vida à simulação. Esses cenários podiam servir só para agrado do público ou como pano de fundo para caçadas ou dramas representando episódios da mitologia romana, tão autênticos quanto possível, ao ponto de pessoas condenadas fazerem o papel de heróis onde eram mortos de maneiras horríveis mas mitologicamente autênticas, como mutilados por animais ou queimados vivos.

Embora o Coliseu tenha funcionado até ao século VI da nossa Era, foram proibidos os jogos com mortes humanas desde 404, sendo apenas massacrados animais como elefantes, panteras ou leões.

O Coliseu era sobretudo um enorme instrumento de propaganda e difusão da filosofia de toda uma civilização, e tal como era já profetizado pelo monge e historiador inglês Beda na sua obra do século VII "De temporibus liber": "Enquanto o Coliseu se mantiver de pé, Roma permanecerá; quando o Coliseu ruir, Roma ruirá e quando Roma cair, o mundo cairá".

A construção do Coliseu foi iniciada por Vespasiano, nos anos 70 da nossa era. O edifício foi inaugurado por Tito, em 80, embora apenas tivesse sido finalizado poucos anos depois. Empresa colossal, este edifício, inicialmente, poderia sustentar no seu interior cerca de 50 000 espectadores, constando de três andares. Aquando do reinado de Alexandre Severo e Gordiano III, é ampliado com um quarto andar, podendo suster agora cerca de 90 000 espectadores. A grandiosidade deste monumento testemunha verdadeiramente o poder e esplendor de Roma na época dos Flávios.

Os jogos inaugurais do Coliseu tiveram lugar ano 80, sob o mandato de Tito, para celebrar a finalização da construção. Depois do curto reinado de Tito começar com vários meses de desastres, incluindo a erupção do Monte Vesúvio, um incêndio em Roma, e um surto de peste, o mesmo imperador inaugurou o edifício com uns jogos pródigos que duraram mais de cem dias, talvez para tentar apaziguar o público romano e os deuses. Nesses jogos de cem dias terão ocorrido combates de gladiadores, venationes (lutas de animais), execuções, batalhas navais, caçadas e outros divertimentos numa escala sem precedentes.

O Coliseu, como não se encontrava inserido numa zona de encosta, enterrado, tal como normalmente sucede com a generalidade dos teatros e anfiteatros romanos, possuía um “anel” artificial de rocha à sua volta, para garantir sustentação e, ao mesmo tempo, esta substrutura serve como ornamento ao edifício e como condicionador da entrada dos espectadores. Tal como foi referido anteriormente, possuía três pisos, sendo mais tarde adicionado um outro. É construído em mármore, pedra travertina, ladrilho e tufo (pedra calcária com grandes poros). A sua planta elíptica mede dois eixos que se estendem aproximadamente de 190 m por 155 m. A fachada compõe-se de arcadas decoradas com colunas dóricas, jónicas e coríntias, de acordo com o pavimento em que se encontravam. Esta subdivisão deve-se ao facto de ser uma construção essencialmente vertical, criando assim uma diversificação do espaço.

Os assentos eram em mármore e a cavea, escadaria ou arquibancada, dividia-se em três partes, correspondentes às diferentes classes sociais: o podium, para as classes altas; as maeniana, sector destinado à classe média; e os portici, ou pórticos, construídos em madeira, para a plebe e as mulheres. O pulvinar, a tribuna imperial, encontrava-se situada no podium e era balizada pelos assentos reservados aos senadores e magistrados. Rampas no interior do edifício facilitavam o acesso às várias zonas de onde podiam visualizar o espectáculo, sendo protegidos por uma barreira e por uma série de arqueiros posicionados numa passagem de madeira, para o caso de algum acidente. Por cima dos muros ainda são visíveis as mísulas, que sustentavam o velarium, enorme cobertura de lona destinada a proteger do sol os espectadores e, nos subterrâneos, ficavam as jaulas dos animais, bem como todas as celas e galerias necessárias aos serviços do anfiteatro.

O monumento permaneceu como sede principal dos espetáculos da urbe romana até ao período do imperador Honorius, no século V. Danificado por um terremoto no começo do mesmo século, foi alvo de uma extensiva restauração na época de Valentinianus III. Em meados do século XIII, a família Frangipani transformou-o em fortaleza e, ao longo dos séculos XV e XVI, foi por diversas vezes saqueado, perdendo grande parte dos materiais nobres com os quais tinha sido construído.

Os relatos romanos referem-se a cristãos sendo martirizados em locais de Roma descritos pouco pormenorizadamente (no anfiteatro, na arena...), quando Roma tinha numerosos anfiteatros e arenas. Apesar de muito provavelmente o Coliseu não ter sido utilizado para martírios, o Papa Bento XIV consagrou-o no século XVII à Paixão de Cristo e declarou-o lugar sagrado. Os trabalhos de consolidação e restauração parcial do monumento, já há muito em ruínas, foram feitos sobretudo pelos pontífices Gregório XVI e Pio IX, no século XIX.

Still the weekend water change and cleanup ahead. Here a month old.

The Colt Tornado (a name that almost got me sued by a friend; you know who you are) with some small changes. Mainly the sides, which needed some vents. I achieved the structure of those sides by modding some brackets.

During World War Two, only three nations undertook the development of a dedicated night fighter, built from the ground up for the task rather than being modifications to existing aircraft. The U.S. deployed the Northrop P-61 Black Widow while the Japanese had the Aichi S1A Denko which existed as two, incomplete prototypes by the end of WW2. Germany was the third, deploying a handful of Focke-Wulf Ta 154 Moskito night fighters with Nachtjägdgeschwader 3 (NJG 3) in 1944. There was a second German night fighter that some consider the most potent such aircraft of the war and this was the Heinkel He 219 Uhu (“Night Owl”) which entered service in 1943. The He 219 was the first ever operational combat aircraft to have ejection seats and as a testament of the design’s ability, Major Ernst-Wilhelm Modrow of Nachtjägdgeschwader 1 (NJG 1) claimed 33 of his 34 total kills flying the He 219 against enemy bombers. After the war, the U.S. was keen on getting their hands on a He 219 to evaluate and the one in this photograph represents one of the several He 219 which fell into U.S. hands. There is some confusion as to the identity of this He 219 in terms of model, source depending. Some state it is a He 219A-2, He 219A-5, or a He 219A-7. If one looks closely at the nose, visible is “V11” and this would suggest this was the eleventh prototype. However, after the war, the remains of V11 were found in the Heinkel factory located in Schwechat. Other sources suggest that the V11 was rebuilt as a He 219A-5 model and if this was so, then it is plausible that usable components from the original V11 were used to construct the aircraft to A-5 standards. V11 (werk nummer 190011) was not used in combat and instead was a test aircraft. This might explain the lack of fully fitted radar equipment and that the forward fuselage does not appear to carry any field paint compared to the rest of the aircraft. Looking at the differences in coloration of the tail plane also suggests a usable aircraft constructed from various components from other aircraft. It is noted that the werk nummer of this He 219 was 290060 which would make it an A-2 series aircraft. Originally, it was assigned the code U.S.A. 9 (seen behind the star and bar) after being surrendered at Flieger-Horst Grove in Denmark and carried the German code CS+QG. It was flown to Cherbourg, France by Captain Fred McIntosh, put aboard the HMS Reaper, and shipped to the U.S. with the tail code FE-613. By August 1946, it was scrapped but not before it served as a spares pool for another He 219, FE-614 (werk nummer 290202). The latter aircraft survives today, being on display in semi-restored state, at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia. Some sources list this survivor as being FE-613 but this confusion may come from the fact FE-614 utilized parts from FE-613. My own belief is that FE-613 was, indeed, a combination of one or more He 219 aircraft (including parts from the V11 prototype) assembled to be a prototype/test bed for the A-5 model. If the aircraft was, indeed, built from the ground up as a He 219A-5, they would not have re-used V11 which had already been allocated. Rebuilding prototypes into other makes wasn’t uncommon. An example was the He 219 V 16 which was modified into a He 219A-0 model before again being modified into a He 219A-5 model.

Well I will let you in on a secret, ok it is not but anyway, when my wife comes across Lego sets on sale for about 50% off she lets me know and I thought on this one it might be worth the parts but then I decided to try an alternate build so here it is. Except for one part, a 2x4 white tile on the trunk, it would be considered an alternate.

Had a lot of fun with Wigfrid's hair and helmet, though it required some modification to the head in order to pull off.

The parish church was established as a place of worship in association with the founding of Ludlow by the Normans in the late 11th century. It is situated atop the hill around which the medieval town developed. The church was rebuilt in the year 1199 and has had several later additions and modifications. The tower is 135 feet (41 metres) high and commands expansive views of the town and surrounding countryside. Notable features include an extensive set of misericords in the choir stalls as well as fine stained glass windows. The church is is also known as "The Cathedral Of The Marches".

Ludlow is a market town in Shropshire. It sits near the confluence of the rivers Corve and Teme. The oldest part is the medieval walled town, founded in the late 11th century after the Norman conquest of England. It is centred on a small hill which lies on the eastern bank of a bend of the River Teme. Situated on this hill are Ludlow Castle and the parish church, St Laurence's, the largest in the county. From there the streets slope downward to the River Teme, and northward toward the River Corve. The town is in a sheltered spot beneath Mortimer Forest and the Clee Hills, which are clearly visible from the town.

Ludlow has nearly 500 listed buildings, including examples of medieval and Tudor-style half-timbered buildings. The town was described by Sir John Betjeman as "probably the loveliest town in England".

This is a modification of my hot rod pickup. It still has everything that you might like (motorized/remotely controlled driving/steering, lights, turn signals, working steering wheel, working V8 and radiator fan, working door handles, gearbox…) and some new features (wheels, suspension, engine, roof, front lights, interior, fuel tank, movable license plate, chrome details…). Like the old one, it is 50 studs long and 28 studs wide but it is heavier - it weighs 1285g.

VIDEO: youtu.be/jR0rCEck7_0

Characteristics:

-Leaf spring suspension with height-adjustable rear

-License plate with simple mechanism to hide it (manual)

-Lights (front and rear) manually controlled with a lever connected to a speed dial of 8878 battery (which allows you to switch between low and high beam)

-Turn signals (front and rear) connected to a servo motor via coupled PF switches (2 switches)

-Working steering wheel

-Manual gearbox – 4 gears (5:1, 3:1, 5:3, 1:1)

-Suicide doors with working door handles

-It is powered by two L motors and 7.4 V (8878) rechargeable battery box.

-Servo motor for steering

-Working V8 fake engine with some details to make it resemble real V8 engine, connected directly to the driving motors so it works at the same speed no matter what gear you choose (in neutral also)

-Working radiator fan, connected directly to a V8 engine

-Rear doors can be opened.

-Roof window, fire extinguisher, fuel tank…

-Front tires from 8070 supercar, and rear from 42000 Grand Prix Racer.

I hope you like it, feel free to comment…

p.s. it has been blogged: thelegocarblog.com/2014/07/03/rod-mod/

Inside of modified cactus trigger transmitter.

Vivitar 285hv camera right shot thru brolly.

Test with two soft boxes modified to bring out continuum light.

post - Magic Bullets Looks

song - Babe i'm gonna leave you

Modification of a MOC by Cixpack: rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-96447/cixpack/cubotz/#details

Lothian Buses operated Volvo B8L ADL Enviro400 XLB SB19 GLY - 1128 - is pictured on The Mound in Edinburgh working a service on Airlink route 100.

This vehicle wears the promotional Lothian Airlink livery and is one of 3 of the type to carry this design. I prefer the regular Airlink livery personally but if this has done its job in any way for getting more people using the service then I suppose it is an effective advertisement lol.

Date Taken: November 2nd, 2024

Device Used: iPhone 12 Pro Max

Date Uploaded: May 28th, 2026

Upload Number: 2734

Interested in seeing some bus videos? You'll find buses both real and virtual on my YouTube channel, as well as other cool bus-themed stuff too! - www.youtube.com/@ZZ9sTransport

© ZZ9's Transport Photography (ZZ9 Productions). All Rights Reserved. Modification, redistribution, reuploading and the like is prohibited without prior written permission from myself.

otherwise, kind of a cheery hall

powered off modification controlled by Los Angeles Department of Transportation, Special Traffic Operations, Transportation and Traffic Management Plan Contingency Engineers during the operation of the cicLAvia Heart of Los Angeles Car-Free Open-Streets Bicycle Route in Chinatown Los Angeles, California 90012 where it has a Los Angeles Chinatown Firecracker Event Booth located at Chinatown Central Plaza Wisdom Gate.

Note: This is the new current Los Angeles Chinatown Lunar New Year Golden Dragon Parade clockwise route along on Southbound Broadway to Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and Spring Street operating since 2007 until present. The former G.D.P. route was on Northbound Broadway from Cesar E. Chavez Avenue to Bernard Street and Southbound Hill Street took place here until 2006.

洛杉磯中國城華埠孟歐之風北百老滙街900號座位段過馬路紅緑燈標誌

This is the continuous and Northern End of Ciclavia Heart of Los Angeles Car-Free Open-Streets Bicycle Route in Chinatown Central Plaza Hub.

#ChinatownLA

#ChinatownLosAngeles

#LAChinatown

#LosAngelesChinatown

#ChinatownCentralPlaza

#孟歐之風

#ciclavia

#holaciclavia

#ciclaviahola

#ciclaviaheartofla

#ciclaviaheartoflosangeles

@ChinatownLA

@ChinatownLosAngeles

@LAChinatown

@LosAngelesChinatown

@ChinatownCentralPlaza

@孟歐之風

@chinatown90012

@chinatown_la

@ctla

@los_angeles_chinatown

@lachinatown_community

@lachinatown_community

@lachinatowncentralplaza

@CicLAvia

Finally, looking at this body doesn't hurt ^^

Lady Porkshanks had spent many hours working on new ideas back at the Carriage, although she did take a break to utilize the modification she had made to the pressure chamber above the boiler room. On their last stop off in The Orient, she had come upon an most wonderful local custom of bathing in hot natural springs for health and relaxation, and the experience most appealed to her!

She later realised while working on the steam engine that powers the massive fans of the Carriage, that the chamber of water above the boiler idles at a fairly constant low temperature within the bathing range. She had cut a new hatch into the side of the chamber and lined the edges with a thick tar-like substance she had used previously to patch holes in the bottom of the hull when they had ran afoul of rock outcroppings and stumps. She had installed a new flow regulator directly on the conjunction between the two so that she could manually terminate the incoming fluid if the heat rapidly increased by accident or emergency need at an inopportune moment.

As she lay under the propped-up lid of the tank and soaked in delightfully warm water, she pondered. Her eyes lazily followed the trails of vapour rising up around her, Lady Porkshank's mind wandered to other varieties of mist she discovered back in The East. She reached down out of the tank and picked up her belt and rotated it in her hands until she found the ornate Chinese incense holder she carried with her often. She opened the black-with-age brass tube and dropped out an all-surfaces match and a single stick of her pungent 'secret recipe' incense.

Sticking the base of the incense into an overlap in the hull wall near her, she ran the head of the match across a bit of iron rust and touched the flame to begin the slow burn. The smoke trail drifted out and mingled with the heated tub vapour and became a solid wall between herself and the world. Images fell away and the sound of the shore lapping became like a languid sort of music from an alien world beyond the sky above! Her senses ceased their incessant prattling on and she turned inward, falling into a deep meditation within her very consciousness itself!

Something about the Caves of Al Alia still tugged at her thoughts, but she could not place a pin into what it precisely was! They had sifted through nearly all of the machinery and traveled the whole course of the caves to their terminations, but something was missing. Some piece of tapestry remained no matter how much she unraveled things!

Then it hit her... or at least she imagined that it dropped into her lap in a way to cause her to wake with a start straight up in the tank! Her forehead nearly missed the hard resin on the edge of the carved chamber, and she announced a curse upon the evening air far louder than she had in years.

How could she have missed such an obvious element, she wondered as her anger built. She felt her old bullet wound in her shoulder tense up and immediately breathed deeply to calm herself. At her core, Eugenia Porkshanks was an emotional woman, although nearly every aspect of her life had conspired long ago to cause her to build a severe and calculating way of presenting herself. If she had wavered in her pursuit for a moment, the men would think her irrational. If she showed a passion for feminine arts around most men, she was considered a liability on the battlefield. But most of all; if she lost her control, her old wounds would cramp up and she would find herself wracked with pain in hours!

The life she led was in some respects, within her ability; but in her pursuit to prove herself a man's equal in technological and psychological pursuits, she had often pushed too hard and caused some permanent damage to her corpus. This is also why the bath appealed to her on a physically soothing level.

Now calmed, she realized that she could have overlooked something, and if it was the case, then she was bothered for naught. But if she was right, then something had indeed escaped her attention thus far. She would need to check again to know which option was the one real truth!

So she dried and dressed herself and left a message on the ship's wax cylinder that she was leaving for the caves one last time.

As she trudged up the incline behind the ridge a second time in the quickly increasing night, she payed close attention to the trees around her. She was looking for a sign of damage under the six foot mark. There was none. She was looking for a wide path leading up to the artificial tunnel from anywhere else. There was none.

And finally, as she drew near to the entrance of the tunnel, she searched in vain for a large pile of rubble. She had calculated the mass of the tunnel alone to measure in the tons, and it would have been freshly dug as well; but a thin vine network crawled all over the terrain.

There were small piles of rock scattered about the place where the machine had dug the tunnel, but their placement only doubled her confidence that the tunnel had indeed been dug from within. Checking the marks on the walls of the tunnel tripled her bet, they also told of a churning drill working toward the exterior!

The fact that the machine was not yet found meant that it was either transported by some unknown method under the ground or one of the deep lakes of the extensive caves connected with the sea water and they had removed the device by hidden submersible!

Dear lord, this changed the game! She dashed down the now silent tunnel and instead of taking the door up to the main chamber, she followed the long straight tunnel all the way. There was a giant fan sitting silent sentry over the end of the tunnel. She pushed against one of the blades and it creaked ominously as the echo reverberated down the narrow corridor of stone.

She had a hunch. They hadn't discovered a crucial passage because it wasn't a passage any more! When the Silver Talon had devised the creation of the machines, he had hollowed out large portions of solid rock and built the giant contraptions inside the hollows. However, the tunneler would have been taken away before construction began, and perhaps there remained a clue at the other end of that first tunnel!

Now that most of the machines had been disassembled, they laid bare and torn apart like carcasses on the plains. She peered into each nook and cranny looking desperately for some evidence that the chamber it was on might continue on behind it!

She searched for hours in the quiet dark, finding nothing. What could have possibly taken away the tunnel-boring machine, where did it travel off to?

She fell easily with her back against the wide curved surface of the cooling tower and sat down to think. Her frustration got the best of her for a moment and she punched the side of the massive tower with her fist.

It would have to be a big hole leading away from the caves, how could she have missed it? It would have to be some where central, as none of the cave tunnels would have permitted a machine that large through without having to use it!

What could she be missing? She laid her head back and impacted the side of the water tower with a great sigh.

As she listened in the deep blackness to the echo reflecting within the liquid of the tower, the obvious finally dawned within her mindscape!

They had never drained the tower!

Rushing up the ladder to the top of the tower, she peered down, but it was too deep to show anything with her weak little Ambience Enhancer wrist lamp. She reached over to the valves and cranked the big one with all her might! She wedged her locknut puller into the wheel of the valve and it gave after a momentary struggle.

The sound came from far below of rushing water! The surface rippled lightly and began to lower slowly but surely. She stood and watched the water as it was draining by sheer will alone. Like if she were to spend a pound of attention elsewhere, the water would rebel and flow back up to full height or greater!

As the water level dropped, it revealed a thin ladder with an end placed about ten feet from the lip of the tower. She saw that the only way to reach it was to jump down into the water as it receded and swim to the ladder so she held her breath and leapt.

She slowly climbed down the ladder a few feet above the lowering surface for quite a surprising amount of time. The tower was clearly far deeper than anyone could have imagined! Darkness extended in all directions, but she could see the ladder stretch out toward the black cave ceiling with no end in sight.

Finally, she could hear a drain sucking air, and islands of rock appeared and quickly grew to cover the bottom of the tower as the last of the water pooled up.

As she stepped off the ladder and looked around, a large brass door in the side of the metal tower was staring her down defiantly.

Having Liked The Band Evanescence For A Few Years I Figured I Would Make This Tribute Car To The Best Album In My Opinion, "The Open Door" I Started By Painting The Rear Black And Using A Cardboard Divider Painting The Front In Blue. It's Blended Well.

Modification includes : rebuilding jaw so no longer spring action, and rebuilding club/weapon so it fits in hand properly. Grimlock was painted with MANY shades of metallic paint, and went through 45 stages of dry brushing and detail effects to make him look like old worn metal. He was clear coated in a prismatic lacquer paint, giving his metal parts a full spectrum of color at certain angles of light. Then clear coated in a high-gloss lacquer.

7685. Good set, but it has one bad thing: the fake cylinders used for 'lifting' the blade are very weak. I've replaced them with simple mechanism, that allow to raise and lower the blade by turning gear on the back. And I've also added PF Lights. Why? Because there was enough space inside ;)

The following movie shows how my modification works:

YouTube

Brickshelf Gallery

Turning girls into boys is a fun and godlike power...bwahahahaaa

Modified version of the LEGO Brick Bank (#10251).

There's now an ATM and the additional floor provides room for an insurance agent, who might not be the most respectable one.

Just messing around with some of my figs. Hope you guys like them. Comments are appreciated!

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

Some background:

In September 1939, the US Army was ill-prepared as far as armored vehicles, training and tactics went. Soon, it became clear that a new model, which could be favorably compared to the European models, had to be studied for mass production. The very early M1 Combat Car was nothing more than a very small tank with two machine guns. Its main purpose was scouting and as such ordered for “cavalry” units. This was in 1937, and became the forerunner of all light tanks to come.

In 1935, a new model, the M2 Light Tank, was designed. At first, it was an immediate upgrade of the M1, but with the heavier .50 (12.7 mm) caliber machine gun, immediately followed by the M2A2 with twin turrets equipped with .30 (7.62 mm) caliber M1919 machine guns. The “Mae West” gave way in 1938 to a small series of M2A3 37 mm (1.45 in) single turret tanks, and then to the final M2A4 in 1940, with improved armor, motorization and equipment. These fought at Guadalcanal with the US Marine Corps, and with the British Army through Lend-Lease, performing well in Burma and India against the Japanese, despite being obsolete.

After the Africa campaign, British Stuarts and Parsival took successfully part in the liberation of Italy. About 500 were produced, 160 of them were delivered to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease, the rest was exclusively operated by the British Army in Europe. Parsivals, M3s, M3A3s, and M5s continued in British service until the end of the war.

Specifications:

Crew: Three (commander, driver, radio operator)

Weight: 10.8 tons

Length: 14ft 2in (4.33 m)

Width: 7ft 4in (2.33 m)

Height: 2.49 metres (8 ft 1 1/2 in)

Suspension: Christie system

Ground clearance: 16.5" (419 mm)

Fuel capacity: 54 US gal (200 l)

Armor:

0.52 - 2 in (13 - 51 mm)

Performance:

Speed:

- Maximum, road: 40 mph (65 km/h)

- Cross country: 22 mph (36 km/h)

Climbing capability:

- 40% side slope and 60% max grade

- Vertical obstacle of 24 inches (61 cm)

- 72 inches (1,8 m) trench crossing

Fording depth: 36 inches (91 cm)

Operational range: 100 ml (160 km) on road with internal fuel

Power/weight: 23.1 hp/t

Engine:

1× Guiberson T-1020 9-cylinder radial diesel engine with a 1,021 cu in (16.73 l) displacement,

delivering 250 hp (190 kW)

Transmission:

Hydramatic, 4 speeds forward, 1 reverse

Armament:

1× 0.5” (12.7) mm M2 machine gun with 900 rounds

3× 0.303” (7,62 mm) M1919A4 machine guns

(co-axial in the turret, in the front bow and as an AA weapon on top of the turret)

with a total of 6,750 rounds

2× smoke dischargers on the turret’s right side

The kit and its assembly:

This M3 conversion was spawned by the idea of a dedicated recce variant of the popular Stuart tank. Originally, I just planned to use the chassis from a Hasegawa 1:72 kit and replace the turret with a smaller option (including lighter armament), I already had organized a resin turret for/from an American T17 “Staghound” WWII recce car. But, as always, you can drive a simple idea easily further, so that I also thought about a different suspension and other modifications that would improve the tank’s agility. This led to a Christie-style running gear and the deletion of the M3’s machine gun sponsons, which were in practice used as storage space after the machine guns had been deleted.

The Staghound turret came from a ModelTrans/Silesian Models conversion set, which also includes a nice commander figure as well as two fuel drums. The sponsons were simply cut away and the gaps filled with 0.5 mm styrene sheet – a small modification, and thanks to the M3’s boxy hull design a simple affair. Only some small PSR on the side wall implants as well as on the mudguards (which are segmented) was necessary, and this modification changes the M3’s look considerably!

The running gear was scratched and more complicated, in particular because assembly and painting had to go hand in hand. The eight road wheels actually come from a 1:72 T-72 tank from ModelCollect, their width perfectly matched the track’s and they had the same size as the M3’s large idler wheel at the rear. The road wheels’ depth just looks a little disturbing, but not implausible. The trailing idler wheel (using the original suspension arm) defined the stance and the other wheels were mounted on plastic rods to the hull, with simulated suspensions arms (styrene profile) behind them. Since the drive and idler wheels’ position effectively remained unchanged, I was able to use the OOB vinyl tracks, which are really smooth and easy to handle. However, this move necessitated to retain the return wheels – I wanted to omit them, for an even more Christie-esque look, but without them the track would have been too long and slacked through, with a lot of space between the tracks and the mudguards. Nevertheless, the return wheels’ position was slightly changed, in order to reflect the modified road wheels’ position. And the whole affair simply looks different from the original, so I am fine with it.

In order to liven the small tank up, I added the fuel drums from the Staghound set to the rear fenders and added some more boxes and folded tarpaulins (made from paper tissue drenched in thinned white glue) on the mudguards, somewhat masking the new side walls from sight. I also mounted the M3’s OOB AA machine gun to the turret.

Painting and markings:

I wanted a Northern Africa paint scheme and at first considered the iconic Caunter scheme, but then I thought that, since this livery was also used on the real British Stuarts, I rather wanted something different.

I eventually settled for a simple two-tone scheme, used on British cruiser tanks like the Crusader as well as on M3 Lee medium tanks of American origin. The basic colors I used are Humbrol 168 (Hemp) for the Light Stone tone, and Humbrol 98 (Chocolate) for the dull, dark brown.

As common practice, the basic colors were separated with thin, white lines in order to emphasize the contrast between them. Sometimes in practice, an additional black line was added, too, but due to the model’s small size I just painted a white line.

Another common practice of the British army, esp. on cruiser tanks with large wheels, was to paint the front and rear road wheels in a uniform, light color, while the wheels between them became dark – an attempt to mimic a lorry, esp. when a light “Sunshield” canopy was mounted over the hull that resembled a truck’s outline.

The model received a light wash with a mix of black, grey and brown, the decals (taken from the OOB sheet) were applied next. Over this came some dry-brushing with light grey and ochre and the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (from the rattle can). Once the tracks were mounted, the lower areas of the tank were finally dusted with a mix of sand and light grey pigments.

Even though the Hasegawa M3 was a simple basis to start with, the conversions, esp. the running gear, were quite challenging. But I like the result a lot: the Parsival looks like a slimmed-down race variant of the M3, just what I wanted to achieve, and the British camouflage suits the small tank well, too – the white contrast line adds an exotic touch.