Lessons learned over Europe and the Pacific showed that the B-24 was vulnerable to attacks from the front—a problem it shared with the B-17. In the field, B-24 crews jammed as many machine guns as possible into the glasshouse nose of the B-24D (some B-24s at Ploesti had five or six guns in a nose designed only for three at most), but this was not the solution.

 

Consolidated experimented with various kinds of modifications until settling on a redesigned nose with a manned turret (unlike the remote chin turret on the B-17G). This would cause some loss of aerodynamics on an aircraft already known for its difficult handling, but it at least would give the B-24 better defense from forward attacks. The redesign also made the nose roomier, added chin windows for the bombardier, enlarged the dorsal and tail turrets for better visibility, and enclosed the waist positions. The wet wing used by the B-24D was deleted in favor of self-sealing fuel tanks, eliminating the B-24’s tendency to catch fire.

 

Production shifted to the B-24H in late 1943, but there was a shortage of the electrically-powered Emerson nose turret, and so a hydraulically-powered Sperry turret was used on the B-24J. If that was not confusing enough, Consolidated also produced a lighter version, the B-24L, with no ball or tail turrets, leaving it to individual groups to install heavier turrets, flexible mounts, or no armament at all. All three were produced at once, and all three were used in increasingly heavy combat over Europe.

 

Though losses climbed over Europe, the aircraft could at least be easily replaced, for by the introduction of the B-24H/J series, Liberator production had truly hit its stride. Four factories were producing B-24s, but the most famous and efficient was Ford’s Willow Run plant, which by 1944 was producing one bomber per hour—crews fresh from training would arrive at Willow Run around nightfall, and pick up their new B-24 the next morning. The B-24 would not only become the most produced bomber of World War II, it would be the most produced American combat aircraft in history—no less than 18,482 Liberators would come off the line by the end of the war.

 

B-24Js and like variants would see heavy service worldwide, replacing the B-17 entirely in the Pacific and supplementing it over Europe. B-24s would bomb both Berlin and attack the southernmost Japanese home islands. Besides acting as strategic bombers, Liberators would also act as antisubmarine maritime patrol aircraft for the RAF, the USAAF, and the US Navy as the PB4Y-1; the latter would also be converted to primitive cruise missiles in Operation Aphrodite against German V-weapon sites in Belgium. One Aphrodite mission would claim the life of Joseph Kennedy Jr., older brother of future President John F. Kennedy. Still others would be converted to long-range transports, flying fuel over the Himalayas “Hump” in support of operations in China, and two would be converted to executive transports for both Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, the latter becoming the first of many Presidential aircraft. By 1945, it was possible to find B-24s literally everywhere, from Alaska’s cold Aleutians to sunny Brazil, from China to Italy.

 

After the end of World War II, the USAAF rapidly scrapped nearly its entire B-24 fleet, but a few soldiered on in the 1960s, mainly in India, where they operated as maritime patrol aircraft. Others served as seed aircraft for postwar airlines, including Qantas of Australia. By 1968, however, nearly all B-24s had disappeared from inventories worldwide; today, only 14 complete Liberators are left, with two aircraft flyable.

 

"Lassie, I'm Home" was a B-24L assigned to the 7th Bomb Wing at Pandaveswar, India in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater of war. The B-24L was an attempt to lighten the heavy B-24J a little and make it less sluggish; the nose and tail turrets were left off the aircraft at the Willow Run plant in Michigan, and installed as necessary in the field. Most L models replaced the nose turret with a lighter ring mount, which made the B-24L less nose heavy. This would be important for the 7th BG, since its operations would take it over the Himalayas for operations against Japanese forces in China. The 7th had an interesting war long before it arrived in India in 1943: its B-17s had come under attack at Pearl Harbor, and the group was whittled down to almost nothing in the dark days of early 1942, in an attempt to defend the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from Japanese invasion.

 

"Lassie" (the name refers to the Scottish term, not the dog) made it through the war and returned home to the US, to be scrapped at Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. The scrapyard's owner, Minot Pratt, thought the nose art worthy of preservation and had it axed out of the aircraft. Later, it ended up with the Commemorative Air Force and loaned to the EAA AirVenture Museum, where I saw it in May 2018.

 

Apparently Lassie just stepped out of the shower, and is a bit surprised to see her guy. This was based on a famous pinup in Yank magazine, and reproduced several times in nose art.

If anyone is insane enough out there to want to use an electronic flash with a Box Brownie, here is one way of doing it. This is a Brownie Flash Capacitor which I picked up for 99p. The circuit is basic and made of sturdy brass pieces. It is easy to dismantle and more importantly, easy to put back together again. Contacts one and two connect to the the flash contacts in the camera. All you have to do is figure out how to connect them to a flash, or flash trigger. (Note that not all box brownie flash contacts are the same)

 

I chose to use a piece of brass wire, a custom made brass screw (I have a lathe), and a cheap cold shoe designed to mount on a standard 1/4" BSW tripod screw. The custom screw does the twin job of fixing the hot shoe to the flash unit, and making the connection with one of the brass contacts (I drilled a hole through the cold shoe, via the existing threaded hole). The other contact is made between the metal shoe and the second flash contact, using a bit of bent brass wire, running through a second hole drilled in the cold shoe, the other end wedged in the convenient hole in the brass strip that forms a battery contact in the flash unit. I drilled all holes by hand; using high speed is a recipe for melted plastic and burning smells. Anyway, my cold shoe is now a hot shoe.

 

Oh, and don't put a battery in it or you'll charge up that scary capacitor and who knows what it might do to your flash / flash trigger in the hot shoe. You also need to adjust the camera flash sync a little otherwise it will go off too early.

 

The advantage to doing it this way is that it is completely reversible (apart from two small holes in the flash unit) and the unit can still be used with a flash bulb if desired. It would probably best to cover the hot shoe in that case; I'm not sure if the contacts could zap a careless finger when the capacitor discharges.

Only additional part used to make Luke. You can find the differences as notes on the pic.

 

left > right:

Original LEGO set > picture from Star Wars Empire Strikes Back > Rebuilt set by me

Joint modification

My latest "nerf" mod

Nunusite's Poe

 

® Eyemech Modification by Sheryl Designs

New look! Catwa Kathy head, with some modifications, and Dream Ink Lyra Omega Applier skin to match my body.

landing head idealian

Well he is kinda finished. I see a lot of things I could've done better. But I will alter him when I have time again.

 

I will sand his eyes a tad better for example. They are a tad bit grainy now. So it needs to be smoother.

 

But in the end I am happy with the result. He is the little snarling guy I wanted him to be, haha.

 

Fun project ^^

  

Good day all! The Body Modification Expo opened yesterday, with some amazing items. Go check it out!

 

Headpiece: ::TI:: Headpiece - Wings - Gold (Body Modification Expo)

Hair: [taketomi] Tadao Nurie Neon/Pastels

Skin: KOOQLA - Candyman 003 (The Candy Faire)

Septum: .random.Matter. Cthulhu Septum - Gold (Mystical Realms Faire)

Nose Jewelry: .random.Matter. Orianthi Nose Chain - Copper(Mystical Realms Faire)

Shirt: .:villena:. - Buttom down in white

  

Thanks!

If you want to be my faceups, go to "Den of Angels", in the "♠ ♠ ♠〖WHITE DEER GARDEN〗♠ ♠ ♠ faceups & Modifications", you can see my detailed instructions.

Posted via email from Cantankerous Buddha

+++ 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 Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force began as the "Korean Aviation Society" in 1945. It was organized along the lines of flying clubs in the Soviet Union. In 1946, the society became a military organization and became an aviation division of the Korean People's Army (KPA). It became a branch of the army in its own right in November 1948. The KPAF incorporated much of the original Soviet air tactics, as well as North Korean experience from the UN bombings during the Korean War.

 

North Korea’s first indigenous jet fighter aircraft, the Wonsan Aircraft Works 여-1 (known as “W-1” outside of the country), started its existence in China as the Shenyang J-3 (Jianjiji = fighter). The J-3 was a project to exploit the knowledge and hardware gained through the license production of the Soviet MiG-15UTI trainer, locally designated JJ-2 (Jianjiji Jiaolianji – fighter trainer), a study that was primarily intended to improve China’s aircraft industry and the country’s respective engineering know how after the Korean War. The Soviet VVS and PVO had been the primary users of the MiG-15 during the Korean war, but not the only ones; it was also used by the PLAAF and KPAF (known as the United Air Army).

The J-3 was designed during the Korean War between 1952 and 1953 and two prototypes were built with Soviet help and tested in 1953, but the aircraft came too late – and it was not regarded as a successor or even an alternative to the Soviet MiG-15, because it lacked modern features like swept wings. The J-3’s design drew more on American rather than British inspiration, having elected to use features such as a very thin (but almost straight) wing akin to the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star and a basic configuration comparable to the North American F-86 Sabre. Due to its conceptual interceptor role, an emphasis had been placed on a fast rate of climb. Power came from a Klimov VK-1 centrifugal-flow turbojet, a derivative of the British Rolls-Royce Nene Mk.104B that also powered the MiG-15. Armament consisted of four 23 mm (0.906 in) Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 autocannon under the nose.

 

The J-3’s rate of progress on the project was such that, within 15 months of design work having formally started, the first prototype had been fully constructed. On 28 October 1953, the first J-3 fighter prototype conducted its first flight, even though it still lacked pressurization, armament, and other military equipment. Gradually, new hardware was integrated and tested, and a second aircraft joined the tests in January 1954. Flight tests followed quickly and showed that the J-3 was easy to fly and had exceptional performance and maneuverability for a straight-wing aircraft. Unfortunately, it soon became clear that the laminar flow section used for the original tail unit was totally unsuitable, with extremely severe buffeting setting in at 500 km/h (310 mph). The buffeting was so bad that the test pilots were thrown about in the cockpit, banging their head on the canopy, and the needles fell off all the flight instruments. Fortunately, accidents could be avoided, and the tailplane section was changed with much improved results.

The gun armament caused troubles, too. Firing all four NS-23 at once made the robust engine surge – a problem that did not occur on the MiG-15, but it only carried two of these weapons. A remedy was eventually found through the introduction of a slightly elongated nose that kept the air intake further away from the gun blast shock waves. The flight and test program lasted until 1955, and a total of five J-3 prototypes were built, but with no serious plan to put this aircraft into series production, even more so after China had been offered to produce the even more modern and capable Soviet MiG-17 fighter under license as the J-5. In the People's Republic of China (PRC), an initial MiG-17F was assembled from parts in 1956, with license production following in 1957 at Shenyang. The Chinese-built version was/is known as the Shenyang J-5 (for local use) or F-5 (for export). After this decision, the J-3 program was stopped, but the machines were retained in flightworthy condition as testbeds and chase planes by the PLAAF until the late Sixties

 

However, this was not the end of the J-3. After fighting had ended on 27 July 1953 when the Korean Armistice Agreement was signed, the Korean People's Army Air and Anti-Air Force (KPAAF) was keen to boost its capabilities and build a domestic aircraft industry, beyond the option to produce existing designs in license. Turning to its main sponsor China, North Korea was offered the plans for the J-3 and its tools, together with a supply of Chinese-built VK-1 engines. Even though the J-3 did not represent the state-of-the-art in jet fighters anymore, it was the best option for an industrial quickstart and until 1956 a dedicated production site for the J-3 was built at Wonsan, leading to the Wonsan Aircraft Works (Wonsan hang-gong-gi jag-eob , 원산 항공기 작업) and its first military product, the 여-1 (Yeo-1 = W-1). When NATO became aware of the aircraft it received the reporting code name “Freshman”.

 

However, despite the J-3’s plans and tools at hand, the W-1’s production was hampered by the lack of experience, sub-optimal materials, and poor logistics (esp. concerning vital imported components like the Chinese WP-5 engine, a license-built VK-1). Consequently, it took almost three years to roll out the first pre-serial production aircraft in 1959, and even then, the W-1 was plagued with material and reliability problems. Furthermore, once the W-1 became operational in 1961, the aircraft had become outdated. The W-1 had been designed to intercept straight-and-level-flying enemy bombers, not for air-to-air combat (dogfighting) with other fighters. The subsonic (Mach .76) fighter was effective against slower (Mach .6-.8), heavily loaded U.S. fighter-bombers from the Fifties, as well as the mainstay American strategic bombers during the aircraft's development cycle (such as the Boeing B-50 Superfortress or Convair B-36 Peacemaker, which were both still powered by piston engines). It was not however able to intercept the new generation of British jet bombers such as the Avro Vulcan and Handley Page Victor, which could both fly higher. Most W-1s were initially used as night fighters – even though they lacked any on-board radar and the pilot had to rely on visual contact and/or radio guidance from ground stations to make out and close in on a potential target. The USAF's introduction of strategic bombers capable of supersonic dash speeds such as the B-58 Hustler and General Dynamics FB-111 rendered the W-1 totally obsolete in front-line KPAAF service, and they were quickly supplanted by supersonic interceptors such as the MiG-21 and MiG-23.

 

The rugged aircraft was not retired, though, and found use as ground attack aircraft (despite its limited payload of around 2 tons) and as an advanced fighter trainer. Total production numbers are uncertain, but less than 100 W-1s were produced until 1969, with no further variants becoming known. In 1990, probably forty were still operational, and even after 2000 some KPAAF W-1s were still flying.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 10.73 m (35 ft 2 in)

Wingspan: 12.16 m (39 ft 10½ in)

Height: 4.46 m (14 ft 7½ in)

Wing area: 23.8 m² (256 sq ft)

Aspect ratio: 7.3

Empty weight: 4,142 kg (9,132 lb)

Gross weight: 7,404 kg (16,323 lb)

Max takeoff weight: 7,900 kg (17,417 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Wopen WP-5 (Rolls-Royce Nene Mk.104B) centrifugal-flow turbojet

with 26.5 kN (5,950 lbf) thrust

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 940 km/h (580 mph, 510 kn) at sea level

Maximum speed: Mach 0.76

Cruise speed: 750 km/h (470 mph, 400 kn)

Maximum Mach number: M0.83

Combat range: 450 km (280 mi, 240 nmi)

Ferry range: 920 km (570 mi, 500 nmi)

Service ceiling: 13,000 m (43,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 38 m/s (7,500 ft/min)

Take-off run: 783 m (2,569 ft)

Landing run: 910 m (2,986 ft)

 

Armament:

4× 23 mm (0.906 in) Nudelman-Suranov NS-23 autocannon with 100 rounds per gun

2× underwing hardpoints for 2.000 kg of payload, including a variety of unguided iron bombs such

as 2× 250 kg (500 lb) bombs, napalm tanks, pods with unguided missiles, or 2× 350 l (92 US

gal; 77 imp gal) drop tanks for extended range.

  

The kit and its assembly:

I always thought that the tubby Dassault Ouragan had something “Soviet-ish” about it, looking much like one of the obscure early Yakowlew jet fighter prototypes (e .g. the straight-wing Yak-25 [first use of this designation in 1947] or the swept-wing Yak-30) around 1950. With this idea I had stashed away a Heller Ouragan for a while, and recently wondered about an indigenous North-Korean aircraft that could have emerged after the Korean War? The Ouragan looked like a good basis, and so this project started as a simple conversion of the Heller kit.

 

While most of the airframe was retained, I made some cosmetic changes to change the aircraft’s looks and add a Warsaw Pact flavor. The characteristic wing tip tanks disappeared, and the wings’ ends were rounded off. The fin tip was extended with a piece of 1.5 mm styrene sheet and a different fin shape was sculpted from it. The original stabilizers were replaced with what I think are stabilizers from a VEB Plasticart 1:100 An-24 – they better match the wing shape than the OOB parts!

The cockpit was taken OOB, I just replaced the ejection seat with a different piece from a KP 1:72 MiG-19. The air intake was modified with the opening from a Heller 1:72 F-84G, extending and narrowing it slightly, even though the internal splitter plate (which also bears the front wheel well) was retained. The landing gear was also basically taken OOB, but the main wheels were now mounted on the outside position (with an adaptation of the covers), and the front wheel was moved 3 mm further forward, to compensate for the slightly longer nose section, and its cover was modified accordingly. The flaps were lowered, primarily because this modification is easy to realize on this kit and it makes the simple aircraft look “livelier”, and the canopy was cut into three parts for open display.

Pylons were added under the wings, together with drop tanks from a Hobby Boss 1:72 MiG-15. The same source provided the swept antenna mast behind the cockpit and the small but characteristic altimeter sensors under the wings. As a final twist of “Sovietization” I added small fences to the wings, made from styrene profiles – they would not be necessary on the aircraft’s straight wings, but they help change the model’s overall look. 😉

 

Building the Heller Ouragan was a straightforward affair, even though the plastic of the recent re-boxing I used was pretty soft and took long to cure after gluing parts together. A real problem occurred when I tried to close the fuselage halves, though, because the parts did not align well behind the cockpit, as if they were warped? The walls were rather thin, too, and as a result a lot of PSR went into the spine and the ventral area behind the wings, which mismatched badly. The rather thin material in these areas did not help much, either. I have built the Ouragan before, and I do not remember these massive troubles?!

  

Painting and markings:

I initially considered a North-Korean night fighter camouflage from the Korea War, but since the aircraft would have been introduced into service after the open hostilities, I rather settled for a very dry NMF finish with minimal markings. Therefore, the model received an overall coat with “White Aluminum” from the rattle can and a light overall rubbing treatment with graphite to emphasize the raised panel lines and add a slightly irregular metallic shine to the paint. Since they had disappeared through PSR, I also added/recreated some panel lines with a soft pencil.

The cockpit interior was painted in medium grey and Soviet cockpit turquoise, the landing gear and its wells became metallic-grey (Humbrol 56). The areas around the exhaust and the guns were painted with Revell 91 (Iron), the only color contrasts are red trim tabs.

 

The large KPAAF roundels with a white background came from a Cutting Edge MiG-15 sheet, the large red tactical code was left over from an unidentifiable “Eastern Bloc” model’s decal sheet. After some more graphite treatment around the guns and the tail section the model was sealed with a coat of semi-gloss acrylic varnish (Italeri), resulting in a nice metallic shine that looks better than expected on this uniform aircraft.

  

Well, this converted Ouragan looks pretty dull at first sight, due to its simple livery. But this makes it pretty plausible, and the small cosmetic changes add a serious Soviet-esque touch to the aircraft.

She suddenly got tired of holding the pinwheel and seemed to come up with a better idea. Though after quickly completing the modification mid-parade she seemed unsure if it was functioning to her expectations

Here are some modifications to the 2023 UCS X-Wing Starfighter set 75355. The landing gear stand is the biggest addition, I've also made subtle changes to the nose of the ship and added an almost correctly scaled R2-D2. Free instructions and parts lists for all three mods are on Rebrickable.

 

rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-149544/ron_mcphatty/ucs-x-wing-s...

 

The Landing Gear Stand provides an easy way to display the X-Wing on a coffee table. The ship doesn't need to be modified at all, just lifted off the set's original stand and slotted onto the positioning support. The gear are built into the stand itself!

 

As a seperate mod I've rebuilt the top surface of the nose section to give it a bit of a slope, hopefully improving the very flat looking nose. The side panels need some slight modifications to fill some gaps and I've made the nose grey, just out of personal perference.

 

The midi-scale R2-D2 is slightly too large but I think looks good next to the ship when landed! Huge thanks to Jan Woźnica for letting me use his very clever R2 design and make some adjustments, please check out his instagram (@john.carter.creations) and his awesome Tales of The Space Age Lego Ideas set!

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

The origins of the Saab 19 date back before the onset of WWII. At that time, the Swedish Air Force (Flygvapnet) was equipped with largely obsolete Gloster Gladiator (J 8) biplane fighters. To augment this, Sweden ordered 120 Seversky P-35 (J 9) and 144 P-66 Vanguard (J 10) aircraft from the United States.

However, on 18 June 1940, United States declared an embargo against exporting weapons to any nation other than Great Britain. As the result, the Flygvapnet suddenly faced a shortage of modern fighters.

Just in time, Saab had presented to the Ministry on Sep 4th 1939 a fighter that had been meant to replace the obsolete Gloster Gladiators. The aircraft carried the internal development code ‘L-12’ and had been designed in collaboration with US engineers in Sweden, who were to aid with license production of Northrop 8-A 1s and NA-16-4 Ms.

 

The L-12 looked very much like the contemporary, Japanese Mitsubishi A6M “Zero” (which had been seriously considered by the Flygvapnet, but import or license production turned out to be impractical). The aircraft was a very modern all-metal construction with fabric covered control surfaces. The L-12 was to be powered by a 1.065 hp Bristol Taurus and maximum speed was calculated to be 605 km/h. Its relatively heavy armament consisted of four wing-mounted 13.2mm guns and two synchronized 8 mm MGs on top of the engine, firing through the propeller arc.

 

The design was quickly approved and the new aircraft was to be introduced to the Flygvapnet as the ‘J 19A’. Production aircraft would be outfitted with a more powerful Bristol Taurus II, giving 1.400 hp with 100-octane fuel and pushing the top speed to 630 km/h. But the war’s outbreak spoiled these plans literally over night: the L-12 had to be stopped, as the intended engine and any import or license production option vanished. This was a severe problem, since production of the first airframes had already started at Trollhättan, in the same underground factory where the B 3 bomber (license-built Ju-86K of German origin with radial engines) was built. About 30 pre-production airframes were finished or under construction, but lacked an appropriate engine!

 

With only half of a promising aircraft at hand and the dire need for fighters, the Swedish government decided to outfit these initial aircraft with non-license-built Wright R-2600-6 Twin Cyclone radial engines with an output of 1.600 hp (1.194 kW). The fuselage-mounted machine guns were deleted, due to the lack of internal space and in order to save weight, and the modified machines were designated J 19B. This was only a stop-gap solution, though. P&W Twin Wasp engines had also been considered as a potential power plant (resulting in the J 19C), but the US didn't want to sell any engines at that time to Sweden and this variant never materialized.

 

An initial batch of 24 J 19B aircraft was eventually completed and delivered to F3 at Lidköping in late 1940, while airframe construction was kept up at small pace, but only seven more J 19Bs were completed with R-2600 engines. Uncompleted airframes were left in stock for spares, and further production was halted in mid 1941, since the engine question could not be solved sufficiently.

 

The J 19B proved to be a controversial aircraft, not only because of its dubious engine. While it was basically a fast and agile aircraft, the heavy R-2600 engine was rather cumbersome and not suited for a fighter. Handling in the air as well as on the ground was demanding, due to the concentration of weight at the aircraft’s front – several J 19Bs tipped over while landing. As a consequence, the J 19B simply could not live up to its potential and was no real match for modern and more agile fighters like the Bf 109 or the Spitfire – but the Swedish equipment shortages kept the machines in service throughout WWII, even though primarily in a ground attack role and fulfilling other secondary line duties.

 

Towards the end of WWII, the J 19’s intended role was eventually filled by the indigenous FFVS J 22 fighter – ironically, it was outfitted with a license-built P&W Twin Wasp. By that time, about forty J 19 airframes were more or less complete, just lacking a proper engine. Mounting the now available Twin Wasp to these had seriously been considered, but the aircraft’s performance would not suffice anymore. Consequently, a thorough modification program for the J 19 was started in late 1944, leading to the post-WWII J 19D.

 

The J 19D was another stopgap program, though, and the economical attempt to bring the fighter’s performance on par with contemporary fighters like the American P-47 or the P-51; both of these types had been tested and considered for procurement, and the P-51 was eventually ordered in early 1945 from US surplus stock as the J 26, even though deliveries were postponed until 1946. The J 19D was to bridge the time until the J 26 was fully introduced, and would later serve in the attack role.

 

Since the J 19 airframe could not take a large and powerful radial engine like the R-2800, Saab made a radical move and decided to integrate an inline engine – despite the need for some fundamental changes to the airframe. The choice fell on the Packard V-1650, the same engine that also powered the J 26 fighters, so that procurement, maintenance and logistics could be streamlined.

 

Integration of the very different engine necessitated a complete re-design of the engine attachment architecture, a new, streamlined cowling and the addition of a relatively large radiator bath under the fuselage. A new four blade propeller was introduced and enlarged, all-metal stabilizers were integrated, too, in order to compensate the changed aerodynamics induced by the new radiator arrangement (which made the aircraft pitch down in level flight). A new bubble canopy with minimal framing was introduced, too, offering a much better all-round field of view for the pilot.

 

Even though the inline engine had a lower nominal output than the J 19B’s heavy R-2600, performance of the J 19D improved appreciably and it became, thanks to improved aerodynamics, a better overall weight distribution, more agile – finally living up to its original design plans, even though its performance was still not outstanding.

Armament was upgraded, too: the inner pair of wing-mounted 13.2mm machine guns was replaced by 20mm Bofors cannons (license-built Hispano-Suiza HS.404), considerably improving weapon range and firepower. Under the outer wings, hardpoints could take a pair of 250 kg bombs, 300 l drop tanks or up to eight 50 kg bombs and/or unguided missiles.

 

After WWII, the J 19B survivors were kept in service and soldiered on until 1948, when all remaining aircraft were scrapped. Wright was also paid the overdue license fees for the originally unlicensed engines. The J 19D served together with the J 22 and J 26 fighters until 1950, when all of these piston engine fighters were gradually replaced by de Havilland Vampires (J 28) and the indigenous J 29 Tunnan, which rapidly brought the Swedish Air Force into the jet age. The last four J 19Ds, used as liaison aircraft at F 8 at Barkarby, were retired in 1954.

  

Saab J 19A General characteristics

Crew: One

Length: 9.68 m (31 ft 8 1/2 in)

Wingspan: 12.0 m (39 ft 4 in)

Height: 3.05 m (10 ft 0 in)

Wing area: 22.44 m² (241.5 ft²)

Empty weight: 1,630 kg (3,590 lb)

Loaded weight: 2,390 kg (5,264 lb)

Aspect ratio: 6.4

 

Powerplant:

1× Packard V-1650-7 liquid-cooled V-12, with a 2 stage intercooled supercharger,

rated at 1,490 hp (1,111 kW) at 3,000 rpm

 

Performance

Maximum speed: 640 km/h (397 mph) at 4.550 m (14.930 ft)

Cruise speed: 380 km/h (236 mph)

Landing speed: 140 km/h (90 mph)

Range: 1.500 km (930 mi; 810 nmi)

Service ceiling: 11.800 m (38.650 ft)

Rate of climb: 15.9 m/s (3,125 ft/min)

 

Armament:

2× 20 mm Bofors (Hispano-Suiza HS.404) cannons with 120 RPG

2× 13.2 mm (0.53 in) M/39A (Browning M2) machine guns with 500 RPG

Underwing hardpoints for an ordnance of 500 kg (1.100 lb), including a pair of 300 l drop tanks,

two 250 kg (550 lb) bombs, eight 50 kg (110 lb) bombs or eight unguided missiles.

  

The kit and its assembly

This is actually the second J 19 I have converted from a Hobby Boss A6M – and this build addresses two questions that probably nobody ever asked:

● What would a Mitsubishi Zero with an inline engine look like?

● Could the fictional Swedish aircraft have survived WWII, and in which form?

 

The Saab J 19 never saw the hardware stage, but it was a real life project that was eventually killed through the outbreak of WWII and the lack of engines mentioned in the background above. Anyway, it was/is called the “Swedish Zero” because it resembled the Japanese fighter VERY much – wing shape, fuselage, tail section, even the cockpit glazing!

 

This build/conversion was very similar to my first one, which ended up as a J 19B with an R-2600 engine from a Matchbox B-25 Mitchell bomber. However, due to the later time frame and different donor parts at hand things took a different route – this time, the key idea was the modernization/update of a rather outdated airframe, and the old J 19B model was the benchmark.

 

Again, much of the literally massive(!) Hobby Boss Zero was taken OOB, but changes this time included:

● The nose/cowling from a Matchbox P-51D

● A modified ventral radiator bath from a HUMA Me 309

● New horizontal stabilizers from a Griffon Spitfire

● A new propeller (Pavla resin parts for a post WWII P-51D/K with uncuffed blades)

● OOB main landing gear was inverted, so that the wheel discs face inwards

● New main wheels from an AZ Models Spitfire, IIRC

● New retractable tail wheel, from a Bf 109 G; the arrestor hook opening was closed

● A vacu canopy for a late mark Hawker Typhoon, plus some interior details behind the seat

 

In order to adapt the Mustang’s nose to the slender and circular A6M fuselage, a wedge plug was inserted between the fuselage halves from the Matchbox kit and a styrene tube added inside as a propeller mount. The latter, a resin piece, received a long metal axis and can spin freely.

 

For the new bubble canopy the cockpit opening and the basic interior was retained, but the dorsal section around the cockpit re-sculpted with putty. Took some time, but worked well and everything blends surprisingly well into each other – even though the aircraft, with its new engine, somehow reminds me of a Hawker Hurricane now? From certain angles the whole thing also has a P-39 touch? Weird!

  

Painting and markings

Again the dire question: how to paint this one? Once more I did not want to use a typical olive green/light blue Swedish livery, even though it would have been the most plausible option. I eventually settled for a pure natural metal finish, inspired by the post-WWII J 26/Mustangs in Swedish service, which furthermore carried only minimal tactical markings: roundels in six positions, the Flygflottilj number on the fuselage and a colored letter code on the tail, plus a spinner in the same color. Very simple and plain, but with more and more Swedish whiffs piling up, I am looking for as much camouflage/livery diversity as possible, and an NMF machine was still missing. :D

 

All interior surfaces were painted in RLM 02, and for the NMF I used my personal “recipe” with a basis of Revell 99 (Aluminum, acrylics) plus a black ink wash, followed by panel post-shading with Humbrol “Polished Aluminum” Metallizer (27002), rubbing/polishing with a soft cotton cloth and finally and a light rubbing treatment with grinded graphite for weathering effects and a worn, metallic shine of the surfaces.

 

Around the exhaust stubs, slightly darker panels were painted with Revell Acyrlics 91 (Iron) and ModelMaster Magnesium Metallizer. A black anti glare panel was added in front of the cockpit (P-51 style). The green propeller boss was painted with a mix of Humbrol 3 and 131 – emulating the color of the green code letter on the fin as good as possible.

 

The decals were puzzled together; the bright roundels belong to a Swedish Fiat CR.42, from a Sky Models sheet. The “8” on the fuselage comes from an early WWII Swedish Gloster Gladiator code (SBS Models), while the green “E” is an RAF code letter from a Heller Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XVI – actually a total print color disaster, since this deep green is supposed to be Sky!? For better contrast on the Aluminum the letter was placed on a white background, created from single decal strips (generic material from TL Modellbau).

 

After some soot stains around the exhaust stubs and the fuselage flanks with more graphite, as well as around the gun muzzles, the kit was sealed with a 4:1 mix of gloss and matt acrylic varnish, only the anti glare panel and the propeller blades became 100% matt. Some more matt varnish was also dabbed over the soot stains.

  

So, another J 19, and the “Zero with an inline engine” looks pretty strange – not as streamlined as other late WWII designs like the P-51 or Griffon-powered Spitfires, yet with a modern touch. The NMF livery looks a bit boring, but the unusual green code (used by liason J 26s from F 8 and some rare 4th or 5th divisions) is a nice contrast to the bright and large Swedish roundels, underlining the pretty elegant lines of the converted Zero!

1001v 4f 1/28/17

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Also known as McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet.

 

McDonnell-Douglas F-18 Hornet CF-188B.

 

In the 1970s, the Air Force decided that a single multi-role fighter type would replace its CF-101 Voodoos , CF-104 Starfighters and CF-116 Freedom Fighters. The resulting New Fighter Aircraft competition culminated in the selection of the McDonnell-Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. Canada became the first export customer for the type in a contract worth $2.34 (Cdn) billion. A number of Canadian-unique modifications were incorporated into the aircraft design. These included changes for Canadian unique weapons, a 600,000 candle power searchlight in the starboard nose for night intercepts, a modified survival kit and a land based ILS system replacing the USN automatic carrier landing system. Deployed to Canadian air defence (NORAD) and NATO squadrons, the CF-18 Hornet has lived up to all expectations. The multi-role capability of the Hornet has been repeatedly proven in CF use and the aircraft have been operationally employed in the Gulf War and more recently, in the NATO campaign over Kosovo. In the Gulf War, the aircraft were employed in both CAP and conventional strikes. Flying from Aviano, Italy, in the skies over Kosovo and Serbia, the aircraft was primarily employed in the attack role dropping both conventional and precision guided munitions.

 

The need to upgrade the CF-18 was demonstrated during the Gulf War I deployment and during the 1998 Kosovo conflict as advances in technology had rendered some of the avionics on board the CF-18 obsolete and incompatible with NATO allies. In 2000, CF-18 upgrades became possible when the government increased the defence budget.

 

In 2001 the Incremental Modernization Project (IMP) was initiated. The project was broken into two phases over a period of eight years and was designed to improve air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities, upgrade sensors and the defensive suite, and replace the datalinks and communications systems on board the CF-18 from the old F/A-18A and F/A-18B standard to the current F/A-18C and D standard. Boeing and L-3 Communications, was issued a contract for the modernization project starting in 2002. A total of 80 CF-18s, consisting of 62 single-seat and 18 dual-seat models were selected from the fleet for the upgrade program. The project along with the IMP II will extend the life of the CF-18 until around 2017 to 2020 when they are to be replaced by the F-35 Lightning II JSF.

  

Aircraft Specifications

 

CDN Reg: CF-188

US/NATO Reg.: F/A-18A

Manufacturer: McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Corporation.

 

Crew / Passengers: 1 pilot (CF-18A) or 2 pilots (CF-18B).

 

Power Plant(s): 2 x General Electric F404-GE-400 low-bypass turbofans @ 16,000 lb (7,258 kg) thrust.

 

Performance: Max Speed: Mach 1.8 Service Ceiling: 49,000 ft (15,000 m) Unrefuelled Range: 2,300 mi (3,704 km) *(retractable air-to-air refueling probe fitted).

 

Weights: Empty: 23,400 lb (10,614 kg) Gross: 37,000 lb (16,783 kg) Maximum Take-off: 49,355 lb (22,387 kg).

 

Dimensions: Unfolded Span: 40 ft 5 in (12.32 m) (with missiles) Folded Span: 27 ft 6 in (8.38 m) Length: 56 ft 0 in (17.07 m) Height: 15 ft 3 in (4.66 m) Wing Area: 400 sq ft (37.16 sq m)

 

Armament: Internally mounted M61A1 20mm cannon & provisions for AIM9 Sidewinder and AIM7 Sparrow air-to-air missiles, Maverick air-to-ground missiles, conventional bombs and precision-guided bombs, unguided CRV7 rockets, fuel tanks etc.

 

Two CF-18 fighter squadrons are assigned the air defence role in North America. They maintain limited air-to-surface capability to provide support to maritime operations, as well as support to land operations in defence of Canada. They are also available for contingency operations anywhere in the world.

 

CFB Cold Lake - Cold lake, Alberta, Canada

■410 Cougar Tactical Fighter (Operational Training) Squadron

■409 Nighthawk Tactical Fighter Squadron*

 

CFB Bagotville - Bagotville, Quebec, Canada

■425 Alouétte Tactical Fighter Squadron**

 

*Detachment at CFB Comox, British Columbia, Canada

** Detachment at CFB Goosebay, Labrador, Canada

 

Note: Current operational aircraft strength is 60 aircraft with the additional 60 aircraft undergoing upgrading and rotation.

 

www.canadianwings.com/Aircraft/aircraftDetail.php?HORNET-37

 

www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/artifacts/aircraf...

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonnell_Douglas_CF-18_Hornet

 

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Dassault Falcon 50EX.

 

Dassault Aviation was the first to create a private jet with intercontinental range: the Falcon 50. Seventeen years later, they re-created it, keeping the features that made it such a success, while modifying others with more advanced technology. The result is a private jet that looks and feels like its predecessor, but easily supersedes it. The Falcon 50EX cruises faster at high altitudes; flies further; burns less fuel; and generally outperforms the Falcon 50 in every respect.

 

The cabin of the Falcon 50EX is perhaps the part of the jet that has changed the least. It still has a height and width of 5.9 and 6.1 feet, respectively. At 23.5 feet in length the Falcon 50EX features a total cabin volume of 700 cubic feet. 115 cubic feet of baggage storage is available in internal compartments. Three closets in the cabin provide space for coats, suits, and briefcases. All baggage compartments are fully pressurized. A total of 2,205 pounds of bags can be stored.

 

The nine-passenger seating configuration is generally laid out in one four-seat club arrangement, and a separate section of two facing seats and a three-seat divan. Work tables fold out between facing seats so work can be completed in-flight. Power plugs are available for laptops and office equipment. Temperature control is separate for the cockpit and the cabin, so both parties are comfortable in-flight. Space and equipment for hot and cold food preparation come standard, including an oven, ice chest, and coffee maker.

 

The Falcon 50EX uses three Honeywell TFE731-40 turbofan engines, the second generation of the TFE731 series. They provide more thrust at cruise speeds and burn less fuel than the Falcon 50’s TFE731-3-1C engines. Providing the same amount of thrust for a sea level takeoff as the -3-1C engines, the -40s have an increased ambient temperature, meaning that they perform nearly the same at high altitudes and temperatures as they do at sea level. At an elevation of 5,000 feet and a temperature of 77°F, the -40 engines produce 3,440 pounds of thrust – 93% of the thrust produced at standard sea level conditions.

 

Furthermore, the -40 engines are equipped with FADEC (Full Authority N1-reference Digital Electronic Engine Control) systems, which automatically start and restart the engines on the ground, reducing pilot workload and optimizing fuel burn and performance. The engine manufacturing process used on the -40 engines is more precise, resulting in higher tolerances and reduced leakage.

 

The Falcon 50EX, like the Falcon 50, has great runway performance. It can take off in 4,935 feet at sea level and in 7,247 at an elevation of 5,000 feet and a temperature of 77°F. Its maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) has increased from 38,800 pounds to 39,700 pounds – a 900 pound increase. The Falcon 50EX can climb directly to an altitude of 37,000 feet in 17 minutes (13 minutes more quickly than the Falcon 50). It can cruise at 417 knots at an altitude of 43,000 feet for long range trips, or at 481 knots and an altitude of 39,000 feet for optimum speed. The maximum flight ceiling for the Falcon 50 is 49,000 feet.

 

The Falcon 50EX was designed using computer-molded fluid dynamics software and lightweight materials. Its primary structures are made of aluminum monocoque, while composites are used for some secondary structures. The aerodynamic design and materials slightly decrease the sound produced by the Falcon 50EX on takeoff to 83.8 EPNdB.

 

The three fuel tanks for the Falcon 50EX are regulated by electrical transfer pumps. These pumps can be used as emergency backup systems if both of the hydraulic systems that power the avionics fail. As unlikely as it would be to have all three systems fail, a fourth option is still available – all flight controls can be operated manually.

 

The avionics suite of the Falcon 50EX is based on the Collins Pro Line 4 suite. Four 7.25×7.25 inch screens display flight information. Flight controls are located close to the corresponding displays in an intuitive cockpit layout. The cockpit comes standard with a dual Pro Line II radio system, dual digital air-computers, a TWR-850 Doppler turbulence detection radar, an AlliedSignal dual Global GNS-XMS Flight Management System, and several other flight control and environmental awareness systems.

 

The Falcon 50 was a successful and high-performing private jet, but the Falcon 50EX outdoes it in every way. Everything from its cabin to its engines has been improved, resulting in a decidedly better private jet.

 

www.jetadvisors.com/falcon-50ex-performance/

World’s first series-production, sixteen-cylinder car

 

Manufacturing period: 1930 – 1937 (various design modifications)

Units: 4387

Top speed: 145 km/h

Original price (1930): $ 5900.-- (Convertible Coupé)

 

e n g i n e

Cylinders: 16 (45 degree angle / V-configuration)

Displacement: 7413 cc

Rated output: 121 KW / 165 PS @ 3200 rpm

Operation: 4-stroke petrol engine with dual Cadillac carburettors (patent: C.F. Johnson)

Bore x stroke: 76.2 x 101.6 mm

Cooling system: Liquid cooled with pump

Engine block: Cast iron

 

Kathakali (Malayalam: കഥകളി, kathakaḷi; Sanskrit: कथाकळिः, kathākaḷiḥ) is a stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion. It originated in the country's present day state of Kerala during the 17th century and has developed over the years with improved looks, refined gestures and added themes besides more ornate singing and precise drumming.

 

HISTORY

Popular belief is that kathakali is emerged from "Krishnanattam", the dance drama on the life and activities of Lord Krishna created by Sri Manavedan Raja, the Zamorin of Calicut (1585-1658 AD). Once Kottarakkara Thampuran, the Raja of Kottarakkara who was attracted by Krishnanattam requested the Zamorin for the loan of a troupe of performers. Due to the political rivalry between the two, Zamorin did not allow this. So Kottarakkara Thampuran created another art form called Ramanattam which was later transformed into Aattakatha. Krishnanaattam was written in Sanskrit, and Ramanattam was in Malayalam. By the end of 17th century, Attakatha was presented to the world with the title 'Kathakali'.

 

Kathakali also shares a lot of similarities with Krishnanattam, Koodiyattam (a classical Sanskrit drama existing in Kerala) and Ashtapadiyattam (an adaptation of 12th-century musical called Gitagovindam). It also incorporates several other elements from traditional and ritualistic art forms like Mudiyettu, Thiyyattu, Theyyam and Padayani besides a minor share of folk arts like Porattunatakam. All along, the martial art of Kalarippayattu has influenced the body language of Kathakali. The use of Malayalam, the local language (albeit as a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam, called 'Manipravaalam'), has also helped the literature of Kathakali sound more transparent for the average audience.

 

As a part of modernising, propagating, promoting and popularizing Kathakali, the International Centre for Kathakali at New Delhi has taken up a continuing project since 1980 of producing new plays based on not only traditional and mythological stories, but also historical stories, European classics and Shakespeare's plays. Recently they produced Kathakali plays based on Shakespeare's Othello and Greek-Roman mythology of Psyche and Cupid.

 

Even though the lyrics/literature would qualify as another independent element called Sahithyam, it is considered as a component of Geetha or music, as it plays only a supplementary role to Nritham, Nrithyam and Natyam.

 

KATHAKALI PLAYS

Traditionally there are 101 classical Kathakali stories, though the commonly staged among them these days total less than one-third that number. Almost all of them were initially composed to last a whole night. Nowadays, there is increasing popularity for concise, or oftener select, versions of stories so as the performance lasts not more than three to four hours from evening. Thus, many stories find stage presentation in parts rather than totality. And the selection is based on criteria like choreographical beauty, thematic relevance/popularity or their melodramatic elements. Kathakali is a classical art form, but it can be appreciated also by novices—all contributed by the elegant looks of its character, their abstract movement and its synchronisation with the musical notes and rhythmic beats. And, in any case, the folk elements too continue to exist. For better appreciation, perhaps, it is still good to have an idea of the story being enacted.

 

The most popular stories enacted are Nalacharitham (a story from the Mahabharata), Duryodhana Vadham (focusing on the Mahabharata war after profiling the build-up to it), Kalyanasougandhikam, (the story of Bhima going to get flowers for his wife Panchali), Keechakavadham (another story of Bhima and Panchali, but this time during their stint in disguise), Kiratham (Arjuna and Lord Shiva's fight, from the Mahabharata), Karnashapatham (another story from the Mahabharata), Nizhalkuthu and Bhadrakalivijayam authored by Pannisseri Nanu Pillai. Also staged frequently include stories like Kuchelavrittam, Santanagopalam, Balivijayam, Dakshayagam, Rugminiswayamvaram, Kalakeyavadham, Kirmeeravadham, Bakavadham, Poothanamoksham, Subhadraharanam, Balivadham, Rugmangadacharitam, Ravanolbhavam, Narakasuravadham, Uttaraswayamvaram, Harishchandracharitam, Kacha-Devayani and Kamsavadham.

 

Recently, as part of attempts to further popularise the art, stories from other cultures and mythologies, such as those of Mary Magdalene from the Bible, Homer's Iliad, and William Shakespeare's King Lear and Julius Caesar besides Goethe's Faust too have been adapted into Kathakali scripts and on to its stage. Synopsis of 37 kathakali stories are available in kathakalinews.com.

 

MUSIC

The language of the songs used for Kathakali is Manipravalam. Though most of the songs are set in ragas based on the microtone-heavy Carnatic music, there is a distinct style of plain-note rendition, which is known as the Sopanam style. This typically Kerala style of rendition takes its roots from the temple songs which used to be sung (continues even now at several temples) at the time when Kathakali was born.

 

As with the acting style, Kathakali music also has singers from the northern and southern schools. The northern style has largely been groomed by Kerala Kalamandalam in the 20th century. Kalamandalam Neelakantan Nambisan, an overarching Kathakali musician of those times, was a product of the institute. His prominent disciples include Kalamandalam Unnikrishna Kurup, Kalamandalam Gangadharan, Kalamandalam P.G. Radhakrishnan, Rama Varrier, Madambi Subramanian Namboodiri, Tirur Nambissan, Kalamandalam Sankaran Embranthiri, Kalamandalam Hyderali, Kalamandalam Haridas, Subramanian, Kalanilayam Unnikrishnan and Kalamandalam Bhavadasan. The other prominent musicians of the north feature Kottakkal Vasu Nedungadi, Kottakkal Parameswaran Namboodiri, Kottakkal P.D. Narayanan Namboodiri, Kottakkal Narayanan, Kalamandalam Anantha NarayananKalamandalam Sreekumar Palanad Divakaran, Kalanilayam Rajendran, Kolathappilli Narayanan Namboodiri, Kalamandalam Narayanan Embranthiri, Kottakkal Madhu, Kalamandalam Babu Namboodiri, Kalamandalam Harish and Kalamandalam Vinod. In the south, some of whom are equally popular in the north these days, include Pathiyur Sankarankutty. Southerner musicians of the older generation include Cherthala Thankappa Panikker, Thakazhi Kuttan Pillai, Cherthala Kuttappa Kurup, Thanneermukkam Viswambharan and Mudakkal Gopinathan.

 

PERFORMANCE

Traditionally, a Kathakali performance is usually conducted at night and ends in early morning. Nowadays it isn't difficult to see performances as short as three hours or fewer. Kathakali is usually performed in front of the huge Kalivilakku (kali meaning dance; vilakku meaning lamp) with its thick wick sunk till the neck in coconut oil. Traditionally, this lamp used to provide sole light when the plays used to be performed inside temples, palaces or abodes houses of nobles and aristocrats. Enactment of a play by actors takes place to the accompaniment of music (geetha) and instruments (vadya). The percussion instruments used are chenda, maddalam (both of which underwent revolutionary changes in their aesthetics with the contributions of Kalamandalam Krishnankutty Poduval and Kalamandalam Appukutty Poduval) and, at times, edakka. In addition, the singers (the lead singer is called “ponnani” and his follower is called “singidi”) use chengila (gong made of bell metal, which can be struck with a wooden stick) and ilathalam (a pair of cymbals). The lead singer in some sense uses the Chengala to conduct the Vadyam and Geetha components, just as a conductor uses his wand in western classical music. A distinguishing characteristic of this art form is that the actors never speak but use hand gestures, expressions and rhythmic dancing instead of dialogue (but for a couple of rare characters).

 

ACTING

A Kathakali actor uses immense concentration, skill and physical stamina, gained from regimented training based on Kalaripayattu, the ancient martial art of Kerala, to prepare for his demanding role. The training can often last for 8–10 years, and is intensive. In Kathakali, the story is enacted purely by the movements of the hands (called mudras or hand gestures) and by facial expressions (rasas) and bodily movements. The expressions are derived from Natyashastra (the tome that deals with the science of expressions) and are classified into nine as in most Indian classical art forms. Dancers also undergo special practice sessions to learn control of their eye movements.

 

There are 24 basic mudras—the permutation and combination of which would add up a chunk of the hand gestures in vogue today. Each can again can be classified into 'Samaana-mudras'(one mudra symbolising two entities) or misra-mudras (both the hands are used to show these mudras). The mudras are a form of sign language used to tell the story.

 

The main facial expressions of a Kathakali artist are the 'navarasams' (Navarasas in anglicised form) (literal translation: Nine Tastes, but more loosely translated as nine feelings or expressions) which are Sringaram (amour), Hasyam (ridicule, humour), Bhayanakam (fear), Karunam (pathos), Roudram (anger, wrath), Veeram (valour), Beebhatsam (disgust), Adbhutam (wonder, amazement), Shantam (tranquility, peace). The link at the end of the page gives more details on Navarasas.

 

One of the most interesting aspects of Kathakali is its elaborate make-up code. Most often, the make-up can be classified into five basic sets namely Pachcha, Kathi, Kari, Thaadi, and Minukku. The differences between these sets lie in the predominant colours that are applied on the face. Pachcha (meaning green) has green as the dominant colour and is used to portray noble male characters who are said to have a mixture of "Satvik" (pious) and "Rajasik" (dark; Rajas = darkness) nature. Rajasik characters having an evil streak ("tamasic"= evil) -- all the same they are anti-heroes in the play (such as the demon king Ravana) -- and portrayed with streaks of red in a green-painted face. Excessively evil characters such as demons (totally tamasic) have a predominantly red make-up and a red beard. They are called Red Beard (Red Beard). Tamasic characters such as uncivilised hunters and woodsmen are represented with a predominantly black make-up base and a black beard and are called black beard (meaning black beard). Women and ascetics have lustrous, yellowish faces and this semi-realistic category forms the fifth class. In addition, there are modifications of the five basic sets described above such as Vella Thadi (white beard) used to depict Hanuman (the Monkey-God) and Pazhuppu, which is majorly used for Lord Shiva and Balabhadra.

 

NOTABLE TRAINING CENTRES & MASTERS

Kathakali artistes need assiduous grooming for almost a decade's time, and most masters are products of accomplished institutions that give a minimum training course of half-a-dozen years. The leading Kathakali schools (some of them started during the pre-Independent era India) are Kerala Kalamandalam (located in Cheruthuruthy near Shoranur), PSV Natya Sangham (located in Kottakal near Kozhikode), Sadanam Kathakali and Classical Arts Academy (or Gandhi Seva Sadan located in Perur near Ottappalam in Palakkad), Unnayi Varier Smaraka Kalanilayam (located in Irinjalakuda south of Thrissur), Margi in Thiruvananthapuram, Muthappan Kaliyogam at Parassinikkadavu in Kannur district and RLV School at Tripunithura off Kochi and Kalabharathi at Pakalkkuri near Kottarakkara in Kollam district, Sandarshan Kathakali Kendram in Ambalapuzha and Vellinazhi Nanu Nair Smaraka Kalakendra in Kuruvattor. Outside Kerala, Kathakali is being taught at the International Centre for Kathakali in New Delhi, Santiniketan at Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, Kalakshetra in Chennai and Darpana Academy in Ahmedabad among others. PadmaSree Guru Chengannur Raman Pillai mostly known as 'Guru Chengannur'was running a traditional Gurukula Style approach to propagate Kathakali.

 

‘Guru Chengannur” is ever renowned as the Sovereign Guru of Kathakali. His precision in using symbols, gestures and steps were highest in the field of Kathakali. Guru Chegannur's kaththi vesham, especially the portrayal of Duryodhana enthralled the audience every time he performed. A master of the art, he found immense happiness and satisfaction in the success and recognition of his disciples.

 

Senior Kathakali exponents of today include Padma Bhushan Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Padma Shri Kalamandalam Gopi, Madavoor Vasudevan Nair, Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair, Kottakkal Krishnankutty Nair, Mankompu Sivasankara Pillai, Sadanam Krishnankutty, Nelliyode Vasudevan Namboodiri, Kalamandalam Vasu Pisharody, FACT Padmanabhan, Kottakkal Chandrasekharan, Margi Vijayakumar, Kottakkal Nandakumaran Nair, Vazhenkada Vijayan, Inchakkattu Ramachandran Pillai, Kalamandalam Kuttan, Mayyanad Kesavan Namboodiri, Mathur Govindan Kutty, Narippatta Narayanan Namboodiri, Chavara Parukutty, Thonnakkal Peethambaran, Sadanam Balakrishnan, Kalanilayam Gopalakrishnan, Chirakkara Madhavankutty, Sadanam K. Harikumaran, Thalavadi Aravindan, Kalanilayam Balakrishnan, Pariyanampatta Divakaran, Kottakkal Kesavan, Kalanilayam Gopi and Kudamaloor Muralikrishnan. The late titan actor-dancers of Kathakali's modern age (say, since the 1930s) include Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon, Chenganoor Raman Pillai, Chandu Panicker, Thakazhi Guru Kunchu Kurup, Padma Shri Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, Padma Shri Vazhenkada Kunchu Nair, Kavalappara Narayanan Nair, Kurichi Kunhan Panikkar, Thekkinkattil Ramunni Nair, Padma Shri Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair, Kalamandalam Padmanabhan Nair, Mankulam Vishnu Namboodiri, Oyur Kochu Govinda Pillai, Vellinezhi Nanu Nair, Padma Shri Kavungal Chathunni Panikkar, Kudamaloor Karunakaran Nair, Kottakkal Sivaraman, Kannan Pattali, Pallippuram Gopalan Nair, Haripad Ramakrishna Pillai, Champakkulam Pachu Pillai, Chennithala Chellappan Pillai, Guru Mampuzha Madhava Panicker, and Vaikkom Karunakaran.

 

Kathakali is still hugely a male domain but, since the 1970s, females too have made entry into the art form on a recognisable scale. The central Kerala temple town of Tripunithura has, in fact, a ladies troupe (with members belonging to several part of the state) that performs Kathakali, by and large in Travancore.

 

KATHAKALI STYLES

Known as Sampradäyaṃ(Malayalam: സമ്പ്രദായം); these are leading Kathakali styles that differ from each other in subtleties like choreographic profile, position of hand gestures and stress on dance than drama and vice versa. Some of the major original kathakali styles included:

 

Vettathu Sampradayam

Kalladikkodan Sampradyam

Kaplingadu Sampradayam

 

Of late, these have narrowed down to the northern (Kalluvazhi) and southern (Thekkan) styles. It was largely developed by the legendary Pattikkamthodi Ravunni Menon (1881-1949) that is implemented in Kerala Kalamandalam (though it has also a department that teaches the southern style), Sadanam, RLV and Kottakkal. Margi has its training largely based on the Thekkan style, known for its stress on drama and part-realistic techniques. Kalanilayam, effectively, churns out students with a mix of both styles.

 

OTHER FORMS OD DANCE & OFFSHOOTS

Kerala Natanam is a kind of dance form, partly based on Kathakali techniques and aesthetics, developed and stylised by the late dancer Guru Gopinath in the mid-20th century. Kathakali also finds portrayal in Malayalam feature films like Vanaprastham, Parinayam, Marattam, and Rangam. Besides documentary films have also been shot on Kathakali artistes like Chenganoor Raman Pillai, Kalamandalam Krishnan Nair, Keezhpadam Kumaran Nair, Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Kalamandalam Gopi and Kottakkal Sivaraman.

 

As for fictional literature, Kathakali finds mention in several Malayalam short stories like Karmen (by N.S. Madhavan) and novels like Keshabharam (by P.V. Sreevalsan). Even the Indo-Anglian work like Arundhati Roy's Booker prize-winning The God of Small Things has a chapter on Kathakali, while, of late, Anita Nair's novel, Mistress, is entirely wrapped in the ethos of Kathakali.

 

Similar musical theater is popular in Kasaragod and the coastal and Malenadu regions of Karnataka, viz. Yakshagana. Though Yakshagana resembles Kathakali in terms of its costume and makeup to an extent, Yakshagana is markedly different from Kathakali as it involves dialogues and method acting also the narration is in Kannada, wherein philosophical debates are also possible within framework of the character. As per records the art form of Yakshagana was already rooted and well established at the time of Sri Manavedan Raja. There is possibilities of its significant influence in formation of Kathakkali as the troupe of performers of "Krishnanattam" designed the basic costume of the art form already established in other parts of south India including Males playing the female roles (until more recently).

 

Kottayam thamburan's way of presenting kathakali was later known as Kalladikkoden sambradayam. Chathu Paniker,the introducer of Kallikkoden Sambrathayam, stayed in Kottayam for five years with Kottayam Thamburan's residence and practiced Kalladikkoden Sambrathayam. Then he returned to his home place. After a short period Chathu Paniker reached Pulapatta as instructed by Kuthiravattath nair. That was around the year ME 865. Many deciples from Kadathanadu, Kurumbra nadu, Vettathu nadu, Palakkadu and Perumpadappu studied kathakali(Kalladikkoden Sambrathayam ) By that time Chathu Paniker was an old man. Some years later he died from Pulapatta.

 

NOTED KATHAKALI VILLAGES & BELTS

There are certain pockets in Kerala that have given birth to many Kathakali artistes over the years. If they can be called Kathakali villages (or some of them, these days, towns), here are some of them: Vellinezhi, Kuruvattoor, Karalmanna, Cherpulassery, Kothachira, peringode, sreekrishnapuram Kongad and Ottapalam in Palakkad district, Vazhenkada in Malappuram district, Thichur or Tichoor, Guruvayur, Thiruvilwamala and Irinjalakuda in Thrissur district, Tripunithura, Edappally, Thekkan Chittoor in Ernakulam district and Kuttanad, Harippad belt in Alappuzha district besides places in and around Thiruvanathapuram in south Travancore and Payyannur in north Malabar.

 

AWARDS FOR KATHAKALI ARTISTS

Sangeet Natak Akademi Awardees - Kathakali (1956–2005)

Nambeesan Smaraka Awards—For artistic performances related kathakali{1992-2008}

 

KATHAKALI ATTAMS (ELAKI ATTAMS)

Attams or more specifically "elaki attams" are sequences of acting within a story acted out with the help of mudras without support from vocal music. The actor has the freedom to change the script to suit his own individual preferences. The actor will be supported ably by Chenda, Maddalam, and Elathalam (compulsory), Chengila (not very compulsory).

 

The following are only some examples. 'Kailasa Udharanam' and 'Tapas Attam' are very important attams and these are described at the end. Two of the many references are Kathakali Prakaram, pages 95 to 142 by Pannisheri Nanu Pillai and Kathakaliyile Manodharmangal by Chavara Appukuttan Pillai.

 

VANA VARNANA: BHIMA IN KALYANA SAUGANDHIKA

Modern man looks at the forest, indeed the birthplace of primates, with a certain wonder and a certain respect. Kathakali characters are no exception.

 

When Pandavas were living in the forest, one day, a flower, not seen before, wafted by the wind, comes and falls at the feet of Panchali. Exhilarated by its beauty and smell, Panchali asks Bhima to bring her more such flowers. To her pleasure Bhima is ready to go at once. But Panchali asks him what he shall do for food and drink on the way. Bhima thinks and says "Food and Drink! Oh, this side glance (look) of yours. This look of longing. This look of anticipation. The very thought fills me up. I don't need any food and drink at all. Let me go." He takes his mace and off he goes. Ulsaham (enthusiasm) is his Sdhayi Bhavam (permanent feature).

 

"Let me go at once in search of this flower," says Bhima. "The scented wind is blowing from the southern side. Let me go that way." After walking some distance he sees a huge mountain called Gandhamadana and three ways. He decides to take the middle one which goes over the mountain. After going further "The forest is getting thicker. Big trees, big branches in all directions. The forest looks like a huge dark vessel into which even light can not penetrate. This is my (Bhima's) way. Nothing can hinder me." So saying he pulls down many trees. Sometimes he shatters the trees with his mace. Suddenly he sees an elephant. "Oh! Elephant." He describes it. Its trunk. Sharp ears.

 

The itching sensation in the body. It takes some mud and throws on the body. Oh good. Then it sucks water and throws on the body. Somewhat better. Slowly it starts dosing even though alert at times. A very huge python is approaching steadily. Suddenly it catches hold of the elephant's hind leg. The elephant wakes up and tries to disengage the python. The python pulls to one side. The elephant kicks and drags to the other side. This goes on for some time. Bhima looks to the other side where a hungry lion is looking for food. It comes running and strikes the elephants head and eats part of the brain and goes off. The python completes the rest. "Oh my god, how ruthless!" says Bhima and proceeds on his way.

 

UDYANA VARNANA: NALA IN NALACHARITHAM SECOND DAY

Descriptions of gardens are found in most dance forms of India and abroad. These are also common in Kathakali.

 

Newly married Nala and Damayanthi are walking in the garden. When Nala was lovingly looking at Damayanthi a flower falls on her. Nala is overjoyed and thinks that this is a kindness nature has shown on his wife. Nala says "On seeing the arrival of their queen, the trees and climbers are showing happiness by dropping flowers on you." He tells her, "See that tree. When I used to be alone the tree used to hug the climber and seemingly laugh at my condition." Then he looks at the tree and says, "Dear Tree, look at me now. See how fortunate I am with my beautiful wife."

 

Both wander about. A bumblebee flies towards Damayanthi. Immediately Nala protects her face with a kerchief. He looks at the bee and then at Damayanthi. He says, "On seeing your face the bee thought it was a flower and came to drink the nectar." Nala and Damayanthi listen to the sounds coming out of the garden. Damayanti says, "It appears that the whole garden is thrilled. The flowers are blooming and smiling. Cuckoos are singing and the bees are dancing. Gentle winds are blowing and rubbing against our bodies. How beautiful the whole garden looks." Then Nala says that the sun is going down and it is time for them to go back and takes her away.

 

SHABDA VARNANA: HANUMAN IN KALYANA SAUGANDHIKAM

While Bhima goes in search of the flower, here Hanuman is sitting doing Tapas with mind concentrated on Sri Rama.

 

When he hears the terrible noises made by Bhima in the forest he feels disturbed in doing his Tapas. He thinks "What is the reason for this?" Then the sounds become bigger. "What is this?" He thinks, "The sounds are getting bigger. Such a terrible noise. Is the sea coming up thinking that the time is ripe for the great deluge (Pralaya). Birds are flying helter-skelter. Trees look shocked. Even Kali Yuga is not here. Then what is it? Are mountains quarreling with each other? No, That can't be it. Indra had cut off the wings of mountains so that they don't quarrel. Is the sea changing its position? No it can't be. The sea has promised it will not change its position again. It can't break the promise." Hanuman starts looking for clues. "I see elephants and lions running in fear of somebody. Oh a huge man is coming this way. Oh, a hero is coming. He is pulling out trees and throwing it here and there. Okay. Let him come near, We will see."

 

THANDEDATTAM: RAVANA IN BALI VADHAM

After his theranottam Ravana is seen sitting on a stool. He says to himself "I am enjoying a lot of happiness. What is the reason for this?" Thinks. "Yes I know it. I did Tapas to Brahma and received all necessary boons. Afterwards I won all ten directions. I also defeated my elder brother Vaishravana. Then I lifted Kailas mountain when Siva and Parvathi were having a misunderstanding. Parvathi got frightened and embraced Siva in fear. Siva was so happy he gave a divine sword called Chandrahasa. Now the whole world is afraid of me. That is why I am enjoying so much happiness." He goes and sits on the stool. He looks far away. "Who is coming from a distance. he is coming fast. Oh, it is Akamba. Okay. Let me find out what news he has for me."

 

ASHRAMA VARNANA: ARJUNA IN KIRATHAM

Arjuna wants to do Tapas to Lord Siva and he is looking a suitable place in the Himalayan slopes. He comes to place where there is an ashram. Arjuna looks closely at the place. "Oh. What a beautiful place this is. A small river in which a very pure water is flowing. Some hermits are taking baths in the river. Some hermits are standing in the water and doing Tapsas. Some are facing the Sun. Some are standing in between five fires." Arjuna salutes the hermits from far. He says to himself "Look at this young one of a deer. It is looking for its mother. It seems to be hungry and thirsty. Nearby a female tiger is feeding its young ones. The little deer goes towards the tigress and pushes the young tiger cubs aside and starts drinking milk from the tigress. The tigress looks lovingly at the young deer and even licks its body as if it were its own child. How beautiful. How fulfilling."

 

Again he looks "Here on this side a mongoose and a serpent forgetting their enmity are hugging each other. This place is really strange and made divine by saints and hermits. Let me start my Tapas somewhere nearby."

 

A sloka called "Shikhini Shalabha" can be selected instead of the above if time permits.

 

AN ATTAM BASED ON A SLOKA

Sansrit slokas are sometimes shown in mudras and it has a pleasing and exhilarating effect. Different actors use slokas as per his own taste and liking. However, the slokas are taught to students during their training period. An example is given below.

 

Kusumo Kusumolpatti Shrooyathena Chathushyathe

Bale thava Mukhambuje Pashya Neelolpaladwayam

 

Meaning a flower blooming inside another flower is not known to history. But, my dear, in your lotus like face are seen two blue Neelolpala flowers (eyes).

 

A CONVERSATION BASED ON A SLOKA

Sanskrit slokas can also be used to express an intent. One such example is a sloka used by Arjuna addressed to Mathali the charioteer in Kalakeya Vadham. Sloka:

Pitha: Kushalee Mama hritha Bhujaam

Naatha Sachee Vallabha:

Maatha: kim nu Pralomacha Kushalinee

Soonurjayanthasthayo

Preethim va Kushchate Thadikshnavidhow

Cheta Samutkanuthe

Sutha: tvam Radhamashu Chodaya vayam

Dharmadivam Mathala

 

Meaning: The husband of Indrani and the lord of gods my father - Is he in good health? His son Jayantha - Is he strictly following the commands of his father? Oh, I am impatient to see all of them.

 

SWARGA VARNANA: ARJUNA IN KELAKEYA VADHAM

Arjuna goes to heaven on the invitation of his father, Indra. After taking permission from Indrani he goes out to see all the places in Swarga. First he sees a building, his father's palace. It is so huge with four entrances. It is made of materials superior to gold and jewels of the world. Then he goes ahead and sees Iravatha. Here he describes it as a huge elephant with four horns. He is afraid to touch it. Then he thinks that animals in Swarga can't be cruel like in the world and so thinking he goes and touches and salutes Iravatha. He describes the churning of the white sea by gods and demons with many details and how Iravatha also came out of the white sea due to this churning.

 

He walks on and sees his father's (Indra's) horse. It is described as being white and its mane is sizzling like the waves of the white sea from which it came. He touches and salutes the horse also. Then he goes to see the river of the sky (or milky way). He sees many birds by this river and how the birds fly and play is shown.

 

Then he sees the heavenly ladies. Some are collecting flowers, and one of them comes late and asks for some flowers for making garland. The others refuse. She goes to the Kalpa Vriksha and says "please give me some flowers." Immediately a shower of flowers occurs which she collects in her clothes and goes to make garlands chiding the others. "See... I also got flowers." After this he sees the music and dance of the heavenly ladies. First it starts with the adjustments of instruments Thamburu, Mridangam, Veena. Then the actual music starts along with the striking of cymbals. Then two or three types of dances are shown. Then comes juggling of balls. It is described by a sloka thus:

 

Ekopi Thraya Iva Bhathi Kandukoyam

 

Kanthayaa: Karathala Raktharaktha:

Abhrastho Nayanamareechi Neelaneelo

Popular belief is that kathakali is emerged from "Krishnanattam", the dance drama on the life and activities of Lord Krishna created by Sri Manavedan Raja, the Zamorin of Calicut (1585-1658 AD). Once Kottarakkara Thampuran, the Raja of Kottarakkara who was attracted by Krishnanattam requested the Zamorin for the loan of a troupe of performers. Due to the political rivalry between the two, Zamorin did not allow this. So Kottarakkara Thampuran created another art form called Ramanattam which was later transformed into Aattakatha. Krishnanaattam was written in Sanskrit, and Ramanattam was in Malayalam. By the end of 17th century, Attakatha was presented to the world with the title 'Kathakali'. Kathakali also shares a lot of similarities with Krishnanattam, Koodiyattam (a classical Sanskrit drama existing in Kerala) and Ashtapadiyattam (an adaptation of 12th-century musical called Gitagovindam). It also incorporates several other elements from traditional and ritualistic art forms like Mudiyettu, Thiyyattu, Theyyam and Padayani besides a minor share of folk arts like Porattunatakam. All along, the martial art of Kalarippayattu has influenced the body language of Kathakali. The use of Malayalam, the local language (albeit as a mix of Sanskrit and Malayalam, called ), has also helped the literature of Kathakali sound more transparent for the average audience. As a part of modernising, propagating, promoting and popularizing Kathakali, the International Centre for Kathakali at New Delhi has taken up a continuing project since 1980 of producing new plays based on not only traditional and mythological stories, but also historical stories, European classics and Shakespeare's plays. Recently they produced Kathakali plays based on Shakespeare's Othello and Greek-Roman mythology of Psyche and Cupid.

 

Even though the lyrics/literature would qualify as another independent element called Sahithyam, it is considered as a component of Geetha or music, as it plays only a supplementary role to

Bhumau Talcharana Naghamshu Gaurgaura:

 

Meaning One ball looks like three balls. When it is in the hands of the juggler, it takes the redness of the hands, when it goes up it takes the blueness of the eyes, when it strikes the ground it becomes white from the whiteness of the leg nails. Once a juggled ball falls down. Then she, the juggler, somehow manages to proceed and remarks "See.. how I can do it".

 

At one time a garment slips from a lady's body and she adjusts the cloth showing shameful shyness (Lajja). Then the ladies go in for a Kummi dance. As Arjuna was enjoying this dance, suddenly somebody calls him. Arjuna feels scared. "Oh God, where am I?" he says and beats a hasty retreat.

 

TAPAS ATTAM: RAVANA IN RAVANA ULBHAVAM

[Background: Mali, Sumali and Malyavan were three brothers ruling Sri Lanka. During a war between them and Indra, Indra requested help from Lord Vishnu and as a consequence Lord Vishnu killed Mali. Sumali and Malyavan escaped to Patala. Kaikasi was the daughter of Sumali. She wandered in the forest. She belong three boys through a great sage called Vishravassu. (Vishravassu had an earlier son called Vaishravana who became the richest among all people.) The eldest boy of Kaikasi was Ravana followed by Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana.]

 

SCENE 1

When Ravana was a young boy (Kutti Ravana vesham), one day he was sleeping on his mothers lap in a place called madhuvanam. At that time Kaikasi sees Vaishravana flying overhead in his vimana (mythical aeroplane). She thinks “Oh, that is Vaishravana, technically a brother of my son who is sleeping on my lap. He is rich and strong. My son is so poor and weak. While thinking thus a drop of tear from her eyes drops on Ravana’s face. Ravana suddenly wakes up and sees his mother crying. When he knew the reason he could not bear it. He says he is going to do tapas to Brahma to get boons so that he will be strong and rich.

 

SCENE 2

(The tapas itself is shown as a part of autobiographical narration of adult ravana)

 

Ravana (adult Ravana, not kutti Ravana) is sitting on a stool. He thinks “Why am I so happy? How did I become so rich and strong? Oh yes. It is because of the tapas I did. What made me do the tapas? When I was a young boy, one day I was sleeping on my mother’s lap in a place called Madhuvanam. A drop of tear from her eyes falls on my face. I asked her why she was crying. She said she saw Vaishravana flying overhead in his vimana (plane). She told me Vaishravan was a brother of mine now flying in a plane. He is rich and strong. I am so poor and weak. When I heard this comparison between me and my brother, I could not bear it. I am going to do tapas to Brahma to get boons so that I will be strong and rich.

 

I made five different types of fires (while doing tapas gods are approached through Agni the god of fire). Then I started my tapas. I asked my brothers to stand guard and also keep the fires burning. Then I fully concentrated on tapas. Time passed but Brahma did not appear. I looked. Why is Brahma not appearing? I doubled my concentration. Time passed. Brahma is not appearing. Still not appearing? I cut one of my heads and put it in the fire. Waited, Brahma did not come. One more head rolls. Still no Brahma comes. Heads roll and roll. No Brahma. Only one head is left. First I thought of stopping my tapas. But no! Never! That will be an insult to me and my family. It is better to die than stop. Also when I die Brahma will be judged as being partial. With great determination I swung the sword at my last neck, when, lo and behold, suddenly Brahma appeared and caught my hand. I looked at him with still un-subsided, but gradually subsiding anger. Brahma asked me what boons I wanted. I asked for a boon that I should win all the worlds and have all the wealth and fame and that I should not be killed except by man. I also asked him to give boons for my brothers.

 

In the next scene Ravana asks Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana what boons they got. Unfortunately Kumbhakarna’s tongue got twisted while asking for boon and he got ‘sleep’ instead of becoming the ‘king of gods’. Ravana laughed it off. As for Vibhishana, he being a bhaktha of Vishnu, asked for Vishnu’s blessings and got it. Ravana laughs it off and also decides to conquer all the worlds and starts preparing his grand army for the big conquest of the worlds.

 

[This method of presentation with a peculiar sequence has a tremendous dramatic affect. The main actor redoes a small part of what happened to kutti Ravana vesham, and this gives a view of the high contrast between the boy and the man Ravana. Similarly the presence of Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana in the subsequent scene offers a good smile on the face of the viewer at the end of the play.]

 

KAILASA UDDHARANAM: RAVANA IN BALI VIJAYAM

[Background and Previous scene: After receiving the boons, and widening his kingdom in all directions, Ravana lives in Sri Lanka with great pomp and splendor. One day he sees Saint Narada approaching his palace singing songs in praise of him ‘Jaya jaya Ravana, Lanka Pathe’. Happily he receives Narada and seats him next to him. After telling Narada about the victory of his son Indrajith on Indra, Ravana tells Narada “Now there is nobody on earth or other worlds who can fight with me”. To this Narada replies “ Very true indeed, but there is one huge monkey called Bali who says he can defeat you. He even said that you are just like a blade of grass to him. Well let him say what he wants. You are unbeatable.” Then Narada says ‘let us go there and see him’. Both decide to go. But Ravana takes his famous sword called “Chandrahasam”. Then Narada asks the history of this sword. Ravana’s Attam Starts.]

 

Ravana says “I received this sword from Lord Siva. It happened thus. Once when I was conquering new places and expanding my empire I happened to be going across the Kailasa mountain. The plane got stuck on the mountain unable to move forward. I got down from the plane and looked at the mountain. (Looks from one end to the other first horizontally and then vertically.) So huge it was. Then I decided to lift it with my bare hand and keep it aside and move forward. I started sticking my hands under it one by one. Then I tried to lift it. It doesn’t move. I put more force and more force. It moved just a bit. I pushed harder and harder, slowly it started moving then again and again and it moved easily. Then I lifted it up with my hands and started juggling it (exaggeration evident).

 

“At that particular time Lord Siva was quarreling with his wife Parvathi. Why did they fight? The story is as follows. Parvathi had gone for enjoying swimming and bathing in some beautiful pond. At that time Siva opened his jata (disheveled long hair) and called Ganga for some entertainment after asking Ganapathi and Subramania to go for some errands. Somehow becoming suspicious, right at that time, Parvathi came back in a hurry with wet clothes and saw Siva with Ganga. Siva was wondering what to do and it was at that time that Ravana started lifting the Kailasa. When Kailasa started shaking Parvathi got scared and ran to Siva and hugged him. So the quarrel ended and Siva was happy. “As a reward Siva called me and gave me this famous Chandrahasa sword.”

 

Then Narada and Ravana leave to meet Bali. Ravana wanted to take the sword along with him, but Narada suggested that the sword is not required for teaching a lesson to Bali who is after all an unarmed monkey.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Another experiment - I've done more modification to the original found image in this one, although paradoxically with fewer layers, by drawing directly on to the image layer , then recombining it with the original and redrawing until I was happy. I allowed the original eyes to come through at the very end.

 

The origianl is a tiny web thumbnail, enlarged in Paint Shop Pro and hence very pixellated - which doesn't of course matter with this sort of image.

Another Matchbox Series No4 Dodge K Series Stake Bed Truck Modification. 1966 to 1968 - 1-75 Series. This is the testing with the new color and the restored stake bed painted green. The color I like but on the truck but I am not happy with the stake bed. The warp is bad and I tried to fix it without it breaking which it wanted to do. I even soaked it in hot water to soften it but not luck.

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.

For some reason, full-sized pickup trucks are built with a very high bed. My old mid-sized pickup had a bed you could lean over and reach into. The sides on the new pickup are higher than my shoulder.

 

For that reason, I frequently have to climb into the back of the pickup. When the tailgate is up, I can step on the hitch and then up onto the bumper and into the bed. When the tailgate is down, I can't step on the hitch because the tailgate covers it, so I have been stepping up onto the rear tire and pulling myself up into the bed. Also, just getting into the driver's seat is an effort so I put an aftermarket step on the side so I can get into the truck in two steps.

 

I don't know why they are built so high. There's no good reason for it. It can't be for clearance, because the clearance is defined by the axle, not the body. The tires are a bit larger than the old truck, but that only makes the clearance a couple inches higher. The bed is at least a foot higher. The only reason I can think of is style. Making the truck higher makes it look bigger. I'd much prefer it to be unstylishly low like my old truck.

Please NOTE and RESPECT the copyright.

© 2015 photos4dreams - All rights reserved.

 

This image may not be copied, reproduced, published or distributed in any medium without the expressed written permission of the copyright holder.

 

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爆改20" Birdy

Number 10, an Austin-Healey 3000 entered by Michael Gerber (driver) and Dominik Lingg (navigator) seen competing in the HERO's (Historic Endurance Rallying Organisation's) Land’s End to John O’Groats Reliability Trial and Classic Car Tour (LE JOG) Scotland December 2016.

 

heroevents.eu/

 

Any additional information clarifying the vehicle's make, model, modifications made and its specific history will be welcomed.

 

Press "L" to view large.

Chassis: 0714TR

 

Chassis 0714TR Piero Drogo was the first owner of this early pontoon fender 250 TR. He immediately made small modifications like adding cooling scoops for the rear brakes. At its debut Drogo raced the car to a strong fourth in the 1958 Buenos Aires 1000 km. After he raced his Ferrari a few more times, Drogo sold it to American amateur racer Alan Connell through Luigi Chinetti. The new owner had the car painted black with a red band across the nose. The 250 TR was raced for many more seasons, scoring numerous wins. At one point it sported disc brakes and a clear carburettor cover. Restored to its original configuration but painted in Connell's colors, it was offered at RM Auctions' Leggenda e Passione sale in 2009. Here it sold for over $12 million, setting a new world record for a car sold at auction.

 

[Text from Ultimatecarpage.com]

 

www.ultimatecarpage.com/sn/128/Ferrari-250-TR.html

 

That said, this Ferrari 250 TR might be now worth quite a lot more....

-

 

This might not come as a shock, but ultra-rare vintage cars are only going to get more expensive as time rolls on, particularly if there's a prancing horse on the car's nose. For example, in 2011, a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for $16.39 million. In February 2012, a 1964 250 GTO sold for nearly $32 million. Later that year, a 1962 250 GTO sold for $35 million. It was the most expensive car ever sold, making last year's 275 GTB/4 NART Spider and its $27.5-million auction price seem like a drop in the platinum-lined bucket. Now, there's been another high-dollar Ferrari sale.

 

An unrestored, 1957 250 Testa Rossa was reportedly sold for over $39 million, making it the most expensive car ever sold in the United Kingdom. Just for perspective, $39 million is about 28 LaFerraris or roughly 128 F12 Berlinettas. It's not the most expensive car ever sold, but it still represents a huge sum of money for a classic car. Part of the reason for chassis number 0704 - the car pictured above is 0714, which sold for a mere $12.2 million in 2009 - being sold for so much is down to its excellent provenance.

 

It made its race debut at the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans, although it failed to finish. Phil Hill and Peter Collins racked up wins with this exact car in Buenos Aires and Sebring, according to the folks at Hemmings. Combining race wins by a former Formula One World Champion with an unrestored example of an extremely rare car (one of just 34 250 Testa Rossas ever built) makes its monumental sale price almost seem reasonable.

 

Following its racing life, the 0704 was donated to The Henry Ford Museum, outside of Detroit. It spent 30 years there, before being sold in 1997. According to Hemmings, the care by The Henry Ford team, which has a voluminous collection of rare and classic cars, is part of the reason this unrestored car remains in such good condition.

 

As this was a private sale, rather than through an auction house, it's unlikely we'll ever know the complete details behind the sale. The pricing information comes from The Daily Mail, which claims well-placed sources confirmed the price of 24 million pounds (that converts to $39.2 million as of this writing). The car was owned by Tom Hartley, Jr., a UK-based car dealer. Hartley admitted to selling the car, although it's unclear who the new owner is, according to Hemmings.

 

[Text from Autoblog]

 

www.autoblog.com/2014/02/04/1957-ferrari-250-testa-rossa-...

 

This Lego miniland-scale Ferrari 250 Testarossa Racer s/n 0714TR (1958 - Scaglietti), has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 89th Build Challenge, - "Over a Million, Under a Thousand", - a challenge to build vehicles valued over one million (US) dollars, or under one thousand (US) dollars.

Donk - a strange term.

 

Used in Australia as a slang term for a car engine, Donk is a whole sub-culture of vehicle modification in the US focusing on overly large wheels.

 

The term 'Donk' refers directly back to the original donor vehicle, popularly, the Chevrolet Impala. It has been said that the leaping Impala logo looks somewhat like a donkey!

 

The cars are also known by the more generic term of 'Hi-riser' - somewhat more descriptive, but less colourful name.

 

Hi-Risers are a type of highly customized automobile, typically a traditional, full-size, body on frame, V8 powered, rear wheel drive American-built sedan modified by significantly increasing the ground clearance and adding large-diameter wheels with low-profile tires. Depending on the model and style of body, autos customized in this manner can be labeled "donk," "box," or "bubble."

 

Hi-risers originally grew out of the Dirty South subculture, but the trend has spread across the United States. Vehicles customized in the hi-riser style are distinguished by their oversized (even disproportionate) wheels, ranging from 20 inches to 30 inches or more in diameter (largest being 50 inch), as well as fanciful custom paint-jobs and expensive audio equipment. Suspension modifications similar to those employed on lifted pickup trucks are made to give adequate clearance for the large wheels. Often the suspension is modified so the front end sits slightly higher than the rear end, giving the car a swaggering appearance. Because of the exaggerated look gained from installing a lifted suspension and enormous wheels, donks are also known as "hi-risers" or "sky-scrapers."

 

The most popular vehicles for these types of modifications are late 20th century, full-size, rear wheel drive sedans and coupes manufactured by General Motors (Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Buick, and Cadillac), namely the Impala, Caprice, Buick Roadmaster, Oldsmobile 98, and Cadillac Fleetwood/Fleetwood Brougham, as well as mid-sized models such as the Chevrolet Monte Carlo and Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. However, similar full-size Ford models (Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car, Mercury Grand Marquis) are also popular, largely due to the ability to cheaply buy former police service Crown Victorias. There are three main sub-types of hi-riser, although the distinctions are blurred and open to debate. Most hi-riser enthusiasts agree that a "donk" traditionally is a 1971 to 1976 Impala. They were given this name because the "Impala" symbol was referred to as a "donkey" by owners or "donk" for short.[citation needed] To complement the sloping rear, the suspension of donks are frequently higher in the front end than the rear, resulting in a nose-up stance. Other hi-risers are usually raised evenly, resulting in a more or less level stance. A box is another sub-type of hi-riser, usually a 1977-1990-era Impala or Caprice with a boxy or squared-off front and rear end. Other models that are frequently made into hi-risers include the G-body Buick Regal, Oldsmobile Cutlass, Chevrolet El Camino, Pontiac Grand Prix, and Pontiac Bonneville.

 

Other vehicles gaining in popularity as hi-risers are the Cadillac DeVille and Seville, as well as the Buick Roadmaster. Also gaining in popularity are the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car sedans. These three are the last full sized, body-on-frame, RWD sedans of which the Lincoln Town Car is the only one still being sold for 2011. In fact, the Grand Marquis in particular is enjoying a slight sales surge due to the increasing popularity of buying them new and turning them into hi-risers. Several rappers have alluded to the Grand Marquis in their music, such as Dorrough's "Ice Cream Paint Job": "Grand Marquis, paint job grape jelly

 

[Text from Wikipedia]

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-Riser_(automobile)

 

A key enabler for many of these vehicles is the use of the longitudinal powertrain, driving the rear wheels, and also the use of separate chassis (body-on-frame), decoupling the chassis forces from suspension from the body structure. The BOF layout also allows simpler modification of the vehicle, adopting parts and design solutions from the similarly configured Light Truck, e.g. Ford F150 or similar.

 

The 1971 Chevrolet Impala Convertible used here as the base vehicle offers these features and more. Notably engines not restricted by vehicle emissions standards, which had such a detrimental effect on engine output, staring from 1972. The 1971 Impala (the first year of this 5th generation Impala platform), was fitted with engines up to 454 CID (7.4 litres) rated at 365 hp. In 1976, the last year of this 5th generation vehicle, the 454 CID output had fallen to only 225 HP.

 

For interest, this 1971 Impala Donk is named 'Polar Bear'. Enormous, powerful, and super-cool (especially roof-down in winter), and for the icing blue exterior colour.

 

This Lego miniland-scale Chevrolet 1971 Impala Convertible Donk (1971), has been created for Flickr LUGNuts' 90th Build Challenge, - "Fools Rush In!", -

to the subtheme - "BaDONKadonk!". The 90th build challenge presenting 13 different subthemes to choose to build to.

+++ 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:

Following World War II the Allies dissolved the Wehrmacht with all its branches on 20 August 1946. However, already one year after the founding of the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949 and because of its increasing links with the West, the Consultative Assembly of Europe began to consider the formation of a European Defence Community with German participation on 11 August 1950.

 

By March 1954, plans for a new German army had become concrete and foresaw the formation of six infantry, four armored, and two mechanized infantry divisions, as the German contribution to the defense of Western Europe in the framework of a European Defence Community. Following a decision at the London Nine Power Conference of 28 September to 3 October 1954, Germany's entry into NATO effective from 9 May 1955 was accepted as a replacement for the failed European Defence Community plan.

 

The official founding date of the German army was 12 November 1955 when the first soldiers began their service in Andernach, even though preparations began earlier. In 1956, the first troops set up seven training companies in Andernach and began the formation of schools and training centers. On 1 April 1957, the first conscripts arrived for service in the army. The first military organisations created were instructional battalions, officer schools, and the Army Academy, the forerunner to the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr in Hamburg. In total twelve armored and infantry divisions were to be established by 1959, as planned in Army Structure I. To achieve this goal, existing units were split approximately every six months. However, the creation of all twelve divisions did not take place until 1965. At the end of 1958 the strength of the army was about 100,000 men.

 

Concerning vehicles, the German army was equipped at first with American material, such as the M47 Patton main battle tank or M7 Priest SPGs. Lighter vehicles, like the “Schützenpanzer Kurz 11-2” family or the “Schützenpanzer Lang HS-30” AFV, were developed and/or produced with foreign support. Additionally, also as a measure to bring the German industry back into business and to fill equipment gaps, some leftover vehicles from WWII were modernized and put back into service. One of these vehicles was the so-called “Spähpanzer Puma (Neu)”, an update of the highly successful SdKfz. 234/2 8x8 heavy reconnaissance vehicle, one of the best armored scout vehicles during WWII.

 

Germany had a long and successful history of heavy 8x8 scout cars, starting with the SdKfz. 231 in the Thirties. The Sd.Kfz. 234 was the final development of this vehicle family that actually made it into service. For its time, the Sd.Kfz. 234 incorporated several innovative features, including a monocoque chassis (instead of a classic frame with a hull mounted on top), an independent suspension on each wheel and an air-cooled Tatra 103 diesel engine (at the time of the vehicle’s design all German armored vehicles were powered by gasoline engines) with a net power of 220 hp@2,250 rpm and a very good power-to-weight ratio of 21 hp/ton. This engine gave also the vehicle an extraordinary range of more than 600 miles (1.000 km). The reason behind this was that the SdKfz. 234 was originally intended for use in North Africa, but it came into service in late 1942 and was therefore too late for this theatre of operations. Furthermore, the vehicle featured eight-wheel steering and drive and was able to change direction quickly thanks to a second, rear-facing, driver's seat. Despite its late service introduction, the SdKfz. 234 nevertheless proved useful on the Eastern and Western Fronts. It was quite formidable, commonly used in pairs, one equipped with a long-range radio communications kit while the other possessed only a short-range radio.

 

A small number of SdKfz. 234s survived the wartime on German soil and had been stashed away as a reserve. Their reactivation for the nascent Bundeswehr in the Fifties covered the replacement of the outdated Tatra engine, for which no spare parts were available anymore, with an air-cooled, supercharged Magirus-Deutz V8 Diesel engine. It had less power (125 kW/180 hp) than the former Tatra V12, but was more reliable and offered more torque and an even better mileage. Furthermore, this was basically a standard engine that was widely used in civil lorries and many other military vehicles of the time, including those operated by the West-German Bundesheer, too. Thanks to the smaller size of the new engine, sound-damping materials could be added and the exhaust system was optimized, so that the vehicle’s noise level was considerably reduced. The additional internal space was also used for two communication kits: a short-range radio was installed in the new turret (see below), while a long-range radio kit was placed into the hull, next to the rear driver.

The suspension was modernized and beefed up, too, with heavy duty shock absorbers, wider wheels and a pressure control system, so that ground pressure could be reduced by the crew from the inside of the vehicle for an adaptable, improved on- and off-road performance. The SdKfz. 234’s crew of four in its former positions was retained, including the second, backwards-facing steering wheel for the radio operator.

 

Since the West German SdKfz. 234 survivor fleet consisted of different body variants (mostly with open hulls and just two former SdKfz. 234/2s with a closed turret) and vehicles in various states of completion, hull and the armament were unified for the Puma (Neu): all revamped vehicles received a newly developed, welded two-man turret with a low profile. The commander on the left side did not have a cupola, but his position was slightly raised and no less than seven mirrors plus a forward-facing infrared sight for night operations allowed a very good field of view. Both crewmen in the hull also received additional three mirrors above their workstations for a better field of view while driving.

 

Main weapon of the Puma (Neu) became a 20 mm Rheinmetall MK 20 Rh202 autocannon, a license-built Hispano-Suiza 820 L/85, together with a co-axial 7.62 mm MG42/57 light machine gun. The MK 20 was a common anti-aircraft weapon at the time and mounted to other Bundeswehr vehicles like the HS-30 AFV, too. It could fire HE and AP rounds at 800–1000 RPM, making it efficient against lightly armored vehicles (25-30 mm of armor) at up to 1,500 m range, with a maximum range of 2,000 m. 750 rounds of 20 mm ammunition were carried, even though ammunition feed had to be changed manually. The weapons were not stabilized, but they had a 15x15 periscopic sight and could be elevated between -5° and + 75°, so that it could be aimed at both ground and air targets. Three additional smoke grenade launchers per turret side were provided for tactical and emergency concealment.

 

Only a small number (40 plus two prototypes) of Spähpanzer Puma (Neu) were eventually converted or re-build from spares, but they became in 1957 the launch equipment of the Bundeswehr’s armored reconnaissance brigades, together with M8 Greyhound scout cars donated by the USA, even though the latter were soon complemented and replaced by tracked vehicles, based on the Schützenpanzer Kurz. However, due to their high road speed and excellent range, the Puma (Neu) scout cars were popular and remained in service until the late Seventies, when a new generation of 8x8 reconnaissance vehicles in the form of the amphibious Spähpanzer Luchs was introduced and replaced all 1st generation Bundeswehr vehicles.

  

Specifications:

Crew: Four (commander, gunner, driver, radio operator/2nd driver)

Weight: 10.500 kg (23,148 lbs)

Length: 6.02 m (19 ft 9 in)

Width: 2.36 m (7 ft 9 in)

Height: 2.84 metres (9 ft 4 in)

Suspension: Independent on each wheel, 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: 240 l

 

Armor:

9-30 mm (.35-1.18 in) steel armor

 

Performance:

Maximum road speed: 80 km/h (49 mph)

Operational range: 800 km (500 mi)

Fuel consumption: 30 l/100 km on roads, 45 l/100 km off-road

Power/weight: 17 PS/t

 

Engine:

Air-cooled, supercharged 10,622 cc (648³ in) Magirus-Deutz F8L 614K V8 diesel engine,

with 132 kW (180 hp) output at 2.500 RPM

 

Transmission:

Büssing-NAG "GS" with 6 forward and reverse gears, eight-wheel drive

 

Armament:

1× 20 mm (0.79 in) Rheinmetall (Hispano-Suiza) MK 20 Rh202 autocannon with 750 rounds

1× co-axial 7.62 mm MG42/57 light machine gun 2.000 rounds

  

The kit and its assembly:

This German 8x8 vehicle is a contribution to the “Back into service” Group Build at whatifmodelers.com in late 2019. Beyond aircraft I also thought about (armored) vehicles that could fit into this theme, and the SdKfz. 234/2 “Puma” (even though this popular name was never official!) came to my mind, because it was a very effective vehicle with many modern features for its time. So, what could a modernized Puma for the young Bundeswehr look like…?

 

The starting point became the very nice Hasegawa SdKfz. 234/2 kit, which did not – except for some PSR between the hull halves – pose any complications. I did not want to change too much for the Bundeswehr update, but new/wider wheels and a new, more modern turret with a light post-war weapon appeared sensible.

 

The wheels come from a ModelTrans aftermarket resin set for the LAV-25 – they are quite modern, but they do not look out of place. Their different, more solid style as well as the slightly bigger diameter and the wider tires change the Puma’s look considerably. In order to mount them, I modified the suspension and cut away the former attachment point on the four axles, replacing them with thin, die-punched styrene discs. This reduced the track width far enough so that the new, wider wheels would fit under the original mudguards. It’s a tight arrangement, but does not look implausible. The spare wheel, normally mounted to the vehicle’s rear, was omitted.

 

The turret was taken from a Revell “Luchs” Spähpanzer kit, but simplified so that it would have a more vintage look. For instance, the machine gun ring mount above the commander’s hatch was omitted, as well as the rotating warning light and the modern smoke grenade dischargers. The latter were replaced by the WWII triple dischargers from the Hasegawa kit, for a more vintage look.

To my astonishment, the Luchs turret was easy to mate with the Puma chassis: its attachment ring diameter was almost identical! The new part could be attached almost without a problem or modification. I just added some reinforcements to the hull’s flanks, since the Luchs turret is slightly wider than the SdKfz. 234/2’s horseshoe-shaped turret. Beyond that, only small, cosmetic things were added, like mirror fairings for both drivers above their workstations, license plates at the front and the rear and antennae.

  

Painting and markings:

Creating an early Bundeswehr vehicle is a simple task, because there is only one potential color option until the Eighties: a uniform livery in Gelboliv (RAL 6014). Due to the livery’s simplicity, I used a rattle can to paint hull, turret and wheels separately.

 

After some detail painting, a very dark brown wash with acrylic paint and some post shading with Revell 42 (also Gelboliv, but a rather greenish and bright interpretation of the tone) as well as dry-brushing with Revell 46 and 45 along the many edges were used to weather the model and emphasize details. After decals had been applied (mostly from a Peddinghaus sheet for early Bundeswehr vehicles, plus some tactical markings from the Revell Luchs), the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.

 

Once dry and completed, 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. I found the uniform livery to look quite dull, so I added some branches (real moss, spray-painted with dark green acrylic paint from a rattle can) to the hull – a frequent field practice.

  

This was a very quick project – in fact, the model was completed in the course of just one evening, and painting it was a quick affair, too, lasting only another day. However, I like the result. The SdKfz. 234/2 already had a quite modern look in its original guise, but the new wheels and the Luchs turret change its look considerably, it really has an even more modern feel that fits well into the early Bundeswehr era.

 

For C, two modifications. Original not mine.

This is a custom case I made for a USB stick/USB drive. (The original case was ugly and flimsy.)

World leader, scientist, medical scientist, virologist, pharmacist, Professor Fangruida (F.D Smith) on the world epidemic and the nemesis and prevention of new coronaviruses and mutant viruses (Jacques Lucy) 2021v1.5)

_-----------------------------------------

The Nemesis and Killer of New Coronavirus and Mutated Viruses-Joint Development of Vaccines and Drugs (Fangruida) July 2021

*The particularity of new coronaviruses and mutant viruses*The broad spectrum, high efficiency, redundancy, and safety of the new coronavirus vaccine design and development , Redundancy and safety

*New coronavirus drug chemical structure modification*Computer-aided design and drug screening. *"Antiviral biological missile", "New Coronavirus Anti-epidemic Tablets", "Composite Antiviral Oral Liquid", "New Coronavirus Long-acting Oral Tablets", "New Coronavirus Inhibitors" (injection)

——————————————————————————

(World leader, scientist, medical scientist, biologist, virologist, pharmacist, FD Smith) "The Nemesis and Killer of New Coronavirus and Mutated Viruses-The Joint Development of Vaccines and Drugs" is an important scientific research document. Now it has been revised and re-published by the original author several times. The compilation is published and published according to the original manuscript to meet the needs of readers and netizens all over the world. At the same time, it is also of great benefit to the vast number of medical clinical drug researchers and various experts and scholars. We hope that it will be corrected in the reprint.------Compiled by Jacques Lucy in Geneva, August 2021

  

-------------------------------------------------- ---------------------

    

According to Worldometer's real-time statistics, as of about 6:30 on July 23, there were a total of 193,323,815 confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia worldwide, and a total of 4,150,213 deaths. There were 570,902 new confirmed cases and 8,766 new deaths worldwide in a single day. Data shows that the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, India, and Indonesia are the five countries with the largest number of new confirmed cases, and Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, South Africa, and India are the five countries with the largest number of new deaths.

 

The new coronavirus and delta mutant strains have been particularly serious in the recent past. Many countries and places have revived, and the number of cases has not decreased, but has increased.

, It is worthy of vigilance. Although many countries have strengthened vaccine prevention and control and other prevention and control measures, there are still many shortcomings and deficiencies in virus suppression and prevention. The new coronavirus and various mutant strains have a certain degree of antagonism to traditional drugs and most vaccines. Although most vaccines have great anti-epidemic properties and have important and irreplaceable effects and protection for prevention and treatment, it is impossible to completely prevent the spread and infection of viruses. The spread of the new crown virus pneumonia has been delayed for nearly two years. There are hundreds of millions of people infected worldwide, millions of deaths, and the time is long, the spread is widespread, and billions of people around the world are among them. The harm of the virus is quite terrible. This is well known. of. More urgent

What is more serious is that the virus and mutant strains have not completely retreated, especially many people are still infected and infected after being injected with various vaccines. The effectiveness of the vaccine and the resistance of the mutant virus are worthy of medical scientists, virologists, pharmacologists Zoologists and others seriously think and analyze. The current epidemic situation in European and American countries, China, Brazil, India, the United States, Russia and other countries has greatly improved from last year. However, relevant figures show that the global epidemic situation has not completely improved, and some countries and regions are still very serious. In particular, after extensive use of various vaccines, cases still occur, and in some places they are still very serious, which deserves a high degree of vigilance. Prevention and control measures are very important. In addition, vaccines and various anti-epidemic drugs are the first and necessary choices, and other methods are irreplaceable. It is particularly important to develop and develop comprehensive drugs, antiviral drugs, immune drugs, and genetic drugs. Research experiments on new coronaviruses and mutant viruses require more rigorous and in-depth data analysis, pathological pathogenic tissues, cell genes, molecular chemistry, quantum chemistry, etc., as well as vaccine molecular chemistry, quantum physics, quantum biology, cytological histology, medicinal chemistry, and drugs And the vaccine’s symptomatic, effectiveness, safety, long-term effectiveness, etc., of course, including tens of thousands of clinical cases and deaths and other first-hand information and evidence. The task of RNA (ribonucleic acid) in the human body is to use the information of our genetic material DNA to produce protein. It accomplishes this task in the ribosome, the protein-producing area of ​​the cell. The ribosome is the place where protein biosynthesis occurs.

Medicine takes advantage of this: In vaccination, artificially produced mRNA provides ribosomes with instructions for constructing pathogen antigens to fight against—for example, the spike protein of coronavirus.

Traditional live vaccines or inactivated vaccines contain antigens that cause the immune system to react. The mRNA vaccine is produced in the cell

(1) The specificity of new coronaviruses and mutant viruses, etc., virology and quantum chemistry of mutant viruses, quantum physics, quantum microbiology

(2) New crown vaccine design, molecular biology and chemical structure, etc.

(3) The generality and particularity of the development of new coronavirus drugs

(4) Various drug design for new coronavirus pneumonia, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, etc., cells, proteins, DNA, enzyme chemistry, pharmaceutical quantum chemistry, pharmaceutical quantum physics, human biochemistry, human biophysics, etc.

(5) The evolution and mutation characteristics of the new coronavirus and various mutant viruses, the long-term nature, repeatability, drug resistance, and epidemic resistance of the virus, etc.

(6) New coronavirus pneumonia and the infectious transmission of various new coronaviruses and their particularities

(7) The invisible transmission of new coronavirus pneumonia and various mutant viruses in humans or animals, and the mutual symbiosis of cross infection of various bacteria and viruses are also one of the very serious causes of serious harm to new coronaviruses and mutant viruses. Virology, pathology, etiology, gene sequencing, gene mapping, and a large number of analytical studies have shown that there are many cases in China, the United States, India, Russia, Brazil, and other countries.

(8) For the symptomatic prevention and treatment of the new coronavirus, the combination of various vaccines and various antiviral drugs is critical.

(9) According to the current epidemic situation and research judgments, the epidemic situation may improve in the next period of time and 2021-2022, and we are optimistic about its success. However, completely worry-free, it is still too early to win easily. It is not just relying on vaccination. Wearing masks to close the city and other prevention and control measures and methods can sit back and relax, and you can win a big victory. Because all kinds of research and exploration still require a lot of time and various experimental studies. It is not a day's work. A simple taste is very dangerous and harmful. The power and migratory explosiveness of viruses sometimes far exceed human thinking and perception. In the future, next year, or in the future, whether viruses and various evolutionary mutation viruses will re-attack, we still need to study, analyze, prevent and control, rather than being complacent, thinking that the vaccine can win a big victory is inevitably naive and ridiculous. Vaccine protection is very important, but it must not be taken carelessly. The mutation of the new crown virus is very rampant, and the cross-infection of recessive and virulent bacteria makes epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic very complicated.

(10) New crown virus pneumonia and the virus's stubbornness, strength, migration, susceptibility, multi-infectiousness, and occult. The effectiveness of various vaccines and the particularity of virus mutations The long-term hidden dangers and repeated recurrences of the new coronavirus

(11) The formation mechanism and invisible transmission of invisible viruses, asymptomatic infections and asymptomatic infections, asymptomatic transmission routes, asymptomatic infections, pathological pathogens. The spread and infection of viruses and mutated viruses, the blind spots and blind spots of virus vaccines, viral quantum chemistry and

The chemical and physical corresponding reactions at the meeting points of highly effective vaccine drugs, etc. The variability of mutated viruses is very complicated, and vaccination cannot completely prevent the spread of infection.

(12) New crown virus pneumonia and various respiratory infectious diseases are susceptible to infections in animals and humans, and are frequently recurring. This is one of the frequently-occurring and difficult diseases of common infectious diseases. Even with various vaccines and various antiviral immune drugs, it is difficult to completely prevent the occurrence and spread of viral pneumonia. Therefore, epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic is a major issue facing human society, and no country should take it lightly. The various costs that humans pay on this issue are very expensive, such as Ebola virus, influenza A virus,

Hepatitis virus,

Marburg virus

Sars coronavirus, plague, anthracnose, cholera

and many more. The B.1.1.7 mutant virus that was first discovered in the UK was renamed Alpha mutant virus; the B.1.351 that was first discovered in South Africa was renamed Beta mutant virus; the P.1 that was first discovered in Brazil was renamed Gamma mutant virus; the mutation was first discovered in India There are two branches of the virus. B.1.617.2, which was listed as "mutated virus of concern", was renamed Delta mutant virus, and B.1.617.1 of "mutated virus to be observed" was renamed Kappa mutant virus.

However, experts in many countries believe that the current vaccination is still effective, at least it can prevent severe illness and reduce deaths.

　　　　 Delta mutant strain

According to the degree of risk, the WHO divides the new crown variant strains into two categories: worrying variant strains (VOC, variant of concern) and noteworthy variant strains (VOI, variant of interest). The former has caused many cases and a wide range of cases worldwide, and data confirms its transmission ability, strong toxicity, high power, complex migration, and high insidious transmission of infection. Resistance to vaccines may lead to the effectiveness of vaccines and clinical treatments. Decrease; the latter has confirmed cases of community transmission worldwide, or has been found in multiple countries, but has not yet formed a large-scale infection. Need to be very vigilant. Various cases and deaths in many countries in the world are related to this. In some countries, the epidemic situation is repeated, and it is also caused by various reasons and viruses, of course, including new cases and so on.

At present, VOC is the mutant strain that has the greatest impact on the epidemic and the greatest threat to the world, including: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. , Will the change of the spur protein in the VOC affect the immune protection effect of the existing vaccine, or whether it will affect the sensitivity of the VOC to the existing vaccine? For this problem, it is necessary to directly test neutralizing antibodies, such as those that can prevent the protection of infection. Antibodies recognize specific protein sequences on viral particles, especially those spike protein sequences used in mRNA vaccines.

 

(13) Countries around the world, especially countries and regions with more severe epidemics, have a large number of clinical cases, severe cases, and deaths, especially including many young and middle-aged patients, including those who have been vaccinated. The epidemic is more complicated and serious. Injecting various vaccines, taking strict control measures such as closing the city and wearing masks are very important and the effect is very obvious. However, the new coronavirus and mutant viruses are so repeated, their pathological pathogen research will also be very complicated and difficult. After the large-scale use of the vaccine, many people are still infected. In addition to the lack of prevention and control measures, it is very important that the viability of the new coronavirus and various mutant viruses is very important. It can escape the inactivation of the vaccine. It is very resistant to stubbornness. Therefore, the recurrence of new coronavirus pneumonia is very dangerous. What is more noteworthy is that medical scientists, virologists, pharmacists, biologists, zoologists and clinicians should seriously consider the correspondence between virus specificity and vaccine drugs, and the coupling of commonality and specificity. Only in this way can we find targets. Track and kill viruses. Only in this sense can the new crown virus produce a nemesis, put an end to and eradicate the new crown virus pneumonia. Of course, this is not a temporary battle, but a certain amount of time and process to achieve the goal in the end.

 

(14) The development and evolution of the natural universe and earth species, as well as life species. With the continuous evolution of human cell genes, microbes and bacterial viruses are constantly mutated and inherited. The new world will inevitably produce a variety of new pathogens.

And viruses. For example, neurological genetic disease, digestive system disease, respiratory system disease, blood system disease, cardiopulmonary system disease, etc., new diseases will continue to emerge as humans develop and evolve. Human migration to space, space diseases, space psychological diseases, space cell diseases, space genetic diseases, etc. Therefore, for the new coronavirus and mutated viruses, we must have sufficient knowledge and response, and do not think that it will be completely wiped out.

, And is not a scientific attitude. Viruses and humans mutually reinforce each other, and viruses and animals and plants mutually reinforce each other. This is the iron law of the natural universe. Human beings can only adapt to natural history, but cannot deliberately modify natural history.

  

Active immune products made from specific bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae, spirochetes, mycoplasma and other microorganisms and parasites are collectively called vaccines. Vaccination of animals can make the animal body have specific immunity. The principle of vaccines is to artificially attenuate, inactivate, and genetically attenuate pathogenic microorganisms (such as bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, etc.) and their metabolites. Purification and preparation methods, made into immune preparations for the prevention of infectious diseases. In terms of ingredients, the vaccine retains the antigenic properties and other characteristics of the pathogen, which can stimulate the body's immune response and produce protective antibodies. But it has no pathogenicity and does not cause harm to the body. When the body is exposed to this pathogen again, the immune system will produce more antibodies according to the previous memory to prevent the pathogen from invading or to fight against the damage to the body. (1) Inactivated vaccines: select pathogenic microorganisms with strong immunogenicity, culture them, inactivate them by physical or chemical methods, and then purify and prepare them. The virus species used in inactivated vaccines are generally virulent strains, but the use of attenuated attenuated strains also has good immunogenicity, such as the inactivated polio vaccine produced by the Sabin attenuated strain. The inactivated vaccine has lost its infectivity to the body, but still maintains its immunogenicity, which can stimulate the body to produce corresponding immunity and resist the infection of wild strains. Inactivated vaccines have a good immune effect. They can generally be stored for more than one year at 2～8°C without the risk of reversion of virulence; however, the inactivated vaccines cannot grow and reproduce after entering the human body. They stimulate the human body for a short time and must be strong and long-lasting. In general, adjuvants are required for immunity, and multiple injections in large doses are required, and the local immune protection of natural infection is lacking. Including bacteria, viruses, rickettsiae and toxoid preparations.

(2) Live attenuated vaccine: It is a vaccine made by using artificial targeted mutation methods or by screening live microorganisms with highly weakened or basically non-toxic virulence from the natural world. After inoculation, the live attenuated vaccine has a certain ability to grow and reproduce in the body, which can cause the body to have a reaction similar to a recessive infection or a mild infection, and it is widely used.

(3) Subunit vaccine: Among the multiple specific antigenic determinants carried by macromolecular antigens, only a small number of antigenic sites play an important role in the protective immune response. Separate natural proteins through chemical decomposition or controlled proteolysis, and extract bacteria and virusesVaccines made from fragments with immunological activity are screened out of the special protein structure of, called subunit vaccines. Subunit vaccines have only a few major surface proteins, so they can eliminate antibodies induced by many unrelated antigens, thereby reducing the side effects of the vaccine and related diseases and other side effects caused by the vaccine. (4) Genetically engineered vaccine: It uses DNA recombination biotechnology to direct the natural or synthetic genetic material in the pathogen coat protein that can induce the body's immune response into bacteria, yeast or mammalian cells to make it fully expressed. A vaccine prepared after purification. The application of genetic engineering technology can produce subunit vaccines that do not contain infectious substances, stable attenuated vaccines with live viruses as carriers, and multivalent vaccines that can prevent multiple diseases. This is the second-generation vaccine following the first-generation traditional vaccine. It has the advantages of safety, effectiveness, long-term immune response, and easy realization of combined immunization. It has certain advantages and effects.

New coronavirus drug development, drug targets and chemical modification.

Ligand-based drug design (or indirect drug design planning) relies on the knowledge of other molecules that bind to the target biological target. These other molecules can be used to derive pharmacophore models and structural modalities, which define the minimum necessary structural features that the molecule must have in order to bind to the target. In other words, a model of a biological target can be established based on the knowledge of the binding target, and the model can be used to design new molecular entities and other parts that interact with the target. Among them, the quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) is included, in which the correlation between the calculated properties of the molecule and its experimentally determined biological activity can be derived. These QSAR relationships can be used to predict the activity of new analogs. The structure-activity relationship is very complicated.

Based on structure

Structure-based drug design relies on knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of biological targets obtained by methods such as X-ray crystallography or NMR spectroscopy and quantum chemistry. If the experimental structure of the target is not available, it is possible to create a homology model of the target and other standard models that can be compared based on the experimental structure of the relevant protein. Using the structure of biological targets, interactive graphics and medical chemists’ intuitive design can be used to predict drug candidates with high affinity and selective binding to the target. Various automatic calculation programs can also be used to suggest new drug candidates.

The current structure-based drug design methods can be roughly divided into three categories. The 3D method is to search a large database of small molecule 3D structures to find new ligands for a given receptor, in order to use a rapid approximate docking procedure to find those suitable for the receptor binding pocket. This method is called virtual screening. The second category is the de novo design of new ligands. In this method, by gradually assembling small fragments, a ligand molecule is established within the constraints of the binding pocket. These fragments can be single atoms or molecular fragments. The main advantage of this method is that it can propose novel structures that are not found in any database. The third method is to optimize the known ligand acquisition by evaluating the proposed analogs in the binding cavity.

Bind site ID

Binding site recognition is a step in structure-based design. If the structure of the target or a sufficiently similar homologue is determined in the presence of the bound ligand, the ligand should be observable in that structure, in which case the location of the binding site is small. However, there may not be an allosteric binding site of interest. In addition, only apo protein structures may be available, and it is not easy to reliably identify unoccupied sites that have the potential to bind ligands with high affinity. In short, the recognition of binding sites usually depends on the recognition of pits. The protein on the protein surface can hold molecules the size of drugs, etc. These molecules also have appropriate "hot spots" that drive ligand binding, hydrophobic surfaces, hydrogen bonding sites, and so on.

Drug design is a creative process of finding new drugs based on the knowledge of biological targets. The most common type of drug is small organic molecules that activate or inhibit the function of biomolecules, thereby producing therapeutic benefits for patients. In the most important sense, drug design involves the design of molecules with complementary shapes and charges that bind to their interacting biomolecular targets, and therefore will bind to them. Drug design often but does not necessarily rely on computer modeling techniques. A more accurate term is ligand design. Although the design technology for predicting binding affinity is quite successful, there are many other characteristics, such as bioavailability, metabolic half-life, side effects, etc., which must be optimized first before the ligand can become safe and effective. drug. These other features are usually difficult to predict and realize through reasonable design techniques. However, due to the high turnover rate, especially in the clinical stage of drug development, in the early stage of the drug design process, more attention is paid to the selection of drug candidates. The physical and chemical properties of these drug candidates are expected to be reduced during the development process. Complications are therefore more likely to lead to the approval of the marketed drug. In addition, in early drug discovery, in vitro experiments with computational methods are increasingly used to select compounds with more favorable ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) and toxicological characteristics. A more accurate term is ligand design. Although the design technique for predicting binding affinity is quite successful, there are many other characteristics, such as bioavailability, metabolic half-life, side effects, iatrogenic effects, etc., which must be optimized first, and then the ligand To become safe and effective.

For drug targets, two aspects should be considered when selecting drug targets:

1. The effectiveness of the target, that is, the target is indeed related to the disease, and the symptoms of the disease can be effectively improved by regulating the physiological activity of the target.

2. The side effects of the target. If the regulation of the physiological activity of the target inevitably produces serious side effects, it is inappropriate to select it as the target of drug action or lose its important biological activity. The reference frame of the target should be expanded in multiple dimensions to have a big choice.

3. Search for biomolecular clues related to diseases: use genomics, proteomics and biochip technology to obtain biomolecular information related to diseases, and perform bioinformatics analysis to obtain clue information.

4. Perform functional research on related biomolecules to determine the target of candidate drugs. Multiple targets or individual targets.

5. Candidate drug targets, design small molecule compounds, and conduct pharmacological research at the molecular, cellular and overall animal levels.

Covalent bonding type

The covalent bonding type is an irreversible form of bonding, similar to the organic synthesis reaction that occurs. Covalent bonding types mostly occur in the mechanism of action of chemotherapeutic drugs. For example, alkylating agent anti-tumor drugs produce covalent bonding bonds to guanine bases in DNA, resulting in cytotoxic activity.

. Verify the effectiveness of the target.

Based on the targets that interact with drugs, that is, receptors in a broad sense, such as enzymes, receptors, ion channels, membranes, antigens, viruses, nucleic acids, polysaccharides, proteins, enzymes, etc., find and design reasonable drug molecules. Targets of action and drug screening should focus on multiple points. Drug intermediates and chemical modification. Combining the development of new drugs with the chemical structure modification of traditional drugs makes it easier to find breakthroughs and develop new antiviral drugs. For example, careful selection, modification and modification of existing related drugs that can successfully treat and recover a large number of cases, elimination and screening of invalid drugs from severe death cases, etc., are targeted, rather than screening and capturing needles in a haystack, aimless, with half the effort. Vaccine design should also be multi-pronged and focused. The broad-spectrum, long-term, safety, efficiency and redundancy of the vaccine should all be considered. In this way, it will be more powerful to deal with the mutation and evolution of the virus. Of course, series of vaccines, series of drugs, second-generation vaccines, third-generation vaccines, second-generation drugs, third-generation drugs, etc. can also be developed. Vaccines focus on epidemic prevention, and medicines focus on medical treatment. The two are very different; however, the two complement each other and complement each other. Therefore, in response to large-scale epidemics of infectious diseases, vaccines and various drugs are the nemesis and killers of viral diseases. Of course, it also includes other methods and measures, so I won't repeat them here.

Mainly through the comprehensive and accurate understanding of the structure of the drug and the receptor at the molecular level and even the electronic level, structure-based drug design and the understanding of the structure, function, and drug action mode of the target and the mechanism of physiological activity Mechanism-based drug design.

Compared with the traditional extensive pharmacological screening and lead compound optimization, it has obvious advantages.

Viral RNA replicase, also known as RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) is responsible for the replication and transcription of RNA virus genome, and plays a very important role in the process of virus self-replication in host cells, and It also has a major impact on the mutation of the virus, it will change and accelerate the replication and recombination. Because RdRp from different viruses has a highly conserved core structure, the virus replicase is an important antiviral drug target and there are other selection sites, rather than a single isolated target target such as the new coronavirus As with various mutant viruses, inhibitors developed for viral replicase are expected to become a broad-spectrum antiviral drug. The currently well-known anti-coronavirus drug remdesivir (remdesivir) is a drug for viral replicase.

New antiviral therapies are gradually emerging. In addition to traditional polymerase and protease inhibitors, nucleic acid drugs, cell entry inhibitors, nucleocapsid inhibitors, and drugs targeting host cells are also increasingly appearing in the research and development of major pharmaceutical companies. The treatment of mutated viruses is becoming increasingly urgent. The development of drugs for the new coronavirus pneumonia is very important. It is not only for the current global new coronavirus epidemic, but more importantly, it is of great significance to face the severe pneumonia-respiratory infectious disease that poses a huge threat to humans.

There are many vaccines and related drugs developed for the new coronavirus pneumonia, and countries are vying for a while, mainly including the following:

Identification test, appearance, difference in loading, moisture, pH value, osmolality, polysaccharide content, free polysaccharide content, potency test, sterility test, pyrogen test, bacterial endotoxin test, abnormal toxicity test.

Among them: such as sterility inspection, pyrogen inspection, bacterial endotoxin, and abnormal toxicity inspection are indicators closely related to safety.

Polysaccharide content, free polysaccharide content, and efficacy test are indicators closely related to vaccine effectiveness.

Usually, a vaccine will go through a long research and development process of at least 8 years or even more than 20 years from research and development to marketing. The outbreak of the new crown epidemic requires no delay, and the design and development of vaccines is speeding up. It is not surprising in this special period. Of course, it is understandable that vaccine design, development and testing can be accelerated, shortened the cycle, and reduced some procedures. However, science needs to be rigorous and rigorous to achieve great results. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines are of the utmost importance. There must not be a single error. Otherwise, it will be counterproductive and need to be continuously improved and perfected.

Pre-clinical research: The screening of strains and cells is the basic guarantee to ensure the safety, effectiveness, and continuous supply of vaccines. Taking virus vaccines as an example, the laboratory stage needs to carry out strain screening, necessary strain attenuation, strain adaptation to the cultured cell matrix and stability studies in the process of passaging, and explore the stability of process quality, establish animal models, etc. . Choose mice, guinea pigs, rabbits or monkeys for animal experiments according to each vaccine situation. Pre-clinical research generally takes 5-10 years or longer on the premise that the process is controllable, the quality is stable, and it is safe and effective. In order to be safe and effective, a certain redundant design is also needed, so that the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine can be importantly guaranteed.

These include the establishment of vaccine strain/cell seed bank, production process research, quality research, stability research, animal safety evaluation and effectiveness evaluation, and clinical trial programs, etc.

The ARS-CoV-2 genome contains at least 10 ORFs. ORF1ab is converted into a polyprotein and processed into 16 non-structural proteins (NSP). These NSPs have a variety of functional biological activities, physical and chemical reactions, such as genome replication, induction of host mRNA cleavage, membrane rearrangement, autophagosome production, NSP polyprotein cleavage, capping, tailing, methylation, RNA double-stranded Uncoiling, etc., and others, play an important role in the virus life cycle. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 contains 4 structural proteins, namely spike (S), nucleocapsid (N), envelope (E) and membrane (M), all of which are encoded by the 3'end of the viral genome. Among the four structural proteins, S protein is a large multifunctional transmembrane protein that plays an important role in the process of virus adsorption, fusion, and injection into host cells, and requires in-depth observation and research.

1S protein is composed of S1 and S2 subunits, and each subunit can be further divided into different functional domains. The S1 subunit has 2 domains: NTD and RBD, and RBD contains conservative RBM. The S2 subunit has 3 structural domains: FP, HR1 and HR2. The S1 subunit is arranged at the top of the S2 subunit to form an immunodominant S protein.

The virus uses the host transmembrane protease Serine 2 (TMPRSS2) and the endosomal cysteine ​​protease CatB/L to enter the cell. TMPRSS2 is responsible for the cleavage of the S protein to expose the FP region of the S2 subunit, which is responsible for initiating endosome-mediated host cell entry into it. It shows that TMPRSS2 is a host factor necessary for virus entry. Therefore, the use of drugs that inhibit this protease can achieve the purpose of treatment.

mRNA-1273

The mRNA encoding the full length of SARS-CoV-2, and the pre-spike protein fusion is encapsulated into lipid nanoparticles to form mRNA-1273 vaccine. It can induce a high level of S protein specific antiviral response. It can also consist of inactivated antigens or subunit antigens. The vaccine was quickly approved by the FDA and has entered phase II clinical trials. The company has announced the antibody data of 8 subjects who received different immunization doses. The 25ug dose group achieved an effect similar to the antibody level during the recovery period. The 100ug dose group exceeded the antibody level during the recovery period. In the 25ug and 100ug dose groups, the vaccine was basically safe and tolerable, while the 250ug dose group had 3 levels of systemic symptoms.

Viral vector vaccines can provide long-term high-level expression of antigen proteins, induce CTLs, and ultimately eliminate viral infections.

1, Ad5-nCov

A vaccine of SARS-CoV-2 recombinant spike protein expressed by recombinant, replication-deficient type 5 adenovirus (Ad5) vector. Load the optimized full-length S protein gene together with the plasminogen activation signal peptide gene into the E1 and E3 deleted Ad5 vectors. The vaccine is constructed by the Admax system derived from Microbix Biosystem. In phase I clinical trials, RBD (S1 subunit receptor binding domain) and S protein neutralizing antibody increased by 4 times 14 days after immunization, reaching a peak on 28 days. CD4+T and CD8+T cells reached a peak 14 days after immunization. The existing Ad5 immune resistance partially limits the response of antibodies and T cells. This study will be further conducted in the 18-60 age group, receiving 1/3 of the study dose, and follow-up for 3-6 months after immunization.

DNA vaccine

The introduction of antigen-encoding DNA and adjuvants as vaccines is the most innovative vaccine method. The transfected cells stably express the transgenic protein, similar to live viruses. The antigen will be endocytosed by immature DC, and finally provide antigen to CD4 + T, CD8 + T cells (by MHC differentiation) To induce humoral and cellular immunity. Some specificities of the virus and the new coronavirus mutant are different from general vaccines and other vaccines. Therefore, it is worth noting the gene expression of the vaccine. Otherwise, the effectiveness and efficiency of the vaccine will be questioned.

Live attenuated vaccine

DelNS1-SARS-CoV2-RBD

Basic influenza vaccine, delete NS1 gene. Express SARS-CoV-2 RBD domain. Cultured in CEF and MDCK (canine kidney cells) cells. It is more immunogenic than wild-type influenza virus and can be administered by nasal spray.

The viral genome is susceptible to mutation, antigen transfer and drift can occur, and spread among the population. Mutations can vary depending on the environmental conditions and population density of the geographic area. After screening and comparing 7,500 samples of infected patients, scientists found 198 mutations, indicating the evolutionary mutation of the virus in the human host. These mutations may form different virus subtypes, which means that even after vaccine immunization, viral infections may occur. A certain amount of increment and strengthening is needed here.

 

Inactivated vaccines, adenovirus vector vaccines, recombinant protein vaccines, nucleic acid vaccines, attenuated influenza virus vector vaccines, etc. According to relevant information, there are dozens of new coronavirus vaccines in the world, and more varieties are being developed and upgraded. Including the United States, Britain, China, Russia, India and other countries, there are more R&D and production units.

AZ vaccine

Modena vaccine

Lianya Vaccine

High-end vaccine

Pfizer vaccine

 

Pfizer-BioNTech

A large study found that the vaccine developed by Pfizer and German biotechnology company BioNTech is 95% effective in preventing COVID-19.

The vaccine is divided into two doses, which are injected every three weeks.

This vaccine uses a molecule called mRNA as its basis. mRNA is a molecular cousin of DNA, which contains instructions to build specific proteins; in this case, the mRNA in the vaccine encodes the coronavirus spike protein, which is attached to the surface of the virus and used to infect human cells. Once the vaccine enters the human body, it will instruct the body's cells to make this protein, and the immune system will learn to recognize and attack it.

Moderna

The vaccine developed by the American biotechnology company Moderna and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is also based on mRNA and is estimated to be 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19.

Like Pfizer's vaccine, this vaccine is divided into two doses, but injected every four weeks instead of three weeks. Another difference is that the Moderna vaccine can be stored at minus 20 degrees Celsius instead of deep freezing like Pfizer vaccine. At present, the importance of one of the widely used vaccines is self-evident.

Oxford-AstraZeneca

The vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca is approximately 70% effective in preventing COVID-19-that is, in clinical trials, adjusting the dose seems to improve this effect.

In the population who received two high-dose vaccines (28 days apart), the effectiveness of the vaccine was about 62%; according to early analysis, the effectiveness of the vaccine in those patients who received the half-dose first and then the full-dose Is 90%. However, in clinical trials, participants taking half doses of the drug are wrong, and some scientists question whether these early results are representative.

Sinopharm Group (Beijing Institute of Biological Products, China)

China National Pharmaceutical Group Sinopharm and Beijing Institute of Biological Products have developed a vaccine from inactivated coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). The inactivated coronavirus is an improved version that cannot be replicated.

 

Estimates of the effectiveness of vaccines against COVID-19 vary.

Gamaleya Institute

The Gamaleya Institute of the Russian Ministry of Health has developed a coronavirus vaccine candidate called Sputnik V. This vaccine contains two common cold viruses, adenoviruses, which have been modified so that they will not replicate in the human body; the modified virus also contains a gene encoding the coronavirus spike protein.

  

New crown drugs

 

There are many small molecule antiviral drug candidates in the clinical research stage around the world. Including traditional drugs in the past and various drugs yet to be developed, antiviral drugs, immune drugs, Gene drugs, compound drugs, etc.

(A) Molnupiravir

Molnupiravir is a prodrug of the nucleoside analog N4-hydroxycytidine (NHC), jointly developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

The positive rate of infectious virus isolation and culture in nasopharyngeal swabs was 0% (0/47), while that of patients in the placebo group was 24% (6/25). However, data from the Phase II/III study indicate that the drug has no benefit in preventing death or shortening the length of stay in hospitalized patients.

Therefore, Merck has decided to fully advance the research of 800mg molnupiravir in the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19.

(B) AT-527

AT-527 is a small molecule inhibitor of viral RNA polymerase, jointly developed by Roche and Atea. Not only can it be used as an oral therapy to treat hospitalized COVID-19 patients, but it also has the potential as a preventive treatment after exposure.

Including 70 high-risk COVID-19 hospitalized patients data, of which 62 patients' data can be used for virological analysis and evaluation. The results of interim virological analysis show that AT-527 can quickly reduce viral load. On day 2, compared with placebo, patients treated with AT-527 had a greater decline in viral load than the baseline level, and the continuous difference in viral load decline was maintained until day 8.

In addition, compared with the control group, the potent antiviral activity of AT-527 was also observed in patients with a baseline median viral load higher than 5.26 log10. When testing by RT-qPCR to assess whether the virus is cleared,

The safety aspect is consistent with previous studies. AT-527 showed good safety and tolerability, and no new safety problems or risks were found. Of course, there is still a considerable distance between experiment and clinical application, and a large amount of experimental data can prove it.

(C) Prokrutamide

Prokalamide is an AR (androgen receptor) antagonist. Activated androgen receptor AR can induce the expression of transmembrane serine protease (TMPRSS2). TMPRSS2 has a shearing effect on the new coronavirus S protein and ACE2, which can promote the binding of viral spike protein (S protein) to ACE, thereby promoting The virus enters the host cell. Therefore, inhibiting the androgen receptor may inhibit the viral infection process, and AR antagonists are expected to become anti-coronavirus drugs.

Positive results were obtained in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III clinical trial. The data shows that Prokalutamide reduces the risk of death in severely ill patients with new coronary disease by 92%, reduces the risk of new ventilator use by 92%, and shortens the length of hospital stay by 9 days. This shows that procrulamide has a certain therapeutic effect for patients with severe new coronary disease, which can significantly reduce the mortality of patients, and at the same time greatly reduce the new mechanical ventilation and shorten the patient's hospital stay.

With the continuous development of COVID-19 on a global scale, in addition to vaccines and prevention and control measures, we need a multi-pronged plan to control this disease. Oral antiviral therapy undoubtedly provides a convenient treatment option.

 

In addition, there are other drugs under development and experimentation. In dealing with the plague virus, in addition to the strict control of protective measures, it is very important that various efficient and safe vaccines and various drugs (including medical instruments, etc.) are the ultimate nemesis and killer of the virus.

 

(A) "Antiviral biological missiles" are mainly drugs for new coronaviruses and mutant viruses, which act on respiratory and lung diseases. The drugs use redundant designs to inhibit new coronaviruses and variant viruses.

(B) "New Coronavirus Epidemic Prevention Tablets" mainly use natural purified elements and chemical structure modifications.

(C) "Composite antiviral oral liquid" antiviral intermediate, natural antiviral plant, plus other preparations

(D) "New Coronavirus Long-acting Oral Tablets" Chemical modification of antiviral drugs, multiple targets, etc.

(E) "New Coronavirus Inhibitors" (injections) are mainly made of chemical drug structure modification and other preparations.

The development of these drugs mainly includes: drug target screening, structure-activity relationship, chemical modification, natural purification, etc., which require a lot of work and experimentation.

Humans need to vigorously develop drugs to deal with various viruses. These drugs are very important for the prevention and treatment of viruses and respiratory infectious diseases, influenza, pneumonia, etc.

The history of human development The history of human evolution, like all living species, will always be accompanied by the survival and development of microorganisms. It is not surprising that viruses and infectious diseases are frequent and prone to occur. The key is to prevent and control them before they happen.

 

This strain was first discovered in India in October 2020 and was initially called a "double mutant" virus by the media. According to the announcement by the Ministry of Health of India at the end of March this year, the "India New Coronavirus Genomics Alliance" composed of 10 laboratories found in samples collected in Maharashtra that this new mutant strain carries E484Q and L452R mutations. , May lead to immune escape and increased infectivity. This mutant strain was named B.1.617 by the WHO and was named with the Greek letter δ (delta) on May 31.

Shahid Jamil, the dean of the Trivedi School of Biological Sciences at Ashoka University in India and a virologist, said in an interview with the Shillong Times of India that this mutant strain called "double mutation" is not accurate enough. B. 1.617 contains a total of 15 mutations, of which 6 occur on the spike protein, of which 3 are more critical: L452R and E484Q mutations occur on the spike protein and the human cell "Angiotensin Converting Enzyme 2 (ACE2)" receptor In the bound region, L452R improves the ability of the virus to invade cells, and E484Q helps to enhance the immune escape of the virus; the third mutation P681R can also make the virus enter the cell more effectively. (Encyclopedia website)

  

There are currently dozens of antiviral COVID-19 therapies under development. The large drugmakers Merck and Pfizer are the closest to the end, as expected, a pair of oral antiviral COVID-19 therapies are undergoing advanced human clinical trials.

Merck's drug candidate is called monupiravir. It was originally developed as an influenza antiviral drug several years ago. However, preclinical studies have shown that it has a good effect on SARS and MERS coronavirus.

Monupiravir is currently undergoing in-depth large-scale Phase 3 human trials. So far, the data is so promising that the US government recently pre-ordered 1.7 million courses of drugs at a cost of $1.2 billion. If everything goes according to plan, the company hopes that the drug will be authorized by the FDA for emergency use and be on the market before the end of 2021.

Pfizer's large COVID-19 antiviral drug candidate is more unique. Currently known as PF-07321332, this drug is the first oral antiviral drug to enter human clinical trials, specifically targeting SARS-CoV-2.

Variant of Concern WHO Label First Detected in World First Detected in Washington State

B.1.1.7 Alpha United Kingdom, September 2020 January 2021

B.1.351 Beta South Africa, December 2020 February 2021

P.1 Gamma Brazil, April 2020 March 2021

B.1.617.2 Delta India, October 2020 April 2021

  

Although this particular molecule was developed in 2020 after the emergence of the new coronavirus, a somewhat related drug called PF-00835231 has been in operation for several years, targeting the original SARS virus. However, the new drug candidate PF-07321332 is designed as a simple pill that can be taken under non-hospital conditions in the initial stages of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

"The protease inhibitor binds to a viral enzyme and prevents the virus from replicating in the cell," Pfizer said when explaining the mechanism of its new antiviral drug. "Protease inhibitors have been effective in the treatment of other viral pathogens, such as HIV and hepatitis C virus, whether used alone or in combination with other antiviral drugs. Currently marketed therapeutic drugs for viral proteases are generally not toxic Therefore, such molecules may provide well-tolerated treatments against COVID-19."

Various studies on other types of antiviral drugs are also gaining momentum. For example, the new coronavirus pneumonia "antiviral biological missile", "new coronavirus prevention tablets", "composite antiviral oral liquid", "new coronavirus long-acting oral tablets", "new coronavirus inhibitors" (injections), etc., are worthy of attention. Like all kinds of vaccines, they will play a major role in preventing and fighting epidemics.

In addition, Japanese pharmaceutical company Shionoyoshi Pharmaceutical is currently conducting a phase 1 trial of a protease inhibitor similar to SARS-CoV-2. This is called S-217622, ​​which is another oral antiviral drug, and hopes to provide people with an easy-to-take pill in the early stages of COVID-19. At present, the research and development of vaccines and various new crown drugs is very active and urgent. Time does not wait. With the passage of time, various new crown drugs will appear on the stage one after another, bringing the gospel to the complete victory of mankind.

  

The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. The Delta mutant strain has quickly become the most prominent SARS-CoV-2 strain in the world. Although our vaccine is still maintained, it is clear that we need more tools to combat this new type of coronavirus. Delta will certainly not be the last new SARS-CoV-2 variant we encountered. Therefore, it is necessary for all mankind to persevere and fight the epidemic together.

Overcome illness and meet new challenges. The new crown epidemic and various mutated viruses are very important global epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic top priorities, especially for the current period of time. Vaccine injections, research and development of new drugs, strict prevention and control, wear masks, reduce gatherings, strictly control large gatherings, prevent the spread of various viruses Masks, disinfection and sterilization, lockdown of the city, vaccinations, accounting and testing are very important, but this does not mean that humans can completely overcome the virus. In fact, many spreading and new latently transmitted infections are still unsuccessful. There are detections, such as invisible patients, asymptomatic patients, migratory latent patients, new-onset patients, etc. The struggle between humans and the virus is still very difficult and complicated, and long-term efforts and exploration are still needed, especially for medical research on the new coronavirus. The origin of the disease, the course of the disease, the virus invaded The deep-level path and the reasons for the evolution and mutation of the new coronavirus and the particularity of prevention and treatment, etc.). Therefore, human beings should be highly vigilant and must not be taken lightly. The fierce battle between humans and various viruses must not be slackened. Greater efforts are needed to successfully overcome this pandemic, fully restore the normal life of the whole society, restore the normal production and work order, restore the normal operation of society, economy and culture, and give up food due to choking. Or eager for success, will pay a high price.

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Novel coronavirus pneumonia during ophthalmic surgery management strategy and recommendations

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Compilation postscript

Once Fang Ruida's research literature on the new crown virus and mutant virus was published, it has been enthusiastically praised by readers and netizens in dozens of countries around the world, and has proposed some amendments and suggestions. Hope to publish a multilingual version of the book as an emergency To meet the needs of many readers around the world, in the face of the new crown epidemic and the prevention and treatment of various mutant viruses, including the general public, college and middle school students, medical workers, medical colleagues and so on. According to the English original manuscript, it will be re-compiled and published. Inconsistencies will be revised separately. Thank you very much.

 

Jacques Lucy, Geneva, Switzerland, August 2021

 

*********************************************************************

 

Leader mondial, scientifique, scientifique médical, virologue, pharmacien et professeur Fangruida (F.D Smith) sur l'épidémie mondiale et l'ennemi juré et la prévention des nouveaux coronavirus et virus mutants (Jacques Lucy 2021v1.5)

_-----------------------------------------

L'ennemi juré et le tueur du nouveau coronavirus et des virus mutés - Développement conjoint de vaccins et de médicaments (Fangruida) Juillet 2021

* La particularité des nouveaux coronavirus et des virus mutants * Le large spectre, la haute efficacité, la redondance et la sécurité de la conception et du développement du nouveau vaccin contre le coronavirus, Redondance et sécurité

* Nouvelle modification de la structure chimique des médicaments contre les coronavirus * Conception et dépistage des médicaments assistés par ordinateur. *"Missile biologique antiviral", "Nouveaux comprimés anti-épidémiques contre le coronavirus", "Liquide oral antiviral composite", "Nouveaux comprimés oraux à action prolongée contre le coronavirus", "Nouveaux inhibiteurs de coronavirus" (injection)

——————————————————————————

(leader mondial, scientifique, scientifique médical, biologiste, virologue, pharmacien, FD Smith) "The Nemesis and Killer of New Coronavirus and Mutated Viruses-The Joint Development of Vaccines and Drugs" est un important document de recherche scientifique. Il a maintenant été révisé et réédité par l'auteur original à plusieurs reprises. La compilation est publiée et publiée selon le manuscrit original pour répondre aux besoins des lecteurs et des internautes du monde entier. En même temps, elle est également très bénéfique pour le grand nombre de chercheurs en médicaments cliniques médicaux et de divers experts et universitaires. Nous espérons qu'il sera corrigé dans la réimpression.------Compilé par Jacques Lucy à Genève, août 2021

  

-------------------------------------------------- ---------------------

    

Selon les statistiques en temps réel de Worldometer, vers 6h30 le 23 juillet, il y avait un total de 193 323 815 cas confirmés de nouvelle pneumonie coronarienne dans le monde, et un total de 4 150 213 décès. Il y a eu 570 902 nouveaux cas confirmés et 8 766 nouveaux décès dans le monde en une seule journée. Les données montrent que les États-Unis, le Brésil, le Royaume-Uni, l'Inde et l'Indonésie sont les cinq pays avec le plus grand nombre de nouveaux cas confirmés, et l'Indonésie, le Brésil, la Russie, l'Afrique du Sud et l'Inde sont les cinq pays avec le plus grand nombre de nouveaux décès.

 

Les nouvelles souches de coronavirus et de mutants delta ont été particulièrement graves ces derniers temps. De nombreux pays et lieux ont repris vie et le nombre de cas n'a pas diminué, mais a augmenté.

, Il est digne de vigilance. Bien que de nombreux pays aient renforcé la prévention et le contrôle des vaccins et d'autres mesures de prévention et de contrôle, il existe encore de nombreuses lacunes et carences dans la suppression et la prévention du virus. Le nouveau coronavirus et diverses souches mutantes présentent un certain degré d'antagonisme par rapport aux médicaments traditionnels et à la plupart des vaccins. Bien que la plupart des vaccins aient de grandes propriétés anti-épidémiques et aient des effets et une protection importants et irremplaçables pour la prévention et le traitement, il est impossible d'empêcher complètement la propagation et l'infection des virus. La propagation de la nouvelle pneumonie à virus couronne a été retardée de près de deux ans. Il y a des centaines de millions de personnes infectées dans le monde, des millions de décès, et le temps est long, la propagation est généralisée et des milliards de personnes dans le monde sont parmi Les dommages causés par le virus sont assez terribles, c'est bien connu. Plus urgent

Ce qui est plus grave, c'est que le virus et les souches mutantes n'ont pas complètement reculé, surtout que de nombreuses personnes sont encore infectées et infectées après avoir été injectées avec divers vaccins.L'efficacité du vaccin et la résistance du virus mutant sont dignes des scientifiques médicaux, virologues , les pharmacologues Les zoologistes et autres réfléchissent et analysent sérieusement. La situation épidémique actuelle dans les pays européens et américains, la Chine, le Brésil, l'Inde, les États-Unis, la Russie et d'autres pays s'est considérablement améliorée par rapport à l'année dernière.Cependant, les chiffres pertinents montrent que la situation épidémique mondiale ne s'est pas complètement améliorée, et certains pays et régions sont encore très graves. En particulier, après une utilisation intensive de divers vaccins, des cas surviennent encore, et dans certains endroits ils sont encore très graves, ce qui mérite une grande vigilance. Les mesures de prévention et de contrôle sont très importantes.De plus, les vaccins et divers médicaments antiépidémiques sont les premiers choix nécessaires, et les autres méthodes sont irremplaçables. Il est particulièrement important de développer et de développer des médicaments complets, des médicaments antiviraux, des médicaments immunitaires et des médicaments génétiques. Les expériences de recherche sur les nouveaux coronavirus et virus mutants nécessitent une analyse plus rigoureuse et approfondie des données, des tissus pathogènes pathologiques, des gènes cellulaires, de la chimie moléculaire, de la chimie quantique, etc., ainsi que de la chimie moléculaire des vaccins, de la physique quantique, de la biologie quantique, de l'histologie cytologique, la chimie médicinale et les médicaments Et les symptômes, l'efficacité, la sécurité, l'efficacité à long terme, etc. du vaccin, bien sûr, y compris des dizaines de milliers de cas cliniques et de décès et d'autres informations et preuves de première main. La tâche de l'ARN (acide ribonucléique) dans le corps humain est d'utiliser les informations de notre matériel génétique ADN pour produire des protéines. Il accomplit cette tâche dans le ribosome, la zone productrice de protéines de la cellule. Le ribosome est le lieu où se produit la biosynthèse des protéines.

La médecine en profite : dans la vaccination, l'ARNm produit artificiellement fournit aux ribosomes des instructions pour construire des antigènes pathogènes contre lesquels lutter, par exemple, la protéine de pointe du coronavirus.

Les vaccins vivants traditionnels ou les vaccins inactivés contiennent des antigènes qui provoquent la réaction du système immunitaire. Le vaccin à ARNm est produit dans la cellule

(1) La spécificité des nouveaux coronavirus et virus mutants, etc., virologie et chimie quantique des virus mutants, physique quantique, microbiologie quantique

(2) Nouvelle conception de vaccin couronne, biologie moléculaire et structure chimique, etc.

(3) La généralité et la particularité du développement de nouveaux médicaments contre le coronavirus

(4) Diverses conceptions de médicaments pour la pneumonie à nouveau coronavirus, la chimie médicinale, la pharmacologie, etc., les cellules, les protéines, l'ADN, la chimie des enzymes, la chimie quantique pharmaceutique, la physique quantique pharmaceutique, la biochimie humaine, la biophysique humaine, etc.

(5) Les caractéristiques d'évolution et de mutation du nouveau coronavirus et de divers virus mutants, la nature à long terme, la répétabilité, la résistance aux médicaments et la résistance épidémique du virus, etc.

(6) Pneumonie à nouveau coronavirus et transmission infectieuse de divers nouveaux coronavirus et leurs particularités

(7) La transmission invisible de la pneumonie à nouveau coronavirus et de divers virus mutants chez l'homme ou l'animal, et la symbiose mutuelle de l'infection croisée de diverses bactéries et virus sont également l'une des causes très graves de dommages graves aux nouveaux coronavirus et virus mutants. La virologie, la pathologie, l'étiologie, le séquençage des gènes, la cartographie des gènes et un grand nombre d'études analytiques ont montré qu'il existe de nombreux cas en Chine, aux États-Unis, en Inde, en Russie, au Brésil et dans d'autres pays.

(8) Pour la prévention et le traitement symptomatiques du nouveau coronavirus, la combinaison de divers vaccins et de di

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Title: Modifications àdifférents procédés opératoires : amputation de la jambe, désarticulation des quatre derniers métacarpiens, désarticulation de l'ÃÂépaule, phimosis, extirpation de testicule

Creator: Montes de Oca, Francisco, -1884

Publisher: Paris : G. Masson

Sponsor: Wellcome Library

Contributor: Wellcome Library

Date: 1891

Language: fre

Description: 31 pages, 3 unnumbered leaves of plates : 24 cm

First published in 1874, edited by Daniel M. Velez

 

If you have questions concerning reproductions, please contact the Contributing Library.

 

Note: The colors, contrast and appearance of these illustrations are unlikely to be true to life. They are derived from scanned images that have been enhanced for machine interpretation and have been altered from their originals.

 

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this looks a bit different because of some more modifications, compared to the other one

Knowsley Safari Park is a zoological park and tourist attraction in the Knowsley area of Merseyside, England. Knowsley Safari Park is a member of the British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) and the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA). The safari park contributes to conservation and research through links with conservation projects and its links with universities in Liverpool, Chester and Manchester.

 

History

 

The park was opened in July 1971 by Edward Stanley, 18th Earl of Derby and Jimmy Chipperfield[9] using the expertise of general manager Laurence Tennant MBE, formerly the Chief Game Warden of Parks in Uganda and Botswana. Initially the road through the park was 3.5 miles (5.6 km), with visitors driving past lions, cheetahs, monkeys, giraffes, zebra, elephants and various antelope. Due to the popularity of this route, an additional 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of road was added in 1973, and camels, buffalo, white rhino, and tigers were added to the park. Over the years, a few modifications have been made. For instance, tigers are now displayed in enclosures within the reserve, and a bypass around the baboons was built for visitors who are worried about damage to their cars.

 

The park was also home to a former RAF airfield which closed at the end of World War II. The RAF airbase situated at the safari park was also known as No 49 SLG or RAF Knowsley Park and was in use between 13 May 1942 – November 1944.

 

The park has hosted several sporting events including the Olympic torch relay, watched by 6,000 children and families in June 2012. The park hosted the finish of Stage Two of the 2012 Tour of Britain cycling event and is scheduled to host Stage Three of the 2013 Tour on Tuesday 17 September.

Most recently it hosted the final leg of Big Learner Relay 2017 which has raised over £300,000 for the BBC Children in Need appeal since 2014. Louise Walsh the inspiration behind the BLR has been awarded the prime minister's points of light award which recognises outstanding individual volunteers.

In 1995 Mr William Middleton, a warden at the park, was crushed and paralysed due to a faulty elephant enclosure. Mr Middleton died 12 years later due to complications caused by his injuries.

 

Zoological collection

 

Situated around Knowsley Hall on the ancestral estate of the Earl of Derby, the reserve is home to many different animals including elephants, giraffes, lions, bongos, tigers and baboons. The Derby Estate have a tradition of keeping animals, ever since the famous artist and nonsense-poet Edward Lear was employed there in the 19th century to paint pictures of the Earl's collection.

  

The park is open to the public and customers drive around the park in their own vehicles. There is a bypass route past the baboons for those who wish to avoid the risk of the baboons damaging their cars. In 2009 the baboons made the news all over the world when a video was released showing how they were intelligent and curious enough to open car roofboxes.

 

Tiger Trail

 

Amur Tiger Trail opened 25 May 2018, home to the Amur Tiger otherwise known as the Siberian Tiger. The area is 10,000m2 and includes forested areas, natural streams and ponds.

The Equatorial Trail

This exhibit focuses on animals who thrive in habitats around the Earth's Equator. The exhibit also houses the 'Equatorial Express', a small train which visitors can ride to gain a unique viewpoint of the animals. 4 completely different species of animals are housed in this exhibit, the South American tapir, Sitatunga, Rhea and the Capybara.

 

African Elephant

 

Until 2017 the park housed a herd of 4 adult cows named Tana, Ashanti, Nala and Juba. They were transported to Zoo Parc d'Beauval, France to enter the European Breeding Programme and allow for transformations on Knowsley Safari's Foot Safari. Knowsley previously housed a bull named Nissim, who collapsed in June 2014. Knowsley also recently lost their cow named Shaba due to a long battle with elephant arthritis.

Southern White Rhinoceros

Knowsley's crash of 11 adult rhinos is one of the most successful and genetically diverse breeding groups in Europe. The latest calf (as at 4 June 2016), Nomvula (Mother of Rain – a reference to the recent wet weather), born to mum Meru and is the 19th to be born at the facility in the last 40 years. Nomvula is Meru's 6th calf and was born on 2 January 2016.

 

Safari Drive

 

The Safari Drive is the park's main attraction and contains over 29 species of animals in 7 zones.

 

Zone 1+11

 

This zone contains: Père David's deer, Yak, Kiang and Bactrian camel.

 

Zone 2+8

 

This zone contains: Blackbuck, Nilgai, Eld's deer, Chital (Axis Deer) and Barasingha.

 

Zone 3+4+6

 

Zone 6 is over 100 acres and contains over a mile of road. It is one of Knowsley's two white rhino paddocks and is one of the largest in the UK. This zone contains: Southern White Rhino, Roan antelope, Eland, Lechwe, Wildebeest, Plains Zebra, African Forest Buffalo, Ostritch and Waterbuck.

 

Zone 5

 

This zone contains: Blesbok and Bongo

 

Zone 7

 

This zone contains exclusively the Olive baboon, which are famous for removing windscreen wipers and other appendages off vehicles. There is a car-friendly route which totally removes this zone however is still visible from outside the perimeter. This leads directly to zone 6.

 

Zone 9

 

This zone contains: European Bison, Fallow Deer and European Moose

 

Zone 10

 

This zone contains: Lion, and the Somali wild ass. This zone previously housed African wild dog, Iberian Wolf and Siberian Tiger.

All information correct and sourced from the Knowsley Safari Guide Book 2018 and edited by an editor who loves animals.

Railway and other attractions

 

The park features a 15 in (381 mm) gauge railway, 'The Lakeside Railway', on which visitors may tour parts of the site. There is also a collection of amusements and fairground rides on site plus paintballing, off-road driving challenges, and aerial extreme ropewalks.

A baboon house was added in 2006, along with African wild dogs that same year, a lion and tiger house in 2007. Red river hogs and marmosets were also added to the walkaround section, as well as an outdoor pool.

 

Animal care

 

In January 2011, local animal rights activists held a peaceful demonstration after an inspection by government vets found one instance of a breach of regulations on the disposal of animal ‘by-products’. Pictures in the Daily Mail showed animals lying dead on the ground and in binbags, although the park's directors claim the pictures were staged by the photographer, whose husband the paper claimed had recently lost his job at the park. The park has since installed an enclosure for the storage of animal carcasses before disposal. The British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA) later said it had ‘full confidence’ in Knowsley and praised its ‘excellent standards of animal husbandry and welfare’.

The Postcard

 

A postally unused carte postale that was published by the Palais du Louvre in Paris on behalf of Des Musées Nationaux of France. The card has a divided back.

 

The Pavillon of Louis XV is not actually shown in the photograph - it is off to the left in the centre of the carp lake.

 

The Palace of Fontainebleau

 

The Palace of Fontainebleau, or Château de Fontainebleau, is located 55 kilometers (34 miles) southeast of the centre of Paris.

 

The castle and subsequent palace served as a residence for French monarchs from Louis VII to Napoleon III.

 

Francis I and Napoleon were the monarchs who had the most influence on the Palace as it stands today.

 

It became a national museum in 1927, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 for its unique architecture and historical importance.

 

The Medieval Palace

 

The earliest record of a fortified castle at Fontainebleau dates to 1137. It became a favorite residence and hunting lodge of the Kings of France because of the abundant game and many springs in the surrounding forest.

 

Fontainebleau took its name from one of the springs, la Fontaine de Bliaud, located now in the English Garden, next to the wing of Louis XV.

 

Fontainebleau was used by King Louis VII, for whom Thomas Becket consecrated the chapel in 1169; also by Philip II; by Louis IX (later canonised as Saint Louis), who built a hospital and a convent, the Couvent des Trinitaires, next to the castle; and by Philip IV, who was born and died in the castle.

 

The Renaissance Château of Francis I (1528–1547)

 

In the 15th. century some modifications and embellishments were made to the castle by Isabeau of Bavaria, the wife of King Charles VI, but the medieval structure remained essentially intact until the reign of Francis I (1494–1547).

 

He commissioned the architect Gilles Le Breton to build a palace in the new Renaissance style, recently imported from Italy. Le Breton preserved the old medieval donjon, where the King's apartments were located, but incorporated it into the new Renaissance-style Cour Ovale, built on the foundations of the old castle.

 

It included the monumental Porte Dorée, as its southern entrance. as well as a monumental Renaissance stairway, the Portique de Serlio, to give access the royal apartments on the north side.

 

Beginning in about 1528, Francis constructed the Galerie François I, which allowed him to pass directly from his apartments to the chapel of the Trinitaires. He brought the architect Sebastiano Serlio from Italy, and the Florentine painter Rosso Fiorentino, to decorate the new gallery.

 

Between 1533 and 1539 Fiorentino filled the gallery with murals glorifying the King, framed in stucco ornament in high relief, and panelling sculpted by the furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi.

 

Another Italian painter, Francesco Primaticcio from Bologna, joined later in the decoration of the palace. Together their style of decoration became known as the first School of Fontainebleau. This was the first great decorated gallery built in France. Fontainebleau introduced the Renaissance to France.

 

In about 1540, Francis began another major addition to the château. Using land on the east side of the Château purchased from the order of the Trinitaires, he began to build a new square of buildings around a large courtyard.

 

The Château was surrounded by a new park in the style of the Italian Renaissance garden, with pavilions and the first grotto in France.

 

The Château of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici (1547–1570)

 

Following the death of Francis I, King Henry II decided to continue and expand the Château. The King and his wife chose the architects Philibert de l'Orme and Jean Bullant to do the work.

 

They extended the east wing of the lower court and decorated it with the first famous horseshoe-shaped staircase which was built between 1547 and 1559. The staircase was subsequently re-built for Louis XIII by Jean Androuet du Cerceau in about 1632-1634.

 

In the Oval Court, they transformed the loggia planned by Francois into a Salle des Fêtes or grand ballroom with a coffered ceiling. Facing the courtyard of the fountain and the fish pond, they designed a new building, the Pavillon des Poeles (destroyed), to contain the new apartments of the King.

 

The decoration of the new ballroom and the gallery of Ulysses with murals by Francesco Primaticcio and sculptured stucco continued.

 

At Henri's orders the Nymphe de Fontainebleau by Benvenuto Cellini was installed at the gateway entrance of Château d'Anet, the domain of Henri's primary mistress Diane de Poitiers (the original bronze lunette is now in the Musée du Louvre, with a replica in place).

 

Following the death of Henry II in a jousting accident, his widow, Catherine de' Medici, continued the construction and decoration of the château. She named Primaticcio as the new superintendent of royal public works.

 

He designed the section known today as the wing of the Belle Cheminée, noted for its elaborate chimneys and its two opposing stairways. In 1565, as a security measure due to the Wars of Religion, she also had moat dug around the château to protect it against attack.

 

Château of Henry IV (1570–1610)

 

King Henry IV made more additions to the château than any King since Francis I. He extended the oval court toward the west by building two pavilions, called Tiber and Luxembourg.

 

Between 1601 and 1606, he remade all the façades around the courtyard, including that of the chapel of Saint-Saturnin, to give the architecture greater harmony. On the east side, he built a new monumental domed gateway, the Porte du Baptistère.

 

Between 1606 and 1609, he built a new courtyard, the Cour des Offices or Quartier Henry IV, to provide a place for the kitchens as well as residences for court officials.

 

Two new galleries, the Galerie de Diane de Poitiers and the Galerie des Cerfs, were built to enclose the old garden of Diane. He also added a large Jeu de Paume, or indoor tennis court, the largest such court in the world.

 

A Second School of Fontainebleau painters and decorators went to work on the interiors. The architect Martin Fréminet created the ornate chapel of the Trinity, while the painters Ambroise Dubois and Toussaint Dubreuil created a series of heroic paintings for the salons. A new wing, named after its central building, La Belle Cheminée, was built next to the large carp pond.

 

Henry IV also devoted great attention to the park and gardens around the Château. The garden of the Queen or garden of Diane, created by Catherine de' Medici, with the fountain of Diane in the centre, was located on the north side of the palace.

 

Henry IV's gardener, Claude Mollet, who trained at Château d'Anet, created a large parterre of flower beds, decorated with ancient statues and separated by paths into large squares.

 

The fountain of Diana and the grotto were made by Tommaso Francini, who may also have designed the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Garden for Marie de Medici.

 

On the south side, Henry created a park, planted with pines, elms and fruit trees, and laid out a grand canal 1200 meters long, sixty years before Louis XIV built his own grand canal at Versailles.

 

The Château from Louis XIII through Louis XVI

 

King Louis XIII was born and baptized in the Château, and continued the works begun by his father. He completed the decoration of the chapel of the Trinity, and assigned the court architect Jean Androuet du Cerceau to re-construct the horseshoe stairway on the courtyard that had become known as the Cour de Cheval Blanc.

 

After his death, his widow, Anne of Austria, re-decorated the apartments within the Wing of the Queen Mothers (Aile des Reines Mères) next to the Court of the Fountain, designed by Primatrice.

 

King Louis XIV spent more days at Fontainebleau than any other monarch. He liked to hunt there every year at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.

 

He made few changes to the exterior of the Château, but did build a new apartment for his companion Madame de Maintenon. He furnished it with major works of André-Charles Boulle. He also demolished the old apartments of the baths under the Gallery of Francis I to create new apartments for the royal princes.

 

The architect Jules Hardouin-Mansard built a new wing alongside the Galerie des Cerfs and the Galerie de Diane in order to provide more living space for the Court.

 

Louis XIV made major changes to the park and gardens; he commissioned André Le Nôtre and Louis Le Vau to redesign the large parterre into a French formal garden. He destroyed the hanging garden which Henry IV had built next to the large carp lake, and instead built a pavilion, designed by Le Vau, on a small island in the centre of the lake.

 

Louis XIV signed the Edict of Fontainebleau at the Château on the 22nd. October 1685, revoking the policy of tolerance towards Protestants begun by Henry IV.

 

Louis welcomed many foreign guests at the Château, including the former Queen Christina of Sweden, who had just abdicated her crown. While a guest in the Château on the 10th. November 1657, Christina suspected her Master of the Horse and reputed lover, the Marchese Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi, of betraying her secrets to her enemies.

 

Her servants chased him through the halls of the Château and stabbed him to death. Louis XIV came to see her at the Château, did not mention the murder, and allowed her to continue her travels.

 

On the 18th. and 20th. May 1717, following the death of Louis XIV, the Russian Czar Peter the Great was a guest at Fontainebleau. A hunt for stags was organized for him, along with a banquet.

 

Although officially the visit was a great success, later memoires revealed that Peter disliked the French style of hunting, and that he found the Château too small, compared to the other royal French residences.

 

The routine of Fontainebleau also did not suit his tastes; he preferred beer to wine (and brought his own supply with him) and he liked to get up early, unlike the French Court.

 

The renovation projects of Louis XV were more ambitious than those of Louis XIV. To create more lodging for his enormous number of courtiers, in 1737–38 the King built a new courtyard, called the Cour de la Conciergerie or the Cour des Princes, to the east of the Galerie des Cerfs.

 

On the Cour du Cheval Blanc, the wing of the Gallery of Ulysses was torn down and gradually replaced by a new brick and stone building, built in stages in 1738–1741 and 1773–74, extending west toward the Pavilion and grotto of the pines.

 

Between 1750 and 1754, the King commissioned the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build a new wing along the Cour de la Fontaine and the carp lake.

 

The old Pavilion des Poeles was demolished and replaced by the Gros Pavilion, built of cream-colored stone. Lavish new apartments were created inside this building for the King and Queen. The new meeting room for the Royal Council was decorated by the leading painters of the day, including François Boucher, Carle Vanloo, Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre and Alexis Peyrotte. A magnificent small theatre was created on the first floor of the wing of the Belle Cheminée.

 

King Louis XVI also made additions to the Château in order to create more space for his courtiers. A new building was constructed alongside the Gallery of Francis I; it created a large new apartment on the first floor, and a number of small apartments on the ground floor, but also blocked the windows on the north side of the Gallery of Francis I.

 

The apartments of Queen Marie-Antoinette were redone, a Turkish-style salon was created for her in 1777, a room for games in 1786–1787, and a boudoir in the arabesque style. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette made their last visit to Fontainebleau in 1786, on the eve of the French Revolution.

 

The Château during the Revolution and the First Empire

 

During the French Revolution the Château did not suffer any significant damage, but all the furniture was sold at auction. The buildings were occupied by the Central School of the Department of Seine-et-Marne until 1803, when Napoleon I installed a military school there.

 

As he prepared to become Emperor, Napoleon wanted to preserve as much as possible of the palaces and protocol of the Old Regime. He chose Fontainebleau as the site of his historic 1804 meeting with Pope Pius VII, who had travelled from Rome to crown Napoleon Emperor.

 

Napoleon had a suite of rooms decorated for the Pope, and had the entire Château refurnished and decorated. The bedroom of the Kings was transformed into a throne room for Napoleon. Apartments were refurnished and decorated for the Emperor and Empress in the new Empire style.

 

The Cour du Cheval Blanc was re-named the Cour d'Honneur. One wing facing the courtyard, the Aile de Ferrare, was torn down and replaced with an ornamental iron fence and gate, making the façade of the Palace visible.

 

The gardens of Diane and the gardens of the Pines were replanted and turned into an English landscape garden.

 

Napoleon's visits to Fontainebleau were not frequent, because he was occupied so much of the time with military campaigns. Between 1812 and 1814, the Château served as a very elegant prison for Pope Pius VII. On the 5th. November 1810, the chapel of the Château was used for the baptism of Napoleon's nephew, the future Napoleon III, with Napoleon serving as his godfather, and the Empress Marie-Louise as his godmother.

 

Napoleon spent the last days of his reign at Fontainebleau, before abdicating there on the 4th. April 1814. On the 20th. April, after failing in an attempt to commit suicide, he gave an emotional farewell to the soldiers of the Old Guard, assembled in the Court of Honor. Later, during the One Hundred Days, he stopped there on the 20th. March 1815.

 

In his memoires, written while in exile on Saint Helena, he recalled his time at Fontainebleau:

 

"The true residence of Kings, the house of

the centuries. Perhaps it was not a rigorously

architectural palace, but it was certainly a place

of residence well thought out and perfectly

suitable. It was certainly the most comfortable

and happily situated palace in Europe.”

 

The Château during the Restoration and the Reign of Louis-Philippe (1815–1848)

 

Following the restoration of the Monarchy, Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X each stayed at Fontainebleau, but neither made any major changes to the palace. Louis-Philippe was more active, both restoring some rooms and redecorating others in the style of his period.

 

The Hall of the Guards and Gallery of Plates were redecorated in a Neo-Renaissance style, while the Hall of Columns, under the ballroom, was remade in a neoclassical style. He added new stained glass windows, made by the royal manufactory of Sèvres.

 

The Château During the Second Empire

 

Emperor Napoleon III, who had been baptised at Fontainebleau, resumed the custom of long stays at the Château, particularly during the summer. Many of the historic rooms, such as the Galerie des Cerfs, were restored to something like their original appearance, while the private apartments were redecorated to suit the tastes of the Emperor and Empress.

 

Numerous guest apartments were squeezed into unused spaces within the buildings. The old theatre of the palace, built in the 18th. century, was destroyed by a fire in the wing of the Belle Cheminée 1856. Between 1854 and 1857 the architect Hector Lefuel built a new theatre in the style of Louis XVI.

 

On the ground floor of the Gros Pavilion, the Empress Eugénie built a small but well-stocked museum, containing gifts from the King of Siam in 1861, and works of art taken during the pillage of the Summer Palace in Beijing.

 

The museum also featured paintings by contemporary artists, including Franz Xaver Winterhalter, and the sculptor Charles Henri Joseph Cordier. Close by, in the Louis XV wing, the Emperor established his office, and the Empress made her Salon of Lacquer.

 

These were the last rooms created by the royal residents of Fontainebleau. In 1870, during the Franco-German War, the Empire fell, and the Château was closed.

 

The Château from the Third Republic to the Present Day

 

During the Franco-Prussian War, the palace was occupied by the Prussians on the 17th. September 1870, and briefly used as an army headquarters by Frederic Charles of Prussia from March 1871.

 

Following the war, two of the buildings became the home of the advanced school of artillery and engineering of the French Army, which had been forced to leave Alsace when the province was annexed by Germany.

 

The Château was occasionally used as a residence by the Presidents of the Third Republic, and to welcome state guests including King Alexander I of Serbia (1891), King George I of Greece (1892) Leopold II of Belgium (1895) and King Alphonse XIII of Spain (1913).

 

It also received a visit by the last survivor of its royal residents, the Empress Eugenie, on the 26th. June 1920.

 

The façades the major buildings received their first protection by classification as historic monuments on the 20th. August 1913.

 

In 1923, following the Great War, the Château became the home of the Écoles d'Art Américaines, schools of art and music, which still exist today. In 1927 it became a national museum. Between the wars the upper floors of the wing of the Belle Cheminée, burned in 1856, were rebuilt by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

 

During World War II, Fontainebleau was occupied by the Germans on the 16th. June 1940, and occupied until the 10th. November 1940, and again from the 15th. May to the end of October 1941.

 

Following the war, part of the Château became a headquarters of the Western Union and later NATO's Allied Forces Central Europe/Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, until 1966.

 

The general restoration of the Château took place between 1964 and 1968 under President Charles De Gaulle and his Minister of Culture, Andre Malraux. It was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture purchased the royal stables, and began their restoration.

 

Beginning in 2007, restoration began of the theatre of the Château, created by Napoleon III during the Second Empire. The project was funded by the government of Abu-Dhabi, and in exchange the theater was renamed after Sheik Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan. It was inaugurated on the 30th. April 2014.

 

On the 1st. March 2015, the Chinese Museum of the Château was robbed by professional thieves. They broke in at about six in the morning, and, despite alarms and video cameras, in seven minutes stole about fifteen of the most valuable objects in the collection, including the replica of the crown of Siam given by the Siamese government to Napoleon III, a Tibetan mandala, and an enamel chimera from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736–1795).

 

The Grand Apartments at Fontainebleau

 

The Gallery of Francis I

 

The Gallery of Francis I is one of the first and finest examples of Renaissance decoration in France. It was originally constructed in 1528 as a passageway between the apartments of the King with the oval courtyard and the great chapel of the convent Trinitaires, but in 1531 Francis I made it a part of his royal apartments, and between 1533 and 1539 it was decorated by artists and craftsmen from Italy, under the direction of the painter Rosso Fiorentino, in the new Renaissance style.

 

The lower walls of the passage were the work of the master Italian furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi; they are decorated with the coat of arms of France and the salamander, the emblem of the King. The upper walls are covered by frescoes framed in richly sculpted stucco. The frescoes used mythological scenes to illustrate the virtues of the King.

 

On the side of the gallery with windows, the frescoes represent Ignorance Driven Out; The Unity of the State; Cliobis and Biton; Danae; The Death of Adonis; The Loss of Perpetual Youth; and The Battle of the Centaurs and the Lapithes.

 

On the side of the gallery facing the windows, the frescoes represent: A Sacrifice; The Royal Elephant; The Burning of Catane; The Nymph of Fontainebleau (painted in 1860–61 by J. Alaux to cover a former entry to the gallery); The Sinking of Ajax; The Education of Achilles and The Frustration of Venus.

 

The Ballroom

 

The Ballroom was originally begun as an open passageway, or loggia, by Francis I. In about 1552 King Henry II closed it with high windows and an ornate coffered ceiling, and transformed it into a room for celebrations and balls.

 

The 'H', the initial of the King, is prominent in the decor, as well as figures of the crescent moon, the symbol of Henry's mistress Diane de Poitiers.

 

At the western end is a monumental fireplace, decorated with bronze statues originally copied from classical statues in Rome. At the eastern end of the room is a gallery where musicians played during balls.

 

The decor was restored many times over the years. The floor, which mirrors the design of the ceiling, was built by Louis-Philippe in the first half of the 19th. century.

 

The frescoes on the walls and pillars were painted beginning in 1552 by Nicolo dell'Abate, following drawings by Primatice. On the garden side of the ballroom, they represent: The Harvest; Vulcan forging weapons for Love at the request of Venus; Phaeton begging the sun to let him drive his chariot; and Jupiter and Mercury at the home of Philemon and Baucis.

 

The frescoes on the side of the Oval Courtyard represent: The feast of Bacchus; Apollo and the Muses on Mount Parnassus; The Three Graces dancing before the gods; and The wedding feast of Thetis and Peleus.

 

St. Saturnin's Chapel

 

Behind the ballroom, there is St. Saturnin's Chapel. The lower chapel was originally built in the 12th. century, but was destroyed and completely rebuilt under Francis I. The windows made in Sèvres were installed during Louis Philippe's period, and were designed by his daughter Marie, an artist herself.

 

The upper chapel was the royal chapel decorated by Philibert de l'Orme. The ceiling, made in the same style as the ballroom, ends with a dome.

 

Room of the Guards

 

A room for the guards was always located next to the royal bedchambers. The Salle des Gardes was built during the reign of Charles IX. Some traces of the original decor remain from the 1570's, including the vaulted ceiling and a frieze of military trophies attributed to Ruggiero d'Ruggieri.

 

In the 19th. century Louis Philippe turned the room into a salon, and redecorated it with a new parquet floor of exotic woods echoing the design of the ceiling, along with a monumental fireplace (1836), which incorporates pieces of ornament from demolished rooms that were built the 15th. and early 16th. century.

 

The bust of Henry IV, attributed to Mathieu Jacquet, is from that period, as are the two figures on either side of the fireplace. The sculpted frame around the bust, by Pierre Bontemps, was originally in the bedchamber of Henry II.

 

The decorations added by Louis Philippe include a large vase decorated with Renaissance themes, made by the Sèvres porcelain manufactory in 1832.

 

During the reign of Napoleon III, the hall was used as a dining room.

 

Stairway of the King

 

The stairway of the King was installed in 1748 and 1749, in the space occupied during the reign of Francis I by the bedroom of Anne de Pisseleu, the Duchess of Étampes, a favorite of the King.

 

It was designed by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, who used many decorative elements from the earlier room, which had originally been decorated by Primatice.

 

The upper portion of the walls is divided into panels, oval and rectangular, with scenes representing the love life of Alexander the Great. The paintings are framed by large statues of women by Primatice. The eastern wall of the room was destroyed during the reconstruction, and was replaced during the reign of Louis Philippe in the 19th. century with paintings by Abel de Pujol.

 

The Queen's Bedroom

 

All of the Queens and Empresses of France from Marie de Medici to the Empress Eugènie slept in the bedchamber of the Queen. The ornate ceiling over the bed was made in 1644 by the furniture-maker Guillaume Noyers for the Dowager Queen Anne of Austria, the mother of Louis XIV, and bears her initials.

 

The room was redecorated by Marie Leszczynska, the Queen of Louis XV in 1746–1747. The ceiling of the alcove, the decoration around the windows and the wood panelling were made by Jacques Vererckt and Antoine Magnonais in the rocaille style of the day. The decoration of the fireplace dates to the same period.

 

The doors have an arabesque design, and were made for Marie-Antoinette, as were the sculpted panels over the doors, installed in 1787. The bed was also made especially for Marie Antoinette, but did not arrive until 1797, after the Revolution and her execution. it was used instead by Napoleon's wives, the Empress Josephine and Marie-Louise of Austria.

 

The walls received their ornamental textile covering, with a design of flowers and birds, in 1805. It was restored in 1968–1986 using the original fabric as a model.

 

The furniture in the room all dates to the First Empire. The balustrade around the bed was originally made for the throne room of the Tuileries Palace in 1804. The armchairs with a sphinx pattern, the consoles and screen and the two chests of drawers were placed in the room in 1806.

 

The Boudoir of Marie-Antoinette

 

The boudoir next to the Queen's bedroom was created for Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1786, and permitted the Queen to have a measure of privacy.

 

The room is the best surviving example of the decorative style just before the French Revolution, inspired by ancient Roman models, with delicately painted arabesques, cameos, vases, antique figures and garlands of flowers against a silver background, framed by gilded and sculpted woodwork.

 

The room was made for the Queen by the same team of artists and craftsmen who also made the game room; the design was by the architect Pierre Rousseau (1751-1829); the wood panelling was sculpted by Laplace, and painted by Michel-Hubert Bourgeois and Louis-François Touzé.

 

Eight figures of the Muses were made in plaster by Roland; the ornate mantle of the fireplace was made by Jacques-François Dropsy, and decorated with glided bronze works by Claude-Jean Pitoin.

 

The mahogany parquet floor, decorated with the emblems of the Queen, was made by Bernard Molitor, and finished in 1787. The painted ceiling, by Jean-Simon Berthélemy, shows Aurora with a group of angels.

 

The furnishings were designed for the room by Jean-Henri Riesener, using the finest materials available; mother of pearl, gilded bronze, brass, satin and ebony. Some of the original furnishings remain, including the cylindrical desk and the table, which were made between 1784 and 1789.

 

The two armchairs are copies of the originals made by Georges Jacob which are now in the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, while the footstool is the original.

 

The Throne Room of Napoleon (former bedroom of the King)

 

The Throne Room was the bedroom of the Kings of France from Henry IV to Louis XVI.

 

In 1808 Napoleon decided to install his throne in the former bedroom of the Kings of France in the location where the royal bed had been. Under the Old Regime, the King's bed was a symbol of royal authority in France and was saluted by courtiers who passed by it. Napoleon wanted to show the continuity of his Empire with the past monarchies of France.

 

The majority of the carved wood ceiling, the lower part of the wood panelling, and the doors date to the reign of Louis XIII. The ceiling directly over the throne was made at the end of the reign of Louis XIV.

 

Louis XV created the portion of the ceiling directly over the throne, a new chimney, sculpted wooden medallions near the fireplace, the designs over the doors, and the fine carved woodwork facing the throne (1752–54).

 

He also had the ceiling painted white and gilded and decorated with mosaics, to match the ceiling of the bedroom of the Queen.

 

Napoleon added the standards with his initial and the Imperial eagle. The decoration around the throne was originally designed in 1804 by Jacob-Desmalter for the Palace of Saint-Cloud, and the throne itself came from the Tuileries Palace.

 

The chimney was originally decorated with a portrait of Louis XIII painted by Philippe de Champaigne, which was burned in 1793 during the French Revolution. Napoleon replaced it with a portrait of himself, by Robert Lefèvre. In 1834, King Louis-Philippe took down Napoleon's picture and replaced with another of Louis XIII.

 

The Council Chamber

 

The Council Chamber, where the Kings and Emperors met their closest advisors, was close to the Throne Room. It was originally the office of Francis I, and was decorated with painted wooden panels showing following designs of Primatice, the virtues and the heroes of antiquity.

 

The room was enlarged under Louis XIV, and the decorator, Claude Audran, followed the same theme.

 

The room was entirely redecorated between 1751 and 1754 by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, with arcades and wooded panels showing the virtues, and allegories of the seasons and the elements, painted by Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre and Carle van Loo.

 

The painter Alexis Peyrotte added another series of medallions to the upper walls depicting floral themes, the sciences and arts. The five paintings on the vaulted ceiling were the work of François Boucher, and show the seasons and the sun beginning its journey and chasing away the night.

 

A half-rotonda on the garden side of the room was added by Louis XV in 1773, with a painted ceiling by Lagrenée depicting Glory surrounded by his children.

 

The room was used as a council chamber by Napoleon I, and the furnishings are from that time. The armchairs at the table for the ministers are by Marcion (1806) and the folding chairs for advisors are by Jacob-Desmalter (1808).

 

Apartment of the Pope and of the Queen-Mothers

 

The apartment of the Pope, located on the first floor of the wing of the Queen Mothers and of the Gros Pavillon, takes its name from the 1804 visit of Pope Pius VII, who stayed there on his way to Paris to crown Napoleon I the Emperor of France.

 

He stayed there again, involuntarily, under the close supervision of Napoleon from 1812 to 1814. Prior to that, beginning in the 17th. century it was the residence of the Queen Mothers Marie de' Medici and Anne of Austria.

 

It was also the home of the Grand Dauphin, the oldest son of Louis XIV. In the 18th. century it was used by the daughters of Louis XV, and then by the Count of Provence, the brother of Louis XVI.

 

During the First Empire it was used by Louis, the brother of Napoleon, and his wife Queen Hortense, the daughter of the Empress Josephine. During the reign of Louis-Philippe, it was used by his eldest son, the Duke of Orleans.

 

During the Second Empire, it was occupied by Stephanie de Bade, the adopted niece of Napoleon I. It was restored in 1859–1861, and used thereafter for guests of high rank. It was originally two apartments, which were divided or joined over the years depending upon its occupants.

 

The Grand Salon, the Antechamber to the Bedroom of the Queen-Mother (Mid-17th. century)

 

The Salon de Reception was the anteroom to the bedroom of Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII and mother of Louis XIV. It features a gilded and sculpted ceiling divided into seven compartments, representing the sun and the known planets, along with smaller compartments for military trophies.

 

The room was created in 1558 by Ambroise Perret as the bedroom of Henry II in the pavilion des Poeles, a section of the Château that was later destroyed. Anne had it moved and decorated with her own emblems, including a pelican. The wood paneling in the room is probably from the same period.

 

The decor of the bedroom dates largely to the 1650's; it includes grotesque paintings in compartments on the ceiling, attributed to Charles Errard; richly carved wood paneling featuring oak leaves and putti; and paintings over the doors of Anne of Austria costumed as Minerva and Marie-Therese of Austria costumed as Abundance, both painted by Gilbert de Sève.

 

The bedroom was modified in the 18th. century by the addition of a new fireplace and sculptured borders of cascades of flowers around the mirrors added in 1784. During the Second Empire, painted panels imitating the style of the 17th. century were added above the mirrors and between the mirrors and the doors.

 

The Gallery of Diana

 

The Gallery of Diana, an eighty-metre (242 feet) long corridor now lined with bookcases, was created by Henry IV at the beginning of the 17th. century as a place for the Queen to promenade. The paintings on the vaulted ceiling, painted beginning in 1605 by Ambroise Dubois and his workshop, represented scenes from the myth of Diana, goddess of the Hunt.

 

At the beginning of the 19th. century, the gallery was in ruins. In 1810 Napoleon decided to turn it into a gallery devoted to the achievements of his Empire. A few of the paintings still in good condition were removed and put in the Gallery of Plates.

 

The architect Hurtault designed a new plan for the gallery, inspired by the Grand Gallery of the Louvre, featuring paintings on the ceiling illustrating the great events of Napoleon's reign.

 

By 1814 the corridor had been rebuilt and the decorative frames painted by Moench and Redouté, but the cycle of paintings on the Empire had not been started when Napoleon fell from power.

 

Once the monarchy was restored, King Louis XVIII had the gallery completed in a neoclassical style. A new series of the goddess Diana was done by Merry-Joseph Blondel and Abel de Pujol, using the painted frames prepared for Napoleon's cycle.

 

Paintings were also added along the corridor, illustrating the history of the French monarchy, painted in the Troubador style of the 1820's and 1830's, painted by a team of the leading academic painters.

 

Beginning in 1853, under Napoleon III, the corridor was turned into a library and most of the paintings were removed, with the exception of a large portrait of Henry IV on horseback by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse. The large globe near the entrance of the gallery, placed there in 1861, came from the office of Napoleon in the Tuileries Palace.

 

The Apartments of Napoleon

 

In 1804 Napoleon decided that he wanted his own private suite of apartments within the Palace, separate from the old state apartments. He took over a suite of six rooms which had been created in 1786 for Louis XVI, next to the Gallery of Francis I, and had them redecorated in the Empire style.

 

The Emperor's Bedroom

 

Beginning in 1808, Napoleon had his bedroom in the former dressing room of the King. From this room, using a door hidden behind the drapery to the right of the bed, Napoleon could go directly to his private library or to the offices on the ground floor.

 

Much of the original decor was unchanged from the time of Louis XVI; the fireplaces, the carved wooden panels sculpted by Pierre-Joseph LaPlace and the sculpture over the door by Sauvage remained as they were.

 

The walls were painted with Imperial emblems in gold on white by Frederic-Simon Moench. The bed, made especially for the Emperor, was the summit of the Empire style; it was crowned with an imperial eagle and decorated with allegorical sculptures representing Glory, Justice, and Abundance.

 

The Emperor had a special carpet made by Sallandrouze in the shape of the cross of the Legion of Honor; the branches of the cross alternate with symbols of military and civilian attributes.

 

The chairs near the fireplace were specially designed, with one side higher than the other, to contain the heat from the fire while allowing the occupants to see the decorations of the fireplace.

 

The painting on the ceiling of the room was added later, after the downfall of Napoleon, by Louis XVIII. Painted by Jean-Baptiste Regnault, it is an allegory representing The clemency of the King halting justice in its course.

 

The study was a small room designated as Napoleon's work room. In 1811 he added the camp bed, similar to the bed he used on his military campaigns, so he could rest briefly during a long night of work.

 

The salon of the Emperor was simply furnished and decorated. It was in this room, on the small table on display, that the Emperor signed his abdication in 1814.

 

The Theatre

 

Concerts, plays and other theatrical productions were a regular part of court life at Fontainebleau. Prior to the reign of Louis XV these took place in different rooms of the palace, but during his reign, a theatre was built in the Belle-Cheminée wing. It was rebuilt by the architect Gabriel, but was destroyed by a fire in 1856.

 

It had already been judged too small for the court of Napoleon III, and a new theatre was begun in 1854 at the far eastern end of the wing of Louis XIV. It was designed by architect Hector Lefuel in the style of Louis XVI, and was inspired by the opera theatre at the palace of Versailles and that of Marie-Antoinette at the Trianon Palace.

 

The new theatre, with four hundred seats arranged in a parterre, two balconies and boxes in a horseshoe shape, was finished in 1856. It has the original stage machinery, and many of the original sets, including many transferred from the old theatre before the fire of 1856.

 

The theatre was closed after the end of the Second Empire and was rarely used. A restoration began in 2007, funded with ten million Euros by the government of Abu-Dhabi. In exchange, the theatre was renamed after Sheik Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan.

 

It was inaugurated on the 30th. April 2014. The theatre can be visited, but it no longer can be used for plays because some working parts of the theater, including the stage, were not included in the restoration.

 

The Chinese Museum

 

The Chinese Museum, on the ground floor of the Gros Pavillon close to the lake, was among the last rooms decorated within the Chateau while it was still an imperial residence.

 

In 1867, the Empress Eugenie had the rooms remade to display her personal collection of Asian art, which included gifts given to the Emperor by a delegation sent by the King of Siam in 1861, and other objects taken during the destruction and looting of the Old Summer Palace near Beijing by a joint British-French military expedition to China in 1860.

 

The objects displayed in the antechamber include two royal palanquins given by the King of Siam, one designed for a King and the other (with curtains) for a Queen. Inside the two salons of the museum, some of the walls are covered with lacquered wood panels in black and gold, taken from 17th. century Chinese screens, along with specially designed cases to display antique porcelain vases.

 

Other objects on display include a Tibetan stupa containing a Buddha taken from the Summer Palace in China; and a royal Siamese crown given to Napoleon III.

 

The salons are lavishly decorated with both Asian and European furnishings and art objects, including silk-covered furnishings and Second Empire sculptures by Charles Cordier and Pierre-Alexandre Schoenewerk. The room also served as a place for games and entertainment; an old bagatelle game and a mechanical piano from that period are on display.

 

In addition to the Chinese Museum, the Empress created a small office in 1868, the Salon of Lacquerware, which was also decorated with lacquered panels and Asian art objects, on the ground floor of the Louis XV wing. This was the last room decorated before the fall of the Empire, and the eventual transformation of the Chateau into a museum.

 

The Chapel of the Trinity

 

The Chapel of the Trinity was built at the end of the reign of Francis I to replace the old chapel of the convent of the Trinitaires. It was finished under Henry II, but was without decoration until 1608, when the painter Martin Freminet was commissioned to design frescoes for the ceiling and walls.

 

The sculptor Barthèlemy Tremblay created the vaults of the ceiling out of stucco and sculpture. The paintings of Freminet in the central vaults depict the redemption of Man, from the appearance of God to Noah at the launching of the Ark (Over the tribune) to the Annunciation.

 

They surrounded these with smaller paintings depicting the ancestors of the Virgin Mary, the Kings of Judah, the Patriarchs announcing the coming of Christ, and the Virtues.

 

Between 1613 and 1619 Freminet and Tremblay added paintings in stucco frames between the windows on the sides of the chapel, depicting the life of Christ. Freminet died in 1619, and work did not resume until 1628.

 

The Trinity chapel, like Sainte-Chapelle in Paris other royal chapels, had an upper section or tribune, where the King and his family sat, with a separate entrance; and a lower part, where the rest of the Court was placed.

 

Beginning in 1628, the side chapels were decorated with iron gates and carved wood panelling, and the Florentine sculptor Francesco Bordoni began work on the marble altar. The figure to the left depicts Charlemagne, with the features of Henry II, while the figure on the right depicts Louis IX, or Saint Louis, with the features of Louis XIII, his patron.

 

Bordoni also designed the multicolored marble pavement before the altar and on the walls of the nave. The painting of the Holy Trinity over the altar, by Jean Dubois the Elder, was added in 1642.

 

In the mid-17th. century the craftsman Anthony Girault made the sculpted wooden doors of the nave. while Jean Gobert made the doors of the tribune where the Royal family worshipped.

 

In 1741 the royal tribune was enlarged, while ornate balconies of wrought iron were added between the royal tribune and the simpler balconies used by the musicians and those who chanted the mass. In 1779, under Louis XVI, the frescoes of Freminet illustrating the life of Christ, which had deteriorated with time, were replaced by new paintings on the same theme. The paintings were done in the same style by about a dozen painters from the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.

 

Under Napoleon, the old tabernacle of the chapel, which had been removed during the Revolution, was replaced by a new one designed by the architect Maximilien Hurtault.

 

Beginning in 1824, the chapel underwent a program of major renovation and restoration that lasted for six years. The twelve paintings of the life of Christ were removed, as well as the gates to the side chapels.

 

During the Second Empire, the wood panelling of the side chapels was replaced. The restoration was not completed until the second half of the 20th. century, when the twelve paintings, which had been scattered to different museums, were brought together again and restored in their stucco frames. Between 1772 and 1774, a small organ made by François-Henri Cilquot was installed on the left side of the chapel, near the altar.

 

On the 5th. September 1725, the chapel was the setting for the wedding of Louis XV and Marie Leszczynska. Napoleon III was baptized there on 4 November 1810, and Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orleans, the son of King Louis-Philippe, was married there to Helene de Mecklembourg Schwerin on the 30th. May 1837.

 

The Gardens and the Park at Fontainebleau

 

From the time of Francis I, the palace was surrounded by formal gardens, representing the major landscaping styles of their periods; the French Renaissance garden, inspired by Italian Renaissance gardens; the French formal garden, the favorite style of Louis XIV; and, in the 18th. and 19th. century, the French landscape garden, inspired by the English landscape garden.

 

The Garden of Diana

 

The Garden of Diana was created during the reign of Henry IV; it was the private garden of the King and Queen, and was visible from the windows of their rooms.

 

The fountain of Diana was originally in the centre of the garden, which at that time was enclosed by another wing, containing offices and later, under, Louis XIV, an orangery. That building, and another, the former chancellery, were demolished in the 19th. century, thereby doubling the size of the garden.

 

From the 17th. until the end of the 18th. century, the garden was in the Italian and then the French formal style, divided by straight paths into rectangular flower beds centred on the fountains, and decorated with statues, ornamental plants and citrus trees in pots.

 

It was transformed during the reign of Napoleon I into a landscape garden in the English style, with winding paths and trees grouped into picturesque landscapes, and it was enlarged during the reign of Louis-Philippe. it was opened to the public after the downfall of Napoleon III.

 

The fountain in the centre was made by Tommaso Francini, the master Italian fountain-maker, whose work included the Medici Fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris.

 

The bronze statue of Diana, the goddess of the hunt, with a young deer, was made by the Keller brothers in 1684 for another royal residence, at Marly. It is a copy of an antique Roman statue, Diana of Versailles, which was given by the Pope to King Henry IV, and which is now in the Louvre.

 

The original statue of the fountain, made by Barthelemy Prieur in 1602, can be seen in the Gallery of the Cerfs inside the palace. The sculptures of hunting dogs and deer around the fountain were made by Pierre Biard.

 

The Carp Lake, English Garden, Grotto and Spring

 

The lake next to the palace, with an area of four hectares, was made during the reign of Henry IV, and was used for boating parties by members of the Court, and as a source of fish for the table and for amusement.

 

Descriptions of the palace in the 17th. century tell of guests feeding the carp, some of which reached enormous size, and were said to be a hundred years old. The small octagonal house on an island in the center of the lake, Pavillon de l'Étang, was added during the reign of Louis XIV, then rebuilt under Napoleon I, and is decorated with his initial.

 

The English garden also dates back to the reign of Henry IV. In one part of the garden, known as the garden of pines, against the wing of Louis XV, is an older structure dating to Francis I; the first Renaissance-style grotto to be built in a French garden, a rustic stone structure decorated with four statues of Atlas.

 

Under Napoleon, his architect, Maximilien-Joseph Hurtault, turned this part of the garden into an English park, with winding paths and exotic trees, including catalpa, tulip trees, sophora, and cypress trees from Louisiana, and with a picturesque stream and boulders.

 

The garden also features two 17th. century bronze copies of ancient Roman originals, the Borghese gladiator and the Dying Gladiator. A path leads from the garden through a curtain of trees to the spring which gave its name to the palace, next to a statue of Apollo.

 

The Parterre and Canal

 

On the other side of the Château, on the site of the garden of Francis I, Henry IV created a large formal garden, or parterre Along the axis of the parterre, he also built a grand canal 1200 metres long, similar to one at the nearby château of Fleury-en-Biere.

 

Between 1660 and 1664 the chief gardener of Louis XIV, André Le Nôtre, and Louis Le Vau rebuilt the parterre on a grander scale, filling it with geometric designs and paths bordered with boxwood hedges and filled with colourful flowerbeds.

 

They also added a basin, called Les Cascades, decorated with fountains, at the head of the canal. Le Nôtre planted shade trees along the length of the canal, and also laid out a wide path, lined with elm trees, parallel to the canal.

 

The fountains of Louis XIV were removed after his reign. More recently, the Cascades were decorated with works of sculpture from the 19th. century. A large ornamental fountain was installed in the central basin in 1817.

 

A bronze replica of an ancient Roman statue, "The Tiber", was placed in the round basin in 1988. It replaced an earlier statue from the 16th. century which earlier had decorated the basin.

 

Two statues of sphinxes by Mathieu Lespagnandel, from 1664, are placed near the balustrade of the grand canal.

 

Some background:

The Saeqeh (Persian: صاعقه, "Thunderbolt"), alternatively spelt Sa'eqeh, Shaequeh or Saegheh, is an Iranian built single-seat jet fighter, derived from the American Northrop F-5. It is a joint product of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force and the Iranian Ministry of Defense, and the second generation of the Iranian Azarakhsh fighter.

 

The Saeqeh was originally called the Azarakhsh 2 or Saeqeh-80. The number 80 corresponded to the Iranian year 1380 (2001), which was the originally planned date for the first flight. However, after delays in development, the number 80 was abandoned and the Saeqeh project continued with the alias "Azarakhsh-2".

 

The Saeqeh is the most advanced F-5 modification project known and was developed by MATSA Air Force Technology and Electronic Center and the Shahid Sattari Air Force University of Tehran, starting in 1998. The airframe is very similar to the Northrop F-5, the most significant difference are twin vertical stabilizers, but there are also other differences like modified air intakes.

 

The first prototype of the jet made its first test flight in 30 May 2004, and the aircraft was revealed to the public via state television in July of the same year. The first prototype also featured new afterburners, and reports exist that the first prototype serial [S110-001] had square air inlets, at least for some time. Production aircraft reverted to the F-5E style air intakes, even though this should later change once more.

 

According to the translation by the Washington-Based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) of a broadcast on Islamic Republic of Iran News Network (IRINN), the Saeqeh became operational on September 6, 2006, when it participated in an Iranian military war game exercise called "Blow of Zulfiqar". In that exercise, which began on August 19, 2006, the new fighter carried out actions described as "a mission to bomb virtual enemy targets", and "a mock bombing mission". Two prototypes, which appeared to differ from the one that had been shown previously, conducted a fly-past at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport on 20 September 2007. Three prototypes took part in a military parade on 22 September 2007, and serial production was handed over to Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industries (IAMI).

 

Little information on the specifications of the Saeqeh has been released, so it is uncertain how much the type differs from the F-5E. The Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, Brigadier-General Ahmad Mighani, said that the Saeqeh is up-to-date in terms of aerodynamic balance and in possessing missile and radar systems. The new design is said to show a significantly improved take-off and turning performance, and in 2008 Iran announced the aircraft has a range of 3,000 km.

 

The fighter-bomber's latest incarnation features a digital glass cockpit and other improvements, as well as "the ability to track down enemy aircraft, engage in combat, target locations on the ground, and carry an assortment of weapons and ammunition". The Managing Director of the Aviation Organization of the Ministry of Defense and Logistics of the Armed Forces, Majid Hedayat, described the Saeqeh as a logistic and combat plane with high maneuvering capability and the ability to bomb close targets. The fighter jet is claimed to be "similar to the F-18 fighter jet, but it is more capable and has been manufactured domestically," the commander of the Iranian army General Attollah Salehi was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA.

 

Foreign sources remain skeptic as the installments on the aircraft are doubted to be any superior to the ones of the F-5, for the capacity to load armaments is obviously not very different. With the same number of attachment points on the wings and identical configuration, the Saegeh will be able to serve as an attack airplane but it will hardly be able to face more sophisticated aircraft, esp. in air-to-air direct combat.

 

In September 2010, Iran displayed the first complete squadron of Saeqeh fighter jets during an air show staged during military parades at the beginning of the Iranian Sacred Defense, and production seemed to continue as in May 2012 three new-generation Saeqeh fighters (correct designation unknown, but again with modified air intakes) had been manufactured and delivered to the Iranian Air Force. These aircraft reportedly carry armament of Soviet/Russian origin, including R-3 "Atoll" and R-73 "Archer" AAMs, as well as radio-guided Kh-23 "Kerry" AGMs (which require a separate pod with guidance equipment, though), TV-guided KAB-500kr smart bombs, napalm tanks and iron bombs of various caliber of up to 500 kg (907 lb).

 

On 26 August 2012, deputy Defence Minister Mohammad Eslami announced that an upgraded version of the Saeqeh, with enhanced radar systems and smart munitions, would be introduced in the Iranian Air Force by the end of the Solar Hijri year 1391 (2013).

  

General Characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 52.13ft (15.89m)

Width: 26.67ft (8.13m)

Height: 13.12ft (4.00m)

Weight (Empty): 9,700lbs (4,400kg)

Weight (MTOW): 19,842lbs (9,000kg)

 

Performance (estimated):

Maximum Speed: 1,056mph (1,700kmh; 918kts)

Maximum Range: 1,864miles (3,000km)

Service Ceiling: 52,493ft (16,000m; 9.9miles)

Rate-of-Climb: 34,400 feet per minute (10,485m/min)

 

Powerplant:

2x afterburning turbojet engines of unknown type (probably General Electric J85 engines or close derivatives)

 

Armament:

1× (early versions 2×) internal 20mm cannon, probably M39A2 guns of American origin

A total of seven hard points (incl. Wing tip missile mounts) for various air-to-air, air-to-surface guided or drop munitions including missiles, bombs, rocket pods and fuel drop tanks.

  

The kit and its assembly:

A rather simple whif, close to reality - kind of a semi-whif, if that exists at all? Besides, I wonder why there are no kits of this Iranian F-5 derivative available, not even conversion kits? The Saegeh has been around for some time in the real world, mostly as a phantom, though, but it seems to be overlooked. Time for a change, even though I must admit that I considered the first pictures I saw of it some time ago to be Photoshop jokes, and it is not the sexiest aircraft. But it is easy to realize, and here’s my take on it.

 

Another reason why I built one is that I actually wanted an aircraft in the smart IRIAF MiG-29 (also seen on Chinese MiG-21F/Chengdu F-7) paint scheme in pale, bluish gray and sand with small roundels and only a few stencils. Since I could not find any picture of an in-service Saegeh (you only find the Blue Angels style demonstrators, or some parade paint schemes), this indigenous aircraft would be the ideal option to realize such a project.

 

“My” Saegeh is based on the Hobby Boss F-5E, only with minor changes. Compared to the simple, smaller Hobby Boss kits this one turned out to be disappointing. While there is ample detail in the cockpit and landing gear wells as well as fine engravings, the overall fit is rather poor, esp. between the fuselage halves, the wings, even the landing gear remains a puzzle. Well, I do not regret that I donated the kit to the whif surgery table.

 

Most obvious addition are the twin fins – these are actually the outer wing parts from a vintage Matchbox F-5 which I cut down to about 3.2 cm and simply glued to the rear fuselage, where the original central fin was simply omitted and its fairing leveled out. The spine’s end was shaped after consulting pictures of the real aircraft, but I did not get the outer base area of the twin fins right – I did not find good pictures of that fuselage section in time, but the result is very O.K., anyway, so I stuck with it.

 

One cannon was removed (according to pics of real Saegeh, even though some specimen feature two of them?), and I provided the aircraft with ordnance of Russian origin: a pair of modern R-73 AAMs on the wing tip rails (from the very good ICM Rusiian/Soviet AAM set), and a pair of vintage Kh-23 AGMs (from the not-so-good mixed set from Master Craft). As a design gimmick I added a guidance pod for the latter under one of the outer pylons - not certain if that would be necessary, it just looks cool...

 

A Matchbox pilot was added, as well as some blade antennae, an air scoop on the rear fuselage and something what looks like stabilizers/connectors at the base of the fins' inside. The arrestor hook was omitted, even though some Saegae seem to carry one - sources remain controversial.

  

Painting and markings:

As mentioned above, this model, despite being based on a real world aircraft, is to depict a contemporary but fictional service aircraft in IRIAF colors. Iranian MiG-29s became the benchmark for the cammo pattern and the colors.

 

IRIAF MiG-29 almost have a surreal look, esp. when fresh from the factory, but the paint seems to deteriorate quickly and fade out so that the appearance differs strongly from picture to picture.

 

Taking pictures of real IRIAF aircraft from airliners.net and a painting guidance from Begemot as benchmarks I decided to mix the colors. The overall grey is 50% Humbrol 127 (FS 36375) plus 40% Humbrol 147 (FS 36495) and 10% Russian Cockpit Tourquise, as the original color appears to have a greenish, even teal hue, at least when fresh. Other aircraft show a pale and dull gray, similar to FS 36375, if not lighter – there's a wide range of tones.

The sand tone is based on Humbrol 121 (60%), with some Humbrol 94 (30%) and 64 (10%). After a black ink wash both tones were thoroughly dry-brushed with lighter shades, in order to simulate a sun-bleached and somewhat dusty look, blurring the edges and emphasizing the panel lines.

 

Decals come from various aftermarket decal sheets, most of them from an F-5 Aztec Decal sheet, the aforementioned Begemot MiG-29 sheet (which offers more then 50 options for different aircraft!) and even from a MicroScale Su-24 sheet, plus some warning stencils from the Hobby Boss kit itself and the scrap box.

 

With some graphite, soot stains and dirt around the engines was added, and finally everything sealed under a coat of matt acrylic varnish.

 

The cockpit interior was kept medium gray (Humbrol 140), while the landing gear is all Aluminum, as well as the inside of the opened air brakes and the landing gear wells.

  

Overall, a simple (semi) whif, and the twin fins suit the F-5E well – even though I have my doubts that just adding these improves a Tiger II's performance to F/A-18 level?

 

VO pre-drills their fenders for a single centered draw bolt. But a double drawbolt attachment a la Honjo provides greater lateral rigidity. But where did the center hole go???

Mercedes SLR McLaren Stirling Moss

5.4 L V8 all aluminum hand made engine, 660 horsepower

Top speed: 350+ km/h

AED 7 million

Only 75 units made

 

Review: youtu.be/pcxoivGi_ZI

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The only thing that kind of bothers me still is the squareness of the flux bands, but i'll think up a solution some time down the line.