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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

P-3 Upgrade

 

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/ Photo by KAI (2009)

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The Postcard

 

A postally unused carte postale that was published by Bourdier of Versailles.

 

The Gardens of Versailles

 

The Gardens of Versailles are situated to the west of the palace. They cover some 800 hectares (1,977 acres) of land, much of which is landscaped in the classic French formal garden style perfected here by André Le Nôtre.

 

Beyond the surrounding belt of woodland, the gardens are bordered by the urban areas of Versailles to the east and Le Chesnay to the north-east, by the National Arboretum de Chèvreloup to the north, the Versailles plain (a protected wildlife preserve) to the west, and by the Satory Forest to the south.

 

In 1979, the gardens along with the château were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List due to its cultural importance during the 17th. and 18th. centuries.

 

The gardens are now one of the most visited public sites in France, receiving more than six million visitors a year.

 

The gardens contain 200,000 trees, 210,000 flowers planted annually, and feature meticulously manicured lawns and parterres, as well as many sculptures.

 

50 fountains containing 620 water jets, fed by 35 km. of piping, are located throughout the gardens. Dating from the time of Louis XIV and still using much of the same network of hydraulics as was used during the Ancien Régime, the fountains contribute to making the gardens of Versailles unique.

 

On weekends from late spring to early autumn, there are the Grandes Eaux - spectacles during which all the fountains in the gardens are in full play. Designed by André Le Nôtre, the Grand Canal is the masterpiece of the Gardens of Versailles.

 

In the Gardens too, the Grand Trianon was built to provide the Sun King with the retreat that he wanted. The Petit Trianon is associated with Marie-Antoinette, who spent time there with her closest relatives and friends.

 

The Du Bus Plan for the Gardens of Versailles

 

With Louis XIII's purchase of lands from Jean-François de Gondi in 1632 and his assumption of the seigneurial role of Versailles in the 1630's, formal gardens were laid out west of the château.

 

Claude Mollet and Hilaire Masson designed the gardens, which remained relatively unchanged until the expansion ordered under Louis XIV in the 1660's. This early layout, which has survived in the so-called Du Bus plan of c.1662, shows an established topography along which lines of the gardens evolved. This is evidenced in the clear definition of the main east–west and north–south axis that anchors the gardens' layout.

 

Louis XIV

 

In 1661, after the disgrace of the finance minister Nicolas Fouquet, who was accused by rivals of embezzling crown funds in order to build his luxurious château at Vaux-le-Vicomte, Louis XIV turned his attention to Versailles.

 

With the aid of Fouquet's architect Louis Le Vau, painter Charles Le Brun, and landscape architect André Le Nôtre, Louis began an embellishment and expansion program at Versailles that would occupy his time and worries for the remainder of his reign.

 

From this point forward, the expansion of the gardens of Versailles followed the expansions of the château.

 

(a) The First Building Campaign

 

In 1662, minor modifications to the château were undertaken; however, greater attention was given to developing the gardens. Existing bosquets (clumps of trees) and parterres were expanded, and new ones created.

 

Most significant among the creations at this time were the Versailles Orangerie and the "Grotte de Thétys". The Orangery, which was designed by Louis Le Vau, was located south of the château, a situation that took advantage of the natural slope of the hill. It provided a protected area in which orange trees were kept during the winter months.

 

The "Grotte de Thétys", which was located to the north of the château, formed part of the iconography of the château and of the gardens that aligned Louis XIV with solar imagery. The grotto was completed during the second building campaign.

 

By 1664, the gardens had evolved to the point that Louis XIV inaugurated the gardens with the fête galante called Les Plaisirs de L'Île Enchantée. The event, was ostensibly to celebrate his mother, Anne d'Autriche, and his consort Marie-Thérèse but in reality celebrated Louise de La Vallière, Louis' mistress.

 

Guests were regaled with entertainments in the gardens over a period of one week. As a result of this fête - particularly the lack of housing for guests (most of them had to sleep in their carriages), Louis realised the shortcomings of Versailles, and began to expand the château and the gardens once again.

 

(b) The Second Building Campaign

 

Between 1664 and 1668, there was a flurry of activity in the gardens - especially with regard to fountains and new bosquets; it was during this time that the imagery of the gardens exploited Apollo and solar imagery as metaphors for Louis XIV.

 

Le Va's enveloppe of the Louis XIII's château provided a means by which, though the decoration of the garden façade, imagery in the decors of the grands appartements of the king and queen formed a symbiosis with the imagery of the gardens.

 

With this new phase of construction, the gardens assumed the design vocabulary that remained in force until the 18th. century. Solar and Apollonian themes predominated with projects constructed at this time.

 

Three additions formed the topological and symbolic nexus of the gardens during this phase of construction: the completion of the "Grotte de Thétys", the "Bassin de Latone", and the "Bassin d'Apollon".

 

The Grotte de Thétys

 

Started in 1664 and finished in 1670 with the installation of the statuary, the grotto formed an important symbolic and technical component to the gardens. Symbolically, the "Grotte de Thétys" related to the myth of Apollo - and by association to Louis XIV.

 

It represented the cave of the sea nymph Thetis, where Apollo rested after driving his chariot to light the sky. The grotto was a freestanding structure located just north of the château.

 

The interior, which was decorated with shell-work to represent a sea cave, contained the statue group by the Marsy brothers depicting the sun god attended by nereids.

 

Technically, the "'Grotte de Thétys" played a critical role in the hydraulic system that supplied water to the garden. The roof of the grotto supported a reservoir that stored water pumped from the Clagny pond and which fed the fountains lower in the garden via gravity.

 

The Bassin de Latone

 

Located on the east–west axis is the Bassin de Latone. Designed by André Le Nôtre, sculpted by Gaspard and Balthazar Marsy, and constructed between 1668 and 1670, the fountain depicts an episode from Ovid's Metamorphoses.

 

Altona and her children, Apollo and Diana, being tormented with mud slung by Lycian peasants, who refused to let her and her children drink from their pond, appealed to Jupiter who responded by turning the Lycians into frogs.

 

This episode from mythology has been seen as a reference to the revolts of the Fronde, which occurred during the minority of Louis XIV. The link between Ovid's story and this episode from French history is emphasised by the reference to "mud slinging" in a political context.

 

The revolts of the Fronde - the word fronde also means slingshot - have been regarded as the origin of the use of the term "mud slinging" in a political context.

 

The Bassin d'Apollon

 

Further along the east–west axis is the Bassin d'Apollon. The Apollo Fountain, which was constructed between 1668 and 1671, depicts the sun god driving his chariot to light the sky. The fountain forms a focal point in the garden, and serves as a transitional element between the gardens of the Petit Parc and the Grand Canal.

 

The Grand Canal

 

With a length of 1,500 metres and a width of 62 metres, the Grand Canal, which was built between 1668 and 1671, prolongs the east–west axis to the walls of the Grand Parc. During the Ancien Régime, the Grand Canal served as a venue for boating parties.

 

In 1674 the king ordered the construction of Petite Venise (Little Venice). Located at the junction of the Grand Canal and the northern transversal branch, Little Venice housed the caravels and yachts that were received from The Netherlands and the gondolas and gondoliers received as gifts from the Doge of Venice.

 

The Grand Canal also served a practical role. Situated at a low point in the gardens, it collected water that drained from the fountains in the garden above. Water from the Grand Canal was pumped back to the reservoir on the roof of the Grotte de Thétys via a network of windmill- and horse-powered pumps.

 

The Parterre d'Eau

 

Situated above the Latona Fountain is the terrace of the château, known as the Parterre d'Eau. Forming a transitional element from the château to the gardens below, the Parterre d'Eau provided a setting in which the symbolism of the grands appartements synthesized with the iconography of the gardens.

 

In 1664, Louis XIV commissioned a series of statues intended to decorate the water feature of the Parterre d'Eau. The Grande Command, as the commission is known, comprised twenty-four statues of the classic quaternities and four additional statues depicting abductions from the classic past.

 

Evolution of the Bosquets

 

One of the distinguishing features of the gardens during the second building campaign was the proliferation of bosquets. Expanding the layout established during the first building campaign, Le Nôtre added or expanded on no fewer that ten bosquets between 1670 and 1678:

 

-- The Bosquet du Marais

-- The Bosquet du Théâtre d'Eau, Île du Roi

-- The Miroir d'Eau

-- The Salle des Festins (Salle du Conseil)

-- The Bosquet des Trois Fontaines

-- The Labyrinthe

-- The Bosquet de l'Arc de Triomphe

-- The Bosquet de la Renommée (Bosquet des Dômes)

-- The Bosquet de l'Encélade

-- The Bosquet des Sources

 

In addition to the expansion of existing bosquets and the construction of new ones, there were two additional projects that defined this era, the Bassin des Sapins and the Pièce d'Eau des Suisses.

 

-- The Bassin des Sapins

 

In 1676, the Bassin des Sapins, which was located north of the château below the Allée des Marmoset's was designed to form a topological pendant along the north–south axis with the Pièce d'Eau des Suisses located at the base of the Satory hill south of the château.

 

Later modifications in the gardens transformed this fountain into the Bassin de Neptune.

 

-- Pièce d'Eau des Suisses

 

Excavated in 1678, the Pièce d'Eau des Suisses - named after the Swiss Guards who constructed the lake - occupied an area of marshes and ponds, some of which had been used to supply water for the fountains in the garden.

 

This water feature, with a surface area of more than 15 hectares (37 acres), is the second largest - after the Grand Canal - at Versailles.

 

(c) The Third Building Campaign

 

Modifications to the gardens during the third building campaign were distinguished by a stylistic change from the natural aesthetic of André Le Nôtre to the architectonic style of Jules Hardouin Mansart.

 

The first major modification to the gardens during this phase occurred in 1680 when the Tapis Vert - the expanse of lawn that stretches between the Latona Fountain and the Apollo Fountain - achieved its final size and definition under the direction of André Le Nôtre.

 

Beginning in 1684, the Parterre d'Eau was remodelled under the direction of Jules Hardouin-Mansart. Statues from the Grande Commande of 1674 were relocated to other parts of the garden; two twin octagonal basins were constructed and decorated with bronze statues representing the four main rivers of France.

 

In the same year, Le Vau's Orangerie, located to south of the Parterrre d'Eau was demolished to accommodate a larger structure designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart.

 

In addition to the Orangerie, the Escaliers des Cent Marches, which facilitated access to the gardens from the south, to the Pièce d'Eau des Suisses, and to the Parterre du Midi were constructed at this time, giving the gardens just south of the château their present configuration and decoration.

 

Additionally, to accommodate the anticipated construction of the Aile des Nobles - the north wing of the château - the Grotte de Thétys was demolished.

 

With the construction of the Aile des Nobles (1685–1686), the Parterre du Nord was remodelled to respond to the new architecture of this part of the château.

 

To compensate for the loss of the reservoir on top of the Grotte de Thétys and to meet the increased demand for water, Jules Hardouin-Mansart designed new and larger reservoirs situated north of the Aile des Nobles.

 

Construction of the ruinously expensive Canal de l'Eure was inaugurated in 1685; designed by Vauban it was intended to bring waters of the Eure over 80 kilometres, including aqueducts of heroic scale, but the works were abandoned in 1690.

 

Between 1686 and 1687, the Bassin de Latone, under the direction of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, was rebuilt. It is this final version of the fountain that one sees today at Versailles.

 

During this phase of construction, three of the garden's major bosquets were modified or created. Beginning with the Galerie des Antiques, this bosquet was constructed in 1680 on the site of the earlier and short-lived Galerie d'Eau. This bosquet was conceived as an open-air gallery in which antique statues and copies acquired by the Académie de France in Rome were displayed.

 

The following year, construction began on the Salle de Bal. Located in a secluded section of the garden west of the Orangerie, this bosquet was designed as an amphitheater that featured a cascade – the only one surviving in the gardens of Versailles. The Salle de Bal was inaugurated in 1685 with a ball hosted by the Grand Dauphin.

 

Between 1684 and 1685, Jules Hardouin-Mansart built the Colonnade. Located on the site of Le Nôtre's Bosquet des Sources, this bosquet featured a circular peristyle formed from thirty-two arches with twenty-eight fountains, and was Hardouin-Mansart's most architectural of the bosquets built in the gardens of Versailles.

 

(d) The Fourth Building Campaign

 

Due to financial constraints arising from the War of the League of Augsburg and the War of the Spanish Succession, no significant work on the gardens was undertaken until 1704.

 

Between 1704 and 1709, bosquets were modified, some quite radically, with new names suggesting the new austerity that characterised the latter years of Louis XIV's reign.

 

Louis XV

 

With the departure of the king and court from Versailles in 1715 following the death of Louis XIV, the palace and gardens entered an era of uncertainty.

 

In 1722, Louis XV and the court returned to Versailles. Seeming to heed his great-grandfather's admonition not to engage in costly building campaigns, Louis XV did not undertake the costly rebuilding that Louis XIV had.

 

During the reign of Louis XV, the only significant addition to the gardens was the completion of the Bassin de Neptune (1738–1741).

 

Rather than expend resources on modifying the gardens at Versailles, Louis XV - an avid botanist - directed his efforts at Trianon. In the area now occupied by the Hameau de la Reine, Louis XV constructed and maintained les Jardins Botaniques.

 

In 1761, Louis XV commissioned Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build the Petit Trianon as a residence that would allow him to spend more time near the Jardins Botaniques. It was at the Petit Trianon that Louis XV fell fatally ill with smallpox; he died at Versailles on the 10th. May 1774.

 

Louis XVI

 

Upon Louis XVI's ascension to the throne, the gardens of Versailles underwent a transformation that recalled the fourth building campaign of Louis XIV. Engendered by a change in outlook as advocated by Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the Philosophes, the winter of 1774–1775 witnessed a complete replanting of the gardens.

 

Trees and shrubbery dating from the reign of Louis XIV were felled or uprooted with the intent of transforming the French formal garden of Le Nôtre and Hardouin-Mansart into a version of an English landscape garden.

 

The attempt to convert Le Nôtre's masterpiece into an English-style garden failed to achieve its desired goal. Owing largely to the topology of the land, the English aesthetic was abandoned and the gardens replanted in the French style.

 

However, with an eye on economy, Louis XVI ordered the Palisades - the labour-intensive clipped hedging that formed walls in the bosquets - to be replaced with rows of lime trees or chestnut trees. Additionally, a number of the bosquets dating from the time of the Sun King were extensively modified or destroyed.

 

The most significant contribution to the gardens during the reign of Louis XVI was the Grotte des Bains d'Apollon. The rockwork grotto set in an English style bosquet was the masterpiece of Hubert Robert in which the statues from the Grotte de Thétys were placed.

 

Revolution

 

In 1792, under order from the National Convention, some of the trees in the gardens were felled, while parts of the Grand Parc were parcelled and dispersed.

 

Sensing the potential threat to Versailles, Louis Claude Marie Richard (1754–1821) – director of the Jardins Botaniques and grandson of Claude Richard – lobbied the government to save Versailles. He succeeded in preventing further dispersing of the Grand Parc, and threats to destroy the Petit Parc were abolished by suggesting that the parterres could be used to plant vegetable gardens, and that orchards could occupy the open areas of the garden.

 

These plans were never put into action; however, the gardens were opened to the public - it was not uncommon to see people washing their laundry in the fountains and spreading it on the shrubbery to dry.

 

Napoléon I

 

The Napoleonic era largely ignored Versailles. In the château, a suite of rooms was arranged for the use of the empress Marie-Louise, but the gardens were left unchanged, save for the disastrous felling of trees in the Bosquet de l'Arc de Triomphe and the Bosquet des Trois Fontaines. Massive soil erosion necessitated planting of new trees.

 

Restoration

 

With the restoration of the Bourbons in 1814, the gardens of Versailles witnessed the first modifications since the Revolution. In 1817, Louis XVIII ordered the conversion of the Île du Roi and the Miroir d'Eau into an English-style garden - the Jardin du Roi.

 

The July Monarchy; The Second Empire

 

While much of the château's interior was irreparably altered to accommodate the Museum of the History of France (inaugurated by Louis-Philippe on the 10th. June 1837), the gardens, by contrast, remained untouched.

 

With the exception of the state visit of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1855, at which time the gardens were a setting for a gala fête that recalled the fêtes of Louis XIV, Napoléon III ignored the château, preferring instead the château of Compiègne.

 

Pierre de Nolhac

With the arrival of Pierre de Nolhac as director of the museum in 1892, a new era of historical research began at Versailles. Nolhac, an ardent archivist and scholar, began to piece together the history of Versailles, and subsequently established the criteria for restoration of the château and preservation of the gardens, which are ongoing to this day.

 

Bosquets of the Gardens

 

Owing to the many modifications made to the gardens between the 17th. and the 19th. centuries, many of the bosquets have undergone multiple modifications, which were often accompanied by name changes.

 

Deux Bosquets - Bosquet de la Girondole - Bosquet du Dauphin - Quinconce du Nord - Quinconce du Midi

 

These two bosquets were first laid out in 1663. They were arranged as a series of paths around four salles de verdure and which converged on a central "room" that contained a fountain.

 

In 1682, the southern bosquet was remodeled as the Bosquet de la Girondole, thus named due to spoke-like arrangement of the central fountain. The northern bosquet was rebuilt in 1696 as the Bosquet du Dauphin with a fountain that featured a dolphin.

 

During the replantation of 1774–1775, both the bosquets were destroyed. The areas were replanted with lime trees and were rechristened the Quinconce du Nord and the Quinconce du Midi.

 

Labyrinthe - Bosquet de la Reine

 

In 1665, André Le Nôtre planned a hedge maze of unadorned paths in an area south of the Latona Fountain near the Orangerie. In 1669, Charles Perrault - author of the Mother Goose Tales - advised Louis XIV to remodel the Labyrinthe in such a way as to serve the Dauphin's education.

 

Between 1672 and 1677, Le Nôtre redesigned the Labyrinthe to feature thirty-nine fountains that depicted stories from Aesop's Fables. The sculptors Jean-Baptiste Tuby, Étienne Le Hongre, Pierre Le Gros, and the brothers Gaspard and Balthazard Marsy worked on these thirty-nine fountains, each of which was accompanied by a plaque on which the fable was printed, with verse written by Isaac de Benserade; from these plaques, Louis XIV's son learned to read.

 

Once completed in 1677, the Labyrinthe contained thirty-nine fountains with 333 painted metal animal sculptures. The water for the elaborate waterworks was conveyed from the Seine by the Machine de Marly.

 

The Labyrinthe contained fourteen water-wheels driving 253 pumps, some of which worked at a distance of three-quarters of a mile.

 

Citing repair and maintenance costs, Louis XVI ordered the Labyrinthe demolished in 1778. In its place, an arboretum of exotic trees was planted as an English-styled garden.

 

Rechristened Bosquet de la Reine, it would be in this part of the garden that an episode of the Affair of the Diamond Necklace, which compromised Marie-Antoinette, transpired in 1785.

 

Bosquet de la Montagne d'Eau - Bosquet de l'Étoile

 

Originally designed by André Le Nôtre in 1661 as a salle de verdure, this bosquet contained a path encircling a central pentagonal area. In 1671, the bosquet was enlarged with a more elaborate system of paths that served to enhance the new central water feature, a fountain that resembled a mountain, hence the bosquets new name: Bosquet de la Montagne d'Eau.

 

The bosquet was completely remodeled in 1704 at which time it was rechristened Bosquet de l'Étoile.

 

Bosquet du Marais - Bosquet du Chêne Vert - Bosquet des Bains d'Apollon - Grotte des Bains d'Apollon

 

Created in 1670, this bosquet originally contained a central rectangular pool surrounded by a turf border. Edging the pool were metal reeds that concealed numerous jets for water; a swan that had water jetting from its beak occupied each corner.

 

The centre of the pool featured an iron tree with painted tin leaves that sprouted water from its branches. Because of this tree, the bosquet was also known as the Bosquet du Chêne Vert.

 

In 1705, this bosquet was destroyed in order to allow for the creation of the Bosquet des Bains d'Apollon, which was created to house the statues had once stood in the Grotte de Thétys.

 

During the reign of Louis XVI, Hubert Robert remodeled the bosquet, creating a cave-like setting for the Marsy statues. The bosquet was renamed the Grotte des Bains d'Apollon.

 

Île du Roi - Miroir d'Eau - Jardin du Roi

 

Originally designed in 1671 as two separate water features, the larger - Île du Roi - contained an island that formed the focal point of a system of elaborate fountains.

 

The Île du Roi was separated from the Miroir d'Eau by a causeway that featured twenty-four water jets. In 1684, the island was removed and the total number of water jets in the bosquet was significantly reduced.

 

The year 1704 witnessed a major renovation of the bosquet, at which time the causeway was remodelled and most of the water jets were removed.

 

A century later, in 1817, Louis XVIII ordered the Île du Roi and the Miroir d'Eau to be completely remodeled as an English-style garden. At this time, the bosquet was rechristened Jardin du Roi.

 

Salle des Festins - Salle du Conseil - Bosquet de l'Obélisque

 

In 1671, André Le Nôtre conceived a bosquet - originally christened Salle des Festins and later called Salle du Conseil - that featured a quatrefoil island surrounded by a channel containing fifty water jets. Access to the island was obtained by two swing bridges.

 

Beyond the channel and placed at the cardinal points within the bosquet were four additional fountains. Under the direction of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, the bosquet was completely remodeled in 1706. The central island was replaced by a large basin raised on five steps, which was surrounded by a canal. The central fountain contained 230 jets that, when in play, formed an obelisk – hence the new name Bosquet de l'Obélisque.

 

Bosquet du Théâtre d'Eau - Bosquet du Rond-Vert

 

The central feature of this bosquet, which was designed by Le Nôtre between 1671 and 1674, was an auditorium/theatre sided by three tiers of turf seating that faced a stage decorated with four fountains alternating with three radiating cascades.

 

Between 1680 and Louis XIV's death in 1715, there was near-constant rearranging of the statues that decorated the bosquet.

 

In 1709, the bosquet was rearranged with the addition of the Fontaine de l'Île aux Enfants. As part of the replantation of the gardens ordered by Louis XVI during the winter of 1774–1775, the Bosquet du Théâtre d'Eau was destroyed and replaced with the unadorned Bosquet du Rond-Vert. The Bosquet du Théâtre d'Eau was recreated in 2014, with South Korean businessman and photographer Yoo Byung-eun being the sole patron, donating €1.4 million.

 

Bosquet des Trois Fontaines - Berceau d'Eau

 

Situated to the west of the Allée des Marmousets and replacing the short-lived Berceau d'Eau (a long and narrow bosquet created in 1671 that featured a water bower made by numerous jets of water), the enlarged bosquet was transformed by Le Nôtre in 1677 into a series of three linked rooms.

 

Each room contained a number of fountains that played with special effects. The fountains survived the modifications that Louis XIV ordered for other fountains in the gardens in the early 18th. century and were subsequently spared during the 1774–1775 replantation of the gardens.

 

In 1830, the bosquet was replanted, at which time the fountains were suppressed. Due to storm damage in the park in 1990 and then again in 1999, the Bosquet des Trois Fontaines was restored and re-inaugurated on the 12th. June 2004.

 

Bosquet de l'Arc de Triomphe

 

This bosquet was originally planned in 1672 as a simple pavillon d'eau - a round open expanse with a square fountain in the centre. In 1676, this bosquet was enlarged and redecorated along political lines that alluded to French military victories over Spain and Austria, at which time the triumphal arch was added - hence the name.

 

As with the Bosquet des Trois Fontaines, this bosquet survived the modifications of the 18th. century, but was replanted in 1830, at which time the fountains were removed.

 

Bosquet de la Renommée - Bosquet des Dômes

 

Built in 1675, the Bosquet de la Renommée featured a fountain statue of Fame. With the relocation of the statues from the Grotte de Thétys in 1684, the bosquet was remodelled to accommodate the statues, and the Fame fountain was removed.

 

At this time the bosquet was rechristened Bosquet des Bains d'Apollon. As part of the reorganisation of the garden that was ordered by Louis XIV in the early part of the 18th. century, the Apollo grouping was moved once again to the site of the Bosquet du Marais - located near the Latona Fountain - which was destroyed and was replaced by the new Bosquet des Bains d'Apollon.

 

The statues were installed on marble plinths from which water issued; and each statue grouping was protected by an intricately carved and gilded baldachin.

 

The old Bosquet des Bains d'Apollon was renamed Bosquet des Dômes due to two domed pavilions built in the bosquet.

 

Bosquet de l'Encélade

 

Created in 1675 at the same time as the Bosquet de la Renommée, the fountain of this bosquet depicts Enceladus, a fallen Giant who was condemned to live below Mount Etna, being consumed by volcanic lava.

 

From its conception, this fountain was conceived as an allegory of Louis XIV's victory over the Fronde. In 1678, an octagonal ring of turf and eight rocaille fountains surrounding the central fountain were added. These additions were removed in 1708.

 

When in play, this fountain has the tallest jet of all the fountains in the gardens of Versailles - 25 metres.

 

Bosquet des Sources - La Colonnade

 

Designed as a simple unadorned salle de verdure by Le Nôtre in 1678, the landscape architect enhanced and incorporated an existing stream to create a bosquet that featured rivulets that twisted among nine islets.

 

In 1684, Jules Hardouin-Mansart completely redesigned the bosquet by constructing a circular arched double peristyle. The Colonnade, as it was renamed, originally featured thirty-two arches and thirty-one fountains – a single jet of water splashed into a basin center under the arch.

 

In 1704, three additional entrances to the Colonnade were added, which reduced the number of fountains from thirty-one to twenty-eight. The statue that currently occupies the centre of the Colonnade - the Abduction of Persephone - (from the Grande Commande of 1664) was set in place in 1696.

 

Galerie d'Eau - Galerie des Antiques - Salle des Marronniers

 

Occupying the site of the Galerie d'Eau (1678), the Galerie des Antiques was designed in 1680 to house the collection of antique statues and copies of antique statues acquired by the Académie de France in Rome.

 

Surrounding a central area paved with colored stone, a channel was decorated with twenty statues on plinths, each separated by three jets of water.

 

The Galerie was completely remodeled in 1704 when the statues were transferred to Marly and the bosquet was replanted with horse chestnut trees - hence the current name Salle des Marronniers.

 

Salle de Bal

 

This bosquet, which was designed by Le Nôtre and built between 1681 and 1683, features a semi-circular cascade that forms the backdrop for a salle de verdure.

 

Interspersed with gilt lead torchères, which supported candelabra for illumination, the Salle de Bal was inaugurated in 1683 by Louis XIV's son, the Grand Dauphin, with a dance party.

 

The Salle de Bal was remodeled in 1707 when the central island was removed and an additional entrance was added.

 

Replantations of the Gardens

 

Common to any long-lived garden is replantation, and Versailles is no exception. In their history, the gardens of Versailles have undergone no less than five major replantations, which have been executed for practical and aesthetic reasons.

 

During the winter of 1774–1775, Louis XVI ordered the replanting of the gardens on the grounds that many of the trees were diseased or overgrown, and needed to be replaced.

 

Also, as the formality of the 17th.-century garden had fallen out of fashion, this replantation sought to establish a new informality in the gardens - that would also be less expensive to maintain.

 

This, however, was not achieved, as the topology of the gardens favored the Jardin à la Française over an English-style garden.

 

Then, in 1860, much of the old growth from Louis XVI's replanting was removed and replaced. In 1870, a violent storm struck the area, damaging and uprooting scores of trees, which necessitated a massive replantation program.

 

However, owing to the Franco-Prussian War, which toppled Napoléon III, and the Commune de Paris, replantation of the garden did not get underway until 1883.

 

The most recent replantations of the gardens were precipitated by two storms that battered Versailles in 1990 and then again in 1999. The storm damage at Versailles and Trianon amounted to the loss of thousands of trees - the worst such damage in the history of Versailles.

 

The replantations have allowed museum and governmental authorities to restore and rebuild some of the bosquets that were abandoned during the reign of Louis XVI, such as the Bosquet des Trois Fontaines, which was restored in 2004.

 

Catherine Pégard, the head of the public establishment which administers Versailles, has stated that the intention is to return the gardens to their appearance under Louis XIV, specifically as he described them in his 1704 description, Manière de Montrer les Jardins de Versailles.

 

This involves restoring some of the parterres like the Parterre du Midi to their original formal layout, as they appeared under Le Nôtre. This was achieved in the Parterre de Latone in 2013, when the 19th. century lawns and flower beds were torn up and replaced with boxwood-enclosed turf and gravel paths to create a formal arabesque design.

 

Pruning is also done to keep trees at between 17 and 23 metres (56 to 75 feet), so as not to spoil the carefully designed perspectives of the gardens.

 

Owing to the natural cycle of replantations that has occurred at Versailles, it is safe to state that no trees dating from the time of Louis XIV are to be found in the gardens.

 

Problems With Water

 

The marvel of the gardens of Versailles - then as now - is the fountains. Yet, the very element that animates the gardens, water, has proven to be the affliction of the gardens since the time of Louis XIV.

 

The gardens of Louis XIII required water, and local ponds provided an adequate supply. However, once Louis XIV began expanding the gardens with more and more fountains, supplying the gardens with water became a critical challenge.

 

To meet the needs of the early expansions of the gardens under Louis XIV, water was pumped to the gardens from ponds near the château, with the Clagny pond serving as the principal source.

 

Water from the pond was pumped to the reservoir on top of the Grotte de Thétys, which fed the fountains in the garden by means of gravitational hydraulics. Other sources included a series of reservoirs located on the Satory Plateau south of the château.

 

The Grand Canal

 

By 1664, increased demand for water necessitated additional sources. In that year, Louis Le Vau designed the Pompe, a water tower built north of the château. The Pompe drew water from the Clagny pond using a system of windmills and horsepower to a cistern housed in the Pompe's building. The capacity of the Pompe 600 cubic metres per day - alleviated some of the water shortages in the garden.

 

With the completion of the Grand Canal in 1671, which served as drainage for the fountains of the garden, water, via a system of windmills, was pumped back to the reservoir on top of the Grotte de Thétys.

 

While this system solved some of the water supply problems, there was never enough water to keep all of the fountains running in the garden in full-play all of the time.

 

While it was possible to keep the fountains in view from the château running, those concealed in the bosquets and in the farther reaches of the garden were run on an as-needed basis.

 

In 1672, Jean-Baptiste Colbert devised a system by which the fountaineers in the gardens would signal each other with whistles upon the approach of the king, indicating that their fountain needed to be turned on. Once the king had passed a fountain in play, it would be turned off and the fountaineer would signal that the next fountain could be turned on.

 

In 1674, the Pompe was enlarged, and subsequently referred to as the Grande Pompe. Pumping capacity was increased via increased power and the number of pistons used for lifting the water. These improvements increased the water capacity to nearly 3,000 cubic metres of water per day; however, the increased capacity of the Grande Pompe often left the Clagny pond dry.

 

The increasing demand for water and the stress placed on existing systems of water supply necessitated newer measures to increase the water supplied to Versailles. Between 1668 and 1674, a project was undertaken to divert the water of the Bièvre river to Versailles. By damming the river and with a pumping system of five windmills, water was brought to the reservoirs located on the Satory Plateau. This system brought an additional 72,000 cubic metres water to the gardens on a daily basis.

 

Despite the water from the Bièvre, the gardens needed still more water, which necessitated more projects. In 1681, one of the most ambitious water projects conceived during the reign of Louis XIV was undertaken.

 

Owing to the proximity of the Seine to Versailles, a project was proposed to raise the water from the river to be delivered to Versailles. Seizing upon the success of a system devised in 1680 that raised water from the Seine to the gardens of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, construction of the Machine de Marly began the following year.

 

The Machine de Marly was designed to lift water from the Seine in three stages to the Aqueduc de Louveciennes some 100 metres above the level of the river. A series of huge waterwheels was constructed in the river, which raised the water via a system of 64 pumps to a reservoir 48 metres above the river. From this first reservoir, water was raised an additional 56 metres to a second reservoir by a system of 79 pumps. Finally, 78 additional pumps raised the water to the aqueduct, which carried the water to Versailles and Marly.

 

In 1685, the Machine de Marly came into full operation. However, owing to leakage in the conduits and breakdowns of the mechanism, the machine was only able to deliver 3,200 cubic metres of water per day - approximately one-half the expected output. The machine was nevertheless a must-see for visitors. Despite the fact that the gardens consumed more water per day than the entire city of Paris, the Machine de Marly remained in operation until 1817.

 

During Louis XIV's reign, water supply systems represented one-third of the building costs of Versailles. Even with the additional output from the Machine de Marly, fountains in the garden could only be run à l'ordinaire - which is to say at half-pressure.

 

With this measure of economy, the fountains still consumed 12,800 cubic metres of water per day, far above the capacity of the existing supplies. In the case of the Grandes Eaux - when all the fountains played to their maximum - more than 10,000 cubic metres of water was needed for one afternoon's display.

 

Accordingly, the Grandes Eaux were reserved for special occasions such as the Siamese Embassy visit of 1685–1686.

 

The Canal de l'Eure

 

One final attempt to solve water shortage problems was undertaken in 1685. In this year it was proposed to divert the water of the Eure river, located 160 km. south of Versailles and at a level 26 m above the garden reservoirs.

 

The project called not only for digging a canal and for the construction of an aqueduct, it also necessitated the construction of shipping channels and locks to supply the workers on the main canal.

 

Between 9,000 to 10,000 troops were pressed into service in 1685; the next year, more than 20,000 soldiers were engaged in construction. Between 1686 and 1689, when the Nine Years' War began, one-tenth of France's military was at work on the Canal de l'Eure project.

 

However with the outbreak of the war, the project was abandoned, never to be completed. Had the aqueduct been completed, some 50,000 cubic metres of water would have been sent to Versailles - more than enough to solve the water problem of the gardens.

 

Today, the museum of Versailles is still faced with water problems. During the Grandes Eaux, water is circulated by means of modern pumps from the Grand Canal to the reservoirs. Replenishment of the water lost due to evaporation comes from rainwater, which is collected in cisterns that are located throughout the gardens and diverted to the reservoirs and the Grand Canal.

 

Assiduous husbanding of this resource by museum officials prevents the need to tap into the supply of potable water of the city of Versailles.

 

The Versailles Gardens In Popular Culture

 

The creation of the gardens of Versailles is the context for the film 'A Little Chaos', directed by Alan Rickman and released in 2015, in which Kate Winslet plays a fictional landscape gardener and Rickman plays King Louis XIV.

 

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.

Took off SAM from the truck and now i can put it in a moc without the truck if i want.

The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is a large bovid originating in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and China. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, and some American countries. The wild water buffalo (Bubalus arnee) native to Southeast Asia is considered a different species, but most likely represents the ancestor of the domestic water buffalo.

 

Two extant types of water buffalo are recognized based on morphological and behavioural criteria – the river buffalo of South Asia and further west to the Balkans, Egypt, and Italy, and the swamp buffalo, found from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze valley of China in the east. The origins of the domestic water buffalo types are debated, although results of a phylogenetic study indicate that the swamp type may have originated in China and was domesticated about 4,000 years ago, while the river type may have originated from India and was domesticated about 5,000 years ago. Water buffalo were traded from the Indus Valley Civilisation to Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq, 2500 BC by the Meluhhas. The seal of a scribe employed by an Akkadian king shows the sacrifice of water buffalo.

 

At least 130 million domestic water buffalo exist, and more human beings depend on them than on any other domestic animal. They are especially suitable for tilling rice fields, and their milk is richer in fat and protein than that of dairy cattle. The large feral population of northern Australia became established in the late 19th century, and smaller feral herds are in New Guinea, Tunisia, and northeastern Argentina. Feral herds are also present in New Britain, New Ireland, Irian Jaya, Papua New Guinea, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Brazil, and Uruguay.

 

CHARACTERISTICS

The skin of river buffalo is black, but some specimens may have dark, slate-coloured skin. Swamp buffalo have a grey skin at birth, but become slate blue later. Albinoids are present in some populations. River buffalo have comparatively longer faces, smaller girths, and bigger limbs than swamp buffalo. Their dorsal ridges extend further back and taper off more gradually. Their horns grow downward and backward, then curve upward in a spiral. Swamp buffalo are heavy-bodied and stockily built; the body is short and the belly large. The forehead is flat, the eyes prominent, the face short, and the muzzle wide. The neck is comparatively long, and the withers and croup are prominent. A dorsal ridge extends backward and ends abruptly just before the end of the chest. Their horns grow outward, and curve in a semicircle, but always remain more or less on the plane of the forehead. The tail is short, reaching only to the hocks. Height at withers is 129–133 cm for males, and 120–127 cm for females. They range in weight from 300–550 kg, but weights of over 1,000 kg have also been observed.

 

Tedong bonga is a black pied buffalo featuring a unique black and white colouration that is favoured by the Toraja of Sulawesi.

 

The swamp buffalo has 48 chromosomes; the river buffalo has 50 chromosomes. The two types do not readily interbreed, but fertile offspring can occur. Buffalo-cattle hybrids have not been observed to occur, and the embryos of such hybrids do not reach maturity in laboratory experiments.

 

The rumen of the water buffalo has important differences from that of other ruminants. It contains a larger population of bacteria, particularly the cellulolytic bacteria, lower protozoa, and higher fungi zoospores. In addition, higher rumen ammonia nitrogen (NH4-N) and higher pH have been found as compared to those in cattle

 

ECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR

River buffalo prefer deep water. Swamp buffalo prefer to wallow in mudholes which they make with their horns. During wallowing, they acquire a thick coating of mud. Both are well adapted to a hot and humid climate with temperatures ranging from 0 °C in the winter to 30 °C and greater in the summer. Water availability is important in hot climates, since they need wallows, rivers, or splashing water to assist in thermoregulation. Some breeds are adapted to saline seaside shores and saline sandy terrain.

 

DIET

Water buffalo thrive on many aquatic plants and during floods, will graze submerged, raising their heads above the water and carrying quantities of edible plants. They eat reeds (quassab), a giant reed (birdi), a kind of bulrush (kaulan), water hyacinth, and marsh grasses. Some of these plants are of great value to local peoples. Others, such as water hyacinth, are a major problem in some tropical valleys, and water buffalo may help to keep waterways clear.

 

Green fodders are used widely for intensive milk production and for fattening. Many fodder crops are conserved as hay, chaffed, or pulped. Fodders include alfalfa, berseem and bancheri, the leaves, stems or trimmings of banana, cassava, fodder beet, halfa, ipil-ipil and kenaf, maize, oats, pandarus, peanut, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane, bagasse, and turnips. Citrus pulp and pineapple wastes have been fed safely to buffalo. In Egypt, whole sun-dried dates are fed to milk-buffalo up to 25% of the standard feed mixture.

 

REPRODUCTION

Swamp buffalo generally become reproductive at an older age than river breeds. Young males in Egypt, India, and Pakistan are first mated at about 3.0–3.5 years of age, but in Italy

 

they may be used as early as 2 years of age. Successful mating behaviour may continue until the animal is 12 years or even older. A good river male can impregnate 100 females in a year. A strong seasonal influence on mating occurs. Heat stress reduces libido

 

Although buffalo are polyoestrous, their reproductive efficiency shows wide variation throughout the year. Buffalo cows exhibit a distinct seasonal change in displaying oestrus, conception rate, and calving rate. The age at first oestrus of heifers varies between breeds from 13–33 months, but mating at the first oestrus is often infertile and usually deferred until they are 3 years old. Gestation lasts from 281–334 days, but most reports give a range between 300 and 320 days. Swamp buffalo carry their calves for one or two weeks longer than river buffalo. It is not rare to find buffalo that continue to work well at the age of 30, and instances of a working life of 40 years are recorded.

 

TAXONOMIC HISTORY

Carl Linnaeus first described the genus Bos and the water buffalo under the binomial Bubalis bubalus in 1758; the latter was known to occur in Asia and as a domestic form in Italy. Ellerman and Morrison-Scott treated the wild and domestic forms of the water buffalo as conspecifics whereas others treated them as different species. The nomenclatorial treatment of wild and domestic forms has been inconsistent and varies between authors and even within the works of single authors.

 

In March 2003, the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature achieved consistency in the naming of wild and domestic water buffalo by ruling that the scientific name Bubalus arnee is valid for the wild form. B. bubalis continues to be valid for the domestic form and applies also to feral populations.

 

DOMESTICATION AND BREEDING

Water buffalo were domesticated in India about 5000 years ago, and in China about 4000 years ago. Two types are recognized, based on morphological and behavioural criteria – the river buffalo of the Indian subcontinent and further west to the Balkans and Italy, and the swamp buffalo, found from Assam in the west through Southeast Asia to the Yangtze valley of China in the east. The present-day river buffalo is the result of complex domestication processes involving more than one maternal lineage and a significant maternal gene flow from wild populations after the initial domestication events. Twenty-two breeds of the river type water buffalo are known, including Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Surti, Jafarabadi, Anatolian, Mediterranean, and Egyptian buffalo. China has a huge variety of buffalo genetic resources, comprising 16 local swamp buffalo breeds in various regions.

 

Results of mitochondrial DNA analyses indicate that the two types were domesticated independently. Sequencing of cytochrome b genes of Bubalus species implies that the domestic buffalo originated from at least two populations, and that the river and the swamp types have differentiated at the full species level. The genetic distance between the two types is so large that a divergence time of about 1.7 million years has been suggested. The swamp type was noticed to have the closest relationship with the tamaraw.

 

DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATIONS

The water buffalo population in the world is about 172 million.

 

IN ASIA

More than 95.8% of the world population of water buffalo are found in Asia including both river and swamp types. The water buffalo population in India numbered over 97.9 million head in 2003, representing 56.5% of the world population. They are primarily of the river type, with 10 well-defined breeds comprising Badhawari, Murrah, Nili-Ravi, Jafarabadi, Marathwada, Mehsana, Nagpuri, Pandharpuri, Toda, and Surti. Swamp buffalo occur only in small areas in the north-eastern part of the country and are not distinguished into breeds.

 

In 2003, the second-largest population lived in China, with 22.759 million head, all of the swamp type with breeds kept only in the lowlands, and other breeds kept only in the mountains; as of 2003, 3.2 million swamp-type carabao buffalo were in the Philippines, nearly three million swamp buffalo were in Vietnam, and 772,764 buffalo were in Bangladesh. About 750,000 head were estimated in Sri Lanka in 1997.

 

The water buffalo is the main dairy animal in Pakistan, with 23.47 million head in 2010. Of these, 76% are kept in the Punjab. The rest of them are mostly in the province of Sindh. Breeds used are Nili-Ravi, Kundi, and Azi Kheli. Karachi has the largest population of water buffalos for an area where fodder is not grown, consisting of 350,000 head kept mainly for milking.

 

In Thailand, the number of water buffalo dropped from more than 3 million head in 1996 to less than 1.24 million head in 2011. Slightly over 75% of them are kept in the country's northeastern region. The statistics also indicate that by the beginning of 2012, less than one million were in the country, partly as a result of illegal shipments to neighboring countries where sales prices are higher than in Thailand.

 

Water buffalo are also present in the southern region of Iraq, in the marshes. These marshes were drained by Saddam Hussein in 1991 in an attempt to punish the south for the uprisings of 1991. Following 2003, and the fall of the Saddam regime, these lands were reflooded and a 2007 report in the provinces of Maysan and Thi Qar shows a steady increase in the number of water buffalo. The report puts the number at 40,008 head in those two provinces.

 

IN EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN

Water buffalo likely were introduced to Europe from India or other Oriental countries. To Italy they were introduced about the year 600 in the reign of the Longobard King Agilulf. As they appear in the company of wild horses, they probably were a present from the Khan of the Avars, a Turkic nomadic tribe that dwelt near the Danube River at the time. Sir H. Johnston knew of a herd of water buffalo presented by a King of Naples to the Bey of Tunis in the mid-19th century that had resumed the feral state in northern Tunis.

 

European buffalo are all of the river type and considered to be of the same breed named Mediterranean buffalo. In Italy, the Mediterranean type was particularly selected and is called Mediterranean Italian breed to distinguish it from other European breeds, which differ genetically. Mediterranean buffalo are also found in Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Albania, Kosovo, and the Republic of Macedonia, with a few hundred in the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Hungary. Little exchange of breeding buffalo has occurred among countries, so each population has its own phenotypic features and performances. In Bulgaria, they were crossbred with the Indian Murrah breed, and in Romania, some were crossbred with Bulgarian Murrah. Populations in Turkey are of the Anatolian buffalo breed.

 

IN AUSTRALIA

Between 1824 and 1849, water buffalo were introduced into the Northern Territory from Timor, Kisar, and probably other islands in the Indonesian archipelago. In 1886, a few milking types were brought from India to Darwin. They have been the main grazing animals on the subcoastal plains and river basins between Darwin and Arnhem Land since the 1880s. In the early 1960s, an estimated population of 150,000 to 200,000 buffalo were living in the plains and nearby areas.

 

They became feral and are causing significant environmental damage. Buffalo are also found in the Top End. As a result, they were hunted in the Top End from 1885 until 1980. The commencement of the brucellosis and tuberculosis campaign (BTEC) resulted in a huge culling program to reduce buffalo herds to a fraction of the numbers that were reached in the 1980s. The BTEC was finished when the Northern Territory was declared free of the disease in 1997. Numbers dropped dramatically as a result of the campaign, but have since recovered to an estimated 150,000 animals across northern Australia in 2008.

 

During the 1950s, buffalo were hunted for their skins and meat, which was exported and used in the local trade. In the late 1970s, live exports were made to Cuba and continued later into other countries. Buffalo are now crossed with riverine buffalo in artificial insemination programs, and may be found in many areas of Australia. Some of these crossbreds are used for milk production. Melville Island is a popular hunting location, where a steady population up to 4,000 individuals exists. Safari outfits are run from Darwin to Melville Island and other locations in the Top End, often with the use of bush pilots. The horns, which can measure up to a record of 3.1 m tip-to-tip, are prized hunting trophies.

 

The buffalo have developed a different appearance from the Indonesian buffalo from which they descend. They live mainly in freshwater marshes and billabongs, and their territory range can be quite expansive during the wet season. Their only natural predators in Australia are adult saltwater crocodiles, with whom they share the billabongs, and dingoes, which have been known to prey on buffalo calves and occasionally adult buffalo when the dingoes are in large packs.

 

Buffalo were exported live to Indonesia until 2011, at a rate of about 3000 per year. After the live export ban that year, the exports dropped to zero, and had not resumed as of June 2013.

 

IN SOUTH AMERICA

Water buffalo were introduced into the Amazon River basin in 1895. They are now extensively used there for meat and dairy production. In 2005, the buffalo herd in the Brazilian Amazon stood at roughly 1.6 million head, of which 460,000 were located in the lower Amazon floodplain. Breeds used include Mediterranean from Italy, Murrah and Jafarabadi from India, and Carabao from the Philippines.

 

During the 1970s, small herds were imported to Costa Rica, Ecuador, Cayenne, Panama, Surinam, Guyana, and Venezuela.

 

In Argentina, many game ranches raise water buffalo for commercial hunting

 

IN NORTH AMERICA

In 1974, four water buffalo were imported to the United States from Guam to be studied at the University of Florida. In February 1978, the first herd arrived for commercial farming. Until 2002, only one commercial breeder was in the United States. Water buffalo meat is imported from Australia. Until 2011, water buffalo were raised in Gainesville, Florida, from young obtained from zoo overflow. They were used primarily for meat production, frequently sold as hamburger.[38] Other US ranchers use them for production of high-quality mozzarella cheese.

 

HUSBANDRY

The husbandry system of water buffalo depends on the purpose for which they are bred and maintained. Most of them are kept by people who work on small farms in family units. Their buffalo live in very close association with them, and are often their greatest capital asset. The women and girls in India generally look after the milking buffalo while the men and boys are concerned with the working animals. Throughout Asia, they are commonly tended by children who are often seen leading or riding their charges to wallowing places. Water buffalo are the ideal animals for work in the deep mud of paddy fields because of their large hooves and flexible foot joints. They are often referred to as "the living tractor of the East". It probably is possible to plough deeper with buffalo than with either oxen or horses. They are the most efficient and economical means of cultivation of small fields. In most rice-producing countries, they are used for threshing and for transporting the sheaves during the rice harvest. They provide power for oilseed mills, sugarcane presses, and devices for raising water. They are widely used as pack animals, and in India and Pakistan also for heavy haulage. In their invasions of Europe, the Turks used buffalo for hauling heavy battering rams. Their dung is used as a fertilizer, and as a fuel when dried.

 

Buffalo contribute 72 million tones of milk and three million tones of meat annually to world food, much of it in areas that are prone to nutritional imbalances. In India, river-type buffalo are kept mainly for milk production and for transport, whereas swamp-type buffalo are kept mainly for work and a small amount of milk.

 

DAIRY PRODUCTS

Water buffalo milk presents physicochemical features different from that of other ruminant species, such as a higher content of fatty acids and proteins. The physical and chemical parameters of swamp and river type water buffalo milk differ. Water buffalo milk contains higher levels of total solids, crude protein, fat, calcium, and phosphorus, and slightly higher content of lactose compared with those of cow milk. The high level of total solids makes water buffalo milk ideal for processing into value-added dairy products such as cheese. The conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content in milk ranged from 4.4 mg/g fat in September to 7.6 mg/g fat in June. Seasons and genetics may play a role in variation of CLA level and changes in gross composition of the water buffalo milk.

 

Water buffalo milk is processed into a large variety of dairy products:

 

- Cream churns much faster at higher fat levels and gives higher overrun than cow cream.

- Butter from water buffalo cream displays more stability than that from cow cream.

- Ghee from water buffalo milk has a different texture with a bigger grain size than ghee from cow milk.

- Heat-concentrated milk products in the Indian subcontinent include paneer, khoa, rabri, kheer and basundi.

- Fermented milk products include dahi, yogurt, and chakka.

- Whey is used for making ricotta and mascarpone in Italy, and alkarish in Syria and Egypt.

- Soft cheeses made include mozzarella in Italy, karish, mish, and domiati in Egypt, madhfor in Iraq, alghab in Syria, kesong puti in the Philippines, and vladeasa in Romania.

- The semihard cheese beyaz peynir is made in Turkey.

- Hard cheeses include braila in Romania, rahss in Egypt, white brine in Bulgaria, and akkawi in Syria.

- Watered-down buffalo milk is used as a cheaper alternative to regular milk.

 

MEAT AND SKIN PRODUCTS

Water buffalo meat, sometimes called "carabeef", is often passed off as beef in certain regions, and is also a major source of export revenue for India. In many Asian regions, buffalo meat is less preferred due to its toughness; however, recipes have evolved (rendang, for example) where the slow cooking process and spices not only make the meat palatable, but also preserve it, an important factor in hot climates where refrigeration is not always available.Their hides provide tough and useful leather, often used for shoes.

 

BONE AND HORN PRODUCTS

The bones and horns are often made into jewellery, especially earrings. Horns are used for the embouchure of musical instruments, such as ney and kaval.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS

Wildlife conservation scientists have started to recommend and use introduced populations of feral domestic water buffalo in far-away lands to manage uncontrolled vegetation growth in and around natural wetlands. Introduced water buffalo at home in such environs provide cheap service by regularly grazing the uncontrolled vegetation and opening up clogged water bodies for waterfowl, wetland birds, and other wildlife. Grazing water buffalo are sometimes used in Great Britain for conservation grazing, such as in Chippenham Fen National Nature Reserve. The buffalo can better adapt to wet conditions and poor-quality vegetation than cattle.

 

Currently, research is being conducted at the Lyle Center for Regenerative Studies to determine the levels of nutrients removed and returned to wetlands when water buffalo are used for wetland vegetation management.

 

However, in uncontrolled circumstances, water buffalo can cause environmental damage, such as trampling vegetation, disturbing bird and reptile nesting sites, and spreading exotic weeds.

 

RESEARCH

The world's first cloned buffalo was developed by Indian scientists from National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal. The buffalo calf was named Samrupa. The calf did not survive more than a week, and died due to some genetic disorders. So, the scientists created another cloned buffalo a few months later, and named it Garima.

 

On 15 September 2007, the Philippines announced its development of Southeast Asia's first cloned buffalo. The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), under the Department of Science and Technology in Los Baños, Laguna, approved this project. The Department of Agriculture's Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) will implement cloning through somatic cell nuclear transfer as a tool for genetic improvement in water buffalo. "Super buffalo calves" will be produced. There will be no modification or alteration of the genetic materials, as in genetically modified organisms.

 

On 1 January 2008, the Philippine Carabao Center in Nueva Ecija, per Filipino scientists, initiated a study to breed a super water buffalo that could produce 4 to 18 litres of milk per day using gene-based technology. Also, the first in vitro river buffalo was born there in 2004 from an in vitro-produced, vitrified embryo, named "Glory" after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Joseph Estrada's most successful project as an opposition senator, the PCC was created through Republic Act 3707, the Carabao Act of 1992.

 

IN CULTURE

Some ethnic groups, such as Batak and Toraja in Indonesia and the Derung in China, use water buffalo or kerbau (called horbo in Batak or tedong in Toraja) as sacrificial animals at several festivals.

 

- Legend has it that the Chinese philosophical sage Laozi left China through the Han Gu Pass riding a water buffalo.

- According to Hindu lore, the god of death Yama, rides on a male water buffalo.

- The carabao subspecies is considered a national symbol in the Philippines.

- In Vietnam, water buffalo are often the most valuable possession of poor farmers: "Con trâu là đầu cơ nghiệp". They are treated as a member of the family: "Chồng cày, vợ cấy, con trâu đi bừa" ("The husband ploughs, the wife sows, water buffalo draws the rake") and are friends of the children. Children talk to their water buffalo, "Bao giờ cây lúa còn bông. Thì còn ngọn cỏ ngoài đồng trâu ăn." (Vietnamese children are responsible for grazing water buffalo. They feed them grass if they work laboriously for men.) In the old days, West Lake, Hà Nội, was named Kim Ngưu - Golden Water Buffalo.

- The Yoruban Orisha Oya (goddess of change) takes the form of a water buffalo.

 

FIGHTING FESTIVALS

- Pasungay Festival is held annually in the town of San Joaquin, Iloilo in the Philippines.

- Moh juj Water Buffalo fighting, is held every year in Bhogali Bihu in Assam. Ahotguri in Nagaon is famous for it.

- Do Son Water Buffalo Fighting Festival of Vietnam, held each year on the ninth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar at Do Son Township, Haiphong City in Vietnam, is one of the most popular Vietnam festivals and events in Haiphong City. The preparations for this buffalo fighting festival begin from the two to three months earlier. The competing buffalo are selected and methodically trained months in advance. It is a traditional festival of Vietnam attached to a Water God worshipping ceremony and the Hien Sinh custom to show martial spirit of the local people of Do Son, Haiphong.

- "Hai Luu" Water Buffalo Fighting Festival of Vietnam, According to ancient records, the buffalo fighting in Hai Luu Commune has existed from the 2nd century B.C. General Lu Gia at that time, had the buffalo slaughtered to give a feast to the local people and the warriors, and organized buffalo fighting for amusement. Eventually, all the fighting buffalo will be slaughtered as tributes to the deities.

- "Ko Samui" Water Buffalo Fighting Festival of Thailand, is a very popular event held on special occasions such as New Year's Day in January, and Songkran in mid-April, this festival features head-wrestling bouts in which two male Asian water buffalo are pitted against one another. Unlike in Spanish Bullfighting, wherein bulls get killed while fighting sword-wielding men, Buffalo Fighting Festival held at Ko Samui, Thailand is fairly harmless contest. The fighting season varies according to ancient customs & ceremonies. The first Buffalo to turn and run away is considered the loser, the winning buffalo becomes worth several million baht. Ko Samui is an island in the Gulf of Thailand in the South China Sea, it is 700 km from Bangkok and is connected to it by regular flights.

- "Ma'Pasilaga Tedong" Water Buffalo Fighting Festival, in Tana Toraja Regency of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia, is a very popular event where the Rambu Solo' or a Burial Festival took place in Tana Toraja.

 

RACING FESTIVALS

Carabao Carroza Festival is being held annually every May in the town of Pavia, Iloilo, Philippines.

Kambala races of Karnataka, India, take place between December and March. The races are conducted by having the water buffalo (he buffalo) run in long parallel slushy ditches, where they are driven by men standing on wooden planks drawn by the buffalo. The objectives of the race are to finish first and to raise the water to the greatest height and also a rural sport. Kambala races are arranged with competition, as well as without competition and as a part of thanks giving (to god) in about 50 villages of coastal Karnataka.

 

In the Chonburi Province of Thailand, and in Pakistan, there are annual water buffalo races.

 

Chon Buri Water buffalo racing festival, Thailand In downtown Chonburi, 70 km south of Bangkok, at the annual water buffalo festival held in mid-October. About 300 buffalo race in groups of five or six, spurred on by bareback jockeys wielding wooden sticks, as hundreds of spectators cheer. The water buffalo has always played an important role in agriculture in Thailand. For farmers of Chon Buri Province, near Bangkok, it is an important annual festival, beginning in mid-October. It is also a celebration among rice farmers before the rice harvest. At dawn, farmers walk their buffalo through surrounding rice fields, splashing them with water to keep them cool before leading them to the race field. This amazing festival started over a hundred years ago when two men arguing about whose buffalo was the fastest ended up having a race between them. That’s how it became a tradition and gradually a social event for farmers who gathered from around the country in Chonburi to trade their goods. The festival also helps a great deal in preserving the number of buffalo, which have been dwindling at quite an alarming rate in other regions. Modern machinery is rapidly replacing buffalo in Thai agriculture. With most of the farm work mechanized, the buffalo-racing tradition has continued. Racing buffalo are now raised just to race; they do not work at all. The few farm buffalo which still do work are much bigger than the racers because of the strenuous work they perform. Farm buffalo are in the "Buffalo Beauty Pageant", a Miss Farmer beauty contest and a comic buffalo costume contest etc.. This festival perfectly exemplifies a favored Thai attitude to life — "sanuk," meaning fun.

 

Babulang Water buffalo racing festival, Sarawak, Malaysia, is the largest or grandest of the many rituals, ceremonies and festivals of the traditional Bisaya (Borneo) community of Limbang, Sarawak. Highlights are the Ratu Babulang competition and the Water buffalo races which can only be found in this town in Sarawak, Malaysia.

Vihear Suor village Water buffalo racing festival, in Cambodia, each year, people visit Buddhist temples across the country to honor their deceased loved ones during a 15-day period commonly known as the Festival of the Dead but in Vihear Suor village, about 35 km northeast of Cambodia, citizens each year wrap up the festival with a water buffalo race to entertain visitors and honour a pledge made hundreds of years ago. There was a time when many village cattle which provide rural Cambodians with muscle power to plough their fields and transport agricultural products died from an unknown disease. The villagers prayed to a spirit to help save their animals from the disease and promised to show their gratitude by holding a buffalo race each year on the last day of "P'chum Ben" festival as it is known in Cambodian. The race draws hundreds of spectators who come to see riders and their animals charge down the racing field, the racers bouncing up and down on the backs of their buffalo, whose horns were draped with colorful cloth.

Pothu puttu matsaram, Kerala, South India, is similar to Kambala races.

 

WIKIPEDIA

The Sukhoi Su-25 (NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by the Sukhoi Design Bureau. It was designed to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The first prototype made its maiden flight on 22 February 1975. After testing, the aircraft went into series production in 1978 at Tbilisi in the Soviet Republic of Georgia. Russian air and ground forces nicknamed it "Grach" ("Rook").

 

Early variants included the Su-25UB two-seat trainer, the Su-25BM for target-towing, and the Su-25K for export customers. Upgraded variants developed by Sukhoi include the Su-25T and the further improved Su-25TM (also known as Su-39). By year 2007, the Su-25 is the only armoured airplane still in production except the Su-34 whose production just started. It is currently in service with Russia and various other CIS states as well as export customers.

 

During its more than twenty-five years in service, the Su-25 has seen combat with several air forces. It was heavily involved in the Soviet war in Afghanistan, flying counter-insurgency missions against the Mujahideen. The Iraqi Air Force employed Su-25s against Iran during the 1980–89 Iran–Iraq War. Most of them were later destroyed or fled to Iran in the 1991 Persian Gulf War. In 1993, Abkhazian separatists used Su-25s against Georgians during the Abkhazian War. Eight years later, the Macedonian Air Force employed Su-25s against Albanian insurgents in the 2001 Macedonia conflict, and in 2008, Georgia and Russia reportedly used Su-25s in the South Ossetian conflict.

 

In early 1968, the Soviet Ministry of Defence decided to develop a specialised shturmovik armoured assault aircraft in order to provide close air support for the Soviet Ground Forces. The idea of creating a ground-support aircraft came about after analysing the experience of shturmovaya (attack) aviation during World War II, and in local wars during the 1950s and 1960s.[4] The Soviet fighter-bombers in service or under development at this time (Su-7, Su-17, MiG-21 and MiG-23) did not meet the requirements for close air support of the army.[4] They lacked essential armour plating to protect the pilot and vital equipment from ground fire and missile hits, and their high flight speeds made it difficult for the pilot to maintain visual contact with a target. Having taken into account these problems, Pavel Sukhoi and a group of leading specialists in the Sukhoi Design Bureau started preliminary design work in a comparatively short period of time, with the assistance of leading institutes of the Ministry of the Aviation Industry and the Ministry of Defence

 

In March 1969, a competition was announced by the Soviet Air Force that called for designs for a new battlefield close-support aircraft. Participants in the competition were the Sukhoi Design Bureau and the Design Bureaus of Yakovlev, Ilyushin and Mikoyan. Sukhoi finalised its "T-8" design in late 1968, and began in work on the first two prototypes (T8-1 and T8-2) in January 1972. The T8-1, the first airframe to be assembled, was completed just before a major national holiday on 9 May 1974. However, it did not make its first flight until 22 February 1975, after a long series of test flights by Vladimir Ilyushin. The Su-25 surpassed its main competitor in the Soviet Air Force competition, the Ilyushin Il-102, and series production was announced by the Ministry of Defence.

 

During flight-testing phases of the T8-1 and T8-2 prototypes' development, the Sukhoi Design Bureau's management proposed that the series production of the Su-25 should start at Factory No. 31 in Tbilisi, Soviet Republic of Georgia, which at that time was the major manufacturing base for the MiG-21UM "Mongol-B" trainer. After negotiations and completion of all stages of the state trials, the Soviet Ministry of Aircraft Production authorised manufacture of the Su-25 at Tbilisi, allowing series production to start in 1978.

 

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, several Su-25 variants appeared, including modernised versions, and variants for specialised roles. The most significant designs were the Su-25UB dual-seat trainer, the Su-25BM target-towing variant, and the Su-25T for antitank missions. In addition, an Su-25KM prototype was developed by Georgia in co-operation with Israeli company Elbit Systems in 2001, but so far this variant has not achieved much commercial success. The Su-25 is the only armoured airplane still in production in 2007.

 

The Russian Air Force operates the largest number of Su-25s, and has plans to upgrade older aircraft to the Su-25SM variant. However, this process has been slowed due to a funding shortfall, by early 2007 only seven aircraft had been modified.

 

General characteristics

 

* Crew: one pilot

* Length: 15.33 m (50 ft 11)

* Wingspan: 14.36 m (47 ft 1 in)

* Height: 4.80 m (15 ft 9 in)

* Wing area: 30.1 m² (324 ft²)

* Empty weight: 10,740 kg (23,677 lb)

* Loaded weight: 16,990 kg (37,456 lb)

* Max takeoff weight: 20,500 kg (45,194 lb)

* Powerplant: 2× Tumansky R-195 turbojets, 44.18 kN (9,480 lbf) each

 

Performance

 

* Maximum speed: 950 km/h (590 mph, Mach 0.82)

* Combat radius: 375 km (235 mi)

* Ferry range: 2,500 km (1,553 mi)

* Service ceiling: 10,000 m (22,200 ft)

* Rate of climb: 58 m/s (11,400 ft/min)

* Wing loading: 584 kg/m² (119 lb/ft²)

* Thrust/weight: 0.51

 

Armament

 

* 1 × GSh-30-2 30mm cannon with 250 rounds

* 11 hardpoints for up to 4,400 kg (9,700 lb) of disposable ordnance, including rails for 2 × R-60 (AA-8 'Aphid') or other air-to-air missiles for self-defence and a wide variety of general-purpose bombs, cluster bombs, gun pods, rocket pods, laser-guided bombs, and air-to-surface missiles such as the Kh-25ML or Kh-29L

 

Upgrades and modifications continue on the 175-ton crane on the ground floor of the transfer aisle inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In view are the top of the crane and power cable systems. The crane's 45-year-old controls are being upgraded to improve reliability, precision and safety. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to the crane so that it can support lifting needs for NASA and other exploration vehicles, including the agency's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Upgrades and modifications continue on the 175-ton crane on the ground floor of the transfer aisle inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers check the electrical and pneumatic cable systems on the crane. The crane's 45-year-old controls are being upgraded to improve reliability, precision and safety. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to the crane so that it can support lifting needs for NASA and other exploration vehicles, including the agency's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

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.

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.

Aircraft Interiors

The modification to accommodate 11 modules, just like all the others, involves the changing of the angle of just one fold. This is another close estimate for the angle. Therefore, during the initial assembling of the modules, the centre "hole" of the model is not regular. The Modules can be adjusted to form a regular hole in the centre by simply inserting a finger through it and give the model a little spin. 7.5cm squares Duo-coloured papers are used for this assembly. Many thanks to Andrey Hechuev for sharing this excellent modular.

No diagrams for my modification of the modules but video tutorial of the original 8-Piece New-Found Hope Star is posted here -

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6F-gO05fSs&feature=share

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, but this was not the solution. Consolidated experimented with various kinds of modifications until settling on a redesigned nose with a manned turret. 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. 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. 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 airliners, 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.

 

"Bungay Buckaroo's" odyssey is a fascinating one. Built for the USAAF as 44-44175, it never entered service as a B-24J, and instead was modified in the US as an antisubmarine warfare aircraft; it was then diverted through Lend-Lease to RAF Coastal Command as a Liberator GR.VI, with the serial KH304. It was sent to India to serve with 354 Squadron at RAF Cuttack against Japanese shipping and submarines operating in the Bay of Bengal and Java Sea. When the war ended, KH304 and a hundred other B-24s were simply abandoned in place by the RAF as it began its withdrawal from India. After India gained its independence, it took the 100 aircraft and used them to build 36 complete B-24s, giving the nascent Indian Air Force aircraft to use as bombers, maritime patrol aircraft, and strategic reconnaissance. KH304 became HE877, and joined 6 Squadron at Poona.

 

HE877 would give the IAF 20 years of yeoman service; its record included supporting Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's first summit of Mount Everest. When India finally retired its B-24s in 1968, it was an incredible boon to warbird collectors: B-24s were extremely rare in 1968, and operational ones nearly unheard of. (Of the surviving 14 B-24s, half came from India.) The Pima Air and Space Museum was one of many who were interested in acquiring a B-24, and HE877 was donated to the museum by the Indian government. A team of USAF aircrew ferried it back to Arizona in 1968, a journey that took three days.

 

Since HE877 was still in good shape, the museum was able to restore it; the only large piece it lacked was a belly turret. It went on display as a B-24 of the 446th Bomb Group, based at RAF Bungay, UK; this group had the distinction of making the first airstrike of D-Day. It wears "Bungay Buckaroo" on the left side; on the right, as a tribute to India, it retains the markings of 6 Squadron IAF. This was another aircraft I had used a picture of as part of my master's program, so I was very happy to see it in person.

 

This is a custom mount for the 500mm Tele-Xenar. The rear element is too large to fit onto the camera, so the entire lens needs to moounted in front of the lens board. The mount seperates so that the original lenscap can be put back on the rear element. The adapter still needs to be black anodized.

爆改20" Birdy

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.

"A narrow one-story house with an archway on the corner of the square, created by the structural modification of an originally Renaissance house after 1780 and around 1900, when it was provided with an original modification of the facade, contributes to the varied stylistic composition of the northern front of the square." - info from the National Monument Institute.

 

"Svitavy (German Zwittau) is a town located in the Pardubice region in the Svitavy district, 59 km northwest of Olomouc. Approximately 16 thousand inhabitants live here. They are part of the Svitavy Microregion. The Svitavy Mountains are located in the southeastern extremity of the Česká tabula, known as the Svitavská pahorkatina, which, however, already extends into the Morava basin. The river Svitava flows through the city, which originates in a forest near the city. Almost the entire territory of the city lies in northwestern Moravia, but the very small, undeveloped northeastern part of the territory previously belonged to the municipality of Opatovec is therefore located in Bohemia.

 

The original settlement with the church was founded by Premonstratensian monks from Litomyšl and named after the river Svitava that flows here, a little later German settlers called by the Bishop of Olomouc started arriving here, who founded a new village with the church of St. Jiljí, the original Svitava gradually merged with the new village. The area around Svitavy thus became the subject of a dispute between the Olomouc bishopric and the Litomyšl monastery estate, in 1256 the dispute was settled in favor of the Olomouc bishopric.

 

Moravia (Czech: Morava [ˈmorava]; German: Mähren) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia.

 

The medieval and early modern Margraviate of Moravia was a crown land of the Lands of the Bohemian Crown from 1348 to 1918, an imperial state of the Holy Roman Empire from 1004 to 1806, a crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1804 to 1867, and a part of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. Moravia was one of the five lands of Czechoslovakia founded in 1918. In 1928 it was merged with Czech Silesia, and then dissolved in 1948 during the abolition of the land system following the communist coup d'état.

 

Its area of 22,623.41 km2 is home to about 3.2 million of the Czech Republic's 10.8 million inhabitants. The people are historically named Moravians, a subgroup of Czechs, the other group being called Bohemians. The land takes its name from the Morava river, which runs from its north to south, being its principal watercourse. Moravia's largest city and historical capital is Brno. Before being sacked by the Swedish army during the Thirty Years' War, Olomouc served as the Moravian capital, and it is still the seat of the Archdiocese of Olomouc. Until the expulsions after 1945, significant parts of Moravia were German speaking." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.

+++ 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:

In September 1952, the United States Navy announced a requirement for a new fighter. It was to have a top speed of Mach 1.2 at 30,000 ft (9,144.0 m) with a climb rate of 25,000 ft/min (127.0 m/s), and a landing speed of no more than 100 mph (160 km/h). Korean War experience had demonstrated that 0.50 inch (12.7 mm) machine guns were no longer sufficient, and as the result the new fighter was to carry a 20 mm (0.79 in) cannon. In response, the Vought team led by John Russell Clark, created the V-383. Unusual for a fighter, the aircraft had a high-mounted wing which necessitated the use of a fuselage-mounted short and light landing gear.

 

The Crusader was powered by a Pratt and Whitney J57 turbojet engine. The engine was equipped with an afterburner that, unlike on later engines, was either fully lit, or off (i.e. it did not have "zones"). The engine produced 18,000 lb of thrust at full power, enough to allow the F-8 to climb straight up in clean configuration. The most innovative aspect of the design was the variable-incidence wing which pivoted by 5° out of the fuselage on takeoff and landing (not to be confused with variable-sweep wing). This allowed a greater angle of attack, increasing lift without compromising forward visibility. This innovation helped the F-8's development team win the Collier Trophy in 1956. Simultaneously, the lift was augmented by leading-edge slats drooping by 25° and inboard flaps extending to 30°. The rest of the aircraft took advantage of contemporary aerodynamic innovations with area-ruled fuselage, all-moving stabilators, dog-tooth notching at the wing folds for improved yaw stability, and liberal use of titanium in the airframe.

 

The armament, as specified by the Navy, consisted primarily of four 20 mm (.79 in) autocannons, and the Crusader happened to be the last U.S. fighter designed with guns as its primary weapon. They were supplemented with a retractable tray with 32 unguided Mk 4/Mk 40 Folding-Fin Aerial Rocket (Mighty Mouse FFARs), and cheek pylons for a pair of IR-guided AIM-9 Sidewinder air-to-air missiles. In practice, AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles were the F-8's primary weapon, because the 20mm guns were "generally unreliable."

 

In May 1953, the Vought design was declared a winner and in June, Vought received an order for three XF8U-1 prototypes (after adoption of the unified designation system in September 1962, the F8U became the F-8). The first prototype flew on 25 March 1955 with John Konrad at the controls, exceeding the speed of sound during its maiden flight. On 4 April 1956, the F8U-1 performed its first catapult launch from Forrestal.

 

In US service, the F-8 served principally in the Vietnam War and several versions, including all-weather fighters with improved radar and photo-recce versions, were developed. An update program between 1965 and 1970 prolonged the fighters’ time of active duty into the late Seventies. The RF-8 reconnaissance aircraft served longer and were retired in 1987.

 

Despite its qualities, only a few foreign countries operated the F-8. Beyond France and the Philippines, Argentina bought twelve revamped Crusaders plus two additional airframes for spares from US surplus stock for its carrier ARA Veinticinco de Mayo (V-2) in 1975. The ship previously served in the Royal Navy as HMS Venerable and the Royal Netherlands Navy as HNLMS Karel Doorman and had been put into Argentine service in 1969. It could carry up to 24 aircraft and initially operated with obsolete F4U Corsairs and F9F Panthers and Cougars. These were soon replaced by A-4Q Skyhawks (modified A-4Bs, also from US stock), but these machines were rather fighter bombers than interceptors that could not effectively guard the ship or its surrounding fleet from air strikes. This led to the procurement of Argentina’s small F-8 fleet, a process that started in 1973, just after the Skyhawks had entered service.

 

The Argentinian Crusaders (locally known as “Cruzados”) were based on the F-8E all-weather fighter variant. This type was the ultimate evolution of the original F-8 series, before the modernization program that turned these machines into F-8Js in US service. The F-8E was, beyond its four 20mm cannon, able to carry up to four AIM-9 Sidewinder AAMs on Y-shaped fuselage pylons. The original unguided missile pannier had been replaced by an extra fuel tank, and two dry underwing pylons allowed the carriage of unguided bombs or missiles. The USN’s F-8Es also had extra avionics in a shallow dorsal hump for the deployment of the radio-guided AGM-12 Bullpup air-to-ground missile, so that the aircraft could also carry out strike duties against small target – in theory, since the AGM-12 had to be visually guided by the pilot all the way while flying at lower levels in the combat environment.

 

However, the Argentine Navy requested some peculiar modifications for its aircraft, which were quite similar to the French Navy’s F-8E (FN), the last Crusaders that had left the production lines in 1965. This special Crusader variant became the F-8Q. It retained the F-8E’s J57-P-20A engine as well as the AN/APQ-94 fire-control radar and the IRST sensor blister in front of the canopy. A Martin-Baker ejection seat was fitted and the cockpit instruments were updated to Argentinian standards.

 

In order to ease operation and especially landing on the relatively small Veinticinco de Mayo, the F-8Q was, like the French Crusaders, modified with the maximum angle of incidence of the aircraft's wing increased from five to seven degrees, and blown flaps were fitted, too. This reduced the rate of descent to 11’ (3.35 m) per second and limited the force of gravity during landings to 3.5 G. The approach speed was also considerably reduced, by roundabout 15 knots (17.5 mph or 28 km/h).

Since Argentina did not operate the AGM-12 Bullpup and wanted a dedicated interceptor, the missile avionics were deleted and the hump disappeared, in an effort to save weight. Furthermore, the wing pylons received plumbing so that drop tanks could be carried, beyond the standard unguided ordnance of bombs or unguided missile pods. The F-8Q’s total payload was 5,000 lb (2,270 kg), but when operating from Veinticinco de Mayo, any external ordnance beyond the four Sidewinders was ever carried because the F-8’s TOW was at the ship’s catapult limits. When operating from land bases, the F-8Qs would frequently carry drop tanks in order to extend their range.

 

Upon delivery in late 1975, the F-8Q’s sported the standard US Navy scheme of Light Gull Grey upper surfaces over white undersides, just like the Skyhawks and other operational aircraft types of the Argentinian Navy. Typically, six F-8Qs were always based on board of Veinticinco de Mayo and rotated with the rest of the machines, which were, together with A-4Qs, based at BAN Rio Grande.

The F-8Qs formed the 1st Flight of the 3 Escuadrilla Aeronaval de Caza y Ataque that operated from Veinticinco de Mayo, and the machines received tactical codes between “101” and “112”. However, this gave in 1980 way to a more toned-down paint scheme in dark blue-grey over white, at a phase when Argentina tried to acquire Dassault Super Étendards and Exocet missiles from France. The new paint scheme was gradually introduced, though, the first to be re-painted were “107”, “108” and “110” in summer 1981.

 

Despite their availability, the F-8Qs did not actively take part in the Falklands War of 1982. This was primarily because ARA Veinticinco de Mayo was initially used in support of the Argentine landings on the Falklands: on the day of the invasion, she waited with 1.500 army soldiers outside Stanley harbor as first submarine and boat-landed commandos secured landing areas, and then Argentine marines made the main amphibious landing. Her aircraft were not used during the invasion and remained at land bases.

Later, in defense of the occupation, the carrier was deployed in a task force north of the Falkland Islands, with ARA General Belgrano to the south, and this time the usual six F-8Qs were on board and provided air cover. Out of fear from losing the carrier, though (the British had assigned HMS Splendid (S106), a nuclear-powered submarine, to track down Veinticinco de Mayo and sink her if necessary), the ship and its aircraft remained mostly outside of the direct confrontation theatre and rather acted as a distraction, binding British resources and attention.

 

However, after hostilities broke out on 1 May 1982, the Argentine carrier attempted to launch a wave of A-4Q Skyhawk jets against the Royal Navy Task Force after her S-2 Trackers detected the British fleet. What would have been the first battle between aircraft carriers since World War II did not take place, though, as winds prevented the heavily loaded jets from being launched. After the British nuclear-powered submarine HMS Conqueror sank General Belgrano, Veinticinco de Mayo returned to port for her own safety. The naval A-4Q Skyhawks flew the rest of the war from the airbase in Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego, and had some success against the Royal Navy, sinking HMS Ardent, even though three Skyhawks were shot down by Sea Harriers. The Crusaders were held back for homeland defense from Río Gallegos air base, since Argentina’s limited air refueling capacities (just a pair of C-130s, and all buddy refueling packs for the Skyhawks were out of order) had to be saved and concentrated on the Skyhawks.

 

After her involvement in the Falklands/Malvinas conflict, Veinticinco de Mayo resumed regular service and was in 1983 modified to carry the new Dassault Super Étendard jets (which had turned out to be too heavy for the original catapult, which also barely got the F-8Qs into the air), but soon after problems in her engines largely confined her to port. She was deemed more or less unseaworthy and this confined the Argentinian Navy’s jet force to land bases.

 

From this point on, the F-8Qs lost their raison d’être, since the Argentinian air force already had, with the Mirage III and IAI Nesher/Dagger, capable and less costly land-based interceptors available. Due to lack of spares and funds, the remaining Argentinian Crusaders (after several accidents, only eight F-8Qs were still in service and only five of them actually operational) were in 1988 transferred to Villa Reynolds air base in Western Central Argentina, grounded and stored in the open, where they quickly deteriorated. Eventually, all F-8Qs were scrapped in the early Nineties. Only one specimen survived and has been preserved in its original Gull Grey/White livery as a gate guard at the Naval Aviation Command headquarters at Comandante Espora Airport, Bahía Blanca.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 54 ft 3 in (16.54 m)

Wingspan: 35 ft 8 in (10.87 m)

Height: 15 ft 9 in (4.80 m)

Wing area: 375 sq ft (34.8 m²)

Aspect ratio: 3.4

Airfoil: root: NACA 65A006 mod;

tip: NACA 65A005 mod

Zero-lift drag coefficient: CD0.0133

Drag area: 5.0 sq ft (0.46 m²)

Empty weight: 17,541 lb (7,956 kg)

Gross weight: 29,000 lb (13,154 kg)

Max takeoff weight: 34,000 lb (15,422 kg)

Fuel capacity: 1,325 US gal (1,103.3 imp gal; 5,015.7 L)

Powerplant:

1× Pratt & Whitney J57-P-20A afterburning turbojet engine

with 10,700 lbf (48 kN) dry thrust and 18,000 lbf (80 kN) with afterburner

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 1,066 kn (1,227 mph, 1,974 km/h) at 36,000 ft (10,973 m)

Maximum speed: Mach 1.86

Cruise speed: 495 kn (570 mph, 917 km/h)

Combat range: 394 nmi (453 mi, 730 km)

Ferry range: 1,507 nmi (1,734 mi, 2,791 km) with external fuel

Service ceiling: 58,000 ft (18,000 m)

Rate of climb: 19,000 ft/min (97 m/s)

Lift-to-drag: 12.8

Wing loading: 77.3 lb/sq ft (377 kg/m²)

Thrust/weight: 0.62

 

Armament:

4× 20 mm (0.79 in) Colt Mk 12 cannons in lower fuselage, 125 RPG

2× side fuselage mounted Y-pylons for up to four AIM-9 Sidewinders and/or Zuni rockets

2× underwing pylon stations with a capacity of 4,000 lb (2,000 kg)

  

The kit and its assembly:

This relatively simple build was triggered by the “In the navy” group build at whatifmodelers.com in April/May 2020, even though I started it too late for the deadline.

After having recently read a lot of stuff about the Falklands/Malvinas conflict, I wondered if Argentina could not have procured a dedicated fighter for its single carrier – and the F-8 from US surplus stocks was a perfect candidate for the potential timeframe of the Seventies, when the type was retired from USN/USMC service or, in part, modernized and/or put up for sale, like the machines for the Philippines. The only real-world problem would have been the weight: the F-8E weighed up to 15 tons, while the Super Étendard, which was reportedly already hard to launch from Veinticinco de Mayo, had a MTOW of “only” 12 tons. Not certain if the F-8’s afterburner engine and the wings’ raised angle of incidence would have been enough to launch a Crusader? Well, it’s whifworld, after all. 😉

 

The basis is the Hasegawa F-8E, a kit that I had originally stashed away as a donor for a different project.

The model was built mostly OOB, I just sanded the dorsal avionics hump away and gave the machine a pair of drop tanks under the wings (from an A-4) – a rather unusual sight on a Crusader, and it looks even more weird with the wings in the raised position! The Sidewinders, relatively simple pieces, too, were taken OOB, since they look very much like early AIM-9Bs.

 

The kit goes together well, but it is a simple affair and you see the mold’s age. You get raised (though fine) panel lines, a rather simple cockpit tub with flat dashboards (for decals), a clumsy seat and no cockpit back wall at all. Fit is basically O.K., but the windscreen refused to fit well, and the hatch turned out to be somewhat too narrow for the rear bulkhead you are supposed to glue into it. Furthermore, the fuselage halves, especially on the underside, have shallow shrink areas close to the seams, so that PSR is mandatory. I would, not call the kit my first choice for the F-8 (which would rather be the Academy kit), but you get the Hasegawa kit at reasonable prices, and I originally purchased it as a body donor bank.

 

Since the kit lacks a proper air intake duct, sanding the fuselage halves inside of the respective orifice is not easy - I used a soft acrylic putty and left the radome away until the job was done. Furthermore, I added a visual blocker inside of the intake, a piece of black foamed styrene under the cockpit tub - otherwise you have direct sight down the empty interior in a head-on view.

 

Further small additions are some blade antennae on the hull and on the fin, inspired by the Argentinian Skyhawks.

  

Painting and markings:

Again, I wanted a rather subtle, semi-authentic look. The most natural choice would certainly have been a Light Gull Grey/White livery like the A-4Qs, but for a twist and because I like the late French F-8Ps in their all-over dark grey livery, I settled upon something that resembles the French/Argentinian Super Étendards: a dark, bluish-grey upper surface with white undersides and the upper colors well wrapped around the wings’ leading edges.

 

Concerning the French grey tone there are many different opinions and recommendations – ranging from Dark Gull Grey (FS 36231, which is IMHO much too light) over Gunship Grey (FS 36118) to dark blue.

I settled for Humbrol 79 (Blue Grey) as basic tone, which is AFAIK Humbrol’s interpretation of the German RAL 7012 (Basaltgrau), a tone that is very close to the British Dark Sea Grey. The undersides, including the landing gear, were painted with acrylic semi-gloss white from a rattle can. This was done as the first step, with a masked low waterline. Then the grey was applied by brush, and also wrapped around the wings’ leading edges. In order to improve the camouflage effect from above, the pylons as well as the outer sides of the stabilizers under the tail were painted in blue grey, too.

 

The flags on the rudder as well as the on the stabilizers were painted with white and Humbrol 48 (Mediterranean Blue), too, just the sun emblems on the fin are decals. Since the F-8 has, unlike the A-4 or the Sue, all-mowing stabilizers, I decided to paint the whole tail surface in white and blue and not just the trailing edge. This looks quite bright, but it is IMHO a great detail that sets this whif really apart and shows some pride.

The afterburner fairing was painted with a mix of Humbrol 27002 and 27003 (Polished Aluminum and Steel Metallizer) and later treated with graphite for a burnt look.

 

After an overall black ink wash the upper surfaces were treated with dry-brushed post shading (Humbrol 106 and 156). The decals come primarily from an Academy Super Étendard, augmented by markings from various decals from an Airfix Falklands War kit set sheet (e.g. the sun icons for the fin flash).

 

The silver leading edges of the wings, stabilizers and the fin were created with decal sheet material. the same material in black was used for walkway markings.

 

Decals come primarily from an Acedemy Super Étendard sheet, the tactical code was modified. Only the sun icons on the fin flash had to be procured from a different source (an Airfix A-4 Skyhawk sheet). The stencils come from the Hasegawa OOB sheet.

 

Finally, the kit received an all-over coat of matt acrlyic varnish.

 

A modification of this photo.

 

Learn more on www.powerfulingredients.com

For C, two modifications. Original not mine.

My modification of a Novoflex bellows, changing the mounts from Exakta to LTM lens, and having RAF camera make a part so I can attach LTM adapters, like a LTM to M mount adapter (shown) or LTM to Sony E(thin version) to maximize adaptability, and bring the lens mount as close to the E mount as possible so I can use shorter focal length enlarger lenses, with M mount, I can reach infinity with approximately a 60mm lens, switching it to a shallow E mount, I hope I can reach infinity with a 50mm lens, I’m still waiting for that adapter.

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)

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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

  

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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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www.news-medical.net

First molecular-based detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus in the field-collected houseflies

A Soltani, M Jamalidoust, A Hosseinpour, M Vahedi...-Scientific Reports, 2021-nature.com

 

Covid 19 DELTA Variant Archives-Online essay writing service

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SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant Likely to become dominant in the ...

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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

  

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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

For C, two modifications. Original not mine.

as requested ^^

Numerous subtle modifications make this one of the best Mercs built in recent years

Project designed by Ashley Kannan

+++ 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 Yokosuka J1Y was a land-based interceptor for the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service (IJN/大日本帝國海軍航空隊, Dai-Nippon Teikoku Kaigun Kōkū-tai) that was based upon a research aircraft and introduced into service during the final months of WWII. Work on the J1Y commenced at the Yokosuka Naval Air Technical Arsenal (海軍航空技術廠, Kaigun Kōkū Gijutsu-shō) during 1942 and 1943, in the midst of the Second World War. The J1Y was initially intended to test the benefits of different aircraft layouts in order to exploit the available engines’ potential further, albeit the aircraft had been designed from the start in a fashion that was suitable for combat and easily adaptable into a light fighter aircraft. It would eventually be developed into Yokusuka’s only fighter project.

 

The J1Y was an unorthodox twin-boom pusher configuration fighter aircraft. It featured a mid-mounted wing, a tricycle landing gear arrangement, and was furnished with heavy forward-firing armament. The fuselage was primarily composed of plywood for the forward section and aluminum throughout the aft section, in order to save critical war material. The advantages of the pusher design were of an unobstructed forward view for the pilot, while the armament could also be concentrated in the nose, so that most of the aircraft’s heavy elements were concentrated around the mutual center of gravity. However, a major drawback was difficulty in escaping from the aircraft in an emergency, as the pilot could get drawn into the propeller blades, and the tail surfaces posed an imminent danger, too.

 

The J1Y1 test aircraft was powered by a 700 kW (940 hp) Nakajima Sakae 12 engine. A pair of intakes in the wings’ roots ducted cooling air to the engine, which was mounted at the egg-shaped fuselage’s tail, as well as to a pair of oil coolers that were buried in the thickened wing roots. Despite the aircraft’s tubby shape, it was a very clean design with an excellent weight distribution.

During the ensuing tests and flight trials in late 1943, the J1Y1 proved to be superior to the comparable Mitsubishi A6M2 “Zero” in many respects, so that the Imperial Japanese Navy Aviation Bureau (海軍航空本部, Kaigun Kōkū Hombu) became interested enough to eventually order a fully capable combat aircraft variant in early 1944: the J1Y2.

 

Development of the J1Y2 lasted until mid-1944. Outwardly, the aircraft differed only slightly from the J1Y1 test aircraft, of which four had been built. The internal structure was strengthened, esp. around the engine mount, because the fighter version was to be powered by the Mitsubishi Kinsei Model 48 radial engine which delivered 1,080 hp (810 kW). Since this engine had a slightly bigger diameter, the tight cowling had to be modified and now featured small bulges for its fourteen-cylinder heads, creating a characteristic ring of small bumps around the rear fuselage. The dorsal carburetor air scoop had to be enlarged, too.

The J1Y1’s four-blade propeller was replaced by a six-blade propeller – a measure that was necessary to convert the engine’s raised power output into sufficient propulsion, while exploiting the limited possible propeller disc diameter between the tail booms and keeping sufficient ground clearance.

Armor plates were added to the nose section and behind the pilot’s seat, but protection remained relatively light. In order to extend the J1Y1’s limited range of only 750 km (470 mi, 400 nmi), two additional 150l fuel tanks were added to the inner wings behind the landing gear wells, partly extending into the tail booms, even though they were not self-sealing like the main fuel tank behind the cockpit. Tilting air brakes were installed on the wings, enabling the J1Y1 to manoeuvre into a stable firing position behind slower aircraft. Armament consisted of a pair of 20 mm Type 99-2 cannon, flanking the front wheel well, supplemented by a pair of 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 97 machine guns, which were rather intended as spotting rifles: they fired tracer rounds with the same trajectory as the 20 mm rounds, and gave off a flash and puff of white smoke on impact, so that 20 mm ammunition could be saved. Upon IJN introduction in August 1944, the J1Y was christened “Akaei” (アカエイ, “Stingray”). The Allied reporting name was "Ron"

 

However, teething development problems stemming from the Kasei engine cooling system and the main undercarriage members led to a slowdown in production. And when the Boeing B-29 Superfortress appeared, the J1Y2’s performance, esp. at height, was not sufficient anymore. Being not suited for high-altitude operations, and lacking internal space to accommodate a turbocharger, the IJN’s interest in the aircraft waned and resources were rather allocated to more promising types like the Mitsubishi J2M, despite its development problems, too. However, the J1Y2’s heavy gun armament supplied effective firepower and the use of dive and zoom tactics allowed it to score occasionally. It was also a very agile aircraft, esp. at medium altitude, so that production switched in January 1945, after 75 J1Y2s had been built, to the J1Y3.

 

The ultimate variant of the “Akaei” featured a new, even more powerful Mitsubishi Kinsei 62 engine with 1,163 kW (1,560 hp). Outwardly, this variant differed from its predecessor by a different exhaust arrangement: instead of the J1Y2’s two exhaust pipes, the J1Y3 featured individual exhaust, hidden under seven aerodynamic fairings, in order to exploit residual thrust and therefore further improve performance – resulting in even more bumps and fairing around the engine cowling. For the more powerful engine, and also because of cooling problems, the carburetor scoop was enlarged even more, so that an auxiliary cooling intake could be integrated.

Even though the armament nominally remained unchanged, supply shortages and field modifications in order to lighten the aircraft saw many J1Y3s with only two Type 99 cannons installed and the empty machine gun ports faired over. Some J1Y3s also carried gun 13.2 mm (.51 in) Type 3 heavy machine guns instead of the cannons, becoming designated J1Y3a. Due to ammunition shortages, some machines were converted in field workshops to this standard, too.

 

The J1Y3 arrived at IJN units in March 1945, but only a few were operational until the end of hostilities in the PTO, probably only around 40 aircraft were eventually delivered.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1

Length: 30 ft 9 in (9.37 m)

Wingspan: 38 ft (12 m)

Height: 8 ft 10 in (2.69 m)

Wing area: 262 ft² (24.3 m²)

Empty weight: 2,839 kg (6,259 lb)

Gross weight: 3,211 kg (7,079 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Mitsubishi Kinsei 62 14 cylinder radial engine with 1,163 kW (1,560 hp)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 640 km/h (397 mph, 346 kn) at at 6,096 m (20,000 ft)

560 km/h (348 mph, 303 kn) at sea level

Cruising speed: 495 km/h (308 mph, 267 kn)

Range: 1,078 km (670 mi, 582 nmi) at 272 km/h (169 mph; 147 kn) at 457 m (1,500 ft)

Ferry range: 1,190 km (740 mi, 640 nmi)

Service ceiling: 10,200 m (33,500 ft)

Rate of climb: 15 m/s (3,000 ft/min)

 

Armament:

2× 20 mm belt-fed Type 99-2 Mark 4 cannon with 125 RPG and

2× 7.7 mm (.303 in) Type 97 machine guns with 250 RPG in the lower fuselage

2× hardpoints under the outer wings for 60 kg (132 lb.) bombs

or 200 l (53 US gal; 44 imp gal) drop tanks

  

The kit and its assembly:

This build followed a spontaneous inspiration, and it became another contribution to the “in the navy” group build at whatifmodlers.com in early 2020. I actually had the Vampire kit already stashed away for a while, and the plan to convert it into a propeller-driven aircraft with a radial engine and a pusher configuration à la Saab 21 had been there – but I lacked an idea for an operator, so that I could build the background story around it. With the “in the navy” theme, it suddenly clicked – why not the IJN? The Vampire is a rather compact and slender aircraft, so there’s IMHO some Japanese “style” in the design, and after the torturous build of HMS Cerberus I wanted some kind of relief.

 

The Vampire kit is the vintage Heller mold from 1979, but actually in a mid-Nineties Revell re-boxing. Like many other Heller kits, it comes with raised panels, but detail is sufficient (nice dashboard, landing gear is O.K., and the kit comes with separate air brakes) – the molds seem to be a bit worn, though, I guess a “true” old Heller kit is more crisp and would be the better choice.

 

At the core of the conversion plan was the implantation of a radial engine in place of the jet exhaust. I found a donor part from a Hobby Boss MC.200 Saetta – a bit vintage, but it had the right diameter and I actually liked the ring of bulges on the cowling. Internally, a styrene tube adapter was added for a freely spinning propeller.

 

While adding a prop to a jet seems to be an easy task, the real challenge behind such a conversion are the many other changes that have to be made to the airframe. This includes a (considerably) longer landing gear and the respective wells, but also the tail surfaces. There’s also the question how the new radial engine actually breathes, where exhausts can be located, and a cooling system is necessary, too.

 

Work started with the search for new landing gear struts, and I also used different wheels – for instance, the main wheels come from a Hasegawa F9F Panther, while the front wheel comes from a Frog He 162 and is probably 35 years old(!). In order to make the longer struts fit into the airframe, I elongated the wells in the wings towards the fuselage, so that the track width was reduced – but with the Vampire’s small airframe and original wide stance, this was no serious problem. From the inside, they were faired with styrene profile material, and the extended covers were scratched – esp. the parts for the wings, with their bulges for the tail boom tips, were fiddly.

 

In order to move the overall look a bit further away from the Vampire, I completely changed the fin arrangement. The original, rounded and rather small fins and the bullet-shaped fairings that hold the stabilizer outside of the original exhaust blast were deleted. Once the wings and the tail booms were added to the fuselage, the stabilizer was mounted between the booms, in a slightly lower position. For the new fins I wanted a layout that would, beyond a more squarish shape that would better match the wings, protect the propeller. Therefore, I used stabilizers from a KP Yak-23; each was cut into two pieces, tailored further to match the rest of the aircraft, and glued in positions above and underneath the booms. Looks quite weird, as if the aircraft had been designed upside down, but it’s a rather pragmatic solution that has already been used on some pusher designs in the past.

 

The six-blade propeller was scratched from a spinner, carved from a thick piece of sprue, plus a metal axis and six single blades that were taken from the rather wacky one-piece propellers of Airfix’s Ki-46 kit.

 

Hollow steel needles were used as barrels for the Type 99 cannons in the lower fuselage.

  

Painting and markings:

Once more, a rather conservative approach – and the IJN was not creative when it came to liveries. Almost every aircraft carried a typical dark green over light grey scheme, with minimal individual markings or tactical codes. I wanted to stay true to this concept but decided to simplify the scheme even more since this would be a late-war aircraft, pressed into service under rather dire supply circumstances. This resulted in a NMF livery (basis is Tamiya XF-60, which turned out soemwaht grainy, plus some Polished Aluminum Metallizer from Humbrol on top), with only the upper surfaces camouflaged with IJN Green (ModelMaster) without primer underneath, resulting in a somewhat flaky and worn look. Since they are rather slender, the tail booms were completely painted in IJN green, too.

 

The yellow ID markings on the wings’ leading edges were created with decal material (TL Modellbau), the cockpit interior as well as the landing gear wells were painted with a mix of silver and blue, mimicking the typical “aodake iro” protective clear lacquer of Japanese IJN aircraft. The struts were painted black, according to A6M museum exhibits. The propeller blades ware painted in a red-brown primer, a mix of Humbrol 160 and 180.

 

Markings were taken from a PrintScale Yokosuka N1K2 decal sheet and mixed from two aircraft. Placing the fuselage hinomaru was tricky – the natural choice would have been the tail booms, but they’d be very small, so I rather put them on the fuselage under the cockpit. With the individual aircraft number added to the meatball, it looks now like a racing aircraft, though...

 

Finally, the kit received some soot stains and dry-brushing with aluminum, and everything was sealed with semi-gloss acrylic varnish from Italeri - even though the result is a little too glossy for my taste, but I left it that way.

  

A rather quick build, but structurally not much from the Vampire was changed. The new engine was relatievly easy to integrate - the other small bits like the fins, the propeller and esp. the landing gear took more time. The result looks quite odd - the whole thing has also a certain German touch? Could have worked well with a BMW 801 engine, too!

 

A modification which I always wanted to do, an aluminium radiator. Its substantially thicker than the normal radiator.

 

I'm still waiting for an aluminium alloy expansion tank, so I dont have to worry about the plastic cracking.

 

Front LED strobes & N/S locker. Both N/S & O/S lockers go right up to the bulkhead. Just need to decide wether to take out the back fuel tank next and put some thing in its place prehaps a spare wheel tray or underbox, mmmmm!!!

Pattern: Albion by Colette Patterns - Walden

Size: XS

Fabric:

 

-Fused Lace Boiled Wool from B & J Fabrics

-Rayon/Silk Satin from Dharma Trading - dyed Cerulean Blue with Dharma Fiber Reactive Dye

-Weft Insertion interfacing from Fashion Sewing Supply

 

Notions:

 

-Snap hooks and D-rings from Pacific Trimmings

-Buttons from Pacific Trimmings

-Leather from an Etsy seller

-Lace from Fabric Depot - Bridal department

 

Modifications:

 

-Forward shoulder alteration

-Removed width from sleeve bicep area while widening from elbow down

-Lengthened sleeve by 3/4"

-Took in 1 1/4" at waist

-Raised armhole 1"

-Cut patch pocket as slanted pocket (more natural hand position) - eliminating the need for a flap. Also added diagonal stitching at the bottom pocket corners because I hate losing things into the deep corner of a pocket

-Changed in-seam pocket shape to more traditional kidney shape, but still long enough to catch in center facing topstitching and used lining fabric instead of fashion fabric to eliminate bulk - plus I like a slippery pocket fabric

-Hemmed lining with lace instead of tucking into fashion fabric hem line

-Metal snap-hooks and D-rings instead of toggles

-Changed position of sleeve tab to face backwards for more interest from a rear view - also cut the tab ends rounded

-Interfaced both back and front upper yoke, center front facing, armhole edges, positions of the snaps, in-seam pocket openings

-Eliminated hood tab as my thick fabric made it look just silly hanging off flapping free and I didn't think I would use it

-Added embroidered "made by" tag

-Added hanging chain

 

Thoughts:

 

This project has turned out to be satisfying sew although there were times I wanted to throw it out the window.

 

My fabric was very thick and required a walking foot. Though the construction was pretty straight forward it was definitely time consuming.

 

My biggest obstacle during the muslin alterations was getting the sleeve just right. I ended up almost redrafting the whole sleeve cap as the bicep area of the original pattern was just gigantic on me, but the forearm/cuff area was too narrow. After probably 5 different drafts I finally got a shape that worked, but boy, I was really pulling my hair out on that one.

 

My biggest obstacle with sewing was the lining. I hand dyed it in my bathtub and it turned out the most gorgeous shiny cerulean blue. Just fantastic! My love for the fabric stopped there. The fabric was horrible to work with. I stiffened it with starch and it was still super slippery and shifty. Cutting it out was a nightmare. I never quite got it on grain so there was some….interesting bias growth in some of the pieces. I used the sharp microtex needle and still got some pulled threads. It frayed like crazy so I finished the edges with a zigzag stitch for fear of what would happen once it was installed in the coat.

 

Onto hemming - As for the lining hem…some of my pieces grew and some of them were too short to hem as the pattern directions dictated. After a lot of stressed out thinking I came up with a solution to hem the coat fabric and lining fabric separately. I would use the 1" hem for the coat fabric and add a lace hem to the lining fabric to even it out. I was able to zigzag the lace to the hem in a straight line parallel to the coat fabric and then trimmed off the lining fabric close to the stitching line. I then handstitched the still-loose sides of the lining/lace to the center facing.

 

I used metal snap-hooks and D-rings as closures because I thought the traditional wood toggles of the duffle coat would cheapen the look and black ones would blend in too much. I also wanted to add a little edginess. So I picked out brass snap-hooks and D-rings. I attached them with black leather tabs - rounded at the ends to continue the rounded edge theme from the sleeve tabs. I left the ends of the tabs unstitched as I thought it added some dimensional interest.

 

A coat chain was added at the hood/body seam to aid in hanging on coat hooks. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one with a brass finish to match the hook hardware.

 

And finally, an embroidered tag with my name, year of completion, and fabric content was added to the upper back.

   

Easy stuff to do to tighten up your iOtpron SmartEQ or Pro and make it enjoyable to use.

A building at the corner of Main and South Streets in Beacon, NY that's seen some modifications over the years.

Easy stuff to do to tighten up your iOtpron SmartEQ or Pro and make it enjoyable to use.

I love wide angle. I have never seen a attachment or auxiliary lens for a 110B...so I have been playing around with various ideas. One of the problems is how to attach anything to the front of the 110B lens. There is not much room. you can play around with tape, etc...but it will not work. I removed glass from old filters and tried to drill and tap a screw type device but there is still not enough room for a good fit. The auxiliary lens has to be in the right place because of excessive vignetting and major blurring (almost a zoom effect). Finally I used a Canon w/a adapter tube from a power shot camera and a wide angle lens that fit some model Polaroid and they mated up (next the tape will go that connects the lens to the tube) and it fits snug as a bug on the front of the pathfinder lens.

there is a little vignetting and a slight blur around the edges, but I am satisfied for now.

From the moment I took this guy's face off, his weird brain elastic mechanism made me nervous. I wanted to tighten his strings but I'm supposed to trust a stupid brain thing??? What if the tension snaps the brain in half? Or breaks the headback? (I mean, the headback already has "cracks" in it and everything!) I couldn't really find any evidence that it was doomed (just people wondering how to use it), but still, I don't trust it.

 

So I used an exacto knife to carve little notches on the neck hole, and now it's strung with a keyring. Actually I think that ring came from another doll. But anyway, I trust this a lot more!

 

Just posting it up for anyone else to use as a reference if they want to try it :D