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+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
NAe São Paulo is a Clemenceau-class aircraft carrier currently in service with the Brazilian Navy. São Paulo was first commissioned in 1963 by the French Navy as Foch and was transferred in 2000 to Brazil, where she became the new flagship of the Brazilian Navy. In December 2014 it was announced that São Paulo will be expected to continue active service until 2039, at which time the vessel will be nearly 80 years old.
From this carrier, the Marinha do Brasil operates its only fixed-wing aircraft, and these were initially A-4 Skyhawks. In 1997 Brazil negotiated a $70 million contract for purchase of 20 A-4KU and three TA-4KU Skyhawks from Kuwait. The Kuwaiti Skyhawks, modified A-4Ms and TA-4Js delivered in 1977, were among the last of those models built by Douglas. The Kuwaiti Skyhawks were selected by Brazil because of low flight time, excellent physical condition, and a favorable price tag. The Brazilian Navy Re-designated AF-1 and AF-1A Falcões (Hawks), the ex-Kuwaiti Skyhawks arrived in Arraial do Cabo on 5 September 1998.
Anyway, the Skyhawks' life span was limited and in 2005 the Brazilian Navy started looking for a potential replacement, while the AF-1s were to kept operational due to limited military budgets. On 14 April 2009, Brazlian aircraft manufacturer EMBRAER signed a contract to modernize 12 Skyhawks, nine AF-1s (single-seat) and three AF-1As (two-seat). This upgrade will restore the operating capacity of the Navy 1st Intercept and Attack Plane Squadron (VF-1). The program includes restoring the aircraft and their current systems, as well as implementing new avionics, radar, power production, and autonomous oxygen generating systems. The first of the 12 modified Skyhawks was delivered on 27 May 2015. EMBRAER stated that the modifications would allow the aircraft to remain operational until 2025, by which time a successor was to be fully operational.
Several replacement candidates were evaluated under Brazil's F-X2 fighter program together with the Air Force which was looking to replace its Northrop F‐5EM and Dassault Mirage 2000C aircraft. In October 2008, Brazil selected three finalists: the Dassault Rafale, the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, and the SAAB JAS 39 Gripen. The Brazilian Air Force initially planned to procure at least 36 and possibly up to 120 aircraft later, while the Brazilian Navy was looking for 24 aircraft (20 single seater and 4 two-seaters with dual controls) until 2025.
In February 2009, SAAB submitted a tender, and on 5 January 2010, reports claimed that the final evaluation report placed the Gripen ahead of other contenders; the decisive factor was reportedly lower unit and operational costs, the most compact size and the Swedish manufacturer's willingness to accept EMBRAER as a technological partner for the aircraft's further development, especially for the navalized version.
Amid delays due to financial constraints, President Dilma Rousseff announced in December 2011 the Gripen NG's selection and the start of a joint Swedish-Brazilian joint venture called SABRA. Argentina and Ecuador were interested in procuring Gripens from or through Brazil, and Mexico and Argenitina were potential export targets for SABRA's navalized Gripen derivative that was tailored to the Marinha do Brasil's needs.
The respective SABRA aircraft was appropriately christened "Grifo" and the development of thei 4th generation fighter started immediately after closing the cooperation deal in 2011. While based on the SAAB 39, the Grifo became a very different aircraft, due to several factors. The major influence was the carrier operation capability, which called for major structural modifications and enforcements as well as special equipment like foldable wings, a strengthened landing gear, an arrester hook and a new engine that would better cope with the naval environment than the Swedish RM 12 engine, a derivative of the General Electric F404-400.
Additionally, the mission focus of air superiority with additional attack capabilities was reversed, and the need for excellent low speed handling for carrier approaches was requested.
This led to a complelety different aircraft layout, with the SAAB 39's instable canard design being changed into a conservative aircraft with conventional tailplanes. The nose section was shortened in order to provide the pilot with a better field of view, while the more powerful F414-EPE afterburning turbofan was moved slightly forward due to CG reasons, resulting in a slightly shortened rear fuselage.
A mock-up of the new aircraft for the Brazlian Navy was presented and approved in early 2012, and the government placed an official order for two prototypes. Even though the Grifo appeared like a completely different aircraft, it shared a lot of elements with the SAAB 39, so that development time and costs could be reduced to a minimum - and the first prototype, internally designated EMB 391-001, made its maiden flight in early 2013. The second aircraft followed 3 months later.
The Grifo's equipment includes an AN/APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA), capable of executing simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-ground attacks, and providing higher quality high-resolution ground mapping at long standoff ranges. The AESA radar can also detect smaller targets, such as inbound missiles, and can track air targets beyond the range of the aircraft's air-to-air missiles, which include the AIM-9 Sidewinder for close range and the AIM-120 AMRAAM for medium range.
The Grifo features, like the Gripen fighter, an advanced and integrated electronic warfare suite, capable of operating in an undetectable passive mode or to actively jam hostile radar; a missile approach warning system passively detects and tracks incoming missiles.
The Grifo can be tailored to specific missions through external sensor pods, e .g. for reconnaissance and target designation. These include Rafael's LITENING targeting pod, Saab's Modular Reconnaissance Pod System or Thales' Digital Joint Reconnaissance Pod. On the Brazilian Navy's request the Grifo is also designed that it can be equipped with an aerial refueling system (ARS) or "buddy store" for the refueling of other aircraft, filling the tactical airborne tanker role.
The two prototypes completed a thorough test program until summer 2015 and subsequently went on a sales tour in South America and Asia. In the meantime, serial production started at EMBRAER's Gavião Peixoto in November 2015. The first serial machines, now officially designated AF-2A, arrived at the Brazilian Navy's São Pedro da Aldeia air base where a new Intercept and Attack Plane Squadron, VF-2 'Arquieros' (Archers) was founded. The squadron became operational in April 2016 and Grifos embarked on NAe São Paulo for the first time in September 2016, serving alongside the venerable AF-1.
General characteristics:
Crew: 1
Payload: 5,300 kg (11,700 lb)
Length: 13,54 m (44 ft 4 in)
Wingspan (incl. wing tip launch rails): 8.32 m (27 ft 2 in)
Height: 4.25 m (13 ft 11 in)
Wing area: 30.0 m² (323 ft²)
Empty weight: 6,800 kg[330] (14,990 lb)
Loaded weight: 8,500 kg (18,700 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 14,000 kg (31,000 lb)
Wheel track: 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in)
Powerplant:
1 × General Electric F414-EPE afterburning turbofan with
a dry thrust of 54 kN (12,100 lbf) and 85 kN (19,100 lbf) with afterburner
Performance:
Maximum speed: Mach 2 (2,204 km/h (1,190 kn; 1,370 mph) at high altitude
Combat radius: 800 km (497 mi, 432 nmi)
Ferry range: 3,200 km (1,983 mi) with drop tanks
Service ceiling: 15,240 m (50,000 ft)
Wing loading: 283 kg/m² (58 lb/ft²)
Thrust/weight: 0.97
Maximum g-load: +9 g
Armament:
1× 27 mm Mauser BK-27 Revolver cannon with 120 rounds
Eight hardpoints (three on each wing and two under fuselage)
for a wide range of guide and unguided ordnance of up to 14,330 lb (6.5 t)
The kit and its assembly:
The fictional Grifo is the result of a generic idea of converting a canard layout aircraft like the Saab Viggen into a conventional design. The Viggen was actually a serious candidate, but then I found an Italeri Gripen in the stash without a real purpose (it had been cheap, though), and with Brazil's real world procurement as background, the more conservative Grifo was born.
I wanted to use as many OOB Gripen parts as possible, and there are actually only a few external donations involved – with the outlook of converting further Gripens this way. You never know… ;)
Work started with the wings, which were cut off of the fuselage shell. Having the landing gear retract into the fuselage (much like the X-29) is a convenient detail of the Gripen, making the wing transplantation easier than on a Viggen where the wells have to be moved, too.
The original canard attachment points were faired over/hidden. The pointed Gripen nose with its pitot was cut off and replaced by a shorter, more stocky nose tip - from an F-4 Phantom II IIRC. Once the fuselage was completed, the wings were mounted, closer to the air intakes. This went smoothly, only some gaps on the undersides had to be filled.
Once the wings were in place I had to make a decision concerning the stabilizers. Despite the plan to use as many OOB parts as possible I found the OOB canards to be too sharply swept and considered several donation options.
I eventually settled for the most unique option: the stabilizers are actually main wings from a (rather malformed) Italeri/Dragon 1:200 F-117 that comes as a set with the B-2 bomber. A part of the F-117’s fuselage flank was cut off and taken over to the Grifo, too, so that these create ‘muscular’ bulges.
The stabilizers were mounted on scratched consoles/trailing wing root extensions that were somewhat inspired by the F-16’s tail design – putting the stabilizers directly onto the fuselage would have looked awkward, and with this solution I was able to extend the Gripen’s BWB-design all along the fuselage. As a side effect these consoles also offered a plausible place for rearward chaff dispensers.
The rear fuselage was shortened by 3mm, too – through the shorter nose and the wings further forward, the rest of the aircraft looked rather tail-heavy. While 3mm does not sound much, it helped with overall proportions.
The cannon fairing and the OOB pylons were taken over, as well as the cockpit interior. For carrier operations, several details were added, though: folding wing mechanism seams were engraved on the wings and an arrester hook with a fairing added under the tail section, flanked by new stabilizer fins.
The landing gear was basically taken OOB, too, but lengthened with styrene inserts for a higher stance: the main struts are now 2mm longer, while the front strut is 3mm taller. The latter was reversed, so that a catapult hook could be added to the front side, and slightly bigger wheels were mounted, too, so that the Grifo now has a rather stalky stance with a nose-up attitude. Simple, but effective!
The Sidewinders were taken OOB while the pair of AGM-84 Harpoon comes from Italeri’s 1:72 NATO weapons set.
Painting and markings:
I used the contemporary AF-1 paint scheme in three shades of grey as benchmark. These are FS 36187 (RAF Ocean Grey), FS 36307 (Flint Grey) and FS 36515 (Canadian Voodoo Grey) - sourced from a painting guide from Brazilian decal manufacturer FCM and backed by other knowledgeable sources from the region, too. And while the Ocean Grey appears a bit dark, I think that overall the colors are authentic. All paints are Modelmaster enamels.
After basic painting a light black ink wash was applied and panels highlighted through dry-brushing with lighter tones.
The cockpit interior was painted in Neutral Grey (FS 36173), while the landing gear became all-white.
The Brazilian Navy markings had to be improvised - there are 1:72 AF-1 decals available, but either not obtainable or prohibitively expensive - or both. Therefore I rather improvised, with basic Brazilian Navy markings from a vintage FCM Decal sheet for various Brazilian aircraft.
The respective roundels and codes actually belong to helicopters, and I had to wing it somehow. Unfortunately, the old FCM decals turned out to be ...old. Brittle and very delicate, application was already messy and they did not adhere well to the model. To make matters worse the acrylic varnish turned cloudy, so that a lot of paintwork repair had to be done - not helping much with a satisfactory kit finish. :(
Another interesting conversion – I am amazed how purposeful the Grifo looks. It reminds me with its high stance of a modern A-4 Skyhawk (what it somehow is), and there’s also some Super Étendard in it, esp. in the profile? At some point before painting it also had a somewhat Chinese look - maybe because the top view and the wing planform reminds of the classic MiG-21…? The wings might have been placed 3-4mm further backwards, since it is always difficult to judge proportions while work is still, but the Grifo looks convincingly like a real aircraft (model).
Aeronaves bonita! :D
VO pre-drills their fenders for a single centered draw bolt. But a double drawbolt attachment a la Honjo provides greater lateral rigidity. But where did the center hole go???
Because of the C-135/KC-135's large size, it easily lended itself to modification. It was a proven, reliable airframe, and since KC-135 fuselages were mostly empty cargo space, it was not terribly difficult to turn these aircraft into a wide variety of roles.
As a result, there are a dizzying amount of KC/C-135 variants--RC-135 strategic reconnaissance and Elint platforms, VC-135 executive transports, OC-135 Open Skies treaty compliance aircraft, NC-135 test aircraft, WC-135 weather reconnaissance aircraft, TC-135 crew trainers, and EC-135s--the latter could be anything from standoff ECM jamming aircraft to airborne command posts.
The majority of EC-135 variants were used as airborne command posts. Because it was thought likely that a Soviet nuclear first strike would annihilate ground stations, an airborne component would need to be in the air all the time, so that the ability to launch retaliatory strikes would still exist. This was the concept behind the Airborne Launch Control Centers, codenamed Looking Glass: even if ground-based LCCs were destroyed in a first strike, the ALCCs could still remotely launch the United States' Minuteman ICBMs. Other EC-135s served as airborne command posts for theater commanders, under the codenames Silk Purse, Scope Light, and Blue Eagle. Finally, an airborne command post for the President was created, codenamed Nightwatch; Nightwatch-configured "doomsday planes" would follow the President wherever they went, so that the President could run national affairs from the air in case of nuclear attack. The Nightwatch EC-135Js were replaced in the late 1970s by the current E-4 NEACP ("Kneecap") fleet.
When my friend Mr. John Osterholm took this picture of a somewhat anonymous Stratotanker taxiing into Tan Son Nhut International Airport, South Vietnam, he was unaware he was photographing the very first KC-135. 55-3118 first flew in August 1956 as the first production KC-135A, named "City of Renton," but ironically never flew a single operational (rather than experimental) refueling mission. Instead, it was used as a testbed by Boeing until it was modified into an EC-135K Head Dancer airborne command post in 1961. The role of the EC-135K was to provide radio support for Tactical Air Command fighters on long deployments. 55-3118 remained in this role until it was retired in 1996. Because it was the first Stratotanker, 55-3118 was saved for preservation and today is on display at McConnell AFB, Kansas.
55-3118 carried this color scheme of white over bare metal throughout most of its career. The TAC badge on the nose reflects which command it was attached to, unlike most EC-135s, which were assigned to SAC. At this time, it may have been assigned to the 552nd Air Warning and Control Wing at either Tinker AFB, Oklahoma or McClellan AFB, California.
This would have been an exceptional snapshot of history in any case (note the Royal Australian Air Force Caribou in the background), but the fact that this is the first of hundreds of KC-135s makes it all the better.
Manufacturer/Model: U.S. Naval Gun Factory, U.S. NAVY BU. ORD. MARK 37 9X63
Field of View: 5 deg 42 min = 117 m/1,000 m; APFOV 51.3 deg
Weight: 1,702 gr
Exit Pupil: 7 mm
Serial #/Year of Manufacture: UX5909 = 1942 (serial number and date of manufacture of unmodified Mark 26 7X50; 3544 = 1944/45 (serial number and date of modification to Mark 37 9X60)
Notes: The scored markings on the right prism plate are: MARK 26, MOD 6, NO. 474/U.S. NAVY BU. S(?) H(?) ORD./INSP. H.(?) T.(?) M.(?)
The U.S. Naval Gun Factory produced Mark 37’s by converting various U.S. Navy Bausch & Lomb pattern 7X50 binoculars (in this case a Mark 26, Mod. 6 7X50) to 9X63 configuration. The conversion entailed adding 63mm objective lens extensions to the 7X50’s objective barrels. Prisms were anti-reflective coated if the original binocular did not already have them. Many were fitted with large flexible Baker eyeshields to block extraneous light and to protect the observer’s eyes during artillery discharge. Seeger reports (grey book, page 341) the binocular was intended to be used by the captain and fire control officers of battleships.
Its optical performance is quite good. This is an extremely heavy binocular and not one to be carried for long. But its weight nicely steadies the binocular during use and contributes to an excellent view.
Note: If you have a vintage binocular you either wish to sell or would just like some information about, I can be contacted at flagorio12@gmail.com
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!!!
Some background:
The Brewster Buffalo was an American fighter aircraft which saw limited service early in World War II. It was one of the first U.S. WWII Monoplanes with an arrestor hook and other modifications for aircraft carriers. It usually had an open canopy. Though the Buffalo won a competition against the Grumman F4F Wildcat in 1939 to become the US Navy's first monoplane fighter aircraft, it turned out to be a big disappointment. Several nations, including Finland, Belgium, Britain and the Netherlands, ordered the Buffalo to bolster their struggling air arms, but of all the users, only the Finns seemed to find their Buffalos effective, flying them in combat with excellent results.
When World War II began in the Pacific in December 1941, Buffalos operated by both British Commonwealth (B-339E) and Dutch (B-339D) air forces in South East Asia suffered severe losses in combat against the Japanese Navy's Mitsubishi A6M Zero and the Japanese Army's Nakajima Ki-43 "Oscar". The Militaire Luchtvaart van het Koninklijk Nederlands-Indisch Leger ("Military Air Service of the Royal Netherlands East Indian Army", ML-KNIL) had ordered 144 Brewster B-339C and 339D models, the former with rebuilt Wright G-105 engines supplied by the Dutch and the latter with new 1,200 hp (895 kW) Wright R-1820-40 engines Brewster purchased from Wright. At the outbreak of war, only 71 had arrived in the Dutch East Indies, and not all were in service. A small number served briefly at Singapore before being withdrawn for the defense of Java.
As the Brewster B-339 aircraft used by the ML-KNIL were lighter than the modified B-339E Brewster Mark Is used by British, Australian, and New Zealand air forces, they were able at times to successfully engage the Japanese Army Ki-43 "Oscar", although both the "Oscar" and the Japanese Navy's A6M Zero still out-climbed and out-turned the B-339 at combat altitudes (the Zero was faster as well). Brewster Buffalos of the ML-KNIL, apart from their role as fighters, were also used as dive bombers against Japanese troopships. Although reinforced by British Commonwealth Brewster Mk I (B-339E) aircraft retreating from Malaya, the Dutch squadrons faced superior numbers in the air, and were too few in number to stem the advance of Japanese ground forces.
In a major engagement above Semplak on 19 February 1942, eight Dutch Brewster fighters intercepted a formation of about 35 Japanese bombers with an escort of about 20 Zeros. The Brewster pilots destroyed 11 Japanese aircraft and lost four Brewsters; two Dutch pilots died. The Brewsters flew their last sortie on 7 March. Altogether, 17 ML-KNIL pilots were killed, and 30 aircraft shot down; 15 were destroyed on the ground, and several were lost to misadventure. Dutch pilots claimed 55 enemy aircraft destroyed. Two Dutch pilots, Jacob van Helsdingen and August Deibel, scored highest with the Buffalo with three victories each. Following the surrender of the Netherlands East Indies on 8 March 1942, 17 ML-KNIL Buffalos were transferred to the USAAF and RAAF in Australia.
The kit and its assembly
No whif this time! To be honest, I like the wacky Brewster Buffalo, and I had one on my agenda for a long time - uncertain which nationality it should have, though. When I snooped around I came across the recent Buffalo replica for the Long Island museum, which sports ML-KNIL colours, and that made the decision, since it offered colour pictures (chech airliners.net) of a probably authentic livery of one of such machines.
The kit is the simple and vintage Matchbox kit - I did not want to spend a fortune on a 4" model. The kit ain't bad, but has several wrong details, e. g. the landing flaps are wrong, the pitot is missing, and the degree of surface details is rather low and a wild mix of rised and recessed panel lines. As a funny coincidence, the original Matchbox kit even allows to build a Dutch plane (B-398), with triangular, orange national markings. The paint scheme is correct, but the colours, lent from RAF planes (Dark Green and Dark Earth with grey undersides) is IMHO totally wrong, see below. I went for something different, though, a plane with an original ML-KNIL camouflage.
Using pictures and profiles I slightly pimped the small kit, e .g. through lowered flaps (which are too big...), an open canopy, some cockpit details like a different pilot, a dashboard and an aiming sight, some cables in the open landing gear wells, plus two wing hardpoints with a 100 lbs. bomb each. Nothing outrageous, just cosmetics.
Painting
"B-395/E" belonged to pilot Sgt.I.P.Adam, based at Andir, Java, March 1942. It wore the typical Oudeblad/Jongblad/Silver paint scheme of the conflict theatre and carried the Dutch flag markings used after February 24th, 1942. It was finally captured by Japanese forces in March 1942 at Andir.
At first glance, the paint scheme looks familiar - like the typical RAF Dark Earth/Dark Green from above, and actually some ML-KNIL Buffalos flew in this fashion, with undersides partly painted half black/Sky Type 'S'.
But upon closer look, B-395's upper scheme consists of two green tones, with silver undersides. A similar scheme was used on many other ML-KNIL planes (e .g. P-36, Curtiss-Wright CW-21) and also on RAAF Spitfires in that region.
For the lighter 'Oudeblad' ("old leaves") tone I used Olive Drab from Humbrol (155), which is rather brown-ish, for Jongblad ("young leaves") I used Bronze Green from Humbrol (75) as basic tone. 155 seems to be a perfect choice, and it was shaded with Humbrol 26 (Khaki Drab). For the darker 'Jongblad', FS 34092 is often recommended (as well as for RAAF "Foliage Green") - but I found this modern FS tone to be much too bluish and light. Hence, and after consulting pictures of the Buffalo replica at airliners.net, I settled for the darker Bronze Green, setting some shades with RAF Dark Green (Testors 2060) and Marine Green (Humbrol 105).
The lower sides were painted with Aluminum from Humbrol (56), with some shading with Aluminum Metallizer and Gun Metal (Humbrol 53).
The kit was considerably weathered through a black ink wash, dry brushing on all surfaces with lighter/bleached tones of the camouflage colours, some emphasized panel lines, plus some soot stains around the guns and the exhaust.
Decals were puzzled together according to pictures and sketches of B-395 I found; the national insignia flags come from an RS Models Fokker XXIII, the registration numbers and the white ID stripe were improvised with material from various aftermarket sheets from TL Modellbau.
So, finally, a literally tiny project with exotic appeal, built in less than three days from sprues to pictures - nothing fancy, but finally a Buffalo for the collcetion. ^^
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
+++ 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 Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe (German for "wasp", also known as Leichte Feldhaubitze 18/2 auf Fahrgestell Panzerkampfwagen II (Sf.), "Light field howitzer 18 on Panzer II chassis (self-propelled)"), was a German self-propelled gun developed and used during the Second World War. During the Battle of France in 1940 it became apparent that the intermediate tank of the German forces, the Panzer II, had become unsuitable as a main battle tank and outdated. Though mechanically sound, it was both under-gunned and under-armored, and its small size prevented heavier armament and armor so that its development potential was limited. The chassis, however, proved serviceable for providing mobility to the 10.5 cm field howitzer, and important artillery weapon.
The design for the Wespe was produced by Alkett, based on the Panzer II Ausf. F chassis. Among other modifications the Panzer II's engine was moved forward, and the chassis slightly lengthened to accommodate the rear-mounted 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer. The boxy superstructure was left open at the top and rear and only lightly armored, with 10 mm armor plate, which was just enough to stop small arms fire. The vehicles were produced by FAMO's Ursus plant in Warsaw from February 1943 until June 1944, when Soviet forces approached the frontier. By that time, 676 had been produced. An additional 159 gun-less Wespe Munitionsträger were produced, too, to serve as mobile artillery ammunition carriers.
The Panzer II chassis also found use for the design of tank hunters: Existing chassis were converted to self-propelled artillery vehicles, such as the Marder II ("marten" in English). The latter was built on the basis of the original Panzer II chassis (with the engine at the rear) in two versions, the first mounted a modified Soviet 7.62 cm gun firing German ammunition, which had been acquired in significant numbers during the German advances the Ostfront, while the other mounted the German 7.5 cm PaK 40 gun. Its high profile and thin open-topped armor provided minimal protection to the crew, though. Nevertheless, the Marder II (as well as the similar Marder III, which was based on the Czech T-38 chassis) provided a great increase in mobility and firepower over contemporary German tanks during 1942 and into 1943.
By early 1944 the war situation had worsened for Germany and ever heavier tanks, esp. at the Eastern Front, appeared. The PaK 40 was effective against almost every Allied tank until the end of the war, only struggling to penetrate heavier vehicles like the Russian IS tanks, the American M4A3E2 Sherman 'Jumbo' assault tank and M26 Pershing, and later variants of the British Churchill tank. More firepower was needed, but the powerful new 88 mm PaK 43 was in short supply or earmarked for use in heavy battle tanks, which had received priority from the Oberkommando. An alternative anti-tank was the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70, the main armament of the Panther medium battle tank and of the Jagdpanzer IV self-propelled anti-tank gun. On the latter it was designated as the "7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 42" (7.5 cm Pak 42).
The modified 7.5 cm gun had a longer barrel that increased muzzle velocity and operating pressure, resulting in much improved range and penetration. However, the new gun required a new armor-piercing projectile, the PzGr. 39/42. Apart from the addition of wider driving bands it was otherwise identical to the older 7.5 cm PzGr. 39. The wider driving bands added a little extra weight, from 6.8 kg for the old PzGr.39, to 7.2 kg for the new PzGr.39/42. The gun was fired electrically, the primer being initiated using an electric current rather than a firing pin. The breech operated semi-automatically so that after the gun had fired, the empty shell casing was automatically ejected, and the falling wedge type breech block remained down so that the next round could be loaded. Once the round was loaded the breech closed automatically and the weapon was ready to be fired again. Three different types of ammunition were used: APCBC-HE, APCR and HE.
This 7.5 cm Pak 42’s performance was almost equal to the bigger 88 mm PaK 43, and achieved a penetration of 106 mm hardened steel plate angled at 30° from vertical at 2.000 m (vs. 132 mm with the 88 mm PaK 43).
To increase the output of vehicles armed with the new 7.5 cm Pak 42, the Oberkommando ordered the conversion of existing vehicles, so that these reinforcements could be sent to the frontlines as quickly as possible, esp. at the East where the German troops were more and more caught in defensive battles. The chassis that appeared most suitable for this task was the Sd.Kfz. 124 Wespe, due to its internal layout. The 7.5 cm Pak 42’s long barrel (it was almost 5m/more than 16’ long) required a fighting compartment at the vehicle’s rear, with the engine in front of it – and the Wespe turned out to be suitable to accept the long weapon with relatively few modifications.
For the use on the open-top Wespe, the 7.5 cm Pak 42 was combined with the mount and shield of the old towed 7.5 cm PaK 40 gun, and this new construction simply replaced the Wespe’s original 10.5 cm leFH 18 howitzer. The superstructure’s armor was only minimally modified: the front opening was narrowed, because the longer 7.5 cm Pak 42 had a more limited field of fire than the 10.5 cm leFH 18. As a positive side effect, the superstructure’s walls could be slightly reduced in height (about 10 cm/4”) due to the 7.5 cm Pak 42’s lower gun carriage and front shield.
The vehicle’s internal layout and most of the equipment remained the same, just the crew was reduced from five to four, one loader was omitted. To cope with the slightly higher overall weight and the heavier front due to the long barrel, and the necessity to traverse the vehicle to aim, the gear ratio was lowered from 1:7.33 to 1:8 to reduce the stress on final gears and the wheels were replaced with reinforced alternatives that also used less rubber. Due to the smaller rounds, the internal ammunition supply rose from the Wespe’s forty 10.5 cm rounds to fifty-one 7.5 cm rounds, even though space for the crew became scarce when the Jagdwespe was fully loaded. No other armament was carried, even though a defensive 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun was frequently installed at the commander’s position to the right of the gun, sometimes with a protective armor shield.
Like its basis, the “Jagdwespe”, how this makeshift vehicle was unofficially called, was only lightly protected, but this was intentionally done in order to reduce the overall weight and speed up the production as much as possible. The armor thickness was also limited in order to not adversely affect the vehicle’s overall driving performance, as this was the main point of this vehicle. The use of the Panzer II light tank chassis was another reason why the armor thickness had to be kept minimal, as the added weight could significantly affect its performance.
The front armor of the hull was 30 mm thick and placed at a 75° vertical angle. The sides were 14.5 mm thick, the rear 14.5 mm at 10° horizontal and the bottom was only 5 mm thick. The front superstructure armor was 15 (or 20 mm) thick and placed at a 30° vertical angle. The sides and rear of the superstructure were 15 mm and the top 10 mm thick. The fighting compartment was protected by only 10 mm thick all-around armor. The front armor was placed at 66°, side 73°, and rear 74° vertical angle.
Strangely, the “Jagdwespe” was allocated an individual ordnance inventory designation, namely Sd. Kfz. 125. This was probably done to keep the practice of the Marder family of light Panzerjäger’s taxonomy, which had received individual Sd. Kfz. Numbers, too, despite being based on existing vehicles. Initially, mostly unarmed Wespe artillery ammunition carriers were converted into Jagdwespe SPGs, but later on Wespe SPGs – primarily damaged vehicles that were refurbished – were also modified, and a few of the final newly build Wespe hulls were finished as Sd.Kfz. 125, too. However, since battle tanks still had priority, Jagdwespe production and output was only marginal, and less than 100 vehicles were completed until early 1945.
Like the various Marder versions before that fought on all European fronts of the war, there was a large concentration of the Jagdwespe on the Eastern Front. They were used by the Panzerjäger Abteilungen of the Panzer divisions of the Heer and served as well with several Luftwaffe units to defend airfields. Like the Marders before, the Jagdwespe's weaknesses were mainly related to survivability. The combination of a relatively high silhouette and open-top fighting compartment made them vulnerable to indirect artillery fire, aircraft strafing, and grenades. The armor was also quite thin, making them vulnerable to enemy tanks or infantry with more than light machine guns or pistols.
Operationally, the Jagdwespe was best employed in defensive or overwatch roles. They were neither assault vehicles nor tank substitutes, and the open-top compartment meant operations in crowded areas such as urban environments or other close-combat situations weren't a valid tactical option. But despite their weaknesses, they were more effective than the towed antitank guns they replaced, and the 7.5 cm Pak 42 with the extended barrel meant a significant improvement in firepower. The vehicle was small, easy to conceal for an ambush and relatively agile, so that it could quickly change position after a shot, and the Panzer II chassis was mechanically reliable, what made it popular with its crews.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander, gunner, loader/radio operator, driver)
Weight: 12.5 tonnes (27,533 lb)
Length: 4.81 m (15 ft 9 in)
6.44 m (21 ft 1 1/2 in) overall
Width: 2.28 m (7 ft 6 in)
Height: 2.21 m (7 ft 3 in)
Suspension: Leaf spring
Fuel capacity: 170 L (45 US gal)
Armor:
5 - 30 mm (.19 - 1.18 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 40 km/h (25 mph)
Operational range: 220 km (137 mi) on roads
100 km (62 mi) cross-country
Power/weight: 12.7 PS/tonne
Engine & transmission:
6-cyl petrol Maybach HL62 TR with 140 PS (138 hp, 103 kW)
Armament:
1× 7.5 cm Panzerabwehrkanone 42/L 70 (7.5 cm Pak 42) with 51 rounds
1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun with 2.000 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This relatively simple German WWII what-if SPG was spawned from the thought that the light Wespe artillery SPG might also have been used for an anti-tank SPG, with relatively few modifications. The long-barreled 7.5 cm KwK 42/L70 appeared to be a suitable weapon for this kind of vehicle around 1944, so I tried to build a respective model.
The basis became the Italeri 1:72 “Wespe” kit, which is in fact a re-boxed ESCI kit. It goes together well, and you can build upper and lower hull separately for a final “marriage”. To change the Wespe’s look a little I exchanged the solid OOB wheels with those from a Panzer III, left over from a Revell/Mako kit. They are perfect in size, but due a lack of depth of their attachment openings (I only used the outer half of the Panzer III wheels) I glued them onto the hull before painting, normally I finish them separately and mount them in a final assembly step.
For the gun I had to improvise a little, because the open casemate would allow a good look at it. I settled for a straightforward solution in the form of a Zvezda 1:72 PaK 40. The gun was taken OOB, I just removed the wheel attachment points from its chassis and replaced the short gun barrel with a muzzle brake with a aluminum 1:72 L70 barrel for a Panther Ausf. F (with a Schmalturm) from Aber. Both elements were relatively easy to combine, and the gun shield could be taken over, too. Once the gun mount’s position in the Wespe hull was defined I narrowed the front opening a little with styrene wedges, added a deflector at its base, and reduced the height of the side walls for a coherent look. All in all the transplant looks very plausible!
Since the kit provides the option I decided to leave the driver’s hatch open and install the OOB driver figure on a raised seat. For the long barrel I scratched a support that was mounted to the front hull. Looks a bit awkward, though, because it obscures the driver’s field of view – but I could not find a better solution.
The only real trouble I had with the Italeri Wespe were the tracks: they were made from a really strange (and effectively horrible) vinyl material. This material repelled EVERYTHING with a kind of lotus effect – paints of any kind, even superglue! My usual method of mounting such tracks on the main wheels did not work at all, because the track would not hold at all. During these trials I also recognized that the tracks were too long – rather unusual, because 1:72 vinyl tracks tend to be too short so that some tension is needed to lengthen them properly. Two molded “links” had to be cut away, and on the kit’s box art you can see the overlength problem when you are aware of it! I guess that the ESCI designers once assumed that the tracks would be closed into a loop (= closing the track and using heat to literally weld it together) first and then forced onto/over the wheels. I was eventually able to outsmart the tracks through the massive use of superglue under the mudguards – while the tracks still do not really stick to the glue, the large surface of the dried instant adhesive keeps the tracks in place and under light tension. Not perfect, but the tracks remain in place…
Painting and markings:
Conservative, once more a variation of the Hinterhalt scheme. Once completed, the still separate hull, gun and shield received an overall base coat with RAL 7028 Dunkelgelb (TS-3 from a rattle can). On top of that I added vertical fields with Olivgrün (RAL 6003, Humbrol 86), and finally I applied branch-like thin stripes with a dark brown (Humbrol 98, which is darker and less reddish than the authentic RAL 8012, for a stronger contrast). The idea was to mimic dense brushes during spring and summertime, and to break up the vehicle’s outlines esp. through the brown lines. Following official camouflage practice the running gear area remained uniform Dunkelgelb, as a counter-shading measure against the upper hull, and to avoid “rotating” and therefore attention-catching color patches on the wheels when the vehicle moved.
Once the camouflage was completed the main wheels received rubber rims (with Revell 09 Anthracite) and the model received a dark red-brown washing. After that, the few decals were applied and overall dry-brushing with a mix of light grey and earth brown acrylic paint was done to emphasize edges and surface details, also on the gun and in the interior. Before their tedious fitting, the vinyl tracks (which came OOB in a metallic grey finish that looked really nice) had received a washing with black and brown acrylic paint as well as dry-brushing with medium grey, too.
A relatively simple and quick project, realized in a couple of days. The concept was quite clear, and thanks to good ingredients the result looks surprisingly plausible, with relatively few and little modifications. The different Panzer III wheels were not a necessary mod, but I like their look, and painting them while being already attached to the hull posed less problems than expected. The only real trouble came through the kit’s vinyl tracks, which I’d call rubbish and recommend a replacement. If they’d be made from a less repellant material, they’d be much easier to mount (and usable). However, the small Jagdwespe really looks like a juvenile Nashorn SPG!
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The G.91Y was an increased-performance version of the Fiat G.91 funded by the Italian government. Based on the G.91T two-seat trainer variant, the single Bristol Orpheus turbojet engine of this aircraft was replaced by two afterburning General Electric J85 turbojets which increased thrust by 60% over the single-engine variant. Structural modifications to reduce airframe weight increased performance further and an additional fuel tank occupying the space of the G.91T's rear seat provided extra range. Combat manoeuvrability was improved with the addition of automatic leading edge slats. The avionics equipment of the G.91Y was considerably upgraded with many of the American, British and Canadian systems being license-manufactured in Italy.
Flight testing of three pre-production aircraft was successful, with one aircraft reaching a maximum speed of Mach 0.98. Airframe buffeting was noted and was rectified in production aircraft by raising the position of the tailplane slightly.
An initial order of 55 aircraft for the Italian Air Force was completed by Fiat in March 1971, by which time the company had changed its name to Aeritalia (from 1969, when Fiat aviazione joined the Aerfer). The order was increased to 75 aircraft with 67 eventually being delivered. In fact, the development of the new G.91Y was quite long, and the first order was for about 20 pre-series examples that followed the two prototypes. The first pre-series 'Yankee' (the nickname of the new aircraft) flew in July 1968.
AMI (Italian Air Force) placed orders for two batches, 35 fighters followed by another 20, later cut to ten. The last one was delivered around mid 1976, so the total was two prototypes, 20 pre-series and 45 series aircraft. No immediate export success followed, though, and the Italian G.91Ys’ service lasted until the early '90s as attack/recce machines, both over ground and sea, until the AMX replaced them until 1994.
However, upon retirement some G.91Ys were still in good condition and the airframes had still some considerable flight hours left, so that about thirty revamped aircraft were put up for sale from 1992 onwards. At the same time, Poland was undergoing a dramatic political change. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the Eastern European country immediately turned its political attention westward, including the prospects of joining NATO. The withdrawal of Russian forces based in Poland and partly obsolete military equipment of the Polish forces themselves led to a procurement process from 1991 onwards, which, among others, included a replacement for the Polish MiG-17 (domestic Lim-5, Lim-6 and Lim-6bis types), which had been operated by both Polish air force and navy since the late Sixties, primarily as fighter bombers in their late career, but also for reconnaissance tasks.
The G.91Y appeared, even though a vintage design, to be a suitable replacement option, since its performance envelope and the equipment outfit with three cameras in the nose made it a perfect package – and the price tag was not big, either. Especially the Polish Navy showed much interest, and after 10 months of negotiations Poland eventually bought 22 G.91Y from Italy, plus five G.91T two-seaters for conversion training, which were delivered between June 1993 and April 1994.
For the new operator the machines only underwent minor modifications. The biggest change was the addition of wirings and avionics for typical Polish Air Force ordnance, like indigenous MARS-2 pods for 16 unguided 57mm S-5 missiles, iron bombs of Russian origin of up to 500 kg (1.100 lb) caliber, SUU-23-2 gun pods as well as R-3 and R-60 missiles (which were very similar to the Western AIM-9 Sidewinder and actually date back to re-engineered specimen obtained by the USSR during the Korea war!). All machines were concentrated at Gdynia-Babie Doły in a newly founded, dedicated fighter bomber of the 1 Naval Aviation Squadron, which also operated MiG-21 fighters and PZL Iskra trainers. The Polish G.91Ys, nicknamed “Polski Fiat” by their crews (due to their compact size and overall simplicity, in reminiscence of the very popular, locally license-built Fiat 126), not only replaced the vintage MiG-17 types and some Polish Navy MiG-21 fighters, but also the handful of MiG-15UTI trainer veterans which were still used by the Polish Navy for observation duties over the Baltic Sea.
When Poland joined NATO on 12 March 1999, the G.91Ys (18 were still in service, plus all five trainers) received another major overhaul, a new low-visibility paint scheme, and they were updated with avionics that ensured inter-operability with other NATO forces, e .g. a GPS positioning sensor in a small, dorsal hump fairing. In 2006, when deliveries of 48 F-16C/D fighters to Poland started, the G.91Ys were to be retired within 12 months. But problems with the F-16s’ operability kept the G.91Y fleet active until 2011, when all aircraft were grounded and quickly scrapped.
General characteristics:
Crew: one
Length: 11.67 m (38 ft 3.5 in)
Wingspan: 9.01 m (29 ft 6.5 in)
Height: 4.43 m (14 ft 6.3 in)
Wing area: 18.13 m² (195.149 ft²)
Empty weight: 3,900 kg (8,598 lb)
Loaded weight: 7,800 kg (17,196 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 8,700 kg (19,180 lb)
Powerplant:
2× General Electric J85-GE-13A turbojets, 18.15 kN (4,080 lbf) each
Performance:
Maximum speed: 1,110 km/h (600 kn, 690 mph, Mach 0.95) at 10,000 m (33,000 ft)
Range: 1,150 km (621 nmi, 715 mi)
Max. ferry range with drop tanks: 3,400 km (2,110 mls)
Service ceiling: 12,500 m (41,000 ft)
Rate of climb: 86.36 m/s (17,000 ft/min)
Wing loading: 480 kg/m² (98.3 lb/ft² (maximum)
Thrust/weight: 0.47 at maximum loading
Armament:
2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA cannons with 120 RPG
4× under-wing pylon stations with a capacity of 1,814 kg (4,000 lb)
The kit and its assembly:
This whiffy Yankee Gina was inspired by a profile that had popped up during WWW picture search a while ago. Tracking it back, I found it to be artwork created and posted at DeviantArt by user “Jeremak-J”, depicting a G.91Y in polish markings and sporting a two-tone grey camouflage with light blue undersides and a medium waterline. I found the idea bizarre, but attractive, and, after some research, I found a small historic slot that might have made this “combo” possible.
When I recently delved through my (growing…) kit pile I came across a Matchbox G.91Y in a squashed box and with a cracked canopy – and decided to use that kit for a personal Polish variant.
The Matchbox G.91Y bears light and shadow galore. While it is IIRC the only IP kit of this aircraft, it comes with some problem areas. The fit of any major kit component is mediocre and the cockpit tub with an integral seat-thing is …unique. But the overall shape is IMHO quite good – a typical, simple Matchbox kit with a mix of (very fine) raised and engraved panel lines.
The OOB canopy could not be saved, but I was lucky to find a replacement part in the spares box – probably left over from the first G.91Y I built in the early Eighties. While the donor part had to be stripped from paint and was quite yellowed from age, it saved the kit.
It was built almost OOB, since major changes would not make sense in the context of my background story of a cheap 2nd hand purchase for an air force on a lean budget. I just added some details to the cockpit and changed the ordnance, using missile pods and iron bombs of Soviet origin (from a Kangnam/Revell Yak-38).
The exhausts were drilled open, because OOB these are just blank covers, only 0.5 mm deep! Inside, some afterburners were simulated (actually main wheels from an Arii 1:100 VF-1).
The flaps were lowered and extended, which is easy to realize on this kit.
The clumsy, molded guns were cut away, to be later replaced with free-standing, hollow steel needles.
In order to add some more exterior detail I also scratched the thin protector frames around the nozzles with thin wire.
Since the replacement canopy looked quite old and brittle, I did not dare cutting the clear part in two, so that the cockpit remained closed, despite the effort put into the interior.
A personal extra is the pair of chaff/flare dispensers on the rear fuselage, reminiscent of Su-22 installations.
Painting and markings:
The inspiring profile was nice, but I found it to be a bit fishy. The depicted tactical code format would IMHO not be plausible for the aircraft’s intended era, and roundels on the fuselage flanks would also long have gone in the Nineties. Therefore, I rather looked at real world benchmarks from the appropriate time frame for my Polish Gina’s livery, even though I wanted to stay true to the artist’s original concept, too.
One direction to add more plausibility was the scheme that Polish Su-22 fighter bombers received during their MLU, changing the typical tactical camouflage in up to four hues of green and brown into a much more subdued two tone grey livery with lighter, bluish-grey undersides, combined with toned-down markings like tactical codes in white outlines only. Some late MiG-21s also received this type of livery, and at least one Polish Fishbed instructional airframe received white low-viz national insignia.
For the paint scheme itself I used the MiG-21 pattern as benchmark (found in the Planes & Pilots MiG-21 book) and adapted it to the G.91Y as good as possible. The tones were a little difficult to define – some painting instructions recommend FS 36118 (US Gunship Grey) for the dark upper grey tone, but this is IMHO much too murky. Esp. on the Su-22s, the two upper greys show only little contrast, and the lower grey does not stand out much against the upper tones, either. On the other side, I found a picture of a real-life MiG-21U trainer in the new grey scheme, and the contrast between the grey on the upper surfaces appeared much stronger, with the light grey even having a brownish hue. Hmpf.
As a compromise I settled for FS 36173 (F-15E Dark Grey) and 36414 (Flint Grey). For the undersides I went for FS 35414 (Blue Green), which comes close to the typical Soviet underside blue, but it is brighter.
After basic painting, the kit received a light black ink wash and subtle post-shading, mostly in order to emphasize single panels, less for a true weathering effect.
The cockpit was painted in Dark Gull Grey (Humbrol 140), with a light blue dashboard and a black ejection seat. The OOB pilot was used and received an olive drab suit with a light grey helmet, modern and toned down like the aircraft itself. The landing gear as well as the air intake interior were painted in different shades of aluminum.
The decals were, as so often, puzzled together from various sources. The interesting, white-only Polish roundels come from a Mistercraft MiG-21. I also added them to the upper wing surfaces – this is AFAIK not correct, but without them I found the model to look rather bleak. Under the wings, full color insignia were used, though. The English language “Navy” markings on the fuselage might appear odd, but late MiG-21s in Polish Navy service actually had this operator designation added to their spines!
The typical, tactical four-digit code consists of markings for Italian Tornados, taken from two different Italeri sheets. The squadron emblem on the fin came from a Mistercraft Su-22, IIRC.
Most stencils were taken from the OOB sheet, some of them were replaced with white alternatives, though, in order to keep a consistent overall low-viz look.
Finally the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish.
An interesting result. Even though this Polish Gina is purely fictional, the model looks surprisingly convincing, and the grey low-viz livery actually suits the G.91Y well.
A nearside view of MB90 taken at the same time as my previous upload showing how the centre door had been removed by Location Facilities.
The doors and associated equipment were reinstated not long after the bus was initally bought for preservation in 1990 using parts from a scrap MBS also operated by this company if I remember correctly.
Several modifications to Roger's Challenger V8 included his custom designed Chevy 283 overhead valve conversion and a Roots style supercharger. He dubbed his creation the Cadillac-Chevy Hybrid. It became a hit among model engineers nationwide so he donated his designs to the Bay Area Engine Modelers and a few were built by members of the club.
This engine is the pioneer of what eventually evolved into Black Widow V8 that was available as a casting kit from the BAEM club.
Courtesy of Roger Butzen
Paul and Paula Knapp
Miniature Engineering Museum
History of the Vienna Hofburg
First residence
(further informations you can get by clicking on the link at the end of page!)
With the elevation of Austria to Archduchy in 1156 Vienna became city of residence. From the residence of the Babenberg which was located on the present site "Am Hof", unfortunately there are no more remains left. After the extinction of the Babenberg, King Ottokar II Přemysl of Bohemia (1230-1278) took over by marriage the rule in Vienna and began in 1275 with the construction of a castle within the city walls of Vienna. This castle was equipped with four towers around a rectangular court that is known today as the Schweizerhof (Swiss court). In the fight for the German crown Ottokar was defeated at the Battle of Dürnkrut (Lower Austria) by Rudolf I of Habsburg (1218-1291) and killed during the retreat.
As the old residence of the Babenberg burnt about 1276, Rudolf probably in 1296 moved to the former castle of Ottokar 1279. The descendants of Rudolf extended the castle only slightly: chapel (documentary mention in 1296), St. Augustine's Church (consecrated in 1349), reconstruction of the chapel (1423-1426) . Due to the division of the lands of the Habsburgs, Vienna lost its importance and it also lacked the financial resources to expand the castle.
Imperial residence
Under Frederick III. (1415-1493) acquired the Habsburgs the imperial title and Vienna became an imperial residence. But Friedrich and his successors used the Vienna Residence rarely and so it happened that the imperial residence temporarily orphaned. Only under Ferdinand I (1503-1564) Vienna again became the capital of the Archduchy. Under Ferdinand began a large construction: the three wings of the existing Swiss court were expanded and increased. The defensive wall in the northwest was as fourth wing with the Swiss Gate (built in 1552 probably by Pietro Ferrabosco ) rebuilt. In the southwest was a tract for Ferdinand's children (the so-called "children Stöckl (Kinderstöckl)") added. The newly constituted authorities Exchequer and Chancery were domiciled in adjacent buildings at Castle Square. There were also an art chamber in the castle, a hospital, a passage from the castle to St. Augustine's Church and a new ballroom.
First major extensions of the residence
In the area of the "desolate church" built Ferdinand from 1559 a solitary residence for his son. However, the construction was delayed, and Maximilian II (1527-1576) moved after his father's death in 1564 in the old castle. He had his residence for his Spanish horses in a Hofstallgebäude (Court stables building - Stallburg) converted and from 1565 increased.
Ferdinand I decided to divide his lands to his three sons, which led to a reduction of Vienna as a residence. Moreover, resided Maximilian II, who was awarded apart from Austria above and below the Enns also Bohemia and Hungary, readily in Prague and moved also the residence there. In 1575 he decided to build a new building opposite the Swiss court for the royal household of his eldest son, Rudolf II (1552-1612). The 1577 in the style of the late Renaissance completed and in 1610 expanded building, which was significantly fitted with a turret with "welscher hood" and an astronomical clock, but was inhabited by the governor of the Emperor (Archduke Ernst of Austria). However, the name "Amalienborg Castle" comes from Amalie of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (wife of Joseph I) that in 1711 there established her widow's home.
In the late 16th and early 17th Century only a few extensions were carried out: extension of a separate tract in the northeast of the castle for the treasure and art chamber (1583-1585) as well as setting up of a dance hall in the area of today's Redoutensäle (1629-1631).
Under Leopold I the dance hall war rebuilt of Ludovico Burnacini 1659/1660 into a at that time modern theater ("Comedy House"). 1666 Leopold I had in the area of today's castle garden a new opera house with three tiers and a capacity of 5,000 persons built.
In the 1660-ies was under Leopold I (1640-1705) between the Amalienbourg and the Schweizerhof, the so-called Leopoldine Wing (Leopoldinischer Trakt), according to the plans of architect Filiberto Lucchese an elongated Flügelbau (wing building) built. Since, however, the tract shortly after the completion burned down, it has been newly built and increased by Giovanni Pietro Tencala. Due to its architectur, this tract connects yet more to the late Renaissance. The connection with the Amalienborg Castle followed then under Leopold's son, Joseph I (1678-1711).
After completion of the Leopoldine Wing the in the southeast of the castle located Riding School was restored, the south tower of the old castle razed, the old sacristy of the castle chapel replaced by an extension. Under Charles VI. (1685-1740) the gatehouse between the Castle Yard and carbon market (Kohlmarkt) by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt was transformed into a monumental triumphal portal as a representative signum of the imperial power. However, this construction does not exist anymore, it had to give way to the Michael tract.
Baroque redesign of the Hofburg
In the early 18th Century began an intense construction activity. The Emperor commissioned Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach with the construction of new stables outside the city walls as well as a new court library.
After the death of Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach whose son Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach took over the supervision of the stables and the Imperial Library. 1725 the palatial front of the stables was completed. Since yet during the construction period has been noted that the stables were too smal dimensioned, the other wings were not realized anymore. The with frescoes by Daniel Gran and emperor statues of Paul Strudel equipped Court Library was completed in 1737.
Opposite of the Leopoldine Wing was supposed to be built a new Reich Chancellery. 1723 Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt was commissioned with the design. 1726, however, the Reich Chancellery was withdrawn the supervision and is was transferred to the Chancery and thus to Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, who also designed the adjacent court chamber and the front to St. Michael's Church. 1728 were finished the court chamber and the facade of the two buildings. By Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach was also planned the Michaelertrakt, the connection between the Winter Riding School and Reichskanzleitrakt (Imperial Chancellery Tract). However, since the old Burgtheater building was in the way, this was half done for a period of 150 years and was only completed in 1889-1893 by Ferdinand Kirschner.
Under Maria Theresa (1717-1780) was the at St. Michael's Square located and only as remnants existing Ballhaus (ballhouse) adapted as a court theater. Beside the Kaiser hospital therefore a new ballhouse was built, which was name giving for the Ballhausplatz. Subsequently, there were over and over again modifications and adaptations: reconstruction of the comedy hall according to the plans of Jean Nicolas Jadot into two ballrooms, the small Redoutensaal and the large Redoutensaal (ball room) (1744-1748). The transformation of the two halls (since 1760), repair of the Court Library and since 1769 the design of the Josefsplatz followed under Joseph Nicolas of Pacassi. These buildings were completed by the successor of Pacassi Franz Anton Hillebrandt. As an extension building for the Royal Library was built in the southeast the Augustinian tract.
Other structural measures under Maria Theresa: establishment of the court pharmacy into the Stallburg, relocation of the in the Stallburg accommodated art collection to the Upper Belvedere, demolition of the remaining two towers of the old castle, the construction of two stairways (the ambassadors (Botschafterstiege) and the Säulenstiege (pillar stairway).
Extensions in the 19th Century and early 20th century
Francis II (1768-1835) gave Albert Duke of Saxe-Teschen and his wife Marie Christine (daughter of Maria Theresa), the Palais Tarouca south of the Augustinian monastery. From 1800 this was remodeled by Louis Montoyer and by a wing building expanded to the today's Albertina.
1804 proclaimed Francis II the hereditary Empire of Austria and was thus as Francis I the first Austrian emperor. With the by Napoleon Bonaparte provoked abdication of the emperor in 1806 ended the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
1809 part of the old bastions by the castle was blown up as a consequence of the war with Napoleon and afterwards razed. Towards to the today's ring road then new outworks were layed out (the so-called Hornwerkskurtine and the Escarpen). In the early 20's of the 19th Century were created three gardens: the private Imperial Castle Garden with two by Louis von Remy planned steel/glass-constructed greenhouses, Heroes Square with boulevards and the People garden with the Theseus Temple (Pietro Nobile). At the same time arised also the new, by Luigi Cagnola in 1821 begun and 1824 by Pietro Nobile completed outer castle gate.
1846 was built a monumental memorial to Francis I in the Interior Castle Square. In the turmoil of the 1848 Revolution the Stallburg was stormed and at the outer castle square as well as the castle gate fiercely fought. In the process burned the roof of the court library. The political consequences of the revolution were the abdication of Emperor Ferdinand I (1793-1875), the dismissal of the dreaded Chancellor Clemens Lothar Prince Metternich and the coronation of Ferdinand's nephew Franz Joseph.
In the first years of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I (1830-1916) were converted the court stables by Leopold Mayer and expanded. As part of the expansion of the city, the city walls were razed and it emerged in place of the fort complex space for a magnificent boulevard, the Ringstrasse (Ring road). 1862, was born the idea of an Imperial Forum of architect Ludwig Förster. On the surface between the Hofburg and the Imperial Stables should arise Court Museums (Art and Natural History Museum).
At the outer Castle Square (today's Heldenplatz) were in the 60-ies of the 19th Century the by Anton Dominik Fernkorn created equestrian statues of Archduke Charles (defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Aspern-Essling) and Prince Eugene of Savoy (victor over the Turks in several battles) set.
After an unsuccessful architectural competition on the design of the Heroes square area in 1869 Gottfried Semper could be won. This led to the involuntary and not frictionless collaboration with Carl Freiherr von Hasenauer. Planned was a two-wing building over the ring road away with the two flanking twin museums (Art and Natural History Museum) and the old stables as a conclusion. 1871 was started with the Erdaushebungen (soil excavations) for the museums. 1889, the Natural History Museum was opened,1891 the Museum of Fine Arts (Kunsthistorisches Museum).
On a watercolor from 1873 by Rudolf Ritter von Alt (1812 - 1905), an overall view of the Imperial Forum is shown
1888 the Old Court Theatre at St. Michael's Square was demolished as the new KK Court Theatre (today's Burgtheater) by Gottfried Semper and Carl Freiherr von Hasenauer built, was finished. The since150 years existing construction site at St. Michael's Square could be completed. The roundel got a dome, the concave curved Michaelertrakt was finalized by Ferdinand Kirschner. The once by Lorenzo Mattielli created cycle of statues on the facade of the Reich Chancellery was continued with four other "deeds of Hercules" sidewards of the drive-through arches. 1893, the Hofburg had finally its last magnificent decorative facade .
1901, the old greenhouses were demolished and replaced by an orangery with Art Nouveau elements according to plans of Friedrich Ohmann (finalization in 1910). In 1907, the Corps de Logis, which forms a closure of the new castle, completed. Since Emperor Franz Joseph I in the budding 20th Century no longer was interested in lengthy construction projects and the Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este (1863-1914) spoke out against the establishment of a throne hall building, but spoke for the construction of a smaller ballroom tract, the implementation of the second wing was dropped. After the assassination of Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Este in Sarajevo, the First World War broke out. Franz Joseph I died in 1916. A great-nephew of Franz Joseph I, Charles I (1887-1922) succeeded to the throne, however, that he only occupied two years. The end of the First World War also meant the end of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. On 11th November 1918 the First Republic was proclaimed. As Karl in fact renounced of the businesses of government, but not the throne, he had to go into exile with his family.
The Imperial Palace in the 20th century
The interior design of the ballroom tract and the New Castle were continued despite the end of the monarchy to 1926. By the end of the monarchy, many of the buildings lost their purpose. Further on used or operated was the Riding School. The stables were used from 1921 as the Wiener Messe (Fair) exhibition grounds ("Messe palace"). In 1928, the Corps de Logis, the Museum of Ethnology, by then part of the Natural History Museum, opened. 1935 came the weapons collection (court, hunting and armour chamber) of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in the New Castle.
1933/1934 the outer castle gate by Rudolf Wondracek was transformed into a hero monument to the victims of the First World War. 1935 emerged left and right of the castle gate pylon portals with eagle sculptures of Wilhelm Frass. In March 1938, the Heroes' Square and the balcony of the Neue Burg gained notoriety after Adolf Hitler announced to the cheering crowd at the Heldenplatz the annexation of Austria to the German Reich. The Nazis were planning a redesign of the Heroes' Square to a paved parade and ceremony space. The plans were not realized since 1943 a fire pond at Heldenplatz was dredged and the place was later used for agriculture. In the Trade Fair Palace were held during the period of the Nazism propaganda events.
During the war, the Imperial Palace (Stallburg, St. Augustine's Church, Albertina, the head office of the Federal President, the current building of the Federal Chancellery) was severely damaged by bomb hits: The first President of the Second Republic, Dr. Karl Renner, moved in 1946 the Office of the President to the Leopoldine Wing (in the former living quarters of Maria Theresa and Joseph II).
During the time of occupation the seat of the Inter-Allied Commission was housed in the Neue Burg.
1946 again were held first events in the Exhibition Palace and have been set up two large exhibition halls in the main courtyard of the fair palace. In the course of the reconstruction the damages of war were eliminated and the Imperial Palace repaired, the castle stable were built again. In 1958 in the ballroom wing was set up the convention center, 1962-1966 the modern Library of the Austrian National Library housed in the Neue Burg.
For the first time appeared in 1989 the concept of a "Museum Quarter". The Museum district should include contemporary art and culture. The oversized design of Laurids and Manfred Ortner but was redimensioned several times after the resistance of a citizens' initiative. The implementation followed a decade later.
1992 the two Redoutensäle completely burned out. Yet shortly after the fire was began with the reconstruction. The roof was extended and the small ball room could be restored. The big ball room, however, was renovated and designed with paintings by Josef Mikl. In 1997 the two halls were reopened.
From 1997-2002 the Museum Quarter (including Kunsthalle Wien, Leopold Collection) was rebuilt and the old building fabric renovated.
1999 was began with the renovation of the Albertina. The for a study building, two exhibition halls and an underground storage enlarged museum was reopened in 2003. The Albertina ramp was built with an oversized shed roof by Hans Hollein.
In 2006, in the area of the boiler house yard were created additional rooms for the convention center.
(Source: Trenkler, Thomas: "The Vienna Hofburg", Vienna 2004)
The Postcard
A postally unused carte postale published by Lévy Fils & Co. of Paris bearing an early image of the Carp Lake at Fontainebleau.
The Palace of Fontainebleau
The Palace of Fontainebleau, or Château de Fontainebleau, is located 55 kilometers (34 miles) southeast of the centre of Paris.
The castle and subsequent palace served as a residence for French monarchs from Louis VII to Napoleon III.
Francis I and Napoleon were the monarchs who had the most influence on the Palace as it stands today.
It became a national museum in 1927, and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981 for its unique architecture and historical importance.
The Medieval Palace
The earliest record of a fortified castle at Fontainebleau dates to 1137. It became a favorite residence and hunting lodge of the Kings of France because of the abundant game and many springs in the surrounding forest.
Fontainebleau took its name from one of the springs, la Fontaine de Bliaud, located now in the English Garden, next to the wing of Louis XV.
Fontainebleau was used by King Louis VII, for whom Thomas Becket consecrated the chapel in 1169; also by Philip II; by Louis IX (later canonised as Saint Louis), who built a hospital and a convent, the Couvent des Trinitaires, next to the castle; and by Philip IV, who was born and died in the castle.
The Renaissance Château of Francis I (1528–1547)
In the 15th. century some modifications and embellishments were made to the castle by Isabeau of Bavaria, the wife of King Charles VI, but the medieval structure remained essentially intact until the reign of Francis I (1494–1547).
He commissioned the architect Gilles Le Breton to build a palace in the new Renaissance style, recently imported from Italy. Le Breton preserved the old medieval donjon, where the King's apartments were located, but incorporated it into the new Renaissance-style Cour Ovale, built on the foundations of the old castle.
It included the monumental Porte Dorée, as its southern entrance. as well as a monumental Renaissance stairway, the Portique de Serlio, to give access the royal apartments on the north side.
Beginning in about 1528, Francis constructed the Galerie François I, which allowed him to pass directly from his apartments to the chapel of the Trinitaires. He brought the architect Sebastiano Serlio from Italy, and the Florentine painter Rosso Fiorentino, to decorate the new gallery.
Between 1533 and 1539 Fiorentino filled the gallery with murals glorifying the King, framed in stucco ornament in high relief, and panelling sculpted by the furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi.
Another Italian painter, Francesco Primaticcio from Bologna, joined later in the decoration of the palace. Together their style of decoration became known as the first School of Fontainebleau. This was the first great decorated gallery built in France. Fontainebleau introduced the Renaissance to France.
In about 1540, Francis began another major addition to the château. Using land on the east side of the Château purchased from the order of the Trinitaires, he began to build a new square of buildings around a large courtyard.
The Château was surrounded by a new park in the style of the Italian Renaissance garden, with pavilions and the first grotto in France.
The Château of Henry II and Catherine de' Medici (1547–1570)
Following the death of Francis I, King Henry II decided to continue and expand the Château. The King and his wife chose the architects Philibert de l'Orme and Jean Bullant to do the work.
They extended the east wing of the lower court and decorated it with the first famous horseshoe-shaped staircase which was built between 1547 and 1559. The staircase was subsequently re-built for Louis XIII by Jean Androuet du Cerceau in about 1632-1634.
In the Oval Court, they transformed the loggia planned by Francois into a Salle des Fêtes or grand ballroom with a coffered ceiling. Facing the courtyard of the fountain and the fish pond, they designed a new building, the Pavillon des Poeles (destroyed), to contain the new apartments of the King.
The decoration of the new ballroom and the gallery of Ulysses with murals by Francesco Primaticcio and sculptured stucco continued.
At Henri's orders the Nymphe de Fontainebleau by Benvenuto Cellini was installed at the gateway entrance of Château d'Anet, the domain of Henri's primary mistress Diane de Poitiers (the original bronze lunette is now in the Musée du Louvre, with a replica in place).
Following the death of Henry II in a jousting accident, his widow, Catherine de' Medici, continued the construction and decoration of the château. She named Primaticcio as the new superintendent of royal public works.
He designed the section known today as the wing of the Belle Cheminée, noted for its elaborate chimneys and its two opposing stairways. In 1565, as a security measure due to the Wars of Religion, she also had moat dug around the château to protect it against attack.
Château of Henry IV (1570–1610)
King Henry IV made more additions to the château than any King since Francis I. He extended the oval court toward the west by building two pavilions, called Tiber and Luxembourg.
Between 1601 and 1606, he remade all the façades around the courtyard, including that of the chapel of Saint-Saturnin, to give the architecture greater harmony. On the east side, he built a new monumental domed gateway, the Porte du Baptistère.
Between 1606 and 1609, he built a new courtyard, the Cour des Offices or Quartier Henry IV, to provide a place for the kitchens as well as residences for court officials.
Two new galleries, the Galerie de Diane de Poitiers and the Galerie des Cerfs, were built to enclose the old garden of Diane. He also added a large Jeu de Paume, or indoor tennis court, the largest such court in the world.
A Second School of Fontainebleau painters and decorators went to work on the interiors. The architect Martin Fréminet created the ornate chapel of the Trinity, while the painters Ambroise Dubois and Toussaint Dubreuil created a series of heroic paintings for the salons. A new wing, named after its central building, La Belle Cheminée, was built next to the large carp pond.
Henry IV also devoted great attention to the park and gardens around the Château. The garden of the Queen or garden of Diane, created by Catherine de' Medici, with the fountain of Diane in the centre, was located on the north side of the palace.
Henry IV's gardener, Claude Mollet, who trained at Château d'Anet, created a large parterre of flower beds, decorated with ancient statues and separated by paths into large squares.
The fountain of Diana and the grotto were made by Tommaso Francini, who may also have designed the Medici Fountain in the Luxembourg Garden for Marie de Medici.
On the south side, Henry created a park, planted with pines, elms and fruit trees, and laid out a grand canal 1200 meters long, sixty years before Louis XIV built his own grand canal at Versailles.
The Château from Louis XIII through Louis XVI
King Louis XIII was born and baptized in the Château, and continued the works begun by his father. He completed the decoration of the chapel of the Trinity, and assigned the court architect Jean Androuet du Cerceau to re-construct the horseshoe stairway on the courtyard that had become known as the Cour de Cheval Blanc.
After his death, his widow, Anne of Austria, re-decorated the apartments within the Wing of the Queen Mothers (Aile des Reines Mères) next to the Court of the Fountain, designed by Primatrice.
King Louis XIV spent more days at Fontainebleau than any other monarch. He liked to hunt there every year at the end of summer and the beginning of autumn.
He made few changes to the exterior of the Château, but did build a new apartment for his companion Madame de Maintenon. He furnished it with major works of André-Charles Boulle. He also demolished the old apartments of the baths under the Gallery of Francis I to create new apartments for the royal princes.
The architect Jules Hardouin-Mansard built a new wing alongside the Galerie des Cerfs and the Galerie de Diane in order to provide more living space for the Court.
Louis XIV made major changes to the park and gardens; he commissioned André Le Nôtre and Louis Le Vau to redesign the large parterre into a French formal garden. He destroyed the hanging garden which Henry IV had built next to the large carp lake, and instead built a pavilion, designed by Le Vau, on a small island in the centre of the lake.
Louis XIV signed the Edict of Fontainebleau at the Château on the 22nd. October 1685, revoking the policy of tolerance towards Protestants begun by Henry IV.
Louis welcomed many foreign guests at the Château, including the former Queen Christina of Sweden, who had just abdicated her crown. While a guest in the Château on the 10th. November 1657, Christina suspected her Master of the Horse and reputed lover, the Marchese Gian Rinaldo Monaldeschi, of betraying her secrets to her enemies.
Her servants chased him through the halls of the Château and stabbed him to death. Louis XIV came to see her at the Château, did not mention the murder, and allowed her to continue her travels.
On the 18th. and 20th. May 1717, following the death of Louis XIV, the Russian Czar Peter the Great was a guest at Fontainebleau. A hunt for stags was organized for him, along with a banquet.
Although officially the visit was a great success, later memoires revealed that Peter disliked the French style of hunting, and that he found the Château too small, compared to the other royal French residences.
The routine of Fontainebleau also did not suit his tastes; he preferred beer to wine (and brought his own supply with him) and he liked to get up early, unlike the French Court.
The renovation projects of Louis XV were more ambitious than those of Louis XIV. To create more lodging for his enormous number of courtiers, in 1737–38 the King built a new courtyard, called the Cour de la Conciergerie or the Cour des Princes, to the east of the Galerie des Cerfs.
On the Cour du Cheval Blanc, the wing of the Gallery of Ulysses was torn down and gradually replaced by a new brick and stone building, built in stages in 1738–1741 and 1773–74, extending west toward the Pavilion and grotto of the pines.
Between 1750 and 1754, the King commissioned the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel to build a new wing along the Cour de la Fontaine and the carp lake.
The old Pavilion des Poeles was demolished and replaced by the Gros Pavilion, built of cream-colored stone. Lavish new apartments were created inside this building for the King and Queen. The new meeting room for the Royal Council was decorated by the leading painters of the day, including François Boucher, Carle Vanloo, Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre and Alexis Peyrotte. A magnificent small theatre was created on the first floor of the wing of the Belle Cheminée.
King Louis XVI also made additions to the Château in order to create more space for his courtiers. A new building was constructed alongside the Gallery of Francis I; it created a large new apartment on the first floor, and a number of small apartments on the ground floor, but also blocked the windows on the north side of the Gallery of Francis I.
The apartments of Queen Marie-Antoinette were redone, a Turkish-style salon was created for her in 1777, a room for games in 1786–1787, and a boudoir in the arabesque style. Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette made their last visit to Fontainebleau in 1786, on the eve of the French Revolution.
The Château during the Revolution and the First Empire
During the French Revolution the Château did not suffer any significant damage, but all the furniture was sold at auction. The buildings were occupied by the Central School of the Department of Seine-et-Marne until 1803, when Napoleon I installed a military school there.
As he prepared to become Emperor, Napoleon wanted to preserve as much as possible of the palaces and protocol of the Old Regime. He chose Fontainebleau as the site of his historic 1804 meeting with Pope Pius VII, who had travelled from Rome to crown Napoleon Emperor.
Napoleon had a suite of rooms decorated for the Pope, and had the entire Château refurnished and decorated. The bedroom of the Kings was transformed into a throne room for Napoleon. Apartments were refurnished and decorated for the Emperor and Empress in the new Empire style.
The Cour du Cheval Blanc was re-named the Cour d'Honneur. One wing facing the courtyard, the Aile de Ferrare, was torn down and replaced with an ornamental iron fence and gate, making the façade of the Palace visible.
The gardens of Diane and the gardens of the Pines were replanted and turned into an English landscape garden.
Napoleon's visits to Fontainebleau were not frequent, because he was occupied so much of the time with military campaigns. Between 1812 and 1814, the Château served as a very elegant prison for Pope Pius VII. On the 5th. November 1810, the chapel of the Château was used for the baptism of Napoleon's nephew, the future Napoleon III, with Napoleon serving as his godfather, and the Empress Marie-Louise as his godmother.
Napoleon spent the last days of his reign at Fontainebleau, before abdicating there on the 4th. April 1814. On the 20th. April, after failing in an attempt to commit suicide, he gave an emotional farewell to the soldiers of the Old Guard, assembled in the Court of Honor. Later, during the One Hundred Days, he stopped there on the 20th. March 1815.
In his memoires, written while in exile on Saint Helena, he recalled his time at Fontainebleau:
"The true residence of Kings, the house of
the centuries. Perhaps it was not a rigorously
architectural palace, but it was certainly a place
of residence well thought out and perfectly
suitable. It was certainly the most comfortable
and happily situated palace in Europe.”
The Château during the Restoration and the Reign of Louis-Philippe (1815–1848)
Following the restoration of the Monarchy, Kings Louis XVIII and Charles X each stayed at Fontainebleau, but neither made any major changes to the palace. Louis-Philippe was more active, both restoring some rooms and redecorating others in the style of his period.
The Hall of the Guards and Gallery of Plates were redecorated in a Neo-Renaissance style, while the Hall of Columns, under the ballroom, was remade in a neoclassical style. He added new stained glass windows, made by the royal manufactory of Sèvres.
The Château During the Second Empire
Emperor Napoleon III, who had been baptised at Fontainebleau, resumed the custom of long stays at the Château, particularly during the summer. Many of the historic rooms, such as the Galerie des Cerfs, were restored to something like their original appearance, while the private apartments were redecorated to suit the tastes of the Emperor and Empress.
Numerous guest apartments were squeezed into unused spaces within the buildings. The old theatre of the palace, built in the 18th. century, was destroyed by a fire in the wing of the Belle Cheminée 1856. Between 1854 and 1857 the architect Hector Lefuel built a new theatre in the style of Louis XVI.
On the ground floor of the Gros Pavilion, the Empress Eugénie built a small but well-stocked museum, containing gifts from the King of Siam in 1861, and works of art taken during the pillage of the Summer Palace in Beijing.
The museum also featured paintings by contemporary artists, including Franz Xaver Winterhalter, and the sculptor Charles Henri Joseph Cordier. Close by, in the Louis XV wing, the Emperor established his office, and the Empress made her Salon of Lacquer.
These were the last rooms created by the royal residents of Fontainebleau. In 1870, during the Franco-German War, the Empire fell, and the Château was closed.
The Château from the Third Republic to the Present Day
During the Franco-Prussian War, the palace was occupied by the Prussians on the 17th. September 1870, and briefly used as an army headquarters by Frederic Charles of Prussia from March 1871.
Following the war, two of the buildings became the home of the advanced school of artillery and engineering of the French Army, which had been forced to leave Alsace when the province was annexed by Germany.
The Château was occasionally used as a residence by the Presidents of the Third Republic, and to welcome state guests including King Alexander I of Serbia (1891), King George I of Greece (1892) Leopold II of Belgium (1895) and King Alphonse XIII of Spain (1913).
It also received a visit by the last survivor of its royal residents, the Empress Eugenie, on the 26th. June 1920.
The façades the major buildings received their first protection by classification as historic monuments on the 20th. August 1913.
In 1923, following the Great War, the Château became the home of the Écoles d'Art Américaines, schools of art and music, which still exist today. In 1927 it became a national museum. Between the wars the upper floors of the wing of the Belle Cheminée, burned in 1856, were rebuilt by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.
During World War II, Fontainebleau was occupied by the Germans on the 16th. June 1940, and occupied until the 10th. November 1940, and again from the 15th. May to the end of October 1941.
Following the war, part of the Château became a headquarters of the Western Union and later NATO's Allied Forces Central Europe/Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, until 1966.
The general restoration of the Château took place between 1964 and 1968 under President Charles De Gaulle and his Minister of Culture, Andre Malraux. It was classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. In 2006, the Ministry of Culture purchased the royal stables, and began their restoration.
Beginning in 2007, restoration began of the theatre of the Château, created by Napoleon III during the Second Empire. The project was funded by the government of Abu-Dhabi, and in exchange the theater was renamed after Sheik Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan. It was inaugurated on the 30th. April 2014.
On the 1st. March 2015, the Chinese Museum of the Château was robbed by professional thieves. They broke in at about six in the morning, and, despite alarms and video cameras, in seven minutes stole about fifteen of the most valuable objects in the collection, including the replica of the crown of Siam given by the Siamese government to Napoleon III, a Tibetan mandala, and an enamel chimera from the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1736–1795).
The Grand Apartments at Fontainebleau
The Gallery of Francis I
The Gallery of Francis I is one of the first and finest examples of Renaissance decoration in France. It was originally constructed in 1528 as a passageway between the apartments of the King with the oval courtyard and the great chapel of the convent Trinitaires, but in 1531 Francis I made it a part of his royal apartments, and between 1533 and 1539 it was decorated by artists and craftsmen from Italy, under the direction of the painter Rosso Fiorentino, in the new Renaissance style.
The lower walls of the passage were the work of the master Italian furniture maker Francesco Scibec da Carpi; they are decorated with the coat of arms of France and the salamander, the emblem of the King. The upper walls are covered by frescoes framed in richly sculpted stucco. The frescoes used mythological scenes to illustrate the virtues of the King.
On the side of the gallery with windows, the frescoes represent Ignorance Driven Out; The Unity of the State; Cliobis and Biton; Danae; The Death of Adonis; The Loss of Perpetual Youth; and The Battle of the Centaurs and the Lapithes.
On the side of the gallery facing the windows, the frescoes represent: A Sacrifice; The Royal Elephant; The Burning of Catane; The Nymph of Fontainebleau (painted in 1860–61 by J. Alaux to cover a former entry to the gallery); The Sinking of Ajax; The Education of Achilles and The Frustration of Venus.
The Ballroom
The Ballroom was originally begun as an open passageway, or loggia, by Francis I. In about 1552 King Henry II closed it with high windows and an ornate coffered ceiling, and transformed it into a room for celebrations and balls.
The 'H', the initial of the King, is prominent in the decor, as well as figures of the crescent moon, the symbol of Henry's mistress Diane de Poitiers.
At the western end is a monumental fireplace, decorated with bronze statues originally copied from classical statues in Rome. At the eastern end of the room is a gallery where musicians played during balls.
The decor was restored many times over the years. The floor, which mirrors the design of the ceiling, was built by Louis-Philippe in the first half of the 19th. century.
The frescoes on the walls and pillars were painted beginning in 1552 by Nicolo dell'Abate, following drawings by Primatice. On the garden side of the ballroom, they represent: The Harvest; Vulcan forging weapons for Love at the request of Venus; Phaeton begging the sun to let him drive his chariot; and Jupiter and Mercury at the home of Philemon and Baucis.
The frescoes on the side of the Oval Courtyard represent: The feast of Bacchus; Apollo and the Muses on Mount Parnassus; The Three Graces dancing before the gods; and The wedding feast of Thetis and Peleus.
St. Saturnin's Chapel
Behind the ballroom, there is St. Saturnin's Chapel. The lower chapel was originally built in the 12th. century, but was destroyed and completely rebuilt under Francis I. The windows made in Sèvres were installed during Louis Philippe's period, and were designed by his daughter Marie, an artist herself.
The upper chapel was the royal chapel decorated by Philibert de l'Orme. The ceiling, made in the same style as the ballroom, ends with a dome.
Room of the Guards
A room for the guards was always located next to the royal bedchambers. The Salle des Gardes was built during the reign of Charles IX. Some traces of the original decor remain from the 1570's, including the vaulted ceiling and a frieze of military trophies attributed to Ruggiero d'Ruggieri.
In the 19th. century Louis Philippe turned the room into a salon, and redecorated it with a new parquet floor of exotic woods echoing the design of the ceiling, along with a monumental fireplace (1836), which incorporates pieces of ornament from demolished rooms that were built the 15th. and early 16th. century.
The bust of Henry IV, attributed to Mathieu Jacquet, is from that period, as are the two figures on either side of the fireplace. The sculpted frame around the bust, by Pierre Bontemps, was originally in the bedchamber of Henry II.
The decorations added by Louis Philippe include a large vase decorated with Renaissance themes, made by the Sèvres porcelain manufactory in 1832.
During the reign of Napoleon III, the hall was used as a dining room.
Stairway of the King
The stairway of the King was installed in 1748 and 1749, in the space occupied during the reign of Francis I by the bedroom of Anne de Pisseleu, the Duchess of Étampes, a favorite of the King.
It was designed by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, who used many decorative elements from the earlier room, which had originally been decorated by Primatice.
The upper portion of the walls is divided into panels, oval and rectangular, with scenes representing the love life of Alexander the Great. The paintings are framed by large statues of women by Primatice. The eastern wall of the room was destroyed during the reconstruction, and was replaced during the reign of Louis Philippe in the 19th. century with paintings by Abel de Pujol.
The Queen's Bedroom
All of the Queens and Empresses of France from Marie de Medici to the Empress Eugènie slept in the bedchamber of the Queen. The ornate ceiling over the bed was made in 1644 by the furniture-maker Guillaume Noyers for the Dowager Queen Anne of Austria, the mother of Louis XIV, and bears her initials.
The room was redecorated by Marie Leszczynska, the Queen of Louis XV in 1746–1747. The ceiling of the alcove, the decoration around the windows and the wood panelling were made by Jacques Vererckt and Antoine Magnonais in the rocaille style of the day. The decoration of the fireplace dates to the same period.
The doors have an arabesque design, and were made for Marie-Antoinette, as were the sculpted panels over the doors, installed in 1787. The bed was also made especially for Marie Antoinette, but did not arrive until 1797, after the Revolution and her execution. it was used instead by Napoleon's wives, the Empress Josephine and Marie-Louise of Austria.
The walls received their ornamental textile covering, with a design of flowers and birds, in 1805. It was restored in 1968–1986 using the original fabric as a model.
The furniture in the room all dates to the First Empire. The balustrade around the bed was originally made for the throne room of the Tuileries Palace in 1804. The armchairs with a sphinx pattern, the consoles and screen and the two chests of drawers were placed in the room in 1806.
The Boudoir of Marie-Antoinette
The boudoir next to the Queen's bedroom was created for Queen Marie-Antoinette in 1786, and permitted the Queen to have a measure of privacy.
The room is the best surviving example of the decorative style just before the French Revolution, inspired by ancient Roman models, with delicately painted arabesques, cameos, vases, antique figures and garlands of flowers against a silver background, framed by gilded and sculpted woodwork.
The room was made for the Queen by the same team of artists and craftsmen who also made the game room; the design was by the architect Pierre Rousseau (1751-1829); the wood panelling was sculpted by Laplace, and painted by Michel-Hubert Bourgeois and Louis-François Touzé.
Eight figures of the Muses were made in plaster by Roland; the ornate mantle of the fireplace was made by Jacques-François Dropsy, and decorated with glided bronze works by Claude-Jean Pitoin.
The mahogany parquet floor, decorated with the emblems of the Queen, was made by Bernard Molitor, and finished in 1787. The painted ceiling, by Jean-Simon Berthélemy, shows Aurora with a group of angels.
The furnishings were designed for the room by Jean-Henri Riesener, using the finest materials available; mother of pearl, gilded bronze, brass, satin and ebony. Some of the original furnishings remain, including the cylindrical desk and the table, which were made between 1784 and 1789.
The two armchairs are copies of the originals made by Georges Jacob which are now in the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, while the footstool is the original.
The Throne Room of Napoleon (former bedroom of the King)
The Throne Room was the bedroom of the Kings of France from Henry IV to Louis XVI.
In 1808 Napoleon decided to install his throne in the former bedroom of the Kings of France in the location where the royal bed had been. Under the Old Regime, the King's bed was a symbol of royal authority in France and was saluted by courtiers who passed by it. Napoleon wanted to show the continuity of his Empire with the past monarchies of France.
The majority of the carved wood ceiling, the lower part of the wood panelling, and the doors date to the reign of Louis XIII. The ceiling directly over the throne was made at the end of the reign of Louis XIV.
Louis XV created the portion of the ceiling directly over the throne, a new chimney, sculpted wooden medallions near the fireplace, the designs over the doors, and the fine carved woodwork facing the throne (1752–54).
He also had the ceiling painted white and gilded and decorated with mosaics, to match the ceiling of the bedroom of the Queen.
Napoleon added the standards with his initial and the Imperial eagle. The decoration around the throne was originally designed in 1804 by Jacob-Desmalter for the Palace of Saint-Cloud, and the throne itself came from the Tuileries Palace.
The chimney was originally decorated with a portrait of Louis XIII painted by Philippe de Champaigne, which was burned in 1793 during the French Revolution. Napoleon replaced it with a portrait of himself, by Robert Lefèvre. In 1834, King Louis-Philippe took down Napoleon's picture and replaced with another of Louis XIII.
The Council Chamber
The Council Chamber, where the Kings and Emperors met their closest advisors, was close to the Throne Room. It was originally the office of Francis I, and was decorated with painted wooden panels showing following designs of Primatice, the virtues and the heroes of antiquity.
The room was enlarged under Louis XIV, and the decorator, Claude Audran, followed the same theme.
The room was entirely redecorated between 1751 and 1754 by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel, with arcades and wooded panels showing the virtues, and allegories of the seasons and the elements, painted by Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre and Carle van Loo.
The painter Alexis Peyrotte added another series of medallions to the upper walls depicting floral themes, the sciences and arts. The five paintings on the vaulted ceiling were the work of François Boucher, and show the seasons and the sun beginning its journey and chasing away the night.
A half-rotonda on the garden side of the room was added by Louis XV in 1773, with a painted ceiling by Lagrenée depicting Glory surrounded by his children.
The room was used as a council chamber by Napoleon I, and the furnishings are from that time. The armchairs at the table for the ministers are by Marcion (1806) and the folding chairs for advisors are by Jacob-Desmalter (1808).
Apartment of the Pope and of the Queen-Mothers
The apartment of the Pope, located on the first floor of the wing of the Queen Mothers and of the Gros Pavillon, takes its name from the 1804 visit of Pope Pius VII, who stayed there on his way to Paris to crown Napoleon I the Emperor of France.
He stayed there again, involuntarily, under the close supervision of Napoleon from 1812 to 1814. Prior to that, beginning in the 17th. century it was the residence of the Queen Mothers Marie de' Medici and Anne of Austria.
It was also the home of the Grand Dauphin, the oldest son of Louis XIV. In the 18th. century it was used by the daughters of Louis XV, and then by the Count of Provence, the brother of Louis XVI.
During the First Empire it was used by Louis, the brother of Napoleon, and his wife Queen Hortense, the daughter of the Empress Josephine. During the reign of Louis-Philippe, it was used by his eldest son, the Duke of Orleans.
During the Second Empire, it was occupied by Stephanie de Bade, the adopted niece of Napoleon I. It was restored in 1859–1861, and used thereafter for guests of high rank. It was originally two apartments, which were divided or joined over the years depending upon its occupants.
The Grand Salon, the Antechamber to the Bedroom of the Queen-Mother (Mid-17th. century)
The Salon de Reception was the anteroom to the bedroom of Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII and mother of Louis XIV. It features a gilded and sculpted ceiling divided into seven compartments, representing the sun and the known planets, along with smaller compartments for military trophies.
The room was created in 1558 by Ambroise Perret as the bedroom of Henry II in the pavilion des Poeles, a section of the Château that was later destroyed. Anne had it moved and decorated with her own emblems, including a pelican. The wood paneling in the room is probably from the same period.
The decor of the bedroom dates largely to the 1650's; it includes grotesque paintings in compartments on the ceiling, attributed to Charles Errard; richly carved wood paneling featuring oak leaves and putti; and paintings over the doors of Anne of Austria costumed as Minerva and Marie-Therese of Austria costumed as Abundance, both painted by Gilbert de Sève.
The bedroom was modified in the 18th. century by the addition of a new fireplace and sculptured borders of cascades of flowers around the mirrors added in 1784. During the Second Empire, painted panels imitating the style of the 17th. century were added above the mirrors and between the mirrors and the doors.
The Gallery of Diana
The Gallery of Diana, an eighty-metre (242 feet) long corridor now lined with bookcases, was created by Henry IV at the beginning of the 17th. century as a place for the Queen to promenade. The paintings on the vaulted ceiling, painted beginning in 1605 by Ambroise Dubois and his workshop, represented scenes from the myth of Diana, goddess of the Hunt.
At the beginning of the 19th. century, the gallery was in ruins. In 1810 Napoleon decided to turn it into a gallery devoted to the achievements of his Empire. A few of the paintings still in good condition were removed and put in the Gallery of Plates.
The architect Hurtault designed a new plan for the gallery, inspired by the Grand Gallery of the Louvre, featuring paintings on the ceiling illustrating the great events of Napoleon's reign.
By 1814 the corridor had been rebuilt and the decorative frames painted by Moench and Redouté, but the cycle of paintings on the Empire had not been started when Napoleon fell from power.
Once the monarchy was restored, King Louis XVIII had the gallery completed in a neoclassical style. A new series of the goddess Diana was done by Merry-Joseph Blondel and Abel de Pujol, using the painted frames prepared for Napoleon's cycle.
Paintings were also added along the corridor, illustrating the history of the French monarchy, painted in the Troubador style of the 1820's and 1830's, painted by a team of the leading academic painters.
Beginning in 1853, under Napoleon III, the corridor was turned into a library and most of the paintings were removed, with the exception of a large portrait of Henry IV on horseback by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse. The large globe near the entrance of the gallery, placed there in 1861, came from the office of Napoleon in the Tuileries Palace.
The Apartments of Napoleon
In 1804 Napoleon decided that he wanted his own private suite of apartments within the Palace, separate from the old state apartments. He took over a suite of six rooms which had been created in 1786 for Louis XVI, next to the Gallery of Francis I, and had them redecorated in the Empire style.
The Emperor's Bedroom
Beginning in 1808, Napoleon had his bedroom in the former dressing room of the King. From this room, using a door hidden behind the drapery to the right of the bed, Napoleon could go directly to his private library or to the offices on the ground floor.
Much of the original decor was unchanged from the time of Louis XVI; the fireplaces, the carved wooden panels sculpted by Pierre-Joseph LaPlace and the sculpture over the door by Sauvage remained as they were.
The walls were painted with Imperial emblems in gold on white by Frederic-Simon Moench. The bed, made especially for the Emperor, was the summit of the Empire style; it was crowned with an imperial eagle and decorated with allegorical sculptures representing Glory, Justice, and Abundance.
The Emperor had a special carpet made by Sallandrouze in the shape of the cross of the Legion of Honor; the branches of the cross alternate with symbols of military and civilian attributes.
The chairs near the fireplace were specially designed, with one side higher than the other, to contain the heat from the fire while allowing the occupants to see the decorations of the fireplace.
The painting on the ceiling of the room was added later, after the downfall of Napoleon, by Louis XVIII. Painted by Jean-Baptiste Regnault, it is an allegory representing The clemency of the King halting justice in its course.
The study was a small room designated as Napoleon's work room. In 1811 he added the camp bed, similar to the bed he used on his military campaigns, so he could rest briefly during a long night of work.
The salon of the Emperor was simply furnished and decorated. It was in this room, on the small table on display, that the Emperor signed his abdication in 1814.
The Theatre
Concerts, plays and other theatrical productions were a regular part of court life at Fontainebleau. Prior to the reign of Louis XV these took place in different rooms of the palace, but during his reign, a theatre was built in the Belle-Cheminée wing. It was rebuilt by the architect Gabriel, but was destroyed by a fire in 1856.
It had already been judged too small for the court of Napoleon III, and a new theatre was begun in 1854 at the far eastern end of the wing of Louis XIV. It was designed by architect Hector Lefuel in the style of Louis XVI, and was inspired by the opera theatre at the palace of Versailles and that of Marie-Antoinette at the Trianon Palace.
The new theatre, with four hundred seats arranged in a parterre, two balconies and boxes in a horseshoe shape, was finished in 1856. It has the original stage machinery, and many of the original sets, including many transferred from the old theatre before the fire of 1856.
The theatre was closed after the end of the Second Empire and was rarely used. A restoration began in 2007, funded with ten million Euros by the government of Abu-Dhabi. In exchange, the theatre was renamed after Sheik Khalifa Bin Zayed al Nahyan.
It was inaugurated on the 30th. April 2014. The theatre can be visited, but it no longer can be used for plays because some working parts of the theater, including the stage, were not included in the restoration.
The Chinese Museum
The Chinese Museum, on the ground floor of the Gros Pavillon close to the lake, was among the last rooms decorated within the Chateau while it was still an imperial residence.
In 1867, the Empress Eugenie had the rooms remade to display her personal collection of Asian art, which included gifts given to the Emperor by a delegation sent by the King of Siam in 1861, and other objects taken during the destruction and looting of the Old Summer Palace near Beijing by a joint British-French military expedition to China in 1860.
The objects displayed in the antechamber include two royal palanquins given by the King of Siam, one designed for a King and the other (with curtains) for a Queen. Inside the two salons of the museum, some of the walls are covered with lacquered wood panels in black and gold, taken from 17th. century Chinese screens, along with specially designed cases to display antique porcelain vases.
Other objects on display include a Tibetan stupa containing a Buddha taken from the Summer Palace in China; and a royal Siamese crown given to Napoleon III.
The salons are lavishly decorated with both Asian and European furnishings and art objects, including silk-covered furnishings and Second Empire sculptures by Charles Cordier and Pierre-Alexandre Schoenewerk. The room also served as a place for games and entertainment; an old bagatelle game and a mechanical piano from that period are on display.
In addition to the Chinese Museum, the Empress created a small office in 1868, the Salon of Lacquerware, which was also decorated with lacquered panels and Asian art objects, on the ground floor of the Louis XV wing. This was the last room decorated before the fall of the Empire, and the eventual transformation of the Chateau into a museum.
The Chapel of the Trinity
The Chapel of the Trinity was built at the end of the reign of Francis I to replace the old chapel of the convent of the Trinitaires. It was finished under Henry II, but was without decoration until 1608, when the painter Martin Freminet was commissioned to design frescoes for the ceiling and walls.
The sculptor Barthèlemy Tremblay created the vaults of the ceiling out of stucco and sculpture. The paintings of Freminet in the central vaults depict the redemption of Man, from the appearance of God to Noah at the launching of the Ark (Over the tribune) to the Annunciation.
They surrounded these with smaller paintings depicting the ancestors of the Virgin Mary, the Kings of Judah, the Patriarchs announcing the coming of Christ, and the Virtues.
Between 1613 and 1619 Freminet and Tremblay added paintings in stucco frames between the windows on the sides of the chapel, depicting the life of Christ. Freminet died in 1619, and work did not resume until 1628.
The Trinity chapel, like Sainte-Chapelle in Paris other royal chapels, had an upper section or tribune, where the King and his family sat, with a separate entrance; and a lower part, where the rest of the Court was placed.
Beginning in 1628, the side chapels were decorated with iron gates and carved wood panelling, and the Florentine sculptor Francesco Bordoni began work on the marble altar. The figure to the left depicts Charlemagne, with the features of Henry II, while the figure on the right depicts Louis IX, or Saint Louis, with the features of Louis XIII, his patron.
Bordoni also designed the multicolored marble pavement before the altar and on the walls of the nave. The painting of the Holy Trinity over the altar, by Jean Dubois the Elder, was added in 1642.
In the mid-17th. century the craftsman Anthony Girault made the sculpted wooden doors of the nave. while Jean Gobert made the doors of the tribune where the Royal family worshipped.
In 1741 the royal tribune was enlarged, while ornate balconies of wrought iron were added between the royal tribune and the simpler balconies used by the musicians and those who chanted the mass. In 1779, under Louis XVI, the frescoes of Freminet illustrating the life of Christ, which had deteriorated with time, were replaced by new paintings on the same theme. The paintings were done in the same style by about a dozen painters from the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture.
Under Napoleon, the old tabernacle of the chapel, which had been removed during the Revolution, was replaced by a new one designed by the architect Maximilien Hurtault.
Beginning in 1824, the chapel underwent a program of major renovation and restoration that lasted for six years. The twelve paintings of the life of Christ were removed, as well as the gates to the side chapels.
During the Second Empire, the wood panelling of the side chapels was replaced. The restoration was not completed until the second half of the 20th. century, when the twelve paintings, which had been scattered to different museums, were brought together again and restored in their stucco frames. Between 1772 and 1774, a small organ made by François-Henri Cilquot was installed on the left side of the chapel, near the altar.
On the 5th. September 1725, the chapel was the setting for the wedding of Louis XV and Marie Leszczynska. Napoleon III was baptized there on 4 November 1810, and Ferdinand-Philippe d'Orleans, the son of King Louis-Philippe, was married there to Helene de Mecklembourg Schwerin on the 30th. May 1837.
The Gardens and the Park at Fontainebleau
From the time of Francis I, the palace was surrounded by formal gardens, representing the major landscaping styles of their periods; the French Renaissance garden, inspired by Italian Renaissance gardens; the French formal garden, the favorite style of Louis XIV; and, in the 18th. and 19th. century, the French landscape garden, inspired by the English landscape garden.
The Garden of Diana
The Garden of Diana was created during the reign of Henry IV; it was the private garden of the King and Queen, and was visible from the windows of their rooms.
The fountain of Diana was originally in the centre of the garden, which at that time was enclosed by another wing, containing offices and later, under, Louis XIV, an orangery. That building, and another, the former chancellery, were demolished in the 19th. century, thereby doubling the size of the garden.
From the 17th. until the end of the 18th. century, the garden was in the Italian and then the French formal style, divided by straight paths into rectangular flower beds centred on the fountains, and decorated with statues, ornamental plants and citrus trees in pots.
It was transformed during the reign of Napoleon I into a landscape garden in the English style, with winding paths and trees grouped into picturesque landscapes, and it was enlarged during the reign of Louis-Philippe. it was opened to the public after the downfall of Napoleon III.
The fountain in the centre was made by Tommaso Francini, the master Italian fountain-maker, whose work included the Medici Fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris.
The bronze statue of Diana, the goddess of the hunt, with a young deer, was made by the Keller brothers in 1684 for another royal residence, at Marly. It is a copy of an antique Roman statue, Diana of Versailles, which was given by the Pope to King Henry IV, and which is now in the Louvre.
The original statue of the fountain, made by Barthelemy Prieur in 1602, can be seen in the Gallery of the Cerfs inside the palace. The sculptures of hunting dogs and deer around the fountain were made by Pierre Biard.
The Carp Lake, English Garden, Grotto and Spring
The lake next to the palace, with an area of four hectares, was made during the reign of Henry IV, and was used for boating parties by members of the Court, and as a source of fish for the table and for amusement.
Descriptions of the palace in the 17th. century tell of guests feeding the carp, some of which reached enormous size, and were said to be a hundred years old. The small octagonal house on an island in the center of the lake, Pavillon de l'Étang, was added during the reign of Louis XIV, then rebuilt under Napoleon I, and is decorated with his initial.
The English garden also dates back to the reign of Henry IV. In one part of the garden, known as the garden of pines, against the wing of Louis XV, is an older structure dating to Francis I; the first Renaissance-style grotto to be built in a French garden, a rustic stone structure decorated with four statues of Atlas.
Under Napoleon, his architect, Maximilien-Joseph Hurtault, turned this part of the garden into an English park, with winding paths and exotic trees, including catalpa, tulip trees, sophora, and cypress trees from Louisiana, and with a picturesque stream and boulders.
The garden also features two 17th. century bronze copies of ancient Roman originals, the Borghese gladiator and the Dying Gladiator. A path leads from the garden through a curtain of trees to the spring which gave its name to the palace, next to a statue of Apollo.
The Parterre and Canal
On the other side of the Château, on the site of the garden of Francis I, Henry IV created a large formal garden, or parterre Along the axis of the parterre, he also built a grand canal 1200 metres long, similar to one at the nearby château of Fleury-en-Biere.
Between 1660 and 1664 the chief gardener of Louis XIV, André Le Nôtre, and Louis Le Vau rebuilt the parterre on a grander scale, filling it with geometric designs and paths bordered with boxwood hedges and filled with colourful flowerbeds.
They also added a basin, called Les Cascades, decorated with fountains, at the head of the canal. Le Nôtre planted shade trees along the length of the canal, and also laid out a wide path, lined with elm trees, parallel to the canal.
The fountains of Louis XIV were removed after his reign. More recently, the Cascades were decorated with works of sculpture from the 19th. century. A large ornamental fountain was installed in the central basin in 1817.
A bronze replica of an ancient Roman statue, "The Tiber", was placed in the round basin in 1988. It replaced an earlier statue from the 16th. century which earlier had decorated the basin.
Two statues of sphinxes by Mathieu Lespagnandel, from 1664, are placed near the balustrade of the grand canal.
M14 DMR as used by the USMC. His is actually a remake of my very first Brickarms mod, which was lost a couple years ago. Anyway, C&C welcome.
The doc is cutting off excess plaster which pressed up into dad's arm. Dad said it was a huge relief once the doc cut it off.
I have been working on a new project for my boy Marcus,
He is getting his demon wings, which are part of his background story.
This is only just the basic frame form of the wings. I will be sculpting them with apoxie soon when I find some more time for it.
I add two washers to the governor. This adds some preload on the spring which retards the opening of the exhaust valves. This way i eliminate a small bog/hesitation in the powerband when using the bigger 38mm carburetor.
I add two washers to the governor. This adds some preload on the spring which retards the opening of the exhaust valves. This way i eliminate a small bog/hesitation in the powerband when using the bigger 38mm carburetor. Sidenote: instead of 2x 1,5mm washer you could also use just 1x3mm. NOT for ATAC engines !!! Just on HPP.
Here's a graphic showing the basic modifications I made to the Athearn RTR SW1000 to make it a better match for the prototype in its current form.
There are still a few other minor details I could change, but these have to do with the handrails and are a major nuisance to do with the flimsy plastic Athearn uses on their handrails. The row of vertical grabs on the hood should also be moved over to go between the louvers, but I decided that was not worth changing.
In 1997, the PA-46 was developed from the very successful PA-36 'Nove' as a special climate condition version - namely for the use in desert regions. Tests and tactical reports from Africa had shown that Earth Defence Forces were in dire need for a more climate-resilient powered armour than the standard PA-36s and PA-58s, which suffered heavily under dust and extremely high temperatures.
Field modifications and enhancement packages were hastily developed, but these proved to be unsuitable for the battlefield. The biggest problem was overheating and fine dust getting anywhere, especially into the engines and the joints of the legs.
As a consequence, the PA-46 was to be a complete package for tropic and subtropical climate and harsh conditions like low air pressure in great heights. While being based on the PA-36 hull, the 'Nettai' became an independent PA development and finally received its own designation, PA-46. As a PA-36 evolution, Its bulky hull offered enough space for additional installations like a heavy duty heat exchanger, various dust filters, a dust-repelling system based on compressed air (ducted from enhanced and dust-proof engines), an enhanced sensor package and an improved climate control for the pilot.
Basically, the duty profile of the PA-36 was to be kept, which included the PA's ability to make a jet-assisted jump of at least 820m at 85 km/h and keep a ground running speed of 28km/h. In order to keep up with this profile and the additional systems running in the background, more powerful engines had to be installed, raising the power output from 34ps to 42ps. As a side effect, dry weight rose dramatically so that the PA-46's suspension had to be augmented, too. All in all, the PA-46's weight even outclassed the beefed-up PA-36K 'Berlon', but the PA-46 was ordered into production since no short-term alternative was in sight for troop introduction in 1999, where this special profile PA was desperately needed.
Around 140 specimen of the PA-46 were built and mainly used on the African continent and in Middle East Asia. While the original PA-46 was not delivered with internal weapons, it was compatible with the full weapon range of the PA-36, what made the PA-46 very versatile. Weapon field packs like the simple HR-670 'Wrist Racate' (a set of six single 70mm 'Thunder Crush' artillery missile launchers) were other frequent additions, as well as modified and sometimes improvised communication systems.
Despite its sheer weight and bulk which limited its use, the PA-46 became a reliable weapon in the Northern and Middle African conflict theatre against Idelian forces and saw frequent use until 2013, when it was retired or used to retrofit PA-36 units with spare parts.
Another major conversion of an Aoshima kit, this time the inspiration came through the simple question what a special desert use PA would look like, and which modifications it would need and show, esp. from a rather realistic point of view?
The basis for this conversion was a PA-36K kit, but so many donations went into this one that it is rather a scratch-built kit than a mere conversion.
Special parts and modification sinclude:
The bigger/square feet come from the Berlon kit
New knee guards (made from Cornerstone Modulars HO scale chimney parts and 2C putty)
The visor unit comes from a PA-58
A modified/enlarged left shoulder, sculpted with 2C putty, containing the assumed heat exchanger
A pressurized air tank at the right flank (from the Berlon kit) with tubes around the hull
The right lower arm is standard but fitted with six missile launchers and wiring,
The left lower arm once was an R2 laser but was modified to hold a gatling gun (from a PA-58 conversion kit) with an ammo box
The air filters are (modified) anchor bolts
Many small details like hard points, hooks and covers were added from the scrap box
All joints on arms and legs received protective and flexible covers made from nylon stockings
The flexible dust covers made the kit's assemby complicated: instead of building torso, arms and legs as separate pieces as usual and putting them together when separately finished, I had to put all the major parts together before painting, because the flexible nylon material is hard to fix and needs some room in order to keep arms end legs moveable. I cut out some roughly matching strips of the nylon stocking material and attached them with super glue. A bit messy, but effective and at the 1:24 scale a convincing result.
The camouflage was inspired by the Egyptian Air Force, a pattern unsed on Tu-16 "Badger" bombers and MiG fighters - a three-colored paint scheme made of stripes in light sand, grey-green and a pale dark brown, with the green always separating the sand from the brown. An attractive and effective pattern for desert surroundings and for rural areas in this climate zone.
The basic colours are Pale Stone (Humbrol 121, FS 33531), Light Green (Humbrol 120, FS 34227) and Chocolate (Humbrol 98, maybe FS30051?), but that was only the beginning. Since I wanted a sun-worn and dust-bleached look, I added some layers of dry painting with lighter shades like Humbrol 103 (Cream) and 71 (Beige) on the Pale Stone, a mix of 120 and 95 on the green and 98 and 64 on the brown.
Light contrast areas and details like the chest box, the visor unit or the pressurized air tank were painted with Ivory (Humbrol 41). To add some more contrast, the PA-46's "face" was painted with a mix of 98 and matte black.
A black ink wash followed, and with dry painting in light grey and cream the weathered look of the already bleached basic tones was even enhanced. Additional dry pinting with silver at some edges would emphasize the used look of the whole PA. Decals came partly from the PA-36K basis kit, numbers and the „Saint“ emblem from the scrap box.
As a last step, the PA was dusted with a mix of artist pigments in sang, beige and grey – the same tones which were used on the small 10x10cm base.
This is a modification of the National Railway Museum's Class 03 diesel-mechancial shunter to represent a specific example that I came across quite regularly in my youth. Whilst neither a photographer nor a railway enthusiast at the time, I took on opportunist 'snapshot' of blue-liveried D2079 at Witton Park in 1971, on what is now part of the Weardale Railway. I still have that photograph and, whilst the quality isn't very good, it does mean that this digital representation should be pretty accurate.
The 'uncomfortable' position of the TOPS data panel between the logo and running number suggests that it had been added subsequent to the other details. It is interesting that, despite the Class 03 designation in the data panel, it still carried its steam-age running number, complete with 'D' prefix.
I would almost certainly have come across D2079 on station pilot duties at Darlington and later, renumbered as 03079, at Newcastle; in both cases semi-permanently coupled to a former Conflat 'match' wagon for track-circuit activation purposes. It was transferred to the Isle of Wight in 1984, the cab roof having been reduced in profile to pass through the restricted Ryde tunnel. After withdrawal in 1994, it was stored for several years before sale to the Derwent Valley Railway (19-Mar-10).
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