View allAll Photos Tagged modifications
taken on the 21 dec 2012 in wiltshire uk...... Im not sure what these lines in the sky are but as you can see from the pictures they seemed to be pulling the spray left by the aircraft across the sky. As much as i dont like to believe it, i think weather modification is real and poses a great threat to all of us and life on earth in general as we all have to breathe the same air !.. The reason i post these pictures is to try and raise awareness as i feel that the more people that know about this, the more chance there is of putting an end to this complete madness !!! For those of you who have not heard of this before please research geo engineering, chemtrails, solar radiation management... Anyway thanks for looking at my pictures and thanks to all you guys who continue to post great pictures here on flickr.....
Well he is kinda finished. I see a lot of things I could've done better. But I will alter him when I have time again.
I will sand his eyes a tad better for example. They are a tad bit grainy now. So it needs to be smoother.
But in the end I am happy with the result. He is the little snarling guy I wanted him to be, haha.
Fun project ^^
This is the rig I set up in 2007 for photographing ants with my new Nikon D40.. This "kludge" rig worked well and has been replaced by a slightly more refined unit. The pop-up flash provides all the light necessary to shoot at ISO 100 to 400 at apertures down to f/32. The primary lens shown is a Nikon 18-55mm "kit" lens with a "Scopetronix" 40mm close-up lens mounted on the front. The small mirror is for providing a "sunlight with hard-edged shadows" effect when shooting in full shade. The 18-55 lens is shown incorrectly set at 35mm. All my shooting with this lens is with the zoom set at 55mm. Focusing is done manually by moving the camera forward and backwards. No tripod is used, but I do sometimes steady myself with a stick. White cards work OK as reflectors, but covering them with foil, dull side out, gets you one more stop in speed. I now use foil covered cards measuring 4x5 inches for most subjects. A larger pair (5x8 inches) is used when a subject is around 18 inches from the camera, or if I want slightly more softer edged shadows.
102-3473
Modification for LEGO® Technic set 8258 Crane Truck (default build). It gives set 8258 an added fifth wheel (coupler) and power supply to connect/attach trailers realistically. A (semi-)trailer has a so called king pin. This pin is at the front of the trailer and connects to the tractor or semi-truck which set 8258 is.
These modifications are in building instructions and a inventory/parts list is available for you to add this to your own 8258. By modifying 8258 with this you enable the ability to connect to soon to be released lowboy trailers!
This kingpin at the front of the trailer makes a pivoting connection with the tractor's fifth wheel. It forces the fifth wheel to open up and as soon as the kingpin is in place rubber belts forces the fifth wheel to close again. It stays there until it is manually released. By moving two levers manually the trailer can be released and thus uncoupled.
The pictures show two lowboy trailers. Both are so called detachable gooseneck trailers. The Yellow version has a liftable third axle. The Blue one a so called flip axle where a part of the frame holding the third axle is flipped on top of the second axle.
With this type of lowboy trailer the gooseneck is removed to make the deck accessible. Because the front part of the trailer rests on the surface the truck with the gooseneck still attached can drive off. In order to keep the gooseneck elevated at the correct hight is as a support. This support rests on the trucks frame.
Instructions for both shown lowboy trailer will be available soon, the first one in December 2014, the second one hopefully the 1st half of 2015.
Both lowboy trailers can perfectly be combined with LEGO® Technic set 8043 Motorized Excavator as well as with LEGO® Technic set 8275 Motorized Bulldozer. Obviously you can combine it with any of your MOCs as well.
Very rare modification of the Sd.Kfz. 250 carrying a 5cm anti-tank gun. Only 2 exemplars of this vehicle have been identified in service in former Yugoslavia. I've represented it with a winter paint scheme applied on top of its grey painting.
This MOC is loosely based on the 2046 BrickMania set from 2014. Many details were added, gun was rebuilt, and decals are custom.
Minifigs are mix of custom and official heads (say "hello" to Dengar)
le logement du sténopé n'est pas assez large par rapport à sa profondeur..... alors que le format 6x12cm du film peut être couvert sans problème !
the location of the pinhole is too narrow compared with its depth... whereas the 6x12cm film frame could be easily covered !
Here is a part of modifications I made on the Horizon Express train:
First, 2 originals Horizon Express coupled together
The 2sd is the third modification of the train (I didn't have anymore the lxf of older modifications but you can find photos on my gallery). My HE is like this for the moment, but without the central car
The 3rd is the last modification, cars behind engines became longer, and windows have been changed to remove the gap between the glass and walls like in the Lego set. The train will be like this soon, I'm still waiting for parts.
The last one is the model based on my others high speed train with the real colors and shape, with all the modifications made on the train, the HE get a closer shape of this train now, the major difference is the color.
Voici une partie des modifications que j'ai faites sur l'Horizon Express Lego:
Tout d'abord, deux Horizon Express originaux couplés ensemble.
Le 2éme est la troisième modification de la rame (je n'ai plus le fichie LDD des modifications plus anciennes, mais vous pouvez trouver des photos sur ma galerie). Mon Horizon Express est comme ça pour le moment, mais sans la voiture bar.
Le 3ème est la dernière modification apportée au set, les voitures derrière les motrices on été allongées, et les fenêtres ont été changées pour éliminer l'écart entre le verre et les murs du a l'utilisation de ce type de pièce pour les fenêtres. Le TGV va devenir comme celui ci prochainement, j'attends de recevoir les pièces.
Le dernier est le modèle basé sur mes autres TGV avec les bonnes couleurs et des formes plus réels, avec toutes les modifications faites, l'horizon express s'y approche de plus en plus, la couleur est la différence majeur maintenant.
Journal of Doctor S. Finnigan – Leading doctor of Project B27
Entry 104
After three months of the modification project, we are finally starting the last phase. The subject’s immune system is no longer fighting the medication and his muscles have been dissolved from the bones. According to Professor Rosenfeld’s calculations, they will easily reattach to the carbon skeleton after the procedure. Our head engineer Mr. Gordon and his team finished the prototype ten days ago and produced the first usable version. We are now making the final calibrations. The subject has been sedated and the observation team has arrived. The insertion procedure will start at 3pm, after the gouvernment‘s permission is given.
_______________________
This is something I wanted to upload for years now ! In 2011, n7mereel, Mr. Grievous and me built this, but never came around to uploading it for several reasons. Now I finally found the photos on my PC, reedited them and we decided to uploade them.
I still like it very much, even though it is a bit old.
Hope you agree !
Another modification (my first was this one www.flickr.com/photos/8107354@N03/16095108446/in/album-72...) of a City model, the 60112, this model is 6 studs wide. Fire trucks are cool but I wanted something more dangerous ;) so I end up with that one based on the 50"s to 70's military vehicles.
"Built in 1910 with local sandstone is done in a Tudor style. It is believed to have been built by J. H. Bryan, a local businessman. There have been few modifications to the building and the exterior has been mostly unchanged. It has been the home of Albert Wood, a contractor (1915-1945), G. A. McGuire a local businessman (1959-1975), and father of Gerry McGuire, former president of Sault College. In 1978 it became the Gord Saunders House operated by Operation Springboard, its current use. It also the largest home on Pilgrim Street." - info from SooToday.
"Sault Ste. Marie (/ˈsuː seɪnt məˈriː/ SOO-seint-ma-REE) is a city on the St. Marys River in Ontario, Canada, close to the Canada–US border. It is the seat of the Algoma District and the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay.
The Ojibwe, the indigenous Anishinaabe inhabitants of the area, call this area Baawitigong, meaning "place of the rapids." They used this as a regional meeting place during whitefish season in the St. Mary's Rapids. (The anglicized form of this name, Bawating, is used in institutional and geographic names in the area.)
To the south, across the river, is the United States and the Michigan city of the same name. These two communities were one city until a new treaty after the War of 1812 established the border between Canada and the United States in this area at the St. Mary's River. In the 21st century, the two cities are joined by the International Bridge, which connects Interstate 75 on the Michigan side, and Huron Street (and former Ontario Secondary Highway 550B) on the Ontario side. Shipping traffic in the Great Lakes system bypasses the Saint Mary's Rapids via the American Soo Locks, the world's busiest canal in terms of tonnage that passes through it, while smaller recreational and tour boats use the Canadian Sault Ste. Marie Canal.
French colonists referred to the rapids on the river as Les Saults de Ste. Marie and the village name was derived from that. The rapids and cascades of the St. Mary's River descend more than 6 m (20 ft) from the level of Lake Superior to the level of the lower lakes. Hundreds of years ago, this slowed shipping traffic, requiring an overland portage of boats and cargo from one lake to the other. The entire name translates to "Saint Mary's Rapids" or "Saint Mary's Falls". The word sault is pronounced [so] in French, and /suː/ in the English pronunciation of the city name. Residents of the city are called Saultites.
Sault Ste. Marie is bordered to the east by the Rankin and Garden River First Nation reserves, and to the west by Prince Township. To the north, the city is bordered by an unincorporated portion of Algoma District, which includes the local services boards of Aweres, Batchawana Bay, Goulais and District, Peace Tree and Searchmont. The city's census agglomeration, including the townships of Laird, Prince and Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional and the First Nations reserves of Garden River and Rankin, had a total population of 79,800 in 2011.
Native American settlements, mostly of Ojibwe-speaking peoples, existed here for more than 500 years. In the late 17th century, French Jesuit missionaries established a mission at the First Nations village. This was followed by development of a fur trading post and larger settlement, as traders, trappers and Native Americans were attracted to the community. It was considered one community and part of Canada until after the War of 1812 and settlement of the border between Canada and the US at the Ste. Mary's River. At that time, the US prohibited British traders from any longer operating in its territory, and the areas separated by the river began to develop as two communities, both named Sault Ste. Marie." - info from Wikipedia.
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Détail de la modification permettant d'adapter les dépolis de rollei série 6000 sur un modèle F.... Les dépolis de la série 6000 étant beaucoup plus performants que ceux des rolleiflex modèle F, certains spécialistes proposaient la modification ...
Juste pour ne pas parler de ce qu'on ne connaît pas !!
A bientôt sur flickr pour: partager apprendre transmettre :o))
Giving the rear wheel wells a plate more of clearance. While I'm at it, I'll rework the steering. Which might create a new problem: while the front half of the body is very sturdy, it connects to the chassis with only six studs. Altering the steering might reduce that number to four.
Should I sacrifice the opening doors for more structural strength?
+++ 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.
Modifications on the Technic set 8110 Unimog U400.
- blue cabine
- steering steeringwheel
- black wheels, closed
- moving bucket (3 sides)
- Train bogey front and back
- Snowplough
Modifications on the Technic set 8110 Unimog U400.
- blue cabine
- steering steeringwheel
- black wheels, closed
- moving bucket (3 sides)
- Train bogey front and back
- Snowplough
Work in progress:
ready modification of 'Taiga' face mold, but I still need to smooth all the surface.
Рабочий процесс: модификация модели лица "Тайга" готова, но ещё нужно сгладить всю поверхность.
Reddit user Conc, also known as "Steve who restored the real Delorean A car"(imgur.com/a/OlWlB#0) inspired me with his modifications to improve my own set, and I'm satisfied with the outcome.
The Chin tattooed women live in the Chin, Rakhine and Arakan states in northwestern Myanmar. The origin of facial tattoos in the region is unknown. Some believe that the practice began during the reigns of Kings long ago. The royalty used to come to the villages to capture young women. The men from the tribe may have tattooed their women to make them ugly, thereby saving them from a life of slavery. Interestingly, I heard a similar origin for body modification among the Mursi tribe in Ethiopia. As legend has it, the tribeswomen began wearing giant lip plates to make them uglier to would-be kidnappers. Now, the bigger the lip plate the higher the bride price.
For years, access to the tribal Mindat area was restricted by the burmese government. It was opened just two years ago. Only about 700 tourists visit per year. Most of them only visit the bucolic Mount Victoria by bus, never meeting the tattooed women who remain isolated, hours away by foot. Those who do wish to meet them better pack good walking shoes and be prepared to sleep in smoke-filled local houses complete with rats.
There are a few different face tattoo patterns. The spiderweb tattoo is popular in the Mrauk U region. It takes a three hour long tail boat ride to reach this remote area. This tattoo is usually accompanied by a circle in the center of the forehead which represents the sun or lines under the nose symbolizing tiger whiskers.
Another design, known as the bee pattern, is common in the Mindat area. It is composed of dots, lines and occasionally circles. It is worn by the Muun tribe who inhabit the hills of the Arakan state.
The Magan tribeswomen wear huge earrings made of beads and calabashes. They can also play the flute with their noses.
I ventured to Kanpelet village in search of the women from the U Pu tribe who have the incredibly rare whole face tattoo. This is one of the most impressive styles: the entire face is inked up. Rumors had it that only three women in this area had the tattoo. After hours of off roading, I arrive in the village only to learn that one died recently and another was very ill. I was lucky enough to meet Pa Late. At 85, she is nearly deaf but still works hard with her family in a small house on the top of a little hill.
Pa Late said that a completely black face had become a symbol of beauty in the past. The few women who refused to do it looked ugly to the men. The tattoo took three days but the pain lasted over a month.
There are two ways to make the tattoo needle. The first consists of tying three pieces of bamboo together and the second uses thorns. The ink is a mixture of cow bile, soot, plants, and pig fat. It usually took one day to complete the standard tattoo and a few more for the totally black one. The tattoo artist was a specialist or in some cases a parent. Infection was a common problem as the girls had blood all over their face.
Everything, including the eyelids, was tattooed. Many women say that the neck was the most sensitive area.
Ma Aung Seim shared her memories of the tattoo sessions : “I was 10 years old. The day before the tattoo ceremony, I only ate sugarcane and drank tea. It was forbidden to eat meat or peanuts. During the tattoo session, I cried a lot, but I could not move at all. After the session, my face bled for 3 days. It was very painful. My mother put fresh beans leaves on my face to alleviate the pain. I had no choice if i wanted to get married. Men wanted women with tattoos at this time. My mother told me that without a tattoo on my face, i would look like... a man! The web drawn on my face attracted the men like a spiderweb catches insects!”
Not all the tattooed women live in remote areas deep in the mountains. Some have integrated into modern society. Miss Heu, 67, lives in Kanpelet. Her grandmother forced her to get tattooed. She lives in a modern house and even has TV (when electricity is not out). Chin people have maintained their modesty and shyness: when a movie showspeople kissing or making love, most of them still fast forward the scene.
As a leader in the local community, Miss Heu had the chance to meet Aung San Suu Kyi when she came in the area for a meeting. She is very aware of the tattooed women and the ethnicities that are forgotten by the central government. She says she and Aung San Suu Kyi are friends now. Heu’s daughter has graduated and works in Singapore.
The Chin culture is threatened by the government as their teachers are usually not Chin. For a long time, they fought for independence, but since the country began to democratize, things have calmed down.
“I am old. Soon I will die” says to me a Chin woman from Pan Baung village, while she does the gesture of drying tears from her eyes. In her village, only 6 tattooed woman remain alive. Those women are the last of their kind…
© Eric Lafforgue
Scarification
Hey there Harry Potter fans! You must have seen Harry’s scar on his forehead. That is something different from what we are talking about here. If you wish, you could also have a similar scar like Harry on your body (wherever you like). You just need to opt for scarification and i...
This is a major modification of a stock Aoshima PA-36K “Berlon” kit – redesigned almost beyond recognition ;). In fact, the victim of my modifications was the second “spare” kit included in the kit box, and it found good and creative use.
I will tell a bit of the story behind this kit, because idea and inspiration evolved step by step over a longer course of time.
It all started with the idea of applying a stylish “state of the art” fractal camouflage scheme on a Dorvack Powered Armour. Considering colours and such a paint scheme’s purpose to break up an objects outlines, I remembered the so-called “Hinterhalt” (“Ambush”) scheme of German WWII military vehicles around 1943-1944: a scheme of 3 high contrast colors (RAL 7028 “Dunkelgelb”/”Dark Yellow”, RAL 6003 “Olivgruen”/”Olive Green” and RAL 8017 “Schokoladenbraun”/”Chocolate Brown” or RAL 8021, actually a rust primer).
The pattern of these basic colors was improvised in the field – with the result that many tanks did not look alike. You can find many different and even creative versions of the 3 basic colours, with stripes and mottles. Its design purpose was to conceal vehicles in forests, from above, mainly in mid Europe where air superiority faded.
This historic pattern has already found its way on some PAs I found in the internet, it is a classic. My idea was then to take the basic colors and follow the basic scheme idea, but apply it in a “digital” fashion, in a kind of grid that would effectively break up any outline.
At that time I considered a standard PA like a PA-58 as a kit basis, since I just followed the paint scheme idea at that time. And this camouflage idea got even more fuel when I saw parts of the Dorvack TV series in the internet – in some scenes (e. g. in episode 14), Powered Armours with a disruptive 3 tone camouflage scheme (I'd say a medium olive green, a very light grey-green and a sand tone with a very pink hue…) or in overall bronze green livery appear. So, camouflage on such a kit was not total fiction.
You might check here for reference:
Dorvack TV series - stills from Ep. 14 & 18 auf Yahoo! Video
Anyway, with the WWII inspiration, I stumbled across a certain vehicle while reading reference literature – the German “Sturmtiger” tank. It was an assault version of the famous Tiger tank, only 78 were re-built from damaged chassis. The turret was replaced by a heavily armoured “box” and a 38cm(!) rocket mortar was built into the tank’s front – actually a weapon which had been developed for the German navy. The Sturmtiger’s main purpose was to crack heavy fortifications like bunkers and to support soldiers in urban combat with building-wrecking firepower.
Bringing it all together, it clicked: I wanted to create a cross-breed between a Dorvack PA and a Sturmtiger tank – or, at least, bring both “spirits” together – and paint it with a weird camouflage scheme!
Here, a spare PA-36K “Berlon” kit came into play. The original kit from the box still waits for assembly, and since #2 comes without decals and its bigger arms’ and legs’ parts would make the figure appear more massive and “edgy” than a standard PA-36 “Nove”, this became an ideal basis.
The kit itself underwent major modification, e .g. the head/helmet with the visor front. Here, American locomotives like the Baldwin „Shark Nose“ diesel locomotive were an inspiration. The original round front/top of the basic PA-36 kit was replaced - besides lots of Tamiya 2C putty, the cockpit area of a 1:144 F-117 kit went into it! The former clear cockpit canopy now houses a new visor arrangement, and the broad and edgy new outline gives the PA-36 a totally different look, much like the PA-48Z "Paladin" conversion kit vs. its PA-48 "Guardian" base.
Another custom piece is the kit’s armament. Taking up the Sturmtiger idea and its characteristic mortar, I built a massive forearm gun from Dorvack spare parts and scratch. The basis is a reversed R6 cannon (the hand-held gun that comes with the standard blue PA-36N kit), its cannon muzzle actually is an A-10A’s engine exhaust in 1:72! Inside, a barrel was added as well as a characteristic exhaust ring (an engine part from a Matchbox 1:72 PB4Y -2Privateer) that creates a similar look like the Sturmtiger’s 38cm assault mortar’s mouthpiece.
Thinking the urban combat/assault task further through, I felt that this assault PA needed another weapon. Smoke dischargers for defence were already part of my plan, but just like in real life (like the German heavily armoured assault tanks in WWII), this PA lacked short range firepower at close range and against soft targets.
It had to be a gun, no further missiles, and so I salvaged a “CW-27 Gatling Smash” gun from a PA-58N kit – a 3 barrelled gatling gun with a drum magazine that is a 2 handed heavy weapon for the small PA-58, but a medium gun for the bulky PA-36 base.
The gatling gun was modified to hold a belted cartridge feed system with a corresponding magazine on the PA’s back (which made a new exhaust system for the jump jets necessary...). The gun itself was modified to be mounted on the PA’s left forearm, which offers – thanks to the different PA-36K’s parts – an even and credible basis to hold the massive gun.
All in all, the PA looks very intimidating with all this equipment – Idelians beware!
Finally the painting: I wanted to stay close to the German original colors. But even though some of the authentic tones are available, I slightly varied them for the kit:
• The RAL 7028 Dark Yellow became Humbrol 94 (“Brown Yellow”). Actually, it is IMHO a good approximation to the WWII RAL colour. Anyway, there were no colour samples left after the war, and nobody knows for sure what this tone actually looked like! As a side note: anything you see today on kits or in museums is just guesswork.
• I replaced RAL 6003 Green (very similar to FS 34102) with an FS tone I found from Testors: FS 34096, an obscure green/olive drab which had been used on B-52 bombers. It contains less yellow than both RAL 6003 and FS 34102 and yields a lighter, almost sun-bleached and worn look.
• RAL 8021 is actually available from Humbrol (tone 160). But again, I settled for a lighter colour with Humbrol 186 (“Brown”).
The colours were applied with a flat 4mm brush in rectangular “blocks”, so that each tone got a third share on the surface.
In a second step, the colour boundaries were frazzled and fractal “mottles” were added all over the kit – a time-consuming job, but the effect is stunning. I copied the fashion in which the original colors were applied: green on sand, and the sand on green and brown, so that the color shares become about 40% sand, 35% green and 25% brown.
Altogether, the overall look and impression of the “Hinterhalt” scheme was kept, despite the fractal scheme, and the kit looks less dark and murky.
Some typical PA details like the chest box were painted in orange - mainly because the water sliding decals (from various kits, including a Dougram Round Facer in 1:72) were orange, too.
Finally, the whole kit received a black ink wash and some weathering through dry painting in hemp and some silver, and finally a matte overall cote.
Pictures were taken with a simple Kodak CX 7330 digital pocket camera.