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I look down at the man dressed in red for a few moments, allowing him to process what M'gann has just told him. Ever since her encounter with Mr Moth all those weeks ago, I've been attempting to build her confidence by encouraging her to tackle low-time criminals.
So far, it would've appeared to work a charm.
Breaking my train of thought, I lower myself out of the air, phase through the bank doors and then take my place next to M'gann.
"I understand you're having some trouble."
M'gann nods; the man in red stood watching with a gormless expression spreading across his face.
"Get back! I'll kill you both!"
He raises his weapon, and I am suddenly reminded of the fact that if he was to squeeze the trigger, I would be rendered powerless and my defeat would be simple.
If only he knew.
"I mean it! I'll do it!"
Calling his bluff, I walk forwards to his trembling wreck of an arm and pause.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Michael."
The man jolts.
"Wha...what did you call me?"
"Michael Miller. That is your name, is it not?"
His mouth begins to move out of time with his mind, then his trembling arm finally gives way and he lets out a meek whine.
"How do you-"
Miller suitably distracted, I lunge forwards and grasp his crude flame-thrower, and in one efficient movement, I bring the weapon upwards and out of his shaking hands. He attempts what some might call a punch, but one quick kick in his shin soon puts his assault to bed, and Miller to the ground.
"Let's see, what have we here?"
I examine the crude weapon at hand, then hook my fingers under a pressure gauge on the side and tear it off. The thrower makes a hissing sound as some gas escapes, then I detach the piping from the gun and throw it to the ground.
"No dammit!"
Miller squirms on the ground, but stops when the bank doors slam open and various officers from the DPD march in. I look up as I walk around Miller, now on his knees, and position myself to talk to the officers.
"Good afternoon."
They lower their weapons in turn with Miller raising his hand to his face, which now appears to be a brighter shade of red than his flattering outfit.
"Martian Manhunter. Thank god."
The officer steps forwards and looks down at Miller.
"Is that...Michael Miller?"
I nod. The officer turns to one of her colleges stood in the doorway, gun still trained on Miller.
"Call dispatch. Let them know we've got the situation under control."
The man nods as he makes his way to the police car, then the officer's hand goes to a pair of handcuffs hooked around her belt. A though flashes through my mind for a moment, the thought of my younger (and somewhat reckless) version of myself back on Mars. I then think of M'gann; how we met, and how I would act if it were her currently relieving herself in a trembling mess at my feet.
The officer steps forwards and I bring my hand up.
"That won't be necessary, officer."
She pauses.
"I'm sorry?"
"Your handcuffs. They will not required."
A look of uncertainty flashes across her face.
"And why not?"
I look down to Miller.
"Mr Miller here has done no wrong."
She frowns as I continue.
"No one was harmed. He didn't even leave here with any money, and, may I remind you, we are in a bank."
"Weather or not he left with any money does not matter, sir. This is currently being treated as a hostage situation-"
I gesture to a group of adolescents all with their mobile devices out.
"Where the hostages are taking photographs of their 'captor'."
The officer sighs.
"May I ask why you're standing up for this man? I, we, were all under the impression that your sort of people stood up for justice?"
I consider the officer's point for a moment, but another look down at the trembling wreck of a man that is Michael Miller reminds me of my cause.
"You are correct. However, take a look at Mister Miller, officer. Take away the gaudy outfit and those awful judgement skills, and you have a young individual who needs help. I do stand for justice, officer, you're quite right, but this man here,"
Miller looks down.
"Is not an example of a dangerous criminal. Someone who attacks a bank using only a home-made hair-dryer with a little extra firepower, in a city protected by two extraterrestrials with unearthly powers, clearly isn't the sharpest of criminal minds."
The officer turns to her college, and in turn I look to M'gann, stood tending to an inquisitive man in the doorway. The officer turns back to me and sighs.
"Alright, let's say for one minute that he is innocent. What's to stop him from attacking again if we let him go?"
I nod.
"A fair point. He could easily come back just as powerful next time, couldn't he?"
I crane my neck to look at Michael, but as soon as I catch his eye he snaps his neck back downwards.
"But look at him. Do you honestly think he will attempt anything like this again after what's happened today? He won't even be able to look at a dollar bill without trembling. Even the hostages outsmarted him."
Michael fidgets on the ground, but keeps his eyes down.
"His is still in possession of an offensive weapon."
"He was in possession of an offensive weapon. Currently he is in possession of a heap of rather inoffensive metal."
The officer once again sighs, then turns to her college. She whispers something in his ear, and after a few moments, she looks back to me and sighs.
"Alright."
She kneels down to Michael and begins to talk to him.
"Right then Mister Miller, it would appear today is your lucky day. Now god knows why, but thanks to your Martian friend here, we've decided to let you go, under the condition that you will be under a strict curfew for at least eighteen months."
Michael stirs, but I calm him with a hand on his shoulder. The officer stands.
"You're going to have to come with us to go through the details of your curfew, but after that, you're free to go."
She picks Miller up and leads him outside.
"I suggest you thank your lucky stars you've got the Martian Manhunter here. He's turned the end of your free life, into a life of staying indoors after nine o'clock."
The officers, Miller in tow, exit the bank and head for the police car. The woman opens the back passenger door, then turns round and says one last thing to me.
"Why?"
I pause.
"I like to believe there is a bit of good in everybody. At least, in some people. Mister Miller here is certainly no exception. He's young; he's got his whole life ahead of him. Don't bring that crashing down because he had one minor lapse of judgement."
She nods, then Miller gives me one last look before being bundled into the police car.
I walk over to M'gann stood by the doors. She says nothing, instead she just looks up at me, and smiles as we watch the car drive off down the road and into the busy afternoon traffic.
Amtrak Keystone Service 655 flies through Villanova University's campus under a remaining original PRR Position light signal tower, with the newly repainted Amtrak Metroliner Cabcar #9635 leading in new Phase VII paint (the first of the Metroliners to get this treatment!).
Though it's sparkled up in the newest paint scheme from Amtrak (sides included!) the Metroliner Cabcars still show their years of hard work they put into passenger service.
Siemens Mobility ALC-42s AMTK 306 and 305 power the daily southbound Coast Starlight 11, on its way from Seattle to Los Angeles, seen here passing through Springfield, Oregon. AMTK 306 made the inaugural run of an ALC-42 on the Coast Starlight, on March 8th, 2023, leading northbound train 14. Photo taken on May 18th, 2023.
Lines and shadow... and an umbrella
Phase One XF/Leaf Credo 40/Hartblei 45mm Super-Rotator Pentacon Six mount, adapted to Mamiya 645.
Inspired by Fan Ho's "Approaching Shadow."
From left to right, each camera represents the different phases I've gone through in my particular journey in the hobby of photography.
️ SPQR - Phase I ️
▶️ Watch the Model Film in 4K on YouTube:
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 104,000+ (~1,700 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 57in x 289in (143cm x 231cm)
Research Time: 2,000+ hours since 2019
Design Time: 1,000+ hours in 200 days
Build Time: 600+ hours in 90 days
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIII - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
️ SPQR - Phase I ️
▶️ Watch the Model Film in 4K on YouTube:
▶️ Intro to SPQR Project:
Support this unprecedented project on Patreon:
www.patreon.com/RoccoButtliere
Parts: 104,000+ (~1,700 unique)
Scale: 1:650
Dimensions: 57in x 289in (143cm x 231cm)
Research Time: 2,000+ hours since 2019
Design Time: 1,000+ hours in 200 days
Build Time: 600+ hours in 90 days
Photography: EClarke Photo 📷
© MMXXIII - Rocco Buttliere, LLC
"Why are we here?"
"I called you all in here because I have a very special request..."
"What kind of request? Who are you anyway?"
"You'll know soon enough. For now, I need to know if you four will ally yourselves with me."
"What do we get out of it...?"
"Fame, fortune, your faces all over the tabloids and media sites. I will give you everlasting popularity if you agree to help me."
"What do you need us to do?"
"I need you to infiltrate Blossoms Inc. and destroy Barbie and her followers from the inside...."
"Barbie? As in the most famous doll in the world?"
"Precisely..."
"But why?"
"Leave the details to me. I just need... dolls of your caliber to fulfill this mission...."
"But we're washed up. We were famous back in 2000. How will we even get in?"
"I will turn you into a world wide sensation. That will be your key to getting in... You were a group before, I don't see why you can't be a group again."
"I don't know... It seems very risky. What if we get caught?"
"I assure you, you wont... So? Are you girls in..."
"Yeah we're in..."
"Excellent..."
Blossoms Inc. Redux Coming Soon
An outbound Regional Rail train approaches Temple University station. In the background one can see the incredibly rare phase break position light signals, though somewhat obscured by catenary and signal bridges.
Today, on the 2,775th anniversary of the Founding of Rome, it gives me great pleasure to announce the official launch of SPQR - Phase II!
Bursting forth from the northern edge of Phase I, Phase II will expand the historical diorama of 4th Century Imperial Rome in several crucial and exciting ways.
In topographical terms, Phase II will introduce two new hills of the fabled seven - the Quirinal & the Esquiline - on either end of its bidirectional tributaries.
Not to be mistaken for haphazard boundaries, the outlines of Phase II were once, in fact, major infrastructural corridors and are drawn along ancient roads and aqueducts. Far from forming a complete picture, these rugged boundaries emphasize the phasic approach to this entire project. QED.
The undulating hillsides between the two spurs will capture vast swaths of the Subura neighborhood, in all its sprawling, frenetic density.
There will, of course, be no shortage of monumental structures in Phase II! Included within its extents are the vividly polychrome Imperial Fora, Caracalla’s enormous Temple of Serapis, the Ludus Magna where gladiators trained beside the Colosseum, and no fewer than three imperial thermae complexes: the Baths of Titus, of Trajan and of Constantine.
While Phase II will add roughly 80% of the overall total land area depicted in the first phase, it is expected to match the 100,000 bricks used for the latter. What Phase II lacks in comparable surface area, it will more than make up for in volume due to the consistently higher elevations and corresponding substructure thickness.
Now, I must stress that none of this is a foregone conclusion. Victory loves hard work, but I continue to rely on your support to ensure my self-reliance as a one-man small business owner.
I humbly ask that you please consider supporting this unprecedented project by subscribing over on my Patreon page. No amount of support is too small. As I've expressed previously, it’s no exaggeration to say that subscriber-based platforms are virtually the only way to fund such long-term endeavors and to insulate the work from the fickle whims of big-tech algorithms.
But more importantly, it’s going to take a village to realize the fullest extents of this project. I can think of no better exhibition centerpiece than one which has been made possible through the generosity of so many.
For more information on the benefits of becoming a patron, check out my Patreon page in the link below. ➡️🔗⤵️
Amtrak P42 130, recently painted into the phase II heritage scheme, leads the California Zephyr westbound through Hinsdale. I never got a photo of Amtrak 66 in this scheme before it was involved in a grade crossing accident that ultimately ended it's serviceable life. This completes my list of Amtrak heritage units.
The R16 was presented in jan. 1965. The hatchback concept in combination with front-wheel traction was at the time very modern.
It was designed by Philippe Charbonneaux (1917-1998) in cooperation with Gaston Juchet.
This faster TS version followed in 1968.
1565 cc.
1051 kg.
Production R16: 1965-Jan. 1980.
Production R16 TS Type R1154: 1968-1977, this particular version: 1969-1971 (see reversing lights).
Original first license number: July 2, 1970.
New Dutch semi-historical license number: Febr. 2, 1998.
Motorway A27 near Gorinchem, Oct. 4, 2015.
© 2015 Sander Toonen Amsterdam | All Rights Reserved
Moon's current phase
Date and time: February 26, 2016 - 23:55
Distance from Earth to the Moon: 405.485 km
Moon's age: 18.6 days
Moon Phase: The moon is waning
Illuminated percentage: 85%
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the model, the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The AH-1 Cobra was developed in the mid-1960s as an interim gunship for the U.S. Army for use during the Vietnam War. The Cobra shared the proven transmission, rotor system, and the T53 turboshaft engine of the UH-1 "Huey". By June 1967, the first AH-1G HueyCobras had been delivered. Bell built 1,116 AH-1Gs for the U.S. Army between 1967 and 1973, and the Cobras chalked up over a million operational hours in Vietnam.
The U.S. Marine Corps was very interested in the AH-1G Cobra, too, but it preferred a twin-engine version for improved safety in over-water operations, and also wanted a more potent turret-mounted weapon. At first, the Department of Defense had balked at providing the Marines with a twin-engine version of the Cobra, in the belief that commonality with Army AH-1Gs outweighed the advantages of a different engine fit. However, the Marines won out and awarded Bell a contract for 49 twin-engine AH-1J SeaCobras in May 1968. As an interim measure the U.S. Army passed on thirty-eight AH-1Gs to the Marines in 1969. The AH-1J also received a more powerful gun turret with a three-barrel 20 mm XM197 cannon based on the six-barrel M61 Vulcan cannon.
During the 1990s, the US forces gradually phased out its Cobra fleet. The withdrawn AH-1s were typically offered to other potential operators, usually NATO allies. Some were also given to the USDA's Forest Service for fire surveillance, and a handful AH-1s went into private hands, including the NASA. Among these airframes were some USMC AH-1Js, which had in part been mothballed in the Mojave Desert since their replacement through more powerful and modern AH-1 variants and the AH-64.
About twenty airframes were, after having been de-militarized, bought by the Kaman Corporation in 2003, in a bold move to quickly respond to more than 20 inquiries for the company’s K-1200 ‘K-Max’ crane synchropter since the type’s end of production in 2001 from firefighting, logging and industry transport requirements. While not such a dedicated medium lift helicopter as the K-1200, which had from the outset been optimized for external cargo load operations, the twin-engine AH-1J promised to be a very effective alternative and a powerful basis for a conversion into a crane helicopter.
The result of this conversion program was the Kaman K-1300, also known as the “K-Cobra” or “Crane Cobra”. While the basic airframe of the AH-1J was retained, extensive detail modifications were made. To reduce weight and compensate for the extensive hardware changes, the SeaCobra lost its armor, the chin turret, and the stub wings. Beyond that, many invisible changes were made; the internal structure between the engine mounts was beefed up with an additional cage structure and a cargo hook was installed under the fuselage in the helicopter’s center of lift.
To further optimize the K-Cobra’s performance, the dynamic components were modified and improved, too. While the engine remained the same, its oil cooler was enlarged and the original output limit to 1.500 shp was removed and the gearbox was strengthened to fully exploit the twin-engine’s available power of 1,800 shp (1,342 kW). The rotor system was also modified and optimized for the transport of underslung loads: the original UH-1 dual-blade rotors were replaced with new four-blade rotors. The new main rotor with rugged heavy-duty blades offered more lift at less rotor speed, and the blades’ lift sections were moved away from the hub so that downwash and turbulences directly under the helicopter’s CoG and man hook were reduced to keep the cargo load more stable. Due to the main rotor’s slightly bigger diameter the tail rotor was changed into a slightly smaller four-blade rotor, too. This new arrangement made the K-1300 more stable while hovering or during slow speed maneuvers and more responsive to steering input.
The Cobra’s crew of two was retained, but the cockpit was re-arranged and split into two compartments: the pilot retained the original rear position in the tandem cockpit under the original glazing, but the gunner’s station in front of him, together with the secondary dashboard, was omitted and replaced by a new, fully glazed cabin under the former gunner position. This cabin occupied the former gun station and its ammunition supply and contained a rearward-facing workstation for a second pilot with full controls. It was accessible via a separate door or a ladder from above, through a trap door in the former gunner’s station floor, where a simple foldable bench was available for a third person. This arrangement was chosen due to almost complete lack of oversight of the slung load from the normal cockpit position, despite a CCTV (closed circuit television) system with two cameras intended for observation of slung loads. The second pilot would control the helicopter during delicate load-handling maneuvers, while the primary pilot “above” would fly the helicopter during transfer flights, both sharing the workload.
To accommodate the cabin under the fuselage and improve ground handling, the AH-1J’s skids were replaced by a stalky, fixed four-wheel landing gear that considerably increased ground clearance (almost 7 feet), making the attachment of loads on the ground to the main ventral hook easier, as the K-1300 could be “rolled over” the cargo on the ground and did not have to hover above it to connect. However, an external ladder had to be added so that the pilot could reach his/her workstation almost 10 feet above the ground.
The bulky ventral cabin, the draggy landing gear and the new lift-optimized rotor system reduced the CraneCobra’s top speed by a third to just 124 mph (200 km/h), but the helicopter’s load-carrying capacity became 35% higher and the Cobra’s performance under “hot & high” conditions was markedly improved, too.
For transfer flights, a pair of external auxiliary tanks could be mounted to the lower fuselage flanks, which could also be replaced with cargo boxes of similar size and shape.
K-1300 buyers primarily came from the United States and Canada, but there were foreign operators, too. A major operator in Europe became Heliswiss, the oldest helicopter company in Switzerland. The company was founded as „Heliswiss Schweizerische Helikopter AG“, with headquarters in Berne-Belp on April 17, 1953, what also marked the beginning of commercial helicopter flying in Switzerland. During the following years Heliswiss expanded in Switzerland and formed a network with bases in Belp BE, Samedan GR, Domat Ems GR, Locarno TI, Erstfeld UR, Gampel VS, Gstaad BE and Gruyères FR. During the build-up of the rescue-company Schweizerische Rettungsflugwacht (REGA) as an independent network, Heliswiss carried out rescue missions on their behalf.
Heliswiss carried out operations all over the world, e. g. in Greenland, Suriname, North Africa and South America. The first helicopter was a Bell 47 G-1, registered as HB-XAG on September 23, 1953. From 1963 Heliswiss started to expand and began to operate with medium helicopters like the Agusta Bell 204B with a turbine power of 1050 HP and an external load of up to 1500 kg. From 1979 Heliswiss operated a Bell 214 (external load up to 2.8 t).
Since 1991 Heliswiss operated a Russian Kamov 32A12 (a civil crane version of the Ka-27 “Helix”), which was joined by two K-1300s in 2004. They were frequently used for construction of transmission towers for overhead power lines and pylons for railway catenary lines, for selective logging and also as fire bombers with underslung water bags, the latter managed by the German Helog company, operating out of Ainring and Küssnacht in Germany and Switzerland until 2008, when Helog changed its business focus into a helicopter flight training academy in Liberia with the support of Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research.
A second Kamov 32A12 joined the fleet in 2015, which replaced one of the K-1300s, and Heliswiss’ last K-1300 was retired in early 2022.
General characteristics:
Crew: 2, plus space for a passenger
Length: 54 ft 3 in (16,56 m) including rotors
44 ft 5 in (13.5 m) fuselage only
Main rotor diameter: 46 ft 2¾ in (14,11 m)
Main rotor area: 1,677.64 sq ft (156,37 m2)
Width (over landing gear): 12 ft 6 in (3.85 m)
Height: 17 ft 8¼ in (5,40 m)
Empty weight: 5,810 lb (2,635 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 9,500 lb (4,309 kg) without slung load
13,515 lb (6,145 kg) with slung load
Powerplant:
1× P&W Canada T400-CP-400 (PT6T-3 Twin-Pac) turboshaft engine, 1,800 shp (1,342 kW)
Performance:
Maximum speed: 124 mph (200 km/h, 110 kn)
Cruise speed: 105 mph (169 km/h, 91 kn)
Range: 270 mi (430 km, 230 nmi) with internal fuel only,
360 mi (570 km 310 nmi) with external auxiliary tanks
Service ceiling: 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
Hovering ceiling out of ground effect: 3,000 m (9,840 ft)
Rate of climb: 2,500 ft/min (13 m/s) at Sea Level with flat-rated torque
External load capacity (at ISA +15 °C (59.0 °F):
6,000 lb (2,722 kg) at sea level
5,663 lb (2,569 kg) at 5,000 ft (1,524 m)
5,163 lb (2,342 kg) at 10,000 ft (3,048 m)
5,013 lb (2,274 kg) at 12,100 ft (3,688 m)
4,313 lb (1,956 kg) at 15,000 ft (4,600 m)
The kit and its assembly:
This is/was the second contribution to the late 2022 “Logistics” Group Build at whatifmodellers.com, a welcome occasion and motivation to tackle a what-if project that had been on my list for a long while. This crane helicopter conversion of a HueyCobra was inspired by the Mil Mi-10K helicopter – I had built a 1:100 VEB Plasticart kit MANY years ago and still remembered the helicopter’s unique ventral cabin under the nose with a rearward-facing second pilot. I always thought that the AH-1 might be a good crane helicopter, too, esp. the USMC’s twin-engine variant. And why not combine everything in a fictional model?
With this plan the basis became a Fujimi 1:72 AH-1J and lots of donor parts to modify the basic hull into “something else”. Things started with the removal of the chin turret and part of the lower front hull to make space for the ventral glass cabin. The openings for the stub wings were faired over and a different stabilizer (taken from a Revell EC 135, including the end plates) was implanted. The attachment points for the skids were filled and a styrene tube was inserted into the rotor mast opening to later hold the new four-blade rotor. Another styrene tube with bigger diameter was inserted into the lower fuselage as a display holder adapter for later flight scene pictures. Lead beads filled the nose section to make sure the CraneCobra would stand well on its new legs, with the nose down. The cockpit was basically taken OOB, just the front seat and the respective gunner dashboard was omitted.
One of the big challenges of this build followed next: the ventral cabin. Over the course of several months, I was not able to find a suitable donor, so I was forced to scratch the cabin from acrylic and styrene sheet. Size benchmark became the gunner’s seat from the Cobra kit, with one of the OOB pilots seated. Cabin width was less dictated through the fuselage, the rest of the cabin’s design became a rather simple, boxy thing – not pretty, but I think a real-life retrofitted cabin would not look much different? Some PSR was done to hide the edges of the rather thick all-clear walls and create a 3D frame - a delicate task. Attaching the completed thing with the second pilot and a dashboard under the roof to the Cobra’s lower hull and making it look more or less natural without major accidents was also a tricky and lengthy affair, because I ignored the Cobra’s narrowing nose above the former chin turret.
With the cabin defining the ground helicopter’s clearance, it was time for the next donors: the landing gear from an Airfix 1:72 Kamow Ka-25, which had to be modified further to achieve a proper stance. The long main struts were fixed to the hull, their supporting struts had to be scratched, in this case from steel wire. The front wheels were directly attached to the ventral cabin (which might contain in real life a rigid steel cage that not only protects the second crew member but could also take the front wheels’ loads?). Looks pretty stalky!
Under the hull, a massive hook and a fairing for the oil cooler were added. A PE brass ladder was mounted on the right side of the hull under the pilot’s cockpit, while a rear-view mirror was mounted for the ventral pilot on the left side.
The rotor system was created in parallel, I wanted “something different” from the UH-1 dual-blade rotors. The main rotor hub was taken from a Mistercraft 1:72 Westland Lynx (AFAIK a re-boxed ZTS Plastyk kit), which included the arms up to the blades. The hub was put onto a metal axis, with a spacer to make it sit well in the new styrene tube adapter inside of the hull, and some donor parts from the Revell EC 135. Deeper, tailored blades were glued to the Lynx hub, actually leftover parts from the aforementioned wrecked VEB Plasticart 1:100 Mi-10, even though their length had to be halved (what makes you aware how large a Mi-6/10 is compared with an AH-1!). The tail rotor was taken wholesale from the Lynx and stuck to the Cobra’s tail with a steel pin.
Painting and markings:
Another pushing factor for this build was the fact that I had a 1:72 Begemot aftermarket decal sheet for the Kamow Ka-27/32 in The Stash™, which features, among many military helicopters, (the) two civil Heliswiss machines – a perfect match!
Using the Swiss Helix’ as design benchmark I adapted their red-over-white paint scheme to the slender AH-1 and eventually ended up with a simple livery with a white belly (acrylic white from the rattle can, after extensive masking of the clear parts with Maskol/latex milk) and a red (Humbrol 19) upper section, with decorative counter-colored cheatlines along the medium waterline. A black anti-glare panel was added in front of the windscreen. The auxiliary tanks were painted white, too, but they were processed separately and mounted just before the final coat of varnish was applied. The PE ladder as well as the rotors were handled similarly.
The cockpit and rotor opening interior were painted in a very dark grey (tar black, Revell 06), while the interior of the air intakes was painted bright white (Revell 301). The rotor blades became light grey (Revell 75) with darker leading edges (Humbrol 140), dark grey (Humbrol 164) hubs and yellow tips.
For the “HELOG/Heliswiss” tagline the lower white section had to be raised to a medium position on the fuselage, so that they could be placed on the lower flanks under the cockpit. The white civil registration code could not be placed on the tail and ended up on the engine cowling, on red, but this does not look bad or wrong at all.
The cheatlines are also decals from the Ka-32 Begemot sheet, even though they had to be trimmed considerably to fit onto the Cobra’s fuselage – and unfortunately the turned out to be poorly printed and rather brittle, so that I had to improvise and correct the flaws with generic red and white decal lines from TL Modellbau. The white cross on the tail and most stencils came from the Begemot sheet, too. Black, engine soot-hiding areas on the Cobra’s tail were created with generic decal sheet material, too.
The rotor blades and the wheels received a black ink treatment to emphasize their details, but this was not done on the hull to avoid a dirty or worn look. After some final details like position lights the model was sealed with semi-matt acrylic varnish, while the rotors became matt.
A weird-looking what-if model, but somehow a crane-copter variant of the AH-1 looks quite natural – even more so in its attractive red-and-white civil livery. The stalky landing gear is odd, though, necessitated by the ventral cabin for the second pilot. I was skeptical, but scratching the latter was more successful than expected, and the cabin blend quite well into the AH-1 hull, despite its boxy shape.
This is a basic prop replica of a phaser from Star Trek Discovery (1st, 2nd, and some of season 3).
I have been a Star Trek fan since I can remember. I watched Star Trek the original series in syndication on a local TV channel (KPTV 12 Portland, Oregon) every weekday and on the weekends. I was totally hooked! The first Star Trek movie I saw in the movie theater was Star Trek IV The Voyage Home or as it’s loving called, saving the whales movie. I had seen Star Trek The Motion Picture, The Wrath Of Khan, and The Search For Spock on video and loved all of those. I started reading any Star Trek novels I could find (thank goodness Powell’s Books was around).
Then Star Trek the Next Generation came out and I was in absolute love. Which was followed by Star Trek Deep Space Nine, Star Trek Voyager, and Enterprise. Sadly Enterprise was canceled just when it was hitting its stride. Many years later we got JJ Abram's Star Trek (The Kelvin Timeline), Picard, Lower Decks and Prodigy. I have enjoyed all of the various Star Trek series that have come out.
Around the time Star Trek IV the Voyage Home came out, I went to my first Star Trek convention. It was held at the Holiday Inn at the Portland International Airport (PDX). At that convention, I met William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, and Walter Koenig. Over the years I would meet all of the original series cast. And many of the various Star Trek series. When I was older and could drive, I would drive up to Seattle to attend conventions up there. Later in life, I would fly to other places to attend.
I will share stories about my experiences and the actors I have met at the conventions another time.
Thank you for your support.
Phase 3. Just finished the black'n'grey area's. To be coloured next month.
Tattoo by Jim Macairt @ into u tattoo, Brighton UK. IntoYouTattoo
As the sun sets on the SWT 458/5 junipers as they are refurbished, 458530 approaches Wokingham station at dusk with a an evening service to Reading from London Waterloo.