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has been failed, so they started to intake of next 1200 calories.
At Somewhere
Animations: by myself
Coutesy Of
Nelline Morane
Lisapia Resident
Tsubasa Resident
En cada onda
un frío intenso
a percorrer os corpos
mortos
os argazos
de carne inerte
e os peixes
nun boliche
ateigado de silencios
Cadaquén procure noutro
as súas sombras
o cheiro a marusía
nestes mares
é unha buguina sorda
que adoito
nos sorprende
impunes
(Modesto Fraga)
.
Well, I finally procured a 10 stop ND filter. It arrived Saturday so yesterday, Kim and I met some friends at the botanic gardens.
Without too much distraction I made my way back to the Sasebo Japanese Garden waterfall and proceeded to fumble my way to a photo.
Thank heaven for Adobe Lightroom's ability to bring down the highlights and lighten shadows! This was pretty darn dark in the shadows even at a 15 second exposure.
I took a chance on an inexpensive ICE brand ND1000 filter for $28.47 USD from Amazon. I may have lucked out. I purchased one sized at 72mm figuring with step down rings I could put it on any of my cameras and lenses.
14th June 2015 - British Aircraft Corporation TSR 2 XR220 taken in the morning sun on a rare outing outside her hangar at the RAF Cosford 2015 airshow.
The Following is taken from the museum website:
Although never developed beyond the prototype stage, the British Aircraft Corporation TSR2 was one of the most exciting and controversial British combat aircraft designs of the 1960s. The cancellation of the project is a subject of great debate to this day.
During the mid 1950s, the increasing sophistication of air defence systems led the RAF to consider the procurement of a high speed, low level strike and reconnaissance aircraft to replace the English Electric Canberra. In October 1957, the Ministry of Supply released the first specification for such an aircraft.
On 1 January 1959 the Ministry of Supply announced a design had been selected for production. Christened the TSR2 (Tactical Strike and Reconnaissance Mach 2), this aircraft was developed by a joint design team. A contract for eleven TSR2 prototypes was concluded on 6 October 1960, the first (XR219) made its maiden flight from Boscombe Down on 27 September 1964.
By 31 March 1965 XR219 had completed twenty-four flights, and a second, the aircraft you see here, was to join the programme. Initial reports indicated that the TSR2 was an outstanding technical success. However political opposition to the project led to it being cancelled from 6 April 1965.
The Highland Council will commence running buses via an in-house operation on 4 January 2023. 11 pilot services that will fall under a Section 22 community bus permit have been registered with the Traffic Commissioner. Seven will start from that date with the other four following five days later.
A report to The Highland Council’s Redesign Board on 28 November states that the local authority (LA) expects to realise a potential saving of £1.4m per year on the initial group of contracted services that it has taken in-house, although it notes that there will be an initial outlay and “a one-off cost for the procurement of a transport management solution.”
That report states that an in-house bus company “will mitigate some of the significant cost increases fro the recent retendering of passenger and school transport contracts.” It adds that the model “will also provide the potential for an improved and more inclusive service to be provided to support other Council objectives.”
A team of three Project Officers and a Bus Operations Supervisor is in place. Interviews for the 11 drivers required are underway, with six recruited already. Although the bus services will operate under a Section 22 permit, the team includes two members with Transport Manager qualifications, the LA has pointed out.
The Highland Council will lease an operating centre in Inverness for the operation. Seven single-decker buses are currently stored in Inverness and two of six double-deckers have arrived in the city, although the LA also says that it has invested in 12 buses. The services to be taken up are currently in the hands of other operators including Stagecoach.
A Long Story Short ..... ( sorry )
The Köln Concert (TKC) is a live solo double album by pianist Keith Jarrett recorded at the Opera House in Köln, West Germany on 24 January 1975 and released on ECM Records later that year.[1] It is the best-selling solo album in jazz history and the best-selling piano album.
The concert was organized by 18-year-old Vera Brandes,[3] then Germany's youngest concert promoter.[4] The concert took place on a Friday at the late hour of 11:30 pm, following an earlier opera performance. The late time was the only one the administration would make available to Brandes for a jazz concert—the first at the Köln Opera House. The show was sold out, filled to capacity at over 1,400 people at a ticket price of 4 DM.
At Jarrett's request, Brandes had selected a Bösendorfer 290 Imperial concert grand piano for the performance. However, there was some confusion by the opera house staff and instead they found another Bösendorfer piano backstage—a much smaller baby grand piano—and, assuming it was the one requested, placed it on the stage. The error was discovered too late for the correct Bösendorfer to be delivered to the venue in time for the evening's concert. The piano they had was intended for rehearsals only and was in poor condition and required several hours of tuning and adjustment to make it playable.[5][3] The instrument was tinny and thin in the upper registers and weak in the bass register, and the pedals did not work properly.[3] While Brandes made an attempt and procured another grand piano up to Jarrett's standards to be delivered as an emergency, the piano tuner who had meanwhile arrived to fix the baby grand warned her that transporting a grand piano without the proper equipment at low temperatures in the middle of a rainstorm would irreparably damage the instrument, forcing Brandes to stick to the small one.[6][3]
Jarrett had performed a few days earlier in Zürich, Switzerland and although Brandes had sent him a ticket for a flight to Cologne on the record company's request, he exchanged the ticket for cash and joined ECM Records producer Manfred Eicher travelling to Cologne by car in Eicher's old Renault 4, so they arrived at the opera house late in the afternoon tired after the exhausting long drive.[3] Jarrett had not slept well in several nights and was in pain from back problems, having to wear a brace as a result. After trying out the substandard piano and learning a replacement instrument was not available, Jarrett nearly refused to play and was about to leave, but Brandes was able to convince him to perform anyway as the concert was scheduled to begin in just a few hours.[7][3] Brandes had booked a table at a restaurant in advance of the performance, but delays meant Jarrett was able to eat very little of it before leaving.[6][3] Ultimately, Jarrett decided to play largely because the recording equipment was already set up.[8] Jarrett used ostinatos and rolling left-hand rhythmic figures during his performance to give the effect of stronger bass notes, and concentrated his playing in the middle portion of the keyboard. Eicher later said: "Probably [Jarrett] played it the way he did because it was not a good piano. Because he could not fall in love with the sound of it, he found another way to get the most out of it."[7]
A notable aspect of the concert was Jarrett's ability to produce very extensive improvised material over a vamp of one or two chords for prolonged periods of time. In Part I, he spends almost 12 minutes vamping over the chords Am7 (A minor 7) to G major, sometimes in a slow, rubato feel, and other times in a bluesy, gospel rock feel. For about the last 6 minutes of Part I, he vamps over an A major theme. Roughly the first 8 minutes of Part II A is a vamp over a D major groove with a repeated bass vamp in the left hand, and in Part IIb, Jarrett improvises over an F♯ minor vamp for about the first 6 minutes.
The performance was recorded by ECM Records engineer Martin Wieland using a pair of Neumann U 67 vacuum-tube powered condenser microphones and a Telefunken M-5 portable tape machine. The recording is in three parts: lasting about 26 minutes, 34 minutes and seven minutes respectively. As it was originally programmed for vinyl LP, the second part was split into sections labelled "IIa" and "IIb". The third part, labelled "IIc", was actually the final piece, a separate encore. "IIc" is a reinterpretation of a composition by Keith Jarrett, "Memories of Tomorrow", which can be heard during a trio concert with Gus Nemeth (double bass) and Paul Motian (percussion) given in Oslo in December 1969 and broadcast in 1972 on the Norwegian public television channel NRK.[9]
Subtle laughter may be heard from the audience at the very beginning of "Part I" in response to Jarrett's quoting of the melody of the signal bell which announces the beginning of an opera or concert to patrons at the Köln Opera House, the notes of which are G D C G A.[7] Jarrett himself noted that while he does not remember doing it consciously, he credits it for putting the audience in a good mood that helped him throug
Even 50 years later he touches my heart ..... right time, right place, right moment !? There's always a moment for Poetry.
Curious? Don't hesitate...CD still available from ECM.
Regards Rens, btw Wikipedia !
European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton coming face to the face with the atomic clocks at the heart of Europe’s Galileo satellite navigation system.
On Tuesday 7 September ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher took Commissioner Breton on a tour of ESA’s European Space Technology and Research Centre, ESTEC, at Noordwijk in the Netherlands.
Seen from left to right: Internal Market Cabinet Member Fabrice Comptour; ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher; Commissioner Breton and Andrea Contellessa, heading ESA’s Galileo Space Segment Management Office.
They looked in at ESTEC’s Navigation Laboratory, which includes the complete navigation module of a Galileo satellite, kept in cleanroom conditions for technical experiments and trouble shooting.
On the left side sits Galileo’s passive hydrogen maser atomic clock, sufficiently accurate that it would lose only one second over three million years. To the right is a rubidium atomic clock, which would only lose three seconds in one million years. Each satellite carries two each of these two clock types for maximum redundancy.
Commissioner Breton also inspected the six Galileo ‘Batch 3’ satellites currently being tested for space at ESTEC’s Test Centre, the largest satellite test facility in Europe. Two of these Galileo satellites are due for launch later this year.
About Galileo
The Galileo system is operated by the EU Agency for the Space Programme, EUSPA, based in Prague. ESA and EUSPA are partnering on respectively the development and operations of Galileo.
ESA is in charge of the design, development, procurement and qualification of Galileo satellites and their associated ground infrastructure on behalf of the European Union, the system’s owner.
Credits: ESA-G. Porter
Procuré mantener las distancias, era una lacra, todo lo que rodeaba el incidente de aquella noche se tornaba tóxico. Estábamos contaminados, cada poro, cada idea, ya no quedaba nada limpio en nosotros.
This funky, experimental bracelet features vintage comic art from the Adventures of Tintin - Red Rackham's Treasure. The Tintin comics were created in 1929. Red Rackham's Treasure follows Tintin and friends as they search for the pirate booty procured by Captain Haddock's ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock, in the West Indies. Tintin and Snowy receive some unexpected help in the form of a hard-of-hearing inventor named Professor Calculus. It's a lot of fun, with some submarine and diving adventures.
The rooftop sign advertising the main tenant of this highrise has been a landmark in Harrisburg Pennsylvania for more than 40 years, or about as long as the original electric “Harrisburger Hotel” sign lit up the night skies over Pennsylvania’s capital. Politicians and lobbyists once flocked to its Caucus Room lounge to wheel and deal late into the evening.
Commissioned by an investment group headed by building contractor Ray Shoemaker, this handsome brick tower features stone false balconies and Art Deco trim. But by 1969, it had declined to the point of hosting a national hobo jamboree. A real estate businessman named Charles Adler and a few of his associates snapped it up that year with the stated aim of converting it to office space.
Adler was also the campaign fundraising boss for gubernatorial candidate Milton Shapp, and when Shapp won, he made Adler his deputy secretary for state procurement. The new governor soon came under fire when the state took a sizeable lease in the former hotel. Pundits called it “Milton’s Hilton,” but Shapp survived the controversy. Today the tenant mix includes attorneys, state officials, and nonprofits.
Address. 200 N. Third St.
Opened. 1930
Height. 257'
Stories. 19
Style. Art Deco
Architect. Lawrie & Green
The Blackburn Buccaneer originated in the early 1950s as a design for a carrier-borne attack aircraft able to carry a nuclear bomb below radar coverage. It was a British low-level subsonic strike aircraft that served with the Royal Navy (RN) and later the Royal Air Force (RAF), retiring from service in 1994. Designed and initially produced by Blackburn Aircraft at Brough, it was later known as the Hawker Siddeley Buccaneer when Blackburn became a part of the Hawker Siddeley group.
The Royal Navy originally procured the Buccaneer as a naval strike aircraft capable of operating from their aircraft carriers, introducing the type to service in 1962 to counterbalance advances made in the Soviet Navy. The Buccaneer was capable of delivering nuclear weapons as well as conventional weapons for anti-shipping warfare, and was typically active in the North Sea area during its service. Early on the initial production aircraft suffered a series of accidents due to insufficient engine power, thus the Buccaneer S.2, equipped with more powerful Rolls-Royce Spey engines, was soon introduced.
Although they originally rejected it in favour of the supersonic BAC TSR-2, the RAF later procured the Buccaneer as a substitute following the cancellation of both the TSR-2 and its planned replacement, the F-111K. When the RN retired the last of its large aircraft carriers, its Buccaneers were transferred to the RAF. The South African Air Force also procured the type. Buccaneers saw combat action in the Gulf War and the South African Border War. In RN service, the Buccaneer was replaced with the V/STOL British Aerospace Sea Harrier. In RAF service, it was replaced by the Panavia Tornado.
The old Quebec seminary - the Procure wing
In the heart of the historic quarter of Quebec’s capital city, the buildings of the Old Québec Seminary were built between 1675 and 1868.
“Today this complex is called the Vieux Séminaire de Québec. It is modeled on French 17th-century convents and colleges. Its three buildings have features specific to French Regime construction: white plaster walls with S-shaped wall anchors, higher in certain spots to serve as a fire stop, and tin roofs with dormer windows. The buildings are arranged to form a typical inner court.
The Procure wing, shown here, with its signature sundial dating from 1773 is the oldest building. It was constructed sometime around 1680, then rebuilt three times due to fire. The only parts that remain from the original building are the vaulted cellars where Monseigneur Laval’s kitchen was located.
A LEADING INSTITUTION OF NEW FRANCE
The Séminaire de Québec was a society of Catholic priests founded in 1663 by François de Laval, who would become the first bishop of Québec. He established this society to train priests, evangelize the Aboriginals, and administer the parishes of the colony as a whole. Two years later he opened the Petit Séminaire, a boys’ school. The site of the first building is indicated by the rectangular marking on the pavement of the inner court.
A CLASSICAL EDUCATION
It was Louis XIV’s wish that the Petit Séminaire educate young boys and convert the Aboriginals. But for the first 100 years, it was a boarding school for future priests who studied at the Jesuit College—very close by, where City Hall is located today—before entering the Grand Séminaire.
After the conquest of New France was formalized in 1760, the British army requisitioned the Jesuit College for use as barracks. From that point on, the Séminaire had to expand its role and become an educational institution providing a classical curriculum, as the Jesuits were expelled from the colony. The students at the Petit Séminaire received an education based on the great European philosophers and writers, as well as French, Greek, and Latin. The purpose of this training in the classics was to mold them into full-fledged citizens, hale in mind and body, to make up the elite of Québec society.
THE TRADITION LIVES ON
The three wings of the Vieux Séminaire housed the Petit Séminaire de Québec until 1987. Its educational role lives on because Université Laval’s school of architecture is now occupied these heritage buildings.”
Source: www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/en/citoyens/patrimoine/quartiers/v...
Ah Nature.....
an Orchid.....
intriguing...
a swan......
a ballerina....
baffling beauty like only Nature can procure...!
Ein Inftastrukturdiagnose-Fahrzeug der SBB kommt mir in meinem Schweizurlaub im Bahnhof Wassen vor die Linse.Von diesem Messwagen sollen 2 Stück beschaft werden und das Schweizer Gleisnetz auf Schäden und Unregemäßigkeiten geprüft werden.Trotz des unterirdieschen Wetters gelang doch ein Sonnen Bild am 19.6.2015 im Bahnhof Wassen.
A Inftastrukturdiagnose vehicle SBB comes to me in my holiday in Switzerland Wassen station before the lens . From this measuring carriage 2 pieces are procured and the Swiss rail network to be checked for damage . Recorded at Wassen station on 06.19.2015
Lynnmour, North Vancouver, British Columbia
CCGS Sir Wilfred Grenfell is a Canadian Coast Guard vessel based in Victoria, British Columbia. Designated an Offshore Ice Strengthened Multi Patrol Vessel, the former offshore supply vessel is named after the medical missionary in Labrador, Sir Wilfred Grenfell. Constructed in 1984–1985, Sir Wilfred Grenfell was purchased by the Canadian Government and converted for Coast Guard service. In 1994, she played an important role in the fishing conflict known as the Turbot War in the Atlantic Ocean.
The ship is 68.5 m (224 ft 9 in) long overall with a beam of 15 m (49 ft 3 in) and a draught of 5 m (16 ft 5 in). The vessel has a fully loaded displacement of 3,753 long tons (3,813 t) and a 2,404 gross tonnage (GT) and 664.5 net tonnage (NT). The hull has been ice-strengthened. The ship is not capable of operating aircraft.
Sir Wilfred Grenfell is powered by four Deutz 4SA diesel engines, two 16-cylinder and two 9-cylinder models, driving two shafts with controllable-pitch propellers. This creates 12,682 horsepower (9,457 kW) giving the vessel a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h). The supply vessel has capacity for 879.70 m3 (193,510 imp gal) of diesel fuel, giving the ship a range of 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 11 knots (20 km/h). The ship has a complement of 20 with 9 officers and 11 crew and 16 spare berths. The ship carries an 85-ton towing winch.
The vessel is currently undergoing an extensive refit at Allied Shipbuilders Ltd. located in North Vancouver, British Columbia into a Buoy Tender.
A buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys.
Following an open and competitive process, Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of the CCG, has awarded a $17.3-million contract to Allied Shipbuilders Limited, in North Vancouver, British Columbia, for vessel life extension (VLE) work on the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Sir Wilfred Grenfell.
Magirus-Deutz 320 D 22 FS at the 2016 NRW-Tag in Düsseldorf, Germany.
From 1979, the Bundeswehr procured Magirus-Deutz tractors for the Straßentankwagen 30000 articulated fuel tanker and airfield fuel bowsers. The flat-bed trailer by Blumhardt was also standard Bundeswehr equipment and widly used by the Luftwaffe.
Magirus-Deutz 320 D 22 FS
15.843 KHD F10L413F V10 diesel
224 kW
Venha, procure, porque a busca é o alicerce da sorte: todo sucesso depende de colocar o coração naquilo que você quer.
Lynnmour, North Vancouver, British Columbia
CCGS Sir Wilfred Grenfell is a Canadian Coast Guard vessel based in Victoria, British Columbia. Designated an Offshore Ice Strengthened Multi Patrol Vessel, the former offshore supply vessel is named after the medical missionary in Labrador, Sir Wilfred Grenfell. Constructed in 1984–1985, Sir Wilfred Grenfell was purchased by the Canadian Government and converted for Coast Guard service. In 1994, she played an important role in the fishing conflict known as the Turbot War in the Atlantic Ocean.
The ship is 68.5 m (224 ft 9 in) long overall with a beam of 15 m (49 ft 3 in) and a draught of 5 m (16 ft 5 in). The vessel has a fully loaded displacement of 3,753 long tons (3,813 t) and a 2,404 gross tonnage (GT) and 664.5 net tonnage (NT). The hull has been ice-strengthened. The ship is not capable of operating aircraft.
Sir Wilfred Grenfell is powered by four Deutz 4SA diesel engines, two 16-cylinder and two 9-cylinder models, driving two shafts with controllable-pitch propellers. This creates 12,682 horsepower (9,457 kW) giving the vessel a maximum speed of 16 knots (30 km/h). The supply vessel has capacity for 879.70 m3 (193,510 imp gal) of diesel fuel, giving the ship a range of 11,000 nautical miles (20,000 km) at 11 knots (20 km/h). The ship has a complement of 20 with 9 officers and 11 crew and 16 spare berths. The ship carries an 85-ton towing winch.
The vessel is currently undergoing an extensive refit at Allied Shipbuilders Ltd. located in North Vancouver, British Columbia into a Buoy Tender.
A buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys.
Following an open and competitive process, Public Services and Procurement Canada, on behalf of the CCG, has awarded a $17.3-million contract to Allied Shipbuilders Limited, in North Vancouver, British Columbia, for vessel life extension (VLE) work on the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Sir Wilfred Grenfell.
A Royal Navy Wildcat helicopterfrom 825 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) in flight over the English Channel.
Wildcat is the latest generation of multi role helicopter specifically procured to operate from the Frigates and Destroyers of the Royal Navy.
Wildcat takes the very best features of the existing Fleet Air Arm Lynx – and gives it extra punch.
The Lynx Wildcat (rather than just plain Wildcat to avoid confusion with the legendary WW2 Naval fighter) might look like its predecessor – and possess many of its outstanding characteristics, but it will be leaps ahead in so many ways.
The engines are considerably more powerful providing much improved performance when operating in hot environments and at high altitudes.
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© Crown Copyright 2014
Photographer: LA(Phot) I Roberts
Image 45158431.jpg from www.defenceimages.mod.uk
This image is available for high resolution download at www.defenceimagery.mod.uk subject to the terms and conditions of the Open Government License at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/. Search for image number 45158431.jpg
For latest news visit www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-defence
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The Folland Gnat is a British compact swept-wing subsonic fighter aircraft that was developed and produced by Folland Aircraft. Envisioned as an affordable light fighter in contrast to the rising cost and size of typical combat aircraft, it was procured as a trainer aircraft for the Royal Air Force (RAF) as well as by export customers, who used the Gnat in both combat and training capacities.
Designed by W. E. W. Petter, the Gnat has its origins in the preceding private venture Folland Midge. The issuing of Operational Requirement OR.303 by the British Air Ministry served to motivate the type's development, the Gnat was later submitted to meet this requirement. Its design allowed for its construction and maintenance tasks to be carried out without specialised tools, making it suitable for use in countries that had not yet become highly industrialised. The Gnat has been viewed as a major motivating factor towards the issuing of the NATO NBMR-1 requirement, which sought to make available a common strike/attack light fighter with which to equip the air forces of the various NATO members.
Although never used as a fighter by the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Gnat T.1 jet trainer variant was adopted and operated for some time. In the United Kingdom, the Gnat became well known due to its prominent use as the display aircraft of the RAF's Red Arrows aerobatic team. The Gnat F.1 was exported to Finland, Yugoslavia and India. The Indian Air Force became the largest operator and eventually manufactured the aircraft under licence. Impressed by its performance during combat, India proceeded to develop the improved HAL Ajeet, a modified variant of the Gnat. In British service, the Gnat was replaced by the Hawker Siddeley Hawk.
Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low observable stealth technology designed for penetrating dense anti-aircraft defenses; it is a flying wing design with a crew of two. The bomber can deploy both conventional and thermonuclear weapons, such as eighty 500 lb (230 kg)-class (Mk 82) JDAM Global Positioning System-guided bombs, or sixteen 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) B83 nuclear bombs. The B-2 is the only known aircraft that can carry large air-to-surface standoff weapons in a stealth configuration.
Development originally started under the "Advanced Technology Bomber" (ATB) project during the Carter administration, and its performance was one of his reasons for the cancellation of the supersonic B-1A bomber. ATB continued during the Reagan administration, but worries about delays in its introduction led to the reinstatement of the B-1 program as well. Program costs rose throughout development. Designed and manufactured by Northrop Grumman, the cost of each aircraft averaged US$737 million (in 1997 dollars). Total procurement costs averaged $929 million per aircraft, which includes spare parts, equipment, retrofitting, and software support. The total program cost including development, engineering and testing, averaged $2.1 billion per aircraft in 1997.
Because of its considerable capital and operating costs, the project was controversial in the U.S. Congress and among the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The winding-down of the Cold War in the latter portion of the 1980s dramatically reduced the need for the aircraft, which was designed with the intention of penetrating Soviet airspace and attacking high-value targets. During the late 1980s and 1990s, Congress slashed plans to purchase 132 bombers to 21. In 2008, a B-2 was destroyed in a crash shortly after takeoff, though the crew ejected safely. A total of 20 B-2s remain in service with the United States Air Force, which plans to operate the B-2 until 2058.
The B-2 is capable of all-altitude attack missions up to 50,000 feet (15,000 m), with a range of more than 6,000 nautical miles (11,000 km) on internal fuel and over 10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km) with one midair refueling. Though originally designed primarily as a nuclear bomber, it was first used in combat dropping conventional ordnance in the Kosovo War in 1999 and saw further service in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Romanian Air Force (RoAF) General Dynamics F-16AM (F-16A Mid Life Update or MLU) 1607 (c/n M17-12/61-600, ex Portuguese Air Force 15128), Escadrila 53 Vanatoare during a demonstration at the Bucharest International Air Show 2019 Airport Băneasa (LRBS).
Romania bought 12 F-16 A/B Block 15 MLU fighters from Portugal in 2013 which entered service in 2016/2017. A additional 5 were procured in 2019, also from Portugal (these are not delivered yet). The F-16s replace the ageing MiG-21 fighters. The original plan is to procure 24 F-16s in total.
Sources: www.scramble.nl en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanian_Air_Force
used here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here
update june 2008 - per the pew internet The Internet and Consumer Choice report - i can't believe that only 12% of cell phones are procured online. seems like it should be a lot more than that. 78% in-store and ~10% by other means.
miss love and i just went in together on a cell plan c/o amazon.com.
let the address-book transfers begin! since i have them resurrected to enter numbers into the new phone, here are all of the cell phones i've ever owned. they all still work, albeit the buttons on the nokia 3560 in the middle have stopped working reliably. the sony-ericsson w810i (right) is a linux-friendly phone, 2-megapixel camera, and mp3 player all in one. with a 4gb pro duo memory stick, i can go jogging without my minidisc player :-), and even bring home a few photos every now and then! rachel opted for a pink razr phone.
SAR ratings for these phones:
Nokia 6185: 1.07 watts/kg digital, 1.53 watts/kg analog
Nokia 3560 0.85 watts/kg digital, 1.24 watts/kg analog
SE W800i 0.57 watts/kg digital, no analog
copyright © 2006 sean dreilinger
view cell phone evolution - from nokia brick to sony-ericsson w810i - _MG_6192 on a black background.
Truck Utility Medium
In 1994 the MoD had a requirement for a heavy duty Land Rover. Three basic types were procured: a 90”, 110” and 127” ambulance version. The factory codename for the project was ‘Wolf’. This 110” TUM (Truck Utility Medium) is one of the oldest surviving prototypes.
The vehicle has many non-standard features, the most obvious of which is the custom high roof hard top. The vehicle remained with Land Rover Engineering until its trial days had come to an end and then went to Chassis and Axle Engineering where it was used as a data retrieval rig – hence all the odd wires and clips that can still be seen on it today. At that time it would have been loaded with computers and assorted data retrieval equipment in the rear.
It came to the Collection in 2001 without axles, exhaust and many smaller but no less important bits. Our friends at the factory were very helpful in sourcing the correct parts to allow us to get this unique vehicle back on the road.
Although it has apparently covered only 8,000 miles, we have to ask ourselves just how hard those miles have been!
The Dunsfold Collection
Alfold - Surrey
England - United Kingdom
June 2015
The new Infantry Fighting Vehicle by the German Armed Forces. This infantry tank replaces the IFV Marder in the coming years. A total of 350 vehicles will be procured. Please follow on my sites for new Pictures and Informations: www.facebook.com/combatcameraeurope.pictures/ and specially the IFV PUMA Group : www.facebook.com/groups/1268976056548060/
all Pictures © Combat-Camera-Europe
+++ 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 Panther tank, officially Panzerkampfwagen V Panther (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with ordnance inventory designation Sd.Kfz. 171, was a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern and Western Fronts from mid-1943 to the end of the war. The Panther was intended to counter the Soviet T-34 medium tank and to replace the Panzer III and Panzer IV. Nevertheless, it served alongside the Panzer IV and the heavier Tiger I until the end of the war. It is considered one of the best tanks of World War II for its excellent firepower, protection, and mobility although its reliability in early times were less impressive.
The Panther was a compromise. While having essentially the same Maybach V12 petrol (700 hp) engine as the Tiger I, it had better gun penetration, was lighter and faster, and could traverse rough terrain better than the Tiger I. The trade-off was weaker side armor, which made it vulnerable to flanking fire. The Panther proved to be effective in open country and long-range engagements.
The Panther was far cheaper to produce than the heavy Tiger I. Key elements of the Panther design, such as its armor, transmission, and final drive, were simplifications made to improve production rates and address raw material shortages. Despite this the overall design remain described by some as "overengineered". The Panther was rushed into combat at the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 despite numerous unresolved technical problems, leading to high losses due to mechanical failure. Most design flaws were rectified by late 1943 and early 1944, though the bombing of production plants, increasing shortages of high-quality alloys for critical components, shortage of fuel and training space, and the declining quality of crews all impacted the tank's effectiveness.
Though officially classified as a medium tank, at 44.8 metric tons the Panther was closer to a heavy tank weight and the same category as the American M26 Pershing (41.7 tons), British Churchill (40.7 tons) and the Soviet IS-2 (46 tons) heavy tanks. The Panther's weight caused logistical problems, such as an inability to cross certain bridges, otherwise the tank had a very high power-to-weight ratio which made it highly mobile.
The Panther was only used marginally outside of Germany, mostly captured or recovered vehicles, some even after the war. Japan already received in 1943 a specimen for evaluation. During March–April 1945, Bulgaria received 15 Panthers of various makes (D, A, and G variants) from captured and overhauled Soviet stocks; they only saw limited (training) service use. In May 1946, Romania received 13 Panther tanks from the USSR, too.
After the war, France was able to recover enough operable vehicles and components to equip its army and offer vehicles for sale. The French Army's 503e Régiment de Chars de Combat was equipped with a force of 50 Panthers from 1944 to 1947, in the 501st and 503rd Tank Regiments. These remained in service until they were replaced by French-built ARL 44 heavy tanks.
In 1946, Sweden sent a delegation to France to examine surviving specimens of German military vehicles. During their visit, the delegates found a few surviving Panthers and had one shipped to Sweden for further testing and evaluation, which continued until 1961.
However, this was not the Panther’s end of service. The last appearance by WWII German tanks on the world’s battlefields came in 1967, when Syria’s panzer force faced off against modern Israeli armor. Quite improbably, Syria had assembled a surprisingly wide collection of ex-Wehrmacht vehicles from a half-dozen sources over a decade and a half timeframe. This fleet consisted primarily of late production Panzer V, StuGIII and Jagdpanzer IVs, plus some Hummel SPAAGs and a handful Panthers. The tanks were procured from France, Spain, and Czechoslovakia, partly revamped before delivery.
All of the Panthers Syria came from Czechoslovakia. Immediately after Germany’s collapse in May 1945, the Soviet army established a staging area for surrendered German tanks at a former Wehrmacht barracks at Milovice, about 24 miles north of Prague, Czechoslovakia. By January 1946, a total of roughly 200 operational Panzer IVs and Panthers of varying versions were at this facility. Joining them was a huge cache of spare parts found at a former German tank repair depot in Teplice, along with ammunition collected from all over Czechoslovakia and the southern extremity of the Soviet occupation zone in Germany. Throughout 1946, the Czechoslovak government’s clean-up of WWII battlefields recovered more than one hundred further tank wrecks, of which 80 were pieced back together to operational status and handed over to the Czechoslovakian Army,
In early 1948, the now-nationalized CKD Works began a limited upkeep of the tanks, many of which had not had depot-level overhauls since the war. A few were rebuilt with a Czechoslovak-designed steering system, but this effort was halted due to cost. These tanks remained operational in the Czechoslovak army until the end of 1954, when sufficient T-34s were available to phase them out.
A Syrian military delegation visited Prague from 8 April – 22 April 1955. An agreement was struck for the sale, amongst other items, of 45 Panzer IVs and 15 Panthers. Despite their obsolescence the Czechoslovaks were not about to just give the tanks away and demanded payment in a ‘hard’ western currency, namely British pounds. The cost was £4,500 each (£86,000 or $112,850 in 2016 money), far above what they were probably worth militarily, especially considering the limited amount of foreign currency reserves available to the Damascus government. The deal included refurbishment, a full ammunition loadout for each, and a limited number of spare parts. Nonetheless, the deal was closed, and the tanks’ delivery started in early November 1955.
The Syrians were by that time already having dire problems keeping their French-sourced panzers operational, and in 1958, a second contract was signed with CKD Works for 15 additional Panzer IVs and 10 more Panthers, these being in lesser condition or non-operational, for use as spare parts hulks. An additional 16 refurbished Maybach engines for both types were also included in this contract, as well as more ammunition.
The refurbished Panthers for Syria had their original 7.5 cm KwK 42 L70 replaced with the less powerful Rheinmetall 7.5 cm KwK 40 L48 gun – dictated by the fact that this gun was already installed in almost all other Syrian tanks of German origin and rounds for the KwK 42 L70 were not available anymore. and the Panther’s full ammo load was 87 rounds. The KwK 40 L48 fired a standard APCBC shell at 750 m/s and could penetrate 109 mm (4.3 in) hardened steel at 1.000 m range. This was enough to take out an M4 Sherman at this range from any angle under ideal circumstances. With an APCR shell the gun was even able to penetrate 130 mm (5.1 in) of hardened steel at the same distance.
Outwardly, the gun switch was only recognizable through the shorter barrel with a muzzle brake, the German WWII-era TZF.5f gunsight was retained by the Syrians. Additionally, there were two secondary machine guns, either MG-34s or MG-42s, one coaxial with the main gun and a flexible one in a ball mount in the tank’s front glacis plate.
A few incomplete Panther hulls without turret were also outfitted with surplus Panzer IV turrets that carried the same weapon, but the exact share of them among the Syrian tanks is unknown – most probably less than five, and they were among the batch delivered in the course of the second contract from 1958.
As they had been lumped all together in Czechoslovak army service, the Syrians received a mixed bag of Panzer IV and Panther versions, many of them “half-breeds” or “Frankensteins”. Many had the bow machine gun removed, either already upon delivery or as a later field modification, and in some cases the machine gun in the turret was omitted as well.
An obvious modification of the refurbished Czech export Panthers for Syria was the installation of new, lighter road wheels. These were in fact adapted T-54 wheels from Czechoslovakian license production that had just started in 1957 - instead of revamping the Panthers’ original solid steel wheels, especially their rubberized tread surfaces, it was easier to replace them altogether, what also made spare parts logistics easier. The new wheels had almost the same diameter as the original German road wheels from WWII, and they were simply adapted to the Panther’s attachment points of the torsion bar suspension’s swing arms. Together with the lighter main gun and some other simplifications, the Syrian Panthers’ empty weight was reduced by more than 3 tonnes.
The Czechoslovaks furthermore delivered an adapter kit to mount a Soviet-made AA DShK 12.7mm machine gun to the commander cupola. This AA mount had originally been developed after WWII for the T-34 tank, and these kits were fitted to all initial tanks of the 1955 order. Enough were delivered that some could be installed on a few of the Spanish- / French-sourced tanks, too.
It doesn’t appear that the Czechoslovaks updated the radio fit on any of the ex-German tanks, and it’s unclear if the Syrians installed modern Soviet radios. The WWII German Fu 5 radio required a dedicated operator (who also manned the bow machine gun); if a more modern system was installed not requiring a dedicated operator, this crew position could be eliminated altogether, what favored the deletion of the bow machine gun on many ex-German Syrian tanks. However, due to their more spacious hull and turret, many Panthers were apparently outfitted with a second radio set and used as command tanks – visible through a second whip antenna on the hull.
A frequent domestic Panther upgrade were side skirts to suppress dust clouds while moving and to prevent dust ingestion into the engines and clogged dust filters. There was no standardized solution, though, and solutions ranged from simple makeshift rubber skirts bolted to the tanks’ flanks to wholesale transplants from other vehicles, primarily Soviet tanks. Some Panthers also had external auxiliary fuel tanks added to their rear, in the form of two 200 l barrels on metal racks of Soviet origin. These barrels were not directly connected with the Panther’s fuel system, though, but a pump-and-hose kit was available to re-fuel the internal tanks from this on-board source in the field. When empty or in an emergency - the barrels were placed on top of the engine bay and leaking fuel quite hazardous - the barrels/tanks could be jettisoned by the crew from the inside.
Inclusive of the cannibalization hulks, Syria received a total of roughly 80 former German tanks from Czechoslovakia. However, at no time were all simultaneously operational and by 1960, usually only two or three dozen were combat-ready.
Before the Six Day War, the Syrian army was surprisingly unorganized, considering the amount of money being pumped into it. There was no unit larger than a brigade, and the whole Syrian army had a sort of “hub & spokes” system originating in Damascus, with every individual formation answering directly to the GHQ rather than a chain of command. The Panthers, Panzer IVs and StuG IIIs were in three independent tank battalions, grossly understrength, supporting the normal tank battalions of three infantry brigades (the 8th, 11th, and 19th) in the Golan Heights. The Jagdpanzer IVs were in a separate independent platoon attached to a tank battalion operating T-34s and SU-100s. How the Hummel SPGs were assigned is unknown.
The first active participation of ex-German tanks in Syrian service was the so-called “Water War”. This was not really a war but rather a series of skirmishes between Israel and Syria during the mid-1960s. With increasing frequency starting in 1964, Syria emplaced tanks on the western slope of the Golan Heights, almost directly on the border, to fire down on Israeli irrigation workers and farmers in the Galilee region. Surprisingly (considering the small number available) Syria chose the Panzer IV for this task. It had no feature making it better or worse than any other tank; most likely the Syrians felt they were the most expendable tanks in their inventory as Israeli counterfire was expected. The panzers were in defilade (dug in) and not easy to shoot back at; due to their altitude advantage.
In 1964, Syria announced plans to divert 35% of the Jordan River’s flow away from Israel, to deprive the country of drinking water. The Israelis responded that they would consider this an act of war and, true to their word, engaged the project’s workers with artillery and sniper fire. Things escalated quickly; in 1965, Israeli M4 Shermans on Israeli soil exchanged fire with the Syrian Panzer IVs above inconclusively. A United Nations peacekeeping team ordered both sides to disengage from the border for a set period of time to “cool off”, but the UN “Blue Berets” were detested and considered useless by both the Israelis and Syrians, and both sides used the lull to prepare their next move. When the cooling-off period ended, the Syrians moved Panzer IVs and now some Panthers, too, back into position. However, the IDF had now Centurion tanks waiting for them, with their fire arcs pre-planned out. The Cold War-era Centurion had heavy armor, a high-velocity 105mm gun, and modern British-made optics. It outclassed the WWII panzers in any imaginable way and almost immediately, two Syrian Panzer IVs and a Panther were destroyed. Others were abandoned by their crews and that was the end of the situation.
Syria’s participation in the Six Say War that soon followed in 1967 war was sloppy and ultimately disastrous. Israel initially intended the conflict to be limited to a preemptive strike against Egypt to forestall an imminent attack by that country, with the possibility of having to fight Syria and Jordan defensively if they responded to the operations against Egypt. The war against Egypt started on 5 June 1967. Because of the poor organization of the Syrian army, news passed down from Damascus on the fighting in the Sinai was scarce and usually outdated by the time it reached the brigade level. Many Syrian units (including the GHQ) were using civilian shortwave radios to monitor Radio Cairo which was spouting off outlandish claims of imaginary Egyptian victories, even as Israeli divisions were steamrolling towards the Suez Canal.
Syrian vehicles of German origin during the Six Day War were either painted overall in beige or in a dark olive drab green. Almost all had, instead of tactical number codes, the name of a Syrian soldier killed in a previous war painted on the turret in white. During the Six Day War, no national roundel was typically carried, even though the Syrian flag was sometimes painted to the turret flanks. However just as the conflict was starting, white circles were often painted onto the top sides of tanks as quick ID markings for aircraft, and some tanks had red recognition triangles added to the side areas: Syrian soldiers were notoriously trigger-happy, and the decreased camouflage effect was likely cancelled out by the reduced odds of being blasted by a comrade!
During the evening of 5 June, Syrian generals in Damascus urged the government to take advantage of the situation and mount an immediate invasion of Israel. Planning and preparation were literally limited to a few hours after midnight, and shortly after daybreak on 6 June, Syrian commanders woke up with orders to invade Israel. The three infantry brigades in the Golan, backed up by several independent battalions, were to spearhead the attack as the rest of the Syrian army mobilized.
There was no cohesion at all: Separate battalions began their advance whenever they happened to be ready to go, and brigades went forward, missing subunits that lagged behind. A platoon attempting a southern outflank maneuver tried to ford the Jordan River in the wrong spot and was washed away. According to a KGB report, at least one Syrian unit “exhibited cowardice” and ignored its orders altogether.
On 7 June, 24 hours into their attack, Syrian forces had only advanced 2 miles into Israel. On 8 June, the IDF pushed the Syrians back to the prewar border and that afternoon, Israeli units eliminated the last Egyptian forces in the Sinai and began a fast redeployment of units back into Israel. Now the Syrians were facing serious problems.
On 9 June, Israeli forces crossed into the Golan Heights. They came by the route the Syrians least expected, an arc hugging the Lebanese border. Now for the first time, Syria’s panzers (considered too slow and fragile for the attack) were encountered. The next day, 10 June 1967, was an absolute rout as the Syrians were being attacked from behind by IDF units arcing southwards from the initial advance, plus Israel’s second wave coming from the west. It was later estimated that Syria lost between 20-25% of its total military vehicle inventory in a 15-hour span on 10 June, including eight Panthers. A ceasefire was announced at midnight, ending Syria’s misadventure. Syria permanently lost the Golan Heights to Israel.
By best estimate, Syria had just five Panthers and twenty-five Panzer IVs fully operational on 6 June 1967, with maybe another ten or so tanks partially operational or at least functional enough to take into combat. Most – if not all – of the ex-French tanks were probably already out of service by 1967, conversely the entire ex-Spanish lot was in use, along with some of the ex-Czechoslovak vehicles. The conflict’s last kill was on 10 June 1967 when a Panzer IV was destroyed by an Israeli M50 Super Sherman (an M4 Sherman hull fitted with a new American engine, and a modified turret housing Israeli electronics and a high-velocity French-made 75mm gun firing HEAT rounds). Like the Centurion, the Super Sherman outclassed the Panzer IV, and the Panther only fared marginally better.
Between 1964-1973 the USSR rebuilt the entire Syrian military from the ground up, reorganizing it along Warsaw Pact lines and equipping it with gear strictly of Soviet origin. There was no place for ex-Wehrmacht tanks and in any case, Czechoslovakia had ended spares & ammo support for the Panzer IV and the Panthers, so the types had no future. The surviving tanks were scrapped in Syria, except for a single Panzer IV survivor sold to a collector in Jordan.
Specifications:
Crew: Five (commander, gunner, loader, driver, radio operator)
Weight: 50 tonnes (55.1 long tons; 45.5 short tons)
Length: 6.87 m (22 ft 6 in) hull only
7.52 m (24 ft 7¾ in) overall with gun facing forward
Width: 3.42 m (11 ft 3 in) hull only
3,70 m (12 ft 1¾ in) with retrofitted side skirts
Height: 2.99 m (9 ft 10 in)’
Ground clearance: 56 cm (22 in)
Suspension: Double torsion bar, interleaved road wheels
Fuel capacity: 720 liters (160 imp gal; 190 US gal),
some Syrian Panthers carried two additional external 200 l fuel drums
Armor:
15–80 mm (0.6 – 3.93 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 56 km/h (35 mph)
Operational range: 250 km (160 mi) on roads; 450 km (280 mi)with auxiliary fuel tanks
100 km (62 mi) cross-country
Power/weight: 14 PS (10.1 kW)/tonne (12.7 hp/ton)
Engine & transmission:
Maybach HL230 V-12 gasoline engine with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)
ZF AK 7-200 gearbox with 7 forward 1 reverse gear
Armament:
1× 7,5 cm KwK 40 (L/48) with 87 rounds
2× 7.92 mm MG 34 or 42, or similar machine guns;
one co-axial with the main gun, another in the front glacis plate
with a total of 5.100 rounds (not always mounted)
Provision for a 12.7 mm DShK or Breda anti-aircraft machine gun on the commander cupola
The kit and its assembly:
A rather exotic what-if model, even though it’s almost built OOB. Inspiration came when I stumbled upon the weird Syrian Panzer IVs that were operated against Israel during the Six Day War – vehicles you would not expect there, and after more than 20 years after WWII. But when I did some more research, I was surprised about the numbers and the variety of former German tanks that Syria had gathered from various European countries, and it made me wonder if the Panther could not have been among this shaggy fleet, too?
I had a surplus Dragon Panther Spähpanzer in The Stash™, to be correct a “PzBeobWg V Ausf. G”, an observation and artillery fire guidance conversion that actually existed in small numbers, and I decided to use it as basis for this odd project. The Dragon kit has some peculiarities, though: its hull is made from primed white metal and consists of an upper and lower half that are held together by small screws! An ambiguous design, because the parts do not fit as good as IP parts, so that the model has a slightly die-cast-ish aura. PSR is necessary at the seams, but due to the metal it’s not easy to do. Furthermore, you have to use superglue everywhere, just as on a resin kit. On the other side, surface details are finely molded and crisp, even though many bits have to be added manually. However, the molded metal pins that hold the wheels are very robust and relatively thin – a feature I exploited for a modified running gear (see below).
For the modified Panther in my mind I had to retrograde the turret back to a late standard turret with mantlet parts left over from a Hasegawa kit – they fitted perfectly! The PzBeobWg V only comes with a stubby gun barrel dummy. But I changed the armament, anyway, and implanted an aftermarket white metal and brass KwK 40 L48, the weapon carried by all Syrian Panzer IVs, the Jagdpanzer IVs as well as the StuG IIIs. This standardization would IMHO make sense, even if it meant a performance downgrade from the original, longer KwK 42 L70.
For a Syrian touch, inspired by installations on the Panzer IVs, I added a mount for a heavy DShK machine gun on the commander’s cupola, which is a resin aftermarket kit from Armory Models Group (a kit that consists of no less than five fiddly parts for just a tiny machine gun!).
To change and modernize the Panther’s look further, I gave it side skirts, leftover from a ModelCollect T-72 kit, which had to be modified only slightly to fit onto the molded side skirt consoles on the Panther’s metal hull. A further late addition were the fuel barrels from a Trumpeter T-54 kit that I stumbled upon when I looked for the skirts among my pile of tank donor parts. Even though they look like foreign matter on the Panther’s tail, their high position is plausible and similar to the original arrangement on many Soviet post-WWII tanks. The whip antennae on turret and hull were created with heated black sprue material.
As a modern feature and to change the Panther’s overall look even more, I replaced its original solid “dish” road wheels with T-54/55 “starfish” wheels, which were frequently retrofitted to T-34-85s during the Fifties. These very fine aftermarket resin parts (all real-world openings are actually open, and there’s only little flash!) came from OKB Grigorovich from Bulgaria. The selling point behind this idea is/was that the Panther and T-54/55 wheels have almost the same diameter: in real life it’s 860 vs. 830 mm, so that the difference in 1:72 is negligible. Beneficially, the aftermarket wheels came in two halves, and these were thin enough to replace the Panther’s interleaved wheels without major depth problems.
Adapting the parts to the totally different wheel arrangement was tricky, though, especially due to the Dragon kit’s one-piece white metal chassis that makes any mods difficult. My solution: I retained the inner solid wheels from the Panther (since they are hardly visible in the “3rd row”), plus four pairs of T-54/55 wheels for the outer, more rows of interleaved wheels. The “inner” T-54/55 wheel halves were turned around, received holes to fit onto the metal suspension pins and scratched hub covers. The “outside” halves were taken as is but received 2 mm spacer sleeves on their back sides (styrene tube) for proper depth and simply to improve their hold on the small and rounded metal pin tips. This stunt worked better than expected and looks really good, too!
Painting and markings:
Basically very simple, and I used pictures of real Syrian Panzer IVs as benchmark. I settled for the common green livery variant, and though simple and uniform, I tried to add some “excitement” to it and attempted to make old paint shine through. The hull’s lower surface areas were first primed with RAL 7008 (Khakigrau, a rather brownish tone), then the upper surfaces were sprayed with a lighter sand brown tone, both applied from rattle cans.
On top of that, a streaky mix of Revell 45 and 46 – a guesstimate for the typical Syrian greyish, rather pale olive drab tone - was thinly applied with a soft, flat brush, so that the brownish tones underneath would shine through occasionally. Once dry, the layered/weathered effect was further emphasized through careful vertical wet-sanding and rubbing on all surfaces with a soft cotton cloth.
The rubber side skirts were painted with an anthracite base and the dry-brushed with light grey and beige.
The model then received an overall washing with a highly thinned mix of grey and dark brown acrylic artist paint. The vinyl tracks (as well as the IP spare track links on the hull) were painted, too, with a mix of grey, red brown and iron, all acrylic paints, too, that do not interact chemically with the soft vinyl.
The decals/markings are minimal; the Arabian scribble on the turret (must be a name?), using the picture of a Syrian Panzer IV as benchmark, was painted in white by hand, as well as the white circle on the turret roof. The orange ID triangles are a nice contrast, even though I was not able to come up with real-life visual evidence for them. I just found a color picture of a burned T-34-85 wreck with them, suggesting that the color was a dull orange red and not florescent orange, as claimed in some sources. I also found illustrations of the triangles as part of 1:35 decal sets for contemporary Syrian T-34-85s from FC Model Trend and Star Models, where they appear light red. For the model, they were eventually cut out from decal sheet material (TL-Modellbau, in a shade called “Rotorange”, what appears to be a good compromise).
Dry-brushing with light grey and beige to further emphasize edges and details followed. Finally, the model was sealed with matt acrylic vanish overall, and some additional very light extra dry-brushing with silver was done to simulate flaked paint. Dirt and rust residues were added here and there with watercolors. After final assembly, the lower areas of the model were furthermore powdered with mineral pigments to simulate dust.
The idea of a modernized WWII Panther: a simple idea that turned into a major conversion. With the resin DShK machine gun and T-54/55 wheel set the costs of this project escalated a little, but in hindsight I find that the different look and the mix of vintage German and modern Soviet elements provide this Panther with that odd touch that sets it apart from a simple paint/marking variation? I really like the outcome, and I think that the effort was worthwhile - this fictional Panther shoehorns well into its intended historical framework. :-D
BR(ER) procured, but LNER-designed, 25k V ac overhead (but originally 1,500 V dc overhead) Class "306" (originally Class "AM6") inner-suburban 3-car emu No.035 (later Class 306 073) in BR Rail Blue livery with all yellow front end entering Liverpool St on a service from Shenfield, 03/76. Scanned photograph taken with a Kowa SET.