View allAll Photos Tagged re-attach
This original Hotel Stuart sign was restored in December 2013 and re-attached to the building sometime after that.
One of the things in the Fabulous Big Box'o'Dollystuff sent to me by Mmymoon a month or so ago was a Mattel When I Read I Dream Fern (from Charlotte's Web) doll--I've always liked the WIRID headsculpt, but hadn't owned one for a few years, so I was happily surprised to have one again. The stock body, though...well, I never thought this head suited the Stacey-size body, articulated or not, so I put it aside until I could find a good body for it. I eventually realized the skin tone and neck diameter of a Jakks Pacific Winx body I had were good matches, but the length of the body was just too much, so I started plotting how and where to cut...
I cut and re-attached/puttied the torso and thighs last week, and finally worked on reducing length and adding articulation to the arms and lower legs today. Because I have no patience, there are a lot of problems areas, but, overall, this body ended up being just right for the head, I think *nods*
After a drawgear was pulled out between the 2nd and 3rd wagon falling on the track and derailing a wheelset on the 3rd wagon, C507,BL31,ST33,848,ST30,ST32,ST31 and 2 coil steel wagons from 6NP3 are between Mt Barker Junction and Balhannah where the wagons will be detached into the siding,
The locos then with ST31 leading headed back to Mt Barker Junction where they were re-attached to 6NP3 and continued through to Adelaide on 21-1-1996
atelier ying, nyc.
Growing up as a child in New York City, my favorite meal was a soup and sandwich combo meal.
The best sandwich can consist of just plain bread and salted butter. This is also the finest sandwich for afternoon tea. But for this very nostalgic design, a thin bologna sandwich is authentic.
Campbell's cream of tomato soup was the only worthy companion, preferably diluted to a healthy 5-8% sodium level which never was the case.
A stereo camera fits in the tray slab enclosure. The soup mug has a molded interlock underneath that allows the user to engage the lock and then use the handle as a camera grip.
The drop-down middle compartment, fashioned like a container lorry, contains the following:
1. plug-in heating element
2. soup spoon
3. paper napkins
4. plastic condiment bottle with any combination of parsley flakes or garlic flavored Durkee fried onions or white truffle oil.
Note: the top lid from the lorry container is re-attached to the camera bottom, as it is part of the camera enclosure for making exposures.
To locate this design into 1970's America, the camera comes with a set of table legs (instead of a tripod) to make a TV dinner.
Design, concepts, text and drawing are copyright 2014 by David Lo.
(Friends and Family ONLY)
Hello Flickr Family!
I have been missing Flickr more and more. Especially since getting Sonny and such i haven't really had time to do YouTube and all that. And TBH I have enjoyed the break :P Going through my favourites has also reminded me how great Flickr is. It is unfortunate that they are now forcing people to cut down, go pro, or leave. I have already seen the accounts of a few people disappear :'( But I will be sticking around. I won't go pro unless I absolutely must though. I have had Flickr for about 8 years now and it feels like a kick in the teeth to have this done to us after all that time. But anyway, moving on...
HERE is my lovely Sindy! A gift from Eddi (ModBarbieLover)! I have been trying to straighten her hair. It is really difficult. But it is getting there. It is straighter than it is in this pic. I want it dead straight. She is wearing Lunch Date. I have the head scarf but preferred this headband and the belt has come off the dress but I don't think I will re attach it as I think I prefer it this way.
St. Bartholomew’s Anglican Church -Dulcie Street -The present brick and tile church was built in 1929 at a cost of £618 and was dedicated and licensed on 16 September 1929. The church was re-attached to Cooma Parish in 1936.
This particular shot, I balanced the sky with light painting the church.
The European Space Agency will soon be releasing a new, cost efficient way of keeping a low-orbit manned presence in space. The whole unit is carried to orbit by an ESA rocket. A nuclear missile is housed in the rear, and the solar panel and engine/comm array detach from the habitation vessel. They re-attach to form a satellite that is left in orbit, while the pilot returns to earth!
Shirebrook
lot 2 of 3
removing the wagons in blocks of 5 for conversion.
shirebrook pilot loco propels 5 more in to the compound. when all 15 were in the 3 JNAs were re attached for 6Z21 to Bescot
I had just put my camera on a tripod to a get a better shot, when the street musician broke 2 of his guitar strings. He knew I was trying to get some shots of him playing, so he really tried to get the strings re-attached. After realizing the night was over for him, he called his ride for the night. I just kept taking pictures. Something about this crouched pose on the phone with his decommissioned guitar on the ground that had an appealing look to me.
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Just like opening an old book , going back to your elementary school, visiting an old friend, .... etc
One of my dreams was to be a Ballerina .. moving and swinging like a sparkling butterfly ... in a pair of pointe shoes ...
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Re-attaching to an old memory
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SOUTHERN SHORTHAULS GRAIN TO WESTERNS MILLING AT ENFIELD HAS JUST ARRIVED BACK IN JUNEE, THE TRAIN ARRIVED IN JUNEE THE PREVIOUS NIGHT AFTER LOADING HALF OF IT WEST OF COOTA SOMEWERE, THE LOADED SECTION WAS STOWED AWAY IN JUNEE YARD AND THE OTHER HALF LOADED AT GRONG GRONG, IT HAS JUST ARRIVED BACK IN JUNEE & AFTER RE-ATTACHING THE TWO TRAIN SECTIONS WILL BE READY TO DEPART FOR ENFIELD.
Shunting tractors 914 and 920 sit close quarters in Eltham.
920 recently delivered has just had its rods re-attached by the fitters, and 914 will head away on the evening southbound freight bound for Palmerston North and its regular servicing.
Its interesting to note the variation in the company paint scheme..
3237 HAS ARRIVED IN JUNEE FROM GRIFFITH, IT WILL BE TURNED & SERVICED IN THE JUNEE ROUNDHOUSE BEFORE RE-ATTACHING TO THE TOUR TRAIN & HEAD BACK TO GRIFFITH.
n 1901. 9 September 1995.
Progress on the lengthening of ex-BEA RMA29, with the vehicle now re-attached to its new length as RME1, and the Ailsa staircase now fitted in the new bay.
Blending old lens a new(ish) body. I came across a nice silver C Hasselblad Lens, pre T*, which of course thanks to Victor's legacy of interchangeability fits the H series with the CF adapter.
Processing some test shots now, very different look to my other 50mm the CF FLE version.
Even managed to find a yellow 63mm (Series VIII) drop in filter and original hood.
Note 63mm filters are actually 63.5mm based I think on 2 1/2 inch. That front knurled ring unscrews, the filter drops in and the ring is re-attached. You pay a pretty penny for the ring alone, buyer beware.
It had spent as long in service with Rigbys as it had with North Western (8 years in each case), but 133's time was up when I saw it in the yard in 1980. A few years later, I would have gone and found the front panel and re-attached it for the photo, but I knew nothing back then !
At least it still survives in some form, although it does need a lot of money putting into it to return it to its former glory - if that term could ever be applied to a Strachans-bodied Bedford VAL ! And the Dunham Massey bridge isn't even that shape any more ....
1957 Land Rover 88" Series 1 pick-up.
Last taxed for the road in January 1991.
Cheffins vintage and classic auction, Sutton -
"Serial No. 116700054. Launched at the Amsterdam Motor Show on the 30th of April 1948 the Land Rover was inspired by the US Army's wartime Jeep. Rover bosses the Wilks Bros saw a need for a rugged multi-use machine that would serve the UKs agricultural industry post Second World War. SEW 747 is an 88"" wheelbase unit fitted with the 2052cc diesel engine producing a heady 52bhp. Purchased new in July 1957 by a farming company near Alconbury, Huntingdonshire, this one owner Series 1 is consigned straight from its original farm home. Initially it was used for general farming duties and, at some point in the 1970s, the vehicle was converted from its pick up guise to tractor use. The owner decided that in order to conform to a legislation change regarding carrying rear passengers in that period, the buck should be cut through and the available seating area removed. This allowed the Land Rover to be used solely for drawbar work on the farm. The exhaust manifold was also altered to allow the exhaust to exit through the nearside wing snorkel style. The original buck has been re-attached in years gone by via a farm engineered strut and brace system providing suitable rigidity. Although SEW 747 has received some alterations during its long life, they only add to its charm and history as a practical multi-use agricultural vehicle. This 'one farm from new' Series 1 was laid up around 30 years ago in a dry barn and was only recently freed for photography. It retains a lot of the original paint and the interior appears largely complete with only 56,758 miles recorded. Although it has not been running for some years this is a very rare opportunity to acquire a genuine one owner Land Rover Series 1 requiring restoration. SEW 747 is offered for sale complete with its buff RF60 logbook and V5 registration document. Estimate: £10,000-£12,000."
Sold for £15,500.
Things continue to go poorly. In my efforts to repair the front left wedge the front right fell off completely resulting in another backwards step. To fix this I had to flip the ship back over, which innitially went well but damaged the one part of the ship that was still solid and the most difficult to install.
The two rear wings that caused me so much frustration to install both came loose at the top. I had to completly remove the left wedge and re attach it, which also ment removing an engine. Miraculously I got it back on after several hours, everything was attached but only just. I attempted to straighten one of the hinges and then it fell through and then everything broke all over again, completly undoing 3 and half hours of work! To make matters worse the right side then decided to let go in the same spot as well!
I am really at a complete loss as to how to fix this. Other problems were easy to identify but this... its hard to see what went wrong much less how to fix it. I tried to add an extra lift arm underneith the hinges but that buts up against the 1x2 technic bricks holding the skin to the frame, which is still holding some how, which also makes it harder to reattach the broken section.
So now all 6 major body pannles, 4 wedges and the two panles above the hanger are now off the ship. Only the 4 corners around the hanger remain intact. So six months of work has been all for nothing! At this point I really, really hate working on this project, as every thing I attempt to fix breaks something else and I no longer have any cofidence in my designs ability to endure moving it.
SA State Competition. Masters Section. Special Occasion Cake.
FIRST PRIZE winner.
This was total NIGHTMARE. The tiers are 5" carved inwards. It took me literaly whole day on lovely Saturday afternoon and cover and re-cover and re-cover it about 50 times or so. I still did not get it right!! It either tiered at the top, or went on elephant skined starting from the middle. I should have coverd it wrapped around, but that was for Masters section and the design did not really allow for sims hiding. Anyways it'll have do as is. If you do not look very close it is hard to see that the cover is a bit elephanty. The bottom tier was textured, so it looks much better than the top.
Butterflies were a lot of fun to make. They all painted freehand. Combination of pale yellow, ginga & nathurcium colour made for quite a few colour combinations.
The topper wanted to topple over. It is VERY fragile and took me a while to figure out how to support it while it was drying. Couple of "petals" fall of while I was securing the flying butterflies, but luckily they did not break and I managed to re-attach them.
Delivering this thing was even more interesting than to make it. It was raining! I did not have a box tall enough. Had to lift available box flaps and it just about fit into the car salon blocking all the rear vision!!!! Fun that was FUN! It will be funnier still when I will need to take it back tomorrow alone ( my husband drove there I was his rear vision).
hahahaha Pam, RARE vision was corrected to be REAR vision.
13. With the ship getting longer and wider, the guns had to be redesigned. The half-sunk tiles on the hull are nicely visible in this shot. The missile bays are now doubled in size, adding up to 96 ready-to-launch warheads.
14. A missilebay door idea that didn't make it. The vernier thruster also got cancelled in favor of a less cluttered exterior look.
15. Decided that the entire ship is basically a giant railgun system. So the front-end needed some visible projectile apertures. Also stuck some sensor systems on there. This gave function to those 2x2 round tiles on the sides of the hull, as they're now obviously part of the static electricity discharge system. Think big lightning strikes from those pads to the atmosphere it's discharging in. Here I had some vernier thrusters too, but cancelled those too in favor of the smooth design.
16. Lineup of the ship's self defense guns. The locking bluish grey turntables of the bigger guns were pretty hard to find.
17. Some more bridge sculpting. That's pretty much done by now.
18. Taking the panels off to make some adjustments always meant I had to re-attach all hinges (which would stay locked to the main body. For proper panel re-attachment, they needed to be on the panel), which became really boring really fast, forcing me to work as efficient as I could. I'm starting to hate this project right now and want to see it finish asap. It'll be a long time before I do something as big as this again. Huge respect for the builders of actual SHIP's!
--
The Postcard
A postcard that was published on behalf of the Reader's Digest Association Ltd. Note how the bits of the Little Mermaid that are easy to reach have been kept free of the green patina.
The postmark on the back of the card is not legible, but the 2½p stamp indicates a posting date between the 15th. February 1971 and the 9th. September 1973.
The card was posted to:
Mrs. H. Hepworth,
16, Woodmere,
Bracknell,
Berks.
The printed message on the divided back of the card was as follows:
"Congratulations!
Lucky numbers in the
Reader's Digest £12,500
Prize Draw will be sent
out next week to selected
people in your area - and
you are among the
lucky ones!
Prizes include £50 a month
for life ... a new Ford
Granada ... a Copenhagen
holiday for two ... and
hundreds of other exciting
prizes.
And there's no catch - you
don't have to buy anything
to win.
Watch out for the postman --
and Good Luck!
Anthony King."
The £1 and £5 Notes
Note the bundles of banknotes in the photograph.
In 1984 it was announced that the English £1 note would be completely phased out. It was gradually replaced by the £1 coin, and fully removed from circulation in 1988.
The Bank of England £5 note, known informally as a fiver, is now the smallest denomination of banknote issued by the Bank of England.
In September 2016, a new polymer note was introduced, featuring the image of Queen Elizabeth II on one side and a portrait of Winston Churchill on the other.
The old paper note, first issued in 2002 and bearing the image of prison reformer Elizabeth Fry on the reverse, was phased out, and ceased to be legal tender after the 5th. May 2017.
The Little Mermaid Statue
The Little Mermaid is a bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen, depicting a mermaid becoming human. The sculpture is displayed on a rock by the waterside at the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is 1.25 metres (4.1 ft) tall, and weighs 175 kilograms (385 lb).
Based on the 1837 fairy tale of the same name by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, the statue is a Copenhagen icon, and has been a major tourist attraction since its unveiling.
In recent decades it has become a popular target for defacement by vandals and political activists.
-- History of The Little Mermaid
The statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, who had been fascinated by a ballet about the fairytale in Copenhagen's Royal Theatre.
He asked the ballerina, Ellen Price, to model for the statue.
The sculptor Edvard Eriksen created the bronze statue, which was unveiled on the 23rd. August 1913. The statue's head was modelled after Price, but as the ballerina did not agree to model in the nude, the sculptor's wife, Eline Eriksen, was used for the body.
The Copenhagen City Council arranged to move the statue to the Danish Pavilion for Expo 2010 in Shanghai. This was the first time it had been moved from its perch since it was installed almost a century earlier.
While the statue was away in Shanghai, an authorised copy was displayed on a rock in the lake in Copenhagen's nearby Tivoli Gardens. Copenhagen officials have considered moving the statue several meters out into the harbour to discourage vandalism and to prevent tourists from climbing onto it, but as of May 2014 the statue remains on dry land at the water side at Langelinie.
-- Vandalism of The Little Mermaid
The statue has been damaged and defaced many times since the mid-1960's for various reasons, but has been restored each time.
-- On the 24th. April 1964, the statue's head was sawn off and stolen by politically-oriented artists of the Situationist movement, amongst them Jørgen Nash.
The head was never recovered, and a new head was produced and placed on the statue.
-- On the 22nd. July 1984, her right arm was sawn off and returned two days later by two young men.
-- In 1990, an attempt to sever the statue's head left an 18 cm (7 in) deep cut in her neck.
-- On the 6th. January 1998, the statue was decapitated again. The culprits were never found, but the head was returned anonymously to a nearby television station, and re-attached on the 4th. February.
-- On the night of the 10th. September 2003, the statue was knocked off its base with explosives, and later found in the harbour's waters. Holes had been blasted in her wrist and knee.
-- Paint has been poured on the statue several times, including one episode in 1963, and two in March and May 2007.
-- On the 8th. March 2006, a dildo was attached to the statue's hand, green paint was dumped over it, and the date March 8th. was written on it. It is likely that this vandalism was connected to International Women's Day, which is on March 8th.
-- The statue was found drenched in red paint on the 30th. May 2017 with the message:
"Danmark [sic] defend the
whales of the Faroe Islands."
This is a reference to whaling in the Faroe Islands (an autonomous country in the Kingdom of Denmark), written on the ground in front of the statue.
-- Two weeks later, on the 14th. June 2017, the statue was drenched in blue and white paint. "Befri Abdulle" (Free Abdulle) was written in front of the statue, but it was unclear what this referred to at the time.
Later, police said the writing was likely referring to Abdulle Ahmed, a Somalian refugee who has been detained in a high security unit in Denmark since 2001 due to a custody sentence.
-- On the 13th. January 2020, "Free Hong Kong" was painted on the stone on which the statue is mounted by supporters of the 2019–20 Hong Kong protests.
-- On the 3rd. June 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd protests and Black Lives Matter movement, the statue was vandalised with the words "racist fish" scrawled on its stone base.
This attack left observers and specialists puzzled, because nothing related to the statue, H. C. Andersen or his fairy tale could be construed as racist.
-- Dressing of The Little Mermaid
Although not regarded as vandalism since no damage is done to the statue, people have also repeatedly dressed it, either for fun or to make more serious statements.
-- In 2004, the statue was draped in a burqa in a protest against Turkey's application to join the European Union.
-- In May 2007, it was again found draped in Muslim dress and a head scarf.
-- Other examples are times where a Christmas hat has been put on the head, or it has been dressed in the jerseys of the Norwegian or Swedish national football teams (the Danish team has a highly competitive rivalry with the Swedish team).
-- Copies of The Little Mermaid
Aside from the statue on display, which is a replica of the original, more than thirteen undamaged copies of the statue are located around the world, including California, Iowa, Romania, Madrid, Seoul, and a half-sized copy in Calgary, Alberta.
The grave of Danish-American entertainer Victor Borge includes a copy as well. Copenhagen Airport also has a replica of the mermaid, along with a statue of Andersen.
A statue of The Little Mermaid also looks out over Larvotto beach in Monaco. She was created, in 2000, with multiple layers of metal by Kristian Dahlgard, in homage to the Danes who live in Monaco and to the late Prince Rainier III.
A copy of the statue forms the Danish contribution to the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake City. The half-size replica was stolen on the 26th. February 2010, but was recovered on the 7th. April 2010, abandoned in the park.
A replica of the statue was presented by Denmark to Brazil in 1960, in honour of the construction of Brasília, the country's new capital that was inaugurated in that year. It was installed 5 years later in front of the main building of the Brazilian Navy Command, in Brasília, Federal District, where it remains to this day.
Copyright Issues
The statue is under copyright until 2029, seventy years after the 1959 death of the creator. However as of 2019, replicas can be purchased, authorised for sale by the Eriksen family.
A replica was installed in Greenville, Michigan in 1994 to celebrate the town's Danish heritage, at a cost of $10,000.
However in 2009 the Artists Rights Society asked the town for a $3,800 licensing fee, claiming the work violated Eriksen's copyright. At about 76 cm (30 in) in height, the replica in Greenville is half the size of the original, and has a different face and larger breasts, as well as other distinguishing factors. The copyright claim was later dropped.
The 1972 statue of a female diver (entitled Girl in a Wetsuit by Elek Imredy) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada was commissioned when, unable to obtain permission to reproduce the Copenhagen statue, Vancouver authorities selected a modern version.
In 2016, a similar statue was installed at the harbor in Asaa, Denmark, where it is also mounted on the top of a rock. The heirs of the sculptor are (2021) suing, claiming that the Asaa statue bears too close a resemblance to the famous one, and they are demanding damages and the destruction of the Asaa statue.
Censorship
Social Democrat politician Mette Gjerskov tried to post a photo of The Little Mermaid on her Facebook page, but was initially told that it had "Too much bare skin or sexual undertones", and the post was blocked. Facebook however later rescinded the ban, and approved the image for posting.
Oh nifty fify, I hardly knew ye.
Yesterday my daughter accidentally kicked the inner lens mechanism and it just broke off. My fault for leaving it on the floor. Obviously it's pretty sensitive if you hit it at just the right angle and position. Maybe someone can donate a 35mm f/1.4 to help me through this loss =P
An update, thanks to the tip given by Nick, Photographer - I was able to re-attach the front element, clean the insides out, and all is fine. Even though there was a broken plastic latch piece that came off, the lens still functions without it. Yay!
I am intrigued as to how even in construction lego can replicate real-life assemblies. For my King Tiger Lego model, I am using a particular pulley piece to simulate the interleaved roadwheels the Germans used on their larger tanks. The system saw success on the terrain-able Panther tank, but maintenance was troubled by its complexity. Here I am re-attaching the roadwheels on my model after making a correction; to my headache taking one off means taking them all off. By no means as difficult as the real thing!
What's going on:
1. every other pulley is offset by 1/2 brick, achieved using half-bushings.
2. the second row pulleys, the inner layer closest to the center, are put on the ends of their corresponding axles.
3. the first row is placed. notice how the second row cannot be pushed in to place before the out row is perched on their axles. tedious!
4. both rows can be pushed into place and secured with half-bushings. thanks to new axle pieces, there is no axle protrusion beyond the bushing.
As the sun tries to pierce through the early morning cloud, One of Pacific National's new 93 class sits in a slightly overgrown Junee yard after arriving off a very late running 4MC2 Melbourne- Griffith container train.
9303 shunted off the Bomen loading which can be seen at the Albury end of the yard and will soon re attach to Bomen loading and work as 3391 to Bomen.
Thurs 27th Sept 2012.
Under grey skies, LSL's 'Railfreight' liveried 'Choppers' head south with empty coaching stock in preparation for an upcoming railtour between Crewe and Kyle of Lochalsh.
The 20s would be dropped off at LSL's depot in Carlisle, the stock continuing it's journey behind 57 002, before being re-attached on the day of the tour to haul the train for the rest of it's trip north of the border.
Daily Post #20
I'm baaaack! Yup, I finally got re-attached to the world and have been given a new broadband password. I am going to try and not waste the rest of my week off online though so I may be slow to catch up.
I shall leave you with a pony for the day...
ScotRail Railways Class 156 / Super Sprinters, 156485 and 156432, pause outside Glasgow Central and are split and re-attached after departing with a service to East Kilbride
I added some wheels to my old 6ft folding table. They are crude but they work well enough for me to move the ship off to the side of the room, so I can now use my TV again. Now I just need to re attach everything I took off two months ago, but first there is a list of improvemnets and fixes that need to be done so that it dosn't break again.
So obviously I couldn't build little gyro stabilizers for the wheel, so I've got these clear 1x2s as supports in back. They're attached to these which might make it look like Clappy has some afterburners installed.
Self loading mode begins when the front part extends it’s tentacles (1,2), raises front lights, turns the front part into a loading unit (3) and separates from the Driving modulebecoming the Loading module. It can be re-attached to front or the back part of the Driving module. Driving module is autonomous and it can help the Loading moduleby dragging the Wheeled Dump bed.
3237 HAS ARRIVED IN JUNEE FROM GRIFFITH, IT WILL BE TURNED & SERVICED IN THE JUNEE ROUNDHOUSE BEFORE RE-ATTACHING TO THE TOUR TRAIN & HEAD BACK TO GRIFFITH.
Broke my camera today right after taking this shot. Took a spill in our driveway on the ice with the camera around my neck. Just need to have the mirror re-attached. Apparently, this model is known to lose it's mirror during extreme heat or cold. I'm pretty sure it was the sudden jarring of hitting the snow/ice that took mine out. Wonder how long that will take to fix?
Soyokaze - Gentle Breeze
This is my new ro geiko hikizuri. It features lovely pampas grass motifs which seem to be bending in a gentle breeze. There are also chinese bellflowers and what appears to be cock's comb flowers. Thanks to SingleMomSusie, I've learned that the large pink flower is some sort of Amaranthus. robsrainbarrels.com/images/Amaranthus1 rev1.JPG
This kimono came with a white hiyoku that was detached, I did some quick needle work and re-attached it last night.
Thanks to MissMyloko, I've been able to identify this hikizuri's previous owner. It belonged to the Tama Okiya in Gion Kobu. MissMyloko directed me to photos of Mayuha, Mamesuzu and Wakana wearing this hikizuri for hassaku.
Mayuha in 2007:
www.flickr.com/photos/mboogiedown/1353251394/
In this image Mayuha is standing near the centre with Suzuha behind her. In that image you can see the pink Amaranthus flower on her skirt. Also, the crests match the ones on my hikizuri
www.flickr.com/photos/31093817@N08/3235381952/
www.flickr.com/photos/31093817@N08/3235382120/
In these two images you can see Mayuha with Suzuha and the bellflower and sweet pea details on the right side of the hikizuri's skirt. Also, you'll notice that Mayuha's kimono is a three crested kurotomesode (the ones on the shoulders are missing) just like my hikizuri.
Mamesuzu 2008:
www.flickr.com/photos/nobuflickr/2777459863/
Here you can see Mamesuzu in this hikizuri. The hikizuri is difficult to identify in this image, but the sweet pea details are there as well as a hint of that pink flower on the left side. The shoulder crests are also missing.
Wakana 2009:
www.flickr.com/photos/23314901@N06/3785023156/
And here's Wakana. There's that pink amaranthus flower, the bellflower and sweet pea details as well as the matching crests!
Now the strange thing about this hikizuri is that all of these geisha belong to the Tama Okiya which has a Pulownia crest. Seen here on Suzuha's obi: www.flickr.com/photos/maclir/23958474/ Yet, this hikizuri has a definite Sensu shaped crest. As does the hikizuri that all three geiko are wearing. The question is, why would geiko wear crests other than those of their okiya? And why would an okiya even have a hikizuri with crests that belong to someone else? Or does this hikizuri have a much longer history than we suspect?
After making some inquiries of sources in the karyukai, I've come to learn that this kimono is one of a few "sisters" (identical kimono), that were owned by the Tama Okiya. These sister kimono were worn by geiko who play a special role in the hassaku festivities. I know for certain that the okiya formerly owned one five crested version and one three crested version. Mine is the three crested version, and the five crested version was sold shortly before mine. Meanwhile, the okiya CURRENTLY owns at least one more of these identical hikizuri. The crest seems to be that of a particular teacher, and all the geiko who wear it are her students. The number of crests also indicates the prominence of that geiko's role. Five crests would make her a more central participant and three slightly less central in nature. I don't know how long these sister kimono have been in use, or how long they will continue to be so, but they have been worn in every hassku at least as far back as 2007, and we have even found a photo of these kimono sisters being worn as far back as the 1960's.
This kimono being worn:
www.flickr.com/photos/13061699@N06/4427767269/in/photostr...
www.flickr.com/photos/13061699@N06/4427767391/in/photostr...
www.flickr.com/photos/13061699@N06/4427767471/in/photostr...
One of my favs. Way back when Jeff was first making his, it inspired me to make mine. I went overboard, like usual, and made at least one version of each that I could find a decent picture of. The standard 250/1, the wire laying 250/2, the command 250/3 "Grief", the unused 250/4 AA variant. Please do not ask about the brick built double MG on the AA variant. :) That was quite a while ago.
Thanks for the inspiration Jeff!
73/365
So I played around all day today, got muddy in the clay studio and at the river...hung out with a homeless drunk guy in a nearby town who offered me rolled Bugler cigarette after cigarette, and really wanted to help me take pictures today :) Had dinner with my mom and then Rah and I went grocery shopping.
We got this wicked awesome camera a few months ago, and I really need to take it up to my friend at the camera store and see if it will still work. He probably even has one just like it if I need a replacement, lol. That guy has one amazing camera stash, but I got this one at the Salvation Army. Anyway, Rah and I were playing around after dinner and we got this shot for today's 365. Such an awesome camera, and I love the leather case that fits so snuggly around it. I will definately be trying to shoot some with it if I can.
I wish I could get the vent re-attached to the dryer, or I could call someone to come and fix it, but I'm not that willing right now, tomorrow is soon enough. I've got other stuff to do like kill Lego Rock Band on Expert level (Ha! Yeah right!) But it's probably time to read with Rah and then head to bed.
Good night all, and have a sweet day tomorrow!
Ethel~Maud, named after my Grandmothers, was one of the first dolls I bought for myself as an adult and I came across her whilst whiling away some time on Ebay ~ as you do ;-) She is a Norah Wellings doll, although I didn't know when I bought her that she was a doll from any particular maker ~ and to be honest I'd never heard of Norah Wellings before Ethel~Maud arrived through my letter-box.
In my internet searching to try to find out about Norah Wellings, I came across a blog called "Norah Wellings Journal", by a lady called Gillian Trotter who has written a book about Miss Wellings. I plucked up the courage to send an email to Gill to ask if she would be able to have a quick look at Ethel~Maud's photos on my blog, and whether she could perhaps tell me something about her.
Gill has got photos of some lovely dolls on her blog; they make poor little Ethel~Maud look very shabby and down-at-heel. She is in a somewhat battered condition, bless her, with pen marks, dirty and worn patches, re-attached arms (one of which has been sewn on back-to-front); she has a very receding hairline and a rather disfigured face ~ her eyes are wearing away, her nose is non-existent and her poor mouth has been very badly coloured in. My Sherlock Holmes-like powers of deduction lead me to suspect she was a plaything as opposed to a collector's doll.....
The photos on Gill's blog show dolls dressed in lovely outfits but Ethel~Maud arrived absolutely stark naked ~ hence the rather fetching hankie and brooch ensemble she is currently floating around in! I confess that she very quickly became my little mascot and I really do like to sit her near me when I'm doing bits and pieces. Oh dear, does that make me weird do you think???
I received a lovely email from Gill in response to mine, and she was been able to tell me a little about Ethel~Maud:
"She looks like one of Norah Wellings Islander Dolls. You do not say what size she is but looks to be the smaller size of 8 to 12 inches? Norah Wellings was very well known for her wonderful Islander dolls and they were made wearing a mixture of different national clothing but most commonly grass skirts. However as yours has black shoes she would not have had a grass skirt as that particular model had bare feet. They came in sizes 8 to 36 inches , earliest having glass eyes, later painted eyes. Looking at the label on Ethel-Maud she would have been made from 1940 to 1950's ( Norah Wellings stopped production in 1959). The same models were used for many years."
I have chosen Ethel~Maud to be my "one object" for the One Object 365 Days Project and I'm feeling rather excited about sharing more photos of her on Flickr :-)
A view of the head of the Thrybergh Branch which was retained to serve Silverwood Colliery, the picture taken from Ravenfield looking towards Dalton and Thrybergh. The railway to the right once ran as Joint Railways N towards Conisborough and S towards Thurcroft and Dinnington
I will explain the railway operation pictured here, with the dark, wooded hillside, top L, as my reference point. (RF). The train has arrived double headed from the right-hand side of RF, you can just see the curve - at RF, the pilot loco has detached and gone into a short spur, whereupon the train has gone forward to fully clear this spur - the pilot loco can now re-attach at the rear, as now shown in the picture, and veering L of the RF, haul the empties towards the loading pad - Gedditt!?
Loaded trains would reverse the above procedure and leave double headed.
The wonderful Bluebell Railway (BR) is a marvellous heritage line to visit, ride on and photograph; this weekend I made my second visit in two months. Apart from the regular timetabled services, the BR offers other trips and on Friday last, 6 July 2018 an evening 'Fish & Chip Special' ran. The stock, seen to the right of the image had been brought into platform 1 at Sheffield Park and as part of the running-round procedure, the locomotive took on water from the supply at the northern end of platform 2.
This picture shows the interesting bit when the bag is taken out of the filler (interesting because water often escapes and occasionally members of the footplate crew and/or passengers get splashed!). Maunsell designed S15 numbered 847 (30847 in Southern Region days) is seen as the bag is removed from the filler and some water escapes, but fortunately for the crew and the well dressed ladies, no-one was dampened.
After the tank had been filled, 847 completed its run-round manoeuvre, was re-attached to the coaches, the two ladies joined the train and it departed at 18.30 hours to East Grinstead.
Charing Cross,[5] also known as London Charing Cross,[6] is a central London railway terminus in the City of Westminster, England. It is one of 18 stations managed by Network Rail[7] and all regular trains serving it are operated by Southeastern. It is the fifth busiest rail terminal in London.[8] The office and shopping complex above the station is formally known as Embankment Place.
The station takes its name from its location next to the central London road junction of Charing Cross. The front of the station faces the Strand, while at the other end is the northern end of Hungerford Bridge, which is crossed by all trains serving the station. Ticket barriers control access to all platforms, although the bridge entrance has no barriers it is only open to passengers during the morning peak hours. Therefore, there are regular ticket inspections carried out on the bridge.
Charing Cross is the London terminus of the South Eastern Main Line. All regular services are operated by Southeastern which provides the majority of commuter/regional services to South East London and Kent.
The original station building was built on the site of the Hungerford Market by the South Eastern Railway and opened on 11 January 1864. The station was designed by Sir John Hawkshaw, with a single span wrought iron roof arching over the six platforms on its relatively cramped site. It is built on a brick arched viaduct, the level of the rails above the ground varying from 13 feet (4.0 m) at the north-east end to 27 feet (8.2 m) at the bridge abutment at the south-east end. A year later the Charing Cross Hotel, designed by Edward Middleton Barry, opened on 15 May 1865 and gave the station an ornate frontage in the French Renaissance style.
Contemporary with the Charing Cross Hotel was a replica of the Eleanor Cross in Red Mansfield stone, also designed by Edward Middleton Barry, that was erected in the station forecourt. It was based on the original 13th-century Whitehall Cross that had been demolished in 1647. Distances in London are officially measured from the original site of the cross, now the statue of Charles I facing Whitehall, and not from this replica cross.
The condition of the cross deteriorated until it was in such a vulnerable condition that it was placed on the English Heritage At Risk Register in 2008. A ten-month project to repair and restore the cross was completed in August 2010. This work included recreating and attaching almost 100 missing ornamental features including heraldic shields, an angel, pinnacles, crockets and finials; securing weak or fractured masonry with stainless steel pins and rods and re-attaching decorative items which had previously been removed after becoming loose.
A 77-foot (23 m) length of the elegant original roof structure, comprising the two end bays at the south of the station, and part of the western wall collapsed at 3:45 pm on 5 December 1905. A gang of men were employed at the time in repairing, glazing and painting the section of roof which fell. Shortly after 3:30 pm, the roof emitted a loud noise, which was when someone noticed that one of the main tie rods had broken and was hanging down. Part of the roof began to sag and the western wall began to crack.
It was another 12 minutes before the collapse occurred, which enabled trains and platforms to be evacuated and incoming trains to be held back. The roof, girders and debris fell across four passenger trains standing in platforms 3, 4, 5 and 6, blocking all tracks were. The part of the western wall that fell had crashed through the wall and roof of the neighbouring Royal Avenue Theatre (now the Playhouse Theatre) in Northumberland Avenue, which was being reconstructed at the time. Six people died (two workmen on the roof, a W.H. Smith bookstall vendor and three workmen on the Royal Avenue Theatre site).[10]
At the Board Of Trade Inquiry into the accident expert, witnesses expressed doubts about the design of the roof, even though the cause of the failure was attributed to a faulty weld in a tie rod. Consequently, the South Eastern and Chatham Railway decided not to repair the roof but to replace it. An enormous travelling timber gantry had to be constructed to take the remainder of the station roof down safely. The replacement was a utilitarian post and girder structure supporting a ridge and furrow roof. The curve of the original roof design can still be seen on the interior brickwork. The station was re-opened on 19 March 1906.
Following bomb damage in the Second World War, the hotel received extensive repairs in 1951, ten years after being bombed. In general, this consisted of a whole new set of top floors. The elaborate Mansard roof of the upper floors of the hotel was rebuilt in a plain neo-Georgian white brick.
In 1990 most of the area over the British Rail platforms was covered by Embankment Place, a post-modern office and shopping complex designed by Terry Farrell and Partners. This development led to the replacement of almost the whole of the 1906 roof. The rear two spans of this structure – immediately adjacent to the existing concourse roof – were retained as part of an enlarged waiting area. In addition the original retaining side walls of the station which once supported it remain in near complete condition.[11] Most of the Embankment Place complex is currently occupied by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In April 2014, the station held a celebration to mark the station's 150th anniversary which included a Kentish farmers market, staff in period costume, a guided walking tour and the unveiling of the new waiting room mural, produced by a local school.
No1 ‘Princess’ inside the Old Engine Shed at Boston Lodge.
Princess (originally The Princess) is a steam locomotive built for the Festiniog Railway in 1863. One of the line's original locomotives, it continued in use (much rebuilt) until the closure of the railway in 1946, when it hauled the final train.
Princess has not been restored to working order but has been cosmetically restored, allowing it to act as a roving ambassador for the railway at various locations and events. There are currently no plans to return the locomotive to steam.
Princess was named after Princess Alexandra of Denmark (later Queen Alexandra) (1844-1925), who had married Albert Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII, 1841-1910) in March 1863.
The Princess was one of the first four FR locomotives built by George England & Co. at Hatcham Iron Works. As originally built, it was a side tank locomotive with an open footplate.
The Princess was the second locomotive to be delivered. This engine was carried by the LNWR from London to Caernarfon and then brought (around 22 July 1863) by road to Portmadoc on Job and Harry Williams' specially built cart or wain drawn by ten horses. This was the first locomotive to run on the railway and was first steamed on 4 August 1863. The Princess was numbered 1 in the earliest of photographs; however, Charles Spooner referred to her as No.2 in 1879, perhaps remembering the order of delivery.
1863-1881: Frontline to shunting engine
In this picture, The Princess has no cab sheet and is at the terminus of the Ffestiniog & Blaenau Railway near Duffws (their station name was Diphwys). The chimney has been changed, and the tender (No. 6) was one of two, built for the 'large Englands'. These were wooden-framed and unbraked, but did have leaf spring suspension. At this time (1880) the Princess was in a poor state: the cylinders were wearing out (a copper patch had been bolted on one of them in 1878), and the wheel tyres were wearing thin. New cylinders were in hand by July 1880, and in February 1881, it is recorded as "Needs shopping".
1882-1887: Rebuild with sham tank
In December 1882 she completed a major refit. The boiler was retubed with 25 new brass tubes, 10 old brass tubes, 80 electro copper tubes and 115 new steel ferrules; costs were being pared even at a profitable time for the railway. The firebox was completely removed, the plates straightened, and then fitted with new stays. The smokebox was replaced, and a "sham" cast-iron tank was fitted on top of the side tanks to increase the weight to ten tons and improve adhesion. A second large whistle was added, and the FR standard pattern of sandpots "with brass nobs" were put on. These tubes obviously did not last as well as the previous set, as in 1887 (after this photograph) she was retubed again using the recovered tubes from Little Giant. A Wilson lubricator was also put on at this time.
1888-1892: Balance weights, first cab and withdrawal of last small England
The sandpots had two pieces of cast iron inserted under them in 1888 "to balance the engine. Hence, these and their successors are termed 'balance weights'. The cab was one which had previously been fitted to Prince and was transferred in 1891. The boiler was wearing out, though, and in August 1892, she was withdrawn from service for a major rebuild which would take 31 months.
1893-1905: Rebuild with Cab & Saddle tank, Vulcan boiler
The rebuild took place over 2 years to spread the cost. The new boiler was ordered from the Vulcan Foundry in February 1893 for £190. In March 1895, she emerged with the present all-over saddle tank and full cab and a new boiler. At the same time, the name was shortened to 'Princess'. In November 1895, she was recorded as coming "off the line at Minffordd" and in August 1896 "Thrown off the Line at Penrhyn". The repairs from the latter took 2 weeks to carry out. In 1898, it is recorded "Princess & Tender – Painted all over & Tender 5 coats Varnish" clearly,y standards were high. A tube burst in 1904 and, although plugged, this signalled future troubles. Four tubes went in June 1905, and these were replaced with 4 of Little Giant's old tubes.
1906-1920: Re-tube and run down to finish
There was a further refit in early 1906 then in September it is recorded "Leading axle broke at Cei Mawr with 9.40 AM train, steel appeared brittle, new axle made of Cammell Mild steel". A month later, she was fully retubed with James Spooner's old tubes, including "old ferrules". She worked until August 1920.
1920-1946: Final rebuild and decline to last pre-preservation train
A new Adamson steel boiler was fitted (purchased November 1920 and delivered July 1921). She was back in traffic by May 1923 just in time to work the first WHR train from Portmadoc on 1st June 1923. However there was not enough time to change the tyres and so she was taken in for this the following winter. Comber (a photographer) records in 1933 "painted black, Bad condition but could be used in an emergency, Expected to be rebuilt this winter". In fact she was taken out of service in late 1935 and repairs were completed in April 1937. Photographs show this being recorded by a crude alteration to the large oval cab plates she had worn since 1895. She was the last steam locomotive to operate on the line under the old company, working the last train on 1st August 1946 before the nine years of closure.
1954-Present: Plinthed, then roving ambassador
Princess has not been restored to working order but remains as she was left by the old company in 1946. For a year or two in the mid 1960s she was on display at Porthmadog Harbour Station at the end of the siding nearest the sea with a notice which read "No 1 Princess, This locomotive was the first engine in steam on the railway, 4th August 1863. and also hauled the last slate train 1st August 1946, It now awaits restoration." For some years from 1969 she was displayed in the open outside the Queen's Hotel at Blaenau Ffestiniog, then on a plinth at the site of the Blaenau LNWR Exchange station (see picture page), and then at Porthmadog before finally being displayed inside the museum in the Goods Shed at Porthmadog Harbour Station (now Spooner's Bar) from 1981. She was removed from Spooners in November 2012, to be repainted and re-attached to her tender (which had for the last 25 years been attached to Welsh Pony). She is now used as a roving ambassador for the railway's celebrations, appearing at Paddington, Dublin, and Penrhyn Castle in 2013. In 2016, Princess visited London King's Cross Station along with Carriage 1 and Carriage 12 from 12th to 21st February 2016.
Today's story and sketch "by me" we are in Oshkosh Wisconsin, a long way from the campus
of "FSU" Flying Stuff University. Today Limpy Gofish seen in the vintage Ford Anion Anti
Gravity Glider Pick Up, and his brother Mardick and co pilot Mabutti flying above in
the Silver Streak Monocoupe 90 a two seat light cabin airplane constructed entirely from
recycled Beer Cans and two lawn chairs. Limpy who no longer fly's unless it is in a low to
earth glider like the one you see in this sketch, (after his near fatal crash at FSU),
when he had to have his legs re attached by medical students who were camping near the FSU
campus when they saw Limpy's experimental plane go down, but that is a story you have
already read or should have if you are keeping up.
Today's annual convention and gathering of aviation enthusiasts are presenting Limpy
with the "HBCWF" Have Beer Cans Will Fly Award, for the excellent work on the Silver Streak 90.
I hope to have a sketch of the Awards ceremony soon till then taa ta the Rod Blog.
The draw bridge across the Bayou Lafourche (a.k.a the Chetimachas River) at 308 & Main - Larose Louisiana
As I drove down East Main Street (308) following the canal (Bayou Lafourche) I was quite impressed with all the shrimp boats docked along the canal. 'Definitely a lot of hard working folk that man those boats to supply us with shrimp and other tasty fishes from the Gulf.
I also liked the BIG chains hanging from the bridge, and I believe they're attached to the huge concrete weights that are used to raise the bridge. Thought they did kinda remind me of the large gold chains Mr. T used to wear.
It's quite a scene to see a giant, crumbling brewery complex in essentially the middle of a residential neighborhood. In this shot you can see the black scars from a fire in 2009 that did a bit of damage to the complex.
In October 2023 demolition began on the southern part of the complex due to structural issues. Part of the demolition plan was to save the two towers, place them in the building's courtyard for refurbishing, and re-attach them to the remaining structure. By November 2024 demolition was essentially completed, with the north portion saved for potential development for affordable housing.
After a brief spell in intensive care to re-attach a broken tail, dove now sits on a log, on a lilac cake. If I was clever I would somehow edit out the lumps and bumps. Actually, if I was clever, there would be no lumps and bumps! :-) I don't know how you ladies do it! :-D
Prototype HST 41001, at Bo'ness Station, here having split from the train, for an unknown reason, before re attaching to the train.
Some Background:
Fang of the Sun Dougram (太陽の牙ダグラム Taiyō no Kiba Daguramu) is a 75-episode anime television series, created by Ryosuke Takahashi and Sunrise, and aired in Japan from October 23, 1981 to March 25, 1983 on TV Tokyo.
The series begins in a desert on the colony planet Deloyer, where the remains of a destroyed robot are resting as a red-haired woman is standing in front of it. The woman hallucinates what appears to be a group of armed soldiers alongside the robot in a non-destroyed state. A man named Rocky appears, leading to the woman running into his embrace where she cries tears of joy. After this, the series flashes back to an earlier time, in order to explain the circumstances leading up to the first episode.
Malcontents on the Deloyer colony agitate for the independence of their world from the Earth Federation. In an unexpected coup, the elected Governor declares martial law and sets himself up as absolute dictator. With the approval of the Federation, he rules the planet with an iron fist. In reaction, a ragtag group (including the governor's estranged son) rises in open rebellion, using a powerful prototype Combat Armor: the Dougram. Their goal is the end of the dictatorship and total independence from the Federation's influence.
The story follows the actions of the guerilla freedom fighters known as "The Deloyer 7." The war is fought across the planet Deloyer as the Federation vigorously pursues the rebels. The series is noted for its realistic use of not just the combat armors and support vehicles, but also military tactics. The series also followed a wide range of characters and political intrigue, with many shady characters switching sides throughout the series.
Crinn Cashim is the show's main character. Son of Governor Donan Cashim, he becomes trained in piloting the Soltic H8 “Roundfacer” standard army robot by Jacky Zaltsev, a Federation Ace, because of his father's political connections. When his father appears to be overthrown by a coup led by Colonel Von Stein, he pilots a Roundfacer while Federation forces battle Garcia's forces. He is stunned to learn that his father has actually sided with Von Stein in a secret plan, and eventually becomes angry at his father's forces in how they deal with the rebellion following the coup. Following a meeting with Dr. David Samalin, who introduces him to a combat armor he has designed, the Dougram, Cashim and his friends form The Fang of the Sun and join the rebellion against the Federation.
general characteristics
Unit type: CB (combat) armor
Manufacturer: Soltic Company
Crew: 1 pilot
Overall height: 10.02 meters
Base weight: 30.5 metric tons
Generator type: Rolls-Royce N8E x 1
Generator output: 54 points per second
Maximum running speed: 45 km/h
Continuous operational time: 324 minutes
Armament:
1x hand gun (various types, incl. a grenade launcher or a linear gun)
4x 25mm chain guns in the lower arms
1x shoulder-mounted 9-tube missile pod
Optional equipment: hang glider, camouflage suit, shield
Mechanical designer: Kunio Okawara
The kit (and its revival):
This is another model of an 1:72 Soltic H8 "Roundfacer" (there’s already one in my mecha collection), but it's not an original Takara kit, but rather comes from the Revell re-boxing in the mid Eighties among their Robotech line. It was there part of a kit set, called "Armored Combat Team", and came together with a wheeled vehicle set.
However, this model was originally not built and painted by me. It's rather a generous donation from a good friend who made an attempt into mecha when these kits were distributed. It was built roundabout 30 years(!!!) ago and, AFAIK, never 100% finished; for instance, the hoses around the neck were never mounted, and the handgun had never been never painted.
As the only one of its kind it never found a true place in my friend’s model kit collection, and after some years of disregard it even got damaged: the delicate hip joint got broken, the Roundfacer lost one of its legs. In this sorry status the model rested in a dark corner, collected dust...
...until it was given to me many years ago, unfortunately after I had already gone through my hot mecha phase in the Nineties, in which I resurrected many of my own builds for a second life. So the Roundfacer lay (again) around in my spare parts deposit for some more years, until I finally decided to tackle and revamp it in early 2018. Inspiration strikes in unexpected occasions.
At first I thought that I could just repair the leg and add some parts in order to finish the model, but this plan was soon foiled. However, the biggest issue remained the broken attachment point for the left leg - and it turned out to be more severe than first expected. Initially I tried to mend the problem with a metal pin reinforcement, so that the original pintle could be re-attached again. But then the right leg came off, too, and the whole joint turned out to have become so brittle (it literally fell apart) that it had to be replaced completely!
So I scratched a completely new hip joint and a sturdy attachment construction from styrene profiles and plastic-coated steel wire, which would allow a similar range of movement as the original construction, even though not as flexible - but the Roundfacer would be displayed anyway.
The rest of the kit was otherwise in good shape, and the joints free from paint for high movability. I made some changes and improvements, though. This included the cleaning of the seams on both legs (PSR) and the addition of some surface details with IP profile material. This meant that the original paintwork would have at least party to be renewed, but fortunalety I knew the paints and respective tones my friend had used when he had built the kit.
Another challenge were the characteristic hoses that lay around the Roundfacer's neck like a scarf. I was lucky to find leftover parts from a vintage 1:144 Gundam Zaku in my stash, the fit almost perfectly. Otherwise, they had had to be scratched.
The original missile launcher was re-fitted, even though it had to be fixed since the original attachment construction had also fallen victim to the styrene's brittleness over the ages. The handgun - while complete and available - was replaced by the weapon from a H-102 Bushman, which looks a bit more beefy, like a grenade launcher instead of the OOB assult rifle.
Painting and markings:
I was not certain whether I would re-paint the Roundfacer, which would have meant stripping it off of of its original enamels - but I eventually rejected this for two reasons: First of all I thought and still think that the brittle material of the finished kit made any surgery or chemical intervention hazardous. Esp. the joints were delicate, the loss of the hip joint was already trouble enough. And then I liked the fictional scheme the Roundfacer had been given, a kind of winter camouflage in black and light grey, separated by thin white lines. I simply wanted to keep the original concept, since it looks pretty unusual - and also in order to honor my friend's original approach.
So, instead of a new or additional layer of paint I limited my work to the areas with PSR and added details, and the original (and highly translucent!) decals had to go, too.
The original colors are Humbrol 64 (Light Sea Grey), 33 (Flatblack) and 34 (Flat White). For the repairs the same tones were used, just the pure black (which had suffered in the meantime) was replaced by Revell 6 (Tar Black). The result is pretty good, you hardly recognize the touch-ups.
In order to take the model a step further I also did some thorough weathering, at first with a dark grey acrylic wash, which was also texturized with vertical brush streaks along the flanks, and some later dry-brushing on the edges, emphasizing the robot's shape and details.
The new markings were puzzled together from various sheets, including some Dougram models.
For an even more unique look, and in order to hide some flaws, I decided to add a thin coat of snow – also in line with the small base I created for display (an somewhat in order to justify/explain the paint scheme).
The display base:
This is certainly not a diorama, but I wanted a small, scenic setting that would show surroundings in order to justify the Roundfacer’s strange black/grey scheme.
The foundation is a small MDF wood board, 8” x 6” in size, leftover from a street base gone bad many moons ago. On top of the wooden base, the landscape was sculpted with Styrofoam, using the Roundfacer as benchmark for the overall layout. The idea was to show an unpaved path or street, flanked by rock formations. Due to the base’s small size the rocks had to be limited in size. Since the robot would dominate the scene, anyway, I placed it further in the background.
In the foreground, some space was saved for a small vehicle, which would add some variety and create some kind of scene. Since I did not want to invest too much effort into building or even converting or scratching a scout car or something similar.
After some search I settled upon a modern Bundeswehr “Dingo” from Panzerstahl, a completed plastic model. I found it to be a very good match for the base and the Roundfacer – and for the scene I took it OOB and just re-painted it in black with light grey mottles and dusted it with snow (see below), too.
With the positions of the vehicles determined it was time to add details to the landscape. Most inspiration came from Antarctica and Iceland – you have volcanic rock formations, namely black basalt, with hexagonal structures, and ice and snow on top. Anything that the Roundfacer’s livery reflects.
The hexagonal rocks would be the most prominent structure on the base, and these were created with bits from …pencils. They were tailored to size with the help of a paper cutting machine, then glued into bundles and finally stuck into the Styrofoam ground and arranged into bigger structures.
Once dry the rest of the surface was covered and sculpted with plaster. A coat of thinned plaster was also spread over the pencils, blurring their shapes. On the street, track marks were created with a truck model kit wheel and the Roundfacer.
Once the plaster had dried, the diorama received a coat of thinned white glue, mixed with black paint, into which different grains of sand were strewn. Around the rock formations, broken shell gravel (from a home decoration shop) was used to mimic bigger chunks of rock. Again, things had to dry thoroughly.
Next came an overall basic coat of black – applied with a rattle can, so that the paint would evenly reach all recesses. After more drying time the landscape received washes with dark grey and dull olive green. Into the wet paint some grass fiber and wood pieces were glued, in areas behind the rock formations which would offer some protection against the weather.
Another drying period followed, for the second-to-last treatment: a thin coat of snow (which was also added to the Roundfacer and the car). I prefer white tile grout for this task, because it is easy to handle, sticks well to wet surfaces and remains white and stable in the course of time. For application, I put some of the dry material in a glass and cover it with a nylon stocking, and shake it over the wetted (water with drop of detergent) surface. This makeshift device is easy to handle and has the charm that you can gradually adjust the grit and amount of tile grout that rains down.
The street area received some additional treatment with thinned black and grey paint, simulating a mix of snow and dirt.
In a final step, the base and the vehicles received a coat of acrylic matt varnish from the rattle can for protection and snow fixation.
Pacific National's 7WM2 made an unscheduled stop at Albury due to a defective wagon in its consist.
LDP003, LDP001 and NR43 are seen here attached to the rear of the train after running around their consist.
After the defective wagon had been removed the wagons were re-attached and the locos returned to the front of the train.
7WM2 then continued on to Melbourne following NSW TrainLink's ST23.
Over this weekend the XPT service was only running between Albury and Melbourne due to track work north of Albury.
Saturday 23rd November 2019.
Cougar 9-5, of the Washington Army National Guard, joins in formation with Wolf 0-8, of the Colorado Army National Guard, after moving several Hotshot teams to new locations around the fires raging in the area around Lake Chelan, WA. After the aircraft land and fuel, they will re-attach their Bambi Buckets and continue fire-fighting efforts from the air, in concert with ground teams and several other aircraft.