View allAll Photos Tagged realization
Lately I've come to the realization that I really only have to go out to my backyard to find an interesting subject to shoot. With the aid of a macro lens, some of the simplest things become very interesting photos.
This is the center of a Nasturtium flower growing in a pot near our greenhouse. I thought the details were pretty nice!
Best viewed on black or large press L to view
©All Rights Reserved
the realization is with fantasy on Fabriano paper with coffee and carbon,graphite.(background a bit textured.
Thanks for the visit have a wonderful day
Frannie was a year behind me in High School. She was so cute and vivacious. She still is...
It's wonderful that we are still friends...
Miss Cecily, my beautiful wife, shot this photo with her iPhone 6 Plus.
Photographed in the Self-Realization Meditation Garden. It is a cliff top garden high above the Pacific Ocean 🌊 in Encinitas California - Cardiff By The Sea
IMG_0584
~ in bloom are the tulips purchased this past Friday...
~ and so is the realization that happiness is a decision...
A happy, creative, wonderful Monday & new week ahead in all possible ways for everyone!
P.S1: the picture is almost SOOC, really loving Northen light in Spring ~
P.S2: the album of our new home has been undergoing quite a few changes, until it reaches to a name fully representing itself. It seems that borrowing the name of this English wallpaper, with which the main living room wall left as we enter has been covered, fits more appropriately than anything so far. So The Pearl Birches House it is for now therefore :) Some more pictures here ~
Some info:
~ mirror: vintage 50s scored on ebay 3 years ago
~ storage system: 3 Besta / Ikea units 120 x 40 cm with white shiny doors, horizontally adjusted next to each other.
~ glass candle holders: Bloomster / Ikea {on my wish list since about 4 years, happy to have got them this Christmas for myself}
~ wishbone from a birch tree in the garden of the house I grew up in Greece. Belongs to my tiny collection & it's the medium sized one.
~ paper bag: for various household uses found in almost every supermarket.
~ handwriting: done with a permament silver marker
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A night view of Cesenatico port canal, whose design and realization is usually attributed to Leonardo da Vinci (I am not sure how solid the foundation of this claim are). The canal is provided with a modern water gate to protect it from the incoming waves when necessary (but such a device could well have been present since the beginning, as Leonardo was an expert hydraulic engineer).
On the left there is St. James church (a XIV century church rebuilt in the XVIII century). In the canal you can see some of the traditional boats parked there as part of the exposition at the Marine Museum (sorry, it looks like the site is only in Italian). Since 1986, during Christmas time, these boats become populated with 50 wooden life-size sculptures creating a very peculiar Marine Nativity scene.
During this photographic session I was thinking of Leonardo conceiving, designing and surveying the realization of this canal. I found myself brooding over the fact that ordinary people dream by night, whereas a genius is always dreaming - especially when she is awake :-)
I have blended three HDR images derived from a 3-bracketing, -1.67 ev/0/+1.67 ev, generated and tonemapped with Luminance HDR 2.4.0 (Fattal, Reinhard05, and Mantiuk06 operators).
I am not fully satisfied with the result of this scene (especially the spot lights, which have proved to be beyond recovery (grrr!), so I hope to receive useful comments, suggestions and critics helping me to understand what are its weak points (and possibly how to avoid them in the future).
Luminance HDR 2.4.0 tonemapping parameters:
Operator: Fattal
alpha: 1.49
beta: 0.92
Saturation: 0.81
Noiseredux: 0.05
fftsolver: 1
---
PreGamma: 1.55
Operator: Reinhard05
Brightness: 1.0
Chromatic adaptation: 0.28
Light adaptation: 1.0
---
PreGamma: 1.18
Operator: Mantiuk06
Contrast Mapping factor: 0.88
Saturation Factor: 0.5
Detail Factor: 2.2
------
PreGamma: 0.48
First printing resin giraffe, and makeup during the first realization BJD create handmade by jesliedolls: jesliedolls.weebly.com/
Drifter; development 2008 to 2016, realization 2017
In addition to early designs, the exhibition features new, previously unseen work by the Dutch duo Lonneke Gordijn and Ralph Nauta – the founders of Studio Drift. Specially for the presentation at the Stedelijk, Studio Drift will create the largest-ever installation of Fragile Future. At the core of the installation will be Fragile Future Chandelier 3.5 (2012) acquired by the museum in 2015. Another highlight is Drifter, a floating concrete monolith measuring four by two by two meters. After making its world première at New York’s Armory Show in 2017, this magical installation will be on display in the IMC Gallery at the Stedelijk. The film Drifters (2016) and the installation Materialism (2018) go on view for the first time. In total, the presentation comprises eight of Studio Drift’s room-filling installations, together with a selection of films.
The work of Studio Drift occupies a unique place at the interface between tech art, performance, and biodesign. As a museum that has always placed great importance on both art and design, and performance, the Stedelijk Museum is the perfect venue to display this transdisciplinary work. Gordijn and Nauta engage with contemporary topics such as sustainability, the meaning of natural processes for today’s environment, and issues raised by the use of augmented reality. Their work focuses attention on a society in flux, shaped by the impact of fast-paced innovations, without judging.
Hello Everyone!
I had a realization today. I go on this website almost everyday, sometimes multiple times, and have interactions with all these different photographers, yet I know almost nothing about them. The same goes the other way, many of you do not know me, and I want to reach out and share something of myself with you. I appreciate every comment and the people who regularly view my work and want to write something more personal today. So, here is a list of ten things about me.
1. This photo was taken in my bedroom. I think one's bedroom is a very personal place which is why I chose it as the setting. Here I am, passed out on all the pillows, which is very similar to how I awoke this morning.
2. I am a vivid and regular dreamer. I actually keep a dream journal because I dream so regularly and usually have crazy dreams. I typically dream of people I know but with a fantastical twist. I decided to express these crazy dreams of mine through the clouds hovering above me.
3. I am very close with my family. My mom is one of my best friends.
4. I love waking up in the morning and drinking a cup of warm coffee.
5. I have always been an artist. I actually started my creative journey as a painter and recently discovered photography. I loved painting, but I believe photography is my true passion.
6. I am in college. Next semester I will be traveling to Rome with one of my close friends, Helen. She is lenimiss on flickr :) Check out her photos they are wonderful!
7. Music is another one of my artistic outlets. I love to sing and play guitar.
8. I am an introvert, but I am not shy. I can actually be extremely talkative!
9. I love physical activity and run often. I used to do gymnastics and wish I could be a dancer. I find dancing so inspiring and liberating. I appreciate everyone with that special talent!
10. Lastly, I love to learn, and that is one of the reasons I am so drawn to photography. I am continuing to learn and grow with every shoot and that process is incredible.
Wooo that was a long post! Feel free to share something about yourself as I would love to get to know you better. What would you like to share about yourself that helps define who you are?
thoughts, confessions, realizations & quite a few pictures around our home shared here ~
have a wonderful rest of the week everyone :)
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Everyday my dreams come true
In every moment I feel it new
I see those dreams right begin
For every step I run
How persisting can these dreams be?
And how persistent can be the motivation
That every incident in my present life
Brings me nearer to the realization
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© All rights reserved. Use without permission is illegal
Please do not add graphics in comments
Kendall Katwalk, part one - from Hikes of 2024.
This was a really fun hike. I'd been looking forward to the "Katwalk" for some time, and I believe I had in fact wanted to do it the year before, but conditions and timing didn't pan out. This hike didn't disappoint, and I did keep going beyond the Katwalk to see Gravel and Ridge Lakes.
It was during this particular hike, in fact, when I realized my Nikon was no longer functioning, which is why you won't see any 35mm photos for the rest of last year's hikes.
Image made with my Innova 6x9 Pinhole.
"n. the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own—populated with their own ambitions, friends, routines, worries and inherited craziness—an epic story that continues invisibly around you like an anthill sprawling deep underground, with elaborate passageways to thousands of other lives that you’ll never know existed, in which you might appear only once, as an extra sipping coffee in the background, as a blur of traffic passing on the highway, as a lighted window at dusk."
© Daniela Hartmann, flickr.com
In order to be an immaculate member of a flock of sheep, one must above all be a sheep oneself.
(Quote by Albert Einstein)
The letter "S" of my keyboard is striking. It tell_ me _omething of _elf-realization. That'_ fine by me. Now, I am _itting here without that letter ^^. I will try to _olve that problem before the peaceful revolution will expand. Hopefully your keyboard i_ o.k. and no letter i_ di_cu__ing the meaning of life with you.
_____________________________________
Um ein tadelloses Mitglied einer Schafherde sein zu können, muss man vor allem ein Schaf sein.“
(Zitat von Albert Einstein)
Der Buchstabe "S" meiner Tastatur streikt gerade.
Erzählt mir wa_ von _elb_tverwirklichung. Na, wunderbar, da kann ja jeder kommen, wo kommen wir da bloß hin? Ich ver_uche die friedliche Revolution irgendwie einzudämmen, bevor eine_ Tage_ auch einer Deiner Buch_taben Dich mit einer Blume begrüßt und ander_ _ein will al_ die anderen Buch_taben....
Ich habe dem "S" aus Draht Füße gebastelt und eine kleine Stoffblume angeklebt. Mit Sekundenkleber bleibt dann auch die ganze Konstruktion auf der "Alt"-Taste stehen. Weil die Tastatur doch ein wenig langweilig aussieht, hat das Foto in Photoshop noch einen blauen Anstrich bekommen.
All my images are copyrighted.
If you intend to use any of my pictures for non-commercial usage, you have to sign them with © Daniela Hartmann, flickr.com. Please write a comment if you have used it and for what purpose. I would be very happy about it. I am curious about the context in which the image is used.
If you have any commercial usage, you need to contact me always first. USE WITHOUT PERMISSION IS ILLEGAL.
You find some of my photos on Getty Images.
My name there is "alles-schlumpf".
Besting Damian was the easy part. The more difficult task was convincing Jim to allow me to detain him in the cave, fortunately whilst he may want to even the score with Damian the realization that Damian knows that Bruce Wayne and Batman are one in the same was enough to make him agree. Nice to see he still has faith in what I claim to stand for. It’s seeing people like him believe in me that keeps me going.
Tim was able to successfully rescue his father unharmed much to my relief and it appears as though he’s managed to patch things up with Miss Brown…..or the Spoiler as she seems to be going by these days. At first I chose to withhold who the Crimson Knight claimed to be. I couldn’t be certain without another DNA test to be sure. Sadly the results came back positive. All this time. The man who has been fighting me for control of Gotham has been my son. My own flesh and blood, trying to kill me. Certainly not how I expected this to go. I was certain that it was going to be Ra’s or even the man who led the Pêna Duro prison revolt.
I want to linger on this discovery. Learn what it is that Ra’s did to Damian to make him into this monster. But deep down I know that time is against me. The last thing I can do is stand still. He’ll be coming for me, and I need to be ready.
”I know I hoped for you to one day have a child of your own Master Bruce, but I was rather hoping you wouldn’t do so until you finally chose to hang up your cape and settle down.”
”It’s as much a shock to you as it is to me Alfred.”
”I can only imagine sir.”
”It’s just…..my own flesh and blood…..fighting against me…..trying to kill me…..”
”It’s painful, isn’t it Master Bruce? The sense of betrayal, the feeling of failure that you weren’t able to stop them from making that bad decision.”
”You still think about what happened to Julius?”
At the height of the cold war Alfred and his brother both operated in the Soviet Union, gathering intel for MI6. One night the KGB paid them a visit and abducted Alfred, but left his brother unharmed. It turned out Julius had agreed to sell Alfred out in exchange for being granted asylum with the Union. They executed him two days later for spying. It was only after a prisoner exchange organised through the United States government that Alfred was released. I dread to think what he was put through during his time in captivity, but it was enough to make Alfred consider leaving the service. Were it not for the intervention of the head of MI6, Alfred would have left the service there then. Instead it would be the events of the Santa Prisca revolts that would lead him to retire from the service. It’s after his retirement that Alfred met my Father.
In a way, were it not for the events of Santa Prisca I wouldn’t have Alfred today and that’s something I dread to think of.
”Yes. May he rest in peace.”
Alfred never likes to talk about Julius. He prefers to remember the good times rather than what his final act was.
”I’m sorry that I’m bringing up those memories again Alfred.”
”It’s alright Master Bruce. I just hope you can do for that young man what I couldn’t for Julius.”
”Let’s hope so Alfred. Let’s hope so.”
”How long do you think it will take for him to get here?”
”He’ll be coming with the full force of the League. At best I’d say we have two weeks.”
”You think he’ll come for the boy?”
”I’m certain of it. We need to be ready.”
”Shall I send work to Master Dick?”
”No. The last thing I need is him worrying before it happens. He’ll just get in the way. Have we heard anything from Jason?”
”Nothing. I suspect his comms have been destroyed though. I sent a feedback signal and got nothing back from them.”
”We can only hope.”
”Shall I dispatch the Batwing to Greene’s house sir?”
”No. We need to consolidate our forces. If Jason’s out there, he’ll make it here by himself.”
”Bruce……….”
”It appears your son wants a word with you.”
”So it would seem. Where’s Tim?”
”Last I heard he said he was going to visit his father.”
”Glad to hear. Keep trying to reach Jason on his comms. If he doesn’t respond we’ll have to begin preparing a contingency plan.”
”Brucie……..”
”I’ll deal with our guest.”
”Very good Master Bruce.”
I raise my cowl over my face and walk down to the brig. There in the middle cell stands Damian without his armoured suit and with a smug look across his face. He’s had that look on his face ever since he regained consciousness in the cell much to my annoyance, all because he knows that he holds the advantage. Ra’s will be coming for him and he’ll bring the entire League of Assassins with him. Even with all our allies, we’ll be outnumbered.
But numbers aren’t everything.
”How long do you think it’ll be before he comes then Father? I reckon it will take him ten days to assemble all the League’s forces and bring them to Gotham.”
”Ra’s won’t make a move until his agents are in place throughout Gotham. Fourteen days is the best case scenario.”
”So……you’ve accepted the truth. I take it you ran another DNA test then?”
I nod for a brief moment or two.
”I’ve accepted the truth of where you come from. That doesn’t make you my son.”
”What I being taken in due to pity does?”
”All three of them are more like sons to me than you.”
”I’ll enjoy ramming my sword through you heart when this is all over. Gotham will soon be known as the City of the Demon.”
”Not whilst I still draw breath.”
“That, I intend to remedy once I’m free of this cage. You know this won’t hold me Bruce.”
”No. It won’t. But it will give me extra time. Enough time for me to turn the tide in my favour.”
”You keep telling yourself that Father. It’ll make it all the more glorious when you fall.”
”I’m sorry Damian. If I had known, I would have tried to save you. Instead I seem to have damned you to life of servitude.”
”I serve no-one!”
”I think Ra’s disagrees.”
With that I begin to walk up back to the batcomputer where Alfred’s desperately trying to reach Jason.
”Sound proof the cells Alfred.”
”Are you sure you really want to do that Master Bruce?”
”No. But I have no choice. It’s clear where Damian’s loyalties lie. I can’t have him knowing of our preparations.”
”So this is it?”
”I’ve known that was only a matter of time till he came for me.”
I take a deep breath and close my eyes. For a brief moment I’m at peace with my thoughts. Batman’s fight for survival may be over. But Bruce Wayne’s is about to begin.
”We’d better start making preparations for the Endgame protocol.”
”Yes Master Bruce.”
Two weeks. Two weeks to be ready. I just hope that’s enough time.
It's a strange realization, how white a white home isn't in the winter. With the contrast of snow, every bit of yellowed wear and bare wood beneath shows through. It's such an unlikely beauty, the utter lack of purity, the pretty improbability. There's a misery overhanging, a looming blueprint to the blues, like a meandering story no one thought to edit. You can always make a new addition, but should you? Someone has to say too much, build too far, overdo it. How would you know the difference if everyone was restrained? I think of this structure like a Tower of Babel, someone went overboard between here and Noah's Ark. It's all just fables now, dereliction and dilapidation, slowly slipping to the place called beyond repair. Don't stare too long, you just might turn to rot.
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The Self-Realization Fellowship Encinitas Retreat, Hermitage, and Meditation Gardens is a spiritual retreat, monastic ashram, and meditation gardens in Encinitas, California, United States. Its famous golden lotus towers rise above the white wall along Highway 101 near Swami's Seaside Park.
52 Weeks of 2015
Week No: 5
Theme: From this spot (Season 1) (to be followed with three additional shots from this spot spaced over the year)
Category: ConceptualOur Daily
Challenge: In the Distance
Thank you so much for your views, comments and favs. I really do appreciate every one!
My images are posted here for your enjoyment only. All rights are reserved. Please contact me through flickr if you are interested in using one of my images for any reason.
Sometimes...it's best to keep your mouth shut. Sometimes...you have to realize it's not your problem. Sometimes...when you've rolled your eyes so much that you can no longer see forward...accept that it's time to go back home.
Name: Urban Entertainment Centre
City: Almere
Architect(s): William Alsop (UK)
Realization: 2004
The Urban Entertainment Centre in Almere comprises of 16,000sqm of new buildings containing shopping, pop concert hall, disco, hotel, bicycle park and associated leisure, cafe and restaurant facilities. These elements are grouped together beside a new sunken square and form an edge to the southern limit of the existing town centre.
The 'polder city' of Almere, close to Amsterdam, has grown up as a low-rise development along the lines of the English garden cities. Although the residential areas of Almere are attractive, the settlement lacks a real 'heart' and the lack of local amenities encourages people to commute to Amsterdam for entertainment. Almere has, however, something of a tradition of encouraging bold and innovative architecture and this has underpinned moves to transform the central area.
In line with the development masterplan for Almere, which envisages a process of 'intensification' for the city centre, Alsop designed a 16,000sqm waterfront entertainment centre. The Centre consists of a family of buildings grouped around a new square and elevated four metres on a unifying podium, which covers a parking area. Varied in form, the buildings use a variety of materials to create a rich new urban landscape.
At the heart of the development is the Pop Zaal, its reinforced concrete structure clad in pre-weathered zinc and steel mesh. The scale of the structure is not apparent at first sight and cloaks the various internal functions of auditorium, disco, bar and ancillary spaces in a continuous metal skin.
The Almere Hotel is a 120 room 4-star hotel clad in cedar boarding. The hotel has a raised 'sleeping block' approximately 4,000sqm, that is lifted eight metres above street level. Below the ground plain is the car park with a direct connection to the lobby.
The 400sqm two-level entrance building is organic in shape and clad with brass. It houses the lobby, meeting rooms, a restaurant, a bar, offices, and storage spaces. Two elevators, a staircase and a services shaft connect the entrance bubble with the main accommodation component.
The square itself is a lively place, with cafes and restaurants, attractive in all seasons.
text: www.alsoparchitects.com
+++ 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:
Due to the restrictions of the Versailles treaties, the Reichswehr was already dealing with the increasing mobilization and motorization of the army after the end of the First World War. The realization that the speed of the troop units required appropriate equipment was available early on. However, the Reichswehr suffered from financial constraints and during the Weimar Republic the industry only had limited capacity for series production of larger, armored vehicles.
Nevertheless, at that time the Sd.Kfz. 3 (unarmored half-track transport vehicle/1927), the ARW (eight-wheel car/1928) and the ZRW (ten-wheel car/1928) provided fundamental experience. The findings of these tests and the troop testing with the Sd.Kfz. 3 enabled a more precise specification of the new vehicles to be developed. The "heavy" armored cars were primarily intended for the reconnaissance units of the new armored forces.
The incipient rearmament could only start with a "cheap" solution, though. A three-part armored structure for the chassis of commercially available off-road trucks was developed by the Army Weapons Office, Dept. WaTest 6, in cooperation with the company Deutsche Eisenwerke AG. The typical truck chassis featured front-wheel steering and a driven bogie at the rear (4x6 layout). In June 1929, the companies Magirus, Daimler-Benz and Büssing-NAG were commissioned to develop the desired armored car from it. If you consider that this truck class was developed for a payload of 1.5t, you can already conclude from this that the vehicles, which are now equipped with a significantly heavy armored structure, had little off-road mobility. Even if the appearance of the vehicles supplied by the different manufacturers was similar, there were external distinguishing features by which the manufacturer could be identified. The vehicles were tested in the Reichswehr from 1932 and introduced later.
One of the four crew members (driver, commander, gunner, radio-operator) was used as a reverse driver: with the narrow streets of the time and a turning circle of between 13 and 16m, this function was essential for a truck-sized heavy reconnaissance vehicle. The chassis had the excellent ladder-type configuration, able to withstand the stress of rough rides at high speed. The scout car was 5570 mm long, 1820 mm wide, 2250 mm high and weighed 5.35, 5.7 or 6 tons, depending on the manufacturer. The hull was made of welded steel armor, 5 to 14.5 mm (0.2-0.57 in) thick depending on the angle (bottom to front) with well-sloped plates. The armament consisted of a 2 cm KwK 30 with 200 rounds and a MG 13 with 1300 rounds in a manually operated turret. The fuel supply was 90, 105 or 110 liters, but with a consumption of about 35 or 40 liters per 100 km, this resulted in a completely inadequate range for a scout car.
Having no true alternatives at hand, the armored 4x6 car was accepted and became known as the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-wheel), and it was subsequently developed into two more vehicles. Up until 1937, 123 vehicles were built as Sd.Kfz. 231 reconnaissance cars and Sd.Kfz. 232 radio trucks. A further 28 were manufactured as Sd.Kfz. 263 (Panzerfunkwagen) command vehicles.
As early as 1932, after testing the pilot series, it was clear that the interim solution of "cheap" 6-wheel vehicles would not meet the future requirements of the armored divisions now planned. It was planned that from 1935/36 at least 18 vehicles of a new type that would meet the requirements for off-road mobility and high road speeds should be produced annually. Büssing-NAG had obviously made a good impression with the ARW and was now commissioned to make the revised vehicle ready for series production, which would become the SdKfz. 231 (8-Rad). The overall concept was completed between 1934 and 1935 and already showed all the features of the future type: all 8 wheels driven and steered, the same speed forwards and backwards, ability to change direction in less than 10 seconds, and a turning circle of "only" 10.5m. The vehicle layout was changed, too: the engine bay was relocated to the rear, the crew compartment was placed at the front end. This improved weight distribution, handling, and the field of view for the main forward driver.
The purpose of the new vehicles was identical to that of the earlier heavy 6-wheel vehicles, they were used on the same sites and so the same ordnance inventory designation was adopted, despite the vehicle’s many modifications. The so-called Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) was armed, corresponding to its 6-Rad counterpart, with a 2cm KwK 30 and the MG 13 (later MG 34) in a rotating turret. Likewise, the Sd.Kfz. 232 (8-Rad) carried a large, curved bow antenna, and there was a Sd.Kfz. 263 (8-Rad) command vehicle, too.
Nevertheless, the Army Weapons Office demanded a short-term solution for a vehicle based on the 4x6 chassis that offered better off-road performance and armament, namely a 37 mm anti-tank gun, with at least comparable range and armor protection. This interim vehicle was supposed to be ready for service in early 1934. Magirus accepted the challenge and proposed the Sd.Kfz. 241, a 4x8 vehicle. It retained the old overall 6-Rad layout with the front engine under a long bonnet, but it had a fourth steered axle added to lower ground pressure and improve the vehicle’s trench bridging capabilities. The powered two rear axles retained the 6-Rad’s twin wheels, so that the vehicle stood on a total of twelve tires with a relatively large footprint. The armored hull was very similar to the Sd.Kfz. 231 6-Rad, but carried a new, bigger turret with a 3.7 cm KwK 30 L/45 gun and an axis-parallel 7.92 mm MG 34 light machine gun.
The box-shaped turret exploited the hull’s width to the maximum and had a maximum armor of 15 mm, no base and the seat of the commander was attached to the tower wall. The commander sat elevated under a raised cupola in the rear section of the turret, just behind the main gun. He had five viewing slits protected by glass blocks and steel slides for all-round visibility. The gunner/loader, standing to the left of the main gun, had to constantly follow the movement of the turret, which was done by hand. In order to support the gunner when slewing the turret, the commander had an additional handle on the right side. The two crew members also had a turret position indicator.
The cannon was fired electrically via a trigger, the machine gun was operated mechanically with a pedal. To aim and view the outside, the gunner had a gun sight to the left of the gun with an opening in the gun mantlet. Standard access to the vehicle was through low double-doors in the vehicle’ flank, but side exit openings in the turret with two flaps each were also frequently used to board it. Another entry was through the commander cupola’s lid.
With all this extra hardware, the Sd.Kfz. 241’s overall weight rose considerably from the late Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) nearly 6 tons to 7.5 tons. As a consequence, the chassis had to be reinforced and a more powerful engine was used, a 6-cylinder Maybach HL 42 TRKM w carburetor gasoline engine with 4170 cc capacity and 100 hp (74 kW) output at 3000 rpm.
As expected, the Sd.Kfz. 241 was not a success. Even though the first vehicles were delivered in time in mid-1934, its operational value was rather limited. Off-road capability was, due to the extra weight, the raised center of gravity and the lack of all-wheel drive, just as bad as the 6-Rad vehicles, and the more powerful engine’s higher fuel consumption allowed neither higher range, despite bigger fuel tanks, nor a better street performance. The only real progress was the new 3.7 cm KwK 30’s firepower, which was appreciated by the crews, even though the weapon was only effective against armored targets at close range. At 100 m, 64 mm of vertical armor could be penetrated, but at 500 m this already dropped to 31 mm, any angle in the armor weakened its hitting power even further. The weapon’s maximum range was 5.000m, though, and with HE rounds the Sd.Kfz. 241 could provide indirect fire support. Another factor that limited the vehicle’s effectiveness was that the gun had to be operated by a single crew member who had to load and aim at the same time – there was simply not enough space for a separate loader who would also have increased the gun’s rate of fire from six to maybe twelve rounds per minute. The vehicle’s armor was also inadequate and only gave protection against light firearms, but not against machine guns or heavier weapons. On the other side, the cupola on top of the turret offered the commander in his elevated position a very good all-round field of view, even when under full protection – but this progressive detail was not adopted for the following armored reconnaissance vehicles and remained exclusive to German battle tanks.
Only a total of fifty-five Sd.Kfz. 241s were completed by Magirus in Cologne until 1936, when production of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) vehicle family started and soon replaced the Sd.Kfz. 241, which was primarily operated at the Eastern Front in Poland and Czechoslovakia. By 1940, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left in any frontline army unit, but a few survivors were grouped together and handed over to police units. Their main gun was either completely deleted or sometimes replaced with a second machine gun, and they were used for urban patrols and riot control duties. However, by 1942, no Sd.Kfz. 241 was left over.
Specifications:
Crew: Four (commander, gunner, driver, radio operator/rear driver)
Weight: 7.5 tons (11.450 lb)
Length: 5,85 metres (19 ft 2 in)
Width: 2,20 metres (7 ft 2 ½ in)
Height: 2,78 metres (9 ft 1 in)
Ground clearance: 28.5 cm (10 in)
Suspension: Torsion bar and leaf springs
Fuel capacity: 150 litres (33 imp gal; 40 US gal)
Armor:
8–15 mm (0.31 – 0.6 in)
Performance:
Maximum road speed: 70 km/h (43.5 mph)
52 km/h (32.3 mph) backwards
Operational range: 250 km (155 miles)
Power/weight: 13 PS/ton
Engine:
Maybach HL42 TRKM water-cooled straight 6-cylinder petrol engine with 100 hp (74 kW),
driving the rear pair of axles
Transmission:
Maybach gearbox with 5-speed forward and 4-speed reverse
Armament:
1× 37 mm KwK 30 L/45 cannon with 70 rounds
1× 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun mounted co-axially with 1.300 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
This fictional armored car was inspired by a leftover rear axles from an Italeri Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) model that I converted into a fictional half-track variant some time ago. I wondered if the set could be transplanted under an 8-Rad chassis, to create a kind of missing link to the 8x8 successors of the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad) with a total of twelve tires on four axles.
The basis became a First to Fight 1:72 Sd.Kfz. 231 (8-Rad) kit – a rather simple and robust affair, apparently primarily intended for tabletop purposes. But the overall impression is good, and it would be modified, anyway, even though the plastic turned out to be rather soft/waxy and the parts’ sprue attachment points a bit wacky.
The hull was “turned around” to drive backwards, so that its rear engine ended up in the front. I eventually only used the rear twin wheels from the Sd.Kfz. 231 (6-Rad), but not its single axles and laminated springs. Instead, I first cut the OOB mudguards in two halves, removed their side skirts and glued them onto the lower hull in reversed order, so that the exhausts and their muffler boxes would end up at the rear of the front fenders. With these in place I checked the axles’ position from the OOB ladder chassis, which is a single, integral part, and found that the rear axles’ position had to be moved by 2mm backwards. Cutting the original piece and re-arranging it was easier to scratch a new rear suspension, and the rocker bars had to be shortened to accept the wider twin wheels.
The original small turret with the 20 mm autocannon was deleted and replaced with core elements from a Panzer III turret, left over from previous conversion projects. Wider than any original turret of the Sd.Kfz. 231/232 family, it had to be narrowed by roughly 5mm – I had to cut a respective plug from the turret’s and the mantlet’s middle section, the deformed hatch was covered under a Panzer III commander cupola. To mate the re-arranged turret with the OOB adapter plate to mount it onto the hull, and to add overall stability to the construction, I filled the interior with 2C putty.
The typical storage bin at the turret’s rear was omitted, though, it would have made it too large for the compact truck chassis. The shape was a perfect stylistic match, even though, with the longer gun barrel, the vehicle reminds a lot of the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car?
Most small details like the bumpers and the headlights were taken OOB, I added a whip antenna base at the rear and mounted two spare wheels at the back, one of them covered with a tarpaulin (made from paper tissue drenched with white glue, this was also used to create the gun mantlet seals).
Painting and markings:
Typical for German vehicles from the early WWII stages the Sd.Kfz. 241 was painted Panzergrau (RAL 7021; I used Humbrol 67, which is authentic, but mixed it with some 125 to create a slightly lighter shade of grey) overall - quite dull, but realistic. To make the vehicle look more interesting, though, I added authentic contemporary camouflage in the form of low-contrast blotches with RAL 8017, a very dark reddish brown, mixed from Humbrol 160 and some 98. Better, but IMHO still not enough.
After the model received a washing with highly thinned red-brown acrylic artist paint I applied the few decals and gave the parts an overall dry-brushing treatment with grey and dark earth. Everything was sealed with matt acrylic varnish. For even more “excitement”, I decided to add a coat of snow.
For the simulated “frosting” I used white tile grout – which has the benefits of being water-soluble, quite sturdy to touch and the material does not yellow over time like gypsum.
First, the wheels, the chassis and the inside of the wheel arches received a separate treatment with relatively dryly mixed tile grout, simulating snow and dirt clusters. Once thoroughly dried, the wheels were mounted. Then the model was sprayed with low surface tension water and loose tile grout was drizzled over hull and turret, creating a flaky coat of fake snow. Once dry again, everything received another coat of matt acrylic varnish to protect and fixate everything further.
A relatively quick build, done in a few days. The First to Fight kit is very simple and went together well, but I’d use something else the next time due to the odd material it was molded with. The outcome of an 4x8 scout car looks quite plausible, though, like the missing link between the Sd.Kfz. 231 and 232 – the unintended similarity with the Soviet BA-10 heavy armored car was a bit surprising, though. And the snow on the model eventually makes it look a bit more interesting, the stunt was worth the effort.
“A Red Realization” 2019 from the #BurdensOfAWhiteDressProject.
When you wake up, you finally understand that you can never go back to the way things were.
And waking up to the truth of our reality can be the most frightening thing we’ve ever done.
I was 19 when I first told my little sister I wanted to leave the cult we had been raised in. She winced as though I had slapped her across her face. She had been out for a year already, and had weathered incredible amounts of abuse as she fought for her freedom and in the aftermath.
Saying those words out loud to another person was the scariest thing I had ever done. Although my siblings and I had been raised to “report” on each other, it wasn’t that I was afraid of her sharing my secret. It was that I was afraid of my own desire to leave.
It would take me three years from that point. I was sent to multiple re-indoctrination camps, one almost immediately after my confession (and not through any fault of my sisters). I lost my way multiple times. But it was never as scary as that first moment of realization.
And yet I am infinitely grateful for it as well.
What about you? Have you ever woken up to a reality or decision that you hadn’t wanted to face but knew it was the path you needed to take?
Big thank you to @ben_e_photography For naming the photo and for his assistance during the shoot!