All done. So I'm not trying to replicate the furnishing of the original TV set, I'll leave that to the buyer, but wanted to test it out.............Overall I'm super pleased with how it came out, my handrail is a little bumpy here and there, but I wasn't making any significant improvements after redoing it 4 times so this is the end result. I consider it a good sign when I want to keep a commission for myself as I am my harshest critic.

Replicated in the early 90s by Durham Constabularly to the exact spec of their patrol cars in the 70s.

 

The vehicle details for EHN 91J are:

Date of Liability 01 06 2014

Date of First Registration 18 08 1970

Year of Manufacture 1970

Cylinder Capacity (cc) 1798cc

CO₂ Emissions Not Available

Fuel Type PETROL

Export Marker N

Vehicle Status Licence Due to Expire

Vehicle Colour BLACK

 

Pride of Longbridge 2014.

The Phoenix is now on its way to Drogheda for the Irish Maritime Festival. The 112 foot long twin masted Brigantine which carries 4,000 square feet of sail, will be instantly recognisable to film goers due to the role it played in the Ridley Scott film “1492: Conquest of Paradise”. In the movie “The Phoenix” was converted into a 15th century caravel to accurately replicate Columbus’s flagship “The Sancta Maria” and the conditions its sailors experienced on their historic voyage of discovery.

 

The ship has an extremely interesting maritime history having been built in Denmark in 1929 to serve as a Danish Evangelical Mission Schooner. She was involved in this mission work travelling from port to port carrying evangelical missionaries for 20 years before being retired in 1949.

So this most recent wave of sky(ski?) fi planes has prompted me to enter yet another theme.

 

This may be the most original thing I've built since the Wasp fighter. Typically I replicate preexisting things, but it is nice to have a change in pace.

 

The direction of the studs in the wings changes two or three different times.

Also the nose came from finding the lip of a 2x2 round plate fits in the groove of the canpoy piece minimizing visible gaps.

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based historical facts. BEWARE!

  

The KAI T-50 Golden Eagle (골든이글) is a family of South Korean supersonic advanced trainers and light combat aircraft, developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) with Lockheed Martin. The T-50 is South Korea's first indigenous supersonic aircraft and one of the world's few supersonic trainers.

 

The T-50 program started in the late Nineties and was originally intended to develop an indigenous trainer aircraft capable of supersonic flight, to train and prepare pilots for the KF-16 and F-15K, replacing trainers such as T-38 and A-37 that were then in service with the ROKAF. Prior South Korean aircraft programs include the turboprop KT-1 basic trainer produced by Daewoo Aerospace (now part of KAI), and license-manufactured KF-16.

 

The mother program, code-named KTX-2, began in 1992, but the Ministry of Finance and Economy suspended the original project in 1995 due to financial constraints. The basic design of the aircraft was set by 1999, and eventually the development of the aircraft was funded 70% by the South Korean government, 17% by KAI, and 13% by Lockheed Martin.

 

In general, the T-50 series of aircraft closely resembles the KF-16 in configuration, but it actually is a completely new design: the T-50 is 11% smaller and 23% lighter than an F-16, and in order to create enough space for the two-seat cockpit, the air intake was bifurcated and placed under the wing gloves, resembling the F/A-18's layout.

 

The aircraft was formally designated as the T-50 'Golden Eagle' in February 2000, the T-50A designation had been reserved by the U.S. military to prevent it from being inadvertently assigned to another aircraft model. Final assembly of the first T-50 took place between 15 January and 14 September 2001. The first flight of the T-50 took place in August 2002, and initial operational assessment from 28 July to 14 August 2003.

 

The trainer has a cockpit for two pilots in a tandem arrangement, both crew members sitting in "normal" election seats, not in the F-16's reclined position. The high-mounted canopy is applied with stretched acrylic, providing the pilots with good visibility, and has been tested to offer the canopy with ballistic protection against 4-lb objects impacting at 400 knots.

 

The ROKAF, as original development driver, placed an initial production contract for 25 T-50s in December 2003, with aircraft scheduled to be delivered between 2005 and 2009. Original T-50 aircraft were equipped with the AN/APG-67(v)4 radar from Lockheed Martin. The T-50 trainer is powered by a GE F404 engine built under license by Samsung Techwin. Under the terms of the T-50/F404-102 co-production agreement, GE provides engine kits directly to Samsung Techwin who produces designated parts as well as performing final engine assembly and testing.

 

The T-50 program quickly expanded beyond a pure trainer concept to include the TA-50 armed trainer aircraft, as well as the FA-50 light attack aircraft, which has already similar capabilities as the multirole KF-16. Reconnaissance and electronic warfare variants were also being developed, designated as RA-50 and EA-50.

 

The TA-50 variant is a more heavily armed version of the T-50 trainer, intended for lead-in fighter training and light attack roles. It is equipped with an Elta EL/M-2032 fire control radar and designed to operate as a full-fledged combat platform. This variant mounts a lightweight three-barrel cannon version of the M61 Vulcan internally behind the cockpit, which fires linkless 20 mm ammunition. Wingtip rails can accommodate the AIM-9 Sidewinder missile, a variety of additional weapons can be mounted to underwing hardpoints, including precision-guided weapons, air-to-air missiles, and air-to-ground missiles. The TA-50 can also mount additional utility pods for reconnaissance, targeting assistance, and electronic warfare. Compatible air-to-surface weapons include the AGM-65 Maverick missile, Hydra 70 and LOGIR rocket launchers, CBU-58 and Mk-20 cluster bombs, and Mk-82, -83, and -84 general purpose bombs.

 

Among the operators of the TA-50 are the Philippines, Thailand and the ROKAF, and the type has attracted a global interest, also in Europe. The young Republic of Scotland Air Corps (locally known as Poblachd na h-Alba Adhair an Airm) chose, soon after the country's independence from the United Kingdom, after its departure from the European Union in 2017, the TA-50 as a complement to its initial procurements and add more flexibility to its small and young air arm.

 

According to a White Paper published by the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 2013, an independent Scotland would have an air force equipped with up to 16 air defense aircraft, six tactical transports, utility rotorcraft and maritime patrol aircraft, and be capable of “contributing excellent conventional capabilities” to NATO. Outlining its ambition to establish an air force with an eventual 2,000 uniformed personnel and 300 reservists, the SNP stated the organization would initially be equipped with “a minimum of 12 interceptors in the Eurofighter/Typhoon class, based at Lossiemouth, a tactical air transport squadron, including around six [Lockheed Martin] C-130J Hercules, and a helicopter squadron”.

 

According to the document, “Key elements of air forces in place at independence, equipped initially from a negotiated share of current UK assets, will secure core tasks, principally the ability to police Scotland’s airspace, within NATO.” An in-country air command and control capability would be established within five years of a decision in favor of independence, it continues, with staff also to be “embedded within NATO structures”.

This plan was immediately set into action after the country's independence in late 2017 with the purchase of twelve refurbished Saab JAS 39A Gripen interceptors for Quick Reaction Alert duties and upgraded, former Swedish Air Force Sk 90 trainers for the RoScAC. But these second hand machines were just the initial step in the mid-term procurement plan.

 

The twelve KAI TA-50 aircraft procured as a second step were to fulfill the complex requirement for a light and cost-effective multi-purpose aircraft that could be used in a wide variety of tasks: primarily as an advanced trainer for supersonic flight and as a trainer for the fighter role (since all Scottish Gripens were single seaters and dedicated to the interceptor/air defense role), but also as a light attack and point defense aircraft.

 

Scotland was offered refurbished F-16C and Ds, but this was declined as the type was deemed to be too costly and complex. Beyond the KAI T-50, the Alenia Aermacchi M-346 Master and the BAe Hawk were considered, too, but, eventually, a modified TA-50 that was tailored to the RoScAC’s procurement plans was chosen by the Scottish government.

 

In order to fulfill the complex duty profile, the Scottish TA-50s were upgraded with elements from the FA-50 attack aircraft. They possess more internal fuel capacity, enhanced avionics, a longer radome and a tactical datalink. Its EL/M-2032 pulse-Doppler radar has been modified so that it offers now a range two-thirds greater than the TA-50's standard radar. It enables the aircraft to operate in any weather, detect surface targets and deploy AIM-120 AAMs for BVR interceptions. The machines can also be externally fitted with Rafael's Sky Shield or LIG Nex1's ALQ-200K ECM pods, Sniper or LITENING targeting pods, and Condor 2 reconnaissance pods to further improve the machine’s electronic warfare, reconnaissance, and targeting capabilities.

 

Another unique feature of the Scottish Golden Eagle is its powerplant: even though the machines are originally powered by a single General Electric F404 afterburning turbofan and designed around this engine, the RoScAC TF-50s are powered by a Volvo RM12 low-bypass afterburning turbofan. These are procured and serviced through Saab in Sweden, as a part of the long-term collaboration contract for the RoScAC’s Saab Gripen fleet. This decision was taken in order to decrease overall fleet costs through a unified engine.

 

The RM12 is a derivative of the General Electric F404-400. Changes from the standard F404 includes greater reliability for single-engine operations (including more stringent birdstrike protection) and slightly increased thrust. Several subsystems and components were also re-designed to reduce maintenance demands, and the F404's analogue Engine Control Unit was replaced with the Digital Engine Control – jointly developed by Volvo and GE – which communicates with the cockpit through the digital data buses and, as redundancy, mechanical calculators controlled by a single wire will regulate the fuel-flow into the engine.

 

Another modification of the RoScAC’s TA-50 is the exchange of the original General Dynamics A-50 3-barrel rotary cannon for a single barrel Mauser BK-27 27mm revolver cannon. Being slightly heavier and having a lower cadence, the BK-27 featured a much higher kinetic energy, accuracy and range. Furthermore, the BK-27 is the standard weapon of the other, Sweden-built aircraft in RoScAC service, so that further synergies and cost reductions were expected.

 

The Scottish Department of National Defense announced the selection of the TA-50 in August 2018, after having procured refurbished Saab Sk 90 and JAS 39 Gripen from Sweden as initial outfit of the country's small air arm with No. 1 Squadron based at Lossiemouth AB.

 

Funding for the twelve aircraft was approved by Congress on September 2018 and worth € 420 mio., making the Golden Eagle the young country’s first brand new military aircraft. Deliveries of the Golden Hawk TF.1, how the type was officially designated in Scottish service, began in November 2019, lasting until December 2020.

The first four Scottish Golden Hawk TF.1 aircraft were allocated to the newly established RoScAC No. 2 Squadron, based at Leuchars, where the RoScAC took control from the British Army. The latter had just taken over the former air base from the RAF in 2015, losing its “RAF air base” status and was consequentially re-designated “Leuchars Station”, primarily catering to the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards who have, in the meantime, become part of Scotland’s Army Corps. The brand new machines were publically displayed on the shared army and air corps facility in the RoScAC’s new paint scheme on 1st of December 2019 for the first time, and immediately took up service.

 

General characteristics:

Crew: 2

Length: 13.14 m (43.1 ft)

Wingspan (with wingtip missiles): 9.45 m (31 ft)

Height: 4.94 m (16.2 ft)

Wing area: 23.69 m² (255 ft²)

Empty weight: 6,470 kg (14,285 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 12,300 kg (27,300 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Volvo RM12 afterburning turbofan, rated at 54 kN (12,100 lbf) dry thrust

and 80.5 kN (18,100 lbf) with afterburner

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: Mach 1.5 (1,640 km/h, 1,020 mph at 9,144 m or 30,000 ft)

Range: 1,851 km (1,150 mi)

Service ceiling: 14,630 m (48,000 ft)

Rate of climb: 198 m/s (39,000 ft/min)

Thrust/weight: 0.96

Max g limit: -3 g / +8 g

 

Armament:

1× 27mm Mauser BK-27 revolver cannon with 120 rounds

A total of 7 hardpoints (4 underwing, 2 wingtip and one under fuselage)

for up to 3,740 kg (8,250 lb) of payload

  

The kit and its assembly:

A rare thing concerning my builds: an alternative reality whif. A fictional air force of an independent Scotland crept into my mind after the hysterical “Brexit” events in 2016 and the former (failed) public vote concerning the independence of Scotland from the UK. What would happen to the military, if the independence would take place, nevertheless, and British forces left the country?

 

The aforementioned Scottish National Party (SNP) paper from 2013 is real, and I took it as a benchmark. Primary focus would certainly be set on air space defense, and the Gripen appears as a good and not too expensive choice. The Sk 90 is a personal invention, but would fulfill a good complementary role.

Nevertheless, another multi-role aircraft would make sense as an addition, and both M-346 and T-50 caught my eye (Russian options were ruled out due to the tense political relations), and I gave the TA-50 the “Go” because of its engine and its proximity to the Gripen.

 

The T-50 really looks like the juvenile offspring from a date between an F-16 and an F-18. There’s even a kit available, from Academy – but it’s a Snap-Fit offering without a landing gear but, as an alternative, a clear display that can be attached to the engine nozzle. It also comes with stickers instead of waterslide decals. This sounds crappy and toy-like, but, after taking a close look at kit reviews, I gave it a try.

 

And I am positively surprised. While the kit consists of only few parts, moulded in the colors of a ROCAF trainer as expected, the surfaces have minute, engraved detail. Fit is very good, too, and there’s even a decent cockpit that’s actually better than the offering of some “normal” model kits. The interior comes with multi-part seats, side consoles and dashboards that feature correctly shaped instrument details (no decals). The air intakes are great, too: seamless, with relatively thin walls, nice!

 

So far, so good. But not enough. I could have built the kit OOB with the landing gear tucked up, but I went for the more complicated route and trans-/implanted the complete landing gear from an Intech F-16, which is available for less than EUR 5,- (and not much worth, to be honest). AFAIK, there’s white metal landing gear for the T-50 available from Scale Aircraft Conversions, but it’s 1:48 and for this set’s price I could have bought three Intech F-16s…

 

But back to the conversion. This landing gear transplantation stunt sounds more complicated as it actually turned out to be. For the front wheel well I simply cut a long opening into the fuselage and added inside a styrene sheet as a well roof, attached under the cockpit floor.

For the main landing gear I just opened the flush covers on the T-50 fuselage, cut out the interior from the Intech F-16, tailored it a little and glued it into its new place.

 

This was made easy by the fact that the T-50 is a bit smaller than the F-16, so that the transplants are by tendency a little too large and offer enough “flesh” for adaptations. Once in place, the F-16 struts were mounted (also slightly tailored to fit well) and covers added. The front wheel cover was created with 0.5 mm styrene sheet, for the main covers I used the parts from the Intech F-16 kit because they were thinner than the leftover T-50 fuselage parts and feature some surface detail on the inside. They had to be adapted in size, though. But the operation worked like a charm, highly recommended!

 

Around the hull, some small details like missing air scoops, some pitots and antennae were added. In a bout of boredom (while waiting for ordered parts…) I also added static dischargers on the aerodynamic surfaces’ trailing edges – the kit comes with obvious attachment points, and they are a small detail that improves the modern look of the T-50 even more.

 

Since the Academy kit comes clean with only a ventral drop tank as ordnance, underwing pylons from a SEPECAT Jaguar (resin aftermarket parts from Pavla) and a pair of AGM-65 from the Italeri NATO Weapons set plus launch rails were added, plus a pair of Sidewinders (from a Hasegawa AAM set, painted as blue training rounds) on the wing tip launch rails.

Since the T-50 trainer comes unarmed, a gun nozzle had to be added – its position is very similar to the gun on board of the F-16, on the upper side of the port side LERX. Another addition are conformal chaff/flare dispensers at the fin’s base, adding some beef to the sleek aircraft.

  

Painting and markings:

I did not want a grey-in-grey livery, yet something “different” and rather typical or familiar for the British isles. My approach is actually a compromise, with classic RAF colors and design features inspired by camouflage experiments of the German Luftwaffe on F-4F Phantoms and Alpha Jets in the early Eighties.

 

For the upper sides I went for a classic British scheme, in Dark Green and Dark Sea Grey (Humbrol 163 and 164), colors I deem very appropriate for the Scottish landscape and for potential naval operations. These were combined with elements from late RAF interceptors: Barley Grey (Humbrol 167) for the flanks including the pylons, plus Light Aircraft Grey (Humbrol 166) for the undersides, with a relatively high waterline and a grey fin, so that a side or lower view would rather blend with the sky than the ground below.

 

Another creative field were the national markings: how could fictional Scottish roundels look like, and how to create them so that they are easy to make and replicate (for a full set for this kit, as well as for potential future builds…)? Designing and printing marking decals myself was an option, but I eventually settled for a composite solution which somewhat influenced the roundels’ design, too.

My Scottish roundel interpretationconsists of a blue disk with a white cross – it’s simple, different from any other contemporary national marking, esp. the UK roundel, and easy to create from single decal parts. In fact, the blue roundels were die-punched from blue decal sheet, and the cross consists of two thin white decal strips, cut into the correct length with the same stencil, using generic sheet material from TL Modellbau.

 

Another issue was the potential tactical code, and a small fleet only needs a simple system. Going back to a WWII system with letter codes for squadrons and individual aircraft was one option, but, IMHO, too complicated. I adopted the British single letter aircraft code, though, since this system is very traditional, but since the RoScAC would certainly not operate too many squadrons, I rather adapted a system similar to the Swedish or Spanish format with a single number representing the squadron. The result is a simple 2-digit code, and I adapted the German system of placing the tactical code on the fuselage, separated by the roundel. Keeping British traditions up I repeated the individual aircraft code letter on the fin, where a Scottish flag, a small, self-printed Fife coat-or-arms and a serial number were added, too.

 

The kit saw only light weathering and shading, and the kit was finally sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

  

Creating this whif, based on an alternative historic timeline with a near future perspective, was fun – and it might spawn more models that circle around the story. A Scottish Sk 90 and a Gripen are certain options (and for both I have kits in the stash…), but there might also be an entry level trainer, some helicopters for the army and SAR duties, as well as a transport aircraft. The foundation has been laid out, now it’s time to fill Scotland’s history to come with detail and proof. ;-)

 

Besides, despite being a snap-fit kit, Academy’s T-50 is a nice basis, reminding me of some Hobby Boss kits but with less flaws (e .g. most of the interiors), except for the complete lack of a landing gear. But with the F-16 and Jaguar transplants the simple kit developed into something more convincing.

© All rights reserved. This image is copyrighted to Tim Wood; Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws. Please contact me at woodrot147@aol.com for express permission to use any of my photographs.

 

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Century of Progress Homes

“Century of Progress” homes at the 1933-1934 Chicago World’s Fair showcased innovative building materials and designs. In 1935, developer Robert Bartlett moved five of these houses across the lake to Beverly Shores by barge. The houses were rolled off the barge on telephone poles onto a heavy timber crib built out into the lake. There were a series of three steps used to raise the house to the level of Lake Front Drive. On June 30, 1986, the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Beverly Shores—Century of Progress Architectural District, a historic district. The houses have been restored and all are open one day a year for public tours. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_of_Progress_Architectural_D...

 

Before the move, Robert Bartlett expressed plans "to reconstruct and landscape them for sale exactly as they were on the Fair grounds." According to a contemporary article, Bartlett appears to have specific landscaping in mind; "The homes will be reconstructed along Lake Front Drive in Beverly Shores in a permanent location, especially landscaped to suit each particular type of architecture. " Despite these claims, Bartlett neither replicated the exact fair siting nor did he appear to have created a landscaping scheme adapted to each house. By grouping the five houses together, however, he managed to recreate a sense of an "exhibition group" at Beverly Shores. lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/in/in0300/in0358/data/in0358d...

 

The Armco Ferro House

The Armco-Ferro House is the only remaining house from the fair that met the Fair Committee's design criteria; a house that could be mass-produced and was affordable for the average American family. This seemingly frameless house boasts a revolutionary construction system: corrugated steel panels that are bolted together. This system resembles a typical cardboard box; it could be placed on its bottom, side, or top without damaging the structure. The corrugated panels are clad with porcelain-enameled steel panels produced by the Ferro Enamel Corporation. This construction system later provided the inspiration for the post World War II prefabricated housing developed by the Lustron Corporation. Several Lustron houses can still be seen in Beverly Shores.

www.nps.gov/indu/historyculture/armco-ferro-house.htm

 

The Ferro Enamel Corporation, one of the two major sponsors for the Armco-Ferro-Mayflower house, was formed in 1930 by a merger between the Ferro Enameling Company and the Ferro Enamel and Supply Co. The idea of using porcelain enamel for residential construction was introduced by Bob Weaver, president of the newly formed company. Shortly after the merger, Charles Bacon Rowley, architect, designed a four-person house with Ferro-Enamel shingles that the company erected in Cleveland, Ohio in July 1932. Despite the innovative use of ferro-enamel as a cladding material, the house was built using conventional wood construction. Original hardware was supplied by P. & F. Corbin. Most doors have standard metal doorknobs.

 

To form porcelain enamel, a molten glass-like material is plunged into water that causes it to crumble, forming a substance called frit. The frit is ground with water, clay and color oxides and is then applied to steel panels. The coated panels are then heated to 1600 degrees, thus fusing the enamel to the steel. A display demonstrating this process was erected in the garage of the Armco-Ferro-Mayflower house at the Century of Progress Exhibition. The enameling for the Armco-Ferro-Mayflower house was done by the Vitreous Enameling Company, the same company that would later produce Lustron homes. lcweb2.loc.gov/pnp/habshaer/in/in0300/in0358/data/in0358d...

 

HFF!

Stargate fans will understand.

 

PLEASE DO NOT USE OR REPLICATE THIS PHOTO WITHOUT EXPRESSED PERMISSION FROM ME. REPLICATING THE IMAGE WITHOUT A CREDIT OR PERMISSION FROM MYSELF WILL RESULT IN LEGAL ACTION.

  

I actually think this was my favourite part of my trip to Cannes!

Bath bombs that do not suck! These are from the Water Softening Fizzy recipe on this site. I used grapeseed oil for the moisturizer and grapefruit essential oil for fragrance.

 

Now that I've got the knack for wetting the mixture, watch out. I may have ordered the supplies for replicating Lush's Butterball bath bomb, my favorite.

 

I guess I have to take another bath to test these. So sad.

I am not only an AFOL, I am also a big fan of Valerian and Laureline.

I have all their comics. They were sources of inspiration for the Star Wars saga and the 5th element.

 

In this comic, I love their spatiotemporal vessel, the XB982, also called Tempus Fugit in the animated series.

 

So I could not resist trying to replicate this ship at the LEGO Minifig scale. In comics, it undergoes multiple changes over the albums,

and this achievement is therefore a pure interpretation on my part, which I hope will appeal to many.

 

At the landing, the XB982 deploys 4 pods and Valerian and Laureline down through the hatch in the cabin.

 

The interior of the vessel is accessed by opening the upper parts

 

The interior is made up of 6 modules:

- the cockpit at the front

- the space-time engine in the rear

and sides:

- a living room

- a medical center

- a room

- a shower room

 

Each piece is connected by corridors Y

Shelby Daytona - Birmingham, MI

Built to replicate ’60s and ‘70s British cafe racers with all modern components while maintaining the vintage style. The motor is a conventual parallel twin, pushrod actuated with just two valves per cylinder and fuel injection.

Phew.

 

By request, here’s a quick guide to replicating this on Unix. The one nonstandard tool you’ll need is GDAL, which most package managers know about. You’ll also want something that works with images; imagemagick is fine. Also, we’ll be doing a lot of bulk i/o, so if one of your drives is faster, do this project on it and save several minutes of looking at progress meters. Watch out for Flickr mangling my sh, and tweet at me if you spot bugs.

 

Part 1: The elevation data

 

We’ll use CGIAR’s 5°×5° dataset, which is overkill, but that’s how we do. You can use their handy Google Earth layer to find the data cells we need, which turn out to be column 12, rows 2–4 inclusive; 13, rows 2–4; 14, rows 2–4; and 15, row 4. Copying one of the GeoTIFF download links from the KML’s popup, we find we can get them like this:

 

$ curl -O 'http://srtm.geog.kcl.ac.uk/portal/srtm41/srtm_data_geotiff/srtm_{12_02,12_03,12_04,13_02,13_03,13_04,14_02,14_03,14_04,15_04}.zip'

 

If you’re willing to give up your data’s chain of custody, you can do a web search for one of the file names and find other sources, some of them faster than KCL.

 

Unzip the data. You can remove the *.txt, *.hdr, and *.tfw files, so we’re left with 10 GeoTIFFs and nothing else. We merge them into a single GeoTIFF:

 

$ gdal_merge.py srtm*.tif -o main.tiff

 

Mine is 843892 kB and has a $(shasum) of 0a3b92fb5ccd60951df6c459aadd167bc397d425.

 

Part 2: The cutline

 

If you find a better way of doing this step, leave a comment, because it’s ridiculous. The version presented here is several hours faster than what I originally did, but no less kludgy.

 

We want the data in MVBCRB. Unfortunately, it’s not an outline (a single ordered sequence of points), it’s a series of several dozen outline segments. Geometrically, it’s a handful of curves in no particular order that happen to share endpoints. But sharing endpoints means we can join them into a single polygon if we’re willing to suffer a little.

 

Grab the KML version of this that André Coleman put up. It’s relatively cleaned up and saves us some preparation steps:

 

$ curl -O webpages.charter.net/zeeland/crws.kml

 

If you look in there (watch out, it’s almost a megabyte), you’ll see that the overall polygon is defined as a bunch of LineString elements, and that the coordinates of these elements happen to be the only lines that start with “-”. So we can extract them like this:

 

$ grep '^-' crws.kml > linestrings

 

Super gross but super effective. Now the linestrings file has 65 lines containing point series in the format “lat,lon,ele ”*. Take this and run it like this:

 

$ python linesplice.py linestrings > cutline.kml

 

This will join the 65 individual lines into a single line based on shared endpoints. It’s purpose-built around the perfect overlaps of this dataset, so if you use it on anything else, do some fuzzy matching or risk an infinite loop.

 

Part 3: Rendering

 

We’ll use gdalwarp to do three important things at once: (1) reproject the data to Oregon Lambert (EPSG 2993), a fairly conservative choice; (2) make the file smaller, because right now it’s 24000×18000 and that’s ridiculous, and (3) mask out everything outside the Columbia River Basin. (I won’t describe all the minor flags I pass the gdal tools; look them up if curious.)

 

$ gdalwarp -r cubicspline -multi -t_srs EPSG:2993 -ts 8000 0 -cutline cutline.kml main.tiff proj.tiff

 

We’re on the home stretch. Now let’s do a hillshade image (sun azumith of 200°, vertical exaggeration of 3×):

 

$ gdaldem hillshade -compute_edges -az 200 -z 3 proj.tiff shade.tiff

 

This is the first thing we’ve made that’s actually intelligible to look at, so pull it up. It should look correct but bland.

 

Now some hypsometric tints – Leonardo da Vinci’s most important invention. Make a text file called, say, height.txt and put something like this in it:

 

3000 255 255 255

1500 10 80 20

500 150 150 100

1 20 100 80

0 0 0 0

  

The first column is an elevation (in meters) and the next three are the R, G, and B of the color you want that elevation to be. It interpolates smoothly for you. I picked this palette to suggest general land use: floodplain-type stuff down low, then amber waves of grain, woods in the hills, and rock and snow up high. Tinkering with these colors is a lot of fun. Now we make a hypsometry layer:

 

$ gdaldem color-relief proj.tiff height.txt color.tiff

 

Now merge the files. You can do fancy stuff with overlay compositing, but a simple average looks pretty good:

 

$ convert -average shade.tiff color.tiff merged.tiff

 

Convert will kvetch about TIFF tags it doesn’t recognize, which is fine; we no longer need the georeference data. You might also want to crop the image a bit, since it still reaches the bounding box of all the topo data we downloaded:

 

$ convert -trim merged.tiff trimmed.tiff

 

You now have something that differs only in incidental ways like color choice from the above image.

 

The main things I would do to improve this workflow are (1) find or make a better cutline, (2) handle null data better (look at the mouth of the Columbia – ugh), and (3) cut after hillshading, so the edge of the watershed doesn’t get shading.

 

If you have improvements – those or others – please comment.

Replicating one of the coolest scenes from Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Let me know what you think!

via Tumblr.

Handcrafted by lithic (stone) artifact replication specialist, Jay Valente, this stone knife exemplifies stone-age craftsmanship and utility. Like all of his lithic work, this is a premium high-grade museum quality replica and there was special attention given to historical accuracy and authenticity in its creation. Jay’s work has been featured for sale in the largest Native American museum in the world and both his lithic replicas and his lithic artifact consultation services have been touted by esteemed archaeologists and historical preservation offices alike.

Modeled after Native American stone blades and spear points of the paleo and time periods (about 12,000 to 9,000 years before present), this work utilizes a random flaking pattern and lancolate fluted “clovis” style.

 

From conception to completion, Jay traces the footsteps and actions of the ancient people. He selected a high quality stone of novaculite and brought it home to be cooked under a wood fire for several days. Unlike other stone knives or stone arrowheads you might find on eBay or Etsy, this is not a mass produced, machine cut or drilled product. It is entirely handcrafted. The raw stone was then flintknapped and pressure flaked with a deer antler and rock hammerstone using traditional primitive techniques and methods. The stone blade was then hafted onto an azalea branch. The novaculite blade is secured to the wooden handle with elk gut cordage and a pine pitch glue recipe.

This knife represents a rare feat of flintknapping skill. Using quality stone and primitive, traditional flintknapping methods he crafted this novaculite stone knife with historical considerations and authenticity of process in mind.

 

For the discerning collector or primitive technology enthusiast, look no further for a high-grade stone-age replica knife. This historical reproduction makes for a stunning educational or decorative display, however, it is sharp and sturdy enough to be used as well; perhaps as a stone skinning knife, or a stone survival bushcraft knife.

#crafts #paleoindian #arrowheads #knives #spears #ancientknowledge #chert #novaculite #flintknapping ift.tt/2f8E8Oq

My attempt to replicate the most-produced fully tracked armoured German fighting vehicle during World War II. Commonly known as the StuG III, it started its career as mobile assault gun but quickly revealed itself as an excellent tank destroyer.

 

This StuG III Ausf. G is an early production model and this can be seen by the gun mantlet shape and the absence of machine gun on top of the roof.

 

My model is inspired by the various existing models (BrickMania, Custom-Bricks...). Stickers are from BKM and CB, tracks are from CB. Minifig is from BKM.

Macro Mondays - March 2nd, Abstract in Macro

 

Macro view of patterned glass through a screendoor.

Notes sketched out for my DNA storage video.

An artist spends time in front of a large painting to reproduce a classic piece of artwork, oblivious to the other museum visitors passing through this hall.

 

Olympus OM-D E-M1 with M. Zuiko 12-40 f/2.8

Lightroom 5 replication to get the Kodak Ultramax Look

Replicating the shot from Matt Black's Poverty in America series. Same corner and same pose, with my wife graciously agreeing to model for me. El Paso, TX, USA.

Concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers rest on an old cattle farm now an area of critical environmental concern managed by the BLM in southwest Oregon, Sept. 26, 2018. BLM video: Toshio Suzuki

 

A quiet oak savanna in southwest Oregon has a World War II story to tell.

It was the summer of 1942 when thousands of young American troops started arriving in Oregon to prepare for battle.

Only months prior, immediately after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor and America’s entry into WWII, the U.S. Army broke ground on Camp White, a massively ambitious training ground for troops north of Medford.

The national war effort was ramping up, and from the rationing at home to the drill sergeants yelling at new draftees, the task at hand was unified: Get America prepared for war as fast as possible.

At Camp White, in the heart of the Rogue River Valley, it got loud very quick.

Construction crews worked 24 hours a day until the base, consisting of 1,300 structures, was complete. Barracks, mess halls, a railroad, full electrical grid and sewer system were all built in six months.

And then the troops arrived.

The newly reinstated 91st Division went on 91-mile-long hikes.

They fired bazookas, mortars and tanks.

And they attacked concrete pillboxes built to replicate Nazi bunkers.

Despite creating what was then Oregon’s second most populous city at 40,000 people, there are now only a few lasting structures proving Camp White ever existed. Sadly, there are even fewer first-hand memories.

The pillboxes are still standing, though. They simultaneously represent a mostly forgotten military legacy and since 2013, an opportunity for historic preservation.

After decades of private cattle farming, Camp White’s pillboxes now rest on public land.

 

Read the full story about the Camp White pillboxes that rest on the northeast side of Upper Table Rock, an area of critical environmental concern for the BLM: www.facebook.com/notes/blm-oregon-washington/the-wwii-leg...

 

Take a virtual tour of the pillboxes via this 360-degree video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgHu5y-TtAw

Not wishing to bore you all but many of you will already be aware that this year [the very end of May] we celebrate 40 years of married life.

 

Ten years after we married I was posted overseas to Gibraltar [just before the Falklands War broke out as it happens which is why I wasn't able to go down that way although prior to going to Gibraltar I had been drafted to HMS Antelope. You may recall that she was one of the ships that went down in the South Atlantic.....lucky for me but sadly not for some of them]. Anyway, the left hand image above was taken at the 1st mess dinner we attended and it was customary to have your photograph taken. We have both always liked this one and it does, of course, bring back some very happy memories for us. I figured that as a part of our Ruby Wedding celebrations it might be fun to try and replicate that photograph taken 30 years ago and here is the result of that on the right. Alas, we no longer have the clothes we wore back then [ except for the bow tie I'm wearing which is the same one!!] but we've had a pretty good stab at wearing something from our current wardrobes!!

 

How lucky we are to have such wonderful processing software available to us that allowed me to combine the new photograph with the background of the old one. We had great fun this evening getting dressed up and trying to get in the same pose that we did all those years ago and I've had great fun burning the midnight oil doing all the processing!!!! LOL I reckon I could have kept on working on it but there came a time when I had to say enough was enough.

 

Anyway I thought it might be nice to share the fruits of our labours with everyone and hope that you derive some pleasure from it as indeed we have.

 

Thanks in advance of any views, comments and/or faves, your time taken to do that is so very much appreciated. :>)

makerbot.creativetools.se

10,03 am iso 1000 1/125 f 6,3 Ev - 0,50

 

PROSSIMAMENTE ALTRE FOTO 1000 MIGLIA

COMING SOON MORE PHOTOS 1000 MIGLIA

 

Un antico motto sosteneva che nelle vene dei bresciani scorra benzina al posto del sangue.

L'innata passione per le corse prese vita in città già sul finire del diciannovesimo secolo:

dal 1895 al 1898 in Italia furono disputate solo tre competizioni motoristiche, ma nel 1899 le gare furono ben venti.

 

La prima apparizione di un veicolo da corsa sul territorio bresciano avvenne il 14 marzo 1899, nel corso della Verona-Brescia-Mantova-Verona: a vincere, a bordo di un triciclo Prinetti e Stucchi, fu tal Ettore Bugatti…

 

I bresciani, pur se coinvolti nell'organizzazione veronese, vollero una gara tutta loro. Decisero quindi di organizzarne immediatamente due, che si svolsero la prima il 10 settembre e la seconda il giorno seguente.

 

La domenica fu disputata sulla circonvallazione cittadina di 6 km - oltre ad una gara motociclistica - la Corsa Automobilistica di Velocità - Brescia; il lunedì prese il via la Brescia-Mantova-Verona-Brescia, con percorso di 223 km.

 

La vocazione motoristica è testimoniata anche dalle sei aziende costruttrici di automobili che sorsero a Brescia nei primi anni del Ventesimo secolo.

 

Nel 1904 fu approntato il Circuito di Brescia, sulle strade che collegano il percorso Brescia-Cremona-Mantova-Brescia, per un totale di 185 Km da ripetere due volte.

 

La prima gara fu disputata il 5 settembre 1904 in occasione della Settimana di Brescia.

 

L'anno successivo la "settimana" fu replicata ed il 9 settembre 1905 sul Circuito di Brescia fu disputata la prima Coppa Florio.

 

Fin dopo la Prima Guerra Mondiale non furono indette a Brescia altre competizioni, ma la ripresa avvenne alla grande. Grazie al bresciano d'adozioneArturo Mercanti la città ottenne di organizzare il Gran Premio d'Italia, che fu inserito in un'ampia serie di manifestazioni indette sotto il nome diCircuito Internazionale

 

Automobilistico-Aereo, nel 1921. Oltre al "Chilometro Lanciato", e ad altre gare per le categorie minori, la maggiore attenzione era ovviamente centrata sul nuovo Circuito di Brescia, detto anche Circuito della Fascia d'Oro, nome della località dove venne dato il via, il 4 settembre, al 1° Gran Premio d'Italia.

 

Nel 1922, con grande disappunto dei bresciani, Mercanti aprì l'Autodromo di Monza, dove il Gran Premio d'Italia è ancor oggi disputato.

 

La grande passione per i motori aveva indotto i bresciani a costituire un loro Automobile Club già nel 1906, fino al 1926 sezione dell'A.C. Milano.

 

Sulla base del nuovo ordinamento del Regio Automobile Club d'Italia, attuato con regio decreto del 14 novembre 1926 - che introduceva pure ilPubblico Registro Automobilistico, il PRA, l'Automobile Club di Brescia fu ufficialmente costituito.

 

Il 18 gennaio 1927 aprì la sede di Corso Magenta, dove ebbe subito inizio l'attività organizzativa della prima Coppa delle Mille Miglia.

 

Il nome Mille Miglia e il marchio con la Freccia Rossa, da quel giorno, restano inalienabile proprietà dell'Automobile Club Brescia.

 

Sin dalla fondazione, è stata mantenuta viva una tradizione che identifica l'ACI Brescia tra i sodalizi più sportivi, non solo a livello nazionale.Circuito di Brescia, Circuito del Garda, Brescia-Edolo-Pontedilegno, Scalata al Colle S. Eusebio, Trofeo Lumezzane, Cronoscalata del Monte Maddalena, sono solo alcune delle competizioni organizzate dal Club bresciano, proseguendo l'opera e la passione del grande Renzo Castagneto.

 

Per questi motivi, l'Automobile Club di Brescia non potrà mai prescindere dalla sua corsa e produrrà sempre il massimo sforzo possibile per mantenere inalterato questa immensa eredità di ardimento e ingegno che ha scritto indimenticabili pagine di storia.

 

Tra i ruoli dell'ACI Brescia c'è anche quello di preservare la tradizione motoristica bresciana e quell'immenso patrimonio sportivo, umano e culturale costituito dalle competizioni che sono state disputate sul territorio bresciano dal 1899 ad oggi.

 

Anche quest'anno, l'A.C. Brescia ha mantenuto in calendario tre corse, Il Rally Internazionale 1000 Miglia, la cronoscalata Trofeo Vallecamonica -Malegno-Ossimo-Borno e il Rally Ronde ACI Brescia.

 

An ancient saying claimed that in the veins of the bresciani runs gasoline instead of blood.

The innate passion for racing took life in cities already at the end of the 19th century:

from 1895 to 1898 in Italy were held only three racing, but in 1899 the races were well.

 

The first appearance of a racing vehicle in the territory of Brescia took place on March 14, 1899, during Verona-Brescia-Mantova-Verona: to win, on board a tricycle Prinetti and mortars, was that Ettore Bugatti ...

 

The bresciani, although involved in the Organization, took a race across them. They decided to organize immediately two, who first took the 10 September and the second the following day.

 

Sunday was disputed on the ring road of town 6 miles-apart from a motorcycle race-the race car of Speed-Brescia; on Monday took away the Brescia-Mantova-Verona-Brescia, with 223 km path.

 

Motoring vocation is witnessed by the six manufacturers of cars which arose in Brescia in the early twentieth century.

 

In 1904 he prepared the circuit of Brescia, on the roads that connect the route Brescia-Cremona-Mantova-Brescia, for a total of 185 miles from repeat twice.

 

The first race was held on September 5, 1904 on the occasion of the week of Brescia.

 

The following year the "week" was replicated and the September 9, 1905 at Brescia was played the first Coppa Florio.

 

Until after the first world war were not held in Brescia other competitions, but the shooting was great. Thanks to the adozioneArturo of Brescia the city Merchants had to organize the Grand Prix of Italy, who was posted in a wide range of events held under the name International diCircuito

 

Automotive-plane, in 1921. In addition to "Kilometer Launched", and other races for minor categories, the most attention was of course centered on the new circuit of Brescia, also called golden belt Loop, name of the place where it was given the go-ahead, 4 September, at 1° Italy Grand Prix.

 

In 1922, with great disappointment of the bresciani, merchants opened the Monza Autodrome, where Italy Grand Prix is still disputed.

 

The passion for engines had prompted bresciani a their Automobile Club as early as 1906, until the section in 1926.C. Milan.

 

On the basis of the new order of the Royal Automobile Club of Italy, implemented by Royal Decree of November 14, 1926-which also introduced ilPubblico Vehicles, the PRA, the Automobile Club di Brescia was officially formed.

 

The January 18, 1927 opened his headquarters in Corso Magenta, where she immediately beginning the organizational activity of the first Coppa delle Mille Miglia.

 

The name Mille Miglia and the brand with the red arrow, from that day, remain inalienable property of the Automobile Club Brescia.

 

Since its founding, has been kept alive a tradition which identifies the ACI Brescia among sports associations, not only at national level.Brescia circuit, circuit del Garda, Brescia-Edolo-Pontedilegno, climbing the Colle s. Eusebio, Lumezzane, Hillclimb del Monte Maddalena, are just some of the competitions organised by the Club, continuing the work and passion of the great Renzo Castagneto.

 

For these reasons, the Automobile Club di Brescia will never regardless of race and will produce maximum effort to maintain this immense heritage of bravery and ingenuity who wrote unforgettable pages of history.

 

Between the roles of ACI Brescia there is also to preserve the tradition of Brescia and motoring that immense heritage of cultural, human and sports consists of the competitions that were held on the territory of Brescia from 1899 to the present.

 

Also this year, the A.C. Brescia has maintained three races on the calendar, the Rally 1000 Miglia, the International Hillclimb Vallecamonica-Trophy Malegno-Ossimo and Borno-Rally Ronde ACI Brescia.

  

Replicating the method discussed in a recent CVPR paper from UNC, we reconstruct a 3D model of the Taj Mahal based on all the tagged and/or geotagged photos taken by thousands of photographers (the colored triangles). VisualSFM was used to build the reconstruction.

 

See the related Flickr Blog post.

Gothic Revival Library, 1859. American. Gift of Mrs. Hamilton Fish, 1977 (Inst. 1977.7.1).

More about the Gothic Revival Library

 

Morningside, the house from which the Gothic Revival library was removed, is a strongly massed yet graceful two-and-one-half story red-brick structure. Its peaked roofline is decorated with boldly carved verge boards (a wide board projecting over the gable of a roof, pierced with ornamental patterns) and Ruskinian stone-and-brick voussoirs (tapering or wedge-shaped elements that form an arch) topping the pointed-arch windows. The library, parlor, dining room, and kitchen area were on the main floor; the bedrooms were on the upper floors.

 

The Gothic Revival style was considered particularly appropriate for libraries, and even houses that did not have Gothic exteriors had libraries decorated in the style. The style had been fashionable in England for decades before the first truly Gothic Revival house was built in the United States. Some of the objects in this room hail from England; others were made in New York in the 1850s and 1860s. The English pieces, such as the mantel clock of about 1845 by H. Smith of York and the bread plate designed by A. W. N. Pugin and manufactured by Minton and Company in Stoke-on-Trent, serve as reminders of Withers's roots as well as the profound influence English Gothic Revival exerted on American design. The English poets Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning are memorialized in the delicately modeled sculpture of their clasped hands created by the American sculptor Harriet Hosmer.

 

Although the furniture is not original to the room, it is appropriate as far as date and place of manufacture and has been selected and arranged following design manuals by A. J. Downing and others. The tracery-back armchair and octagonal table, both made by New York cabinetmakers between the early 1850s and the mid-1860s, illustrate various interpretations of the style. The majority of the pieces are oak or walnut, the two woods most commonly used for Gothic Revival furniture and interiors. In addition to detailing taken from Gothic architecture, such as trefoils and clustered columns, Gothic Revival furniture is frequently embellished with oak-leaf motifs, such as those carved into the cornices of the library's two bookcases. The Gothic-style cast-iron grate in the fireplace was probably made in the Albany, New York, area. The solar lamp from Philadelphia also reflects Gothic architectural features in the intricate design of the gilt base and the pointed-arch motif in the glass globe.

 

The plaster ceiling, decorated in imitation of medieval wood beams, is a replica of the original. The paint scheme has been replicated from paint samples taken from the house; the rich earth tones are of the type that architectural pattern books of the period recommended for libraries. The handmade needlepoint rug may be English or American. The entrance vestibule to the house has been reproduced in an expanded form, complete with trompe-l'oeil panels; the floor of colorful Minton tiles now installed in the vestibule came from the central hall of the Deming house.

I was born in Norfolk and lived in Suffolk. So I thought I knew those two counties. But of course there is more to Norfolk than Norwich, Cromer, Yarmouth and Kings Lynn, as there is to Suffolk than Ipswich, Lowestoft, Stowmarket and Bury St. Edmunds. And so on My friend, Simon K, runs a fabulous website, which I link to on EA churches, and on his Suffolk Church page he has visited 707 Suffolk churches, and 909 Norfolk churches. That is a lot of churches for two counties to share, and many of those churches are ancient, flint built, round towered or have wall paintings, wooden roof angels or something worth the effort of going to see or seeking out the keyholder to gain access.

 

What I mean is that there is no way someone who only had their own car until 1984, and had little interest in churches or parishes could have heard of most of the parishes in the two counties, and so a parish church like St George.

 

I saw St George from the main road, I was taking a short cut to join the A14 and from there to the A12 and south on what I hoped my my last trip of the year to lowestoft as Mother is now out of hospital and in the care of district nurses in order to get put back on her feet.

 

So I saw the tower of St George from about half a mile away, and thought I had enough time to go over and see inside if I could.

 

I parked at the end of a cul-de-sac of new bungalows, and as I walk up the bank to the gate into the churchyard, the clean lines of the tower, well, towered over me.

 

In the porch I tried the door and found it locked, but the keyholder list made it clear that the nearest one, at Christmas Cottage, was just over the road. So, why not try, Ian?

 

I went to the cottage and rang the bell. I had to fill out my details in a ledger, a sensible measure. But I showed by driving licence to prove that I was who I claimed. Little did I know the small village I lived in had been noticed. More of that in a minute.

 

Inside St George, you eye is stolen by the fabulous pew ends; animals of all kinds, real and imaginary, and most had not been defaced, only those of obvious human form. One with the body of a chicken but a clear human face had been left alone, thus is the madness of the puritan's mind.

 

I decided that I would record every pew end figure, and many whole pew ends so wonderful that they were.

 

There is the feint outline of a huge wall painting, Simon says it was of St. Christopher. It would have been most impressive when freshly painted. There is also a fine set of misericords.

 

St George's glory is the altarpiece, into detail Simon goes below. It is alarmed, so you cannot look at them too closely, sadly, but such is a sign of the times.

 

I took the keys back, and the lady of the house came to speak to me as she had been told by her husband that I was from Cliffe in Kent, which is where her family is from. Sadly, I am not from, nor live in Cliffe. For once there was indeed two Cliffs in Kent, one on the Hoo Peninsular, where her family is from, and one near to Dover. Many years ago, Cliffe near to Dover was called WestCliffe to differentiate it from its namesake further north. I explained this to her, but said St Helen in Cliffe is one of my favourite Kent churches, built of alternate layers of black and light flints and stone, in sunlight it glistens and sparkles.

 

Although St George here in Stowlangtoft is a fine church, it is in a poor state of repair, and is due to be made redundant in the new year. Always sad when that happens to a parish church, but it is likely to be taken over by the CCT, but then who will volunteer to keep it tidy when the old wardens and keyholders are too old.

 

Stowlangtoft is a fabulous church and so glad am I that I spent 40 minutes of my time to visit it. Go to see it now before it is too late!

 

-------------------------------------------

 

In the summer of 2003, this website became a six-part series on BBC Radio Suffolk. Something I said in the fourth programme, about Hessett, generated a fair amount of correspondence. Referring to the way many churches were restored in the 19th century, I observed that when we enter a medieval church, we are encountering a Victorian vision of the medieval; even when the actual furnishings and fittings are medieval, the whole piece is still a Victorian conception.

 

People wrote to me and said things like "but in that case, Simon, how do we know what was there originally and what wasn't?". To which my reply was the enigmatic "assume that nothing is as it first appears, as Sherlock Holmes said". And if he didn't, then he should have done.

 

A prime example of a church that assumes a continuity that may not actually be the truth is here in the flat fields between Woolpit and Ixworth. This part of Suffolk can be rather bleak, especially in late October, but England's finest summer and autumn for decades had left the churchyard here verdant and golden, as beautiful a place as any I'd seen that year. The church is large, and sits on a mound that has been cut down on one side by the road. I walked up the slope, past the memorial to the art critic Peter Fuller and his unborn son, which never fails to move me. It is by the sculptor Glynn Williams, and Sister Wendy Beckett says of it that it cannot be pinned down and encapsulated, it defeats the categories of the mere mind and sings to us of our deeper self.

 

Overwhelmed as you may be by it, don't fail to spot the broken window tracery that has been used to build the wall here, for thereby hangs a tale.

 

St George, in case you don't know, is one of the great Suffolk churches. Although it may externally appear a little severe, and is by no means as grand as Blythburgh, Long Melford and the rest, it is a treasure house of the medieval inside. Unusually for a church of its date, it was all rebuilt in one go, in the late 14th century, and the perpendicular windows are not yet full of the 'walls of glass' confidence that the subsequent century would see. The tracery appears to have been repaired, and possibly even renewed, which may explain why there is broken medieval tracery in the churchyard wall. However, it doesn't take much to see that the tracery in the wall is not perpendicular at all, but decorated. So it may be that the broken tracery is from the original church that the late 14th century church replaced. But the wall isn't medieval, so where had it been all those years?

 

Another survival from the earlier church is the font. It also asks some questions. Unusually, it features a Saint on seven of the panels, Christ being on the westwards face. Mortlock dates it to the early 14th century, and the Saints it shows are familiar cults from that time: St Margaret, St Catherine, St Peter and St Paul, and less commonly St George. The cult of St George was at its height in the early years of the 14th century. Mortlock describes the font as mutilated, and it certainly isn't looking its best. But I think there is more going on here than meets the eye. Fonts were plastered over in Elizabethan times, and only relief that stood proud of the plaster was mutilated. These are all shallow reliefs, and I do not think they have been mutilated at all. To my eye at least, this stonework appears weathered. I wonder if this font was removed from the church, probably in the mid-17th century, and served an outdoor purpose until it was returned in the 19th century.

 

The story of this church in the 19th century is well-documented. In 1832, as part of his grand tour of Suffolk, David Davy visited, and was pleased to find that the church was at last undergoing repair. The chancel had been roofless, and the nave used for services. A new Rectory was being built. Who was the catalyst behind all this? His name was Samuel Rickards, and he was Rector here for almost the middle forty years of the 19th century. Roy Tricker notes that he was a good friend of John Henry Newman, the future Cardinal, and they often corresponded on the subject of the pre-Reformation ordering of English churches. It is interesting to think how, at this seminal moment, Rickards might have informed the thought of the Oxford Movement. Sadly, when Newman became a Catholic Rickards broke off all correspondence with him.

 

During the course of the 1840s and 1850s, Rickards transformed Stowlangtoft church. He got the great Ipswich woodcarver Henry Ringham in to restore, replicate and complete the marvellous set of bench ends - Ringham did the same thing at Woolpit, a few miles away. Ringham's work is so good that it is sometimes hard for the inexperienced eye to detect it; however, as at Woolpit, Ringham only copied animals here, and the wierder stuff is all medieval, and probably dates from the rebuilding of the church. The glory of Stowlangtoft's bench ends is partly the sheer quantity - there are perhaps 60 carvings - but also that there are several unique subjects; you can see some of them below.

  

The carvings appear to be part of the same group as Woolpit and Tostock - you will recognise the unicorn, the chained bear, the bull playing a harp, the bird with a man's head, from similar carvings elsewhere. And then hopefully that little alarm bell in your heard should start to go "Hmmmm....." because some of the carvings here are clearly not from the same group. It is hard to believe that the mermaid and the owl, for example, are from the same workshop, or even from the same decade. The benches themselves are no clue; it was common practice in the 19th century to replace medieval bench ends on modern benches, or on medieval benches, or even on modern benches made out of medieval timber (as happened at Blythburgh). Could it be that Samuel Rickards found some of these bench ends elsewhere? Could he have been the kind of person to do a thing like that?

 

Well, yes he could. As Roy Tricker recalls, the medieval roof at the tractarian Thomas Mozley's church at Cholderton in Wiltshire is one that Rickards acquired after finding it in storage in Ipswich docks. In the ferment of the great 19th century restoration of our English churches, there was loads of medieval junk lying around, much of it going begging. But was Samuel Rickards the kind of person to counterfeit his church's medieval inheritance?

 

Well, yes he probably was. Look at the medieval roundels in the middle window on the south side of the nave. The four evangelists are above and below two superb representations of the Presentation in the Temple and the Baptism of Christ. You can see them below; click on them to enlarge them. Unfortunately, they are not medieval at all, and it is generally accepted that they were painted by a daughter of Samuel Rickards himself. There is something similar the other side of Bury at Hawstead.

 

Truly medieval is the vast St Christopher wall-painting still discernible on the north wall. It was probably one of the last to be painted. The bench ends are medieval, of course, as is the fine rood-screen dado, albeit repainted. There is even some medieval glass in the upper tracery of some of the windows. The laughable stone pulpit is Rickard's commission, and the work of William White. What can Rickards have been thinking of? But we step through into the chancel, and suddenly the whole thing moves up a gear. For here are some things that are truly remarkable.

 

In a county famous for its woodwork, the furnishings of Stowlangtoft's chancel are breathtaking, even awe-inspiring. Behind the rood screen dado is Suffolk's most complete set of return stalls. Most striking are the figures that form finials to the stall ends. They are participants in the Mass, including two Priests, two servers and two acolytes. The figure of the Priest at a prayer desk must be one of the best medieval images in Suffolk; Mortlock thought the stalls the finest in England. I was here with my friend Aidan of Sylly Suffolk fame, and he had previously photographed and written about these carving a a couple of years ago. But even he found something new to photograph, and a hush fell on the chancel as we explored.

 

The benches that face eastwards are misericords, and beneath them are wonderful things: angels, lions and wodewoses, evangelistic symbols and crowned heads. A hawk captures a hare, a dragon sticks out its tongue. Between the seats are weird oriental faces. Some of them are below; click on them to enlarge them.

 

Now, you know what I am going to ask next. How much of this is from this church originally? It all appears medieval work, and there is no reason to believe it might not have been moved elsewhere in the church when the chancel was open to the elements. What evidence have we got?

 

Firstly, we should notice that the only other Suffolk church with such a large number of medieval misericords of this quality is just a mile away, at Norton. I don't ask you to see this as significant, merely to notice it in passing. Secondly, I am no carpenter, but it does look to me as though two sets of furnishings have been cobbled together; the stalls that back on to the screen appear to have been integrated into the larger structure of stalls and desks that front them and the north and south walls.

 

However, if you look closely at the figures of the two Deacons, you will see that they are bearing shields of the Ashfield and Peche families. The Ashfield arms also appear on the rood screen, and the Ashfields were the major donors when the church was rebuilt in the 14th century. So on balance I am inclined to think that the greater part of the stall structure was in this church originally from when it was rebuilt. And the misericords? Well, I don't know. But I think they have to be considered as part of the same set as those at Norton. In which case they may have come from the same church, which may have been this one, but may not have been. Almost certainly, the stalls at Norton did not come from Norton church, and folklore has it that they were originally in the quire of Bury Abbey. Hmm....

 

Other remarkable things in St George include FE Howard's beautiful war memorial in the former north doorway, and in the opposite corner of the nave Hugh Easton's gorgeous St George, which serves the same purpose. It is as good as his work at Elveden. Back up in the chancel is a delightful painted pipe organ which was apparently exhibited at, and acquired from, the Great Exhibition of 1851.

 

But St George at Stowlangtoft is, of course, most famous for the Flemish carvings that flank the rather heavy altarpiece. They were given to the church by Henry Wilson of Stowlangtoft Hall, who allegedly found them in an Ixworth junk shop. They show images from the crucifixion story, but are not Stations of the Cross as some guides suggest. They date from the 1480s, and were almost certainly the altarpiece of a French or Flemish monastery that was sacked during the French Revolution. I had seen something similar at Baumes-les-Messieurs in the French Jura a few weeks before. There, the carvings are brightly painted, as these once were, and piled up in a block rather than spread out in a line. The niches, and crowning arches above them, are 19th century. My favourite images are the Pieta and the Mouth of Hell. Click on the images below.

 

One cold winter's night in January 1977, a gang of thieves broke into this locked church and stole them. Nothing more was seen or heard of them until 1982, when they were discovered on display in an Amsterdam art gallery. Their journey had been a convoluted one; taken to Holland, they were used as security for a loan which was defaulted upon. The new owner was then burgled, and the carvings were fenced to an Amsterdam junk dealer. They were bought from his shop, and taken to the museum, which immediately identified them as 15th century carvings. They put them on display, and a Dutch woman who had read about the Stowlangtoft theft recognised them.

 

The parish instituted legal proceedings to get them back; an injunction was taken out to stop the new owner removing them from the museum. The parish lost the case, leaving them with a monstrous legal bill; but the story has a happy ending. A Dutch businessman negotiated their purchase from the owner, paid off the legal bills, and returned the carvings to Stowlangtoft. Apparently this was all at vast cost, but the businessman gave the gift in thanks for Britain's liberation of Holland for the Nazis. No, thank you, sir.

 

Today, the carvings are fixed firmly in place and alarmed, so they won't be going walkabout again. But a little part of me wonders if they really should be here at all. Sure, they are medieval, but they weren't here originally; they weren't even in England originally. Wouldn't it be better if they were displayed somewhere safer, where people could pay to see them, and provide some income for the maintenance of the church building? And then, whisper it, St George might even be kept open.

 

St George, Stowlangtoft, is in the village high street. Three keyholders are listed, two of them immediately opposite. I am told that Wednesday is not a good time to try and get the key - it is market day in Bury.

 

Simon Knott

 

www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/stowlangtoft.htm

Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (Commonwealth and Ireland), also aquarelle from French, is a painting method in which the paints are made of pigments suspended in a water-soluble vehicle. The term "watercolor" refers to both the medium and the resulting artwork. The traditional and most common support for watercolor paintings is paper; other supports include papyrus, bark papers, plastics, vellum or leather, fabric, wood, and canvas. Watercolors are usually transparent, and appear luminous because the pigments are laid down in a relatively pure form with few fillers obscuring the pigment colors. Watercolor can also be made opaque by adding Chinese white. In East Asia, watercolor painting with inks is referred to as brush painting or scroll painting. In Chinese, Korean, and Japanese painting it has been the dominant medium, often in monochrome black or browns. India, Ethiopia and other countries also have long traditions. Fingerpainting with watercolor paints originated in China.Although watercolor painting is extremely old, dating perhaps to the cave paintings of paleolithic Europe, and has been used for manuscript illumination since at least Egyptian times but especially in the European Middle Ages, its continuous history as an art medium begins in the Renaissance. The German Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) who painted several fine botanical, wildlife and landscape watercolors, is generally considered among the earliest exponents of the medium. An important school of watercolor painting in Germany was led by Hans Bol (1534–1593) as part of the Dürer Renaissance.Despite this early start, watercolors were generally used by Baroque easel painters only for sketches, copies or cartoons (full-scale design drawings). Among notable early practitioners of watercolor painting were Van Dyck (during his stay in England), Claude Lorrain, Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione, and many Dutch and Flemish artists. However, Botanical illustrations and those depicting wildlife are perhaps the oldest and most important tradition in watercolor painting. Botanical illustrations became popular in the Renaissance, both as hand tinted woodblock illustrations in books or broadsheets and as tinted ink drawings on vellum or paper. Botanical artists have always been among the most exacting and accomplished watercolor painters, and even today watercolors—with their unique ability to summarize, clarify and idealize in full color—are used to illustrate scientific and museum publications. Wildlife illustration reached its peak in the 19th century with artists such as John James Audubon, and today many naturalist field guides are still illustrated with watercolor paintings. Many watercolors are more vibrant in pigment if they are higher quality. Some British market watercolors can be found in many craft stores In America and in other countries too.Materials

Paint

 

Watercolor paint consists of four principal ingredients:

 

pigments, natural or synthetic, mineral or organic;

gum arabic as a binder to hold the pigment in suspension and fix the pigment to the painting surface;

additives like glycerin, ox gall, honey, preservatives: to alter the viscosity, hiding, durability or color of the pigment and vehicle mixture; and

solvent, the substance used to thin or dilute the paint for application and that evaporates when the paint hardens or dries.

 

The term "watermedia" refers to any painting medium that uses water as a solvent and that can be applied with a brush, pen or sprayer; this includes most inks, watercolors, temperas, gouaches and modern acrylic paints.

 

The term watercolor refers to paints that use water soluble, complex carbohydrates as a binder. Originally (16th to 18th centuries) watercolor binders were sugars and/or hide glues, but since the 19th century the preferred binder is natural gum arabic, with glycerin and/or honey as additives to improve plasticity and dissolvability of the binder, and with other chemicals added to improve product shelf life.

 

Bodycolor refers to paint that is opaque rather than transparent, usually opaque watercolor, which is also known as gouache.[2] Modern acrylic paints are based on a completely different chemistry that uses water soluble acrylic resin as a binder.

Commercial watercolors

 

Watercolor painters before c.1800 had to make paints themselves using pigments purchased from an apothecary or specialized "colourman"; the earliest commercial paints were small, resinous blocks that had to be wetted and laboriously "rubbed out" in water. William Reeves (1739–1803) set up in business as a colorman about 1766. In 1781 he and his brother, Thomas Reeves, were awarded the Silver Palette of the Society of Arts, for the invention of the moist watercolor paint-cake, a time-saving convenience the introduction of which coincides with the "golden age" of English watercolor painting.

 

Modern commercial watercolor paints are available in two forms: tubes or pans. The majority of paints sold are in collapsible metal tubes in standard sizes (typically 7.5, 15 or 37 ml.), and are formulated to a consistency similar to toothpaste. Pan paints (actually, small dried cakes or bars of paint in an open plastic container) are usually sold in two sizes, full pans (approximately 3 cc of paint) and half pans (favored for compact paint boxes). Pans are historically older but commonly perceived as less convenient; they are most often used in portable metal paint boxes, also introduced in the mid 19th century, and are preferred by landscape or naturalist painters.

 

Among the most widely used brands of commercial watercolors today are Daler Rowney, Daniel Smith, DaVinci, Holbein, Maimeri, M. Graham. Reeves, Schmincke, Sennelier, Talens, and Winsor & Newton.

 

Thanks to modern industrial organic chemistry, the variety, saturation (brilliance) and permanence of artists' colors available today is greater than ever before. However, the art materials industry is far too small to exert any market leverage on global dye or pigment manufacture. With rare exceptions, all modern watercolor paints utilize pigments that were manufactured for use in printing inks, automotive and architectural paints, wood stains, concrete, ceramics and plastics colorants, consumer packaging, foods, medicines, textiles and cosmetics. Paint manufacturers buy very small supplies of these pigments, mill (mechanically mix) them with the vehicle, solvent and additives, and package them.

Color names

 

Many artists are confused or misled by labeling practices common in the art materials industry. The marketing name for a paint, such as "indian yellow" or "emerald green", is often only a poetic color evocation or proprietary moniker; there is no legal requirement that it describe the pigment that gives the paint its color. More popular color names are "viridian hue" and " chinese white"

 

To remedy this confusion, in 1990 the art materials industry voluntarily began listing pigment ingredients on the paint packaging, using the common pigment name (such as "cobalt blue" or "cadmium red"), and/or a standard pigment identification code, the generic color index name (PB28 for cobalt blue, PR108 for cadmium red) assigned by the Society of Dyers and Colourists (UK) and the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (USA) and known as the Colour Index International. This allows artists to choose paints according to their pigment ingredients, rather than the poetic labels assigned to them by marketers. Paint pigments and formulations vary across manufacturers, and watercolor paints with the same color name (e.g., "sap green") from different manufacturers can be formulated with completely different ingredients.

Transparency

 

Watercolor paints are customarily evaluated on a few key attributes. In the partisan debates of the 19th-century English art world, gouache was emphatically contrasted to traditional watercolors and denigrated for its high hiding power or lack of "transparency"; "transparent" watercolors were exalted. Paints with low hiding power are valued because they allow an underdrawing or engraving to show in the image, and because colors can be mixed visually by layering paints on the paper (which itself may be either white or tinted). The resulting color will change depending on the layering order of the pigments. In fact, there are very few genuinely transparent watercolors, neither are there completely opaque watercolors (with the exception of gouache); and any watercolor paint can be made more transparent simply by diluting it with water.

 

"Transparent" colors do not contain titanium dioxide (white) or most of the earth pigments (sienna, umber, etc.) which are very opaque. The 19th-century claim that "transparent" watercolors gain "luminosity" because they function like a pane of stained glass laid on paper[citation needed] – the color intensified because the light passes through the pigment, reflects from the paper, and passes a second time through the pigment on its way to the viewer—is false: watercolor paints do not form a cohesive paint layer, as do acrylic or oil paints, but simply scatter pigment particles randomly across the paper surface; the transparency consists in the paper being directly visible between the particles.[3] Watercolors appear more vivid than acrylics or oils because the pigments are laid down in a more pure form with no or fewer fillers (such as kaolin) obscuring the pigment colors. Furthermore, typically most or all of the gum binder will be absorbed by the paper, preventing it from changing the visibility of the pigment.[3] Even multiple layers of watercolor do achieve a very luminous effect without fillers or binder obscuring the pigment particles.

Pigments characteristics

 

Staining is a characteristic assigned to watercolor paints: a staining paint is difficult to remove or lift from the painting support after it has been applied or dried. Less staining colors can be lightened or removed almost entirely when wet, or when rewetted and then "lifted" by stroking gently with a clean, wet brush and then blotted up with a paper towel. In fact, the staining characteristics of a paint depend in large part on the composition of the support (paper) itself, and on the particle size of the pigment. Staining is increased if the paint manufacturer uses a dispersant to reduce the paint milling (mixture) time, because the dispersant acts to drive pigment particles into crevices in the paper pulp, dulling the finished color.

 

Granulation refers to the appearance of separate, visible pigment particles in the finished color, produced when the paint is substantially diluted with water and applied with a juicy brush stroke; pigments notable for their watercolor granulation include viridian (PG18), cerulean blue (PB35), cobalt violet (PV14) and some iron oxide pigments (PBr7).

 

Flocculation refers to a peculiar clumping typical of ultramarine pigments (PB29 or PV15). Both effects display the subtle effects of water as the paint dries, are unique to watercolors, and are deemed attractive by accomplished watercolor painters. This contrasts with the trend in commercial paints to suppress pigment textures in favor of homogeneous, flat color.

Grades

 

Commercial watercolor paints come in three grades: "Artist" (or "Professional"), "Student", and "Scholastic".

 

Artist Watercolors contain a full pigment load, suspended in a binder, generally natural gum arabic. Artist quality paints are usually formulated with fewer fillers (kaolin or chalk) which results in richer color and vibrant mixes. Conventional watercolors are sold in moist form, in a tube, and are thinned and mixed on a dish or palette. Use them on paper and other absorbent surfaces that have been primed to accept water-based paint.

Student grade paints have less pigment, and often are formulated using two or more less expensive pigments. Student Watercolors have working characteristics similar to professional watercolors, but with lower concentrations of pigment, less expensive formulas, and a smaller range of colors. More expensive pigments are generally replicated by hues. Colors are designed to be mixed, although color strength is lower. Hues may not have the same mixing characteristics as regular full-strength colors.

Scholastic watercolors come in pans rather than tubes, and contain inexpensive pigments and dyes suspended in a synthetic binder. Washable formulations feature colors that are chosen to be non-staining, easily washable, suitable for use even by young children with proper supervision. They are an excellent choice for teaching beginning artists the properties of color and the techniques of painting.

 

Reserves

 

As there is no transparent white watercolor, the white parts of a watercolor painting are most often areas of the paper "reserved" (left unpainted) and allowed to be seen in the finished work. To preserve these white areas, many painters use a variety of resists, including masking tape, clear wax or a liquid latex, that are applied to the paper to protect it from paint, then pulled away to reveal the white paper. Resist painting can also be an effective technique for beginning watercolor artists. The painter can use wax crayons or oil pastels prior to painting the paper. The wax or oil mediums repel, or resist the watercolor paint. White paint (titanium dioxide PW6 or zinc oxide PW4) is best used to insert highlights or white accents into a painting. If mixed with other pigments, white paints may cause them to fade or change hue under light exposure. White paint (gouache) mixed with a "transparent" watercolor paint will cause the transparency to disappear and the paint to look much duller. White paint will always appear dull and chalky next to the white of the paper; however this can be used for some effects.

Brushes

 

A brush consists of three parts: the tuft, the ferrule and the handle.

 

The tuft is a bundle of animal hairs or synthetic fibers tied tightly together at the base;

The ferrule is a metal sleeve that surrounds the tuft, gives the tuft its cross sectional shape, provides mechanical support under pressure, and protects from water wearing down the glue joint between the trimmed, flat base of the tuft and the handle;

The lacquered wood handle, which is typically shorter in a watercolor brush than in an oil painting brush, has a distinct shape—widest just behind the ferrule and tapering to the tip.

 

When painting, painters typically hold the brush just behind the ferrule for the smoothest brushstrokes.

Hairs and fibers

 

Brushes hold paint (the "bead") through the capillary action of the small spaces between the tuft hairs or fibers; paint is released through the contact between the wet paint and the dry paper and the mechanical flexing of the tuft, which opens the spaces between the tuft hairs, relaxing the capillary restraint on the liquid. Because thinned watercolor paint is far less viscous than oil or acrylic paints, the brushes preferred by watercolor painters have a softer and denser tuft. This is customarily achieved by using natural hair harvested from farm raised or trapped animals, in particular sable, squirrel or mongoose. Less expensive brushes, or brushes designed for coarser work, may use horsehair or bristles from pig or ox snouts and ears.

 

However, as with paints, modern chemistry has developed many synthetic and shaped fibers that rival the stiffness of bristle and mimic the spring and softness of natural hair. Until fairly recently, nylon brushes could not hold a reservoir of water at all so they were extremely inferior to brushes made from natural hair. In recent years, improvements in the holding and pointing properties of synthetic filaments have gained them much greater acceptance among watercolorists.

 

There is no market regulation on the labeling applied to artists' brushes, but most watercolorists prize brushes from kolinsky (Russian or Chinese) sable. The best of these hairs have a characteristic reddish brown color, darker near the base, and a tapering shaft that is pointed at the tip but widest about halfway toward the root. Squirrel hair is quite thin, straight and typically dark, and makes tufts with a very high liquid capacity; mongoose has a characteristic salt and pepper coloring. Bristle brushes are stiffer and lighter colored. "Camel" is sometimes used to describe hairs from several sources (none of them a camel).

 

In general, natural hair brushes have superior snap and pointing, a higher capacity (hold a larger bead, produce a longer continuous stroke, and wick up more paint when moist) and a more delicate release. Synthetic brushes tend to dump too much of the paint bead at the beginning of the brush stroke and leave a larger puddle of paint when the brush is lifted from the paper, and they cannot compete with the pointing of natural sable brushes and are much less durable. On the other hand they are typically much cheaper than natural hair, and the best synthetic brushes are now very serviceable; they are also excellent for texturing, shaping, or lifting color, and for the mechanical task of breaking up or rubbing paint to dissolve it in water.

 

A high quality sable brush has five key attributes: pointing (in a round, the tip of the tuft comes to a fine, precise point that does not splay or split; in a flat, the tuft forms a razor thin, perfectly straight edge); snap (or "spring"; the tuft flexes in direct response to the pressure applied to the paper, and promptly returns to its original shape); capacity (the tuft, for its size, holds a large bead of paint and does not release it as the brush is moved in the air); release (the amount of paint released is proportional to the pressure applied to the paper, and the paint flow can be precisely controlled by the pressure and speed of the stroke as the paint bead is depleted); and durability (a large, high quality brush may withstand decades of daily use).

 

Most natural hair brushes are sold with the tuft cosmetically shaped with starch or gum, so brushes are difficult to evaluate before purchasing, and durability is only evident after long use. The most common failings of natural hair brushes are that the tuft sheds hairs (although a little shedding is acceptable in a new brush), the ferrule becomes loosened, or the wood handle shrinks, warps, cracks or flakes off its lacquer coating.

Shapes

 

Natural and synthetic brushes are sold with the tuft shaped for different tasks. Among the most popular are:

 

Rounds. The tuft has a round cross section but a tapering profile, widest near the ferrule (the "belly") and tapered at the tip (the "point"). These are general purpose brushes that can address almost any task.

Flats. The tuft is compressed laterally by the ferrule into a flat wedge; the tuft appears square when viewed from the side and has a perfectly straight edge. "Brights" are flats in which the tuft is as long as it is wide; "one stroke" brushes are longer than their width. "Sky brushes" or "wash brushes" look like miniature housepainting brushes; the tuft is usually 3 cm to 7 cm wide and is used to paint large areas.

Mops (natural hair only). A round brush, usually of squirrel hair and, decoratively, with a feather quill ferrule that is wrapped with copper wire; these have very high capacity for their size, especially good for wet in wet or wash painting; when moist they can wick up large quantities of paint.

Filbert (or "Cat's Tongue", hair only). A hybrid brush: a flat that comes to a point, like a round, useful for specially shaped brush strokes.

Rigger (hair only). An extremely long, thin tuft, originally used to paint the rigging in nautical portraits.

Fan. A small flat in which the tuft is splayed into a fan shape; used for texturing or painting irregular, parallel hatching lines.

Acrylic. A flat brush with synthetic bristles, attached to a (usually clear) plastic handle with a beveled tip used for scoring or scraping.

 

A single brush can produce many lines and shapes. A "round" for example, can create thin and thick lines, wide or narrow strips, curves, and other painted effects. A flat brush when used on end can produce thin lines or dashes in addition to the wide swath typical with these brushes, and its brushmarks display the characteristic angle of the tuft corners.

 

Every watercolor painter works in specific genres and has a personal painting style and "tool discipline", and these largely determine his or her preference for brushes. Artists typically have a few favorites and do most work with just one or two brushes. Brushes are typically the most expensive component of the watercolorist's tools, and a minimal general purpose brush selection would include:

 

4 round (for detail and drybrush)

8 round

12 or 14 round (for large color areas or washes)

1/2" or 1" flat

12 mop (for washes and wicking)

1/2" acrylic (for dissolving or mixing paints, and scrubbing paints before lifting from the paper)

 

Major watercolor brush manufacturers include DaVinci, Escoda, Isabey, Raphael, Kolonok, Robert Simmons, Daler-Rowney, Arches, and Winsor & Newton. As with papers and paints, it is common for retailers to commission brushes under their own label from an established manufacturer. Among these are Cheap Joe's, Daniel Smith, Dick Blick and Utrecht.

Sizes

 

The size of a round brush is designated by a number, which may range from 0000 (for a very tiny round) to 0, then from 1 to 24 or higher. These numbers refer to the size of the brass brushmakers' mould used to shape and align the hairs of the tuft before it is tied off and trimmed, and as with shoe lasts, these sizes vary from one manufacturer to the next. In general a #12 round brush has a tuft about 2 to 2.5 cm long; tufts are generally fatter (wider) in brushes made in England than in brushes made on the Continent: a German or French #14 round is approximately the same size as an English #12. Flats may be designated either by a similar but separate numbering system, but more often are described by the width of the ferrule, measured in centimeters or inches.

Watercolor pencil

 

Watercolor pencil is another important tool in watercolors techniques. This water-soluble color pencil allows to draw fine details and to blend them with water. Noted artists who use watercolor pencils include illustrator Travis Charest.[4] A similar tool is the watercolor pastel, broader than watercolor pencil, and able to quickly cover a large surface.

Paper

 

Most watercolor painters before c.1800 had to use whatever paper was at hand: Thomas Gainsborough was delighted to buy some paper used to print a Bath tourist guide, and the young David Cox preferred a heavy paper used to wrap packages. James Whatman first offered a wove watercolor paper in 1788, and the first machinemade ("cartridge") papers from a steam powered mill in 1805.

 

All art papers can be described by eight attributes: furnish, color, weight, finish, sizing, dimensions, permanence and packaging. Watercolor painters typically paint on paper specifically formulated for watermedia applications. Fine watermedia papers are manufactured under the brand names Arches, Bockingford, Cartiera Magnani, Fabriano, Hahnemühle, Lanaquarelle, The Langton, The Langton Prestige, Millford, Saunders Waterford, Strathmore, Winsor & Newton and Zerkall; and there has been a recent remarkable resurgence in handmade papers, notably those by Twinrocker, Velke Losiny, Ruscombe Mill and St. Armand.

 

Watercolor paper is essentially Blotting paper marketed and sold as an art paper, and the two can be used interchangeably, as watercolor paper is more easily obtainable than blotter and can be used as a substitute for blotter. Lower end watercolor papers can resemble heavy paper more while higher end varieties are usually entirely cotton and more porous like blotter. Watercolor paper is traditionally torn and not cut.

Furnish

 

The traditional furnish or material content of watercolor papers is cellulose, a structural carbohydrate found in many plants. The most common sources of paper cellulose are cotton, linen, or alpha cellulose extracted from wood pulp. To make paper, the cellulose is wetted, mechanically macerated or pounded, chemically treated, rinsed and filtered to the consistency of thin oatmeal, then poured out into paper making moulds. In handmade papers, the pulp is hand poured ("cast") into individual paper moulds (a mesh screen stretched within a wood frame) and shaken by hand into an even layer. In industrial paper production, the pulp is formed by large papermaking machines that spread the paper over large cylinders—either heated metal cylinders that rotate at high speed (machinemade papers) or wire mesh cylinders that rotate at low speed (mouldmade papers). Both types of machine produce the paper in a continuous roll or web, which is then cut into individual sheets.

Weight

 

The basis weight of the paper is a measure of its density and thickness. It is described as the gram weight of one square meter of a single sheet of the paper, or grams per square meter (gsm). Most watercolor papers sold today are in the range between 280gsm to 640gsm. (The previous Imperial system, expressed as the weight in pounds of one ream or 500 sheets of the paper, regardless of its size, obsolete in some areas, is still used in the United States. The most common weights under this system are 300 lb (heaviest), 200 lb 140 lb, and 90 lb.) Heavier paper is sometimes preferred over lighter weight or thinner paper because it does not buckle and can hold up to scrubbing and extremely wet washes. Watercolor papers are typically almost a pure white, sometimes slightly yellow (called natural white), though many tinted or colored papers are available. An important diagnostic is the rattle of the paper, or the sound it makes when held aloft by one corner and shaken vigorously. Papers that are dense and made from heavily macerated pulp have a bright, metallic rattle, while papers that are spongy or made with lightly macerated pulp have a muffled, rubbery rattle.

Finish

 

All papers obtain a texture from the mold used to make them: a wove finish results from a uniform metal screen (like a window screen); a laid finish results from a screen made of narrowly spaced horizontal wires separated by widely spaced vertical wires. The finish is also affected by the methods used to wick and dry the paper after it is "couched" (removed) from the paper mold or is pulled off the papermaking cylinder.

 

Watercolor papers come in three basic finishes: hot pressed (HP), cold press (CP, or in the UK "Not", for "not hot pressed"), and rough (R). These vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer.

 

Rough papers are typically dried by hanging them like laundry ("loft drying") so that the sheets are not exposed to any pressure after they are couched; the wove finish has a pitted, uneven texture that is prized for its ability to accent the texture of watercolor pigments and brushstrokes.

Cold pressed papers are dried in large stacks, between absorbent felt blankets; this acts to flatten out about half of the texture found in the rough sheets. CP papers are valued for their versatility.

Hot pressed papers are cold pressed sheets that are passed through heated, compressing metal cylinders (called "calendering"), which flattens almost all the texture in the sheets. HP papers are valued because they are relatively nonabsorbent: pigments remain on the paper surface, brightening the color, and water is not absorbed, so it can produce a variety of water stains or marks as it dries.

 

These designations are only relative; the CP paper from one manufacturer may be rougher than the R paper from another manufacturer. Fabriano even offers a "soft press" (SP) sheet intermediate between CP and HP.

Sizing

 

Watercolor papers are traditionally sized, or treated with a substance to reduce the cellulose absorbency. Internal sizing is added to the paper pulp after rinsing and before it is cast in the paper mould; external or "tub" sizing is applied to the paper surface after the paper has dried. The traditional sizing has been gelatin, gum arabic or rosin, though modern synthetic substitutes (alkyl ketene dimers such as Aquapel) are now used instead. The highly absorbent papers that contain no sizing are designated waterleaf.

Dimensions

 

Most art papers are sold as single sheets of paper in standard sizes. Most common is the full sheet (22" x 30"), and half sheets (15" x 22") or quarter sheets (15" x 11") derived from it. Larger (and less standardized) sheets include the double elephant (within an inch or two of 30" x 40") and emperor (40" x 60"), which are the largest sheets commercially available. Papers are also manufactured in rolls, up to about 60" wide and 30 feet long. Finally, papers are also sold as watercolor "blocks"—a pad of 20 or so sheets of paper, cut to identical dimensions and glued on all four sides, which provides high dimensional stability and portability, though block papers tend to have subdued finishes. The painter simply works on the exposed sheet and, when finished, uses a knife to cut the adhesive around the four sides, separating the painting and revealing the fresh paper underneath.

Special charter for Rugby World cup final in Cardiff.

 

The caption on these images are purely what Andrew Wiltshire wrote on the 35mm slide mounts plus my own research into the locations. I therefore welcome any additional comments providing interesting information about the locomotives or the history of the location, line closure dates etc. Also please make caption links to other FLICKR images of the same location so we can all see how the locations have changed over time.

 

Due to recent unauthorised publication of my John Wiltshire images in a magazine. newspaper and two published books without payment I have to now make this statement.

 

This image is the copyright of © Peter Brabham; Any users, found to replicate, reproduce, circulate, distribute, download, manipulate or otherwise use my images without my written consent will be in breach of copyright laws. I will retrospectively claim £50 per print image if prior written authorisation for publication has not been sought. Please contact me at pete.brabham@ntlworld.com for permission to use any of my John Wiltshire photographs in hard copy publication. I will usually give permission free of charge to Heritage Railways and steam loco restoration project advertising, but profit making magazines and book authors must pay a reproduction fee. Authors should know the provenance of high quality digital images that they use.

  

This is a painting I did when I was 10 yrs. I tried to replicate a photograph of me (probably 4 yrs) and my mom.

 

I was tagged by schwafnil. To join the game of tagging, what you have to do is upload a photo of yourself when you were less than 10 years of age, list 10 things about you and then tag 10 of your contacts.

 

So here it goes like this :)

   

1. I can win all the gold medals in the act of procrastination.

 

2. I worship Jason Becker but it was Megadeth-riffs that urged me to pick a guitar.

 

3. I am a pathetic dancer (except Sakela)

 

4. I find Buddhism the best fit philosophy for my life.

 

5. I am confused all the time. I believe confusion, paradox and duality is the reality.

 

6. I am obsessed with the number 7 and its derivaties.

 

7. I find the letter 'S' and the sound it produces the most artistic.

 

8. I hate to be called a geek but I doubt I am one of them. I am a computer security enthusiast.

 

9. I want to believe in afterlife.

 

10. And finally, so many 'I' above but I hear 'Eye' within 'I'.

 

Now I am tagging you guys :P

  

theCipher - www.flickr.com/photos/thecipher/

gT0X - www.flickr.com/photos/grv/

TARA - www.flickr.com/photos/tara_g/

songsalways - www.flickr.com/photos/sangharsha/

pandemonium pasha - www.flickr.com/photos/pawanpandey/

Ashish - www.flickr.com/photos/ashishparajuli/

deep_udas - flickr.com/photos/dijup/

Rabi - www.flickr.com/photos/27976690@N04/

Jessi - www.flickr.com/photos/jessicahoho/

Wheepy - www.flickr.com/photos/wheepy/

 

(missing many in the list .. some of them are already tagged by others :)

 

Explored! :)

Replicating the cover photo of this year's Autoshite calendar, here is RKG displaying the name of the website and its slogan 'Your motoring is our concern'.

I am particualrly happy about replicating the shape of the collarbones.

 

I would liked to do a less goofy face, but that was the only thing I could have come up with. Blockiness of lego make faces very masculine on this scale as well. I only cheated a bit with a sharpie for eyebrows.

 

I also wanted to make a completely moveable hair with bar pieces and such, but it looked pretty bad. So I switched to a brickmade hair.

Rare chance to get a photo of the progress of tram 14. Slow but extreme skills to replicate the original. It is looking fantastic.

 

Sadly unable to remove sheets to show the metal work of the top deck, the other trams that usually surround tram 14 moved out for only short period.

 

MORE ON LOWESTOFT TRAM 14

 

Potted History of Tram 14. edited, updated and corrected June 2015

 

1903-4 : Lowestoft Tram 14 was one of nineteen trams supplied for Lowestoft Corporation Tramways.

 

1903 : Lowestoft Section of Tramway completed,

 

8th May 1931 : Tram system closed.

 

1931 : Tram 14 sold for £5.00, and became living quarters at Gunton Cliffs, North of Lowestoft, and later became part of a bungalow. Other bodies used at local fish curing factory yard as changing rooms

 

1962 : Tram car bought by enthusiasts for £20.00. This prevented it from being broken up. Moved to Woolaston Road and with parts from other scrapped similar trams began to be rebuilt. Truck from Glasgow Service Tram used originally.

 

1963 : Moved to site behind Hedley House, Carlton Colville. Adjacent land later to become East Anglia Transport Museum.

 

1965 : Authentic Milnes truck acquired and fitted in 1970. (Original Gauge 3 ft 6 inches – now altered to the museum gauge)

 

Since then the tram was cosmetically renovated for display.

 

In later years it has been completely dismantled and is presently being rebuilt to become a working vehicle. A dedicated team run by a gentleman named David Mackley are doing a fantastic job. It must be said that one of the prime movers in saving tram 14 along with David, is the same man who is also very much responsible for the birth of the East Anglia Transport Museum, the late Dick Bird.

Whitechapel was a British television drama series produced by Carnival Films,[1] in which detectives in London's Whitechapel district dealt with murders which replicated historical crimes. The first series was first broadcast in the UK on 2 February 2009 and depicted the search for a modern copycat killer replicating the murders of Jack the Ripper.

 

A second series was commissioned by ITV in September 2009 with the focus on the Kray twins. The first episode of this second series was broadcast on 11 October 2010.[2]

 

A third series was commissioned by ITV in March 2011, which was extended to six episodes as three two-part stories.[3]

 

The first and second series were broadcast in the United States on six consecutive Wednesday evenings beginning 26 October 2011 on the BBC America cable network. The third was broadcast in the US starting on Wednesday 28 March 2012, also on BBC America.[4]

 

On 24 September 2012, ITV renewed Whitechapel for a fourth series consisting of six episodes. The first episode was broadcast on 4 September 2013.[5]

 

On 16 November 2013, Rupert Penry Jones confirmed that ITV had decided not to recommission the show and cancelled it.[6]

 

Contents

 

1 Production

2 Reception

3 Main cast

4 Episode list

4.1 Series 1 (2009)

4.2 Series 2 (2010)

4.3 Series 3 (2012)

4.4 Series 4 (2013)

5 References

6 External links

 

Production

 

The first season was written by Ben Court and Caroline Ip. ITV Director of Drama Laura Mackie said "Whitechapel is a very modern take on the detective genre which combines the Victorian intrigue of the original case with the atmospheric backdrop of a contemporary East End of London. This is not simply about bloodthirstily recreating the Ripper murders, but rather focusing on the three main characters at the heart of the story and the black humour that binds the team together."[7]

Reception

 

Whitechapel debuted on 2 February 2009 at 9pm with 8.13 million viewers on the overnight ratings.[8] Series one received positive reviews, and holds a Metacritic score of 75 out of 100, indicating "generally favourable" reviews.[9]

 

A review in the Leicester Mercury said that it was "Life on Mars, without the time-travel" adding "what Whitechapel lacked in originality, it more than made up for with atmosphere and enthusiasm."[10] After Episode 2 was broadcast on 9 February, Andrew Billen in The Times said that he had warmed to it more and more, adding, "slowly, the show is making Ripperologists of us all, as Jack's 'canonical' murders are separated from the ones he actually committed. It is all in the worst possible taste and bloody good fun."[11] However, The Daily Telegraph was less impressed, writing "The premise was feeble, the script imbecilic, the acting on autopilot, the direction lacking in any glimmer of tension."[12]

 

Series two received favourable reviews, and holds a Metacritic score of 69 out of 100, indicating "generally favourable" reviews.[13]

Main cast

l to r DS Miles (Phil Davis)

DI Chandler (Rupert Penry-Jones)

Edward Buchan (Steve Pemberton)

Character name Actor Profile First appearance Last appearance

DI Joseph Chandler Rupert Penry-Jones A fast-track, media-conscious Detective Inspector. His first big murder case deals with a copycat killer imitating Jack the Ripper. Suffers with OCD which on occasions has hindered and helped him in solving cases. 1.1 4.6

DS Ray Miles Phil Davis Veteran police officer who has a low tolerance for time-wasters. 1.1 4.6

Edward Buchan Steve Pemberton Ripperologist who offers his aid to Chandler. As a young man, he made a documentary about the Kray twins. 1.1 4.6

Fitzgerald Christopher Fulford Miles' right-hand man. Formerly a DC, he leaked case details of the Ripper to the press; in Series 2, we learn that he has been demoted to PC. 1.1 2.2

DC Sanders Johnny Harris Member of Chandler's team. 1.1 1.3

DC Emerson Kent Sam Stockman Youngest member of the team. 1.1 4.6

DC John McCormack George Rossi Member of Chandler's team. He commits suicide during the Kray case after being forced to betray his team. 1.1 2.3

Commander Anderson Alex Jennings Chandler's boss and mentor. 1.1 2.3

Dr Caroline Llewellyn Claire Rushbrook Police pathologist. 1.1 4.6

DC Finlay Mansell Ben Bishop Joins Chandler's team in Series 2. 2.1 4.6

DC Megan Riley Hannah Walters Experienced member of the team. 3.1 4.6

  

Episode list

Series 1 (2009)

 

Paul Hickey as Dr David Cohen, a doctor at the local hospital.

Sally Leonard as Frances Coles, one of the intended murder victims.

Simon Tcherniak as Dr George Phillips, Frances' boyfriend.

Branko Tomović as Antoni Pricha, one of the main suspects in the new Jack the Ripper case.

Sophie Stanton as Mary Bousefield, a police officer and victim of the new Ripper.

Jane Riley as Sarah Smith, a key witness in the enquiry.

Ben Loyd-Holmes as Private John Leary, the first suspect in the Ripper case.

 

Episode Title Directed by Written by Original airdate Viewers (millions)[14]

1 "Part 1" S. J. Clarkson Ben Court & Caroline Ip 2 February 2009 9.26

As the final step before promotion, fast-tracker DI Joseph Chandler is posted to Whitechapel by Commander Anderson to lead the investigation into the murder of a woman. However, the case does not turn out as straightforward as Chandler had hoped. The victim, Cathy Lane, is found by CSO Mary Bousfield, bleeding to death with her throat cut in the yard of a Board School, with the killer watching only a short distance away. The Whitechapel squad—front-line, hard-bitten DS Ray Miles and DCs Kent, McCormack, Sanders and Fitzgerald—arrive at the scene after Cathy is pronounced dead and are less than pleased to hear of the imminent arrival of yet another new DI, a 'plastic', a 'paper policeman' who has no idea what he is doing. Chandler arrives, armed with the knowledge of his courses and text books, ready to solve his first murder.

2 "Part 2" S. J. Clarkson Ben Court & Caroline Ip 9 February 2009 8.20

As it is clear this case is no longer a straightforward murder that Chandler can wrap up quickly, he is summoned to see Commander Anderson and his superiors who are very concerned that London may have a Jack the Ripper copycat – especially the impact of this leaking to the press. They tell Chandler he is on his own and that he must solve this case quickly. Having earned a small degree of grudging respect, Chandler leads his squad as they begin researching Jack the Ripper, reading books and looking at DVDs, in an attempt to discover who the new Ripper may be. It is a race against time before he strikes again and they have nothing to go on, except what history tells them, and matters are not helped when one of the team, trying to oust Chandler, leaks details of the case to the press.

3 "Part 3" S. J. Clarkson Ben Court & Caroline Ip 16 February 2009 8.72

Chandler has a close encounter with the murderous impostor but fails to catch or follow him; only the timely appearance of a passer-by allows him to escape with his life. His attacker's home, however contains enough clues for the final hunt to begin after the team find the Ripper's apartment. There, finding out that he assumed numerous disguises throughout their case to undermine them incognito, they deduce his most startling alias: David Cohen. With time running out fast, Chandler and Miles manage to find and stop the Ripper before he completes his recreation of the murder of Mary Jane Kelly. However, Chandler remains to look after a seriously wounded Miles while the Ripper escapes and later commits suicide.

Series 2 (2010)

 

Peter Serafinowicz as DCI Cazenove, the corrupt Head of the Organised Crime Division.

Craig Parkinson as Jimmy and Johnny Kray, the heirs to the legacy of the original Kray twins

Chrissie Cotterill as Angie Brooks, mother of the Kray twins.

Andrew Tiernan as Steven Dukes, a local gangster who help the Krays rise to power.

 

Episode Title Directed by Written by Original airdate Viewing Figures (millions)

Sourced by BARB; figures include ITV1 HD

1 "Part 1" David Evans Ben Court & Caroline Ip 11 October 2010 7.00

Since the events of the Ripper case, Chandler is now permanently stationed at Whitechapel with Miles, McCormack and Kent. Fitzgerald has been demoted to PC with his position taken over by DC Finley Mansell. Deemed failures as a result of their inability to catch the Ripper, they are low down in the pecking order in comparison to the Organised Crime Division (OCD) run by DCI Cazenove, lauded for reducing street crime to negligible. The team bemoan the fact that there are no murders. Chandler's interest is piqued, however, when Anderson informs him another big case will find him soon. A dead body is soon discovered floating in the Thames, and a series of horrific attacks follow which appear to echo the Kray twins' infamous crimes of the 1960s. Despite Buchan's timely advice, Chandler suspects the local gangster Steven Dukes to be the mastermind, only to realise that he is facing a criminal duo seeking bloody revenge for the Krays' incarceration.

2 "Part 2" David Evans Ben Court & Caroline Ip 18 October 2010 6.52

A man is murdered in an old haunt of the Kray Twins, a pub called 'The Blind Beggar' in Whitechapel, the scene of a similar murder by Ronnie Kray in 1966. The barmaid says that the killer was Jimmy Kray and that he lives down the road with his mother, Angie Brooks. Chandler and Miles interview Angie, who reveals she visited Ronnie Kray in Broadmoor and he provided her with a sperm sample with which she became pregnant with identical twins, Jimmy and Johnny Kray. Dr Llewellyn explains forensics will not show which twin is the killer, so they need to investigate the Krays the old-fashioned way. Chandler's investigations rattle the twins and he's bundled into a car for a meeting, learning that Jimmy is clearly insane and Johnny is finding it hard to control him when he turned down their offer of backing off. The team's perseverance leads them into personal danger; Miles' son is threatened and Kent is terrorized by uniformed officers on the twins' payroll. Mansell receives a wreath delivered at his home, McCormack has a gun pointed at his head and Chandler is beaten before being dumped in Epping Forest. At rock bottom, Chandler asks for Buchan's help and takes his advice to use Jimmy's insanity to separate the twins. However, learning that Fitzgerald is on the twins' payroll, the meeting with Johnny goes awry while he and his brother rake the pub with automatic fire. Inside, Chandler spots a gun and fires back. When their ammunition is spent, the twins leave. Fitzgerald is arrested soon after while warning Chandler that he is the only one trying to stop the twins and is on borrowed time.

3 "Part 3" David Evans Ben Court & Caroline Ip 25 October 2010 6.03

After the shooting, Chandler instructs Miles to drive to Anderson's house. While Anderson and Chandler talk, Miles becomes worried when the only person he can't reach is McCormack. Racing to his house, they find him hanging in his garden shed. Llewellyn rules that the death is a suicide. McCormack's death appears to mark the end of the inquiry, but it's all for show. The investigation moves to a secret location, Buchan's house, which will be the new incident room. Anderson can only hold the Krays off for three days and they are only too aware that they have no witnesses, no evidence and no leads. They link Ronnie Kray's liking for young boys with Jimmy Kray's "Blonde Boy". When the "Blonde Boy" reveals himself as a girl, the team wonder what else is fake about these twins. Managing to obtain DNA of Ronnie and Jimmy, Chandler's group manages to confirm that their Kray twins are not related to the originals. Using this information to coax Dukes' support in exposing their organization, the Krays are arrested while it is revealed that only their mother Angie knew the truth and lied to them about Ronnie being their father. However, the Krays are assassinated while in custody with Anderson taking advantage of the resulting power vacuum within the police department. Soon after, Anderson accepts Chandler's request to set up a special team.

Series 3 (2012)

 

Whitechapel was commissioned for a third series in March 2011. Unlike the previous two series, which were each based on a single event, the new series was split into three separate 2-part stories. The new six-episode season was shown in 2012 in its usual ITV time slot. Rupert Penry-Jones, Phil Davis and Steve Pemberton resumed their roles in the programme.

 

Christina Chong as Lizzie Pepper (forensics)

David Schneider as Marcus Salter

Camilla Power as DI Mina Norroy

Paul Chequer as Nathan Merceron

Lydia Leonard as Morgan Lamb

Alistair Petrie as Dr. Simon Mortlake

 

Episode Title Directed by Written by Original airdate Viewing Figures (millions)

Sourced by BARB; includes ITV1 HD and ITV1 +1

1 "Case One (Part 1)" John Strickland Ben Court & Caroline Ip 30 January 2012 7.35

DI Chandler and DS Miles investigate the slaughter of four people at a tailor's fortified workshop. Ed Buchan, retained by Chandler as the team's historical adviser, believes that the huge archive at Whitechapel station will provide the necessary insight into this baffling crime that appears to echo the Ratcliff Highway murders 200 years earlier.

2 "Case One (Part 2)" John Strickland Ben Court & Caroline Ip 6 February 2012 6.88

Following on from the incident at the tailor's workshop, a second mass murder occurs, and again there was no obvious break-in and no forensic evidence.

3 "Case Two (Part 1)" Richard Clark Ben Court & Caroline Ip 13 February 2012 7.12

As Chandler and Miles attend the christening of Miles's daughter, a fox runs through the streets of Whitechapel with a human arm in its mouth. Soon, more body parts from the same victim are washed up by the river, all containing evidence of a fatal poisoning. Buchan believes the crimes echo the Thames torso murders of the 1880s - can the team, with the help of a female DI attractively like Chandler in her habits, crack the gruesome case?

4 "Case Two (Part 2)" Richard Clark Ben Court & Caroline Ip 20 February 2012 6.95

When traces of the aphrodisiac Spanish fly are found in murder victims, Chandler and Miles question what kind of killer they could be up against. The team are taken to the heart of a dark obsession where romance and love take a sinister turn.

5 "Case Three (Part 1)" Jon East Ben Court & Caroline Ip 27 February 2012 6.78

When a babysitter is murdered, the only witness thinks she saw the bogeyman do it. Chandler, Miles, and the team suspect a dangerous patient and former Whitechapel resident, obsessed with Lon Chaney and London After Midnight, who's recently escaped from a psychiatric unit. Meanwhile, Buchan, guilt-ridden over his failure in the previous case, is unsure if he should remain a murder-archivist.

6 "Case Three (Part 2)" Jon East Ben Court & Caroline Ip 5 March 2012 7.11

With the body count rising, Miles and Chandler clash over the direction of the investigation. Having already survived the killer's wrath once, Morgan Lamb is of particular interest to the team - especially Chandler. As the chase escalates, will the detectives be able to put their differences aside in the face of their toughest adversary yet?

Series 4 (2013)

 

Daisy Beaumont as Stella Knight

David Gant as Alexander Zukanov

Brian Protheroe as Crispin Wingfield

 

Episode Title Directed by Written by Original airdate Viewing Figures (millions)

Sourced by BARB and Broadcast magazine; includes ITV HD and ITV +1

1 "Case One (Part 1)" Jon East Ben Court & Caroline Ip 4 September 2013 5.55

Chandler, Miles and the team cross paths with MI6 as they investigate the gruesome murder of an apparent tramp. The murder, they discover, is a 16th-century torture, the peine forte et dure. And after a second body is found, an elderly woman burnt at the stake, they realise that someone has started a Witch Hunt and now killing witches in Whitechapel.

2 "Case One (Part 2)" Jon East Ben Court & Caroline Ip 11 September 2013 4.71

As the witch-hunt continues, with two corpses (the second burnt at the stake) in the morgue and a third person missing, the team must save the next victim and catch the killer, who they realize has ergot poisoning.

3 "Case Two (Part 1)" Daniel Nettheim Steve Pemberton 18 September 2013 4.62

The discovery of a flayed face in a Whitechapel gallery leads Chandler and Miles into the art world - but is there also a link to organised crime?

4 "Case Two (Part 2)" Daniel Nettheim Steve Pemberton 25 September 2013 4.26 (excluding ITV HD)

As more flayed bodies turn up, Chandler and Miles question the motives behind these bloody deeds. Buchan's research puts him in danger.

5 "Case Three (Part 1)" Jon East Ben Court & Caroline Ip 2 October 2013 3.27 (overnight)

6 "Case Three (Part 2)" Jon East Ben Court & Caroline Ip 9 October 2013 4.13

References

 

Jump up ^ Whitechapel Press Pack. ITV. pp. 18–19.[dead link]

Jump up ^ "Whitechapel to return to ITV". 10 September 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2013.

Jump up ^ "Whitechapel recommissioned for third series". 3 March 2011. Retrieved 13 November 2013.

Jump up ^ "Whitechapel Series 3 Comes to BBC America on March 28!". 20 March 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2013.

Jump up ^ Munn, Patrick (24 September 2012). "ITV1 Renews 'Whitechapel' For Fourth Season". TVWise. Retrieved 13 November 2013.

Jump up ^ Penry Jones, Rupert (November 16, 2013). "Sorry to be the bearer of bad news everyone but ITV don't want any more Whitechapel. That's all folks x". Personal Twitter Account. Retrieved November 16, 2013.

Jump up ^ McGarry, Lisa (25 March 2008). "Whitechapel Coming To ITV". Unrealitytv.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2013.

Jump up ^ Wilkes, Neil (3 February 2009). "ITV Ripper drama grabs 8.1m". Retrieved 13 November 2013.

Jump up ^ "Whitechapel : Season 1". Retrieved 13 November 2013.

Jump up ^ Clay, Jeremy (3 February 2009). "TV review: Whitechapel". Leicester Mercury. Retrieved 13 November 2013.

Jump up ^ Billen, Andrew (10 February 2009). "The Princess and the Gangster; Who Do You Think You Are?; Whitechapel". The Times (UK). Retrieved 10 February 2009.

Jump up ^ "Single Father, BBC One; Lip Service, BBC Three, review". 15 October 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2013.

Jump up ^ "Whitechapel : Season 2". Retrieved 13 November 2013.

Jump up ^ www.barb.co.uk

 

External links

 

Whitechapel at the Internet Movie Database

Whitechapel on BBC America

 

[hide]

 

v

t

e

 

Jack the Ripper media

Seminal works

 

The Lodger

Jack the Ripper: The Final Solution

 

Letters

 

Dear Boss letter

From Hell letter

Saucy Jacky postcard

 

Film

 

Waxworks (1924)

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1926)

Pandora's Box (1929)

The Lodger (1932)

The Lodger (1944)

Man in the Attic (1953)

Jack the Ripper (1959)

Lulu (1962)

A Study in Terror (1965)

Hands of the Ripper (1971)

Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde (1971)

The Ruling Class (1972)

What the Swedish Butler Saw (1975)

Jack the Ripper (1976)

Murder by Decree (1979)

Time After Time (1979)

Jack's Back (1988)

Edge of Sanity (1989)

Deadly Advice (1994)

Ripper (2001)

From Hell (2001)

Bad Karma (2002)

Case Closed: The Phantom of Baker Street (2002)

The Lodger (2009)

Holmes & Watson. Madrid Days (2012)

 

Parody

 

Bizarre, Bizarre (1937)

Amazon Women on the Moon (1987)

 

Music

 

"Jack the Ripper" (1963)

"Killer on the Loose" (1980)

The Somatic Defilement (2007)

 

Stage

 

Earth Spirit (1895 play)

Pandora's Box (1904 play)

Lulu (1937 opera)

The Lodger (1960 opera)

 

Comics

 

From Hell

Blood of the Innocent

Gotham by Gaslight

Wonder Woman: Amazonia

Predator: Nemesis

Martin Mystère

 

Literature

Sherlock Holmes

  

Dust and Shadow

The Last Sherlock Holmes Story

Sherlock Holmes: The Unauthorized Biography

 

Short stories

  

"A Toy for Juliette"

"The Prowler in the City at the Edge of the World"

 

Other

  

A Feast Unknown

Anno Dracula

Blood and Fog

Matrix

A Night in the Lonesome October

Jack the Ripper, Light-Hearted Friend

Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper—Case Closed

Time After Time

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century

Phantom Blood

Night of the Ripper

Darkside

Lifeblood

Lost

The Witches of Chiswick

Broken

Dracula the Un-dead

 

TV

series

  

Jack the Ripper (1973)

The Phantom Raspberry Blower of Old London Town (1976)

Jack the Ripper (1988)

Sanctuary (2007–2011)

Whitechapel (2009–present)

Ripper Street (2012–present)

 

episodes

  

"Wolf in the Fold" (1967)

"Comes the Inquisitor" (1995)

"Ripper" (1999)

"Sanctuary for All" (2008)

 

Video games

 

Ripper

The Ripper

Jack the Ripper (1987)

Duke Nukem: Zero Hour (1999)

Jack the Ripper (2003)

Sherlock Holmes Versus Jack the Ripper

Mystery in London

Shadow Man

MediEvil 2

 

Other

 

Casebook: Jack the Ripper

Blood!: The Life and Future Times of Jack the Ripper

 

Related

 

In fiction

 

Commons page Jack the Ripper

 

Categories:

 

2000s British television series

2010s British television series

2009 British television programme debuts

British crime television series

British drama television series

Detective television series

English-language television programming

ITV television programmes

Police procedural television series

Television shows set in London

2013 British television programme endings

 

Acrylic marker and ink on paper 4.75" x 6.75" February 19, 2025. www.saatchiart.com/en-jp/art/Drawing-Self-replicating-Sur...

Starting in 2000 I began to model the Milwaukee Road’s former Chicago & Evanston Line that operated on Chicago’s North Side in N-scale. After several years I finished the section that replicated the prototype with street trackage on Lakewood Avenue between Belmont and Wellington. I was inspired by Bill Denton’s famous “Kingsbury” N-scale layout that also modeled the same Milwaukee Road C&E Line but farther south, in downtown Chicago. Bill was an encouragement to me and we displayed our layouts together at two shows.

 

As I put this diorama into storage as I move onto other projects I wanted to document it. There were no guides or manuals on creating street trackage in N-scale-everything was HO oriented-so I had to sort of had to use trial and error. I hope what I detail below helps future N-scale modelers of urban scenes.

 

The scene depicted here combines the best of the 1960s and into the early 1980s when the Milwaukee Road abandoned the tracks north of Diversey in 1984. It shows double tracks down the street though by the early 1970s it was consolidated down to one track. Some compression was used. Best Brewing was a customer of the Milwaukee Road before it shut down in the early 1960s while Reed Candy was served by the Milwaukee Road through 1982. Today this scene is unrecognizable except for the Best Brewing complex which is now apartments. Reed Candy was knocked down in the 1990s and replaced by the “Sweeterville” townhomes.

 

The coal cars shown depict the interchange traffic the Milwaukee Road had with the Chicago Transit Authority at the Buena Yard in the Uptown neighborhood. The Milwaukee Road would hand off coal hoppers, tank cars, boxcars destined for coal yards, fuel oil dealers, and the lumberyard at Howard Avenue. The CTA used electric locomotives to handle the freight cars until it ended in April of 1973. No more would freight trains pass in front of Wrigley Field.

 

All buildings on this diorama were scratchbuilt from historic photos using a combination of Design Preservation Modules, various components from Walthers kits, Plastruct sheets of molded styrene, Grant Line windows, doors, and frames, and more. And India ink wash over the brick surfaces gave them an aged look. Floquil enamel paints were used.

 

The track is Atlas Code 80 chosen for its high rail profile which made it easier to model street trackage around it. The roadbed was built up with cork and the pavement made from sheets of card stock and carefully cut styrene in between the rails and at the switch points. Stained, balsa wood strips were used to simulate timber grade crossing protection. The operating signals are from NJ International. To simulate the period specific use of asphalt siding in its various colors on the houses I took pictures of actual siding, scanned the prints, the printed them using an inkjet printer onto paper. The paper was then cut into the right sizes and glued onto the sides of the houses, cutting out the spaces for windows and doors with a knife.

 

To see my other diorama showing this same line passing Wrigley Field circa 1973 go to www.flickr.com/photos/39092860@N06/albums/72157676195056596

 

Prototype photo of this scene below.

 

Replicate arcade game

Replication of the work produced by Irving Penn

Majorette have historically had a good relationship with the famous Pinder Circus producing some great models and multi-sets over the years up until the sad demise of the company fairly recently. That means that this Mercedes-Benz Zetros is one of the last Majorette castings to bear this famous name and also means what stock is left in various French retailers are being sold off cheaply.

The Zetros isn't a truck I knew existed until discovering the Majorette miniature and one I believe isn't sold here. A very traditional bonneted appearance which ive no doubt is meant to be function over form and as ever is replicated nicely already featuring many different body styles and colours in the Majorette line up. Complete with Pinder Circus packaging and found recently in a French E.Leclerc supermarket. Mint and boxed.

Replicating (almost) the shot used by the NRM to publicise the visit of Flying Scotsman to the Strathspey Railway, A3 Pacific No.60103 Flying Scotsman is pictured in the same location as Ivatt Class 2 No.46512. www.flickr.com/photos/60956647@N02/52380641842/in/datepos...

Some background:

]The VF-4 Lightning III began development in 2005 under the initial designation of the VF-X-4. Developed as a successor craft to the VF-1 Valkyrie, the VF-4 Lightning III was designed as a variable fighter that emphasized mobility in outer space.

 

The VF-4's development began with the prototype VF-X-4 and the VF-X-3. However, when Earth was devastated in Space War I the loss of military facilities also resulted in loss of the VF-X-3. Amongst the airframes under development exist prototype No. 1 craft, VF-X-4V1 and the trial manufactured VF-4A-0 and thus the surviving VF-X-4 was developed and completed as the VF-4 Lightning III. A trial-produced variable fighter, designated the VF-4A-0, was also built using 25% VF-1 Valkyrie parts.

 

VF-X-4 underwent flight tests, including being test piloted by Space War I veteran Hikaru Ichijo. Once successful operational models were ready, the VF-4 began mass production on February 2012. Initial deployment began on the SDF-2 Megaroad-01 in VF-1 Skull and SVF-184 Iron Chiefs Squadrons on September 2012. When the SDF-2 Megaroad launched in the same month, Hikaru Ichijō flew a VF-4 alongside the new colonization vessel as the ship lifted from Earth and began exploration outside of the Sol system.

 

As a result of integrating existing Overtechnology and Zentradi-series technology, the VF-4 had a characteristic three-hulled-type airframe structure remarkably different from the conservative VF-1 Valkyrie design. The three-hulled style of the VF-4 increased fuselage volume, propellant capacity and armament load capability that all resulted in a 40% improved combat ability over the VF-1. Fully transformable, the VF-4 could shift into Battroid and Gerwalk modes like previous variable fighters.

 

However, the VF-4 did suffer minor mobility problems within an atmosphere and the new type was primarily deployed to the Space Air Corps of emigrant fleets to serve as the main fighter craft of the UN Forces in the 2020s. It was because flight performance within the atmosphere was not as good as the VF-1 that the VF-5000 Star Mirage became the main combat craft within atmosphere, while the VF-4 operated mainly in outer space.

 

Built as a space fighter, the VF-4 primary weapons became two large beam cannons, though the craft was capable of carrying a GU-11 gun pod in Gerwalk and Battroid modes. In addition to the powerful primary beam guns, the Lightning III also featured twelve semi-recessed long-range missiles, as well as underwing pylons for additional missiles and other stores.

The VF-4 was only slightly heavier than the VF-1, but featured considerably more powerful engines, making the craft ideal for operations deeper out in space. The Lightning III was also much faster in the atmosphere than the older VF-1, although the VF-4’s flight mobility performance was not as great.

 

The VF-4 was also notable as the first production variable fighter to utilize a HOTAS system (Hands On Throttle And Stick) for the cockpit HMI (Human-Machine Interface). Furthermore, the VF-4's cockpit was laid out as a single hexagonal MFD (Multi-Function Display) that proved so successful that it was retrofitted into "Block 6" VF-1 fighters, as well as providing the template for all future variable fighter cockpits.

 

By the end of 2015, mass production of the VF-1 series at last had come to an end. From 2020 onward, the VF-4 Lightning III officially replaced the VF-1 to become the main variable fighter of U.N. Forces. Production of the VF-4 continued for a decade and ceased in 2022, with a total of 8,245 Lightning III variable fighters produced.

The VF-4 variable fighter remained in active service into the late 2040's but was complemented or substituted in many branches of the UN Forces by the cheaper and more atmospherically maneuverable VF-5000 Star Mirage. The VF-4 Lightning III was eventually replaced as the main variable fighter of U.N. Spacy in the later half of the 2030s by the VF-11 Thunderbolt.

  

General characteristics:

Manufacturer: Stonewell/Bellcom

Equipment Type: Variable fighter

Government: U.N. Spacy, U.N. Space Marines

Introduction: 2012

Operational Deployment: September 2012

 

Dimensions:

Accommodation: pilot only

Fighter Mode: wingspan 12.65 meters; height 5.31 meters; length 16.8 meters

Mass: empty 13.95 metric tons

Structure: space metal frame, SWAG energy conversion armor

 

Powerplant:

2x Shinnakasu/P&W/Roice FF-2011 thermonuclear turbine engines,

rated at 14,000 kg (137.34 kN) each

2x dorsal rocket engines (mounted on top of the main thermonuclear turbine engines)

2x ramjet engines (embedded into the inner wing sections)

P&W HMM-1A high-maneuverability vernier thrusters

 

Performance:

Fighter Mode: Mach 3.02 at 10,000 m

Mach 5.15 at 30,000+ m

Thrust-to-weight ratio: (empty) 2.01 (rating for turbine engine thrust ONLY)

g limit: unknown

 

[Armament:

2 x large beam cannons in forward engine nacelles

12x semi-recessed long range missiles (mounted on engine nacelles and ventral fuselage)

8x underwing pylons for missiles, gun pods an/or drop tanks

  

The kit and its assembly:

Well, this build has been lingering for almost 25 years in the back of my mind. It just took so long that a suitable IP kit (with a reasonable price tag) would materialize!

The original inspiration struck me with a VF-4 profile in the source book "This is animation special: Macross PLUS" from 1994, which accidently fell into my hands in a local Japanese book store. Among others, a side and top view profile of an aggressor VF-4 in an all-brown, Soviet-style paint scheme was featured. At that time I found the idea and the scheme pretty cool, so much that I even built a modified 1:100 VF-1 as a ground attack aircraft in this paint scheme.

 

However, the original VF-4 profile from the source book had always been present, but for years there had been no affordable kit. There have been garage/resin kits, but prices would start at EUR 250,-, and these things were and are extraordinarily rare.

Things changed for the better when WAVE announced an 1:72 VF-4 kit in late 2016, and it eventually materialized in late 2017. I immediately pre-ordered one from Japan (in a smart move, this even saved money) and it eventually turned up here in Germany in early 2018. Patience pays out, it seems...

I had preferred a 1:100 kit, though, due to space issues and since almost any other Macross variable fighter model in my collection is in this small scale, but I am happy that a decent VF-4 kit at all appeared after so many years!

 

Concerning the WAVE kit, there’s light and shadow. First of all, you have to know that you get a VF-4A. This is mentioned nowhere on the box, but might be a vital information for hardcore modelers. The early VF-4A is a rather different aircraft than the later VF-4G, with so fundamental differences that it would warrant a completely new kit! On the other side, with a look at the kit’s parts, I could imagine that a VF-4B two-seater could be easily realized in the future, too.

 

The kit is a solid construction, a snap-fit kit molded in different colors so that it can be built without painting. This sounds toy-like, but - like many small scale Bandai Valkyrie kits - anything you ask for is actually there. When you use glue and put some effort into the kit and some donor parts, you can make a very good model from it.

 

The kit's box is pretty oversized, though (any sprue is shrink-wrapped, horrendous garbage pile and wasted space!), and the kit offers just a single decal (water-slide decals, not stickers) option for a Skull Squadron VF-4A – AFAIK it’s Hikaru Ichijoe’s machine that appears in one of the Macross Flash Back 2012 music videos, as it escorts the SDF-02 “Megaroad” colonial ship after launch from Earth towards the center of our Galaxy.

 

The parts are crisply molded, and I actually like the fact that the kit is not as uber-engineered as the Hasegawa Valkyries. You can actually call the WAVE kit simple - but in a positive sense, because the parts number is reduced to a minimum, material strength is solid and the kit's construction is straightforward. Fit is excellent – I just used some putty along the engine gondolas due to their complex shape, but almost anything else would either fit almost perfectly or just call for some sanding. Impressive!

 

Surface details etc. are rather basic, but very crisp and emphasized enough that anything remains visible after adding some paint. However, after all, this aircraft is just a fictional animation mecha, and from this perspective the kit is really O.K..

 

After building the kit I most say that it's nothing that leaves you in awe, and for a retail price of currently roundabout EUR 50-70,- (I was lucky to get it for an early bird deal at EUR 40,-, but still pricey for what I got) the kit is pretty expensive and has some weaknesses:

 

The model comes with a decent (= simple) cockpit and a very nice and large pilot figure, but with no ordnance except for the semi-recessed long-range missiles (see below). The cockpit lacks any side consoles, floor or side wall details. If you put the pilot into the cockpit as intended, this is not a big issue, since the figure blocks any sight into the cockpit’s lower regions. However, the side sticks are molded into the pilot’s hands, so that you have to scratch a lot if you want to present the cockpit open and with an empty seat.

 

The landing gear is simple, too, and the wells are very shallow (even though they feature interior details). As a special feature, you can switch with some extra parts between an extended or retracted landing gear, and there are extra parts that allow the air intakes and some vectoring nozzles to be closed/extended for orbital operations. However, detail fetishists might replace the OOB parts with the landing gear from an 1:72 F-18 for an overall better look.

 

Provisions for underwing hardpoints are actually molded into the lower fuselage part (and could be punched/drilled open - another indication that more VF-4 boxings with extra sprues might follow?), but the kit does not come with any pylons or other ordnance than the dozen fuselage-mounted AAMs. Furthermore, the semi-recessed missiles are just that: you only get the visible halves of the only provided ordnance, which are simply stuck into slits on the model’s surface. As a consequence, you have to mount them at any rate – building a VF-4 for a diorama in which the missiles are about to be loaded would require massive scratch-building efforts and modifications.

 

Another problem indirectly arises when you put some effort into the kit and want to clean and pre-paint the missiles before assembly: every missile is different and has its allocated place on the VF-4 hull. The missiles are numbered – but only on the sprue! Once you cut them out, you either have to keep them painstakingly in order, or you will spend a long evening figuring out where which missile belongs! This could be easily avoided if the part number would be engraved on the missiles’ back sides – and that’s what I actually did (with a water-proof pen, though) in order to avoid trouble.

 

The clear canopy is another issue. The two parts are crystal-clear, but, being a snap-fit kit, the canopy parts have to be clipped into the fuselage (rear part) and onto a separate canopy frame (front part). In order to fit, the clear parts have cramps molded into their bases – and due to the excellent transparency and a magnifier effect, you can see them easily from the outside – and on the inside, when you leave the cockpit open. It’s not a pretty solution, despite the perfect fit of the parts.

One option I can think of is to carefully sand the cramps and the attachment points away, but I deem this a hazardous stunt. I eventually hid the cramps behind a thin line of paint, which simulates a yellow-ish canopy seal. The extra windscreen framing is not accurate, but the simplest solution that hides this weak point.

 

The kit itself was built OOB, because it goes together so well. I also refrained from adding pylons and ordnance – even though you can easily hang anything from Hasegawa’s VF-1 weapon set under the VF-4’s wings and fuselage. A final, small addition was a scratched, ventral adapter for a 3.5 mm steel rod, as a display for the flight scene beauty pic.

  

Painting and markings:

As mentioned above, the livery is based on an official profile which I deem authentic and canonical. My aircraft depicts a different machine from VFT-127, though, since I could not (and did not really want to) 100% replicate the profile's machine from the Macross PLUS source book, "13 Red". Especially the squadron’s emblem on the fin would create massive problems.

 

For the two-tone wrap-around scheme I used Humbrol 72 (Khaki Drill) and 98 (Chocolate Brown), based on the printed colors in the source book where I found the scheme. The pattern is kept close to the benchmark profile, and, lacking an underside view, I just mirrored the upper scheme. The starboard side pattern was guesstimated.

As a second-line aggressor aircraft, I weathered the VF-4 with a black ink wash, some post-shading with various lighter tones (including Humbrol 160, 168, 170 and 187) and did some wet-sanding treatment for an uneven and worn look.

 

Interior surfaces were painted according to visual references from various sources: the landing gear and the air intakes became white, while the cockpit was painted in RAF Dark Sea Grey.

 

In order to add some color to the overall brown aircraft I decided to paint the missiles all around the hull in white with tan tips – in the profile, the appear to be integrated into the camouflage, what I found dubious.

 

Most stencils come from the OOB sheet, but I added some more from the scrap box. The grey "kite" roundels come from an 1:72 Hasegawa Macross F-14 Tomcat kit sheet, which I acquired separately for a reasonable price. Even though it took four weeks to be delivered from Asia, the investment was worthwhile, since the sheet also provided some useful low-viz stencils.

 

The VAT-127 “Zentraedi Busters” unique tail insignia was more complicated, because these had to be printed at home. As a side note, concerning the fin marking, I recently found a translation of the benchmark profile's text on mahq.net, which is interesting: "The Regult within the targeting reticle on the tail met with disapproval from micronized Zentraedi pilots, and so was only used for a short time." The comment also reveals that the original aircraft's modex is "713", not just "13" as depicted, so I tried to reflect these details on my build, too.

 

I eventually settled for a solution that was partly inspired by the kit’s OOB fin marking and the wish for more contrast for the motif: I scanned the original Regult pod illustration from the source book and printed it on white decal sheet. This was sealed with two layers of glossy acrylic varnish (applied with a rattle can) and then cut into a white field that fills the fixed part of the fin (using the WAVE kit’s OOB fin markings as reference). Once in place and dry, two black outlines were added separately (generic decal material) which help blend the decal and the surroundings. Finally, thin strips of silver decal sheet were used for the fins’ leading edges.

 

This design variation, compared with the original “13 Red” illustration, led to the idea of a flight leader’s machine with slightly more prominent markings. In order to take this concept further I also gave the aircraft a white stripe around the front fuselage, placed under the kite roundel and again with black outlines for a consistent look. It’s not much different from “13 Red”, but I think that it looks conclusive and, together with the white fin markings and the missiles, livens up the VF-4’s look.

 

The appropriate flight leader tactical code “01 Red” was puzzled together from single digits from a Begemot Su-27 sheet, the rest of the bort numbers were taken from the OOB sheet (which incidentally feature a “01” code, too).

 

Concerning the OOB decal sheet, there’s much light but also some deep shadow. While the register is excellent and the carrier film flexible enough to lay down smoothly, the instructions lack information where to place the zillion of stencils (“No step” and “Beware of Blast” stuff) are to be placed! You only get references for the major markings – the rest has either to be guessed, OR you are in possession of the VF-4 source book from Softbank Publishing which was (incidentally?) released in parallel with the WAVE kit. This mecha porn offers an overview of all(!) relevant stencils on the VF-4A’s hull, and ONLY with this information the exhaustive decal sheet makes some sense…

 

As final steps, the VF-4 received some dry-brushing with light grey around the leading edges, some chipped paint was simulated with dry-brushed aluminum and, finally, light soot stains around the vectoring nozzles all around the hull and the weapon bays were created with graphite. Then the kit was sealed with matt acrylic varnish (Italeri).

  

Well, in the end, it’s not a carbon copy of the inspiring illustration, but rather another machine from the same squadron, with more creative freedom. I stayed as true to the benchmark as possible, though, and I like the result. Finally, after almost 25 years, I can tick this project off of my long ideas and inspiration list.

 

Considering the kit itself, I am really torn. I am happy that there finally is a VF-4 IP kit at all after so many years, but to me it’s a contradictive offer. I am not certain about the target group, because for a toy-like snap-fit kit it’s too detailed and expensive, but for the serious modeler it has some major flaws.

The biggest issue is the kit’s horrendous price – even if it would be more detailed or contained some fine resin or PE parts (which I would not want, just a “good” plastic kit). Sure, you can put some effort into the kit and improve it, e .g. in the cockpit or with a donor landing gear, but weak points like the “flat” missiles and the lack of proper bays for them are IMHO poor. For the relatively huge price tag I’d hoped for a “better” OOB offer. However, the kit is easy to build and a good representation of the Lightning III, and I am curious if there are kit variants in WAVE’s pipeline?

Enamel on copper, silver, leather, wool

EU65 DXV is a regular sight in the town centre area of Southend-On-Sea, Essex.

 

www.welshwildlife.org/parc-slip-a-mining-heritage/

  

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