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The battery-electric BYD Seal is on the market in Europe since 2024. It was introduced in China in 2022. Worldwide last year BYD sold about as much electric cars as Tesla. Here in the Netherlands BYD sold 3,200 cars last year, still far behind the 30,000 ones registered by Tesla.
We're pretty sure this guy was just sunning himself on the beach, but some thought his little "arm" may have been stuck under the rock. Everyone I saw was pretty good about keeping their distance except for one man who took a stick and tried to move the rock he thought the seal was stuck under.
After stumbling upon this little guy, I read about how often times the mothers leave the pups on the beach while they go hunting. The article went on to talk about how often people try to "rescue" seal pups that don't need rescuing, despite their apparent helplessness. It is not uncommon for seal pups to end up in motel bathtubs as well-meaning rescuers try to find someone to save it. The reality is, there is no facility on the Oregon coast that will take the animals. It's actually against state law to harass stranded seal pups, and that includes removing them from the beach for their "protection."
From S. Georgia Island. A face only a mother elephant seal could love. These animals are BIG--perhaps 15 feet or so and tons.
+++ DISCLAIMER +++
Nothing you see here is real, even though the conversion or the presented background story might be based on historical facts. BEWARE!
Some background:
The Parder was a successor of the Tiger I & II tanks, combining the latter's thick armor with the armor sloping used on the Panther medium tank (which was, in fact, inspired by Soviet designs, most of all by the T-34). While several Entwicklungspanzer designs were under development, the Parder was a short-term attempt to overcome the Tiger II's main shortcoming: its weight of almost seventy metric tons (it was protected by up to 180 mm/7.1" of front armor!), the resulting lack of mobility and an overburdened drivetrain originally intended for a lighter vehicle. Leaking seals and gaskets also took their toll on reliability.
In order to keep the development phase short the Parder used basically the same chassis as the Tiger II, as well as the engine, transmission and the long barreled 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 gun. But it reveiced a new hull with optimized armor and many detail modifications that reduced the overall weight by more than ten tons, getting overall weight back to the level of the Tiger I
The SdKfz. 190 used a conventional hull design with sloped armor from all sides, resembling the layout of the T-34 a lot. Its was so effective that the front armor could be reduced to 120 mm (4.7 in) with only little loss in protection. The crew was reduced to four, only the driver remained in the hull and the front machine gun was omitted, too.
The 'Parder' (archaic German term for leopard), how the vehicle was semi-officially christened by the Entwicklungskommission Panzer, had a rear mounted engine and used nine steel-tired overlapping road wheels per side with internal springing, mounted on transverse torsion bars.
The turret had been designed by Krupp and featured a rounded front and steeply sloped sides, with a difficult-to-manufacture curved bulge on the turret's left side to accommodate the commander's cupola (often related to as the "Porsche" turret). The powerful 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 gun was combined with the Turmzielfernrohr 9d (German "turret telescopic sight") monocular sight by Leitz - a very accurate and deadly weapon.
During practice, the estimated probability of a first round hit on a 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high, 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) wide target only dropped below 100 percent at ranges beyond 1,000 m (0.62 mi), to 95–97 percent at 1,500 metres (0.93 mi) and 85–87 percent at 2,000 m (1.2 mi), depending on ammunition type. Recorded combat performance was lower, but still over 80 percent at 1,000 m, in the 60s at 1,500 m and the 40s at 2,000 m.
Penetration of armored plate inclined at 30 degrees was 202 and 132 mm (8.0 and 5.2 in) at 100 m (110 yd) and 2,000 m (1.2 mi) respectively for the Panzergranate 39/43 projectile (PzGr—armor-piercing shell), and 238 and 153 mm (9.4 and 6.0 in) for the PzGr. 40/43 projectile between the same ranges. The Sprenggranate 43 (SpGr) high-explosive round was available for soft targets, or the Hohlgranate or Hohlgeschoss 39 (HlGr—HEAT or High explosive anti-tank warhead) round, which had 90 mm (3.5 in) penetration at any range, could be used as a dual-purpose munition against soft or armored targets.
Like all German tanks, the Parder had a gasoline engine; in this case the same 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW) V-12 Maybach HL 230 P30 which powered the Panther, Tiger I and Tiger II tanks. The Tiger II was under-powered with it, though, and consumed a lot of fuel, which was in short supply for the Germans, but in the Parder it proved to be adequate, even though performance was not oustanding. The transmission was the Maybach OLVAR EG 40 12 16 Model B, giving eight forward gears and four reverse, which drove the steering gear.
In order to distribute the tank's weight an extra wide track was used, but this meant that each tank was issued with two sets of tracks: a normal "battle track" and a narrower "transport" version used during rail movement. The transport tracks reduced the overall width of the load and could be used to drive the tank short distances on firm ground.
The Parder was, like many German late war designs, rushed into combat, but thanks to its Tiger I & II heritage many mechanical teething problems had already been corrected. Reliability was considerably improved compared to the much heavier Tiger II, and the Parder did prove to be a very effective fighting vehicle, especially in a defensive role. However, some design flaws, such as its weak final drive units, were never corrected due to raw material shortages, and more tanks were given up by the crews than actually destroyed in combat.
The Parder was issued to heavy tank battalions of the Army (Schwere Heerespanzerabteilung – abbreviated s.H.Pz.Abt) where it replaced the Tiger I & II.
Specifications:
Crew Four (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Weight 54 tonnes (60 short tons)
Length 7.02 metres (23 ft in) (hull only)
10.64 metres (34 ft 10 1/3 in) with gun forward
Width 3.88 metres (12 ft 9 in)
4.14 metres (13 ft 6 3/4 in) with optional Thoma shields
Height 2.84 metres (9 ft 4 in) w/o AA machine gun
Suspension torsion-bar
Ground clearance: 495 to 510 mm (1 ft 7.5 in to 1 ft 8.1 in)
Fuel capacity: 820 l (180 imp gal; 220 US gal)
Armor:
30–120 mm (1.2 – 4.7 in)
Performance:
Speed
- Maximum, road: 41.5 km/h (25.8 mph)
- Sustained, road: 38 km/h (24 mph)
- Cross country: 15 to 20 km/h (9.3 to 12.4 mph)
Operational range: 240 km (150 mi)
Power/weight: 12,96 PS/tonne (11,5 hp/ton)
Engine:
V-12 Maybach HL 230 P30 gasoline with 700 PS (690 hp, 515 kW)
Transmission:
Maybach OLVAR EG 40 12 16 B (8 forward and 4 reverse)
Armament:
1× 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71 with 80 rounds
1× co-axial 7.92 mm Maschinengewehr 34 with 3.000 rounds
The kit and its assembly:
Something different… a whif tank! This was spawned from curiosity and the “wish” to build a German vehicle that would fit right into the E-25… E-100 range of experimental tanks.
It was to become a battle tank, and while browsing options and donation kits, I settled upon a replacement for the formidable but heavy and cumbersome Tiger B, also known as Tiger II, Königstiger or (wrongfully translated) King Tiger.
Anyway, creating a tank that would look (late war) German and still be whiffy was trickier than expected, and finally easier than expected, too. My solution would be a kit bashing: using many Tiger B parts (including the stylish Porsche tower and the running gear) and combining it with a hull that would offer better armor angles and look less “boxy”.
I effectively bashed two kits: one is the excellent 1:72 early Tiger B from Dragon, the other is Roden’s Soviet IS-3 tank – also very nice, even though the styrene is somewhat brittle.
My biggest fear was the running gear – combining the IS-3 hull with the Tiger B’s totally different legs scared me a lot – until I found that the parts from both kits (the Tiger B’s lower hull with all the suspension and the IS-3’s upper hull) could be combined rather easily combined. Just some cuts and improvised intersections, and the “new” tank hull was done!
As a side effect, the huge turret moved forward, and this considerably changes the silhouette. The IS-3’s opening had only to be widened slightly in order to accept the Porsche turret. Things matched up pretty well, also concerning size and proportions.
Otherwise, not much was changed. All wheels and tracks come from the Trumpeter Tiger B, the turret was also borrowed wholesale. I just changed some details (e. g. moving the spare track elements to the hull front), added some handles and also a heavy AA machine gun on the commander’s cupola, which is OOB, too.
Too simple? Well, for me it was not enough. For a more personal edge to the kit I decided to add Thoma skirts! Not the massive 5mm plates you frequently see on late Panzer IV tanks and its derivatives, rather the mesh type – lighter, less material-consuming, and a very special detail.
These were scratched. There are PE sets available, but that was too expensive and I was not certain if such items would fit in shape and size? So I made a cardboard template for the flanks and built a pair of skirts from styrene strips and a fine PET mesh that I had salvaged from a wallet long time ago.
The stuff is hard to glue onto something, so the styrene frame had to carry the mesh parts – and it works! The attachments to the hull were also scratched from styrene.
The Thoma shields add more width to the flat tank, but I think that they set the kit even more apart than just the borrowed IS-3 hull?
Painting and markings:
Hmmm, not totally happy with the finish. This was supposed to become a simple Hinterhalt (Ambush) paint scheme in Dark Yellow, Olive Green and Red Brown, but I did so much weathering that not much from the scheme can be recognized…
Painting was straightforward, though – I used Humbrol 94 and 173 as well as Modelmaster’s RAL 6003 as basic colors. The scheme’s benchmark is the official Tiger B scheme.
The basic colors received mottles in green on the yellow and yellow on the green and brown, and then the thing was thoroughly weathered with a black ink wash, dry-brushing, some aquarelle paint to simulate dust, and finally some pigments that simulate mud.
The tracks are made from soft vinyl, and also received a paint treatment in order to get rid of that shiny vinyl look: at first, with a mix of black and silver, which was immediately wiped off again, and later with a second, similar turn with silver and dark brown.
The mud was added just before the whole running gear was mounted as one of the final assembly stages, and final retouches were made with acrylic umbra paint.
Alas, I think I overdid it – much of the formidable and very attractive paint scheme was lost, even though the yucky, brownish finish now also works fine and looks like rough duty?
So, an experiment with good and bad results. Certainly not the last whif tank (at least one more on the agenda), and after so many aircraft a new kind of challenge. ^^
28 Seals I think bobbing on the surface at Whinnyfold NE Scotland. Nearly all of them watching me closely.
This was taken from our rented Kayak in the Morro Bay Harbor. I used my point and shoot, I was too afraid to take my expensive camera. It gets kind of wet when you are rowing.
Kegelrobbe I Grey seal I Halichoerus grypus
Schleswig-Holstein I Germany I Wildlife
IUCN Status : Least concern
Check out more of my work here: www.martinbraunphotography.com
A U.S. Navy student of SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) class 279 conduct Immediate Action Drills (IADS) in Niland, Ca., June 24, 2010. SQT students are trained in the basics of IADS so they can begin to understand how to react as a team to enemy contacts. The Navy SEALs are the maritime component of U.S. Special Operations Forces and are trained to conduct a variety of operations from the Sea, Air and Land.
This gorgeous seal was carved by the same man that taught my brother and sister to sculpt in stone. I always think of their work when I see his work at the entrance to the beach. :)
What was sad and upsetting was at one point this statue was horribly vandalized. Fortunately the damage was repaired and no one has touched it since.
A small portion of a Sea Lion colony on one of a group of small rocky islands, aptly named "Sea Lion Rocks", about 10 miles southeast of Tofino, Vancouver Island. The lone onlooker looks somewhat out of place, presumably just because his coat is darker due to being wet - or due to my imagination. An attractive scene in any case.
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