These are the ruins of New Cumnock's 'Auld Kirk' which began its ministry to the village in 1659 following the division of Cumnock into two separate parishes nine years earlier.

Robert Burns scorned the Auld Kirk's Rev James Young in his 1789 poem 'The Kirk 'O Scotland's Alarm', despite this setback the good minister served his community for a very creditable 37 years. In addition to Burns's famous song 'Flow Gently Sweet Afton, which flows past a stone's throw from these ruins there is at a further literary connections at the Auld Kirk . Around the time that Burns was penning his poem he was encouraging the endeavours of the nearby Muirkirk poet John Lapraik whose granddaughter Janet is interred here in this graveyard. Burns was to write not one, but three epistles to his poetic friend, here is the opening to the first;

 

FIRST EPISTLE TO JOHN LAPRAIK

 

"I am nae poet, in a sense,

But just a rhymer, like, by chance,

An' hae to learning nae pretence;

Yet, what the matter?

Whene'er my muse does on me glance,

I jingle at her...

"Gie me ae spark o' Nature's fire,

That's a' the learning I desire;

Then, tho' I drudge thro' dub an' mire

At pleugh or cart,

My muse, tho' hamely in attire,

May touch my heart."

 

Naturally enough, one epistle begats another and this is from Lapriak's response to Rabbie:

 

EPISTLE TO ROBERT BURNS

 

O far fam'd RAB! my silly Muse,

That thou sae prais'd langsyne,

When she did scarce ken verse by prose,

Now dares to spread her wing.

 

Unconcious of the least desert,

Nor e'er expecting fame,

I sometimes did myself divert,

Wi' jingling worthless rhyme.

 

When sitting lanely by myself,

Just unco griev'd and wae,

To think that Fortune, fickle Joe!

Had kick'd me o'er the brae!

 

Robert Burns 1759 - 1796

John Lapraik 1727 - 1807.

This marble statue of Claudius portrays him as the embodiment of Jupiter with the sceptre, a sign of Jupiter's absolute rule. He also has the eagle by his side which also accompanied Jupiter, but instead of holding a lighting bolt he holds a libation dish offering a libation for his country. 1st century A.D. Vatican Museums, Rome

  

Statue of Claudius as Jupiter.

 

A text, in english, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

 

Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus or Claudius I (August 1, 10 BC – October 13, AD 54) (Tiberius Claudius Drusus from birth to AD 4, then Tiberius Claudius Nero Germanicus from then until his accession) was the fourth Roman Emperor, the third of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from January 24, AD 41 to his death in AD 54. Born in Lugdunum in Gaul (modern-day Lyon, France), to Drusus and Antonia Minor, he was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italia.

Claudius was considered a rather unlikely man to become emperor. He was reportedly afflicted with some type of disability, and his family had virtually excluded him from public office until his consulship with his nephew Caligula in AD 37. This infirmity may have saved him from the fate of many other Roman nobles during the purges of Tiberius' and Caligula's reigns; potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat to them. His very survival led to his being declared emperor after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult male of his family.

Despite his lack of political experience, Claudius proved to be an able administrator and a great builder of public works. His reign saw an expansion of the empire, including the conquest of Britain. He took a personal interest in the law, presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day; however, he was seen as vulnerable throughout his rule, particularly by the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position—resulting in the deaths of many senators. Claudius also suffered tragic setbacks in his personal life, one of which may have led to his murder. These events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers. More recent historians have revised this opinion.

See much more at the address en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudius .

 

A seguir, Texto, em português, da Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre:

Tibério Cláudio César Augusto Germânico, em latim Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, 1 de Agosto, 10 a.C. — 13 de Outubro de 54) foi imperador de Roma entre 41 e 54. Seu nome de nascimento era Tibério Cláudio Nero César Druso , em latim Tiberius Claudius Nero Caesar Drusus. Era filho de Nero Cláudio Druso e Antónia Minor, neto de Livia Drusa, mulher de César Augusto, sobrinho de Tibério e irmão de Germânico. Nasceu em Lugdunum na Gália (actual Lyon, França), tornando-se assim o primeiro imperador nascido fora da península Itálica.

Desde a nascença que Cláudio sofreu de deficiências físicas que o tornaram coxo e com dificuldades de comunicação, visto que gaguejava fortemente. Talvez por isso, nunca foi levado a sério como possível general ou imperador e escapou à "limpeza" na família imperial romana efectuada pelos seus antecessores Tibério e Calígula. Era no entanto um homem muito culto a quem se deve o conhecimento actual da língua etrusca, segundo Suetônio Tranquilo.

Cláudio casou quatro vezes, com Plautia Urgulanilla, Aelia Paetina, Messalina e a sobrinha Agripina a jovem. Nenhum destes casamentos foi feliz. As duas primeiras mulheres foram repudiadas e Messalina foi executada por traição, adultério, libertinagem e acusação de conspiração. De Messalina, Cláudio teve os seus dois únicos filhos: Britânico e Octávia que haveria de casar com o irmão adoptivo, o imperador Nero.

Como habitual na época, o seu reinado não foi livre de assassínios e perseguição política, apesar do tom geral ser bastante mais calmo que o dos seus antecessores. Do ponto de vista económico, Roma recuperou depois dos excessos de Calígula, mesmo com os ambiciosos projectos iniciados pelo imperador. Entre estes, contam-se a expansão do porto de Óstia e a construção de várias obras públicas. Foi também com Cláudio que Roma conquistou as Ilhas Britânicas em 43, criando a província romana da Britânia, e a Mauritânia (no norte da África). Tomou parte na invasão da Britânia e acrescentou o título de Britannicus aos nomes de seu filho, para indicar a possessão romana da nova região.

O livro de Atos dos Apóstolos, escrito por Lucas, informa também que, devido a um decreto do imperador, os judeus foram expulsos de Roma:

"Encontrou ali um judeu chamado Áquila, que era da província do Ponto. Fazia pouco tempo que ele tinha chegado da Itália com Priscila, a sua esposa. Eles tinham saído de lá porque o imperador Cláudio havia mandado que todos os judeus fossem embora de Roma. Paulo foi visitá-los"

— Atos, 18:2

 

O mesmo livro previu um período de fome no reinado de Cláudio:

"E, levantando-se um deles, por nome Ágabo, dava a entender pelo Espírito, que haveria uma grande fome em todo o mundo, e isso aconteceu no tempo de Cláudio César."

— Atos, 11:28

 

Para o fim da vida, Cláudio tornou-se bastante permeável à influência de Agripina. Por sua indicação deserdou o seu próprio filho e nomeou o enteado Nero como sucessor. O facto de ter morrido de repente pouco depois desta troca de sucessor, levou e leva muitos historiadores a pensar na hipótese de assassinato.

Após Augusto, foi o primeiro imperador de Roma a ser divinizado.

 

Round Room, built by Michelangelo Simonetti in the late 18th century in a pure Neo-classical style. The dome is actually modelled on the Pantheon and has a diameter of 21.60 metres. A huge round monolithic porphyry basin stands in the middle of the room: it measures almost five metres across, comes from the Domus Aurea and was brought here in the late 18th century. A 2nd century Hercules in gilded bronze found near the Theatre of Pompey and a 3rd century mosaic from the Baths of Otricoli (region Umbria) are also fascinating.

 

Round Room, built by Michelangelo Simonetti in the late 18th century in a pure Neo-classical style. The dome is actually modelled on the Pantheon and has a diameter of 21.60 metres. A huge round monolithic porphyry basin stands in the middle of the room: it measures almost five metres across, comes from the Domus Aurea and was brought here in the late 18th century. A 2nd century Hercules in gilded bronze found near the Theatre of Pompey and a 3rd century mosaic from the Baths of Otricoli (region Umbria) are also fascinating.

The Museum Chiaramonti was founded by Pope Pio VII° Chiaramonti (1800-1823) and it is constituted by the Gallery Chiaramonti, the Lapidary Gallery and the New Wing.

 

The Museum Pio Clementino owes its name to Pope Clemente XIV° (1769-1775) and to his successor Pope Pio VI° (1775-1799) and it is formed by the Bathroom of the Apoxyomenos, the Octagonal courtyard of the Belvedere, the Bathroom of Apollo, of Laocoonte, of Hermes and from that of Perseo, the Room of the Animals, the Gallery of the Statues and the Busts, the Bathroom of the Masks, the Room of the Muses, the Round Room and the Room of the Greek Cross.

After entering the vatican and having bought the tickets you start this magic trip along the galleries of the XVIII century towards back to the centuries and you will end directly to the famous chapel frescoed by Michelangelo and Botticelli with Bible episodes.

 

Los Museos Vaticanos son las galerías y demás estancias de valor artístico propiedad de la Iglesia y accesibles al público en la Ciudad del Vaticano. Muestran obras de una extensa colección de la Iglesia Católica Romana. Su base fundacional fue la colección privada de Julio II, que fue elegido papa en el año 1503; más tarde otros papas han ido aumentando las extensas colecciones de que constan estos museos. Este conjunto museístico se compone de diferentes edificios de museos temáticos, edificios pontificios, galerías, monumentos y jardines. A este conjunto de edificios también pertenece la Biblioteca Vaticana, una de las mejores del mundo.

El origen de los museos vaticanos se configuró a partir de las obras de arte que de manera privada tenía el cardenal Giuliano della Rovere, que cuando fue escogido papa en 1503, con el nombre de Julio II, trasladó su colección al patio del Palacio Belvedere de Inocencio VIII en un gran jardín que se adornó con algunas esculturas, hoy conocido bajo el nombre de Patio Octógono: el Apolo de Belvedere, la Venus Feliz, el Río Nilo, el Río Tíber, la Ariadna dormida y el grupo de Laocoonte y sus hijos, escultura encontrada el 14 de enero de 1506 en la Domus Aurea de Nerón, en la colina romana del Esquilino; fue el arquitecto Giuliano da Sangallo el que identificó la escultura que la adquirió el papa Julio II. Se construyeron nuevos edificios y también pasadizos junto con galerías para unirlos con otros, anteriormente edificados; con el paso del tiempo y el acceso al poder de nuevos papas, se fueron desarrollando y ampliando hasta formar los actuales museos.

Los fondos de arte también fueron creciendo gracias a la tradición de las grandes familias italianas de formar colecciones, ya que estas familias eran las que tenían entre sus miembros cardenales que llegaban al pontificado. Por otro lado, las colecciones de obras de arte se enriquecieron y aumentaron gracias a todos los tesoros de las catacumbas romanas, las obras de la Basílica de San Pedro y de las de San Juan de Letrán, así como de todas las excavaciones arqueológicas realizadas en suelo romano, ya que los terrenos donde está situada la Ciudad del Vaticano, fueron ocupados por los etruscos y posteriormente por el Imperio Romano en tiempos de Augusto. En esta zona llamada Jardines de Nerón sufrió martirio san Pedro, y Constantino I el Grande, después de su conversión al cristianismo, hizo construir una basílica hacia el año 326.

La gran etapa constructiva del Vaticano se inició en 1447 con el papa Nicolás V que encargó al arquitecto Bernardo Rossellino el diseño de la nueva basílica de San Pedro y al pintor Fra Angelico la decoración de la capilla Nicolina; fue el fundador de la Biblioteca Vaticana. Sixto IV, en 1471, hizo construir una nueva capilla, la Sixtina, con la decoración pictórica de diversos artistas, entre ellos Sandro Botticelli y Pietro Perugino. En el antiguo palacio de Inocencio VIII, se construyó como acceso a las plantas superiores, desde un extremo del jardín de Belvedere, una rampa helicoidal diseñada por Donato Bramante, que la realizó en la época de Julio II ( hacia el 1505), con un punto de fuga único en la parte superior entre las columnas que son sucesivamente dóricas, jónicas y corintias, con una forma cilíndrica vacía, que van perdiendo grueso y aceleran la sensación de acceso. El papa Benedicto XIV en el año 1740, reorganizó las nuevas salas de los museos Sacro y Profano así como el gabinete de Medallas. Se crearon después los museos Pio-Clementino, proyectado por los papas Clemente XIV y su sucesor Pio VI durante la época de sus papados, comprendida entre los años 1769 y 1799.

La ilustración y los descubrimientos arqueológicos de Johann Joachim Winckelmann, nombrado conservador de las antigüedades romanas y bibliotecario del Vaticano en 1756, dieron como resultado un gran impulso para la exposición de las grandes colecciones que poseía el Vaticano; a partir de entonces y sin interrupción se hicieron trabajos de catalogación para la exposición pública de sus fondos. El siguiente papa, Pio VII, en 1800 encargó a Antonio Canova la organización del museo que lleva su nombre: Museo Chiaramonti, creando la primera sección de la pinacoteca. Fue en 1837 cuando Gregorio XVI inauguró el Museo Gregoriano Etrusco; poco después se fundó el Museo Gregoriano Egipcio (1839). Se fundó también en el Palacio de Letrán el Museo Gregoriano Profano (1844).

A partir de 1870, con el fin del Estado Pontificio, se reorganizó la exposición de las obras de arte en la Iglesia Católica y se tomaron nuevas medidas para afrontar los siguientes años, hasta que pasados 60 años comenzó a haber cambios significativos.

Pío XI en 1932 abrió la Pinacoteca, en la que expuso cuadros sustraídos por Napoleón con el Tratado de Tolentino (1797) y devueltos a raíz del Congreso de Viena (1815) y otras obras de la colección del Vaticano. Se fundó además el museo Misionero-Etnológico (Pío XI, 1927). Unas décadas después se trasladaron al Vaticano las antiguas colecciones lateranenses: los museos Gregoriano Profano y Pío Cristiano (1970) y el Museo Misionero-Etnológico (1973),con los nuevos criterios de renovación del Concilio Vaticano II, en 1973, se fundó la colección de Arte Religioso Moderno bajo el pontificado de Pablo VI así como también el Museo de las Carrozas.[7] También se reorganizaron los museos Gregoriano Egipcio (1989, 2000) y gregoriano Etrusco (1992, 1994, 1996). En esta reorganización se puede también incluir la creación del Museo Histórico, que posteriormente sería dividido en 1985, teniendo su sede en el Palacio de Letrán.

En febrero del año 2000 se inauguró la entrada monumental, en el fuerte norte de las murallas vaticanas, cerca de la antigua entrada realizada en 1932 por Giuseppe Momo con una escalera de caracol en rampa, cuya balaustrada fue diseñada por Antonio Maraini y que actualmente sirve de salida del museo.

New carbon seatpost with more setback and a new saddle

Frame: *MASH* steel

Wheel : *VELOCITY* a23 rim × *PHILWOOD* low flange track hub

Tire: *TERAVAIL* washburn tire

Handle: *FAIRWEATHER* b903 bullmoose bar

Grip:*OURY* V2 grip

Saddle:*BROOKS* carved cambium C17

Seat post: *THOMSON* elite setback seatpost

Headset:*CHRIS KING* nothreadset 1 1/8 inch

Brake:*PAUL* mini moto brake

Brake lever: *PAUL* canti lever

Crank:*SRAM* omnium

Chain:*MASH* IZUMI × MASH jet black chain

BB:*PHILWOOD* outboard bottom bracket

Chainring:*AARN* track chainring

Cog:*WHITE INDUSTRIES* eno single freewheel

Rack:*MASH* front rack

Bag:*MASH* ILE × MASH rack bag

The Grade I Listed Powis Castle a medieval castle near Welshpool, Powys, Wales

 

The seat of the Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors. The castle and gardens are under the care of the National Trust.

 

The present castle was built in the 13th century. Unusually for a castle on the Marches, it was constructed by a Welsh prince, Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, rather than by a Norman baron. Gruffydd was prince of the ancient Kingdom of Powys and maintained an alliance with the English king Edward I during the struggles of the later 13th century.

 

He was able to secure the position of his son, Owain, although the kingdom itself was abolished by the Parliament of Shrewsbury in 1283. After his father's death, Owain was raised to the peerage as Owen de la Pole, 1st Lord of Powis. Following his own death and the death of his only son, he was succeeded by his daughter, Hawys Gadarn, "the Lady of Powis". Hawys married Sir John Charlton in 1309.

 

In the late 16th century the castle was purchased by Edward Herbert, a younger son of the earl of Pembroke, beginning a connection between the family and the castle that continues today. The Herberts remained Roman Catholic until the 18th century and, although rising in the peerage to earls, marquesses and Jacobite dukes of Powis, suffered periods of imprisonment and exile. Despite these setbacks, they were able in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to transform Powis from a border fortress into an aristocratic country house, and surround it with one of the very few extant examples of a British Baroque garden.

 

In 1784 Henrietta Herbert married Edward Clive, eldest son of Clive of India, a match which replenished the much-depleted Herbert family fortune. In the early 20th century, George Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis redeveloped the castle with the assistance of the architect George Frederick Bodley. Herbert’s wife, Violet, undertook work of equal importance in the garden, seeking to turn it into "one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, in England and Wales".

 

Information Sources:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Powis_Castle

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart

 

Stuttgart (Swabian: Schduagert) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known locally as the "Stuttgart Cauldron." It lies an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest. Its urban area has a population of 609,219, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the city's administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany. The city and metropolitan area are consistently ranked among the top 20 European metropolitan areas by GDP; Mercer listed Stuttgart as 21st on its 2015 list of cities by quality of living, innovation agency 2thinknow ranked the city 24th globally out of 442 cities and the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked the city as a Beta-status world city in their 2014 survey.

 

Since the 6th millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 83 AD and built a massive castrum near Bad Cannstatt, making it the most important regional centre for several centuries. Stuttgart's roots were truly laid in the 10th century with its founding by Liudolf, Duke of Swabia, as a stud farm for his warhorses. Initially overshadowed by nearby Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in 1320. The fortunes of Stuttgart turned with those of the House of Württemberg, and they made it the capital of their county, duchy, and kingdom from the 15th century to 1918. Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the Thirty Years' War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city and its automobile production during World War II. However, by 1952, the city had bounced back and it became the major economic, industrial, tourism and publishing centre it is today.

 

Stuttgart is also a transport junction, and possesses the sixth-largest airport in Germany. Several major companies are headquartered in Stuttgart, including Porsche, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, and Dinkelacker.

 

Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. It is spread across a variety of hills (some of them covered in vineyards), valleys (especially around the Neckar river and the Stuttgart basin) and parks. This often surprises visitors who associate the city with its reputation as the "cradle of the automobile". The city's tourism slogan is "Stuttgart offers more". Under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure (as part of the Stuttgart 21 project), the city unveiled a new logo and slogan in March 2008 describing itself as "Das neue Herz Europas" ("The new Heart of Europe"). For business, it describes itself as "Where business meets the future". In July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area.

 

Stuttgart is a city with a high number of immigrants. According to Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany, "In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner." 40% of Stuttgart's residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five, are of immigrant background.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_Museum

 

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is an automobile museum in Stuttgart, Germany. It covers the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the brands associated with it. Stuttgart is home to the Mercedes-Benz brand and the international headquarters of Daimler AG.

After a wonderfully warm weekend, Spring is on hold until further notice.

This is either a Freightliner 108SD or 114SD setback 5 axle flatbed semi truck with a tractor mounted Palfinger crane. (The SD stands for severe duty). I'm guessing this was a private crew doing contract work for PG&E. The roof mounted LED warning lights on this truck are super bright. Photographed and filmed by me in Livermore, CA - this short clip is the 1st video I have uploaded to my Flickr acct. You can see pictures of many other types of cool trucks & other vehicles below this one and in my albums with more to follow soon.

The Homestead Strike, also known as the Homestead Steel Strike, was an industrial lockout and strike which began on June 30, 1892, culminating in a battle between strikers and private security agents on July 6, 1892. The battle was one of the most serious disputes in U.S. labor history, second only to the Battle of Blair Mountain. The dispute occurred at the Homestead Steel Works in the Pittsburgh area town of Homestead, Pennsylvania, between the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (the AA) and the Carnegie Steel Company. The final result was a major defeat for the union and a setback for efforts to unionize steelworkers.

Carnegie Steel made major technological innovations in the 1880s, especially the installation of the open-hearth system at Homestead in 1886. It now became possible to make steel suitable for structural beams and for armor plate for the United States Navy, which paid far higher prices for the premium product. In addition, the plant moved increasingly toward the continuous system of production. Carnegie installed vastly improved systems of material-handling, like overhead cranes, hoists, charging machines, and buggies. All of this greatly sped up the process of steelmaking, and allowed the production of vastly larger quantities of the product. As the mills expanded, the labor force grew rapidly, especially with less skilled workers. In response, the more-skilled union members reacted with a strike designed to protect their historic position.

The Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers (AA) was an American labor union formed in 1876. It was a craft union representing skilled iron and steel workers. The AA's membership was concentrated in ironworks west of the Allegheny Mountains. The union negotiated national uniform wage scales on an annual basis; helped regulate working hours, workload levels and work speeds; and helped improve working conditions. It also acted as a hiring hall, helping employers find scarce puddlers and rollers.

The AA organized the independently-owned Pittsburgh Bessemer Steel Works in Homestead in 1881. The AA engaged in a bitter strike at the Homestead works on January 1, 1882 in an effort to prevent management from forcing yellow-dog contracts on all workers. Violence occurred on both sides, and the plant brought in numerous strikebreakers. The strike ended on March 20 in a complete victory for the union.

The AA struck the steel plant again on July 1, 1889, when negotiations for a new three-year collective bargaining agreement failed. The strikers seized the town and once again made common cause with various immigrant groups. Backed by 2,000 townspeople, the strikers drove off a trainload of strikebreakers on July 10. When the sheriff returned with 125 newly deputized agents two days later, the strikers rallied 5,000 townspeople to their cause. Although victorious, the union agreed to significant wage cuts that left tonnage rates less than half those at the nearby Jones and Laughlin works, where technological improvements had not been made.

Carnegie officials conceded that the AA essentially ran the Homestead plant after the 1889 strike. The union contract contained 58 pages of footnotes defining work-rules at the plant and strictly limited management's ability to maximize output.

For its part, the AA saw substantial gains after the 1889 strike. Membership doubled, and the local union treasury had a balance of $146,000. The Homestead union grew belligerent, and relationships between workers and managers grew tense.

The Homestead strike was organized and purposeful, a harbinger of the type of strike which would mark the modern age of labor relations in the United States. The AA strike at the Homestead steel mill in 1892 was different from previous large-scale strikes in American history such as the Great railroad strike of 1877 or the Great Southwest Railroad Strike of 1886. Earlier strikes had been largely leaderless and disorganized mass uprisings of workers.

Andrew Carnegie placed industrialist Henry Clay Frick in charge of his company's operations in 1881. Frick resolved to break the union at Homestead. "The mills have never been able to turn out the product they should, owing to being held back by the Amalgamated men," he complained in a letter to Carnegie.

Carnegie was publicly in favor of labor unions. He condemned the use of strikebreakers and told associates that no steel mill was worth a single drop of blood. But Carnegie agreed with Frick's desire to break the union and "reorganize the whole affair, and . . . exact good reasons for employing every man. Far too many men required by Amalgamated rules." Carnegie ordered the Homestead plant to manufacture large amounts of inventory so the plant could weather a strike. He also drafted a notice (which Frick never released) withdrawing recognition of the union.

With the collective bargaining agreement due to expire on June 30, 1892, Frick and the leaders of the local AA union entered into negotiations in February. With the steel industry doing well and prices higher, the AA asked for a wage increase; the AA represented about 800 of the 3,800 workers at the plant. Frick immediately countered with a 22% wage decrease that would affect nearly half the union's membership and remove a number of positions from the bargaining unit. Carnegie encouraged Frick to use the negotiations to break the union: "...the Firm has decided that the minority must give way to the majority. These works, therefore, will be necessarily non-union after the expiration of the present agreement." Carnegie believed that the Amalgamated was a hindrance to efficiency; furthermore it was not representative of the workers. It admitted only a small group of skilled workers. It was in its own way an elitist, discriminatory organization that was not worthy of the Republic, Carnegie felt.

Frick announced on April 30, 1892 that he would bargain for 29 more days. If no contract was reached, Carnegie Steel would cease to recognize the union. Carnegie formally approved Frick's tactics on May 4. Then Frick offered a slightly better wage scale and advised the Superintendent to tell the workers, "We do not care whether a man belongs to a union or not, nor do we wish to interfere. He may belong to as many unions or organizations as he chooses, but we think our employees at Homestead Steel Works would fare much better working under the system in vogue at Edgar Thomson and Duquesne."

Frick locked workers out of the plate mill and one of the open hearth furnaces on the evening of June 28. When no collective bargaining agreement was reached on June 29, Frick locked the union out of the rest of the plant. A high fence topped with barbed wire, begun in January, was completed and the plant sealed to the workers. Sniper towers with searchlights were constructed near each mill building, and high-pressure water cannons (some capable of spraying boiling-hot liquid) were placed at each entrance. Various aspects of the plant were protected, reinforced or shielded.

At a mass meeting on June 30, local AA leaders reviewed the final negotiating sessions and announced that the company had broken the contract by locking out workers a day before the contract expired. The Knights of Labor, which had organized the mechanics and transportation workers at Homestead, agreed to walk out alongside the skilled workers of the AA. Workers at Carnegie plants in Pittsburgh, Duquesne, Union Mills and Beaver Falls struck in sympathy the same day.

 

The Declaration of the Strike Committee, dated July 20, 1892 reads in part,

'The employees in the mill of Messrs. Carnegie, Phipps & Co., at Homestead, Pa., have built there a town with its homes, its schools and its churches; have for many years been faithful co-workers with the company in the business of the mill; have invested thousands of dollars of their savings in said mill in the expectation of spending their lives in Homestead and of working in the mill during the period of their efficiency. . . . “Therefore, the committee desires to express to the public as its firm belief that both the public and the employees aforesaid have equitable rights and interests in the said mill which cannot be modified or diverted without due process of law; that the employees have the right to continuous employment in the said mill during efficiency and good behavior without regard to religious, political or economic opinions or associations; that it is against public policy and subversive of the fundamental principles of American liberty that a whole community of workers should be denied employment or suffer any other social detriment on account of membership in a church, a political party or a trade union; that it is our duty as American citizens to resist by every legal and ordinary means the unconstitutional, anarchic and revolutionary policy of the Carnegie Company, which seems to evince a contempt [for] public and private interests and a disdain [for] the public conscience. . . .

The striking workers were determined to keep the plant closed. They secured a steam-powered river launch and several rowboats to patrol the Monongahela River, which ran alongside the plant. Men also divided themselves into units along military lines. Picket lines were thrown up around the plant and the town, and 24-hour shifts established. Ferries and trains were watched. Strangers were challenged to give explanations for their presence in town; if one was not forthcoming, they were escorted outside the city limits. Telegraph communications with AA locals in other cities were established to keep tabs on the company's attempts to hire replacement workers. Reporters were issued special badges which gave them safe passage through the town, but the badges were withdrawn if it was felt misleading or false information made it into the news. Tavern owners were even asked to prevent excessive drinking.

Frick was also busy. The company placed ads for replacement workers in newspapers as far away as Boston, St. Louis and even Europe.

But unprotected strikebreakers would be driven off. On July 4, Frick formally requested that Sheriff William H. McCleary intervene to allow supervisors access to the plant. Carnegie corporation attorney Philander Knox gave the go-ahead to the sheriff on July 5, and McCleary dispatched 11 deputies to the town to post handbills ordering the strikers to stop interfering with the plant's operation. The strikers tore down the handbills and told the deputies that they would not turn over the plant to nonunion workers. Then they herded the deputies onto a boat and sent them downriver to Pittsburgh.

Frick had ordered the construction of a solid board fence topped with barbed wire around mill property. The workers dubbed the newly fortified mill "Fort Frick." With the mill ringed by striking workers, agents from the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, which Frick had contracted to provide security at the plant in April 1892, planned to access the plant grounds from the river. Three hundred Pinkerton detectives assembled on the Davis Island Dam on the Ohio River about five miles (8 km) below Pittsburgh at 10:30 p.m. on the night of July 5, 1892. They were given Winchester rifles, placed on two specially-equipped barges and towed upriver with the object of removing the workers by force. Upon their landing, a large mêlée between workers and Pinkerton detectives ensued. Several men were killed, nine workers among them, and the riot was ultimately quelled only by the intervention of 8,000 armed state militia. Among working-class Americans, Frick's actions against the strikers were condemned as excessive, and he soon became a target of even more union organizers.

 

Battle on July 6

 

Frick's intent was to open the works with nonunion men on July 6. Knox devised a plan to get the Pinkertons onto the mill property. With the mill ringed by striking workers, the agents would access the plant grounds from the river. Three hundred Pinkerton agents assembled on the Davis Island Dam on the Ohio River about five miles below Pittsburgh at 10:30 p.m. on the night of July 5, 1892. They were given Winchester rifles, placed on two specially-equipped barges and towed upriver.

The strikers were prepared for them; the AA had learned of the Pinkertons as soon as they had left Boston for the embarkation point. The small flotilla of union boats went downriver to meet the barges. Strikers on the steam launch fired a few random shots at the barges, then withdrew—blowing the launch whistle to alert the plant. The strikers blew the plant whistle at 2:30 a.m., drawing thousands of men, women and children to the plant.

The Pinkertons attempted to land under cover of darkness about 4 a.m. A large crowd of families had kept pace with the boats as they were towed by a tug into the town. A few shots were fired at the tug and barges, but no one was injured. The crowd tore down the barbed-wire fence and strikers and their families surged onto the Homestead plant grounds. Some in the crowd threw stones at the barges, but strike leaders shouted for restraint.

The Pinkerton agents attempted to disembark, and shots were fired. Conflicting testimony exists as to which side fired the first shot. John T. McCurry, a boatman on the steamboat Little Bill (which had been hired by the Pinkerton Detective Agency to ferry its agents to the steel mill) and one of the men wounded by the strikers, said: "The armed Pinkerton men commenced to climb up the banks. Then the workmen opened fire on the detectives. The men shot first, and not until three of the Pinkerton men had fallen did they respond to the fire. I am willing to take an oath that the workmen fired first, and that the Pinkerton men did not shoot until some of their number had been wounded." But according to The New York Times, the Pinkertons shot first. The newspaper reported that the Pinkertons opened fire and wounded William Foy, a worker. Regardless of which side opened fire first, the first two individuals wounded were Frederick Heinde, captain of the Pinkertons, and Foy. The Pinkerton agents aboard the barges then fired into the crowd, killing two and wounding 11. The crowd responded in kind, killing two and wounding 12. The firefight continued for about 10 minutes.

The strikers then huddled behind the pig and scrap iron in the mill yard, while the Pinkertons cut holes in the side of the barges so they could fire on any who approached. The Pinkerton tug departed with the wounded agents, leaving the barges stranded. The strikers soon set to work building a rampart of steel beams further up the riverbank from which they could fire down on the barges. Hundreds of women continued to crowd on the riverbank between the strikers and the agents, calling on the strikers to 'kill the Pinkertons'.

The strikers continued to sporadically fire on the barges. Union members took potshots at the ships from their rowboats and the steam-powered launch. The burgess of Homestead, John McLuckie, issued a proclamation at 6:00 a.m. asking for townspeople to help defend the peace; more than 5,000 people congregated on the hills overlooking the steelworks. A 20-pounder brass cannon was set up on the shore opposite the steel mill, and an attempt was made to sink the barges. Six miles away in Pittsburgh, thousands of steelworkers gathered in the streets, listening to accounts of the attacks at Homestead; hundreds, many of them armed, began to move toward the town to assist the strikers.

The Pinkertons attempted to disembark again at 8:00 a.m. A striker high up the riverbank fired a shot. The Pinkertons returned fire, and four more strikers were killed (one by shrapnel sent flying when cannon fire hit one of the barges). Many of the Pinkerton agents refused to participate in the firefight any longer; the agents crowded onto the barge farthest from the shore. More experienced agents were barely able to stop the new recruits from abandoning the ships and swimming away. Intermittent gunfire from both sides continued throughout the morning. When the tug attempted to retrieve the barges at 10:50 a.m., gunfire drove it off. More than 300 riflemen positioned themselves on the high ground and kept a steady stream of fire on the barges. Just before noon, a sniper shot and killed another Pinkerton agent.

After a few more hours, the strikers attempted to burn the barges. They seized a raft, loaded it with oil-soaked timber and floated it toward the barges. The Pinkertons nearly panicked, and a Pinkerton captain had to threaten to shoot anyone who fled. But the fire burned itself out before it reached the barges. The strikers then loaded a railroad flatcar with drums of oil and set it afire. The flatcar hurtled down the rails toward the mill's wharf where the barges were docked. But the car stopped at the water's edge and burned itself out. Dynamite was thrown at the barges, but it only hit the mark once (causing a little damage to one barge). At 2:00 p.m., the workers poured oil onto the river, hoping the oil slick would burn the barges; attempts to light the slick failed.

The AA worked behind the scenes to avoid further bloodshed and defuse the tense situation. At 9:00 a.m., outgoing AA international president William Weihe rushed to the sheriff's office and asked McCleary to convey a request to Frick to meet. McCleary did so, but Frick refused. He knew that the more chaotic the situation became, the more likely it was that Governor Robert E. Pattison would call out the state militia.

Sheriff McCleary resisted attempts to call for state intervention until 10 a.m. on July 7. In a telegram to Gov. Pattison, he described how his deputies and the Carnegie men had been driven off, and noted that the workers and their supporters actively resisting the landing numbered nearly 5,000. Pattison responded by requiring McCleary to exhaust every effort to restore the peace. McCleary asked again for help at noon, and Pattison responded by asking how many deputies the sheriff had. A third telegram, sent at 3:00 p.m., again elicited a response from the governor exhorting McCleary to raise his own troops.

At 4:00 p.m., events at the mill quickly began to wind down. More than 5,000 men—most of them armed mill hands from the nearby South Side, Braddock and Duquesne works—arrived at the Homestead plant. Weihe wanted to prevent further trouble at Homestead, so he pleaded with Frick to confer with representatives of the Amalgamated to return to Homestead and stop the riot. Weihe urged the strikers to let the Pinkertons surrender, but he was shouted down. Weihe tried to speak again, but this time his pleas were drowned out as the strikers bombarded the barges with fireworks left over from the recent Independence Day celebration. Hugh O'Donnell, a heater in the plant and head of the union's strike committee, then spoke to the crowd. He demanded that each Pinkerton be charged with murder, forced to turn over his arms and then be removed from the town. The crowd shouted their approval.

The Pinkertons, too, wished to surrender. At 5:00 p.m., they raised a white flag and two agents asked to speak with the strikers. O'Donnell guaranteed them safe passage out of town. Upon arrival, their arms were stripped from them. With heads uncovered, to distinguish them from the mill hands, they passed along between two rows of guards armed with Winchesters. As the Pinkertons crossed the grounds of the mill, the crowd formed a gauntlet through which the agents passed. Men and women threw sand and stones at the Pinkerton agents, spat on them and beat them. Several Pinkertons were clubbed into unconsciousness. Members of the crowd ransacked the barges, then burned them to the waterline.

As the Pinkertons were marched through town to the Opera House (which served as a temporary jail), the townspeople continued to assault the agents. Two agents were beaten as horrified town officials looked on. The press expressed shock at the treatment of the Pinkerton agents, and the torrent of abuse helped turn media sympathies away from the strikers.

The strike committee met with the town council to discuss the handover of the agents to McCleary. But the real talks were taking place between McCleary and Weihe in McCleary's office. At 10:15 p.m., the two sides agreed to a transfer process. A special train arrived at 12:30 a.m. on July 7. McCleary, the international AA's lawyer and several town officials accompanied the Pinkerton agents to Pittsburgh.

But when the Pinkerton agents arrived at their final destination in Pittsburgh, state officials declared that they would not be charged with murder (per the agreement with the strikers) but rather simply released. The announcement was made with the full concurrence of the AA attorney. A special train whisked the Pinkerton agents out of the city at 10:00 a.m. on July 7.

On July 7, the strike committee sent a telegram to Gov. Pattison to attempt to persuade him that law and order had been restored in the town. Pattison replied that he had heard differently. Union officials traveled to Harrisburg and met with Pattison on July 9. Their discussions revolved not around law and order, but the safety of the Carnegie plant.

Pattison, however, remained unconvinced by the strikers' arguments. Although Pattison had ordered the Pennsylvania militia to muster on July 6, he had not formally charged it with doing anything. Pattison's refusal to act rested largely on his concern that the union controlled the entire city of Homestead and commanded the allegiance of its citizens. Pattison refused to order the town taken by force, for fear a massacre would occur. But once emotions had died down, Pattison felt the need to act. He had been elected with the backing of a Carnegie-supported political machine, and he could no longer refuse to protect Carnegie interests.

The steelworkers resolved to meet the militia with open arms, hoping to establish good relations with the troops. But the militia managed to keep its arrival in the town a secret almost to the last moment. At 9:00 a.m. on July 12, the Pennsylvania state militia arrived at the small Munhall train station near the Homestead mill (rather than the downtown train station as expected). Their commander, Major General George R. Snowden, made to clear to local officials that he sided with the owners. When Hugh O'Donnell, the head of the union's strike committee attempted to welcome Snowden and pledge the cooperation of the strikers, Snowden told him that the strikers had not been law abiding, and that "I want you to distinctly understand that I am the master of this situation." More than 4,000 soldiers surrounded the plant. Within 20 minutes they had displaced the picketers; by 10:00 a.m., company officials were back in their offices. Another 2,000 troops camped on the high ground overlooking the city.

The company quickly brought in strikebreakers and restarted production under the protection of the militia. Despite the presence of AFL pickets in front of several recruitment offices across the nation, Frick easily found employees to work the mill. The company quickly built bunk houses, dining halls and kitchens on the mill grounds to accommodate the strikebreakers. New employees, many of them black, arrived on July 13, and the mill furnaces relit on July 15. When a few workers attempted to storm into the plant to stop the relighting of the furnaces, militiamen fought them off and wounded six with bayonets. But all was not well inside the plant. A race war between nonunion black and white workers in the Homestead plant broke out on July 22, 1892.

Desperate to find a way to continue the strike, the AA appealed to Whitelaw Reid, the Republican candidate for vice president, on July 16. The AA offered to make no demands or set any preconditions; the union merely asked that Carnegie Steel reopen the negotiations. Reid wrote to Frick, warning him that the strike was hurting the Republican ticket and pleading with him to reopen talks. Frick refused.

Frick, too, needed a way out of the strike. The company could not operate for long with strikebreakers living on the mill grounds, and permanent replacements had to be found. On July 18, the town was placed under martial law, further disheartening many of the strikers.

National attention became riveted on Homestead when, on July 23, Alexander Berkman, a New York anarchist with no connection to steel or to organized labor, plotted with his lover Emma Goldman to assassinate Frick. He came in from New York, gained entrance to Frick's office, then shot and stabbed the executive. Frick survived and continued his role; Berkman was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

The Berkman assassination attempt undermined public support for the union and prompted the final collapse of the strike. Hugh O'Donnell was removed as chair of the strike committee when he proposed to return to work at the lower wage scale if the unionists could get their jobs back. On August 12, the company announced that 1,700 men were working at the mill and production had resumed at full capacity. The national AFL refused to intervene, the East European workers ignored the union and it had no strategy left. The union voted to go back to work on Carnegie's terms; the strike had failed and the union had collapsed.

The company had waged a second front in state court, and was winning. On July 18, 16 of the strike leaders were charged with conspiracy, riot and murder. Each man was jailed for one night and forced to post a $10,000 bond.

The union retaliated by charging company executives with murder as well. The company men, too, had to post a $10,000 bond, but they were not forced to spend any time in jail. One judge issued treason charges against the Advisory Committee on August 30 for making itself the law. Most of the men could not raise the bail bond, and went to jail or into hiding. A compromise was reached whereby both sides dropped their charges.

Support for the strikers evaporated. The AFL refused to call for a boycott of Carnegie products in September 1892. Wholesale crossing of the picket line occurred, first among Eastern European immigrants and then among all workers. The strike had collapsed so much that the state militia pulled out on October 13, ending the 95-day occupation. The AA was nearly bankrupted by the job action. Weekly Union relief for a member averaged $6.25 but totalled a staggering $10,000 per week when including 1,600 strikers. With only 192 out of more than 3,800 strikers in attendance, the Homestead chapter of the AA voted, 101 to 91, to return to work on November 20, 1892.

In the end, only four workers were ever tried on the actual charges filed on July 18. Three AA members were found innocent of all charges. Hugh Dempsey, the leader of the local Knights of Labor District Assembly, was found guilty of conspiring to poison nonunion workers at the plant—despite the state's star witness recanting his testimony on the stand. Dempsey served a seven-year prison term. In February 1893, Knox and the union agreed to drop the charges filed against one another, and no further prosecutions emerged from the events at Homestead.

The striking AA affiliate in Beaver Falls gave in the same day as the Homestead lodge. The AA affiliate at Union Mills held out until August 14, 1893. But by then the union had only 53 members. The union had been broken; the company had been operating the plant at full capacity for almost a year, since September 1892.

The Homestead strike broke the AA as a force in the American labor movement. Many employers refused to sign contracts with their AA unions while the strike lasted. A deepening in 1889 of the Long Depression led most steel companies to seek wage decreases similar to those imposed at Homestead.

An organizing drive at the Homestead plant in 1896 was crushed by Frick. In May 1899, 300 Homestead workers actually formed an AA lodge, but Frick ordered the Homestead works shut down and the unionization effort collapsed. Carnegie Steel remained nonunion for the next 40 years.

De-unionization efforts throughout the Midwest began against the AA in 1897 when Jones and Laughlin Steel refused to sign a contract. By 1900, not a single steel plant in Pennsylvania remained union. The AA presence in Ohio and Illinois continued for a few more years, but the union continued to collapse. Many lodges disbanded, their members disillusioned. Others were easily broken in short battles. Carnegie Steel's Mingo Junction, Ohio plant was the last major unionized steel mill in the country. But it, too, successfully withdrew recognition without a fight in 1903.

AA membership sagged to 10,000 in 1894 from its high of over 24,000 in 1891. A year later, it was down to 8,000. A 1901 strike against Carnegie's successor company, U.S. Steel collapsed. By 1909, membership in the AA had sunk to 6,300. A nationwide steel strike of 1919 also was unsuccessful.

The AA maintained a rump membership in the steel industry until its takeover by the Steel Workers Organizing Committee in 1936. The two organizations officially disbanded and formed the United Steelworkers May 22, 1942.

A railroad bridge over the Monongahela near the site of the battle is named Pinkerton's Landing Bridge in honor of the dead.

The pumphouse where the gunfight occurred remains as a museum and meeting hall. There are several historical markers as well as a metal commemorative sign with the US Steel logo that reads "In Honor Of The Workers." (Wikipedia)

 

Frame :*MASH* steel

Stem :*THOMSON* elite x4 stem

Head set :*CHRIS KING* nothreadset

Wheels :*PHILWOOD* low flange track hub × *VELOCITY* a23 rim

Tire:*TERAVAIL* cannonball tire

Cog :*PHILWOOD* 1/8 track cog

Chain :*MASH* IZUMI × MASH jet black chain

Chainring:*AARN* track chainring

BB:*PHILWOOD* outboard bottom bracket

Brake Lever :*DIA-COMPE* mx-2 brake lever BL special

Seat Post :*THOMSON* elite setback seatpost

Grip :*OURY* V2 grip

Saddle :*SELLE ITALIA* flite 1990 saddle

Bag:*SWIFT INDUSTRIES* paloma handlebar bag

Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, testifies in court during his trial against Gawker Media, in St Petersburg, Florida March 8, 2016. Hogan testified on Tuesday he no longer was "the same person I was before" following personal setbacks and the humiliation suffered when the online news outlet Gawker posted a video of him having sex with a friend's wife. REUTERS/Tampa Bay Times/John Pendygraft/Pool MANDATORY NYPOST OUT - RTS9W3B

The GE Building at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, an 860-foot, 70-story Art Deco skyscraper, was completed in 1933 as the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center. Originally named the RCA Building for its main tenant, the Radio Corporation of America, formed in 1919 by General Electric, it is famous as the headquarters and New York studios of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), also owned by GE. After RCA was reacquired (and split up) by GE in 1986, the building was renamed two years later.

 

The building looks dramatically different when viewing its narrow and wide facades. From 5th Avenue it is an elegant, narrow shaft while looking down 6th Avenue it forms an enormous slab. The vertical and Gothic-inspired detailing of the austere Art Deco facade is integrated with a slim, functionally expressive form. Granite covers the building base to a height of 4 ft, and the shaft has a refined facade of Indiana limestone with aluminum spandrel panels. Unlike most other tall Art-Deco buildings constructed in the 1930s, the GE Building has no spire on its roof. The present exterior is recognized for the big GE letters at the building's top. The open lobby was the first of its time and rich materials, reduced black and beige ornamental scheme is enhanced by dramatic lighting.

 

Below the building is a shopping concourse that was accessible from the lobby by the first elevators grouped in the central core of a building. The top floor of the building is an event room and restaurant named the Rainbow Room. The observation deck atop the skyscraper, "Top of the Rock," had been closed since 1986 to accomodate the renovation of the Rainbow Room and reopened to the public in 2005. The deck, which is built to resemble the deck of an ocean liner, offers sightseers a bird's eye view of the city, and has been co-opted for NBC's Sunday Night Football.

 

The Art Deco decoration of the building follows heroic and mythical themes glorfying modernity. In the niche above the main entrance is Lee Lawrie's sculptural group, consisting of Wisdom, flanked on the left by Light and on the right by Sound. Over the 45th Street entrance is Leo Freidhandler's Television.

 

While under construction in 1932, the GE Building is where the famous photo "Lunchtime atop a skyscraper" was taken by Charles C. Ebbets. The photo shows 11 construction workers eating whilst sitting on a steel beam seemingly suspended in mid-air.

 

Rockefeller Center was designated a landmark by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 1985.

 

In 2007, Rockefeller Center was ranked #56 on the AIA 150 America's Favorite Architecture list.

 

Rockefeller Center National Register #87002591

 

Be thankful that you don't already have everything you desire.

If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

 

Be thankful when you don't know something.

For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

 

Be thankful for the difficult times.

During those times you grow.

 

Be thankful for your limitations.

Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

 

Be thankful for each new challenge.

Because it will build your strength and character.

 

Be thankful for your mistakes.

They will teach you valuable lessons.

 

Be thankful when you're tired and weary.

It means you've made a difference.

 

It's easy to be thankful for the good things.

A life of rich fulfillment

comes to those who are also thankful

for the setbacks.

 

Gratitude can turn a negative into a positive.

Find a way to be thankful for your troubles

and they can become your blessings.

 

By: John Kaiser

+++ DISCLAIMER +++

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

  

Some background:

The Israel Aircraft Industries Nesher (Hebrew: נשר, "Vulture" - often mistranslated as "Eagle") is the Israeli version of the Dassault Mirage 5 multi-role fighter aircraft. Most were later sold to the Argentine Air Force as Daggers, and later upgraded as Fingers.

 

Israel had to replace more than 60 aircraft lost during the Six Day War and the War of Attrition which followed. Before the war, Israel began co-development with Dassault to build the Mirage 5 and it was eventually built by Israel and named Raam in Hebrew (thunder).

 

Dassault Aviation had developed the Mirage 5 at the request of the Israelis, who were the main foreign customers of the Mirage III. The Israeli Air Force (IAF) wanted the next version to have less all-weather capability in exchange for improved ordnance carrying capacity and range as the weather in the Middle East is mostly clear.

 

In January 1969, the French government arms embargo on Israel (in response to the 1968 Israeli raid on Lebanon) prevented the first 30 Mirage 5 aircraft (which were already paid for by Israel) plus optional 20 from being delivered and cut off support for the existing Mirage IIICJ fleet.

 

This was a setback for the Israeli Air Force, who needed the new Mirage to compensate for the losses of the Six Day War and was still using the Mirage IIIC. Israel then decided to produce the (Raam A and B project)[1] airframes as it had the necessary plans, although Israel did not officially obtain a manufacturing license.

 

Officially, Israel built the aircraft after obtaining a complete set of drawings. However, some sources claim Israel received 50 Mirage 5s in crates from the French Air Force (AdA), while the AdA took over the 50 aircraft originally intended for Israel.

 

Production began in 1969[5] with the first empty airframes with no weapons, electronics, seat, or engine included, delivered directly from Dassault Aviation. The first Raam A was delivered in May, 1971. In November, 1971 the plane was renamed Nesher.

 

The Neshers' airframe was identical to the Mirage 5, but there was an extensive refitting of Israeli avionics, a Martin-Baker zero-zero ejection seat, and improved provisions for a wider range of AAMs (Air-to-Air Missiles), including the Israeli Shafrir heat-seeking missile.The Nesher had simpler avionics than the Mirage IIIC but was slightly less maneuverable. However, it had longer range and bigger payload. The reduced maneuverability did not prevent the Nesher from performing well in air combat during the Yom Kippur war (see below).

 

The first Nesher prototype flew in September 1969, with production deliveries to the IAF beginning in May 1971 at Hatzor in May of 1971, with veteran test pilot Danny Shapira at the controls. In the months that followed, additional Nesher planes equipped this squadron, making up for the insufficient number of Mirage IIIs and raising the number of serviceable planes in the squadron. When the rate of production picked up at the Nesher assembly line at IAI, two new squadrons could be established, based solely on the Neshers. The first new squadron inaugurated 'Etzion Airbase at 'Bik'at Hayareakh' ('Valley of the Moon') near Eilat, in September of 1972, and the second was founded in March of 1973 at Hatzor.

 

When the Yom Kippur War broke out, in October of 1973, the IAF had 40 Nesher planes in its ranks, serving in the First Combat Squadron and in the two new squadrons.

Although they were originally intended for attack missions, in the course of the war the Neshers were primarily used in air-to-air combat. The IAF command decided to use the Phantoms, Skyhawks and Sa'ars against ground targets, and assigned the Mirages and Neshers the task of fighting enemy aircraft and establishing air superiority over the battle zones.

 

The Neshers proved to be good fighters and overcame their adversaries (MiGs and Sukhois) with relative ease. The first aerial victory of a Nesher took place on January 8, 1973, when 4 Neshers from the "First Fighter" squadron escorted F-4 Phantoms into Syria to attack a terrorist base. In an engagement with Syrian MiG-21s, 6 MiGs were shot down, two by the Neshers.

 

Neshers also took part in the Yom Kippur conflict later that year. One of the first air victoriy of the war was not an aircraft but an AS-5 Kelt air to ground missile launched against Tel-Aviv by an Egyptian Tu-16 Badger on the first day of the war, October 6th, 1973.

When Libyan Mirage 5s entered the fighting all Israeli Mirages and Neshers were marked with large yellow triangles bordered by a thick black frame to prevent a case of mistaken identity. At least two Mirage 5s were shot down by Neshers, as well as an Israeli Phantom shot down by mistake, the navigator and the pilot, a former Nesher squadron commander, parachuting to safety.

 

According to the statistics published after the war, there were 117 dogfights in the course of the Yom Kippur War (65 over Syria and 52 over Egypt). 227 enemy planes were shot down in these confrontations, and only six Israeli planes were shot down (they had been on interception missions, and were either hit by cannon fire or by sirface-to-air missiles). The Nesher squadron from Etzion was one of the leading squadrons, tallying 42 kills without a single plane lost.

 

The Neshers did not just go out on interception missions: they also carried out several attack sorties in the Golan Heights and on the southern front. The action was intense, with every pilot carrying out numerous sorties every day.

 

The war proved just how vital the Nesher's reinforcement of the IAF's order of battle had been, and convinced the defense community of the importance of continuing to develop fighters in the IAI. In 1975 the first Kfirs entered service, and the Nesher was gradually relegated to a less central role. All the Neshers were concentrated in two squadrons, and were transferred - in late 1976 - to Eitam Airbase, whicch had been newly dedicated in the northern Sinai.

 

Nesher production ended in February 1974 after fifty-one fighters (Nesher S) and ten Nesher two-seat trainers (Nesher T), and the type did not serve long with the IAF. In the late 70's there were already enough Kfirs in the IAF for completely replacing the Mirages and Neshers.

 

The Kfir was a significantly more advanced plane than the Nesher, boasting better performance as well as more sophisticated systems, and upgrading the Neshers was not deemed to be a worthwhile investment.

In 1981, the Kfir had supplanted the Nesher in Heyl Ha'avir, and the Neshers were renovated, for sale overseas. Neshers were sold to the Argentine Air Force in two batches, 26 in 1978 and 13 in 1980, under the name Dagger, comprising 35 Dagger A single-seat fighters and four Dagger B two-seat trainers. The Daggers then saw much action against the British in the Falklands War.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: one

Length incl. pitot: 15.65m (51 ft 3 in)

Wingspan: 8.22m (26 ft 11 in)

Height: 4.25m (13 ft 11 in)

Wing area: 34.8m² (373 sq. ft)

Empty weight: 6,600kg (14,535 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 13,500kg (29,735 lb)

 

Powerplant:

SNECMA Atar 09 engine with 4,280 kg (9,430 lbf)dry thrust

and 6,200 kg (13,660 lbf) with afterburner

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: mach 2.1 (39,370ft)

Range: 1,300km (810 ml), clean and with internal fuel only

1,186km (736 ml) with 4700 litres of auxiliary fuel in drop tanks

plus 2 Air to Air missiles and 2600 lb of bombs

Service ceiling: 17,680 (55,775ft)

Rate of climb: 16,400ft/min (83.5 m/s)

 

Armament:

2× 30 mm (1.18 in) DEFA 552 cannons with 125 rounds per gun under the air intakes

Five pylons for a wide range of up to 4.200kg (9,250 lb) of disposable stores

 

The kit and its assembly:

This short notice build towards the end of the 2016 "Cold War GB" at whatifmodelers.com was inspired by a CG rendition of an IAF F-4 in the unique brown/blue paint scheme, posted by fellow user SPINNERS a couple of days before. Seeing that design variant I wondered how a Kfir in this livery would look like...?

 

I had a C-2 Kfir in the stash, but also stumbled across a Heller Mirage IIIE/R/5BA kit without a real purpose in the stash and remembered the Kfir's predecessor, the Nesher, which was more or less a bluntly copied Mirage 5. Since the type was earlier and more appropriate for the brown/blue livery, I decided to convert the Heller Mirage into a Nesher, since it comes pretty close.

 

The Heller kit is old and rather basic by today's standards. You get fine but raised panel lines, only a rough interior, mediocre fit and a brittle plastic that catches scratches and dents when you only look at it.

 

Anyway, creating a Nesher from the Heller kit is not really complicated. Two major mods have to be made: the fin has to be enlarged or replaced, and the nose needs a special pitot installation.

 

The Nesher carried the bigger Mirage III/5 fin, and the Heller kit only bears the short version. Since I had a donation PM Model Nesher/Dagger kit in store (horrible kit, it rather resembles a mutated Mirage III but neither the israeli nor the Argentinian aircraft!) I just transplanted the fin. This appeared easier than adding a fin fillet, and having just the right donation part at hand made the decision even easier. :D

 

The nose is the Mirage 5's, but the tip was slightly modified and the pitot needed a separate fairing/attachment under the nose tip. The latter was created from a piece of round styrene and blended with the lower front fuselage.

 

After the major body work was done, some antennae/sensors were replaced or added, a Panzer IV’s sprocket wheel as an afterburner interior (just to have something inside the gaping exhaust hole) as well as launch rails under the outer wings for a pair of Shafrir-2s. The sleek drop tanks come OOB from the Heller kit – it only offers a pair of bigger tanks with fins, but no offensive ordnance at all.

In the cockpit I used a Martin Baker ejection seat from an Italeri Kfir, a slightly better option than the OOB part.

  

Painting and markings:

This is the actual whif aspect about this build, which is just the fictional application of a real world IAF scheme that was in use about 10 years before the Yom Kippur War. In real life the Nesher just came too late to carry the murky brown/blue pattern, because it was phased out in 1967, after the Six Days War. But putting it onto a more modern aircraft creates interesting results!

 

The scheme is based upon the original grey/green French pattern, just with the colors replaced with RAL 8000 (Grüngrau) or Field Drab (FS 30215) and RAL 5008 (Graublau), the authentic upper surface tones for this strange camouflage.

 

I’ve already built a (real world) IAF Ouragan in this style, so I had some practice and good references at hand. Model Master 1702 (alternatively: Humbrol 142) is a good option for the brown/tan tone, even though it is a bit too dark for my taste. "Israeli Armor Grey" from ModelMaster is a more approriate tone - it's lighter and actually an equivalent for RAL 8000, which is also used on Israeli tanks!

 

For the greyish-green dark blue I used Humbrol 77 (Navy Blue) which comes IMHO close. The undersides were painted in a pale grey, I used FS 36440 (Light Gull Grey, Humbrol 129 in this case). Some sources claim it to be RAL 7044 (Seidengrau), but the FS tone is practically identical.

 

All Neshers (even in later Argentinian service) had their nose painted black. There was no radar oder radome fitted, it was rather a deception in order to make enemies confuse the simple ground attack Neshers with the more potent (and radar-equipped) Mirage IIIs.

 

The kit received a light black ink wash and some dry-brushing for panel emphasis. The decals come mostly from the PM Model Nesher, including the large, yellow Yom Kippur War ID triangles which create a powerful contrast on the dark underground. Interesting result!

 

Anyway, while the decals might be the best thing about the PM kit, they have thier drawbacks, too. While they are 100% opaque the carrier film is thick, stiff and brittle, and they do not adhere well to the underground, despite decals softener and other tricks. :(

 

As a small detail I put the aircraft's tactical code on a silver background, as if the aircraft had originally been bare metal with the camouflage rather hastily applied. Since I had no IAF squadron markings left I added a yellow/black checkerboard pattern to the fin's rudder - the marking of the 113 Tayaset "Ha'Tsira'a (The Wasps), which actually operated the Nesher in the Yom Kippur conflict, just with a different camouflage.

 

Finally, the kit received some smoke/exhaust marks with graphite and was sealed with a coat of matt acrylic varnish. To make matters worse, the Revell varnish turned white, so I had to repair that damage as good as I could, and the finish now is far from what I had originally hoped for, despite the general troubles with the PM Model kit's decals.

  

A rather subtle whif, and even the aircraft itself is real (or at least a "realistic" model replica). Anyway, the paint scheme application changes things considerably, and the model ended - with the ID trinagles and the other bright markings - more colorful than expected. But the finish ended up rather poor, so that I am a bit disappointed.

Besides, a highly recommended source for this aircraft is Amos Dor's "IAI Nesher (From Mirage to Kfir, pt. 2 of 3)" book from "The IAI Aircraft Series", AD Graphics/Milano, 2000. All the other publications from this series of books are also generally recommended for any IAF builds.

i was supposed to be shooting my sister's soccer game, but wandered into the nearby tennis court and took a couple shots. i liked this one.

  

can you see the heart?

Church of St Mary, Church Street, Burton Latimer

 

Grade I Listed

 

List Entry Number: 1372364

 

BURTON LATIMER SP9075 CHURCH STREET 1337-0/21/24 (South side) 18/01/50 Church of St. Mary GV I Parish church. C12 origin, enlarged and tower added C13, C15 alterations and porch, tower and spire rebuilt and church restored 1864-8 by Slater and Carpenter, porch restored and organ chamber and vestry constructed 1882, "chapter house" added C20. Coursed limestone rubble with some ironstone banding and ashlar dressings and spire. Steeply-pitched C19 graduated stone slate roof to chancel, other roofs concealed by parapets and not visible (though probably of lead). Aisled nave, chancel, west tower and spire, north porch. Tower has setback buttresses at north-west angle and a castellated stair-turret at south-west angle. Doorways to north and south. Plinth. Moulded set-offs beneath triple arcade, blind to north and south and to west at a lower level and containing a single central lancet, and beneath paired 2-light Decorated bell-openings to each side (the tracery apparently an addition) Castellated parapet with grotesque spout-heads. Recessed octagonal spire with 2 tiers of lucarnes on the cardinal faces, capped by finial. Nave has C19 castellated parapet on moulded eaves (of ironstone to north) and 6 2-light Perpendicular clerestory windows beneath 3-centred hoods. Aisles have plain parapets, and 3 3-light Perpendicular windows with 4-centred heads, linked by cill bands. North aisle has a buttress at the east end. South aisle has plinth and 4 buttresses and a richly-moulded round-headed doorway with a low-level relieving arch (raised by a buttress) to the right of it. Chancel has buttresses, plinth and cill-bands, C19 moulded eaves, coped gables and cross finial. 3 attenuated late C13 windows to north and south, of 2 trefoiled lights, with pointed trefoils and cusped circles in the heads, and a C19 5-light "Decorated" east window designed to correspond. Projecting C19 organ chamber of ironstone with limestone dressings to north and a matching vestry to south now linked to the C20 octagonal "chapter house". Gabled north porch has plinth, string course diagonal buttresses, parapet with gargoyles at the angles and a niche (now containing a statue of the Virgin and Child, presented in 1928) above the moulded pointed-arched doorway. The inner north doorway is chamfered, with a simple hood and heavily studded double doors dated 1510 and inscribed with the names of "Ihon Campyon and Ihean bys wyf". Interior: the 6.5 bay nave arcade shows evidence of 3 main buildings phases. From the C12 are the 3 western piers of the south aisle, circular in plan with ironstone bands and scalloped capitals carrying abaci, and round arches, progressively more richly moulded towards the east: the westernmost with plain arches and abacus, then a roll-moulded and then a zig-zag arch on abaci with incised carving on the north face. The third complete arch from the west in the north arcade is also round and roll-moulded, and carried on a square pier with nook-shafts, which suggests a C12 transeptal chapel. In the early C13, a north arcade was created, with pointed, simple-stepped arches on (from west), a circular pier and a square one with 4 attached demi-shafts both with stiff-leaf capitals. Later in the C13, the tower was built encroaching upon the westernmost bay of the nave, which was then extended by 3 bays to the east, with double-chamfered arches on quatrefoil piers. The lofty tower arch is triple-chamfered with responds in the form of clustered shafts with ironstone banding, the chancel arch double-chamfered and plainer. The roofs to nave and aisles are Perpendicular (though restored), with cambered tie- beams, carved bosses and, to the north aisle, arch-braces carried on corbels. The chancel roof is C19. The church contains wall-paintings of 2 periods - fragment of a C14 cycle of St. Catherine on the north aisle wall, and late C16 figures representing the tubes of Israel, in scrolled cartouches, in the spandrels of the nave arcade. C19 stained glass. Traceried Perpendicular screen, restored. Plain octagonal Perpendicular font and, in the porch, an earlier font retrieved this century from the Rectory garden. Brass of Margaret Bacon, d.1626, and baby, in tall stone frame surmounted by 3 obelisks, in south aisle. Fragments of 2 other brasses - one to the Boyvill farmily (nine daughters and a shield remain) at the east end of the nave, and in the chancel another shield, probably part of a monument to Edmund Bacon, d.1626. (Buildings of England: Northamptonshire: pp.131-2; V.C.H.: Vol.III: pp.183- 5; Architectural Notices of the Churches of Archdeaconry of Northam: 1849).

 

Listing NGR: SP9031475017

 

historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1372364

 

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

 

Church of St Mary, Church Street, Burton Latimer

 

The main entrance to the churchyard is through wrought iron gates dedicated to the memory of the Revd. Ronald Williamson Sharpley ( Rector 1937 -1967 ). Ancient lime trees formerly surrounded the churchyard but these had to be removed nearly forty years ago owing to their dangerous state. Attractive spruces now allow the church to be seen to greater advantage. Against the churchyard wall to the left of the Manor House gate, is the date stone from the old rectory “A.D. 1750″. A number of grave stones that were either leaning or had fallen over were removed to this wall in 1970. The church consists of a tower and spire, nave, north and south aisles, chancel and north porch, all constructed of local stone. This is also true of the more recent additions of the vestry and Chapter House. The tower is three storeys high. It has two doorways: The door on the north side is decorated (14th Century) and is the entrance to the tower, the one on the south side leads to the tower stairs. The tower itself is in the Early English style (13th Century) the spire is a 14th Century addition. When the spire was rebuilt in 1862 the cost was around £4000, in 2004 major work was carried out on the present structure at a cost of £40000 – and this was a fairly modest job to ensure the future safety of this landmark. The aisles and clerestory are Perpendicular (15th Century) although evidence of earlier building exists. All the aisle windows are of three cinque-foiled lights, under a four centred arch. The clerestory has six two-lighted windows on either side, under three centred arches. The parapets were embattled when the church was restored between 1862 and 1868. Numerous worn gargoyles look out from their vantage places. The south door is round-headed and of 13th Century construction. On the south wall, on a window frame are the remains of a medieval scratch dial. The wrought iron gates to the north porch were a gift from the Norton family in memory of their parents Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Norton, local shoe manufacturers. The north porch is Perpendicular with angle buttresses. Above the entrance is a niche containing a statue of the Blessed Virgin and Child. This was presented to the church by the local school children in 1921. It probably replaced one destroyed during Cromwell’s Commonwealth . The massive oak doors bear the date 1510 and an almost indecipherable inscription: JHON CAMPYON AND JHONE HYS WYF To the right of the door built into the stone seat is a font from the 13th Century or earlier.

 

OTHER FEATURES

 

The font in front of the tower is 16th century and was moved to its place near to the tower in the1860s and brought forward to its present position in 1972. Originally it stood against the third pier between the nave and the south aisle. Unfortunately, the original canopy which according to record displayed traces of painting and gilding has long since disappeared. The old cover was decorated in a pattern of stars of various colours on a dark ground.

 

By the second pillar near the north door is a beautiful carved Elizabethan poor box dating from 1601 when the Poor Law was passed. This law compelled each parish to raise funds for the support of the aged poor. Very few of these boxes survived. On the third pillar of the north aisle is a carved grotesque face. This is a Green Man – a very popular feature in many churches.

 

The nave altar and dais were installed in 1969. The Rood Screen, although much restored, is in essence 15th century and occupies its proper place under the chancel arch. The canopy was added in the 1860s when the old painting and gilding were renewed except for one small strip that was intentionally left untouched to show the original faded colouring. The carved oak reredos behind the high altar was erected in 1897 at a cost of £120. It was designed by Dunstan Powell, the grandson of the famous designer and architect Augustus Pugin. The oak altar and panelling were installed at the same time; the former cost £40 and the latter £110.

 

The organ was made by Nicholson and Lord of Walsall and installed in the 1880s. It is a fine example of a Victorian pipe organ. Although it has been looked after with care over the years, it has recently had a complete overhaul. This is an expensive job on an instrument like this, and we are indebted to the Heritage Lottery Fund for giving us the generous sum of £10 000 to add to that raised by the church.

 

The fine oak chest near to the altar rail is dated 1629. Until 1992 it contained parish archives dating back to the 15th century and registers from 1538. The earliest of these was a parchment scroll 22ft. long and 6½ins. wide. Apart from a few missing years during the Civil War, the registers are complete from 1538 to the present time. The contents of the chest are now housed with the County Records Office. Among these records is an illuminated Mass Book from the 14th century. It contains prayers for a blessing on the staffs and shields of those about to undertake a duel and for those proposing to go on a pilgrimage. There are also masses for the dead and for marriage. The book would have been lost had not its pages been used to bind the Churchwardens account book for 1559! The pages were rebound by the British Museum.

 

The east end of the south aisle is known as the War Memorial corner, containing a memorial window as well as marble tablets to the fallen in both world wars. On the window ledge of the south wall is a medieval piscina. This was formerly located in the chancel.

 

www.stmarysburtonlatimer.co.uk

 

See Also:-

www.burtonlatimer.info/churches/St Mary'shistory.html

Lower setbacks

Well, after the files containing the bulk of Normandy's build were corrupted, I started again from half of the wings. I've worked out a method to do the curves (partly shown here), and I suspect that this may actually be the last LDD image, but you never know. I managed also to angle the upper wings appropriately. Enjoy

Powis Castle (Welsh: Castell Powys) is a medieval castle, fortress and grand country house near Welshpool, in Powys, Wales. The seat of the Herbert family, earls of Powis, the castle is known for its formal gardens and for its interiors, the former having been described as "the most important", and the latter "the most magnificent", in the country. The castle and gardens are under the care of the National Trust. Powis Castle is a Grade I listed building, while its gardens have their own Grade I listing on the Cadw/ICOMOS Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in Wales.

 

The present castle was built in the 13th century. Unusually for a castle on the Marches, it was constructed by a Welsh prince, Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn, rather than by a Norman baron. Gruffydd was prince of the ancient Kingdom of Powys and maintained an alliance with the English king Edward I during the struggles of the later 13th century. He was able to secure the position of his son, Owain, although the kingdom itself was abolished by the Parliament of Shrewsbury in 1283. After his father's death, Owain was raised to the peerage as Owen de la Pole, 1st Lord of Powis. Following his own death c. 1293, and the death of his only son, he was succeeded by his daughter, Hawys Gadarn, "the Lady of Powis". Hawys married Sir John Charlton in 1309.

 

In the late 16th century the castle was purchased by Sir Edward Herbert, a younger son of William Herbert, 1st earl of Pembroke, beginning a connection between the family and the castle that continues today. The Herberts remained Roman Catholic until the 18th century and, although rising in the peerage to earls, marquesses and Jacobite dukes of Powis, suffered periods of imprisonment and exile. Despite these setbacks, they were able in the late 17th and early 18th centuries to transform Powis from a border fortress into an aristocratic country house, and surround it with one of the very few extant examples of a British Baroque garden.

 

In 1784 Henrietta Herbert married Edward Clive, eldest son of Clive of India, a match which replenished the much-depleted Herbert family fortune. In the early 20th century, George Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis, redeveloped the castle with the assistance of the architect George Frederick Bodley. Herbert’s wife, Violet, undertook work of equal importance in the garden, seeking to turn it into "one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful, in England and Wales". On the 4th Earl's death in 1952, his wife and his sons having predeceased him, the castle passed into the care of the National Trust.

 

History

First castles at Welshpool: 1111–1286

Unlike the castles at Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech and nearby Montgomery, which were built by the English to subdue the Welsh, the castles at Welshpool were built by the Welsh princes of Powys Wenwynwyn as their dynastic seat.[1] In addition to the current site, two motte-and-bailey castles and a set of earthworks are located nearby.[2] The names Trallwg/Tallwm and Pola are used interchangeably in early primary sources, and it is unclear which of these sites is being referred to.[3]

 

The earliest reference dates from 1111, when Cadwgan ap Bleddyn is mentioned as having planned to construct a castle at Trallwng Llywelyn,[3] the oldest record of a native Welsh castle.[4] Domen Castell, a motte-and-bailey near the modern railway station, is considered the most likely site of Cadwgan's castle, although it is uncertain whether it was completed as he was assassinated the same year.[5] The first documentary account of an extant castle at Welshpool is a description of the successful 1196 siege by an English army, although the castle was retaken by the Welsh within the year.[5][6]

 

The earliest castle at the current site may have been a timber building constructed by Owain Cyfeiliog or his son, Gwenwynwyn (r. 1197–1216).[7] The present masonry structure contains 13th-century fabric,[8] most likely the work of Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn (r. 1241–1287) – although historians are uncertain when this took place.[a][10] In 1274, Gruffydd's "first castle" at Welshpool was destroyed by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd as punishment for his involvement in a scheme to assassinate Llywelyn.[b] The castle was documented again in 1286, when it was listed amongst Gruffydd's possessions as "la Pole Castr".[12] A detailed examination of Powis Castle's extant masonry carried out between 1987 and 1989 revealed early stonework incorporated into the later structure, putatively the remains of an early stone shell keep.[13] At the end of Edward I's conquest of Wales in 1282–83, the king permitted Gruffydd to rebuild his castle at Welshpool as a reward for his loyalty.[14]

 

Early history: 1286–1644

 

Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury[c]

In 1286, four years after the conquest of Wales, Gruffydd's son, Owain ap Gruffydd ap Gwenwynwyn became the last hereditary prince of Powys when he renounced his royal title, and was granted the barony of de la Pole, (i.e. "of the Pool", a reference to Welshpool, formerly called just "Pool").[d][16][17] The ancient Kingdom of Powys had once included the counties of Montgomeryshire, much of Denbighshire, parts of Radnorshire and large areas of Shropshire, but by the 13th century had been reduced to two independent principalities – Powys Wenwynwyn and Powys Fadog – roughly equivalent to Montgomeryshire and South Denbighshire (plus Maelor Saesneg), respectively; Welshpool had become the capital of Powys Wenwynwyn, of which Owain had been heir. On the death of Owain, the castle passed to his daughter Hawys, who married Sir John Charlton.[17] The Charltons continued to live at Powis until the fifteenth century when two daughters, Joyce Tiptoft and Joan Grey inherited the castle and estates. Both were equally divided, each daughter and her husband living in a portion of the castle.[18]

 

In 1578 an illegitimate son of the last Baron Grey of Powis, began leasing the lordship and castle to a distant relative – Sir Edward Herbert (d. 1595), second son of Sir William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke. Edward eventually bought the castle outright in 1587, beginning the connection between the Herberts and Powis Castle which continues today.[19] Sir Edward's wife was a Roman Catholic and the family's allegiance to Rome and to the Stuart kings was to shape its destiny for over a century.[16] Sir Edward began the transformation of Powis from a border fortress into an Elizabethan country house. The major remaining element of his work is the Long Gallery.[19]

 

Herbert's descendent William Herbert, 1st Baron Powis (c. 1573–1655), was a supporter of Charles I, and was granted the barony of Powis in 1629.[19] His loyalty during the English Civil War cost him his castle and his estates.[20] On 22 October 1644 Powis Castle was captured by Parliamentary troops and was not returned to the family until the restoration of Charles II in 1660.[21]

 

The Herberts: 1660–1800

 

The Hercules statue which stood originally in the Water Garden

On the restoration, the Herberts returned to Powis, and in 1674 William Herbert (c. 1626–1696) was created Earl of Powis (of the first creation). The state bedroom was installed in about 1665 and further improvements, including the construction of the Great Staircase followed in the 1670s. These developments were most probably carried out under the direction of William Winde, who may also have designed the terraced gardens. His employer, although restored to his estates, and raised in the peerage, was barred by his Catholic faith from high office under Charles II. On the accession of the King's brother, James in 1685, Herbert became one of the new king's chief ministers, and was again advanced in the peerage becoming Marquess of Powis in 1687, but fell at the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and followed James into exile in France.[e] William III granted the castle to his nephew, William Nassau de Zuylestein, 1st Earl of Rochford. Herbert died, still in exile, in 1696.[24]

 

Despite their 30-year exile, the Herberts were able to continue with developments at the castle and even to live there on an irregular basis, the Baroque water garden below the castle being completed at this time.[25] Their fortunes were also materially improved by the discovery of a lucrative lead mine on their Welsh estates.[24] The second Marquess, also William, was reinstated in 1722. On the death of his son, the third Marquess in 1748, the marquessate became extinct, while the castle and estates passed to a relative, Henry Herbert (c. 1703–1772), of Oakly Park in Shropshire, who was made 1st Earl of Powis (of the second creation) by George II.[26] Herbert married Barbara, the fifteen-year-old granddaughter of the 2nd Marquess, in 1751. Their eldest son, George Herbert, 2nd Earl of Powis (1755–1801), died unmarried and the earldom of the second creation became extinct.[f][27] Powis was much neglected during his tenure. John Byng, 5th Viscount Torrington, a diarist and traveller who chronicled his journeys into Wales in the 1780s and 1790s, described the castle in 1784, "In the gardens not even the fruit is attended to; the balustrades and terraces are falling down, and the horses graze on the parterres!!!"[28] The castle itself was in no better condition, a visitor in 1774 describing it as "in Neglect and Ruin".[27] Nonetheless, the potential of the site was recognised. George Lyttelton, the politician, poet and essayist, recorded his impressions in 1756, "About £3,000 laid out upon Powis Castle would make it the most august place in the Kingdom.

 

Herberts and Clives

In 1784, Henry Herbert's daughter, Henrietta, married Edward Clive (1754–1839), the eldest son of Clive of India.[30] Clive had followed his father to India, and served as Governor of Madras. Henrietta's brother died in 1801, whereupon the title lapsed; in 1804, her husband was created first Earl of Powis (of the third creation). The Clive fortune paid for long overdue repairs to the castle, which were carried out by Sir Robert Smirke.[31][32] Their son, Edward (1785–1848), inherited his late uncle's Powis estates on his 21st birthday, taking the surname Herbert in compliance with his uncle's will.[30] Edward Herbert served in a range of administrations as an Anti-Catholic Tory, his speeches in the House of Commons being "cautious and pertinent, although marred by dull delivery". He died in 1848, following a shooting accident at Powis in which he was fatally injured by his second son.[33] No further major changes were made to the Powis estate during his time, or in the long tenure of his eldest son Edward Herbert, 3rd Earl of Powis (1818–1891), although the castle was well maintained. In honour of his great-grandfather, the earl was offered the viceroyalty of India by Benjamin Disraeli but declined, writing "Not worth considering. Powis" on the envelope containing the invitation.[34]

 

The final alterations to Powis Castle were undertaken at the beginning of the 20th century by George Frederick Bodley for George Charles Herbert, 4th Earl of Powis (1862–1952). The rooms designed by Bodley remain his only extant decorative scheme; the longevity of the 4th Earl, the deaths of his heirs, and his bequest of the castle to the National Trust saw the early 20th-century remodelling remain largely unaltered.[g][36] The 4th earl's wife, Violet (nee Lane-Fox), undertook the final transformation of the gardens of Powis Castle, which she felt had the potential to be "the most beautiful in England and Wales".[37] The Countess died following a car accident in 1929, and Lord Powis outlived both his sons, who died on active service, Percy from wounds received at the Battle of the Somme in 1916,[38] and Mervyn in a plane crash in 1943.[39] On his own death in 1952, he bequeathed the castle and gardens to the National Trust...Wikipedia

Olympic Tower is a 51-story, 620 ft-tall (190 m) building at 641 and 645 Fifth Avenue, between 51st and 52nd Streets, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the mixed-use development contains condominium apartments, office space, and retail shops. The tower is named after Olympic Airways, whose president Aristotle Onassis jointly developed the tower with the Arlen Realty and Development Corporation between 1971 and 1974. It was the first skyscraper to be constructed within a special zoning district to encourage retail and mixed-use development along Fifth Avenue.

 

The building's glass facade is designed to reflect St. Patrick's Cathedral immediately to the south. The superstructure is made of steel on the lower stories and cast concrete on the upper stories. The first two stories contain a public atrium, Olympic Place, which connects the 51st and 52nd Street facades. The next 19 stories contain office space while the top 30 stories contain 230 condominium apartments. Upon Olympic Tower's completion, architectural writers such as Ada Louise Huxtable and Christopher Gray criticized its design.

 

Construction of Olympic Tower dates to the late 1960s, when Best & Co. sought to build an office tower above their store at Fifth Avenue and 51st Street. Morris Lapidus was initially hired for the project, but the plans were changed after the zoning district was created. When the building was completed, wealthy non-American buyers purchased most of its residential units. Crown Acquisitions bought Olympic Tower from its original owners in the 2010s.

 

Site

 

Olympic Tower is in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is along the northeast corner of Fifth Avenue to the west and 51st Street to the south, with an arm extending north to 52nd Street. The building carries the addresses 641 Fifth Avenue for its residential units; 645 Fifth Avenue for its office units; and 10 East 52nd Street for its entrance on 52nd Street. The land lot is L-shaped and covers around 25,600 sq ft (2,380 m2), with a frontage of 112.92 ft (34.42 m) on Fifth Avenue and a depth of 192.5 ft (58.7 m). The building wraps around Cartier Building and 647 Fifth Avenue to the northwest and is on the same block as 11 East 51st Street and 488 Madison Avenue to the east. Other nearby buildings include 650 Fifth Avenue to the west, 660 Fifth Avenue to the northwest, Austrian Cultural Forum New York to the north, 12 East 53rd Street and Omni Berkshire Place to the northeast, St. Patrick's Cathedral to the south, and the International Building of Rockefeller Center to the southwest.

 

Prior to the mid-1940s, a portion of the site was formerly occupied by the Union Club and two residences at 3 East 51st Street and 645 Fifth Avenue. These buildings were demolished by 1944 when a 12-story department store for Best & Co. was announced for the site. The Best & Co. store opened in 1947. Olympic Airways, the national airline of Greece, subleased 647 Fifth Avenue immediately north of the store in 1965 and opened a sales office there the next year.

 

Architecture

 

Olympic Tower was designed in the International Style by the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM). It is 620 ft (189.0 m) tall, with 51 stories. Whitson Overcash of SOM was the partner in charge and Paul Baren was the project manager. Other firms involved in Olympic Tower's construction included general contractor Tishman Realty & Construction, mechanical engineer W. A. DiGiacomo & Associates, structural engineer James Ruderman, and zoning and code engineer Max Siegel.

 

Form and facade

 

The building was the first to take advantage of a special Fifth Avenue zoning district, with retail on the first two floors, followed by offices on the center stories and condominiums on the highest stories. The presence of the zoning district enabled the Fifth Avenue facade of the tower to rise straight up without any setbacks, but setbacks were still required on the 51st and 52nd Street facades. The tower's developers, Arlen Realty and Olympic Airways president Aristotle Onassis, received a zoning variance that exempted them from having to construct a setback on 51st Street. The only setbacks on the tower are on the northern side, facing 52nd Street, where there is a 22-story "bustle". At the time of Olympic Tower's completion, it was the tallest building that faced Fifth Avenue without a setback there.

 

Olympic Tower has a floor area ratio of 21.6, the maximum permitted in the city when it was completed. The tower received development bonuses in exchange for including a public atrium and for including more than the minimum of retail space that was required for new buildings in the zoning district. In addition to its land lot, the building uses approximately 14,800 ft (4,500 m) of air development rights above neighboring buildings, giving it a total lot area of approximately 40,500 sq ft (3,760 m2). When Olympic Tower was developed, buildings in the densest commercial districts could have a FAR of up to 18, but the tower's development bonuses collectively enabled a 20 percent increase in the maximum FAR.

 

The facade is clad with glass that is tinted brown. The curtain wall is made of black anodized aluminum.[4] According to Whitson Overcash, the glass facade was meant to reflect St. Patrick's Cathedral to the south.

 

Features

 

Olympic Tower's facade contains two stories of retail space, 19 stories of office space, and 30 stories of apartments. Olympic Tower has several mechanical systems, including steam heating and cooling, secondary water, ventilation, and domestic hot water systems. In total, it was built with 791,745 sq ft (73,555.5 m2) of usable space According to floor plans, Olympic Tower has a single mechanical core at the center of each floor, which contains the elevators, stairs, restrooms, and utility rooms.

 

The 21-story retail and office base measures 113 ft (34 m) along Fifth Avenue and 158 ft (48 m) along the northern side. The southern side of the base is 177.5 ft (54.1 m) long on 51st Street; the retail space in the lowest stories extends another 15 ft (4.6 m) eastward along that street. The upper stories are rectangular in form, measuring 85 ft (26 m) on Fifth Avenue by about 177.5 feet on 51st Street. The pedestrian atrium on the lowest stories measures about 50 ft (15 m) wide and 200 ft (61 m) long between 51st and 52nd Streets.

 

Superstructure

 

The superstructure is unconventional in that the lower stories are made of steel while the upper stories are made of cast concrete. Though the superstructure uses conventional methods of steel and concrete construction, the combination of both types of construction is less common. The superstructure for the first 21 stories is composed of structural steel columns and girders, and the floor slabs are covered with reinforced concrete. On the upper 30 stories, the columns and floor slabs are made of reinforced concrete. Concrete had better acoustics, the apartments did not require as deep a floor slab compared to the steel frame, and the apartments did not require flexible partitions like the office stories did. The developer, Tishman Speyer, decided not to use a mixture of steel and concrete superstructures for later projects because it was time-consuming and expensive. Steel frames topped by concrete frames have since been used in structures such as the Bloomberg Tower.

 

The steel structure for the office and retail stories divides the floor area into bays of 22 by 20 ft (6.7 by 6.1 m). A steel vertical truss rises through the first 21 stories of the building. The 22nd floor is designed as a transitional floor where vertical and lateral loads from the upper stories are transferred onto the steel truss. The concrete columns of the upper stories and the steel columns of the lower stories are not perfectly aligned, so the 22nd floor acts as a truss with 36 in-deep (910 mm) transfer girders connecting the columns on the upper and lower stories. Steel billet plates, with thicknesses of between 2 and 9 in (51 and 229 mm), are welded to the girders' top flanges. Above the billet plates are 2 in-thick (51 mm) steel base plates with dowels on their top sides, to which the cast concrete columns' rebar cages are connected. A concrete shear wall rises above the 22nd floor. The concrete floor slabs are about 12 in (300 mm) thick for the 23rd through 34th floors and are about 12 in (300 mm) thick for the 35th through 51st floors.

 

History

 

Planning and construction

 

By the late 1960s, Best & Co. was struggling financially despite a program of investment from its owner, the McCrory Corporation. At the time, Best's was considering adding a tower over their Fifth Avenue flagship. The company hired Arlen Realty to manage the development. Best's developers acquired the air rights over 647 Fifth Avenue and the Cartier Building, which allowed them to build a taller building than would have been ordinarily permitted. The developers also considered obtaining the air rights over St. Patrick's Cathedral. Arlen originally hired Norval White and Elliot Willensky to design a building above the Best's store itself.

 

Initial plans

 

Aristotle Onassis established a family trust called Victory Development in March 1970. Victory formed a joint venture with Arlen to acquire Best's Fifth Avenue flagship, 647 Fifth Avenue, and the Cartier Building. Architect Morris Lapidus was hired for the initial iteration of the project. Lapidus recalled that he had begged Arthur Levien and Arthur G. Cohen, the presidents of Arlen Realty, "for two long years" to be hired for Arlen and Best's development. Because of his relatively small amount of experience in office design, Arlen had initially been hesitant to hire Lapidus, who specialized in residential buildings. However, after Arlen rejected proposals from six other firms, the company allowed Lapidus one week to create a design.

 

Lapidus proposed an L-shaped 40-story building, the bottom half of which would have been a granite slab. Meshulam Riklis, chairman of McCrory's parent corporation Rapid America, recalled that the slab would be topped by a glass "cube" with a sky plaza, a full-story art gallery, offices, and executive apartments. 647 Fifth Avenue would have been demolished, but the Cartier and Best's buildings would have remained in place. The building would have included an atrium between 51st and 52nd Streets as well as a plaza running to Fifth Avenue. Onassis and Riklis approved of Lapidus's plan and hired him to create designs for the Olympic/Arlen project.

 

In October 1970, McCrory executives decided to liquidate Best's and close all its stores, including the flagship location at Fifth Avenue and 51st Street. McCrory's president Samuel Neaman said at the time that the site of Best's Fifth Avenue flagship was worth more as a potential real estate development than as a retail location. By then, the joint venture planned to tear down the Best's store and erect a skyscraper called Olympic Tower on the site. Cohen was negotiating with several department store chains to open a store in the base, which, along with a public atrium, would allow a greater development bonus for the skyscraper.[59] Shortly after the closure of Best's was announced, an editorial appeared in The New York Times, specifically naming Lapidus's involvement in Olympic Tower as an example of Fifth Avenue's decline. According to Lapidus, the editorial created difficulties with his involvement in the project. Lapidus's exhibit that year at the Architectural League of New York also influenced opinions against his Olympic Tower proposal.

 

Modified plans

 

Around the same time as planning for Olympic Tower was taking place, a special zoning district was created along Fifth Avenue. In February 1971, New York City mayor John Lindsay proposed the district as a means to preserve the retail character of Fifth Avenue's midtown section. The legislation provided development "bonuses" like additional floor area in exchange for the inclusion of ground-story retail, and it encouraged the construction of Fifth Avenue skyscrapers with retail, offices, and apartments. The legislation went into effect in April 1971. After the zoning district was created, the mayoral Office of Midtown Planning, led by Jaquelin Robertson, collaborated with Olympic and Arlen to add mixed uses to Olympic Tower. Robertson's office perceived Lapidus's design as excessively unconventional and influenced Olympic and Arlen to reconsider the design. Aristotle's wife, former U.S. first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, also opposed Lapidus's involvement, saying she "could not have his name associated with such vulgarity". Lapidus was subsequently fired and replaced with Kahn & Jacobs, which was also dismissed.

 

In September 1971, Lindsay announced that SOM would design Olympic Tower. The 50-story building would include retail on the lower floors, offices on the middle floors, and apartments on the upper floors. A two-story atrium would run through the building, connecting with St. Patrick's Cathedral to the south and another atrium and Paley Park to the north. Cohen said Terence Cooke, the Archbishop of New York and the cardinal of St. Patrick's, was "very pleased" with the plans. The building would be the first to be developed within the Fifth Avenue zoning district. Olympic Airways initially intended to renovate 647 Fifth Avenue with a glass facade similar to that of the tower. After architectural critics Ada Louise Huxtable, Paul Goldberger, and other people in the architectural community objected, SOM decided to retain the original facade on 647 Fifth Avenue, which had been designed by Hunt & Hunt.

 

Olympic Tower's developers hired a graphics design firm to create a sign with propellers that spelled the building's name three times. The sign was mounted on the building's scaffolding, and the propellers would spin every time wind blew. By June 1973, the steel framework had passed the twelfth story. The first retail lease in the building was signed in October 1973 to confectionery Perugina, a subsidiary of Italian manufacturer Buitoni. Olympic Tower Associates released an offering plan for its 230 condominiums in May 1974. The offering valued the condos at $46.9 million (equivalent to $225 million in 2023[d]), the most expensive offering for a building in New York City. Olympic Tower was intentionally structured as a condo development because its residences were to be marketed primarily to foreign buyers. At the time, most other luxury developments in the city were housing cooperatives, which Curbed wrote could "reject applications for almost any reason", and the developers wished to avoid this.

 

Opening and early years

 

Opening

 

Olympic Tower was formally dedicated on September 6, 1974. At the time, more than 70 percent of the commercial space had been leased and 24 of the apartments had been sold. The first residents were expected to move into the building in early 1975. The building cost $95 million in total (equivalent to $457 million in 2023) and the residential units ranged from $40,000 for a studio ($192,324 in 2023) to $650,000 for a duplex unit with nine rooms ($3.13 million in 2023).[ Robertson, who had started working for Arlen, said of the tower's opening: "It would bring people back to midtown". The building had been planned with 230 apartments, but some of the units were subdivided after the most expensive units sold extremely quickly. By December 1974, three-quarters of the office space was leased, and forty of the residences had been sold. Due to high demand for the condos, additional apartments were created within the existing space shortly after Olympic Tower was finished.

 

Most of the residential units were sold to non-American owners, and the buyers included governments and corporations. Brochures were printed in French, German, Japanese, and Spanish, as well as English. Arlen hired public relations company Burson Marsteller, which advertised the building in Europe, South America, and Mexico Arlen also hired four decorators to create model apartments. The company commissioned a photographer to take photos from a crane on the roof, which were then displayed in the sales office. The public areas and building documents were designed with a silver and brown color scheme; these colors were even used on the personalized hard hats that were given to prospective buyers. Arlen vice president Stanley Thea said the building had been advertised "to a select core of 80.000 people around the world", while Robertson said "Finally we are building in the 1970s what was shown in the movies of the 1940s—penthouses on the 50th floor." Most of these units were intended as pieds-à-terre, and some wealthy owners bought multiple apartments. Olympic Tower's bylaws specified that the condominium board wait twenty days before approving any sale of a residential unit.

 

Late 20th century

 

By 1975, foreign residents had bought about 80 percent of the condominiums for between $122,000 and $650,000 apiece. Mexicans and Venezuelans made up a quarter of all buyers. Only 20 apartments remained unsold and the office space was 85 percent occupied. However, the retail mall did not yet have any restaurants. All the office space was occupied by 1978. Arlen sold its interest in Olympic Tower to Williston S.A., a Panamanian company that was owned by the Onassis family, in late 1979. At that time, Arlen was several hundred million dollars in debt and was selling off many of its properties.

 

In its first five years of operation, none of Olympic Tower's retail space had been rented out, and the atrium was for the most part empty. As a result, New York City Planning Commission head Robert F. Wagner Jr. threatened to revoke Olympic Tower's certificate of occupancy in 1979, saying the building's owners had not upheld an agreement to add stores to the retail mall in exchange for zoning bonuses. Afterward, Olympic Tower's owners opened a newsstand, public restrooms, and restaurant space in the atrium. The restaurant La Cote Basque was operating at Olympic Tower by 1981. In addition, Delices operated a pastry shop, bar, and a terrace called Le Cafe at ground level, as well as a restaurant called La Cascade in the basement, overlooking the waterfall. The public atrium at Olympic Tower was completely rented by August 1982. The atrium was also used for events such as concerts.

 

Other luxury residential towers such as Trump Tower and 500 Park Tower were developed nearby in the 1980s. Afterward, prices of residential units at Olympic Tower started to decline in comparison to units in the newer buildings. By 1985, the average unit at Olympic Tower sold for $202,000 per room ($0.49 million in 2023). Units at Trump Tower, which was also on Fifth Avenue, sold for an average of $263,910 per room ($0.63 million in 2023).[83] Olympic Tower's condominium units continued to see high demand from Europeans looking to live on Fifth Avenue, though critics said the residences were not well maintained. The midtown section of Fifth Avenue was again becoming a fashionable retail strip by the mid-1990s. Several large brands had offered to occupy some of Olympic Tower's retail space, but Olympic Tower Associates rejected these offers. One brokerage executive said the building's operators "want a tenant in keeping with H.Stern, Mark Cross and Versace", which already occupied retail space on the block. Demand for apartments also increased in the 1990s due to a dearth of new luxury residential developments in the city at the time.

 

Early 21st century

 

In May 2012, the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation sold a 49.9 percent stake in the commercial portion of the tower and three neighboring structures to real estate investment firm Crown Acquisitions for $420 million. Olympic Tower and the structures at 647 Fifth Avenue, the Cartier Building, and 10 East 52nd Street were valued at about $1 billion. At the time, all the retail tenants were paying less than $1,000/sq ft ($11,000/m2), significantly less than the market rent paid at similar structures. Crown Acquisitions purchased the remaining ownership interests in Olympic Tower and the three neighboring structures for $652 million in May 2015. In the same transaction, Oxford Properties acquired a majority interest.

 

The owners received a $760 million commercial mortgage-backed security (CMBS) interest-only loan in May 2017 from Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley. Olympic Tower's owners used the tower itself to back the CMBS loan. The loan was broken into 11 pari passu senior notes totaling $611 million and 3 junior notes totaling $149 million. The banks also originated a $240 million mezzanine loan which was subsequently sold to TIAA and Mirae Asset Financial Group. Oxford Properties hired MdeAS Architects to renovate Olympic Tower's atrium. The refurbished space reopened in January 2019.

 

Tenants

 

Office and commercial tenants

 

When the building opened in 1975, Onassis's companies Olympic Airways and Victory Development respectively took the entire fifth and sixth floors. Law firm Golembock & Barrell took the 11th floor and part of the 12th floor, Bermudan marketing firm JOC took the 17th through 19th floors, and Riklis's conglomerate Rapid American took the 14th through 16th floors and the 20th and 21st floors. Roberta di Camerino boutique took the ground floor.

 

Since 1998, the National Basketball Association has had its headquarters at the property. The organization occupies 175,000 sq ft (16,300 m2) across floors 11 through 20 with a lease extending through 2035. Richemont's North America subsidiary has also been headquartered at the property since 2001, with their current space covering 126,000 sq ft (11,700 m2) on floors three through nine. Michael Dell's investment firm MSD Capital occupies roughly 44,000 sq ft (4,100 m2) on floors 10 and 21. The building's Fifth Avenue retail space is occupied by luxury retailers such as Richemont, H.Stern, Armani Exchange, Longchamp, Furla, and Jimmy Choo Ltd.

 

Residents

 

Olympic Tower initially acted largely as a pied-à-terre, with few residents living full time. When the building opened, Aristotle Onassis took an apartment for himself. Another original occupant was fashion designer Halston, who occupied the entire 21st floor for his showroom, workroom, and design rooms until 1984. Billionaire Adnan Khashoggi owned a penthouse duplex from 1976 to 1993. The Marcos family of the Philippines allegedly owned five condominiums at Olympic Tower, including a ten-room apartment on the 43rd floor. The administration of Philippine President Corazon Aquino seized the Marcos apartment in the late 1980s while recovering some unexplained wealth of the Marcos family.

 

Foreign demand for the condos declined after the September 11 attacks in 2001, and the tower began to attract local residents and employees. These included General Electric's board of directors, who worked at Rockefeller Center, as well as designers Laurice Rahmé, Giuseppe Zanotti, and Lorraine Schwartz, who preferred the structure for its history, architecture, and proximity to several high-end stores. The actress Anne Hathaway and her then-partner Raffaello Follieri lived in Khashoggi's old residence until 2012. The choreographer, director, and dancer Ron Field also lived in the building, as did musician Roger Waters, actor Nicolas Cage, and the wealthy Wertheimer family of Israel. Alessandra and Allegra Gucci, the daughters of Maurizio Gucci, owned a penthouse, which they listed for sale in August 2015. The restaurateur Rocky Aoki owned a penthouse, and the businessman Alejandro Betancourt López also bought a penthouse in the building. Curbed wrote in 2022 that the building's residents were "obsessed with anonymity" and that "A number have gone decades without even seeing their next-door neighbors."

 

Critical reception

 

After SOM's plans for the building were announced, a writer for Newsday said Olympic Tower would provide "a clear test of strength between God and Mammon", being right across from St. Patrick's Cathedral. Progressive Architecture magazine characterized the new plans as having attracted attention from members of the public who wanted to see Fifth Avenue's revival.[ According to a writer for the website CityRealty, Olympic Tower's design was "more conservative, yet paradoxically also more cutting-edge" compared to the Galleria condominiums on 57th Street, which was built around the same time.

 

When the building opened, Paul Goldberger of The New York Times criticized the facade as being "not as refined as Skidmore Owings and Merrill's best work". Goldberger called the building's architecture "oppressively banal" and described it as "overwhelm[ing] Fifth Avenue like an aircraft carrier beside a row of sailboats".[108] Ada Louise Huxtable of the same newspaper said Olympic Tower was "about as nondescript as anything that size can be" and described the residential lobby as "mildly offensive in design and taste and quite disposable". Huxtable saw Olympic Place as a "cop-out" and said that, with the inclusion of the plaza, "Olympic Tower has given the city the back of its hand". Suzanne Stephens of Progressive Architecture said that the tower was "awkward in form, but slick in style, a solution that conveys signs of urbanity rather than creating a sense of urban place".

 

(Wikipedia)

 

St. Patrick's Cathedral is a Catholic cathedral in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is the seat of the Archbishop of New York as well as a parish church. The cathedral occupies a city block bounded by Fifth Avenue, Madison Avenue, 50th Street, and 51st Street, directly across from Rockefeller Center. Designed by James Renwick Jr., it is the largest Gothic Revival Catholic cathedral in North America.

 

The cathedral was constructed starting in 1858 to accommodate the growing Archdiocese of New York and to replace St. Patrick's Old Cathedral. Work was halted in the early 1860s during the American Civil War; the cathedral was completed in 1878 and dedicated on May 25, 1879. The archbishop's house and rectory were added in the early 1880s, both designed by James Renwick Jr., and the spires were added in 1888. A Lady chapel designed by Charles T. Mathews was constructed from 1901 to 1906. The cathedral was consecrated on October 5, 1910, after all its debt had been paid off. Extensive restorations of the cathedral were conducted several times, including in the 1940s, 1970s, and 2010s.

 

St. Patrick's Cathedral is clad in marble and has several dozen stained glass windows. It measures 332 feet (101 m) long, with a maximum width of 174 feet (53 m) at the transepts. The bronze doors that form the cathedral's main entrance on Fifth Avenue are flanked by towers with spires rising 329.5 feet (100 m). The northern tower contains nineteen bells, and the interior has two pipe organs. Inside is a nave flanked by several chapels; two transepts; a chancel and apse; and a crypt. East of the apse are the rectory, Lady chapel, and archbishop's residence facing Madison Avenue. The cathedral is a New York City designated landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Olympic Tower, auch 645 Fifth Avenue, ist ein Wolkenkratzer an der Fifth Avenue in Manhattan in New York City. Der gemischt genutzte Turm umfasst Eigentumswohnungen, Büroräume und Einzelhandelsgeschäfte und ist nach der ehemaligen griechischen Fluggesellschaft Olympic Airlines benannt.

 

Beschreibung

 

Das Hochhaus befindet sich in Midtown Manhattan an der Fifth Avenue, Ecke East 51st Street. Ein nordöstlicher schmaler Gebäudeflügel reicht bis an die 52nd Street. Westlich gegenüber liegt das Rockefeller Center. Südliches Nachgebäude ist die bekannte St. Patricks Cathedral von New York. Nördliche Nachbarn an der Fifth Avenue sind die George W. Vanderbilt Residence und das Cartier Building, in dem der New Yorker Flagship-Store von Cartier beheimatet ist.

 

Der Wolkenkratzer ist 189 m (620 Fuß) hoch und besitzt 51 Stockwerke. Der rechteckige Turm ohne Rücksprünge hat eine dunkle bronzefarbene glatte Glasfassade, in der sich an der Südseite die St. Patrick’s Cathedral spiegelt. Die ersten beiden Stockwerke enthalten neben den Einzelhandelsgeschäften an der Fifth das zwei Etagen hohe öffentliche Atrium „Olympic Place“, das von der 51st bis zur 52nd Street reicht und eine günstige Verbindung für Fußgänger bietet. Die 19 Stockwerke darüber umfassen Büroflächen (Adresse: 645 Fifth Avenue) und in den Stockwerken 22 bis 51 befinden sich 225 Eigentumswohnungen (Adresse: 641 Fifth Avenue).

 

Auf dem Grundstück befand sich zuvor ein 1947 erbautes Gebäude der Best Company. Aristoteles Onassis erwarb es, um dort die New Yorker Niederlassungen seiner Unternehmen zu bündeln. Weiterhin bietet das Gebäude Wohnungen und Einzelhandel. Erste Entwürfe zu dem Gebäude stammen von Cäsar Pinnau, der letztendlich realisierte Entwurf wurde von Skidmore, Owings and Merrill umgesetzt. Nach Baubeginn im Jahr 1974 wurde der Turm 1976 fertiggestellt. Nach dem Tod von Aristoteles Onassis ging das Gebäude in den Besitz der Olympic Airlines über, die es um 2002 an die „Onassis-Stiftung“ verkaufte. Seither dienen die unteren Stockwerke als Kulturzentrum der Stiftung. Die Investmentfirma Crown Acquisitions erwarb im Mai 2012 49,9 % und im Mai 2015 schließlich den Rest des Gebäudes. Im Rahmen derselben Transaktion erwarb Oxford Properties eine Mehrheitsbeteiligung.

 

Der Turm galt für viele Jahre als luxuriöseste und teuerste Adresse im New Yorker Markt der Luxuswohnungen, bewohnt von zahlreichen Prominenten wie Jackie Onassis, Bianca Jagger, Imelda Marcos, Adnan Khashoggi, Maurizio Gucci und Patrizia Reggiani, Halston, Lee Radziwill, Giuseppe Zanotti, Lorraine Schwartz, Anne Hathaway, Roger Waters und Nicolas Cage. Auch die National Basketball Association hat hier seit vielen Jahren ihren Sitz. In der Nachhaltigkeit hat das U.S. Green Building Council dem Olympia Tower die LEEDv4.1 Gold-Zertifizierung verliehen. Eigentümer des Gebäudes ist das kanadische Unternehmen Oxford Properties Group.

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Die St. Patrick’s Cathedral ist die größte im neugotischen Stil erbaute Kathedrale in den Vereinigten Staaten. Sie befindet sich an der Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, zwischen der 50. und der 51. Straße, direkt gegenüber dem Rockefeller Center. Sie ist die Kathedrale des katholischen Erzbistums New York. Der Pfarrbezirk St. Patrick’s wird begrenzt durch die 59th Street, die 3rd Avenue, die 44th Street und die 7th Avenue und umfasst 302 Häuserblöcke.

 

Geschichte

 

Das Grundstück der heutigen Kathedrale wurde am 6. März 1810 für 11.000 Dollar gekauft, um dort eine Schule für katholische junge Männer errichten zu können, die von Jesuiten geleitet wurde. Diese Schule scheiterte, und 1813 wurde das Grundstück an Dom Augustin de Lestrange weiterverkauft, den Abt eines Trappisten-Konvents. Die Mönche kamen aus der französischen Abtei von La Trappe und waren nach Amerika geflohen, weil sie in Frankreich verfolgt wurden. Im Kloster betreuten sie auch etwa 33 Waisenkinder. Nach dem Sturz Napoleons im Jahre 1814 kehrten die Trappisten nach Frankreich zurück und gaben ihren Immobilienbesitz auf. Das Waisenhaus wurde von der Diözese von New York bis in das späte 19. Jahrhundert fortgeführt.

 

Papst Pius IX. erhob das 1808 gegründete Bistum New York 1850 zur Erzdiözese. Erzbischof John Joseph Hughes gab anschließend seine Absicht bekannt, eine neue Kathedrale zu errichten, welche die St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral ersetzen sollte, die sich an der Kreuzung der Prince and Mott Streets und der Mulberry Street befand. Die alte Kathedrale wurde im Jahr 1866 durch ein Feuer zerstört und 1868 wiederaufgebaut und konsekriert. Sie ist die älteste katholische Kirche in New York und dient als Pfarrkirche. Lorenzo da Ponte wurde hier beigesetzt.

 

Der Grundstein der neuen Kathedrale wurde am 15. August 1858 gelegt, südlich des Waisenhauses der Diözese und ungefähr nördlich des zu dieser Zeit dicht bevölkerten Gebietes von New York. Die Kathedrale wurde von James Renwick, Jr. im neugotischen Stil entworfen.

 

Die Arbeiten begannen 1858, wurden aber während des Amerikanischen Bürgerkrieges unterbrochen und 1865 wiederaufgenommen. Die Kathedrale wurde 1878 vollendet und am 25. Mai 1879 von Erzbischof John Kardinal McCloskey geweiht. Ihre gewaltigen Ausmaße dominierten den damaligen Rand des Stadtzentrums. Das Haus des Erzbischofs und das Pfarramt wurden von 1882 bis 1884 angebaut, die angrenzende Schule, die es nicht mehr gibt, öffnete 1882. Die Türme an der Westfront wurden von 1885 bis 1888 hinzugefügt. 1901 begann man mit einigen Erweiterungen, darunter einer Kapelle Unserer Lieben Frau, die von Charles T. Mathews entworfen wurde. Die Kathedrale wurde zwischen 1927 und 1931 renoviert; während dieser Zeit wurde die große Orgel eingebaut und der Altarraum vergrößert.

 

Im Dezember 1976 erhielt die St. Patrick’s Cathedral den Status eines National Historic Landmarks und wurde in das National Register of Historic Places eingetragen.

 

(Wikipedia)

This abridgement of Universal's 12-episode serial Buck Rogers stars Buster Crabbe as Dick Calkins' famed comic-strip space adventurer. Buck and Buddy (Jackie Moran) and are recruited to battle against modernistic gangster Killer Kane (Anthony Warde), by Wilma Deering (Constance Moore) and Dr. Huer (C. Montague Shaw). The duo travels to Saturn to get help in their mission, and after Buck and Buddy quell the internal struggles of the Saturnians, Buck triumphs over Killer Kane and his cosmic thugs.

Planet Outlaws Feature link: youtu.be/UD3xKy42KUY

 

Link to all 12 Serial Episodes:

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTtc-u3zFGk&feature=share&amp...

 

Starring Buster Crabbe, Constance Moore, Jackie Moran, Jack Mulhall, Anthony Warde, C. Montague Shaw, Guy Usher, William Gould, Philson Ahn. Directed by Ford Beebe, Saul A. Goodkind.

Buck Rogers and Buddy Wade are in the middle of a trans-polar dirigible flight when they are caught in a blizzard and crash. Buddy then releases a special gas to keep them in suspended animation until a rescue party can arrive. However, an avalanche covers the craft and the two are in suspended animation for 500 years. When they are found, they awake to find out that the world has been taken over by the outlaw army of Killer Kane. Along with Lieutenant Wilma Deering, Buck and Buddy join in the fight to overthrow Kane and with the help of Prince Tallen of Saturn and his forces, they eventually do and Earth is free of Kane's grip.

 

This is actually a pretty enjoyable serial, but it seems doomed to be forever overshadowed by the much superior Flash Gordon trilogy. Universal brought BUCK ROGERS out in 1939, in between their own chapterplays FLASH GORDON'S TRIP TO MARS and FLASH GORDON CONQUERS THE UNIVERSE; it also starred Buster Crabbe (but with his natural dark hair instead of Flash's golden curls) and although it is filled with space ships and weird gadgets, BUCK ROGERS lacks most of the elements that gave the Flash serials their intense emotional draw.

 

For one thing, there is none of the strong sexual charge that the Flash series had. Instead of nubile Dale Arden and sultry Princess Aura both competing for the hero's attention while the villain openly lusted for the heroine, Buck's epic featured Constance Moore as Col. Wilma Deering. Now, Moore is perfectly fine in her role, but she is after all a soldier in the resistance army and not a fair damsel in distress. She has a nice moment when she wrests a ray gun away from a guard and blasts her way out of her cell, but she and Buck seem to be merely chums on the same side.

 

Also, although BUCK ROGERS has plenty of futuristic gadgets (rayguns and buzzing spaceships which shoot sparks from their backs, teleportation tubes and invisibility rays), there are no grotesque monsters or nonhuman alien races on view. Prisoners have remarkably goofy metal helmets strapped on which turn them into docile zombies, and there are these homely goons called Zuggs moping around, but that's hardly as fascinating as Lion Men and Clay People and horned apes (that Orangapoid critter).

 

What's ironic about all this is that the comic strip BUCK ROGERS by Philip Nolan and Richard Calkins started in 1929, was immensely popular for many years and it success inspired the creation of Flash. Yet the Flash strip benefitted from the genius of Alex Raymond, one of the all-time great cartoon artists, and it produced stunning visual images (from the samples of Buck's strip I've seen, it was imaginative enough but pretty crude and drab). This contrast carried over to the serials.

 

Buck Rogers and his sidekick Buddy Wade (Jackie Moran) are pilots who crash in the Arctic in1938 and survive for 500 years because the 'Nirvano' gas they were carrying put them in a state of suspended animation. They both seem to adapt to waking up in the year 2424 pretty well, where I would think most people would be so traumatized it would take a while to adjust. In this dystopic future, the Earth is ruled by a mega-gangster called Killer Kane (another setback; Anthony Warde would be okay as a crimelord but he just doesn't have the imposing presence to convince me this guy can dominate an entire planet).

 

Luckily, Buck and Buddy have been found by the small resistance movement hopelessly trying to overthrow Kane from their hidden city. Here is Dr Huer (C. Montague Shaw, who I just saw in the UNDERSEA KINGDOM doing the same gig with his wild inventions) and Wilma Deering leading the good fight. For some reason I missed, everyone immediately puts all their trust in Buck and he pretty much takes over. (Maybe he's just one of those charismatic alpha males or something.) Most of the serial involves desperate trips back and forth to Saturn to enlist the aid of the isolationist Saturnians, and this means running the blockade of Kane's ships. The usual fistfights and explosions and captures and escapes normal for this sort of situation ensue. It's a lot of fun if you take it on its own terms, with a strong linear plot and likeable heroes, but it really never kicks into high gear and seems a bit drab.

 

It's interesting that some (but not all) of the Saturnians are played by Asian actors. Prince Tallen, who gets caught up in most of the fun, was portrayed by a very young Philson Ahn, and I thought for years this was the same guy who in 1972 impressed us as the head of the Shaolin Temple in TV's KUNG FU (he taught all the styles, really amazing if you think about it). Turns out that was Phiip Ahn, Philson's brother.

 

Dir: Ford Beebe and Saul A. Goodkind - 12 Chapters

 

BUCK ROGERS (1939): Director Ford Beebe, who also worked on Flash Gordon (1938), came straight from The Phantom Creeps (1939) and then went back to finish Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe (1940). Buck Rogers stars Buster Crabbe or, as his family knew him, Lawrence. Now, Lawrence ‘Larry’ ‘Buster’ Crabbe had previously starred in two Flash Gordon serials, a couple of Tarzan movies and a long string of westerns, so it was only natural for Universal to decide he was perfect as the heroic Buck Rogers, aka that blonde guy who saves the universe but isn’t Flash Gordon. Actually, Buster Crabbe wasn’t the first actor to play Buck Rogers in-the-flesh, so to speak.

That honour goes to an unknown man who played Buck in a Virginia department store, instead of their regular Santa Claus. Santa was off conquering Martians at the time, I think it was an exchange program of sorts. It strikes me that Buck Rogers is not unlike a male fantasy come to life. Just think of it – Buck gets to take a nice five-hundred-year-long sleep-in. With my busy schedule, I’m ecstatic if I can get twenty minutes nap on the weekend. Then, when he wakes up, Buck is the smartest, most dynamic guy around. In reality he’d be treated like something that’s escaped from the zoo. And finally, everyone needs Buck to go on exciting missions, fight the bad guys, test exotic equipment and crash rocket ships – out of the half-dozen flights Buck makes, he only lands successfully once. It’s easy to see the bullet cars used in the movie are the same ones from Flash Gordon’s Trip To Mars (1938), and even the script is rather suspect.

Planet Outlaws

This film is actually a compilation of the Buck Rogers serials that ran originally in 1939. The cliffhanger endings and recap beginnings have been edited out to make it flow better -- with partial success. Some new footage was shot for the introduction and summary. At the opening, there are some newspaper headlines about jets chasing flying discs, and the obligatory checkered V2 launch, etc. to add a modern segue. After that, it's pure 1939.

Sci-fi movie technology had come a long way in the 14 years since Buck's debut. Audiences had grown accustomed to sleek and pointy rockets, flying saucers, strange aliens, etc. The Buck Rogers style world-of-the-future must have looked oddly quaint. (if not laughable) Just why Universal Pictures thought re-releasing Buck Rogers was a good idea is a bit of a mystery. Kids who were 8 or so back in 1939 would be young adults in '53. Perhaps Universal was banking on those young adults would buy tickets for a trip down memory lane.

Plot Synopsis

After a bit of modern ('53) footage about the wonders of modern progress and "flying disks," the old serial begins. Rogers and Buddy crashed in the arctic while on a transpolar flight. They were in suspended animation due to the cold and a vague gas. A patrol finds them in the year 2500 and revives them. In the world of 2500, a despot named Killer Kane is trying to take over the world. The forces of good are holed up in the "hidden city." Buck arranges a decoy maneuver to elude Kane's patrol ships. They fly to the planet Saturn in hopes of finding help. On Saturn, the Council sees Rogers and party as the rebels, and Kane as the rule of law. Rogers et al, escape Saturn, return to earth and seek to disrupt Kane's bamboozling of Prince Tallen, the Saturnian representative. Rogers sneaks into Kane's city, interrupts the treaty signing and convinces Tallen of Kane's evil by revealing Kane's "robot battalion" (slaves wearing mind-control helmets). Rogers and Tallen get to Saturn and the treaty is signed. Rogers escapes Kane's patrols via the Dissolvo Ray which rendered them invisible. Rogers and the war council plan for war. Rogers enlists the Saturnians to help. Meanwhile, Rogers sneaks into Kane's city and de-zombies Minister Krenco to lead an uprising of freed robot-slave-prisoners. Rogers storms Kane's palace and puts one of the robo-slave helmets on Kane. The End

The industrial vision of the future is delightful to watch. The heavily mechanical look of everything is so radically different from the sleek rockets and glowing acrylic audiences were growing accustomed to. The space ships look like they were built at locomotive factories or steamship yards. They spew roman-candle sparks and smoke and buzz as they fly. There are no computers, no radar or electronics. It's a fascinating snapshot of what pre-electronic-age people thought the future would be like.

When originally released in 1939, the Killer Kane character was a thinly disguised allusion to Hitler. In 1953, Kane was intended to represent a communist despot. It wasn't as tidy a fit. The narrator sums it up voicing a hope that scientists will develop the means for men to stand up to today's dictators and make the world safe for democracy. In the early 50s, there's little question of who they meant.

Simple Colors -- One endearing trait of Buck Rogers is the simplicity of the characterizations. The good guys do nothing but good. The bad guys are pure bad. The good guys are crack pilots and sharp shooters and tough as nails. The bad guys do nothing but bad, have trouble hitting a flying barn and are easily knocked out with one punch.

Industrial Baroque -- Somewhat like the baroque era's compulsion to decorate every square inch with swirls and filigree, Industrial Baroque sought to fill every space with heavy-duty hardware. The sets, and especially the rocket interiors are like flying boiler rooms. Valves, pipes, levers, dials, wheels, large flashing light bulbs. To look more "high tech" in the 30s meant cramming in more industrial hardware. Buck Rogers' ships show more affinity for Captain Nemo "steampunk" than the proto-space-age of the 50s.

Family Resemblance -- There is a noticeable similarity in the sets and costumes of Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers. Even serials of the early 50s, like Captain Video and the various Rocketman serials, look more like Flash and Buck than George Pal. The industrial baroque look and costuming are distinctive, making them almost a sub-genre of their own. In that regard, Buck has a timelessness.

Another take on the story and additional background info.

A round-the-world dirigible flight commanded by US Air Force officer Buck Rogers (Buster Crabbe) encounters dangerously stormy weather above the Himalayas; said weather, along with disastrous panic on the part of Rogers’ crewmen, causes the aircraft to crash. The cowardly crewmen ditch the ship and meet quick ends, but Rogers and young Buddy Wade (Jackie Moran), son of the aircraft’s designer, survive the crash. The pair use a cylinder of “Nirvano” gas to place themselves into suspended animation until a rescue party can reach them, but an avalanche buries the ship and all searches prove fruitless; the dirigible and its two dormant inhabitants remain beneath rocks and snow for five hundred years.

Finally, in the year 2440, a spaceship unearths the wreck, and its pilots restore Buck and Buddy to consciousness. The holdovers from the 20th century soon learn that their rescuers are soldiers from the “Hidden City,” a pocket of resistance to the super-criminal who is ruling the 24th-century Earth–one “Killer” Kane (Anthony Warde). Rogers immediately pledges his support to Air Marshal Kragg (William Gould) and Scientist-General Dr. Huer (C. Montague Shaw), the leaders of the Hidden City exiles, and is soon en route to Saturn, hoping to convince that planet’s rulers to aid the Hidden City in freeing the Earth from Kane’s tyranny. To cement the Saturian alliance, Buck must battle Kane’s legions at every step of the way, with able assistance from Buddy and from Dr. Huer’s trusted aide Lieutenant Wilma Deering (Constance Moore).

 

Ever since its original release, Buck Rogers has stood in the shadow of Universal’s Flash Gordon serials; the studio encouraged such association by casting Flash Gordon star Buster Crabbe as a different sci-fi hero, obviously hoping that the chapterplay would capitalize on the goodwill generated by Flash Gordon and Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars. The serial did succeed in reminding audiences of the Flash outings–but it reminded them of how much they had liked those serials and forced inevitable comparisons that were not in Rogers’ favor. Universal’s plans for a second Buck Rogers serial were quickly scrapped when the first outing failed to please matinee audiences; the intended Buck sequel was then replaced on the studio’s production schedule by–what else?–a third Flash Gordon chapterplay. Even today, Buck is typically dismissed by fans as a pale echo of the great Gordon serials.

It’s easy to see why Buck Rogers came as a disappointment to audiences expecting an outing in the Flash Gordon tradition. Its production design, while futuristic, is less quirky and more uniform than that of the Gordons; there are no monsters and no weird semi-human races besides the rather uninteresting Zuggs; there are also no supporting characters as developed or as interesting as Dr. Zarkov, Ming, King Vultan, the Clay King, Princess Aura, Prince Barin, and other major figures in the Flash Gordon chapterplays. And yet, taken on its own terms, Buck Rogers is far from a failure; it does not approach the Flash Gordon trilogy in quality, but then few serials do.

Buck Rogers’ script, by former Mascot writers Norman Hall and Ray Trampe, is fast-moving and manages to avoid repetition for most of its length. The trip to Saturn, the attempts to convince Saturnian leader Prince Tallen (Philson Ahn) of the justice of the Hidden City’s cause, the subsequent rescue of Tallen from Kane’s city, the second journey to Saturn to cement the alliance, and the attempts of Kane’s henchman Laska (Henry Brandon) to sabotage it–all these incidents keep the narrative flowing very nicely for the serial’s first eight chapters. As in many of Trampe and Hall’s Mascot scripts, however, the writers seem to run out of plot before the serial’s end. While Chapters Nine and Ten remain interesting (with Buck being converted into a hypnotized robot, Buddy’s rescue of the hero, and an infiltration of the Hidden City by one of Kane’s men), the last two chapters have a definite wheel-spinning feel to them, throwing in a redundant third trip to Saturn and an unneeded flashback sequence.

The last-chapter climax is also something of a disappointment, with Kane being overthrown quickly and undramatically instead of being definitively crushed. Here, Trampe and Hall seem to have been leaving room for the sequel that never came and trying to avoid duplicating the dramatic but very final destruction of MIng which closed the first Flash Gordon serial (and which needed to be explained away in the second). The other weak spot of the scripting is Buck and Buddy’s rather calm reaction when they realize that their old world (and everyone in it) is dead–and their extraordinarily quick adjustment to their new one. One wouldn’t have wanted the writers to dwell on our heroes’ plight (which would be absolutely crushing in real life), but I do wish Trampe or Hall could have given Buck and Buddy a few emotional lines about their displacement before getting on to the main action; Hall in his scripts for other serials (Hawk of the Wilderness, Adventures of Red Ryder), showed himself capable of far more dramatic moments.

  

As already mentioned, the serial’s visuals are less varied than those of the Flash Gordon serials, but that’s not to say they aren’t impressive by serial standards. Pains seem to have been taken to avoid duplicating too much of Gordon’s “look;” the spaceship miniatures are completely different than the ships in the Gordon trilogy, while Kane’s stronghold–probably the best miniature in the serial–is not the quasi-Gothic palace of Ming but rather an ominous, futuristic-looking version of New York City, complete with towering skyscrapers. The Hidden City’s great rock gates are also nifty, and the massive Saturnian Forum (a life-size set, not a miniature) is very visually impressive. The barren Red Rock Canyon area works well as the Saturnian landscape, but I think it was a mistake to also use the Canyon as the area between the Hidden City and Kane’s capital; Saturn and Earth shouldn’t look so similar.

 

The only major prop or set reused from the Gordon serials are the “bullet cars” from Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars; they’re just as fun to watch in action here as in the earlier serial. Other incidental props and sets–Kane’s robot room, his mind-control helmets, the various televiewing devices, the anti-gravity belts, Dr. Huer’s invisibility ray, and the Star-Trek-like molecular transportation chamber–add further colorful touches to the serial., and are respectably represented by Universal’s always above-average array of sets and props. The Zuggs, the “primitive race” ruled by the Saturnians, are somewhat disappointing, however; while suitably grotesque-looking, they’re nowhere near as menacing or memorable–in appearance or demeanor–as their obvious inspiration, the Clay People in Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars.

The serial’s action scenes are brisk and energetic, suffering not at all from a general lack of fistfights–thanks to the swift-moving direction of Ford Beebe (a Mascot veteran like writers Trampe and Hall) and his co-director Saul Goodkind (usually an editor). The few hand-to-hand tussles–most of them on the rocky hills of Saturn–are executed routinely but skillfully by Dave Sharpe, Tom Steele, Eddie Parker, and other stuntmen; the best of the bunch is the fight between Buck and a Kane man in the control room of the Hidden City, although this is more exciting for the suspenseful situation (Buck trying to close the gates that the henchman has opened to Kane’s oncoming armada) than for any particular flair in the staging.

Most of the action sequences consist of protracted chases and pursuits (both on foot and in rocketships), with occasional quick combats thrown in. Many of these lengthy chases are very exciting–particularly the long incursion into Kane’s city that occupies most of Chapters Three and Four, a great combination of action and suspense. Buddy’s later stealthy visit into Kane’s fortress to rescue Buck from the robot room, and the following escape, is also good, as are Buck’s skillful and repeated elusions of the rebellious Zuggs in Chapter Eight and the bullet car getaway in Chapter Six.

  

The cliffhanger endings are generally well-staged, with proper build-ups, but too many of them involve spaceship crashes that our heroes rather implausibly live through. The impressive collapsing forum at the end of Chapter Eleven and the bullet car crash at the end of Chapter Six provide nice variety amid the spaceship wrecks, but (alas) are also resolved by mere survival. Still, this is preferable to the blatantly cheating resolution of what is otherwise one the best chapter endings–Killer Kane’s pursuit of Buddy in a darkened council chamber and his apparently lethal zapping of the young hero. At least the resolution features a good stunt bit by Dave Sharpe.

The leading performances in Buck Rogers are all excellent (although most other critics would make a single exception; see below). Buster Crabbe, as always, makes a perfect serial hero–both genially cheerful and grimly serious, unassumingly polite and aggressively tough. As in the Flash Gordon trilogy, his down-to-earth attitude also helps to make the wild sci-fi happenings seem perfectly normal.

Jackie Moran (oddly “reduced” to serial acting only a year after playing Huck Finn in David O. Selznick’s big-budget classic Adventures of Tom Sawyer) does a fine job as Buddy Wade, handling his character’s frequent “golly, gee-whiz” lines in a low-key fashion that keeps Buddy from coming off as too naïve; his chipper but calm demeanor complements Crabbe’s well, and he has no problems carrying an entire chapter and part of another on his own.

Constance Moore, despite being saddled with perhaps the most unflattering costume ever worn by a serial leading lady (basically coveralls and a bathing cap), manages to come off as charming. Her Wilma Deering is self-possessed and capable-seeming but never too coldly efficient; she remains warmly likable even when piloting spaceships or explaining technology to Crabbe.

Henry Brandon is very good as Killer Kane’s chief henchman Captain Laska–suave and sly when acting as Kane’s ambassador to Saturn, haughtily arrogant when threatening people, and nervously jittery in the presence of his overbearing leader. Hard-bitten tough guys Wheeler Oakman and Reed Howes, along with the slicker Carleton Young , form Brandon’s backup squad.

As Killer Kane himself, perennial henchman actor Anthony Warde has been almost universally panned by critics as “miscast.” I have to dissent strongly, however; Warde does a fine job in the part and plays Kane with a memorable combination of viciousness and uncontrollable anger. The character is not a diabolical schemer like Ming, but rather a super-gangster who’s blasted and bullied his way to the top–and Warde’s bad-tempered, aggressive, and thuggish screen personality fits the part perfectly. He veers between intimidating ranting and harshly sinister sarcasm–as when he describes himself as a “kindly ruler” just after wrathfully sending a formerly trusted councilor to the robot room–but is quite menacing in both aspects.

Philson Ahn, brother of frequent serial and feature actor Phillip Ahn, does a good job as Prince Tallen of Saturn; he possesses his sibling’s deep and distinctive voice, which serves him well as a planetary dignitary. His manner also has a slightly tougher edge to it than his refined brother’s, which helps to keep the viewer in uncertainty in the earlier chapters as to whether Tallen will turn out to be friend or foe. Guy Usher plays Aldar, the head of Saturn’s ”Council of the Wise,” and does his best to seem suitably imposing and dignified, despite the almost comical way in which the “Wise” continually change their opinions–backing Kane, opposing him, giving into his demands, defying him, etc. Cyril Delevanti is enjoyable as a grumpy subordinate member of the Council.*

C. Montague Shaw has limited screen time, but is very good as Dr. Huer, balancing statesmanlike dignity with shrewdness and a touch of enjoyable scientific eccentricity (the last is particularly noticeable during his demonstration of his invisibility gas in Chapter Five). Energetic Jack Mulhall is typically affable and enthusiastic as Captain Rankin of the Hidden City, while Kenne Duncan has a rare good guy role as Mulhall’s fellow-officer Lieutenant Lacy. Perennial screen “underworld rat” John Harmon also plays against type as a Hidden City soldier, as does Stanley Price as a Hidden City pilot rescued from existence as a human robot. The dignified but stolid William Gould is good enough as Air Marshal Kragg, but I would have preferred a more dynamic actor in the role–Kragg is, after all, the top military leader of Kane’s enemies. Mulhall could have handled it well, as could Wade Boteler–who does an excellent job as the grim and concerned Professor Morgan in the first chapter, intensely instructing Buddy and Buck in the use of the Nirvano gas.

Lane Chandler also appears in the first chapter, as a military officer who demonstrates the Nirvano gas to a reporter played by another old pro, Kenneth Harlan. An unusually subdued Theodore Lorch is one of Kane’s councilors, while Karl Hackett has a good part as another councilor who gets into an argument with Kane that leads to Hackett’s being converted into a human robot (his terrified pleas as he’s dragged out of the council chamber are quite chilling). Al Bridge has some memorably sinister lines (“when this helmet is in place, you’ll never think or speak again”) in his periodic scenes as the slave-master of Kane’s human robots.

Unusually for Universal, several bit roles are filled by stuntmen; Eddie Parker and Tom Steele pop in as various soldiers and officers, but aren’t as noticeable as Dave Sharpe, who’s given multiple speaking roles as a Kane soldier, a Hidden City soldier, a Saturnian officer, and a Saturnian soldier. His ubiquity can get a little distracting at times, particularly since some of his appearances follow right on the previous one’s heels; he also seems to have a bit of trouble with the formal-sounding Saturnian dialogue, coming off as much more stiff and affected than in his co-starring turn in Daredevils of the Red Circle.

The serial’s music score, like most other Universals of the period, is an eclectic but usually effective array of stock music, some of it cues from the Flash Gordon serials but the majority of it culled from Universal’s horror features, including (most notably) Franz Waxman’s score for Bride of Frankenstein, which furnishes some memorable opening-titles music.

All in all, though Buck Rogers has its share of flaws, it also has more than enough virtues (the acting, the fast pace, the interesting sci-fi trappings) to make it a good chapterplay. Despite its similar themes, it shouldn’t be pitted against the Flash Gordon trilogy–a match it’s bound to lose–but rather judged against the field of competition in general. When judged in this fashion, it’s just as entertaining–and often more entertaining–than many serials with less shabby reputations.

 

*One has to wonder, though, why some Saturnians are Orientals like Ahn and others Occidentals like Usher and Delevanti; my own theory is that men from various countries emigrated from Earth to Saturn sometime before the bulk of the serial took place; this would explain the racial assortment and also explain why the Hidden City chooses Saturn in particular as an ally (as usual, I’m probably putting too much thought into this).

 

St Andrew's Church, Church Lane, Backwell, Somerset BS48 3JJ

 

Overview

Heritage Category: Listed Building

Grade: I

List Entry Number: 1129810

Date first listed: 11-Oct-1961

District: North Somerset (Unitary Authority)

Parish: Backwell

The Diocese of Bath and Wells

National Grid Reference: ST 49311 68330

 

Details

 

Parish Church (Anglican). C12, altered and enlarged C13, C15; altered C16 and repaired C17. West tower, nave, north and south aisles, south porch, north and south chapels; chancel. Coursed, squared rubble with freestone dressings, ashlar tower; lead and stone slate roofs with coped raised verges. West tower: C15, restored 1928; 4 stages with setback buttresses which terminate in clustered pinnacles on the 3rd stage, clustered and setback pinnacles on the 4th stage, terminating in square turrets set diagonally, surmounted by openwork spires; projecting stair turret to north-east which is square on the first stage and half-octagonal above; blocked 2-light windows on second and third stages, cusped heads to tracery and hoodmoulds with lozenge stops, the mullion of the 3rd stage windows has a pierced quatrefoil in a circle at the base (inscription to the left of the 2nd stage window on the west wide); two single-light windows to bell chamber, pierced quatrefoils in arches, 4-centred heads to the windows which are both under a single ogee hoodmould which breaks through the parapet; 5-light west window (restored) with cusped heads to the tracery; west door in moulded surround; south-east buttress bears plaque which reads: "I.B./I.C./C.W./1713". South aisle and chapel: plain parapet; 3 windows all in a Perpendicular style (restored), 4-lights to west and 3-lights to east window; projecting square rood stair turret with embattled parapet; east window has cusped 4-centred heads to the tracery and daggers above; relieving arch over blocked window immediately east of porch; carved gargoyles empty into downpipes with hoppers dated "EIIR/1953". Nave: sanctus bellcote over east gable, crocketed pinnacles. South porch: circa 1300 with embattled parapet and diagonal buttresses; south doorway of 5 orders, ovolo moulding alternating with chamfers - roll moulded hoodmould on small fluted corbel to west. Chancel has angle buttresses and 3-light windows; priest's door in heavy roll moulded surround, hoodmould with carved head stops; restored 3-light Perpendicular style east window. Rodney Chapel: embattled parapet, east gable with trefoil headed window; 3-light restored Perpendicular style window; north doorway in chamfered surround with depressed 4-centred head. North aisle: plain parapet; four 2-, 3- and 4-light windows, all in Perpendicular style; cusped ogee heads to two 4-light westernmost windows; north door in chamfered, 4-centre headed surround. Interior. South porch: blocked door to left (now missing) has a chamfered surround and pointed head, corbel with leaf ornament to right; stoup to right of door with pointed surround; plank and cross battened south door of late C15. Nave: 5 bay arcades, the westernmost part dying into the later west wall, octagonal piers and caps and chamfered, pointed arches. C15 tower arch of 2 wave mouldings. Chancel arch rests on thickened east piers of arcade: sharply pointed arch; carved heads on piers and square squints through piers. Restored Perpendicular style roofs, those of the arcades rest on carved corbel heads; arch-braced roof to nave, with a 2-light dormer window at the south-east corner (possibly to light the rood); two blocked doors to rood stair turret, the lower one has an ogee and hollow moulded surround. Single bay to north and south chapels but no capital to east pier. Single bay chancel: triple sedilia with colonnettes and pointed arches under a linked hoodmould on carved stops, piscina of similar details but with an outer roll moulding which has a fillet; ogee headed niche to left of piscina; two shallow niches on east wall; in the north-east corner is a door with a double ogee moulded surround and a 4-centred head. Rodney Chapel: inscribed and dated 1536, resto red 1933; 3 bay screen of depressed arches with a doorway to the left and two 3-light cusped lights to the right, above are arms and everything is surmounted by a crocketted gable with pinnacles; 2-light trefoil headed squint to right with fragment of C11 carving; inside is a cusped rere-arch to the screen and a roof of 5 cusped transverse ribs. Pulpit is late C19. Font; C12, restored 1907, circular bowl with cable moulding, circular stem with foliate moulding on base. The pews are all 1933. The rood screen is early C16: blank arcaded base with cusped tracery and quatrefoils in circles; pierced tracery to upper part, decorative heads; pointed 4-centred heads to doorways. Brass chandelier, dated 1786. Monuments. Rodney tomb: the effigy is that of Sir Walter Rodney, died 1466 but the tomb chest is mid-C14; 5-bay blank arcade of cusped, ogee headed niches, angels bear arms, band of fleurons above. Rodney Chapel: Elizabeth Harvey, early C17, aedicular with a small obelisk finial; Rice Davis, died 1638, brass and marble plaques, flanked by ashlar terms, moulded frieze and cornice with arms above. North aisle: Joseph Whitchurch, died 1792, by Tyley of Bristol, inscribed marble plaque, a weeping woman rests on an urn; Anthony Biggs, died 1752, marble, broken pediment on brackets; Joseph Hitchman, died 1765, classical marble plaque. South aisle - two to the Simmons family, the lower one 1835, a marble plaque with a draped urn, the upper one with a weeping woman; Charles Biggs, died 1775, marble tablet, flanked by urns. (N. Pevsner, The Buildings of England : North Somerset and Bristol, 1958).

  

© Historic England 2020

Some background:

The Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber) was a single-crew floatplane. The Allied reporting name for the aircraft was 'Rufe'.

 

The A6M2-N floatplane was developed mainly to support amphibious operations and defend remote bases. It was based on the Mitsubishi A6M-2 Model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats. Despite the large central float and wing pontoons, the A6M2-N was aerodynamically a very clean aircraft: compared with its land-based A6M2 cousin, its performance degraded only by about 20%, and for a contemporary single engine floatplane its performance was outstanding.

 

The aircraft was deployed in 1942, referred to as the "Suisen 2" ("Hydro fighter type 2"), and intended for interceptor, fighter-bomber, and short reconnaissance support for amphibious landings, among other uses. However, when confronted with the first generation of Allied fighters, the A6M2-N was no match in aerial combat and rather employed in supportive roles.

 

Effectively, the A6M2-N was mostly utilized in defensive actions in the Aleutians and Solomon Islands operations. They were used with good efficiency against Allied positions: marking patrol elements, aiding warship guns, engaging convoys, and reconnoitering areas over-the-horizon.

The A6M2-Ns were also effective in harassing American PT boats at night, and they could drop flares to illuminate the PTs which were vulnerable to destroyer gunfire, and depended on cover of darkness. However, when Allied fighter coverage became more numerous and effective, the value of the A6M2-N dwindled and losses began to naturally mount.

 

In the Aleutian Campaign this fighter engaged with RCAF Curtiss P-40, Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, but the A6M2-N inventory suffered a severe setback when, on August 7th, 1942, a seaplane base was destroyed by Allied fighter-bombers, taking with it most of the available A6M2-Ns stationed there.

 

The seaplane also served in defense of fueling depots in Balikpapan and Avon Bases (Dutch East Indies) and reinforced the Shumushu base (North Kuriles) in the same period.

Beyond their use from dispersed and improvised bases, A6M2-N fighters also served aboard seaplane carriers Kamikawa Maru in the Solomons and Kuriles areas and aboard Japanese raiders Hokoku Maru and Aikoku Maru in Indian Ocean raids.

Later in the conflict the Otsu Air Group utilized the A6M2-N as an interceptor alongside Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu ('Rex') aircraft based in Biwa lake in the Honshū area, defending the Japanese home land against Allied raids.

 

A total of 327 were built, including the original prototype, before being halted in September 1943.

The last A6M2-N in military service was a single example recovered by the French forces in Indochina after the end of World War II. It crashed shortly after being overhauled, though.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1 (Pilot)

Length: 10.10 m (33ft 1⅝ in)

Wingspan: 12.00 m (39 ft 4⅜ in)

Height: 4.30 m (14ft 1⅜ in)

Wing area: 22.44 m² (251.4 sq ft)

Empty weight: 1,912 kg (4,235 lb)

Loaded weight: 2,460 kg (5,423 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 2,880 kg (6,349 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 air cooled 14 cylinder radial engine,

delivering 950 hp (709 kW) at 4,200 m (13,800 ft)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 436 km/h (235 knots, 270.5 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

Cruise speed: 296 km/h (160 knots, 184 mph)

Range: 1,782 km (963 nmi, 1,107 mi)

Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,800 ft)

Climb rate: 6 min 43 s to 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

 

Armament:

2 × 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns in forward fuselage

2 ×20 mm Type 99 cannons in outer wings

Underwing hardpoints for 2× 60 kg (132 lb) bombs

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is a real world model, despite the weird looks (see below), and an entry for the Arawasi blog's "Japanese Aircraft Online Model Contest 005 - Japanese Seaplanes & Flying Boats" contest in summer 2017. Even though whifs were allowed to enter, I used the opportunity to build a kit I had originally bought for a few bucks and stashed away in the donor bank: a vintage LS Model Nakajima A6M2-N.

 

The mould dates back to 1963(!), and the kit was re-issued several times, also under the ARII label. You get a tiny box, with only two sprues moulded in a pale baby blue, and the number of parts is minimal. It's truly vintage and pretty toylike at first sight. Consequently, you have to face some real old-school issues, e. g. moulded markings for the roundels on the wings, general mediocre fit of anything and lots of sinkholes and flash. Then there are toylike solutions like the single-piece propeller or separate, moveable ailerons with bulging joints.

 

The cockpit interior is non-existent, too: there's just a blank place for a dashboard (to be cut out from the printed BW instructions!), and a spindly pilot figure which is held in mid air by some pins. Furthermore, the kit was designed to take a small electric motor in the nose (sold separately) to drive the propeller. Wires, as well as respective internal ducts, and an AA battery holder are included.

 

Sounds scary? Well, maybe, if you just build it OOB. But all these flaws should not keep the ambitious modeler away because the LS Model kit is (still) a sound basis to start from, even though and by today's standards, it is certainly not a match-winner for a rivet counter-esque competition.

 

For its age and the typical solutions of its time, it is actually surprisingly good: you get very fine engraved surface details (more delicate than many contemporary moulds!), a pretty thin, three-piece clear (yet blurry) canopy and, as a bonus to the elevons, separate flaps – a unique detail I have never come across before! Proportions are IMHO good, even though the cowling looks a bit fishy and the engravings are rather soft and shallow. Anyway, on the exterior, there’s anything you can ask for to be found, and as another bonus the kit comes with a beaching trolley, which makes display and diorama fitting easier.

 

Thanks to the kit's simplicity, the build in itself was pretty straightforward and simple. Cleaning the parts and checking fit was the biggest issue. Upon gluing the old styrene showed signs of serious reaction to the dissolving effect of modern glue: it took ages for the material to cure and become hard again for further work!? Weird…

 

The many sinkholes and overall displacements were corrected with some NC putty/PSR, the protruding elevon/flap joints sanded away as good as possible, and due to the wobbly nature of the kit’s styrene I added blobs of 2C putty inside of the wing halves as stabilizers.

 

Some mods and improvements were made, though. After cleaning the OOB propeller from tons of flash the piece turned out to be pretty usable, and it was put on a metal axis. A styrene tube adapter was added behind the relatively flat engine dummy, so that the prop can spin freely – for the later beauty pics, because no CG effect beats IMHO the real thing.

 

A cockpit interior was created from scratch and donor parts, using the new Airfix A6M model's cockpit as benchmark. It’s not an exact replica, because not much would later be visible, but I wanted, as a minimum, “something” inside. A better pilot figure was used, too, and strapped to the new seat with thin strips of adhesive masking tape as seatbelts.

 

Under the wings, the hardpoints were simulated with some bits of styrene and wire as shackles, but left empty Under the stabilizer fin I added a lug(?), made from thin wire, too.

 

The elevons were fixed in place, the seams to the wings filled with white glue in order to conceal the gaps as good as possible. The movable flaps remained, though, adding life to the model. The dolly was also taken more or less OOB, since it fits well. I just improved it with some sinkhole fillings and some other details, including cushions on the float stabilizers, made from paper tissue soaked with thinned white glue, and a towing bar.

  

Painting and markings:

The reason why I settled for an A6M2-N is mostly the weird paint scheme which can be applied, while still being a real world model: a lilac livery!

 

As far as I could find out, the A6M2-Ns initially carried an all-over IJN Grey livery, which was later, in late 1942, modified with dark green upper sides for a better concealment on the ground, and the Hinomaru received white edges for better contrast.

Anyway, during the Aleutian campaign and more or less in between these two major standards, several aircraft must have received a special camouflage with lilac upper surfaces, and this model depicts such a machine, based on various profiles but no color picture as reliable reference.

 

The sources I consulted, as well as pictures of finished A6M2-N models, show a wide variety of shades and paint scheme layouts, though. Upper colors range from pale pink through more or less bright shades of purple to a pale, rusty-reddish brown (maybe primer?), while the undersides show a wide range of greys or even light blue. Some depictions of Aleutian A6M2-Ns as profile or model even show a uniform wraparound scheme! Choice is yours, obviously...

 

Because of the corny information basis, I did my personal interpretation of the subject. I based my livery more or less on a profile by Michele Marsan, published in Aerei Modelismo Anno XII (March 1991). The unit information was taken from there, too – the only source that would provide such a reference.

 

My idea behind the livery and the eventual finish was that the machine once was fully painted in IJN Grey. Then, the violet upper color was added in the field (for whatever reason?), resulting in a slightly shaggy look and with the light grey shining through here and there in areas of higher wear, e. g. at the leading edges, cockpit area and some seams.

 

Painting started with an initial coat of aluminum under the floats, around the cockpit and on the leading edges. Then the undersides and some areas of the upper surfaces were painted with IJN grey. The latter is an individual mix of Humbrol 90 (Beige Green/RAF Sky) and a bit of 155 (Olive Drab, FS 34087). On top of that I added a thin primer layer of mauve (mix of ModelMaster’s Napoleonic Violet and Neutral Grey, Humbrol 176) on the still vacant upper surfaces – both as a preparation for the later weathering treatments (see below).

 

The following, basic lilac tone comes from Humbrol’s long-gone "Authentics" enamel line. The tin is probably 30 years old, but the content is still alive (and still has a distinctive, sour stench…)! I cannot identify the tone anymore with certainty, but I guess that it is 'HJ 4: Mauve N 9', one of the line’s Japanese WWII tones which was later not carried over to the standard tones, still available today.

 

Anyway, the color is a dull, rather greyish violet, relatively dark (a bit like RAF Ocean Grey), and it fits well as a camouflage tone on this specific model. Since there’s no better alternative I could think of except for an individual mix or garish, off-the-rack pop art tones, I went with it.

 

After overall basic painting was done and thoroughly cured, weathering started with a careful wet sand paper treatment, removing the salt grain masks and revealing some of the lower IJN Grey and aluminum layers. While this appears messy, I found that the result looks more realistic than artificial weathering applied as paint effects on top of the basic paint.

 

The engine cowling was painted separately, with a mix of black and a little dark blue. The propeller received an aluminum spinner (Humbrol’s Matt Aluminum Metallizer), while the blades received aluminum front sides (Revell acrylics), and red brown (Humbrol 160) back sides. Two thin, red stripes decorate the propeller tips (Decals, left over from an AZ Model Ki-78, IIRC).

 

As a standard procedure, the kit received a light wash with thinned black ink, revealing the engraved panel lines, plus some post-shading in order to emphasize panels and add visual contrast and ‘drama’.

 

Decals and markings were improvised and come from the spares box, since I did not trust the vintage OOB decals - even though they are in so far nice that the sheet contains any major marking as well as a full set of letter so that an individual tail code could be created. Anyway, the model's real world benchmark did not carry any numeric or letter code, just Hinomaru in standard positions and a horizontal, white-and-red stripe on the fin.

 

The roundels actually belong to a JSDAF F-4EJ, some stencils come from a leftover Hobby Boss A6M sheet. The fin decoration was created with generic decal sheet material (TL Modellbau). Similar stuff was also used for the markings on the central float, as well as for the yellow ID markings on the inner wings' leading edges. I am just not certain whether the real aircraft carried them at all? But they were introduced with the new green upper surfaces in late 1942, so that they appear at least plausible. Another argument in this marking‘s favor is that it simply adds even more color to the model!

 

The cockpit interior was painted in a light khaki tone (a mix of Humbrol 159 and 94), while the flaps' interior was painted with Aodake Iro (an individual mix of acrylic aluminum and translucent teal paint). Lacking good reference material, the beaching trolley became IJA Green, with some good weathering with dry-brushed silver on the edges and traces of rust here and there (the latter created with artist acrylics.

 

Close to the (literal) finish line, some soot and oil stains were added with graphite and Tamiya's 'Smoke', and the kit finally received a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri); to the varnish on the engine cover a bit of gloss varnish was added, for a sheen finish.

  

In the end, quite a challenging build. Not a winner, but …different. Concerning the LS Model kit as such, I must say that - despite its age of more than 50 years now - the A6M2-N model is still a worthwhile offer, if you invest some effort. Sure, there are certainly better 1:72 options available (e. g. the Hasegawa kit, its mould was created in 1995 and should be light years ahead concerning detail and fit. Not certain about the Revell/Frog and Jo-Han alternatives, though), but tackling this simple, vintage kit was fun in itself. And, based on what you get out of the little box, the result is not bad at all!

 

Beyond the technical aspects, I am also pleased with the visual result of the build. At first glance, this antiquity looks pretty convincing. And the disputable, strange lilac tone really makes this A6M2-N model …outstanding. Even though I still wonder what might have been the rationale behind this tone? The only thing I could imagine is a dedicated scheme for missions at dusk/dawn, similar to the pink RAF recce Spitfires in early WWII? It would be plausible, though, since the A6M2-Ns were tasked with nocturnal reconnoitre and ground attack missions.

The Telegraph 3 Nov 1888

 

BRISBANE RIVER BRIDGE

 

A public meeting was held in the Town Hall last night for the purpose of urging the Government to construct a bridge from North Brisbane to Kangaroo Point.

 

The Chairman briefly explained the object of the meeting and called on Mr W. Williams to move the first resolution:

 

"That this meeting of ratepayers of the city of Brisbane is of the opinion that the interests of the inhabitants of this city are so clearly identified with those of Woolloongabba, Coorparoo, and the districts beyond as to require more direct means of intercommunication between these parts of the city, and that the necessity for more central bridge accommodation is urgent and pressing.

 

The bridge at South Brisbane was congested and unable to carry the traffic, as was patent to everybody, but by building a bridge across to Kangaroo Point they would be benefiting the whole district in that direction."

  

Image Source: www.archivessearch.qld.gov.au/items/ITM1176179

  

THE HOLY NAME CATHEDRAL

 

Holy Name Cathedral was a planned but never-built Roman Catholic cathedral for the city of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Designed by Hennessy, Hennessy & Co, initially in an English Baroque style inspired by St Paul's in London, it was intended to have been the largest church building of any Christian denomination in the Southern Hemisphere. James Duhig, the Archbishop of Brisbane, was the chief proponent of the project. First designed in 1925, building began in 1927 and in the 1930s services were held in the crypt chapel on the site, the only part to be built. No further construction took place, and with Duhig's death in 1965 the project lost its impetus, but was not formally abandoned until the 1970s. The archdiocese sold the site to property developers in 1985, the crypt was demolished and an apartment complex was built on the site. Today the perimeter wall along Ann Street and part of Gotha Street are all that remain, and were heritage-listed in 1992.

 

In the early years of Duhig's ecclesiastical provinciate, his archdiocese took on an extensive building program, including churches, hospitals and schools, creating his nickname "Duhig the Builder". Projects included the Convent of the Sacred Heart, St Vincent's Hospital, Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola in Toowong 1920s, and the Corpus Christi Church in Nundah in 1926. Within Brisbane, he commissioned the Villa Maria Convent in Fortitude Valley, built in 1927-28. With plans to build a new, larger Cathedral, he completed the existing 19th century Cathedral of St Stephen, Brisbane, with an apse and sanctuary in a simpler design than originally intended in 1922.

 

The site chosen for the cathedral was in part that of the Bishop's residence, located on a rise just outside the central city, at the southwestern end of the inner suburb of Fortitude Valley, bounded by Gotha and Gipps, Ann and Wickham Streets.

 

A house called "Dara" had been built on that site in 1850, and in 1859 it became the residence of the first Catholic Bishop of Brisbane, James Quinn (1859–1881). In 1890 the house was replaced by a more substantial dwelling of the same name for the second bishop, Robert Dunne (1830–1917). It was then occupied by his successor Archbishop Duhig from 1917 until he demolished it to make way for his Holy Name Cathedral project.

 

The rear part of the site on Gipps Street, where the crypt of the Cathedral was eventually built, was owned by Simon Kreutzer (1865-1926), who sold it for a nominal rate to the Brisbane Town Council as a possible site for a new town hall.[5] However, Charles Moffatt Jenkinson, the mayor of Brisbane in 1914, decided to construct the Brisbane City Hall at Albert Square (now known as King George Square), and he committed the council to that decision by selling the Fortitude Valley site to the Catholic Archdiocese for the construction of the cathedral.

 

Benedict stone is a mixture of cement and crushed Brisbane tuff used on building facades as an alternative to full stone construction. It was manufactured by Benedict Stone (Qld) Pty Ltd which was established by Roman Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane James Duhig, to manufacture the stone required for the Holy Name Cathedral, Fortitude Valley. The product was developed at the turn of the twentieth century by American manufacturer, Benedict. Duhig obtained a licence from America and opened the Benedict Stone works at Bowen Hills on 9 August 1929. In February 1930 Colonial Mutual Life (CML) advanced Duhig a £70,000 mortgage on his properties which included the stone works. A mutually-dependent relationship developed between CML, Duhig and Jack Hennessey, architect. CML used Benedict stone to build a number of their Australian offices, ensuring some of their mortgage was repaid and employed Hennessey and Concrete Constructions (Qld) Ltd, Brisbane (Duhig's architect and contractor for the Holy Name Cathedral).

 

Concrete foundations for the building were laid in 1927, and the foundation stone was laid on 14 Sept 1928 by the papal legate, Cardinal Cerretti, with a crowd of 35,000 people in attendance. Due to the Great Depression which began in late 1929, fund-raising efforts in the 1930s stalled. Because of lack of funds caused by unwise investment in oil shares of the Roma oil wells the dream did not come to fruition. Nevertheless, Duhig managed to raise enough funds to build a crypt on the site which was completed in 1934. In August 1935, the principal altar in the crypt was consecrated by Duhig. However, fundraising efforts stalled shortly thereafter.

 

The Holy Name Cathedral project was subject to further ongoing setbacks. In 1949 the Holy Name architect Jack Hennessy sued for unpaid fees and in 1950 the court awarded him over £25,000.

 

The cathedral was never completed. In 1985 the archdiocese sold the site to property developers and an apartment complex called "Cathedral Place" was subsequently built. The perimeter walls of the cathedral which were topped by balustrades on the boundaries along Ann Street and part of Gotha Street have been preserved. The surviving remnants of the cathedral were heritage-listed in 1992. St Stephen's Cathedral in the central business district continues to be the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane. The foundation stones of the Holy Name Cathedral were removed and placed in St Stephen's Cathedral between the 1921-22 and 1988-1989 extensions of St Stephen's at the entrance to the Eucharist Chapel.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Name_Cathedral,_Brisbane

Kagrenac: Now with that unfortunate setback out of the way, I'll need to show you why it would be extremely foolish to try to take over our city.

Geomancer: What, the explosive device you planted in my head wasn't enough?

On the road to becoming my true self, I will (and have) come across bumps in the road along the way.

 

Whether it's a temporary setback such as travel distance or in the community, I often overcome and find solutions to the problems that I face, day in, day out.

 

But sometimes, those problems can become a big issue.

 

As the Beast from the Disney classic, Beauty and the Beast, once said:

 

"The day, my life, ended."

 

A while ago, I was in the Beast's shoes, going through and processing a devastating, life alterating event which hit me for six.

 

A five year, drug filled, neighbourhood war in my part of town (and my unit complex) was all but too much for me in all aspects.

 

So, I had to ask for help from a local charity for assistance, which, although I was at my lowest point, had an op shop and this sparkly dress just happened to be half price....

Some background:

The Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber) was a single-crew floatplane. The Allied reporting name for the aircraft was 'Rufe'.

 

The A6M2-N floatplane was developed mainly to support amphibious operations and defend remote bases. It was based on the Mitsubishi A6M-2 Model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats. Despite the large central float and wing pontoons, the A6M2-N was aerodynamically a very clean aircraft: compared with its land-based A6M2 cousin, its performance degraded only by about 20%, and for a contemporary single engine floatplane its performance was outstanding.

 

The aircraft was deployed in 1942, referred to as the "Suisen 2" ("Hydro fighter type 2"), and intended for interceptor, fighter-bomber, and short reconnaissance support for amphibious landings, among other uses. However, when confronted with the first generation of Allied fighters, the A6M2-N was no match in aerial combat and rather employed in supportive roles.

 

Effectively, the A6M2-N was mostly utilized in defensive actions in the Aleutians and Solomon Islands operations. They were used with good efficiency against Allied positions: marking patrol elements, aiding warship guns, engaging convoys, and reconnoitering areas over-the-horizon.

The A6M2-Ns were also effective in harassing American PT boats at night, and they could drop flares to illuminate the PTs which were vulnerable to destroyer gunfire, and depended on cover of darkness. However, when Allied fighter coverage became more numerous and effective, the value of the A6M2-N dwindled and losses began to naturally mount.

 

In the Aleutian Campaign this fighter engaged with RCAF Curtiss P-40, Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, but the A6M2-N inventory suffered a severe setback when, on August 7th, 1942, a seaplane base was destroyed by Allied fighter-bombers, taking with it most of the available A6M2-Ns stationed there.

 

The seaplane also served in defense of fueling depots in Balikpapan and Avon Bases (Dutch East Indies) and reinforced the Shumushu base (North Kuriles) in the same period.

Beyond their use from dispersed and improvised bases, A6M2-N fighters also served aboard seaplane carriers Kamikawa Maru in the Solomons and Kuriles areas and aboard Japanese raiders Hokoku Maru and Aikoku Maru in Indian Ocean raids.

Later in the conflict the Otsu Air Group utilized the A6M2-N as an interceptor alongside Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu ('Rex') aircraft based in Biwa lake in the Honshū area, defending the Japanese home land against Allied raids.

 

A total of 327 were built, including the original prototype, before being halted in September 1943.

The last A6M2-N in military service was a single example recovered by the French forces in Indochina after the end of World War II. It crashed shortly after being overhauled, though.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1 (Pilot)

Length: 10.10 m (33ft 1⅝ in)

Wingspan: 12.00 m (39 ft 4⅜ in)

Height: 4.30 m (14ft 1⅜ in)

Wing area: 22.44 m² (251.4 sq ft)

Empty weight: 1,912 kg (4,235 lb)

Loaded weight: 2,460 kg (5,423 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 2,880 kg (6,349 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 air cooled 14 cylinder radial engine,

delivering 950 hp (709 kW) at 4,200 m (13,800 ft)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 436 km/h (235 knots, 270.5 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

Cruise speed: 296 km/h (160 knots, 184 mph)

Range: 1,782 km (963 nmi, 1,107 mi)

Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,800 ft)

Climb rate: 6 min 43 s to 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

 

Armament:

2 × 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns in forward fuselage

2 ×20 mm Type 99 cannons in outer wings

Underwing hardpoints for 2× 60 kg (132 lb) bombs

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is a real world model, despite the weird looks (see below), and an entry for the Arawasi blog's "Japanese Aircraft Online Model Contest 005 - Japanese Seaplanes & Flying Boats" contest in summer 2017. Even though whifs were allowed to enter, I used the opportunity to build a kit I had originally bought for a few bucks and stashed away in the donor bank: a vintage LS Model Nakajima A6M2-N.

 

The mould dates back to 1963(!), and the kit was re-issued several times, also under the ARII label. You get a tiny box, with only two sprues moulded in a pale baby blue, and the number of parts is minimal. It's truly vintage and pretty toylike at first sight. Consequently, you have to face some real old-school issues, e. g. moulded markings for the roundels on the wings, general mediocre fit of anything and lots of sinkholes and flash. Then there are toylike solutions like the single-piece propeller or separate, moveable ailerons with bulging joints.

 

The cockpit interior is non-existent, too: there's just a blank place for a dashboard (to be cut out from the printed BW instructions!), and a spindly pilot figure which is held in mid air by some pins. Furthermore, the kit was designed to take a small electric motor in the nose (sold separately) to drive the propeller. Wires, as well as respective internal ducts, and an AA battery holder are included.

 

Sounds scary? Well, maybe, if you just build it OOB. But all these flaws should not keep the ambitious modeler away because the LS Model kit is (still) a sound basis to start from, even though and by today's standards, it is certainly not a match-winner for a rivet counter-esque competition.

 

For its age and the typical solutions of its time, it is actually surprisingly good: you get very fine engraved surface details (more delicate than many contemporary moulds!), a pretty thin, three-piece clear (yet blurry) canopy and, as a bonus to the elevons, separate flaps – a unique detail I have never come across before! Proportions are IMHO good, even though the cowling looks a bit fishy and the engravings are rather soft and shallow. Anyway, on the exterior, there’s anything you can ask for to be found, and as another bonus the kit comes with a beaching trolley, which makes display and diorama fitting easier.

 

Thanks to the kit's simplicity, the build in itself was pretty straightforward and simple. Cleaning the parts and checking fit was the biggest issue. Upon gluing the old styrene showed signs of serious reaction to the dissolving effect of modern glue: it took ages for the material to cure and become hard again for further work!? Weird…

 

The many sinkholes and overall displacements were corrected with some NC putty/PSR, the protruding elevon/flap joints sanded away as good as possible, and due to the wobbly nature of the kit’s styrene I added blobs of 2C putty inside of the wing halves as stabilizers.

 

Some mods and improvements were made, though. After cleaning the OOB propeller from tons of flash the piece turned out to be pretty usable, and it was put on a metal axis. A styrene tube adapter was added behind the relatively flat engine dummy, so that the prop can spin freely – for the later beauty pics, because no CG effect beats IMHO the real thing.

 

A cockpit interior was created from scratch and donor parts, using the new Airfix A6M model's cockpit as benchmark. It’s not an exact replica, because not much would later be visible, but I wanted, as a minimum, “something” inside. A better pilot figure was used, too, and strapped to the new seat with thin strips of adhesive masking tape as seatbelts.

 

Under the wings, the hardpoints were simulated with some bits of styrene and wire as shackles, but left empty Under the stabilizer fin I added a lug(?), made from thin wire, too.

 

The elevons were fixed in place, the seams to the wings filled with white glue in order to conceal the gaps as good as possible. The movable flaps remained, though, adding life to the model. The dolly was also taken more or less OOB, since it fits well. I just improved it with some sinkhole fillings and some other details, including cushions on the float stabilizers, made from paper tissue soaked with thinned white glue, and a towing bar.

  

Painting and markings:

The reason why I settled for an A6M2-N is mostly the weird paint scheme which can be applied, while still being a real world model: a lilac livery!

 

As far as I could find out, the A6M2-Ns initially carried an all-over IJN Grey livery, which was later, in late 1942, modified with dark green upper sides for a better concealment on the ground, and the Hinomaru received white edges for better contrast.

Anyway, during the Aleutian campaign and more or less in between these two major standards, several aircraft must have received a special camouflage with lilac upper surfaces, and this model depicts such a machine, based on various profiles but no color picture as reliable reference.

 

The sources I consulted, as well as pictures of finished A6M2-N models, show a wide variety of shades and paint scheme layouts, though. Upper colors range from pale pink through more or less bright shades of purple to a pale, rusty-reddish brown (maybe primer?), while the undersides show a wide range of greys or even light blue. Some depictions of Aleutian A6M2-Ns as profile or model even show a uniform wraparound scheme! Choice is yours, obviously...

 

Because of the corny information basis, I did my personal interpretation of the subject. I based my livery more or less on a profile by Michele Marsan, published in Aerei Modelismo Anno XII (March 1991). The unit information was taken from there, too – the only source that would provide such a reference.

 

My idea behind the livery and the eventual finish was that the machine once was fully painted in IJN Grey. Then, the violet upper color was added in the field (for whatever reason?), resulting in a slightly shaggy look and with the light grey shining through here and there in areas of higher wear, e. g. at the leading edges, cockpit area and some seams.

 

Painting started with an initial coat of aluminum under the floats, around the cockpit and on the leading edges. Then the undersides and some areas of the upper surfaces were painted with IJN grey. The latter is an individual mix of Humbrol 90 (Beige Green/RAF Sky) and a bit of 155 (Olive Drab, FS 34087). On top of that I added a thin primer layer of mauve (mix of ModelMaster’s Napoleonic Violet and Neutral Grey, Humbrol 176) on the still vacant upper surfaces – both as a preparation for the later weathering treatments (see below).

 

The following, basic lilac tone comes from Humbrol’s long-gone "Authentics" enamel line. The tin is probably 30 years old, but the content is still alive (and still has a distinctive, sour stench…)! I cannot identify the tone anymore with certainty, but I guess that it is 'HJ 4: Mauve N 9', one of the line’s Japanese WWII tones which was later not carried over to the standard tones, still available today.

 

Anyway, the color is a dull, rather greyish violet, relatively dark (a bit like RAF Ocean Grey), and it fits well as a camouflage tone on this specific model. Since there’s no better alternative I could think of except for an individual mix or garish, off-the-rack pop art tones, I went with it.

 

After overall basic painting was done and thoroughly cured, weathering started with a careful wet sand paper treatment, removing the salt grain masks and revealing some of the lower IJN Grey and aluminum layers. While this appears messy, I found that the result looks more realistic than artificial weathering applied as paint effects on top of the basic paint.

 

The engine cowling was painted separately, with a mix of black and a little dark blue. The propeller received an aluminum spinner (Humbrol’s Matt Aluminum Metallizer), while the blades received aluminum front sides (Revell acrylics), and red brown (Humbrol 160) back sides. Two thin, red stripes decorate the propeller tips (Decals, left over from an AZ Model Ki-78, IIRC).

 

As a standard procedure, the kit received a light wash with thinned black ink, revealing the engraved panel lines, plus some post-shading in order to emphasize panels and add visual contrast and ‘drama’.

 

Decals and markings were improvised and come from the spares box, since I did not trust the vintage OOB decals - even though they are in so far nice that the sheet contains any major marking as well as a full set of letter so that an individual tail code could be created. Anyway, the model's real world benchmark did not carry any numeric or letter code, just Hinomaru in standard positions and a horizontal, white-and-red stripe on the fin.

 

The roundels actually belong to a JSDAF F-4EJ, some stencils come from a leftover Hobby Boss A6M sheet. The fin decoration was created with generic decal sheet material (TL Modellbau). Similar stuff was also used for the markings on the central float, as well as for the yellow ID markings on the inner wings' leading edges. I am just not certain whether the real aircraft carried them at all? But they were introduced with the new green upper surfaces in late 1942, so that they appear at least plausible. Another argument in this marking‘s favor is that it simply adds even more color to the model!

 

The cockpit interior was painted in a light khaki tone (a mix of Humbrol 159 and 94), while the flaps' interior was painted with Aodake Iro (an individual mix of acrylic aluminum and translucent teal paint). Lacking good reference material, the beaching trolley became IJA Green, with some good weathering with dry-brushed silver on the edges and traces of rust here and there (the latter created with artist acrylics.

 

Close to the (literal) finish line, some soot and oil stains were added with graphite and Tamiya's 'Smoke', and the kit finally received a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri); to the varnish on the engine cover a bit of gloss varnish was added, for a sheen finish.

  

In the end, quite a challenging build. Not a winner, but …different. Concerning the LS Model kit as such, I must say that - despite its age of more than 50 years now - the A6M2-N model is still a worthwhile offer, if you invest some effort. Sure, there are certainly better 1:72 options available (e. g. the Hasegawa kit, its mould was created in 1995 and should be light years ahead concerning detail and fit. Not certain about the Revell/Frog and Jo-Han alternatives, though), but tackling this simple, vintage kit was fun in itself. And, based on what you get out of the little box, the result is not bad at all!

 

Beyond the technical aspects, I am also pleased with the visual result of the build. At first glance, this antiquity looks pretty convincing. And the disputable, strange lilac tone really makes this A6M2-N model …outstanding. Even though I still wonder what might have been the rationale behind this tone? The only thing I could imagine is a dedicated scheme for missions at dusk/dawn, similar to the pink RAF recce Spitfires in early WWII? It would be plausible, though, since the A6M2-Ns were tasked with nocturnal reconnoitre and ground attack missions.

Some background:

The Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber) was a single-crew floatplane. The Allied reporting name for the aircraft was 'Rufe'.

 

The A6M2-N floatplane was developed mainly to support amphibious operations and defend remote bases. It was based on the Mitsubishi A6M-2 Model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats. Despite the large central float and wing pontoons, the A6M2-N was aerodynamically a very clean aircraft: compared with its land-based A6M2 cousin, its performance degraded only by about 20%, and for a contemporary single engine floatplane its performance was outstanding.

 

The aircraft was deployed in 1942, referred to as the "Suisen 2" ("Hydro fighter type 2"), and intended for interceptor, fighter-bomber, and short reconnaissance support for amphibious landings, among other uses. However, when confronted with the first generation of Allied fighters, the A6M2-N was no match in aerial combat and rather employed in supportive roles.

 

Effectively, the A6M2-N was mostly utilized in defensive actions in the Aleutians and Solomon Islands operations. They were used with good efficiency against Allied positions: marking patrol elements, aiding warship guns, engaging convoys, and reconnoitering areas over-the-horizon.

The A6M2-Ns were also effective in harassing American PT boats at night, and they could drop flares to illuminate the PTs which were vulnerable to destroyer gunfire, and depended on cover of darkness. However, when Allied fighter coverage became more numerous and effective, the value of the A6M2-N dwindled and losses began to naturally mount.

 

In the Aleutian Campaign this fighter engaged with RCAF Curtiss P-40, Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, but the A6M2-N inventory suffered a severe setback when, on August 7th, 1942, a seaplane base was destroyed by Allied fighter-bombers, taking with it most of the available A6M2-Ns stationed there.

 

The seaplane also served in defense of fueling depots in Balikpapan and Avon Bases (Dutch East Indies) and reinforced the Shumushu base (North Kuriles) in the same period.

Beyond their use from dispersed and improvised bases, A6M2-N fighters also served aboard seaplane carriers Kamikawa Maru in the Solomons and Kuriles areas and aboard Japanese raiders Hokoku Maru and Aikoku Maru in Indian Ocean raids.

Later in the conflict the Otsu Air Group utilized the A6M2-N as an interceptor alongside Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu ('Rex') aircraft based in Biwa lake in the Honshū area, defending the Japanese home land against Allied raids.

 

A total of 327 were built, including the original prototype, before being halted in September 1943.

The last A6M2-N in military service was a single example recovered by the French forces in Indochina after the end of World War II. It crashed shortly after being overhauled, though.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1 (Pilot)

Length: 10.10 m (33ft 1⅝ in)

Wingspan: 12.00 m (39 ft 4⅜ in)

Height: 4.30 m (14ft 1⅜ in)

Wing area: 22.44 m² (251.4 sq ft)

Empty weight: 1,912 kg (4,235 lb)

Loaded weight: 2,460 kg (5,423 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 2,880 kg (6,349 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 air cooled 14 cylinder radial engine,

delivering 950 hp (709 kW) at 4,200 m (13,800 ft)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 436 km/h (235 knots, 270.5 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

Cruise speed: 296 km/h (160 knots, 184 mph)

Range: 1,782 km (963 nmi, 1,107 mi)

Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,800 ft)

Climb rate: 6 min 43 s to 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

 

Armament:

2 × 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns in forward fuselage

2 ×20 mm Type 99 cannons in outer wings

Underwing hardpoints for 2× 60 kg (132 lb) bombs

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is a real world model, despite the weird looks (see below), and an entry for the Arawasi blog's "Japanese Aircraft Online Model Contest 005 - Japanese Seaplanes & Flying Boats" contest in summer 2017. Even though whifs were allowed to enter, I used the opportunity to build a kit I had originally bought for a few bucks and stashed away in the donor bank: a vintage LS Model Nakajima A6M2-N.

 

The mould dates back to 1963(!), and the kit was re-issued several times, also under the ARII label. You get a tiny box, with only two sprues moulded in a pale baby blue, and the number of parts is minimal. It's truly vintage and pretty toylike at first sight. Consequently, you have to face some real old-school issues, e. g. moulded markings for the roundels on the wings, general mediocre fit of anything and lots of sinkholes and flash. Then there are toylike solutions like the single-piece propeller or separate, moveable ailerons with bulging joints.

 

The cockpit interior is non-existent, too: there's just a blank place for a dashboard (to be cut out from the printed BW instructions!), and a spindly pilot figure which is held in mid air by some pins. Furthermore, the kit was designed to take a small electric motor in the nose (sold separately) to drive the propeller. Wires, as well as respective internal ducts, and an AA battery holder are included.

 

Sounds scary? Well, maybe, if you just build it OOB. But all these flaws should not keep the ambitious modeler away because the LS Model kit is (still) a sound basis to start from, even though and by today's standards, it is certainly not a match-winner for a rivet counter-esque competition.

 

For its age and the typical solutions of its time, it is actually surprisingly good: you get very fine engraved surface details (more delicate than many contemporary moulds!), a pretty thin, three-piece clear (yet blurry) canopy and, as a bonus to the elevons, separate flaps – a unique detail I have never come across before! Proportions are IMHO good, even though the cowling looks a bit fishy and the engravings are rather soft and shallow. Anyway, on the exterior, there’s anything you can ask for to be found, and as another bonus the kit comes with a beaching trolley, which makes display and diorama fitting easier.

 

Thanks to the kit's simplicity, the build in itself was pretty straightforward and simple. Cleaning the parts and checking fit was the biggest issue. Upon gluing the old styrene showed signs of serious reaction to the dissolving effect of modern glue: it took ages for the material to cure and become hard again for further work!? Weird…

 

The many sinkholes and overall displacements were corrected with some NC putty/PSR, the protruding elevon/flap joints sanded away as good as possible, and due to the wobbly nature of the kit’s styrene I added blobs of 2C putty inside of the wing halves as stabilizers.

 

Some mods and improvements were made, though. After cleaning the OOB propeller from tons of flash the piece turned out to be pretty usable, and it was put on a metal axis. A styrene tube adapter was added behind the relatively flat engine dummy, so that the prop can spin freely – for the later beauty pics, because no CG effect beats IMHO the real thing.

 

A cockpit interior was created from scratch and donor parts, using the new Airfix A6M model's cockpit as benchmark. It’s not an exact replica, because not much would later be visible, but I wanted, as a minimum, “something” inside. A better pilot figure was used, too, and strapped to the new seat with thin strips of adhesive masking tape as seatbelts.

 

Under the wings, the hardpoints were simulated with some bits of styrene and wire as shackles, but left empty Under the stabilizer fin I added a lug(?), made from thin wire, too.

 

The elevons were fixed in place, the seams to the wings filled with white glue in order to conceal the gaps as good as possible. The movable flaps remained, though, adding life to the model. The dolly was also taken more or less OOB, since it fits well. I just improved it with some sinkhole fillings and some other details, including cushions on the float stabilizers, made from paper tissue soaked with thinned white glue, and a towing bar.

  

Painting and markings:

The reason why I settled for an A6M2-N is mostly the weird paint scheme which can be applied, while still being a real world model: a lilac livery!

 

As far as I could find out, the A6M2-Ns initially carried an all-over IJN Grey livery, which was later, in late 1942, modified with dark green upper sides for a better concealment on the ground, and the Hinomaru received white edges for better contrast.

Anyway, during the Aleutian campaign and more or less in between these two major standards, several aircraft must have received a special camouflage with lilac upper surfaces, and this model depicts such a machine, based on various profiles but no color picture as reliable reference.

 

The sources I consulted, as well as pictures of finished A6M2-N models, show a wide variety of shades and paint scheme layouts, though. Upper colors range from pale pink through more or less bright shades of purple to a pale, rusty-reddish brown (maybe primer?), while the undersides show a wide range of greys or even light blue. Some depictions of Aleutian A6M2-Ns as profile or model even show a uniform wraparound scheme! Choice is yours, obviously...

 

Because of the corny information basis, I did my personal interpretation of the subject. I based my livery more or less on a profile by Michele Marsan, published in Aerei Modelismo Anno XII (March 1991). The unit information was taken from there, too – the only source that would provide such a reference.

 

My idea behind the livery and the eventual finish was that the machine once was fully painted in IJN Grey. Then, the violet upper color was added in the field (for whatever reason?), resulting in a slightly shaggy look and with the light grey shining through here and there in areas of higher wear, e. g. at the leading edges, cockpit area and some seams.

 

Painting started with an initial coat of aluminum under the floats, around the cockpit and on the leading edges. Then the undersides and some areas of the upper surfaces were painted with IJN grey. The latter is an individual mix of Humbrol 90 (Beige Green/RAF Sky) and a bit of 155 (Olive Drab, FS 34087). On top of that I added a thin primer layer of mauve (mix of ModelMaster’s Napoleonic Violet and Neutral Grey, Humbrol 176) on the still vacant upper surfaces – both as a preparation for the later weathering treatments (see below).

 

The following, basic lilac tone comes from Humbrol’s long-gone "Authentics" enamel line. The tin is probably 30 years old, but the content is still alive (and still has a distinctive, sour stench…)! I cannot identify the tone anymore with certainty, but I guess that it is 'HJ 4: Mauve N 9', one of the line’s Japanese WWII tones which was later not carried over to the standard tones, still available today.

 

Anyway, the color is a dull, rather greyish violet, relatively dark (a bit like RAF Ocean Grey), and it fits well as a camouflage tone on this specific model. Since there’s no better alternative I could think of except for an individual mix or garish, off-the-rack pop art tones, I went with it.

 

After overall basic painting was done and thoroughly cured, weathering started with a careful wet sand paper treatment, removing the salt grain masks and revealing some of the lower IJN Grey and aluminum layers. While this appears messy, I found that the result looks more realistic than artificial weathering applied as paint effects on top of the basic paint.

 

The engine cowling was painted separately, with a mix of black and a little dark blue. The propeller received an aluminum spinner (Humbrol’s Matt Aluminum Metallizer), while the blades received aluminum front sides (Revell acrylics), and red brown (Humbrol 160) back sides. Two thin, red stripes decorate the propeller tips (Decals, left over from an AZ Model Ki-78, IIRC).

 

As a standard procedure, the kit received a light wash with thinned black ink, revealing the engraved panel lines, plus some post-shading in order to emphasize panels and add visual contrast and ‘drama’.

 

Decals and markings were improvised and come from the spares box, since I did not trust the vintage OOB decals - even though they are in so far nice that the sheet contains any major marking as well as a full set of letter so that an individual tail code could be created. Anyway, the model's real world benchmark did not carry any numeric or letter code, just Hinomaru in standard positions and a horizontal, white-and-red stripe on the fin.

 

The roundels actually belong to a JSDAF F-4EJ, some stencils come from a leftover Hobby Boss A6M sheet. The fin decoration was created with generic decal sheet material (TL Modellbau). Similar stuff was also used for the markings on the central float, as well as for the yellow ID markings on the inner wings' leading edges. I am just not certain whether the real aircraft carried them at all? But they were introduced with the new green upper surfaces in late 1942, so that they appear at least plausible. Another argument in this marking‘s favor is that it simply adds even more color to the model!

 

The cockpit interior was painted in a light khaki tone (a mix of Humbrol 159 and 94), while the flaps' interior was painted with Aodake Iro (an individual mix of acrylic aluminum and translucent teal paint). Lacking good reference material, the beaching trolley became IJA Green, with some good weathering with dry-brushed silver on the edges and traces of rust here and there (the latter created with artist acrylics.

 

Close to the (literal) finish line, some soot and oil stains were added with graphite and Tamiya's 'Smoke', and the kit finally received a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri); to the varnish on the engine cover a bit of gloss varnish was added, for a sheen finish.

  

In the end, quite a challenging build. Not a winner, but …different. Concerning the LS Model kit as such, I must say that - despite its age of more than 50 years now - the A6M2-N model is still a worthwhile offer, if you invest some effort. Sure, there are certainly better 1:72 options available (e. g. the Hasegawa kit, its mould was created in 1995 and should be light years ahead concerning detail and fit. Not certain about the Revell/Frog and Jo-Han alternatives, though), but tackling this simple, vintage kit was fun in itself. And, based on what you get out of the little box, the result is not bad at all!

 

Beyond the technical aspects, I am also pleased with the visual result of the build. At first glance, this antiquity looks pretty convincing. And the disputable, strange lilac tone really makes this A6M2-N model …outstanding. Even though I still wonder what might have been the rationale behind this tone? The only thing I could imagine is a dedicated scheme for missions at dusk/dawn, similar to the pink RAF recce Spitfires in early WWII? It would be plausible, though, since the A6M2-Ns were tasked with nocturnal reconnoitre and ground attack missions.

69/365

place where the ends of Oz.

the most magical place, but not everyone can find it.

the worst thing is to go through the series of setbacks to get a miracle.

Top-seeded Sara Errani received another setback in the French Open preparations when she lost to Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round at the Strasbourg International on Monday. Photo : Internet

FRANCE : Top-seeded Sara Errani received another setback in the French Open...

 

thebangladeshtoday.com/2016/05/top-seeded-errani-eliminat...

Frame :*SURLY* krampus

Headset :*CHRIS KING* inset7

Hub:*WHITE INDUSTRIES* XMR disc hub

Tire :*SURLY* extra terrestrial tire

Saddle :*WTB* silverado pro saddle

Seat Post :*THOMSON* elite setback

Handlebar :*SURLY* terminal handlebar

Stem :*PAUL* boxcar stem

Grip:*ESI* racers edge grip

Explored Mar 12, 2009 #290

 

On Black?

 

I've been feeling the setbacks of my D40 since I've started my Strobist training. The biggest frustration is only having 3 AF points. This can make a chosen composition difficult and often times I'll have to change composition (sometimes more than slightly) to get proper focus and then sometimes focus is slightly off... At one point I found myself testing my lenses for front/back focusing issues but thankfully there arent any. I suppose I could get focus, use the AF/AE lock and fix composition but I'm paranoid about accidently moving the camera too forward or backward which would change the focus distance which would make the distance I obtained focus on out of focus.. I'm dying for a D90 for that reason as long as other feature related reasons..

Strobist:

SB-24 1/2 through white umb at 2 o'clock camera right

Sun at 11 o clock camera left

Fire w/ Alienbees CyberSync Trigger

Some background:

The Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber) was a single-crew floatplane. The Allied reporting name for the aircraft was 'Rufe'.

 

The A6M2-N floatplane was developed mainly to support amphibious operations and defend remote bases. It was based on the Mitsubishi A6M-2 Model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats. Despite the large central float and wing pontoons, the A6M2-N was aerodynamically a very clean aircraft: compared with its land-based A6M2 cousin, its performance degraded only by about 20%, and for a contemporary single engine floatplane its performance was outstanding.

 

The aircraft was deployed in 1942, referred to as the "Suisen 2" ("Hydro fighter type 2"), and intended for interceptor, fighter-bomber, and short reconnaissance support for amphibious landings, among other uses. However, when confronted with the first generation of Allied fighters, the A6M2-N was no match in aerial combat and rather employed in supportive roles.

 

Effectively, the A6M2-N was mostly utilized in defensive actions in the Aleutians and Solomon Islands operations. They were used with good efficiency against Allied positions: marking patrol elements, aiding warship guns, engaging convoys, and reconnoitering areas over-the-horizon.

The A6M2-Ns were also effective in harassing American PT boats at night, and they could drop flares to illuminate the PTs which were vulnerable to destroyer gunfire, and depended on cover of darkness. However, when Allied fighter coverage became more numerous and effective, the value of the A6M2-N dwindled and losses began to naturally mount.

 

In the Aleutian Campaign this fighter engaged with RCAF Curtiss P-40, Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, but the A6M2-N inventory suffered a severe setback when, on August 7th, 1942, a seaplane base was destroyed by Allied fighter-bombers, taking with it most of the available A6M2-Ns stationed there.

 

The seaplane also served in defense of fueling depots in Balikpapan and Avon Bases (Dutch East Indies) and reinforced the Shumushu base (North Kuriles) in the same period.

Beyond their use from dispersed and improvised bases, A6M2-N fighters also served aboard seaplane carriers Kamikawa Maru in the Solomons and Kuriles areas and aboard Japanese raiders Hokoku Maru and Aikoku Maru in Indian Ocean raids.

Later in the conflict the Otsu Air Group utilized the A6M2-N as an interceptor alongside Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu ('Rex') aircraft based in Biwa lake in the Honshū area, defending the Japanese home land against Allied raids.

 

A total of 327 were built, including the original prototype, before being halted in September 1943.

The last A6M2-N in military service was a single example recovered by the French forces in Indochina after the end of World War II. It crashed shortly after being overhauled, though.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1 (Pilot)

Length: 10.10 m (33ft 1⅝ in)

Wingspan: 12.00 m (39 ft 4⅜ in)

Height: 4.30 m (14ft 1⅜ in)

Wing area: 22.44 m² (251.4 sq ft)

Empty weight: 1,912 kg (4,235 lb)

Loaded weight: 2,460 kg (5,423 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 2,880 kg (6,349 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 air cooled 14 cylinder radial engine,

delivering 950 hp (709 kW) at 4,200 m (13,800 ft)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 436 km/h (235 knots, 270.5 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

Cruise speed: 296 km/h (160 knots, 184 mph)

Range: 1,782 km (963 nmi, 1,107 mi)

Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,800 ft)

Climb rate: 6 min 43 s to 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

 

Armament:

2 × 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns in forward fuselage

2 ×20 mm Type 99 cannons in outer wings

Underwing hardpoints for 2× 60 kg (132 lb) bombs

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is a real world model, despite the weird looks (see below), and an entry for the Arawasi blog's "Japanese Aircraft Online Model Contest 005 - Japanese Seaplanes & Flying Boats" contest in summer 2017. Even though whifs were allowed to enter, I used the opportunity to build a kit I had originally bought for a few bucks and stashed away in the donor bank: a vintage LS Model Nakajima A6M2-N.

 

The mould dates back to 1963(!), and the kit was re-issued several times, also under the ARII label. You get a tiny box, with only two sprues moulded in a pale baby blue, and the number of parts is minimal. It's truly vintage and pretty toylike at first sight. Consequently, you have to face some real old-school issues, e. g. moulded markings for the roundels on the wings, general mediocre fit of anything and lots of sinkholes and flash. Then there are toylike solutions like the single-piece propeller or separate, moveable ailerons with bulging joints.

 

The cockpit interior is non-existent, too: there's just a blank place for a dashboard (to be cut out from the printed BW instructions!), and a spindly pilot figure which is held in mid air by some pins. Furthermore, the kit was designed to take a small electric motor in the nose (sold separately) to drive the propeller. Wires, as well as respective internal ducts, and an AA battery holder are included.

 

Sounds scary? Well, maybe, if you just build it OOB. But all these flaws should not keep the ambitious modeler away because the LS Model kit is (still) a sound basis to start from, even though and by today's standards, it is certainly not a match-winner for a rivet counter-esque competition.

 

For its age and the typical solutions of its time, it is actually surprisingly good: you get very fine engraved surface details (more delicate than many contemporary moulds!), a pretty thin, three-piece clear (yet blurry) canopy and, as a bonus to the elevons, separate flaps – a unique detail I have never come across before! Proportions are IMHO good, even though the cowling looks a bit fishy and the engravings are rather soft and shallow. Anyway, on the exterior, there’s anything you can ask for to be found, and as another bonus the kit comes with a beaching trolley, which makes display and diorama fitting easier.

 

Thanks to the kit's simplicity, the build in itself was pretty straightforward and simple. Cleaning the parts and checking fit was the biggest issue. Upon gluing the old styrene showed signs of serious reaction to the dissolving effect of modern glue: it took ages for the material to cure and become hard again for further work!? Weird…

 

The many sinkholes and overall displacements were corrected with some NC putty/PSR, the protruding elevon/flap joints sanded away as good as possible, and due to the wobbly nature of the kit’s styrene I added blobs of 2C putty inside of the wing halves as stabilizers.

 

Some mods and improvements were made, though. After cleaning the OOB propeller from tons of flash the piece turned out to be pretty usable, and it was put on a metal axis. A styrene tube adapter was added behind the relatively flat engine dummy, so that the prop can spin freely – for the later beauty pics, because no CG effect beats IMHO the real thing.

 

A cockpit interior was created from scratch and donor parts, using the new Airfix A6M model's cockpit as benchmark. It’s not an exact replica, because not much would later be visible, but I wanted, as a minimum, “something” inside. A better pilot figure was used, too, and strapped to the new seat with thin strips of adhesive masking tape as seatbelts.

 

Under the wings, the hardpoints were simulated with some bits of styrene and wire as shackles, but left empty Under the stabilizer fin I added a lug(?), made from thin wire, too.

 

The elevons were fixed in place, the seams to the wings filled with white glue in order to conceal the gaps as good as possible. The movable flaps remained, though, adding life to the model. The dolly was also taken more or less OOB, since it fits well. I just improved it with some sinkhole fillings and some other details, including cushions on the float stabilizers, made from paper tissue soaked with thinned white glue, and a towing bar.

  

Painting and markings:

The reason why I settled for an A6M2-N is mostly the weird paint scheme which can be applied, while still being a real world model: a lilac livery!

 

As far as I could find out, the A6M2-Ns initially carried an all-over IJN Grey livery, which was later, in late 1942, modified with dark green upper sides for a better concealment on the ground, and the Hinomaru received white edges for better contrast.

Anyway, during the Aleutian campaign and more or less in between these two major standards, several aircraft must have received a special camouflage with lilac upper surfaces, and this model depicts such a machine, based on various profiles but no color picture as reliable reference.

 

The sources I consulted, as well as pictures of finished A6M2-N models, show a wide variety of shades and paint scheme layouts, though. Upper colors range from pale pink through more or less bright shades of purple to a pale, rusty-reddish brown (maybe primer?), while the undersides show a wide range of greys or even light blue. Some depictions of Aleutian A6M2-Ns as profile or model even show a uniform wraparound scheme! Choice is yours, obviously...

 

Because of the corny information basis, I did my personal interpretation of the subject. I based my livery more or less on a profile by Michele Marsan, published in Aerei Modelismo Anno XII (March 1991). The unit information was taken from there, too – the only source that would provide such a reference.

 

My idea behind the livery and the eventual finish was that the machine once was fully painted in IJN Grey. Then, the violet upper color was added in the field (for whatever reason?), resulting in a slightly shaggy look and with the light grey shining through here and there in areas of higher wear, e. g. at the leading edges, cockpit area and some seams.

 

Painting started with an initial coat of aluminum under the floats, around the cockpit and on the leading edges. Then the undersides and some areas of the upper surfaces were painted with IJN grey. The latter is an individual mix of Humbrol 90 (Beige Green/RAF Sky) and a bit of 155 (Olive Drab, FS 34087). On top of that I added a thin primer layer of mauve (mix of ModelMaster’s Napoleonic Violet and Neutral Grey, Humbrol 176) on the still vacant upper surfaces – both as a preparation for the later weathering treatments (see below).

 

The following, basic lilac tone comes from Humbrol’s long-gone "Authentics" enamel line. The tin is probably 30 years old, but the content is still alive (and still has a distinctive, sour stench…)! I cannot identify the tone anymore with certainty, but I guess that it is 'HJ 4: Mauve N 9', one of the line’s Japanese WWII tones which was later not carried over to the standard tones, still available today.

 

Anyway, the color is a dull, rather greyish violet, relatively dark (a bit like RAF Ocean Grey), and it fits well as a camouflage tone on this specific model. Since there’s no better alternative I could think of except for an individual mix or garish, off-the-rack pop art tones, I went with it.

 

After overall basic painting was done and thoroughly cured, weathering started with a careful wet sand paper treatment, removing the salt grain masks and revealing some of the lower IJN Grey and aluminum layers. While this appears messy, I found that the result looks more realistic than artificial weathering applied as paint effects on top of the basic paint.

 

The engine cowling was painted separately, with a mix of black and a little dark blue. The propeller received an aluminum spinner (Humbrol’s Matt Aluminum Metallizer), while the blades received aluminum front sides (Revell acrylics), and red brown (Humbrol 160) back sides. Two thin, red stripes decorate the propeller tips (Decals, left over from an AZ Model Ki-78, IIRC).

 

As a standard procedure, the kit received a light wash with thinned black ink, revealing the engraved panel lines, plus some post-shading in order to emphasize panels and add visual contrast and ‘drama’.

 

Decals and markings were improvised and come from the spares box, since I did not trust the vintage OOB decals - even though they are in so far nice that the sheet contains any major marking as well as a full set of letter so that an individual tail code could be created. Anyway, the model's real world benchmark did not carry any numeric or letter code, just Hinomaru in standard positions and a horizontal, white-and-red stripe on the fin.

 

The roundels actually belong to a JSDAF F-4EJ, some stencils come from a leftover Hobby Boss A6M sheet. The fin decoration was created with generic decal sheet material (TL Modellbau). Similar stuff was also used for the markings on the central float, as well as for the yellow ID markings on the inner wings' leading edges. I am just not certain whether the real aircraft carried them at all? But they were introduced with the new green upper surfaces in late 1942, so that they appear at least plausible. Another argument in this marking‘s favor is that it simply adds even more color to the model!

 

The cockpit interior was painted in a light khaki tone (a mix of Humbrol 159 and 94), while the flaps' interior was painted with Aodake Iro (an individual mix of acrylic aluminum and translucent teal paint). Lacking good reference material, the beaching trolley became IJA Green, with some good weathering with dry-brushed silver on the edges and traces of rust here and there (the latter created with artist acrylics.

 

Close to the (literal) finish line, some soot and oil stains were added with graphite and Tamiya's 'Smoke', and the kit finally received a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri); to the varnish on the engine cover a bit of gloss varnish was added, for a sheen finish.

  

In the end, quite a challenging build. Not a winner, but …different. Concerning the LS Model kit as such, I must say that - despite its age of more than 50 years now - the A6M2-N model is still a worthwhile offer, if you invest some effort. Sure, there are certainly better 1:72 options available (e. g. the Hasegawa kit, its mould was created in 1995 and should be light years ahead concerning detail and fit. Not certain about the Revell/Frog and Jo-Han alternatives, though), but tackling this simple, vintage kit was fun in itself. And, based on what you get out of the little box, the result is not bad at all!

 

Beyond the technical aspects, I am also pleased with the visual result of the build. At first glance, this antiquity looks pretty convincing. And the disputable, strange lilac tone really makes this A6M2-N model …outstanding. Even though I still wonder what might have been the rationale behind this tone? The only thing I could imagine is a dedicated scheme for missions at dusk/dawn, similar to the pink RAF recce Spitfires in early WWII? It would be plausible, though, since the A6M2-Ns were tasked with nocturnal reconnoitre and ground attack missions.

Frame :*SURLY* disc trucker Painted by COOK PAINT WORKS

Headset :*CHRIS KING* nothreadset

Rims:*PACENTI* forza disc rim 650b

Tire:*WTB* horizon road+ tire 650B

Crankset :*BLUE LUG* XMC crank set

Stem :*THOMSON* elite X4

Brake :*TRP* spyre SLC flat mount disc brake

Saddle :*BROOKS* cambium

Seat Post :*THOMSON* elite setback

After numerous weather setbacks, DEATH11 finally appeared the Rose Bowl Halftime game between Indiana and Alabama. "Spirit of Oklahoma" came out from Whiteman AFB in Missouri, but due to the weather did not appear at the Parade flyover. Therefore, it departed from Edward's AFB and circled over the mountains behind Pasadena until its intended appearance. Before that, It made two low passes near VNY as a practice and to observe cloud ceiling and circled near Universal Studios Hollywood (must've been an incredible sight). Finally, at the end of halftime, it came and flew by. Unfortunately it was higher and further away from the vantage point this year.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart

 

Stuttgart (Swabian: Schduagert) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known locally as the "Stuttgart Cauldron." It lies an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest. Its urban area has a population of 609,219, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the city's administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany. The city and metropolitan area are consistently ranked among the top 20 European metropolitan areas by GDP; Mercer listed Stuttgart as 21st on its 2015 list of cities by quality of living, innovation agency 2thinknow ranked the city 24th globally out of 442 cities and the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked the city as a Beta-status world city in their 2014 survey.

 

Since the 6th millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 83 AD and built a massive castrum near Bad Cannstatt, making it the most important regional centre for several centuries. Stuttgart's roots were truly laid in the 10th century with its founding by Liudolf, Duke of Swabia, as a stud farm for his warhorses. Initially overshadowed by nearby Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in 1320. The fortunes of Stuttgart turned with those of the House of Württemberg, and they made it the capital of their county, duchy, and kingdom from the 15th century to 1918. Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the Thirty Years' War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city and its automobile production during World War II. However, by 1952, the city had bounced back and it became the major economic, industrial, tourism and publishing centre it is today.

 

Stuttgart is also a transport junction, and possesses the sixth-largest airport in Germany. Several major companies are headquartered in Stuttgart, including Porsche, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, and Dinkelacker.

 

Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. It is spread across a variety of hills (some of them covered in vineyards), valleys (especially around the Neckar river and the Stuttgart basin) and parks. This often surprises visitors who associate the city with its reputation as the "cradle of the automobile". The city's tourism slogan is "Stuttgart offers more". Under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure (as part of the Stuttgart 21 project), the city unveiled a new logo and slogan in March 2008 describing itself as "Das neue Herz Europas" ("The new Heart of Europe"). For business, it describes itself as "Where business meets the future". In July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area.

 

Stuttgart is a city with a high number of immigrants. According to Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany, "In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner." 40% of Stuttgart's residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five, are of immigrant background.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannstatter_Volksfest

 

The Cannstatter Volksfest is an annual three-week Volksfest (beer festival and travelling funfair) in Stuttgart, Germany. It is sometimes also referred to by foreign visitors as the Stuttgart Beer Festival, although it is actually more of an autumnal fair.

 

The festival takes place at the Cannstatter Wasen from late September to early October, spanning a period over three weekends, ending the second Sunday in October. The extensive Wasen area is in the Stuttgart city district of Bad Cannstatt, near the river Neckar. A smaller variant of the Stuttgart festival, the Stuttgart Spring Festival, is also held each year in Wasen.

This is either a Freightliner 108SD or 114SD setback 5 axle flatbed semi truck with a tractor mounted Palfinger crane. (The SD stands for severe duty). I'm guessing this was a private crew doing contract work for PG&E. The roof mounted LED warning lights on this truck are super bright. Photographed and filmed by me in Livermore, CA - this short clip is the 1st video I have uploaded to my Flickr acct. You can see pictures of many other types of cool trucks & other vehicles below this one and in my albums with more to follow soon.

Some background:

The Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber) was a single-crew floatplane. The Allied reporting name for the aircraft was 'Rufe'.

 

The A6M2-N floatplane was developed mainly to support amphibious operations and defend remote bases. It was based on the Mitsubishi A6M-2 Model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats. Despite the large central float and wing pontoons, the A6M2-N was aerodynamically a very clean aircraft: compared with its land-based A6M2 cousin, its performance degraded only by about 20%, and for a contemporary single engine floatplane its performance was outstanding.

 

The aircraft was deployed in 1942, referred to as the "Suisen 2" ("Hydro fighter type 2"), and intended for interceptor, fighter-bomber, and short reconnaissance support for amphibious landings, among other uses. However, when confronted with the first generation of Allied fighters, the A6M2-N was no match in aerial combat and rather employed in supportive roles.

 

Effectively, the A6M2-N was mostly utilized in defensive actions in the Aleutians and Solomon Islands operations. They were used with good efficiency against Allied positions: marking patrol elements, aiding warship guns, engaging convoys, and reconnoitering areas over-the-horizon.

The A6M2-Ns were also effective in harassing American PT boats at night, and they could drop flares to illuminate the PTs which were vulnerable to destroyer gunfire, and depended on cover of darkness. However, when Allied fighter coverage became more numerous and effective, the value of the A6M2-N dwindled and losses began to naturally mount.

 

In the Aleutian Campaign this fighter engaged with RCAF Curtiss P-40, Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, but the A6M2-N inventory suffered a severe setback when, on August 7th, 1942, a seaplane base was destroyed by Allied fighter-bombers, taking with it most of the available A6M2-Ns stationed there.

 

The seaplane also served in defense of fueling depots in Balikpapan and Avon Bases (Dutch East Indies) and reinforced the Shumushu base (North Kuriles) in the same period.

Beyond their use from dispersed and improvised bases, A6M2-N fighters also served aboard seaplane carriers Kamikawa Maru in the Solomons and Kuriles areas and aboard Japanese raiders Hokoku Maru and Aikoku Maru in Indian Ocean raids.

Later in the conflict the Otsu Air Group utilized the A6M2-N as an interceptor alongside Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu ('Rex') aircraft based in Biwa lake in the Honshū area, defending the Japanese home land against Allied raids.

 

A total of 327 were built, including the original prototype, before being halted in September 1943.

The last A6M2-N in military service was a single example recovered by the French forces in Indochina after the end of World War II. It crashed shortly after being overhauled, though.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1 (Pilot)

Length: 10.10 m (33ft 1⅝ in)

Wingspan: 12.00 m (39 ft 4⅜ in)

Height: 4.30 m (14ft 1⅜ in)

Wing area: 22.44 m² (251.4 sq ft)

Empty weight: 1,912 kg (4,235 lb)

Loaded weight: 2,460 kg (5,423 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 2,880 kg (6,349 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 air cooled 14 cylinder radial engine,

delivering 950 hp (709 kW) at 4,200 m (13,800 ft)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 436 km/h (235 knots, 270.5 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

Cruise speed: 296 km/h (160 knots, 184 mph)

Range: 1,782 km (963 nmi, 1,107 mi)

Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,800 ft)

Climb rate: 6 min 43 s to 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

 

Armament:

2 × 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns in forward fuselage

2 ×20 mm Type 99 cannons in outer wings

Underwing hardpoints for 2× 60 kg (132 lb) bombs

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is a real world model, despite the weird looks (see below), and an entry for the Arawasi blog's "Japanese Aircraft Online Model Contest 005 - Japanese Seaplanes & Flying Boats" contest in summer 2017. Even though whifs were allowed to enter, I used the opportunity to build a kit I had originally bought for a few bucks and stashed away in the donor bank: a vintage LS Model Nakajima A6M2-N.

 

The mould dates back to 1963(!), and the kit was re-issued several times, also under the ARII label. You get a tiny box, with only two sprues moulded in a pale baby blue, and the number of parts is minimal. It's truly vintage and pretty toylike at first sight. Consequently, you have to face some real old-school issues, e. g. moulded markings for the roundels on the wings, general mediocre fit of anything and lots of sinkholes and flash. Then there are toylike solutions like the single-piece propeller or separate, moveable ailerons with bulging joints.

 

The cockpit interior is non-existent, too: there's just a blank place for a dashboard (to be cut out from the printed BW instructions!), and a spindly pilot figure which is held in mid air by some pins. Furthermore, the kit was designed to take a small electric motor in the nose (sold separately) to drive the propeller. Wires, as well as respective internal ducts, and an AA battery holder are included.

 

Sounds scary? Well, maybe, if you just build it OOB. But all these flaws should not keep the ambitious modeler away because the LS Model kit is (still) a sound basis to start from, even though and by today's standards, it is certainly not a match-winner for a rivet counter-esque competition.

 

For its age and the typical solutions of its time, it is actually surprisingly good: you get very fine engraved surface details (more delicate than many contemporary moulds!), a pretty thin, three-piece clear (yet blurry) canopy and, as a bonus to the elevons, separate flaps – a unique detail I have never come across before! Proportions are IMHO good, even though the cowling looks a bit fishy and the engravings are rather soft and shallow. Anyway, on the exterior, there’s anything you can ask for to be found, and as another bonus the kit comes with a beaching trolley, which makes display and diorama fitting easier.

 

Thanks to the kit's simplicity, the build in itself was pretty straightforward and simple. Cleaning the parts and checking fit was the biggest issue. Upon gluing the old styrene showed signs of serious reaction to the dissolving effect of modern glue: it took ages for the material to cure and become hard again for further work!? Weird…

 

The many sinkholes and overall displacements were corrected with some NC putty/PSR, the protruding elevon/flap joints sanded away as good as possible, and due to the wobbly nature of the kit’s styrene I added blobs of 2C putty inside of the wing halves as stabilizers.

 

Some mods and improvements were made, though. After cleaning the OOB propeller from tons of flash the piece turned out to be pretty usable, and it was put on a metal axis. A styrene tube adapter was added behind the relatively flat engine dummy, so that the prop can spin freely – for the later beauty pics, because no CG effect beats IMHO the real thing.

 

A cockpit interior was created from scratch and donor parts, using the new Airfix A6M model's cockpit as benchmark. It’s not an exact replica, because not much would later be visible, but I wanted, as a minimum, “something” inside. A better pilot figure was used, too, and strapped to the new seat with thin strips of adhesive masking tape as seatbelts.

 

Under the wings, the hardpoints were simulated with some bits of styrene and wire as shackles, but left empty Under the stabilizer fin I added a lug(?), made from thin wire, too.

 

The elevons were fixed in place, the seams to the wings filled with white glue in order to conceal the gaps as good as possible. The movable flaps remained, though, adding life to the model. The dolly was also taken more or less OOB, since it fits well. I just improved it with some sinkhole fillings and some other details, including cushions on the float stabilizers, made from paper tissue soaked with thinned white glue, and a towing bar.

  

Painting and markings:

The reason why I settled for an A6M2-N is mostly the weird paint scheme which can be applied, while still being a real world model: a lilac livery!

 

As far as I could find out, the A6M2-Ns initially carried an all-over IJN Grey livery, which was later, in late 1942, modified with dark green upper sides for a better concealment on the ground, and the Hinomaru received white edges for better contrast.

Anyway, during the Aleutian campaign and more or less in between these two major standards, several aircraft must have received a special camouflage with lilac upper surfaces, and this model depicts such a machine, based on various profiles but no color picture as reliable reference.

 

The sources I consulted, as well as pictures of finished A6M2-N models, show a wide variety of shades and paint scheme layouts, though. Upper colors range from pale pink through more or less bright shades of purple to a pale, rusty-reddish brown (maybe primer?), while the undersides show a wide range of greys or even light blue. Some depictions of Aleutian A6M2-Ns as profile or model even show a uniform wraparound scheme! Choice is yours, obviously...

 

Because of the corny information basis, I did my personal interpretation of the subject. I based my livery more or less on a profile by Michele Marsan, published in Aerei Modelismo Anno XII (March 1991). The unit information was taken from there, too – the only source that would provide such a reference.

 

My idea behind the livery and the eventual finish was that the machine once was fully painted in IJN Grey. Then, the violet upper color was added in the field (for whatever reason?), resulting in a slightly shaggy look and with the light grey shining through here and there in areas of higher wear, e. g. at the leading edges, cockpit area and some seams.

 

Painting started with an initial coat of aluminum under the floats, around the cockpit and on the leading edges. Then the undersides and some areas of the upper surfaces were painted with IJN grey. The latter is an individual mix of Humbrol 90 (Beige Green/RAF Sky) and a bit of 155 (Olive Drab, FS 34087). On top of that I added a thin primer layer of mauve (mix of ModelMaster’s Napoleonic Violet and Neutral Grey, Humbrol 176) on the still vacant upper surfaces – both as a preparation for the later weathering treatments (see below).

 

The following, basic lilac tone comes from Humbrol’s long-gone "Authentics" enamel line. The tin is probably 30 years old, but the content is still alive (and still has a distinctive, sour stench…)! I cannot identify the tone anymore with certainty, but I guess that it is 'HJ 4: Mauve N 9', one of the line’s Japanese WWII tones which was later not carried over to the standard tones, still available today.

 

Anyway, the color is a dull, rather greyish violet, relatively dark (a bit like RAF Ocean Grey), and it fits well as a camouflage tone on this specific model. Since there’s no better alternative I could think of except for an individual mix or garish, off-the-rack pop art tones, I went with it.

 

After overall basic painting was done and thoroughly cured, weathering started with a careful wet sand paper treatment, removing the salt grain masks and revealing some of the lower IJN Grey and aluminum layers. While this appears messy, I found that the result looks more realistic than artificial weathering applied as paint effects on top of the basic paint.

 

The engine cowling was painted separately, with a mix of black and a little dark blue. The propeller received an aluminum spinner (Humbrol’s Matt Aluminum Metallizer), while the blades received aluminum front sides (Revell acrylics), and red brown (Humbrol 160) back sides. Two thin, red stripes decorate the propeller tips (Decals, left over from an AZ Model Ki-78, IIRC).

 

As a standard procedure, the kit received a light wash with thinned black ink, revealing the engraved panel lines, plus some post-shading in order to emphasize panels and add visual contrast and ‘drama’.

 

Decals and markings were improvised and come from the spares box, since I did not trust the vintage OOB decals - even though they are in so far nice that the sheet contains any major marking as well as a full set of letter so that an individual tail code could be created. Anyway, the model's real world benchmark did not carry any numeric or letter code, just Hinomaru in standard positions and a horizontal, white-and-red stripe on the fin.

 

The roundels actually belong to a JSDAF F-4EJ, some stencils come from a leftover Hobby Boss A6M sheet. The fin decoration was created with generic decal sheet material (TL Modellbau). Similar stuff was also used for the markings on the central float, as well as for the yellow ID markings on the inner wings' leading edges. I am just not certain whether the real aircraft carried them at all? But they were introduced with the new green upper surfaces in late 1942, so that they appear at least plausible. Another argument in this marking‘s favor is that it simply adds even more color to the model!

 

The cockpit interior was painted in a light khaki tone (a mix of Humbrol 159 and 94), while the flaps' interior was painted with Aodake Iro (an individual mix of acrylic aluminum and translucent teal paint). Lacking good reference material, the beaching trolley became IJA Green, with some good weathering with dry-brushed silver on the edges and traces of rust here and there (the latter created with artist acrylics.

 

Close to the (literal) finish line, some soot and oil stains were added with graphite and Tamiya's 'Smoke', and the kit finally received a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri); to the varnish on the engine cover a bit of gloss varnish was added, for a sheen finish.

  

In the end, quite a challenging build. Not a winner, but …different. Concerning the LS Model kit as such, I must say that - despite its age of more than 50 years now - the A6M2-N model is still a worthwhile offer, if you invest some effort. Sure, there are certainly better 1:72 options available (e. g. the Hasegawa kit, its mould was created in 1995 and should be light years ahead concerning detail and fit. Not certain about the Revell/Frog and Jo-Han alternatives, though), but tackling this simple, vintage kit was fun in itself. And, based on what you get out of the little box, the result is not bad at all!

 

Beyond the technical aspects, I am also pleased with the visual result of the build. At first glance, this antiquity looks pretty convincing. And the disputable, strange lilac tone really makes this A6M2-N model …outstanding. Even though I still wonder what might have been the rationale behind this tone? The only thing I could imagine is a dedicated scheme for missions at dusk/dawn, similar to the pink RAF recce Spitfires in early WWII? It would be plausible, though, since the A6M2-Ns were tasked with nocturnal reconnoitre and ground attack missions.

Life is a series of experiences, each one of which makes us bigger, even though sometimes it is hard to realize this. For the world was built to develop character, and we must learn that the setbacks and grieves which we endure help us in our marching onward.

Henry Ford

Designed by William Van Alen, the Chrysler Building's steel-clad crown has seven layers of crescent setbacks inset with triangular windows.

Overview

 

Heritage Category: Listed Building

Grade: I

List Entry Number: 1308610

Date first listed: 22-Feb-1967

 

Location

 

Statutory Address: St Michael the Archangel Church,Chagford, Newton Abbot TQ13 8BN

County: Devon

District: West Devon (District Authority)

Parish: Chagford

National Park: DARTMOOR

National Grid Reference: SX 70146 87508

 

Details

 

Parish church. It appears to be a complete C15 rebuild of an earlier church (The Church Wardens Accounts record work on the Lady Chapel in 1482); major renovation of circa 1888 followed by a series of lesser works between 1888 and 1925, e.g. vestry by J.W. Rowell and Son of Newton Abbot in 1891 and tower restored in 1915; roofs repaired circa 1960. Coursed blocks of granite ashlar throughout; granite ashlar detail, one window of limestone ashlar; slate roofs. Plan: church is actually set on a north-east - south-west axis but for convenience it is described as if it had a conventional east-west axis. Nave and chancel under a continuous roof with full length north and south aisles, both with east end chapels. The south aisle has the former Lady Chapel (now a Chapel of Remembrance to the dead of the World Wars) and the 1891 vestry at the east end. At the east end of the north aisle St Katherines Chapel was converted to the organ chamber and the aisle was extended an extra bay. C15 south porch. Large C15 west tower. Perpendicular style throughout and renovation work carried out in the same style. Exterior. Tall west tower of 3 stages with internal stair turret in the south-west corner. It has a chamfered plinth, setback buttresses and an embattled parapet without corner pinnacles. Belfry has double lancets on each side to the belfry and a single lancet on the north side to the ringing loft. On the west side the doorway has a 2-centred arch with double chamfered surround. It contains a good quality oak door carved with blind cusped arcades and carved with a Latin quotation and dated 1914. Directly above 3-light window with a pointed arch and containing simple intersecting tracery and a hoodmould. Possibly this window was reused in the C15 from the earlier church. Above this window 2 small arch-headed niche contains a C20 carved figure of St. Michael and above that a painted clockface put there in 1867. There are tiny slit windows on the south side lighting the newel stair. The nave and aisles are similar in style. Their roofs are gable-ended with C19 shaped kneelers, coping and moulded finials. (The west end of the north aisle has no finial). The roof is continuous over nave and chancel but the division is marked by an old ridge tile surmounted by a crude beast (maybe a pig). The aisles have soffit-chamfered eaves cornices and the south aisle has a chamfered plinth. Both have set back buttresses on their corners and buttresses between the windows, all with weathered offsets. The west ends of the aisles are blind although both contain blocked features. The south aisle is roughcast but inside a tall 2-centred arch shows. The north aisle contains a blocked doorway, a 2-centred arch with a double roll moulded surround and above that is a presumably C19 segmental-headed window embrasure. All the original windows have original Perpendicular tracery with plain hoodmoulds. The south aisle and porch. The porch projects left of centre. It has set back buttresses and an embattled parapet. 2-centred outer arch with moulded surround and broach stops. This contains early C20 timber gates containing a row of open quatrefoils containing rosettes along the top. There is a late C17 or C18 slate sundial with a brass pointer. It has shaped corners and the borders are enriched with scrolled foliage and garlands. The porch occupies one of the 5 bays this side. The others contain 3-light windows, and there is another at the east end. In the angle of the south aisle and chancel is the low 1981 vestry built of neater ashlar than the original church. It has a flat roof and embattled parapet over a soffit- moulded dripcourse. Each side contains a square-headed 2-light window with cinquefoil heads and the south side contains a segmental-headed doorway with ovolo surround. Above the vestry, a window built of limestone, with Decorated tracery and hoodmould with carved labels. The east end of the chancel has a large and impressive 5-light window with Perpendicular tracery. It has moulded reveals with carved capitals and hoodmould. The north aisle is 6 bays. The east end bay is a late C19 addition and contains another limestone 2-light window with Decorated tracery, hoodmould and block labels. Contemporary granite Tudor arch doorway in east end. The rest are original 3-light windows similar to those on the south side. The division between aisle and organ chamber (former chapel) is marked by a projecting rood stair turret. Interior. Porch has a good interior. It has stone-flagged floor and benches along each side. Stone vaulted 2-bay roof; the ribs springing from half-engaged piers and with good carved bosses. The piers are granite and although the rest is painted the detail suggests a softer stone, possibly Beerstone. The south doorway is a granite 2- centred arch with double chamfered surround and pyrmaid stops. It contains an ancient folding plank door with studded coverstrips, its original ferramenta and a massive oak lock housing. The roof was repaired circa 1960 but is essentially original. Nave and chancel have continuous wagon roofs with moulded purlins and ribs, good carved oak bosses and a moulded wallplate enriched with 4-leaf bosses. The break between nave and chancel is now marked by the chancel only being ceiled and the timberwork there is painted. Both aisles have similar smaller wagon roofs and must be contemporary with the nave and chancel roof. Both are now open and the south chapel timbers have traces of ancient colour. The bosses are noteworthy some featuring the spiral symbol of the Gorges family and others the tinners mark of 3 rabbits. Church Fabric. Tall tower arch with a narrow chamfered surround and soffit- Chamfered imposts. Inside tower small 2-centred arch doorway to newel stairs but floor to ringing loft replaced 1915. Either side of the tower arch are the blocked apertures described above. Each aisle has an identical 5-bay arcade with 1 overlapping into the chancel. The arches have double chamfered arch rings. Octagonal granite piers made from single pieces of granite and have soffit-chamfered caps and chamfered bases, now on pedestals since the floor has been lowered. The floor is of stone slabs and includes some grave slabs in the chancel (see below). The walls are of exposed granite ashlar. In the south aisle, close to the chancel screen, there is an arch-headed blocked opening for the rood stair. Furniture and fittings. In the chancel the reredos dates from 1888 along with the rest of the sanctuary decoration. It is a painted and gilded triptych; Christ in majesty is flanked by panels containing the Evangelists and the wings contain saints. The wall behind is lined with good polychrome tiles of 1888. The oak stalls (dating from 1913) are in a Tudor Gothic style with blind arcading across the front and carved angel finials. The sedilia dates from 1894. The chancel screen is a fine piece of work. It was erected in 1925 in memory of the young flying officer Noel Hayter-Hames. It is an expert recreation of a C15 Perpendicular oak chancel screen with blind tracery on the wainscotting, Perpendicular tracery to the windows, Gothic cusped coving and a frieze of delicately undercut bands of foliage. The parclose screens are painted and it may be that they are actually C15; built of oak and simpler versions of the main screen. The pulpit (dated 1928) is also built of oak and in the same Perpendicular style; it has an octagonal drum nodding ogee arch on the sides and undercut foliage on the corners, base and frieze. In the former St. Katherines Chapel the late C19 organ has been restored to its original painted scheme. The former Lady Chapel was lined with panelled wainscotting when converted to a Chapel of Rememberance circa 1925. The contemporary figures on the Riddel posts are the patron saints of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Brass lecturn is dated 1871. The benches are also Gothic in style; the bench ends have tracery patterns framed with wreathed foliage. They probably date from the reseating of 1864 and most have been dedicated to members of the congregation who died in the C20. Granite Perpendicular style octagonal font carved by a local mason, John Aggett, and dedicated to the memory of Katherine Hayter-Hames who died less than a year old in 1856. The oak coved canopy is richly carved in Gothic style. Memorials. The oldest and best in the church is the table tomb in the sanctuary in memory of Sir John Wyddon (d. 1575). It is remarkable for its early Renaissance decoration. The tomb base is 3 bays divided by pilasters which are carved with foliage and with a frieze of wreathed foilage. Each bay carved with foliage and with a frieze of wreathed foliage. Each bay contains a frame of formal foliage. Central bay contains an heraldic achievement and the flanking bays have Renaissance vases with cherubs and grotesques. Marble lid with black letter inscription around the edge. Any effigy is now missing. 2-bay arcade above with round arches enriched by scrolled cusping and supported on baluster columns. The arches and spandrels are richly carved with Renaissance ornament. Moulded frieze above and moulded entablature with carved crestwork is supported by carved scroll consoles. The back of the arcade is also richly carved with heraldic achievements surrounded by a dense pattern of expertly carved ornament featuring mermen, grotesques and foliage. Nearby, on the sanctuary steps is a graveslab in memory of Mary Whiddon who died on her wedding day in 1641. South aisle contains a good mural monument in memory of Sir John Prouz (d.1664). Built most of Beerstone, it contains an inscribed rectangular marble plaque flanked by free-standing marble columns with Corinthian caps and entablature with modillion frieze surmounted by a cartouche containing the Prouz arms flanked by other heraldic cartouches. The soffit-moulded sill is supported by scroll brackets carved as grotesque lions heads and with an apron between enriched with strapwork and containing a carved oak heraldic achievement. Above the monument is suspended a helmet bearing the Prouz crest. All the paintwork is C20. To south of the sanctuary a granite recess with double ogee arch in memory of Constance Hayter-Hames (d.1890) and several C19 mural monuments to other members of the same family but the best monument from this period is a mural plaque in memory of Captain John Evans who died aged 23, in 1861 after an active service life. The plaque is a white marble scroll with a symbol of liberty at the top. It is carved as if the scroll is pinned to the end of a chest tomb on which lies his sword and an open Bible and over this is his regimental arms. The black ground has a pointed arch and a moulded limestone frame. It is signed Bedford Sc. 256 Oxford Street, London. Over the south door a board is painted with the arms of Charles II (much restored). To right a painted Benefaction board dated 1791 over an inscribed Beerstone tablet recording the benefactions of the Reverend John Hayter and John Hooper in 1790. Glass. The window of the north chapel contains fragments of C15 glass; St. Andrew and some heraldic achievements. The rest of the stained glass is C19 and most are memorials to members of the Hayter-Hames family. Summary. This is a good C15 granite church although the interior is largely the result of the several late C19 and early C20 renovations. The best feature is the remarkable Whiddon table tomb. Sources. Devon C19 Church Project. Church Guide. (n.a.)

 

© Historic England 2023

Some background:

The Nakajima A6M2-N (Navy Type 2 Interceptor/Fighter-Bomber) was a single-crew floatplane. The Allied reporting name for the aircraft was 'Rufe'.

 

The A6M2-N floatplane was developed mainly to support amphibious operations and defend remote bases. It was based on the Mitsubishi A6M-2 Model 11 fuselage, with a modified tail and added floats. Despite the large central float and wing pontoons, the A6M2-N was aerodynamically a very clean aircraft: compared with its land-based A6M2 cousin, its performance degraded only by about 20%, and for a contemporary single engine floatplane its performance was outstanding.

 

The aircraft was deployed in 1942, referred to as the "Suisen 2" ("Hydro fighter type 2"), and intended for interceptor, fighter-bomber, and short reconnaissance support for amphibious landings, among other uses. However, when confronted with the first generation of Allied fighters, the A6M2-N was no match in aerial combat and rather employed in supportive roles.

 

Effectively, the A6M2-N was mostly utilized in defensive actions in the Aleutians and Solomon Islands operations. They were used with good efficiency against Allied positions: marking patrol elements, aiding warship guns, engaging convoys, and reconnoitering areas over-the-horizon.

The A6M2-Ns were also effective in harassing American PT boats at night, and they could drop flares to illuminate the PTs which were vulnerable to destroyer gunfire, and depended on cover of darkness. However, when Allied fighter coverage became more numerous and effective, the value of the A6M2-N dwindled and losses began to naturally mount.

 

In the Aleutian Campaign this fighter engaged with RCAF Curtiss P-40, Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighters and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, but the A6M2-N inventory suffered a severe setback when, on August 7th, 1942, a seaplane base was destroyed by Allied fighter-bombers, taking with it most of the available A6M2-Ns stationed there.

 

The seaplane also served in defense of fueling depots in Balikpapan and Avon Bases (Dutch East Indies) and reinforced the Shumushu base (North Kuriles) in the same period.

Beyond their use from dispersed and improvised bases, A6M2-N fighters also served aboard seaplane carriers Kamikawa Maru in the Solomons and Kuriles areas and aboard Japanese raiders Hokoku Maru and Aikoku Maru in Indian Ocean raids.

Later in the conflict the Otsu Air Group utilized the A6M2-N as an interceptor alongside Kawanishi N1K1 Kyofu ('Rex') aircraft based in Biwa lake in the Honshū area, defending the Japanese home land against Allied raids.

 

A total of 327 were built, including the original prototype, before being halted in September 1943.

The last A6M2-N in military service was a single example recovered by the French forces in Indochina after the end of World War II. It crashed shortly after being overhauled, though.

  

General characteristics:

Crew: 1 (Pilot)

Length: 10.10 m (33ft 1⅝ in)

Wingspan: 12.00 m (39 ft 4⅜ in)

Height: 4.30 m (14ft 1⅜ in)

Wing area: 22.44 m² (251.4 sq ft)

Empty weight: 1,912 kg (4,235 lb)

Loaded weight: 2,460 kg (5,423 lb)

Max. takeoff weight: 2,880 kg (6,349 lb)

 

Powerplant:

1× Nakajima NK1C Sakae 12 air cooled 14 cylinder radial engine,

delivering 950 hp (709 kW) at 4,200 m (13,800 ft)

 

Performance:

Maximum speed: 436 km/h (235 knots, 270.5 mph) at 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

Cruise speed: 296 km/h (160 knots, 184 mph)

Range: 1,782 km (963 nmi, 1,107 mi)

Service ceiling: 10,000 m (32,800 ft)

Climb rate: 6 min 43 s to 5,000 m (16,400 ft)

 

Armament:

2 × 7.7 mm Type 97 machine guns in forward fuselage

2 ×20 mm Type 99 cannons in outer wings

Underwing hardpoints for 2× 60 kg (132 lb) bombs

  

The kit and its assembly:

This is a real world model, despite the weird looks (see below), and an entry for the Arawasi blog's "Japanese Aircraft Online Model Contest 005 - Japanese Seaplanes & Flying Boats" contest in summer 2017. Even though whifs were allowed to enter, I used the opportunity to build a kit I had originally bought for a few bucks and stashed away in the donor bank: a vintage LS Model Nakajima A6M2-N.

 

The mould dates back to 1963(!), and the kit was re-issued several times, also under the ARII label. You get a tiny box, with only two sprues moulded in a pale baby blue, and the number of parts is minimal. It's truly vintage and pretty toylike at first sight. Consequently, you have to face some real old-school issues, e. g. moulded markings for the roundels on the wings, general mediocre fit of anything and lots of sinkholes and flash. Then there are toylike solutions like the single-piece propeller or separate, moveable ailerons with bulging joints.

 

The cockpit interior is non-existent, too: there's just a blank place for a dashboard (to be cut out from the printed BW instructions!), and a spindly pilot figure which is held in mid air by some pins. Furthermore, the kit was designed to take a small electric motor in the nose (sold separately) to drive the propeller. Wires, as well as respective internal ducts, and an AA battery holder are included.

 

Sounds scary? Well, maybe, if you just build it OOB. But all these flaws should not keep the ambitious modeler away because the LS Model kit is (still) a sound basis to start from, even though and by today's standards, it is certainly not a match-winner for a rivet counter-esque competition.

 

For its age and the typical solutions of its time, it is actually surprisingly good: you get very fine engraved surface details (more delicate than many contemporary moulds!), a pretty thin, three-piece clear (yet blurry) canopy and, as a bonus to the elevons, separate flaps – a unique detail I have never come across before! Proportions are IMHO good, even though the cowling looks a bit fishy and the engravings are rather soft and shallow. Anyway, on the exterior, there’s anything you can ask for to be found, and as another bonus the kit comes with a beaching trolley, which makes display and diorama fitting easier.

 

Thanks to the kit's simplicity, the build in itself was pretty straightforward and simple. Cleaning the parts and checking fit was the biggest issue. Upon gluing the old styrene showed signs of serious reaction to the dissolving effect of modern glue: it took ages for the material to cure and become hard again for further work!? Weird…

 

The many sinkholes and overall displacements were corrected with some NC putty/PSR, the protruding elevon/flap joints sanded away as good as possible, and due to the wobbly nature of the kit’s styrene I added blobs of 2C putty inside of the wing halves as stabilizers.

 

Some mods and improvements were made, though. After cleaning the OOB propeller from tons of flash the piece turned out to be pretty usable, and it was put on a metal axis. A styrene tube adapter was added behind the relatively flat engine dummy, so that the prop can spin freely – for the later beauty pics, because no CG effect beats IMHO the real thing.

 

A cockpit interior was created from scratch and donor parts, using the new Airfix A6M model's cockpit as benchmark. It’s not an exact replica, because not much would later be visible, but I wanted, as a minimum, “something” inside. A better pilot figure was used, too, and strapped to the new seat with thin strips of adhesive masking tape as seatbelts.

 

Under the wings, the hardpoints were simulated with some bits of styrene and wire as shackles, but left empty Under the stabilizer fin I added a lug(?), made from thin wire, too.

 

The elevons were fixed in place, the seams to the wings filled with white glue in order to conceal the gaps as good as possible. The movable flaps remained, though, adding life to the model. The dolly was also taken more or less OOB, since it fits well. I just improved it with some sinkhole fillings and some other details, including cushions on the float stabilizers, made from paper tissue soaked with thinned white glue, and a towing bar.

  

Painting and markings:

The reason why I settled for an A6M2-N is mostly the weird paint scheme which can be applied, while still being a real world model: a lilac livery!

 

As far as I could find out, the A6M2-Ns initially carried an all-over IJN Grey livery, which was later, in late 1942, modified with dark green upper sides for a better concealment on the ground, and the Hinomaru received white edges for better contrast.

Anyway, during the Aleutian campaign and more or less in between these two major standards, several aircraft must have received a special camouflage with lilac upper surfaces, and this model depicts such a machine, based on various profiles but no color picture as reliable reference.

 

The sources I consulted, as well as pictures of finished A6M2-N models, show a wide variety of shades and paint scheme layouts, though. Upper colors range from pale pink through more or less bright shades of purple to a pale, rusty-reddish brown (maybe primer?), while the undersides show a wide range of greys or even light blue. Some depictions of Aleutian A6M2-Ns as profile or model even show a uniform wraparound scheme! Choice is yours, obviously...

 

Because of the corny information basis, I did my personal interpretation of the subject. I based my livery more or less on a profile by Michele Marsan, published in Aerei Modelismo Anno XII (March 1991). The unit information was taken from there, too – the only source that would provide such a reference.

 

My idea behind the livery and the eventual finish was that the machine once was fully painted in IJN Grey. Then, the violet upper color was added in the field (for whatever reason?), resulting in a slightly shaggy look and with the light grey shining through here and there in areas of higher wear, e. g. at the leading edges, cockpit area and some seams.

 

Painting started with an initial coat of aluminum under the floats, around the cockpit and on the leading edges. Then the undersides and some areas of the upper surfaces were painted with IJN grey. The latter is an individual mix of Humbrol 90 (Beige Green/RAF Sky) and a bit of 155 (Olive Drab, FS 34087). On top of that I added a thin primer layer of mauve (mix of ModelMaster’s Napoleonic Violet and Neutral Grey, Humbrol 176) on the still vacant upper surfaces – both as a preparation for the later weathering treatments (see below).

 

The following, basic lilac tone comes from Humbrol’s long-gone "Authentics" enamel line. The tin is probably 30 years old, but the content is still alive (and still has a distinctive, sour stench…)! I cannot identify the tone anymore with certainty, but I guess that it is 'HJ 4: Mauve N 9', one of the line’s Japanese WWII tones which was later not carried over to the standard tones, still available today.

 

Anyway, the color is a dull, rather greyish violet, relatively dark (a bit like RAF Ocean Grey), and it fits well as a camouflage tone on this specific model. Since there’s no better alternative I could think of except for an individual mix or garish, off-the-rack pop art tones, I went with it.

 

After overall basic painting was done and thoroughly cured, weathering started with a careful wet sand paper treatment, removing the salt grain masks and revealing some of the lower IJN Grey and aluminum layers. While this appears messy, I found that the result looks more realistic than artificial weathering applied as paint effects on top of the basic paint.

 

The engine cowling was painted separately, with a mix of black and a little dark blue. The propeller received an aluminum spinner (Humbrol’s Matt Aluminum Metallizer), while the blades received aluminum front sides (Revell acrylics), and red brown (Humbrol 160) back sides. Two thin, red stripes decorate the propeller tips (Decals, left over from an AZ Model Ki-78, IIRC).

 

As a standard procedure, the kit received a light wash with thinned black ink, revealing the engraved panel lines, plus some post-shading in order to emphasize panels and add visual contrast and ‘drama’.

 

Decals and markings were improvised and come from the spares box, since I did not trust the vintage OOB decals - even though they are in so far nice that the sheet contains any major marking as well as a full set of letter so that an individual tail code could be created. Anyway, the model's real world benchmark did not carry any numeric or letter code, just Hinomaru in standard positions and a horizontal, white-and-red stripe on the fin.

 

The roundels actually belong to a JSDAF F-4EJ, some stencils come from a leftover Hobby Boss A6M sheet. The fin decoration was created with generic decal sheet material (TL Modellbau). Similar stuff was also used for the markings on the central float, as well as for the yellow ID markings on the inner wings' leading edges. I am just not certain whether the real aircraft carried them at all? But they were introduced with the new green upper surfaces in late 1942, so that they appear at least plausible. Another argument in this marking‘s favor is that it simply adds even more color to the model!

 

The cockpit interior was painted in a light khaki tone (a mix of Humbrol 159 and 94), while the flaps' interior was painted with Aodake Iro (an individual mix of acrylic aluminum and translucent teal paint). Lacking good reference material, the beaching trolley became IJA Green, with some good weathering with dry-brushed silver on the edges and traces of rust here and there (the latter created with artist acrylics.

 

Close to the (literal) finish line, some soot and oil stains were added with graphite and Tamiya's 'Smoke', and the kit finally received a coat of matt acrylic varnish (Italeri); to the varnish on the engine cover a bit of gloss varnish was added, for a sheen finish.

  

In the end, quite a challenging build. Not a winner, but …different. Concerning the LS Model kit as such, I must say that - despite its age of more than 50 years now - the A6M2-N model is still a worthwhile offer, if you invest some effort. Sure, there are certainly better 1:72 options available (e. g. the Hasegawa kit, its mould was created in 1995 and should be light years ahead concerning detail and fit. Not certain about the Revell/Frog and Jo-Han alternatives, though), but tackling this simple, vintage kit was fun in itself. And, based on what you get out of the little box, the result is not bad at all!

 

Beyond the technical aspects, I am also pleased with the visual result of the build. At first glance, this antiquity looks pretty convincing. And the disputable, strange lilac tone really makes this A6M2-N model …outstanding. Even though I still wonder what might have been the rationale behind this tone? The only thing I could imagine is a dedicated scheme for missions at dusk/dawn, similar to the pink RAF recce Spitfires in early WWII? It would be plausible, though, since the A6M2-Ns were tasked with nocturnal reconnoitre and ground attack missions.

Frame :*SURLY* low side

Headset :*CHRIS KING* inset 7

Rims:*VELOCITY* cliffhanger rim

Tire :*TERAVAIL* honcho tire

Handlebar :*HUNTER* high rise bar

Stem :*PAUL* boxcar stem

Brake Lever :*AVID* V-brake lever

Crank :*WHITE INDUSTRIES* eno single speed crank

Grip :*ODI* soft X longneck grip

Seat post:*THOMSON* elite setback seatpost

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuttgart

 

Stuttgart (Swabian: Schduagert) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Stuttgart is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known locally as the "Stuttgart Cauldron." It lies an hour from the Swabian Jura and the Black Forest. Its urban area has a population of 609,219, making it the sixth largest city in Germany. 2.7 million people live in the city's administrative region and another 5.3 million people in its metropolitan area, making it the fourth largest metropolitan area in Germany. The city and metropolitan area are consistently ranked among the top 20 European metropolitan areas by GDP; Mercer listed Stuttgart as 21st on its 2015 list of cities by quality of living, innovation agency 2thinknow ranked the city 24th globally out of 442 cities and the Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranked the city as a Beta-status world city in their 2014 survey.

 

Since the 6th millennium BC, the Stuttgart area has been an important agricultural area and has been host to a number of cultures seeking to utilize the rich soil of the Neckar valley. The Roman Empire conquered the area in 83 AD and built a massive castrum near Bad Cannstatt, making it the most important regional centre for several centuries. Stuttgart's roots were truly laid in the 10th century with its founding by Liudolf, Duke of Swabia, as a stud farm for his warhorses. Initially overshadowed by nearby Cannstatt, the town grew steadily and was granted a charter in 1320. The fortunes of Stuttgart turned with those of the House of Württemberg, and they made it the capital of their county, duchy, and kingdom from the 15th century to 1918. Stuttgart prospered despite setbacks in the Thirty Years' War and devastating air raids by the Allies on the city and its automobile production during World War II. However, by 1952, the city had bounced back and it became the major economic, industrial, tourism and publishing centre it is today.

 

Stuttgart is also a transport junction, and possesses the sixth-largest airport in Germany. Several major companies are headquartered in Stuttgart, including Porsche, Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, Daimler AG, and Dinkelacker.

 

Stuttgart is unusual in the scheme of German cities. It is spread across a variety of hills (some of them covered in vineyards), valleys (especially around the Neckar river and the Stuttgart basin) and parks. This often surprises visitors who associate the city with its reputation as the "cradle of the automobile". The city's tourism slogan is "Stuttgart offers more". Under current plans to improve transport links to the international infrastructure (as part of the Stuttgart 21 project), the city unveiled a new logo and slogan in March 2008 describing itself as "Das neue Herz Europas" ("The new Heart of Europe"). For business, it describes itself as "Where business meets the future". In July 2010, Stuttgart unveiled a new city logo, designed to entice more business people to stay in the city and enjoy breaks in the area.

 

Stuttgart is a city with a high number of immigrants. According to Dorling Kindersley's Eyewitness Travel Guide to Germany, "In the city of Stuttgart, every third inhabitant is a foreigner." 40% of Stuttgart's residents, and 64% of the population below the age of five, are of immigrant background.

 

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannstatter_Volksfest

 

The Cannstatter Volksfest is an annual three-week Volksfest (beer festival and travelling funfair) in Stuttgart, Germany. It is sometimes also referred to by foreign visitors as the Stuttgart Beer Festival, although it is actually more of an autumnal fair.

 

The festival takes place at the Cannstatter Wasen from late September to early October, spanning a period over three weekends, ending the second Sunday in October. The extensive Wasen area is in the Stuttgart city district of Bad Cannstatt, near the river Neckar. A smaller variant of the Stuttgart festival, the Stuttgart Spring Festival, is also held each year in Wasen.