Presents Opened.
Now that we got what we thought we were getting, its time to take out the contents and start to study what to do next? The model world is almost unlimited to making adaptions to what we have to start with and that is part of the great fun of it!
Wither we make our models to show as accurate copies or for the war gaming table, model railway, boat lake racing, flying in garden or field, it is all really to show to close and wider afield. Now with You Tube and Vimeo and the many other free film formats one can show the world from box contents to the finished and working items.
Paints, glues, clays and tools are the start, but many extras can be made with matchsticks, paper mache and also with cardboard. It really is up to each individual to disguise the diorama with what is at hand, instead of spending more money on sometimes disappointing extras.
Thursday 31 December 2015
Thursday 24 December 2015
'Father Christmas.'
'How does He do It?
Do you know that there is now an app to track the movements of Father Christmas, but I would rather still believe that He will appear and disappear as he always has done every Christmas season. Tradition has added many things to the Saint Nicholas story, of a Greek Monk making gifts for children.
Much of what has become traditional is to do with snowy northern-Europe and the introduction of reindeer pulling a heavy laden sled. In Russia He is known as father frost and many of the tunes associated with him like jingle bells originated there.
When one watches Star trek and similar sci-fi, it is easy to picture some alien ability to move through time and space with immunity. But for many of us back here on earth, we have been told it is a myth because it is an impossibility.
The whole story of Christmas has to do really with the birth of the baby Jesus and the celebrations of His arrival into our world. Father Christmas is really God showing kindness to children who have been good throughout the year and Santa moves in the supernatural, very much like Jesus in his conception and birth, death and resurrection.
Do you know that there is now an app to track the movements of Father Christmas, but I would rather still believe that He will appear and disappear as he always has done every Christmas season. Tradition has added many things to the Saint Nicholas story, of a Greek Monk making gifts for children.
Much of what has become traditional is to do with snowy northern-Europe and the introduction of reindeer pulling a heavy laden sled. In Russia He is known as father frost and many of the tunes associated with him like jingle bells originated there.
When one watches Star trek and similar sci-fi, it is easy to picture some alien ability to move through time and space with immunity. But for many of us back here on earth, we have been told it is a myth because it is an impossibility.
The whole story of Christmas has to do really with the birth of the baby Jesus and the celebrations of His arrival into our world. Father Christmas is really God showing kindness to children who have been good throughout the year and Santa moves in the supernatural, very much like Jesus in his conception and birth, death and resurrection.
Thursday 17 December 2015
48 to 8 Hours.
Getting up to the Space Station.
Twenty years ago it took just over two days to get up to the Russian MIR Space station, this week we saw the three way Russian, ESA, U.S. mission do it in less than eight hours even with a technical fault. What amazing achievements with the tried and tested second generation MM Soyuz-Progress vehicles over that of the flamboyant yet very dangerous U.S. Space shuttle.
Timings into space are speeding up, while duration flights of just over one year at the moment cuts a possible manned trip to Mars in the next 30 years. The joint Moon base, will perhaps prepare us for that giant return trip to Mars, in say 50 years from now.
There remains so many dangers in space travel, after nearly 58 years from Sputnik, that the next 50 will give us enough time to develop better space ships perhaps between the ISS and the Moon base. Familiarity with living their will be the key to any future Mars mission and then further out?
Twenty years ago it took just over two days to get up to the Russian MIR Space station, this week we saw the three way Russian, ESA, U.S. mission do it in less than eight hours even with a technical fault. What amazing achievements with the tried and tested second generation MM Soyuz-Progress vehicles over that of the flamboyant yet very dangerous U.S. Space shuttle.
Timings into space are speeding up, while duration flights of just over one year at the moment cuts a possible manned trip to Mars in the next 30 years. The joint Moon base, will perhaps prepare us for that giant return trip to Mars, in say 50 years from now.
There remains so many dangers in space travel, after nearly 58 years from Sputnik, that the next 50 will give us enough time to develop better space ships perhaps between the ISS and the Moon base. Familiarity with living their will be the key to any future Mars mission and then further out?
Thursday 10 December 2015
France Intervenes.
France is showing off its naval Power.
With the recent attacks in Paris last month in which 130 people were murdered, France has had no choice but to be seen on the offencive against the elusive Islamic Khalifate. The first time deployment of a battle group since the end of the second world war (1939-45) is now well underway.
France has a host of untested combat aircraft type such as the Rafael and its latest Mirage fighter jets. Time will only tell if they are as effective as the Russian bombing missions in eastern-Syria. France has as we have seen has a long history in military equipment developments at sea, air and on land. In fact an interesting fact to be worth noting is that their Surface to Air and air to air missile systems were very effective during the Falklands War. These being Crotale and the Exocet.
Currently this union with Russia may already be under strain, as their aircraft carrier is due to re-deploy to the Persian Gulf. We have to take a historical look at the roles and influences in this region that were marked out by France and Britain 100 years ago in the division up the middle-east, after the collapse of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1919.
Meanwhile modern Turkish action recently against Russia, with the downing of a Russian Jet and tensions over the French support and recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1900, may be one of many reasons forcing France into U.S. Policy for the region, wither they like it or not?
With the recent attacks in Paris last month in which 130 people were murdered, France has had no choice but to be seen on the offencive against the elusive Islamic Khalifate. The first time deployment of a battle group since the end of the second world war (1939-45) is now well underway.
France has a host of untested combat aircraft type such as the Rafael and its latest Mirage fighter jets. Time will only tell if they are as effective as the Russian bombing missions in eastern-Syria. France has as we have seen has a long history in military equipment developments at sea, air and on land. In fact an interesting fact to be worth noting is that their Surface to Air and air to air missile systems were very effective during the Falklands War. These being Crotale and the Exocet.
Currently this union with Russia may already be under strain, as their aircraft carrier is due to re-deploy to the Persian Gulf. We have to take a historical look at the roles and influences in this region that were marked out by France and Britain 100 years ago in the division up the middle-east, after the collapse of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in 1919.
Meanwhile modern Turkish action recently against Russia, with the downing of a Russian Jet and tensions over the French support and recognition of the Armenian Genocide of 1900, may be one of many reasons forcing France into U.S. Policy for the region, wither they like it or not?
Thursday 3 December 2015
MIL Mi-24 Helicopter.
Another Unique Design.
That no western design company has followed, and one wonders why?
The Mil helicopter designers are but a few who built helicopters in the former Soviet Union, Kamov and Yakolev were the other two. The Mil's started with the Mi-1 and then just progressed in size up to the Mi-6/10 and on to the most succesful Mi-17/117, Mi-171.
But the origins of the the Mi-24/25-35 have a much different take, it was the Afghanistan wars of the 1970'-80's that called for a combined helicopter roles so that both specialised troops could be got on to an area fast and protected by heavy fire.
The rocket pods on the Mi-8/17 were not suitable, so it was decided to combine two machines into one, transporter and gunship. There have over the years been many variants from the early glazed noses to the present aircraft style canopies.
The west meantime do not seem to have taken advantage of developing a similar type, but rather have kept to fast transport backed up by supporting helicopter gunships.
That no western design company has followed, and one wonders why?
The Mil helicopter designers are but a few who built helicopters in the former Soviet Union, Kamov and Yakolev were the other two. The Mil's started with the Mi-1 and then just progressed in size up to the Mi-6/10 and on to the most succesful Mi-17/117, Mi-171.
But the origins of the the Mi-24/25-35 have a much different take, it was the Afghanistan wars of the 1970'-80's that called for a combined helicopter roles so that both specialised troops could be got on to an area fast and protected by heavy fire.
The rocket pods on the Mi-8/17 were not suitable, so it was decided to combine two machines into one, transporter and gunship. There have over the years been many variants from the early glazed noses to the present aircraft style canopies.
The west meantime do not seem to have taken advantage of developing a similar type, but rather have kept to fast transport backed up by supporting helicopter gunships.
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