US Army WWII Weasel

The Weasel, officially “Carrier, Cargo M29”, was designed by British inventor/engineer, Geoffrey Pyke. The vehicle was small: Length – 4.8 m, Width – 1.68 m. The concept was to build a vehicle capable of transporting small commando units through the Norwegian snow to attack the occupying German heavy-water production facilities. The M29 was designed to be very light. In fact, with its thin steel body and 51cm tracks, the Weasel had ground weight of 2.1 psi, less than the average human foot. It was able to traverse snow, mud and sand with ease and could drive over anti-tank mines without triggering them.  Although the Weasel never saw combat in Norway, it was extensively used as an all-weather/all-terrain vehicle in the European and Pacific theatres by US and allied forces. While the M29 was amphibious, it had a very low freeboard and a new fully amphibious model, the M29C, was added in 1944.

 From 1942 through 1945 15,892 Weasels were built by the Studebaker Corporation of South Bend, IN, USA. It was equipped with a slightly modified Studebaker Champion six-cylinder engine giving it a top speed of 58 km/h (58 km/h) and a range of 266 km (165 mi.)

 #Weasel #M29 #Studebaker #WWII #Blender #Cycles

Katyusha Rocket Launcher

Soviet development of solid fuel rockets began in the 1920s, when some were used as boosters for aircraft take-off. By WWII, they had developed a number variants as weapons. The Studebaker US6 truck was proven to be so reliable and effective over rough terrain that it became the standard platform for Red Army rocket launchers. The standard mounting for these trucks was the BM-13N-16 ( the one depicted in this model.) Between 1943 and the end of the war more than 1,800 of these launchers were installed on the US6 trucks.

The M-13 rocket of the BM-13 system was 80 cm (2 ft 7 in) long, 13.2 cm (5.2 in) in diameter and weighed 42 kg (93 lb) (Wikipedia.) While the BM-13 system was less accurate than conventional artillery, it was highly effective at covering wide area such as railyards or logistic centers with a maximum range of 8,740 m (9,560 yd). A battery of four BM-13 launchers could deliver 1.4 tons of high explosives over and area of 40 ha (99 ac) in 7 to 10 seconds. Crews then practiced a “shoot-and-scoot” tactic to avoid reciprocal attack.

The rockets were marked with the letter K for the Komintern factory where they were made. This inspired the crews to nickname the weapon after a popular song about a woman, “Katyusha”, who is pining for here lover who is away in the army. The name is an affectionate diminutive for Yekaterina (Catherine).

#Katyusha #rocket #WW2 #Soviet #Red_Army #Blender #Cycles

Studebaker US6 Truck

 When I was a kid in the 1940’s, my dad worked for Studebaker in South Bend, Indiana. The company, historically a manufacturer of cars and trucks, converted to war production with the US6 2 T 6X6 truck. Studebaker and its subcontractor, Reo, made over 200,000 of the trucks between 1941 and 1945. These trucks were designed for rough terrain and were used in Asia by the American and British armies, but most were provided to the Soviet Union under the American Lend-Lease program.

 The US6 was powered by a Hercules JXD inline-6 gasoline engine. Its transmission was a 5 speed, 2  range transfer case. The truck had a top speed of 45 mph (72 km/h) with a range of 236 miles (380 kilometers.)

 #WW2 #truck #Studebaker #US6 #Blender #Cycles

 

Have fun, Don!

#Trump #Arch #Lego #Blender #ycles

 

San Juan Capistrano Mission

 

A few weeks ago, I stumbled on a photo of the dilapidated, run-down San Juan Capistrano Spanish mission near San Diego, California taken in 1899. It had, of course, been shot on black-and-white film and subsequently colorized by hand. The first model is based on that photo. Then it occurred to me to see what the mission looks like now. After looking through some contemporary photos, I found one with a similar view of the mission cleaned and restored that provide the reference for the second model.

 #San_Juan_Capistrano #mission #Spanish #San_Diego #California ~Blender #Cycles

 

Bruges Canal Houses

 

Years before I had visited Belgium, I saw a magazine photo of some houses on a canal in Bruges. I liked the picture so much that I made a pen-and-ink drawing of the scene. Now, decades later and several visits to Bruges, I was remembering that drawing and decided to make a 3D model of the view to the south from the Boniface bridge behind the Our Lady church in the center of the city. The bridge is a fifteen-minute walk from the Bruges train station.

 #Bruges #Belgium #Boniface_Bridge #Canal #Blender #Cycles

Office Chair

I’ve been thinking about doing this model for a long time. Susan gave me this chair for my new home office in the early ‘80s. She found it at an antique furniture auction in Warwickshire. Now, I felt that I had the tools and experience to take on the project.

 #chair #desk #office #antique #Blender #Cycles