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

1947 MG TC

 

When I was a kid I thought there was something magical about MG cars. I wanted to make a ¼ size replica and install a lawn-mower engine in it so I could drive it around in parking lots. Between 1936 and 1955 Morris/BMC made five models of the T-Type: TA, TB, TC, TD and TF. A few weeks ago, I pulled up at a traffic light next to an immaculate MG TC with the top down that provided the inspiration for this model.

 #MG #TC #sports_car #Blender #Cycles

1930 Cadillac V-16

 

The V-16 Cadillac is best known for its engine, but the car had other innovations as well: synchromesh transmission and optional head lights that turned with the front wheels. The V-16 was sold in various models including two-door coupe or convertible, for-door hard top or convertible, town car and limonene.

 The story of the engine development is interesting from both a historical and engineering perspective: V-16 Design.

 This model is based on the 1930 Cadillac Model 452 All-weather Phaeton.

 #Cadillac #V-16 #1930 #antique_car #Blender #Cycles

1916 American LaFrance Speedster

 The American LaFrance Fire Engine Company (ALF) was founded in 1873 (with roots dating from 1832) by Truxton S. LaFrance in Elmira, New York. While the company specialized in fire appliances, the management took an interest in motor cars in the early 20^th century. These cars were vanity projects based on fire engine chassis and powered by large, powerful engines.

 This model is a depiction of a reproduction of the 1916 Speedster car that was built on a real ALF fire engine chassis. The car was sold at auction last year. As I was not able to find any blueprints or detailed drawings of the car, the model was built entirely from photographs. The speedster weighed 2,300 kg, was 5.4 m long and 2 m wide. It was powered by a 9.4 liter, 6-cylinder, T-head, gasoline engine driving the rear wheels through two, parallel sprockets and chains.

DFS 230A Glider

 Ten Luftwaffe DFS 230A gliders were used in the famous Gran Sasso raid on 12 September 1943 to rescue Mussolini from the hilltop hotel where he was imprisoned after the fall of his government. The force of paratroopers and SS commandos led by Hauptsturmführer Otto Skorzeny was able to grab il Duce with two Italians killed and 10 Germans wounded.

 The glider was 11.24m long with a wingspan of 22m. The width of the body was less than one meter so that the passengers sat in a single file. It had a crew of a pilot and nine troopers. The glider was developed by Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Segelflug (DFS - "German Research Institute for Sailplane Flight") This model is shown in the livery of the Schleppgruppe 2.

 #DFS_230A #glider #German # Luftwaffe #Blender #Cycles

Antonov A-7 Glider

The Antonov A-7 was one of two Soviet military gliders (see Gribovsky G-11) employed in WWII. It was 11.5m long with a wingspan of 19m. The wooden glider carried a crew of two and eight equipped troops. About 400 were built from 1941 to 1945.

 #Antonov_A-7 #glider #Soviet #Blender #Cycles