50th Anniversary of Launch of Cunarder "QUEEN ELIZABETH 2"

Today is the 50th anniversary of the launch of the ocean liner QE2 in Scotland.

This lovely night shot shows the QE2 in Sydney Harbour during her final round-the-world voyage on early 2007. I was aboard. It was a magnificent voyage!

photo by Merbabu

CUNARD "QUEEN ELIZABETH 2" (QE2) 50th ANNIVERSARY of LAUNCHING

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the launch of the greatest ocean liner ever built, here are some photos of my recently-completed QE2. The ship was launched 20 September 1967 in Scotland.
The RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 immediately became the Cunard flagship, and sailed hundreds of crossings and 26 round-the-world voyages. The QE2 was Cunard's longest-serving ocean liner.

This is the Revell 1:1200 scale model of the best ocean liner ever built - the QE2. The small box kit gives a finished hull only 25 cm in length.

I sailed around the world on this ship - it is a fantastic way to spend 4 months.
Sadly the ship is now retired and decaying in the UAE.

The model shows the QE2 as she appeared after 1982 when the ship was used by the British as a military troop transport for the Falklands/Malvinas war. The funnel is still the original white. The Cunard orange/red was a later addition to the paint scheme.

The year 1967 saw the first look at Concorde, and the first flight of the Saturn V rocket.
 

QE2

QE2

Photo of actual launch of the QE2 on 20 September 1967 at Clydebank, Scotland.  The Queen managed to name it after herself with these words: "I name this ship Queen Elizabeth the Second. May God bless her and all who sail in her." Cunard cleverly reworked the name and used the digit "2" in the name instead of the roman numeral "II" or the word "second". Thus was born the QE2.

QE2 (1967) with the new (2004) Queen Mary 2.

QE2 (1967) with the new (2004) Queen Mary 2.

QE2 (1967) with the new (2004) Queen Mary 2.

QE2 (1967) with the new (2004) Queen Mary 2.

QE2 (1967) with the new (2004) Queen Mary 2.

QE2 (1967) with the new (2004) Queen Mary 2.

CUNARD'S OCEAN LINER "RMS QUEEN MARY 2" (Revell)

This is the Revell 1:1200 scale kit of Cunard's flagship, the "RMS Queen Mary 2" launched in 2003 and entering service in early 2004. I was on the maiden trans-Atlantic crossing in grill class, and was also on a shakedown cruise in steerage.

RMS Queen Mary 2

Second place winner in the ships OOB category at CAPCON 2017 on 30 September 2017.

RMS Queen Mary 2

RMS Queen Mary 2

RMS Queen Mary 2

beside the older and smaller ocean liner "QE2", now retired.

The real QM2...

NASA "SATURN V" HUMAN-RATED ROCKET (c.1967) (MPC)

This is the old and rather crude MPC kit in 1:200 scale of the USA's SATURN V human-rated rocket project. Fifteen were built and thirteen were used up through 1976.
I used Krylon spray cans of white and black, and covered the command module at the top with silver foil.
These things were huge, and the model is difficult to photograph.

SATURN V human-rated rocket

WINNER first place in the real space category at CAPCON 2017 on 30 September 2017.

A real one...

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

SATURN V human-rated rocket

BATTLE DAMAGED M113 ARMOURED PERSONNEL CARRIER (Tamiya)

This is a 1:35 scale kit from Tamiya of the M113 armoured personnel carrier as used by the Canadian Army on the United Nations UNPROFOR peacekeeping mission in the former Yugoslavia.

On 24 April 1993 this APC was damaged beyond repair when it drove onto an anti-tank land mine during route reconnaissance of the front lines in Srebrenica, Bosnia-Herzegovina. The APC was part of Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment. Injured was Lt Cameron Ellis; as well as WO Hickey; Cpl Jane and Cpl MacDougall; and Pvt O'Neill. The vehicle is now part of the collection at the Canadian War Museum. It was completely restored in honour of 30 years of service by the M113 APC family to the Canadian Armed Forces.

The entire top/roof had to be rebuilt to eliminate the large armoured heavy gun turret and to add a new flat sheet (of trading card cardboard), and to add a new smaller ring turret, and a new hatch.
The license plate is the very unique "35000" registration, and is a tiny photograph of the actual plate on the real vehicle. I look the photo then shrunk it down to almost nothing, then printed it on the colour laser printer and cut out the final plate to glue directly to the hull. With a magnifying glass you could read the word CANADA on the top of the plate.
Work began on 3 August and was completed on 26 August.

It appears I used a sepia setting on the camera, and now have to re-take all photos.

This is the real damaged APC in the former Yugoslavia in 1993.

M113 armoured personnel carrier

M113 armoured personnel carrier

M113 armoured personnel carrier

M113 armoured personnel carrier

M113 armoured personnel carrier

M113 armoured personnel carrier

M113 armoured personnel carrier

M113 armoured personnel carrier

WINNER of the CAPCON 2017 "Canadian War Museum Award" for a model of an item from the museum's collection.
30 September 2017.

The real one at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa.

BATMOBILE (c.1960)

In honour of Adam West, the best Batman, here is a metal die-cast kit of the Batmobile as it looked prior to the filming of the 1966 TV show. It is a plastic chassis and interior, with a cast metal body.