Cyanotype update

 art, blather, cyanotype blueprints, drawings, history, new products, news, projects  No Responses »
Apr 182013
 

I am working on making cyanotype prints using vellum instead of the heavyweight watercolor paper used to date. This is historically appropriate, as well as being far lighter and rollable (ship in a tube rather than flat). Early test runs are encouraging, though the failure rate is higher than for watercolor paper. I’m going to make vellum-type available alongside the watercolor-paper-type. They will be more expensive, due to higher cost and more effort required. They will probably be special-order items. So if there are any of the current cyanotype prints you’d especially like to see as vellum cyanotypes, let me know via email.

Related: I’ve finally found a company that says they can make large-format transparencies, which I can used to make large-format vellum cyanotypes. I hope to have a set of large format transparencies (including both the Saturn Ib and Saturn V) sometime next week.

 

If it all works out, and things are at least encouraging, then I’ll also be able to make vellum blueprints to order, easily up to 18X24, likely to 24X36, and 14X72 or so (two different “frames” on hand). So if you have diagrams you’d like in velum cyanotype format, let me know…

 

 Posted by at 11:27 am

The US-Canada Border Time Warp

 AARRRGH, blather, Gah., Hmm..., new products, ಠ_ಠ  3 Responses »
Feb 272013
 

I just got an email from a Canadian customer of a Saturn V print letting me know that the print arrived, and that they were pleased with it. Why is this newsworthy? Well, partially to convince you to buy prints, but mostly to complain about the postal service between here and there. You see, the print was mailed a *month* ago. Stuff sent to me from Canada has similarly taken a month or more. Stuff sent to and from Hong Kong takes a few days; Europe takes a week. So… what the hell, eh?

 Posted by at 11:16 pm

Blammo

 art, blather, drawings, history, new products, Nuclear Pulse Propulsion, nukes  28 Responses »
Feb 092013
 

In working on the Nuclear Pulse Propulsion book, I decided it would be appropriate to have some scale comparison drawings of the Orion pulse units along with some other nuclear explosives. In working on these drawings, I found that they’re pretty interesting apart from the Orion angle Just wondering if others might be interested in an expanded version of this… a chart showing all US nukes to scale, perhaps.

bablammo

 Posted by at 12:36 am

Collier’s October 25, 1952 Available to Download

 APR, art, awesomeness, drawings, history, new products, projects, rockets, science, science fiction, spacecraft  No Responses »
Feb 012013
 

The November/December 2012 issue of AIAA-Houston “Horizons” is available to download (has been for a while). This issue has two things which I’ve contributed:

“Man On The Moon: The Exploration,” Collier’s magazine, October 25, 1952 : the third in the series of eight articles reprinting the famed “Man Will Conquer Space Soon!” articles from Collier’s magazine. I scanned a vintage copy and cleaned up the images for this.

colliers3a colliers3b

“Hubble meets Skylab:” a short article on an early Lockheed design study for a Hubble-predecessor which was to have been attached to Skylab. This was when what would become Hubble was planned to use film rather than digital imaging, and would require regular and fairly frequent visits by astronauts to change out the film canisters.

hubblemeetsskylab

A with the previous issues with the Collier’s reprints, this issue is available in both high and low resolution, from the AIAA-Houston website HERE.

 Posted by at 9:05 pm

Prints: The *Next* Next Generation

 aircraft, art, awesomeness, drawings, history, new products, projects, rockets, spacecraft  9 Responses »
Jan 262013
 

OK, now that the first set of prints is out and available for purchase, I’m looking down the road to the next. A couple of the ones I’m looking at are pretty bignormous, and thus expensive, so I’m considering the possibility of smaller versions of a few. However, I’ll probably only do one size, rather than both. Shown below are the next set of candidates; some are prepared, or nearly so; some have a lot of work to do. All are shown at 10% the full-size original image, so you can put ’em side by side if you want to see how they’d compare.

If you see something you like, speak up! Either in the comments or via email. Only the ones that reach a certain number of up-votes will be produced, so if you want one, ya gotta say so. Additionally, this next go-around, those who vote early will be given the chance to buy the first print run of these at some savings compared to the public release. address

First: V-2 (A-4) Rocket brownline, full size. 16.5X56 inches, $45

Second:V-2 (A-4) Rocket brownline, reduced size size. 12X41 inches, $24

Third: V-2 (A-4) Rocket Engine brownline, 24X33 inches, $40

Fourth: X-15A-3 (Delta Wing) Blueprint, 10X40 inches, $20

Fifth: B-29 Blueprint (full scale), 36X84 inches, $150 (BIG!)

Sixth: B-29 Blueprint (half size), 18X42 inches, $37

Seventh: Apollo Blueprints (full size), 24.5X47 inches, $55

Eighth: Apollo Blueprints (smaller size), 18X34 inches, $30

Ninth: Apollo trajectory plot, 8X24 inches, $10

5216a A-4 brownline 10 percent

5216a A-4 12-inch 10 percent

a-4 engine 10 percent

x-15A-3 10 percent

B-29 10 percent

B-29 half 10 percentcsm temp 18 inch 10 percentcsm temp 10 percentpath 10 percent

 Posted by at 10:33 pm

Blueprints!

 APR, drawings, history, new products, rockets, spacecraft  No Responses »
Jan 202013
 

Took me a few days to get a spot ready that would actually *fit* the Saturn V prints for photographic purposes, but here they are:

1/72 Saturn V (two of them):

Closeup of the 1/72 Saturn V’s:

1/72 Saturn Ib and Saturn Ib w/SRBs:

Closeup of the 1/72 Saturn Ib:

Closeup of the 1/72 Saturn Ib w/SRBs:

LM Equipment diagram:

Skylab cutaway:

And here are two versions of the A-4 (V-2) cutaway diagram. These were test prints to see how they’d look; except for being much to garishly colorful, they were ok. But I’ll need to tone them down a bit before making them available.

I’m working on the ordering webpage. Once it’s up and running I’ll email those who have expressed interest in buying prints. I expect I’ll make the prints publicly orderable within a  week or so.

 Posted by at 6:41 pm

Saturn prints update

 art, awesomeness, blather, drawings, history, new products, projects, rockets, spacecraft  No Responses »
Jan 142013
 

I picked up a batch of prints today, including:

1/72 Saturn V: came out great

1/72 Saturn Ib: Came out great

1/72 Saturn Ib/SRB: the print came out great, with the caveat that the original drawing is slightly fuzzier than the Ib

Skylab cutaway: came out great

LM equipment: Came out great

V-2 cutaway: MY EYES!!!! The fadde/old/off-white that looked good on screen came out a very bright and garish orange on paper. Fortunately I only had one each of two sizes printed. Back to the factory on these, tone it down and try again.

The LM and Skylab are bigger than the shipping tubes I have on hand. I have to order more, then I’ll start making ’em available.

 Posted by at 7:41 pm

Prints are on the way!

 art, blather, drawings, history, new products, news, projects, rockets, spacecraft  No Responses »
Jan 102013
 

I wandered up to the print shop to put in an order. The 1/72 Saturn V, the Lunar Module layout, the Skylab cutaway and both versions of the 1/72 Saturn Ib. The 1/144 Saturns and the Convair Nuke Bomber received far too little interest (the 1/72 Saturn Ib’s technically came in under the bar I’d set, but whatever…). I also ordered one print of the brownline V-2 at two different sizes, to see how they come out. The prints should be ready Monday. Once I have them, made sure they meet code, and have the proper shipping supplies, I’ll make ’em, available to those who emailed interest; once *those* have sold, I’ll get another print run of at least the 1/72 Saturn V and LM diagram (the only ones that really seemed popular) and make ’em available.

BTW: The trip *to* the print shop was uneventful. The trip *back* was all kinds of exciting. As in “hey, neat, my brakes don’t work in those road conditions, but I shouldn’t feel too bad cuz neither do anyone elses including that car slithering through the intersection right at me.” Fortunately, the drive never got *really* exciting.

BTW2: This is what the finalized Skylab cutaway looks like. The callouts were added in, the “Skylab” title similar to “lesser” versions of this diagram was added, and what the hay, a little Saturn V/Skylab diagram was added to fill in some of the blank space.

And because absolutely nobody has asked for it, here’s what the Skylab diagram looked like after assembling the photos, but before the major cleanup and “blueprint conversion” operations.

 Posted by at 6:48 pm
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