Cyanotype print 11: A-11

 art, cyanotype blueprints, history, new products, rockets, weapons  No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

Cyanotype print 11: A-11

A painting created in 1946 at White Sands, under the direction of Werner von Braun and by deBeek, the artist responsible for paintings at Peenemunde during the war. The design is typically considered to be the “A-11,” a hypothetical three-stage rocket capable of putting a V-2 rocket into orbit. It was described here.

In order to get best-quality prints of the A-11, it must be processed for more than four times as long as the other images, and consequently costs a little more.

A hand made cyanotype blueprint on sturdy 12X18 watercolor paper. Each is unique, and likely to feature small imperfections.The blue will fade if left in the sun. If this happens, it can be darkened by placing it somewhere dark with good air flow to re-oxidize the ink. Alternatively. hydrogen peroxide, available from grocery stores, will instantly oxidize the ink and restore it to its full hue.

 Posted by at 9:15 pm

Cyanotype Prints 09 & 10: NERVA Nuclear Rocket

 art, cyanotype blueprints, drawings, new products, nukes, projects, rockets, spacecraft  2 Responses »
Jul 122012
 

Cyanotype Prints 09 & 10: NERVA Nuclear Rocket

Two Aerojet illustrations of the NERVA nuclear rocket, early 1960’s. Print 09 depicts the engine in a cutaway artwork; Print 10 shows the overall engine configuration. They can be purchased for $10 each, or together for $17.

A hand made cyanotype blueprint on sturdy 12X18 watercolor paper. Each is unique, and likely to feature small imperfections.The blue will fade if left in the sun. If this happens, it can be darkened by placing it somewhere dark with good air flow to re-oxidize the ink. Alternatively. hydrogen peroxide, available from grocery stores, will instantly oxidize the ink and restore it to its full hue.

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 Posted by at 9:03 pm

Cyanotype print 08: Saturn V S-IC stage cutaway

 art, cyanotype blueprints, drawings, history, new products, rockets, spacecraft  No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

Cyanotype print 08: Saturn V S-IC stage cutaway

A cutaway rendering of the Saturn V S-IC first stage, showing the main structures and equipment.

A hand made cyanotype blueprint on sturdy 12X18 watercolor paper. Each is unique, and likely to feature small imperfections.The blue will fade if left in the sun. If this happens, it can be darkened by placing it somewhere dark with good air flow to re-oxidize the ink. Alternatively. hydrogen peroxide, available from grocery stores, will instantly oxidize the ink and restore it to its full hue.

 Posted by at 8:55 pm

Cyanotype Print 07: LS-200-10

 art, cyanotype blueprints, drawings, new products, projects, rockets, spacecraft  No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

Cyanotype Print 07: LS-200-10

A layout drawing of the Lockheed LS-200-10, a Stage-and-One-Half Space Shuttle design. A descendant of the Star Clipper concept.

A hand made cyanotype blueprint on sturdy 12X18 watercolor paper. Each is unique, and likely to feature small imperfections.The blue will fade if left in the sun. If this happens, it can be darkened by placing it somewhere dark with good air flow to re-oxidize the ink. Alternatively. hydrogen peroxide, available from grocery stores, will instantly oxidize the ink and restore it to its full hue.

 Posted by at 8:49 pm

Cyanotype Prints 05 & 06: Republic AP-100 VTOL

 aircraft, art, cyanotype blueprints, drawings, new products, projects  No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

Cyanotype Prints 05 & 06: Republic AP-100 VTOL

Two Republic Aviation illustrations of the AP-100 supersonic VTOL strike fighter, circa 1961. Print 05 depicts the aircraft in cutaway; Print 06 shows the overall vehicle configuration. They can be purchased for $10 each, or together for $17.

A hand made cyanotype blueprint on sturdy 12X18 watercolor paper. Each is unique, and likely to feature small imperfections.The blue will fade if left in the sun. If this happens, it can be darkened by placing it somewhere dark with good air flow to re-oxidize the ink. Alternatively. hydrogen peroxide, available from grocery stores, will instantly oxidize the ink and restore it to its full hue.

 Posted by at 8:29 pm

Cyanotype Print 03 & 04: 4,000 ton Orion

 cyanotype blueprints, drawings, history, new products, Nuclear Pulse Propulsion, nukes, projects, spacecraft  No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

Cyanotype Print 03 & 04: 4,000 ton Orion

Two 1963 General Atomic diagrams of the 4,000 ton Orion nuclear pulse spacecraft designed for the USAF. Print 03 depicts the propulsion module in cutaway; Print 04 shows the overall vehicle configuration. They can be purchased for $10 each, or together for $17.

A hand made cyanotype blueprint on sturdy 12X18 watercolor paper. Each is unique, and likely to feature small imperfections.The blue will fade if left in the sun. If this happens, it can be darkened by placing it somewhere dark with good air flow to re-oxidize the ink. Alternatively. hydrogen peroxide, available from grocery stores, will instantly oxidize the ink and restore it to its full hue.

 Posted by at 8:16 pm

Cyanotype Print 02: Preliminary Mercury Sketch

 art, cyanotype blueprints, drawings, history, new products, spacecraft  No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

Cyanotype Print 02: Preliminary Mercury Sketch

A very preliminary sketch of what would become the Mercury capsule. This image is taken from a scan made from the actual hand-drawn (by Maxime Faget) original. Note that this design is much more like the “Discoverer” capsule than the final Mercury capsule; the heat shield is in front, not behind. So the astronauts couch would rotate 180 degrees so that he would not be subjected to an eyeballs-out re-entry acceleration.

A hand made cyanotype blueprint on sturdy 12X18 watercolor paper. Each is unique, and likely to feature small imperfections.The blue will fade if left in the sun. If this happens, it can be darkened by placing it somewhere dark with good air flow to re-oxidize the ink. Alternatively. hydrogen peroxide, available from grocery stores, will instantly oxidize the ink and restore it to its full hue.

 Posted by at 8:04 pm

Cyanotype Print 01: Nuclear Lightbulb

 art, cyanotype blueprints, drawings, new products, nukes, projects, rockets, spacecraft  3 Responses »
Jul 122012
 

Cyanotype Print 01: Nuclear Light Bulb

A NASA diagram of a Nuclear Light Bulb, an advanced nuclear rocket that uses incandescent uranium plasma to irradiate hydrogen gas to provide thrust. NOTE: There is a mis-spelled word on the blueprint. It was mis-spelled by NASA way back when… it’s shown as it was published.

A hand made cyanotype blueprint on sturdy 12X18 watercolor paper. Each is unique, and likely to feature small imperfections.The blue will fade if left in the sun. If this happens, it can be darkened by placing it somewhere dark with good air flow to re-oxidize the ink. Alternatively. hydrogen peroxide, available from grocery stores, will instantly oxidize the ink and restore it to its full hue.

 Posted by at 7:50 pm

Hipster art incoming

 art, blather, drawings, new products  No Responses »
Jul 122012
 

I have 24 separate cyanotype blueprints that I’ve printed out on the 12X18 sheets and found to be from “good” to “freakin’ awesome.” So I’ll shortly post photos, descriptions, and, most importantly of all, PayPal buttons. There will be separate posts for each blueprint (in a few cases, two per post, since they’re related). Since the postage price will be the same whether you buy one or ten, if’n you think you might be interested, it might make sense to hold off on ordering until all twenty four are posted. Of course, if you want ten of the very first one you see, go right ahead…

Not shown are a few blueprints that just didn’t work. Most of these are line drawings, but a few are paintings, and the results there have been really hit or miss. The very first one I tried, the NERVA engine, is Freakin’ Awesome. The last one I tried, von Brauns A-11, was a disaster… until I did some experiments that eventually led to me processing it for up to ten times as long as the NERVA art, and then it, too, became Freakin’ Awesome. Shrug. So, check back in a bit.

The important thing to keep in mind: these are “art.” Each one is pretty much hand made; they are not stamped out of a digital printer. Thus it takes a good long while to make each one, and each one will be different to a greater or lesser degree. But they do look pretty spiffy.

 Posted by at 7:28 pm

Hipster Aerospace Art 2

 new products  No Responses »
Jul 082012
 

I’ve decided to go ahead with the cyanotype “prints.” I currently have only a relatively small stash; I’m out of paper and will need to pick up some more. I will sell them for $10 each… and a few specific pairs for $17.00 each (the two 10-meter Orion prints, the two Republic Mach 25 prints, eventually the two 4000-ton Orion prints, a few others). The only real question mark at this time is shipping. Shipping rolled would be safest, but the paper is pretty thick and would take a definite set rolled up for a few days. I’ll try to find a reasonably affordable flat-mailing alternative.

Tomorrow I’ll get not only more paper, but more transparencies and hopefully some definition on shipping. And then… let the commercialism begin! Since this is, as was pointed out to me, a very “hipster” form of art, you’ll be able to get in early and tell your friends and acquaintances that “I bet you’ve never even heard of them.” Then when these are world famous, you’ll be able to tell people that “I was into them before they were cool,” and then mutter something about “sellouts” or some such…

 Posted by at 1:41 pm
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