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Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Extraordinary Art from Metal


"QUANTUM SHOT" #421
link


Sculptures from scrap iron (including military items)

Location: Golan heights - Mount Bental
Weirdness factor: High.

Todesfee has collected in this set a whimsical sculptures made from not so funny material: scrap military metal, left from the Yom Kippur War (Mount Bental was the site of large-scale tank battles in 1973)






She writes: "The Golan Heights is a plateau on the border of Israel, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. The Syrians attacked the Golan with 1,500 tanks and 1,000 artillery pieces. Israel countered with only 160 tanks and 60 artillery pieces. The long stretch of valley in between Mount Bental and Mount Hermon became known as the Valley of Tears. The 100 Israeli tanks were reduced to seven under extreme enemy fire. However, the Israelis managed to take down 600 Syrian tanks in the process. The Syrians eventually retreated, but not without inflicting heavy casualties on Israel."



T-Rex made from scrap military metal (do I discern parts of some plane there?) is pretty ferocious:



-----------

Mutant Mechanisms

We already featured art by Vladimir Tsesler & Sergei Voichenko in our article, but the weird mechanical monsters keep coming from their weird kitchen. Here is a couple more:




(art by Vladimir Tsesler & Sergei Voichenko, Belorus)

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Kinetic Sculptures of Andrew Smith

Andrew Smith sculptures bubble, click, chime, make all kinds of highly sophisticated movements and endlessly entertain. And yes, they are made mostly out of metal - some found in military surpluss yard. Here is the "Bubbler":



The "Tornado" kinetic sculpture works even if the door is open:




We asked Andrew a few questions, and so he shares with us:

"People often ask me how I get the ideas for creating my Sculptures. The truth is, I usually don’t know what a sculpture will be until it is actually in the process of being built. I approach my work with a very wide expectation of what it may become, and I try to allow myself to let it go in the direction it wants to go.

Most of it is trial and error, a kind of "form follows function" construction process. If an element is not working or just doesn’t do what I had hoped, I will cut it off and try something else."




"I enjoy the raw creativity in this process. I am constantly observing the world around me seeing things that capture my attention. Sometimes I will try to incorporate these elements into my art somehow or it will spark an idea that leads to another idea and so on. My strongest pieces are usually the ones I had the most fun making. Art doesn’t always have to be serious, political or even emotional. Sometimes it can just be fun. "






"Sometimes when people look at my Kinetic or Rolling Ball Sculptures they will ask, “What does it do?”
I usually answer, “It’s doing it.”




One of the best lamp designs I've ever seen:




His bigger kinetic sculptures remind me of the work of classic science fiction artist Richard M. Powers:






(cover art by Richard M. Powers)


"Grandfather Time" clock is an intricate "rolling ball" contraption. Every 15 minutes the ball is released into the track and as it reaches the bottom it strikes a single chime.





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Use your old iron for something better



Aaron Ristau is a true master of "found objects" and metal sculpture form:



Set loose a "sentinel droid" on your lawn, see how the neightbors would react:



Bizarre metal light fixtures:





He also makes beautiful kinetic sculptures, see his site for more.

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Joe Pogan's Nuts-n-Bolts Animals

"The stranger the piece of metal, the better!" - Made from scrap metal and found metallic objects, these fishes would make any fisherman proud (and art collector, too) -





Birds even get a bed of nails as nests:






(images credit: Joe Pogan)

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Other Fascinating Metal Art Examples

Original artists for these works are largely unknown, so if you have this information, drop us a line.





Very ingenious sculptures from bended forks by Matthew Bartik:






(images credit: Matthew Bartik)









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It's not what it seems

Chehalem Mountain Pottery's creations look like metal and plumbing fittings. It's actually all ceramic, imagine that.







Eat your food out of some sheet metal plate with fake nuts and bolts? You gotta be a steampunk-oriented individual.



Don't like fake metal? You can still have fun with your ceramics:



-----------

Our metal art review would not be complete, if we don't mention this highly original set:

The Terminator's Kama Sutra

Or, this is how robots fulfil the command "be fruitful and multiply"... and fill the Earth. (God forbid)





Cszar (Matthias Weinberger) has been adding to his collection of robot's suspicious poses for quite some time - and now the set has 20 well-oiled positions! -



Also check out their orgasmic speech...
01000100 01100001 01110100 01100001 00100000 01000101 01111000 01100011 01101000 01100001 01101110 01100111 01100101


(art by Cszar (Matthias Weinberger))

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COMMENTS:

10 Comments:

Anonymous Cubi said...

Translation of the binary code: "Data Exchange"

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Short grammar lesson. "Bended" is not a word.

"Very ingenious sculptures from bended forks:"

should instead be written

"Very ingenious sculptures from bent forks:"

___  
Blogger cobrabyte said...

@anonymous...

Actually, chief, 'bended' *is* a word.

See: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bended

It's fallen out of use but it's still very much a word.

@author...

Excellent, excellent finds!

___  
Blogger DRB said...

I don't know who made the skull but I saw it last year in person...it is in Venice, Italy.

___  
Blogger brock said...

Does anybody know the name of the ceramic artist (teacup and saucer next to handgun)? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

___  
OpenID asgdinho said...

see also this artist

http://nunoleitedesign.no.sapo.pt/nunorodrigues/html/galeria_escultura.htm

he got awsome works!

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

For the Forks work, the artist is named Matthew Bartik, if it can help

___  
Anonymous Todesfee/Omega said...

Hey guys, i have just found this post now, and thanks for featuring my photos!(better late than never :) )

___  
Anonymous Data Recovery Man said...

this is superb work i am very impressed, can we buy this stuff by the way? and where

___  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

oh my,, such beautiful things.. Now I am convinced that scrap metal is the key to everything.. Not that very nice art objects can be made from it, it also costs some decent money..
http://www.metal-scrap.net

___  

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  • I think the giant snail is fake? just decent CGI.
    Read more

  • And I think tthat it's this.
    Read more

  • There's a similar (same?) Studebaker on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The card there indicates this was to be a nuclear-powered vehicle that balanced gyroscopically on one centered wheel, and was also to have a energy force field--hence no need for windows. All courtesy our friend the atom.
    Read more

  • The snail isn't fake. have you never watched a nature documentry before?
    Read more

  • The giant snail is definitely NOT a fake. They're not safe to handle though, because they can carry a disease (I forget which) that they can pass on to humans.
    Read more

  • They're cute, but at the same time, a little creepy, lol.
    Read more

  • Sooo cute...although the one on the leash is a bit much. But then again, saying "a bit much" in the context of a wild animal in a denim jacked isn't exactly relevant.

    I, in fact, am a bit fan of sheep. Even think they're the new penguins. (You know the penguin trend...Happy Feet...March of the Penguins...all the toys, etc.). Check out some cool sheep-related art from across the web:

    http://twurl.nl/g2w2ve
    Read more

  • I honestly don't know whether to laugh hysterically or cry - the idea of someone not only buying exotic wild animals that were either snatched from their native forest or worse, bred in captivity... but then dressing them up in dolls clothes and using them as fame fodder?!

    This isn't cute at all, it's insane.

    People like that should not be allowed to keep any sort of animals, let alone wild animals.

    When will people ever learn that animals are not play things to be kept for our twisted amusement?
    Read more

  • Oh yes, Rox, because animals are so intelligent, right? Get real - in the wild, they'd almost definitely have a much, much, much shorter life, a harder time and would be more at risk of disease or predators.

    Animals are not intelligent enough to comprehend things like "natural habitats" or "freedom". Animals merely want 3 things - food, water and safety. In that home, that is provided for them. They aren't suffering, and its silly to the extreme to believe that they possess the same awareness or emotions as human beings, given that they are a different species than us.

    Animals are happy as long as you provide them with basic needs - they don't have philosophies, or ideals or dreams. Their brains aren't complex enough for that. These animals are being well taken care of.

    Part of the problem with you is that you assume that animals are like us. They are NOTHING like us. They do have a right to be kept free from pain and such, but they are in no emotion or physical pain in that household. They don't have the brains to even comprehend such things like "captivity" or "freedom".
    Read more

  • If you re-read my comment, I didn't say anything about animals being on the same level as humans.

    But the logic in thinking that wild animals are better off being put to work on movies, and being used for shows of 300 or more children and being dressed in dolls clothes and kept in cages and allowed to roam a house rather than being in their natural habitat is warped.

    As for animals in captivity having longer healthier lives, that actually isn't always the case. Even with these anteaters, the female is sick and may soon be retired from 'show business'. Not getting the proper diet they would have in the wild and having supplements instead isn't always conducive to a long life.

    And if it's silly to think that they deserve a natural existence, then fine, maybe I am silly. But the exotic pet trade still plays a big part in poaching and illegal animal trade, and when you stop to wonder how these animals are caught, it doesn't seem so silly.

    Just because they don't have the same superior intelligence and reasoning we have, it doesn't give us the right to exploit them.
    Read more

  • Brainpicker claims breeding them in captivity is worse than taking them from the wild. Well how are they going to miss something they never knew? How is it worse?

    Captive private breeding has saved many species on the brink of extinction. American bison, springbok, both of which were reintroduced from captive private bred stock. And there are many others such as lemurs, fennec fox, some chameleons, and some breeds of cockatoos and numerous species I can't think of that are threatened or even extinct in the wild that are in large numbers in the pet trade. This is GOOD. The species survival is assured as long as people want them.

    The clothes are so it stays warm and not really any different from the harness it wears to go out. If it doesn't mind, and it doesn't seem to, then there's no harm in the clothing also being cute.

    Animals are almost always longer lived in captivity when well treated, there are rare exceptions. The female having got sick is old news and was some bacterial infection. She was said to be considering retirement because Pua didn't like doing it as much as the male. All the full info is in the blogs.

    The legal pet trade plays no part in poaching. The vast majority of exotic pets are bred in captivity for many generations this only helps the wild populations through better awareness and no reason to take any from the wild with a captive supply, which could be relied on when reintroduction becomes needed. There are not enough zoos to handle all the animals that are threatened.

    For the few taken from the wild trade is highly regulated and limited under C.I.T.E.S.

    The illegal animal trade you speak of is over 90% animal parts for medicines, food, or trophies. The few pets produced from it are a by product of the other(killed mom for meat, hey lets try to sell the baby).

    And again the captive animals especially the well loved pets help foster a love for the wild animals. Just look at the love for these cute animals many have never even heard of before.
    Read more

  • I can see your logic, and what you are trying to say - but at the end of the day, buying exotic wild animals creates a demand. This in turn gives poachers and animal traders more incentive to capture wild animals as well as breed them and the more demand there is, the more likelihood of poorer breeding conditions and bigger 'farms'.

    The irony is that it is people and their need to use animals for profit who are the biggest factor in the threat of species endangerment - capturing or breeding the species only perpetuates this problem, and is far from 'conservation' as circus animals are.

    Breeding and selling wild animals to people who want a novelty pet is about profit and not about preservation of species.

    No matter how I look at it, I just don't see the exotic pet trade as a good thing.
    Read more

  • Anteater Coolness? Oh yeah. Just about as cool as wearing real fur and eating shark fin soup. Now, anteaters with a fancy price tag in doll's clothes, how insane can it get? No, it's not cool, it's just totally lame. And the justification for doing so is equally lame. Here again we have people with too much money and too much time on their hands. It's always like that.
    Read more

  • I could SO sic these cute guys on the fire ant mounds here. Even if they couldn't wipe out the ants, it would be a delight to get them to off the little critters.
    Read more

  • If you read the info page @ the tamandua owner's site, at least one of them was found in the wild VERY ILL and the owner rescued him and nursed him back to health. I don't see anything wrong with that.
    Read more

  • How do you know these animals weren't saved or even just found and kept as a pet, they seem happy and cute, I didn't see any pictures of the ant eaters getting tortured so its all good. These animals look like there well taken care of.
    Read more

  • http://www.contentcaboodle.com/pets/anteater-faq.html
    Read more

  • http://www.contentcaboodle.com/pets/anteater-faq.html

    odd htr? trying again HTML
    Read more

  • rox, go read 'Life of Pi', then think again.
    Read more

  • Now there's a calendar

    Click for more examples
    http://anteaterentertainment.com/Store.html
    Read more

  • They'd be lovely in a stew.
    Read more

  • >>> Animals are not intelligent enough to comprehend things like
    >> "natural habitats" or "freedom".

    >> Animals are happy as long as
    >> you provide them with basic needs - they don't have
    >> philosophies, or ideals or dreams.

    >> they are in no emotion or physical pain

    Please explain how you have done something that no scientist has ever managed - reading animals' minds?
    Read more

  • We've actually nominated a foul-mouthed Anteater for president this year! He's running as an independent Anteater.

    http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/cat_anteater.php

    It's good to see his constituents enjoying life in this country.
    Read more

  • First of all "Occams Razor" - If you've ever owned a pet in your life you would know that animals do have souls and can think for themselves.

    I'm not saying they have human intelligence or all our emotions, but they do feel, animals can suffer from emotions like depression, just like people do.

    Yes, animals in the wild have shorter life spans and are predated upon, but that is natural, taking an animal out of their natural habitat is NOT!

    And second, I understand people’s desire to help endangered species, but how are you helping them by keeping them in your home and turning them into pets? Preserving species is a job for the zoos, who can keep these animals in a close to natural habitat, as appose to your house. I am currently a senior at Delaware Valley College majoring in Conservation and Wildlife Management, so exotic and endangered animals are my study.

    People, these are NOT PETS, nor should they ever be pets, and they are NOT domesticated! Putting an animal in your house and training it does not make it a domestic animal. If you're that adamant on helping to save an endangered species then donate money to a cause. Keeping a wild animal as a pet does nothing to help preserve the species. And by purchasing one you are only helping to aid the exotic animal trade, which means your money is going toward taking even more critically endangered animals - like tigers - out of their natural habitats to live out a horrible life as someone’s pet.

    The exotic animal trade/market is ranked just below the illegal drug trade and just above the illegal gun trade. Most of these animals are ripped from their mothers as babies and shipped all over the world to be kept as pets, how on earth can that possibly help that animal.

    Yes they are adorable and would be awesome to own, but if you really want to touch wild animals then get a job at a zoo and do something practical to help a species.
    Read more

  • the only way to truly preserve an animal is by making sure you can release them back into the wild. these so called "pets" can never be released back into the wild because people like this have taken their natural survival skills away by raising them in households. Its the same for people who breed them for pets.
    Yes Captive private breeding has saved many species on the brink of extinction, but they weren't bred by normal people, they were bred and supervised by trained wildlife professionals, and had minimal contact with people.
    Read more

  • I think they're great! They seem very happy in the human habitat, with clothes on or not so who cares where they came from!

    At least they're not some predator food.
    Read more

  • Ant eaters are the best animal out of them all

    I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    Read more

  • The tracked vehicle with the motorcycle front is just a WW2 german 'Kleinen ketten kraftrad' or small tracked tractor, used for towing ammunition carts, small anti-aircraft guns and cable drums for the engineers. The motorcycle steering is not very effective, so it also features track brakes like a tank.
    Read more

  • The motorcycle with the tracks is an NSU Kettenkraftrad from WWII.
    Read more

  • Interesting that the Germans actually pioneered the first "mini" vehicle in the world at that time - did someone say environmentally-conscious Nazis?
    Read more

  • I wouldn't say environmentally conscious seeing how fuel efficient military vehicles are.
    Read more

  • There are still a few Kettenkrads running... see:
    http://www.kettenkrad.de/belt2001e.htm
    Read more

  • Especially when they tend to DESTROY the environment they are in?
    Read more

  • The thing in the second picture is a Land-wasser-schlepper, an amphibious APC designed by the Wehrmacht in 1936, briefly considered for Operation Sealion, then abandoned with the invasion of Russia. It could carry 20 troops and could tow a floating trailer that could accomodate a half-track. The only examples built (about seven) were sent to the Ostfront to be used as transport vehicles, and some of these wound up in Britain where they were tested.
    Read more

  • Great info... post updated
    Read more

  • That dog just melted our hearts :-)
    Read more

  • I believe the 2nd vehicle is a Belgian Utility Tractor, captured by the Germans in the 1940 campaign and impressed into service.

    More here:
    http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/bel/Belgium.htm
    Read more

  • The one after the Fiat 600 Multipla is not a Fiat 500, but a Fiat 600.
    Fiat 500 had a twin inline engine of 499cm3, 18 bhp.
    600 had a more modern 633 cm3 straight 4 cyl, 21 bhp. The same engine has been produced by Fiat and put in the Fiat Cinquecento (1991-1998) produced by FSM in Poland. It had a different displacement (899 cm3) and EFI for a wow power of 39 bhp.
    The same engine has been used by Autobianchi in the car pictured in the first image of the post, the model A/112. It had a 903 cm3 engine with 45 bhp.
    The same engine in Abarth models used to reach over 110 bhp, for very small and fast machines (Please see models OTR1000 and OTR1000 Radiale)
    Read more

  • These are awesome.

    But you had better not even think of driving them on the Audubon or the LA freeway during peak hours
    Read more

  • The CityEl looks very much like the "Ellert" which was an electric car produced in Denmark in the late 80's

    http://www.ellert.info/ (only link i could find with Ellerts)
    Read more

  • Some of these cars are wonderful! I particularly like the Goggomobil Dart. If they only made 700 of them 40-50 years ago, they must go for a mint, now.

    I swear I saw someone driving an Avion the other day, or something very much like it (and how many types of three-wheel mini-sportscar can there be?). There are enough old people with more money than sense, around here, for it to be possible.
    Read more

  • The Goggomobil in the picture is an Australian bodied Dart made by Buckle Motors, Sydney.

    The Davis Divan isn't a micro car. Being 15' long, 6' wide and about 2400lbs it is about the size of most modern family sedans.
    Read more

  • @ Miss Universe

    why? I don't think they drive pretty fast in rush hours in those places.. And in U.S. of A. the speed limit is 55 mph anyway (correct me if I'm wrong) and e.g. the Fiat 500 could run at 65 mph (I had one that could touch easily 140 Km/h - 87mph, please check it here --> http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2221353/4)
    Read more

  • Does anyone know what the green pickup with the crate in the bed is?
    Read more

  • We had some small cars made in Brazil by Gurgel and Dacon (regional companies) in the 70's and 80's.
    Gurgel XEF
    Gurgel
    Dacon
    Read more

  • Hi, just skimmed through, my toddlers love this site..
    Anyway, you might have missed the Thundersly Invacar, it was a three-wheeler vehicle which was quite common on the UK's road at one time.

    http://www.3wheelers.com/invacar.html
    Read more

  • The CityEl is indeed (pretty much) identical to the original Danish Ellert (correct name: Mini-el), and the German website also acknowledges this.
    Read more

  • How could you miss the Peel P50 the smallest car in the world? 49ccs one door one light (not headlight light period), and no reverse gear.

    Instead of a reverse gear it featured a handle for the driver to drag the car backwards.

    Also in regard to the "Mutt". Mutt was a nickname for the M151. Featuring a short narrow wheelbase and fully independent suspension it was one of the most dangerous vehicles ever built. It would flip over going around a 35mph corner.
    Read more

  • Rayceeya - Peel car is discussed at length in Part 1. Thank you for other info :)
    Read more

  • FYI, Fiat 600 and Zaporozhets are not the same design at all. Only common thing between them is the design principle, but the ZAZ has no common parts with the Fiat. Fiat 600 has a water-cooled inline 4-cylinder engine whereas ZAZ has air-cooled V4 arrangement. There are basically no interchangeable parts between them.

    Oh, and the three-weeled Goliath thing stayed in production in India until 2000 as the Bajaj Hanseat.

    Hope this information is of any use.
    Read more

  • 55mph speed limit in the US? Not since the 70's. It's 70mph on most interstate highways and in Texas we have a few that are 80mph. Up north in Montana there are highways with no speed limit.
    Read more

  • probably, but in any country in peak/rush hour you are parked in a middle of a motorway, you'll never touch those speed.
    Read more

  • @lamberto - anonymous is correct that many rural areas have higher speed limits on the interstates, but most urban interstates and highways have a 55 or lower MPH limit.

    And yeah - in rush hour, there's not too many days when we could even *dream* of hitting that speed :)
    Read more

  • The last one is called L'Oeuf Electrique (French for "The Electric Egg"). I think it was designed by Paul Arzens.

    Anyway, if i were to get one this would be it!!!..

    BTW LOVE this site!!!^_^
    Read more

  • I seem to remember that "The Bond Bug" has been used as a car in the legendary Mr Bean tv-series.

    It has always been used as the car that got ridden off the streets by Mr Beam himself with his little bigger Morris manoeuvring a bit clumsy...

    Anyone remembers? Or was it another three-wheeler?
    Read more

  • anonymous, thank you for solving this. Post updated.
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  • beautiful, i like it !!!
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  • Great site, i like this
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  • For Eric...
    The car that Mr Bean repeatedly shunts is a Reliant Regal Supervan. Here's a link

    http://search.live.com/images/results.aspx?q=mr+bean+reliant&go=&form=QBIR#focal=195c278cccffbfbde6782d7f5dda1704&furl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.imcdb.org%2Fimages%2F007%2F718.jpg

    Cheers
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  • I used to have a Bond Bug. It was the most exciting car to drive that I've ever had. It would exceed an indicated 85mph if given enough (flat) road.
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  • If you want to do a piece of small tanks/military vehicles, then you should look at the German Wiesel vehicle: http://www.military-today.com/apc/wiesel_1.htm

    Also the KRAKA (replaced by the Wiesel): http://www.panzerbaer.de/helper/bw_lkw_00-75t_gl_kraka-a.htm

    Vehicles for airborne forces are a rich source of wierdness: http://www.portierramaryaire.com/foro/viewtopic.php?p=55490&sid=dfd0f02fe0442cdc0e4895cd59560a96 (scroll down past all the bikes to the Belgian AS24)

    And the Hotchkiss: http://www.jedsite.info/fulltrack-hotel/hotel/hotchkiss-tt_series/hotchkisstt-series.html

    Loads more - go looking!
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  • Thank you Weaver! Great info, will post about this. We covered some small tanks in our "Strange Tanks" series
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  • What about the Morgan 3 wheeler! An actually useful and well produced car with three wheels and a small motorcycle engine. A man up the street from me has one powered by a Matchless 1000 motorcycle engine.. WONDERFUL car...not much real use due to the lack of spares these days!
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  • Terrific site! Disappointing that the 41" wide City-EL did not get mentioned, but that vehicle is too commonplace and practical, I assume!
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  • A subcontractor on the farm I lived came with his big slow combine harvester on the farm - and his Isetta in the front of the harvester (into the header?). In the evening he drove home with his Isetta, came next morning, and works on with the harvester.
    He did that till ~ 1985
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  • Markus - this is hilarious! Do you have any pictures? Send them in...
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  • Velorex (or Hadraplan) - leather covered, 3 wheele car is missing in your list.

    http://images.google.com/images?q=Velorex
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  • Your mystery photo is Johan Lorbeers.

    More info http://damncoolpics.blogspot.com/2008/04/johan-lorbeers-still-life-performance.html
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  • you can post photos like the strange frog or glamorous insect?? i like it!

    www.ilrolla.blogspot.com
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  • Heh, that Bruce Willis pic cracked me up. What is the source on that?
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  • not quite sure... came from email")
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  • LHC = large hadron collider. LHC collider = PIN number = stupid mistake.
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  • The Pope's background looks vaguely like cannabis leaves. < <
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  • real men don´t drink and drive
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  • ah, the not so distant future.
    Wait, we don't even have flying cars yet. drats.
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  • The black-and-white illustrations show amazing artistry. Makes me long for the more innocent times of early SF. Thanks for posting them.
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  • >> Wait, we don't even have
    >> flying cars yet.

    Let's be clear about one thing. We DO have the knowledge and technology to make flying cars for everybody. We DON'T have cheap enough energy to afford them.

    It's amazing that these SF authors never sat down and did the math. It's easy to figure out the energy cost of sending a rocket to the moon. It's relatively easy to figure out what you might find there and how much energy you will get back from it. And to see that lunar travel for mining purposes will not happen, because it incurs an energy loss. Hence the non-appearance of the spaceships depicted in '2001'.
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  • I see they based some work on the classical Adamski UFO... http://forgetomori.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/adamski.jpg
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  • Anonymous, it's called Science FICTION for a reason ;)

    Kristoffer, we do have flying cars, it's just that they are neither affordable nor are they safe :)
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  • Like Kristoffer said, we don't have flying cars. I don't have one, and neither do you.
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  • yes, Mikado - I was surprised by the level of detail in these illustrations.
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  • Superb art, thanks for sharing it!

    I notice that image 13 from the top reproduces some of the "ancient astronauts" in prehistoric art, as popularized by Erich von Daniken - the goggled Japanese statuette is on the cover of his "In search of ancient gods" (1972). I didn't know that this master of pseudoscience had penetrated the iron curtain...
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  • my parents actually own some of the books with Kazantsev illustrations, what a flashback!
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  • Nice images. I always liked the soviet-style design of the rockets.
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  • my god... i have re-read all of these books times and times again when i was a kid.... simply amazing sci-fi in the best of soviet tradition of "realistic sci-fi" thank you.... andrei
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  • Nice illustrations. Post linked with Spanish translation. Ciao.
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  • It seems like Flash Gordon from Alex Raymond. Very good ilustrations.
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  • ПРЕВЕД КРАСАВЧЕГИ!!!!
    КАРТИНГИ ЖГУТ!!!!
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  • The last black and white one is not from a Kazantsev's book. It's actually the last illustration from a famous set to the Strugatsky bros.'s "The Land of Crimson Clouds" (their feud with Kazantsev was legendary). And, yes, Kazantsev WAS a proponent of the "ancient astronauts" theory -- and he might even precede Deniken, as his first books about it were in 40'es, IIRC.
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  • Wow Khathi - great info - i actually read "The Land of Crimson Clouds" - see http://www.scifi.darkroastedblend.com
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