Page 6 – We Have To Get Out Of Here
Well here we are. Still in black and white – and this page is really, REALLY supposed to be color. But it isn’t. That’s what I get for naming my computer “HAL-9000” when I set up Windows. However, good news: I have bought a new computer.
I shall name him “Mike.”
It will be delivered to me mid-week, and it will allow me to go back to full color starting next week. It cost me an awful lot of money, but it was well worth it – I did a lot of research and made sure it was custom-built to my specifications, including a number of studio extensions I have been putting off getting for close to five years. So we’re back in business! (Assuming Federal Express delivers my stuff to me on time!)
Anyhow, this was a lot of fun to draw. Having the Feddies come tromping in with radiation gear and geiger counters was the first image that came to mind when I planned this chapter, and here it is. It speaks of the naivete of the 6-Commando Universe, I think, that they are basically walking into the outer perimeter of a nuclear blast maybe 30 minutes after it went off, which is the kind of thing they were training soldiers to do in the 1950’s, before they really realized how foolhardy that was. I also have a great affinity for aircraft, as you may know by now, and one of the things with the Federate technology I’ve been drawing is the idea that it’s a bit more rugged than that used by the UNA, and is kind of retrofitted. One of the things about Soviet military hardware was (is?) that it was very no-nonsense stuff. If a tank still worked, they’d still use it, and retrofits and repurposing was very common – in fact, it’s why Soviet-era planes, tanks, guns, and helicopters are so widely used: they’re dependable and easy to modify. So something in me liked the idea of power-armored soldiers juming out of a refitted Mi-8 helicopter. Why build a special chopper when they already have one that’ll work? The gunship in the background is my own invention, a rendition of the cancelled Mi-40, albeit without the coaxial counter-rotating blades that model had – they were too obtrusive to draw. An interesting thing about Russian helicopters, actually, is that the rotor blades are place-synchronized, so that when they are spinning a full speed, each rotation takes the blade back exactly to its original position, and thus they appear to stop in place. At least, on film. It’s a really wild effect, so I drew it as such.
Well, at any rate, my thanks to everyone for bearing with me during my black-and-white phase, but we’re going back to color soon. And thanks also for the votes and comments – it’s really been encouraging, especially during this odd time of technology problems. And so I’m off to take out the garbage and go to bed. Another heavy-duty week lies ahead, and by the grace of God everything will run smoothly. So until next week, folks, be well!
“With computers we solve problems we wouldn’t have without computers”. ^^
Hope they have some regtanks or stuff, otherwise the poor major won’t get near a mirror for some time.
Well said. But technology being what it is, we gotta roll with it.
–M
“An interesting thing about Russian helicopters, actually, is that the rotor blades are place-synchronized”
Are you referring to that YT video that was floating around a while back? The one where the Hind’s rotor blades appear to stop in place? Because that’s not any sort of special trait, it’s just that the pilot happened to spool the engine in sync with the camera’s frame rate. Maybe Russian helicopters hit that “sweet spot” more often than Western ones, but it’s still just a happy coincidence. To say it’s an engineering feature is a little misleading.
I wasn’t referring to any particular video, actually, but to an instance I witnessed myself. When I was in college we were visited by a French naval crew and we taped a demo by ther submarine-hunting helicopter. When we watched it, the same thing was happening – the rotors appeared to stop. One of the copter’s crewmen explained it to me as the a result of “place-synchronization,” that the rotors return to exactly the same position when at full throttle. It may well be that what you say is true, however, that it’s simply a coincidence that they seem to sync up with 24-frame-per-second film more often than American helicopters do. So there you go.
–M
Well, yes, the rotors return to exactly the same position at *any* throttle. It just depends on whether the timing matches up with the frame rate. I can’t imagine why someone would design a helicopter to look like that, though I could imagine people intentionally flying at that throttle for effect.
Also, the angle of your Hind troubles me. It looks like it is tilted forwards, which would seem to imply that it is moving forwards at a decent pace, which would be…contraindicated for dropping off troops. I’d have expected it to be tilted slightly to the rear or at level, to show that it has been slowing down or is hovering.
Helicopters are always tricky, though.
Yeah you know the more I thought about it the more I realized the engine basically HAS to work that way. But still, it just seems that the sync happens more with European/Russian choppers than American ones. Don’t know why.
By the way, it’s not a Hind, actually, but a modified Mi-8 “Hip” transport helicopter. And I’m not as troubled about its apparent forward motion because it’s making a combat drop of troops in powered armor. I’d imagined it sweeping through at speed and dropping the armored infantry as it went, hence the cracks on the pavement where the guys are hitting ground. Were they unarmored infantry, yes, it’d have to hover so the guys could rappelle down on cables. But in armored suits they can just drop out as they go.
–M
…I meant Hip, obviously.
I guess your explanation makes sense. Still seems kinda silly to do it that way. I guess I kinda assumed that the unarmored guys fastroped out of that helicopter.
Great page man! This is gonna look so awesome in color! Not that it’s not looking great right now, but those different layers of smoke and fire is really going to give a lot of depth to this scene. Helicopters look great as well! And I really like the little fellow in the foreground with the geigerteller.
About all the problems related to a nuclear blast, like radiation sickness and all the other stuff people are talking about. Is it going to be a big part of the storyline or will it be more of a background thing? Might be worth explorering.
Good to hear your new computer is on the way, I wish you happy coloring!
Actually it was not as detailed as I’d wanted it to be. Maybe I’m being to self-critical, but it seemed somehow more complex on the page than when I scanned it. I don’t know, maybe I’ll take another look at the linework before I color this one. Or maybe I’ll call a “Mulligan” and just go over it a second time. Somehow it seems too clunky to me. Not bad exactly, just not quite what I’d wanted it to be.
As to the rest, I don’t want to ruin the plot by confirming or denying anything! but I think people will be surprised in the end. Or at least, I hope, intrigued.
And once again, really well done on the pinup art and your latest page – now that I have proper equipment in hand maybe I can actually take a shot at some decent work soon, myself!
–M
I have this sense that a couple of pilots are about to be reminded about vulnerability to tank guns while in NOE.
I neither confirm nor deny it. But it will be interesting!
–M