The Download Munkey : Tracking the Treasure Down …

I like monster trucks and these Motorstorm : Pacific Rift wallpapers illustrating these behemoths’ ability to crush their opposition suit me perfectly. Haven’t seen many PC games which feature monster trucks : the last one that I can recall was Microsoft’s Monster Truck Madness 2.

© GameWallpapers.com

Anyway, I like these wallpapers mainly because they feature a truck which looks like a toy vehicle on my Christmas wishlist when I was a child – the Lunch Box, Tamiya’s classic yellow minivan on oversized wheels.

&copy : Tamiya

More offroad madness and (literal) environmental destruction in the Motorstorm : Pacific Rift debut trailer at Gametrailers to the sounds of Pendulum’s Tarantula. Haven’t heard drum & bass in game trailers for quite a while

© Evolution Studios

Download these wallpapers from GameWallpapers.com.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
UAZ Racing 4×4 Series Wallpapers : Offroad Vehicle Galore
Caterpillar 793D Mining Truck

Rather evident what you can expect to see over at the aptly-titled BigLorryBlog. For readers like me who are awed by big trucks and other heavy vehicles, it’s gonna take you hours poring through the archives of BigLorryBlog and savouring each jaw-dropping photo like the one below.

Sights like these four Ultra Pacfic heavy haulers pulling a 225-ton transformer in South Africa. (More pictures here and here)

Definitely something that we can’t see in Singapore : Snow/Ice vehicles.

I’ve seen tank transporters here but not one that hauls three armoured vehicles at a time.

A MAZ ballistic missile launcher converted for civilian usage.

A M26 ‘Dragon Wagon’, just one of the many restored and rebuilt Amercian WWII vehicles by a group of French enthusiasts.

Glimpses of the truck proving ground in Worth, Germany for Mercedes trucks.

Future truck design : check out the streamlined shape of this fuel-efficient MAN concept truck.

Some impressive artwork on a Sean Taylor Transport vehicle.

Finally, something that brings back childhood memories of watching labourers unloading sacks of rice from trucks like this Bedford truck.

There’s a lot more in the archives at Big Lorry Blog.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
UAZ Racing 4×4 Series Wallpapers – Offroad Vehicle Galore
SS-1 ‘Scud-B’ Tracked TEL Illustration

After discovering unconventional military vehicles like the massive WWII 800mm “Dora” railway gun to more practical modifications of armoured vehicles by Israeli engineers as showcased at Israel’s Yad La’Shiryon Museum, I recently found this photo of of a modification kit produced by BAE Systems to convert a M113 APC for the OPFOR role. At least that’s what I think it is from its cryptic caption “Opp Forces Surr Training System”. (probably stands for Opposing Forces Surrogate Training System )

© BAE Systems

OPFOR (OPposing FORce) vehicles are essentially US Army vehicles dressed up to mimic the silhouette of their enemy counterparts (in this case, this M113 is intended to represent one of the Russian BMP family of APCs) While Russia is no longer perceived as the most dangerous threat to American interests nowadays, the ex-Soviet Union exported huge amounts of weapons and military doctrine across the globe decades ago and these weapons are still likely to be fielded by potential threats in future conflicts.

This M113 however, isn’t the most ingenious of modifications since you can’t really simulate a low profile BMP (2.45m in height, including turret) with a 2.5m tall M113 (excluding turret).

Below are two photos of more realistic (not to mention more imaginative) OPFOR vehicles as showcased at the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) site.

A Visually Modified (VISMOD) HMMWV aka Humvee transformed into the BRDM armoured vehicle.

A OSV-T – essentially a modified M113A3 with a M2 Bradley turret – being used to simulate a BMP. More info on the OSV-T can be found at Global Security.

The USAF had a similiar (now defunct) programme known as Aggressor – I have seen profile illustrations of Northrop F-5s being painted in Russian desert camouflage and Soviet style stencilled serial numbers in some old magazines – gotta see if I can find out more on the Net.

Check out the BAE Systems Multimedia Library (tons of next-gen armour prototypes) or the Joint Readiness Training Center’s OPFOR vehicles.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
OPFOR Worldwide Equipment Guide
P.1000 Ratte Super-Heavy Tank
Armour Photos at Israel’s Yad La’Shiryon Museum
ACE Armoured Vehicle Scale Model Boxart
Armada International’s Complete Guides

© Avalon Style Entertainment

Some beautifully illustrated wallpapers of rugged offroad vehicles – I love these type of vehicles especially after the previous few trips to Sabah where 4×4 pickup trucks with their distinctively high ground clearance are almost as common as ordinary cars – older models of Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger and Land Rovers are dime a dozen – no Hummer though

© Avalon Style Entertainment

The wallpapers in the first UAZ Racing 4×4 featured mainly Russian offroad vehicles like the Jeep-like UAZ-469 and GAZ-69 as well as the UAZ-450 truck while its sequel depicted American SUVs like the iconic Hummer and offerings from Chevrolet and GMC (below).

© Avalon Style Entertainment

More information on UAZ Racing 4×4 can be found at the official English site @ 1C Publishing. The sequel featuring the Hummer is only available in Russian at the moment.

© Avalon Style Entertainment

For those who prefer their offroad vehicles accompanied by ladies (see above), the calendar section is definitely for you – I like my UAZs’ rendered and uncluttered though like the ones below I’m curious about the third vehicle below – can anyone help to identify it?

© Avalon Style Entertainment

Download wallpapers from the official Russian site for UAZ Racing 4×4. Originally found these wallpapers from GameWallpapers.ru, the best site IMHO for discovering wallpapers of Russia-only games.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Motorstorm Wallpapers
Colin McRae: DIRT Wallpapers
Caterpillar 793D Mining Truck

Tompei’s Museum of Machines contains an excellent pictorial reference to modern Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) and other armoured vehicles in service worldwide. Of note are the many quality photos of tanks and other armoured vehicles of the post-WWII Japanese Self-Defence Forces taken during the JSDF’s Fuji Firepower Review exercises like this 203mm self-propelled artillery exhibited during Fuji Firepower Review 2005.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

As the description of each vehicle is completely in Japanese, readers who are interested in a more technical study of the major MBTs are recommended to visit Fabio Prado’s The Armor Site!.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

The Japanese language site also has a section devoted to the owner’s favourite (primarily military) machines on land like this sleek Kawasaki Pashina-type pre-WWII steam locomotive, air and sea of the 20th century.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

There’s also a series of photos taken at military museums like the Yamato Museum in Kure, Hiroshima with a massive 26.3m long 1:10th scale model of the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato. More photos at this page.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

Other photos include those taken at the museum of the controversial Yasukuni Shrine like this sculpture of a Fukuryu suicide diver. More photos from museums around Japan.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

I found the photos taken at the Yokosuka Naval Base Open House and Fuji Firepower Reviews quite eye-opening experiences too – imagine clambering on top of the deck of the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk or watching live firing by a platoon of Type 90 tanks during Fuji Firepower Review 2006.

© Tompei’s Museum of Machines

More photos at the Events archive including photos from several Tokyo Motor Shows like this Hino Ranger Dakar truck from Tokyo Motor Show 2007.

Visit Tompei’s Museum of Machines.

MORE @ THE DOWNLOAD MUNKEY:
Kyoshi Harada’s 3D Renders of WWII War Machines
Motofumi Kobayashi – Japanese Military Artist
800mm Dora Railgun
The Book of Tanks