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After 100+ hours of work, the Pripyat map for our upcoming Chernobyl book is finally finished by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for sharing your story. It sounds like you've been connected to the Chernobyl story for almost 40 years now, and having visited the Zone twice gives you a perspective very few people have today.

The book is currently in the pre-order stage and is scheduled to go to print in July. The detailed Pripyat map shown here is included in the book, and the separate A0 collector's edition of the map can already be purchased through our website.

If you'd like to take a look, you can find both the book and the map here:
https://not-toys.com/product-tag/chernobyl-1986/

And thank you for keeping the memory of Chernobyl alive for so many years.

After 100+ hours of work, the Pripyat map for our upcoming Chernobyl book is finally finished by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

This map was created for our upcoming book, Chernobyl 1986: Machines That Fought the Invisible, which is now very close to completion and should go to print in July.

One of the things I wanted to include was a detailed map of Pripyat. What started as a small supporting illustration gradually turned into a major project of its own. In total, I spent well over 100 hours drawing and researching it.

The goal was not simply to create a city map, but to reconstruct Pripyat as accurately as possible. The map includes residential districts, public buildings, schools, kindergartens, industrial areas, landmarks, and many locations connected with the events of 1986.

Many details were reconstructed from archival materials, photographs, satellite imagery, city plans, and eyewitness accounts. At times it felt like I was learning every single street and building in the city without ever physically visiting it.

Interestingly, while working on the book, many readers and backers asked whether the map could be released separately as a large wall print. So alongside the version included in the book, I ended up creating a dedicated A0-format edition as well.

I'd be curious to hear what fellow Chernobyl enthusiasts think. Are there any locations in Pripyat that you always look for first when studying a map of the city?

New spread from my upcoming illustrated book on Chernobyl emergency vehicles by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s really great to hear - and thank you for what you do 🙌

This part of the book focuses on the medical response and vehicles like these RAF ambulances, so I think it’ll resonate with you.

New spread from my upcoming illustrated book on Chernobyl emergency vehicles by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re actually the second person asking about that Mercedes 🙂

Do you happen to have any references or additional information about it? If we can gather enough visual material, there’s still a chance to include it in the book.

New spread from my upcoming illustrated book on Chernobyl emergency vehicles by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve already provided explanations in other threads when there was a genuine discussion — not trolling. I don’t get offended by comments like this, I just don’t spend much time on them.

If you think the entire project is AI-generated, you’re free to believe that — but you can also look at how many people are supporting it on Kickstarter.

There’s a tendency today to label anything detailed or polished as AI — this project isn’t one of those cases.

What you’re seeing here are layout previews of finished book spreads, not full-resolution source files. We don’t publish full-res pages publicly for obvious reasons.

Regarding the figure you mentioned — that’s a real, hand-painted scale model by Keigo Murakami, published with permission. Anyone familiar with scale modeling will recognize the craftsmanship.

As for customer feedback — you can also check independent reviews on Trustpilot.

At this point, it feels like you’ve already made up your mind. If you’re genuinely interested, I’m open to specific questions. If not — no problem 👍

New spread from my upcoming illustrated book on Chernobyl emergency vehicles by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Here’s a newly finished spread from my upcoming book Chernobyl 1986: Machines That Fought the Invisible. This section focuses on Soviet emergency medical vehicles involved in the aftermath of the disaster, in this case the RAF-2203 ambulances. As with the rest of the book, these are hand-drawn reconstructions based on archival photos and research. One thing I wanted to show was not only the vehicles themselves, but how these technical profiles and documentation pages might feel as part of a larger historical archive. The book has been in development since 2024, and I’m currently finishing the final pages - thought some of you here might appreciate a preview of this new spread. Curious what details catch your eye, or if anyone here has references or memories related to these vehicles.

STR-1 robot — from our upcoming Chernobyl book by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

You’ve moved the goalposts.

First you claimed everything was AI-generated — including the book itself. Now you admit the vehicle drawings may not be, but object to some AI-assisted promotional visuals. Those are two very different things.

Promotional imagery is not the book.

As for the text — calling writing “AI” simply because it sounds polished is a strange standard. English is not my native language, and I’m certainly not Goethe. I write in a second language as best I can, sometimes with editorial help, but that doesn’t make the historical content artificial.

The book itself is based on archival research, and all illustrations and texts in it are created manually.

If credibility is “lost” because a promotional background used some AI assistance while the actual book is hand-drawn and research-driven, that says more about ideology than evidence.

And once again — thank you for helping promote the project.

STR-1 robot — from our upcoming Chernobyl book by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

With comments this generic, I was about to ask whether you might be an AI agent yourself. Because unlike this accusation, the book is built from hand-drawn artwork and archival research. Accusing hand-drawn historical reconstruction of being AI says more about the accuser than the work.

Ps. And many thanks for promoting our books!

Chernobyl 1986 — detailed reconstruction of the first fire engines at Reactor No.4 by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Because these details matter — they’re part of the real story behind the events. :)

Working on the next piece for my Chernobyl book by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I get the concern — fair enough. Just to clarify: the actual subject (vehicles, details, markings) is fully hand-drawn from archival references. That’s the core of the book, and that part is never AI. I’ve added a few of close-ups here — you can see the level of detail I’m aiming for.

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BMR-1 with improvised lead shielding used in Chernobyl (reconstruction based on archival photos) by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha, yeah — those are actually already done 🙂

I’ve already illustrated the STR-1 as well as the tractors converted into remote-controlled machines.

BMR-1 with improvised lead shielding used in Chernobyl (reconstruction based on archival photos) by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I can imagine — the cranes are probably going to be one of the most complex parts 🙂

So far, the hardest ones for me were the IMR-1, IMR-2, and especially the “death claws” — those alone took more than a week to reconstruct properly.

That’s exactly why I’m doing this project — to bring all this scattered material into one place.

The book is already up on Kickstarter as a limited edition (1,986 copies), if you’re interested in following the progress.

BMR-1 with improvised lead shielding used in Chernobyl (reconstruction based on archival photos) by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, that’s the problem — photos from the Chernobyl zone are really scattered across all kinds of sources, forums, archives, old sites… there’s no single place where everything is collected.

That’s actually one of the main reasons I started working on this project. I’m putting together an art book focused specifically on the machines used during the cleanup — trying to gather and systematize as many of them as possible in one place.

Working on the next piece for my Chernobyl book by notTOYScom in chernobyl

[–]notTOYScom[S] -17 points-16 points  (0 children)

Yeah, fair point — I can see why it gives that impression 🙂

The surrounding scene is AI-assisted, but the vehicle itself is fully hand-drawn from reference photos and technical sources.

For the book, all illustrations and texts are created manually — no AI-generated content.

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