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Modeling in General: Advice on...
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Why the Second World War??
cementshoes
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Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 06:41 PM UTC
My family and friends think I'm strange because of my fasination with WW2. I can sit and watch documentaries non stop, I only model WW2 and I only read books on WW2, its almost obssesive. I sometimes wonder if I was involved somehow in a past life (haha).
What fuels your intrest, whether its modelling, specific battles or just that era in general
Sabot
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Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 07:10 PM UTC
I am mainly a modern armor builder since I've been in, on and around US armor ofr nearly a quarter of a century.

Because there is a lot more WW2 models out there, I also build a good number of WW2 armor. I find it very enjoyable.

I believe WW2 is more popular because when the plastic modeling industry began, folks were still familiar with the "Big One" and many of the vehicles were still in use or being returned to the US as displays.

Germans made such great progress from the late thirties to 1945 that the evolution of their panzers is very interesting. It is hard to believe that a private who crew a Panzer I could have lived to eventually crew a Tiger II and still be a relatively young man.

Contrast this to a US tanker who may have started on an M2 Medium tank before the war would most likely be comfortable working on an M4A3.
ROCKET
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Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 07:18 PM UTC
Hi Rick

My main interest is history. I was into history and reading before I started modelling.

My modelling interests span from the Napoleonic and Zulu Wars then right upto the first Gulf War. At present I am having a bit of a frenzy on building vehicles, but instead of just building out of the box using the kits decals I am researching one particular vehicle at a time. Currently I am working on a Sherman I of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, which my boss' father-in-law drove during the night march to Caen in August of 1944.

Cheers Ross
Kinggeorges
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Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 07:40 PM UTC
Hi Rick,

I feel the same. My parents think I'm dumb to model this tiny platic things from ww2 at my age. They can't understand also why I am modelling mainly german stuff, especially my father who strongly support De Gaule and the free frenchs. Now I'm older I turned to model mainly French stuff but still ww2. My SWMBO is more comprehensive, but she often laugh at me when I model this "tiny plastic stuff which all look the same"and "cost so much compared to the volume"(when she pronounce this sentence, she's not laughing anymore...).
Like Ross, my first and main hobby is history. Modelling is just a way to give life and recreat myself parts of history.
Finally I guess my modellingmania is a way for me to keep my child spirit, the coolest period in a manlife I think. It's a way to keep my "manchild", as I've read in another post.
Best,
Julien
jafad
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Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 07:55 PM UTC
When I started building models in the mid - late 70's the bulk of kits were WW2 so that is why I prefer to build them.
tylusfaust
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Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 09:42 PM UTC
I think at heart most model makers have two interests: history and art. It's certainly that way for me. I'm a huge history buff, particularly WWII and Medieval period. My interest in WWII comes from watching WWII movies as a kid with my dad and the belief that it was the last major war where the good guys and bad guys were so clearly delineated (one might say it's that way now, but alas, no uniforms). I agree with the earlier poster who said German armor makes more fascinating building because of the evolution of German armor. I agree %100. It's that way with German uniforms too. The allied infantry man were khaki and green and not much else. His medals were at home somewhere, but the Germans went into battle with dozen patches, medals, and badges. Say what you will about them nazis, but the were snazzy dressers.

Oh, and my wife used to make fun of me too about my model building, until selling a few pieces on ebay allowed me to buy her that new couch she wanted. Now, she's totally supportive and wants me to build more!
Halfyank
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Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 09:49 PM UTC
I echo most all of the statements already posted but mainly I think it's because of my Father, and all the WWII vets I knew when growing up. It all mainly began with watching movies about WWII on TV, then reading books, and even comic books, and finally moving into models. My Dad was totally like Julien's, he always objected to all the German stuff I'd build.
Kinggeorges
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Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 09:55 PM UTC
Hey Tulysfaust, your post is quite inspiring !
Will try the Ebay method to avoid sarcasms !
But what a pain to sell stuff you love and which took you so many hours !
Best,
Julien
kevinb120
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Posted: Thursday, February 22, 2007 - 09:56 PM UTC
I like it because all the weaponry was line-of-site only. I like modern stuff too, but being able to kill something 30 miles away with air conditioning and a button doesn't have quite the 'gritty' allure as WWII weapons. It was all man and machine, not man and computer/radar/ir/servos/gps satellite tracking/all-weather capeable/remote control/stealth/electronic countermeasures/smart camera targeting/night vision/wire guiding system and machine.

It was also the last conflict where the US had the generally inferior weapons.
Mojo
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Posted: Friday, February 23, 2007 - 06:30 PM UTC

Quoted Text

"cost so much compared to the volume"(when she pronounce this sentence, she's not laughing anymore

:-) :-)
Funny how quickly they change, isn't it...

For me its the history thing as well.. My dad served with the Royal Navy and my mom lived through the Battle of Britain.. The stories they told, well my mom mostly, dad never did talk much about his war years were really interesting..

Dave
Grauwolf
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Posted: Friday, February 23, 2007 - 09:14 PM UTC
Ahoy all,

Being born a little over a decade after that war ended, you can imagine that
everywhere you turned, there were the movies, the books, the toys etc.
all pertaining to WWII. The Allied were the victors and the Germans had lost
the "Big One"........everybody was cashing in on the victory. As Rodger said
there were even comic books out and many times with Allied Vs German stuff.

For me......it begins with the stories......my grandfather and many of the men
he knew. Growing up post war ....every veteran had a story to tell and I heard
many stories from the ones who were fortunate to survive that conflict.

As the years passed my fascination with history led me to research some
of the stories I had heard as a kid. Well everywhere you turned, there were
books, movies, documentaries about WWII. There was information about
this battle and that battle, this aircraft, ship, tank and of course this general
and that field marshall and company and that division. The information was abundant
and of course when I started modeling, I wanted to model
something that had participated in that battle commanded by that person etc.

It was a Big War that created so much in the ways of famous people, famous
battles and unprecedented machinery that the whole thing just keeps
fascinating me and I keep modeling WWII.

Most of present technology is based on that war, look around at much of
the modern stuff and to me it looks like it is very much based on WWII.

Cheers,
Joe
Easy_Co
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Posted: Friday, February 23, 2007 - 10:29 PM UTC
I was born just after the war and Britain was still suffering the effects of victory.all my child hood heroes were spitfire pilots or commandos,my dad was still in the R.A.F. and all my close family were in uniform still.I played on Bomb sites which contained shrapnal even plane parts.I think being that involved sparked my interest and of course as others have stated the Technological advances were tremendous
WingTzun
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Posted: Friday, February 23, 2007 - 11:05 PM UTC
For me it's a combination of the History Factor and the Military Factor. I'm a history nut. My television is either on the History Channel or the Miiltary Channel unless my sons stage a coup and put on the Cartoon Network or SWMBO wants to watch something. My duaghters think I'm nuts because of my fascination with history. I love the whole early period of the 1900's. It's amazing how much the world has changed in that time. I especially love the 30's & 40's. I probably know movies from that time better than most people who lived through it. I'v e often that I was born out of time. I was born in 1961 but sometimes feel I should have been born in 1921 and gone throuh WWII - although with my luck I'm sure I would have been killed in the opening moments of any battle.
Before I was born I had an 2 uncle's in the Army during Korea. My dad used his brother's birth certificate and joined the National Guard at 15 an was driving a tank until his Captain discovered is real age about 9 months later. As a child, my favorite toy was my G.I. Joe collection. The first book I ever looked at in my grade school library was on the Battle of the Bulge and the first real book I ever read was "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo".
When I got into modeling, my older brother and friends were into cars but I immediately moved to tanks and planes. Since then my fascination and interest keeps growing.
Bungal
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Posted: Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 12:45 AM UTC
I think with me it was the fact I was the youngest Grandchild in a large family.
My Dad had 4 brothers 3 of which saw active service around the world in WW2 and my Mum had 4 brothers who all saw active service during the war so I was bought up with war stories all around me.
My Dad did his national service in Cyprus waiting for deployment to Suez but he was lucky enough not to go as he put it. But he spent his youth in Canterbury in Kent and he could recall all the dogfights during the Battle of Britain
My Mum was a Sergent Major in the ATS so she has lots of War stories about the home front. Especially the build up for Overlord.
So it is really me making models of my family history I think.
But my wife does get a bit sick of the History channel and me making comments about particular events.
Brian
2-32sherman
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Posted: Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 01:53 AM UTC
Hi Rick,

it's quite interesting to hear about the "experience" of fellow modellers in other countries. Being a German citizen, here in Germany you may be surprised to find a very pacifistic society. I'm a retired German Army Armor officer and I worked for years as an LNO to the US Forces in Germany and on OEF, KFOR and SFOR deployments. I liked to address it like that to my US friends in the miliary, if asked about the attitude in the German Armed Forces and society: "Your re-education was highly successful!" The mayority of Germans show a deep distrust for military matters. In particular the generation form 25 years to 55 years.

My interest for the armor corps and the US Army was ignited by my brother-in-law. He served as a young lieutenant with 2-33 AR in Gelnhausen from 1967 to 1969. As a teenager then, I paid regular visits to my sister and my brother-in-law. In particular during the summer break when I spent weeks with them I had the chance to accompany my brother-in-law at duty in the barracks or on their local training area.

As a boy I started modelling FALLER and AIRFIX aircraft. End of the 60, 1970 Tamiya emerged with their PzKpfwg V Panther A and the PzKpfwg VI Tiger I and I started modelling tanks. At this specific period pacifism was at one of its peaks here in Germany. An other anti-militarism period was during the early and mid eighties, when the Pershing II and Cruise Missile discussion was in full swing. Military modelling was seen during this time frames very sceptical by the society.

My wife, a school teacher is still very concerned about my "destructive hobby". She argues that she understands my motives that I served my country in the armed forces, but "wasting" my off-time with modelling these "destructive machines" and showing interest for military history is beyond her tolerance. Her argument is as always, that not one of her friends has a positve attitude in respect to the military. This is quite understandable, due to the fact that most of her friends are school teachers or friends of her riding club. School teachers in Germany are a special breed and some sort of reflection of the society. Educated and attending university during the 70-ties and early 80-ties, it was the time frame when pacificsm reached it's peak inthe German universities!, - the majority of German teachers are anti-militaristic and very reluctant in accepting that Germany's role has changed nowadays.

For god's sake, why do you believe the German government is zig-zagging and opposing the deployment of German troops to the southern part of Afghanistan. The German government is fearing that the Germans are not ready and willing to see body-bags with fallen German soldiers returning from Afghanistan. In my oppinion this is not the right way to support our partners in NATO. We expected from them, the NATO nations to defend our freedom and sovereignty during the cold war period. But my judgement is not that, what counts. A good friend of mine, COL in the US Amy Rangers used a special phrase for these people: "F....ing pussies!"

During the 1980-ties and early 90-ties period military modellers had to be very conscious in presenting their models. Quite often this kind of hobby was associated with nazism. As a modeler in Germany you were always in the situation to justify your interest and to "proof " that you didn't have any sympathy or connection to nazi ideology. The situation has changed to some respect nowadays, but military modellers in Germany have to be very sensitive!
On the other hand, - it's true! If you scan around very sharp, you'll find now young modellers in Germany that are open minded to the ideals and values of the soldiers in the wehrmacht and in the Waffen-SS uncritical.
Alarming for me to some respect is the fact that the German cause and behavior of the former German Armed Forces is seen by these younger people some sort of indifferent view! In particular on some German websites you'll find discussion about these topics and it shocks me to read that a young guy wrote that he prefers to see more pictures of KOed US and Soviet tanks and not KOed German Tanks. This stupid young boy didn't reflect no matter what side you are fighting for, you are killing enemies, BUT they are also human beings!

I decided in the 70-ties to focus on WW II western allies subjects and modern "cold war" themes. I was always interested on US tanks and armored vehicles and showed interest and admiration for the US Army.

In conclusion I must state that the hobby of military modelling does not have the same level of acceptance in Germany as for example in UK or the USA.

I hope that my statement concerning military modelling in Germany wasn't too boring for the community at ARMORAMA.

All the best

and as GEN George S. Patton liked to quote Napoleon, the 1st,

L'AUDACE, L'AUDACE, TOUJOURS L'AUDACE!

Hauke "Hank" Krapf
mauserman
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Posted: Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 05:20 AM UTC
Excellent topic Rick. And some very interesting responses. For me, WWII history has always been an interest. I remember as a boy spending Saturday's in front of the TV watching WWII movie marathons and that's what first fueled my interest. A good part of my summers back then were spent in the library reading about Patton, Rommel, Montgomery, Eisnehower, etc. Although my initial foray into the hobby consisted mostly of rockets, monsters and cars, when I got back into it a few years ago it was because of my ongoing interest in the war. And now for me, it's just as interesting learning about a piece I'm building as the build itself.

And like David said, it's almost like I was born 20 years too late. I love the old movies from the 30's and 40's. Those with Bogey, Lauren Bacall, Spencer Tracy and all the other "real" movie stars. The times were simpler. The attitudes were more to my liking. And yes, as stupid as it may sound, I too would have liked to have been a part of that great generation that went off to fight for our country's ideals and freedoms. Those men and women epitomize what is great about this country and I would have loved to have been a part of it, rather than this namby-pamby, easily offended society that we live in today.
daselim
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Posted: Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 06:25 AM UTC
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and so here is my example of why I model and am fascinated by the Second World War:


This is my father, somewhere in France, November 1944. He cannot remember if this photo was taken near LeHarve, or near Metz. His unit, the US 87th Infantry Division, landed in France at LeHarve and then was transported to just outside Metz, and fought its first battles in the Lorraine and Saar region. When the Ardennes campaign started, as part of the 3rd Army, the 87th Div was moved north into Luxembourg and Belgium as part of the counterattack.

Dad is now 81, and in pretty good health, and has finally started telling of what he did, where he was, what he saw (although his memory isn't the greatest). So, in honor of him and all the others that fought, I model WWII subjects.
WingTzun
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Posted: Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 07:00 AM UTC

Quoted Text

. And yes, as stupid as it may sound, I too would have liked to have been a part of that great generation that went off to fight for our country's ideals and freedoms. Those men and women epitomize what is great about this country and I would have loved to have been a part of it, rather than this namby-pamby, easily offended society that we live in today.



Well said Cary.

SWMBO has me on an annivrsary trip to Hawii at the moment. As an extra benefit for we went went to see Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial - a must do pilgrimage for anyone, and the USS Missouri. I was fortunate enough to be able to purchace a book "From Fishponds to Warships- Pearl Harbor" and have it signed by the author as well as 5 Pearl Harbor Survivors who I had the pleasure to meet as well. It was so amazing to meet these men to whom we owe so much and share a bit of their history. Sadly their numbers decrease every day. If you get the chance take the time to talk with them or any other veteran and thank them.

Hauke, here in the US too the education system has been hijacked by the left who despise the military and ironically would not be free to preach their ideals if it were not for the military.

OK, I'll get down from the soap box now.
#027
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Posted: Saturday, February 24, 2007 - 09:52 AM UTC
I've been asked that question too by a co-worker. He's 25, went through high school in the special ed program, so no real history classes. My answer to him was two fold. As a military buff, WW2 military machines had a graceful beauty to them. Aircraft, armor, ships. Each piece of hardware had it's own identity. As a shipbuilder, I rarely build modern ships because they all are so monochromatic and have the same basic look.
As an American, WW2 was the last time the nation was united under one cause. Regardless of your political beliefs, race, creed or color, we were a united country. The inmates in the prisons were happy to be part of the war effort because of the small tasks that they were allowed to do. Heck, even the Mafia helped with the war effort with intel of Sicily and Italy. I don't believe America could ever come together like that again.

Kenny
LSOCV171945
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Posted: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - 02:45 AM UTC
Sorry to hear that you get so much flak about your obsession with WW2.

Unfortunately, most people know very little about WW2. Specifically, most high school students think WW2 started on December 7, 1941. it is sad. Most people don't even want to talk about it. They say "forget it, it happened a long time ago".

I model this era because I admire my family members living and passed who didn't wait to be drafted, who volunterred, and who willingly showed up at defense plants to work 10 hour days.

When I show my family and friends my collection, and describe what each aircraft represents, who flew it, and why, I try to impress upon them to never forget.
airwarrior
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Posted: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - 03:25 AM UTC

Quoted Text

Hauke, here in the US too the education system has been hijacked by the left who despise the military and ironically would not be free to preach their ideals if it were not for the military.

OK, I'll get down from the soap box now.



This is sadly very true. I'll be taking a test on chapters 27-28 of my history textbook, the WWII chapters. In class, the only things we have talked about was the holocaust, and why the U.S. shouldn't have dropped the bomb. I haven't heard the word Blitzkrieg ONCE. The only time we did talk about military actions was Kasserine Pass. I had to correct my teacher though, he said it was an American victory.

The state of history education in schools to me is disgusting.


Back on topic,

I imagine people focus on WWII is for a multitude of reasons-

1.The kits are available. There must be thousand of kits out today of WWII subjects. Not only that, they are cool subjects to boot.

2. Emotional connection. Most people in the world have had relatives fight in the war, and have a certain interest in it. On top of that, it is one of the only wars where people see a clear "good" side and a clear "bad" side.

3. The media. You can hardly go one day without seeing some reference to WWII. If you turn on the T.V., you are likely to see a WWII documentary while flipping channels.

I'm sure there are more, but this is what I could come up with.


jjumbo
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Posted: Wednesday, February 28, 2007 - 01:28 PM UTC
Hey lads,
Like many of us, I got into building WW II subjects because of my interest in history and the rapid technical advancement and development of all the various weapons, ships, planes and AFV's.
My father started as a 17 year old batman (officer's servant) and cook's helper and ended the war as a 23 year old Major in Canadian Scottish regiment of the Canadian army.

Dad's funny and sometimes very sad stories of his time in England, Holland and Germany were always a point of interest for me.
My interest in AFV's started when I found out that the infantry company he commanded used Bren Gun carriers mounting Wasp flame-throwers.
Growing up watching movies like "The Battle of Britain", "The Devil's Brigade", "The Battle of the Bulge", "Patton". etc...... just wetted my appetite.
When the old Ballentine series of books came out in the late 60's, early 70's, my interest in the history of the war was peaked.

It is a shame that more people don't take an interest in history, particularly when the rights and freedoms they enjoy these days were won by a generation of men and women that are now their Grandparents and Great- Grandparents.
It's saddening to see and hear the younger generation's lack of understanding of the significance of Remembrance Day aka Veteran's Day.
We recently lost "Smokey" Smith, one of Canada's last WW II Victoria Cross winners and just last week, another gentleman who was 107 years old and one of our last Great War vets.
There aren't many 16 year olds these days that would step forward and want to serve their country.
Anyway, that's my rant for the day.

Keep building guys, the stuff you see on this site is a wonder to behold.
Cheers

jjumbo
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