Larry, did you say that just to see if I’d post a pic of Hessler’s King Tiger? [;)]
But of course (said in best Inspector-Clouseau French accent)!
That’s it…
I’m gonna see if Dave will do a J-Hulk Hessler Tiger sticky! [:D]
The one type of German anything I will not under… almost any circumstance model is SS stuff. I hate their guts to the point of… not sure but I hate the SS beyond alot of other stuff. I havnt got one singal SS sign on my shelves of models. (incase you cant tell, I dont like the SS) I wont model anything with the ss sign or the swastika on it that I intend to keep. I’m perfectly content with modeling the wehrmacht, and the Luftwaffe
I prefer German armour firstly because there are more camou colours and combinations there of available to use. Their armour also for the most part appears angular which seems more interesting. They also had colourful markings, but so did the British, while American was mainly boring white.
Airbrush, this quote reminded me of a WWII veteran I talked to a few years back. He always liked to be in the line opposite SS formations… because he didn’t feel any guilt in killing them. He considered the Wehrmacht formations to be excellent soldiers and worthy of any chance to surrender. SS troopers were just something the world would be better off rid of.
Interesting… I’ve heard of other WWII ETO and IC vets voice similar opinions of the ‘lightning’ on the collars. I’m sure they’re not Kiss fans!
Ron.
Airbrush, this quote reminded me of a WWII veteran I talked to a few years back. He always liked to be in the line opposite SS formations… because he didn’t feel any guilt in shooting them. He considered the Wehrmacht formations to be excellent soldiers and worthy of any chance to surrender. SS troopers were just something the world would be better off rid of.
Interesting… I’ve heard of other WWII ETO and IC vets voice similar opinions of the ‘lightning’ on the collars. I’m sure they’re not Kiss fans!
Ron.
Thats right… they r… well maybe were better off dead… I wouldnt be here today if they had had their way.
Whoa this topic got verrryyyy interesting. [:0] I kinda like to compare modelling German armor as oppossed to say Shermans as a person’s taste for Ford vs Chevy. You might like the styling of one car over the other, so you go with your favorite. Same can be said of modelling German armor. To the many of us that do it, it’s because we find it aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Others prefer the sheer bruteness of the heavies. Others like the many variations. The fact that the Germans built so many different types and variations compared to other countries, it takes a bigger percentage out of what the model companies produce. They also produce by demand.
As for the topic of building a Nazi this or Nazi that, I look at it as building a piece of history. I don’t attach stereotypes to what I build. I like Russian armor, does that make me a Communist? No. All beligerants during the war killed captured soldiers and civillians. Americans included. It was all part of the hell they went through. Does that make it right? No.
Of course the Holocoust was a totally different situation for which the world still hasn’t completely healed over and Germany still is living with what the Nazis did some 60 years ago. Same can be said about Japan. Their country is still frowned upon by Korea and other countries that they terrorized so many years ago.
Even though those countries committed some of the most heinous crimes imaginable, I still can’t help but be fascinated in their weapons of war. Perhaps, Germany and its monster leader has created such a horrific imprint in history that we can’t help but be sucked into its dark past. Call it one of morbid fascination, not adulation. I’m now returning this topic to its regularly scehduled program. [soapbox]
“It is well that war is so terrible, lest we grow too fond of it.”-R.E.Lee
If the US cavalry had their way, I wouldn’t be here either. Not to make light of your convictions Airbrush, I understand the resentment for an idea and political dogma . There are no innocents in any war. Military or political.
It is a part of our history though and I think as long as you keep in mind your convictions and don’t idolize what you resent you aren’t giving in to what you despise. Otherwse it limits your prospects. Although there is more than enough Army and Luftwaffe stuff to keep you busy. (There is that Guernica thing though…)
Me, I like it because of the look. Sort of War machines by designers. Europe has always been in the cutting edge of industrial design and the Germans were at the top of their game then.
Mike
This is my rant!
I had a partner who was half German, well after a few years it came out her grandfather has been in the SS during the war. My initial reaction was “oh my god” but I had to find out more. He had died some years before we met much to her sadness; it was obvious he was a much loved man. How could he be evil? The answer is this; he joined the SS before the war when Hitler was admired by the German people. The country was in a terrible state and he delivered on his promises, thus for the most he helped the country out of deep trouble in the eyes of the public. So he did the patriotic thing and joined the Nazi party.
Now her Grandmother admitted that there were things going on that they both did not agree with (do you agree with everything your chosen political party does?) but on the whole their life was much better under the Nazi party. I think that for the most the ordinary citizen this was a typical experience.
Anyway when the war started he had to join the army and as a Nazi party member he was put in the SS. Why did he join? He was young (21) and it was expected of him. That may sound strange but I suppose they were different times. The fighting he never spoke of to his wife or children, they just remember him as a very withdrawn and sad man but with a huge amount of love for his children and grandchildren.
After he died his wife said that he had to fight because he would have been killed and his family put in to a camp.
So what does this tell me? It would be too easy to say that all SS were evil and all Wehrmacht were good honest soldiers. There were good and bad on all sides German, English, American and Japanese. As I have said before the victors get to write the history. Stereotyping is a bad thing, we must be more careful; else we end up committing an injustice against some who has done nothing wrong. Remember that it’s governments that make war then throw ordinary citizens in to do the killing, of all the Vet’s I have spoken to most say the only thing they fought for was to stay alive!
In the Boer war the English used Concentration camps for the first time ( yep there an English invention ) and killed over 10% of the Boer population, 28,000 young men, women and children died in these camps. The Americans slaughtered an unknown number of native Indians in their own country and can you say no war crimes happened in Vietnam? Australians did the same to the aboriginals. The Christian crusades also slaughtered thousands and all in the name of God!
A friend of mine was sent out to the first Gulf war, when he came back he told me how he was ordered not to take prisoners as this would slow down the initial advance!!! So he and his squad shot white flag wavers. Is that not a war crime to?
There are no innocents in war! How many have been killed in the name of GOD!! When the first commandment is ‘thou shall not kill’, justify that! I don’t remember reading any get out clauses in the bible.
Back off the [soapbox]
I think German armour is like the Aston Martin, Rolls Royce and Jaguars of the tank world and allied armour is the mass produced Fords! Who wants to model production line stuff. [^]
I personally like German Armor much better because of the different types of vehicles they had. They could make something out of nothing. We should have been so lucky to Win WW2 cause if they would have had somebody that would have listened to their Generals the world would look a lot different today!!!
Quickly raises hand! [:)]