Friday, July 30, 2021

Entropy and the Military Modeller

 When I was a kid and indeed a young adult, I built model kits by the score. Not very well, mostly, but I did get better in the end. Alas, like with so many things, once built, they would languish in a box or on a shelf from which occasionally they would tumble and so the pile of broken off lets, prop blades, antennae, struts and pitot tubes would pile up, one day to be stuck back on.

That's what I thought, anyway. Other forces doubtless intervened to clear way the shattered Luftwaffe and RAF casualties and so over time, very little of my early output survived. I once put together and painted a half dozen of the wonderful Matchbox T-34/76 when I was very much under the spell of the 'Command Decision" Barbarossa 25 campaign book.. How useful they'd be to me now! Yet, all that remains is a single wheel-less and unturreted hull.

Still, it's not all bad news, as last night I came across this:

From an abandoned airfield somewhere in Russia...

In not too bad shape; most of the bits are still there apart from a tailwheel and an antenna. I'll give the old girl a dusting, fix her up with some Tamiya extra thin glue and some stretched sprue and she'll be good as new.

UPDATE: And the Luftwaffe expands. Got the old Stuka back together and am currently putting the final touches on it and a 109E I stumbled across as well.
Airfix - the Luftwaffe's largest supplier..!



3 comments:

The Good Soldier Svjek said...


That was always the problem with model kits - storage .

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said...

What a find! Will you use it in your planned games? Or fly it from the ceiling with clear nylon thread?

Best Regards,

Stokes

James Fisher said...

I can relate completely to your story. A great find though and it will look fabulous spruced up again. It's fun to go back to things from one's past isn't it?
Regards, James