Yes , I know about the other thread and commented on it .
Now , here's my beef .You all know I build and soecialize in tankers and commercial shipping . There was a time I built warships for contests .Why ? well it's a matter of knowing ones subject .On the PRINZE EUGEN for instance . My oldest uncle ( a Navy petty officer ).Trod her decks just a few days before the Bomb went off at Bikini Atoll .he would always talk about the simple but exquisite engineering in her . So , why shouldn't I want to build a model with All the bells and whistles , including the markings ?
Now to aircraft .Germany pressed many types of planes against us .One was originally intended to be an airliner .I know I have two of the models . I also heva a model of the big DORNIER seaplane in early German markings .Now they are accurately depicting these planes at their time in history . Okay , lets get to ground forces and what they used with deadly efficiency , I might add . How many Porsche turret King Tigers do I have , oh about eight I think , and two with the Henschel turret . I have many of the vehicles that Ferdinand Porsche designed for the Wermacht .
Japanese stuff .Yup I got it too , Including Mavis's and The big Kawanishi flying boats .The Kawanishi because of it's resemblance to the Big trans-Pacific clipper seaplanes flying then ( I think they got the idea from those big flying boats ) Now that said ,can anyone find fault with the great design of Mitsubishi's" Raiden ,And even the " gulp " Zero .? There were beautiful designs had by all , Take our P-38 and P51 and so on .Our ships were no slouches either .I think for armor ,My two favorites are the M-48-a-1 " Patton , and the M-1A-1 Abrams .For older armor I prefer the "cast hull " and turret Sherman .Now here,s the point I want to make here .We all were brought up to believe certain things .We were taught in school that the Germans and the Japanese people were monsters .Not true .So why would a grown man with no connection to that war refuse to let in models with the Red " Meatball " or the" Swastika "?
Believe me , when I say I ponder this a lot . Now here we are modelers of history , telling a story one vehicle , ship or plane at a time .Should we be banned from telling that history? I think NOT ! Now should we refrain from telling that history in miniature because a neighbor or friend or even a relative might be offended ? NO ! I think political correctness has gone to far in this venue .Let,s just build the models and let the chips fall where they may .I will not let personal feelings even interefere with my models anymore . At 70 why should I ? I will not forget the past though ,We pay to heavy a price when we as a nation do this .
With that all said now , I ask you this .Would you as a man or woman modeler pick your partner based on political correctness ? Well don't model that way either ! Enjoy it for what it is .I asked a man one time when I was at the ARIZONA memorial why he was acting the way he was ( A deep holding Bow ) his explanation in halting english ( He was Japanese ) " I must HONOR all who stood against what they knew to be wrong ". Well , there you have it .I hope I didn't ruffle any feathers . Tanker - Builder