Thanks for all friendly comments and recommendations, esp. from smeagol, the Baron and Hans. But please don't expect much changes for we're used to doing what we have done for so many years, i.e., building them OOB.
Story? For those who ask for one, you all have imagination, use it! We build dioramas, not write story. I've posted 100+ dioramas but have never once introduced a story line! I'm Model Maniac, not Wikipedia! ;-)
I think the armor and the figures go together very well. The armor is an early war type and the figures also bear the name "France 1940". And since they're "Gen2" figures, they're supposed to be "newer" and "well molded" figures. I don't know about the "SS" or the "Befelswagen" or any details attached to them, they're irrelevant to me same as historical accuracies. Leave that to historians, I'm just a modeler turned collector. For me, if the armor and figures are well-painted, the trees, grass, wall and groundwork are well made, then it's a job well done, and this is the case. Why are some of you guys are so serious about it? I just don't understand. A fellow modeler in Thailand said that "However much accuracy and precision you put into your works, your armors still can't run and you planes can't fly, so why so serious about them?"
The other day I got a forwarded mail from a friend and the content is interesting. It reads:
=============================
A Story to live by
There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She told her boyfriend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.'
One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages
came off, she was able to see everything, including her boyfriend.
He asked her,'Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?' The
girl looked at her boyfriend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him.
Her boyfriend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying:
'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.'
This is how the human brain often works when our status changes.
Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who
was always by their side in the most painful situations.
Life Is a Gift
Today before you say an unkind word - Think of someone who can't speak.
Before you complain about the taste of your food - Think of someone
who has nothing to eat.
Before you complain about your husband or wife - Think of someone
who's crying out to GOD for a companion.
Today before you complain about life - Think of someone who died
too early on this earth.
Before you complain about your children - Think of someone who
desires children but they're barren.
Before you argue about your dirty house someone didn't clean or
sweep - Think of the people who are living in the streets.
Before whining about the distance you drive Think of someone who
walks the same distance with their feet.
And when you are tired and complain about your job - Think of the
unemployed, the disabled, and those who wish they had your job.
But before you think of pointing the finger or condemning
another - Remember that not one of us is without sin.
And when depressing thoughts seem to get you down - Put a smile on
your face and think: you're alive and still around.
----------------
I PRAY
THIS MOVES AROUND
THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE... "
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I'd like to add one more:
Before you complain about the inaccuracy or imperfection of a built kit - think how lucky you are that I keep making a bunch of them available for your viewing (and grumbling) every a few weeks' time. That's to say you'd be out of job and perhaps out of mind if I quit! ;-)