Wings of the Emperor

Sorry about the misunderstanding, Ray. No, I've never tried that. All my kits are 1/48, though. Photoshop allows you to make any element in the composition any size you want. For example, all the planes in "Ivan Scores" were the same size to begin with. I "fill the frame" of the camera with the plane, shoot it, resize it, and add it to the pic. My eyes aren't good enough anymore to do 1/72. I need magnification to see 1/48 & my computer screen ! Oh, well. The eyesight went at 40, & has been going for the last 8 years.

Pix,
By "forced perspective" I meant photographing models of different scales in the
same shot. ie, a 1/48th A/C with a 1/72 A/C behind it. Does away with depth of field problems by creating an artifical depth. It's an old diorama technique.
As for the flag thing, my comment was addressed to folks who value historical
accuracy as evidenced by thier models. I believe that all here are ladies and gentlemen of the highest order. Thanks for your thoughtful comment.
Ray
21st Space Operations Squadron
Mission Control Team

hey guy's;
I couldn't remember what the companys names where so I took a shoot in the dark and added GL to the list (couldn't remember his company's name either), as for history's sake wouldn't you want to be correctly I.D.'d for what you did, it's like saying Tommy McGuire became an Ace flying a F4U's in WWII, but we all know different except for the average person, that's what I was trying to get across, Knowledge is Power and it goes a very long way

J-Hulk - I was in the Joe Savage Band in 1980. We played a lot of clubs in the Southeast. 18' & 15' Burmese Pythons were part of the show. We used to play the 1000+ seat nightclubs. Music or modelling - its ALL creative, right ?

Hi, Pix!
Industrial Light & Sound is an actual sound company? I didn't know that![:0]
I was a professional drummer in the Southeast for about 5 years, mostly with a band called The Medicine Men, doing mainly the highly lucrative college circuit. Played a lot of clubs around Atlanta and Athens with that band, an many more, like Plat Eye Blue, Red Letter Day, The Planets (played bass with them!), and Cosmic Funkpup. Now, if anybody out there has EVER heard of one of these bands, I'll be amazed!
Actually, The Medicine Men are still going strong.

I play a bit here in Japan, but there's no real music scene like back in the States. Here, it's either your hobby, or you're on the charts! No in-between. So, it's a hobby now, like modeling.

Which is what this forum's about! Sorry for the musical interlude, folks!

Thanks again, J-Hulk. Its funny you should mention IL&M. They do a lot of music recording & production work for film. I was a professional (my sole source of income) sound engineer for 20+ years, and I now also do independant video production. Seeing things like the A6M5 type 52 in green/gray camo in the movie "Pearl Harbor" really got me. I realize that they used the bird from Chino for aerial shots, & generated the others to match. But there IS a flying A6M2 somewhere (I forget where) that they COULD have used. It makes me wonder if the producers seek econo-historians ! They would have been more accurate had they hired modelers !

Hi, folks!
No, no, I wasn't offended at all! As ya'll correctly surmised, I was just passing on some cultural info that I thought was interesting and relevant to the subject.

While I absolutely respect everyone's opinions, I do have a hard time understanding "revisionist" history, mainly because I'm a big fan of the truth!

At this website, I doubt anyone would find this image portrayed in this context to be offensive. We're all modelers, trying to portray machines and events as accurately as possible (even the SF stuff!). Learning from the past is what it's all about!

Keep the good stuff coming, Pix. You'e amazing!

PS
72Cuda, it's ILM, Industrial Light & Magic, that Pix should be working for!
I think Industrial Light and Sound is doing the Brittany Spears tour!
Just thought you'd like to know!

Maddafinga - I didn't get the feeling that J-Hulk was offended either. As you say, I too was surprised that the flag carried that symbolism with it in Asia. I was only trying to tell any international viewers of my pic that I was not aware that the flag was considered offensive by some. I wanted to apologize to them, if they had the same reaction that some Americans have to the "Rebel" flag. Believe me, to offend anyone is the last thing I would EVER want to do. Perhaps I could have stated my point more clearly,. Thanks for your time and attention on this (as we now know) touchy subject.

I didn't get the feeling that J-Hulk was offended actually. I had the idea that he was just passing a bit of interesting knowledge our way. I had no idea that particular flag was considered offensive to some, and appreciated the trivia. I doubt that very many japanese would know the confederate flag was considered offensive to many people here. Fwiw, I never thought that he was put out by your using the flag in a pic though pix, just that he was contributing to the general knowledge.

As far as revisionist history goes, I've always been of the mind that ignoring something, doesn't mean that it never happened. The Romans and Egyptians did the same thing, but it didn't work for them either. No matter how bad you want something not to have happened, if it happened, it happened. (I think that's my record for using the word happened in a sentence!)

madda

Thank you, Ray, for receiving the post in the manner that you did. I can understand your point. I was unaware, until J-Hulk's post, that the flag was viewed, by some, as he described . Knowing this is an international forum, I wanted to let an offended viewer know that I did not intend to represent a military that inflicted suffering on its victims.
THANK YOU !
Unfortunately, a digital camera does not lend itself well to a scene involving a large depth-of-field (the relative sharpness of foreground/ middleground/ background) A 35mm camera has an apeture (akin to the iris in our eyes), and a shutter. A digital camera only has one "opening," called, appropriately enough, an iris. When you shoot a digital picture, the iris has to open to the set distance. The speed at which this occurs determines the max. depth of field. On my SLR 35mm camera, my highest f-stop (smallest apeture opening) is f22, while my digital is only f8. Asetting of f8 lets in aprox. 2 1/2 times as much light, giving a quicker shutter speed and less depth-of-field.
Sorry if I rambled on, I do that occasionately, but too much information is never a bad thing ! Thanks again, Ray, for being a gentleman. You have my respect. Your friend, Pix.

Pix
Of course you're right about that. I didn't mean to offend anyone with my comment. I just get so tired of "revisionist history".
BTW Beautiful piece of work there. Have you tried any digital photo work using forced perspective?
Ray

Ray - please don't take this personally. Your opinions are yours, and that's fine. Please don't deny someone else the right to their own opinion, even if it differs from yours. Your advice is insensitive and hostile. I do not believe that this forum is the place for tips on behavior. That's just my opinion. You have every right to disagree, but please respect the feelings and convictions of others.

For those who would be offended by historical accuracy, I have two pieces of advice:
1. Grow up
2. Get a life
History is the past. It's done. Learn from it so it doesn't repeat itself. It's hard to learn from something that has been revised
to avoid hurting some fool's feelings.
Ray

Hey Pix;
I just came to this conclusion-You missed your calling, should be working for Industral Light & Sound, or ole Georgy Lucas, you and all the others have seriously missed your callings to be a Spec EFX modeler then you'll be able to show the next generation the correct equipment that was used in history
cuda

I think it's fine in the context it's used in this beautiful piece, Pix. It fits the aircraft perfectly!
It is sad that history might offend some people. It must all be remembered, as accurately as possible!
If not, you know what they say....
It shall be repeated!

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about offending anybody with the use of that flag here.
In any case, this symbol is NO WHERE NEAR as controversial as the swastika issue!

THANKS, J-Hulk ! ! ! I also think it is a beautiful flag. I think its a shame that OBJECTS from history are regarded the same as the IDEALS for which they stood. If the war had never happened, the flag would be taken for just what it is - a beautiful design. When it becomes analyzed, it turns into a REPRESENTATION of of something else altogether. I hope I didn't offend anyone by the use of the flag, and I apologise if I did so.

They sure did, and so do you!
Another gem!

Just as a point of interest, that flag ( the rising sun with radiating rays) is quite controversial in modern Japan (and Asia in general), as for many it still symbolizes Japan's agression in WWII. It's used by many right-wing groups and organizations, and even newspapers (like the Asahi Shimbun (a newspaper)) and the Japan Self Defense Forces at times.

Personally, I thinks it's a beautiful design and much more interesting than the more acceptable Hinomaru ("disk of the sun," the red ball on white background), but I certainly can understand people's feelings about the old flag.

There were even some "planes" that were published in Japanese magazines that didn't exist. Our intelligence network at the time was abysmally uninformed. Some of these hypothetical planes even recieved code designations ! After the war started, there were reports of sightings of aircraft that were described differently. As a consequence, some Japanese planes in the early-war stages had multiple names ! Add to this the foreign names, and you have an unknown force, of unknown types, swallowing up the Pacific at an alarming rate. What a mess it must have been for the de-briefers !
The Japanese had many nimble, fast aircraft. Their failure to install armor plate & self-sealing gas tanks until late in the war led to the loss of their most seasoned pilots.
Nakajima made a large percentage of their aircraft engines, and with the fall of the Marianas, the factories were bombed relentlessly. By war's end, Japan no longer had sufficient #s of equipment or aircrews.
After the war, Mc Arthur ordered the destruction of ALL JAPANESE OFFENSIVE WEAPONS ! ! ! Trying to find reliable, complete resources for accurate Japanese aircraft models may be the reason they are not as popular as U.S., British, & German types, though they are no less interesting. They really made some beauties !

QUOTE: Originally posted by Pixilater THANKS, all ! ! ! maddafinga - the official Japanese name for this bird is the "Nakajima Army Type 2Single-seat Fighter Shoki." Shoki means "Demon." The Japanese names were so foreign-sounding and cumbersome that it was decided to give them western names.

I always assumed that we game them code names because we didn't know what the Japanese were calling them. Communication between US and Japan was not great at the time, and I dont' imagine that they'd call us up and say "Hey, we're coming out with a new plane, we're calling it the hyabusa, what do you think?" I always figured that once our pilots started seeing a new plane in the skies, they'd just stick a name on it for easier identification. Of course, we all know what assuming does. I loved that chart by the way, several planes on there that I didn't know. I love ww2 planes. If they had decent production capabilities left by wars end, some of the newer planes the Japanese came out with were the equal of just about any of ours.

madda

Thanks, Keywoth ! It must be my "imaginary box-art phase ! Thanks, Pix.

Nice job on the Tojo. The background gives it more appeal. Nice work again, Pix.

Yeah, that's the problem with kit decals. I've only found a couple of kits that had a better, darker shade, but I use them anyway. Who's to say that another company's aftermarket sheets would be different. I did get some nice ones from Aeromaster, but they're for a Jack.
Thanks, it's a great little kit to build.

Goodonyer Pixilater.
The Tojo looks good. The Hinomaru look a bit bright though, it could be the resolution on my monitor though. a good mix for the Meat Ball is Ident red Methuen ref ((C-D)8 humbrol HT5. This not meant as a denegration of a fine model but as an help from an old modeler to a younger (and probably better) one. Thanks for the list of code names, Hamp was originaly Hap as in Arnold but he didnt like it much. Likewise one of the Japanese bombers was named after his wife but after reading a verse describing the bombers physical atrabutes he didnt like that either so the name was changed.
Keep building and showing them.
Dai

I scanned the names of Japanese aircraft. Those of you who build them, and even those that don't, may find this interesting. They really had a system.
Aurora - they even had a plane named for you !
Thanks, Michaelvk. I was nervous enough painting this bird. Didn't want to ruin the detail of the P.E. !

Very nice. I love the mottling.

QUOTE: Originally posted by maddafinga What is the Japanese name for this plane? I like those a lot better than the American names that we gave them. I know most of the Japanese fighters, but the KI44 is a new one to me. My favorits are the KI84 and the N1K2. If they had had those early in the war, we might have been in a good deal more trouble. madda

I think the Ki-44 Japanese name is 'shoku' or 'shoki' which translates to 'Demon Queller'

THANKS, all ! ! !
maddafinga - the official Japanese name for this bird is the "Nakajima Army Type 2Single-seat Fighter Shoki." Shoki means "Demon." The Japanese names were so foreign-sounding and cumbersome that it was decided to give them western names. It was probably easier for a wingman to say : "Four Tojos at 11 o' clock !" than, "Four Nakajima Army Type . . ." It WAS named after Hidekki Tojo, the Prime, War, & Army Minister. If you're into Japanese aircraft, a book by Robert C. Mikesh, called "Japanese Aircraft Code Names & Designations" is a great resource. It explains who a lot of the people after whom the planes were named.
GLAD YOU LIKE IT, THANKS, pix.

What is the Japanese name for this plane? I like those a lot better than the American names that we gave them. I know most of the Japanese fighters, but the KI44 is a new one to me.
My favorits are the KI84 and the N1K2. If they had had those early in the war, we might have been in a good deal more trouble.

madda

Good one pix :)