HubertB

I think the issue is more nuanced than just tagging it with « political correctness ». Words have a meaning, and it is not a bad fact that historical hindsight brings nuances in words used to describe an historical period. Factually, you had a country, Germany, a people living in this country, Germans, and finally a political regime, the Nazi regime, that was responsible for not only a global war, but also unforgivable atrocities. And it is undeniable that the vast majority of the German people of the time put in place, then supported the regime, whether enthusiastically, actively, passively, out of interest, selfish indifference or cowardice … In the aftermath of WWII, emotions were - understandably - strong, and it was commonly accepted to equate the country, the people and the regime, adding a derogatory nickname for a good measure. It was « bloody Jerrys » in the UK, and I was raised - in the early sixties - hearing of « Boches » in France. As the people who lived these emotions disappear, then the analysis brings the nuances in the wording. There is still a country and nation, Germany, a people, Germans, but thank God the political regime is not there anymore. Which is why it induces a distorted perception to use the word « Germans » to describe in a short-cut the people of the time, whilst the same word also applies to today’s people, who are not at all the same. IMHO, the only apt wording today for this historical period is « Nazi regime », but I am the first to « simplify » it by using « Nazi ». Not political correctness, but factual historical analysis. Which does not detract from your comment that a lot of Germans of the time, whilst not active supporters of the regime, or members of the Nazi party, did commit the atrocities their regime ordered them to do, without too much of a conscience objection. This is an attitude still common today, everywhere, and you unfortunately see a lot of people willing to support political lines, and even bring them to power, that are not so distant from the early days and slogans of the Nazi regime, even in countries which are considered old - or even beacons of - democracies. Which is why it is important to use precise words : you see Nazi behaviours in many countries - and not only Poutine’s Russia, btw - and describing these as such is - hopefully - the first step of raising a collective conscience. I think the best post in this thread was Martin’s : it shows how political correctness is the lazy way out of a real introspection and reflexion about personal choices. And why the so-called « social media » can nurture and make flourish this laziness, and encourage and reward the worst traits of human behaviours and the worst individuals. Hubert

They would need to see combat first. I may be wrong, but right now, they seem to be only good for parades on the Red Square … and then not all of them Hubert

Wow ! 4 new builds in a row ! And all extremely nice. Well done Dave 👍 Hubert

Very nice Dave. You clearly have not been idle since the last time you posted Hubert

Agreed. My « choices » are in fact rather limited and my comment definitely tongue-in-cheek. Hubert

I was thinking about this one too. But my choices will be dictated by a pragmatic condideration: since my last move ( in February), the stash has been stacked and filmed on a palet, waiting for the next move. So, I’ll choose what I can get access to (unless I decide I « absolutely need » to buy a new kit ). A first inspection has shown a two-pronged choice : an Aerotech Gloster IV, or Trumpeter’s 1/200 Titanic … Ah decisions, decisions 😵‍ Hubert

I was thinking about this one too. But my choices will be dictated by a pragmatic condideration: since my last move ( in February), the stash has been stacked and filmed on a palet, waiting for the next move. So, I’ll choose what I can get access to (unless I decide I « absolutely need » to buy a new kit ). A first inspection has shown a two-pronged choice : an Aerotech Gloster IV, or Trumpeter’s 1/200 Titanic … Ah decisions, decisions 😵‍ Hubert

Interesting … I have my own type of « cancel culture »: don’t go on social media at all (well, actually, a modelling forum IS a type of social media, so I am contradicting myself here ). As far as Instagram, Tweeter, Facebook, Tiktok and the like are concerned, I am sticking to my choice of not going there, at all. I find these sites truly horrible : they will behave the way the video describes it, yet will tolerate the most horrible speeches from individuals, whether they are corrupt, rotten politicians or ordinary bullies, all in the name of « free speech ». They encourage stupidity, unstructured thinking, conspiracy theories, outrageous behaviours, gratuitous meanness, agressive comments, etc., behaving like the worst capitalists - as decried by Marx and other Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries thinkers - by cynically trying to maximise their profits from the people participating there, whether it is by selling personal data, or letting algorithms nurture one stream of thinking for an individual, all to generate more consultations, more audience, and therefore more advertising revenues… I see no point exposing my life, posting a pic of my plate, my clothes, my make-up or whatever else, for others to « like » or comment on…or worse, be thus tagged an « influencer » , and paid to fill these social media with more of my BS … Ok. End of the old-fart rant … In spite of all the above, as I said above, I am contradicting myself by posting here, and watching and reacting to others’ posts. But, and I think the history could show a number of examples, as soon as a modelling forum becomes a for-profit operation, it soon dwindles as passion considerations take second place to business goals … At least, this is what I saw many times … As far as the heart of the video is concerned (« Do I show a swastika on a model ? ») I have views you could dub contradicting : 1) if it was on the original I am representing, and knowing a model is a 3D illustration of a piece of technology at a given time in history, IMHO at least, then it should be here … 2) if it as allowed to show my model with the swastika, for a wider audience to see, then I see no reason for hiding it. But, on the other hand, it is forbidden to expose a Nazi swastika in Germany. If I lived in Germany, and was posting pics for a mostly German audience, I’d abide by the law, full stop. Of course, it’s becoming grey when a site has a worldwide audience, including Germany … But , that a « social media » censors such a picture is just a sign of the crass stupidity, hypocrisy, and lack of historical culture of these businesses, who will in the same time tolerate other posts which are in every aspect displaying opinions which would have had their place in the Nazi propaganda pamphlets … 3) I have personally felt a certain (read « strong ») uneasiness with the fascination of the Nazi war machine by many modellers. Yes, I acknowledge that they put the best of the German engineering culture to developing these equipments, and some are fascinating from this engineering point of view, but I am still personally uneasy with this drive to privilege the Nazi machines in some modellers’ stashes … 4) I will however not criticise anyone building models of Nazi machines, on the assumption that modelling a Nazi machine does not make you a Nazi, and will most often follow - and learn from - the building threads of such, but I have made a conscious decision to NEVER build a Nazi machine with Nazi symbols. Mind you, I apply the same conscience rule to the equipments of that other political monstrosity of the 20th Century, namely the Soviet Union. Hubert

What Rob said, and even more ! Hubert

T-28 (behind, I mean ...) Hubert

I did, when I was trying to restore rivets and have them under the foil of my Fisher STM. In this case, Archer was the way to go. In short, Archer is for dome rivets, so that is basically for older types of airframes. As Gary mentioned, Woody, Archer’s founder, is retiring and Archer is going out-of-business. You will have to source dome rivets from other sources, like railroad rivets from Mikro-Mark, but they may be overscale or with a wrong spacing for an aircraft (never have bought them to validate my doubts, TBH). HPH is for flush rivets. Better than the divots of some brands on a modern airframe or jet. They have a very fine relief. So they work well under a thin coat of paint, and if if you lightly scrub or sand the top paint coat, they will become visible with a realistic effect. Gary is doing a great job with them on his Me-109. To sum-up, different products, for different uses and results. Hubert

Very nice result indeed ! Well done 👍 ! Hubert.

Question is : « Will a perfect kit - although in the « wrong » scale - make the original aircraft look prettier ? » Hubert

I have a number of Posca paint pens. They exist in different tip size. Very useful for marking quickly some details, without taking out a brush, with all the associated tasks, like stirring the paint, cleaning the brush, etc. They can be found in graphic arts stores. Hubert

Bravo Romain. Absolument magnifiques ! Hubert

Love your work, Mike. Hubert

Yes, but that’s because I had never seen Pikachu crisps 😇 Hubert

https://www.bnamodelworld.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=Kriegsberichter https://www.super-hobby.com/catalog/Figures-288597.html?search_keywords=Bravo+6+Kriegsberichter&search_buy_mode=full_offer&search_back_url=%2Fcatalog%2FFigures-288597.html%3Fsearch_keywords%3DBravo%2B6%2BKriegsberichter Unfortunately, the manufacturer, Bravo 6, being Russian, it seems most stores are out-of-stock nowadays … Still, look for « Bravo 6 Kriegsberichter » https://bravo6.diorama.ru Hubert

Wow ! What an update. Chris Watton is really a master at designing these historical ships, and you’re doing his work justice, Jim ! Keep it coming Hubert.

Gotta love Mustang racers. I’m 200 % with you on this one, John. I was lucky enough to fetch Fisher’s Red Baron, and an even rarer resin « Voodoo » (in the purple livery with the checkerboard trim). And I got the ZM Mk IV for converting it to a racer. Whilst not as « good » as the Tamiya one, it has the benefit of 3 different canopies, and 2 props (well, at least I think I recall this correctly) Hubert

Hubert

Nowadays, I try to store the AM in the relevant kit box. That way, it a) saves some space b) gathers everything together for the time comes when I want to build the kit, and c) make sure I know where to find it, as the issue is more to remember that I have already bought the item (see ? You’re not alone) Just yesterday, I was trying to remember where I had put the Kagero decal sheet for the 1/32 Ar-196. I knew it was not in the box, but where was it ? I finally found it, in the original Kagero book, but that was not an instantaneous find. Another day, I was about to hit the « purchase » button for a Master probe for the EE Lightning, when I had the idea to check the box first. An extra expense avoided ! Oh well, all the doubles will make for great gifts in the Christmas draw Hubert

Looks like a modernized SG-38 Schulgleiter Hubert

Great rescue John ! Mine’s buried in the middle of a palet I have no intention of unstacking until the next move, but I am really tempted to dig now 👍 ! Hubert

Well understood, Martin. Still, that this scheme was included in the draw is a real lack of political sensivity. Mind you, I was reading that Reedoak has never sold more Russian pilot figures than in the last 6 months … Hubert