Showing posts with label ww2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ww2. Show all posts
Monday, May 27, 2013
Monday, April 8, 2013
Adding Swivel Slings to rifles
Today’s Handy Dandy Tip – Adding Sling Swivels To Your 1/35 Scale Weapons
If you’re
like me you’ve been through the whole evolution of the scale rifle
sling. First it’s no sling, just glue the gun to a hand ( or a back ).
Then it’s the single strip of whatever material with one end going to
the back and the other end going to the front. Then you get fancy and
fold the sling over for 2/3 the length to make it look a bit closer to
the real thing but it’s still a couple of blobs of glue fore and aft
that hold it in place.
And if
you’re really like me you end up making semi workable slings with
sliding keepers and the whole blob of glue attachment point just doesn’t
cut it anymore. I used to glue tiny little plastic swivels on but they
looked too oversize and these days with failing eyesight and sausage
fingers that was becoming more and more difficult. Magnifiers help the
eyesight but I’ve yet to find a tool to deal with sausage fingers ( a
good range of tweezers helps ).
German Field Blouses
Quick And Easy Guide To WWII German Field Blouses
I notice
that in reviews that German figure sets are often referred to as wearing
“early war” or “late war” uniforms, I do it myself. It also recently
occured to me that many people wouldn’t know one from the other. So I’ve
put together this very simple guide. It doesn’t seek to identify the
many small changes such as stitching and linings, but rather to show the
progression in small changes that help you to date a uniform to a given
year. While it’s easy to explain a 1940 cut tunic in 1944 it’s somewhat
harder to explain a 1944 one in 1940.
I’m not
going to get into the myriad variations of officer’s tunics, camouflaged
smocks, fatigues, tropical uniforms, rocks, jackets, tailored clothing,
hats, helmets, boots, equipment etc. Not now anyway as I want to keep
this very simple. I may chuck up other guides to some of these at a
later date as I feel the urge, but for now I’m just going to be looking
at the basic “feldbluse” or field blouse.
Now you’ll
have to forgive my artistry, I’m too much of a technophobe to work in
anything but MS paint. But I’m not going for complete accuracy with the
cut and stitch but rather just enough to be identifiable for the
purposes at hand. Also don’t read anything into the colours other than a
general attempt to show how “feldgrau” or Field Grey got less green and
more brown as the war went on and material quality changed.
One other
point I should make while we’re on the subject of colour is that the
field trousers prior to 1940 were more of a slate grey. I decided not
to include the field trousers here as they pretty much stayed the same
general appearance for what is relevant to modelling in 1/35. There were
changes but these were mostly around the waist and wouldn’t be seen on a
figure wearing the field blouse over the top of them.
So let’s
get down to it. The sections highlighted in blue identify the changes
between each year that can be identified on a 1/35 scale figure.
Click images to enlarge.
1939 Issue. Five buttons, pleated pockets, scalloped pocket flaps, dark green collar.
1940 Issue. As for the 1941 Issue but the collar is now the same colour as the rest.
1941 Issue. As for the 1940 Issue but now has six buttons.
1942 Issue. As for 1941 Issue but now has patch pockets with no pleats.
1943 Issue. As for 1942 Issue but now has squared off pocket flaps.
1944 Issue. Now much shorter, similar to the British tunic, with only two pockets.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
U-Boats WW2 scuttled
U-boats scuttled during Operation Deadlight
German U-boat departing from Loch Ryan, Scotland.
German U-boat departing from Lisahally, Northern Ireland.
http://www.uboat.net/fates/deadlight.htm
Monday, February 4, 2013
Monday, January 14, 2013
WW2 Fuhrer Toys
A real little Hitler: The toy Fuhrer model that was made for German children to play with during World War Two
- Rare toy revealed by Jerry Beaulier on Antiques Roadshow in Scotland
- He was sent the toy by his father, U.S. Private Jerome Beaulier, at the end of World War Two
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A rare toy figure of Adolf Hitler made for German children to play with has been revealed by the son of a World War Two soldier for the first time.
The figure of the vicious dictator was part of a collection of toys U.S Private Jerome Beaulier bought at a toy shop in Germany at the end of the war in exchange for cigarettes and chocolate bars.
He posted them back to his five-year-old son Jerry, who received them in 1945 and has kept hold of them ever since.
The German toy shows Adolf Hitler figure seated in the front passenger seat of an army jeep alongside three German soldiers
Other toys included in the set are an anti-aircraft gun, several field guns, another truck with a huge search light attached and a First World War German biplane.
The original collection included six figures of Hitler but only one remains today as Pvt Beaulier destroyed the other five by taking pot-shots at them with an air-rifle.
His son, Lieutenant Commander Jerry Beaulier, 72, from St Andrews, Scotland, took them along to the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow when the programme visited his home town.
The Fuhrer pictured in 1944, a year before he was defeated in World War Two
‘He sent them back to me in 1945 and I have had them since then.
‘I remember playing with them as a child and I got a great deal of pleasure out of them.
‘There were half-a-dozen Adolf Hitler figures to begin with.
‘After the war my dad used to have my uncle round and they would set the Hitler figures up and use them for shooting practice with their air guns. Mum would go mad.
‘My dad didn’t talk too much about the war and when he did it was usually light-hearted.
‘This one is the only Hitler figure I have left. I had another of him standing in a car doing the Nazi salute but dad shot it.’
Pvt Beaulier served in the 9th Armoured Division of the US Army from 1943 until the end of the war.
His son Lt Cdr Beaulier joined the US Navy and served as a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War.
He later moved to St Andrews where he lives today.
James Taylor, a researcher at the Imperial War Museum, said: ‘The toys reflected the time in Nazi society.
Jerry Beaulier, left wearing a white top, with
expert Hilary Kay, right wearing a blue jacket, with his set of army
toys on the Antique's Roadshow
Among the set was a German toy half track with toy soldiers and an AA gun
German toy's showing field guns and searchlights were part of the collection that the young Jerry Beaulier played with
Hilary Kay, an expert from the Antiques Roadshow, said: ‘These toys show the military power of Germany leading up to the Second World War.
‘The figure of Hitler was quite normal and what a young German boy in 1934-5-6-7 leading up to the war, would have wanted.’
Friday, November 23, 2012
Aiding in Hitler's downfall
Woman Bletchley Park Code Breaker honoured for aiding Hitler’s downfall
Ursula Frost remembers the day Winston Churchill arrived at Bletchley Park to tell her and other Enigma codebreakers they had helped end World War II.
”Churchill came down and told us we’d ended the war by two years. We were very pleased to hear that,” the 95-year-old Aucklander says.
”He came down and saw us twice which we always thought was great, rather. He didn’t have all that time to do those sort of things.”
Frost will be thanked for her services when Defence Minister Jonathan Coleman presents her with a special badge from the United Kingdom next Friday at Auckland rest home.
But why she is receiving the badge after 67 years is also an enigma, she said.
Frost worked for section M18 during the war, cracking German army and air force codes under computer maverick Alan Turing.
He was a bright-minded, ”very nice chap”, she says, but they never spoke of his codebreaking secrets.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Hitler's Cabriolet still here
When a New Jersey auto dealer called up Mercedes to order parts
for a vintage car he was repairing, they asked for the vehicle’s serial
number.
Zenop Tuncer was shocked to hear the company reply: ‘That’s Hitler’s car.’The 1942 Mercedes 320 Cabriolet D was part of a fleet built for senior officers of the Third Reich during the Second World War. While the model which ended up being repaired in Edgewater, New Jersey was probably not flashy enough to be driven by the Führer himself, it is likely to have belonged to one of his generals.
Zenop Tuncer was shocked to hear the company reply: ‘That’s Hitler’s car.’The 1942 Mercedes 320 Cabriolet D was part of a fleet built for senior officers of the Third Reich during the Second World War. While the model which ended up being repaired in Edgewater, New Jersey was probably not flashy enough to be driven by the Führer himself, it is likely to have belonged to one of his generals.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Crashed in Sahara found 70years later
Is it the pilot? Bones and a parachute found near eerily preserved plane that crashed in Sahara desert 70 years ago
Bid for survival: The P40 Kittyhawk was found perfectly preserved and someone had apparently tried to build a shelter beside it
The wreckage of the P40 Kittyhawk plane was found perfectly preserved earlier this year, 70 years after the accident, and now it seems that airman Dennis Copping’s remains may have been recovered nearby. The bones were located on some rocks four months ago, along with a piece of parachute, about three miles from where the plane landed in the Sahara desert in 1942. A keychain fob with the number 61 on it was found near the remains, along with a metal button dated 1939.
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
WW2 Heroes
World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch
O'Hare.
He was a
fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the
South Pacific.
One day his
entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his
fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his
fuel tank.
He would not
have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to
his ship.
His flight
leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out
of formation and headed back to the fleet.
As he was
returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a
squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American
fleet.
The American
fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He
couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor
could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to
do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.
Laying aside
all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes.
Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy
plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and
fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent.
Undaunted, he
continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in
hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to
fly.
Finally,
the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction.
Deeply
relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the
carrier.
Upon arrival,
he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the
gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's
daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy
aircraft.
This took place on
February 20, 1942 , and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of
W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.
A year later
Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not
allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare
Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great
man.
So, the next
time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to
visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor.
It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Monday, August 20, 2012
Japanese Radio Found on Iwo Jima
Japanese radio transmitter from WWII found on Iwo Jima
A Japanese military radio was found in a World War II bunker on the island of Iwoto, also known as Iwo Jima. Also significant is that the transmitter is believed to be the one used by the Japanese Imperial Army to send their final message before control over the island was won by U.S. soldiers. Measuring two meters wide and found underground, officials say it must have been used by Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the Japanese commander of the island.
Kuribayashi.
Former survivors have stated that the transmitter must have been the
one where Kuribayashi sent his last message of “arrows and bullets are
exhausted” and “sorrow comes as I fall,” known for their poetic
expression of self-sacrifice and suggestive of the ways of the samurai.The Japanese Health Ministry says that the underground bunker was found on the northern side of the island, with the remains of one Japanese soldier nearby, and functioned as the communications center for the Imperial Army. The health ministry leads the efforts to find and recover the remains of the thousands of Japanese soldiers still on Iwo Jima. To date, only around 10,000 have been collected…
Source and read more
Sunday, June 24, 2012
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