Book Review: Images of War, Hitler's HQs, Ian Baxter

N.B. This is one of those occasional archival posts I do, started ages ago, and then forgotten about. Having subsequently read and reviewed another Ian Baxter Images of War title, I thought I'd return to the unfinished draft of this and get it done and online.

Having only just read Hugh Trevor Roper's book on Hitler's last days, I picked up a copy of this book cheap (I believe I paid £5), at a model show, some while back. If I'd paid the full retail asking price, I'd have been a bit miffed, for several reasons. So let's get the critical stuff out of the way.

The first thing that struck me was how many pictures here aren't of the subject, but are just general WWII German stuff, only very tenuously connected to the books subject, if at all. That was after a first glance through the pictures. The second was the catalogue of typos, lumpen prose, and even captioning mistakes, when I came to read the text. There are, sadly, times when specialist literature such as this seems to slip through the editorial net. One does have to wonder, in an instance such as this, if an editor even looked at it.

Hitler sitting outside/beside his train, Amerika.

Nice colour photo of Amerika, showing the loco' and a flak carriage.

On the positive side, there is a good deal of info here on Hitlers numerous HQ, including a number of decent pictures, and this is a very fascinating topic. As well as the static installations, Hitler's trains are covered (although more and better info on this latter would've been good). Another plus is the then and now contrast, where the author shows some more recent images of what's become of some of these installations. Sadly, and creating historical lacunae, due to the toxicity of Hitler's racial/ideological policies, these fascinating and historically important sites are not being conserved (for fear they'd become celebrated/shrines to the Führer, etc.), in fact quite the reverse.

Personally speaking, I think this instalment of the often very good Images of War series needs re-doing: editorially it needs correcting and tightening up, and pictorially it needs to be 'on topic' in a more focussed way. Plans of the various HQ, for example - surely they must exist? - would be a good addition.

Hitler and staff at Wulfschanze, East Prussia.

This arrival scene shows how heavily wooded the Wolf's Lair was.

Bombed out remains at Obersalzberg, in the Bavarian Alps, 1945.

Baxter includes some of his own pictures, similar to the one above, showing Wolfschanze as it is now. The installations were gutted, dynamited, and left to be reclaimed by nature.

Book Review: Early Railways, A Guide for the Modeller, Chatham & Weston

This is a bit off the beaten (railway) track for me, but it is about miniature modelling, and I have posted on here a couple of times before about railway related shenanigans. This handsome A4 hardback, by Peter Chatham and Stephen Weston, both of whom are involved in Parliamentary Trains' Ltd, a manufacturer of kits for this market, explores and celebrates the very early railways. 

After a brief but interesting intro' to the subject, the chapters start with a profile of Mike Sharman, 'Pioneer Modeller of Early Railways', before exploring the subject itself in chapters entitled Infrastructure, Locomotives, Carriages, Wagons, Layouts and models, and Sources of supply for modellers. These headings tell you what to expect.

Puffing Billy, 1862.*

As well as copious diagrams, illustrations and photos, both in colour and black and white, there's a bibliography. One notable omission is a glossary. And the main body of text is clearly aimed at those already knowledgeable on the subjects of railways and railway modelling. So, to an interested layman like me, not yet embarked on railway modelling, some of the technical stuff was a bit opaque. 

This is certainly a very attractive book, and because of that it's inspiring. There are lots of very beautiful period images, some being technical drawings, others adverts or other articles, illustrations, and even numerous early photographs. Some of the diagrams have been cleaned up a bit. And - I wouldn't be confident here, this being outside of my normal area of activity - it might even be possible to build some of the vehicles using the diagrams and other images here.

A '9 foot' Pearson (no. 44), c. 1854-70.*

There are also plenty of pictures of models and 'layouts', the latter being the (usually workable) equivalents of the military modellers dioramas. These are clearly works of art and labours of love. The modeller of such things will also need to be a prodigious researcher! At roughly 120 pages, despite it being a luxuriant full-colour hardback, this is a but a brief taster on the subject. 

At an RRP of £19.99 it's not cheap, but it's worth it for those interested in such things. And covering as it does a period of predominantly British industrial innovation (American and European stuff is also featured), in a period prior to that most railway modellers usually choose, it has some added charm.

'East Grinstead', by Ian White, one of the featured layouts.

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* The Puffing Billy pic I've used here is not in the book, whereas the Pearson pic does feature. 

Book Review: The Escape Line, Megan Koreman

In her excellent book The Escape Line, American author Megan Koreman tells the story of Dutch Paris, an escape line, or rather lines, set up and run by Dutchman in France, Jean (or Johann) Weidner. It's a fascinating and exciting account. Indeed, I'd say there's a good film or two in there somewhere. 

I've chosen to put my fuller review on my other blog, at sebpalmer.com, as it's not quite purely military history. Read it here if you're interested. I was expecting it to be a chore. But far from it. It proved to be a compelling page turner. Geographically the escape line ran, from its original hub in Lyon, where Weidner had a textiles business, northeast into Switzerland, southwest into Spain, and north, through occupied France to Belgium and Holland.

The colourful cast include civil servants, clergy, businessmen, housewives, girlfriends and widows, soldiers and paramilitaries, Allied troops and the SS and Gestapo, local passeurs, or guides, and refugees in alien lands. Normally law-abiding citizens become denizens of the underworld, and the authorities become the violators of decency. Ordinary people do extraordinary things, both good and bad, in extraordinary times.

Definitely a recommended read to those who might find such things of interest. And interesting also in the light of the current climate, with Brexit, Trump and his Wall, and the general climate around national identity, immigration, and suchlike. 

Misc: Resources?

I'm sitting here typing this because I just broke out the ol' airbrush and compressor, and then realised I can't recall which two colours, which particular shades of green and brown, I'll be needing for my three-colour mid- to late-war German camo' schemes. 

The number of times I've gone through the rigmarole of searching online, or amongst my various and ill-organised notes, all add up to too much wasted time. So it occurs to me that I ought to create a resource here on my own website, for my own benefit. And who knows, perhaps for the benefit of others?

Bovington's Tiger II, 104, is beautifully coloured.

These are the kinds of shades I want for my models!

Of course others have done this before me. Why invent the wheel again? Well, it's in my nature to want to do things myself, in my own time and space, and in my own way, however well or badly that may turn out to be. I guess it's just my M.O. And I no longer, if I ever really did, want to fight it.

So, it won't be happening today, as I already have too much else happening: I'll be off teaching soon, and this evening, as well as cooking our evening meal (actually I only have to cook rice and some gravy, as the rest is leftovers!), I'm going to meet the Wisbech IPMS at their fortnightly gathering. 

That'll be a first for me. I'm not exactly club-able. Or at least I never have been before. But perhaps that'll change? I'm definitely feeling the need to extend my camaraderie in life generally, and modelmaking and mini-soldiers in particular.

For now I'll bring this post to a speedy conclusion, as it's probably also a way of my deferring actually getting started with the airbrush.

Some time later the same day...

I did finally actually use my airbrush today, just to add some dunkelgelb to the eldest of my Elefant models, and bring it a bit more into line with the two more recent builds. Above is the result. And below is an older 'before' pic. In the picture below, taken before I'd painted the two more recent Elefant, you can see I'd done some rather clumsy dark wash weathering on the old Fujimi model. I hope the above pic, with the Fujimi Elefant at left, shows that I've softened the look a it a bit?

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20/3/'19

So, I've done a bit of research, and this is what I've come up with, for now, using the Vallejo ranges of acrylic colours.

First, from their airbrush range:

Dunkelgelb RAL 7028 (dark yellow) - Vallejo Model Air 71.025
Rotbraun RAL 8017 (red-brown) - Vallejo Model Air 71.041
Olivgrün RAL 6003 (olive green) - Vallejo Model Air 71.092

As yet I'm undecided re their standard acrylic series:
Dunkelgelb RAL 7028 (dark yellow) - Vallejo Model Color 70.978
Rotbraun RAL 8017 (red-brown) - Vallejo Model Color 71.041*
Olivgrün RAL 6003 (olive green) - Vallejo Model Color 71.092 (poss 70.894?)

* This is the official RAL 8017 equivalent, but it doesn't seem right to me.

Misc: Wisbech IPMS, etc.

This evening I did something most unlike me, and went along to a kind of club... Wisbech IPMS, to be precise. They hold their fortnightly meetings in The Community Room at the Wisbech Tesco. It's a soulless room, alas. But it's free, and there's even free tea, coffee, biscuits and wifi.

I was a bit anxious about meeting fellow modellers. From my experiences of going to model shops and shows over the years, I know we can be a funny mixed old bunch. And so it proved to be. There were even some women present. Women!? That was something I really wasn't expecting, and something that's decidedly rare and unusual, in my experience of both modelmaking and wargame figure collecting, etc.

A pretty friendly bunch, I was able to get on with my model - I'd been advised that everyone brought along models to work on - and occasionally engage in conversation with various other modellers. Once about eight or nine of us had arrived (quite a lot, they told me), there was a kind of semi formal 'everyone takes turns to introduce themselves and their model' round-robin thing.

It's funny how hard I find it to share my interests socially. It's a trait I've always had, with all my interests. Despite everyone there being modelmakers, I find that unless their modelling interests intersect with mine... well, how to put it? Erm... I'm really not very interested. I think that can change, and occasionally does, albeit very slowly. As, for example, when my buddy Paul's interest in plane models helped me get into the aviation side of 1/72 modelling.

I'm pretty useless at remembering names, so I'm not going to even try! One guy is very into modern civilian planes, another favours nautical subjects. One of the ladies was building an RAF ground crew set, which I can relate to (it's a set I'd like to build myself). But another was making a sabre-toothed tiger, which I find harder to be excited about. But there were enough WWII era models and topics of conversation to keep me reasonably happy.

The anorak/nerd vibe in the room was, as one might anticipate, way up into the red. As a Tesco member of staff unlocked the room for us, one of the guy's joked with him about this. I kind of wish he hadn't! Modelmakers shouldn't apologise for themselves or run themselves down. I know I've done it myself often enough. Hearing someone else do it made me realise I/we really shouldn't.

I hadn't realised that the show and tell portion could/should include a more developed project. But I got around that by showing a picture of my three Elefant tanks on my iPad. The kit I'd taken with me proved to have some damaged parts, and these were parts that I was meant to start with. So I spent most of the 7-10pm session scratchbuilding replacement parts! In the end I completed very little of the kit. But I probably worked at much the same speed I would've done had I been at home.

Overall I did enjoy going. Although I did, as I feared I might, find the socialising aspect the hardest most challenging part. And I think I will go again, though when exactly and how often, I'm less sure of. I'll probably go to the next one, and continue the kit I worked on tonight then. It's not a great kit, to be honest. But I think in a way that makes it more suitable to such an occasion, as it doesn't matter too much if my attention is divided whilst I work on it.

Kit Build/Review: Zvezda 1/72 King Tiger, Ausf. B

Enthused for all things Tiger Tank, by a combo of Bovington, and the book I just read/reviewed, I decided to make a start on my Zvezda snap-fit 1/72 King Tiger, Ausf. B. 

I want this tank to have zimmerit, as I'm modelling it on the King Tiger in the Bovington Tiger Collection. So I've gone and done what I did with the Fujimi Elefant I built ages ago, which is to use a very thin layer of white Milliput and the tip of a tiny flathead screwdriver, to mimic the anti-magnetic mine paste. And boy, is it hard work!

As you can see, no zimmerit on the Zvezda kit.

My DIY white Milliput zimmerit, on the appropriate surfaces.

I cleaned up the zimmerit, removing it from areas where it wouldn't be applied, and opening up various holes that the snap-fit kit requires. Now I'll have to exercise some restraint, and let the Milliput harden overnight.
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The next day...

More snooker on TV, and more modelmaking on the sofa. Not the best for posture or lighting. And easy to lose bits of kit down the sofa! Still, fun stuff! Further work in the King Tiger finds me guiding the turret to near completion, and getting the running gear in place.

Prepping parts for turret assembly.

Components ready for the rear of the tank.

The snap-fit wheels and tracks are very interesting. Well designed, overall, but still awkward to install, and requiring trimming. At least that's what I've found. I do this modelling lark for fun. And yet sometimes, as when I was putting the tracks together, I began to wonder if it wasn't actually a form of masochism!?

Very interesting snap-fit wheels and tracks.

Getting the running-gear ready to put in place.

I decided to put all the spare track on the turret. I did consider leaving some off, and making it more like the Bovington King Tiger. But after the hard work on the running gears, I just wanted to take it easy. The barrel is nice and cleanly moulded. I drilled out the muzzle brake. And at close of play, it's a kit of three main parts: upper hall, lower hull, and turret. And then there's a load of stuff to put on the vehicle. The fully in-the-round sculpted tools, etc, look fab.

Next step in turret assemblage.

The basic core elements: lower hull, upper hull, and turret.

State of the model at close of play.

I put the three major elements together. But they remain unglued. It's just nice to see the vehicle taking shape. Tomorrow I'll add the remainder of the parts. Then I'll undercoat it in Halfords grey, and perhaps even get a base coat of dunkelgelb on.

All the various doodads that go on the body.

Assembled and primed.

And the other side.

Some hours and a couple of Columbo episodes later, and I've also dunkelgelbed several models: two Elefant, the Radschlepper Ost, and the King Tiger. My aerosol of Tamiya dark yellow ran out, in fact. But I think I got everything adequately covered.

The colour looks a bit weird under the side lights.

Sort of lemony-green!?

Still, looking pretty good. 

Rear-view.

The King Tiger joins the ranks of ranks and other vehicles awaiting painting and decals. I think I might actually bite the bullet and try and do some painting tomorrow. It'd be nice to finish a couple of these recent builds.

Book Review: Tank Craft 13, Tiger I & Tiger II Tanks, 1945

This is my first Tank Craft series experience. I was fortunate to be sent a review copy by Pen & Sword, as the £14.99 price is quite dear. First impressions are great: plenty of contemporary photographs, several pages of very good colour plates, showing markings and camouflage, and loads of info on various brands of available kits, including several detailed and very impressive build examples.

One of the photos used in the book. [1]

The degree of detail such specialist publications go into is extraordinary. It's amazing how much interest in WWII there is, and how almost every nut and bolt of every individual Panzer can be traced and accounted for. Truly astonishing! The amount of resources available to us enthusiasts is terrific. And if this example is typical of Dennis Oliver's contributions to the field, he's a top drawer contributor to this embarrassment of riches.

Steve Shrimpton's Dragon-based 1/72 model particularly appeals to me. [2]

In addition to what I've already mentioned, there are all sorts of other aspects covered here: maps, timelines, individual unit organisations and histories, and so on. For a publication the size of a typical A4 glossy magazine, there's a massive amount of extremely interesting and useful info here. Very impressive! Oh dear... now I want more!

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I do happen to have a recently acquired Zvezda snap-fit Tiger II. I'm planning to build it as this:

... the King Tiger from the Bovington Tiger Collection. I'm sure having this book will help me when I get around to making it.

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NOTES:

[1] Interestingly almost all the photographs are of knocked out or abandoned Tigers, mostly taken by Allied photographers. This superb picture is quite heavily cropped in the book, to focus on the tank, rather than the rather picturesque setting.

[2] Most the models appear to be 1/35. The info on models, accessories and so on is superb, and very useful.

Book Review: Luftwaffe Training Aircraft, Chris Goss

Covering a neglected and potentially interesting subject, if perhaps more up the avenue of a plane modeller, this is a good source of pictures. But the text is very minimal, consisting of a brief intro, a useful glossary, and then the picture captions. 

The intro gives some background context, and the glossary is very useful. But the captions are, by and large, a bit too dry, often consisting solely of info on the plane's werk nummer and service history. Where there's some info beyond that, say for example on the fates of the crew, or some other interesting little detail, it's better.

Focke Wulf FW 44 'Stieglitz'.

Under the Air War Archive banner this one's kind of in the vein of the Images of War series, inasmuch as it's primarily a pictorial resource. Given the author's acknowledgment of this as an understudied area of aerial warfare, it's a shame there isn't more in the way of interesting textual detail. Bit of a missed opportunity there.

Some of the planes covered herein are familiar, but many aren't. At least not to me. But then I'm more of an ground warfare freak than a air war type guy. Some of the images have sparked an interest  that might lead me to build something different. But then again, perhaps I should concentrate on all the stuff I already have in hand?

Heinkel He 50.

Of all the books I've been reading and reviewing recently, this one's certainly not amongst my favourite. I have been getting more into aircraft of late. But even so, this is perhaps a little too specialised and a little too dry for me. Still, it's always nice to have more pics in the library!