Introduction
Being from Croatia, I don't want to sound biased toward Operation Storm, the military operation which was a definite turning point of the Wars in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, so instead of my own introduction, I'm citing some facts from Wikipedia:
“Operation Storm is the code name given to a large-scale military operation carried out by Croatian Armed Forces, in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to gain back control of parts of Croatia which had been claimed by separatist ethnic Serbs, since early 1991.
The operation, which lasted 84 hours, was documented as the largest European land offensive since World War II. It began shortly before dawn on 4 August 1995 and ended with a complete victory for the Croatian forces four days later. The military operations by the army continued in Bosnia-Herzegovina under Operation Mistral.
After the Srebrenica Massacre (July 1995), there were concerns over the recurrence of the massacre in the Bihać pocket area, where the population of Bosniaks was four times larger than in Srebrenica and which was surrounded and under attack by Bosnian Serb and Croatian Serb forces. Former President Bill Clinton wrote in his memoirs that he believed the Serbs could only be brought to the negotiating table if they sustained major losses on the ground. The negotiations following Operation Storm produced the Dayton Peace Agreement which ended the war in the Balkans.”
More on the Operation Storm can be found here:
Wiki Operation Storm
the book
"Storm in Miniature" exhibition was a modeling event commemorating 15th anniversary of Operation Storm with 25 selected scale models, dioramas and vignettes inspired by the Croatian War of Independence. The event was organized by
Signum Laudis, an Association for History, Art and Technical Culture Promotion on August 2010 in Knin Museum, Gallery at Knin Fortress, Church of St. Barbara. Some pictures of the models and exhibition setting can be seen here:
Signum Laudis
After Knin, the exhibition was planned to be hosted in several other Croatian cities, either with the identical setting or with addition of new exhibits and other content. The authors have a lot of ideas for expanding the event with modeling workshops and seminars which will help in promoting the hobby among younger generations, too. The latest info I received regarding "Storm in Miniature" confirms the exhibition will visit Croatian capitol, Zagreb, in October 2012.
Exhibition catalogue Storm in Miniature is a 56 page, full-color, bilingual (Croatian/English) booklet featuring scale models from the "Storm in Miniature" exhibition, but the author of this book aimed much higher... the book not only lists and presents all the models with photographs, but also gives a brief historical overview of each particular model and its role in the war. The models include:
● TAB-71 AFV - Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP RH), 1991
by Zdravko Lenac
● "Barricade" - BRDM-2 AFV - Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP RH), 1991
by Domagoj Slijepcevic
● BRDM-2 ARV - Croatian Army (HV) Military Police, outskirts of Sisak, Operation Storm, 1995
by Zdravko Lenac
● The Strasko - HIAV AFV, Torpedo - 17th Home Guard (Sunja) Regiment, Banovina 1992
by Vojislav Jereb
● "Daddy" - The Mk1 "Daddy" Improvised Armoured Vehicle - Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP RH), Novska, 1991
by Darko Zajcic
● T-34/85 Medium Tank - The Armoured Battalion of the 163rd Brigade of the Croatian Army (HV), Dubrovnik battlefield, 1992
by Tomislav Bosnjakovic
● T-34/85 Medium Tank - Operation Tiger, Armoured Battalion of the 163rd Brigade of the Croatian Army (HV), Southern battlefield, outskirts of Dubrovnik, 1992
by Darko Zajcic
● T-34/85 Medium Tank - 3rd (Imotski) Battalion of the 4th Guard Brigade of the Croatian Army (GBde HV), Operation Summer of '95, Mt. Dinara, near Glamoc, B&H,1995
by Miroslav Pavrlisek
● M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer - National Guard Corps (ZNG), Sisak battlefield, outskirts of Sunja, 1991
by Domagoj Slijepcevic
● M36 Jackson Tank Destroyer - Croatian Army (HV), 1991
by Domagoj Slijepcevic
● "Dragon" - M47 Medium Tank - "The Dragon", Croatian Army (HV), Central Dalmatia, 1992
by Darko Zajcic
● PT-76 Amphibious Tank - Operation Meastral, 1st Guard Brigade of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO), Sipovo, B&H, 1995
by Damir Scrbacic
● Chedo Eater - T-55A Medium Tank - 1st Guard (The Tigers) Brigade of the Croatian Army (HV), Stari Grabovac, 1992
by Denis Boban
● T-55A Leopard Medium Tank - 4th Armoured-Mechanised Battalion of the 4th Guard Brigade, Croatian Army (HV), Kasic, 1994
by Jurica Jurin
● "Black Butterfly" - M-84AB Medium Tank - "Black Butterfly", 1st Guard (The Tigers) Brigade of the Croatian Army (HV), 1993
by Darko Zajcic
● "On the Road to Knin" - M-84A Medium Tank - 4th Guard (The Spiders) Brigade of the by Croatian Army (HV),Southern battlefield, Operation Storm, 1995
● "101" - MiG-21bis c/n N2119 supersonic fighter-interceptor - The 101, 1st Fighter Squadron of the Croatian Air Force (HRZ), Airbase Pleso - Zagreb, 1992
by Goran Pucar
● "The Avenger of Dubrovnik" - MiG-21bis c/n N2741 supersonic fighter-interceptor - 102, 21st Fighter Squadron of the Croatian Air Force (HRZ), Airbase Pleso - Zagreb, 1993
by Roko Majica
● "107" - MiG-21bis supersonic fighter-interceptor - 107, 21st Fighter Squadron of the Croatian Air Force (HRZ), 1999
by Zaljko Pracic
● "Toothy" (The Sharkmouth) - MiG-21 UM multi-role supersonic aircraft - 22nd Fighter Squadron of the Croatian Air Force (HRZ), Airbase Pula, 1996
by Goran Pucar
● Hughes MD-500-H-452 Helicopter, Croatian Air Force (HRZ), 1995
by Vjekoslav Ranec
● Mil Mi-24V Hind Attack Helicopter - 310, 29th Attack Helicopter Squadron of the Croatian Air Force (HRZ), Airbase Pleso - Zagreb, 1994
by Goran Pucar
● "St. Donat" - Mi-8 MTV-1 Transport Helicopter - H-211 "St. Donat", 20th Transport Helicopter Squadron, Croatian Air Force (HRZ), Airbase Divulje, Split, 1995
by Damir Scrbacic
● A member of the Special Police Force, Croatian Ministry of the Interior (MUP HR), Velebit battlefield, Operation Storm, 1995
by Tihomir Bregar
● MGB-11 Kralj Petar Kresimir IV - Croatian Navy, 1995
by Zdenko Kinjerovac
The booklet also contains information about the course of the Operation Storm, a short review of Croatian military iconography, texts on Croatian Air Force and Croatian Navy during the Croatian War of Independence, some interesting information on the WW2 tanks and exotic Croatian improvised armoured vehicles used in the War, as well as a brief history of scale modeling in Croatia.
Conclusion
Although marketed as "Storm in Miniature" exhibition catalogue, this book is much more. It provides information about each of the 25 scale model displays and pictures of finished models, but also gives a historical overview of each particular model and its role in the war. The book also features texts/maps on Operation Storm and gives a brief history of scale modeling in Croatia. Although a very informative and interesting read, this large body of text has been pushed into just 56 pages of a small A5 booklet format… A larger format would definitely be welcomed for this book, as it would result in additional space for bigger and more detailed photos of the model exhibits and perhaps even some extra "in progress“ pictures.
Final facts:
56 pages, full-color, bilingual (Croatian/English), paperback, A5 format (17x24cm), 160 photographs and maps.
Available directly from Signum Laudis at:
http://www.signum-laudis.com/products/e_products.htmlor via the distributors:
Aviation & Military Book Centre
http://www.aviationbookcentre.comBlack Army Modells
http://www.blackarmymodells.com
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