Most of you know the mechanices of war. You read about it, you peruse the pictures, you, or at least some of you even attempt to understand the mind or the mind set of a combatant. Right!! With such knowledge you attempt to recreate a particular event or a known historical occurance. Hard as hell if you wern't there ain't it? And some will say maybe Not? Some of you may even know of the Horror. Do you really? ME? Been there. Building models has helped me recreate a time when it was just a concept, something my elders did and we kids revelled in their exploits. A time I could look at with a childs eyes, not the reality of it. To night I realized that I was trying to recreate that. A childs view of war as told to him by his father. But I, my friend, have my OWN memories. Ones, the same actually I realize now, my father didn't care to share. The smell, the sound. Recreate this, recreate the true reality. No one will come to see it. No one will care to see it.

Your in a contemplative mood I see.

Jim

I think it is impossible to recreate the reality. I haven't experienced the reality of war, and I give thanks to you and your comrades for ensuring that I haven't had to. Meanwhile we recreate a sanitized view of what we imagine certain events MAY have been like.
Thanks.
Roger

Why on earth would you want to recreate war in every detail? There is no purpose to this, since often the reality of war is beyond understanding to even those who experience it. To truly recreate it, you would have to duplicate the horror and and raw brutality and fear and death in each of your viewers. I don't know if even the best of us could duplicate these things. I wouldn't be able to show such a thing to anyone I care about, especially my children

My purpose is not to duplicate the reality of war, but to give a sense, evoke a feeling or a memory (for those that have been there), or to show the things that interest me or influence the way things go. For me the machines, techniques, and conduct of war are interesting, but not the war itself.

For dioramas, of interest to me is the human moments that make up the bright points and dark shadows of war. Two recent dioramas featured here (The Breakout, and the one with the French truck blocking the road) illustrate this. The effect for one is haunting, the other is (hopefully) admiration for the subtle ways that evil can be resisted by even the weaker. In no way do they recreate 'war' but they allow us a glimpse of what makes war terrible and grand.

Just my 4 Konvertible Fennigs (~2 cents at current exchange).

As a young man straight out of High School I wanted to serve my country. I was in the process of getting into the Air Force, when an accident disquified me. I shattered my arm. I didn't want to go in for "the glory of war". I wanted in because I felt it was my duty to my country, and a way to repay those who served before me so that I could enjoy the Freedoms I have today.

I've always had a keen interest in History, esp the history of war from WWI on. When I started building Models last year, I was naturaly drawn to the vehicles of war, and I combined my interest in history with my models and started building the planes and vehicles of WWII.

I don't even begin to understand what a person goes through in combat. I don't think anyone who wasn't there can truly understand. Recently I meet a WWII vet who wanted to look at my M3 Halftrack, he is a freindly person who is respected in his community, my wife has known him for quite a while and says he is a gentle man. He told me a story about how he was riding in a Halftrack one time and the small convoy he was in was jumped by germans. He said he was on the .50 cal and he fired the gun till the attack was over, and when he stopped the barrel just drooped because he had gotten so hot. He had no regrets over killing them because he was doing his job and it was them or him. But I am sure he does not tell all of the story when he tells it because not many people want to know everything and those that were there surly don't want to tell everything they felt and did in war.

Wars are well documented in the history books, but those involved in combat have their own memories of it that cannot be found in the history books. Only those who where there can relate individualy.

I have another story that has to relate to history and war that involves the younger generation that is just turning 18 now.

About 3 years ago my brother-in-law took his family to Washington D.C. One of their stops was the Holocaust Musuem there. When they returned I asked them how it was. The older girl who was almost 16 at the time said to me "I don't know why they need a Museum about it because its over with now so why don't they just forget about it now and let it drop." I looked at her and said.. "its there so we don't forget because when we do, it could be allowed to happen again."

So some of the reasons I model the stuff of war, is it is a way to learn about it and a way to keep the memories and interest in the history that came before us alive.

So to those who are Vets and to those who have served or are serving in the armed forces, I thank you for the Freedoms I enjoy.

here, here del! good point in deed. As a sailor in the USN i feel the same as most and ask why anyone would truely try to model war. why would we want to build grotesque seens to mock humanity. I was on deployment in 2000 when the USS Cole got hit by terrorists. our ship tha Donald Cook was assigmed the task of rescue and assistance for her. i don't want to build a model of the terror, i can't rebuild the smell of rot, and i don't care to. but think of this and think good and hard. i have built armour since i was 16 (I'm 28 now) and before witnessing the carnage and loss of life that is war I built great combat dios. now after i build them at ease. a tank crew oogling a girl, or even the loader settong a date with her. gi's playing baseball with kids in a sandlot. that type of thing. i think if i want to remember the COLE i would built not the damage or even the reconstuction. i would and plan to build my first day there. the rhib boat pulling up the dolphin and smilling faces of thanks and hope staring back at us. the Cole sailor sitting on our mess decks watching FOOTBALL drinking coffee, or even the Sailor who gave me his cot after my 8 hours in main 2 tring to stop oil blacked sea water from flooding out another space. those acts of kindness, hope and generosity in the face of adversity are what i build now, not the act of war but the respite in between acts of in humanity. good hunting and good luck stug