I have an inordinate interest in the machinery of World War II. Either that or I am deeply into my second or third childhood. As I sit at my computer here at work, on my right are shelves of die cast collectible WW II propeller-driven aircraft, my favorite being a B-17G Flying Fortress, which must weight at least 4 pounds in 1/48 inch scale.On glass shelving to my left is my collection of 1/32 inch scale WWII tracked vehicles, most of which are from an outstanding purveyor of die cast: "Forces of Valor", manufactured, of course, in China. The vehicle you see pictured is one that has finally gone into production -- one that I have watched and waited for on the Net, the M5A Stuart "Scout Tank". I can tell you what its armament is, what its top speed is, in which theatre of war it saw the most action, blah, blah, blah. I rationalize it in that it is a good thing for an old man to have hobbies. I could be into ski masks, revolvers, and Kwik Trips.
Jay Moore, upon visiting my little home-away-from-home exclaimed: "My God! You're a war-like little bastard, ain't ya?
Take it from me, I am much more fascinated by the machinery of war than war itself.
What's really weird is that last night I was watching Clint Eastwood's "Kelly's Heros" and naming all the vehicles, both German and American. I was impressed because somewhere they had rounded up three working German Tiger tanks, or at least working facsimiles thereof.
Now I am tryng to figure out how I can put my collections to use in the public schools. It would be fun to go in to a history class that was covering WWII. I could give a really good demonstration/information talk on both tracked vehicles and propeller-driven aircraft.
_______________________________________________________
