The Little World

Can be absolute truth, malicious nonsense, or anything in between.

When your scale model building intersects with public knowledge, you would do well to determine exactly which sort you have. I have built glaring mistakes, and made a good job of them, too, based upon what everyone knows. In most cases, even if everyone agrees, someone will finally come up with definitive proof and my great build gets put under the table.

The best counter to any of this is information. Whether it is photographic, illustrative, or written, look for as many sources as you can, and do not just rely on general opinion or the box art. That drawing was put on the top to get you to give the shop money. You did, but that doesn’t make it accurate.

Beware, as well, the imaginative artist who really likes the look of something and transposes it onto something else. There is a website devoted to extremely well-done what-ifs of all kinds of aircraft in all sorts of livery – I believe it is entitled ” BEYOND THE SPRUES “. The author/artist is a good writer, too…the drawings are accompanied by plausible service tales. I damn near fell for one imaginary scheme as it would have given me a favourite plane in a favourite air force. However, it never existed.

To peer into the abyss for a moment…if a person decided to build to this sort of information regardless they could have a collection as original and amusing as any on the planet. They would have to start early and be consistent and be able to serve more waffle than Smitty’s Pancake House on a cold morning.

It’s too late for me, but there is nothing stopping you from lacquered damnation.