I never knew, the East German communists seemed determined to out communist the Soviets. You may recall the 1961 Billy Wilder film "One, Two, Three..." and it's description of the East German Secret Police as "some were obnoxious and rude, others were rude and obnoxious."You may find this of interest. It's an actual East German communist propaganda film attempting to paint the scale modeling industry as fascist war-mongerers.A bit of backstory on myself, I'm a military brat, the son of a career enlisted avionics technician, consequently I grew up around fast jet airplanes. The military air bases were my hometown, and the jet fighters that flew from them caught my imagination.
As a young'n, I bought American manufactured model kits, slapping them together as kids do. As a teen, I discovered model clubs and adults who did a much more convincing job. Times changed and US kit makers gave way to Japanese kits. In the 80s, Korean kits became a thing. In the late 90s and early 2000s, Chinese kit were all the rage, although purists complained about accuracy issues.
Most recently, it's been former eastern bloc Warsaw Pact countries like Czechoslovakia, Poland, Russia and Ukraine.
It's not earth-shattering to most, but it's something I enjoy, just like some guys make intricate fly fishing lures, or tinker in a wood shop, I build plastic models.
Is there nothing the left won't do to throw a wet blanket on all things fun?
A bit of backstory on myself, I'm a military brat, the son of a career enlisted avionics technician, consequently I grew up around fast jet airplanes. The military air bases were my hometown, and the jet fighters that flew from them caught my imagination.It was comical to see the East Germans attack the the plastic model industry in its infancy. The video dates itself by its focus on Aurora and Lindberg, pioneers in the industry. By all accounts, Paul Lindberg was a swell guy, yet those cretins demonized him.
Lindberg outlived the East German regime by decades, © Round 2 Corp, LLC. bought the Lindberg Line molds and presses re-releases at a prolific rate. Currently, only a few Hobbylinc.com carries some 40 to 50 Lindberg kit because their nostalgic value and some of their 1/48th scale 1950s jet kits are still the best available for those particular subjects and, with some skill and elbow grease, the can be turned into a fantastic model.
Lindberg started something with those "Lindy Loony" kits. Officially, Lindberg and Aurora went out of business in the early 1970s but their molds were bought out by current companies like Atlantis, Polar Lights and they've been reproducing many of those kits for a few years.
I was once a member of IPMS USA, contrary to popular opinion, it does not stand for I Pity My Self, it's International Plastic Modelers Society. I had to drop my membership because I only rarely got a day off from work, now that I'm retired I may rejoin. I found a rather lengthy video of the 2023 convention contest in San Marcos Texas. Hosted by IPMS USA Alamo Squadron, it ran the gamut of subject matter mostly made from the wide assortment of kits available.
One can only wonder what the East German communists woulda thought about that video, though some of the model shows in their own backyard can be even more outrageous...
Statistics: Posted by Kommissar Uberdave — 5/12/2024, 2:37 pm