Let me please introduce myself...

mark (lothar@ncw.net)
Tue, 15 Aug 1995 23:34:52 -0700

Greetings to all on the WWI mailing list - I've been reading the various
postings on this list for about 2 months now, so I thought it was time to
take the plunge and introduce myself. My name is Mark Rook, and I live in
Wenatchee, Washington. I've just recently gotten back into WWI aviation
modeling, after a prolonged absence in my teens and twenties (I'm 1/3 of a
century old now). My prefered scale is 1/48 (sorry Master Hustad, but my
eyes are bad enough already - seriously, though, I'm in awe of anyone who
can do that). So far have only done injection, but resin and vacuform sound
interesting; maybe some of you fellows could enlighten me on the
differences, etc...Recently I've done the Testors Nieuport 17 (turned out
great for such a low priced kit), and the dreaded Glencoe DIII dog plane
(not bad if you don't look too close, but sometimes I can't believe I
actually finished it). Anyway, let me throw out a couple of topics that
have been on my mind....I'd like to know what y'all think of the following:

1.) Pilot figures - I'd like to know where one could obtain pilot/ground
crew figures in 1/48. As we all know, some manufacturers don't include these
with some of their kits. To me, just as the pilot seems incomplete without
his aircraft, so the aircraft seems incomplete without the pilot. Man and
machine, plane and personality, go together, which is part of what makes WWI
aviation so interesting to us. Also - has anyone else noticed the scale
discrepancies that so commonly are associated with pilot/groundcrew figures?
Some kits I've seen look like they're being piloted by Andre the Giant,
while others look like they're being flown by six year olds. When will the
manufacturers get it right??

And now for something completely different...

2.) Turkish aviation in WWI - All i've ever learned about the role of Turkey
in WWI aviation is that the national markings were a solid black square, and
that they evidently had some EIII's on hand at some point. What other AC did
the Turks fly? What campaigns? Color schemes? Has anyone out there ever
modeled a Turkish WWI aircraft? Would like to try it myself, but I tend
toward historical accuracy, so I want to know specifics before getting
statrted....

With regards,

Mark Rook
lothar@ncw.net