It is the nature of war that the cessation of hostilities seldom means resolution for many of the participants or their survivors. What we now call "post-traumatic stress disorder" dogs many veterans of every war long after the shooting stops, and those MIA - "Missing In Action" - haunt their families as long as a memory remains to remember those lost.
"Closure" is a peculiar trait in the human species. Burial rituals exist to provide closure to survivors, reassuring them that their loved ones are really dead and have gone on to a better place. In the absence of tangible remains, uncertainty and hope battle in its place; gnawing uncertainty that the missing will ever be found alive and undying hope that they will indeed be found alive.
Occasionally that hope, against all odds and rational sense, prevails. Thirty, forty and even fifty years after the end of World War II, a ragged Japanese soldier would emerge out of the jungle like a living wraith to remind the world that fervently wished for miracles do occur.
But that result is so very rare. Typically any resolution is a confirmation of the worst fears a family can have.
The "Lady Be Good" was one such example. An American B-24D Liberator heavy bomber flying with the 514th Bomb Squadron, 576th Bomb Group - known as the "Liberandos" - the Lady flew from her base in Libya on 4 April 1943 to bomb targets in Naples, Italy. She never returned. Assumed lost in the Mediterranean Sea, the crew was classified as MIA and the families left to wonder and hope against all hope.
In 1958 the Lady was spotted from an airborne petroleum company survey aircraft nearly intact and 440 miles inland in the Libyan desert. When a recovery crew from Wheelus Air Force Base, then an American installation on the coast of Libya, reached the wreckage they found that the radio still worked, food and water were on board and drinkable tea was found in a thermos. But there was no sign of the crew.
A search was later initiated and eventually the remains of five of the crew were found in 1960 eighty miles north of the wreck site. Additional searches recovered two more crew remains, also in 1960, one 20 miles and another 27 miles further north. An eighth crew member was never formally found or identified, although it's possible his remains could have discovered in 1953 by a British patrol and buried in the desert. The ninth and last crewman was never accounted for.
The resulting investigation concluded the plane's Automatic Direction Finder broke during the mission. The crew asked for a heading back to base, missed the flares and other attempts to guide planes back home and overshot the coast by over 400 miles. The crew, seeing the sand dunes at night, thought they were still over the Med and bailed out. The Lady flew on for another 16 miles by herself and landed in the desert.
Eight of the nine crew members were able to regroup and, thinking they were near the coast, decided to walk out. They shared a single canteen of water for eight days, making a trek of eighty miles in 100 degree-plus heat, before five could not continue. Three pressed on, the last dying alone 27 miles beyond his comrades.
The last days of the crew of Lady Be Good were recounted in the journal of the co-pilot. The tragic end suffered by the men could not have brought comfort to the families, but it did bring closure.
For those of us of a certain age - or those who study the history of World War II aviation, the saga of Lady Be Good is well known and of near-mythological status. It is no surprise that someone would take up the challenge of capturing that incident in a diorama.
This presentation was extremely well done. I have seen several photos of the crash site and this is a remarkable accurate representation of the remains.
This is not the first diorama of the Lady Be Good, nor will it likely be the last. And rightly so. As long as someone remembers their sacrifice, the crew of the Lady will live on in the memories of a new generation. War has severe consequences and should not be undertaken lightly. It is the lesson we must continually learn, it seems, but it is the least we can do for those who serve and die, and the families who are left behind with uncertainty and impossible hope.
My mother always wanted me to build a sailing ship model. When I was in high school she bought me the big Revell kit of the USS Constitution. At one point I even started it, and did pretty good with the hull, captain's quarters and gun decks. What did me in was the sails and rigging. To me it was as tedious and mind-numbing a job as there was. I finally gave it up and retreated to my first love, airplanes.
In the world of airplane modeling, biplanes and other multi-winged aircraft probably come the closest to the trauma of sailing ships with their plethora of wing wires. Early aircraft were fragile things and boasted a host of struts and wires that helped give the wings rigidity. But they are a bear to put on.
I've never tried rigging a biplane before. Fortunately my interests are primarily from 1930 onwards, but at some point I probably will try my hand at it. There are some early multi-winged types that I do want to build someday.
With that in mind, it is always instructive and awe inspiring to me to view a well-rigged airplane model. This is one of them.
The Caproni Ca-3 was one of the world's first heavy bombers, making its combat debut on 20 August 1915 with the Italian air force in World War I, almost exactly 95 years ago. Like its contemporaries, it featured open cockpits, fabric surfaces and lots and lots of struts and wires.
There was a limited run kit of the Ca-3 by Miekraft. I'm not sure if this is it, but it certainly could be. Even so it looks like there were several enhancements made to the model during construction. It is one fine job and many people there thought for sure it would take Best of Show. It's one of those showstopper type models that some people do to vie for the top award.
But as I mentioned in an earlier post, I voted for the Kraken. Nevertheless, this is a beautiful job and well worth winning whatever awards it could garner. It's almost enough to make one try World War I aircraft...almost.
I will close out the figures part of the IPMS Nationals with a few of the many excellent pieces that caught my eye. Certainly this bust of Wolverine from Marvel Comics' X-Men is a stellar example of the quality of craftsmanship out there. I don't know if this is a kit, but the sculptor did a magnificent job of capturing Wolverine's ferocity. The modeler's finishing job of painting, coloring and shadowing was equally outstanding. I thought the glare of the ceiling light on the other side of the curtain made for a cool image. I was very happy with the resulting photo. 
I particularly liked the finish on the werewolf's tongue in the above piece! It looked so real. And the drool was nicely disgusting, too. Again, I don't know if this was a kit and how much was the original sculptor or how much was the modeler, but the end result is amazing.
King Kong was another nicely finished figure. The little Fay Wray was well done, too.
Every convention has to have the perquisite "Chick-in-Chain-Mail" entry in the figures contest. It's a Science-Fiction/Fantasy staple and since the majority of modelers are male, models of scantily clad Amazon women are a staple, too. While there is something totally illogical about going into combat in a metal bikini, it is nice to look at. In retrospect I suppose it makes about as much sense as the Picts painting themselves blue and fight naked. I know what I'd prefer to look at....
Historical figures are very much a staple of IPMS conventions. There are lots and lots of plastic, resin or metal figures available (one of the few exceptions to the "majority plastic composition" rule IPMS) covering virtually the entire range of human history. The Spartan Hoplite (above) and the armored knight (below) are but two examples.
I hope you all enjoyed the figure round-up. Next we'll look at some aircraft models.
Once again I took a longer hiatus than I intended. I was off to the IPMS (International Plastic Modelers Society) 2010 National Convention held in Phoenix, AZ in early August. When I returned I had an article I had to write for the Engineering Department's internal magazine and so that occupied more of my time. Then I needed a break from all the activity!
But I am back and loaded with photos from the model contest. I will not bore you with too many images from that contest, I hope, but some models do stand out and I will cover them in the next few installments.
Oddly enough, it wasn't an aircraft that I thought deserved Best of Show. It was this figures diorama that to me encompassed not only the consummate skills of a superb modeler, but the creativity of a mad scientist and the imagination of an artist.
Unfortunately the model covered up the title of the piece - assuming it even had a one - and the modeler's name was not written down either (of course not - it was a contest). I do know the modeler was a young Asian kid from Berkeley, CA, and I had a chance to briefly talk to him. I'll post his name when I find out who he is, hopefully when IPMS/USA posts the contest results on their webpage.
Nevertheless I do know the central element of his diorama is the Kraken (Octopus). The arms are sculpted and were carefully placed in position to dry. The other figures were modified and mounted on an "oil rig platform." It is also lit with battery-powered LEDs.
The whole scene has a strong "steam-punk" element to it and he confirmed that the genre was an influence, but not wholly so. Take a look at the following images and marvel, like I did, at his inventiveness and incredible modeling ability. Capturing a natural-looking human posture, with all it's subtle nuances, is extremely difficult, as is realistic figure painting and weathering. And the Kraken ain't bad, too (note the eyes in the last photo)! That young kid did it all with this vignette and it held me in awe. I hope you enjoy his work, as well.
It is the nature of war that the cessation of hostilities seldom means resolution for many of the participants or their survivors. What we now call "post-traumatic stress disorder" dogs many veterans of every war long after the shooting stops, and those MIA - "Missing In Action" - haunt their families as long as a memory remains to remember those lost.
For those of us of a certain age - or those who study the history of World War II aviation, the saga of Lady Be Good is well known and of near-mythological status. It is no surprise that someone would take up the challenge of capturing that incident in a diorama.
