In General, What is Everyone Doing?

[Don Caldwell]

Hello all --

I’m a bit slow to respond to this thread, bu it’s proved so popular that it’s almost a poll of the entire active membership. My background is similar to most of the old timers here -- a general interest in WW II and WW II aviation since childhood, focusing in on the Luftwaffe just because so much bad information was being published and republished in the 1960s and 1970s. Much of this, I found out later, was NATO officer’s club bar stories and Cold War propaganda. I decided to look for the “truth” on my own, and long before the internet was able to track down a number of veterans and tap into the network of active enthusiasts, mostly on the continent, but a few in the US (remember the Luftwaffe Circle?) I decided to turn my material into a book, got lucky and got a good contract, and have now published seven books on Luftwaffe topics – I have material for an eighth, but it’s a long time off.

It’s already been pointed out that TOCH is noteworthy for the mutual respect and helpful attitudes shown by its members. The “Flamers” were eliminated almost a decade ago, due the efforts of Ruy, John Beaman, and others. If the questions seem awfully specific -- rivet counts, paint shades, etc. -- it’s because the more general topics have been covered many times over the years, and also because young modelers probably make up the majority of the current membership. But this old timer hopes that this forum will help these youngsters develop an interest in the broader aspects of WW II history. If there’s a battle that interests you, but that you just can’t untangle, a question can easily draw a dozen or more answers – nearly all of them good.

Horrido!

Don Caldwell