Every so often we get snake bitten by a new film that seemingly comes out of nowhere, one that deserves mention since it sheds light on some of the lesser known aspects of World War II that few care to recall. A play on words, Land of Mine is an award-winning foreign film that tells the tale of a post-war Europe, where two thousand German soldiers turned prisoners were forced to remove, by hand, several million land mines that were sewn into the Danish beaches to prevent a seaborne invasion. Many of the German soldiers were actually young boys in the flower of their youth, called upon to clean up the mess that their older brethren had caused during the occupation of Denmark. For more information on the film, Wikipedia discusses their tale in greater detail: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_of_Mine
February 9, 2017
Luft-X Turns Dreams Into Reality
We’ve all seen the documentaries and read the books concerning some of the incredible Wunderwaffe projects the German military planners were working on towards the end of the war. Some projects were nothing more than conjecture in nature, while others pointed to the usage of advanced technology that was still in its infancy yet seemed to hold promise as war-winning weapons.
One such project was the attempt to create a “flying saucer”, employing non-traditional propulsion and radical shapes to overcome some of the hurdles designers faced when building new platforms. The Haunebu 1, as it was known, was the first example of this, which attempted to demonstrate the supposed advantages of utilizing a circular, bell-shaped model over the more commonly excepted cigar-shaped designs using wings for lift and control surfaces for maneuver.
Luft-X is paying deference to this radical approach to flying with its upcoming 1:72 scale Haunebu 1 flying saucer, tentatively scheduled for a May liftoff (LUFT010). Composed of resin, this highly-secretive replica boasts three ball-shaped turrets embedded in the base of the aircraft, accurate markings and insignia and all the hallmark features and detail we’ve come to expect from this exciting series. Astute collectors will note that neither LUFT008 nor LUFT009 have thus far been announced by the manufacturer, meaning two more additions to the Luft-X series aren’t far behind.
