Occasionally, a movie slips by us that we never expected, and USS Indianapolis is just that flick. Based upon the real-life exploits of the US Navy cruiser USS Indianapolis, the film traces the final voyage of the ship towards the end of WWII, from its successful mission to take components for the atomic bomb to a forward operating base, to its sinking at the hands of a Japanese sub, and the ignominious fate thereafter. Starring Nicholas Cage as Captain McVay, the commander of the USS Indianapolis, look for the film to reach theaters around the middle of November.
Films in Focus
Product Spotlight: Spock’s Jellyfish
“Live long and prosper.”
– Science Officer Spock, USS Enterprise NCC1701
The Jellyfish was a late-24th century starship commissioned by the Vulcan Science Academy for the transport of red matter. It was described as being “our fastest ship” and featured a rotating tail section.
After the ship’s commissioning in 2387, Ambassador Spock piloted the Jellyfish during his attempt to save the Milky Way Galaxy from destruction by a massive supernova before it destroyed the planet Romulus. Spock used the Jellyfish to inject red matter into the supernova, resulting in the creation of a black hole that absorbed the nova. While the plan succeeded, Spock was unfortunately too late to stop the nova from destroying Romulus.
As Spock was attempting to depart, he was intercepted by the Romulan mining vessel Narada, and both ships were pulled into the black hole. The Narada emerged from the tunnel through space-time in 2233 and was the catalyst for the alternate reality, whereas the Jellyfish exited the black hole twenty-five years later. Upon capture by Nero, the ship was stored inside the Narada. Nero later ordered the use of the red matter aboard the seized ship to destroy the planet Vulcan.
The ship was destroyed when the younger Commander Spock of the alternate reality was able to retrieve the ship and piloted it on a collision course with the Narada, igniting the red matter inside. Spock survived the collision and was beamed aboard the USS Enterprise at the last moment.
Precision Model Art Takes the High Road this Winter
Precision Model Art (PMA) has undergone some changes of late, but that doesn’t mean their quality has suffered or their lineup has been affected. As several new items arrive this month, we’ve also learned that a bunch of other products are in the wings, proving they are in it for the long haul against some of the more entrenched players with wider assortments.
Expected in January are two new renditions of the 88mm FLaK gun – one painted in a desert camouflage pattern (P0311) and the other in a winter livery (P0313). Also on the docket are two 5-man WWII era figure sets containing German soldiers in varying poses (P0401 and P0402). While the PMA products are a bit pricier than their competition, its important to keep in mind that they offer far more detail and craftsmanship, thereby warranting the higher coinage. For instance, the 88mm guns come with ammo crates and the gun itself can be configured to either a towed or firing position. Look for these and other new items to roll in this January.
The Russians are Coming…and Keep on Coming
While available in Russia for the last couple of years, it wasn’t until today that our distributor announced that the Eaglemoss range of Red Army Soldiers of World War II would be made available to comrades elsewhere. Twenty seven 1:32 scale soldiers comprise the series, all hand painted and pre posed and cutting across all ranks, titles and job duties. Look for the human wave assault some time in January.
The Cold War Anew?: Russia Revives the KGB in the Form of the MGB
News out of Russia seems to be getting more and more dire by the day, as hard line members have seemingly gained control over the Duma, the lower house of parliament, taking three-quarters of its 450 seats, its largest ever majority. And, according to the UK Telegraph, Russia plans to shake-up its security forces, reviving an old organization that conjures up the darkest days of the Cold War.
“[The] MGB (Ministry of State Security), would be created from the current Federal Security Service (FSB), and would incorporate the foreign intelligence service (SVR) and the state guard service (FSO), under the plans.
It would be handed all-encompassing powers once possessed by the KGB, the Kommersant newspaper said, citing security service sources.
Like the much-feared KGB, it would also oversee the prosecutions of Kremlin critics, a task currently undertaken by the Investigative Committee, headed by Alexander Bastrykin, a former university classmate of President Putin. The Kremlin has not commented.
The MGB is not a new designation. It was the name of the state security apparatus for eight years during Joseph Stalin’s bloody rule. It was renamed the KGB after Stalin’s death, and disbanded in 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, when its powers were distributed among a number of newly-created security services.” This all comes less than 24 hours after taking a majority stake of the Duma.
The history of the MGB is as feared as its role in the former Soviet Union. The MGB was just one of many incarnations of the Soviet State Security apparatus. Since the revolution, the Bolsheviks relied on a strong political police or security force to support and control their regime. During the Russian Civil War, the Cheka were in power, relinquishing it to the less violent State Political Directorate (GPU) in 1922 after the fighting was over. The GPU was then renamed The People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) in 1934. From the mid-1930s and until the creation of the KGB, this “Organ of State Security” was re-organized and renamed multiple times depending on the needs and fears of the leadership. In 1941, the state-security function was separated from the NKVD and became the People’s Commissariat for State Security (NKGB), only to be reintegrated a few months later during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. In 1943, the NKGB was once again made into an independent organization in response to the Soviet occupation of parts of Eastern Europe. SMERSH—anecdotally derived from a phrase translated as “Death to Spies”—which was designed to be a counter-intelligence unit within the Red Army to ensure the loyalty of the army personnel. Following the end of the war, both the NKVD and the NKGB were converted to ministries and redubbed the Ministry for Internal Affairs (MVD) and the Ministry for State Security (MGB). The MGB and MVD merged again in 1953, orchestrated by Lavrenty Beria, who was then arrested and executed. The KGB took on the mantle of the NKGB/ MGB and, in 1954, broke off from the reformed MVD.
Tom Hanks Puts to Sea
No stranger to World War II, it would appear as if renowned actor, Tom Hanks, will once again turn back the hands of time and set his sights on yet another aspect of the Second World War. A number of sources are reporting that Hanks is writing and intends to headline in a naval-themed drama entitled Greyhound, which is based on a destroyer prowling the Atlantic Ocean in search of deadly U-boats. Deadline first reported on this project, which will center on a longtime Naval officer who finally gets to command his own Navy destroyer in World War II. He must fight off his own demons and self-doubts to prove to himself that he belongs in command, while an enemy commander is going through a similar experience. The title of the movie is taken from the name of the ship itself. The budget for the drama is reportedly set at around $35 million, although its not clear at present if this will be developed as a feature film similar in concept to Saving Private Ryan, or created as a multi-part cable series more akin to Band of Brothers or The Pacific.
Product Spotlight: “Dolfo”
“As England, in spite of her hopeless situation, still shows no sign of willingness to come to terms, I have decided to prepare, and if necessary to carry out, a landing operation against her. The aim of this operation os to eliminate the English Motherland as a base from which the war against Germany can be continued, and, if necessary, to occupy the country completely.”
– Fuhrer Directive No. 16, announcing Unternehmen Seelowe (Operation Sea Lion), the invasion of England, July 16th, 1940
Hobby Master’s second 1:48 scale look at the Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter is nearing its operational readiness date, and this one is ever-so-important to historians and collectors alike. HA8702 portrays Oberstleutnant Adolf Galland’s Bf-109E fighter, when he was attached to Jagdgeschwader 26 “Schlageter”, then deployed to Audembert, France, June 1940.
Undoubtedly one of the best known Bf 109Es of them all, Galland’s famous E-4/N was marked with Kommodore markings, 57 victory bars on the rudder and the familiar black and white mouse personal emblem. But the writing was on the wall for this aircraft by December 1940. Having scored an additional three kills with it, Galland then received a new Bf 109E-0, and proceeded to fly both types from Brest in early 1941. The Bf 109Es scope protuding from the windscreen was not a telescopic sight, but just a straightforward telescope, which enabled Galland to identify between friend and foe at a greater range.
Modelcollect Hints at Grander Things to Come
During a recent visit to their website, Modelcollect has not only revamped the look and feel of their store, but also added some intriguing morsels of information. Under their “Model” link, they have two new pre-assembled categories being shown: one for warships and a second for aircraft. A 1:72 scale B-52 Stratofortress heavy bomber is shown under their “Kits” link, so its entirely possible that a pre-assembled version could be in the offing. Obviously, an aircraft of this size will come with a matching price tag, and require a great deal of bookshelf real estate to properly display. Thus far, the “Kits” link does not show any warships available for pre-order, so its anyone’s guess where they will focus their energies, efforts and overall design goals going forward.
Films in Focus: Hacksaw Ridge, Dunkirk, Anthropoid, Allied and Ghost Army
Seventy years after the conflict ended, there still seems to be no shortage of WWII-inspired films based on true events. Scheduled to open in theaters on November 4th is Hacksaw Ridge, which follows the exploits of Desmond Doss, the first conscientious objector to ever earn the Congressional Medal of Honor. According to Variety, “The film, directed by Mel Gibson, is set during the bloody Battle of Okinawa when Doss saved 75 men without carrying a weapon on the battlefield. Doss, a Seventh-day Adventist who didn’t believe in killing, even in times of war, was the only American soldier in WWII to fight on the frontlines without a weapon.
Set to open in July 2017 is Dunkirk, a Christopher Nolan film, which examines the hasty evacuation of Allied forces from the continent of Europe in May 1940, following their rout by the Wehrmacht as they marched towards the sea. Set on location in Dunkirk, France, principal photography commenced on May 23rd, 2016; in the months following, production will proceed in Urk, Netherlands, Swanage and Weymouth in Dorset, United Kingdom and Los Angeles, United States. In the course of shooting, Dunkirk operates under the codename “Bodega Bay”. The film is being shot on a combination of IMAX 65mm and 65mm large format film stock. Nolan reconditioned actual warships for the shoot, including the French Navy destroyer Maillé-Brézé, and reportedly spent US$5 million of the budget on a vintage aircraft so as to attach it with IMAX cameras before crashing it on-screen.
And then there’s Anthropoid, which is based on the true story of two Czechoslovak soldiers who sent to assassinate the head of the SS in 1942. SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich was the Reich’s number three and main architect of the Final Solution.
Allied is a Robert Zememckis film set in 1942, starring Max (Brad Pitt), a French-Canadian spy, who falls in love and marries a French agent Marianne (Marion Cotillard), after a mission in Casablanca. Max is notified that Marianne is likely a Nazi spy and begins to investigate her. Allied is set to debut on November 23rd.
Further down-the-road is Warmer Brothers’ Ghost Army, which is based on Rick Beyer and Elizabeth Sayles’ non-fiction book The Ghost Army Of World War II: How One Top-Secret Unit Deceived The Enemy with Inflatable Tanks, Sound Effects, And Other Audacious Fakery. Produced by award-winning actor, Bradley Cooper, and likely featuring him in it as well, the film isn’t slated to open until late 2017. According to Entertainment, “The story follows the true events of a top-secret group of artists and designers—”Cecil B. DeMille warriors,” as they were called—recruited to fool the Nazis during World War II. Using diversions such as inflatable tanks, phony radio traffic, and dummy soldiers, the troops managed to save thousands of Allied lives by tricking the enemy into thinking their flimsy ghost army was the real thing.”
A similarly conceived film tackling the subject of the Ghost Army was released a few years ago and is available on both Netflix and Amazon Prime, so it will be interesting to see how a new version, coming hot-on-the-heels of the first movie, can offer new insight on the master deception.
Is There a Flogger in Your Future?
At long last, images have finally surfaced for Hobby Master’s upcoming 1:72 scale MiG 23 Flogger fighter. The variable-geometry swing wings are clearly in evidence, as is the opening canopy, weapons loadout and seated pilot figure.
Expected in July, with more schemes and variants no doubt waiting in the wings, ahem, it looks like another war winner has sauntered into the Hobby Master stable.
