"The Star of Africa" (1 Viewer)

[wayne556517]

 

[villagehorse]

Like the film unit, bet they only shoot the good bits nothing bad, otherwise they would be shot.^&grin,
Robin.

 

[ivanmoe]

Like the film unit, bet they only shoot the good bits nothing bad, otherwise they would be shot.^&grin,
Robin.

Hi Robin,

A big part of what I find so fascinating about JG27, circa 1942, was its marketability. The propaganda guys in Berlin were determined to leverage the exploits of Steinhausen, Stahlschmidt and Marseille for propaganda purposes. Gifted pilots as they may have been, all three were dead by October of 1942. Other important figures in the unit, "Edu" Neumann for example, survived the war. Just goes to show, as Jefferson said, "the most truthful part of the newspapers are the advertisments." :wink2:

 

[waynepoo]

At first I thought this was about a ship called the 'Star of Africa' but no it's about some German bloke....:wink2:

Wayne.

 

[ivanmoe]

At first I thought this was about a ship called the 'Star of Africa' but no it's about some German bloke....:wink2:

Wayne.

Hi Wayne,

Got the book on my shelf too. While it's written by an yank, I'm not sure that he's critical enough in his approach to Marseille. A cynic could view it as an attempt to rehabilitate the guy, or perhaps even an attempt to turn the book into a Spielberg movie. Who knows? Marseille was obviously a gifted pilot, and that's all that really matters to me. See my <sig> for confirmation.

 

[TomNT]

At first I thought this was about a ship called the 'Star of Africa' but no it's about some German bloke....:wink2:
Wayne.

and you were surprised by this how mate!! ^&grin

Only stirring and Wayno mate (Wayne WA that is), nice little scene once again.

Tom

 

[waynepoo]

Hi Wayne,

Got the book on my shelf too. While it's written by an yank, I'm not sure that he's critical enough in his approach to Marseille. A cynic could view it as an attempt to rehabilitate the guy, or perhaps even an attempt to turn the book into a Spielberg movie. Who knows? Marseille was obviously a gifted pilot, and that's all that really matters to me. See my <sig> for confirmation.

I had never heard of the bloke as my interest is only on the allied side of things as far WW2 goes so I can't make a fair comment, I really did think it was about a ship so I googled the reference and found the book cover, you learn something new every day as they say.....:wink2:
Wayne.

 

[waynepoo]

and you were surprised by this how mate!! ^&grin

Only stirring and Wayno mate (Wayne WA that is), nice little scene once again.

Tom

Your right mate, it was only ever going to be something German, one day I'll find a grey German army butcher in the desert picture......^&grin:rolleyes2:
Wayne.

 

[Guy]

Interesting litte scene Wayne, I do like the news reel crew
guy

 

[Guy]

I do have the original German film from 1957 about Marseille. He totalled 158 victories .17 allied planes shot down in one day , that's the reason why he was called the "Star of Arfrica" or the "Eagle of the Desert". He was very arrogant and reckless and for these reasons had numerous confrontations with his fellow pilots and officers
guy

 

[WesternOutlaw]

Wayne, I always enjoy your N. Africa images and was instantly drawn to this topic upon seeing the name. I like how you incorporated the news crew into the scene, great idea in fact.

Yellow 14 is one of my favorite planes by K&C. I like the color and the detail, although I must admit that I'm not overly impressed with the quality of my Hans-Joachim.

My Yellow 14 - although I always have a difficult time photographing airplanes (background was wrong for this picture)

I like the focus in this picture:

Neat to see the old movie picture/cover as well. Love this stuff!

 

[ivanmoe]

I like the color and the detail, although I must admit that I'm not overly impressed with the quality of my Hans-Joachim.

It might have been better had the figure been rendered fully-clothed. I suggest that because Marseille was very, very slender. I'm talking "concentration-camp" skinny:

Hans is the guy in the middle. While he's actually been rendered numerous times in metal, the sculptors are invariably too generous with his physique. Even when he's depicted as "thin," the castings give more definition and muscle to him than is really warranted. The obvious answer is to fully clothe poor Hans, as he looks a lot more substantial in his flight gear:

Of course, the majority of his "K" were in the summer of 1942. Hence, the apparent determination to depict him in shorts!

 

[WesternOutlaw]

It might have been better had the figure been rendered fully-clothed. I suggest that because Marseille was very, very slender. I'm talking "concentration-camp" skinny

Ouch! I see what you mean. I would have expected this from Rommel's Taxi pilot, this figure (judging by the size):

My Hans figure is just so "blotchy", sort of roughly painted and sculptured, unlike the smooth finishes and paint on a figure like Kesselring:

The Yellow 14; however, is a beautiful aircraft.

 

[ivanmoe]

By KC standards, the Marseille figure is actually "slight" of build, and more slender than most of its cohorts:

I'd also note that the figure has some nice detail on it, the medals and such. Like I said, however, it's just difficult to render Marseille in anything like a realistic fashion. Had KC managed to do so, the reaction to the emaciated looking figure would likely have been, "you've got to be kidding us!" BTW, Marseille was quite the sex-symbol back in Germany, receiving bags full of scented-letters from frauleins looking for love in all the wrong theaters.:wink2:

Earlier in the thread, a poster mentioned that he was something of a bad actor. This certainly appears to have been the case, given his personal behavior and lack of military bearing. He got away with it because his father was a general. Like bureaucrats everywhere, his different commanding officers simply put up with him until they could pawn him off on another unit. This went on until he "landed" with Neumann who recognized his talent as a "stick and rudder" maestro. The rest is, well, history.

-Moe

 

[Desertkiwi]

Your right mate, it was only ever going to be something German, one day I'll find a grey German army butcher in the desert picture......^&grin:rolleyes2:
Wayne.

Great Thread Fella's......although the immanent arrival of a 'Grey German butcher' in the desert is a concern....lock up ya camels:tongue:^&grin

 

[wayne556517]

Great Thread Fella's......although the immanent arrival of a 'Grey German butcher' in the desert is a concern....lock up ya camels:tongue:^&grin

Be safer than sheep in NZ hey cobber.......................^&grin

 

[Desertkiwi]

Be safer than sheep in NZ hey cobber.......................^&grin

....my lips are sealed....{eek3}:tongue:^&grin