My name is Michael and I live in Exeter, Devon, UK. I am 62 years young, and an avid scale modeller and on this site I am primarily going to display some of my creations. I have been modelling for many years, mostly 1/48, 1/72 scale aircraft from various manufacturers and 1/35 armour models, mostly of the Second World War. Below are some examples of my finished models. Please feel free to comment on the site. It is my intention in time to add other categories regarding my other interests particularly on the themes of war and East European studies.
Regarding the latter, I should like to point to a book I have written about my Father, who was Ukrainian, and which first appeared in print about 17 years ago (see below). It is called ‘God Save Me From My Friends. Memoir of a Ukrainian Exile’ and I have recently brought out a revised and updated edition in e-format (Kindle) which is now available on Amazon. I was able to use new information in a book published in Ukraine in 2019 (including new photos see below) to give more specific details about events, places and personalities mentioned in my Father’s biography. It has been greatly satisfying to be able at last to ‘tie up a few loose ends’ as my TV hero detective Columbo would say! I may in time add a separate page or post which gives more background to my Father’s story. Any feedback is greatly appreciated. There are links in the book.
Two of the new photos in e-book
The book can be read on tablet, Amazon Fire or smart phone. If you don’t own a Kindle, a free updated version of Kindle reader can be downloaded from Amazon or the Google play store.
Some examples from my modelling collection:
‘No soldier ever really survives a war…’
‘War is the continuation of politics by other means’
‘…the object of war is always to be in a better position to wage another war’
‘Older men declare war. But it is youth that must fight and die.’
