How many of you
have taken your Bf-109 model and got in a tail chase and made the gun sounds?
Come on be a man and admit it. Maybe
that is why I like the Bf-109 so much because I saw so many being shot down over
the years.
This DVD from
Victory Films highlights all the excitement that fighter pilots and bomber crews
experienced during WWII, without all the danger.
You are able to sit down and analyze the engagement.
You can see a Me-262 and a Me-163 in the cross hairs of allied fighters
and in color. The video is in both
color and black and white.
There is film
of fighters both allied and axis taking off in a prelude to combat.
The time frame is hit or miss in that there are videos of Bf-109Es, and
Me-262s in the same sequence. That
really isn’t important as the video itself is impressive in its own right. Watch as the 56th FG take off to engage the enemy.
There is very
limited talking and when it comes it is documentary style.
It is actually only one sequence. The
rest of the video is engine sounds and gun sounds.
It is actually very nice and the way I would rather see something like
this. I don’t want to hear a
narrator tell me about an engagement I can see.
The engine and gun sounds just add to the excitement.
The first part
of the video concentrates on the ETO. This
shows the assault on Fortress Europe by B-17s and B-24s.
The engagements are so close that they show just how much courage was
required on both sides. You are so
much a part of the battle that you see your wingmen attacking and the return
fire from the B-17s. In some of the
sequences the B-17s fill the screen and once you fly by that one there are four
more in front of you. Suicidal or
heroic comes to mind. Fire, debris
and parachutes are everywhere. Then
the allied fighters enter the battle. The
German fighters are attacked at close range.
Some so close the FW-190 is filling the screen and the P-47 seems to fly
formation with it until the FW is shot down.
Amazing stuff. P-38s are
included as well. What is amazing
is the fact that this stuff happened every mission.
There are sequences where you are engaging the enemy and another
aircraft, friend or foe, flies through the screen.
The Me-262 engagement is impressive as is the flat spin that he gets into
after being shot down. The Me-163
is shown in its unpowered glide being engaged and shot down by P-47s. See the Komet on the ground being strafed as the pilot runs
for cover. Then it is down on the
deck, flak, towers, buildings, wires, towers, explosions, and everything else
that can take down an aircraft is shown. Find
yourself shooting up trains, airfields, power lines and buildings.
You’ll find yourself leaning into the turn and telling the guy to lead
him some more. It is hard not to be
involved in the video.
The second
video focuses on the MTO. The color
footage is so clear that it is amazing that it still exists.
It is like being at the airfield when the Thunderbolts take off.
This is the best footage I’ve seen of MTO P-47s.
You’ve all seen the documentary of the P-47s in Sicily but I guarantee
you haven’t seen it as clear as this. You’ll
see the P-47s fly over the Berghof and pound the living crap out of anything
that moves and some things that don’t. Even
horses are not immune to the awesome firepower of the Thunderbolts.
You’ll love the weathering on the camouflaged P-47s, excellent
reference material. You will also
like the nose and fuselage art that are plainly seen.
The color and resolution are so clear you will think that these were
taken yesterday not yesteryear. This
is the stuff Hollywood should watch before they film an airplane film.
Interspersed with the gun fire is the occasional rocket launches. There
is a very close up belly landing of a P-47 that literally slides to a halt in
front of the camera. Very dramatic.
The next
chapter deals with the ETO but this time it is from being on the continent with
the 9th AF. There are some great photos of taxiing P-47s and P-38s
with their painted out D-Day markings. Some
of the new P-51s are also shown taking off.
Engage FW-190D-9s in full color. You
can even make out the markings on some of them.
You get so close to the action that Mustangs cuts you off from a sure
kill. That is excitement.
From altitude to grass cutting heights this section has enough smoke and
fire to make an arsonist happy. This
is what air superiority is all about. The
flak is all around and you wonder how they ever got through it.
A beautiful
color shot of an SBD opens the sequence for the Pacific.
Features show P-40s, P-39s, and Iwo based P-51s taking off and shooting
everything that moves or flies, including a crippled B-24?
Somebody needs some target identification classes.
Receiving friendly fire, returning same. It is nice to see how beautiful the Pacific can be when you
are not blowing things up in it. These
guys are so good that they can shoot power lines and the towers.
Really impressive shooting, not an effective use, but impressive
shooting. Look closely and you’ll
notice the P-51s have three antennas, two on the spine and one under the
fuselage. This was something new to
me. Bring on the Zeros, Franks,
Tojos and Bettys, all in color. A
color carrier takeoff opens up the Navy portion of the DVD.
The take off shows lots of detail about the carrier deck markings.
This will be useful for the modeler.
Shooting down Zeros is the call of the day.
Man those Zeros just flame at the slightest hit.
If you take off from the carrier you have to land and there are some very
nice landings that finish off this portion of the DVD.
B-25s are the
feature of the documentary “The Earthquakers”. I
personally have never seen this particular color video.
It is typical of the period newsreels, the Earthquakers is narrated but
it is in full color. The Mitchells
are the highlight of this film. They
show the desert pink colors and nose art to advantage.
If you need motivation to paint a figure, this video shows people on
pedestals just like figure models. Life
imitating art? Full color shots of
destroyed Me-410s, maybe 210s are shown to effect.
You will love the colors of these aircraft, not your usual greys.
Some of the narration shows its age by references to the wife doing the
dishes while you smoke your pipe while listening to Bing Crosby in your easy
chair. Those were the days.
It is interesting to see how they recover a belly landed B-25.
This will give you ideas for a diorama.
You’ll love the shots showing the weathering.
I’m beginning to think that most aircraft models are under weathered.
Seeing the desert camouflage reminded me of “Catch-22”.
The flak is really close, in fact the ship with the camera flies right
through one burst. Impressive to
say the least. One Mitchell comes
in for an impressive belly landing. There
is one B-25 in particular that is crippled and crashes on landing.
You get to watch it in full color as the bomber cartwheels to its death.
This is a very
exciting DVD. To be honest the first part is really a compilation from the
Victory Films library. This does
not mean that you don’t “need” the others but if you like things that go
boom, this is a great DVD for you. Someone
should send this to Hollywood so they can see how a real airplane moves and
looks.
I highly
recommend this DVD and the rest of the Victory Films series. The quality of the film is outstanding and the content is
compelling to say the least.
You
can get a copy from Wade Meyers Studios online at http://wademeyersart.tripod.com/
Don’t
forget to check out the wonderful artwork while your there.
The
actual DVD, “Gun Camera Film/The Earthquakers” is online at
http://wademeyersart.tripod.com/id69.html
This
is just one of many great DVDs that are available.
Don’t forget to use the coupon code at the bottom of the page to save
postage. Let him know that you
heard about it from here.
Thanks
to Wade Meyers and Victory Films for the review copy.
Floyd
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