A new SIG - Asian Air Arms

[Brian Griffin]

Hi,

My name is Brian Griffin and I am writing to you because I have recently started a new IPMS Special Interest Group that I suspect some of your members could well be interested in - and able to contribute to.

I've recently come to realise that the information available concerning the post 1945 operations and equipment of Asian air arms is really quite minimal.  I also have noticed that their aircraft and colour schemes can range from the curious to the "I do not believe it!" For example, Sri Lankan Kfir, Indonesian PZL Wilga, Thai Navy AV-8S, Malaysian A-400M. And from the period immediately after WWII, Taiwanese B-24, Pakistani Sea Fury, Chinese Tu-4 (B-29), North Korean Il-10, etc. It seems that this is a topic on which there is an almost limitless choice of out-of-the-ordinary subjects to choose from - no more grey, grey and more grey! It's almost like a "What if", but for real.

Excited by this, I therefore decided to set up a SIG covering this region and period. However, I wanted to create a really useful resource that would open modellers' minds to the fascinating possibilities and so decided to build my first website. It now covers 26 air forces from Mongolia to the Maldives, and from Japan to Afghanistan and is searchable by country or by aircraft type. It lists, and wherever possible illustrates, all the aircraft used by those air arms since 1945. It also offers colour schemes; lists of kits available to make these models; lists of serial numbers for each air arm; period photos; photos of members' models; videos; decal resources and relevant articles (e.g. "Soviet Air confrontations with Pakistan Air Force during Soviet-Afghan War" - something few people are even aware of!)

Please click on this link www.asianairarms.com and take a little while to browse through. You'll see that it's far from complete and - darn it - new information keeps coming in, thereby confounding my beautifully organised order! ONE DAY, it'll be perfect.

If, having looked through it, you feel it could be of interest to some members in your region, I'd be most obliged if you could employ some mechanism to bring it to their attention. At present, there is no fee for membership of the SIG, just an e-mail to me and they'll be put on the mailing list.

I should be most grateful for any co-operation you and colleagues could give.

Kind regards,

Brian Griffin

Leader - Asian Air Arms (IPMS Special Interest Group)

http://www.asianairarms.com