Its been a while since I sat down and wrote about current events and hobby happenings and as I gear up for the largest show this week my enthusiasm is beginning to grow as it gets closer. I used to do write up's quite a bit on all kinds of things that go on in the hobby and usually when I get pissed off about something, today I do not get pissed off often these days and look at the goings on with a chuckle or as a typical B.S issue and I am more likely to walk away than engage whatever idiot or issue garners my attention on a given day. 

The S.O.S is the largest show of the year and is run by the O.V.M.S and boasts over 2000 tables and brings in collectors and dealers from around the world into a giant hall in Louisville Kentucky. The show itself has a lot to offer and just walking the aisles on one pass will tire some out and I generally walk it 3 times a day as items pop up as deals are made and if your in the right spot at the right time you can score a nice piece. In addition to the show the whole thing is centralized where you land at the airport which is probably 400 yards from the hotel, shuttles will pick you up and take you back and forth to the host hotel, and even down the street to the eateries and pick you up when your done, so you need not worry about driving or have a couple drinks while your there. The concession food is better than most and by Saturday they have the pulled pork sandwich stands up where you can get some good grub. One of the most attractive and convenient features for the host hotel is that it has a bar and a breakfast buffet, this is important to those like myself who like to relax for drinks and can simply crawl back to my room if I have to.

This year the O.V.M.S has stepped in and acquired the 2nd largest show started 30 years ago by The two Tom's, Tom Johnson and Tom Wittmann. This is a good show as well but after 30 years of running and promoting it the decision was made to move on and thankfully it now has O.V.M.S to continue it with its knowledge and experience in doing just that. Given the success of the S.O.S I think we will see some changes for the MAX and I would expect increased interest and attendance in the coming years as they work their existing base and the MAX base together in what should be an interesting turn for the venue. Of course we will still see the two Tom's and they have my best wishes in their future endeavors and their contributions to the hobby over the last 30 years+ are notable and extensive.

WWII has now been over for almost 70 years, veterans who fought this war that survive today are in their late 80's at a minimum, and we lose approximately 1000 a day. These men who are considered to be part of the greatest generation hold the key to a time that interests and drives the collector of history and its artifacts and they are really the only link to what it was like back in those days and their experiences in the European theater and Pacific theater are often lost with them. That loss of information often leads to a loss of the context of the war itself and the events leading to it, the context is important as without it a collector cannot fully grasp the generation at the time and if you cannot place yourself there on occasion its pretty easy to run astray of factual history, it is a more than complicated equation yet the most common mistake made is to simplify it and it is easily the most over simplified subject in many cases.

Over the last 10 years or so I have been on these internet forums and I actually read all of them and watch peoples comments and note their names or handles. There are many threads on these forums on why people collect 3rd Reich items or militaria in general, I read these comments and cant help but think that a lot of these guys are full of shit. I am sure some are sincere and honest when they type their response, but then they will say something odd or almost subliminal and I focus in on it and realize the guy does not really know why he collects, I know why he collects but he cannot put his own interest in perspective or recognize what it really is, or! he is afraid to say why for fear of ridicule or offending another. This is a legitimate concern and I often have to craft my words in a manner that will not be taken out of context by an uptight Euro or an American who might get his panties in a bunch if you defend a 3rd Reich personality with a fact, god forbid. Truth be told, many guys operate in the hobby with a 3rd grade textbook perception of the war and the European in many cases has been conditioned to be an apologist for the behavior of his ancestors. So, one guy is not educated fully and the other has been conditioned in the same fashion as his ancestors, only this time to be a pussy and politically correct rather than a proud German or European. You cannot be proud and politically correct at the same time as it just does not work that way and each and every time you deny your beliefs to pacify another you sell yourself out at the core. In addition the PC agenda is a white wash, a means to simplify what would otherwise be a complicated question and adjust it for a political means and that is its goal and intent, it's a lie. 

As one who has maintained a presence on these forums for about 10 years now, it is easy for me to recognize or discern the difference now to what they used to be for sources of information and questions. The knowledge base has been dwindled down considerably and its almost as if the inmates run the asylum now as those with the knowledge hide and don't partake in giving the right answer anymore in order to avoid confrontation from amateur collectors who approach an item question as if their on a game show. They do not know the answer, they have no experience in many cases with many items, yet they cannot help but comment and often with the wrong answer that go's unchallenged and leaves a bad item as good and a good items as bad and the guy with the question out of pocket on a reproduction or a fantasy piece. This has become such an issue of late that multiple people have taken leave in my circle as trying to correct the opinions of these know it all's and minions often leads to keyboard combat. In addition it is almost totally unsafe to post an original item on a forum without it being destroyed by guys who do not know what their looking at or at best are out of their expertise if they have any at all. 

While there are still many guys in moderator positions and specialists in various area's the entire forum platform in itself has become unsafe for buyers and sellers due to uneducated opinions, speculation, and over thinking items. Until this is addressed the forums should be avoided for purposes of authentication or you may just unfairly get your ass handed to you as the guys that know watch it happen and say nothing to avoid getting pounded by a know nothing dim wit. Use e-mail, figure out a way using the search function on any given subject to find someone who knows the material and stop being lazy or your going to get hammered in this market. 

In closing I would like to point out that 3rd Reich collecting is dangerous and it is expensive, the more expensive and the more dangerous it gets. The history is dark but it is anything but simple, the era is a highly complicated involving politics, culture, organizational structure, art, aesthetics, and as soon as you think you got it, it leads somewhere else. Its appeal lies in this darkness and it is still driven by the aesthetics and followed by historians and enthusiasts around the world for various reasons and motivations. Its not meant to be simplified, its meant to be studied and analyzed. Its application and structure from a political party to its height prior to the onset of war was nothing short of brilliant. The subject itself is not politically correct and many of the most advanced collectors today use handles or name modifications on the forums as not to reveal themselves to scrutiny. A highly unfortunate means to protect ones self from people who base their opinions or views on passion and or ignorance of history.

(The. S.O.S, The Hobby and Internet Forums)