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Editors Note: For those who have never read
Val's work, his style is much more creative than the average modeler. We
like that about him. This article was re-printed from the
IPMS Hawaii Newsletter and will
eventually detail his building a model (we promise!).
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A Walk in the Park - The Prolouge |
I hate it when this happens. I went out for a
stroll in the gorgeous woods of Bavaria and someone tried to kill me. I’m
pretty sure I was in a national park and not on somebody’s private property,
though I could be wrong. My German reading skills aren’t as good as they
should be.
I was following a well-marked trail in the snow when the white clad "ghosts"
first appeared. I noticed them out of the corner of my eye disappearing into
the white of the snow as I would turn my head. At first, they tried to nail
me with poison darts, now they are coming at me directly with bared swords.
I wondered why they used such ancient weapons until a shout from me brought
a small avalanche of snow down upon my head. We’re up in the higher reaches
of the Alps, avalanche country. Silent weapons are best here.
I was about two minutes ahead of them. I hadn’t seen anything since I sliced
the arm off of one of them in the last close encounter. I lost the trail a
while ago and was running blind in the snowy forest. I heard a stream
running on my left and headed towards it. I slid to a stop inches from the
top of an icy waterfall. A dart whizzed past my head. I whipped around to
face my "ghosts", lost my footing on a patch of ice, and promptly fell into
the freezing pool below.
My world turned black as I hit the water. My hands found the walls of the
pond, but I couldn’t find the surface. I was quickly freezing, my lungs
burned for air. My eyes searched the inky blackness for sunlight I knew had
to be there. Out of the corner of my slowly fading vision, I spied a yellow
glimmer and with all my remaining strength kicked towards it. With a mighty
exultation, my head broke the surface and I inhaled gratefully. After
breathing my fill and happy to still be alive, I looked at my surroundings.
I was in a lit cavern with different types of machinery lining the walls.
The air was warm and I quickly clambered out of the pool. I had to say it
was a good 79 degrees Fahrenheit in that room. The floor was covered with a
glossy obsidian tile that felt warm to the touch. After ascertaining that I
was indeed alone in the room and that my pursuers hadn’t followed me into
the water, I stripped to my skivvies and wrung the water out of my clothes.
I found a set of lockers and searched them until I found a jump suit of the
appropriate size and put it on. I placed my clothes in what looked like a
heater and allowed them to dry out while I continued to explore the other
caverns branching off from this one.
I entered an archway on the left side of the room and found my self in a
much larger room, a workshop apparently. More machinery lined the walls of
this cavern. There were several work tables lined up in neat rows with half
finished projects all about. Looking closely, I recognized MG 151 guns and
MG 81 cannons; JUMO 004 and Heinkel turbine engines as well as various radar
sets in different states of disrepair. Wandering past a locker that set this
area apart from the main room, I was astonished to find several aircraft in
different stages of dereliction. A Me 262 was off to my right, a Me 264
seemed to have settled down on it’s haunches in the far corner of the
hanger, and a FW 191 sans it’s four engines stood in front of me.
I ducked under the Focke Wulf and found my self face to face with the bloody
maw of a giant bat! I picked myself up off the ground where I had fallen in
surprise, my leg and rear covered in black and gray dust. I brushed off as
much as I could and peered more closely at the oversized nocturnal creature.
It was a Focke Wulf Ta 183 painted all black with a giant bat face on the
nose. It had two radar arrays on the upper and lower side of the port wing
like giant ears listening for an echo. Two more radar arrays were situated
on the starboard wing underside. There were two such marked aircraft. The
one in front of me had the engine bay doors and gun access panels open as if
for servicing. The second Ta-183 was set apart from the others on a blast
pad. I walked over to the Bat on the blast pad. It looked ready to fly.
I placed a trembling hand on the warm skin of the aircraft. The fuselage was
made from metal while the wings looked like they were made from wood. I
climbed up the cliff like side of the aircraft to the cockpit. I opened the
canopy manually and dropped inside. A perfect fit. I strapped my self in as
any kid would a carnival ride, giddy with excitement. What a find! If I
could salvage all of these planes, I’d make a killing on the Warbird
circuit! I exited the aircraft and did a quick walkaround. The aircraft was
connected to a start cart and the battery was fully charged. I checked the
fuel tanks and they were all full of the requisite fuel. I looked down the
cavern and realized I couldn’t see the end of it. A runway? This aircraft
was probably a factory defender, charged up and fueled ready to defend this
hidden aircraft workshop. I went over to the wall of the cavern and hit a
switch.
Blue and white lights flickered to life. As I looked down the runway, I saw
several white forms dart into the shadows. Damn! They found me. I ran to the
back to the Bat, kicked the starter cart away and scaled the cliff faster
than a squirrel up a tree. I jumped into the cockpit and slammed the canopy
shut while strapping myself into the seat. I looked up and saw six of the
white ghosts running full tilt down the runway towards me. I hit the starter
switch for the engine, thank you Dipl Ing Tank for putting a self-contained
starter cartridge on this aircraft! The engine spun up and I cracked the
throttle letting in some juice. The ghosts were now half way down the runway
and getting closer. The engine ignited and the RPM of the turbine started to
shoot up. I located the arming switches for the four 20mm cannon and
depressed the trigger.
Fingers of death leapt from the maw of the Bat and touched a few of the
running ghosts. Some of the ghosts crumpled into a heap where the bullets
hit them while the others dove for the ground. Two of the six rose from the
ground and ran for the walls of the cavern out of my line of fire. I checked
the engine temperature gauge and decided it was now or never. I slowly
pushed the throttle forward and released the brakes. The Bat darted forward
nearly decapitating the two remaining ghosts with its wings as the efflux
from the engine tossed the remaining Warbirds into a pile. Damn! The Bat
roared forward towards the back wall of the runway cavern. I passed a yellow
light on the wall and the entire cavern in front of me disappeared.
I shot out of the darkness into the blue sky. Clouds tufted by me as I rose
higher and higher. I closed my eyes and basked in the warmth of the sun
before I tried to figure out where I was and how to get home. A jolt to the
airframe brought me out of my reverie and I opened my eyes to the sight
gorgeous young woman smiling at me from the opposite seat of the bus. We
were alone on the heaving and jerking city limousine and evidently I was
talking in my sleep again.
"You ought to see a doctor about that." Shiina Ringo said with a smirk. Copyright ©2002 - Text and
Photos by Val Bueno. All Rights Reserved. |
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