JimZ

Funny how Malta is still looked upon by many as the unsinkable British/Nato aircraft carrier, particularly when the country is an independent republic with no military relations or obligations to any other country or organisation. Maltese authorities made it rather clear that neutrality is paramount and that notwithstanding any humanitarian aid that was and is still being provided, (not like there was much of a choice really), Malta would take no part in military operations. Use of the civilian runway for military operations, as pointed out, seems to be the most valid reason for not lending a hand, and may probably simply have be a very convenient excuse. But honestly, would a civilian airport have the necessary facilities/infrastructure that a military airfield would, particulary as this would mean the storage of explosive ordinance in close proximity to civilians. Moreover, damage to the country's single airport would have the effect of cutting of the island from the rest of the world. Add on the fact that Malta's direct involvement in this conflict would have damaged the country's major import - tourism plus Malta's constitutional neutrality, and its geographical, political and commercial proximity to Libya all weigh on this decision. It is of liitle wonder why Malta refused to get involved. Of course, commercial reasons should not suffice in what has been seen by some as the shirking away from unspoken international obligations. After all, Malta will be the first country to complain about the lack of burden sharing of the illegal immigrants that are sure to flow out of Libya as the summer months approach. Hopefully, the part played in the earlier days of the conflict when several ex-pats living in Libya were evacuated via Malta will be held to some account, although it is highly doubtful this will make much of a difference. I was actually unaware of the fact that the Ark Royal had been scrapped. I have some lovely photos of her back in the late 1980s which I would love to post one day when I find them....unfortunately, they are not digital!!!

I'd have said exactly the same thing about those helmets. Wherever they did come from, they do look gorgeous!!!

Remind me ... how many AK47s should you buy to get a complementary gold plated one?? :cheeky:

I found this thread interesting particularly the "Lady be Good" story which I was not aware of. Particularly as I came across this soon after the aircraft crash in Libya (and the safe recovery of the crew). Thanks for posting this thread. Pity that the aircraft which was relatively intact has been just about scrapped in what was undoubtedly a primitive attempt at recovery!!! Shame :shame:

Congratulations on this model. Building from scratch is one heck of a task. I wonder whether you took pics of the building process. Would love to see the progress from scratch to Kaiten. Well done again!!! Jim :cheers:

Just discovered this thread. Some astounding models and diorama's within. Thanks for posting!

Its commendable that you returned it for what you had originally paid for it. Well done. Is there any more history behind this group - perhaps having been in touch with the recipients family you might be able to tell us more? Jim :cheers:

This thread totally fascinates me. I started it off with an observation as to some different victory medals, only to learn that these were really the tip of a massive iceberg!!! I guess the variations and images that have been amassed within the thread are already a rather comprehensive reference point to any interested party. Well done to all those who have contributed and I look forward to learning more about the various Victory medals! Jim :cheers:

Seems like every time an Italian medal (fascist era) loses its ribbon, it is turning up with a plain black ribbon. Was this an e-bay buy?

Stumbled across this thread. I used to buy cedar wood "O" rings to hang amongst clothes, particularly when these were held in storage. However, I was under the impression that you had to sand these from time to time - just a light sanding to re-activate the cedar. Sounded more like witchcraft to me, yet it seemed to do the job. Regards, Jim

Looks great, but I wonder how many times returning the ring to its "O" shape will break the soldering, particularly if that's the dented area. Would have been interesting to have seen a before pic - maybe if Avadski decides to try it out he can post some after pics??

With wreaths - like this?

Maybe they were just paired without being a pair?

A rather comprehensive guide to Italian ODM ribbons: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medaglie,_decorazioni_ed_ordini_cavallereschi_italiani You will need to copy the whole link and paste it in a browser.

Interesting double mint mark..... cannot say I have come across that before.

So I'm not the only person who was priced out of Soviet! Have bought practically nothing since early 2007 now! :(

A general comment - Its always good to ask for proper pictures before buying anything at all. The easiest way of concealing defects/flaws on a medal is to skew the camera or the medal one way of the other. I believe that when buying anything, the seller should have no excuses when asked to provide better quality photos or custom photos of details requested by the buyer. Jim :cheers:

Been wanting to post these a while but its only recently that I got the whole collection properly insured and photographic documentation and a full inventory thereof was paramount. The frames are not hung on a wall (as displayed in the pictures) but are kept lying horizontally on a shelf, away from direct sunlight. Each of the frames sit on top of eachother in a pile, with each frame sealing off the one beneath it from light. The upper frames are usually the screwbacks (as they do not have ribbons that could fade) but these are nevertheless covered with a dark cloth. Apologies about the size of the pics - but I think that the method used to attach the screwbacks and the suspension medals to the boards is clear. Jim

Hi Noor, Way back I started a thread on this in the Conservation and Preservation forum http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=12023 Take a look - I should post some of my pics there too. Jim

Hi Bob, I go through each thread and title and modify titles accordingly to make sure that the relevant countries in the thread are usually reflected in the title. This should make all serches easier - hence a thread stating "Albania - xxxxxxxxx" will refer to Albanian interests. And similarly with all other thread titles in the Southern European & Balkan States forum. I trust this should at least facilitate searches and also encourage new threads titles within this forum to take up similar formats - makes life a touch easier for me Regards, Jim :cheers:

Kharkov Historical Museum Inventory Sector: V0V (GPW) INV No. 8611 Fascist road sign Inventory ________:17327 Just a boring museum inventory tag....

What came from a museum in Russia? The photo of the sign - or the sign itself?

I doubt you can ever attribute matters as this down to a formula. Each is ready to pay what it is worth to him in his opinion and the higher bidder will win. As Rick mentions, such conversions could come down to the wearer or the dealer and without evidence to the contrary, I usualaly assume that it is the latter, unless the serial number and method of alteration falls within know 'conversions'. My opinion is that if you want to go for a screwback then find a good specimen you are willing to buy and spend good money on the real thing. If on the other hand, you want a suspension variation, then the same applies. If you are a variation collector (as I have been known to be myself!) then stick to known mint variations and not the multitude of (very intreresting and sometimes questionable) conversions available. However, if the order and its serial number do come with research... even if seriously altered to make it more valuable (??!!) then the story may be totally different! Jim

Well Dan, Each to his own of course. I do however disagree with this sort of restoration. Your point with the car is well taken of course but it somehow hardly seems to be the same thing to me. Perhaps I do not feel the same way about cars as I do about medals. Thing is, it would have been easier to simply sell the medals, or keep them and simply replace them, with two others having similar numbers and in better condition. Its called up-grading! I think that each medal tells a story and sometimes, the condition it is in is part of the story. Its true that they may have no great intrinsic value, but whatever value they did has been ruined for most collectors as they now look more like fake bravery medals than restored originals. I am sure that nobody here is "offended" - maybe just disappointed. And I am sure that those of us that do express such disappointment do so in the hope of convincing you that any restoration which is invasive should not be carried out. Its one thing to perhaps match a kolodka and or missing ribbon - its another to take a torch to a medal, heat it up (which will lead to discoloration of the base metal medal ruining the patina), as well as expansion and contraction of the medal itself (that will lead the enamel to cake out and fall off). Having said that, we all may have screwed up in our enthusiasm to try to put things right and it is only from the lessons that we learn, that we know to do better the next time round. Thankfully these were bravery medals and not Lenins or ORBs....although a voice in my head still yells out that the story behind these Braveries may have been more interesting than a long service ORB or a OoL for collective farming. Regards, Jim

Looks very much like a "9" to me.