Quote by Michael Ryan View Post
Hay MAP, Is there anything that you don't collect. And such a variety, from IJA insignia to WWII German late war plastic Spud Guns??

Cheers MR
Mr. Ryan

Guilty as charged!!!!

So here is my addiction/Story (I know you didn't ask for this but here it comes!).

I just love history (mostly WWII and also WWI), and if I see anything that can tell a story which I can teach my boys, I'm easy prey. Each item is special and to be preserved and passed down to the next generation.

But with this small but diverse collection brings problems (and why I happily joined WRF and paid the low admission fee of $25 - unabashed plug for WRF ).

I have not been able to become an expert in anything. I rely on research (usually after the fact - children: don't follow my actions!!!), WRF (recently) and honest dealer friends who let me return anything that is not legit.

My favorite part in not necessarily buying an item but researching and documenting it as much as possible.

So far I have cataloged my small collection into ~12 sections (with many sub-sections) including
- Pistols (goal is at least one pistol from each of the major countries in wwii)
- Rifles (goal is same as above)
- Edged weapons (fighting, dress, bayonet, swords, etc)
- Headgear (helmets, caps, visors, etc)
- Equiptment (too many sub types)
- Clothing/Uniforms
- Documents
- Pictures
- Insignia
- Medals
- Ordenance
- Misc (the most fun)
- Late War Plastic spud guns (wink, wink )

Although what I have usually doesn't "stack up" in quality against what many of our uber-collectors friends here at WRF have, I look forward to keep posting what I got!!!!

Michael