alex wence de leon
Master at Arms
The Marco Polo Wars, 1992; I was the collateral damage, and didn't even know…
About ten years ago while on business in Saint Louis, I decided to take a side trip to the VLS corporation for a visit with Bob Letterman and other friends working that day. Little did I know, that little side trip would have a peculiar impact on my life. I remember that Bob took the time out on his busy schedule to give me the "dime tour" of the city of Saint Louis, Missouri, in particular, the "little Italy" section. Boy! did I get more than a dime's worth of entertainment and touring, as Bob drove around the city and it seamed like he took almost every street. We must have left early in the morning and not returning to the company location till the early evening. Every conceivable Saint Louis landmark that existed, we drove by and got the best narrative description Bob could conjure up about the landmarks. A stop by a great photography shop, a stop at a hobby shop, a stop at an artist's supply store, lunch (on Bob of course), a couple of drives, on different bridges, across the Missouri River, on to down-town, by the waterfront, past the Saint Louis Arch, past the Cardinal stadium, down the "concrete jungle" of skyscrapers, hungry again, on to "Little Italy" for stops at the pepperoni, pastry, candy shops, loading up bags of snacks and sweets. Believe it or not I remember sneaking in a "power nap" (while sitting up) somewhere between the baseball stadium and driving past the Gigantic Saint Louis Arch. The best tour with the best tour guide ever, thanks to Bob. In fact, after we got back to the office, I felt like I had to give him some kind of monetary compensation or at least help pay for the tank of gasoline used up that day. I knew he would have never accepted any money and probably would have been offended by the offer. I could see in his eyes that he was very happy watching me enjoying myself as we took the cruise of a (my) life time.
By this time, the casual reader is wondering, "What has this got to do with the Marco Polo War or being some kind of collateral damage"? I can answer that question now. During the tour I remember between chit-chats, Bob casually said that my scratch-built 1/16th scale German Nebelwerfer Rocket launcher (built around 1990) had contributed to the resin war now known as "The Marco Polo Wars". Affectionally named after the competition between Marco Polo Imports (Kirin) and Verlinden Productions, both producing a line of 1/16th (120mm), scale resin kits, with my scratch-built Nebelwerfer being the first prototype of the line. An industrial competition that seemed like a 'war', with the two companies trying to out-do or one-up each other with releasing, starting with the Nebelwerfer and on to the Kubewagen, panzer I, panzer II, Panzer III, Tiger tank, all resin model kits in 1/16th scale.
This is where the "I was collateral damage, and didn't even know..." part comes in. From the early 1990s all the way to some 12 years later (when Bob mentioned the "War"), I had no idea or any clue that I had contributed to or "started" any war. My intention, (back in the day), was to scratch-build an accessory to go along with one of the cool 1/16th figures that were coming out at the time, thus leading to large scale vignettes giving the feeling of a more "in your face" build than the 1/35th dioramas at the time.
Being an outsider in the model business and more on the side-line, "doing my thing" I did notice that there was something going on, but never made the connection,I had no clue until Bob informed me many years later of my contribution to the "Marco Polo Wars". Collateral damage indeed.
As far as the insider story of the Marco Polo Wars, you will have to get the skinny from Bob Letterman himself. As I mentioned earlier, Bob would be happy to share his take of the story. Just ask him and I guarantee you will get an ear-full, but remember to buckle-up and get ready for one heck of a ride from the tale that he can tell.
By chance, if you ask; "what ever happened to the scratch-built 1/16th scale rocket launcher"? Soon after completing the project I sold it to Marco Polo/Kirin and they took it apart, used the disassembled parts for prototypes in the resin casting of the large scale kit.
Before letting the build go, I did get a chance to photograph and enter the vignette at a local IPMS show in Austin, Texas. After letting it go, I did submit photos and text to Verlinden Productions Modeling Magazine and was published in the Volume 2 Number 4 Titled "Yesterday's News" with a very nice two page layout. If I may mention, Bob also had an article published in the same issue. A very cool diorama titled, "Masquerade, Operation 'Greif', the Battle of the Bulge".
All in all, what a twist, I sold the model to Marco Polo to be used as a prototype, then it was featured in Verlinden Productions magazine, who would soon produce a 120mm scale Nebelwerfer to counter the Kirin release based on my scratchbuilt model and as the saying goes, "They were off to the races".
Now, I eventually did get the scratch-built model back, but it was in a hundred or so pieces and way beyond any kind of restoration so I gave it a nice 'christian burial' in my spare parts box.
Marco polo did send a boxed resin kit created from it and gave me credit on the instruction sheet and I was happy about that, but rather sad for the demise of the original and the rest of the vignette.
A sadness that continued up until the time when Bob Letterman turned my mind-set around with the notice of the Nebelwerfer contributing to the "Resin Wars".
To be honest with you, not so much thinking "collateral damage", but now thinking sort of a "claim to fame", if I may, as the primary contributor, (so many years and miles ago), to the resin war known as "The Marco Polo Wars", within the model industry, it was cool being a part of something even though I wasn't even aware of it at the time. Thank you for your time and please let me share with you photographs my scratch-built project from back in the early '90s that I call, "Yesterday's News".
Enjoy, Alexander Wence De Leon
thank you,
awd
About ten years ago while on business in Saint Louis, I decided to take a side trip to the VLS corporation for a visit with Bob Letterman and other friends working that day. Little did I know, that little side trip would have a peculiar impact on my life. I remember that Bob took the time out on his busy schedule to give me the "dime tour" of the city of Saint Louis, Missouri, in particular, the "little Italy" section. Boy! did I get more than a dime's worth of entertainment and touring, as Bob drove around the city and it seamed like he took almost every street. We must have left early in the morning and not returning to the company location till the early evening. Every conceivable Saint Louis landmark that existed, we drove by and got the best narrative description Bob could conjure up about the landmarks. A stop by a great photography shop, a stop at a hobby shop, a stop at an artist's supply store, lunch (on Bob of course), a couple of drives, on different bridges, across the Missouri River, on to down-town, by the waterfront, past the Saint Louis Arch, past the Cardinal stadium, down the "concrete jungle" of skyscrapers, hungry again, on to "Little Italy" for stops at the pepperoni, pastry, candy shops, loading up bags of snacks and sweets. Believe it or not I remember sneaking in a "power nap" (while sitting up) somewhere between the baseball stadium and driving past the Gigantic Saint Louis Arch. The best tour with the best tour guide ever, thanks to Bob. In fact, after we got back to the office, I felt like I had to give him some kind of monetary compensation or at least help pay for the tank of gasoline used up that day. I knew he would have never accepted any money and probably would have been offended by the offer. I could see in his eyes that he was very happy watching me enjoying myself as we took the cruise of a (my) life time.
By this time, the casual reader is wondering, "What has this got to do with the Marco Polo War or being some kind of collateral damage"? I can answer that question now. During the tour I remember between chit-chats, Bob casually said that my scratch-built 1/16th scale German Nebelwerfer Rocket launcher (built around 1990) had contributed to the resin war now known as "The Marco Polo Wars". Affectionally named after the competition between Marco Polo Imports (Kirin) and Verlinden Productions, both producing a line of 1/16th (120mm), scale resin kits, with my scratch-built Nebelwerfer being the first prototype of the line. An industrial competition that seemed like a 'war', with the two companies trying to out-do or one-up each other with releasing, starting with the Nebelwerfer and on to the Kubewagen, panzer I, panzer II, Panzer III, Tiger tank, all resin model kits in 1/16th scale.
This is where the "I was collateral damage, and didn't even know..." part comes in. From the early 1990s all the way to some 12 years later (when Bob mentioned the "War"), I had no idea or any clue that I had contributed to or "started" any war. My intention, (back in the day), was to scratch-build an accessory to go along with one of the cool 1/16th figures that were coming out at the time, thus leading to large scale vignettes giving the feeling of a more "in your face" build than the 1/35th dioramas at the time.
Being an outsider in the model business and more on the side-line, "doing my thing" I did notice that there was something going on, but never made the connection,I had no clue until Bob informed me many years later of my contribution to the "Marco Polo Wars". Collateral damage indeed.
As far as the insider story of the Marco Polo Wars, you will have to get the skinny from Bob Letterman himself. As I mentioned earlier, Bob would be happy to share his take of the story. Just ask him and I guarantee you will get an ear-full, but remember to buckle-up and get ready for one heck of a ride from the tale that he can tell.
By chance, if you ask; "what ever happened to the scratch-built 1/16th scale rocket launcher"? Soon after completing the project I sold it to Marco Polo/Kirin and they took it apart, used the disassembled parts for prototypes in the resin casting of the large scale kit.
Before letting the build go, I did get a chance to photograph and enter the vignette at a local IPMS show in Austin, Texas. After letting it go, I did submit photos and text to Verlinden Productions Modeling Magazine and was published in the Volume 2 Number 4 Titled "Yesterday's News" with a very nice two page layout. If I may mention, Bob also had an article published in the same issue. A very cool diorama titled, "Masquerade, Operation 'Greif', the Battle of the Bulge".
All in all, what a twist, I sold the model to Marco Polo to be used as a prototype, then it was featured in Verlinden Productions magazine, who would soon produce a 120mm scale Nebelwerfer to counter the Kirin release based on my scratchbuilt model and as the saying goes, "They were off to the races".
Now, I eventually did get the scratch-built model back, but it was in a hundred or so pieces and way beyond any kind of restoration so I gave it a nice 'christian burial' in my spare parts box.
Marco polo did send a boxed resin kit created from it and gave me credit on the instruction sheet and I was happy about that, but rather sad for the demise of the original and the rest of the vignette.
A sadness that continued up until the time when Bob Letterman turned my mind-set around with the notice of the Nebelwerfer contributing to the "Resin Wars".
To be honest with you, not so much thinking "collateral damage", but now thinking sort of a "claim to fame", if I may, as the primary contributor, (so many years and miles ago), to the resin war known as "The Marco Polo Wars", within the model industry, it was cool being a part of something even though I wasn't even aware of it at the time. Thank you for your time and please let me share with you photographs my scratch-built project from back in the early '90s that I call, "Yesterday's News".
Enjoy, Alexander Wence De Leon
thank you,
awd
