Mig 23 - End of Empire
The Fall of Rome
The piers are pummelled by the waves;
In a lonely field the rain
Lashes an abandoned train;
Outlaws fill the mountain caves.
Fantastic grow the evening gowns;
Agents of the Fisc pursue
Absconding tax defaulters through
The sewers of provincial towns.
Private rites of magic send
The temple prostitutes to sleep;
All the literati keep
An imaginary friend.
Cerebretonic Cato may
Extol the Ancient Disciplines,
But the muscle-bound Marines
Mutiny for food and pay.
Caesar's double-bed is warm
As an unimportant clerk
Writes I DO NOT LIKE MY WORK
On a pink official form.
Unendowed with wealth or pity,
Little birds with scarlet legs,
Sitting on their speckled eggs,
Eye each flu-infected city.
Altogether elsewhere, vast
Herds of reindeer move across
Miles and miles of golden moss,
Silently and very fast.
- WH Auden
Only the completion of one cycle and the beginning of a new stronger.
P.k
Yes always this cycle continues.
Beautiful picture. Maybe I'll turn it into a diorama some day with my Airfix 1/72 Mig 23. Chance to use all my model railroad scenery in a more poetic way!
A great opportunity.
This would be an awesome diorama. I have seen a diorama of a derelict Hind gunship online. The modeler used a similar photo and his work was of such a nature that the model looked exactly like the wreck of tbe real Hind. Unfortunately I can't remember the website. 🙁 Rob, this should be right up your alley
😉
Hmmm...
I think the one you're thinking of is on puttyandpaint.com - "Abandoned Hind"
If you make a diorama remember to mount the dish antenna on the wing like the photo (seems to) show 🙂
Secret project - later abandoned...
I think you're seeing something 50 yards in the background, Ralph. 🙂
yes its an optical delusion alright -
Well-done. Photo...all very realistic.
Would hope so - it's a real Mig!
Rob...the red star was so bright, I thought is was a well-done model. Cool photo, tho'.
Yes it's the sort if thing I'd do. Alas, not this time...
abandoned planes make me sad somehow...anyways this could be even a hungarian af '23 too...most of them ended up like this one, which is a shame.
Yes you don't realise something's gone until it's gone, and you think, 'How did that happen?'
Lots of aircraft are replaced by better technology and dollars and cents. I always view these pictures with a sense of sadness and they feel a little creepy. On the other hand you want them to be in the sky flying and doing what birds do. The reality of it all is that they represent "The Tip of the Spear". These hulks once where hardware or weapons delivery systems trained on delivering lethal blows to people in the air and on the ground. The thrill of experiencing these machines flying had to be exhilarating but, for folks on the receiving end of these machines ...it has to be great relief to see them in their current state.