Steffen contributed hugely to Aeroscale for many years, at one time moderating our Luftwaffe coverage in the old forum. Steffen was a mine of information on the subject and always happy to help other modellers. Despite not being active on Kitmaker for a while, Steffen's legacy lives on in his many articles which are still available on the old Aeroscale site (https://aeroscale.kitmaker.net/user.php?op=userinfo&uname=alpha_tango), and in our new forum with the What The Postman Brought Today thread - an idea which Steffen began way back in 2006 and now runs to well over 4,000 posts.
From my days on Aeroscale, I do remember Steffen as part of the old core that was truly Aeroscale. My sincerest condolences to his family and friends on his passing. May he truly rest in peace.
That is really a very sad news. I knew Steffen from several models shows around Germany and he also attended our own expo in Mannheim a few times. As he lived not far from my home we also sometimes met at another friends home in France and chatted the whole day about our wonderful hobby. Steffen, you will sadly be missed. Now you sit at the eternal work bench and build the models you always wanted. Rest in peace, 46 years is way too early.
drapslab,
don’t know about is mother or Jean-Luc’s where abouts, but I’m pretty sure that Rowan does. And Jessica is around in the background when needed for technical info. Hopefully she’ll reach out to you.
Yes - I was in touch with Jean-Luc at Christmas. Steffen too - and he said everything was fine then, so the suddenness of his death is a dreadful shock. I will email Jean-Luc again when I can find the right words, because he and Steffen were very close friends.
We’re still firming up the details, but watch out for an announcement of a campaign / group build in Steffen’s honour. We’d like to make this a Network-wide build, because Steffen didn’t only contribute to Aeroscale.
Anyone who knew Steffen will be in no doubt that he was a dedicated 1:48 enthusiast - The One True Scale, as he called it! So, obviously, it’s only fitting that 1:48 will be the core theme of build - and aircraft and armour submissions should definitely be in that scale, but I realise that the scale could be difficult for modellers in some other genres.
So, for anyone who simply can’t find something suitable to submit in 1:48 in their particular sphere of modelling, I think it’s the thought that counts - just get as close as possible. Shall we say anything between 1:40 and 1:50 to encompass as many types of models as possible?
Steffen loved modelling, so I hope we can get a great turnout and make this a fun build for everyone who takes part, despite the reason for it being so sad. Steffen frequently took good-natured pleasure in teasing me over the number of builds that I start and never finish - so, this time at least, I’ll make sure my contribution reaches the finish line as a small tribute to a good friend.
Oh no! I just asked about his whereabouts the other day. Very sad, my condolences to his family.
I really appreciated his knowledge and his posts. He corrected a mistake I made in a FW 200 review, and he was my campaign nemesis in the Aeroscale campaign Duel.
He was a good guy. I’ve missed him around the site the last few years.
Mother dropped out of the site about 10 years ago if I recall. I was communicating with him concerning some reviews we were doing. He had some things going on in his life and eventually his replies to my email ceased.
This such sad news. I remember very well Steffen’s dedication to 1/48 scale, the quality of his builds and extent of his knowledge, made all that much better by his detailed build logs and willingness to share info. If I remember correctly, his ritual was to take 10 photos of every completed build (8 points of the compass plus top and bottom views).
Sincere condolences to his family and friends, a sad loss indeed.
Rowan, this is very sad to hear. I just hate it when some who is younger than me dies suddenly like this. I admired his work and contributions, even though I didn’t know him very well. My condolences to his family and loved ones.
I see that you are in touch with Jean Luc. Life must have gotten in the way of modeling, but I do hope he’ll return one day! He’s a great modeler!
having trouble getting my head around this - unbelievably sad. Last spoke to Steffen just before Christmas. Gary Hatcher has published a tribute in the new issue of SAM. Thank you Rowan,
