Model depicts Kroatische Luftwaffe Flakhelfer (Croatian FLAK auxiliary troops in WW2 German Air Force service) operating quad-mounted 2cm FLAK38 anti-aircraft guns on pedestal mount. Flakhelfer (FLAK helper) was generic term applied to all Luftwaffe support personnel (be it Croatian volunteers or locale Hitlerjugend organizations). Depending on one's WW2 inclination, Croatia can be viewed either as a nation vying for independence or opportunist seeking territorial expansion by its alliance with Germany. In any event, Croatia was able to secure a sizeable portion of previous Yugoslavia kingdom for itself and joined German forces in defending Axis industrial centers and Ostfront (Eastern Front) military operations. Luftwaffenhelfer - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flakhelfer

FLAK is German acronym for Flugabwehrkanone (aircraft defense cannon) or in American jargon "Triple-A" (Anti-Aircraft Artillery), has been thoroughly adopted into modern American vernacular. Other WW2-era German terms include Panzer (tank), Panzerfaust (anti-armor grenade launcher), Stuka (German dive-bomber). Anti-aircraft warfare - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flak

Model vignette base is wood picture frame, background color sheet created by importing Croatian Red-White checkerboard insignia and stylized fonts in Microsoft Powerpoint application. Powerpoint handles graphical file imports, resizing, enhancements more seamlessly than graphical toolset's in Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, or Adobe Illustrator. Microsoft Office PowerPoint - office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint

Inset 1 : Foreign volunteers in German military service worn standard German military uniforms and insignia, but added their respective nationality sleeve badges. Croatian volunteers used the Sahovnica (White-Red Chessboard), a symbol of Croatian kings since 10th-century. Coat of arms of Croatia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat_of_Arms_of_Croatia

Rollover : FLAKhelfer crew and gun mount not glued on, hence can be readily removed from base. Three crewmen (gunner, loader, commander) are glued onto gun mount. Gun pedestal base made from plastic medicine bottom cap, inner filled with modeling clay for stability.

Inset 2 : WW2 Croatian infantry line-up in German military service, wearing standard German infantry field uniforms with iconic M40 helmets. Major WW2 powers (ex. Americans, British, Soviets, Germans, French, Italians) had unique helmet designs for artillery splinter protection, head-on bullet shots, and quick friend-vs-foe identification in close quarter combat.

German helmet design extended soldier protection from artillery splinters, but ballistic test showed it could not effectively withstand direct head shots in comparison to more dome-shaped WW2 US and Soviet helmets. Restored German WW2 Helmets - www.germanww2helmets.com/prevoussold.html

German foreign volunteers wore nationality shields on uniform sleeves. Some place the shields on right arm (as in these Croatian troops), while others place shields on left arm (as with French troops). Throughout WW2, shield placement also alternated depending on branch of service, such as Heere (army) versus Waffen-SS formations. Croatian Coat of Arms During Centuries - www.croatianhistory.net/etf/coat.html

As with most European ethnic groups, Croatia can trace its lineage to 7th-century Europe when its Slavic tribes settled in this Balkan region, fully converting to Christianity by 9th-century. Language-wise, Croatia and its slavic cousin Serbia share much in common, all be it Croatian are mostly Roman Catholic using Latin alphabets, while Serbian are mainly Orthodox Christians using Cyrillic alphabets. Before 1990s breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbo-Croatian was an official language standardized on the Stokavian dialect. Serbo-Croatian language - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbo-Croatian_language

Depending on political fortunes and alliances, Croatia first established an independent kingdom between 10th-12th centuries. Early-1100s, Croatia and Hungary signed the Pacta Conventa recognizing common Hungarian king as overlord. By 1530s, via Cetingrad Assembly protocols Croatia recognized Hapsburg dynasty overlordship from Austro-Hungarian Empire. In late 16th-century, military clashes with expansionist Ottoman Empire expansion brought Croatia to forefront of frontier battles. Given Croats compulsory military service to the Hapsburg and close proximity to Ottoman Turkish enemy, the empire granted Croatia political autonomy and free of serfdom. One could state this was beginning of Croatia geopolitical interplay in centuries to come. History of Croatia - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Croatia

Inset 3 : Croatian 1941-1942 propaganda postcard, three soldier in Germanic poses wearing iconic M40 German helmets, each carrying a political shield : 1) German Nazi eagle, 2) Croatian Sahovnica shield, 3) Italian Fascist stick-axe bundle. Croatia - Coat of Arms - http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/hr-heral.html