Brighton Modelworld, a few years back, I had U-117 on display...along comes a gentleman of Scottish birth and proceeded to instruct me about how much I was offending him by having a Kreigsmarine battle ensign flying on the wintergarden. He got quite stroppy about it in the end, despite me telling him that it was a MODEL submarine, I was not a Nazi sympathiser, and a German U-boat would look ridiculous with a Union Jack or the Stars and Stripes flying.
There were at least three other German U-boats on the stand, plus many German surface ships on the various other marine stands, most of them flying the correct flags, but for some reason he had to pick on me.
I notice that nowadays it's very difficult to buy a German battle ensign...I guess it's a politically correct thing, but it just seems silly to me that we as modellers cannot fly the correct flags on our boats without upsetting someone. I wonder how the scale model aircraft boys get on with representing the correct markings on a scale ME-109? Or even the full size warbird restorers? I've never heard anybody complain about the markings on a restored WW2 German fighter...so why do they pick on us?
The world has gone mad....