This trip report covers a visit to the Albuquerque Comic Con 2012 convention that took place on 13-15 January 2012 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.  The theme of the convention was "Celebrating the 70th anniversary of Wonder Woman and Women in Comics and Film".  The event was held in a different, larger venue than the 2011 Comic Con, which certainly made it easier to get around, and there seemed to be more vendors too.  The convention featured both comic book authors and celebrities from comic-book-related movies and television shows.  Guests of note included Brent Spiner (Data in Star Trek Next Generation, Independence Day), Dean Stockwell (Quantum Leap, Dune, Battlestar Gallactica, multiple other roles), Claudia Christian (Ivanova on Babylon 5), Lou Ferrigno (The Hulk), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Shang Tsungm in Mortal Kombat) Kristin Bauer (True Blood), and Jake Busey (Starship Troopers, Contact).  Matt and I sat in on the presentations by Brent Spiner, Dean Stockwell and Claudia Christian and they were both entertaining and informative for the fans.  Spiner’s rendition of Patrick Stewart informing everyone that he would now be addressed as "Sir Patrick Stewart" (after having been knighted) was priceless. 

Comic artists at the convention included William Stout, Gene Ha, Frank Cho, and Phil Jiminez.  Many local comic book authors and artists were present as well and it was interesting to talk with some of them too.  The main room had lots of vendors selling comic books, posters and art, action figures, T-shirts, and even some model kits - mostly science-fiction spacecraft and figures.  Lots of the attendees were dressed in comic book, anime, and movie costumes and those are always interesting to see.  Surprisingly there were only a few Wonder Woman outfits and a lot less of the Marvel movie and comic characters than in 2011.  Maybe they got involved in a "Secret War" in an alternate universe somewhere.  One of the more ingenious costumes was "Spam Man" – see his photo amongst the others posted below – but Bobetta Fett was pretty good too.  Based on what looked like to have been a successful second convention, they will probably be back in 2013.  Be there – Aloha – No deals. 

 

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Field Trip - Strategic Air & Space Museum

by Larry Glenn

 

 

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Field Trip Report - Planes of Fame Air Museum

by Mike Blohm

This Field Trip Report covers the second of two outstanding air museums that I visited in August 2011 on a trip to Southern California.  This report is on the Planes of Fame Air Museum in Chino CA.  The museum is located southwest of the Ontario Airport and just off Interstate 10.  If you are flying into Ontario or driving on I-10 to get to Los Angeles, this is definitely worth the four mile detour.  There are probably more than 1,500 aircraft models in various displays throughout the museum and they also deserve some viewing time during your visit. 

The museum - see map below -has a large central building with three large hangar bays containing aircraft exhibits and artifacts, and four other separate hangars packed with aircraft and models.  One of these is a special exhibit on the 475th Fighter Group and houses a P-38J Lightning in the group's markings.  There are also aircraft and vehicles parked outside of the buildings.  In front of the museum is the B-17G "Piccadilly Lilly II" that starred in the "12 O'clock High" series.  In between the hangars are multiple aircraft including an X-2, F7F-3N Tigercat night fighter, Fighter Conveyor (FICON) Project RF-84K with hook used to "dock" with the GRB-36, several MiGs, USAF Century Series and US Navy fighters, several military vehicles and tanks, and the front fuselage of a B-17E recovered from a swamp in Papua, New Guinea in 2006.  Most of these outside aircraft are in need of refurbishment.  Additional outside aircraft pictures are posted at the bottom of this article. 

The stated mission of the museum is "to preserve aviation history, inspire interest in aviation, educate the public, and honor aviation pioneers and veterans.  The Museum is dedicated to the preservation, perpetuation and exhibition of historical aircraft, and to the men and women, both famous and unknown, who devoted their lives to flight."  The museum was founded in 1957 and now has over 150 display aircraft, numerous historical artifacts and educational exhibits that span the history of manned flight.

Highlights of the Maloney Hangar inside the main building include an original, flyable Boeing P-26A Peashooter (one of two left), a Hanriot HD-1 Scout flown by French ace Charles Nungesser in the USA, Boeing P-12E, Seversky AT-12 Guardsman, Northrop N9MB Flying Wing, P-51D and replica Wright 1903 Flier and Apollo command module capsule. 

The Pond Hangar contains Army Air Corps and Navy aircraft and a few Korean War / Viet Nam era aircraft.  These include a P-39N, P-40B, P-40N, P-51A, P-51D, L-13A Grasshopper, PT-17 Kaydet, Grumman Duck, O-1 Bird Dog, Yak-18, and Mig-15UTI trainer.  There are also engines, uniforms, turrets, and instrument panels on display. 

The "USS Enterprise CV-5 Hangar" has a simulated aircraft hangar deck with multiple US Navy and USMC aircraft.  These include an FM-2 Wildcat, TBM-3 Avenger with torpedo, F4U-1A Corsair, Dauntless SBD, T-6/SNJ Texan (visible airframe), FR-1 Fireball, F9F Panther, and A-4 Skyhawk.  Information about the carrier and memorabilia are included in displays opposite the hangar deck.

The Foreign Hangar contains mostly Japanese and German aircraft but also a few allied planes.  Of note are the only original A6M5 Zero (flyable), the wreckage of a G4M1 "Betty" bomber in a jungle setting, and original J2M3 Raiden, J8M1 Shusui (Japanese version of the Me 163 Komet) and MXY-7 Okha (Baka Bomb).  German aircraft include replicas of the Fokker DR.1, He100, and V-1 Buzz Bomb; wooden mockups of the Me 163B Komet and Ba 349 Natter, and original He 162A-1, Horton H.IV Flying Wing Glider, Fi 156C Storch, and a Bf 109E-1/7 that flew in the Battle of Britain and Eastern Front.  It was recovered from a lake in Russia in 2003 ands is awaiting restoration.  Allied aircraft include a Yak-3U in the markings on the Normandie-Nieman Volunteer Squadron that flew with the USSR.  a Sopwith Pup, Bristol F.2b, and LK-10A Yankee Doodle Glider.  There are a large number of model display cases throughout this hangar.  Only about 20 per cent of the total cases are depicted below.

The Jets and Air Racers Hangar contains a mix of civil / racing aircraft and jet aircraft.  Military aircraft include the original D-558-II Skyrocket, P-80A, F-86F, T-33, MiG-15, MiG-17, MiG-21R, Vampire Mk VI, Meteor Mk IV, Gnat Mk I, and TS-11 Iskra.  Civil aircraft include the R3C-2 Racer, 1913 Deperdussin, and R-4 Firecracker, R-6 8 Ball, and replica R-1 Gee Bee racers.  This hangar also has a large number of model display cases around the inside walls.  Again, a small percentage of the total cases are depicted below. 

The 475 FG Hangar contains a P-38J in the "23 Skidoo" markings of ace Capt Perry J. Dahl.  Group memorabilia, pictures, and information depicting their life at the front during WW II are displayed throughout the hangar.  The Friedken Hangar is where restorations are ongoing but I was not able to visit that due to the time I had available.  That will be included on the next trip.

Highly recommended - plan on about half a day to see everything; a whole day if you also visit the Yanks Air Museum just down the street (see ASM November 2011 Newsletter).  There are probably more than 1,500 aircraft models in various displays throughout the museum and they also deserve some time during your visit.  Some are quite good but a lot are in need of repairs.  Admission is $11.00.  Check our further information on the museum at http://www.planesoffame.org/ including details on the collection.  Note that there is a second Planes of Fame Air Museum in Valle, Arizona that is also worth a visit.  Hope to be able to do a trip report on that museum sometime in the future. 

 

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Planes on Poles
And Other Static Displays

F-84F Artesia, NM	F-100A Melrose, NM	F-111 Clovis, NM	P-59B Edwards AFB, CA
Submitted by Matt Blohm	Submitted by Mike Blohm Jr.	Submitted by Mike Blohm	Submitted by Mike Blohm

 

F-104 St Michaels, MD	F-104 St Michaels, MD	F-104 St Michaels, MD

The purpose of this section is to highlight any unusual items that you find on display throughout Americana.  Please submit
photos of any aircraft or military items, or other items of interest that you encounter in your trips around the country.

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Trip Report - ASM at Kirtland AFB Open House

by Ken Liotta

For the first time ever, a local plastic modeler's club has participated in an Albuquerque-based air show as guests of Kirtland Air Force Base's "Open House."  Albuquerque Scale Modelers now holds that dubious distinction and we did it in grand style.  At this year's KAFB Open House on October 9, ASM had the honor of setting up six tables in KAFB's Hangar 1000 (aka the Osprey Hangar) to participate as one of their Vendors/Guests.  We were able to set up our club's "What is Scale Modeling" display, host two live model building demos, and (the icing on the cake) display ASM's 2006 IPMS/USA Nationals award-winning 1/32 scale F-16 Thunderbird Team!

ASM members Pete Beck, MTCM(SS), USN, Keith Liotta, and I arrived early Sunday morning before the gates opened up to set up the tables and displays that Pete and I had drop­ped off the previous Friday.  The arrangements made with KAFB to grant our club special access to the Show were a direct result of the dedicated efforts of Master Chief Beck and his contacts at KAFB.  Without his efforts, ASM would most likely have never had this opportunity.  For the club's Thunder­birds display, we used the original simulated tarmac base that was used for the 2006 Nationals.  To protect the F-16s from possible wind incursions and potential little wandering hands, we covered all six T-birds with one large glass display case cover that I have had in storage at my place for a few years.  I had a special banner made up (thanks to my loving wife Rita for assistance with that) to post in front of the T-birds and we also added appropriate patches, stickers, and photos that were made available for the display, care of Mike Blohm.

For the "What is Scale Modeling" display, Mike Blohm provided the presentation board and we used Frank Randall's 1/72 scale, John Tate's 1/48 scale, and my 1/32 scale Spitfires to demonstrate the three basic scales with respect to one-another.

To add to the two ASM displays, on one end Pete set up several of his 1/48 scale completed masterpieces representing some of the Air Force hardware currently being flown today, including the F-16CM, the F-15E, the MQ-1 Predator, and the MQ-9 Reaper.  On the other end, Keith and I set up numerous models representing examples of the various kinds of plastic models that are available to the public along with our complete model building setups.  While we also focused on Air Force hardware, we included a few other "off" subjects.  For example, we included a 1/12 scale Ensign Darwin Dolphin from the old SeaQuest TV show.  That turned out to be one of the kid's favorites.

The Open House officially opened at 9:00 A.M. and came to an end around 4:30 P.M. with numerous air demonstrations and fly-bys throughout the afternoon, including a T-33 demo, multiple passes by a B-1 and then a B-2.  As usual, the show-ending finale was the USAF Thunderbirds demonstration, a truly amazing sight for any aviation and modern day jet enthusiast.  During the entire show, our tables/display had a continuous flow of visitors literally lined up to pass by and see the displays.  Numerous attendees stopped to take pictures of the models, the T-Bird display and of their children right next to or with the models.  On several occasions, I had noticed moms having their kids lean in towards the table to get a picture of them next to the Academy 1/32 scale F-18 Blue Angel that I had brought along.  It just seemed like the right thing to do by carefully handing the model to the kids so that they could hold it while their moms or dads snapped pictures.  The payoff was seeing the huge smiles on their faces.

Besides all of the picture taking, we had dozens of attendees asking how we built certain models and how did we apply some of the paint, decals, and effects (washes).  The entire day was filled with mini-demos, how-to instructionals, directions to finding model kits and supplies at places like Hobby Proz and the internet.  We handed out the entire handful of Hobby Proz business cards within the first two hours, and then dozens of handwritten contact info for the shop too. We probably could have handed out a box load of them (hmmmm, lesson learned).  In addition to all of the business stirred up for the shop, we also handed out the fifty-plus ASM club flyers that Mike Blohm and I had printed out for the show within that same first two hours (again, lesson learned for next time).  It turns out that many Albuquerqueans had no idea there was a Plastic Model club in town.  With any luck, we will see several of them at our meetings in the coming months.  One potential visitor to a future ASM meeting may include the 377th Air Base Wing KAFB Public Affairs Manager Michael Kleiman.  We had a fair conversation about ASM and what we have to offer, and he expressed a significant interest in exploring the hobby.

The icing on the cake for the day was the numerous visits to the club's Thunderbird display by several ground/support crew members, PA Superintendent MSgt Kimberley Harrison, the Number 12 Public Affairs Officer Maj. Kristin Haley, and Thunderbird 3 himself, Maj. John Gallemore.  All of the Thunderbird team members were very impressed with the display and appeared to turn into little kids in a candy shop as they looked closer at the models.  Each member's visit would usually lead to photograph opportunities where they were asked to stand by the ASM T-bird display for and with the general public.  There are now dozens of photos across Albuquerque that include the ASM display as a backdrop with the Thunderbird members.

Additional thanks should be given to ASM members Dave Epstein, Jeff Frickstadt, Chuck Girven, and Pete's wife Rayna for the time they offered to stop by, support the display efforts, and for sitting in for Pete, Keith, and I so that we could enjoy portions of the Air Show too.

ASM would also like to extend special appreciation to Maj. Cindy Vernier, USAF, and Lt. Cox, USAF, for accommodating us in Hangar 1000 at this year's KAFB Open House and making us feel so welcome.  All of us had the most superb time participating and being a part of the show.  It will certainly be a Show to remember for us.

(Webmaster's Note:  ASM has previously particpated in several Air Show / Open House events over the past 15 years and has displayed models, but not to the extent as was done this year.)

More Pics to be Posted!

Photos by Ken Liotta and MikeBlohm

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Field Trip - Aerospace Museum of California

by John Tate

On a business trip to Sacramento, California, earlier this year I had a chance to visit the Aerospace Museum of California, located in McClellan Park, the site of the former McClellan Air Force Base, now a business park.  The museum, located in the north end of the park, is a medium-sized aviation museum with a nice collection of modern jets, including the A-10, F-14, F-4 Phantom II, and F-104, to name a few, and several WWII types, such as the C-47 and PT-26 trainer.

For any aviation enthusiast or modeler, you could easily spend a full afternoon poking around the old aircraft; most of the planes are on open display and modelers can check out nooks, crannies and landing gear bays to their heart's content.

And if you tire of the museum displays, the US Coast Guard maintains an active C-130 unit just across the parking lot.

When your visit to McClellan is complete, be sure to check out Sacramento's three first-class hobby shops: Viking Hobbies, Riverside Hobbies and R/C Country Hobbies.  

Aerospace Museum of California, 3200 Freedom Park Dr, McClellan, CA 95662 (www.aerospacemuseumofcalifornia.org).

 

 

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Field Trip - Yanks Air Museum

by Mike Blohm

This Field Trip Report covers one of two outstanding air museums that I recently visited on a trip to Southern California.  This report is on the Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California.  The museum has two large East and West Hangars with aircraft on display, a Restoration Hangar, and an outside Tarmac / Boneyard area with parked aircraft and other items in semi-storage condition. 

The stated mission of the museum is "Preserving the heritage of American aviation".  According to their brochure, the collection has 160+ aircraft, many of which are the sole surviving examples.  The aircraft on display have been restored to airworthy conditions.  The displays are mostly divided up by eras and specialty.  The West Hangar has 37 aircraft and 3 vehicles from 1903 to 1945.  The East Hangar has 17 aircraft from 1946 to modern day.  The East hangar also has several simulators and ejection seats, and about 10 display cases of models which are highly recommended for viewing.  Rare aircraft of note include an F-6M (photo recon P-51A), YP-47M, F-5G (photo recon P-38L), MX7-Y Ohka II (Baka Bomb), Fi 103 V-1 (Buzz Bomb), Kaman KD-1A Autogiro), and a P-63A.  For the WW II fan, there are an F6F-5, FM-2, SNJ-5, SBD-4, P-39N, P-40E, P-47D, P-51D, and B-25J.  There are lots of modern jets too, including an F-84E, Canadair Sabre Mk 6 (F-86E), F-100C, F-106B, F-5 on the USAF side, and FJ-1, F9F-8P, A-4C, F-14A, and E-2C on the USN/USMC side.  Pictures of some of these are included below.  As always, you "exit through gift shop" and lots of items are available, but not too many models other than pre-built and wood display types. 

Highly recommended - plan on about half a day to see everything.  The museum is located southwest of the Ontario Airport and just off Interstate 10.  If you are flying into Ontario or driving on I-10 to get to Los Angeles, this is definitely worth the four mile detour.  Admission is $11.00.  Check our further information on the museum at http://www.yanksair.com/ including details on the collection.  The other nearby museum - Planes of Fame - will be covered in another trip report. 

 

 

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Trip Report - Albuquerque Comic Expo (ACE) 2011

by Mike Blohm

This trip report covers a visit to the Albuquerque Comic Expo (ACE) 2011 convention that took place on 24-26 June 2011 at the Albuquerque Convention Center.  The convention featured both comic book authors and celebrities from comic-book-related movies and television shows.  Guests of note included Marvel comic author legend Stan Lee, Richard Hatch (Apollo) and Anne Lockhart (Sheba) from the original Battlestar Galactica, LeVar Burton (Jordie) and Marina Sirtis (Councilor Troy) from Star Trek Next Generation, Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters and The Crow, and Jeremy Bulloch (Bobba Fett) from Star Wars - The Empire Strikes Back, and Doug Jones from Hell Boy.  Additional artists and authors included Jim Kelly, Arthur Suydam, Aaron Campbell, Ale Garza, Gene Ha, Andy Kuhn, James O'Barr, Joe Jusko, Mitch Brietweiser, Whilce Portacio, Tony Harris, Jill Thompson, and Tim Seeley. 

The biggie event was a question and answer period with Stan Lee on Saturday morning, which was very entertaining.  Saturday afternoon featured a costume contest, which meant that a lot of attendees were roaming about in some pretty cool costumes for most of the day.  Pictures below capture a lot of those.  Richard Hatch gave an interesting presentation called "So Say We All" that discussed the history of Battlestar Galactica from its original inception through the efforts to get it back on the air, the most recent series and movies, and some more things in the works.  There was also a Star Trek Q&A with LeVar Burton and Marina Sirtis, and a presentation on the Robotech series which was pretty interesting. 

Talking with the celebrities was pretty cool, and we were able to get some good pictures with a lot of them.  Jeremy Bulloch (Bobba Fett) was very interesting to talk to, but the Storm Trooper dudes were always trying to take everybody in for the most minor infractions.  The upcoming Green Lantern movie had a large promotional display where you could see scenes from the movie and talk with some of the producers.  There was also a larger area where attendees could try out the latest video games. 

There were lots of vendors selling comic books, posters and art, action figures and statuettes/busts, T-shirts, etc. where you could spend a lot of your money.  There were some model kits too, including figures and science-fiction spacecraft.  Out in the main lobby coming into ACE there was an almost life-size replica of the power loader from the Aliens movie that Ripley used to fight the Mother Alien in the final scene of the movie.  This power loader would attempt to make an entry later on at the ASM-sponsored 2011 New Mexico State Fair Model Contest, but unfortunately was too large for the Fair officials to accept.

Overall it was a very fun experience, and you should plan to make the next ACE convention that is currently scheduled for 22-24 June 2012.  Make sure you attend the costume contest, as some of the costumes were pretty amazing.  Get working on yours. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Additional pictures from Annette Montano:

 

 

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Convention Report - Star Trek Las Vegas 2011

by Joe Walters

My wife Linda and I attend the big Trek convention put on by Creation Entertainment in Las Vegas every year, and we always have a great time!  This year was no different.

The convention took place August 11 - 14, and was in a new venue this year, the Rio Hotel & Casino - a large and modern facility with plenty of space.  The Rio featured a substantially larger Main Events room than the Hilton, and the Dealer Room was at least as large as its predecessor.  Previously, this convention had always been held at the Las Vegas Hilton, former home of the attraction known as Star Trek: The Experience.  With the closing of the Experience a few years back, we really had no further incentive to go to the Hilton, which is getting a bit dilapidated as time passes.

There were few items of interest to modelers at this convention, and certainly no modeling-related events.  The main thing of modeling interest would be the Dealer room, where some vendors sold kits (mostly the mainstream sci-fi kits you see everywhere), and some sold props and recreations of items from the shows and display kits that could be of interest.

Most of the dozens of guest stars were easily accessible at various times during the con; some, like the really major luminaries (Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, etc.) limited that access to autograph and photo sessions, for which you had to pay, but many were approachable after initial lines had died down.  Indeed, for much of the con, stars like Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, and John DeLancie, spent time at tables in the Dealer room and you could just walk up and strike up a conversation.  Considering the several thousand people in attendance, this was a bit unexpected!

A major event of the convention was Leonard Nimoy in his final Vegas con appearance.  He's retiring from conventions as of this year, and his final con appearance ever will be in October at a Creation con in Chicago.  He spent his entire hour giving a prepared presentation on his life and career, including showing some slides of never-before-seen photos from Trek and other series he had done.  He became very emotional at the end, as he thanked the fans for the many years of support and good wishes.  He filled the Main Events room.  Linda and I estimated there were close to 5,000 chairs in that room, and they were nearly all filled.

There was an attempt (second year in a row) to break the Guinness record for most Star Trek costumes in one place at the same time.  They did this last year, setting the record at 543.  Later that year, DragonCon in Atlanta broke that record with 571, and then FedCon in Germany broke it again, setting the bar at 691. They'll have to work harder now: we hit a total of 1,040, including Linda dressed as Dr. Miranda Jones - sensor net, goggles, and all.

Sunday featured the biggest draw: Sir Patrick Stewart, William Shatner, and Kate Mulgrew together onstage.  They each got some solo time, then came together for a mass Q&A session.  The Main Events room was filled to the gills; all the chairs were full and people were standing around the walls and in the back.  I have to believe there were over 5,000 people in there.  Remember, Star Trek has been off the air for the better part of a decade!  Apparently, there's still some interest in the franchise.  This was easily one of the high points of the show.

Events we missed included several more panels (you can't hit them all!), David Gerrold's Writer's Workshop, genre auctions, the "Resistance is Futile Champagne Bingo Bash" (we attended that once a few years back - the prizes were excellent, but the event was very pricey and there were far more attendees than prize packages), Karaoke Night (I make a habit of missing out on Karaoke nights wherever and whenever, thank you), the various breakfasts and lunches with the stars, a presentation on the Hubble Space Telescope, Leonard Nimoy's photography seminar, a "Stump the Experts" trivia competition, autograph sessions and photo-ops (we happen to have virtually everyone's autograph from over the years; Linda only got one this year, John Cho - Mr. Sulu from the recent Trek movie), and much more.

An excessively detailed version of this report, along with a large number of photos taken at the con, can be found at the old ASM Temp Web Site (http://web.me.com/jwalters).

 

 

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Trip Report - Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles

by Mike Blohm

This trip report covers the Heartland Museum of Military Vehicles (HMMV) located in Lexington, Nebraska.  I had the opportunity to make a short visit at this museum when returning from the recent IPMS/USA National Convention in Omaha, Nebraska.  The museum is located adjacent to I-80 at the Lexington exit, so it is very easy to get to.  A "vignette" of a UH-60 helicopter sitting atop a simulated rooftop with people (silhouettes) climbing into it - looking back to the Saigon evacuation - is next to the highway and calls your attention to the museum. 

The museum's mission is to preserve historic military vehicles and also to honor America's veterans of the battlefront and home front.  There are about 100 vehicles on display spanning more than 50 years of time, including tanks, jeeps, halftracks, trucks, ambulances, helicopters, snow and artillery tractors, Humm-Vees, and helicopters.  There is a long line-up of vehicles parked outside the museum, and a large amount of vehicles and displays located inside the museum's library area and several garage-type bays.  A lot of the vehicles are open, and hands-on is encouraged.  There are some model displays in the museum, along with rifles, helmets, munitions, and engines.  Tanks include the M-4A1E8 Sherman, M-60A1 with bulldozer blade, and M-2 Bradley.  Also in the collection are the M110A2 self-propelled 8-inch howitzer, M113 APC with a prototype Hellfire missile launcher system, M16 halftrack with quad .50-inch machine guns, M-28 Weasel, M-7 Snow Tractor, and German Army Kuebel-Wagen Type 82 and Schwimm-Wagen Type 166 vehicles.  Pictures of some of the collection are posted below. 

Overall a great museum to visit and a definite stop for military vehicle modelers.  Plan about half a day if you want to see everything.  Admission is free.  For further information see the museum's website at:  http://www.heartlandmuseum.com. 

 

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Museum Model Displays

By Victor Maestas

Every time I go out of town to a different city, I first look up the local model shops and then I always find out what interesting museums are around.  One of the things I look for when I'm in museums is model displays.  These can be used to showcase a large collection or tell a story without having to build a whole new wing.  The good displays are ones that not only have high quality models, but also have the background information clearly presented to explain the display and engage the audience to want to learn more about the subject being shown.

ASM has a presence in local museums and public displays with a display in the old National Atomic Museum as well as current displays in the New Mexico Veterans Memorial and Museum and the Cavalcade of Wings display at the Albuquerque Sunport.

Museum of Flight in Seattle

There is always something new at The Museum of Flight every time I go through it.  This time there was a new display showing vehicles and equipment used in space travel including a Soyuz capsule, Mercury capsule, a laboratory module of the ISS that was used as a ground simulator, and a moon rover.

The very impressive model display at this museum was a collection of aircraft of WWII in 1/72nd scale in the WWII fighter wing of the museum.  There were over 400 models all from a single builder.  Each country that was involved in WWII had planes represented.  The builder was Dr. H. Logan Holtgrewe and he built the models over a seven-year stretch.  The models were of very high build quality and were housed in custom display cases.  Most were built from kits, but when there was no kit some of the models were made from balsa wood.  This is the type of display that shows that with vision and a lot of perseverance, a very complete and impressive collection can be built.  It's great that this collection made it to a museum for us to see instead of taking up space in his attic.

45th Infantry Division Museum in Oklahoma City

The 45th Infantry Division Museum showcases the history of the 45th Infantry Division through WWII and Korea.  It has an impressive display of vehicles out on the grounds.  Displays inside the museum show the actions of the Thunderbirds through their campaigns in Sicily, Italy, France and Germany.

The museum had a wall dedicated to Medal of Honor recipients from the 45th Infantry Division.  The division had eight recipients and each one was memorialized with a copy of the citation as well as a model diorama showing a snapshot of the events leading to earning their awards.  Each diorama was built to the same scale and looked like the same builder (or group of builders) built them all.  They were consistent in scale and level of detail.  These displays complimented the MOH citations to get a good visual picture of the action that took place.  The impression I got from reading the citations and then looking over the dioramas was the stark nature of the battlefields.  There was no embellishment to the story.  Some of the dioramas were painfully simple involving only a desert landscape and some foxholes. It made the reality and gravity of battle really sink in.

Museum of Naval Aviation at Pax River

I visited this museum many years ago.  The Pax River Naval Aviation Museum has a large collection of test/evaluation aircraft in the typical white/orange markings for test aircraft outside near the entrance to the base. Some of the highlights include the X-35 and X-32 evaluation aircraft parked across from each other.

The display inside included an impressive model of the aircraft carrier USS Hancock in 1/48 scale!  It was huge, about twenty feet long and took up an entire hallway, so much so that it was hard to take pictures of it.  It was shown in its 1950s configuration and had a lot of detail including guns, stairs, rigging, etc.  It had about twenty aircraft on deck including F7U Cutlasses, F9F Cougars, and others.

Models getting the chance to be on display in a museum are like professional athletes or rock stars.  There are hundreds of thousands of worthy applicants out there, but only a select few get to go to the big show.  Some of the models and collections are there by luck or because they are so impressive in their own right. I like to go out and see what the next amazing display will have to show.

 

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ASM 2011 Road Trip Report

Not since Homer's famous writings of the adventures of Odysseus has there been such an epic tale of adventure as that undertaken by Brian and Gil during the ASM road trip of May 2011.  Well maybe not epic, but it was a blast all the same. Brian had done some research on inexpensive air fares and potential destinations and came up with a great itinerary.  The primary goals for the trip were seeing the National Museum of the Air Force at Wright Patterson and a trip to Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana along with a stop at Lingenfelter Performance Engineering.  For you non-car guys and gals Lingenfelter is a performance engineering shop that specializes in getting very reliable, but very large horsepower numbers out of modern automobiles (mostly GM products).  Things also worked out to allow a quick stop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before making our way back home.  So we got to see lots of old airplanes and fast cars, what more could a guy want from a road trip (no offense meant to the armor, ship and sci-fi enthusiasts of our club).  I guess the only thing really missing were more intrepid adventurers.  We sorely missed ya'll and wish that more could have made the trip with us, but I have been assured that there will be more trip opportunities in the future. 

Tuesday May 3rd dawned clear and a perfect day for travel.  We flew on that icon of aviation efficiency Southwest Airlines and arrived in Indianapolis, Indiana that afternoon after a brief layover in Kansas City. It was during the layover in KC that I realized just how little I know about commercial jet aircraft spotting.  Fortunately I was sitting next to the club's 6'8" walking aircraft encyclopedia, so I learned a few things about the big jets.  We got our rental car and headed towards the motel in Indianapolis making a quick stop at Hobby Town USA along the way.  I have not seen a hobby shop that large "live and in person", so it was a new experience for me.  It was impressive and pretty cool to see a place that had so many hobbies catered to, and all under one roof.  But it didn't take long to realize that something was missing, and that was atmosphere.  The first time I walked into Hobby Proz I saw people just hanging out and having a good time discussing their passion for hobbies of various types.  It was also staffed with folks who clearly knew way more than I did about those hobbies and they were just as eager to help me learn as they were to sell any product.  So it was neat to see the "big box" store, but even neater to realize how good we have it back home.  

After our tour of the Hobby Town USA store we found our luxurious accommodations and got checked in.

We were rather surprised to find that news of our arrival had apparently leaked to the local media and they had the honor guard there to greet us when we arrived.

The second thing that we noticed was a strange and wonderful aroma in the air that we could not identify at first.  Then we realized it was an absence of dust! It was damp, cool, green and very refreshing.  I am fairly certain that several people wondered who the weird guys were that just stood in the parking lot with their noses in the air inhaling deeply for several minutes.  The next morning we got up early, had a quick bite at the motel and hit the road headed for Wright Patterson Air Force base in Ohio.

On this particular day we were also reminded just why things are so green and refreshing in that part of the country.

Not to worry though, in a couple short hours we were pulling up at the National Museum of the Air Force and giggling like kids pulling up at Disney Land.

Actually the very wet weather turned out to be a blessing in disguise since the crowds were non-existent at the museum.  This allowed yours truly to take way too many photos and realize that he has lots and lots to learn about his digital SLR.  The lighting in the museum was a bit tricky so please excuse the poor exposures, blurry hand held shots and poorly adjusted white balance in most of the images. There will be a link posted to the trip pictures on the ASM website thanks to Joe and Mike.

l had a personal interest in seeing one of the aircraft at the museum since my father in law was an engine mechanic on a SAC RB-36 during his years in the Air Force.  He had always described to me how huge they were, but until I saw one up close and personal it just never sunk in.

In the reconnaissance version the bomb bays would have been loaded up with camera equipment.

My father in law has also described many times how much of an ordeal it was to get all 56 spark plugs changed in a Pratt and Whitney Wasp Major engine like those used in the B-36.  Four rows of seven cylinders, each cylinder with dual ignitions.

Six Wasp Major engines on the aircraft, 3 per wing, that's 336 spark plugs if my math is right.  Each engine drove a 19 foot diameter prop and if they went out on a long mission it was rare to have all six props turning when they got home.  One of the problems was that the P&W 4360 was designed to have the carburetor at the rear of the airstream.  With the intake air flowing over the hot cylinders it would bath the carb in hot air and help prevent icing. With the engines mounted in a pusher configuration that did not happen and the carbs tended to ice up.  If they iced up severely they sometimes ran rich enough that unburned fuel would pool in the exhaust manifolds until it ignited and started an engine fire.  The museum also had plenty of modern era aircraft, lots of jets from lots of different countries.

This fellow seemed far too interested in the museum's Mig 29, maybe a background check is in order!

Just around the corner in the hanger our intrepid travelers found a cool F-16 cockpit to sit in.  Here is a riddle for you, how to you get someone who is about 6' 8" into the cockpit of an F-16?  The answer is VERY CAREFULLY.

The short guy had a little easier time getting into the cockpit, but he was totally befuddled by the complexity of this high tech machine!  Where the heck is the cup holder?

Not much to say about this museum other than WOW!  We spent an entire day there and could have made it two or three and still not seen everything there was to see.  They have lots of memorabilia and interesting historical commentary, not just amazing aircraft…

Like a presentation on how Disney Studios volunteered time and talent to help design unit insignia and artwork for flight jackets.

.... Or the accurate recreation of a typical control tower that the 8th Air Force would have used in Europe during the Second World War.  It was cool to see the old Teletype equipment.  My dad spent many months in a communications bunker on Christmas Island in the Pacific running equipment like that during WW2.

I did find out that you just can't take a serious model builder to an airplane museum and expect him to forget his keen eye and high standards.  A paint booger is a paint booger, and even in 1:1 scale that won't fly with Brian!

We were almost done at this stop and what with all the rain and dampness it was fortunate that Brian found an amazing 50 millisecond hair dryer!  Where do you drop your quarter to get this puppy going?

Well that did it for stop one and now it was back to Indiana for a visit at Lingenfelter Performance Engineering. Brian has lots of their go fast goodies on his Camaro engine and has been a customer of theirs for quite some time. He had been there for a visit before and figured Gil would get a kick out of seeing their shop since he likes anything with a loud peddle too. 

What a great time that was, the guys at Lingenfelter were more than gracious and treated us like we were going to drop $50K on our visit, even though they knew we would just be going home with some souvenir T-shirts.  We even got to meet Mr. Lingenfelter himself and he is as down to earth a guy as you will ever meet.

They spent a couple hours showing us the machine shop, the engine dyno room and the chassis dyno room.  No pics were allowed in the machine shop or engine dyno room since this is such a competitive business to be in. 

Then best of all they asked if we would each like a ride in one of their 750 HP ZR1 Corvette "test mules".  Needless to say it took no arm twisting and Brian let me take the first ride. Holy Cow!  I have never been in a vehicle that was capable of cruising down the road at 70 mph in 4th gear and then spun the tires when the guy stomped the throttle!  I am guessing it took about 2.5 seconds to hit 120 MPH from 70MPH!  And yet on the small town side streets it was a docile vehicle that you would not hesitate to take to the grocery store.  These guys definitely know their automotive engineering.  

After our test rides we decided we might need to have the smiles surgically removed from our faces! Alas the time had come to move on and leave this wonderland of hot rods behind.

So we piled back into our anemic little rental car and pointed it down the road towards Grissom Air Force base and the next museum adventure.  The drive was very scenic and it really was a reminder why they call it "America's heartland".  Lots of towns, some with very "old school" looking hobby shops...

And some that just looked friendly, with flags on the front porch, old fashioned main streets and even an M3 Stuart in the little park by the post office. 

The little M3 was definitely worth a quick stop and a few pics.  Hmmm with Brian next to that M3 it almost doesn't look like its 1:1 scale. 

Then it was time to get back on the road and the next museum. The folks at the Grissom museum were very friendly and we were sad to hear that they have lost their funding due to budget cuts. The loss of funds came without warning and they were not sure if they would be open this time next year. We also met one of the guys that helps to restore aircraft and he was discouraged that they got so few volunteers to help with the restorations. It made us wish they could send a few planes our way. I bet we could generate a little interest here in the club if there were a local project like that going on!  The museum's aircraft are all outdoors, so it is even more of a challenge to keep them looking decent. 

Out on the “back 40” they had pieces of an old F-89 hoping to become a whole aircraft again someday. 

Inside they had some nicely done displays of memorabilia and an F-4 fuselage chunk that had been set up so the kids could crawl in one air intake and around the back of the cockpit to come out the other air intake.  Although we were sorely tempted we thought discretion was the better part of valor and did not get ourselves stuck in that particular display.  They also had a nice little display case that would warm the hearts of all our small scale aircraft enthusiasts.  Lots and lots of nicely built aircraft models, and every one in 1:72 scale! 

So we checked off another museum destination and got to meet more nice folks and see more interesting planes.  We then decided that if we got a move on we had just enough time to squeeze in one more stop at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's Hall of Fame Museum before we checked in at the airport. 

We also decided it was appropriate to practice our own refueling techniques and made a quick pit stop on the way. Steak n Shake was another fun learning experience for Gil, maybe they’ll open a franchise in NM someday! 

After braving lots of construction on the freeway (those dang orange barrels followed us all the way from NM), we found our way to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  

It really is a big place and to get to the museum you drive through a tunnel under the grandstands and pop out in front of the main building. 

If you like race cars, especially Indy Cars then this is a neat museum to see.  There is something from every era and it is fascinating to see the progression in ideas and engineering over the decades.  The old roadsters killed quite a few drivers; the good old days weren't always so good. 

Before we left we got a chance to take a ride on a small tour bus that runs around the track and down pit lane.  We were both impressed with just how big the track is, it really is a super speedway.  The bus driver probably got tired of us asking if that thing could go any faster.  They still have a one yard wide strip of the original bricks that runs across the front straight. If I remember right the tour guide said the original track had 3.2 million, ten pound bricks that were laid by hand.  Wow and I was tired after laying a few pavers for a patio last summer! 

So in the end we got to see lots of history everywhere we went. We met lots of nice folks everywhere we went and also gained more appreciation for the good friends we have back home. I was reminded often of the common bond that our hobby provides, and also reminded that I am lucky to have a place like Hobby Proz to go hang out where there are nice folks who genuinely care about the customer and are eager to help you learn. This really is a hobby that can teach you a lot about many things, and it makes the learning a fun and entertaining process.  Many thanks to Brian for cooking up such a great itinerary.  And many thanks to Joe and Mike for all their hours of work on the newsletter and web site.  As a wise man we all know is often heard to say "it's all good"!

Webmaster's Note:  Many thanks to Gil for his truly outstanding first person "There I was..." trip report, and the multitude of pictures; and also to Brian for setting up the trip.  Other ASMers please take notes, and get your own stories in to the ASM Newlstter and Website!  More trips are being planned, so stay tuned to the website. 
Click here if you'd like to view an Additional USAF Museum Trip Report from May 2008.

 

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Trip Report - Albuquerque Comic Con 2011

By Mike Blohm and Joe Walters

This trip report covers a visit to the Albuquerque Comic Con 2011 convention that took place January 15 - 16, 2011 at the Hilton Hotel.  The convention featured both comic book authors and celebrities from comic-book-related movies and television shows.  Guests of note included Peter Mayhew and Dickey Beer (Chewbacca and Boba Fett in Star Wars), Gil Gerard and Erin Gray (from Buck Rogers), Herbert Jefferson and Anne Lockhart (original Battlestar Galactica), Deep Roy (Star Trek 11, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory), Lou Ferrigno (Incredible Hulk), and Alaina Huffman (Stargate Universe and Smallville); and comic artists Gene Ha and Andy Kuhn.  Local comic book authors and artists were present as well. There were many vendors selling comic books, posters and art, action figures, T-shirts, etc., where you could spend a lot of your money.  There were some model kits too, including figures and science-fiction spacecraft.

The crowd was a lot bigger than the planners expected and navigation from one place to another was often difficult, as passageways became jammed with attendees. The action flowed out into the hallways and patio of the hotel.  Let's hope that next year's Con will take place in a larger venue!

Panel discussions were lively, including one featuring the Buck Rogers and Galactica actors together, answering questions and telling stories.  Movies were shown, autographs were signed, and everyone found much to do.

Many attendees were dressed in comic book and movie costumes, and some were pretty cool.  There was a face-off in the patio of Marvel and DC Comic characters, but the members of the 501st Legion (Vader's Own) kept it from getting out of hand.

Tall Tale Comics put on this show, and they plan to do Comic Con again in 2012, so put that on your calendar and get working on your costume. 

 

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The dedication for the "A Noble Legacy: The USS New Mexico" exhibition at the New Mexico History Museum in Santa Fe took place on Sunday, January 23, 2011.  Several ASM members were there to see the new exhibition and th 1/96-scale model of the battleship USS New Mexico (BB40), including Keith Liotta, Jack Morris, Jim Guld, Victor Maestas, Glenn Bingham, Rick Carver, and Harry Davidson.

The model has been set up at the entrance to the museum in a large glass enclosure.  All the people looking at the model were very impressed with the detail and workmanship that had to have gone into the model.  A smaller model (probably about 1/350) of the Virginia class USS New Mexico (SSN 779) submarine was also on display nearby.

One of the speakers was Commander George Perez, the CO of the USS New Mexico (SSN 779).  He gave a talk on the submarine and its expected mission.  The submarine is a Fast Attack Nuclear submarine armed with Mk. 48 torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles.  He extended an invitation to anyone to visit the ship and show your NM ID and get a tour.  I guess the trick will be to first find the ship…

A compelling presentation by retired Chief Warrant Officer George Smith was next.  A 92-year-old veteran of BB40, he spoke of the ship being in top shape at all times because of the pride of the crew as well as the tight discipline (no baseball caps with the bill facing backwards).

A short movie on the war experience of the ship was put together by the museum based on the official records as well as some information pulled from the diary of one of the sailors.  The ship was nicknamed "The Queen" and won six battle stars.  She was involved in the invasion of the Gilbert and Marshall islands.  Later she was involved in the capture of Mindoro and Luzon as well as the Okinawa invasion.  It was hit by kamikaze planes twice, but did make it through the war.  The ship was present at Tokyo Bay for the surrender of the Japanese.

The exhibition at the museum includes uniforms from the time period before WWII, some of the parts from one of the kamikaze planes that hit the ship, and the models on display.  Some of the silver settings used on BB40 were on display; they will eventually be sent to be used on SSN 779.

The dedication was a very interesting event that portrayed the history and future of the ships named after our state.  The exhibition will be at the museum for four months.  If you are in the area, it's worth a look.

 

 

Webmaster's Notes: 

USS New Mexico (BB-40) was a battleship in service with the United States Navy from 1918-1946.  She was the lead ship of a class of three battleships which included the USS New Mexico, USS Idaho, and USS Mississippi.  New Mexico was extensively modernized between 1931 and 1933 and saw service during World War II both in the Atlantic and Pacific theatres.  After her decommissioning she was scrapped in 1947.  New Mexico was the first US Navy ship named for the state of New Mexico. 

For additional pictures visit the following website; there are sets of pictures for different year groups:  http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/40a.htm

For the history of the battleship New Mexico visit the following site:  http://www.acepilots.com/ships/new_mexico.html

This trip report covers the "Century Circle" aircraft display at Edwards AFB CA.  The display is located at the West Gate into the base on Rosamond Boulevard and is available for the general public to visit.  There are six jets on display that are commonly called the "Century Series" because their numbers are in the hundreds.  The jets include the second of two YF-100A prototypes and the oldest surviving Super Sabre; an F-101B Voodoo that served with the 132 Fighter Interceptor Squadron in Bangor, Maine; the third TF-102A Delta Dagger two-seater trainer built that served at Edwards AFB for most of its career; an F-104A Star Fighter that had a very unusual career (see sign picture below) including chase for the first SR-71A flight and having a U-2 nose installed; an F-105D Thunderchief that served with the 419 Tactical Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, Utah; and an F-106B Delta Dart two-seat trainer that had served part of its career with the 329 Fighter Interceptor Squadron at George AFB, California.  Also displayed is the first of two prototypes of the McDonnell Douglas YC-15 Advanced Medium STOL Transport.  In the center of the display is a restored control tower that was used by the Air Force Flight Test Center from the 1950's until 1988. 

Definitely a site to visit if you are in the Palmdale area of Southern California and would like to see some prototype and one-of-a-kind aircraft.  Because this display is located outside the base gate (although on base property) you will not need to get a pass or be part of a special tour.  The link below is to an August 2007 news article covering the dedication of the display.  http://www.edwards.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123066163

 

 

 

Aerial view of Century Circle from theAFFTC Museum's Website

 

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Trip Report - Air Force Flight Test Center Museum - The Inside Look

by Mike Blohm 

 

By Mike Blohm

I wrote a field trip report in March 2008 on the Air Force Armament Museum, but that report covered only the outside aircraft and weapons displays because the inside of the museum was under renovation and closed to the public.  This report gives you an "Inside Look" at the inside displays as of January 2010.  Click HERE to see the "Outside Look" trip report posted below. 

The museum has four aircraft on the main floor:: F-105D Thunderchief, P-47N Thunderbolt, P-51D Mustang, and F-80 Starfire.  Suspended from the ceiling are multiple types of missiles, rockets, drones, and bombs including a JB-2 Loon (V-1) and a bomb-carrying BQM-34 Firebee drone.  Throughout the ground floor are multiple types of weapons including a replica of the Fat Man nuclear bomb.  There is a large grouping of bombs clustered around the F-105D which includes most of the laser guided bomb family and a very interesting display of the air-delivered sensors used along the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Vietnam War. 

There are cockpit simulators for both the F-15 Eagle and A-10 Thunderbolt.  Note that time slows down when you sit in the A-10 simulator, so check your watch.  There is a nice display on the American prisoner of war experience.  There is a real Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center (ABCCC) module off one side door that you can walk into.  The other side of the building has a "Weapons Vault" with lots of aerial machine guns, cannons, and Gatling guns, with lots of cutaways of the weapons and the munitions.  There are also a lot of ground weapons - machine guns, bazookas, etc.  Movies are shown in a small theater covering the history of weapons development and testing at Eglin AFB.   

The second floor is a wrap-around balcony that depicts aerial weapons development from World War I through current times.  A lot of the weapons have cutaways and informative descriptions depicting how they were designed.   

A few notes to update my previous report.  The outside displays are getting repainted and are in better shape than in 2008.  The MiG-21 and Mace have been redone and look good.  Unfortunately they have not yet gotten to their F-4D.  They have added an HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant helicopter, with that type's retirement from the USAF.   

The Air Force Armament Museum is located just outside of Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach, Florida and is highly recommended if you are passing through Northwest Florida.  Lots of good stuff for modelers.  Plan on at least half a day to see both the outside and inside exhibits.  Entry is free.  Click on this link for more info on the museum:  http://www.afarmamentmuseum.com 

At the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa, Arizona

Sponsored by the IPMS / Craig Hewitt Chapter

It was nice to get away for the weekend.  The weather was pleasant and the venue was great for a one-day show being held at the Commemorative Air Force Museum in Mesa, Arizona.   The Craig Hewitt chapter put on the show from Phoenix.

On Wednesday, October 7, I met with Keith Liotta and family and the four of us carpooled over to Tucumcari to see the annual air show presented by the local Rotary Club.

This is a great show—attended by fewer than 1000 people, you don’t have to fight through huge crowds or jammed parking lots.  Easy to get in, around, and out!   And they manage to bring in some real quality entertainment.  Static displays—which you can approach quite closely—include several Warbirds, including an Avenger (pictured), a Navy SNJ, and a trio of cats (Wildcat, Hellcat and even a Bearcat)—all of which flew!  An F-15 flew in from? Cannon AFB to do some bone-rattling flybys in afterburner, a few stunt planes put on crowd-pleasing demonstrations, the Army Golden Knights did their thing—twice—and the capstone of the show was Canada’s Snowbirds aerial demonstration team, which put on an utterly astounding demonstration of precision flying.  The Snowbirds attend this show every year.

Low clouds prevented them from doing their full show, but their “low show” was incredible on its own.  With nine planes in the air at once, they can do a lot of misdirection and come at you from unexpected places.  A beautiful and elegant performance, this show, featuring amazing precisionist flying, is not to be missed.

One is wise to bring one’s own lawn chairs and sunscreen and such, and vendors abound selling everything from standard show foods to T-shirts to souvenirs to enlistments in military branches. 

We’ll be keeping an eye out for info on next year’s show, and make announcements at club meetings as the time approaches.  It’s an easy day trip and well worth the effort and time!

  This trip report covers a visit to the US Navy destroyer USS Turner Joy (DD-51) which is located in Bremerton, Washington.  The destroyer is part of the Bremerton Naval Memorial and is maintained and administered by the Bremerton Historic Ships Association.  During a visit to Seattle last spring, we took a ferry ride over to Bremerton and decided to visit the destroyer, which is berthed right next to the ferry docks.  The USS Turner Joy was a Forest Sherman-class destroyer named after Admiral Charles Turner Joy and was in commission between 1959 and 1982.  It was one of the last “gun destroyers” (no guided missiles).  It served in the Vietnam War and participated in the Tonkin Gulf Incident, where it sank or damaged four North Vietnamese gunboats. 

   You visit the ship by taking a self-guided tour.  You “enter through gift shop” and pay an entrance fee, and are then pretty much on your own to tour the whole ship.  A nice handout is provided that gives an excellent overview of the major areas of the ship and also the ship’s history.  You go aboard at the stern, go below decks to see the engine area, go through a lot of cabins and ready rooms, the Combat Information Center, and finally end up on the bridge.  There are a lot of helpful signs that describe what went on where.  You can walk through the whole top deck area and check out the gun turrets and torpedo tubes. Unfortunately you can only look through the door into the one open turret, and not actually enter it.  The ship is well cared for and in good shape, and it was a great visit.  A selection of pictures are included below.

   Highly recommended if you happen to be in the Seattle area.  Plan on at least an hour or two.  And yes, I do visit stuff besides airplanes when I get the chance – even Navy stuff.  Check out the following websites for more information on the memorial and the history of the ship:

http://www.ussturnerjoy.org/

http://www.hnsa.org/ships/turnerjoy.htm

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-t/dd951.htm

http://www.navsource.org/archives/05/951.htm

 

 

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   This Field Trip Report covers a trip that I recently made to the Flying Heritage Collection at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, just North of Seattle.  The museum consists of a large hangar with approximately 18 aircraft ranging from the World War I era through today, although most are from World War II.   Most of these are in flyable condition and perform on Saturdays from June through September.  Unfortunately my visit was a few months too early.  Pictures of the Collection's aircraft are posted below.

Flyable aircraft on display include a Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vc in RAF Czechoslovakian 312 Squadron markings; Hawker Hurricane Mk XIIb, Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3 Emil, Fiesler Fi 156C-2 Storch, Curtiss JN-4 Jenny, Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk - was Lend-Lease to Russia but is in American Volunteer Group markings; Republic P-47D Thunderbolt in 510th Fighter Squadron (FS) markings; North American P-51D Mustang in 352 FS / 353 Fighter Group markings; Mitsubishi A6M3-22 Zero-Sen (currently stripped-down of paint); Polikarpov I-16 Type 24 Rata;and a Polikarpov U-2/Po-2 in 46th Guards Regiment markings.   

Aircraft of note that are either static or not flown due to rarity include a Focke Wulf Fw 190D-13 Dora in Jagdgeschwader (Fighter Wing) 26 markings; F6F Hellcat in Commander James Flatley's (CVAG-5) markings; Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet in Jagdgeschwader 400 markings; Nakajima Ki-43 Hayabusha (Oscar) in 11th Sentai markings; Fiesler Fi 103 / V-1 “Buzz Bomb”, and a Fiesler Fi 103R Reichenberg (manned V-1).  The museum also has a nose section of an Avro Lancaster Mk 1 bomber and a “Space Ship One” replica on display.   

Each aircraft has a placard that tells the story of that aircraft - it's real lineage and it's current markings, which are sometimes different.  Many of the stories tell of wreckage or abandoned derelict aircraft being found in remote areas long after the war and being restored.  The Collection's website does have some on this information on-line as well, so please refer to that as you review the pictures below. 

Very highly recommended - plan on at least half a day to see everything.  Unfortunately the aircraft are grouped together and surrounded by low barriers, such that you can’t walk totally around them or get very close up.  Try to visit during the summer when they are flying on Saturdays – the website has a schedule for “Flying Days” that includes which specific aircraft will be flying.  Hint:  If you are there on 18 July you can see the Bf 109E and P-47D go head-to-head.  Check out the Collection’s website at:  http://www.flyingheritage.com. 

Collection Hangar	Collection Hangar	Hangar Entrance	Hangar Entranceway	P-51D & Hurricane	A6M3 Zero & JN-4 Jenny

 

Curtiss JN-4 Jenny	Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk	Republic P-47D Thunderbolt	North American P-51D Mustang	Grumman F6F Hellcat	Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3 Emil	Focke Wulf Fw 190D-13

 

Fiesler Fi 156C-2 Storch	Fiesler Fi 103 V-1 Buzz Bomb	Fiesler Fi 103R Reichenberg	Messerschmitt Me 163B Komet	Hawker Hurricane XIIb	Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vc	Avro Lancaster B Mk I

 

Mitsubishi A6M3-22 Zero	Hayabusha Ki-43 Oscar	Polikarpov I-16 Type 24 Rata	Polikarpov Po-2 / U-2	Space Ship One Replica	Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk	Focke Wulf Fw 190D-13

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The annual Starfest sci-fi convention was held again in Denver this past April 17 – 19, and despite a surprise blizzard, attendance was once again in the thousands.  Guests included Battlestar Galactica’s Katee Sackhoff (Starbuck); Star Trek’s Brent Spiner (Data), Ethan?Phillips (Neelix), and Robert Picardo (Voyager’s Doctor); Babylon 5’s Patricia Tallman?(Lyta Alexander); William Katt (Greatest American Hero); and more.

As always, among the many many activities offered at this convention, modeling plays a major part.  There are two main modeling events: Vern?Clark’s Model Show and Tom Grossman’s modeling workshop.           

A combination airbrush training session, modeling how-to, and make-&-take, Tom’s venue is always busy.  Tom tells me he never gets to attend any other convention events, as he’s tied up in this activity room basically from start to finish.   You can see in the picture below how his hands stay full, and everyone manages to have a good time!

The Model Show is a contest and a chance to display one’s sci-fi modeling skills to other fans.  Over 100 models were entered this year, in just about every conceivable subject. Entry costs a couple of bucks per model.

In the photo at below left, you can see about half the models that were entered. Most were sci-fi / fantasy entries, but a few mundane items like tanks and airplanes snuck in.   We modelers always like to see good work, even if the subject matter doesn’t necessarily fit in!  Also present in this room was a display by a club that builds full-sized functioning replicas of the Lost in Space robot; you can just see one at the upper right corner of the bottom right photo.

Model entries ranged from Star Wars to dinosaurs, Star Trek to Babylon 5, scratchbuilds to figures, and on and on.

For Star Wars fans, a meticulously-detailed Republic Star Destroyer (below left) drew a lot of attention, as did a pair of Millennium Falcons, one of which is shown below middle (the other was not only nicely detailed, but also fully lighted).  Many other Star Wars subjects were present, as were many Star Trek starships. Below right is an outstanding Thunderbolt StarFury from Babylon 5; I’ve never even seen one of these kits, assuming it was a kit…

Starfest is always a great time, for modelers and non-modelers alike.  The guests are always top-notch, many attendees come in costume (we rode an elevator with the Joker; a brilliantly-costumed General Grievous left many wondering how he pulled that off; Shaun of the Dead was about—he even had some red on him; Seven of Nine, the Penguin… the list goes on!), and there are more events and panels than you can attend.

I highly recommend this excellent and professionally-run convention; if you are interested, monitor the web site (http://www.starland.com) for ongoing news of this and the next convention.

Oh, and you might want to get working on that sci-fi model for the show!

    This Field Trip Report covers a trip that I recently made to the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.  I arrived in Tucson at about 12:00 noon, so I only had about four and a half hours to do a “whirlwind tour” before it closed for the day.  I grabbed a map of the collection (see below) and planned out my strategery to try to see everything possible.  The museum has a huge outside exhibit area with approximately 157 aircraft and 18 aircraft-related ground vehicles from all the US services, and from some other countries as well.  My greatest interest was the large collection of MiG fighters, so I started there and then looped around the outside ring and worked my way back towards the middle.  Amazingly I got to see everything, but just barely.  I ended up with two memory cards full of pictures, some of which are included below.

    The museum has a total of seven MiG fighters: MiG-29, MiG-21PF, MiG-19PF, MiG-17PF, MiG-17F, MiG-15, and a MiG-15 UTI (trainer).  The “bomber row” was pretty impressive with a F-111D, B-57E, EB-47E, B-50, NB-52A (Edwards-NASA test launch platform), B-52D, B-52G, B-58A, and WB-66.  Unfortunately the B-36 and WB-57 were back in what looked like a refurbishment area, partly disassembled.  Bombers off in another section were a B26K, B-23 Dragon, and a Bristol Mk IV Blenheim.  Next to the Blenheim was a nice F7F-3 Tigercat.  There are a lot of cargo, aerial refueling and anti-submarine aircraft circling about half of the museum’s outside grounds.  Of note were the Boeing YC-14 prototype, PV-2 Harpoon patrol bomber, NASA B-377SG (ex-C-97) Super Guppy, an AP-2H Neptune in multi-grey Southeast Asia scheme, and a YQM-98A “Compass Cope: UAV drone. 

    There were several independent hangar buildings that contained approximately 73 aircraft and vehicles.  The 390^th Bomb Group Memorial hangar has a very nice B-17G.  You can peer into several of the hatches, bomb bay, and ball turret to get an appreciation of what it was like to fly in it.  Hangar 3 houses a B-24J, B-25J, A-26C, C-47 in D-Day markings, PT-19 and AT-11 trainers, Fi-103 (V-1) Buzz Bomb, , and a Hurricane Mk II in Stanford Tuck’s markings, amongst many others.  Hangar 4 houses a B-29, C-46D, TBM-3 Avenger, P-63E Airacobra, F4U-4 Corsair, and a Ki-43 Oscar.  Of note is a FM-2 Wildcat that was recovered from Lake Michigan where it was lost during carrier landing training on April 12, 1945.  Surprisingly the museum does not have a P-47, P-51, F6F, or F8F anywhere in its collection.  The Space Gallery hangar includes an X-15A-2 mock-up and some nice models of various spacecraft and space probes. 

    I next swept down the USAF and USN/USMC fighter and attack aircraft rows.  The museum has just about one of everything, including the whole “Century Series”.  Of note were an F-4C that had scored a MiG-17 kill in Viet Nam, a YF-4J, and NF-4E; an F-84F Thunderstreak in Thunderbirds markings, and an F-11F Tiger in Blue Angels markings.  There are several foreign types, including a Fairey AEW-3 Gannet, Hawker F-58 Hunter, Alpha Jet, and a T185 Gnat.  There is also a grouping of Presidential aircraft that includes the C-121 “Columbine”, VC-118, VC-140, and a VC-137.  There is a large grouping of 12 helicopters at the center of the outside exhibits.  A group of civil aircraft is also included. 

    Near the entry point is a Ground Launched Cruise Missile (GLCM) display that includes a BGM-109 GLCM, missile transporter-erector, erector launcher, and tractor.  Perfect for anybody contemplating building a diorama.  I completed the circuit by exiting through the “Spirit of Freedom” Hangar next to the entrance, which has a B-18B Bolo , PBM-5A Mariner, S-3B Viking, SR-71A, F-107 Ultra-Sabre, ,A-10A, , and an AH-1S Cobra, amongst others.  

    Very highly recommended for model fans to visit.  Plan on at least a whole day to see everything.  The best thing about the museum is that you are able to get up close to all the aircraft to check them out and get photographs from just about any angle you want.  The only exceptions (roped-off) were the Ki-43 Oscar and the FM-2, and sections of the B-17G other than the areas that I described above.  One regret is that my “whirlwind tour” bypassed the “WW II Barracks” building.  Apparently the building includes a lot of model displays.  This fact is not listed on the Visitors Guide handout, but it is mentioned on the museum’s website.  I was wondering what had happened to all of the models that used to be in the other hangar buildings on my previous visits.  Make sure you check that out. 

    I wasn’t planning to do the Boneyard Tour (Aircraft Maintenance and Regeneration Center - AMARC), but I did notice a bunch of disappointed folks that were trying to get tickets around noontime and they were already sold out, so get there early if you want to do that.  I read one review that panned the tour because you stayed on the bus the whole time.  I didn't take the tour so I cannot second that opinion.  Hit the Pima Museum first, and then do the Boneyard if you have extra time.  Hopefully you’ll be visiting while there is flying going on at nearby Davis-Monthan AFB.  There were a lot of A-10 Warthogs, F-16 Falcons, and AV-8 Harriers in the pattern while I was there. 

 Check out the museum’s excellent website at:  http://www.pimaair.org/

 

Museum Entrance	Visitors Guide	OutdoorExhibit Guide	GLCM Display	MiG-29 Fulcrum	F-4C Phantom II	F-84F Thunderstreak

 

F-11F Tiger	AP-2H Neptune	NB-52A Stratofortress	Bristol Blenheim MkIV	B-26K Invader	B-23 Dragon	B-17G Flying Fortress

 

B-24J Liberator	Hawker Hurricane MkII	B-29A Superfortress	Fi-103 / V-1 Buzz Bomb	Ki-43 Oscar	PBM-5A Mariner	SR-71A Blackbird

 

Helicopter Row

Bomber Row -1

Bomber Row - 2

Civil Transports

Military Transports - 1

Military Transports - 2

Presidential<