ASM Website Pages - Click on applicable Title below to visit that page.
Next Contest:
"Phabulous Phantom's Phiftyith Anniversary" Special Contest
"American
MiG Killers" Sponsored Contest
hosted by Brian Peck
The May 2nd Special Contest is
"Phabulous Phantom's Phiftyth Anniversary"
(Non-Points contest)
Historical Presentation by Mike Blohm
May 2nd
Brian Peck will host an "American MiG Killers" contest
Any U.S. aircraft from any branch of the service, credited with
any air to air kills. From Korea to present, any U.S. involved conflict or
'skirmishes'.
I.e. 1981 F-14 Gulf of Sidra Su-22 killers, Bosnia conflict F-16MiG-29 Killer, etc.
Documentation reference or a simple photo of the presented subject is a
plus. Awards will be divided up into 3 categories: 1950-1963, 1964-1980, and
1981-Present; Plus a overall best of - aka
"The Dude Award"
Award plaque example (under construction) - "1981 - Present" Award:
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ASM Webmaster
The picture below shows
ASM's 2008 contributions to "Support the Troops" An article will follow
shortly.
Thanks to everyone who contributed to this worthy cause!
Article on ASM's Support to the Troops in 2007:
ASM began a “support the troops” project
in late 2006. Jim Guld began researching
points of contacts for model clubs in
"All I can say is WOW!!!!! I was quite amazed to see the size of the box when I got home from work. Usually kits filter in one or two at a time. They showed up at the perfect time. I received an E-mail from a new soldier in
by Joe Walters
Yes, there’s lots of news on
the Sci-Fi front, and a bunch of space to fill, so here we go again!
Webmaster's Note: See Joe's Field Trip article on Starfest 2007 at: Starfest 2007 Report
by James Guld
Not a whole lot to report this month, armor-wise. The two biggest items are the new Stug III G from Cyber-Hobby, which comes with waffle pattern zimmerit. From the pictures it looks good. The other major item is from Armorscale. These guys usually just make aftermarket barrels but have now gotten into resin stuff as well. Go to the PMMS site and check it out.
By Jim Guld, ASM President
Presidential Spew
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Best of Show
& People's Choice Winners from March's "Open Contest #1" |
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| Best
of Show and Peoples Choice Juniors |
Best of Show and
Peoples Choice Basic |
Best of Show and
Peoples Choice Intermediate |
Best of Show Masters | Peoples Choice Masters |
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| No Entries | John Tribou | Tim Wood | Jim Guld | Jim Guld |
| No Entries | M4A3 Sherman | MC 202 | Steyr 1500A/01 | "Don't Turn Your Back for a Second! |
Click here to see all March Model entry pictures: March Model Pics
Click here to see all March Meeting pictures: March Meeting Pics
ASM Supports the Troops
ASM is currently collecting kits and model supplies to make
another Donation to the Troops.
Please bring in your contributions to the March meeting.
See article below on ASM's 2007 Support to the Troops.
Special Raffle - Centennial IPMS
Centennial
IPMS is holding a special raffle to benefit the upcoming Pikes Peak Model Expo to be held
on
June 7, 2008 at the Weisbrod Air Museum in Pueblo,
Colorado.
Item to be Raffled: Dragon #75001, 1/6 Scale Sd.Kfz.2 Kleines Kettenkrad SRP $109.95
Ticket Cost: $5.00 each. All monies go straight into the Pikes Peak Model Expo fund.
Drawing Date: March 26 at Centennial’s monthly meeting - Need not be present to win!
Winner to be announced through the Region 10 contact list.
Anyone interested in purchasing a ticket can contact Tom Grossman
at tomtag@pcisys.net or
719-531-7346.
You can also contact any other Centennial Exec.
All out of town requests must arrive by March 19 to help ensure delivery of your ticket.
The April 4th Sponsored Contest is "Best Corsair" hosted by Don Smith
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Upcoming Sponsored Contests in 2008:
Don Smith will host a "Best Corsair" contest
This is a sponsored contest to celebrate and recognize the 65th anniversary of the first major F4U Corsair battles. Qualifying models may be any F4U Corsair, any variant such as a -1, -1a, -4, etc: any scale; any year; and any nationality. The winner will be determined by a People’s Choice ballot vote. I can hear those P&W 2800’s beginning to rev up now
Award plaque: 
Next Contest:
"Best Corsair" Sponsored Contest
by Rodney Lightning
Attention plastic model building junkies: Some of the guys got together and have started up an IPMS chapter on the west side. They will be known as IPMS/Rio Rancho. They have been meeting once every other month at member’s homes and have noted April 1st as their official startup date. Anyone is welcome to join in on the fun. The only requirements is that you must bring a plastic model along with you each time they meet and you must actually work on the model while enjoying the friendship and camaraderie of your fellow craftsman. Each meeting is accompanied by burning meat, eating mass quantities of chips, soda, and home baked goodies. Each meeting is also conducted while viewing non-stop movies on big screen TVs. Movies closely follow themes, such as Star Wars-a-thon, War movie classics, silly kids show favorites from the club’s collective childhood (like Johnny Quest, Thunderbirds, Combat, and Rat Patrol).
April Fools !!!
by James Guld
So what’s new for you treadheads? Well a ton of new stuff.
Dragon has a new JagdPanther G and a Flakpanzer 38t. I haven’t seen either in person yet but there are reviews of the JagdPanther at the PMMS and of the Flakpanzer at Missing-Lynx in the Time on Target area in the discussion groups. Academy announced a Grant to go along with the earlier Lee. Hopefully the boogies will be the correct height not like the Lee. They did fix them for the M7 Preist kit. Italeri has a slew of new listing for 2008. - Sd.Kfz.140 Flakpanzer 38 Gepard,Staghound AA, Horse drawn Breda 20, Crusader III AA MK.I, DUKW British Royal Army, Kfz.305 tank wagen, 1/4 Ton 4X4 Utility truck, Carro Armato L6 PRM Edition, LVT-(A) 2 “Saipan”, Sd.Kfz.VI Tiger Ausf.E (w/photo etched parts), Sd.Kfz.179 BergePanther (w/photo etched parts), Sd.Kfz.V Panther Ausf.D (w/photo etched parts) and a Bedford QL with 6 Pdr.AT gun.
SKP has announced a British A30 Challenger tank. There are some particle sprue shots up at PMMS. Alpine released a couple of new figures of 12SS HJ. Formations jut came out with a replacement DV hull for the M4A2 Sherman along with a late High Bustle turret. Aber just came out with U.S.30 cal barrels that you don’t have to roll the perforated sleeve. Voyager seems to have also entered the fray with their rendition of a U.S. .50 cal barrel. Italeri have their version of the Staghound armored car.
Up next is Hussar resin
replacement wheels for the new Humber Scout car kit. They
have a couple of different style tread patterns available.
They also plan to do some for the Staghound and for the Studabaker 2-1/2 ton
truck. I also spotted stowage for both the
Oh my aching credit card.
Hobbies 'N Stuff Model Contest - March 29th
By Tom Perea. ASM Vice President
I just found out that
Hobbies ’N Stuff is going to have a model building contest on Saturday, March 29.
They will be having separate categories to judge; e.g., armor, planes,
ships, figures. They will be awarding first through third trophies. Each
person who wins a first-place prize in their respective categories will be receiving a $25
gift card, but only for the first-place winners. Any one person can enter with no
limits on entries, but only one gift card per person—they want to spread it around.
The one exception will be for the Best in Show, which will receive a $25 gift card
as well. This is the only way one person can come out of the contest with $50 in
gift cards. They will fill me in on the dead line for entries, which is to say when
we can start bringing in our models and what time they will be starting their judging.
More information to follow.
Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination
Exhibition
By Mike Blohm
I recently had the opportunity to see the “Star
Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination” exhibition at the Chicago Museum of
Science and Industry. January’s upcoming
“Sci-Fi, Real Space, Science, and Fantasy” contest makes this a good time to
write an article on my visit. The exhibit
includes over 100 artifacts from all six Star Wars
films, and explores the fantasy technologies depicted in the films, the real science
behind them, and the current research that may someday lead to real-life versions of the
technologies seen in the films. There are a
lot of hands-on activities for the kids and recorded interviews with movie designers and
scientists. However, to a model builder, it
was the chance to see and photograph the actual, awesome models that were featured in all
of the Star Wars movies. I’m sure that I made a pest of myself doing
“walk around” shots of each of the models. A
few of the pictures are included below. More
pictures can be found on the ASM Website’s Field Trips page at: http://abqscalemodelers.com/asm_field_trips.htm
Robert Lawrence, World
War II Tuskegee Airman and Chile Con 2006 Guest Speaker, Passes Away at Age 85
By Mike Blohm
ASM
Webmaster
Mr. Robert Lawrence, a World War II Tuskegee Airman and
a guest speaker at Chile Con 2006, passed away on Thursday 8 November, 2007 at the age of
85.
1Lt Robert Lawrence was a member of the 301st Fighter Squadron, 332nd Fighter Group based
in Italy and flew 33 missions in the Mediterranean and European Theaters of Operation.
Mr. Lawrence gave a marvelous talk at Chile Con of his Tuskegee experiences that
was enjoyed by all the attendees. Mr. Lawrence was presented with a model of his
P-51C "Rick Lizzie" following his talk, and he remarked that it was the
best model of his aircraft that he had received. He was a true American hero, and he
will be missed.
Information on Robert Lawrence's service with the
Chile Con photos above by Matt Blohm, Brian Peck, and Mike Blohm
Click on the links below for newspaper obituaries:
http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071110/NEWS01/71110040
http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20071110/APN/711100764&cachetime=5
by Don Smith
Wildcat: The F4F in WWII
I’ve been on vacation as the unofficial ASM Book
Reviewer. A long summer with 2- and 4-year-old girls will keep you pretty busy.
All
right, this isn’t a new book, as it has been around for 17 years. It is a very
good book, worth a look, and still is selling on the Borders bookshelf. I’ve always
been fascinated by the F4F and how it held the Japanese Zeros at bay during the first year
of World War II. I’m amazed by the stories
of pilots Joe Foss, “Butch” O’Hare, “Indian Joe” Harold J. Bauer,
and Marion Carl.
This
book is well
thought out in layout and is enjoyable to read. You are not going to read endless
verse on how the Wildcat evolved from the Grumman biplanes and the attributes of each
model biplane, etc. etc. The book gives a quick rundown on the different models of
Wildcats and some of the strengths and weaknesses. For instance, you’ll
learn why the -3 was considered to be better than the -4 in combat.
What
I liked about this book was how it went through each major battle in chronological order
and discussed the Wildcat’s role in each battle. Don’t expect a whole
chapter to tell you the difference between the models -3 and -3a—this book reads
fast.
I
would recommend this book for any Wildcat fan or student
of the Pacific Theatre. There
are many interesting photos, stories and helpful appendices. It is a
well-written quick read, and I can’t find any faults with the book. I
have read a couple of other books on the Wildcat and I would say by far this is the best.
As I said, I picked up my copy at Borders for $19.95 (before I applied my coupon
discount). Now if I can only lay my hands on a copy of Tillman’s Corsair
book… I’ll have to give this five out of five stars. * * * * *
by James Guld
So what’s new for you treadheads? Well a ton of new stuff.
Dragon has a new JagdPanther G and a Flakpanzer 38t. I haven’t seen either in person yet but there are reviews of the JagdPanther at the PMMS and of the Flakpanzer at Missing-Lynx in the Time on Target area in the discussion groups. Academy announced a Grant to go along with the earlier Lee. Hopefully the boogies will be the correct height not like the Lee. They did fix them for the M7 Preist kit. Italeri has a slew of new listing for 2008. - Sd.Kfz.140 Flakpanzer 38 Gepard,Staghound AA, Horse drawn Breda 20, Crusader III AA MK.I, DUKW British Royal Army, Kfz.305 tank wagen, 1/4 Ton 4X4 Utility truck, Carro Armato L6 PRM Edition, LVT-(A) 2 “Saipan”, Sd.Kfz.VI Tiger Ausf.E (w/photo etched parts), Sd.Kfz.179 BergePanther (w/photo etched parts), Sd.Kfz.V Panther Ausf.D (w/photo etched parts) and a Bedford QL with 6 Pdr.AT gun.
SKP has announced a British A30 Challenger tank. There are some particle sprue shots up at PMMS. Alpine released a couple of new figures of 12SS HJ. Formations jut came out with a replacement DV hull for the M4A2 Sherman along with a late High Bustle turret. Aber just came out with U.S.30 cal barrels that you don’t have to roll the perforated sleeve. Voyager seems to have also entered the fray with their rendition of a U.S. .50 cal barrel. Italeri have their version of the Staghound armored car.
Up next is Hussar resin
replacement wheels for the new Humber Scout car kit. They
have a couple of different style tread patterns available.
They also plan to do some for the Staghound and for the Studabaker 2-1/2 ton
truck. I also spotted stowage for both the
Oh my aching credit card.
Flying Tiger Ace "Tex" Hill Passes Away at 92
By Mike Blohm
World War II American Volunteer Group (AVG) "Flying Tigers"
ace David L. "Tex" Hill passed away on 11 October 2007, at the age of 92.
See the following link for a story from the San Antonio Express-News: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/stories/MYSA101107.EN.TexHillObit.15f328f9a.html
See the following link for a story from Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN1241150320071012
See the following link for a story from the Houston Chronicle: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5207975.html
ASM Workshop at Hobbies N Stuff on Saturday, 16 February from 12:00 to 3:00 PM
Brian Peck and Patrick Dick will be demonstrating:
Airbrushing, Weathering, and Detailing techniques.
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By Jim Guld, ASM President
Feb 2008
Well the holidays are over and I hope
everyone got some cool stuff for modeling, be it kits, books, or supplies. I picked up some stuff off of evil-bay and some
resin goodies from one of my favorite suppliers. So
I’m a happy camper.
I would
like to keep you informed as to what’s happening with ASM for the New
Year. The new E-board had its first meeting
and we believe we have some interesting modeling subjects for the upcoming year. The contest schedule is set and you can see it at
the website or pick one up at the meeting.
Jim Guld
|
Smoke
Trails By Keith Liotta |
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Blue Angel # 6 and its pilot, Lieutenant Commander Kevin J. Davis, were lost in a crash on Saturday, April 21, 2007 during the air show at the Beaufort, South Carolina Marine Corps Air Station. This was the Blue Angels' opening show for the 2007 show season. ASM's thoughts and prayers go out to both the pilot's family and the Blue Angels' team family.
For further details click on the link below:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18248797/
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Keith Liotta will be providing updates here on the progress of ASM's "Blue Angels" Chapter Entry for the 2007 IPMS-USA Nationals.
Stay tuned for inputs from Keith.
Here's the link to the Blue Angels' official website: http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/index.htm
by James Guld
’Tis the season for getting more
stuff. What’s new on the armor front, you ask? Well, my fine plastic building
friends, it looks like Hobby Boss is about to release their second kit of the M4 High
Speed tractor. This one is for the 155mm gun and 8 inch Howitzer.
By Jim Guld, ASM President
(Jan 2008)
Okay, I’ll get all the holiday
wishy-washy stuff over with right off the bat. Happy whatever!
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Happy Holidays from ASM |  |
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by Joe Walters
Any sci-fi modeling
enthusiast must be familiar with the CultTVMan web site (http://www.culttvman2.com/dnn), an unmatched source of knowledge and how-tos
for the serious sci-fi builder.
Currently of interest, there is a report with
many photos from the recent Hobby Expo show. The web site’s operator, Steve Iverson,
looked at some interesting upcoming sci-fi kits.
Among other things, look for two new Lost in Space kits from Moebius: The Space Pod and
The Chariot. The Chariot will come with a figure of the Robot!
Above is artwork for the upcoming Moon Suit
kit. Were you just thinking about Major Matt Mason?
In other news, Revell now has a license to issue the Revell Germany Star Wars kits in the
by James Guld
With fall comes Balloon
Fiesta, chile roasting, and, of course, the Tokyo Model Show. That means a lot of new
releases and hopefully some sprue shots or kit builds of the new kits. I regularly check
in at Perth Military Modeling Site (PMMS) to bone up on what’s new or to get reviews,
so I wasn’t too surprised by what I saw from the show. (http://www.perthmilitarymodelling.com).
The surprises for me were from AFV Club: their
Early T-34 with full interior and Bofors AA Gun. From Tristar, a Flakpanzer Gepard and
20mm accessory set to go along with it. They also have a Fieseler Storch for you plane
guys in 1/35.
From Bronco Models, there is a new Humber Scout
car with twin Vickers MG and a couple of new Staghound armored cars. One has the 60lb
rockets off of Typhoon’s mounted on the side of the turret, and the other is a Stag
with the Crusader turret on it with a 75mm gun, I believe.
From Tamiya, we have some early war French
Infantrymen for Mike Blohm, and a JS2, which looks pretty nice. It looks like it comes
with link and length tracks like what they are doing in 1/48.
Also up from Tasca is a mid M4A1 Sherman. I
know that I’ll be adding a few of these to my stash.
The only area of disappointment for me was
not seeing any of the other M3 halftrack series from either Trumpeter or Dragon. But then
again, it’s not like I don’t have enough to keep me busy for the next five
years. Model on!
By Ken Liotta, Outgoing 2007 ASM President
Amazing! 2007 is almost over. The year has flashed by at warp 9.75 and ASM members have experienced a host of accomplishments and fortunes. Winners of the 2006 Region X Chapter of the year; survival of the dreaded IPMS chapter splinter effect; and proud recipients of over a dozen awards from the 2007 IPMS Nationals, one of which was the coveted Best Aircraft award, (good job Dave). We unfortunately lost a few top notch modelers but gained a handful of new and aspiring members. Some members that lost their way have come back to the light with welcoming open arms. After all is said and done, one common bond keeps the club together; our passion for plastic. The enjoyment we all crave, seek out, and partake in; building plastic models.
I have had the pleasure of serving the clubs best interests as the 2007 President. I am anxiously looking forward to continuing to serve the club in 2008 as your Contest Director once again. With many years under my belt in this role as well as Head Judge and Contest Coordinator I plan to bring my usual fair and balanced administration, direction, and judging of your contests throughout the next year. ASM also has the good fortune once again of having a new E-board filled with decades worth of the same fair and balanced experience. In case you missed it, our October nominations were uncontested and your ‘08 Executive Board was voted in as:
Vice-President: Tom Perea
Secretary/Treasure: Frank Randall
Contest Director: Ken Liotta
Protem1: Patrick Dick
Protem2: Brian Peck
Protem3: Tim Wood
Webmaster: Mike Blohm (Appointed)
Newsletter Editor: Joe Walters (Appointed)
By Jim Guld, Outgoing 2007 ASM Vice President and Incoming 2008 President
So you miss one meeting and end up as the new president. I wonder what would happen if I missed
two—would I become the Pope? I look forward to the coming year not only as your new president but also because we recently bought our first house, something that I thought wouldn’t happen in my lifetime when I lived back in NY. Well, at least not without winning Lotto.So who is this new president and why should I give a [darn!] what he has to say? Well, I am an armor modeler and diorama builder who is always looking to better my skills as a modeler. Now for the second part of the question: When I got back into modeling five years ago, I knew I would dive into the deep end and go all out in the hobby (more like an obsession). That’s just my makeup. Now, I do realize that not everyone is like this and that some poor souls like to just build for fun. What we all have in common is building models, even if that includes planes. So what I would like to see is everyone build something. I don’t care what it is, just build it. Let’s see some stuff on those tables, people!
Continuing this theme of “get it done,” we will be
having a series of workshops this year to help encourage you to build more and try out different techniques. Don’t be afraid to try something new and make mistakes. Knowing what doesn’t work for you is just as important as knowing what does. Now you don’t have to practice on that new $120 kit. Try it out on something old, “off the shelf,” or pick up one of those “Pro Built” models off “Evil-Bay” to practice on.ASM Wins Region X Chapter of the Year Award for 2006!
Click here for article on ASM winning the 2006 award.
2007 ASM President Ken Liotta (left) and 2006 ASM President
Patrick Dick (right)
with the 2006 Region X Chapter of the Year Award
The contest at the January 4, 2008 meeting is
Sci-Fi / Real Space / Science / Fantasy
Any subject or scale in the realms of Science Fiction (Star Wars, Star Trek, etc.), Real Space exploration (Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Shuttle, Mir, etc.); Science (dinosaurs, human physiology, insects, etc.) or Fantasy, including anime subjects (Gundams, Robotech, etc.).
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New Mexico State Fair 2007 Model Contest
Creative Arts - Division 13, "Models – Military & Science Fiction" (Sections 349 – 352)
Sponsored by the Albuquerque Scale Modelers Club
Click here for complete results from the 2007 NM State Fair Contest
D-Day Additions at Atomic Museum Display
by Mike Blohm, ASM M-24, IPMS 10602
The latest addition to ASM’s model display at the
The display has long-lacked some military vehicles and ships. There are only a few 1/48 scale armor vehicles that can be used to stay in scale with the aircraft in the display, but there are no invasion craft available in 1/48 scale. Therefore I chose to go with 1/72 scale to get a group of armor vehicles as well as ships for the D-Day vignette.
