This past month I had the chance to stop in at the Military Vehicle Technology Foundation in Portolla Valley, Ca during our vacation to Oakland and San Francisco.  It is about 1-1/2 hr. drive from Oakland. For those of you not familiar with MVTF, http://nonplused.org/panos/mvtf/ it is the foundation set up by the late Jacques Littlefield to preserve his military vehicle collection of over 240 vehicles from WW1 to the present.  Cost of emission is $20 for adults and $10 for children.  You are led on a guided tour of the four buildings and the surrounding grounds which holds a number of vehicles which need restoration. Chris "Toadman" Hughes was our tour guide. He has a website that has walkarounds of various vehicles both from the MVTF and from other sites around the world.    Some of the pictures are free and he also has cd's for sale of various vehicles. http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/

A few of the more interesting exhibits are the cut aways of the M4 Sherman turret and the turret simulator for an M1 Abrams.

If you ever find yourself up in that neck of the woods I highly recommend stopping in. You do need to make reservations in advance. They do tours usually on Wednesdays and Saturdays. http://www.mvtf.org/contact.html

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About seven and nine years ago I took several vacations to Germany.  I'd have to check my passport stamps to see just when.  And, of course, I hit up all the military museums I could find. These photos are from museums in Dresden (I think) and Sinsheim.

The museum in Dresden is a military museum run by the German army logistics center.  It has a military function in that things such as uniforms, weapons, etc., are grouped so that engineers and equipment designers can study the past to help design the future.  What a concept. And everything was well laid out and presented.

The word "Panzer" translates to "Armored Fighting Vehicle," so the sign showing PANZER T 34 makes sense.  I think that was at the Auto & Technik Museum Sinsheim.

This is a switching locomotive at Frankfurt. I saw it while I was on the way to the Sinsheim museum. It looked "cute and colorful," so I took a couple of snapshots. What the heck.

Is that a Marder?  Probably at Sinsheim.

I think this was also at the Sinsheim museum.

This was probably taken at the Army museum at Dresden. An M5 light tank.

 I remember taking a shot "up the rear" of the same M5 tank, but this photo may be of something else.  Oh, well.

Another Marder at the Dresden museum

Is that a Panzer III?  Dresden museum again.

Above: A row of armored vehicles; just look at all those gun barrels. At Dresden.

Next group: Photos of an armored car at the Dresden museum.

Is that a C-119?  Probably at Sinsheim.  As I look at the photo, it appears that they removed some of the blades on the right engine's propeller to fit the airplane against the wall.

I sometimes take photos of radial engines, so I can figure out how to paint them.

Four shots of a Hind D.  This was after West Germany and East Germany unified, so Soviet equipment that was formerly used by East Germany was now available to the reunified Germany.

An F-104 in German markings.

** Please contact Fred Franceschi for permission to publish, digitally or in print, any of his pictures, at: fredfran@unm.edu  **

The Albuquerque Scale Modelers (ASM) put on a model display (show) on June 9-10 in support of the Albuquerque Comic Expo (ACE) 2012.  The purpose of ASM's display was to promote the modeling hobby, possibly gain some new members, and to have fun.  ACE 2012 was held at the Albuquerque Convention Center in downtown Albuquerque, and ASM had a primo location right in the middle of the main traffic area where attendees came in to the building and also transited back and forth from the large vendor area to where the guest speaker presentations and seminars were held.  We had hundreds if not thousands of folks stop by to look at the models and a lot of them asked questions about the models or what techniques we used to paint them.  You'd be surprised at how many closet sci-fi model builders live in Albuquerque. 

The theme of the model display was "Science Fiction, Real Space, Fantasy, and Science" - the same as what ASM has for its January Special Contest each year.  We had a total of 108 models on five tables - actually 155 models if you also count each individual figure that Mike McNichols brought in.  The models were pretty much grouped by theme and genre, and the ASM "What is Scale Modeling" display board was right in the middle, with four P-51D models ranging from 1/18 through 1/72 scales.  Pictures of the display are included below. 

ASM members that helped man the tables included Jim Guld, Joe Walters, Ray Ayles, Mike McNichols, Blaine Couch, Ken Piniak, Frank Randall, Adrian Montano, and Matt, Laura, and Mike Blohm,  Members who provided models but could not attend included Patrick Dick, Victor Maestas, and Gorham Smoker.  We normally had at least three ASMers available to watch the models, answer questions, and pass out ASM, IPMS/USA and NM State Fair model contest promo sheets.  Thanks to all who manned the exhibit and provided models. 

I believe that we met our three objectives.  I think ASM put on a great show and it was very well received by the both the ACE attendees and the ACE leadership.  It was like a super mall show, where the attendees knew what the subjects were, and really wanted to see and talk about the models.  There were some highly-charged "words of excitement (expletives deleted)" expressed by a few of the visitors as they saw their favorite subjects.  We also had "celebrity judging" by a cast of characters that reviewed all the models and picked out their favorite - those award certificates will be passed out at the July ASM meeting, and they are posted below.  You'd be surprised at who attended ACE, sometimes incognito.  Matt Blohm won the prestigious "Most Liked Aaward" (picked the most) with his NX-01 star ship from "Enterprise" (Star Trek).  We passed out a lot of ASM promo sheets and it looked like a lot of folks were interested in the club.  There was also interest in bringing models to the NM State Fair, especially amongst the junior modelers.  It turns out that the Cylon Centurion warrior who stopped by to chat and judge is actually an avid model builder.  Not sure how much time he has to build models between raids on the Colonials, but he might be showing up at one of our meetings.  As for having fun, one of the bennies was free tickets for the ASMers manning the tables, and we all did have a fun time.  If you've never been to one of these conventions, you should definitely check them out.  And you will get the chance to check ACE out next year, as it looks like ACE would like to have us back, and maybe incorporate some other aspects such as a contest.  We will provide more info on that as we receive it.  I think this would be a tremendous annual thing for ASM to do as a promo event.  So now you have another reason for building those models for the January contest - we need another 150 brand new models to display in 2013. 

This past April 26-28th, I attended the AMPS Nationals in Auburn, Indiana at the World War 2 Victory Museum. They have used this venue before in 2008 and 2010. I attended the show in 2008 when I drove out from Santa Fe. This time I decided to fly and I am glad to say I did''t have any problems getting my models there. In fact the TSA screener at the Santa Fe airport asked me if they were tanks in the container. The only problem I had was my model box was too large to fit under the single isle seat of small jet we flew out on. Luckily the person across the isle traded seats with me.  Other than that everything made it out and back without any damage.

For those of you who are not familiar how AMPS administers a contest, you can check out this link for the full details: http://www.amps-armor.org/ampssite/contestRules.aspx

I'll give you a quick overview. Your model is not judged against anyone else's model except in the case of Best of Show awards. You are judged by a group of four modelers on a points scale that adds up to 30 points and the lowest score is dropped. The awards are Gold,Silver, and Bronze and depending on what level your at, this will determine what your score will be. The different levels are on the website. When you enter your models at the show, they are put in the judging room and as they are judged are brought out to the tables for viewing. So once the show begins  judging begins. They run two hour shifts and have six tables going per shift. The only models that are judged out on the floor are dioramas, vignettes and figures. This year I took the judges certification class and I'm now an AMPS certified judge. It consisted of two hours of classroom training on Thursday night and at least two judging shifts. I ended up doing a total of four shifts. This year they had a record number of models entered, 648. Judging was done by 3pm on Saturday.

Along with the contest they had seminars and a raffle. This year some of the seminar presenters included Mig Jimenez and Adam Wilder. I had a chance to talk to both of them at the show, and they were both down-to-earth guys. This show it was also an opportunity to meet up with old friends or a chance to meet someone I might have talked to online. I did both this year. It was a great show and the only real criticism I have of the venue is the lighting in the display area of the museum where all the vehicles are kept. It is poor and most of the vehicles have barricades around them so you can't get up real close to take detail shots. Other then that it was a great show with a ton of great armor. So if you ever get a chance to go to one I would personally recommend it. If you ever want to come to one of our NM AMPS meetings, E-mail me and I'll add you to our mailing list. There is no cost to join but we do encourage you to join the national AMPS organization.

The Albuquerque Scale Modelers (ASM) conducted a group field trip to the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, New Mexico on Sunday. March 18, 2012.  Six ASMers braved the gale-force winds and dust storms to make the four hour drive down to the museum, which is just northwest of El Paso TX.  The trip was organized and led by Brian Peck with Tom Perea, Patrick Dick, Danny Williamson, and Mike and Matt Blohm in attendance.  The museum is a large open bay area where you wind your way around the items on display  and quite a few display cases featuring uniforms, ammunition types, navigation equipment, personal stories, and military history such as "flying the hump" in a C-47 in the China-Burma-India Theater.  They did have quite a few cases with models, and some were very well done.  According to their brochure (posted with the pictures), they have 34 aircraft, 6 military vehicles, 38 cars, and 4 motor cycles.  Most of the aircraft are flyable.  Quite a few of the aircraft had open cockpits and platforms where you could take a look-see.  A lot of time was spent taking detail pictures of cockpit interiors and wheel wells, especially of the P-51D and the MiGs.  According to Brian, who had visited before, a lot of the aircraft had been restored and repainted. 

Definitely recommended for a one-day trip or a stop if you are driving through El Paso on a trip.  Plan on about three to four hours to see everything.  The entry fee is $5 for adults, $4 for military and seniors, and children and students for free.  Check out their website at:  http://www.war-eagles-air-museum.com/

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Walk-Arounds: M2A1 Half Track and M-18 Hellcat

by Jim Guld

Jim Guld posted two pictorial "walk-arounds" on the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society website covering the M2A1 Half Track and M-18 Hellcat. 

Click on the following link and scroll down to find Jim's two entries:  http://www.amps-armor.org/ampssite/preservation.aspx

 

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Posted below are photos that I took at the Strategic Air and Space Museum that is just outside of Omaha.  The tour was an excursion available at the Nationals.  The museum was opened in the evening just for the IPMS participants.  Two-plus buses were full plus others that drove in their own cars.  Probably over 100 folks.  All the exhibits are inside.  The museum also provides the history of the Strategic Air Command from its founding and all commanders.

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. 

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. 

 

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. 

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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The level of detail is staggering, and must be seen to be believed. The ship is fully lighted, and both the landing bays have sequenced flashing approach lights, floor and ceiling!

A short video of this effect can be seen on the web site listed at the end of this article, along with many photos of the model from different angles and distances and photos of the other models in the show.

Modelers also wouldn't feel left out in the huge Dealer Room, where dozens of vendors sell everything from movie posters to autographed photos to swords to toys to books to videos to pornographic fan fiction (really).  Sci-fi model kits are offered from several vendors (see photo), as are various pre-built models and displays.