ASM Field Trips
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This page includes current and past reports and pictures from both ASM group field trips and individual ASM member trips to air shows, museums, displays, etc., that might be of interest to fellow modelers. Some of these reports have been previously displayed on the ASM Articles page. New reports will be posted to both the Articles page and this Field Trips page. They will be deleted from the Articles page when they go non-current but will be retained here.
by Jim Guld
This past month I
attended the AMPS Nationals in
http://www.amps-armor.org/ampssite/default.aspx
There were 425 models
entered, plus probably another 20 30 out for show. The way the AMPS show
works, people bring their models in and register them, and the models are put on trays and
side tables. The judging teams start judging and the models are then put out on the
display tables. The only exception is for figures, vignettes, and dioramas, which
are judged out on the display tables. I personally like this system better, but it
does take a lot of time and people to judge. Judging was finished by early Saturday
afternoon and the awards ceremony was at 5:00.
As far as seminars go, I
was only able to sit in on one. Gerry Chester was a wireless operator on Churchill
tanks from the Tunisian campaign on into the Italian campaign. He gave a great
presentation and he has a web site also (http://northirishhorse.net).
The vendors room
was pretty good. Some of the vendors who attended were Formations, Roger Saunders
from Hornet Heads, Great Models, Ampersand Publishing, Panzer Tracts, CRM Hobbies,
M&Models, Wings-N-Treads, Tank Rats Models, and reps from Tamiya and AFV Club.
AFV Club had sprues out for their new 1973 IDF version of the Centurion and some
artwork for the upcoming Churchill III.
As far as models go,
there were plenty of nice models on the tables and if you go to any of the armor-related
web sites such as Missing-Lynx or Armorama you can find links to pictures. As for
me, I did better than I expected. I won 1 bronze, 2 silver, and 3 gold medals, and I also
received Best US Subject for my WC-51.
Next year, the contest
is held at Havre de Grace in
by Joe Walters
The annual Denver-based
StarFest science convention took place over the weekend of April 18 20.
In addition to the
impressive lineup of guests (including Masi Oka from Heroes, Zachary Quinto from Heroes
and the new Star Trek movie, Adam Baldwin from Firefly, Serenity, Independence
Day and more, Nana Visitor [who currently lives in Corrales] from Deep?Space Nine, Nichelle Nichols from
the original Star?Trek, and many
more), there were far more activities and events than one could possible attend.
This is always a
heavily-scheduled convention, with eight to ten events ongoing simultaneously all
throughout the show.
A costume competition is
held on Saturday night, and the hotel (
There are some events
that arent scheduled, but are continuously available. A sci-fi Art Show is a popular
attraction, and Tom?Grossman always runs the
Airbrush?Experience, which
is sort of a make-and-take along with instruction on airbrush usage. Tom is always at
these shows, and never gets to see anything, as hes running the Airbrush?Experience from
beginning to end.
One of the continuous
attractions offered at the StarFest is the Model Show, which this year attracted over a
hundred models entered. Shown with this article are a few photos from that event.
There were figures,
spaceships, dioramas (one had a giant Japanese-style robot standing on a highway, stopping
traffic while a bunch of little robots crossed the road), kits, scratchbuilds, you name
it.
A large scratchbuilt Sulaco
from Aliens was there (pictured), as was a large Klingon battlecruiser from the
original Star Trek series, scratchbuilt to studio scale.
Like full-scale models?
Theres
a nationwide organization of enthusiasts who build full-sized functional replicas of the
B9 Robot from Lost in
Space.
Two were on display there, complete with the appropriate blinking lights and whirling
thingies, and at least one of them spoke, in the Robots voice and synched with the
flashing light. This was quite impressivethe owner operated the voice via a
connected laptop computer, and could have the Robot speak numerous sentences and phrases,
many taken from the old TV series. Still, some of the things spoken by the Robot clearly
werent from the series; it said things like, I?am not Robby the RobotI
am a Type B9 Robot, and am usually addressed as Robot. and I think
R2D2 is cool! There was also a function whereby the Robot would speak the time and
date. The owner explained that he and several other members of this group had split the
expense and hired Dick Tufeld, the voice actor who originally voiced the Robot, to record
several things just for them. Now thats aftermarket detailing!
More info is available
online (http://www.starland.com), including links to
more photos.
Trip Report - USAF Armament Museum
By Mike Blohm
I recently visited the
A definite visit for aircraft and weapons fans if you happen to be near this part of Northwest Florida.
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| USAF Armament Museum |
B-17G Flying Fortress | B-25J Mitchell | SR-71 Blackbird | EB-47 Stratojet | B-52G Stratofortress |
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| A-10 Thunderbolt II | F-15 Eagle | F-16 Falcon | AC-130A Spectre | MiG-21F | UH-1 Huey |
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. Januarys 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. Im 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.
Nellis Air Force Base Display Aircraft
By Mike Blohm
I recently visited Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada and took the pictures below of the aircraft that are on display just inside the West Gate (I Street). The display includes most of the jet aircraft that have been used by the 57 Fighter Wing in the recent past. Aircraft in the display are: F-86 Sabre, F-100 Super Sabre, F-105 Thunderchief, F-111 Aardvark, F-5 Freedom Fighter/Tiger II, F-4 Phantom II, and an F-117 Nighthawk. All were very nicely displayed and well cared for, but my favorite was the Phantom (of course!).
By Joe Walters
Each year, a local sci-fi group in Denver (online at http://www.starland.com) puts on Starfest, one
of the most highly-regarded fan-run sci-fi conventions in the country, with attendance
generally in the vicinity of 3000 people. This year, the event ran across the
weekend of April 20 22.
In addition to guest speakers, panels, video, art shows, demos,
and many other activities (including an ongoing make-and-take event hosted by Tom
Grossman, a friend of many ASM members), theres a Sci-Fi Model Competition run by
local modeler Vernon Clark. My wife and I have been attending these conventions for
over ten years now, and Vern always gives me a hard time if I dont enter a model, so
I brought along the Klingon/Romulan battlecruiser I had entered at ASMs January
contest, and it fared just as well there as here
well, I got a consolation
prizeeveryone who entered got a choice of a new X-Acto knife or a cool self-clamping
tweezer thing. I took the latter.
Be that as it may, this years show featured far more models
than I had ever seen there, with a total approaching 100. Very impressive turnout!
A printed photo doesnt do it justice, but someone had
acquired and built all those glow-in-the-dark monster kits Aurora issued several years
ago, and arranged them in a light box under a black lightthe effect was astounding.
The picture on a video display looks pretty good, so check it out on the Bonus Page
if you receive the electronic version of the newsletter, or the ASM web site Field Trips page (http://abqscalemodelers.com/asm_field_trips.htm).
Another type of club had on display two full-sized replicas of
the robot from Lost in Spacecomplete with
blinking lights and sound effects. One of them even talked, though Im pretty
sure the fellow nearby with the laptop was feeding it the proper lines.
Someone entered a full-sized replica of the Ark of the Covenant
from Raiders of the Lost Ark. The entry
form next to it mentioned that it was safe to open. We didnt take
the chance.
There were a number of scratchbuilds, such as a huge Nostromo refinery ship and escape pod from the
movie Alien, and a rebel blockade runner from Star Wars. A tiny Discovery from 2001: A Space Odyssey was there, as was a huge
Treebeard figure from Lord of the Rings.
Lots of Gundam-type robots and Japanese anime figures were in
evidence, particularlybut not exclusivelyin the juniors category.
A private collector brought a gargantuan collection of Star Wars toys and figures (for display only) in
several full-sized display cases, and all laid out in various tableaux from scenes from
all the movies.
There was an informal meeting of IPMS Front Range at the
convention, so I thought Id drop in. By chance, I had my ASM name badge (I
keep it in my camera bag), so I wore it proudly. There were about ten folks
presentthis wasnt a regular meeting of the chapter. One of the members
was in costume as the V character from the movie V For Vendetta. I figured he was probably
working on a V-2
Oh, the rest of the convention was pretty good
too. My wife got her picture taken with Leonard Nimoy, and later got him to
autograph it. Gil Gerard and Erin Gray from the Buck Rogers TV series were there,
and were excellent guests. Gil looks like he could play the part again. Ray
Park (Darth Maul from Star Wars Episode 1) was
an excellent guest, with lots of stories from the Star Wars film as well as his work on X-Men, Sleepy Hollow, and others. He
demonstrated some of his moves on request, and was a very well-received speaker.
Additional guests were from Battlestar Galactica
and the Stargate series, the Mummy movies, and several horror films.
The dealer room was vast and crowded, and modelers
would be interested to see how many and varied kits (some of questionable origin) were
being sold.
Two pages of photos from the convention are available on Starlands web site (http://tinyurl.com/2cmbys).
Museum Visits in the United Kingdom
By Jim Guld
Posted below are armor pictures that I took during visits last year to several museums in the United Kingdom. All pictures by Jim Guld.
Links to the museums depicted below are:
Imperial War Museum: http://www.iwm.org.uk/
The Tank Museum, Bovington: http://www.tankmuseum.co.uk/home.html
Imperial War Museum, London UK
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| British 25 Pounder Field Gun | British 25 Pounder Field Gun | British 25 Pounder Field Gun | British 25 Pounder Field Gun | British 25 Pounder Field Gun |
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| German Jagdpanther | German Jagdpanther | British Grant - Monty's Command Tank at El Alemain | British Grant - Monty's Command Tank at El Alemain | British Grant - Monty's Command Tank at El Alemain |
The Bovington Tank Museum, Dorsett UK
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| British Bren Gun Carrier | British Bren Gun Carrier | British Bren Gun Carrier | British Bren Gun Carrier | British Bren Gun Carrier |
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| British Bren Gun Carrier | British Bren Gun Carrier | British Bren Gun Carrier | British Bren Gun Carrier | British Bren Gun Carrier |
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| British Bren Gun Carrier | British Bren Gun Carrier | British Buffalo | British Buffalo | British Cruiser A-10 |
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| British Cruiser A-10 | British Crusader AA Turret | British Crusader III | British Crusader III | British M-10 Wolverine |
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| British Matilda | British Rolls Royce Amored Car | British Rolls Royce Amored Car | British Rolls Royce Amored Car | British Comet |
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| German Panzer I Command Tank | German Panzer I Command Tank | German Panzer II | German Panzer II | German Panzer II |
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| German Luches Recce Tank | German Sd Kfz 234/4 | German Sd Kfz 234/4 | German Sd Kfz 234/4 | German Kettenrad |
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| German Panzer III | German Panzer III | German Panzer III | German Panzer IV with 75mm | German Panzer IV with 75mm |
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| German Panzer IV with 75mm | German Panzer IV with 75mm | German Panzer IV with 75mm | German Panzer IV with 75mm | German Springer Demolition Tank |
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| German Springer Demolition Tank | German Springer Demolition Tank | German Springer Demolition Tank | German Sturmgeschutz IIIG | German Sturmgeschutz IIIG |
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| German Tiger I Early | US M-24 Chaffee British Markings | US M-24 Chaffee British Markings | US M-24 Chaffee British Markings | US M-24 Chaffee British Markings |
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| US M-24 Chaffee British Markings | US M-24 Chaffee British Markings | US M-24 Chaffee British Markings | US M-24 Chaffee British Markings | US M-8 Greyhound |
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| Russian Su-76 | Russian Su-76 | Russian Su-76 | Russian Su-100 in Egypt Markings | Russian Su-100 in Egypt Markings |
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| Russian Su-100 in Egypt Markings | Russian Su-100 in Egypt Markings | Russian Su-100 in Egypt Markings | Russian Su-100 in Egypt Markings | Russian Su-100 in Egypt Markings |
| Visit to the National Air and Space Museum |
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center