President’s Corner

Our next club meeting on Friday, June 7th, 2024, has two scheduled events- my “Jet Bombers” sponsored contest and Dave Straub’s talk on Albuquerque aviation history through the 1940s.

The “Jet Bombers” contest is non-points and open to any jet bomber subject in any scale.  I sponsored the contest to encourage scale modeling of classic jet bombers like Canberras, B-58 Hustlers, Vulcans and B-52’s but when you think about it, the subject matter is pretty broad- a jet-powered drone carrying ordnance or a modern strike jet like an F-117 Stealth Fighter or an F-15E Strike Eagle could fit the theme, too.  So be creative and see what you can kitbash.

We don’t often think of Albuquerque as an aviation city but the truth is, our town grew up with the airplane.  Dave Straub has a unique knowledge of our air history and will share some insights about our place in the story of flight.

Michael Howell, director of the Cavalcade of Wings model display at the Sunport, will also bring us up to speed on display news as the projected September opening of the new display area draws near.  I would like to encourage everyone who has pledged to complete a model for the display to finish their builds as soon as possible and anyone who wants to pitch in with a quality build is welcome to do so.  A great place to start is the Cavalcade’s website:

https://www.cavalcadeofwings.com/

Not only are models needed for new subjects but a number of older models need replacement as many date back to the 1960s.  Think about that for a moment- some of those models have been on display for almost 60 years and have survived well past the lives of their builders.  It’s about as close to immortality as we modelers are going to get so participation in this display can be a source of pride for decades.

But scale modeling isn’t just about the past but the future, too- ASM has been offered the opportunity for a month-long model display in March 2025 at the Cherry Hills library branch to coincide with the library’s “Star Trek” theme that month.  The display will be open to models of “Star Trek” subjects and should be a lot of fun.  One of the most enjoyable kits I built was this old AMT Klingon battle cruiser and I know many modelers have been bitten by the same Regulan blood worm and knocked out a few Original Series, TNG, DS9 or Voyager kits themselves.

Keep those builds moving along on your workbench and hope to see a good turnout on June 7th.