2022 New Mexico State Fair – Model Contest and Results

ASM’s “Battles of the Pacific – 1942” (80th Anniversary) display filled one case with 30 total models ranging from ships in 1/700 scale and aircraft, armor, and beach assault craft in 1/72 scale to 1/48 scale.  Each model had a card describing what it was plus its involvement in 1942.  Information provided included a 1942 Timeline Chart, area/theater maps, and charts showing the sequence of the Battles of the Coral Sea (May 1942) and Midway (June 1942).  Several postcards of early war “morale posters” were also included. The top shelf included 12 models in 1/72 scale that included most of the American and Japanese aircraft involved in the battles of 1942. We were able to take advantage of Byron Gore’s large IJN Akagi aircraft carrier entry as a center-piece on the bottom shelf of our display.  It would certainly attract any fair-goer’s attention!  It participated in the Pearl Harbor attack and was subsequently one of the four Japanese carriers lost during the Battle of Midway in June 1942.  Midway was a crucial strategic defeat for Japan and contributed significantly to the allies’ ultimate victory in the Pacific. 

Another eye-catching component of the display was several models related to the “Doolittle Raiders.” These included a 1/700 scale “USS Hornet” (CV-8) aircraft carrier built by Mike Blohm that was completed just in time for the display, and a 1/48 scale B-25B Mitchell medium bomber built by Frank Randall. Information and pictures were supplied about the Raid, the Hornet, and the B-25. The Doolittle Raid on Tokyo and several other sites in Japan took place on April 18, 1942 by 16 B 25s launched from the USS Hornet. The Hornet model depicts Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle’s B 25B becoming airborne and all the other B-25s clustered at the stern end of the carrier deck awaiting their turn for takeoff. The B 25B model depicts the “Ruptured Duck” flown by 1Lt Ted Lawson and Raider Crew #7. Lawson would later write the famous book “Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo.” Although the raid caused comparatively minor damage, it demonstrated that the Japanese mainland was vulnerable to American air attacks and provided an important boost to American morale.  Thanks to the ASM members who provided models for the display: Bob Henderson, Victor Maestas, and Matt and Mike Blohm (and models by two of my brothers).