On the weekend of March 22-23, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is opening the gates and inviting everyone to enjoy a free, weekend-long event packed full of entertainment. Come out and see dynamic aerial displays, memorable planes, and SO much more!
During WWII, enlisted men could end up anywhere, from the Solomons to Iceland. The guys in this picture got lucky – a nice, easy model-building gig at Wright Field, OH. But they’re no slouches, the models they’re turning out in 1942 would look good on any modeler’s shelf today- they’ve even included ground equipment! Inspiring to see that the scale modeling we enjoy today has a pedigree that goes back more than 80 years.
The Squadron name has been around since the late 1960s as a trusted source of hobby merchandise for military scale modeling. But as a supplier of hot sauce? Squadron now offers four different hot sauce flavors for the discriminating palate, with each bottle adorned with artwork of a favorite WWII U.S. combat aircraft. I hope this takes off and expands into armor modeling – a picture of a WWII Sherman flamethrower tank would leave no doubt as to the hot heat bottled up inside.
With Thanksgiving just a few weeks out and the end of the year approaching, it’s a good time to take stock and provide a status update on the club.
At our October 4th meeting, the club re-elected the six elected members of the E-Board. Our line-up for 2025 therefore will be Patrick Dick, Jim Coatney and Robert Henderson as Pro-Tem members, Ken Liotta as Contest Director, Frank Randall as Secretary-Treasurer and Scott Jaworski as VP. I will serve another year as President. The current E-Board crew gets along well and is focused on working for the club. We are also lucky to have our club media managers, Casey Rupley and James Barrett, who continue to bring us state-of-the-art IT services.
Looking ahead to the coming year, the club is on the right track with a focus on modeling, with additional activities such as guest speakers, swap meets and local displays to provide interest to members. Best news of all is our club treasury balance is stable and our club is in the black.
Our club contests are the heart of our meetings. I would like to thank all of our members who participated this year in our points contests and special contests, and my fellow contestants for Modeler of the Year. I participated in the MoY contest this year because I believe the president of a model club should be able to show his stuff on the contest tables once in awhile, but there is no question there are many club members who are better modelers than me and I am in awe of their modeling ability and craftsmanship. I’ve been a member of ASM since 1995 but the best modeling talent we’ve ever had is in our club ranks right now.
We are lucky to be living in great times for the scale modeling hobby. There never has been selection and quality like there is right now and the aftermarket business has completely transformed the hobby. Over the years I’ve heard many gloom-and-doom predictions for the end of scale modeling and have seen many changes, like the transformation from a hobby shop-focused hobby to a global online hobby marketplace, but we are still hanging in there building models. The future for us is still bright.
At the December 4th meeting, we will have the Model of the Year showdown, to determine which best-of-show models are selected as the best models in each skill level, and a Peoples Choice contest to see which of these models is the most popular. Click here to see which models are eligible. Looking forward to our next meeting and hope we have a great send-off for the 2024 modeling year.
John Tate
ASM President
From artist John Sharp, a scratchbbuilt miniature of a local landmark- the Lucky Boy burger joint at Constitution and Carlisle NE in Albuquerque. A reminder that even if model kits disappeared tomorrow, making detailed miniatures could still continue. Here’s a link to his site check out his other fantastic miniature artworks.
From Spanish action figure guru Lord Triste- using firecrackers to enhance the drama of scale model photography. Firecrackers are easy to come by in New Mexico and we have plenty of dirt and wide open spaces so this might work- imagine this effect behind an image of a tank model or diorama. Just remember, follow all applicable laws and don’t try this at home, you could loose one of your precious little fingers if done incorrectly. Here’s a link to a YouTube video showing some images using this effect.
– John Tate
The toughest task in figure painting is getting the eyes right. I sectioned this image from a painting by one of the Old Masters and thought it could be useful the next time a modeler has to paint a face- get the eyes right and the rest is cake. Just remember to use a fine, high-quality brush to tackle the details; any model paint will work, just thin as necessary to keep the consistency right.
– John Tate
Attendance was approximately 30 people and there were 12 model entries.
1st
James Barrett
P-39
2nd
John Tate
MiG-17F
3rd
Dave Tingley
P-39N
1st
James Barrett
Bushmaster
2nd
John Tate
Panzer IV
1st
Bob Henderson
Shelby Cobra 427
1st
James Barrett
Medusa
1st
John Tate
Crocodile
1st
Michael O’Brien
Millennium Falcon
1st
Rob Whitlock
Marder IIIM
