MS Salt Lake City is proud to present:
SLC XXIV Biennial Model Expo and Contest
September 21tst, 2024
Utah Army National Guard
J Garn Aviation Complex
7602 S Airport Rd, West Jordan
Details can be found on their website at https://www.ipmsslc.org/contest/
This is an interesting model airfield complete with 1/48 scale (?) military airplanes and electric lights, used for military training. From the uniforms and airplane markings, this was a U.S. Army Air Force instructional aid, circa 1943.
Model planes included B-25, P-38, F4F Wildcat, P-40 and P-39 replicas. This was pretty neat set-up; I imagine every kid around during the War years would have loved to have one of these.
At Sandia Base during the War years, from June 1942 to October 1943, there was an Air Depot Training Station that provided instruction in aircraft maintenance and airfield operations; there very well may have been one of these model layouts in service there.
Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson, America’s last triple-scoring ace, passed away on May 17, 2024 at the age of 102. He was the 31st ranking U.S. ace and the 26th ranking USAF ace. I did some internet searches on living American aces from WWII, and it looks like there may be only 4 to 6 still with us. Very sad that these heroes are almost gone.
Anderson was born in Oakland, California, on January 13, 1922 and joined the U.S. Army Air Force on January 19, 1942. He earned his pilot’s wings at Luke Field, Arizona on September 29, 1942. He underwent training on the P-39 with the 357 Fighter Group (FG) at Tonopah Field, Nevada. Anderson served two tours with the 357 FG “Yoxford Boys” with the 8th Air Force in the European Theater of Operations, and was the top ace of the 363 Fighter Squadron (FS). Anderson scored 12.25 victories flying the P-51B Mustang on his first tour (ended in July 1944), followed by 4 kills in the P-51D on the second tour (ended in January 1945). Overall, he had 16.25 confirmed aerial victories, 2 probables, 2 damaged, and 1 ground victory. He scored a “triple” on 29 June 1944 (3 Fw190s) on a mission to Leipzig, Germany. He had 3 “doubles”: 27 May 1944 (2 Bf-109s) northwest of Strasbourg, France; 27 November 1944 (2 Fw-190s) near Magdeburg; and on 5 December 1944 (2 Fw-190s) west of Berlin. His victories included: 7 Bf 109s, 9 Fw 190s, and 0.25 He-111 bomber. All of Anderson’s aircraft, P-51Bs and Ds, bore the moniker “Old Crow” after the that brand of whiskey. Pictures 1 – 4 show Bud with his P-51s at various times during his tours. Pictures 5 – 13 show his P-51B without and with D-Day Invasion Stripes, green upper surface P 51D, and natural metal P-51D. Picture 14 shows the top aces of the 357 FG “Yoxford Boys.” Left to right are Richard Peterson (15.5 victories), Leonard “Kit” Carson (22), John England (15.5), and Clarence “Bud” Anderson (16.25).
Anderson spent his post-war career in operational fighter units and as a test pilot. He made the first flights on the experimental program to couple jet fighters to the wingtips of bomber aircraft for range extension (the Fighter Conveyor program – FICON); and conducted the initial development flights on the F-84 Parasite fighter modified to be launched and retrieved from the B-36 bomber. He was promoted to Lt Col on 1 June 1952 and to Colonel on 15 March 1963. Anderson commanded the 69 Fighter-Bomber Squadron at Osan, Korea in 1956 flying the F-86 Sabre; the 18 Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Kadena AFB, Okinawa in 1967; and finally the 355 TFW in 1970 at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand flying the F 105D Thunderchief in Southeast Asia. Anderson retired from USAF as a Colonel in 1972. He flew over 100 types of aircraft, logged over 7,000 hours, and was decorated 25 times for his service to the U.S. He was promoted to the honorary rank of brigadier general in 2022. Picture 15 shows Anderson as a test pilot (F-104 in the background) at Edwards AFB. Pictures 16 – 19 show Anderson and his personal F-105D “Old Crow II” with the 355 TFW.
I met Colonel Anderson at the IPMS/USA National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona. We were able to talk for a while and he signed a copy of his book To Fly and Fight – Memoirs of a Triple Ace for me, as well as several other “ace’s gallery” books that I had brought along. I gave him a montage of pictures of my “Aces Gallery Model Display” at the USAF Academy that included the model of his P-51B (see picture 20). He was impressed by the display and the model of his aircraft. (More on that below.) As I walked around his convention booth one of the men working there and I made eye contact and we both had an “I know you” moment. It turns out that he was Bud Anderson’s son Jim and that we had both been in sister squadrons in the 33 TFW at Eglin AFB at the same time (1976-1978) flying the F-4E Phantom. Very small world. I did not know at that time that he was the son of Bud Anderson. So, we got caught-up and shared some “there I was” stories (mostly true). My son Matt and I saw Bud Anderson and Chuck Yeager (picture 21) put on a two-ship P 51D aerial display at the Air Force 50th Anniversary “Golden Air Tattoo” at Nellis AFB, Nevada in April 1997. That two-day air show was very cool and had lots of aerial teams from other nations and aircraft fly-bys not usually seen, such as the SR-71 Blackbird, F 117 Nighthawk, and the B-2 Spirit. Yeager and Anderson were squadron-mates in the “Yoxford Boys” during WW II and put on a show each day. They were both in their mid-70s at that time. Pictures 22 – 25 show restored P-51B and P-51D aircraft in “Old Crow” markings at air shows, and Bud with a P-51B and P-51D.
On the model: Anderson’s P-51B model in the USAFA Aces Gallery Model Display was built in late 1972 using the Monogram 1/72 scale kit, and was part of the initial batch of models built for the display. That kit was one of the primo 1/72 models produced at that time, and other models were compared to it: “Is it as good as the Monogram P-51B?” The model was finished with a zinc chromate green interior, olive drab upper surfaces, and medium gray lower surfaces, likely with Pactra Paint colors. After-market decals for any ace’s schemes were very scarce in the early 1970s, so almost all the markings are hand-painted, including: the 357 FG’s red and yellow spinner and checker-board nose band, the “Old Crow” aircraft name, kill markings, pilot name plate, white wall tires (painted by his crew chief), and the D-Day stripes. The stars and bars were from the kit, and the white code letters and yellow tail numbers were pieced-together from Micro Scale letters and numbers decal sheets. The white letters that were positioned on the white D-Day stripes received a thin outline painted in olive drab and vertical lines to make them “stencil versions.” Of note, this particular P-51B also had the ”Old Crow” moniker painted on the right side of its nose, which I did not include in my build. This was likely from the research material available that I had back in 1972. We have come a long way. The kit comes with a complete standard canopy and a Malcom hood center canopy section. To use that, like in this model build, the front section and rear side panels need to be cut off. Unfortunately, that clear plastic is very brittle and care must be taken. Pictures 26 – 31 show the built model. It has aged pretty well from 1972 (52 years!). There are multiple kits and decal sheets these days featuring the “Old Crow” scheme. Academy recently issued a P-51B kit in 1/72 scale that features Anderson’s scheme on the box top. It is a very nice kit and is recommended, but unfortunately the Malcom Hood is too high and should be replaced if your build requires one.
I hope you have enjoyed this history lesson on a great American ace. Bud Anderson flew multiple P 51Bs and Ds that were named “Old Crow.” It is little known that Bud also had a P-39 Airacobra that was named “Old Crow” from his initial training days at Tonopah Field, Nevada. See pictures 32 – 36. I encourage other ASM members to send Casey Rupley pictures of their own builds of other “Old Crows” that can be posted as an addendum to my article.
Here are some links to several obituaries on Bud Anderson:
https://www.legacy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Bud-Anderson-1000×667-1.jpg
The Smithsonian recently published an article about restoring a model of U.S.S. Enterprise last modified in the Star Trek (TOS) for the “Trouble with Tribbles” episode. See the full article here, but an excerpt and pictures are provided below.
On Star Trek, a TV series that aired in the late 1960s, more than 400 crew members explored the galaxy aboard the USS Enterprise, which had a length of 947 feet and weighed 190,000 tons. In actuality, the starship was an 11-foot-long model made of poplar wood and vacu-formed plastic.
Film of the model appeared in all 79 episode of the original series (broadcast from 1966–69), and the model was donated to the National Air and Space Museum by Paramount Studios in 1974. Forty years later, the Museum undertook a two-year project to restore the Enterprise to how it looked during the filming of the 1967 episode “The Trouble with Tribbles”—the last known modification of the ship during the show’s production. Today the Enterprise is displayed in the Museum’s location in DC.
Recently announced new kit from Kotare for a 1/32 Spitfire Mk. Va. Pre-order now available. See full details on Kotare’s website here.
Excerpt from Kotare announcement:
PRE-ORDER due to popular demand K32002 Kotare 1/32 Spitfire Mk.Va is now available to pre-order from 10 June 2024. Shipping expected from September 2024 (subject to worldwide trade difficulties). Pre-order deposit payment in full (100% refund available on request up to the actual shipping date).
All pre-orders placed through www.kotare-models.com will receive 32P001 Kotare 1/32 Spitfire Mk.Ia (Mid/Late), Mk.Va/Vb (Early) 3Dprint exhaust (value US$12.99) and an exclusive free beautiful Darryl Legg box art print suitable for framing (only while stocks last).
142 high-quality injection moulded plastic parts – 35cm wingspan – 40 all new tooled parts include windscreen with de-icing, hood with Martin-Baker jettison system, fireproof bulkhead, dual-height rudder pedals, instrument panel with rectangle & curved blind flying panels, elevator trimming wheel, ice/snow guard, engine driven undercarriage controls, composite pilot’s seat with and without Sutton Type K harness detail, IFF Mk.II, port wing fillets with electrical connection door – Mk.V oil cooler fairings – station keeping lamps – Optional Supermarine & CBAF undercarriage doors and top cowlings, open & closed cockpit doors – DeHavilland & Rotol propellers – Wheels with weighted tyres featuring correct alignment- 32 page fully illustrated instruction manual – High quality Cartograf decals for 3 Spitfire Mk.Va including famous ace Douglas Bader.
This year’s theme is:
Baby Boomers all subjects from 1946 – 1964 are eligible for theme awards
OkieDokieCon Event on June 15th from 9:00am to 4:00pm at
7903 NW 30th
Bethany Oklahoma
73008
“The Cube” North Church
Vendor – Raffles – Loads of models to see
Admission is free
Additional information, to include category list, registration forms, etc, can be found at OkieDokieCon 2024 (ipmsmetrookc.com)
(excerpt from article posted on Business Insider – click here for full story)
The US has acquired 81 obsolete Soviet-era combat aircraft from Kazakhstan, a report from the Kyiv Post says.
Kazakhstan, which is upgrading its air fleet, auctioned off 117 Soviet-era fighter and bomber aircraft, including MiG-31 interceptors, MiG-27 fighter bombers, MiG-29 fighters, and Su-24 bombers from the 1970s and 1980s.
The Kyiv Post reported that the declared sale value was one billion Kazakhstani tenge, or $2.26 million, equalling an average value for each plane of $19,300.
The outlet cited reports from the Ukrainian Telegram channel Insider UA and the Russian news site Reporter saying the US purchased 81 of the aged, unusable warplanes.
(from IPMS email distribution)
As a reminder, Scalefest 2024 will be held Saturday, May 25th from 9am to 5pm at the Grapevine Convention Center located at 1209 S. Main Street in Grapevine TX. 76051.
Also the IPMS-NCT Website has been updated for Scalefest 2024 including applicable forms for preparation before the show.
Again the theme award is “RED”. Any model with at least 50% red qualifies.
Plenty of vendor tables are available at the moment but they do tend to sell out by the day of the event. Vendor forms are attached and payments can be made by check or Paypal. For Paypal, reply to this email and ask for instructions.
See the attached brochure for a $2 coupon for entrance into the show.
Look forward to seeing everyone in May!
Randy Spurr
Here’s an excerpt from a recent ABQ Journal article covering the visiting Ford Tri-Motor at Double Eagle airport. The article, a front-page story, features ASM member, and Chairman of the Cavalcade of Wings, Michael Howell.
The full article can be found here: https://www.abqjournal.com/history-on-the-fly-cavalcade-of-wings-dedicated-to-preserving-and-pursuing-story-of-new/article_b2e63f8a-f2aa-11ee-a519-8fe6584e1728.html
Prop wash from the Ford Tri-Motor rumbling to life at Double Eagle II Airport blustered its way into the hangar, threatening to topple the model planes Michael Howell and Fred DeGuio were arranging on a table on a recent day.
Both men hovered protectively over scale models of seven Ford Tri-Motor aircraft and five Fokker Tri-Motors until the real tri-motor plane taxied away.
Howell is board chairman of Cavalcade of Wings, a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting and displaying the aviation history of New Mexico, and DeGuio is one of Cavalcade’s board members. Their model exhibit detailed the history of Ford and Fokker tri-motor planes and the roles those planes played in New Mexico.
Both Fokker and Ford tri-motors flew into the state during the pioneer days of commercial air travel.
Fokker, a Dutch company, made about 250 tri-motor aircraft in two models, the F-7 and F-10, in the 1920s. Ford turned out 199 tri-motor planes in two variations, the 4-AT and the 5-AT, from the mid 1920s to the early 1930s.
“The Fokkers didn’t survive,” Howell, 67, says. “They had wooden components and were made out of cloth. There are zero Fokker Tri-Motors flying today.
“The Fords were made out of metal. The plane was nicknamed the Tin Goose. Being an all-metal plane makes a big difference. As of 2011, there were 18 Ford Tri-Motors in existence, and eight of them were flying. I don’t know how many are flying today.”
Well, the 1929 Ford 4-AT that came close to blowing the models away for one.
That plane, owned by the Experimental Aircraft Association, took paying passengers up for rides Thursday, Friday and Sunday at Double Eagle II on Albuquerque’s West Side.
