Monthly Meeting Recap

ASM’s Bylaws were recently updated to say that any E-Board member can act on behalf of the club for public affairs matters.

Last kit sale generated approximately $280

At this year’s Nationals, we’re sponsoring category 105A, which is a Single Engine Prop (Allied split) and the Special Award “1944.”

Tony stepping down as Region 10 coordinator; we’re nominating Jim Coatney (endorsed by E-Board vote), who was previously a regional coordinator where he used to live in Wisconsin.

Tonight’s contest was a Special Contest, meaning no points, but does qualify you for Model of the Year if you won.

May has Points Contest #2, “Snow White”, subjects should be predominantly white, preferably pure white, not cream; also a Battleship (best WWII) sponsored contest.

Next month is a presentation by Joe Lavender, Battle of North Cape

Awards for Mike Blohm’s best victory markings will be handed out next month.

Harvey Chace gave a presentation on the IL-2 Sturmovik. The video can be found on YouTube or on this site under Showcase – ASM’s YouTube Content.

Attendance was approximately 33 people.

Harvey Chace’s presentation on the IL-2 Sturmovik has been moved to April.

ASM welcomed two new members, both of which performed well in the night’s contests!

Cavalcade of Wings update: Michael is in the process of pulling models out of the display that need to be replaced or repaired; the CoW website is close to having 300 total models posted.

Two contests were conducted, and there was a large showing on the tables! There were 37 entrants and another 8 on display.

No contests. It was a swap meet night.

We are paid up for the room through January 2025.

The new name tags are now available and can be purchased for $15.

The new contest entry form is available on the website.

Next month’s meeting is on the 15th of March and will include the open points contest, a presentation from Col. Chase on the IL-2 Sturmovik , and Mike Blohm’s Victory Markings sponsored contest will be held as well.

Michael Howell gave a presentation on the new Cavalcade of Wings display. Here is the list of aircraft still needed:

Holloman AFB – 49th Fighter Wing +
P-47D, F-100, F-84F, F-4D, F-117A, T-38A, F-22, F-16C/D, MQ-1B Predator, MQ-9 Reaper, German Air Force Panavia Tornado

Canon AFB – 27th Special Operations Wing
F-100D, F-111D, CV-22, AC-130J Ghostrider, U-28 Draco (Pilatus PC-12)

Walker Air Force Base – Strategic Air Command
B-29 Silverplate, B-50A, B-36, B-52, Atlas Missile, Nike Hercules

Attendance was approximately 36.

The rate for the meeting room at the UNM Continuing Education Center increased slightly, but enough to warrant a membership vote. The vote passed uninamously.

Michael Howell provided an update on the Cavalcade of Wings display at the Sunport. Fortunately, rather than have to pack up and temporarily store the models while the new display is being built, CoW will be able to move the models directly into the new displays, which is expected late this summer or early fall. Anyone that has volunteered to build a model for the display is encouraged to prioritize them since the timeline has moved up from the last update.

No regional contests are scheduled for our region (IPMS Region 10). The last official regional as our Chile Con in 2017. This is a bit unusual compared to other regions but believed to be because of the large geographic area and dispersed cities/population.

Contest schedule is nearly complete and has been updated on the website. Nothing will change for February or March, but other items may change. Check back in a few weeks for a final schedule.

Hotel registration for this years IPMS National convention in Madison, WI, opens today (1/6/24). Book now before they sell out.

Joe Lavender gave a fascinating presentation on the evolution of the Kriegsmarine in WWII.

Award plaques for Model of the Year and Modeler of the Year were presented.

Two contests were held: a Special Contest for “Real Space/Science/Sci-Fi/Fantasy” and a Sponsored Contest from Patrick Dick for “Terminated.”

Attendance was approximately 34 people.

Michael Howell spoke about the Cavalcade of Wings display. The Sunport is presumably going to shutdown the display for approximately 9 months. The conceptual design of the new display is done. Construction is supposed to be done before Balloon Fiesta in 2024.

John Tate talked about the possibility of ChileCon. Because of our the hefty financial commitment, it continues to be untenable at this time. It would cost roughly $10k to put on, quite an increase from past regionals held in Albuquerque that only cost a few hundred. The desire still exists to host another ChileCon, but it would likely require sponsorships. Meanwhile, the club continues to comfortably operate in the black.

Mike reminded everyone that the Air Force Ball is Saturday at 4:30. Models can be dropped off at Hobby Proz no later than noon for inclusion. One more person is needed.

The election for 2024 ASM President was conducted. Incumbent, John Tate, won.

Two contests were conducted: the fifth and final points contest of the year, as well as a P-51 sponsored contest. Oddly, there were only Masters entries on the table this month.

Attendance was approximately 27 people.

Frank Randall provided a recap of the State Fair contest.

Michael Howell will be requesting models for some Air Force base displays he’s working on. He also wants to promote us through the Cavalcade of Wings display at the ABQ Sunport given our supportive relationship.

Mike Blohm gave an update on the Folds of Honor model display and upcoming Air Force Ball.

John Tate and Tony Humphries gave excellent presentations on the Yom Kippur War, which ended up being almost prophetic given the recent outbreak of violence in the region that was almost 50 years to the day.

Nominations for the 2024 E-Board were conducted. Uncontested and approved nominations are:

Pro Tem: Jim Coatney, Bob Henderson, Patrick Dick
Contest Director: Ken Liotta
Secretary/Treasurer: Frank Randall
Vice President: Scott Jaworski

There are two nominees for President – John Tate and Mike Blohm – and voting will be held in the November meeting. 

There was one Sponsored Contest for “Middle East Conflicts” presented by John Tate.

Attendance was approximately 36 people.

Frank Randall provided a recap of the State Fair contest.

Michael Howell spoke about the Cavalcade of Wings display and model donations.

John Tate talked about the upcoming club election and encouraged members who had not participated on the E-Board, and members who might be relatively new to the club, to stand for election and give the Board a try if they had new ideas and wanted to make changes.

Mr. Harvey Chace, Col, USAF (ret.) gave a fantastic PowerPoint presentation on the history and development of the B-26, providing many new details that even WWII airplane enthusiasts didn’t know, like the demand for speed driving the clean design and laminar flow wing, the critical airspeed requirements for takeoff and landing and the particular danger with this aircraft of losing an engine.  To thank him, John Tate presented him with B-26 model on behalf of the club.