Next, was this display by Wes C., a club member in both the SSCC and Army Group South, show vendor, great modeler and friend. I can't say enough about Wes's modeling. He is an incredible scratch-builder, but what he can do to a diorama or a figure is nothing short of amazing. As proof, I call your attention to the models on this table. I am just in awe of his talent.
Scott C. or Blackjack if we are using our screen names is our resident "Modern" guy. Yeah, a few of us dabble in modern stuff, but Scott does it right. His display this year was just as cool as can be. I was divided into two parts. The first scene was of a street fight by forces trying defend a downed chopper. Scott added some flickering lights to his "smoke" to make it seem like the bird was going to go up in flames at any moment. The second scene was off additional chopper crews getting into the air to come get our GIs out of harms way. The two scenes were divided by a nice collection of 1 to 1 scale ammo crates, cases, helmets and more, which sort of ties it all together. There are so many dramatic "mini scenes" going on in this diorama that I am sure I did a poor job of capturing them all.
Point Man rounded out the display tables with his tribute to WAR CORRESPONDENTS. It was a combination of 1 to 1 scale stuff and 1:6th. The diorama featured a tent belonging to a War Reporter and his photographer sitting beside a roadway leading to the front lines. A M2A1 Half-track of the 37th Tank Battalion has stopped on the road to question a couple of French Farmers. The Reporter sits in front of the tent reading the latest issue of Yank magazine, while the photographer is getting some shots of the half-track and crew.
Point Man in his own "Journalistic" effort, used artifacts of a WWII GI, Woodrow Wilson Wells, and unit history to piece together a "Human Interest Story". Woody was a combat engineer in the 86th Heavy Pontoon Battalion and helped, among other things, to put a Bailey Bridge over the Rhine when the original Remagen Bridge fell.
A story board tells the story of four famous WWII War Correspondents. Below is a selection of Yank Magazines from the 1944/45 period.
Below is Point Man's recreation of a WWII company field desk as might have been used by a war correspondent.
As always, there was plenty of goodies to buy and I think we all spent a fair amount of money during the weekend.
There were also plenty of scale models in a variety of scales. I particularly liked these airplanes. These are paper models folks; I was totally blown away by them.
And that concludes our quick look at the show. There was a lot of stuff to see. We had some great vendors, so there was plenty to buy. If you live anywhere in the midwest or really anywhere in the US, you need to start thinking about making plans for next year's show. The SSCC show is a great combination of vendors and club displays. There is lots of time to hang out with club members and talk about the hobby. Hope to see you at the show next March.