GHQ Models Forums

Redleg,

I haven't been to Cleveland since pre-pandemic but there used to be a game store right near the entrance to the rental car facility by the airport. I think it was called the Warzone. It was one of those old school types where there are stack of games, miniatures, magazines, books and paints everywhere. It was impossible to find anything and you had to ask the gruff looking character who ran it where to find anything. He did have micro armor surprisingly. I hope it is still there.

One of the suburbs of Pittsburgh had a game store called Legions which caters to the FOW crowd, had a limited supply of micro-armor last time I was there but but again, that was pre-pandemic. I believe it is still open.

So I looked up Warzone cleveland in google and it comes up with Warzone-Matrix. The pictures of the place leads me to believe not much changed.

Thanks for the tips guys! That looks like a place that I could have a lot of fun in!

I also see that Pittsburgh has a big museum called the Soldiers and Sailors Museum that looks pretty cool. I will be checking that out for sure!

I got back from our trip last night and it was a pretty good time, though a bit cold for us Southern Californians! I did visit the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Museum in Pittsburgh and it was pretty cool. It focuses on the contributions of Pennsylvanians to US military efforts over the years. It's downtown on the Pitt campus and you can get through it in about an hour. Not much in the way of tanks or aircraft, but some cool uniforms and weapons on display.

I didn't make it to the Warzone when we were in Cleveland, but I did find a wargame shop in Pittsburgh called Phantom in the Attic. It had a pretty good selection of games like 40k, the new edition of Twilight 2000, and Advanced Squad Leader, but alas no micro armor.

The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Museum:

Good to know about Cleveland. My kiddo will be going to college there in the fall so this will be a stop for me!

I really liked Cleveland. It seemed pretty clean and everyone was pretty friendly. We caught a double header at the ballpark too - Guardians and White Sox. It's a really nice park. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was really awesome too!

I meant to post this trip report a few weeks ago, but the forum was down and then I got busy and forgot. But right before Christmas I spent a few days in San Diego with my kid for a “Planes and Trains” trip. San Diego is a huge military town and there is a ton of military stuff to see, but we just hit a few of the bigger attractions.

We spent a whole day at Balboa Park (you could spend several days in that park). We started at the Model Railroad Museum with my dad, who is an avid train nut (I believe they call themselves Rail Fans). It’s a very cool museum and it gave me some great ideas for wargaming terrain. And I was almost ready to start throwing my money at yet another hobby!






After that we hit the Aerospace Museum, which has an awesome display of aircraft from the birth of aviation all the way up to space flight. There is a great WW2 section with a mockup of a carrier deck and several large models of different aircraft carriers. I used to come here with my grandfather when I was a kid, and he would attract quite a crowd as he told stories of his experiences on carriers during the Korean War.




My daughter was way too comfortable in the commander’s chair on the bridge!


The next day we went to the USS Midway, and it was awesome! The hangar deck is filled with aircraft, simulators, and displays. Then up on the flight deck there are more aircraft, some of them open for people to crawl through. Lower decks are open as well, and visitors can walk through the ships to see engine room, sick bay, officer’s, CPO, and enlisted mess, etc. the CIC is open and set up with maps and data as they appeared on the first day of Desert Storm. The USS Midway should be on everyone’s to-do list! We could have spent all day there.










My daughter in the A-7 cockpit simulator.


And to top it all off, we had a view of San Diego Bay from our hotel room. And the Navy was kind enough to put in a show for us with some Ospreys!

Love the USS Midway museum! It is an awesome, at least half a day experience. One of the best around, rivals Air Force Museum and Navy museum in Pensacola… We were at the hotel across the street so I saw it every night from our 12th floor room. To boot, in the background is the active US Fleet docked at the island.

To boot I was there because I had the opportunity to be involved with the USS Bonhomme Richard post fire - it was an incredible experience and absolutely sobering.

Hi Redleg! Glad you enjoyed your trip to San Diego and the Midway and Balboa Park. My younger daughter lives in La Mesa so I try to see her every few months or so.

On my last trip in October, we went to the Maritime Museum. For the $20.00 admission fee it is a great museum and includes several ships including the HMS Surprise from Master and Commander. I have been there 3 times now and always enjoy it. I also enjoyed the Midway but it has been 10 years since I was there in 2012. Certainly lots to see and I want to go back.

You are definitely right about Balboa Park needing a few days. There is lots to see there for sure. I have not seen the model railroad part but do want to go back to see it and some of the other things there as well.

A bit further afield, in sunny North Queensland:
https://www.ausarmour.com/
Been there once and didn't take the camera. Won't make that 'mistake' twice. Up side of no camera is there is no temptation to spend the whole time looking through a viewfinder.

Not so many tanks at this one... and I've never been, though I would have driven close by many, many times....
https://www.military-vehicle-museum.org.au/

If you want planes:
https://www.saam.org.au/
The F-18 wasn't there the last time I was. Looks like I'll have to go again.

Redleg, your daughter looks a bit young to be the Captain, might she be the XO?

Some day I need to get to Australia!

While on our anniversary trip to Palm Springs this past weekend, my wife and I paid a visit to the Palm Springs Air Museum. I was pretty impressed with the collection, and I recommend a visit to anyone passing through the area.

The museum has 5 hangars and some aircraft outdoors. They also have several aircraft that you can catch a ride in if your pockets are deep enough. I tried to convince my wife that $1800 was a fair price for a ride in a P-51, but she wasn’t having it.

There is one hangar dedicated to the European theater in WW2, and one hangar dedicated to the Pacific Theater. A third hangar houses aircraft from the Korean War, Vietnam, and general Cold War. The last 2 hangars are smaller: one for a B-17 and one for an F-117.

Of personal interest to me was a Corsair with the markings of VF-53 from the USS Essx. My grandfather served aboard the Essx during the Korean War and provided avionics support to the Corsairs of VF-53 (see the Korean War Micronaughts thread).

A great museum! I highly recommend it!

I had a great day sightseeing today! I am in south-eastern Pennsylvania for work again and I have already been to Gettysburg, so I decided to hit Harrisburg. I visited the National Civil War Museum, but while I was driving up on Interstate 81, I drove past the US Army Heritage Center, which I didn’t even know existed. Sadly, the Heritage Center was closed (my wife is happy that I didn’t make it in to the gift shop), but I still spent a couple hours walking around the outdoor exhibits, and most of the outbuildings were open.

The National Civil War Museum is great! It has 2 floors of displays and a small theater that plays a short video about the war. It’s not as cool as actually walking the battlefield like you can do at Gettysburg, but it’s still a very nice museum. It’s surrounded by a huge park, but no outdoor exhibits.













And there are some very cool, very impressive model dioramas.

The US Army Heritage Center is a huge building, so what’s inside must be awesome! Still though, the outdoor exhibits were great and it includes the Army Heritage trail, which is a walking / jogging trail that must be a mile or two long. It includes exhibits from the Revolution up to Afghanistan. It’s all US equipment, with the exception of a single Pak 43/41. In addition to looking at tanks and guns, you can step into a Revolutionary redoubt, a WW1 trench and bunker, a WW2 camp, a Vietnam firebase, and an OEF Hesco complex.

I recommend a visit to the Heritage Center if you are ever near Carlisle, PA!

Right up front is a beautiful M109A5!


I’m pretty sure this was directed at me.


The Redoubt




The Bunker








The trenches








The WW2 camp






Vietnam firebase






For the veterans of my generation




They also had a small obstacle course. This is a mistake because people like me refuse to admit that we are older and unable to complete obstacle courses. It was a painful experience.


Some equipment on the trail












A chock block so the Sherman doesn’t roll away. Safety first!