Greetings and salutations to one and all! Lets get started, shall we? I can't believe that this will be the last newsletter before the big show?! Three main things:

1. We need volunteers to help with set up and tear down the day of the show. We'll need to be at the Knights Hall by 0700 Sunday morning for set up, then tear down immediately right after the show.
2. We have a target time of 0800 for vendor set up so we'll need volunteers to assist with the unloading as well as helping them pack up. Hopefully we can get them in sooner, but time will only tell to how many volunteers we get for table set up.
3. We need volunteers for judging, admission/registration table and security.

Wait, just one more thing - kit donations for the raffle table. If anyone would like to donate a kit or two or three, please bring them to this month's meeting and if you can't make the meeting, bring 'em the day of the show. Kits can be sealed and if they are opened, must be sealed inside. All parts must be accounted for.

IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - March 19, 2024

NOTE: CANNOT ACCESS FACILITY BEFORE 6:50PM

7:00 PM to 7:10 PM - Place models on tables with description forms.

We would like to encourage all club members to join the national IPMS. Help support your hobby on a national level. IPMS provides the insurance that allows us to have our events, and membership includes a nice monthly magazine. The website can be found at: IPMS, and an application form can be found HERE.

The monthly general club meeting will be on Tuesday, March 19th at the Williamsville Youth & Recreation Center, 5005 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221, starting at the usual 7:00pm. Parking and entry to the building is in the back. There will also be a 50/50 raffle held at the meeting to help raise funds for the club. Directions:

Tom Brown, Sr. has created a new modeling challenge for our club. Here is his proposal:

To keep our club mailing list up-to-date, if you are a member of IPMS Niagara Frontier and have recently changed your email address or are not receiving the club newsletter and meeting emails, please contact our website coordinator, Larry Osolkowski, and pass along your email information. Thanks!

A link to the current Sprue and Glue News has been added in recent months to the Newsletter Blast emails provided by National IPMS. For those readers from other chapters, and anyone else who might be interested, our website has a Newsletter page with buttons to select any of our newsletters from the current year. There is also a button on that page to access the Archive page, which has links to all of the newsletters published since September 2007.

A NOTE TO NON-MEMBERS

The minutes from the February 2023 general meeting are included below. Thanks to our Secretary, Al Germann, for the meeting minutes.

February 20th - President Mike Butry led the meeting.

• Old Business:
  • Mike B. provided summary of the club's promotional table at the recent model train show at the Hamburg Fairgrounds on February 16 & 17 which had positive results although somewhat smaller number of interactions.
  • Tom F. has nametags for members that did not receive one.
  • Dues are due - if you are unpaid or not sure see Tom F.
• New Business:
  • Club elections for the Executive Board (E-board) will be in May. You have to be a paid member to be eligible to vote.
• BuffCon #39, April 2, 2024:
  • Jeff K. provided status of vendor tables spoken for.
  • Mike B. and Dick S. provided update on sponsorships.
  • Mike provided update on Facebook activity.
  • Kitchen status is expected by end of March. Likely with Hall's caterers.
• BuffCon #40, April 6, 2025:
  • Some discussion on new-alternate location.
• NorEastCon 52, 2024:
  • None.
• Miscellaneous/Open Floor:
  • Discussed demos at the general meeting again. Al G. volunteered to run "hands on" demonstration on carving insulation foam board into brick walls. He will prepare samples and talk through the technique.
  • Upcoming shows:
    • HeritageCon in Hamilton March 24th.
    • NorEastCon in Long Island March 23rd.
  • 50/50 raffle was run at this meeting with the tickets sold resulting in a $70/$69 split.
  • Bob C. lead the discussion for the models presented on the tables.

To promote greater transparency regarding the operation of the club and the EBoard, action items from the previous month's EBoard meeting will be published in the newsletter. These will not be detailed minutes of the meetings, but highlights that the general membership should be aware of.

March 12 - President Mike Butry led the meeting, held at Section 8 Hobbies.

• Old Business:
  • Tom F. stated there are a number of members still in need of paying their dues for 2024. Mike has action item to bring this up at next general meeting.
  • New shirts came in and Tom will distribute for those select members at the general meeting.
  • Tom re-stated he was able to resolve NY State tax issue. Error was with their system.
• New Business:
  • Elections will take place at the May meeting. The names for the ballot will be discussed at the April meeting.
• BuffCon #39, April 7th, 2024:
  • "Show Boss" will once again be VP Dan P. to take actions to resolve issues that arise during event.
  • Hall will open for set up at 7:00. We will open to vendors at 7:30. Jeff K. is vendor area coordinator.
  • Tom F. stated there will be kitchen service from 7:00am through 4:00pm with a combination of catering service and the Hall's Board staffing.
  • Inventory of supplies and raffle kits discussed. Tom F. will not be at event but someone will be identified to move supplies in his possession.
  • Dick provided status on sponsorships.
  • Trophies will be picked up either Thursday or Friday before event.
  • Jeff had good news with the amount of the vendors spoken for. This will end up 56-64 tables. We may make use of the hallway/vestibule to the right of the kitchen window (Judges Room). Final arrangement and number of the table will be dependent on fire codes.
  • Mike B has action item to stress for members to volunteer for working stations during the day of event. Rotating positions at admissions and raffle in the vendor room.
  • Brief discussion on using table just around doorway from admissions for club promotion.
  • Tom B. suggested a poster to list vendors and sponsors. Mike has action item to consider and act on this.
  • Tom B. briefly discussed the Buffalo Heard promotional category with hopes this will be a continued category for all at next year show.
  • Discussion on additional on-line promotion to take advantage of tourism this weekend for the eclipse the next day. Mike also stated he would like to see a larger or more active on-line presence for the club. This will be discussed again.
  • Paid members will receive free admissions for this event.
  • The "thank you" pizza party is tentatively planned for the April meeting.
• BuffCon #40, April 6th, 2025:
  • Al G. has action item to produce a "save the date" poster and include a QR code.
• Miscellaneous:
  • The money raised from January 50/50 raffle of Club Member Tim G. will be donated to Toys for Tots charity. Tom has action item to send a check.
  • HeritageCon event is March 24th.

Maryann Germann had a couple of items on the model tables. Her first was the completed vignette of a Robot Reaching For a Human. She used tamiya metallic paints including silver and silver blue, and added cotton to create a mist effect. Maryann also used Mod Podge for the water.

Maryann's second item was a Phantom of the Opera kit that she's just started to assemble.

Al Germann made some progress on his tribute to the "Inverted Jenny" stamp, at least the stamp frame section. Letters and numbers are done, with the stripes remaining, along with some touch up that needs to take place.

Al also completed the 1969 Plymouth Barracuda with the "Mod Top" option. He needed some small size molding for the floral decal near the truck lid so he used some small diameter fishing line, sprayed it with Rustoleum Chrome and attached it with Mod Podge. Turned out great and very close to scale.

Al showed us his next project, a Phillipines Jeepney.

The last one for Al was the reissue of the old Chevy Blazer by AMT/Round 2 in 1/25 scale. He built it for his wife Maryann as a tribute to her father as he worked for Higgins builders and erectors. Coating is Al's go to paint, Krylon! He built out of the box, but it has some equipment in the back. Al explained it was a rather quick build but had problems with the paint which he admitted was all his fault.

Larry Osolkowski brought in two items this month. The first was his progress on sanding out the printing artifacts on his 3D-printed Porsche 963 kit from Wicked Models. He still has some work to do.

Larry's second item was his progress on the old 1/24 Heller kit of the 1938 BMW 328 race car he's been working on for a few months. The upper body shell continues to be refined, and is almost ready for paint. The lower body and fenders had the grill areas opened up, and one of them is lined with some small styrene strip to provide a backing ridge for the intended photo-etch grill. The rear axle has primer on it along with some lead wire u-bolts for mounting to the springs. Finally, the hood is being reworked to open up the vent areas in the sides and open up the louvers on top.

Justin Schroeder brought in a Bandai 1/48 T-47 Snowspeeder from Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back. He used Vallejo Air paints, and added weathering with AK Heavy Chipping and Worn Effects acrylic fluids and dry brushing. Justin mentioned that this was the first model he had ever done. He thought it came painted and assembled, which it wasn't, and that got him started in the hobby. He also said that the base was just a piece of wood with black plexiglas glued on top, and the name plate was made from aluminum with a clear sticker.

Alan Gryfe displayed his Lego MOC (My Own Creation) model of the CN Tower in approximately 1/350 scale, made from over 2000 bricks. He said he picked the subject because he had lots and lots of grey bricks. Alan mentioned that the initial build took a week of evenings, but it went through several rebuildings to improve the proportions; the observation pod took the most work.

Paul Hines brought in three new paintings of automotive subjects. The first two were custom "Woodies". The green woodie is a 1947 Ford Phantom Two-door, and the red car is a 1940 Willys. Paul said he enjoyed painting the woodwork and added a little wood grain to the side.

Paul's third painting is a top fuel dragster at night. He said it was a great study of perspective, with the dragway, the car itself, and the bleachers and flags. Paul mentioned that he loved the coloration of the exhaust flames, the reflections on the pavement, and all the colors of the car and stands.

Jerry Hock showed us his 1/24 Monogram '82 Buick Regal NASCAR race car driven by Ron Bouchard at the Daytona 500. He painted it with hardware store enamel straight out of the can. He said the kit was built primarily box-stock as a "slump-buster". The plastic window net was replaced with fabric netting for a more realistic look, and special attention was paid to the tires to make them look "raced". He also adjusted the ride height and camber for a more accurate appearance. Jerry said he had a fit issue with the air cleaner, and swapped it out with one from a T-Bird so the hood would close. He said he picked the subject mainly for the decal sheet, made by ACE Decals, depicting driver Ron Bouchard who is one of his all-time favorites. Jerry also mentioned that this kit was the first of Monogram's series of NASCAR models, and it set the bar for all others to follow.

Tom Brown Sr. displayed his work on his entry for the Cut The Herd Challenge. He separated the tail, legs and horns, and added wings from a Lindberg Eagle kit, and modified the horns. Tom said he's trying to give BuffCon a theme for this People's Choice award.

Mark Gadek brought in his current project, a Border 1/32 Lancaster. Mark said the instructions are very vague, and parts fit is tight. He said he got the kit as a Father's Day present. He added that it was an outstanding model with super details and quality fit; it's a long fun build so far, and he hopes to have it complete for BuffCon.

Jim Greenfield displayed a Lindberg 1/48 Independence Day Attacker, finished with Citadel, Tamiya and Mission paints. He back-dated the Attacker to full Alien (no rocket on body or damaged panels), and dry brushed over Citadel Black primer for weathering. He picked the subject because "it's cool".

Gregory Fox showed us his Lego models of the Year of the Dragon and the RMS Titanic.

Bob Heiss displayed his progress on his Moebius model of The Mummy. He used acrylics along with an oil wash and chalk pastels. Bob said this will be part of his Three Stooges Diorama. He plans to show us the sarcophagus at the next meeting.

Ted Szczesny brought in a Tamiya 1/14 Scania 770S 8x4/4 RC truck, along with a Tamiya MFC-03 Multi-Function Electronics package, and a Futaba 6-channel radio, reciever and servos. The truck was finished with Tamiya spray paint in Light Blue Pearl and Tamiya acrylics. Ted said he replaced the chrome ABS kit wheels with aluminum wheels and added extra LEDs from Evan Designs and amber LED flashing beacons with four flashing modes from eBay. He said he finds Tamiya kits to be some of the best manufactured kits on the market, and he would recommend them to anyone. Ted gave a brief demonstration of the engine sounds and lighting effects, which was very impressive!

Dick Schulenberg displayed a group of four aircraft models. The first was a 1/72 Heller AT-28D converted to a US Navy T-28B. Dick said he used the Ginter T-28 book for reference. He used all Vallejo paints over Tamiya spray can white primer; the yellow is Vallejo Golden Yellow. His modifications included removal of add-on armor and rocket pod mounts, replacement of the kit canopy with a lower vacuum-formed one, rescribing of the panel lines, and a smaller nose wheel from the scrap box. Dick said he had no issues with the build; it was just an interesting exercise. He mentioned that the model is part of his growing post-war USN trainer collection, and is a replacement for the Sword T-28 that he melted when removing too-thick paint with Testors Easy Lift Off.

Dick's second model was an Anigrand 1/144 resin kit of a Vought-Sikorski VS-44 Flying Boat. He again used Vallejo paints over Tamiya white spray primer, and built it out-of-box except for 0.010" plastic rod for the float stays. Dick said there were no problems except for those of his own making, and he picked the subject because it was the last of the big flying boats for Pacific airline service. He mentioned that he has a couple more flying boats in the same scale yet to build.

Dick's third item was an Anigrand 1/144 resin kit of a Beech XA-38 Grizzly prototype attack bomber that came with the previously mentioned VS-44. For variety, this time Dick used Vallejo paints over Tamiya gray spray primer, again built out-of-box. He said there were no issues with the build - it went together nicely, and the panel lines were good after a light sanding. Dick mentioned that the plane was a late WW II prototype that was highly rated but not needed by the time of first flight.

Dick's last model was a Valom 1/72 Lockheed XFV-1 Vertical Takeoff fighter prototype, which is a work-in-progress. Vallejo paints over Tamiya gray spray primer were again used, and the model is out-of-box so far but needs a major correction to remove a hump under the canopy. That area should be flush, and Dick said he wished he had noticed it a lot earlier. He mentioned that the panel line scribing needed a lot of touch-up after extensive sanding to remove steps that developed during assembly. There is also a fake raised area where the canopy sits that needs to be removed. Dick described the aircraft as cool-looking, but a crazy idea. He said it was not what he would call a good kit.

Mike Butry showed us his 1/48 Eduard P-400 Airacobra. It was airbrushed with Vallejo Model Air paints, and weathered with tempra paint panel washes and pastel chalk for the exhaust staining and various panel tones. He used the Eduard Brassin exhaust and wheel sets, and added seat belts made from Tamiya tape cut thin with photo-etch buckles. Mike said there were some minor fit issues around the cockpit and nose section. He mentioned that this was one of his "back burner" builds that he featured in a recent newsletter article.

There were a few unidentified objects on the tables.

Finally, some around-the-room shots.

Thanks to Bob Conshafter for handling the model tables, and Larry Osolkowski for the photos.