Greetings and salutations to one and all. We are in the home stretch and before you know it, Buffcon40
will be here. T-minus 3 weeks, 3 days or 556 hours and 7 minutes or, if you are by the minute type person,
there are 33,367 minutes till April 6th, 2025. Of course, this is when I wrote my article (3/13/25).
This will be short and sweet and to the point, so here we go. Justin S. will be passing around a sign-up sheet where you can sign up to volunteer at this month's meeting. Areas where we need volunteers include general admission, registration, security and judging, to name a few. The latter( judging) will be the most important because, due to the current exchange rate with the Canadian dollar, our Canadian modeling families' attendance and participation at BuffCon will be severely affected. With that being said, we need everyone's help and I will also be reaching out to the Rochester and Syracuse clubs for assistance as well. To entice our fellow modelers to the north, we will be doing Canadian money at par for general admissions, registration, entry fees and of course, the raffles. So let's pray to the modeling gods that the exchange rate has an uptick!
Lastly, as for judging, most of our club members have judged at some point or other. So for those that are new to the club and haven't judged before and want to, grab one of us and we'll explain the ins and outs. Just one more thing - we need everyone to be on the same page: volunteer, volunteer and volunteer.
Don't forget, if you have a kit or two or three that you don't see yourself building, please donate it to the raffle. It has to be unstarted, either in a fully sealed box or kit contents sealed if not, and all parts have to be accounted for. Last chance meeting to bring them in or you can bring them in the day of the show.
We have a few members coming up to bat with demos:
- This month - pending.
- April - Buffcon40 after-show pizza party.
- May - Justin Sczepczenski will be doing panel line scribing.
Upcoming shows:
- Heritagecon17, March 23rd, 2025 - Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, Hamilton, Ontario.
- BuffCon40, Sunday April 6, 2025 - Knights Event Center, 2735 Union Road, Cheektowaga, NY, 14227.
- 11th Annual Spring Thaw Model Show (Scale Vehicles), May 4th, 2025 (9am - 3pm) - Willowvale Fire Co., 3459 Oneida St., Chadwick, NY 13319.
- NNL Buffalo 3rd Annual Model Car Show, September 6, 2025 (9am - 4:30pm) - Madonna Council #2535, Knights of Columbus, 755 Erie Ave., North Tonawanda, NY 14120
That's all for now, and I will see you all on Tuesday (3/18/2025) for the general meeting at 7pm at the
Williamsville Youth & Recreation center at 5005 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221. Parking and entry
to the facility is in the back.
Happy Modeling,
Michael Butry
President
IPMS Niagara Frontier
IPMS USA No. 52196
IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - March 18, 2025
NOTE: CANNOT ACCESS FACILITY BEFORE 6:55PM
7:00 PM to 7:10 PM - Place models on tables with description forms.
7:10 PM - Meeting called to order.
Old Business:
- Clarence Library.
- Buffcon Raffle items.
New Business:
- Buffcon 41's "Theme Award"
Questions from the floor.
Demo: Pending.
Break: 2 minute stretch.
Table discussion: Members tell the club about the models they have on the tables.
Members catch up on what's been going on since the last meeting.
Call for adjournment.
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 18th at the Williamsville Youth & Recreation Center, 5005 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221, starting at the usual 7:00pm. Please note that we are renting the facility from 7:00 to 9:00pm. The facility is NOT responsible for opening the doors before 7:00pm, so if you get there early, please be patient. 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:
Club members met at the Clarence Town Library on Saturday, March 1st to set up a club display of our models. The library generously donated display space in wall shelves located in the entry foyer. We filled several cases with numerous models in a variety of categories including aircraft, armor, automotive and sci-fi subjects. The models will be on display through the month of March, so stop by and check it out if you're in the area. The group adjourned to Bocce Club Pizza for lunch afterwards, and a great time was had by all.
Dues for 2025 are now due, and can be paid at the upcoming March meeting. Full year dues are currently $20 for adults 18 and over, $5 for juniors age 11-17 and free for under 11. If you joined the club after November 1, your paid dues are applied to 2025 for the full year.
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 included in 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
IPMS Niagara Frontier is a group of people from the Western New York area who enjoy the hobby of scale model building. We have about 60 members with 30+ attending each monthly meeting. Our club meets at 7:00pm on the third Tuesday of every month at the Williamsville Youth & Recreation Center, 5005 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221.
A typical meeting starts with a short session related to club business. This is followed by "Show & Tell" - many members bring in their current work in progress to share experiences with other members. There is usually at least one model-related demonstration by a club member at each meeting. Meetings are free to the public. If you are in the Western New York area we would love to have you drop in to one of our meetings and say hello. We welcome modelers of all skill levels - from beginner to expert.
Our annual BuffCon event held each year in April continues to be one of the largest shows in this part of the country.
As a community-oriented club we also gather toys each Christmas for the "Toys-for-Tots" program and are proud of our support of this worthwhile program.
A brochure that describes the club and its activities can be found HERE.
The minutes from the February 2025 general meeting are included below. Thanks to our Secretary, Al Germann, for the meeting minutes.
February 18th - President Mike Butry led the meeting.
To promote greater transparency regarding the operation of the club and the EBoard, action items from the current 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 10 - President Mike Butry led the meeting, held at Section 8 Hobbies.
Vista De Nada Service Truck
by Al Germann
This Moebius Models/Model King kit (#1235) was sitting on my shelf for about a year. The original plan was to use this 1965 Ford F-100 Service Truck as a donor for a "what if" model of a full size pick up of a Ranchero, but I decided not to go through with it. There are many examples where I hang on to a kit or even a certain color of paint until I figure out "how" to build it, meaning to have a theme or story behind the completed model. In this case, the inspiration came from the 1996 movie "Multiplicity" with Michael Keaton and a condo construction site, Vista De Nada, which translates to "view of nothing", one of the funniest subliminal lines I ever heard. With just a few reference photos from the internet and taking some artistic liberties, that was all I needed to get started.
This is supposed to be a kit review, so let's get started. As the only Moebius Models kit I ever built, I can still say it is a great modern engineered kit and a step up from the standard Round 2 offerings. Nothing wrong with them, but Moebius Models reminded me of Wingnut Wings or the newer kit of the Revell Land Rover with great fit-up, minimal flashing, shallow ejector pin marks, and crisp-fine details. The element I liked the best was the separate door panels for the interior tub. This allowed very realistic arm rests, door handles and window cranks in addition to sun visors and turn signal arm, parts that I don't have to scratch-build. Other basic parts are included, so no searching your own parts box, as this included a separate master brake cylinder, horns, windshield washer bag (not a bottle), and wipers. The front suspension alone has 11 pieces but went together without a problem. Using a self-closing tweezer, lighted magnification and a slow pace, this turned out great without frustration. If you build one of this series of Ford trucks from early 1960s to early 1970s, the kit is NOT missing the gas tank as it was behind the seat in the cab and not between the frame rails. The kit has some options such as 3 different side mirrors but also some parts on the sprues for other variations such as different transmission, steering wheel, etc. Instructions listed these extra part numbers. The service bed was built up with 8 pieces without counting taillights and bumper. There are great details on the handles and even the piano hinges, which are molded closed but can easily be cut open for further detailing. The instruction booklet is fantastic with great details, color photos of the completed model and factory colors. The only thing I didn't care for were the decals as they are very brittle. This is likely from the thinness (or lack of thickness) but that's the tradeoff.
The weathering is in a worn-out style, with shading and minor chipping but with plenty of washes. Details I added were some tie downs in the service bed along with basic engine bay wiring and a few small pieces. The cab interior junk and supplies in the bed really bring this model to life. Always be resourceful in model building, as the lamp posts are LEGO pieces but appear to fit right in with the theme. The paperwork on the dashboard is mostly Scale Auto or Fine Scale Modeler advertisements that include a miniature photo of the product, just cut down to the appropriate size for the purpose. Other pieces were 3D-printed and resin pieces from eBay. Oh yeah, the Vista De Nada signage was based off of the condo sign in the screen shot using Vallejo Pale Sand and Sky Blue, airbrushed with simple masking. Dry transfer letters from Woodland Scenic completed it, after measurement calculations and some experimenting of course.
Justin Schroeder displayed his Bandai 1/12 Clone Trooper converted into Captain Rex. He used
Archive-X paints: the armor is 1975 Reefer White, and the blue stripes are a mixture of 1975 Big Sky
Blue, Light Blue and 1975 Engine Black. Modifications included the Captain Rex helmet, blasters,
blaster holsters and shoulder guard using 3D-printed parts, and the leg skirts made from 1 1/2" wide
black ribbon. Justin used water colors and a burnt umber wash that he made for weathering, along
with artisan markers on the helmet and kill counts. He said he had to get rid of a lot of seams on
the armor pieces which took some time, and had to figure out how to prevent fraying on the leg
skirts; a liquid fabric hem glue from Joanne Fabrics did the trick. Finally, the base was made from
foam with Vallejo thick mud applied along with Diorama FX, Vallejo water texture, realistic miniature
leaves, wood and styrene bits.
Paul Hines brought two new paintings of mixed subjects this month. The first was a 1933 Ford 3
window coupe. Paul's comments: "in all of my paintings, there are three key elements: 1. accuracy,
2. planning, and 3. power of suggestion. With the Ford, I had to draw out the flame pattern first,
and then paint around it, then fill in the flames. Also, I decided to paint the black background
first to more accurately paint the car color. The planning paid off with a beautiful painting."
Paul's second painting was of a historical landmark, the Edward M. Cotter Fire Boat. Built in
1900, it is the oldest working fire boat in the world. Paul said it was great to paint it.
Jeff Keenan showed us his 3D-printed Skull Dice Tower. Tamiya, Mig Ammo and craft paints were
used for finishing, with weathering not done yet. Jeff said he had to fix some tubing that didn't
print well, and the layer lines from the 3D-printing made painting interesting. He said he chose
not to putty/fill so he could get it finished faster, but it's still in progress. Jeff mentioned
that a co-worker printed it and asked him to paint it for him. He said it's been fun and a learning
experience.
Dave Zoerb displayed two armor models: a Viikondo 1/72 Cougar 6x6 MRAP, and an M117 Guardian
Security Vehicle. They were finished with Tamiya spray paints, and weathered with a general dry
brushing using acrylic Parchment by Americana.
Jim Greenfield brought in a Citadel Games Workshop Warhammer Imperial Knight. He's building it out
of box, and painting has not started yet. No problems have surfaces so far, and he picked the subject
to do "something different".
Gregory Fox showed us his P-40 Flying Tiger. He said he used a base from another model.
Rob Downs displayed a collection of Tiny Star Wars Scenes. They were all painted with Vallejo
acrylics. Rob said the bases are tiny artist canvases, and all of the models are Bandai kits. He
said that all of the scenes are from the various Star Wars movies, and all were learning experiences.
He mentioned that he tried to use different techniques, including airbrush, paint brush, washes, pin
washes, and even a two-way mirror. Rob said he always tries to have a variety of textures and colors.
Larry Osolkowski had two items on the table. The first was his completed Anavrin "The Abandoned
Submarine" book nook. It's made from pre-painted wood parts that come on laser-cut sheets, along with
a few sheets of laser-cut transparent parts. The parts get punched out, cleaned up, and glued together
mostly with white glue, although CA was required for strenght in a few places. He said it was a
surprisingly complex kit, and took longer than expected to finish. There is a backlighting system
included, using a number of LED strips. Unfortunately, the batteries he used were pretty dead, so it
didn't light up as well as it should. It was a fun project, and something very different from Larry's
usual builds.
Larry's second item was his ongoing progress on the BBR 1/43 Ferrari F310B 1997 F1 race car. He
finished assembling and painting the disc brakes, the suspension parts, the dashboard and steering
wheel, and the seat with seat belts. The wheel parts are painted, and other bits are coming along.
Al Germann displayed his Moebius 1/25 1965 Ford F100 Service Truck, a work-in-progress. See his
article in this newsletter for a more detailed description. He also showed us some of the materials
used for his snowplow build.
Ted Szczesny brought in another Metal Earth-style model, a Piececool Ladder Truck, made from 354
flat sheet metal parts. He used a Sharpie for touch-ups, and thin CA glue for occasional part stabilization.
Ted said there were lots of very tiny pieces, and a 2.5x Optivisor is highly recommended when building.
He commented: "I have no idea why I do this. Maybe the Henry Ford Clinic can help!"
Ted also displayed a Wood Trick Rescue Firetruck made from 636 laser-cut wood parts. No painting was
required for this model. Ted said that as a press-fit kit, occasionally some fittings are loose, so thin
CA glue is used to secure these parts and also to fix delaminations. Separating parts from trees can
occasionally result in the laminated plywood parts delaminating when the attachment points are too sturdy.
He said slicing the surface layer of the attachment points with an Xacto knife or scalpel can help.
Mike Butry showed us his Tamiya 1/48 P-51B Mustang. The aircraft was airbrushed using Vallejo Model
Air paints, and the invasion stripes and horizontal stabilizer ID bands were also masked and airbrushed.
Mike said "this build was pretty much straightforward. I replaced the exhaust with aftermarket ones from
Ultracast, and the wheels with True Detail parts. I did subtle panel washes and used AK's weathering
pencils for chipping. Exhaust staining was done with Tamiya's weathering sets in oily black and gray.
The only issue that I had was when I filled the panel lines on the wings (laminar flow wings) - the
sanding part was a PITA." He chose the subject due to entering an online forum group build for D-Day
1/1/24 - 6/6/24. It's done by D-Day +257. Mike mentioned that he chose Captain Richard Smith's mount,
as he flew with the 357th FG, 364th FS; he was killed in action on 6/29/44.
Paul Kittell displayed his progress on his scratch-built 1/150 Wyoming Class Monitor (ca. 1895-1902).
Dan Price did a demo on a marbled painting method.
There were some model magazines on the table free for the taking.
There were some unidentified items on the tables.
Finally, some around-the-room shots.
Thanks to the members for handling the model tables, and Larry Osolkowski for the photos.
