Greetings fellow members.

Due to the Tony Bartozek Memorial "I'm Not A Modeling Loser" contest, there were a lot of models on the tables at the September club meeting in addition to the usual variety:

Our latest member, Stephen Willgohs, who has moved up from North Carolina brought in his Trumpeter 1/32nd scale A-10 Warthog. He depicted the aircraft in a Euro Camo scheme with various brands of enamels. He scratchbuilt the instrument panel because the one from the kit lacked any depth or detail. Stephen's dad flew them with the 23rd, is the reason he chose it.

Mark Budniewski finished a Revell Foose FD-100 1956 Ford Pickup truck. He changed the wheels and some engine parts, used the stock rear bumper and tail lights, but scratchbuilt the "FORD" tailgate lettering and side mirror. He sprayed Tamiya TS-16 Yellow over the bare plastic and did not add a clear coat. He used black Bare Metal Foil for the windshield trim and the bed floor is the kit decal.

Justen Hanna completed a conversion of the stock Bandai Petitegguy anime figure to represent members of the 1970's rock band KISS.

Larry Osolkowski brought in yet another recent purchase, a joint effort between Aoshima and Beemax to produce a 1/20 Brabham BT52 F1 race car kit. Like all automotive kits coming from Aoshima lately, this is another superb kit, with excellent engineering and great detail. A detail set was also available, which includes photo-etch parts, seat belt material, carbon fiber decals and a sprue of hose fittings.

Larry also displayed his progress on the Aoshima 1/12 Honda Ape motorcycle kit he's been working on. Many parts have been painted, and assembly will begin soon.

Ilya Grinberg brought in a collection of current projects. His first model is a 1/72nd scale Flyhawk Hobby M1A2 Abrams MBT SEP. Ilya states that this is "the new standard in 72nd scale production and one of the best Abrams (models) in this scale".

He also finished the 1/72nd scale T-Model M114 HMWVV. He used paints by Mig and weathered it with pigments.

Another model he's been busy with is the 1/72nd M4A2 (76W) Sherman as a Soviet lend-lease tank in WWII. He used various paints and pigments along with Tamiya weathering powders to finish it.

Ilya wraps his models up with the 1/72nd scale I-16 Type 17. He's used a Hasegawa fuselage mated with wings from ICM and loads of PE inside. Ilya also completely made over the fabric effects in the appropriate areas.

Steve Weller showed us a WWII scrapbook that came from, he believes, a 3rd US Army veteran. It contains patches, a Nazi handbill from the Nuremburg war crime trials, and a Reichs Bank 100,000 Mark note.

Dick Schulenberg has been working on the Buffalo Library exhibit and his Roden Nieuport N28 and Hobbycraft Nieuport 17 are very close to being completed. He's used Tamiya spray can colors and Vallejo/PollyScale acrylics for the paint work. The kits are being built out of the box except for the N17, which has an aftermarket cockpit and wheels. Next up is the flying wires and rigging.

Dick also finished the Roden 1/72nd FWD 3-Ton Trucks and 8-Ton Cannon from WWI. He used acrylics from Vallejo and PollyScale and a wash with brown water color pencil shavings dissolved in water. The downside to the kits were the fact that the instructions for the cannon were missing a major assembly step - the small parts were not identified. He was able to find help on the internet and competed the project.

Samantha Hanna finished her Warhammer Vampire Black Stage Coach using Citadel acrylics, mud effects and various washes.

Bill Borkowski completed the Tamiya 1/72nd scale USAF Bell X-1. Bill used Tamiya acrylics and Alclad II Grey Primer, some with the airbrush and some via regular paintbrushes. He related that a few very "teeny tiny parts went PING into the black hole of lost model parts, never to be seen again" and had to fabricate replacements.

Jacob Gadek brought in the Moebius 1/8th scale "Halloween" figure kit. Jacob finished it using acrylics by Tamiya and Vallejo followed with a Vallejo wash. Jacob lamented that the "Michael Myers iconic hockey mask provided by the kit manufacturer is not a good representation of the one portrayed in the movie."

Mark Gadek finished the Arma 1/72nd scale Polish "Iskra" TS-11 airplane kit. Mark says he thought it would be an easy build, but found that with all of the PE and resin parts it took a bit longer because of the planning and preparation needed to build a decent model. He said that the kit supplied canopy masks caused the canopy to fog, which he corrected by dipping it in Future a few times.

Tony Gliszczynski built the 1957 Ford Gasser totally out of the box without modifications or additions.

Despite builder procrastination and lack of patience, Dave Krygier successfully completed the Pegasus "Rocketship X-M" and painted it with Testor's spray can colors.

Matt Krygier was able to finish the "Flintmobile" and painted it with Tamiya and Testor's paints.

Eric Hillebrand built the Esci 1/9th scale Kettenkrad because of the "coolness factor". Eric built it out of the box, painted it with colors by Testor's, Tamiya and Model Master and added washes, drybrushing and streaking effects by Mig for the final finish.

Eugene Paveljack completed the ICM Model T 1917 LCP, also out of the box. He used Ammo white primer followed by a top coat of sand by the same brand. Final finishes were done by using the drybrushing technique.

Jim Wolfe had his Cyber Hobby 1/35th scale Tiger I "Gruppe Fehrmann" tank to which he added zimmerit anti-mine paste, along with some wall fragments he'll be using for backdrop.

Clint Keidel finished the Tamiya 1/48th scale P-51B Mustang kit. Additions to the base kit were PE seatbelts, brake hoses, and drop tank fuel lines. Paints were by Tamiya, Model Master, Vallejo and artist's oils.

Todd Habscheid finished the Orc vs. The Sakuins figures. He used paints by Reaper, P3 Formula and Citadel. The base was made using rocks from his yard glued together. Texture was replicated with earth shades and tones onto them.

Todd also built the Trollblood Heavy Warbeast Earthborn Dire Troll figure. Again, he used paints by Reaper, P3 Formula and Citadel. He made the monster look like he is busting up a boulder.

Al Germann brought in the Wingnut Wings 1/32nd scale Salmson 2-A2 airplane kit he's building for the library display. He added the flying wires and used paints from Tamiya.

Nick Carluccio chose an "easy build" and finished the 1964 Mercury. He used Krylon "Coral Isle" to mimic the real Mercury "Bittersweet" color used on the real car.

David Safe built the AMT 1977 AMC Pacer in 1/25th scale. He added sheets of plywood and 2x4 planks roped onto the roof rack. The paint colors he used were Testors "Lime Ice" by spray can and Vallejo "Beige". Dave chose this subject because "no one would want a Pacer car".

Jeff Usiak showed us his 120mm Verlinden "Door Gunner" figure. Jeff added a scratchbuilt microphone boom and cords to the model.

John Zaranek completed the 1/48th scale Poland Air Force PZL P11c parasol wing fighter by Mirage Hobby. John used authentic Polish colors matched to the original by Pactra (Yes! Pactra) acrylics directly from Poland (thank you, Mark Gadek). This is a mixed media kit that went together fairly well. The decals were very thin and a few broke apart when manipulated in place on the model. He was able to nudge them in place, but some needed touch up with paint. He also used E-Z Line elastic thread to simulate the radio antennae.

Tom Brown Sr. displayed his diorama of the now defunct Niagara Hobby Shop. The diorama was built many years ago, and spent most of its life at the store, initially on display and eventually relegated to a back room office. Tom retrieved the model when Niagara's closing was announced.

There were a number of other items on the tables. Please remember to make sure John has your description sheets before the end of the meeting.

Some around-the-room photos.

Thanks to Steve Weller for handling the tables, and to Larry Osolkowski for the photography.