About Us
Last Updated: May 14, 2010
FIRST & ONLY 4 Time IPMS/USA
National Chapter of the Year
7 Time IPMS/USA Region I Chapter of the Year
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 100 members with 40+ attending each monthly meeting.
Our club meets at 7:00pm on the third Monday of every month (unless
there is a holiday) at the Community Center, 4255 Harlem Road,
Amherst NY 14226.
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 1 model related
demonstration by a club member at each meeting. We have special
"Auction Nights" during the year where members bring
in their extra kits and they are auctioned off. Great deals can
be had during these special nights. 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 host an annual weekend
model building class for the youth at our community center in
Amherst. The class lasts for 6 weeks, meeting each Saturday in
February and usually draws approximately 30 kids. We also gather
toys each Christmas for the "Toys-for-Tots" program
and are proud of our support of this worthwhile program.
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2010 - 2011 Officers
President - Justen Hanna
First Vice President - Bob Collignon
Second Vice President - Larry Osolkowski
Secretary - Dick Schulenberg
Treasurer - Dave Schwab
E-Dizpatch Editor - Larry Osolkowski
Web-Site Coordinator - Larry Osolkowski
Chief Judge - Bob Raithel
Executive Board Members - Tony Bartoszek, Tom Faith, Paul Hines, Dan Marafino, Frank Blonski, Bob Raithel
Chapter Contact - Bob Collignon
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A Message from Chapter Contact Bob: Become a "Traveling
Tony"
Modeling is inherently a singular activity, sitting
for hours under bright lights working on the next "masterpiece".
If you're a normal human being, eventually you feel the need to
be with someone who understands your addiction. Eventually, you
need to finish the "masterpiece". Eventually you need
to kick some butt with your "masterpiece" at the next
competition. Eventually! Speaking from a personal perspective,
working alone gets kind of old, which leads me to my point..........
Become a "Traveling Tony" !! Start getting
to more shows WITH other club members. Travel in groups. Start
competing with your "masterpiece". The show aspect opens
up an entirely different aspect to the hobby. It becomes a lot
more fun because it is not singular any more. I have to tell you,
the rides to the shows and back and food stops on the way are
usually my most favorite times. I've heard the best, most useful
hints and tips, and the most candid and accurate model reviews
during these times. The humor is fast and furious.
Each months meeting has a "Show & Tell" session giving each
member an opportunity to show off their latest model either finished or in progress.
We usually have at least two tables worth. Here are a few of the models on the
table at the December 2007 meeting
Brian McFee's Tamiya 1/48th Mig-15
& his 1/48th Hasegawa Ki-61
Tony
Chuck Nichter won 1/2/3 at the
Nats with these gorgeous models
Rich Bernecki & Dan Marafino's
Tamiya Brummbar joint project
Frank LaMarca's 1/18th 1972 Pontiac
GTO diecast by GMP
Ernie Yunke's ships and figures
Matt Keysa's in progress dioramas.
Occasionally we have what is affectionately called
a "Build-n-Bull" session at our meetings (usually twice
during the summer and once or twice during the rest of the year)
The following pictures show our most recent session in July. As
you can see it's not all play. The first picture shows a few of
our members assembling fliers for next years Buffcon and Noreastcon
shows.
Hopefully we will see YOU at one of our meetings!!!
Copyright ©2010 IPMS Niagara Frontier