Greetings and salutations to one and all! Just like that, our show has come and gone. It has been two weeks since we put on our show, and it seems like yesterday that we began preparing for it.

IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - April 18, 2023

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, April 18th at the Knights Hall, 2735 Union Rd., Cheektowaga, NY 14227, starting at the usual 7:00pm at the usual meeting room in the rear building. There will also be a 50/50 raffle held at the meeting to help raise funds for the club.

Membership dues for 2023 are overdue. Please see Tom Faith at the meeting.

Starting with the June 2023 general meeting on June 20th, we will be meeting at the Williamsville Youth Center at 5005 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221.

Long time club member and Chief Judge Tom Brown, Sr. is looking for kits of cars from 1960. If you run across anything at a show, estate sale, or online, give Tom a call at 716-604-8482. Tom says thanks!

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 March 2022 general meeting are included below. Thanks to our Secretary, Al Germann, for the meeting minutes.

March 21st - President Mike Butry led the meeting.

• Old Business:
  • Tom F. provided basic financial overview and club is in good shape heading into BuffCon.
  • Our club is still in need of a new place for monthly meeting due to rising cost. Some ideas were presented and discussed.
• New Business:
  • N/A.
• BuffCon #38, April 2, 2023:
  • Talked about need and encouraged volunteers for judging and other work location during show.
  • Al G. stated there is a very good amount of collected kit donations.
  • Status of supplies, tables sold and other details discussed.
• NorEastCon 51, Saturday, April 29th, 2023:
  • This will take place in Albany area at the Polish Community Center, 225 Washington Ave. Ext. in Albany, NY.
• Miscellaneous/Open Floor:
  • 50/50 raffle was run at this meeting, with the tickets sold resulting in a $51/$52 split.
  • Jeff Belling led presentation of members' models 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.

April 10 - President Mike Butry led the meeting.

• Old Business:
  • New location for the general monthly meetings will be at Youth Center (previously a fire house/station) on Sheridan Drive near Evans. This will start for the June meeting and this will include the post-BuffCon pizza party. The May meeting will be at current location of the Knights Hall.
• New Business:
  • Al G. suggested selling traveler mugs to club members and at BuffCon as a combo with kitchen sales.
  • Larry O. is considering stepping down from publishing the newsletter and club needs a successor for this appointed position.
• BuffCon #38, April 2nd, 2023:
  • Tom F. provided financial results and talked through it. Overall results had net profit around our long term average.
  • Metrics for the show had around 263 general admissions and 437 model entrants and was considered good results.
  • Raffle tickets were pulled every 15 minutes from 9:15 until 3:15 or 3:30. After feedback from attendees and Eboard discussion, next year's raffle will give away all kits within show.
  • Judging feedback was that some models were missed or skipped over. This could have been part of ranking prejudging. There were a few complaints during show or judging, and for future event it will be suggested to submit comments using email or Facebook page. There were other minor details discussed.
  • Category for 1/32 aircraft had a rather large number of entrants, with about half prop and half jets. This was discussed on potentially splitting category into two. Categories are published in advance on show flyer. Ultimately, the Chief Judge will make the decision.
  • Trophy plaques seemed well received and this style will continue for next year. There were some extra which will be reused for next year.
  • Need to start thinking about successor to current Chief Judge Tom B. Sr. Primary responsibility is to manage judging activities.
  • Dan P. had favorable reviews for role of Show Boss.
  • Multiple areas were in need of more frequent rotation of staffing.
  • Judges that complete their assigned categories should be considered to help remaining categories.
  • Vendors had favorable feedback and greatly appreciated member's support with morning setup.
  • Al G. suggested handing out model tip sheet to all junior entrants.
  • Mike B has the following action items:
    • Discuss with Robin that May will be our last general meeting at the Knights Hall.
    • Confirm BuffCon #39 for 2024 will be at Knights Hall and confirm quote. Future BuffCon may continue but price is a major factor. Also running the kitchen a factor.
    • Get square footage of the two rooms for Knights Hall.
    • Need insurance certificate for new monthly location.
    • Forward paperwork/contract to Tom F. for BuffCon 2024.
• Miscellaneous:
  • None.

Tom Brown Jr. sent in some photos from Tiger Con in New Orleans.

Moving to the model tables, John-Allen Price displayed a couple of models. The first was an Airfix 1/72 US Navy F-4B/G Phantom II, VF-213 USS Kitty Hawk. John-Allen used Model Master and Polly-S acrylic paints, along with two kinds of Gloss White spray paint for the undersurfaces. He added twin launch rails and Sidewinders from other 1/72 kits, and the model did not get any weathering. John-Allen mentioned that the kit is almost 50 years old, so the detail on it, especially the interior, is very basic. He picked the subject to add to his "Jungle Cats on the Flight Deck" series, with an A-6 Intruder next. He said this was the first F-4 he's done in 55-56 years.

John-Allen's other model was a 1/72 Airfix Sea Vixen, No. 699 Squadron, Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. He used Polly-S Sea Blue acrylic, spray can Gloss White, and Polly-S Satin Finish. Red top missiles were painted as training rounds, and the model was built out-of-box. John-Allen mentioned that since the No. 699 Squadron was a shore-based training unit, there would be no "at-sea" weathering. He said there were some fit issues with the kit. The subject was picked to fit in with his other '50s British 1/72 planes.

David Safe showed us his 1/24 Revell Land Rover III. He used Tamiya lacquer in blue and white, along with various Model Master paints, and added Doc O'Brien's weathering powders to tone down the body. Dave mentioned that the back seats did not set right and required modification to fit, and the hood also had fit issues. He picked the subject because he liked the look.

Tim Grieve displayed a 1/175 Atlantis Boeing B-52 with X-15. Tim used Testors paints in Aluminum, Steel, Orange, Red, White, Black and Silver. He added a viewing window on the B-52 for the X-15. Tim was inspired by an early space program that he saw on TV when he was a kid. He said the kit was an easy build with good fit and very colorful.

Paul Hines had three new automotive art subjects for us to see. Paul described them as follows: "1) Black five window coupe - top chopped, body 'channeled' or lowered on the frame. I added color by painting the wheels orange, and set it off by painting a geometric pattern on the back wall. This will be one of my presentation pieces at BuffCon. 2) Yellow GTO - famous for being the first original muscle car. GM stuffed a big V-8 into the Pontiac Tempest light weight 2-door, and the muscle car was born. 3) Gray 3 window classic hot rod - open wheels, big rear tires, open engine with side pipes. Great for just cruising around town."

John Doerr had three models on display. The first was a Tamiya 1/48 Bf-109 E3, 11/JG77, October 1940 in Norway. John used Polly S RLM02, Tamiya RLM66 and RLM70, and Gloss Black, with pastels for weathering. He said the kit came with raised flaps, but was clearly intended for lowered flaps, so modification was required. John said there were other fit issues as well. He mentioned that he liked the camo scheme, and the kit can be brush painted.

John's second model was another Tamiya 1/48 Bf-109 E3, but with a completely different camo scheme. He used Model Master enamel RLM65 and 71, and Tamiya Gloss Black, German Gray, NATO Black and RLM70 paints, with Tempra paint and wipe and pastels for weathering. He added Techmod decals. John said the model represents Major Hans "Assi" Hahn's plane from 1936.

John's last model was a Tamiya 1/72 F4D-1. He used Tamiya spray primer, NATO Black, German Gray, Gloss and Flat White, and clear gloss, with a black wash for weathering. John said he likes the looks.

Bob Heiss showed us his progress on his Polar Lights Three Stooges figures. Vallejo acrylic paints were used, with Tamiya paints for drybrushing and pastels for weathering. Bob said he's a big Stooges fan, and plans to build a diorama of an Egyptian tomb for the set of figures.

Gregory Fox brought in his 1/72 SR-71 Blackbird with D21 Drone.

Tom Brown Sr. brought in a blast from the past, a "mini me" from a diorama of a Clutch Artists Autorama from many years ago. He also displayed the airbrush that will be raffled off to the judges at BuffCon.

Larry Osolkowski displayed his additional progress on the Meng 1/9 BMW HP4 Race motorcycle. The fuel filler, fork top caps and telemetry transmitter were painted, the digital dashboard was painted and decalled, and the windshield lower air deflector was carbon-fibered. The main bodywork and fuel tank have been painted and decalled, and are waiting for a final clear coat. Larry mentioned that the engineering on this kit was impressive, in that the blue and white areas of the bodywork are separate parts, so no masking is required. He also showed the front fork and handlebar assembly, which is almost done.

Justin Sczepczenski displayed his Tamiya 1/35 KU-1. He used Tamiya and Vallejo paints, and added weathering with enamel and oil paints, Mig pigments, static grass in 2 & 4mm lengths, and Mig diorama paste in dark mud. Justin added 3rd party photo-etch bits, scratch-built tarps, used Evan Designs LEDs, and Mini-Art vodka bottles and Russian infantry equipment. He said the kit is basically perfect out of the box. Justin mentioned that the KU-1 is his favorite Soviet era tank, and it often gets overshadowed by its more numerous T-34 counterpart.

Jeff Belling had two items on display. The first was a Hasegawa 1/72 P-47D with Robert S. Johnson markings. Vallejo paints were used, along with Super Scale decals, and an oil wash and pastels for weathering. Jeff mentioned that R. S. Johnson was the first US pilot in the ETO to equal Eddie Rickenbacker's record of 26 kills. Jeff said he read his book "Thunderbolt" when he was 9.

Jeff's second model was a 1/72 Airfix Spitfire Mk. 9, with the kit decals. Jeff again used Vallejo paints and an oil wash and pastels for weathering, and added foil seat belts on the pilot. The markings are for Stanislaus Skalski.

Al Germann brought in several items for us to see. Here's Al's description of his first model: "The Land Rover is just about complete. This will get one more light wash with a bit of light gray and light khaki with a lot of water. Also, once Al got it here and saw Dave's Land Rover he noticed he forgot the antenna. The body color is a rattle can satin Wild Rapids from a True Value store. Not a factory color for that year but he always liked that color. Al commented he enjoyed the build and how it turned out. This Revell kit has options for left hand or right hand drive along with different seats for different global markets. Weathering a model is always fun and harder to make a mistake with the finish."

Al also brought in a kit that just came in from Model Roundup. It's a Heller kit in 1/24 scale of a Citroen Hotel Taxi. Al said he was looking at this kit a few years ago but didn't get it at that time. The few kits available on eBay became very expensive so Al was glad to see it reissued. It is a kit where you can imagine that time period and place and should be a fun build.

Al also had a couple of spray cans of unusual paints from Krylon. They provide a textured finish that can be very useful.

Al displayed a work-in-progress, an AMT kit of a 1953 Ford Pickup which, if you couldn't guess, will be a '50s style custom. This one has a truly custom cab as Al extended the length of the cab 7.5" with some donor parts. This looks just right but much different than a stock example. Once the cab is extended, the interior need the same treatment along with the frame. The interior will be from a 1957 Chevy Belair which will be a stylish addition. The color is a can of Tamiya Light Red Metallic.

Al found a fair substitute for an Alclad finish for his F-104 model with a coat of Rust-Oleum Metallic Finish Bright Coat Chrome. Starting with primer sanded with 600 grit, Al laid down a coat of Krylon black and without wet sanding, down went the Rust-Oleum. Sanding was needed with 1000 grit only because of some dust. After the decals are applied it will be topped off with a coat of clear satin. Al experimented on plastic spoons with and without the black base coat which showed almost no difference.

And now for something completely different, Al is starting a scratch built model of the recent Chinese spy balloon. Or Spycraft to some. The solar panels came as a 3D printed feature but the rest will be scratch built. The goal is to work from a couple of photos from the internet and not to over think or over engineer the build. Al's goal is to finish it while it is still relevant. He finds at least some humor in a lot of the news stories. Just a way to be creative.

Maryann Germann is just about finished with the Master Box figure kit of Ianis in 1/24 scale. The storage shelf started as an HO railroad bridge and a variety of parts were added. Paints were mostly Vallejo and the welding hoses are small gage electrical wire. Maryann had a great time with this build as it allowed her to get into heavy weathering and some diorama work.

Frank Blonski showed us a selection of new items from his aftermarket resin parts store, FAB Resinworks. Frank mentioned that he was contacted by Model Cars magazine regarding his product, and got some nice free publicity in the magazine.

Finally, some around-the-room shots.

Thanks to Jeff Belling for handling the model tables. Photos provided by Larry Osolkowski.