Season's Greetings To All!

Model tables from the November meeting:

Maryann Guest-Germann showed us her work-in-progress Ares 1/12 figure model of an Excelsy bust. She says this is her first figure model.

Tim Grieve brought in a couple of new subjects for us to see. The first was a 1/48 Monogram F-106A built from a 1983 kit. Tim used Model Master enamel paints, and said that the decals were good and the kit had good fit with no major problems.

Tim's second model was a 1/72 MPC Profile Series Catalina PBY-5A, again finished using Model Master paints. He had similar comments about this kit.

A 1/24 Revell Ferrari Enzo, named "Rallirarri", was displayed by Andrew Lotthrem (I hope I got the name right). Andrew describes his creation as a rally-based Ferrari with 1949 panel truck headers and a B18 Integra front motor. The finish is acrylic paint, brushed on.

Larry Osolkowski brought in yet another recent purchase, a new kit of the BMW 2002 Turbo done by Hasegawa in 1/24 scale. He also showed some aftermarket carbon fiber decals for a Lamborghini race car kit that he has in his stash.

Larry also displayed his completed Aoshima 1/12 Honda Ape motorcycle kit he's been working on. He said it was a really nice kit, with good engineering and decals. It was finished with Tamiya, Alclad and Model Master paints.

Larry also showed us another project in the early stages, a 1/25(?) SMP 1960 Valiant. This was Larry's first car when he was in high school. He says the kit is a little rough, but will be good enough.

Mike Martinez displayed another unique project, a 1970 Super Bee "Behind the Barn Find". Mike said the model is based on the "ODDROD" sticker art, and was finished with multi-layer acrylic colors that will be sanded and weathered to represent multiple paint jobs over the years. He also mentioned that heavy weathering will be done, there are holes in the fenders for header pipes, and the rear wheels were robbed from a Lindberg Dodge truck.

Paul Hines impressed us again with another collection of aircraft art in acrylics. This month's subjects included "How Low Can You Go", an F-4 Phantom low over the ocean; "Holding For the Signal", an F-18 and deck crew before takeoff; and "On a Mission", a Marine Osprey Helicopter going out on a mission.

Dave Armitage brought in another large collection of models, this time of WW I subjects. The first was a homemade shadow box with metal figures depicting "Christmas Truce 1914".

Next was a 1/35 model of an MG-08/15 along with a photo of the actual gun.

A pair of figures done from soft metal included Czar Nikolas and a French infantryman with pack.

Another group of figures was displayed, made from KM plastic models.

Dave showed us two busts, made from 1/8 scale resin kits, representing Corporal Hitler in 1918 and General Pershing.

Dave also had a couple of trench dioramas, built on styrofoam with plaster and model railroad ground cover with resin water. Other details include rocks made from pine bark, Saran wrap waterfall and photo-etch barbed wire.

He also displayed a Mark I tank built from a 1/35 Takom kit.

Dave's final item was a 1917 Ford ambulance with doughboys and medics, all built from ICM kits. He also mentioned that everything was painted with acrylic craft paints.

A 1/24 Meng Hummer H1 was displayed by David Safe. David said he did not paint the body, just polished the red styrene, and the inside is mostly grey primer to represent grey leather. He mentioned that it is a very detailed kit, and was enjoyable to work on.

Justen Hanna showed us his 1/48 Special Hobby Sopwith Schneider, built for the Buffalo Public Library display.

Justen also brought in a 1/32 Wingnut Wings Albatros D.II in progress. He mentioned that the kit has excellent engineering and terrible decals; all the markings will be masked and airbrushed.

Gene Paveljack brought in several completed models, the first being his War Hammer Plagueburst Crawler, finished with Citadel paints.

Gene also had a Takom Krupp 21cm Morser 10/16, finished with Mig products.

Gene's next subject was a Meng Whippet, also finished with Mig products.

Gene's final model was a Takom Skoda 30.5cm M1916 Siege Howitzer, again finished with Mig paints.

Rod Adam, previously a visitor to our meeting from the IPMS Hamilton club in Canada and now a new member, brought along another ship model, a 1/48 Lady Estelle built from a Caldercraft kit from the U.K. We should also mention that Rod's HMS Furious ship that he displayed last month was featured in the Fine Scale Model magazine coverage of our Noreastcon show.

Dick Schulenberg showed us his two models built for the Buffalo Central Library WW I exhibit. The first was a 1/32 Roden Nieuport 28, still in the painting process. Dick said it was a nice kit, but a bit more basic than the Wingnuts offering. It's being finished in acrylics, airbrushed and hand brushed.

Dick's second item was a 1/32 Hobbycraft Nieuport 17, using the basic kit with resin cockpit and Kiwi Resin decals for the Lafayette Escadrille. The model was painted with Tamiy spray can aluminum and dull coat, and it's ready for detail paint and final assembly. Rigging eyes are in place for invisible thread rigging.

A PT-109 built by Derek Keenan was on display.

Jeff Keenan showed us his Pz Kpfw IV tank. He said the kit had good detail, and the fit was OK.

Ilya Grinberg brought two models for us to view. The first was an Airfix/Heller 1/72 GMC 2 1/2 ton truck. Ilya added Milicast resin parts, including a windshield frame, winch and fuel tank, along with a photo-etched front grill by Extratec and other bits and pieces. He used the canvas from a Pegasus kit, but thinned to fit. The second model was a UM Models 1/72 BT-5 tank, which required cuts to the plastic in several places to correct the shape. The model also received numerous photo-etch bits by PART, and is a work in progress.

John-Allen Price displayed a 1/72 Academy Mini-Craft (a Bob Conshafter special) P4BY-1 Liberator. The model represents a plane from the VP-62 Reserve U.S. Navy patrol squadron circa 1948, California. He mentioned that VP-62 was one of the last two units to fly combat model Liberators in the U.S. armed forces. The model was built out-of-box, but with props and landing gear doors scrounged from a 45 year old Revell B-24 kit. It was finished with a variety of Model Master, Humbrol and Polly-S paints, hand brushed.

Tom Mooney showed us his 1/16 Revell Funny Car, finished with Tamiya and Model Master paints.

Clint Keidel brought a work-in-progress, a 1/32 Tamiya Corsair F4U-1 that he's converting to a -2 night fighter. He's using Tamiya and Model Master paints, and added scratch-built flame dampeners made from roof flashing. Clint is using oil colors, pastels and Mig products for weathering, and said that work is going slowly but well, and he hopes to get it in paint soon.

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 Bob Collignon for handling the tables, and to Larry Osolkowski for the photography.