Seasons greetings to one and all! First and foremost, happy New Year to one and all!
Well this is it, this is where we really dig our heels in and put the gears in full tilt because before you know it, Buffcon will be here. We are looking for volunteers to assist with the show in all areas from kitchen and general admission to judging. Don't be afraid to step up and help as we will need all the help that we can get. If you have any questions or concerns, please see one of the Eboard members or myself.
I want to try something new for this year, and that is a demo every month or at least every other month. Last year a few people stepped up to volunteer but were not able to do so. Now is the time and if anyone has a particular demo they'd like to see, write it down and turn it in before the meeting starts. At the board meeting, it was brought up that we should do a demo on how to operate and use an airbrush - essentially the do's and don'ts. We will talk about this more at the meeting this coming Tuesday, 1/18/22.
Lastly, dues are due this month: $20 for the adults and $5 for kids between the ages 11-17, and under 11 free. Please see Mr. Tom Faith during the break - not before or during the meeting, but during the break. Thank you.
This month will again be another build and bull meeting, so if you're working on something, bring it on in.
Countdown to Buffcon37, as of 1/11/22: Months: 2 months and 3 weeks; Days: 82 days; Hours: 1,943 hours and 52 minutes. Until next time, happy modeling!
Michael Butry
President
IPMS Niagara Frontier
IPMS USA No. 52196
IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - January 18, 2022
7:00 PM to 7:10 PM - Place models on tables with description forms.
7:10 PM - Meeting called to order.
Old Business:
- See Tom Faith during the break to pay your dues.
New Business:
Questions from the floor.
Table discussion: Members tell the club about the models they have on the tables.
Break: 10 minutes.
- 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, January 18th, starting at the usual 7:00pm at the usual
meeting room in the rear building. Here are the safety guidelines we will be following:
If everyone follows these guidelines, we can have a safe meeting. Please consider coming to the meeting to
support your club, and bring your current projects. Hope to see you there!
The BuffCon 37 website is now up, and can be viewed HERE.
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 the 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.
The Links page on the club website has recently been updated with information contributed by members. If you have a favorite website for modeling info, forums, etc., email the information to larryo@ipmsniagarafrontier.com.
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 80 members with 30+ attending each monthly meeting. Our club meets at 7:00pm on the third Tuesday of every month at The Knights, 2375 Union Rd., Cheektowaga, NY 14225.
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 December 2021 general meeting are included below. Thanks to our Secretary, Al Germann, for the meeting minutes.
December 21 - President Mike Butry led the meeting.
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.
December 21st - President Mike Butry led a special meeting held after the general meeting.
January 10 - President Mike Butry led the meeting.
John Doerr sent in photos of a number of his latest models. John said he's "starting the year off with my first
builds of 2022! Two Minicraft/Hasegawa and one Academy 1/72 scale Bf 109 E4s, illustrating the different camo schemes
of Summer 1940." John also sent photos of his Tamiya 1/48 P-38G.
Mike Butry brought in a couple of current projects. The first was a Tamiya 1/35 M4A3E2 "Jumbo" Sherman
tank (1969 mold). Mike used Tamiya and Model Master paints and Tamiya's Weathering Master sets along with
Tamiya's Weathering Stick "Snow". He scratch-built the gear racks on the sides of the turret, and added
Verlinden gear along with tarps made from aluminum foil. Mike used the "zenithal light" technique to replicate
the natural lighting effects. He said it was a pretty straightforward build, and he picked the subject because
it was winter time in 2020 and he wanted to do a winter build. It just needs a base now.
Mike's second model was a Tamiya 1/48 Jagdpanther Late Version, currently in the primer stage using
Tamiya rattle can primer. Mike said he back-dated the tank to an early version, which won't be 100%
accurate but close enough. He mentioned that he's using Monroe Perdus Studio's "awesome" zimmerit, made
from a fine cardboard-like material. Mike added that in certain areas, the back-dating was a PITA,
particularly with researching the details. He said that since he usually builds 1/48 aircraft, he was
motivated to try 1/48 armor since there are a lot of choices in that scale.
Alan Gryfe showed us several models this month. The first was a 1/87 (HO scale) Classic Model Works
1946-48 GMC TDH-3610 bus. It has Rustoleum spray can primer on it so far, and the front end was replaced
with a Pirate Models white metal casting to back-date it to a 1941-42 Yellow Coach TD-3605. Alan said
there's been a lot of measure-cut-file-fill-sand-repeat activity involved, but he had the pieces and will
end up with a model that is otherwise unavailable.
Alan's second item was a group of 1/48 (O-scale) St. Petersburg Tram Co. Philadelphia Transportation
Co. Presidents' Conference Commission streetcars. The finishes were all factory-applied, but they need
some repairs and TLC after years of display. Alan said that it's getting hard to find replacement parts,
and some scratch-building will probably be required. He did, however, get them at an excellent price.
Alan's last item is an upcoming project. He showed us a 1/25 AMT Jimmy (1969-72) kit along with
some sketches for a conversion into an Escalade-type SUV. Alan plans to finish the eventual model
in either black, silver or white. He said the idea has been kicking around in his mind for years,
but it will take a lot of scratch-building and kit-bashing.
New member Tim Carson showed us a couple of models. The first was a 1/25 Revell Foose/Ford 1956
FD-100 pickup. He finished it in Tamiya TS-18 Metallic Red from a rattle can, with detail painting
using various enamels. Tim modified the bed with balsa wood strips colored with furniture touch-up
markers. He said there were no issues with the kit; in fact, he bought three more. Tim commented
that there are so many options for cool, shiny cars and trucks. He bought the kit, then put it away
to move cross-country. It's his first build in 30+ years, and he's glad to be back in the hobby.
Tim's second model was an AMT 1/25 '67 Chevelle Pro Street. He sprayed it with Tamiya TS-19
Metallic Blue, and used enamels for details. Tim mentioned that he had a bit of an issue with the
fit of the hood, so he had to trim the air filter. Tim said he enjoys armor and aircraft, but he feels
they should be weathered, so he went with "shiny cars and trucks".
Jim Greenfield displayed his latest project, a Star Wars 1/72 TIE Bomber, with a scratch-built
engine bay. He picked the subject because "it's weird".
Jim Wolfe showed us his in-progress build of an ISU 152-2 155mm BL-10 Cannon. He added photo-etch
engine intake grills, and used various shading techniques to break up the monotonous green tone. Jim
liked the subject because it's unusual.
Paul Hines displayed another collection of automotive artwork. The paintings comprised a 1957
Ferrari Testa Rossa, which sold for $40 million in February of 2014 making it one of the most
valuable cars ever to be sold in public; a yellow Saleen S-7, made by Saleen Engineering, famous for
their work on Ford Mustangs, who developed their own super car in 2003; and a white Ford GT from
2020.
Larry Osolkowski had a couple of items for us to see. The first was his progress on the Bobby
Unser 1/25 AMT Penske PC-6 Indycar that he's been working on for a while now. The upper body piece
got more filling and shaping, and had the mirrors added. The lower tub required some serious sanding
to get things to line up, and some cutting to allow the front nose piece to fit. He also did some
work on the roll bar and lower front suspension parts.
Larry also displayed his completed 1/43 Meri Benetton B-186. He said this kit needed a lot more
work than he expected; most of the white metal parts were badly formed, asymmetrical, and kept
coming apart even after using epoxy. The decals were rather complex as well, but he's happy that
it's done.
David Safe brought in a couple of models. The first was an AMT 1/25 1977 Ford Surfer Van. David
used Tamiya orange spray can paint with some details added with Testors enamels. He said the build
was pretty easy except for the decals. David thinks the vehicle looks awesome, and he likes doing
vans and pickup trucks.
David's second model was a Revell 1/24 1976 Chevy Sport Stepside Pickup truck. He again used
Tamiya spray paint for the finish, this time in maroon, along with Testors for details. David said
this kit also took some extra work with the decals.
Dan Price showed us some new models. The first two were rather large Warhammer builds: a Warhound
Titan and a Warlord Battle Titan. They were both finished with Model Master, Citadel and Reaper paints.
Dan added magnets for positioning the weapons and body of the Reaver (the Warlord). He mentioned lots
of issues with resin parts fit and warpage. Dan said that both models have a skeleton in them with
bolts, nuts, screws and lots of epoxy to hold things together. He plans to finish the base of the
Warlord with blue epoxy to complete the beach scene.
Dan's other model was a much smaller one, Da Red Gobbo and Bounca. Citadel, Green Stuff World
and Reaper paints were used, along with Vallejo texture on the base. Dan said the kit went together
beautifully, and he chose the subject because he's partial to Orcs and it was a Christmas model.
Dick Schulenberg brought in two works-in-progress: a 1/72 Spitfire XIV (clipped wing), and a
Seafire 17 (with belly tank). Both are Aeroclub vacuform conversions for the old Airfix Spitfire V
and Heller Spitfire XVI. Both models are in autobody primer so far, and Dick plans to finish them
with Vallejo Model Color and Model Air paints. He commented that Aeroclub conversions supply
vacuform fuselages and radiators along with white metal details, including landing gear; the wings
and stabilizers are from the donor kits. Dick said there were no real issues - the vacuform parts
were all sharply defined and quite rigid when cut out. He decided to make the models wheels up, so
the wheel well doors are scratch-built. Dick's final thoughts: "I started both around 2001 and
maybe earlier. I was on a roll to build every version of the Spitfire family. Got stalled when I
couldn't find markings for either. Dug them out last week and did the mods for wheels up on stands.
No excuse not to finish now."
Al Germann displayed five models this month. The first was an AMT/ERTL 1/25 1934 Ford Pickup/Tow
Truck. He finished it mainly with Krylon spray paint, with some additional Tamiya and Vallejo used.
Al said it was built out of box, but with added spark plug wires, and he used Staples for the gas
and water can, added a brake lever on the tow lift, and used stranded wire for the tow cable. He
mentioned that the chrome tree had problems with the plating, but it was a quick and easy build.
Al said he modeled this as a fictional truck for his grandfather's gas station from the 1930s, and
he would still like to make a building for a diorama.
Al's second model was an AMT/ERTL 1/25 1961 Chevy Impala. He used Rustoleum metallic paint from
a spray can, with bad chrome plating stripped and repainted with Satin Nickel. Al said he built it
out of box except for different wheels and added spark plug wires. He added that this was a
birthday gift, as he was born in 1961 (but not in an Impala).
The third model in Al's collection was a diorama called "Almost Made It", using an old kit
from Revell in 1/25 of the Hummer from Jurrasic Park. He airbrushed Tamiya paint, and cut the
body for submersion. He used white glue and white Vallejo paint for a frosty look, along with
Woodland Scenic snow and Enviro-Tex 2-part resin slightly tinted. Al also said he used a piece
of glass for ice, foam for the shore line and plant root for the tree. The results encouraged
Al to want to make more dioramas.
Al's model number four was a Revell 1/48 P-61 Black Widow, finished with Tamiya and Vallejo
paints and a Krylon clear coat. Al added some photo-etch details, and had to add some weight in
the nose to keep the front wheel down. He also did some light weathering and washes. Al mentioned
that the model was a gift, and he's happy with the way it came out.
Al's final model was an AMT 1/25 1977 Pinto. He painted it using a custom mix of Vallejo paints,
with Tamiya used on the interior and some rust and weathering added. Al added a snow brush and a
case of generic beer. He said it was an easy build, but took two tries to get the body color right.
Al mentioned that this model was a Christmas gift for a family member, replicating his first car.
Maryann Germann showed us a couple of her current projects. The first was an IMAI 1/12 kit of
the Armor Knight Archduke Ferdinand I from the 16th century. She used a variety of Vallejo paints
and washes, and included some spoons showing her experiments with marble effect paint that she
learned at a demo a few months ago. Maryann used the marble effect on the base, along with sand
added as weight in the base for stability. She also cut the handle of the sword to locate it in
the hand, and used a small diameter plastic rod with a slip fit. Maryann picked up the model at
Rocon a couple of years ago, and she said the real suit of armor is on display in a museum in
Vienna.
Maryann's second project was a resin kit of a 70mm Native and Cougar. She's using Vallejo paints,
and is planning a diorama. The kit was a gift from her husband, bought at an AMPS show a few years
ago.
Tom Brown Sr. had a collection of GI Joe figures for which he has elaborate plans. He selected
them "because they bend", and he hopes it works out.
There were a few items on the tables for which we don't have any information.
The pizza party was a success, with members contributing pre-dinner snacks, drinks
and desserts.
The Toys For Tots collection was also a great success, with the donations from club
members appreciated by the US Marine representatives including our own Tom Brown Jr.
Finally, some around-the-room shots.
Thanks to Jim Greenfield for handling the model tables. Photos provided by Larry Osolkowski.
