Greetings and salutations to one and all! First and foremost, Happy New Year to one and all! This is not
how I wanted to start off the year, but one of our fellow members, Tim Grieve, passed away back on Dec. 23rd,
2023 after a long battle with cancer. Since flowers are gratefully declined, a contribution can be made in
Tim's name to a charity of one's liking. With that being said, the board has decided to take this month's
50/50 raffle split and donate it to a charity of the club's choice. Tim was a quiet gentleman with a passion
for model building. At any given meeting, he had two to three built models which varied between aircraft and
cars. Not only did he enjoy talking about his build challenges/processes, but he equally enjoyed learning new
tricks/techniques of the trade. He will definitely be missed and I'm sure he has already picked out a spot at
the heavenly bench.
Before you know it, April 7th will be here, so let's get to work. First off, thanks to Dick Schulenberg's assistance, we have secured for the next two years our insurance certificate for our general meeting hall. Like I have done in the past in preparation for the show, I have gotten the green light to advertise our model show on 15 various modeling forums on FaceBook, and Jeff Keenan was also able to get a few model podcast shows to also advertise for us as well. So far so good in that aspect.
At this month's meeting, we should have flyers on hand, so please, everyone take a handful and pass them around to family & friends, schools, colleges, local eateries, stores and shops (Walmart & Hobby Lobby do not allow advertising). This will definitely help spread the word about our show. Thank you so much.
Dick Schulenberg has also reached out to a handful of IPMS clubs to sponsor awards and from what I have heard, feedback has been good. If anyone wants to sponsor a category or two or three, please talk to Dick S. or myself. I have a few car body shops as well as a few other shops I'll be talking to in the coming weeks so hopefully I'll get some positive feedback? (crossing fingers 'n' toes). Even though we are a few months away, we will be passing around a sign-up sheet for the various duties and don't worry, as long as we have a good turnout of volunteers, the duty time will be minimal so SIGN UP! If not, you'll be entered into the draft. I've finally heard back from Robin at the Knight of Columbus Hall in regard to the kitchen status and she'll have to get back to me on that. On that same note about the hall, at our last eBoard meeting we also brought up Buffcon 40 for the following year, April 6th, 2025. So when I acknowledged her response, I asked her if the latter date was available and if so, to pencil us in please. Wanna know what her response was? You guessed it, I'll get back to you on that!
Lastly, at our annual Christmas party, we donated 75 toys to the Marines Toys for Tots drive. A HUGE thank you to everyone who participated!
Wait, just one more thing... we will be looking for a few volunteers to man a table at the Hamburg Toy and Train show February 17th & 18th. On Saturday, the show runs from 10am to 5pm, and 10am to 4pm on Sunday. Andy McFie, who is the Superintendent of the WNY Division NMRA (National Model Railroad Assoc.), has given us a free table at the show for a club display. This will definitely give our club better exposure to the general public and just maybe, maybe we will pick up a new member or two? Just like when we used to have mall shows back in the day, bring something to work on and be prepared to talk! In return, we will give Andy's group a free table at this year's Buffcon so that they, too can showcase their club. He provided their association's website, but I have to verify a couple things as I do not see them listed as Andy mentioned. Once I get a clarification on this, I'll have Larry O. send out a separate email in regards to this, as there is a coupon that we can print which will give us a reduced price at the door, so stay tuned.
Lastly, and I promise that this will be it: for the members who ordered name tags, they will be ready for pick up at this months meeting and will cost $5.00.
That's all for now, and I'll see you next Tuesday (1/16/2024) for the general meeting at 7pm at the
Williamsville Youth & Recreation center at 5005 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221. Parking and entry
to the facility will be in the back. So let it begin, the countdown to BUFFCON 39: T minus 2 months & 4 weeks,
or 88 days, or 2,095 hrs.
Happy modeling,
Michael Butry
President
IPMS Niagara Frontier
IPMS USA No. 52196
IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - January 16, 2024
NOTE: CANNOT ACCESS FACILITY BEFORE 6:50PM
7:00 PM to 7:10 PM - Place models on tables with description forms.
7:10 PM - Meeting called to order.
Old Business:
- Buffcon 39 (Apr 7, 2024) & sign up sheet - show duties, judging, helping to advertise, etc.
New Business:
- Demos - what do people want to see or would like to see and who will volunteer do said demo(s).
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 16th at the Williamsville Youth & Recreation Center, 5005 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221, starting at the usual 7:00pm. Parking and entry to the building is in the back. There will also be a 50/50 raffle held at the meeting to help raise funds for the club. Directions:
Bob Conshafter sent along his thoughts on the passing of Tim Grieve:
Like you, I was saddened and somewhat shocked to hear of the passing of Tim Grieve. Tim was a steady
attendee at our monthly meetings and perhaps, more importantly, a steady model builder. He always had a
model or two or three on the table and you could see his works in progress turn into works of art. The
thing about being an attendee at meetings is that if you don't have something on the table, you're probably
thinking about that model (or models) that you started long ago but didn't get around to finishing and
you're also thinking about being more than just a spectator/attendee and doing the hobby that you profess
to enjoy. Some of us take action on this point and some of us don't.
Tim was no spectator. One of the things I admired most about him was that he didn't allow the Uber Masterpiece modelers you see in magazines to intimidate him into giving up and not trying as so many have, as most of us are not masters of the craft. He built to his own quality standard and was willing to try new subjects whether it be biplanes, multi-engine prop jobs, jets or warships including aircraft carriers.
When we put something on the table and talk about it, we usually share with others the triumphs, exasperations and revelations about the model and perhaps its real life history. When we do this we tell people what we have learned and we are all the better for it. That's what "show and tell" is all about.
I learned a lot from Tim as I try to enforce my own personal mandate to have a work in progress or a finished model on the table at each meeting. As someone once said, " Money comes and goes but time just goes". As we all know, tomorrow is promised to no one and Tim made good use of his time while he was here. I'm also reminded of another saying, "Be kind to the people you meet each day as each of us is fighting some kind of battle".
Tim lost his battle but not before putting up a good fight. Tim, God bless you and wife Susan.
In my thoughts and prayers always,
Bob Conshafter
Member Tim Carson passed along the following info: The 18th Annual 24 Hour Model Build is coming up. The build period coincides with the running of the 2024 Rolex 24 at Daytona - January 27/28, 2024 - noon to noon in your time zone. The build is open to anyone, so tell your friends. The Facebook group for this year's build is HERE.
You can check out last year's FB group and pictures of completed builds HERE.
There is usually a Zoom meeting open for a large part of the build, so the camaraderie is very cool. If you have any questions, feel free to email Tim Carson.
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
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 60 members with 30+ attending each monthly meeting. Our club meets at 7:00pm on the third Tuesday of every month at the Williamsville Youth & Recreation Center, 5005 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221.
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 2023 general meeting are included below. Thanks to our Secretary, Al Germann, for the meeting minutes.
December 19th - 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.
January 8 - President Mike Butry led the meeting, held at Section 8 Hobbies.
Bruce Mathes sent in some photos of his latest projects, including Sword's new 2-seat Cougar
with excellent Blue Angels decals; an AZ Beechcraft Staggerwing with Bruce's own paint job and
rigging; an LS Pitts Special, again with rigging and his own paint scheme; and an Airfix Fat
Albert.
Moving to the model tables, Al Germann displayed his progress on a couple of projects. The
first was a Heller 1/24 Citroen Hotel Taxi. He's using Krylon, Tamiya and Vallejo paints, and
used toilet tissue with diluted white glue to add some texture to the seats. Al said he had some
issues with the body color paint that were his fault, and he also modified the front suspension
center link to allow posable front wheels. He picked the subject because it was interesting and
looked like a happy subject taking people from the train station to the hotel. Al is pleased
with the way it's turning out, and he might include a figure and a base.
Al's second model was a Lindberg 1/48 Curtis JN4D Jenny, shown with an Inverted Jenny Stamp.
So far, he's used Vallejo paints, and added eyelets for rigging. Al wants to reproduce the vintage
stamp showing the error of the aircraft upside down. He plans to make the stamp with a cutout
window to view the Jenny.
Ted Szczeny brought in a Tamiya 1/14 Scania 770S8x4/4 truck along with related Tamiya MFC-03
Multi-function Electronics package and Futaba 6 channel radio, receiver and servos. Ted used
Tamiya spray paint for plastics in Light Blue Pearl, Tamiya acrylics, and a Molotow Liquid Chrome
pen. He added aluminum wheels from RC Mart (probably, because they were shipped without packaging),
extra LEDs from Evan's Designs, and amber LED flashing beacons. He mentioned that there was too
much wiring in limited space, which is typical for a good number of these kits, and hiding it can
be challenging. Ted said he picked the subject because unfortunately, he's a rabid builder of
anything RC (radio controlled), especially trucks - "gluing, screwing and lubing... can't beat
that with a stick!" He mentioned that cab assembly, interior, roof lighting, front grill with
lighting, along with the owner/driver still need some work.
Ilya Grinberg had four new subjects on display. The first was a Lancer Models 1/72 GAZ-M1
car. It was painted in black lacquer by Larry Osolkowski, but Ilya did all the hard work. He
used PE parts for the front grill, windshield frame, door handles and windshield wiper that
were included in the kit.
Ilya's second model was a UM Models 1/72 45mm Antitank Gun. He used AKAN paints, and added
a PE shield, turned barrel and resin wheels.
Ilya's third subject was a Flyhawk 1/72 BT-7, also painted with AKAN paints. He said it was
a great kit, and included 3D-printed turret and small parts.
Ilya's last item was an ACE 203mm Howitzer B-4, again finished with AKAN paints. Ilya said
this was another great kit. He thinned the seats, made guard rails from wire, and replaced all
of the handles.
Larry Osolkowski brought in a couple of progress updates this month. The first was the Wicked
Models 1/24 Porsche 963 IMSA LMDh race car that he's been working on for a while now. He cut out
and applied carbon fiber decals to the front splitter and rear diffuser, and gave them a clear gloss
coat. Larry also brought in the body of the Wicked Models 1/24 BMW LMDh MV8 he had here last month,
just to show the improvements that Wicked Models made with their latest kit. The body has a lot more
internal bracing to add strength and prevent warping, which is becoming a problem with the Porsche
kit.
Larry's other item was the progress on the old 1/24 Heller kit of the 1938 BMW 328 race car
he's been working on for a few months. He did some additional filling, sanding and priming on
the body, and added some detail to the interior door panels. He also added some sheet plastic
framing around the radiator and installed some photo-etch radiator core panels.
Justin Schroeder had some items on display. The first was his AHSoKA Tano Khyber Crystal
Chamber. He used Rustoleum flat black primer, gloss clear, matt clear, metallic, Behr-Black
matt, dark metallic, metallic dark steel, Golen-titanium white, and Vallejo gloss varnish
paints. Justin said he used a lantern to make it, along with flange bearings, thrust bearings,
a sleeve bearing, steel washer, hex bolts, hollow bolts and LEDs. He mentioned that he likes
making these, and this is his fourth one. He plans to make another one just like this to give
to Adam Savage.
Justin also showed us a scratch-built Probe Droid, made for the Archive-X Paint contest.
He used Archive-X paints (of course), and added dry-brushing. Justin said this probe droid
went through a few different design and development stages before looking like the finished
model you see. He picked the subject for the contest, and is hoping to win something.
Bob Conshafter displayed his completed LTD (short run) Dewoitine D.520 in Bulgarian markings.
He used Testors RLM 74, 75, 76 and 04 paints, along with Tamiya green and red. The German
mottling effect on the fuselage was done with lacquer thinner. He added True Details resin
wheels, and Imperial Japanese Navy seat belts and instrument panel decal. Bob hand-painted the
spiral spinner. No significant weathering was done beyond a black and burnt umber oil wash on
the panel lines and copper marker paint on the exhaust. He also noted that the exhaust had an
unusual pipe running through all three exhaust pipes on each side, and he replicated that using
aluminum floral wire. Bob said it was a typical short run kit, and he used a heat knife to cut
the vacuformed canopy, and Tamiya putty to close the wing to fuselage gap. He picked the
subject because he kept revisiting the kit in his stash and decided he was ready for the
challenge.
Paul Hines brought in three new paintings on a completely different subject: horses. He
said he decided to help keep his creativity alive and paint something besides cars. The first
painting is of a Clydesdale mare and her young foal. Paul said he softened the hair on the
young horse. He mentioned that he especially likes the brown, earthy colors of horses.
Paul's second painting is of two white horses in the snow. It gave him a chance to paint
the distant mountains and forest trees.
Paul's final painting is a close-up side view of an American Paint horse. He said he
wanted to practice painting hair and texture, and the eye and mouth detail.
Jim Greenfield displayed his latest work-in-progress, a Bandai 1/35 Gundam Hover Armored
Vehicle Hardgrah. Jim scratch-built the interior, and added some kit-bashing, since the kit came
without an interior. He picked it because "it's cool".
John-Allen Price displayed his work-in-progress of an A-6E Intruder being built by
combining two kits. Unfortunately, no detail sheet was provided.
There were a few unidentified objects on the tables.
The pizza and wings party was enjoyed by all.
The Toys for Tots collection was very successful again, with around 75 toys being
donated, and accepted by the US Marines representative.
Finally, some around-the-room shots.
Thanks to Bob Conshafter for handling the model tables, and Larry Osolkowski for the photos.
