Greetings and salutations to one and all! I hope that everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather that
we have been having thus far, but more importantly, are able to get some bench time in even if it's just
for a few minutes.
The board will be taking the summer off so there is really nothing new to report on.
Not sure if you've seen the email that Larry sent out about two weeks ago but I had heard that Kitty Hawk and Panda are either folding up shop for good or taking a back seat until their production meets their sales requirements. So far any and all news has been really hush hush.
Please, please, remember to bring in something to work on or build and this goes for every meeting! I want this coming meeting to be a build night!
Well that's it for now, and I'll see everyone next Tuesday, June 22nd for our general meeting.
Until next time, happy modeling!
Michael Butry
President
IPMS Niagara Frontier
IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - June 22, 2021
7:00 PM to 7:10 PM - Place models on tables with description forms.
7:10 PM - Meeting called to order.
Old Business:
- EBoard members on summer recess.
New Business:
- Clarify general meeting time: Tuesday after third Monday of every month, until we can go back to Mondays.
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, June 22nd, starting at the usual 7:00pm. We will be
returning to the traditional 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!
Club dues for 2021 are now due. The Eboard realizes that club activities have been greatly reduced due to
the pandemic, but the club still needs revenue to cover expenses. We have been fortunate that our club
meeting facility, the Knights Hall, has not been charging us for the months that we've been unable to hold
general meetings, but that will change as soon as meetings can be held again. Also, the club was not able
to have our annual BuffCon show, a major source of income, last year, and there is a real chance that we
may not be able to hold a BuffCon in 2021. If you can afford to pay the annual dues of $20 and help support
the club during difficult times, please send a check to:
Tom Faith
7381 Clinton St.
Elma, NY 14059
Make checks payable to IPMS Niagara Frontier. Thank you!
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 Monday 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 May 2021 general meeting are included below. Thanks to our Secretary, Al Germann, for the meeting minutes.
May 17th - 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.
The EBoard is on summer hiatus, so there was no June meeting.
We start with current projects that members have sent in via email, and then continue with models on the tables at last month's live, in-person meeting.
Dave Armitage sent in a recent project which he described as follows: "I reluctantly undertook
this project for the Medina RR museum. It is a 12 stall roundhouse from a Walthers kit. It took a
few days, after prepainting all the parts with Mortar in the bricks. The large round hole is for the
turntable, which will be installed at the museum. The plywood base is roughly four ft. by six ft.,
and will go back into the layout."
John Doerr sent along some photos of modeling supplies he has accumulated so he can get back into
building again.
John also included some progress shots on his new projects. He said: "After 10 years, I have started to
build again. Given my nerve problems, I am building for fun. I am not competing with my old self. My currents
are a Crown 1/144 Bf 110C and a 1/72 KP Avia S 199."
Al Germann provided some photos of his current projects. Al described the first project: "1955 Ford
Delivery as a tribute to my grandfather that owned a grocery store for decades. Although he never had a
delivery truck, it didn't stop me from modeling one. As I said at last month's meeting, this started out as
the Harley Davidson Ford Delivery, which was more custom than stock so I rounded up stock looking wheels
and tires. The engine was from a 1956 Thunderbird. Also, the steering had to be replaced with something
"stock" looking. Of course, I had to lengthen the drive shaft. I found a more appropriate gear shifter
and scratch built small basic arm rests/door pulls. Paint is Krylon for the body and chassis and the
usual Tamiya or Vallejo for everything else. The bumpers had unusual sharp edges that had to be reworked
which led me to stripping the chrome and painting them an ivory white. After prepping them, I glued on a
piece of styrene for holding during spray paint which I will remove later. This can be seen in the photo.
Just have a few details to finish up. The model will be a gift to my mother."
Al's second model is described as follows: "I always wanted to make a 1971 Mustang convertible and Dave
Armitage provided the kit. The list of modifications includes:
The last three items are not finished yet but there will likely be more. I always wanted to model this but
this is not a quick build but very enjoyable. I plan on some light weathering to show a worn look but no rust
holes. I'm making good progress and looking forward to getting it in paint."
John Zaranek sent us his latest: "Special Hobby 1:72nd scale Israeli Air Force Fouga Magister
'Tzukit' from the 1967 Six Day War. It's a nice little kit from Special Hobby. I finished it with
Tamiya paints via the airbrush and used their brand of enamel panel line washes to enhance the panel
lines. The kit decals were excellent and bedded down nicely with Micro Set and Sol solutions. I made
a custom display base from an old awards plaque and engraved 60mm x 60mm squares to simulate an
airbase pad. I added some vegetation with model railroad grass."
Continuing with the model tables from the meeting, Dick Schulenberg brought in a collection of
recently finished models. The first group included several aircraft.
Dick's first aircraft was a 1/72 Academy Hawker Tempest Mk. V modified to Mk. VI as used post WWII
in Egypt. Dick used Tamiya spray can Silver Leaf over Tamiya spray can gray primer. The rest of the
painting was done with Vallejo Model Color with a Tamiya spray can semi-gloss clear finish coat. Dick
said he used the Freightdog Mk. VI resin conversion set with the Freightdog "Brits Abroad Pt. 2" decal
set. He mentioned that "the kit and resin parts were virtually perfect. The kit clicked together. The
conversion instructions created problems because the location of the new intake on the wing was shown
on the same side in both top and bottom views. One was wrong. Guess which one I picked first." Dick
said he picked the subject because Tempests look good in silver.
Dick's next model was a 1/72 AZ Models Curtiss P-40E with kit markings for 1941 wargames. It was
finished with brushed Vallejo Model Color paints over Tamiya gray primer with a Vallejo Satin final
coat. Dick said the model was built right out of the box with no weathering. He mentioned that there
were no issues with the kit beyond the usual general cleanup typical of short run kits, and it could
have used a few more positive locators. In fact, he said he thought the kit was at least as good as
a Hasegawa kit and the decals worked perfectly.
The third aircraft that Dick displayed was a 1/72 Sword TBM-3R, Carrier on Board Delivery. He
again used Tamiya spray can gray primer, with Vallejo Model Air Glossy Sea Blue and Satin final coat.
It was built straight out of the box, all plastic (no resin or PE), with kit decals for VR-23, Korea
1952. Dick mentioned that some of the loctions for internals were hard to determine, and the canopy
segments were fussy to fit. He said that the subject was part of his current "Navy Blue" focus, and
was a post war modification of a late war Grumman torpedo bomber, used to deliver supplies and
personnel from aircraft carriers to front line airfields and to evacuate casualties.
Dick's fourth aircraft was a 1/72 Model Art Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat, painted with Tamiya spray can
white primer, Vallejo Model Air Glossy Sea Blue, and Tamiya spray can Semigloss finish. The model
was built all out of the box, including kit decals and resin wheel wells, wheels and cockpit. Dick
said that except for the wheels, the resin parts needed a lot of work to fit. The wheel wells forced
the wing flat, so they ended up being sawed in half. The kit also had vague fit locations, typical
of short run kits. This model was another addition to his curren "Navy Blue" focus. The model has
markings for VF-21 on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt Midway class aircraft carrier, March 1949.
Dick's last aircraft model was a 1/144 Minicraft B-29 Bomber as used in Korea, 1950-1953. He
used Tamiya spray can natural metal, Vallejo Model Air Steel and NATO Black (brushed), with a final
coat of Vallejo Model Color Satin overall. He used nacelles, engines and props from Brengun resin,
and Kits World decals with five schemes on "the most densely packed sheet I've ever seen". Dick
said the kit nacelles were much bigger than the more scale resin parts, so lots of filling was
required but the result looks much better. He hasn't tried the props yet, but the canopy was
oversize so it needed filing and re-polishing. Dick mentioned that he always wanted to do a black
bottomed Korean War B-29 after reading the old Squadron "Air War Over Korea" book. He said this
B-29 is on the cover. The kit is actually the ancient Crown kit, one of the earliest 1/144 kits.
Dick's final model was a 1/35 Tamiya French WWII Renault R-35 light tank. It was finished with
Tamiya spray can gray primer, Vallejo Model Air ochre brown sprayed on, Vallejo Model Color brushed
on for the remaining camo, and Vallejo Flat with kit decals, built out of the box. He said he applied
weathering by scribbling over everything with a brown Tombow AB #969 water color brush/pen, then
blended it with a water dampened brush. Dick said there were no issues with the kit; he got hung up
on the tracks, but it turned out to be an imaginary problem. He mentioned that the figure came with
the kit, and he's always liked early war French tanks.
Eugene Paveljack brought in a collection of models to display. The first was a Games Workshop
War Hammer. It was finished with Citadel primer, paints and washes.
Eugene's next model was an AFV Club1/35 15cm Heavy Infantry Gun, finished with Tamiya paints.
Eugene's third model was a Bronco 1/35 40mm Bofors Anti-Aircraft gun, also finished with Tamiya
paints.
Eugene also displayed a Vulcan 1/35 QF 2-pounder British gun, painted with Tamiya dark yellow.
Eugene's last model was a Tamiya 1/35 20mm Flak 38, finished in Tamiya olive drab.
Eugene had one other artillery piece, but the description sheet was lost.
Paul Hines focused on aircraft artwork this month, with four new paintings: a 1910 Bleriot;
a 1932 DeHavilland DH5; a 1912 Blackburn, the oldest flying British airplane anywhere in the world;
and a Bristol Box Kite. Paul said he decided to go way back to the beginning of aviation, when
airplanes were made of sticks and strings.
Maryann Guest-Germann displayed a couple of woodburnings, also called pyrography. They were
done on pine, and finished with sanding and stain.
Al Germann showed us a resin 1/25 Lincoln V-12 with supercharger. He found it on Ebay, and
thought it looked awesome so he bought one. He said he'll have to scrounge his parts box for
some kind of rat rod to put it in.
Al also displayed an AMT/Ertl Dodge Challenger that he build out-of-box and finished with
automotive touch-up spray can Jeep Wrangler Rescue Green. He mentioned that he had to strip and
repaint the model as described in a recent newsletter article. Al picked the subject because he
likes the car and likes the colors of the muscle car era.
Al's last model was a Revell 1970 Firebird finished in store brand spray can yellow from
Tru Value Hardware. He added a woodgrain dashboard, and converted the model from a Trans Am to
an Esprit which required modified hood, fender vents and wheel flares. He also added stripes
from a 1970 Chevelle kit, a turn signal lever, door locks, and a wash on the engine. Al is
making the car as a gift for his brother to represent his first nice car as a teenager.
Brian McFee showed us his completed 1/48 F-16A "The Boys From Syracuse" in Desert Storm, with
Mk 84 Air Bomb. The model is finished in gunship gray, medium gray and light ghost gray. Brian
added afterburner cans in resin by Aries, and did some weathering with water-based paint in
light ghost gray and aggression gray.
Bob Conshafter brought in a Monogram 1/72 P-51B Mustang built out of the box from a kit
that dates back to 1967. Finishing comprised Tamiya XF-83 Gray on the bottom, and Aeromaster
Olive Drab on the top, with Polly S Gloss and Flat coats. Bob said he attempted to create detail
through aftermarket decals and simulated painted plywood. He said there were no issues with the
build beyond the usual fill/sand work, and he picked the subject to get back into building on a
more consistent basis. He also mentioned that the Airfix 1/48 Spitfire next to the Mustang on
the table is planned for the next meeting.
Tom Faith showed us his AFV Club 1/35 Schwimwagen that he recently completed. He said he
used Tamiya Deck Tan and Dark Yellow mixed and individually sprayed as highlights, along with
brown, black and sepia ink washes. Tom scratchbuilt the interior, including seats, floorboards
and sidewells. The muffler on the rear deck is also scratchbuilt from references along with
the front bumper. Tom also used PE from Eduard, and did the camo pattern with powder and
oil-based pastels. He mentioned that the kit does not accurately represent any operational
version of the vehicle, but he needed something small to fit on a diorama.
Mike Butry displayed a Tamiya 1/35 M151A1 Jeep. He used Tamiya and Floquil paints, along
with pastels, Tamiya pigments and Floquil paints for weathering. Mike described the model as
"just a simple build that I did for a Vietnam group build." He mentioned that he had an issue
with the exhaust attachment, but it was an easy fix.
Dan Marafino brought in some new artwork to continue his theme from last month. His first
painting was an F4U-1A Corsair in a scene from the Pacific, done in acrylics. Dan said he
copied the scene from a kit's box art.
Dan's second painting was an A-36 Invader in a North Africa scene, which needs some finish
work on the tail. This one was also done in acrylics from box art.
Dan's last painting was a British Lancaster dropping a grand slam bomb, taken from a photo
in a book, again in acrylics.
Larry Osolkowski brought in a recent acquisition from Ebay, an AMT 1/25 Penske PC-6 Norton
Spirit indycar as driven by Bobby Unser. Bobby Unser passed away recently, and Larry mentioned
meeting him at a race track a few years ago. He said Bobby was one of the most friendly and
congenial race car drivers he's ever met, and felt compelled to build a model in his memory.
Larry got some replacement decals from Indycal, and some replacement tires on Ebay since the
original kit tires were in bad shape.
There were two other models on the tables, but unfortunately the info sheets were lost.
Finally, some around-the-room shots.
Thanks to all of the members who sent in photos and updates on their current projects.
It was another good month of modeling.
