As of the March meeting, we have 56 members that have paid their dues for the current year. That's down from 77 last year. If you haven't paid yet, please see Tom Faith at the meeting.

IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - March 16, 2020

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.

Here is the schedule of presentations for upcoming general club meetings:

• March: round table discussion
• April: pizza party, E-board nominations
• May: E-board elections

For the round table discussion groups this month, members are encouraged to bring in a model to be examined from a judging perspective. It doesn't have to be a perfect model; in fact, it would be better if it had some flaws so they can be noted during the judging criteria discussions.

Club member Brian Yurko has started a group on a new social media app called Telegram. This app will allow club members to join and chat about modeling and club activities. The app can be found at Telegram, and is available for PCs, Macs and Android and Apple phones. If you install the app, visit this page to join the IPMS Niagara Frontier group.

The club has a number of shirts that have not been claimed by the members that ordered them. Please see Tom Faith at the next meeting to pick up and pay for your shirt. Tom also has a few extras, so see him if you are interested in getting one.

At the most recent E-Board meeting, the topic of contest judging came up, and a document was passed around that discusses judging criteria. If you have any interest in judging at our shows, or just how it works, you can read the Judging Criteria article for more information. Printed copies will also be available at the next meeting.

The March 2020 newsletter of the IPMS Patriot chapter is available HERE.

A NOTE TO NON-MEMBERS

The minutes from the February 2019 general meeting are included below. Thanks to our Secretary, Al Germann, for the meeting minutes.

Feb 17th - President Rich Bernecki led the meeting.

• Rich brought up the previous meeting's minutes and there was a motion to approve them. There was a second to the motion and the minutes were open for discussion. There were no questions or comments and the general membership voted to approve them.
• Old Business:
  • Membership dues are due for people that have not paid yet. So far 45 members are paid for 2020.
• New Business:
  • The date for BuffCon #38 is planned for April 11, 2021.
  • There was a brief discussion that the Buffalo Maritime museum could be a location for another club field trip. This is on Niagara Street and not the Naval Serviceman's Park near Canal Side.
• BuffCon #37, April 5th, 2020:
  • This event is less than 2 months away.
  • There is a need for judges and it is an important part to the success and enjoyment for attendees. We are planning an overview/training for judging criteria at the next Round Table discussion at the March general meeting.
  • We are up to 15 paid vendor tables with more expected.
  • Trophies are ordered and the total ordered is slightly less than $2,000.
• NorEastCon #49 May 1-2, 2020:
  • No updates.
• Miscellaneous:
  • HeritageCon in Hamilton Ontario in March.
  • There was interest in information or demo on flocking that is commonly used in car interiors.
  • Ace Hobby store in Niagara Falls is expected to remain open through this summer.
• Members' models on the tables were presented via "passing the mic".
• This month meeting had the round table discussions.

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.

March 9 - President Rich Bernecki led the meeting.

• A motion was made to approve the minutes of the January E-board meeting, which passed.
• Old Business:
  • No update.
• BuffCon #37, April 5th 2020:
  • Tom Brown Sr. stated that all category judges are identified.
  • Judging sheets need to be revised with regards to category numbers. Rich has action item to oversee.
  • Dick stated sponsorships are progressing but still below last year at this time.
  • Paul stated trophies are ordered and will be ready April 1st. Paul & Ed have action item to pick up trophies and inspect in time for show.
  • Hall tables were ordered and are paid for.
  • Al stated inventory of event supplies is started. This is mostly the consumables. Al has action item to send out inventory checklist. Al stated he will start purchasing supplies soon.
  • Frank has an action item to send computer file for the printing of posters to Tom F. & Jason I.
  • Frank has an action item to contact the Knights Hall for posting our event on the sign out front.
  • Frank stated that only a few questions came in from Facebook.
  • Registration sheets on website need to be revised to indicate still must pay registration fee. Rich has action item to oversee this with either Frank and/or Larry.
  • We restated, as a benefit to club members that help set up for the event, there will be no charge for general admission if participants arrive prior to 7:30 am.
  • Al has action item to communicate the need to transport any equipment and supplies he is storing.
• New Business:
  • Tom F. reported the financials to the E-board and members present. 2019 was a deficit year. Tom has an action item to report details at the March general membership meeting.
  • Membership dues still have some outstanding members. Larry has action item to send out reminder emails to the applicable members.
• Miscellaneous:
  • Demos for the general meetings are planned as follows:
    • March: round table discussion
    • April: pizza party, E-board nominations
    • May: E-board elections
  • Additional sites for the E-board meeting were identified with the following members volunteering hosting it at their homes.
    • April: Al & Maryann Germann, Williamsville
    • May: Dick Schulenberg, Silver Creek
• Floor open for discussion:
  • A 50/50 split raffle was briefly discussed and plans are to continue as it is a source of revenue for operating the club.

Member Name: Bob Butry

What kind of modeling? What scale?
Mostly 1/48 WWII aircraft.

Member Name: Clint Keidel

What kind of modeling? What scale?
Aircraft, WWI and WWII; 1930 racing planes; some armor; 1930-1960's hot rods, drag cars and customs.

Model tables from the February meeting:

Mark Gadek displayed his Trumpeter 1/32 Ju-87A. It was painted with Polly Scale finishes, and weathered with a marble effect and Vallejo washes. Eduard interior details were used, and all markings were cut out and sprayed. Mark said it was a pretty straightforward build, and he likes the pre-war look plus the wheel spats really make it look different.

Nick Carluccio brought in an original AMT 1/25 1961 Pontiac Bonneville, finished in Seacrest Green and white enamels, with Bare Metal foil used for the chrome. Nick said he tri-colored the interior, and sanded and filled all holes and glue spots on the body. He also mentioned that the hood is warped and wouldn't straighten out. Nick said he likes rescuing old model cars from eBay.

Dick Schulenberg showed us a couple of new models. The first was an Amercon 1/144 diecast Dornier Do-24 flying boat. Dick disassembled the model, glued all joints, shortened turrets, and modified the engine nacelles to match the Dutch Do-24K. He then repainted it by brush, using Vallejo Acrylic Model Color paints, with no weathering. Dick said his dad saw these flying out of Java at the start of WWII and always thought they looked better than PBYs.

Dick's second subject was a Sword 1/72 F-80C. He used Tamiya Natural Metal spray can paint over primer, and Vallejo Model Color for details along with old Micro Scale decals. Dick said there was nothing to locate the cockpit parts, which required lots of sanding to get the cockpit to fit. It was also difficult to get the canopy squarely in place, and the old decals cracked even with multiple coats of liquid decal film. Dick is continuing to build the 1945-1960 era aircraft to fit his current "theme".

Paul Hines had only two pieces of artwork this month, both on an aircraft theme. The first was a P-38 Lightning - "Pre-flight Check", and the second was a Waco YMF Biplane, of which only 24 were built.

Tom McGuire displayed an Academy 1/350 USS Indianapolis. It was finished with overall Vallejo Pale Blue Grey, with Vallejo USN Sea Blue for the steel deck and Vallejo Signal Blue for the wooden deck. Tom added White Ensign photo-etch details, and used a MIG Blue for Panzer Grey overall wash. He said he had no issues with the kit, and was inspired by the book "In Harm's Way".

Bill Borkowski showed us a Metal Earth model of the Doctor Who K9. Bill is a long-time Doctor Who fan, and enjoyed building this kit. They require no glue, no paints, and are fun, quick builds.

David Safe brought in a Revell 1/24 1997 Cadillac Escalade EXT. He used Rustoleum paint and primer spray, and added a big screen TV and speakers in the back. Dave said he liked the look, and it came out great and was easy to build.

Ilya Grinberg had two items this month. The first was an Ogurets Project 1/72 MAZ Fuel Truck. This is a work-in-progress, being constructed from a resin kit with PE parts.

Ilya's second model was another work-in-progress, an Alex Miniatures 1/72 GAZ-GG Soviet Military Truck. This is another resin model with lots of PE parts.

Larry Osolkowski got distracted by a new project, a Tamiya 1/20 Leyton House Formula 1 race car. He said he got the model for a good price at last year's HeritageCon, and they have been out of production for many years and are hard to find. Larry got a carbon fiber decal set from Studio 27, and is perfecting his technique for applying these decals to complex surfaces. He's using Alclad, Model Master, Tamiya and Zero paints on this work-in-progress.

Bob Raithel brought in some additional figures made with an Anycubic Proton liquid resin 3D printer. The figures included a Nefertiti wearing a hoodie, Sonic the Hedgehog, a Coelocanth (prehistoric fish), a couple of big bugs and a prehistoric amphibian. Bob said that cleaning up the surface from the residue left by the supports is very time-consuming, and is similar to cleaning up bits left by the sprue contact points on a plastic kit. He added that the subjects were mostly downloaded from Thingverse.com. Bob mentioned that 3D printing is a challenging, but educational experience; it takes a lot of patience.

Tim Grieve displayed a Revell 1/48 F/A Super Hornet F-18. He used Testors paints for finishing, and added panel line enhancements with a pencil. Tim said the kit had no problems and the decals went on very easily. He got the kit as a gift.

John-Allen Price showed us his Moebius 1/32 USS Proteus from "Fantastic Voyage". He's using Polly-S, Model Master and acrylic paints for finishing, and had to use his bathtub to anneal (soak) it (presumably to fix warped parts?) The subject was chosen by his brother, and John-Allen said he's doing it because he "loves his brother, despicable sh*t that he is".

Anthony Gliszczynski displayed a couple of new models. The first was a Revell 1/25 2013 Boss 302 Mustang converted into a Mustang Drag Pak. The body is painted with Tamiya white with Slixx decals. Anthony started with the Boss 302 kit and converted it to a factory Drag Pak Cobra Jet race car. He built a chute mount and added a supercharger from Competition Resin, but the model is not finished yet. The subject was chosen because Anthony is a Ford man!

Anthony's second model was a 1/35 M42 Duster (Tamiya?), finished with Tamiya paints. He added metal tracks and brass antennas. Anthony said this was the first time he used oils and powders, and there were no issues with the kit. He said he chose the subject because he had this Duster on perimeter defence in Viet Nam, and loved the look.

There was an unusually high number of unidentified items on the tables. Please make sure that Larry Osolkowski gets your info sheet before you leave - we all want to know the details about your models.

Finally, some around-the-room photos.

Thanks to Rich Bernecki for passing the microphone around for the tables, and Larry Osolkowski for the photography.