Hello everyone.
I am pleased to announce that I have appointed Bill Borkowski to the club's executive board as an interim "member-at-large". Two months ago, we had to appoint and make adjustments to the E-Board due to the departure of a few members and I realized I was still one board member short. Bill is a long standing member of the club and I welcome his input for help in running the club's business. Bill, like the rest of the E-Board, will be up for election or re-election as the case may be this coming May, 2018. All board members serve a two-year term and any club member in good standing may run for a position if they so desire. All that is required is to let myself or any officer know of their intentions. Please welcome Bill to the board when you see him on Monday.
A couple of interesting questions were posed by the membership this last month and it bears discussion as it concerns all of us in the hobby. Jeff Keenan is interested in knowing how modelers keep track of their kit "stashes"? I use an on-line kit database called "Scalemates". Scalemates is a free website that once you join, you can add your kits, finished or not, to the database and allows you to know what you have on hand. It also has many links to references, aftermarket sets, kit reviews, kit origins and lineage, and finished builds. It covers the whole modeling spectrum from armor to aircraft, automotive to sci-fi, figures to spacecraft. There are other kit management databases out there as well, but this is one I know and use regularly. There has also been some interest in setting up a discussion board for club members on the IPMS Niagara Frontier website. I will keep you all posted on any developments along those lines.
Secondly, club secretary, Al Germann, poses some thoughts on the costs of kits and the "range" of prices of kits. What is your "price range" when purchasing your kits? Personally speaking, I choose my kits based on what interests me, not necessarily the price. For example, if I went to my local hobby shop and saw that they had a Revell 1/32nd scale Stuka on sale for $20, I would pass on it, because it's not something I'd be interested in building. However, if Trumpeter released a 1/350th scale model of a Vietnam-era version of the USS Midway aircraft carrier for a $120, I'd be tempted in making a late electric bill payment and pick it up right away! So, what types of kits or deals make you want to spend your money? Do you shop for bargains? Do you settle for subpar kits due to cost constraints?
Frank Blonski, club member and owner of FAB ResinWorks, will be conducting a demonstration on how to mold wheels in resin. This is a result of an inquiry by the membership and Frank has graciously agreed to show us all how it's done. This is another "how-to" that you won't want to miss!
Next month, Tom Brown, Sr. will be coordinating with the local unit of the USMC our annual "Toys For Tots" collection drive. At the club meeting in December and for those who choose to participate, please bring in a new, unwrapped toy or gift for donation. We will have tables set up at the back of the meeting room for this. Please, do not use gift wrap, labels or include cards, just the toys. Another point worth mentioning is that while all donations are welcome and appreciated, please keep in mind gifts for older children as well as the little ones. Sometimes, they get left out. Thank you very much for considering to participate in this charity.
While I am on the subject of the December meeting, it is also our annual club holiday celebration meeting. We will have pizza, wings and pop brought in for all members in good standing to participate. If you wish to bring in baked goods to share for dessert, that is appreciated as well.
Lastly, a gentle reminder that at the January meeting, club membership dues will be collected. In order to help sustain our solvency as a club, we voted to increase the dues to $20 to renew your membership. This is the first increase in club history and pays for the meeting hall rental and our two pizza/wing parties each year.
On behalf of the entire executive board, I am wishing you all a joyous and safe Thanksgiving holiday and hope to see you all on Monday night.
John R. Zaranek
President
IPMS Niagara Frontier
IPMS USA No. 47993
Model tables from the October meeting:
Jim Greenfield showed us his current project-in-progress, a 1/35 Pegasus Hunter-Killer tank from the movie
Terminator 2. This is a very large model for 1/35 scale - Jim said its a monster, but it has that future
industrial look. He mentioned having to use plastic sheet to fill in some areas that would otherwise allow you
to see through the model.
Tim Grieve brought in several subjects for us to see. The first was a 1/72 Lindberg Henschel HS-129B,
finished using Model Master paints.
Next up was a 1/72 MPC P-61 Black Widow, also finished with Model Master paints.
Finally, Jim had a 1/72 Testors XF-92A Dart using the Testors Model Master paint system to finish it. Jim
mentioned that the kit was an easy build - it went together with good fit and no problems, and even the decals
went on easily. He picked the model because it was the predecessor to the F-102, F-106 and B-58.
Larry Osolkowski brought in yet another recent purchase, a new kit of the BMW M6 race car running in current
European endurance racing from a relatively obscure Japanese company called NuNu. It's a very nice looking kit
of a curbside (no engine) model, with great detail and excellent decals. A detail set with photo-etch, seat belt
material, etc. is on order.
Larry also displayed further progress on the Aoshima 1/12 Honda Ape motorcycle kit he's been working on.
Assembly is progressing well, and the model is close to complete.
Larry also showed us a recent purchase from the local Harbor Freight, a detail spray gun. He said he
wanted something with a larger, fan-type pattern for painting larger scale cars, and for $14, this looked
like it was worth a shot. They also have Iwata-compatible air hoses for around $10.
Mark Gadek displayed his in-progress build of a 1/32 Trumpeter MIG-29A in primer. He's using the
kit-supplied photo-etch along with left-over bits and pieces from other kits to spruce up the cockpit. Mark
mentioned that Trumpeter is marketing this kit as a new mold, but they actually grafted new features onto
the old kit which left ugly steps and sags throughout. He had to rescribe panel lines on the entire kit. When
finished, the model will continue his Polish aviation collection.
Paul Hines impressed us with another collection of aircraft art in acrylics. The subjects comprised "Wing Man",
an F-18 from the inside looking out; "Silent But Ready", an A/B 26C Invader; and "Ready For Anything", an AH/Z
Super Cobra Attack Helicopter.
Dave Armitage brought in several models, including one of his "horror" shadowboxes with lighted features, and
a reference photo of his car. Unfortunately, he didn't leave any further information.
A 1/24 Ferrari Enzo snap-tite kit was displayed by Derek Keenan, who said he's had this kit since he was 3 or 4
years old. Nice to see it finished!
Continuing the Ferrari theme, Al Germann showed us his 1/24 Revell Enzo, built out-of-box, which he said was a
great kit. He loves Ferraris, but did not want to paint it red, so he used Testors paints to produce the multi-color
finish. This involved airbrushing a wide red stripe, then using thin tape with a clear sealer to prevent bleeding
around the edges, followed by silver and grey with appropriate masking.
Gene Paveljack brought in several completed models, the first being his 1/35 Meng Char 2C tank, finished with
Vallejo light brown and green.
Gene also had a 1/35 Takom Big Bertha that he used Mig sand yellow, earth, green and transparent dust to paint.
This is another large model in that scale.
Gene's final model was a Warhammer Primaris Repulsor, painted using Vallejo and Citadel paints and nicely
weathered.
Rod Adam, a visitor to our meeting from the IPMS Hamilton club in Canada, brought along some nice ship models
for us to see. The first was a 1/124 Civil War Blockage runner that he kitbashed into the S.S. Advance.
The second ship was a 1/350 Trumpeter HMS Repulse kit that was modified into the HMS Furious.
Dan Marafino provided a collection of pencil drawings he had done. The Corsair, P-38 and P-51 were done
in 2011, and the P-39 and F-14 were completed in October of this year.
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.
Tom Brown Sr. provided a recent photo of our club's latest member of the US Marine Corps,
Tom Brown Jr.
Some around-the-room photos.
Thanks to Bob Conshafter for handling the tables, and to Larry Osolkowski for the photography.
