The Holiday season is fast approaching, so please remember that the next meeting will include our Toys for Tots gift collection! Tom Brown Sr. will be discussing more about this at the meeting. I hope our members continue to be as generous as they have been and can be. What a great cause to support! It was also a busy contest month as I went to both the Syracuse and Cleveland shows. It was great to see club members continue to support these shows within a short drive from Buffalo. Dick Schulenberg, Tom Faith, Frank Blonski and Dave and Patsy Schwab were spotted at the Cleveland show! Thanks for your support. A pleasant 4 hour drive for the Schwabs (one way). If I missed mentioning anyone that may have gone, I apologize in advance. It was a great show!

IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - November 19, 2018

7:00 PM to 7:10 PM - Place models on tables with description forms - members trading kits.

Call for adjournment.

President Rich Bernicki is formally requesting the following changes to the Club Constitution:

1. To add the following non-discrimination clause to the Constitution so the Club will be in compliance with IRS and NY State regulations: "In the conduct of all aspects of its activities, the Club shall not discriminate on the grounds of color, religion, race, gender, national origin, mental or physical disability, genetics, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, transsexual status, (NYS) transgender status, gender identity or expression, alternate life style, familial status, domestic violence status, or physical appearance."

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 November newsletter of the IPMS Patriot chapter is available HERE.

Dick Schulenberg received a nice thank you letter today from IPMS Borinqueneers in Puerto Rico for IPMS Niagara Frontier's monetary donation towards their Model Fest 2018 modeling event. IPMS National emailed chapters about how this club was going ahead with their contest, even with all of the devastation in Puerto Rico that still surrounds them, as a way to keep their spirits up through model building. National suggested that more fortunate chapters might consider sponsoring an award at the show to support these guys. We ended up sponsoring two awards plus. Here are the show poster and the thank you letter:

Some of you may be aware of a small company called Fisher Model and Pattern, who provide multimedia kits of cars and aircraft. They have a reputation for high quality kits with great engineering and ease of assembly. Unfortunately, their facility was completely destroyed in the recent fires occurring in California. If anyone is interested in helping out, there is a Go Fund Me page HERE.

This month, we're catching up on the minutes from all of the club meetings so far this year. Next month's newsletter will contain the minutes from only the November meeting.

January 15th - First Vice President Ed Button led meeting.

• Old business: there was a "Secret Santa" gift that was unclaimed from the December meeting.
• New business: annual membership dues are due at the new rate of $20.
• The E-board is looking into purchase of audio visual equipment to give more options to improve the experience during the general meeting and for BuffCon.
• Tom Faith provided update on upcoming field trip to Old Fort Niagara.
• Rich B. discussed status of vendor tables for BuffCon show.
• The Knights Hall asked the club to remove a small container of remaining plastic model parts. These remained from a donation of leftover parts. These were made available to members at the end of the meeting.
• New visitors were acknowledged.
• Host of presentation of models on the tables was not recorded.

February 19th - President John Zaranek led meeting.

• Old business: reminder for payment of club membership dues.
• Ed Button recapped the January meeting discussion on best hobby tools member use that ran long was in part due to the clarity and adherence of the topic that it was to discuss tool members brought in and not an open discussion. He acknowledged this as a lesson learned.
• Upcoming shows; HeritageCon in Hamilton Ontario on March 25th and BuffCon April 8th. Also discussed were updates for the BuffCon show including a call for club members to sponsor a trophy individually or to honor or in memory of someone.
• New business: Dan Marafino's wife Linda recently passed away and a moment of silence was observed.
• Audio visual equipment was received. This includes digital camera, tripod, projector, amplified speaker with microphone, and a large carrying case.
• Tom Brown Sr. (Chief Judge) stated there is an open position for judging.
• Open discussion on judging fairness and prejudices. This started with a statement that some model entries are recognizable by the style or presentation of the modeler. John Z and Tom B stated the task of judging is technical based on predetermined criteria. Judging is not a solo activity but as a (small) team's appraisal of each model.
• Someone stated that Queen City Comic Book store and Iron Cross store carries a few model kits.
• Host of presentation of models on the tables was performed by Tom Brown Jr.

March 19th - President John Zaranek led meeting.

• Old business: review of BuffCon basic information. There are a few vendor tables left available.
• Volunteers are needed to help run the show. This applies to all members. Volunteers to arrive at 7:00am the day of the show.
• Tom Brown Sr. (Chief Judge) has an open call for judges for BuffCon and to see him or coordinators for category groups.
• April general meeting (after BuffCon) is the pizza party. This will be on April 16th.
• Upcoming shows; HeritageCon in Hamilton Ontario, NorEastCon on Long Island and the Cleveland show will be a regional show.
• John Z. recognized new people attending meeting.
• Tom Faith reminded members that there are some that have not paid their membership dues for this year and to see him if you owe or if they are not sure if they paid.
• Tom F. stated that the club field trip to Old Fort Niagara will likely be in May of this year.
• New business: election for club officers and E-board members is coming up in May 2018. It was stated that Paul Hines would like to train someone as coordinator for show trophies. Larry Osolkowski stated he would like to train someone for handling the newsletter and website and Tom Brown Jr. was interested.
• Host of presentation of models on the tables was performed by Al Germann.

April 16th - Minutes not recorded. Secretary absent.

May 21st - President John Zaranek led meeting.
Election night; presented details of elections for Officers and Executive board members-at-Large positions are 2 year terms. John Z. thanked members that served in these positions during the last term. Ballots were described and handed out and voting followed.
Voting results:

• President: John Zaranek
• 1st Vice President: Ed Button
• 2nd Vice President: Larry Osolkowski
• Treasurer: Tom Faith
• Secretary: Al Germann
• Members-At-Large: Paul Hines, Tom Brown Jr, Bill Borkowski, Jeff Kennan, Maryann Germann, Jim Greenfield

June 18th - 1st Vice President Ed Button led meeting. Ed started the meeting by asking if there were any guests to the meeting but there were none to be acknowledged.

• Old business: Tom Faith reminded all that if you have not paid club membership dues or if anyone is unsure to see him. Paid members will receive a club membership card that may be needed for club field trips.
• The Tony Bartozek "I'm not a modeling loser" contest started and will run thru the September meeting. Member Rod Adams provided some update of the Hamilton IPMS similar challenge and the rival challenge to our club.
• The date of Sunday July 15th will be the date of the sale of a collection of model kits donated to the club. Proceeds will go back to individual to help with medical cost. Further details were in the recent club newsletter.
• Reminder that the field trip to Old Fort Niagara is August 18-19 and attendees have the choice of the date. Paid members admission is free and guests will be at a discount.
• New business: Recent and upcoming events were discussed which included some review of TorCon which included positive feedback of award ceremony that included a digital projector showing the winning model. On the negative side, the competition room was closed during judging. AMPS Great White North show was also discussed. Upcoming shows included Syracuse SyrCon31 and Livonia, Michigan.
• Ed Button led discussion for suggestion for a theme for models presented on the tables. A theme of "your oldest completed model" was settled on for the July meeting. This is in addition to work in progress for the Tony B Challenge.
• Member Dave Armitage offered a field trip to his and his wife's place near Batavia to view his antique car collection and very large built model collection. Discussion followed that included tentative dates of July 21, 22 and August 11, 12. Tom Faith suggested that the club can cover the cost of food (such as lunch). Details need to be confirmed and agreed upon. Sign up for attending members is planned for the July meeting.
• Host of presentation of models on the tables was performed by Brian McFee.

July 16th - President John Zaranek led meeting. John recognized new visitors to the club meeting.

• Frank Blonski provided new flyers for BuffCon 2019 and revised membership flyers were made available for distribution. There was a reminder that the next AMPS show will be in Buffalo in May 2019.
• Tom Faith stated he has club membership cards for paid members for anyone that did not receive them yet. Members will need these for free admission to the upcoming club field trip to Old Fort Niagara.
• Al Germann informed attendees that there is a car show for the Divco Milk Truck in Hamburg NY on July 21 and a car show for the Playboy Motor Car in beginning of August.
• Rod Adams provided an update on the IPMS Hamilton' version of "I am not a modeling loser" challenge. Rod is a dual member in both Niagara Frontier's and Hamilton's clubs. Rod stated that Hamilton's club meeting takes place on the last Wednesday of each month.
• Paul Hines stated the trophies for the Tony Bartozek "I am not a modeling loser" challenge are ready.
• Bob Conshafter hosted the models on the tables which included member's oldest models and work in progress models for the "I am not a modeling loser" challenge.

August 20th - President John Zaranek led meeting.

• John Z. provided a reminder that there is one month left in the Tony Bartozek "I am not a modeling loser" challenge. Rod Adam provided a brief summary of the IPMS Hamilton's version of the challenge stating that there 25 models in progress.
• Frank Blonski provided flyers for BuffCon 2019 for members to take and distribute as promotion material. Frank stated he will mail some to the club running PennCon (central PA) on September 15th. Also Frank provided the revised general club flyers.
• Other upcoming show is Rochester club's RoCon 37 on September 23. Also Southwestern Ontario Scale Model Show on September 22 in London Ontario area.
• Discussed the open admission for club members to Old Fort Niagara on August 18 & 19. Furthermore, we discussed the condition of the diorama the club previously built. It is holding up well considering it is located in a building with no climate control, although there is one crack diagonally across a corner.
• Dick Schulenberg provided an update to the club's member's models in the Buffalo Library and then reminded us there is a different model highlighted on their Facebook page every Monday.
• Modeling technique demonstrations will be starting again soon and John Z is looking for ideas.
• The Executive Board meetings will be starting again on the second Monday of September.
• John Z. open the floor up to any questions and comments and several items were discussed.
• Mike Butry hosted the models on the tables.

September 17th - 2nd Vice President Larry Osolkowski led the meeting.

• Larry announced that President John Zaranek has a change of scope at his employer and does not have the available time to continue his duties as president and announced that he is resigning. According to the club's constitution, the Executive Board needs to assign an Interim President. Larry added that if any general members are interested to talk to an E-Board member.
• Tony Bartozek "I am not a modeling loser" challenge models are due at this meeting. Of the 21 entries, 13 were completed. Rod Adam provided a brief summary of the IPMS Hamilton's version of the challenge stating that there are now 27 models in progress. Their club allows new entries after the start but still have the same due date which is next week. Two trophies were presented with the "best of" the challenge going to Frank Blonski and a "nice try" trophy for an incomplete model going to Rod Adams.
• Upcoming shows were discussed and include Rochester and Syracuse, NY.
• The model collection of Ernie Yuhnke will be sold on October 5th & 6th in East Aurora. Sales flyers were available at the meeting.
• Brian McFee hosted the presentation of models on the tables.

Member Name: Rod Adam

What type of modeling do you enjoy most? What scale?
Ships 1/350, sci-fi, and armour occasionally. Also kit-bashing; e.g., HMS Repulse to HMS Furious.

Member Name: Dan Marafino

What type of modeling do you enjoy most? What scale?
Anything in plastic. Currently 1/48 aircraft and 1/350 ships are my preferences. WW2 is definitely my primary era, but I will build any era.

Model tables from the October meeting:

Dick Schulenberg brought in a couple of aircraft for us to see. The first was his RS Models 1/72 Bell XFL-1, built out-of-box. He finished the model with Tamiya spray can and Vallejo acrylic paints, with no weathering. Dick said there were no issues other than the typical difficulties with yellow paint; it went together easily and the decals worked great. He picked this subject because of local interest: it was the only airplane designed by Bell for the US Navy, but never went into production.

The second model was an Anigrand XP-50, a contemporary of the XFL-1 from Grumman for the Army Air Corps in 1940.

Rod Adam showed us his Tamiya 1/400 King George V, finished with Italeri paints and weathered with chalk pastels. He added anchor chains, and mentioned that the Walrus aircraft are 1/350 scale. Rod said "I do ships".

Tom Brown, Sr. displayed a work-in-progress, an ICM 1/16 Marine Corp Corporal figure. He's planning on using oil paints to finish it, and plans to do surgery to re-pose the figure. Tom is a Marine and so is his son, Tom Jr., so that provided the motivation. He says it's going to be fun.

Paul Hines provided a couple of new subjects for his acrylic paintings, this time with a ship theme. The first was a 1930's era Chris Craft speed boat, and the second was a standard sail boat in high wind. Paul said that there will be more wood boats to come next year.

Larry Osolkowski showed us his current work-in-progress, a Revell 1/25 Corvette C7R race car. Larry said the chassis is complete, finished with Zero Paints semi-gloss black and various Testors Model Master paints. He added ribbon seat belts with photo-etched hardware, and Scale Motorsports carbon fiber decals on the engine and some interior bits. The hood has been painted with Cobracolors Velocity Yellow, followed by decals and clear coat.

Larry also showed us some 1/24 tire valves from RB Motion. These are tiny machined aluminum bits with the correct shape. Drill a hole in a wheel and glue it in. They look great.

Finally, Larry brought in some older model magazines for the taking. They disappeared quickly.

Tim Grieve had a couple of boats for us to examine. The first was a Lindberg 1/25 Coast Guard Tugboat. He used Testors Model Master paints to finish it, and weathered the anchor with rust. Tim mentioned that the upper cabin / smoke stack was a tight fit, but the rest of the kit was fine.

Tim's second subject was a Lindberg 1/82 Coast Guard Patrol Boat. He used similar finishing methods and materials. He said he wanted to use decals for the boat that were misplaced, but had no luck.

Tim also brought in a Revell 1/48 F-102A Delta Dagger. This was again finished with Testors paints, with no added details or weathering. He said that there were problems with the canopy fit and the instructions for installing the missiles were not clear. Tim picked this subject because his radar site in Germany from 1962-1965 ran intercepts with F-102s, F-104s and F-105s.

Dave Armitage brought in several models for our perusal. The first two were Lindberg figure kits called "Hex Marks the Spot" and "Dismay Be the End". They were both finished with acrylics. Dave said he could not get the rubber band powered kit to work well. He built them because "I like weird stuff."

Dave's next model was a Lanchester Armored Car from CSM Plastics of Latvia. He said it was finished with Rustoleum grey primer, and he has an interest in WW I vehicles.

Dave also had two HO scale Mack AC Tank trucks from ConCor kits, finished with acrylics.

Dave's last model was a 24 Pounder Naval Gun built from an old Palmer Plastics kit from the 1950s, and finished with acrylic craft paint. He mentioned that the barrel and other parts were brass plated, and removing mold lines and filling seams convinced him to paint it black. He added wood grain to the carriage with a Zona saw, and made a cannonball box of wood with NBW castings and used ball bearings for cannonballs. Dave said he got the kit in a box at an auction for $5, and made the base from a scrap end of a door jam.

Al Germann showed us his mostly completed 1/35 VW Pickup Type 825. He used Tamiya paints, and built it out-of-box except for a tarp added to cover damage after dropping it. It was weathered with pastels and washes, and the wounded soldier has a scratch-built coffee cup and lit cigarette. He said he got it as a birthday gift, and he still wants to add items in the bed.

Al also displayed a diorama of the BD-5 jet flying through the closing hangar doors from the James Bond movie Octopussy. The plane is 1/72 scale, and is finished with Tamiya and Polly-O paints and weathered with pastels and washes. The hangar doors were scratch-built from sheet styrene. The model will be entered in the TV & Movie theme category for BuffCon.

Maryann Germann provided a work-in-progress, a 1/16 Tamiya WW II German Infantryman figure. She's using Tamiya paints, and is planning on using a gray wash for shadowing. She said that the base was made from a metal lid, and the tree was created from a branch and twigs. Maryann wanted to practice painting camouflage.

Finally, some around-the-room photos.

Congratulations to Bill Borkowski for winning the model raffle prize.

Thanks to Rich Bernecki for doing the tables, and Larry Osolkowski for the photography.