Greetings and salutations to one and all! Before I begin, I have some sad news to pass along. Our sister
club in Rochester lost one of their founding members last Friday, Jim Elam. He was one of the gentlemen who
helped start up IPMS Rochester and always manned the registration table at their annual September Rocons.
Jim will definitely be missed by all and I'll always remember his "hello, how are ya doin'?" when
registering my models. We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the Rochester gang. Rest easy Jim,
hope the modeling gods got your table set up for you!
For those who attended Syrcon 35 on Oct. 22nd, thank you for coming out and wearing our colors. Ron,
Bob (my dad) and I walked away with 16 awards among us. Not too shabby, me thinks! If you were there,
bring in the hardware along with what won.
We had our first eBoard meeting at Section 8 which was awesome, and we had a productive meeting. Here's the gist of the meeting:
- Instead of the usual around the room table discussion(s), we'll break up the tables into the various model categories (aircraft, armor, car, etc.).
- After some discussion and other factors, the Tuesday build nights at Section 8 will start after the winter season, starting in April, and it'll be the fourth Tuesday of the month.
- We discussed teaming up with the WNY division of the National Model Railroad Society and getting a table for the train show that is held at the Hamburg Fairgrounds in February. The weekend of Nov. 18th won't be doable for a few reasons, so plan on February's show.
- I'm sure you have all read my suggestions to bring in a model to work on during the meeting. I've only seen a few take advantage of this and that's OK, but when I say bring in something to build, it can be simply removing parts off the sprue, doing subassembly work or sanding. I've talked it over with the board and I would like to see the summer months be just that, build-n-bull meetings as the summer months are quieter. So, plan on building more in the summertime.
- Christmas pizza party - we'll have our annual Christmas pizza party which will include drinks. Anyone who would like to bring a dessert tray is more than welcome! This will also include the Toys for Tots collection which Tom Brown Jr. is already working on. Please, please, like in the past, bring in toys geared towards the boys & girls who are 13 years and older.
That's all for now, and I'll see you next Tuesday (11/21/2023) for the general meeting at 7pm at the new
digs, Williamsville Youth & Recreation center at 5005 Sheridan Drive, Williamsville, NY 14221. Parking and
entry to the facility will be in the back.
Happy modeling,
Michael Butry
President
IPMS Niagara Frontier
IPMS USA No. 52196
IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - November 21, 2023
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:
- Section 8 is now open.
New Business:
- Going over the items from the eBoard meeting.
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, November 21st 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:
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 October 2023 general meeting are included below. Thanks to our Secretary, Al Germann, for the meeting minutes.
October 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.
October 9 - President Mike Butry led the meeting.
November 13 - President Mike Butry led the meeting.
Tim Carson sent in some photos of his most recent project, a 1/12 Yamaha 4C4 Vmax '07 by Aoshima.
Tim said: "This project was my 'dexterity exercise' as I tried to work through complications with my
hand and wrist after my shoulder surgery in May. A bit rough at times, but it was definitely helpful.
The kit went together well. I painted it with Tamiya paints as well as some Mr. Hobby Aqueous colors.
The main color was Tamiya TS60 Pearl Green, as I wanted something a bit different than the various
blacks that were called for."
Moving to the model tables, Tom Faith brought in his Tony B. Challenge model, a diorama with a
Jeep and a trailer. He used Tamiya Olive Drab, Army Painter washes and homemade washes for
finishing, and added weathering using pastel powders, dry oil-based pastels, BBQ ash and sweepings
from the garage floor. Tom added side rails to the trailer sides, rebuilt the hitch, and made the
base from paper mache with Bayardi pillars and wall and Scenic Factory foliage. He said the kits
were great but the PE was horrible. Tom mentioned that he picked the subject because he doesn't
like to see working vehicles not towing something. He also added that he will have three figures
to complete the scene.
Bob Raithel displayed a set of 3D-printed creatures, including Dimetrodon, Devil Frog,
Sileosaurus, Nothosaurus and a monster from "The Mist". Bob said they were all downloaded from
My Mini Factory except for the Mist creature which came from Gamebody. They were printed on an
Elegoo Saturn resin printer. Bob picked the subjects because he loves unusual animals and
creatures. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos.
Ron Mikol showed us his 1/16 1963 Corvette Pro Mod. It was painted with PPG urethanes, and
had a chopped top and an added wing. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos.
Al Germann displayed his progress on his 1/24 Citroen Crazy French Taxi. He used Krylon Baby
Blue for the body and craft paint for the convertible top. Al added and modified headlights and
taillights, a wine rack in back, a splitter and spoiler, and a Ferrari V-8 with a blower. He said
there were multiple sessions of fill, sand and repeat. Al described the model as a fun, kit-bash
custom.
Al also brought in a 1/48 Lindberg Grumman Goose. He used Krylon paints and removed the molded
rivets and used a wheel tool to create new rivets. Al said the kit contained all the quality of a
1961-issue kit. He mentioned that the finished model will be a Jimmy Buffet tribute, second in a
series for Jimmy Buffet. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos.
Maryann Germann showed us her latest project, Marty the Martian. It was just started, with a
coat of primer applied. She plans to make a cocktail glass, and add a Hawiian shirt made out of
thick paper towels and a pair of sandals. She also plans to widen his smile, and will be
airbrushing him in a greenish pearl color. Maryann mentioned that the model was hard to fit and
the seams didn't line up well. She bought the kit at the Rochester show and thought it would be
fun. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos.
Justin Schroeder displayed his MPC Imperial Shuttle Tydirium from Return of the Jedi. This is
the shuttle that Han Solo and company used to get to the forest moon of Endor. Justin used
Archive-X paint in a 50/50 mix of Reefer White and Concrete, applied with an airbrush. He made
modifications to the wings, bottom hull and engines to accommodate the LED lights. Justin also
used makeup brushes and Tamiya weathering master sets for oil stains, orange rust and soot. He
said he had many issues with the kit, including a lot of bodywork to get rid of the seams. He
also had to special order the circuit board for the blinking lights. Justin mentioned that he
loves Star Wars, and these older kits are more challenging and he loves a good challenge. He also
added that the base is a black acrylic serving tray which he sanded to subdue the shiny finish.
The Imperial logo was airbrushed through a homemade stencil.
Jim Greenfield showed us his Dust Game 1/48 Russian Mech Walker, finished with Mission,
Citadel and Tamiya paints. He added armor and weapons systems, and weathered it with dry brushing
and washes using Tamiya panel liner. Jim said there were no fit problems, and he picked the
subject because it was an odd alternate WW II concept.
Jeff Keenan displayed some Star Wars Monopoly figures in about 1/72 scale, acquired courtesy
of Tom Brown, Sr. They were painted mostly with Vallejo Model Color & Model Air, and Tamiya paints.
Jeff cut off the lightsabers and replaced them with stretched clear sprue, and added weathering
with washes, dry brushing and wet blending. He said the figures were typical soft white metal so
there's not much detail. Jeff said he picked the subject because he needed practice painting
figures. He mentioned that he had a lot of fun, and was happy with how the lightsabers turned out.
Gregory Fox showed us his latest build, Doctor Jekyll as Mister Hyde by Moebius Models. He
said he used a black wash over his base.
Robert Heiss displayed The Mummy by Revell. He applied a base coat of Tamiya XF-68 NATO Flat
Brown, oil washed everything with Burnt Umber and Black, added Burnt Sienna on the face and hand,
and dry brushed with artist acrylic tube paints in Light Brown, Cream and Gray. Robert also used
Woodland Scenics medium sand on the base, and painted hierogliphics with Windsor & Newton water
colors which were easy to apply and presented a time-faded effect. He mentioned that the base had
numerous seams that were extremely visible, so he covered and textured them with Apoxie Sculpt by
Aves. It has a three hour working time and comes in 12 colors; he used gray. Further information
can be found on the Apoxie website. Robert said he plans to
use the model as part of his Three Stooges diorama.
Frank Blonski showed us his work-in-progress 1967 Chevy Camaro by Revell. Frank re-mastered
the flat hood to fit the Revell kit; this will be an updated part available from
FAB Resinworks. He said he's working on the chassis to
fit the Camaro body, and this will be a Pro Street conversion kit. Unfortunately, we didn't get
any photos.
Tom Brown Sr. displayed Circuit City. He made the model from a circuit board he found in the
trash that he thought looked like a city, so he painted it with acrylics and added some dust
using fire ash. He added trees, flags, roads and signs. Unfortunately, we didn't get any photos.
Ted Szczesny had a couple of items for us to see this month. The first was his completed
Pocher 1/8 1931 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza. He used Tamiya Italian Red spray lacquer and Tamiya
brush-on acrylics for finishing, and no aftermarket parts were used. Ted said that this kit was
regarded as one of the poorest quality Pocher kits produced; the list of modifications and tweeks
is long. He also had to reprint damaged hood decals. Ted chose this kit due to his fascination
with the Pocher items as a "mid century modern" modeler; at the time of 15 cent McDonalds burgers,
the $150+ prices of these kits were out of his price range, but he didn't anticipate the effects
of 30+ years of waiting. Ted also mentioned that he found the wheel spoke assembly to be one of
the easier parts of the build, although time consuming. He said this is one part of the total
assembly that tends to drive these kits onto the eBay marketplace, but Paul Koo's DVDs provide
some good spoke assembly techniques.
Ted also showed us a Wood Tricks Antique Lantern made from laser-cut wood. He used brown
magic markers or Sharpies to touch up the sprue attachment points (not cut by laser). He said
the laser cuts burn the edges of the wood, so the attachment points appear as thin white lines
on the edges of the parts. Ted mentioned that he had some occasional delamination and chipping
from punching out parts from the laser-cut sprues, but they were easily repaired with some thin
CA glue and accelerator. The parts are all pressure fit, snap or locked together - no gluing
was required other than part repairs.
Paul Hines had two new automotive subjects displayed. The first was a Mercedes Benz 300SL
Gullwing from 1956. Paul said this is one of the most recognized sports cars in the world. He
said he had to paint it with the gull wing doors open.
Paul's second painting was a 1932 Bugatti Type 55 Roadster. Paul said this was considered
one of the most beautiful sports cars of all time; it is an art object from any viewpoint with
its beautiful flowing curves, and one of his favorite cars.
Dick Schulenberg brought in four items for us to see. The first was a work-in-progress, a
1/72 Heller T-28D Fennec Ground Attack version converted to a US Navy T-28B Trainer. He said it
will be done in yellow overall with Xtradecals decals for the trainer version. Dick said he
removed the wing gun mounts and armor plates, extra vents and rollover pylon from the D-version,
and replaced the canopy with a vaccuum-formed one with the correct B shape, and rescribed the
raised panel lines. He mentioned that he screwed up the fit of the vac canopy windscreen, and
replaced it with the original D cast windscreen. Dick picked the subject to continue his late
'40s to '60s USN collection, and this one replaces the Sword T-28B that he melted when removing
some too-thick paint.
Dick's second item was a Vargas 3D-printed 1917 Ford Model T with the Chase Track system. He
used Citadel black primer and Vallejo Model Color paints. He added a scratch-built windshield -
the kit didn't supply anything and it looked wrong without one. Dick said his problem with the
model is the weathering; it looks too toy-like, but he can't figure out how to make it look like
the picture. He said there were no real issues with the kit other than fiddly construction. He
chose the subject because it was odd looking - why not?
Dick's third model was a Monogram 1/72 Grumman F7F Tigercat modified to F7F-2D Drone
Controller specifications. The paint used was all Vallejo Model Air over Tamiya gray and white
primers, with Vallejo flat overcoat. Modifications included Lone Star Models resin 2D conversion
set, Aires resin cowl and engines, Lone Star cockpits, Startfighter wheel wells, True Details
P-38 wheels, and Lone Star decals. Dick said he will probably use watercolor pens and pastels
for exhaust stains. He mentioned that the Lone Star "instructions" are pretty minimal and don't
give much help on where to cut and how their parts fit up. Also, the Aires cowls are a bit small
and the engines lack pushrods. Dick picked the subject because Tigercats are a favorite and he's
building up a small collection of variants, with 3 done and 2 to go. He said this model was made
from the 1973 reissue of the original 1967 kit, with clean moldings and really good fit. He
rescribed the whole thing except for the Lone Star resin which crumbled when scribing. He also
mentioned that there was no room for enough nose weight, so he used a wire support post.
Dick's last model was a 1/144 Arii North American RA-5C converted to an earlier A-5A
Vigilante carrier-based nuclear bomber. Vallejo Model Air paints were used, with no weathering.
Modifications included eliminating the recon "canoe" and hump for electronic equipment, and
reconfigured nose and wings. The kit decals were used, including the wrong unit insignia,
because nothing better is available. Dick said it's tough to find drawings that show what's
needed to be reconfigured; the rest was just sheet plastic and putty. He picked it because it's
prettier than the RA-5C.
There were a couple of unidentified objects on the tables.
Finally, some around-the-room shots.
Thanks to Bob Conshafter for handling the model tables, and Bill Borkowski for the photos.
