...or, News from The Nameless One

Notes from the September 2010 Meeting

The moderator for the September Model Table was Matt Keysa.

Ed Button started off with his 1/48 P-40 B From Revel-Monogram. Ed restored the previously built kit by scratch-building parts for the gas-tank mounts and opening the wing flaps. He is particularly proud of the detail work he did on the gas tank, adding a ring that he'd accidentally sanded off.

Bob Raithel brought a 1/72 Dornier 335 model by DML. The specimen depicted is from the Munich Museum, and he reports that the kit was a real challenge to build. He also brought an Academy 1/72 Messerschmitt 163 Komet. The kit went together easily and an air eraser was used to give the plastic some 'tooth' for painting instead of using primer. This process worked well, but created a huge mess. This is also the first brush-painted plane model Bob has done, and he finished the kit by using the 'Justen Hanna Future trick' of applying the decals directly onto a puddle of Future Acrylic Floor finish. It works!

A "too healthy looking' Frankenstein that started life as a "Luminator" re-issued kit was offered by Jim Wolfe who also brought an in-progress figure of a Marine Infantryman from World War One. He's run into a problem with the color he chose for the figure's belt webbing, so it's on hold until he decides to fix it.

Stan Keysa displayed the trees he constructed for his tree-making demo from a couple of meetings back. To give the mainly wire trees more character, Stan added bits of dried root from real plants. To the tall pine tree, Stan added details from the floral section of Michael's craft store. He also mentioned using false eyelashes to add detail, which, predictably, resulted in a few laughs.

Tony G. shared his ROCON-winning 1936 Ford done in 'Panther Pink.' Tony recovered the pre-built kit from a parts box at 3 Guyz Model Emporium and re-built it, stripped the finish and repainted it, had it pin-striped and took it to the Rochester show where he took second place! Well done, Tony!

Dick Schulenberg showed a resin Anagram kit of a 1/144 scale Convair Tradewind, a patrol flying boat plane from the early fifties. The kit box actually included four kits. In addition to the Tradewind, there was a Convair Sea Dart jet-powered seaplane, a Douglas F-3D Sky Knight, and a Douglas A2-D Sky Shark. So, there were four plane models in one box for one fairly considerable price!

Dick also had two Heller kits from the 1980s on hand. First was a Somua S-35 tank, which was built about ten years ago. The biggest challenge was the vinyl tank treads, which proved to be fairly unbendable until he boiled them to make them more pliable. Rather than using adhesive to attach the un-cooperative treads, Dick pinned them in place from the top. The next Heller kit was a 1/72 scale Mirage 5-N, which had the surface detail sanded off and a new nose installed. Dick painted the model with Tamiya spray paint from an aerosol can and scribed the panel line into the paint. He then varied the plane shades by rubbing Payne's Gray oil paint into the masked-off panels and rubbing off the excess. Cool trick!

Dave Armitage has created a magnificent shadow box to display his 3 Stooges figures, which he got from a toy store in Batavia. He actually built two of these shadow boxes-one for himself and one for the brother-in-law of the toy store owner! As a result, the store owner paid for the model kits and Dave had fun assembling them. The torches light up with tiny light bulbs powered by 9 volt batteries and the walls of the tomb are covered with photos of actual Egyptian tombs which Dave photocopied at the public library.

Dave also brought a 1/25 scale old metal soldier figure that was an accessory for a model of 'The General' locomotive from the 1970s. He painted the figure as a Confederate soldier. And lastly, Dave had two HO scale buildings on hand, plus two Chinese made kits of two of Leonardo Da Vinci's inventions: a clockwork wagon and a paddle boat. Dave says they are more of a toy than a kit. The models wind up and move on their own spring loaded power!

Brian McFee had a 1/48 F-4J Fury from Hobby Boss on hand. The model took Second Place at Noreastcon and First Place at Rocon! It won in both 1/48 Jet and Best of Navy Jet! Congratulations, Brian!

Mike Butry displayed his commission-built F-16. He's thinking of upping the price as the model won First-Place and Best Air Force awards at ROCON. Mike says that when he builds models for other people, they always do better at shows than the ones he builds for himself. He enjoyed the build and can't wait to get it off his bench and to the customer. He's been working on the kit for two years.

Mike also brought a Tamiya Mitsubishi Zero that sustained damage when the car in which it was riding went over a nasty potholes on Buffalo Avenue. The model took First Place and well as Best Japanese at ROCON. The jolt broke the landing gear off and the plane is currently in the hangar being repaired. (Sorry, no photo.)

Finally, some photos of members around the room, the model tables and some interesting t-shirts.

Appeal for Volunteers for The Kids' Model Building Class
6 Saturdays from 10am to 12pm
January 22-February 26, 2011
By Bob Conshafter

Yep, it's that time again! 2011 will be my 10th year of volunteering with the Kids' Model Building Class. Where does the time go? The 2010 class was attended by thirty-three children, five of whom were girls. I think that's the highest percentage of girls we've had so far and I'm glad that the interest in modeling has endured with these kids as many have returned year after year. It was also nice to see a high level of parental involvement and club member turnout meant that most kids came away with a positive experience with modeling even though we had an ice storm on Awards Day!

Our club members who volunteer to help with this event have also returned year after year and it would be nice to see some new faces. Many thanks to the Old Guard: Frank Blonski, Tom Brown, Bob Collignon, Stan Keysa, Matt Keysa, Brian McFee, Nick Morris (who returned this year for the first time as a Mentor after many years as a builder), Dick Schulenberg, and some new faces who came when they could, Ed Button and Alan Gryfe. Eight tables are used for the event and, as you can see, we're kind of spreading things a bit thin, particularly if we hit our limit of 35 kids.

Please consider being a Mentor. It's okay if you can't make every session. Whatever time you can provide will be greatly appreciated by your fellow members and especially the kids. Every year we strive to make improvements to the Kids' Class and your involvement and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Our main goal is to have every child come away from the class with a finished model and a positive experience with modeling. Remember, it would be great if you could volunteer for the whole class but its okay if you can only attend some sessions. A sign up sheet will be passed out at the next 3 club meetings. The class starts on January 22nd and runs for the following five consecutive Saturdays (10am to 12pm) until Awards Day, February 26th.

2011 Kids' Model Building Class Kit Appeal

The club will graciously accept any and all of your donations. At this point in time we have A LOT of airplanes. More specifically, we are looking for new or pre-owned, un-built plastic model kits and will gladly accept anything you can provide. We're a little short on the following:

1/35th scale armor
Small scale modern civil/warships
1/25 scale cars
Snap-together kits for young builders

If the kit you are considering donating is not new or sealed in plastic, please take the time to make absolutely sure all parts, clear pieces, decals, and instructions are present.

Donations will be gladly accepted by our President, Justen Hanna or any member of the E-Board. Club members were very generous last year and I would like to thank all of you who donated and thank in advance those who will donate this year.

Best wishes always, Bob