Greetings fellow modelers!

Model Table Round-up from the August meeting

Tom Faith starts us out with his SIC33 15cm Infantry Gun by Alan. Tom say he added lots of Grandt Line bolts and rivets, photoetch details by Royal Model, Hussar steel wheels and an aftermarket gun barrel. He's painted it with "Depot Buff" by Floquil and "Armor Yellow". Washes and weathering effects were done using artist's oil pastels, powders, graphite, rust and real dust.

Cindy Klukowski showed us two of her projects that won awards at RoCon last month: the Diamond Coal Corporation (2nd Place) and the Cabin In The Woods (1st place).

Jason Ignatjew brought in his 1971 Camaro Pro-Mod painted in One Coat "Candy Green". Jason relates that 95% of the model is scratchbuilt and fully modified. This model won "Best Automotive" at RoCon in 2015, "1st Place Automotive" at BuffCon in 2015 and "Best of The Masters" at RoCon in 2016.

Jason's second kit on display this month is the AMT 1974 Plymouth GTX, built stock and finished using the Testor's "Go Man Go" lacquer system, followed by Testor's One Coat Clear.

Justen Hanna's 1/32nd scale British WWI Pilot by Wings Pilot Figures was on display for us. Justen said that it's only the third figure he's ever done and was finished in artist's oils and Vallejo acrylics. He also explain how impressed he was with the model being an "absolutely perfect fit and very few seams to clean". He chose the subject because "he looks awesome and dynamic".

Nick Carluccio's love of Jeeps inspired him to do the MPC 1964 Jeep "Surrey" in 1/24th scale. Nick added custom hubcaps, whitewall tires, wired the engine and added shredded yarn for the "Surrey Fringe" detail. He finished the model using Rust-O-Leum "Berry" and "Candy" Pink. The only adversity he experienced with it was a warped chassis.

Jeff Keenan brought in a "work-in-progress", the Revell 1/72nd scale JA-39 "Gripen". Jeff explained that this model "hurt his feelings" because the awful fit, lost parts, horrible decals and other inaccuracies caused him to be included in the "Modeling Loser" section in last month's contest. Despite all that, he did get it finished using Tamiya, Model Master and craft acrylic paints.

Jeff was a bit happier with the results of his Star Wars "Darth Maul" figure by Hasbro. Jeff painted it with craft store acrylics and added washes and dry brushing techniques for the final finish.

Happiness also abounds with his DML/Dragon 1/35th scale Viet Cong figure. He added weapon straps and a hat strap from stretched sprue. Again, a judicious use of craft acrylics and Model Master enamels was used for the final paint work.

Jeff Usiak was seeking an inexpensive way to improve his figure painted skills when he tried his hand at the 6-inch (1/12th scale) WWII Soviet Soldiers by toy maker, Marx. Jeff relates that it was difficult to clean up the seams on the soft plastic, which is not the same as the usual polystyrene made for model kits. He also needed to cut away some pieces on the figures to make them more accurate. Compounding the plastic problem was the difficulty with getting the paint to adhere. He did succeed by using Model Master and Vallejo acrylics.

Matt Klukowski is working on a diorama of Reaper Miniatures figure of a woman casting a spell. He's using Evergreen sheet plastic as a base.

Eric Hillebrand is working on a Matador by AFV Club in 1/35th scale.

Larry Osolkowski brought in three items for our perusal. The first was his 1/43 Tameo Williams FW-16 Formula 1 race car, which is a work in progress.

Larry's second item was a find on one of the automotive forums - an old 1/24 Revell of Germany Benetton B-194 Formula 1 kit. They are hard to find, and are bringing silly prices on eBay, so he was happy to score this one for a reasonable price.

The last item was a photoetch hex nut set from Hobby Design, with an array of sizes on the sheet, and fairly cheap at $5.

John Zachritz showed us a variety of projects. The first is a wooden scale model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton by Bones, Inc. John said he found it at a garage sale for 50 cents and it will be donated to the Riverside Library for display in the kid's section.

Secondly, a camel figure, also obtained at a garage sale, was given a camouflage coat from scrapbook paper and given the name "Camelflage".

Thirdly, John used a grape tree from a thrift store to give a bird model an "instant diorama".

For the fourth project, he used a discarded "Inspire" poster and cut out the clouds and used them as a backdrop for a "bird plane".

Lastly was a red pole bird from the movie "The Wind Rises".

Artwork from Paul Hines this month includes a Salt Flats Racer and a 1945 MG TC. Paul explains that all his paintings contain eight layers of paint, continually refining each layer as he progresses. He also says that different backgrounds are added to set off the cars.

Phillip Harrington is working on a Revell F/A-18 Hornet and is using Tamiya acrylics for the paint work.

Joe Szczygielski is working on a Tamiya M60A1 with RISE System in 1/35th scale. So far, he's added half of the turret bay interior, a Verlinden engine set and is using tracks by AFV Club.

Dick Schulenberg's projects this month include an Italeri H-19 Chickasaw USAF SAR helicopter in 1/72nd scale. He finished the model with Tamiya rattle cans and Vallejo acrylics. Dick chose this particular helicopter because he likes the late 1940's/early 1950's aeronautic subjects.

Dick also brought in the Hasegawa F5U-1 (Prototype) in 1/72nd scale and he upgraded it to a night fighter. He added a drop tank from a Corsair, extended the radar nose, opened vents and rebuilt the prop hubs from tubing. He finished it with Tamiya primer and Gloss Sea Blue by Polly Scale.

Lastly, John Zaranek showed a 1/12 scale figure modification in-progress. It's an elderly Airfix kit from the 1960's, a British Army Coldstream Guardsman. John explains that while the proportions look good, the detail molded in the plastic looks soft and the fit isn't very good. A lot of filling and sanding is required. Also, he viewed some on-line videos on how to use Miliput epoxy putty effectively and has replicated uniform details on the model including the epaulettes, tunic cuffs and the guardsman's belt and loops. There's a lot more to go, but he thinks he'll have it sorted out in the end.

Frank Blonski's lengthy 1941 Plymouth Pro-Mod project is reaching its conclusion. Frank says the body is ready to make a mold so he can start casting copies.

Some hardware was on display from the recent RoCon show in Rochester.

Finally, there were a number of other items on the tables.

Thanks to Larry Osolkowski for the photography.