By the time we meet, ROCON in Rochester will be over. I hope those that go have a great time and continue to support the Rochester club.

IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - September 16, 2019

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

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 September 2019 newsletter of the IPMS Patriot chapter is available HERE.

Any member who needs a club name tag should see Paul Hines at the meeting. We will be ordering name tags in the near future.

Tom Faith will have the new club shirts available during the break. If you ordered a shirt, please bring your $15 to the meeting and see Tom.

The minutes from the August 2019 general meeting are included below. Thanks to our Secretary, Al Germann, for the meeting minutes.

August 19th - President Rich Bernecki led the meeting.

• Rich brought up the previous meeting's minutes and there was a motion to approve them. There was a second to the motion and the minutes were open for discussion. There were no questions or comments and the general membership voted to approve them.
• Rich acknowledged and welcomed a new visitor to the meeting.
  • Old Business:
    • Rich read the team members and the model status for the Tony Bartozek "I'm not a modeling loser" with team #1 not completing 1 model and team #2 not completing 2 models which made team #1 the winner.
    • Tom F. stated the club shirts are on order and members still can order their shirts at this meeting with a cost to members being $15.
    • A recap and thanks to member Dave and Donna Armitage for hosting the summer picnic.
    • Rich read the demo schedule for the next few months.
  • New Business:
    • The E-board meeting will resume next month but we are losing our location for the meeting of Section 8 Hobbies. The current plan will be to meet at E-board members' houses for those who offer.
    • Dave Schwab stated that the Rochester club's RoCon show is September 15th and will be at a new facility which is better than the one used for recent events for their club.
    • Dave Schwab, as IPMS Region 1 Coordinator, presented Larry Osolkowski the "Newsletter of the Year" award for his work with our club's newsletter.
  • The floor was opened to the members.
    • No comments.
  • Members' models on the tables were presented via "passing the mic".
  • This month had the "round table" discussion and showed very good participation.

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.

September 9 - President Rich Bernecki led the meeting.

• Old Business:
  • Rich Bernecki has an action item to approach two identified club members regarding appointment to the EBoard to fill Tom Brown Jr.'s position since he can't complete his term due to military commitments.
  • Dick Schulenberg has an action item to update the master list of categories for BuffCon 37 (2020) to reflect changes discussed by the EBoard.
  • Rich Bernecki has an action item to inform Frank Blonski of the changes to the categories for printing the flyers.
• New Business:
  • The site for the EBoard meeting was discussed with the following members volunteering hosting it at their homes:
    • October: Paul Hines, Depew
    • November: Maryann & Al Germann, Williamsville
    • December: Jeff Keenan, Clarence
  • Upcoming demo presentations are planned as follows:
    • September - Al Germann on recovering from a model disaster
    • October - round table discussions
    • November - Maryann Germann presentation on recent show Sword & Brush in Ontario
  • Jeff K. reported that Justen Hanna wants the club's display case removed from Section 8 Hobbies. Rich B. will make announcement at the September general meeting for members to remove their models from there. Jeff K. and Tom F. have the action item of collecting the remaining models. The case also needs to be removed and it will likely be offered to any member interested and willing to pick it up.
  • Dick S. stated that our club's chapter renewal for IPMS is coming due along with some EBoard members. Dick has the action item to follow up with the renewals. In addition, Dick has the action item to send a sponsorship check for 2 categories to the upcoming RoCon show.

Member Name: Jim Greenfield

What kind of modeling? What scale?
Aircraft, Armor, Ships & Sci-Fi.

Member Name: Brian McFee

What kind of modeling? What scale?
Aircraft 1/48.

Model tables from the August meeting:

Tim Grieve brought in a Roden 1/72 AC123K. It was finished with Model Color acrylics, with no weathering or modifications. A major problem with the kit was that the sprue containing the nose and other internal bits was missing. Tim has the sprue on order. He said this model completes his AC collection which includes AC47, 118 and 130A. He expects the 5 color camo to be a challenge.

Bill Borkowski showed us his Matchbox 1/72 Noorduyn UC-64A Norseman seaplane. Bill used Tamiya acrylics airbrushed over Alclad grey and white primers. The float support braces were painted with Vallejo steel, and the floats with Alclad dull aluminum. He said the float support spars were fragile and too short, so he had to scratch-build replacements. He also mentioned that mounting the floats to the body was very tricky and frustrating, and the cabin interior floor was too large and had to be cut down to fit. The subject was chosen because Bill likes to pick something for the Bartozek Challenge that he normally wouldn't build.

Steve Weller had a couple of models for us to examine: a Fujimi 1/76 T-34/76, and an Airfix 1/72 P-38. Steve finished them with Polly-S and Tamiya paints, and weathered them with washes, pastels and pencils. Other than melting and breaking the P-38 boom in half, he had no problems with either kit. Steve said that these are two of his favorites.

P-38s were popular this month, because Clint Keidel also brought one in. His was a Hobby Boss "Easy Assembly" 1/48 P-38L Lightning, finished with Mission Models, Tamiya, Vallejo and Model Master paints, and weathered with Tamiya and Vallejo paints and dry pastels and oils. Clint said he scratch-built the oil and coolant radiators, wheel bay side panels and guns, and added some simple wiring and resin wheels. He mentioned that the kit seams are weird and run down the sides rather than the top and bottom, causing problems with panel lines getting sanded out. Clint loves all WWII aircraft, and this was his Bartozek Challenge entry. He also said that it is an easy kit if you want to build it straight from the box.

Frank Blonski had a couple of items for us to see. The first was a recent project for his company, Fab Resin Works - a 1/25 Plymouth ProMod resin body, 2nd version. Frank had three bodies, showing the progression from the original starting point to the new version, and a finished version done in Tru Color Emerald Green and Pearl Black. He said the roll bar was a little challenging, and the inspiration came from an old bowling shirt.

Frank's second item was a '41 Willys Gasser finished with Alclad and a variety of lacquer paints. Frank said he just wanted to display last year's Tony B. Challenge entry and the awards it received from the past year.

Patsy Schwab showed us her EF Eurofighter Bronze Tiger aircraft, finished with Vallejo paints. She said it was a beautiful build with tedious decals, but she picked it because of the tiger markings.

Larry Osolkowski brought in his completed Tony Bartozek Challenge entry, a 1/32 Arii '67 Fairlady 2000 GT, also known as a Datsun 2000 Roadster. It was painted with a Ferrari yellow from Scalefinishes that's pretty close to a factory Datsun color. Larry also used Model Master enamels, Tamiya acrylics and a Molotow chrome pen. He added photo-etched letters to correct the Datsun logo on the hood, and scratch built the tail lights and the convertible top windows. He said he owned a Datsun 2000 back in the day, but his was red. The kit was OK, with a few niggling fit issues.

Larry also displayed his progress on the 1/20 resin Penske Indycar driven by Simon Pagenaud to the Indy 500 victory this year. He said the kit has a lot of fundamental issues with asymmetrical shapes, poor fit, air bubbles, etc. Larry mentioned that he's used more putty on this kit so far than he did on the last 5 models he built.

Maryann Germann showed us her Amazon Kamen Rider (Power Ranger) figure built for the Tony Bartozek Challenge. She used Tamiya paints with an airbrush along with hand-painted lines plus color-changing paint for the nails and belt. Maryann said she used nylon netting to create texture over the eyes with an airbrush, but had some issues with cracks developing in the clear top coat. She said she enjoyed the build and the way it turned out.

Brian Yurko displayed his Monogram 1/72 F8F Bearcat built from a 1976 kit. He used Pactra acrylic paints with no weathering. Brian said he had issues with parts fit and gap filling, and the decals didn't work and had to be replaced. He mentioned that he wanted to use up some paint he had, so the color may not be accurate, but too bad. He also said he discovered he can't spray gloss.

Michael Szadek brought in three models for us to examine. The first was a Hobby Boss 1/48 US M4A3 tank, finished with Mission Models paint. He weathered it with Mission Models transparent dust and other finishes from AK and Mig. He said the kit had a lot of flash, but he picked it because of the scale.

Michael's second model was a Tamiya 1/35 M5A1 US Light Tank. He finished it using similar materials to his first model, and said that due to the kit's age, the tracks were a bit twisted. He picked the subject because it looked different.

The last model from Michael was a 1/35 M3 Stuart tank, which is still a work in progress. He's using the same finishing materials on this model as well.

Jeff Keenan showed us his Tony Bartozek Challenge completed entry, a Revell 1/144 F-18C 20th Anniversary Canadian Scheme aircraft. He finished it with Vallejo, Model Master and craft paints. Jeff said that every single decal broke when trying to apply them; they were very brittle. He also mentioned that the paint was almost impossible to match against the decals. He picked the subject because it's colorful and he thought the small scale would be easier for the Challenge.

Jeff also had a Bandai 1:14500 Star Destroyer from Star Wars on display. It was finished with Model Master and Tamiya paints, and weathered with a panel wash and drybrushing. Jeff said he loves Star Wars, and it was a quick build with excellent detail for the scale.

Rod Adam brought in a Trumpeter 1/48 plane finished in Red Bull livery with Tamiya spray can paints. Rod said it was a nice change for him to do an aircraft.

David Safe showed us a Lindberg 1/25 1995 Grand Caravan LE minivan. He painted it with Tamiya and Testors paints, tinted the windows and included a female figure in the driver's seat. He mentioned that he got some glue on a side window, but put a decal over it to hide it. David used to own the same type of vehicle.

Paul Hines had another pair of paintings of unusual subjects, including a mountain lion and a bald eagle. He said he decided to go out of the box this summer and try doing some wild life paintings. He softened the backgrounds to produce a 3D effect. Paul will be going back to cars next month.

Tom Faith had a 1/35 Holt Artillery Tractor to show us. His modifications included anything that enhances scale thickness and scale detail, and it is still a work-in-progress. He said the kit was terrible from a flash and cleanup standpoint; he spent 90% of his modeling time cleaning, sanding and shaving plastic. Tom liked the subject, and mentioned that there's a gun to pull that will be added.

Josh Keenan showed us his DML Su-27 Interceptor. He finished it using Tamiya and Model Master paints. Josh mentioned that the decals were brittle and not all of the pieces fit, but it seemed like an interesting build.

Dick Schulenberg brought in an interesting collection of models this month. The first group contained five Century Series X-planes, built from an Anigrand 1/144 resin kit for the Tony Bartozek Challenge. The set comprised an XF-103, XF-107, XF-108, XF-109 and XF-110A. They were all painted with Vallejo acrylics over Tamiya spray "Natural Metal" covered with Tamiya Semi-gloss clear. He used the kit decals throughout, with no weathering since the real planes hardly, if ever, flew. The second group had three experimental long range escort jet fighters, again from Anigrand 1/144 resin kits. They included an XF-88, XF-90 and XF-93, and were finished using the same materials as the first group.

Dick's next item was a Showcase (Australia) 1/350 HMAS Vendetta kit. This was a W&V class destroyer used in WW-I and WW-II. He said it was a really nice looking kit with good plastic, PE and color references. Dick has an Alan Raven W&V reference book that he's owned for ages.

The last item Dick brought in was an Atlantis reissue of an ancient box scale B-52 with X-15. He said it looks like the molds were cleaned up, and it should make a neat display with wheels up. It comes with the original swivel stand.

Todd Habschied displayed his figure "Emerging From the Rock Pit", his Challenge entry. He finished it using various textures and shades, and made it into a diorama with real wood and grass clippings.

Joe Szczygiel (welcome back, Joe!) showed us his 1/35 Academy MH-60S Blackhawk Gunship. He painted it with a mix of Tamiya's grays to get the right color, and weathered it with an oil wash. Joe said the cockpit/cargo areas were scratchbuilt along with other details and the rotorhead was cut to allow the blades to fold. Joe loves his Blackhawks. Unfortunately, we didn't get a picture.

Eugene Paveljack displayed a Great Wall Hobby German Rheinmetall 12.8cm High Velocity Anti-tank Gun. He finished it with Tamiya paints, and mentioned that the instructions were not the best. Eugene is into artillery.

Jack Rudolph brought in an Italeri 1/35 Vosper MTB with crew. He used paints from Krylon, Humbrol, Tamiya, Vallejo, Model Master, Artist's Loft and craft paints for finishing. Details were added with Griffon Model photo-etch and EZ Line for rigging. Jack said he bought the kit from a vendor at BuffCon.

Dave Armitage had another collection of models on display. The first was a Soviet Officer from WW-II, finished with acrylics and weathered with washes. He added the base and sling, and had to carve the head down so the hat would fit. Dave said he likes anything Russian.

Dave's next item was a 1/24 Loft Bedroom finished with acrylics that was his Challenge entry. He said the instructions were all in Chinese, but he built it to do something different.

His third model was a 1917 Model T Staff Car with right-hand drive, built from an ICM kit. He painted it with Testors rattle can and acrylic paints. Dave had to make the crank, since there wasn't one in the kit and Model Ts prior to 1919 had no starters. He mentioned that the windshield frame was extremely fragile, and broke into four pieces when he tried to use it. Dave said the model closely resembles his real 1919 Touring Car (except for the right-hand drive).

Dave's last item was a Brownhoist HO scale "Little Hook" made from an Alexander kit. He finished it with the usual acrylics, washes and drybrushing. It was built for his model railroad, and he brought photos to show a roundhouse, coal tower and other engine facilities.

Brian Horton showed us his AMT 1/25 '55 Chevy Bel Air Sedan. He used Rustoleum Custom Lacquer Matte Electric Purple, Rustoleum 2X Metallic Aluminum and Duplicolor Chevrolet Orange-Red Engine enamel, with Tamiya panel line accent for the door panel lines. Brian added a scratchbuilt exhaust tip made from plastic rod. He mentioned that the front suspension was very fragile and time consuming, and there were some fit issues as well. 55 Chevies are Brian's favorite.

Tom Brown, Sr. displayed his Challenge entry, a Pyro Bunkerhill Flintlock Pistol. It was finished with wood stain and craft acrylics and a black water wash. Tom said the seams were a problem and he's not happy with his wood grain finish. He'd like to see a demo on doing wood grain finishes. Tom likes 1-1 scale firearms.

John Zachritz brought in another eclectic collection of models. The first was a Tamiya 1/35 Matilda bought at BuffCon. He used water color paint for dust/rust wash and said it was an easy build. The second was a Meng World War Toon M4 Sherman with Sandos University markings from the Girls Und Panzers Anime series. John's next items were a couple of figures from the Girls Und Panzers series. He filled the seams on their heads and repainted the hair. John also had a Minimum Factory Darjeeling figure kit for the Challenge, a Tanks of the World 1/100 game piece Tiger I tank with a light tan wash for desert dust and Kuro Mora Mini school markings, and a Bandai HG Evangelion Unit 02 robot.

Brian McFee brought in his current work-in-progress, a 1/48 F-16.

Due to the mayhem caused by the Tony Bartozek Challenge, there were a few unidentified models on the tables. Please remember to fill out an info form for your model(s) and get it to Larry Osolkowski before the end of the meeting.

Larry Osolkowski received the Northeast Region Website of the Year Award from Dave Schwab.

Here are the photos of the winning and losing teams from the Tony Bartozek Challenge.

Finally, some around-the-room photos.

Thanks to Rich Bernecki for passing the microphone around for the tables, and Larry Osolkowski for the photography.