Greetings and salutations to one and all! It's amazing that with all the planning we did in the last
year in preparation, the show has come and gone. I'm not sure about you, but man, I was beat after the
show Sunday night. HOWEVER, all in all I think the show was really good, and we've received quite a bit
of positive feedback which is definitely a good thing after a two year hiatus.
To all the members who came out and volunteered with the show, from working the admission/registration table to judging the models, the eboard and myself would like to thank you for helping make our show run smoothly and making it stand out. Not too sure if anyone else noticed, but by far I think this show had the best builds out on the tables. I kid you not, I did not see one that I didn't like.
First thing before I wrap things up, this month's meeting on the 19th will be our pizza party in recognition of all the members (you know who you are) who volunteered for Buffcon.
Secondly, next month (May) will be the club election month, so if anyone would like to run for office or the EBoard, please come see me during the break.
Justin Sczepczenski's "water" demo will also be done at the April meeting, so do not miss out.
Lastly, this is in regards to the war between Russia and the Ukraine, and modeling. I knew that there was a decent amount of model manufacturers that were from Ukraine but man, someone posted this on one of the FB model sites and this has really opened my eyes. Sadly, this war has affected everyone in one way or other and this includes us modelers. BUT - Miniart has already started advertising some new releases for the next quarter so maybe there is a silver lining after all.
A list of model-related companies from the Ukraine: A&A Models, ACE, Ace-Jumi, Acoustic, AeroHobby, AEROS, AIM Fan Model, AMG, Amodel, AMP, ARCUS-hobby colors, ARKHIV-PRESS, Armory, Arsenal (UA), ART model, ASR sculpture, Authentic Decals, Avangard Armour, Aviatrak, AviS, Bat Project, BPK big planes kits, BSmodelle, Chernomorskaya Yhrushka(Black Sea toy), Clear Prop!, Colibri (UA), Condor, CTK ltd.& Alexandr, Custom Factory, DANmodels, Dark Alliance, Different Scales, Dora Wings, DZI ДЗИ, E-Klass, Ekcastings, EMC Models, FORT, Foxbot, Garbuz Models, GMU, Golden Age, Hobby Kits, Halberd Models, HELI Resin Kits, ICM, Interavia, Iom-Kit, K-Model, KELIK, KEMZI - former N.F.Vatutin (КЭМЗИ), KIM, Korabel, Krylia, LEM Kits, Linear-a, LMG Laser model graver, Maestro, Wheels, Mars Models, Master Box, Maxim, Geleznjak, MB-Models, Metallic Details, Micro World (Ukraine), MikroMir, Military Wheels, Miniart, Miniatures Art Studio, Minitank, MiniWorld, modelsUA, ModelSvit, MS, North Star, Olimp Models, Olimp Resin Accessories, Omega-K, OREL, Orion, Print Scale, Pro Resin, Proper Plane, ProstoModels, Red Box, ReneClub Miniatures, ResKit, Rest Models, REXx, Roden, RT Models, Salamandra Ukraine, Scale48, Scat, SDM Accessories, Sector 35, Siga Model, Skale Wings, SKIF, Sky-High, SMK, SOVA-M, SP Designs, Svit, Toko, Transkit, UGEARS, UM, UM Military, Technics, Unicraft Models, USCP, Vector-Model, Vmodels, Wingsy Kits, ZAG, Zakarpatpribor, ZV Models, Архив-Пресс.
For those members who entered the contest and placed, please bring in the model(s) that you won with along with the hardware.
Until next time, happy modeling!
Michael Butry
President
IPMS Niagara Frontier
IPMS USA No. 52196
IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - April 19, 2022
7:00 PM to 7:10 PM - Place models on tables with description forms.
7:10 PM - Meeting called to order.
Old Business:
- See Tom Faith during the break to pay your dues.
New Business:
- Review of BuffCon.
Questions from the floor.
Table discussion: Members tell the club about the models they have on the tables.
Break: 10 minutes.
- Pizza party.
- 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, April 19th, starting at the usual 7:00pm at the usual meeting room in the rear building. No special safety requirements are in effect at this time. There will be a pizza party in recognition of all the volunteers who helped make BuffCon a success this year. Pizza and beverages will be supplied for current, paid-up members. The EBoard is requesting a donation of $5 per person to help cover the cost of the party. Also, please bring some appetizers or desserts to share with the group - thank you!
Elections for club officers and EBoard members will be held at the May meeting. In addition to the offices of President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, there are six members of the Executive Board. Two members of the EBoard have decided not to run again, so there will be two open positions to be filled. If you are interested in running for any position, talk to President Mike Butry or any EBoard member before the meeting or during the break. Nominations will be opened during the meeting. If you intend to nominate someone for a position, be sure to verify that they are willing to run. You can nominate yourself. Nominations will be closed at the end of the meeting.
We received the following information from Tim Burke from IPMS NENY regarding Noreastcon 50:
Fellow Modelers,
In just two weeks you have the opportunity to be a part of a historic event in scale modeling history!
NOREASTCON@50, the IPMS Region 1 convention and
contest and the longest running IPMS regional convention in the country, will be held Fri-Sat, April 29-30
in Latham, NY. Hosted by the Northeast New York Chapter of IPMS/USA (aka NENY), the very same chapter that
started the Noreastcon tradition back in 1972, this 50th anniversary event will be the highlight of the
spring model show schedule in the Northeast.
Every scale modeler should be making their plans to attend this show...
- For the contest which will feature over 60 categories and lots of special awards.
- For the vendors with more than 30 tables packed with kits, supplies, books, etc.
- For the world-class modeling seminars with experts like Steve Zaloga, Harvey Low, Dana Bell, and Martin Quinn.
- For the hundreds of amazing models that will be on display, including entries for the show theme of "50 Years of Scale Modeling".
- For the famous NENY raffle with tons of chances to win some really great prizes, with 20% of proceeds going to Ukrainian humanitarian relief efforts.
- And of course, for the opportunity to meet friends, old and new... always the best part of any gathering of modelers!
Visit the show section on the NENY website at www.ipmsneny.org/noreastcon50 for a complete show schedule; venue and hotel information; contest categories and entry forms; and much more!
We're looking forward to seeing you at Noreastcon@50 on April 29-30, where you will be a part of modeling history!!
Tim Burke, IPMS NENY
Noreastcon@50 Chief Judge
We have some sad news to report: Mike Butry informs us that Art "AJ" Martin from the Rochester club passed away this past week due a short illness. Mike said "he mainly built 1/72nd scale aircraft and I'll remember not only a good builder but had the best dry humor ever!"
Section 8 Hobbies is now holding a build night every Wednesday from 4 to 9pm. All are welcome to bring their latest projects and work on them in the company of other modelers.
The BuffCon 37 website is now up, and can be viewed HERE.
The April 2022 newsletter of the IPMS Patriot chapter is available HERE.
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 the 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.
The Links page on the club website has recently been updated with information contributed by members. If you have a favorite website for modeling info, forums, etc., email the information to larryo@ipmsniagarafrontier.com.
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 80 members with 30+ attending each monthly meeting. Our club meets at 7:00pm on the third Tuesday of every month at The Knights, 2375 Union Rd., Cheektowaga, NY 14225.
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 March 2022 general meeting are included below. Thanks to our Secretary, Al Germann, for the meeting minutes.
March 15 - 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.
March 15 - President Mike Butry led the special meeting, held after the regular club meeting.
April 11 - President Mike Butry led the meeting, held at Section 8 Hobbies.
Hobby Boss 1/72 Scale Bf-109/G-6
by John Doerr
The kit is very basic as shown in the photos of the instructions and parts layout. I also added photos from the EagleCal profile that I was going to build. The first steps were to paint the wheel hubs Tamiya gloss black and the exhaust stubs Tamiya rust brown. When that had dried, I used a fine tip brush to paint the tires RLM 66 Schwartz Grau. Using a larger brush, the cockpit interior was painted RLM 66. There is a surprising amount of detail considering that the cockpit is molded as part of the upper fuselage.
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The next step was to start on the instrument panel. An article in IPMS Kiwimodeler states that the
instrument panel was painted gray and not RLM 66. There is no actual instrument panel in the kit, so I
settled for painting the upper part of the front cockpit wall. I found Tamiya neutral gray to be a good
match.
I then painted the black. I never use plain black, I use Tamiya NATO black. Black is one of those colors that, to my eye, fades quickly. NATO black is not quite black. I use it for prop blades, radiators and "black boxes" in the cockpit. Black is again to me, too absolute.
RLM 02 was the next to be painted. I painted the wheel wells and the inside of the landing gear doors. The inside of any air scoops were also painted with 02.
The assembly began with installing the exhaust stubs, which had been previously painted in rust brown.
On the under side, the oil cooler and centerline rack were also glued. The instructions call for this later,
but I found with my tremors it is better to do it now because of less obstructions. These were glued to the
lower fuselage/wing piece. The air scoop and bulges to cover the breeches of the 13 mm machine gun were
installed before mating the upper fuselage to the wing. Again the instructions call for after the wing and
fuselage were mated. Experience taught me that it was better for me to do it before, not after. The
instructions call for the canopy to be installed during the first step. Every piece was first glued using
Testors liquid glue and then later brushing on Tenax 7R to strengthen the joints.
The fuselage and wings were assembled. The fit is generally good, however the seam between the upper and lower fuselage on the right side required filing and sanding. There is a problem with the fuselage seam just aft of the wing. This can be sanded smooth. The biggest challenge is the poor fit of the upper fuselage and wing, between the radiators. You have two choices: one, just skip it because to see it requires picking the model up to look at it, or two, use putty to fill and sand. Either way is your choice. I chose to use Bondo and sand.
There are large slots in the wing bottom for mounting the cannon boots. If you choose not to use them, they have to be filled and sanded. Because of the one piece molding, it's not like you have the option of opening the holes for mounting them. After all was assembled and sanded it was time to paint.
I chose the Wilde Sau scheme of 1/ JG 300. I got the Eagle Cal decals. The underside was brush painted
Tamiya NATO black. It turned out to be a nice match. The scale effect and the lighter shade came out perfect.
The top was painted in stages. I would paint one section at a time leaving areas to hold. After one section
had dried, I would paint another. The entire top was painted in Mr. Color RLM 76 Licht Blau. At this point
the canopy frames were painted. The canopy had been coated in Future earlier. With my hand tremors, the
easiest way for me was to paint the frames with a fine brush. I would then follow up scraping any excess with
a tooth pick.
The next step was to paint the stripes RLM 75 Grau. Tamiya neutral gray had the proper look at that scale. Again the model was painted in sections. Although the profile shows the external fuel tank painted black, I chose to paint mine RLM 76. My reasoning was, I knew from experience that fuel tanks are assembled prior to use and prepainted in standard colors. Most Luftwaffe external tanks were painted RLM 76, at that point. More than likely if a black tank was not available the ground crew would install what was available.
The model was sprayed with Tamiya clear gloss lacquer, prior to applying the decals. The decals were allowed to dry 12 hours, then Microsol was applied followed by more Microsol after an additional 12 hours. The build was then sprayed with Tamiya clear flat lacquer.
The landing gear was assembled and installed. After letting the glue thoroughly set, the kit was set on its wheels. The canopy and df loop were glued to complete the build. It was a straight forward and easy build. Essentially it was to be able to paint the camouflage pattern. I consider painting camouflage the most enjoyable part of the build.
John Doerr
Dave Armitage sent in some photos of his latest projects. The first was a 1959 El Camino.
Dave's next model was a VW Microbus.
Dave also had a paper model of a Beachcraft Staggerwing airplane.
Dave's next model was a US Army loader. He said this model was also featured in the latest issue
of Fine Scale Modeler magazine.
Dave also showed us a T35 Heavy Tank in 1/35 scale.
Dave had a Curtis F9C Sparrow Hawk, as carried in the USS Akron and Macon. The model is in 1/32
scale, and was built from a Williams Brothers kit.
Dave's last item was a photo of the model box of a kit of the USS Hartford that he bought at
BuffCon. Dave would like to request assistance in finding a copy of the instructions for this kit.
John Doerr sent in pics of his 1/72 scale MiG 15 bis, which he will be bringing to the April
meeting.
Moving to the model tables, Ron Mikol showed us his '63 Plymouth drag car. It was painted with
PPG Candy Rootbeer over a gold base, with a PPG clearcoat. Ron added a scoop and a wing, modified
the floor and wheel tubs, and added aluminum door panels. He said the model started as a glue bomb.
Maryann Guest-Germann displayed her 1/10 Celtic Warrior figure. She used Vallejo paints, with
washes for the base using brown, grey, light grey, white and German field grey. Maryann said the
brick base was made from insulation foam, distressed with a rock.
Al Germann brought in several items. The first was an AMT 1/25 1970 Corvette. Al used Testors
lacquer spray can paint for the body, Krylon for the chassis, and airbrushed Tamiya for the interior.
He said the model was an out-of-box build with no major problems. Al picked the subject because when
he was growing up, he always wanted a burnt orange metallic Corvette.
Al also showed us his progress on the Testors 1/48 Northrop F-5. He used Rustoleum white primer
and Krylon clear flat, and faded the decals with white Vallejo mixed with clear to dilute it. The base
is 80 grit sandpaper, and the stand was scratch built out of wood based on photos. Al also scratch
built the storage box, made with strips of pine, insulation foam and thin styrene with Sharpie marker
for the banding strap. He used tissue paper topped with gloss white for the tarp. Al said he always
wanted to model something found in the aircraft boneyard in Arizona. The model was built for the
BuffCon worn and weathered theme.
Al's final item was a Dragon 1/72 Sea King Helicopter - Retrieving the Apollo work-in-progress.
The ony painting so far used Vallejo for the interior. Al said he had to repair the main rotor hub,
as part of it was missing due to a "short shot", and the tail rotor had some connecting rods
missing. He said the kit built up well, with lots of little pieces. Al mentioned that he always
liked this subject, but wanted the capsule along with the helicopter, and ordered it from Section 8.
He said he will make a different base to show the rotor wash/spray on the water.
Paul Kittel displayed a Heller 1/72 Curtiss Helldiver, painted with Humbrol and Tamiya paints.
He built it out-of-box with monofilament rigging added. Paul said the model was "too damn small",
but he picked the subject because "why not?"
Jim Greenfield showed us an Ertl 1/48 Naboo N1 Fighter modified for the Mandalorian. He used
Tamiya, Citadel, Mission and AK paints for finishing, with weathering done using AK water color
pencils and Citadel washes. Jim said he molested his spare parts box and did a lot of chopping to
modify the kit. He picked the subject because it looked cool like a rat rod hot rod.
David Safe displayed three new models. The first was an AMT 1978 Ford Courier Pickup. Dave
used Tamiya spray lacquer paints with some Testors for the engine and chassis. He said there were
no modifications except for adding decals. David mentioned that it was a pain to add the cap on
the back end of the truck, but he likes the subject because it's wierd-looking and brings back
memories.
David's second model was an AMT 1/25 '65 Chevelle Wagon. It was finished with Tamiya, Rustoleum
and Testors paints. David said it was a good model to put together, and he likes station wagons.
David's final model was a Moebius 1/25 1967 Ford F-100 Ford Service Bed truck. Tamiya paint was
used for the main color, with AK engine oil and rust effects. David said he made the body rusty and
beat up, added an oil drum, oil pan, battery, extra tire, jacks, empty oil cans, a floor jack, and
a towing chain. He added weathering using AK rust paints, added rust holes, a dirty paint job, and
spilled oil in the truck bed. He said the kit had very good detail and was easy to put together.
Dave mentioned that he wanted an old beater instead of something clean looking, and had fun adding
the accessories.
Paul Hines returned to aircraft subjects with his current set of paintings. The first was a
De Havilland Tiger Moth titled "Flying Into Yesterday"; the second was a pair of T34C Navy Trainers
titled "Classroom In the Sky"; and the last was a Ryan PT22 Primary Recruit Trainer titled "First
Solo" - note the panel lines and rivets.
Dick Schulenberg has been busy. He covered the table with a collection of aircraft from an Anigrand
1/144 Huge Bird Collections set of resin 4-in-1 and 5-in-1 kits. The collection included: a Sud-Est
SE.161 Languedoc with Leduc 021; a SNECMA C.250 Coleoptere; a SNCAN 1500 Griffon II; a Nord 1405
Gerfaut; a Convair XB-46 bomber; an RB-45C Recon; a Northrop F-89D Scorpion; and a Ryan SV-5A VTOL.
Dick used Tamiya spray primer and silver, with Vallejo Model Air aluminum and NATO black paints. He
built the models out-of-box, and said the decals were slow to release with not much adhesive. He
added that applying the decals over Future works well. Dick mentioned that he may put the XB-46 on a
stand to emphasize the long, sleek lines. He picked the subject because it's cool stuff with nice
selections. He said he still has two more 4-model sets to build.
Dick also displayed a Heller 1/72 French Amiot 143 Pre-WWII Bomber, built from a vintage 1968 kit.
He used Tamiya Fine Gray spray can primer, with Vallejo Model Air NATO brown and aluminum. Dick said
the interior and cockpit were entirely empty, so he added a rudimentary interior based on internet
reference photos. He also replaced all the decals with items from his spares. Dick said the fit was
excellent throughout, and the heavy wings are well supported as designed. He added that the clear
parts are thick and heavy-framed, and should be replaced, but not by him. Dick mentioned that he
needed a bomber to round out his small collection of prewar French military airplanes, and the
Amiot was a natural choice. He commented that this was a really ugly airplane with upper and lower
cockpits; the upper was used mostly for flying, and the lower was used by a second pilot for bomb
runs, to be able to communicate with the bombardier.
Tim Grieve showed us his 1/350 Aircraft Carrier Yorktown. He used Model Color acrylics for
finishing, and added washes to the deck and darkened the landing zone areas. Tim chose the subject
because he took a tour on the Bennington.
Larry Osolkowski displayed his current project, a Platz/NuNu 1/24 BMW M6 GT3 race car. It will be
done in the Rowe Racing colors, and will also use the optional detail set with carbon fiber decals and
photo-etch details. So far, Larry installed the photo-etch radiators to the mounting frames, and started
cleaning up the body. He will also be building another version, the Turner Motorsports livery, using
decals from Racing Decals 43 and paint from Gravity Colors.
Larry also showed his progress on a 1/144 F-16 from the Minicraft USAF 50th Anniversary Thunderbirds
set. White paint, decals and a gloss clearcoat have been applied. It's now ready for the landing gear.
Larry's last item was a new kit from Marsh Models in 1/43, a Ford GT40 MkIV. It has a resin body,
rubber tires, and white metal and photo-etch parts. It looks like a nice kit in the box.
Tom Brown Sr. showed us his progress on the GI Joe figures he's been working on. Tom has had
difficulty locating helmets, so he decided to try making his own. He said he tried making plaster
cast molds, and silicone calk molds, with no luck. He ended up using toilet paper and white glue
formed over an existing helmet, which worked pretty well.
Mike Heltz brought in his AMT 1/25 1959 Chevy El Camino. He finished it with Tamiya Italian
Red and various Testors enamels. Mike added spark plug wires and exhaust tips, and substituted a
bigger blower from a '29 Roadster kit.
Bob Conshafter displayed the status of his current work-in-progress, an Atlantis (Revell) 1/64
B-25B. Paints used include Lifecolor Neutral Gray on the bottom, Vallejo Model Air FS 34087 Olive Drab
on the top, Testors flat black, and Aeromaster Faded Olive Drab for fabric surfaces. Bob is building
it out-of-box as a desk model, and he's undecided whether to weather it. He said that for an old kit,
it has recessed panel lines, with clear parts with raised lines on the inside which makes masking
tricky. He also mentioned that the nose gunner figure has a well-sculpted face.
Eugene Paveljack displayed his Games Workshop Stonehorn Beastriders figure. It was finished with
Citadel paints, and detailed with drybrushing and washes. The base used Citadel snow.
Bill Borkowski showed us his progress on the Tamiya 1/24 Morgan 4/4.
Mark Gadek (welcome back, Mark!) displayed a couple of new models. The first was a Hobby Boss
F-84 Thunderjet. Mark used AK Extreme Metal and Alclad paints, with a Tamiya panel line wash.
He added an Eduard interior and used their canopy paint masks, and the insignias were sprayed using
Montex masks. Mark said the kit went together fairly well, but every part had to be cleaned up for
a proper fit. He picked the subject because he bought the kit from Dick Schulenberg at the Erie
show and he wanted to try out the AK Metal Paint series. Mark said that after spraying AK and
Alclad and letting it dry for a few days, he proceeded to coat it with Tamiya clear and the whole
paint job wrinkled; he had to strip it and repaint, and used Alclad clear the second time around.
Mark's second model was a Tamiya 1/48 A-1J Skyraider. He used Tamiya paints for finishing,
and added weathering with AK Interactive Desert Weathering to give it a slightly worn look. Mark
also used Quinta Studios 3D-printed interior decals. He mentioned that he found the Tamiya decals
to be quite thick.
John Doerr brought in a couple of models that featured in his article and sent-in photos.
They included his Hobby Boss 1/72 Bf-109G6 and his in-progress MiG 15.
There were a few unidentified items on the tables.
Finally, some around-the-room shots.
Photos provided by Larry Osolkowski.
