...or News from the Nameless One
Well, the snow has kept us cooped inside here at Chez-Hanna. You would think that that would mean that progress has been made on the actual completion of models. Alas, no. With the Holidays taking so much out of everyone, several bouts of illness and the cold weather just wearing us down, very little paint and glue made its way to plastic. But we are not deterred. Work will resume, in it's time.
I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday season. Last month's meeting went off smoothly with yet another great showing for Toys for Tots. Thanks to everyone who participated (and who helped load the van afterwards). I like to think that some kids had a bit brighter Christmas because of it.
Thanks again to Tony G. for making the pizza happen for the party. It was much appreciated by this guy as well as the rest of the membership (judging by the slim margin of leftovers). De-lish!
With the Holidays over, Kid's Class is upon us. January 22nd is the first installment. For those that can attend and help out, the classes will be at 10AM at the Harlem Road Youth Center in the same room where we hold our monthly meetings. So far, we are looking at 20+ kids. We need as many helping hands as we can get. If you can help, please make sure that you have completed the necessary form available from me or Bob Conshafter. If you have any questions please contact same. Thanks in advance, guys!
We will reconvene for our next meeting at the Harlem Road Community Center on the fourth Monday of this month (the 24th) due to Martin Luther King Day. Please note that we will do the same for next month's meeting in observance of President's Day. Our February meeting will be on the 28th.
For this meeting, Ed Button has a small presentation on some ancient real-space kits that he came across in his travels as a plastic kit archeologist. Many folks might remember these releases from their childhood or even as "visual aids" from TV as folks from NASA explained the Apollo missions. The rest of the meeting will be a Build-and-Bull, so bring something that you'd like to work on.
That's about all I have for now. See you all then!
Justen Hanna
President
IPMS Niagara Frontier
IPMS USA #45680
PS. Our February e-board meeting will be held at my house on February 21st at 7PM.
Notes from the December 2010 Meeting
On a recent road trip to Cleveland, Tony "The Hammer" Bartozek and I had a conversation
about the finer points of the culinary arts. We both agreed that when pizza is baked to the
proper temperature, the result is that each pepperoni slice forms a bowl, at the bottom of
which should be a tiny puddle of liquid grease. This level of pepperonic perfection was
once again achieved at this year's IPMS Niagara Christmas party.
The food was superb and made more enjoyable by the honor of sharing it with our guests,
Marine Lance Corporal James Magee and Marine Lance Corporal Lee Gugino who hauled away our
immense collection of Toys For Tots.
We also welcomed guest Noelle Mooney.
December's Model Table was moderated by Bob Conshafter.
Dave Armitage brought a reissue kit of Lindberg's 1:1 scale Human Skull that he
purchased from Squadron. He likes to use it as a hat stand at home.
In addition, Dave had a shadowbox diorama featuring doll-house scale musical instruments
and accessories. Dave also had a 1922 Packard made by Jordan in HO scale.
Joe Saccomanno showed his Strombecker Midgit racers which were popular in 1965-66. Joe
says the 1/32 scale automobiles are accurate to scale, but will need some scratch built
replacement parts and re-finishing.
John Zachritz displayed an Alpha Centauri UFO. John reports that the box contained two kits,
so he will build one with landing gear down and the other with landing gear up. The dome lights
around the edges present an opportunity to install miniature lights, which John hasn't attempted
yet. Space considerations led to John using a glow-in-the-dark bracelet to light it up.
Brian McFee switched gears (get it?) and brought a car model for a change of pace. The Dodge
Charger is an example of the Funny Cars Brian used to see at Niagara Speedway.
Brian also had a motorcycle model that his sister's boyfriend gave him shortly before he
left for the meeting. The kit's maker was unknown.
Joe Szczygiel's M984M1 HEMTT Recovery vehicle is based on an Italieri 1/35 scale frame and
cab that he has heavily modified. He scratch built a hoist that is articulated to move up and down.
A Fairey Firefly was brought by John Zaranek. The 1/48 scale Grand Pheonix kit is a work
in progress and was inspired by a specimen from the Canadian Navy that John saw at the Geneseo
Air Show this past summer. The multimedia kit has photo etched, resin and plastic parts. John
also brought along some samples of spongy ear plugs that he recommends for masking cockpits and
for temporarily filling hard to mask areas. They can be squished down to fit in an opening and
then expand to fill it in. Great tip!
An Airfix Javelin and Frog Sea Vixen in 1/72 scale were shared by John Allen Price. John
says they're fun kits to build. The Javelin was finished in markings of the Number 23 squadron
RAF Germany and the Sea Vixen has the markings of the Fleet Air Arm Training unit. The missiles
are painted as training rounds.
Steve Weller displayed his Hobby Boss 1/48 scale F6F-3 Hellcat Early Version which is still
tucked safely in its bag, as yet unbuilt. Steve has wanted a folding-wing version of a Hellcat
for some time, and this version fits the bill, although some features that were advertised in
the Squadron catalog were not included with the kit. So Steve has some scratch building to do.
Frank Blonski had an in-progress 1950 Pick-up truck on hand. The model features a resin-cast
hood. He has installed a blower and scratch built an intake manifold.
Frank also brought an in-progress model of a 1/24 scale Castrol Olds Funny car bashed with
a Monogram 1923 T-body that he customized to fit the frame.
Ray Weick told of the pitfalls of buying kits on eBay. He purchased two models of the USS
Maine and neither model is of that particular ship! One ship is the Oregon and the other is the
Olympia even though they are both labeled the USS Maine. So when it comes to eBay - buyer beware!
This was something Pyro did, apparently. If this wasn't bad enough, the model that had been
built was missing the masts!
Finally, some photos of members around the room and the model tables.
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
YOUR 2011 DUES ARE DUE IN JANUARY
Your club dues for the 2011 calendar year are due at the January 2011 meeting.
Regular memberships are still $10.00 per year and Juniors (under 18) are still $5.00.
You can pay the Treasurer Dave Schwab at the meetings or by mailing a check to Dave at
28 Wanda Ave., Cheektowaga, NY 14211. Please make checks (or money orders) out to Niagara
Frontier Chapter IPMS.
Make sure that you share any updated information like addresses and e-mail addresses with
Dave as things change.
Extension of our Special Offer for All IPMS Niagara Frontier Members
We had a good year at BuffCon so the Executive Board has determined that we can extend our special
IPMS USA national membership support offer through the end of April 2011.
We will rebate ½ of the cost for a one-year membership to IPMS USA, our national "umbrella"
organization for new national memberships and renewals until BuffCon 2011. The tangible
benefit to this membership is 6 bimonthly copies of the excellent modeling publication IPMS Journal.
Adult memberships are $25.00 per year and Juniors (17 years old and under) are $12.00, so
your rebates are $12.50 and $6.00 respectively.
You will be responsible to complete and submit the application along with payment to IPMS
USA. Dave Schwab has application forms. You can also do this on line at the
National website.
You will receive a membership card in the mail a few weeks later.
To get your rebate, you just have to show your current IPMS USA member card to Dave Schwab
and he will give you money. How simple is that?
The E-Board encourages everyone to take advantage of this offer. It's a good way to get your
feet wet and see what IPMS USA is all about.
