...or News from the Nameless One
Summer seems to be flying by folks! I can't believe that we're already on the far side of July. But, alas, we are. Our next meeting will be July 18th at 7PM in the basement of the Harlem Road Community Center.
We really don't have much planned for this month's meeting. There was an interesting point brought up a few months back regarding kit prices and how we're seeing a steady increase in the lunacy therein. We'll have an open forum expanding this discussion regarding prices, causes for steady increase and how to combat them in general. Since we have several members "in the business" I'm sure this will be very interesting and informative.
For the folks that are participating in the Timmy's Challenge this year, bring in your entries to show off your progress (or lack thereof.)
The rest of the meeting will be a nice casual "Build and Bull" session. So, if you'd like, please bring in something to work on or to show off.
Sorry that this one is so brief, folks. I promise something far more inspirational next month.
Until then, build on!
Justen Hanna
President
IPMS Niagara Frontier
IPMS USA #45680
Notes from the May 2011 Meeting
The Model Table Moderator for June was Tony G.
An unbuilt 1/32 scale Monogram Cooper-Ford was brought in by Joe Saccomanno. He
got the vintage kit at an estate sale for $8.00 and he intends to build it as it was
a favorite of his as a kid.
Joe also brought in an unbuilt 1/32 scale Aurora Chaparral kit.
Justen Hanna showed his in-progress Me-163 Komet which is his Tim Horton Challenge
entry. He's gotten a lot of assembly done and the pre-shading on the panel lines painted.
Justen reports no problems at all with the kit.
Dick Schulenberg had his partially built 1/35 scale Tamiya French Armored Carrier UE.
This is Dick's Tim Horton model entry and he has added a Heller 25mm Gun from a 60's era
kit to the project.
In keeping with Bob Collignon's tradition of minimal part counts, he has found a
Triangular UFO model with an astonishing five parts! The Atlantis TR-3E Electronic
Surveillance and Jamming model (no scale provided) (or explanation how the manufacturer
arrived at the UFO's function in reality) is a finely molded and detailed representation
of a non-existent space vehicle. But it has only 5 parts, and that's really what counts.
Bud Reindfleisch showed a vacu-formed kit of a B & O railroad box car. He is forming
the handrails and parts of the under carriage with pieces of wire. He has put a lot of time
into the construction so far.
A M1114 Up-Armored Tactical Vehicle in 1/35 scale from Bronco was shared by Mike Butry.
The kit has a load of parts and from the reviews he's read, the kit assembles easily, but
takes a long time to complete due to the massive quantity of parts and the way the
instructions are laid out. Due to the complexity of the kit, Mike may hold off before
adding it to his collection.
Mike also brought a FW 189 by Great Wall Hobbies. He reports that the details and
panel lines are exquisitely rendered, and there are photo-etched parts, but some interior
details would have to be scratch built.
A Revell model of Jacques Cousteau's Calypso was brought in by Ernie Yuhnke. In
addition, Ernie showed an Ideal ship model that he built in 1954! He built the model in
Germany while stationed there and shipped it home in a box of popcorn with only very minor
damage.
John Doerr's Tim Horton challenge is a 1/144 scale F-86 with a very detailed interior.
He also brought a Platz P-47D which he reports has fantastic quality decals.
Dave Armitage displayed a shadow box depicting a skeletal Confederate soldier all
started when he found a plastic skull lying on the ground in a parking lot. True to Dave's
reputation as a miniature electrician, he drilled some holes, ran some wires and the skull
now lights up. Cool! A photo-copied Confederate flag and some rats from a Munsters model
and a few real mouse bones help complete the scene.
Tony G's Tim Horton challenge model is a 1944 convertible kit which didn't include
the instruction sheet, so Tony is pretty much building it blind. He's gotten the frame
and some of the wheels done.
Shawn Foley and Matthew Bruder, two new club members, showed off their Police Boat
and Fire trucks, both Lego projects. A great way to get into the hobby! Welcome guys!
We welcomed Tim Foley, a former member who is re-enlisting and Kevin Bruder as new
members too.
Brian McFee had his Apache project on hand. He is completing the project for the
president of the company he is employed by, so he's being extra careful with this one.
Brian is doing a lot of detail work on this vintage Revell 1/32 scale kit.
John Zaranek had a 1/35 scale partially completed M1 Abrams Tank. He has scratch
built the tow cables on the side of the turret and is going to be finished in Kosovo era
paint scheme and markings. He mixed his own dark green color and thinned the paint with
Testors universal lacquer thinner instead of water.
Peter Gajowka wasn't thrilled with the three hours per side he had to spend
assembling the treads on his 1/35 scale T-70 tank from Mini-Art.
A wingless jet fuselage, an SU Sukoi 25 Frogfoot Tank Killer was displayed by John
Zaranek as his entry for the Tim Horton Challenge.
A 1/16 scale FT-17 Tank was brought in by Eric Hillebrand. He reports that the fit
of the parts was pretty bad and that the white metal tracks are heavier than the entire
model. He also had a bust of Confederate General Buford that he got from Squadron for a
good price.
Mark Gadek displayed a Hasegawa Bf-109 in 1/48 scale which he'd started on Monday
the previous week! It's really coming along nicely!
Joe Vallone showed his US Navy Skyshark attack plane in 1/72 scale by Mach II.
Joe reports that the build was a nightmare having to accurize the model after it was
completely finished. He also says that the sprues were so thick that it was nearly
impossible to get the parts off.
Frank Blonski had a Monogram 1/24 scale Shelby Cobra in the box on hand. He is
building it for the Tim Horton Challenge. So far, he's got the paint picked out.
Joe Szczygiel presented another of his popular demos.
Finally, some photos of members around the room and the model tables.
Renewal of our Special Offer for All IPMS Niagara Frontier Members for 2011 - 2012
We had another good year at BuffCon so the Executive Board has determined that we
can extend our special IPMS USA national membership support offer for a third year,
through the end of April 2012.
We will rebate ½ of the cost for a one-year membership to IPMS USA for new national
memberships and renewals. 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 complete and submit the application (you can get one from Dave Schwab) along with
your payment directly to IPMS USA or do it 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.
2011 Tim Horton's Challenge Teams
| Justen Hanna's Team | Bob Collignon's Team |
| Justen Hanna | 1/48 Me-163 | Bob Collignon | Fantasy space ship |
| Tony Gliszczynski | 1/25 1940 Ford Convertible | Samantha Hanna | 1/35 M151A2 |
| Bob Raithel | 1/72 Sdkfz-234 armored car | John Zaranek | 1/48 Su-25 Frogfoot |
| Joe Szczygiel | 1/48 F-16C/J | Jerry Fuglewicz | 1/24 NASCAR Cartoon Network |
| Frank Del Russo | Storch | Mark Budniewski | 1/25 1932 Ford Coupe |
| Joe Saccomanno | 1/25 Don Garlits Dragster | Scott Udave | Weird-Oh Hot Dog Hang Ten |
| Kayla Nichter | P-51B Mustang fighter | Rich Bernecki | 1/48 MiG 3 |
| Dave Schwab | Thermonuclear Rodeo figure | Dan Marafino | 1/32 Bf-109E |
| Brian McFee | 1/48 Bell 47E | Steve Weller | 1/2400 Oklahoma |
| Bill Borkowski | 1/72 Apollo 27 rocket | Larry Osolkowski | Sauber Mercedes C9 |
| Tom Brown Sr. | 1/1 Miquelet pirate pistol | Tom Faith | GAZ-AAA |
| Dick Schulenberg | 1/35 UE armored carrier | Frank Blonski | Shelby Cobra 427 S/C |
| Jacob Gadek | Will bring to June meeting | Mark Gadek | Will bring to June meeting |
