LESS THAN ONE MONTH TO BUFFCON!!!!
Hello, everyone! Can you believe it? It's almost time for the best one-day scale modeling show and contest in the continental US of A! We are going to need EVERYONE to pitch in and help to continue to make BuffCon the cream of the scale modeling crop that it always is. How can you help, you ask? Easy - report to the Columbus Club at 0730 hours sharp and help with setting up the tables and getting the vendors in to their tables. At this month's meeting, you will be asked to sign up to pull some kind of duty that's integral to making a successful show; registration, admissions, snack bar, security are among the most critical of the jobs that need to be done. Don't fret, you will be able to enjoy everything the show has to offer if everyone does their part.
Along with working critical jobs, please also considering being a contest judge. Those of you who have judged before know what to expect. For those that are hesitant, never fear because under the tutelage of Chief Judge Supreme, Tom Brown, Sr., you will be guided through the judging process by assigning you to a team of experienced folks. Getting experience in judging scale models will definitely make you a better modeler and your club needs judges. Please give this serious consideration.
After BuffCon, Noreastcon17 is fast on its heels in May, so we all have to pull some more duty this year to help the club out. We are splitting the duties (and costs) with Rochester Scale Modelers and it will be held in Batavia, New York, which is just about halfway between the two cities. Please go through your old kits and if you have any spare sprue with parts still on them, bring them in to the next two club meetings. We are going to need them for the Ironman Contest at Noreastcon. Please see Frank Blonski, or go to the Noreastcon website for all the details.
The executive board discussed a proposition to raise annual club dues from $10.00 per year to $20.00, effective January 1st, 2018. Junior memberships are recommended to stay at $5.00 per year. There will be a vote presented to the membership at the March club meeting to either pass or negate this proposition. The reason for the increase, as explained by club treasurer, Tom Faith, is that in order to pay for the hall rental for regular club meetings, the $10.00 dues is not meeting this financial obligation. In order to break even and have enough to pay for one pizza party for the membership, the dues will need to be raised to the aforementioned amount. Just so everyone is aware, the $10.00 annual dues we all have been paying has never gone up in the history of the club, which is well over 30 years.
A new meeting format will be tried out at the March meeting as well. This will include starting promptly at 7pm, two round table presentation discussion sessions, spaced with a "social break" in between and a scale modeling demo. Please bear in mind that we are paying for the hall from 7pm until 10pm on the meeting nights and wish to make sure that your scale modeling technical and social needs are fulfilled.
One last thing before I move on to the member round table presentations from February: if you are participating in the "Secret Santa" contest, your submission is due on the day of BuffCon and will be placed on display on the club table in the vendor hall and CANNOT be eligible for judging in the regular contest. There will be a separate judging session just for those models and a prize (to be determined) award to one winner.
Thanks to all for your time, efforts, participation and hard work. YOU are what makes this club successful!
John R. Zaranek
President
IPMS Niagara Frontier
IPMS USA No. 47993
Model Table Presentations from the February club meeting:
Cindy Gauthier is interested in scale lighting systems and showed us one for the N-scale industrial building she's
working on.
Mark Budniewski brought in an apparently rare copy of the June, 1969 issue of Air Space Model Magazine. Mark wants
to know if anyone knows anything about this magazine; he can't find anything about it on the internet.
Gene Paveljack's Secret Santa build is a Lindberg 1948 Lincoln Continental. Gene explains that the parts fit isn't
good nor are the instructions. Despite these infirmities, he finished it with a dark green body and white rag-top.
Gene also brought in an armor subject, an SU-122 that's been painted Russian green on the outside and
Grey/blue/white interior. He weathered it using pin washes, chipping techniques, drybrushing and pastel dust and rusts.
Ilya Grinberg showed us his tiny 1/72nd scale Polikarpov I-16 Type 27 airplane. Ilya used the fuselage and
centerplane from a Hasegawa kit and the wings and cowling from an ICM kit along with photoetched details. He further
explained that in order to make an accurate replica, you need to use parts from different kits.
Dave Safe got away from his usual large scale dioramas with his Revell 1/25th scale 1968 VW Beetle. Dave used
paints by Tamiya and Model Master and tried out the new chrome paint pen (Molotow Liquid Chrome).
Matt Klukowski's love of Star Wars prompted him to acquire the 1/72nd scale Poe's X-Wing Fighter.
Dick Schulenberg showed us his LF resin kit of the Consolidated PB-2A US Army mid-1930's fighter. Dick built it
"clean" and used brush painted colors by Polly Scale. Dick related that he spent a lot of time trying to figure out
where the parts are located and lots of test fitting.
He also built the 1/72nd scale Hasegawa T-33 marked as a US Navy TV-2 Regulus Missile Test Program chase plane.
He used Polly Scale and Vallejo acrylics brush painted and applied a semi-gloss clear coat from a Tamiya spray can.
Larry Osolkowski had further progress on his 1/25 Revell Chevy Corvette C-7R race car. The rear wing is
finished with kit decals and Tamiya paint, and the hood got a coat of some old Cobra Colors Corvette Velocity
Yellow. Larry said that masking the lower rear valence for detail painting was tricky.
Larry also got another Metal Earth laser-etched kit as a Christmas present, the Apollo Lunar Module. He also
showed us a new Aoshima kit of a Honda Ape motorcycle in 1/12 scale, which he described as "cute".
Paul Hines' artwork this month is a 1969-1970 Ford Mustang Mach I and a 1929 Alfa Romeo Zagato.
Joe Szczygiel chose a Desert Shield/Desert Storm theme with the Tamiya 1/35th scale M60A1 tank with a resin
engine. Joe cut open the rear engine deck to fit the engine and is using a mix of Tamiya Buff/Deck Tan.
He's also scratchbuilding a full scale (1:1) M2A2 50 calibre machine gun out of Evergreen plastic.
Jeff Usiak built the Tamiya 1/35th scale Soviet KV-1 tank. Jeff has drilled out the machine gun barrels and
periscopes. He used washes, oils, pastels and oil paint for the weathering techniques he used.
Dan Marafino showed his Tamiya Spitfire Mk. IX finished with Tamiya paints through the airbrush.
John Zaranek brought in his Secret Santa project, the ancient Tamiya British Army M3 Grant medium tank in
1/35th scale. John originally painted it in a two-tone yellow/brown camouflage scheme but didn't like the results.
He then repainted it overall desert tan and did extensive weather using paint chipping with a fine brush and a
sponge. He's planning on putting it in a North African desert vignette.
He's also nearly finished with the Tiger Models French Army AMX-10 RCR six-wheeled anti-tank vehicle. Tiger
Model is relatively new in the market and is a nicely detailed kit. He finished it in the standard NATO three
color scheme and brush painted details using Vallejo acrylics.
Section 8 Hobbies is now carrying a line of pens that apply a chrome finish that is very realistic. They're made
by Molotow, and called "Liquid Chrome". Some sample applications were displayed on the table.
There were a number of additional unidentified items on the tables:
Finally, some around-the-room photos.
Thanks to Bob Conshafter for handling the table duties, and Larry Osolkowski for the photography.
