At the May meeting, we begin the Tony Bartozek "I'm Not A Modeling Loser" annual competition! Please bring in an unstarted model kit that you anticipate that you will be able to complete by the August meeting (that gives you three months to complete the kit). You will be photographed with your entry by Larry Osolkowski for posterity. I will also have a sign-up sheet available for you to complete (your name and model description) as you come up to have your photo taken at the meeting break. I will take the sign-up sheet and divide the entrants into two teams. This list will then be forwarded to each participant by Larry Osolkowski shortly after I compile it. The team with the most completed kits present at the August meeting will be declared the winner! The losers will again be photographed with the dreaded "L" finger pose for posterity! I look forward to seeing your entries on Monday.

IPMS Niagara Frontier Meeting Agenda - May 20, 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 May 2019 newsletter of the IPMS Patriot chapter is available HERE.

Any member who participated in the Buffalo Library WWI exhibit, and who is interested in loaning their model or models to Old Fort Niagara, please bring them to the club meeting and see Tom Faith.

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

April 15th - President Rich Bernecki led the meeting.

• Old Business:
  • Rich called for motion to accept previous meeting's minutes. There was a motion and a second. Floor was open for comment, there was none so voting took place and membership accepted the minutes.
  • Rich reminded the membership that club dues are due.
  • The Tony Bartozek "I'm Not a Modeling Loser" challenge will start next month at the May meeting. Rules were discussed.
• BuffCon #36 from April 7th, 2019
  • Tom Faith stated a financial report is not complete, but commented that it appears to show a profit but the admission revenue was light.
  • Tom Brown Sr. (Chief Judge) stated that the Gundam group of categories had 31 entries. These results are considered as good results and support the move to welcome/encourage these modelers to BuffCon.
  • There was a suggestion to post all photos from BuffCon to the club's website. A large number are posted as with past events over the years. The discussion led to posting on the club's Facebook page as this is an open group account.
• New Business:
  • Rich acknowledged a new visitor to the meeting.
  • Rich reported that our club won an award from our IPMS Region for website of the year. Larry Osolkowski is the person in charge for our website.
• NorEastCon #49 in 2020:
  • Dave Schwab provided basic update that included status of the hotel venue. Also provided was a reminder on our club members on the bi-club planning committee.
• BuffCon #37 April 5, 2020:
  • Rich provided confirmation of the date as there was an error with approving the draft flyer.
  • There was a suggestion to have a "build table" for visitors to use.
• Floor was opened to the members:
  • Tom Faith brought up and described the "naked model" category that other shows are offering. This is intended for highly detailed models to be assembled but not painted as to bring focus on the multimedia detail parts.
  • Upcoming shows include the AMPS show in Buffalo on May 9-11.
  • Dave Schwab informed us that IPMS National is sending a survey for suggested changes to judging.
  • Rich also reminded all members that they can present ideas or suggestions to the E-board meetings.
• Table models were presented followed by the pizza party as a thank you to the helpers at BuffCon.

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.

April 1 - President Rich Bernecki led the meeting.

• BuffCon #36, 2019:
  • New Gundam / Gunpla, Fantasy and Sci-fi War Gaming categories were finalized. Al will provide a large printed list of these categories for the show.
  • Mike Patskin suggested and volunteered to run a 50/50 raffle with the club's portion to be donated to Justin Hanna as he lost his wife Samantha recently. There was discussion on this and the E-board approved.
• Old Business:
  • Tony Bartozek "I'm Not a Modeling Loser" challenge will start at the May meeting and end at the August meeting. Same rules apply as previous years.
• New Business:
  • Paul arranged a memorial plaque for Samantha Hanna. Justen was called into the meetings and Paul presented it to Justen.
  • Old Fort Niagara is interested in displaying the club's World War I models in their Officer's Club building which includes an existing collection of World War I artifacts.
  • There was a brief introduction on a potential new category called "Naked Model". This is intended for highly detailed models to be assembled but not painted as to bring focus on the multimedia detail parts.
  • Feedback on the round table discussion by club members at the March general meeting was positive but could use more space. An improvement suggestion was to improve a way to start the discussion or to just encourage the use of the sheets on the tables that were provided. The round table discussion format may alternate with the demonstration presentations.
  • Rich gave a suggestion to Dave Schwab (RocCity club & IPMS Region 1 coordinator) for our club's website as website of the year. Larry O. is the webmaster for the site.
  • The E-board meeting for May will take place on the second Monday, May 13th. This will be the last scheduled meeting as the E-board meetings will once again have the summer months off and return with the September meeting. Email will be the primary method of communication along with the general meetings.

Member Name: Ilya Grinberg

What kind of modeling? What scale?
1/72 aircraft (WW2 and modern), 1/72 military vehicles (armored and softskin).

Member Name: Tom Faith

What kind of modeling? What scale?
1/35 Armor.

Model tables from the April meeting:

Al Germann displayed a work-in-progress, a 1/48 Revell P-61 Black Widow. Al is using Tamiya paints to finish it, with weathering to come. He added some extra detail with photo-etch parts, and sanded down the molded rivets and panel lines and rescribed the panel lines. Al mentioned that he can't get enough weight into the nose to get the model to sit on its nose wheel. The subject was chosen because the kit was a gift.

Mike Butry showed us his 1/48 Hasegawa P-40 Kittyhawk N. He finished it with a mixture of Model Master, Tamiya and Mission Models paints, and weathered it with a Tamiya weathering set, colored pencils, Crayola crayons and Model Master paints. Mike said he built it straight out of the box, but he rescribed the panel lines, tire treads and exhaust openings. He mentioned that the fuselage to wing root fit was a bear, requiring multiple sand and fit operations, but he eventually got it to fit well. Mike said he loves the P-40 as it was built here in Buffalo, and the model placed 1st in the Out of Box Aircraft category at Buffcon.

Tim Grieve displayed a Revell Mercedes Benz 190SL - sorry, no picture available. Tim used Testors paints for finishing, with no weathering or modifications done. He said he used to own this car, and he misses it.

Tom Faith showed us his 1/35 Mini Art Russian Field Kitchen and ZIS-5 Truck. Nothing has been painted yet, but Tom added brass, scale lumber, Evergreen plastic rod and Hussar wheels. He said the fenders and stove pipe were scratch built with lots of rivets and bolts. Tom mentioned that Mini Art has "funny" plastic, the instructions are poor, and there are some unusual part design decisions that complicate assembly. He said he likes stuff that pulls other stuff, and both kits are unusual.

Tom Brown, Jr. brought in a Citadel Abaddon the Warmaster figure. He used Vallejo mecha and matt black paints, with no additional weathering. He said there were no issues with the kit, and he loves the sculpting of the model.

Dave Armitage had a couple of models for us to view. The first was a 1/10 Lindberg Pirate's Last Leg figure. It was finished with acrylics, and weathered with washes. Dave said he couldn't get the rubber band mechanism for swinging the figure's arm to work, so he just glued it. He also mentioned that this kit is the 3rd of 5 in the series, and he has four of the kits in the series.

Dave also brought in a group of ships, including a 1/192 USS Cairo, a 1/200 CSS Nashville, and a 1/96 "David" Torpedo Boat. He said all the kits are resin, from Old Steam Navy and Verlinden. They were finished with acrylics. Dave said he's very interested in ships of the Civil War era.

Jim Greenfield showed us his Bandai 1/35 M61A5 Main Battle Tank work in progress. He's using Testors, MIG and Citadel paints to finish it. Jim said he scratch built the turret interior and rear crew compartment. He said he picked this subject because it looks cool.

Cyndie Gauthier is starting a new project, and she's not sure what to call it yet. It incorporates a "Just Plus" billboard, Woodland Scenic sand and trees, and MIG asphalt along with Tamiya paints. She said she bought the billboard, and is being creative hereafter.

Larry Osolkowski showed us some recently completed models. His 1/43 Provence Moulage Audi R8 #38 "Champion Racing" Petit Le Mans 2001 took a 2nd place at Buffcon, his 1/43 Marsh Models Chaparral 2C Mosport 1965 got a 2nd place at Heritagecon, and his 1/25 Revell Corvette C7R won its class at Heritagecon.

Larry also brought in the usual stack of modeling magazines, which disappeared rapidly.

Maryann Guest-Germann had a couple of figures that she's currently working on to show us. The first was a 1/32 Mameluke that she got at an estate sale. Maryann is using Tamiya paints, and had to do some repairs on the horse's leg.

Maryann's second model was a Tamiya 1/16 Modern US Army Infantryman figure that was just started. She's using Tamiya paints, and will finish it in desert camouflage. She mentioned that this kit is the 2nd in that series, and she likes the scale.

Jason Ignatjew brought in a 1/24 Academy Ferrari 250GT California that he will be building. He said it needs a wheel upgrade, and he will use aftermarket photo-etched wire wheels. Jason said he purchased the kit at Buffcon, and he has a movie theme interest as the car in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off".

Paul Hines had another set of new paintings for us to view. Paul returned to an automotive theme with a 1931 V12 Chrysler Cabriolet, a 1924 Bugatti Type 35, and a 1945 MG TC. He said these three paintings illustrate how different backgrounds can help show off the subject car.

Tom Brown Sr. brought in the beginnings of his next project, called Miracle on the Hudson. He said he's using a 1/144 airplane kit and has some 1/160 people, and will have some work to do. Tom mentioned that he thought it would be a fun project, and he could use a demo on making river water.

Alan Gryfe showed us his 1/48 (O scale) Plasticville Bank work in progress. He's rescaled it to 1/87 (HO) for his model railroad, which involved filling the lower third of the windows to more appropriate height, using the doors from another Plasticville kit modified for the front entrance, replacing the drive-through window with a blank wall, and several other modifications. Alan said he always liked the look of the building, but it took a long time to figure out how to make it work.

There were a few items on the tables without description sheets, or with sheets that were not collected. Please make sure you fill out sheets and get them to Larry Osolkowski before the end of the meeting.

The annual post-Buffcon pizza party was enjoyed by all.

Larry Osolkowski was pleased to receive the Region Website of the Year award.

Finally, some around-the-room photos.

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