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Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Sympathies

On behalf of the BPMS, we offer condolences to
Frank T. and his family for the loss of his Mother and to
Scott M. and his family for the loss of his Father.

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

RC-1: Correction! 06/21/05

Good Morning,

Just a quick correction. In the Update, I mentioned that the rechartering fee would rise to $25.00 upon passage of the amendment before the body. This was in error.

The correct information should read the amendment will give the Executive Board the authority to review the rechartering fee, and set it at a level consistent to the operating needs of the Society.

(Thanks Fred!!!!)

Sorry for any confusion this may have caused.

Semper Fi

Doug

Monday, June 20, 2005

RC1 Update: June 18, 2005

Greetings,

Time for another quicky Region 1 Update.

The big news is the upcoming IPMS Nationals in Atlanta. We're about a month out, so I hope everyone that is going is busy firming up their plans, or working feverishly trying to get that model complete, From what I've been able to gather, this is going to be one of the best events yet. The available vendor tables are sold out, and a waiting list exists for tables, should they become available. The main and secondary hotels are also sold out. I know there are plenty of other hotels in the area, so no one should have to sleep in your car, unless you want to!! I'm looking forward to it, and hope to see a good number of Region 1 folks there. Make sure you look me up to say hey!!

Two Region 1 events have been posted on the IPMS web site in the events section. A good number of pictures from Noreastcon have been posted, compliments of our hosts this year, IPMS Rochester. They really capture the event, and the good time we all had. The second set is from a recent Make and Take hosted by IPMS North Shore. From the looks on the happy faces of the kids, this was a very successful event. These guys ran a great program, and it shows.

Also on the IPMS web site are two things everyone should know about, and participate in. One is the balloting for the constitutional amendment now before the body. It relates to increasing the rechartering fee to $25.00 per year. It's felt that the current fee of $10.00 is too low to cover the costs of the insurance, and the operating costs related to rechartering all the chapters every year. This is the first proposed increase in a hundred years, so everyone should consider a yes vote. Rechartering at $25.00 is still a great deal. The second item is the bio's for the candidates in the upcoming national election. While there is only one candidate for each office, I recommend reading the bios to check out the candidates. I think each one is very qualified for the office they seek, and as an RC, will be happy to work with all them. My predecessor, Jack Kennedy is running for President this time around. I think Jack will make an excellent President of IPMS/USA. As I mentioned, the rest of the slate is also very good, and I know many of them. I'll add here that the election doesn't start until July, but encourage everyone to vote early and often!! Voting for both can be done through the web site.

Now that the summer is nearly here, and modeling will be taking a back seat in many of our lives until fall, I hope everyone has a fun filled, and safe summer. The next update will come to you after the National event, or if breaking news comes my way.

Please share this with the officers and members of your chapter.


Semper Fi
Doug

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

A Mini Kit Review by Frank

MINI REVIEW BY FRANK T.

M4 SHERMAN (EARLY PRODUCTION)
TAMIYA 48TH SCALE


Every once in a while, for a change of pace, I build something in the armor category. Most often it is a wheeled vehicle of some kind because I don’t like dealing with tracks. If they are the old vinyl one piece “rubber band” tracks, I have trouble getting them on without bending or breaking some part of the model’s suspension. I haven’t used any of the great looking modern “build them up yourself” tracks because they seem too difficult for me as well as costing more than I want to spend.

Tamiya caught my attention when they released a group of 48th scale tanks, among which is the Sherman. I thought a 48th scale vehicle would look good on my shelf along with my 48th scale WWII aircraft. The fit of the parts is very good. There are somewhat fewer parts than in a 35th scale kit, so the main build goes very quickly. The tools are molded on the hull, but they have good definition and I found painting them to be no problem.

The suspension parts go together easily and Tamiya has engineered the kit so that it is easy to get the suspension system arranged symmetrically with all the road wheels sitting on the ground. This helps a great deal with the track installation.

The tracks, which I thought would be a problem, turned out to be easy to build. They are made of plastic, not vinyl. For each side of the vehicle there is a long run of track, top and bottom, along with two short runs which reach from the bottom run to the drive and return wheels. Then you get individual pieces to fit between the short runs and the top run to complete the track. Each of the short pieces fits nicely (almost a snap fit) into its neighboring piece. To summarize, building the tracks was no more of a problem than any other aspect of building the kit. Put the track part into place, a drop of crazy glue and add the next piece.

I will have to leave it to the experts as to whether or not this is an authentic representation of an early Sherman, although I will say that it looks good to me and reflects the pictures I saw in the “Sherman in Action” book by Squadron. It was a satisfying build and I look forward to modeling the Tiger I (early production) which is available in this series.


Frank's Sherman from the May Meeting.
Find more pics >HERE<

Pics from the May 2005 Meeting

I've had these sitting on my Hobbyfanatics Gallery for nearly a month and only now got the chance to post them for your viewing pleasure! Click on the thumbs to see a larger version.

Adrian tells us about his Indy.

New member, Hugh, tells us about his aircraft.

Jimmy Tells us about his Marder.

Jeff's Grav Tank.


A member digs through some parts for Parts Box Night.


Andrew's model aircraft.



Click here to see many more May pics on the BAXOJAYZ Gallery on Hobbyfanatics.

Bulletin: June 2005

May meeting had turnout in all our categories. We had 29 members bringing in 21 models for a great contest night.

MAY MEETING!!!

NEW MEMBER: Hugh decided to take the plunge and join up. You know he’s dedicated since he comes all the way from Pennsylvania for the meetings. Welcome to the fold!

CONTEST NIGHT – 2ND QTR 2005: Members brought in an array of wonderful work for the contest.

BASIC MODELING SKILLS CLINIC was scrapped. We had some extraordinary models on the tables so we got to hear about some of them. Thanks guys!

PARTS BOX NIGHT: There were some nice parts to be scored, thanks to those who contributed.

PUSH FOR INCREASED BUILDING CONTINUES: Jimmy ran another edition of the Re-Supply Raffle. Dan won a knife, Jeff some sandpaper, and I landed some dullcoat. Coolness!

On the agenda: JUNE

PIZZA NIGHT: Bring your appetite and no guests for this meeting. All members may participate as long as your dues are up to date. See Jeff the treasurer to check on your account.

IT’S FINALLY HERE!

IN THE MOVIES: Ted and Phil are sponsoring “In The Movies” in for June 2005. Basically build something, ANYTHING from a movie. This in from the sponsors: The parameters of this contest have been nailed. There will be no category judging just first, second and third places with honorable mentions. This contest is wide open, so build a scene, a prop, or anything else that is recognizable from a movie. It can be Godzilla leveling Tokyo, a space battle from Star Wars, a scene from Apocalypse Now, a monster from a classic horror movie, a plane from Top Gun, a naval battle from Ben Hur, etc, etc. This should be fun, its up to your imagination. Get ready because June will be here soon!

Tuesday, June 07, 2005

Region 1 Update, Post Noreastcon Edition

Greetings everyone,

Sorry for the delay in getting this out. I've been having problems with my computer. They're still not repaired properly, and I'm send this out from my brothers house. I don't have any numbers to pass on, as they're all in my unit at home. But I'll give it the best shot I can!!
Let me start by thanking Armand and the rest of the Rochester gang for hosting for us this year. They really stepped up to the plate for us, when it seemed our event may not happen. I really appreciate their effort on our behalf.

It seemed the overall numbers were down somewhat this year. I'm sure it was due to Mothers Day weekend. Most of the usual suspects were in attendance, but the overall numbers were still down.

That didn't diminish the quality of the models on the tables however. There were about 350 models on display, and the overall quality was very high. It would seem everyone had been busy over the past winter!! My congratulations to all the winners The vendor rooms held some good deals, and while a little heavy in the armor area, I managed to find some cool stuff.

The business meeting was well attended, with representatives from about 11 or 12 chapters present. We talked a little about the Region 1 Judges List I'm setting up. I added all the judges from this years event to the list, and am still looking for more names. I'll ask all chapters to send me the names, and contact information for all regional and National judges in your chapters. also include what areas they judge, for inclusion. As this will be an ongoing project, I don't need the names tomorrow, but soon would be good.

I announced next years event will be held in Marlboro Mass, and our hosts will be IPMS Bay Colony, Wings and Wheels, Granite State, and Patriot chapters. The 2004 Region 1 Chapter of the Year went to IPMS Niagara Frontier. these guys consistently demonstrate what a quality chapter is all about, and I'm honored to have presented them with the award again. Region 1 Person of the Year was awarded to Dick Schulenburg, long time treasurer of Niagara Frontier. Dick has been one of the spark plugs of this chapter for a long time, and is very deserving of being named Person of the Year. Unfortunately, Dick couldn't attend the event due to family considerations, that notwithstanding, I was also honored in making this presentation as well.

I also mentioned that before any information regarding your local event is passed on to Jack at the home office, all events must be approval by the RC, yours truly. There was an incident recently where a chapter didn't receive approval before submitting their information, and it really slowed the process down. I'll just reiterate here that ALL events must have approval before submitting to the home office. It ain't hard, it just needs to be done is all.

The awards ceremony saw the return of the Arris and Bill show. These guys were in rare form, and it was nice to see they haven't lost any of their schtic. What was really funny was the way Arris kept mispronouncing Al LeFleche's last name. Al was such a good sport over it all, and reacted like a champion when Bill said it correctly. I took a little ribbing as well, something about the RC winning. The food wasn't all that bad, and I think everyone in attendance had a good time.

The hotel wasn't the best one we've ever held the event at. It seems the facility was/is in the process of changing hands. I had some issues with the quality of the maid service, or lack thereof. And a weird visit by the hotel engineer. But the staff did what they could to make our stay enjoyable. We shared the hotel with a number of other groups for the weekend. Girls softball teams, and two race teams from distant collages were also using the hotel as a base. They were competing in an inter-collage race with vehicles they fabricated themselves. I had a chance to look them over, and found them very cool.

Friday night activities say a cool event where all that attended were given a bag with an unidentified model part within. everyone then had to circulate around, and find the other parts that made up a model. When all parts were gathered, each team had to complete the model. It was a great event, and a good chance to meet other modelers. The completed models, such as they were, were them displayed in the contest room on Saturday. I tell you, i really like the Friday night events. They make for a good time on Friday night, encourage more camaraderie, and are just plain fun!! It's always nice to see the host's spin on the activities as well.
One of the nice things that happened to me was being able to meet my counterpart from Region 4, Kirk Ballash. Kirk came over from the great state of Ohio to attend. Also present was my friend and counterpart from Region 2, Tim Hortman. It sure was nice to see these guys, and have them at our event.

All in all, it was another nice event. Again, I'll offer my thanks to Armand and IPMS Rochester for being good hosts. I appreciate their efforts. I'm looking forward to next year already, and know the chapters on deck for next year will do another great job.

And in the words of that Yankee, General Sherman, now, on to Atlanta!!!

As always, please share this with the Officers and members of your chapter.

Semper Fi
Doug

Special Offer for IPMS USA Members

This was just in the Club's email box:

Dear IPMS Co-ordinator,

I am writing to you from Sam Publications with a special offer for your members.

Sam Publications is the publisher of Scale Aviation Modeller, one of the leading scale model magazines recognised Internationally along with its sister magazines Model Aircraft Monthly and Scale Models International. Our magazines are currently distributed through Kalmbach and Squadron MMD in the USA.

You may also be familiar with our Modellers Datafile range of books, known as The Comprehensive Guide for the Modeller, which can be seen on our secure website www.sampublications.com. Our books and magazines are also purchased directly from us by hobby stores across the USA who all deal with us on a regular day-to-day basis and would gladly give references and recommendations for our customer service in shipping and dealing with overseas orders.

As an exclusive offer to all US IPMS Chapters we would like to offer all IPMS USA members the chance to purchase any of our Modellers Datafile book series currently in publication at a much reduced price of $20 USD per book (normally $36 to $38 USD). We would also like to offer each IPMS USA Chapter the opportunity of purchasing these books on a post free deal.

In order to take advantage of the reduced price and post free deal, each chapter would need to nominate a member to collate the orders and we would then post the order to the nominated members address in one shipment by special recorded airmail delivery. Payment for any book orders would be preferably by a single Visa or MasterCard credit card for ease and convenience.

The titles currently available are:

The Supermarine Spitfire Merlin Powered by Robert Humphreys

The Avro Lancaster, Manchester and Lincoln by Richard A Franks

The Supermarine Spitfire Griffon Powered by Robert Humphreys

The Bristol Beaufighter by Richard A Franks

The English Electric Lightning by Richard J Caruana

The Gloster Meteor by Richard J Caruana and Richard A Franks


Unfortunately, The De Havilland Mosquito and The Hawker Hurricane are no longer available due to their popularity and demand.”

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future and thank you in advance for your time.

Sincere regards

Amanda Elliott, Sam Publications, UK.

Sam Publications
Media House
21 Kingsway
Bedford
MK42 9BJ
United Kingdom

Tel: + 44 (0) 8707 333733 - Fax + 44 (0) 8707 333744

Email: amanda@sampublications.com

Website: www.sampublications.com