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Monday, January 23, 2017

June 2017 Theme: STAR WARS 40th Anniversary


 
STAR WARS 
40th Anniversary Theme Contest 

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of STAR WARS, Vinny Rosati and your humble narrator invite you to build anything that came from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… 

With the recent return of the STAR WARS franchise has also come a plethora of goodies for a model builder to enjoy. Additionally, over the years, many of us have added STAR WARS models to our stacks. There is no better time to get something built just in time for the 40th anniversary of the premiere of the original movie that came out on May 25, 1977. 

Build something old or new, the only requirement is that it has to be from the STAR WARS universe.

Feel free to contact the sponsors with any questions or concerns. 

Sponsors: Vincent Rosati & Bobby Pokorny

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

BULLETIN: January 2017


BPMS
Bulletin
by Bobby B2 Blue Pokorny 

Welcome to 2017! We hope you had a happy, healthy and a safe Holiday Season. 2016 ended in a splendid manner. The Holiday Luncheon went well. The theme contest had a dozen and a half entries. Plenty of tasty treats and cheer to go ‘round! 

December Meeting 

ISLAND HOPPING: It finally happened and we have some gorgeous work on the tables.
  • 1st Charlie Nelson N1K2-J “George”
  • 2nd Tim the Enchanter M4A2 Sherman
  • 3rd Ray Whitton L3M “Nell”
HM 
  • Frank Colucci N1K2 “George”
  • Joe Bergman LVTA-2
  • Kosta Lukyanov Soviet Pacific Fleet Marine
Special Awards
  • US Marines Joe Bergman M4A2 Sherman
  • US Navy Charlie Nelson FM-1 Wildcat
  • US Army Tim the Enchanter M3 75mm
  • Japanese Army Charlie Nelson Ki-84 “Frank”
  • Japanese Navy Russ Holcomb I-400 Submarine
The winners of first, second, and third places got models made by long-time member John Irwin who passed away in 2016. We’d like to thank Elizabeth Irwin for making those donations. We’d also like to thank the sponsors – Gordon Cheung, Jeff Eng, and Ray Keegan – for sponsoring a fun theme to build for. 

AWARDS CEREMONY: The group voted and I tallied the numbers all year. Here are the results: 

Air
  • 1st Charlie Nelson
  • 2nd Frank Colucci
  • 3rd Joe Bergman
  • HM Angelo Takos, Don Illjes, Kosta Lukyanov
Armor
  • 1st Tim Greeman
  • 2nd Russ Holcomb
  • 3rd Howell Serkin
  • HM Joe Barrett, Kevin App, Ed Johnson
Figures
  • 1st Joe Bergman
  • 2nd Tim Greeman
  • 3rd Ed Johnson
  • HM Angelo Takos
Sea
  • 1st Charlie Nelson
  • 2nd Russ Holcomb
  • 3rd Kosta Lukyanov
Science Fiction
  • 1st Tim Greeman
  • 2nd Bobby Pokorny
  • 3rd Ed Johnson
  • HM Angelo Takos, Joe Bergman, Israel Alvarado
Miscellaneous
  • 1st Bob Epley
  • 2nd Ed Johnson
  • 3rd Ray Keegan
  • HM Joe Bergman, Angelo Takos, Joe Barrett
Most Popular 
  • 1st Qtr Israel Alvarado, Bob Epley, Ed Johnson 
  • 2nd Qtr Frank Colucci 
  • 3rd Qtr Charlie Nelson 
  • 4th Qtr Charlie Nelson 

Frank Tripoli Memorial 
TOP GUN AWARD 
Charlie Nelson 

Great work! Now the slates are clean and time to start a new year! 

NEW MEMBER: Mark Mullen came to three meetings and showed us a WIP so we voted him in. Welcome! 

HOLIDAY DESSERTS: Thanks to everyone who brought in some goodies, and there was plenty!

HOLIDAY LUNCHEON: The weather was nice and warm and we had one of our largest groups ever!

RAFFLE: We had a kit sale and a raffle during the meeting. It’ll probably go the same way for the foreseeable future. 

On the agenda: JANUARY 

2017 Model Pledge: Looks like we got this working nicely now! Bring in an unbuilt model between January and APRIL 2017 to declare as your pledge model. Please have it finished for OCTOBER 2017, for a display. After October you may bring back your pledge for the November meeting for the last contest of the year. For your efforts you get an additional FIVE Super Raffle tickets for completing your pledge! Sweet! Easy enough! 

KIT SALE: Bring kits to sell and cash to buy with. There’s no tab at this bar! 

JUNE THEME: We don’t have a commitment for the June 2017 theme contest. Some ideas being kicked around right now would be: Sci-Fi: Star Wars 40th Anniversary, The Seven Day War 50th Anniversary, The Cold War, and The Aurora Years. If you have interest in being a sponsor for any of these, please speak with an officer. 

PHOTO ROSTER: It looks like Russ and Gordon are going to take a crack at this. Gordon will start taking pics of members at the next meeting, so you might want to comb your hair that day!

Meeting date:
January 20, 2017

Same time,
Same place!

See you at the BBSC!

Kit Review – The 1/72 Scale Mirage F1CE/CH Spain & Morocco by Frank Colucci


 
With its high swept wings, big tail fin, and pointy nose, the Dassault Mirage F.1 looks like every kid’s dream jet fighter. Airfix, Heller, Hasegawa, and ESCI all released 1/72 scale models with good and not-so-good points. However, the new Special Hobby kit is a jet modeler’s dream come true – it looks accurate and fits pretty well, and it’s packed with extra pieces for different versions of the swept-wing Mirage. 

All the options mean you have to be careful about what parts, weapons, and decals you want on your model. French Mirage F.1CRs with camera bulges did double-duty as recon airplanes and bombers from Operation Desert Storm to Mali, and F1C fighters became F.1CT smart bombers with laser designators. The Mirage F1 has been exported to 14 countries and scored air-to-air kills for Ecuador and South Africa. An Iraqi Mirage F.1EQ-5 hit USS Stark with an Exocet missile during the Tanker War in the Persian Gulf, and Iran co-opted Iraqi aircraft running from Desert Storm. The new Libyan government is still flying Mirage F1EDs, and Argentina is just now getting a dozen retired French aircraft to replenish its fighter fleet. 

The Special Hobby Kit comes in three versions – a single-seater with Spanish and Moroccan decals, a single-seater with Greek commemorative markings, and a two-seater with French and Spanish markings. The decals look great, and there are loads of aftermarket sheets for other countries. I started on the Moroccan F.1CH because those aircraft had a combat history and desert camouflage. The kit also contains neat resin flare dispensers scabbed on Moroccan Mirage F1s to defeat shoulder-fired missiles. 

Unlike the Hasegawa, Heller, and Airfix Mirage F1s, the Special Hobby kit has neatly engraved panel lines and a nicely furnished cockpit. Special Hobby instructions call out part numbers for the correct instrument panels and (excellent) ejection seats. Again called out by part number and paint job, you get three nose halves to build an aircraft with or without an air-refueling probe. 

The two-part fuselage mates with the nose and tailpipe pretty well. The bottom wing plugs have to be sanded to fit flush, but the wings and tail have big locating tabs to line things up properly. The kit has three vertical tails, one with a probe seen on regular Mirage F1Cs and most export aircraft, one with a radar warning box for French F1CR/CTs and modernized Moroccan aircraft, and one plain tail for purposes undetermined. The parts fit without heavy filing or shimming, but I still smeared and sanded Gunze Sanyo Mr. Surfacer on most seams. The air intakes fit really well, but the clear searchlight plugs on each intake cheek needed some sanding to make them sit flush. 

The stalky, complicated Mirage F1 landing gear wasn’t difficult to install, but you do need to be careful about locating the legs properly. There are some tiny rods that have to be placed carefully. Unlike most previous Mirage F1 kits, you can hang all the gear doors open the way parked aircraft sometimes sit for maintenance. Again, lots of little locating nubs and pins help you get things to line up. 

Ordnance is interesting. You get two wing tanks with long pylons for tanks or bombs, a centerline pylon for three recon pods used by French Mirage F1CRs (Moroccan airplanes use a different pod developed in-country.). The kit has American Sidewinder, French Magic, and South African Kukri missiles on wingtip rails, and big Super R530s with dedicated underwing pylons. Also in the mix are American GBU-12 laser guided bombs to replace the wing tanks and French flare and jammer pods on outboard underwing pylons. For some reason, the kit includes resin underwing pylons in addition to the plastic ones for the pods. I don’t see the resin advantage for flat shapes like pylons or launch rails, but the option is there. More sensible, Special Hobby also offers you resin radar seats and other parts for purchase separately. 

Really nice and essential in this kit are the color instructions that call out the different parts for the different versions and camouflage schemes. The Spanish aircraft are Mirage blue or desert camo. The Moroccan airplanes are desert camo with and without air refueling probes, as called out in the assembly and decal guide. The camera and laser parts are there for French Mirage F1CRs and F1CTs if you have the aftermarket decals. 

All-together, the Special Hobby Mirage F1 sure looks like the handsome real thing. About the only thing missing that would let you build any Mirage F1 is the shorter nose on South African AZ and Libyan AD attack versions and the extended vertical tail seen on Libyan and some Iraqi airplanes. The kit also lacks the humongous belly tank included in the Heller F1CR re-issue. I expect Special Hobby will include those pieces in future issues, and I’ll be happy to buy them. 

~Frank Colucci