Bpms Zoom Mini Meeting: June 10, 2025

Six people attended. One left early, one came late so we had five people in each session. Vaughn was the moderator; Frank C took care of posting on line searches to the chat. Thanks a lot, guys.

 

No Tuesday Zoom next week, the in-person meeting is Friday, the 20^th at the Community Center. It's Picnic night and the Long Live the King theme contest. Picnic night may have replaced BBQ night, but it still costs money, $15.00. Jeff will be collecting. The contest sponsors are encouraging those who won't be in Brooklyn on the 20th to send a photo of their King related build by the 15th for display at the contest.

 

Lou is anticipating the availability of Tamiya's 1/72 F-35C, 1/35 M-36 and Valentine.

Vaughn shared photos from last week's Warbird Weekend at the Connecticut Air and Space Center. 

 

We saw Kevin's scratch-built Miner (not minor) from Galaxy Quest, Russ's King Tiger, Frank's A-4 Skyhawk and Vaughn's Ju-88 and F-104 pilot modification. 

 

Acquisitions included: Space 1999 Hawk, Thunderbird 2 and Witch Lair.

 

Although the featured topic was modeling disasters, attendance as so low that we had time to discuss multiple topics. 

 

Disasters: Some are the manufacture's fault - when the assembly sequence is critical but the instructions don't show you the sequence and some are self-inflicted -we didn't pay enough attention to the instructions to recognize differences in similar parts, airbrushing when it's humid, cutting out vacuform canopies, paint smears, glue marks, mishandled broken parts. Lessons learned, a fogged clear flat coat can be corrected by over spraying with a clear gloss coat and, when dry, re apply the clear flat.

 

December theme contest: What not so obvious sources qualify, HG Wells stories like The Time Machine, War of the Worlds, First Men in the Moon or something from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy or from the 1939 or 1976 movie The Shape of Things to Come? And don't forget the 1985 movie, Lifeforce.

 

Trends in the hobby: larger scale kits, fewer military models, more Gundam, fewer re issues 

Aircraft histories: F-107, A-4

Saving old decals: Testor's decal Bonder Spray, Micro Scale Liquid Decal Film

On line resources:  Scotts Model Workshop

 

The next meeting is Friday, 6/20/25 at the Community Center. Doors open at 5 PM. Picnic night, Long Live the King contest and visitors from out of state, what more could anyone want? Hope to see you there.

 

~Russ 

BPMS MEETING: JUNE 20, 2025

 ACTIVITIES DIRECTING

By Bobby Pokorny

Welcome to JUNE! AS we approach the start of summer, our JUNE meeting has some fun things going on!

LONG LIVE THE KING THEME CONTEST:  It’s finally here! The LONG LOVE THE KING Theme Contest is finally upon us. The sponsors have challenged the group to build something that can be connected to the theme in some way. We are eager to see how the theme is interpreted by the members!

SUMMER PICNIC NIGHT: We’re trying something a little different this year. The BBQ is fun, except for the crew doing the cooking and set up. It’s been pretty hot and the mosquitoes are unrelenting, so this year we are trying heroes instead. $15 per person. Feel free to bring sides, snacks, desserts, etc.

Meeting Date: 

JUNE 20, 2025

Members start showing up by 5PM to set up.

Feel free to come early and hang-out!

 

 

June Bulletin by Kevin K in PDF Format

June 3, 2025 BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting Report

Twelve people attended. 

Mark shared photos of last month's Lego Show in Warwick, RI and WonderFest in Louisville, KY. 

We saw Vaughn's Ju-88 and F-104 pilot, Simon's P-40 C and BV-138, Erasmo's Mirage F-1, Kevin's Aztec Princess and Razor Crest (the Bandai kit impressed Kevin), Mr. K's Gollum figure, mounted Ringwraith, female hunter with saber tooth tiger and Vampirella, Gil's 3 D printed Landmaster (from Damnation Alley), Frank C's A4-E (his long-awaited pledge model) and Bobby's Witch King. BTW, have you decided which king you'll enter in the June theme contest? 

Acquisitions included : Blackburn Skua, PWS-26, PBY-5A Catalina (buying the Atlantis kit lets Mr. K keep the Monogram kit in his stash) and Hiller X 18 Convertiplane (Aurora kit). 

The tool was a 3 D printed V block, good for holding / assembling / painting cylindrical and other shaped items. No 3D printer? No problem, you can find them in stores and online. 

The topic was things we avoid and why. Photoetch can be more trouble than it's worth. Aircraft kits with raised panel lines were mentioned. Kits by A Model, Kitty Hawk, Unicraft and Monogram were said to have poor instructions, be too crude, too complex, required major clean up or modification, or just not interesting. But, as Kevin pointed out, if it's the only game in town, you complain as you build. For paints, the high cost of AKI paint, a bad experience with Mig's British Armor paint set, a general dislike of acrylic paint and problems brushing Tamiya (which, we learned, can be eliminated by using their retarder), were noted. Quick tip, Micro Sol can attack Vallejo paints. Use a good clear coat. Some of us avoid resin because of concerns about dust. Then Gil showed us (for the second time, actually) the dust collector box he built for his shop vac. 

The next meeting is Tuesday, 6/10/25 at 7:30 pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there. 

~Russ

 

 

BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting: 05/27/2025

Eleven people attended. 

 
Bobby reports Hobby Lobby is having a 40% off sale, so this might be a good time to pay them a visit. Their newest store is in lower Manhattan on Murray Street, between West and Greenwich. We saw lots of cars and Gundam, some aircraft and ships, very little armor and a good selection of paints, tools and supplies. The discounted prices are reasonable. For online consumers, Jimmy recommends visiting BNA modelworld.com and Mr. K recommends the Draw Decal website. 

 
Russ shared photos of the USS New York, in town for Fleet Week. A photo of the ship's Sea King is attached to remind everyone of June's Long Live the King theme contest. 

 
We saw Vaughn's Mosquito, Comet Racer and Hornet, Chuck's Panzer 2, Mr. K's Vampirella figure, Tiger Meet F-104 and F-14, Kevin's Aztec Princess figure, Gil' s Veronica bust and Mark's Porsche 959. Acquisitions included Canadian Universal Carrier decals, German tank crew figures, 1/72 aircraft details/ordnance (from Jet Passion), KC-130, Yak - 200, Leo Mobile Suit and two Angel Interceptors (from two manufacturers). 

 
This week's tool was a collapsible silicone paint brush washer from the dollar store. 

 
The featured topic was ways to mix paint. Many use coffee stirrers but Gil prefers a glass stirring rod. It's easy to clean and convenient for transferring paint drop by drop. Bobby likes using old paint brush handles. Some put stainless steel ball bearings in the bottles before shaking them up. Magnetic mixers and vortex mixers can work well but we were reminded that if you need a power tool to reliquefy the paint, it may never dry properly. 

 
The next meeting is Tuesday, 6/3/25 at 7:70 pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there. 

 

~Russ

 

Andy Yanchus

1944-2021

A name that will be familiar to many 1960’s-70s modelers is Andy Yanchus (1944-2021).  Andy was a long-time member of the BPMS, and worked with Aurora Plastics in West Hempstead, NY, beginning in the mid-1960swhere he one of the two Project Managers there. Andy came up with the Monster Scenes idea, a smaller version of Aurora’s classic monster kits, but presented in ‘scenes. 

Andy moved on from Aurora to Marvel and during his 17-year career there, he contributed to several ongoing titles such as UNCANNY X-MEN, ALPHA FLIGHT, and NEW WARRIORS. 

Although Andrew had left his kit modeling career to pursue coloring comics, his passion for the community and his hobby never waned. He later co-wrote a definitive book about Aurora called Aurora Monster Scenes — The Most Controversial Toys of a Generation (2014). He also wrote for Starlog, Fantasy Modeling, and Collecting Scale Models magazines.

Since 1972

 

In 1972 a group of guys from a local hobby shop decided to start meeting together for their shared interest in models. By May 1973 they were more formally known as THE BROOKLYN PLASTIC MODELERS SOCIETY.

The Brooklyn Plastic Modeler Society is one of the oldest local chapters of the International Plastic Modelers Society and resides in Kings County (Brooklyn), New York. Since our inception we've been bringing a diverse group of modelers with varied tastes together for monthly gathering to discuss the hobby and display our latest works.

Some notable moments in BPMS history include our involvement in bringing the Aircraft Carrier INTREPID to NYC as well as many displays on-board over the years; in October of 1975 we hosted the Big Apple Con and Noreastcon 6 in May, 1977; as well as displays for many events and make-and-takes over the years.

We've also been supporters of Speicher Model Group overseas as well as Wounded Warriors closer to home.

We were named IPMS/USA Region 1’s Club of the Year for two years running – 2023 and 2024.

We currently reside in the Bergen Beach Sports Complex and meet on the third Friday of each month.