January Meeting
New Regime: The new year brought the new prez and veep at the helm. We were actually able to hear President Ray in the back of the room.
Loss of a founder: Founding member of the BPMS, Joe Turner (IPMS #90!), passed away days before the January meeting. Our sympathies to his family. We’re working on ideas for a theme contest in his honor for the end of 2009. More to come.
Awards Ceremony: As I hoped, I had the awards ready in time, and your winners, as the members voted, were:I just received word that Joe Turner, long time IPMS USA member passed away last night at his sister's house in Florida .
Described by one IPMS wife, Carol Fleckenstein, he was a "unique gentleman, a genuine intellectual and a good friend", sentiments I heartily agree with and cannot improve upon. Along with Bert Berg and the rest of the Brooklyn Plastic Modelers Society, Joe was in on the ground floor of helping make the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City a reality long before she docked at Pier 86 and became a museum ship, by supporting the foundation with model exhibits. When Bert's eyesight began failing him, he recruited me to serve as the IPMS model supervisor for the Intrepid in 1981, about a year before the museum opened.
Joe had already completed some research on the Intrepid's Air Groups and matched it up with available models and decals. His research was the basis of the two of the first exhibits built for the Intrepid Museum - deck loads of aircraft that served aboard the Intrepid in 1944 and 1956. The latter deck exhibit was incorporated into a visual comparison of the deck sizes between the USS Intrepid 1956 and the USS Enterprise. Bert recruited me to research the Enterprise Air Groups against available models and decals and I settled on markings in a Koku Fan (remember that Japanese magazine!) for the Starship's 1978 RIMPAC exercise. BPMS modelers built the Intrepid aircraft and NJIPMS modelers, under my supervision, built the aircraft models for the Enterprise deck.
Joe held one of the low (early) IPMS USA membership numbers and he was a regular fixture at IPMS USA local, regional and national conventions, as well the IPMS UK show at Telford . You could not miss Joe if you saw him at a model convention - he was a giant of a man towering over other average height modelers. If any UK Hyperscalers know a Brit modeler named Chris Peacock, please let him know about Joe's passing. It's my understanding that Joe often pal'd around with Mr.Peacock on his trips to the UK .
Joe worked for a long time in the airline industry and held some pretty strong opinions on it (especially Pan Am), which he was not shy about sharing. Some time after he retired he moved from Brooklyn to North Carolina . As with Bert Berg, Joe's eyesight (also never good to begin with) starting deteriorating even further after his retirement - certainly a blow to any modeler. You could not tell that from being with Joe, though. He was always upbeat and enthusiastic - never a downer crepe-hanging type.
The modeling community has lost another stalwart member (in Joe's case, a veritable monument). I'll miss him lumbering toward me, like one of those Lord of the Rings tree creatures, in a vendor area, or IPMS model display room.
Happy Flight, Joe
R. Bruce Archer , PG
Air:
HM: Kevin Batterman , Charlie Nelson
3rd Frank Tripoli
2nd Hugh Alcock
1st Frank Colucci
Armor:
HM: Kevin Batterman, Gordon Cheung
3rd (tie) Frank Tripoli, Guy Ferrara
2nd John Irwin
1st Nick B.
Figure:
3rd (tie) Guy Ferrara , Ted Fazio
2nd John Irwin
1st Kevin Batterman
Sea:
HM: Russ Holcomb, John Irwin
3rd Ray Keegan
2nd Charlie Nelson
1st Mike Crescenzo
Sci-Fi:
3rd Hugh Alcock
2nd Gordon Cheung
1st Jeff Eng
Misc:
HM: Vinny Rosati
3rd Ray Keegan
2nd Mike Crescenzo
1st Israel Alvarado
Most Popular Entry:
1Q: Hugh Alcock, FLEEA Mk I
2Q: Kevin Batterman, T-34/85
3Q: Gordon Cheung, Gundam
Tie: Ray Keegan, SA-2 SAM
4Q: Frank Tripoli, He-219
TOP GUN:
Mike Crescenzo
Kit Sale: Some kits were bought and sold. A nice balance, wouldn't you say?
NASA Theme Contest: It was postponed from December to January. There was a great showing of fine work. See the results here:
http://bpmsclub.blogspot.com/2009/01/nasa-theme-contest.html
On the agenda: February
Show Us Your Tool: This activity isn’t nearly as vulgar as it sounds. Do you use some unorthodox tools? Have you invented a new method to get something done? Gather up some tips and tools to bring and tell the group about for this fun February activity.
Contest Night 1st Qtr 2009: The first installment of the BPMS quarterly contest is already upon us. You need only look at the results of the 2008 contest to see if you want to do something about your bragging rights. You can bring in entries from the NASA Theme contest if it’s never been in a contest before.
The next theme contest: It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad Modeling Contest!
Read about it here:
http://bpmsclub.blogspot.com/2009/01/next-theme-its-mad-mad-mad-mad-modeling.html
Final Meeting to help out with a special request from the troops:
Read about it here:
http://bpmsclub.blogspot.com/2009/01/request-for-special-troop-support.html
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