Meet your Vice-Prez Elect, Bob Epley!

BPMS MEMBER INTERVIEWS: We continue this month with our Vice-President Elect, Bob Epley...

Meet Bob Epley: Representing the Lower East Side, our incoming Vice President BOB EPLEY is a 58 year old residential architect. 

Growing up in Oregon, Bob was first exposed to the hobby of modeling in grade school. Classmates and their older brothers were already building models. So Bob took a stab at it with a mid-60s kit of a Ford Thunderbird by AMT that included a stick on vinyl top. From there he’d build about anything he could get his hands on. In those early years he picked up skills through trial and error and via advice from friends. As he got older he picked up tips and tricks from the guys at the local hobby shop. Like many in the hobby, his building slowed down by the end of high school. 

After taking time to attend the University of Oregon and Cornell University, Bob spent some time restoring antique cars, mostly Hudsons and Packards from the 50s. 

After a 20 year break from models, Bob picked it up again when he moved to New York. He converted a coat closet into a small work space with a desk and shelves. When comes time to airbrush, he has to set up his spray booth in the kitchen, which is time consuming. As a result spraying occurs about once per month. In 2008 his wife told him about a local model club that she found on the internet and suggested attending a meeting. That was when Bob got to meet the BPMS. Thanks to the club and online videos, Bob was able to learn more and enhance his hobby skills. 

Nowadays Bob builds just about any type of kit except for ships. While he doesn’t have a favorite model, Bob enjoys the challenges each kit presents. He doesn’t have any models that he’s really looking forward to getting, he’s happy whittling down his stash at home. 

Bob believes the hobby is doing well in Japan and most of Europe. “I can’t keep up with the huge number of kits and supplies being introduced every month,” Bob says. He believes that modelers are entering the hobby at a later time in their lives. He also agrees with two stark realities of the hobby today: Not many kids build models anymore and that the independent local hobby shop is a thing of the past. 

~B2

Holiday Luncheon - 12/3/16 @ Noon

Holiday Luncheon: Okay, the details have been finalized. We will meet at:

Nora’s Park Bench Café

3019 Quentin Rd

Brooklyn, NY 11234 

718-376-0033 

on Saturday, December 3, 2016 at noon. 

$40 per person. 

We have the room for three hours. 

Meet your President-Elect, Joe B!

BPMS MEMBER INTERVIEWS continue this month with our current VP, Joe Bergman...

Please Meet

JOSEPH BERGMAN

Years ago, while on the contest circuit, JOE BERGMAN heard about a model club in Brooklyn. Despite the rumors he checked us out anyway. Fast forward a bunch of years and he’s our current Vice-President, and starts the job as President of the BPMS in January. 

You probably know Joe as the knowledgeable hobbyist who usually builds large figures. If you come to a meeting and see a foot tall Dracula on the table, it’s a safe bet that it’s his work. For forty-one years our fifty-three year-old President-elect has been building just about anything that piques his interest, however his center of interest remains within the realm of science fiction and horror movies. He manages to get quite a lot of work done and is annually at or near the top of the list of members who built most models during the year. He has also won many awards including the coveted TOP GUN AWARD. Within the club he has made other major contributions like hosting panels on skills and sponsoring several theme contests. 

Joe is a married Queens resident who supports his hobby working as an Elevator Surveyor and Inspector. A high-pressure job like that requires serious downtime to blow off stress, so Joe travels and builds models. 

The model bug bit Joe as a child while visiting a neighbor building a model of a Grand Prix car on a TV tray (a makeshift hobby desk). The guy was working on a perfect finish and warned Joe that if he touched it he’d break his hands. The skill involved interested this young man to get started in the hobby. The model that sent him down his path was the Aurora Robin kit. When he was eight his mother helped with it and it was a reasonable success. Everything went crazy after that. That started a long hobby career of trial and error, books, videos, and lots of practice to evolve into the style you see displayed monthly at our meetings. His advice is to ask about anything: “ask some questions, get some good answers and tutorials from most people.” Joe usually works on models at home in his hobby room flanked by display cases. He, currently, likes to build the sci-fi and horror pieces because they are unique and forgiving. There is so much you can do and they are very forgiving. 

Joe reflects on the state of the hobby. With current technologies (3D printers, better casting materials, etc.) anything is possible. New ideas lead to new kits that come out all the time. It’s conceivable that those never-made kits can become a reality. I build a lot of monsters, but how many Draculas, Wolfmen, and Frankensteins can you own? 

Despite the optimism, Joe also sees the dark side of the hobby. I think the hobby is on the last generation. Licensing and excessive production costs are killing the market. How can you buy a plane or a tank and spend $50 for the kit plus $20 in supplies then realize you paid the equivalent of a utility bill? The hobby is eating itself internally and the “bargain hunters” are ruining the spirit of the hobby. 

Joe would like to remind us that we, as model builders, need to understand that if we stop supporting our local hobby stores (the few that are left) and the local shows that there will be nothing left. The “bargain hunters” are killing the business wanting everything either super-cheap or for free. It destroys every show and business. Just think about the next time you don’t buy a plane kit because 20% off isn’t cheap enough. You mail order it and wait two weeks for it to arrive. Now you go back to the hobby shop for supplies but it’s out of business due to lack of support. Now you end up waiting for overpriced supplies that require shipping fees. The convenience of the internet isn’t so convenient anymore. 

~B2

Bulletin: November 2016

BPMS 

Bulletin 

by Bobby B2 Blue Pokorny 

OCTOBER was a good meeting. Despite traffic issues we had 26 members and one guest who brought in 19 models, of which a good portion were pledges. 

October Meeting 

NOMINATIONS: Prez Gordon and Veep Joe put in their two years of service so it was time for a change. Our new elected officers are Joe Bergman as BPMS President and Bob Elpey as Vice-President. Congrats gents! We look forward to your administrations! 

MODEL PLEDGES: Several members had their pledges ready for display and discussion at the meeting. Everyone who came in with a completed pledge will have an additional FIVE tickets for the November Super Raffle! 

HVHMG 2016: The BPMS will be sponsored the Award For Best Aircraft at the IPMS Mid-Hudson Show. The show was on October 22 at the Elks Club Lodge in Poughkeepsie, NY. See hvhmg.org for details. 

Holiday Luncheon: While it might be early to put in a reservation, it’s never too early to save the date. The group agreed to return to:

Nora’s Park Bench Café

3019 Quentin Rd

Brooklyn, NY 11234 

718-376-0033 

on Saturday, December 3, around noon. 

Raffle: We had quite a sizable raffle this month. Since November is the SUPER RAFFLE, we’ll suspend this activity until December or January. 

On the agenda: November 

Contest Night – 4th Qtr 2016: This is the final installment of the quarterly BPMS Annual Contest so it is your last chance to try to rack up some votes for 2016. Pledge models are welcome as well as anything you haven’t already entered into a contest previously. 

Super Raffle: This is the reason why you must fill out your paperwork at each meeting. For every new model you brought in over the course of the year you get ONE SUPER RAFFLE TICKET. If you completed your pledge model you get an additional FIVE super raffle tickets. You cannot buy tickets for this raffle. You must earn them! The more you build, the more tixx you get. We’ve been buying items for the Super Raffle all year, but if you would like to donate anything, feel free to do so! Who built the most in 2016? I’ll announce the name at the meeting.

* * * 

You can find meeting pics either at the Club Website or on the Photo-Blog: http://gmobile17.blogspot.com/

Meeting date:

NOVEMBER 18, 2016

SAME TIME,

SAME PLACE!!!