5/27/21 BPMS Zoom mini meeting report: Featured topic - Alignment

Twelve people attended the meeting. There would have been more if the link in the reminder email worked properly. Sorry for the inconvenience. 

The big news is the apparent return of Squadron. It's supposed to happen soon. Let's see what happens. Two new releases were mentioned, a 1/48 Tempest Mk 2 (radial engine) from Special Hobby and a new 1/35 Kettenkrad (mid production) from Tamiya. 

Completed and in progress work included: Kitty Hawk's 1/32 P-39 Q (a bear to build, according to Vaughn) and Atlantis Models' 1/46 P-39 (a stroll down memory lane, according to Bob), Hobbycraft's Bf-109 E, Hasegawa's MK 9 Continental Spitfire, Ertl's King Tiger, ICM's truck mounted Katyusa, Amusing Hobby's P-1003/1 Wasserflug, Modelcollect's P 1000 Land Battleship, Ar E-581, and a VW Van made into a dragster by some bodywork and the addition of a Allison 12 cylinder engine. ICM's MiG-25 trainer, ModelSvit's Mirage 3E and a set of decals for the V-22 Osprey were the only items acquired this week. 

We got a tip on flattening Dullcoat's finish. Pour off 1/3 of the factory thinner and replace it with lacquer thinner. A discussion of WW2 German flying saucers led to a recommendation to watch military historian Mark Felton's YouTube videos. This week's tool was a drill bit gauge, useful for sizing rods/dowels. Screw gauges are less useful for this. 

If you're looking for places to visit, Vaughn reports the Connecticut Air and Space Center at Bridgeport Airport in Stratford opens on May 29. Mark likes the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks CT and Frank just got back from the NAS Wildwood Aviation Museum In Cape May NJ. We didn't hear much about armor, ship and car museums. Maybe next time? 

We discussed tools and methods to ensure alignment (that dang Kitty Hawk P-39 Q again). We heard about repurposed tools (foam blocks, square glue bottles, binder clips, rubber bands, tempered glass pane, marble slab), specialty tools (3rd hand, tweezers mounted to a base, 1-2-3 blocks, magnetic welding squares on a steel base plate, machinist bookends) and custom-made jigs (3/8 thick plexiglass with drilled holes to accept Berna Multi Clamps). We also heard tips on assembly (use small lengths of sprue to replace mis-aligned locator pins, glue multi piece fuselage sections together on a flat surface, THEN glue the fuselage halves together - poorly written but you get the idea). 

The next meeting is 6/3/21 at 8 pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there. 

~Russ