6/17/21 meeting report: featured topic - interior decorating

Ever try to estimate how much interior detail will be visible on your finished model?  How'd that work out for you? 

Sixteen people attended the meeting including several we haven't seen in a while due to work and family commitments. Guys, it was good to see you. And for those who can't attend the Thursday meetings, let us know how you're doing and what you're building in an email. New releases: Kinetic's 1/48 something (sorry Lou, you were too fast for me) and Trumpeter's 1/144 Badger. Tamiya's 1/48 F4-B Phantom is on the way. In progress and completed work included: B-25 ( fishing sinker fragments in the nose, no Liquid Gravity for Chuck), Typhoon, CH-37B (it's been In progress for several years which, we're told, is not unusual for the older Special Hobby kits), Type XXI U-boat, Lysander Beach Strafer conversion, Thor IRBM (Glencoe was very good about replacement decals), P 1000 Land Battleship and Jurassic Park Hummer tow truck conversion. Acquisitions went from old (Palmer's Revolutionary War Cannon, Monkeymobile, Bad Medicine dragster, Bandi 1/48 armor kits) to new (the aforementioned 1/144 Badger, paper Zimmerit, resin F-16 and F-35 cockpits, 3D printed HO scale buildings). No word on when the Community Center will reopen but Mosquito Con is still on for 7/31/21. The Santa Maria replica arrived in Greenport. Testors liquid plastic cement is back, with the Rust-Oleum name prominently displayed. Will paints be returning? Charlie recommended several model-building podcasts that make his commute more enjoyable: Model Geeks, Plastic Model Mojo and On The Bench. There must be more out there. Care to share? Gil found a new tool, the Sharpen Air (they're on YouTube). It can straighten damaged 2- and 3-mm airbrush needles. It's good for Iwata and Grex airbrushes. It won't work with a Paasche dual action airbrush. That led to a discussion about stencils and how many cheap ones there are on AliExpress and how to filter their search engine to minimize unrelated results. We had a lot to say about interiors. Limiting details to visible spaces saves time, money and reduces aggravation. Aftermarket instrument panels and seat belts are widely used but the jury's still out when it comes to cockpit sidewall 3D decals. Sometimes, a pilot figure is the only thing you can see in a cockpit. Interior detailing can cause assembly problems. Dry-fit parts, especially aftermarket ones, early and avoid unpleasant surprises later. Frank had a specific issue - detailed jet engines that can't be displayed separately without messing up the look of the plane. A possible solution is tiny magnets. Careful placement can make most sections removable. Don uses magnets to hold propellers in place. They can be removed for transport/storage. For kits that have interiors and clear plastic skins, leaving some of the skin unpainted creates a cutaway model without any cutting. Lastly, interiors for 1/350 aircraft are available in case you're interested. The next meeting is 6/24/21 at 8pm. Invites to follow. Hope you can make it. 

~Russ