10/21/21 BPMS Zoom mini meeting

Thirteen people attended the meeting. The new releases are Tamiya's 1/48 F-14 A Carrier Launch Set and, from Schiffer, new editions of the Aurora and Monogram company histories. Don reports Jersey Fest, held earlier this month at the PAL in Wayne, NJ has become a comic book/collectable show, which was a disappointment. The Hudson Valley show is 10/23/21 in Poughkeepsie NY, Chiller Theater show is 10/29-31/21 in Parsippany NJ, a Tall Ship gathering (and music festival) is set for 10/29/21 in Chestertown MD, and NORAS is NOON on NOV 6 in Brooklyn NY. Support the economy, attend an event or two. In progress and completed work included: Sea King Mk 42B (Indian Navy conversion made possible by a coffee cup lid? Ask Frank), Corsair XF-4U, 37 Ford Panel Truck, P-47 D, Space Ark (from When Worlds Collide), Owl, Toucan & Scarlet Macaw (OK, they're 3d puzzles, but they're kinda like models), Hovertank conversion and Me-264. Acquisitions included: C-130 J, Phantom F4-B and ordnance for same. The tool of the week was Blue Stuff, a reusable molding material from Green Stuff World. Not for production work but useful if you only need to make a copy or two and you don't want to bother making silicone molds. Works well with Milliput or Green Stuff, not so well with Aves Apoxie Sculpt. Judging by the discussion, a lot of us use markers for everything from painting tank roadwheels to marking waterlines on ships. Costs are all over the place. Sharpies are inexpensive. Walmart has acrylic paint pens that go under the name, "Painters". Milwaukee Tools has a set of 2 fine point markers, one red, one black. Gelly Roll pens come in a variety of sizes and colors, including white. Gundam paint markers are not cheap, but they have two tips, one wide one narrow. Pigma Micron Fine Line Markers were also recommended. It was noted that paint markers may obscure detail, Sharpie ink is indelible and can be difficult to remove, India ink holds up well to weathering and, whatever you do, only go in one direction when drawing a line with a marker. Next meeting is 10/28/21 at 8 pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there. 

 

And at NORAS. At Noon. On NOV 6. 

 

~Russ

BPMS 10/14/21 Zoom Mini meeting report

Twelve people attended the meeting. In industry news, we noted the passing of Collette Hutchins and the closure of her store, Jan's Hobby Shop in Manhattan.

If you’re looking for road trips, the Hudson Valley show is Oct. 23 (Elks Club Hall, 29 Overrocker Rd, Poughkeepsie). Vaughan will be at the Connecticut Air and Space Center on Nov. 20. He'll be happy to show to show us around (tickets $10, discounts for vets, seniors and kids). Kosta is going to Wilmington to see the Kalmar Nykcael, a modern replica of the 15th Century "Swedish Mayflower". If you go to The Piper Aviation Museum in Lock Haven PA, you might run into our own Peter K, who helps out there when time permits. In progress and completed work included: Galaxy Quest Shuttle diorama , Corsair XF-4U, Saab J-21, P. 180 Avanti, Me-264 and Mi-24 Hind (in Yugoslavian special forces markings). Gil showed us the curved seam scraper he designed and Mark told us about his new toy, a rotary tool from Keshi. It's compact, cordless and best of all, inexpensive. Kevin walked us through the design and construction of his Galaxy Quest diorama. He used a hot wire cutter and carefully applied open flame to sculpt pieces of rigid foam board insulation to create the basic shape. Then, Vallejo texturing paste, sculpted foam rock formations, pebbles, Chinchilla Dust and paint turned it into the desert landing site from the movie. 3mm thick balsa was used to cover the edges of the insulation boards as a final touch. Very impressive. Thanks, Kevin.

Howell, Don, Mark and others also gave tips for building small scale dioramas. 4"x6" picture frames make quick bases. Foam presentation boards, cut into custom shapes and sizes are another option. Model railroad companies have large selections of soil, turf and vegetation products. Look for items marked "extra fine". Use Durham's Water Putty for large stones, Kitty Litter for smaller stones and Chinchilla Powder for grit/dust. Actual soil can be sifted to remove big particles and glued with a 1 pt. glue, 5 pt. water, 3 drop liquid soap mix. Dried roots of real plants are convincing, provided you pay attention to scale. Fine grit sandpaper looks like concrete pavement and wet/dry sandpaper looks like asphalt. Striping, joint seals, stains, etc. can be added as appropriate. Actual pavement/runway images are available online. Self adhesive tufts of grass in various colors and lengths are also available online. Tacky glue, white glue, Modge Podge, model railroad and other proprietary scenery glues, photo mount spray and hairspray are some of the adhesives we've used. A very informative meeting. One of the best, even if we didn't get a definitive answer to the question, dark paint first or light paint first? Next meeting is 10/21/21 at 8 pm. Invites to follow. 

And don't forget NORAS-NOON-NOVEMBER 6.

~Russ

10/7/21 BPMS Zoom mini meeting

Fourteen people attended the meeting. No date yet for the reopening of the Community Center. The next BPMS lunch is at NORAS (3019 Quentin Rd, Brooklyn) at NOON on NOV 6. If you're looking for places to go before that, Comic Con is at the Javits Center in Manhattan this weekend. The PAL Center in Wyne NJ will host CollectorFest on Oct 16 and 17 and the Hudson Valley show is set for Oct. 23 at the Elks Club Hall, 29 Overrocker Rd, Poughkeepsie NY. With all those shows we can expect to see a lot of new acquisitions in future. Two new releases reported, Zvezda's 1/72 (Snap-Tite) Hurricane Mk2c and HobbyBoss' 1/48 CH-47A. Also, watch for Border Model's 1/32 Avro Lancaster B Mk l/lll and 1/35 Ju-87G. In progress and completed work included: AB 41 Armored Car vignette, large scale Dwayne Johnson figure , small scale Revolver (Metal Earth), Barbarella figure, Hauenbau 1 (some say 2), Flat Earth (good visual pun, Mark), Tiger 1, Gill Woman, Gill Man, Frankenstein's Monster, Fall of Berlin, Saturday night bath, Mi-24 Hind and M-274 Mule. Acquisitions (and items from the stash) included: Nike Hercules, Satyr and Praetorian Guardsman. A few people attended Armor Con last week and gave their opinions of the show. We saw photos of the Corsair, OH-6, S-52, and S-60 on display at the Connecticut Air and Space Center. Thanks, Vaughn. We'll see about organizing a field trip to Stratford. Gil showed how effective Molotow Blackliner is for panel lines. Once again, we ran short and didn't get far on the topic of different techniques for different scales. Painting/blending colors, rather than prep/assembly, is more effected by scale. Kevin was beginning to talk about this when the meeting shut down. We'll pick it up again on 10/14/21 at 8 pm. Invites to follow.

~Russ

BPMS 9/30/21 Zoom Meeting Report

Thirteen people attended the meeting. Clubs we've come to know during the lockdown have been meeting in person for a few months, although attendance is down. The Hudson Valley show is still on for Oct 23. Mark sent everyone copies of the flyer. The Cherry Point Air Show was held but with fewer aircraft on display. Maybe we'll see pictures? With the Community Center still closed, how about another lunch meeting? Let's say Brooklyn, first Saturday in November at 12 o'clock at Nora's Park Bench Cafe or, to make it easy to remember, NORA'S, NOON, NOV 6. Details to follow. Several new releases were reported. From Border Models, Bf-109 G6, Tiger 1, Boeb. Panzer 4 J (all 1/35) and from Hobby Boss, F-18 E Super Hornet (1/48). In progress and completed work included: Ferrari 250 GTO engine, Ford Cobra, AB-41 Armored Car, Duane Johnson figure (who knew Kevin was a tattoo artist?), Quasimodo's body is ready for either Anthony Quinn's or Charles Laughton's head, Corsair2 (in tiger stripes), Fokker G-1, Bristol Racer, DC-3, DHC Otter, Creature from the Black Lagoon (with Chip Brush vegetation), Corsair XF-4U, Saab J-21, P. 180 Avanti, Stagecoach and Revolver (both from Metal Earth), Mi-24 Hind. Two acquisitions this week, SF-37 Viggen Recce and South African Mirage F1 AZ/CZ. We saw two paint related tools, the VM-370 Touch Function Lab Vortex Mixer (good for mixing paint in a closed bottle) and the Ivation 9 rack food dehydrator with adjustable time and temperature settings (useful for drying enamel paint jobs). Like its namesake, the paint mule discussion headed in a different direction and we wound up talking about testing airbrush settings, memorable builds, storing built kits, keeping track of spare parts and disposing of kits. Next meeting is 10/7/21 at 8pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there.
~Russ