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