2/17/22 BPMS Zoom mini-meeting Report

Sixteen people attended the meeting. Jimmy recalled that our last in person meeting was February 2020! Where did the time go? Speaking of meetings, thirteen people attended the 2/12/22 lunch meeting at Nurnberger Berghaus. It was good to catch up with the guys who can't attend the Zoom meetings. Since we don't know when the Community Center will be available (Vinny says indoor gatherings are limited to 10-15 people), we might want to have another lunch meeting in March. If you're interested, suggest some dates and locations. Also, Vinny is looking into the possibility of outdoor meetings at the Center when the weather gets warmer. Lou reports Zvezda's 1/35 T-62 and Round 2's 1/350 USS Grissom are available. Watch for Academy's reissued 1/48 F-86 Sabre. In progress and completed work included: Vaughn's pair of SAABs ( 32 Lansen and J-21 jet conversion), Rommel's pair of A6M2 Zeros (Tora, Tora, Tora dual combo kit), Gargoyle (from the TV movie, Gargoyle), Galaxy Being (from the TV show, Outer Limits), Tiny Tim (from the film, Scrooge), TBF Avenger, 76 Chevy Sport, Hansa Brandenberg W-29, Fokker F-27, Me P.1107, Soviet Maxim MG w/crew, Mirage 2000 and A-7 K Corsair 2. This weeks' acquisitions included: Panther D, Panther G. Staghound, Lancaster Mk 1, De Havilland Commet, 65 Dodge Coronet, Ju-287 V3 A1, reference books and C-130 decals. The decal library discussion went in many directions. Bob K has decal sheets for every era and every category of model. Kevin K has just one sheet, for the 737-600s Janet Airlines uses to serve Area 51. Many guys remove the decals from the kit right away and store them in zip lock bags, away from light and kept from extremes of heat, cold and humidity. Don reminded us that an attic is not a good place to store decals. Everyone seems to have their favorite gloss coat (Vallejo, Ammo by Mig) and setting solution (Microset, Microsol, Walthers, Mr. Mark, Vallejo and Tamiya, which was said to only work with Tamiya decals). Frank C thought the many markings now available for the F-4 Phantom will encourage him to build more of his old kits. (This will, of course, free up storage space for new kits. Ah, the Circle of Life). Lastly, Steve N said he makes high resolution scans of his decals in case he needs replacements. Hopefully Steve will be at the next meeting to tell us more about this procedure as we continue to discuss decal libraries. Next meeting is 2/24/22 at 8pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there.
~Russ