BPMS Meeting Report 3/24/22
Thirteen people attended the BPMS on-line meeting. Especially welcome was our own Capt. Vinny well on the mend from his fall on January ice. There has been no decision on our return to the Bergen Beach complex.
The topic of the evening was panel highlighting, and there are lots of ways to do it. Steve N. showed the pre-shading he’s doing on his big HK Models Lancaster. An overall coat of black Gunze Mr. Surfacer 1500 gets irregular patches of Tamiya neutral gray to ‘marble’ areas that pop out under very thin coats of AK interactive camouflage colors. Applying gray to the center of panels makes them stand out from the black edges. Frank C showed how other modelers use white ‘squiggles’ over black primer to achieve a similar effect. Don I. uses AK interactive masks to create the ‘marbled’ surface under camouflage.
Pre-shading is not the only way to accentuate panels. Bobby P. suggested bathing the entire model in thin dark washes. Mark N. post-shades with lighter colors sprayed in the center of panels to create highlights. Alternatively, pin-washes of oil colors or a thin wash of Mona Lisa oil paints to pick out panel lines on painted surfaces. In the other direction, Mark also suggested spraying a very, vin thin overcoat of finishing varnish tinted with buff to ‘tone down’ contrasting camouflage colors. “If you think you need to stop, you’ve gone too far.” Kevin K. uses a similar matte coat tinted with dark sand to ‘level things out.’
Kevin showed off his beautifully finished Star Wars Headhunter fighter from a 1/72-scale garage-industry resin kit. Don I. finished his 1/72 Horton VII flying wing from the Planes Models resin kit and the forward-swept, four-jet Ju-287 from Planet Models. Work in progress included Bob K.’ Amodel Yak 28, Joe B’s Italeri Alfa Romeo 823 roadster, in 1/18 scale, and Frank C’s A-7P Corsair II.
There was no new kit report, but Kevin K showed images of a new MikroMir book, Models for Ukraine, available on-line to support humanitarian relief efforts. Joe. B. had home-grown and European versions of the new 1/48 scale SR-71 from Revell. He also had the had the 1/32 Great Wall Hobbies Curtis Hawk Flying Tiger. Gil had an armored angel from Mineworks Miniatures. Tool Tips included a brush stand that lets cleaned brushes dry bristles-down.
The next meeting is Thursday, March 31, at 8 PM. Invite to follow.
~Frank
Monday, March 28, 2022
BPMS Zoom Meeting 3/24/22 Report
Re: The Models for Ukraine book - the link can be found here:
From the site: THE FULL PROFITS FROM THIS BOOK will be donated to the Disasters Emergency Committee
Ukraine Appeal to help refugees and civilians in the Ukraine.
Respectfully submitted, Kev K.
Monday, March 21, 2022
03/17/2022 BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting Report
Twelve people attended the meeting. Revell's 1/48 SR-71 A is available.
It was reported that Ukrainian companies Mini Art and ICM are shut down
but Micro Mir and Master Box remain in production. In fact, Master Box
announced a new figure, "Ukranian Soldier,
Defense of Kyiv, March 2022" in 1/24 and 1/35. The Squadron website has
some ICM kits and Kevin found sources for Micro Mir and Master Box , https://ua-modelkits.com/ -
~Russ
I know towards the end of the meeting Frank asked about marbling with the
primer before the top coats. I
started painting the top coats for the Lancaster tonight and you can
see some by side with the marbling. Happy to talk more through it on
Thursdays meeting.
~Steve
.
Monday, March 14, 2022
Zoom Mini Meeting Report: 03/10/2022
Fifteen
people attended the meeting. The new releases are 1/48 M-109 Howitzer
from Atlantis and two 1/35 M-114 variants from Takom. Accurate Armor
has released a re-worked
M-114 A1/A1E1 (with interior). Future releases are Trumpeter's 1/32
DBD-1 Devastator, 1/24 P-51B and 1/32 F-35C. No further news on Tamiya's
M-18. Kosta reports the Noble Maritime Collection at Snug Harbor on
Staten Island is well worth a visit. Seminars
and speakers for Noreast Con (Latham, NY 4/29-30/22) are posted on the event's website.
In progress and completed work included: SAAB J-21 jet conversion
(leading to discussions on how tractor propellers and pusher propellers
affect rudder designs and why speed brakes were developed - Thank you,
Vaughn), Project Vanguard satellite, FM-2 Wildcat, P-47 D, Ju-288C, USS
Pittsburg, 64 Olds convertible, M-1 A1 Abrams, Bell X-1 A, Gargoyle
figure, Wolly
Mammoth (Steve is taking suggestions for material for its wool coat),
Yak-42 and Panzer 4 G. Acquisitions included: A 3D printer(Kevin agreed
to tell us all about it once he's gotten familiar with it), Panther D,
3D printed Panther tracks, Tamiya side cutters,
Audrey Jr. (from Little Shop of
Horrors) and Slibervogel. We heard that masking the sides of a seam
before filling it makes clean up much, much easier, that Rustoleum
Chrome Spray paint works well on plastic and for making
quick copies of small parts, nothing beats Blue Stuff & Green
Stuff. Figures in 1/72 and 1/48, especially pilots, ranked high on the
aftermarket wish list, followed by 1/48 armor accessories, tires for re-issued automobile kits,
tailwheels for aircraft, one-piece propellers, hollowed out aircraft exhausts, and pylon mounted
recon pods and ordnance. What took first place on the
aftermarket wish list? Lower prices. Next meeting is St. Patrick's
Day, 3/17/22 at 8 pm. Invites to follow. Feel free to bring an age-appropriate beverage. Hope to see you there.
Russ
Hi all,
One little edit to the report. While it does resemble the Audrey from LSOH, it was actually a Baby Sarlacc in a flower pot. It's mom was seen in Return of the Jedi. ;)
Kev K
Sunday, March 06, 2022
3/3/22 BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting Report
Sixteen
people attended the meeting. Not much in the way of industry news. The
new Amusing Hobby catalogue shows several new armor and aircraft kits.
Check their website for
details. In progress and completed work included: Yul Brynner (as
Ramses) bust, TBF Avenger, Alfa Romeo 2300 roadster, O-2 Skymaster,
OV-10 Bronco (is an O1 Bird Dog far behind?), USS Pittsburgh, Yak-42 and
A-7K. Acquisitions included: Ju-288 C, James Dean
bust, Jabba the Hutt bust? figure? (ask Kevin), B-17, DH. 4, USPS Mail
truck (Metal Earth), MIG-29 Swifts and De Havilland Comet decals (Mr. K
got them from Vintage Flyer and he says they're pretty good). Those who
tried Gil's recipe for ultrasonic cleaner
solution said it worked well. We heard recommendations for publications
(Sci-Fi & Fantasy Modeler magazine -out of business, look for old
issues) YouTube channels (Randy Cooper - impressive Sci-Fi builds) and
products (AK Interactive camouflage elastic putty
- can produce feathered edge, no residue). The featured tool was a
clear acrylic ruler with a metal edge (good for trimming decals) from
Creative Impressions. To ensure enough time, Bobby began the meeting
with the decal library discussion. Good thing he did
too, because it took up the entire first session. Some key points: 1.
Scans are insurance against loss, deterioration and placement mishaps.
2.They can be stored on a thumb drive or on the Cloud. 3. Scan at 1200
dpi or higher. 4.
Include a short (about 3") ruler on the scan to facilitate size
adjustments later. 5. Image converter programs, like IrfanView are
useful. 6. After printing, each image must be closely trimmed (here's
where the metal edged ruler comes in handy). 7. Making
dry transfers is possible but requires a laser printer and laminator.
Plus, it's labor intensive. 8. Colors may bleed through the printed
images. Dry transfers won't bleed through. 9. White images require white
decal
paper and careful trimming. Thanks to
everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences. Next meeting is
3/10/22 at 8pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there.
~Russ
Thanks for the notes Russell.
Build time has been limited lately, but that hasn't kept me from enjoying other areas of the hobby.
I
finally finished my 1/35 Tiger 131 post. There is plenty of historical
information in addition to the standard build commentary. Hope you
enjoy!
https://www.igluemodels.com/Anyone who is interested in the camouflage putty from AK