BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting: 8/9/22 featured topic straightening bent parts

Since there's an in-person meeting on Friday 8/19/22, there's no Tuesday Zoom meeting next week.  

Thirteen people attended the 8/9/22 meeting. We're working to schedule the BPMS 50th Anniversary Dinner at Buckley's (2926 Avenue S, Brooklyn, 11229) on Friday 10/21/22. The Dinner would take the place of the October in-person meeting, so it won't require extra travel. We'll work out the details and start taking a headcount at the 8/19/22 meeting. Family, friends and non-model builders are welcome. Meal options and prices to follow. 

Mark shared photos of the 2022 IPMS Nationals and the National WW1 Museum and Memorial in Omaha. Mark will host a virtual meeting with one of the authors of Shattered Sword in the near future. Contact Mark directly if you're interested in attending. 

In industry news, Tamiya's 1/35 US Infantry Scout set and ICM's 1/48 OV-10 D are available. Takom is coming out with a series of M-48 variants. Watch for four Transformers kits from Trumpeter. Bayshore Hobby has moved to a new place, a few doors away. Jimmy was impressed by the clear aisles. Reports that Dragon USA is no longer around started a discussion about Dragon products in general.  

In progress and completed work included: James Dean bust,  F-13 (on floats), HMS Ursula, Lacrosse Mobile launcher, F-15 and we heard about Mike's plan to build and compare the Tamiya, Hobby Boss and Edward Wildcat kits. Acquisitions included: Su-25 Frogfoot, Type 5 [Ho-Ri II] (Japanese paper panzer), and two books, Battle for Hungary and US Navy Colors. The tool of the week was a Woodworking Edge Chamfering Planer, which also works well with styrene. The featured topic was straightening bent parts. For resin, bring water to a boil, take it off the heat and dip the part into the water. In time, depending on the thickness of the part and the amount of curvature, the part should return to its original shape. Quickly put the piece in cold water to set the shape. Heat can also be applied with a hair dryer or a heat gun. If a heat gun sounds too risky, try holding the part over your toaster. Hot water/heat also works for styrene, but without the shape memory. Staying with styrene, glue, clamps and internal reinforcement resolve many fit problems. Thinning or scoring the part on its inner surface makes it easier to bend. Delicate parts, like antennae or pitot tubes, can be taped to a flat surface for a few days to straighten them out. As a last resort, you could contact the manufacturer and order a replacement part.  A quick tip from Don to the car builders, it's easier to install rubber tires after they've been sitting in hot water for a while.

Our next meeting is in-person, on Friday 8/19/22 at 2303 Bergen Ave, Brooklyn. NY 11234. This will be our first Pizza Night since 2019. Doors open around 6pm, meeting starts around 7:30 and pies arrive around 8. Also, Gordon will be taking orders for official BPMS polo shirts. Stay safe, hope to see you on the 19th.

~Russ