BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting Report: Sept 19, 2023

Twelve people attended the meeting. Lou reported the 1/32 Tie Fighter and 1972 Toyota Pick-up kits are available. He also reports MiniArt kits are hard to come by at the moment. Kosta shared his recent photo of the USCGC Eagle and the SSV Oliver Hazard Perry docked in New London. 

Jerseyfest is this weekend. Details are on the club's Facebook page. Several people are going, so we expect to see a lot of interesting acquisitions next Tuesday. Julio has arranged another Modelers' Meet Up at Pier 57 on 10/7/23 from noon to 5pm. Details are on the club's Facebook page. Thank you, Julio. Armorcon is 10/13-14/23 in Southbury, CT and the Hudson Valley show is 10/28/23 in Poughkeepsie, NY.
In progress and completed work included: Eurocopter Tiger, Ilyushin Il-2, Pz-4 J, Bearcat, Gundam F 90, 3D printed large scale Laura Croft figure, VW Type 87 and Necronomicon (an HP Lovecraft/Evil Dead thing). Acquisitions included: Tiger 1, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (75 mm figures) and B-17. 

Gil's latest tool was a magnetic tool holder. The magnetic strip keeps tools accessible and organized. Safety note: don't position sharp tools so that you accidentally stab yourself. 

The topic was washing kit parts prior to assembly. For current plastic kits, some do (it's a good way to check that all the parts are there, better safe than sorry), some wash them after assembly (dust, shavings and fingerprints will spoil any paint job) and some don't (why bother, it's an urban myth). But for older plastic kits, resin kits and 3D printed kits, everyone agrees that cleaning is essential. Gil went from soaking resin kits in whitewall cleaner to abrasive blasting his 3D figures, followed by an alcohol wash/scrub, followed by a dish soap wash. The blasting medium he uses is aluminum oxide 120, as used with the Paasche Air Eraser. Kevin uses Purple Power to clean resin. Bobby uses Scotch-Brite pads on resin. And, if the resin isn't completely cured, he puts it under UV light in a lightproof box. Gordon uses microfiber cloths when drying small parts. Gil uses a food dehydrator to dry large pieces and complete assemblies. 

The next meeting is Tuesday 9/26/23 at 7:30 pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there. 

~Russ