BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting: December 26, 2023

Featured Discussion: Get anything fun during the Holidays?

 

Zoom Meeting Report – December 26, 2023

With many members still traveling or digesting after Christmas, the last BPMS Zoom meeting of 2023 drew just seven people but still provided worthwhile discussion of kits, tools, and techniques. Incoming Vice President Kevin K reported Julio’s Manhattan group build had drawn good notices on IPMS web forums and may inspire imitators elsewhere.   

After some slow weeks, Lou shared news of some welcome kit arrivals. Hobby Boss has released a new U-2R spy plane and a MiG-29K carrier fighter, both jets in 1/48 scale. Hobby Boss as also released a 1/700 scale Titanic with photoetch parts.  Still to arrive is another version of the 1/35 German Land-Wasser-Schlepper.

Kevin announced his first commission work-in-progress, the Hunter-Killer drone from Terminator 2 to be finished in chrome. He is also sculpting the Missing Link from the animated Monsters Vs. Aliens movie and has begun painting the Ghost of Christmas to Come from John Bennett Castings. Frank C revealed an Academy MiG-29 partially camouflaged for the Myanmar Air Force. Gil continues his commission project, a 3D-printed Michelle Pfeifer Catwoman from Batman Returns.  

Few of the Zoom members got kits or hobby tools for Christmas gifts. Kevin observed, “Luckily, I’m in a spot in life where if a model shows up, I just order it.”   Jimmy ordered 1/35 German halftrack and Panther crew sets made by Stalingrad in Russia but admitted, “I could never buy anything again and still have stuff left at the end.” Gil acknowledged his substantial stash and noted, “I could be here for five years and I’d never have to go to a hobby store.” He has begun collecting digital models for 3-D printing and wants to sell off some plastic kits. Gil asked rhetorically, “How many models is too many models?” Rather than reply, Frank C simply showed off his new Sword RF-8G recon Crusader and a couple of RF-84F Thunderflashes that arrived for the holidays.

Gil’s tool tip for the week was a rechargeable Ryobi 1 power tool with a low-speed setting that won’t melt plastic. Bob P. showed mini- and regular-size sprue nippers, one tool with right-angle blades. Part of the evening discussion was when to cut support stubs from 3D printed kits. Removing the artifacts before final cure is a lot easier than when the parts are fully hardened.  

Frank G. found a Facebook store with original Aurora figure and armor kits and declared, “We’ve found the Mother Lode.” He also cautioned, “I don’t know what the prices are.”

After New Year’s Day 2024, the next BPMS Zoom meeting on January 2 promises to be a sobering experience.  Invites to follow.

Frank

BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting Report: December 19, 2023

Featured Discussion: Inspiration

Where do you get your model-building inspiration?
Where do you find out about new kits?
What magazine, website, catalog gets you going?

Zoom Meeting Report – Dec. 19, 2023

Fifteen people attended the Zoom Meeting, including newcomer Ed from Pennsylvania who builds armored vehicles and naval aircraft.  Ed’s current project, a Bandai YF-29 Durandal Valkyrie robot, started a discussion of favorite primers.  Bob K still prefers his lethal automotive concoction while others opt for Vallejo acrylic black and other hobby undercoats.

Lou reported absolutely no new kit arrivals, but Jimmy and Frank C await new Sword RF-8 Crusader recon jets in 1/72 scale, one representing the Cuban Missile Crisis RF-8A and the other a Vietnam-era RF-8G. Work in progress included Gil’s Tomb Raider and Catwoman figures, Joe B’s polar-bear-fightin’ mechawarriors modified from Nitto SF3D fighting suits, Bob K’s Hobby Boss F-22, and Vaughan’s 1/32 Revell Hurricane in tortured desert camouflage. Vaughan also revealed his descent into armor with a Trumpeter 1/72 Swedish S-Tank and concluded, “This is one amazing kit.”

New purchases included Bob P’s 3D-printed Buddy Cthulhgu, Frank C’s 1/48 Mi-24 Hind from Trumpeter/MiniHobby, Bob K’s 65 Pontiac Bonneville and VW Van and a 1955 Chevy wagon with parts for the pickup. Mr. K also showed his completed PT-19 trainer from MPM and a ’63 Ford Hardtop from AMT nicely finished in his trademark nail polish colors.

Gil’s tool tip of the week was a pack of rotary bristle-discs with abrasive grits from 80 to 12000. Chucked in variable-speed motor tools, the 1 in. diameter discs smooth putty without damaging plastic. Gil noted, “Sometimes I buy a tool because I’m curious how it will be working on a particular model.”

Our sources-of-inspiration discussion included modeling websites such as Armorama and Missing Links, enthusiast magazines like Air Forces Monthly, and varied social media. Bob P is painting a Fang of the Sun Dougram figure and noted “The whole thing was started by seeing guys build it on Twitter.” Frank G observed, “What excites me about a model is the challenge of something new.” Frank C meanwhile showed his umpteenth F-4 Phantom, inspired by the biography of fighter ace Robin Olds.

The next Zoom meeting will be on the Tuesday after Christmas, Dec. 26.  Invites to follow.

Frank

A list of the BPMS Theme Contests over the years

1997 – Science Fiction
1998 – The 50s
1998 – To the Rescue
1999 – Israel
1999 – Conceptual
2000 – On Patrol
2000 – The Marines
2001 – Humor
2001 – Diorama
2002 – Space
2002 – “Old Model”
2003 – Things With Teeth
2003 - A Moment in Time
2004 – Adversaries
2004 – US Military
2005 - In the Movies
2005 - Cats
2006 – Worn, Weathered, and Working
2006 – Star Wars / Star Trek Anniversaries
2007 – Vintage 1965
2007 – We Mean Business
2008 – Warsaw Pact
2008 – NASA
2009 – A Mad, Mad, Mad Theme Contest
2009 – Size Matters
2010 – Naval Aviation
2010 – Things That Sting
2011 – Classic Monogram
2011 – The Twilight Zone
2012 – That 70s Theme
2012 – End of the World
2013 - Television
2013 - Sloppy Seconds 
2014 - Asian Invasion 
2014 - Western European Tour 1944 - 1945 
2015 - Modeling With the Stars 
2015 - New Kids on the Block 
2016 - Basic Black
2016 - Island Hopping 
2017 - Star Wars 40th Anniversary 
2017 - Peaceful Plastic 
2018 - WWII - 1946 
2018 - Rivets!
2019 - NASA: 50th Anniversary of the Moon-landing 
2019 - D-Day to The Battle of the Bulge - 75th Anniversary
2020  (no themes due to COVID-19)

2021  (no themes due to COVID-19)
2022 - 70 Years of Aurora Models

2023 - Remember The Members

2023 - Legends

2024 - Invasion of Normandy / D-Day

2024 - Build Like an 11 Year Old 

 

BPMS Annual Contest Results!

 

Air

HM         Russ Holcomb

                Mark Mullen

                Ray Whitton

3^rd           Steven Nelson

2^nd          Charlie Nelson

1^st           Frank Colucci

 

Armor

HM         Kevin App

                Russ Holcomb

3^rd           Guy Ferrara

                Steven Nelson

2^nd          Charlie Nelson

1^st           Howell Serkin

 

Figure

HM         Russ Holcomb

3^rd           Joe Bergman

2^nd          Kevin App

1^st           Kevin Kilkenny

 

Sea

HM         Steven Nelson

3^rd           Kevin Kilkenny

2^nd          Frank Giallombardo

1^st           Kevin App

 

Sci-Fi

HM         Mark Mullen

                Bobby Pokorny

3^rd           Joe Bergman

2^nd          Guy Ferrara

1^st           Julio Guadalupe

 

Misc

HM         Kevin App

                Joe Bergman

                Kosta Lukyanov

3^rd           Mark Mullen

2^nd          Joke Moon

1^st           Tony Mancuso

 

Most Popular

1Q          Joe Bergman      X-Wing

                Charlie Nelson   F-8E Crusader

2Q          Kevin App           Schnellboot

3Q          Kevin Kilkenny  The Thing: Norris

4Q          Bob Pokorny      Dagon

 

TOP GUN

KEVIN APP

BPMS Bulletin: December 2023 by Kevin K.

 Minutes from the November Meeting

Attendance: Members – 22, Guests – 2, Models – 28
Business discussed: Upcoming Christmas Dinner, Dec. 2, at Nora’s Restaurant.
•Reported that the Huson Valley Show was a success, lot of models and Vendor room well stocked. The BPMS sponsored 2 categories.
•Freeport LI show is upcoming. A few members indicate they would attend.
•4Q contest night – tables were full, except the Ship category was rather light.
•Super Raffle – anyone who built and brought in a model had a chance to win, the more models, the more chances. If you Pledged a model and followed through, that gave you 5 extra chances.

Pledge Night for 2024 is in Jan.! Look through your stash for a model to build or pick up that model you’ve wanted to build at the Hobby shop!!

Missed it By That Much!

Prez Tom Knoll mentioned at the meeting, we gave out 314 super raffle tickets. The record was 315 set a couple years back. We came that close to breaking a record!
-BP

 Notes from the Activities Director
~Bobby P

There is much to do in December, as we close out 2023.
HOLIDAY LUNCHEON: The annual event will be held on Dec 2 at NOON. Tentative price: $45 per person.
NORA’S PARK BENCH CAFÉ
3019 QUENTIN RD
BROOKLYN, NY 11234
718-376-0033

DECEMBER MEETING

LEGENDS THEME CONTEST: The final Theme contest of the year, LEGENDS. Most of us got into building models to make a display of someone or something that was special. Something Legendary! Was it a race car? A flying Ace? The sponsors invite you to build a LEGEND for this contest. Thanks in advance!

AWARDS CEREMONY: The final quarterly contest was in November, so I will crunch the numbers to have the awards ready to announce who we chose in each category.

HOLIDAY DESSERTS: What’s a Holiday Party without the treats? Members are encouraged to bring any snacks, treats, and desserts to celebrate the ending of another successful year of the BPMS.

December 5th, 2023: BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting

Eighteen people met for lunch at Nora's last Saturday and fifteen people attended the Tuesday meeting. There's no zoom next Tuesday, as the in-person meeting is Friday, 12/15/23 at the Community Center in Brooklyn. Expect to be busy. We'll have the Legends theme contest, the 2023 award ceremony and (if you bring 'em) holiday desserts. Details are in the newsletter, which is in the mail. 

 

Lou reports Hobby Boss' 1/48 Pz-4 F2 and Tamiya's 1/48 British 2T 4x2 ambulance are available and many new kits are on the way. Don liked the new video from Fine Scale Modeler featuring an inexpensive air brush (he's a big fan of cheap airbrushes).

 

In progress and completed work included: Hawker Hurricane ( Vaughn's hairspray horror story), Charlie Brown in Halloween costume (Kevin's latest clay sculpture), PT-19A, two FW-190s, two A-37B Dragonflies, Pz-38t, tank crew figures (reworked), F-4C, Napolean Bonaparte and '53 Ford Coca-Cola pickup. Acquisitions included: Terminator 2 Hunter Killer Tank, Iwata airbrush and JJ-7 trainer.

 

Gil showed us how to mount a utility blade on hobby knife handle, creating a tool for bending photoetch and for scraping. He's looking for other uses and feedback. Two tips from Don, (1) nail polish racks are a practical and inexpensive way to store paint bottles (2) flatten the point on the lead of a mechanical pencil and use it to represent rivets/fasteners. 

 

Before discussing the featured topic, we talked about weathering by the hairspray method and by the salt method, mottling paint with sponges and what others think when we tell them we build models. Then we got around to the featured topic, watercolor pencils. Few people knew about them, fewer have used them. Gil has and he felt he had more control with chalk or pan pastels. Kevin and Mark have used watercolor pencils at least once.

 

Next meeting is Friday 12/15/23 at the Community Center. No invites needed. Doors open around 6pm, meeting starts around 7:30pm. Hope to see you there. 

 

~Russ

 

Happy Holidays from all of us at Brooklyn Plastic Modelers Society.

Happy Holidays from all of us at Brooklyn Plastic Modelers Society.

BPMS ZOOM Mini Meeting: 11/28/2023

Thirteen people attended. The holiday lunch is this Saturday, 12/2/23 at Nora's, 3019 Quentin Rd, Brooklyn, at noon. 

 
Lou reports Tamiya's 1/48 F-35 B is available, as are the 1/48 F-4U1, F-4U2A and 1/16 Tiger 1 (initial production) from Hobby Boss. 

 
We didn't see many photos of in progress or completed work this week, but we did see Vaughn's Hawker Hurricane, Kevin's Charlie Brown in his Halloween costume, Bobby's monster sea turtle and Gil's Laura Croft. Jimmy is waiting for a package of Takom kits, 3 1/35 Tiger 1s and a 1/16 figure. 

 
The featured tools were a pair of micro pipettes, 20 drop and 100 drop capacity. Adjustable and more precise than an eyedropper and with a larger capacity, a micro pipette is ideal for mixing colors. But they only work with thinned, airbrush ready paint or with ink. 

 
So, what makes a question a stupid question? It's often a question you're afraid to ask, an admission you don't know something that you should. Several people said they'd learned a lot by asking stupid questions and here are some tips that came out of the stupid question discussion: prepare Tamiya paint for airbrushing by filling a new bottle with Tamiya thinner, soaking the business end of your clogged airbrush in heavily diluted Simple Green will remove the clog, Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver will clean and condition your paint brushes, JB Weld works on resin parts , joints on 3D printed resin parts should be pinned (ask Bobby), Bondo is a useful filler, for tight spots put super glue on one part, accelerator on the other, and join them. 

 
The next zoom meeting is Tuesday, 12/5/23 at 7:30 pm. Invites to follow. The holiday lunch is Saturday, 12/2/23 at noon at Nora's. No Invites needed. See you there. 

 
Russ