Penn Con 2024

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August 20, 2024, BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting Report

Featured Discussion: Updated, "new tool" kits are becoming more common. If you get one, what happens to the old version that's in your stash?

Fourteen people attended. The new IPMS Journal is out and IPMS wants your feedback. Keep it civil, we do represent Brooklyn, after all. We talked about a new location for the holiday lunch, Dinosaur BBQ, on Union Street, in Brooklyn. A few guys know the place and recommend it. Details to follow. Let us know what you think. 

Lou reports Hobby Boss's 1/48 Mig-35 and 1/35 Soviet Gaz AAA Katyusha are available and Italeri's 1/72 F-35 C is on the horizon. 

Erasmo shared photos of the large hobby shop at the Atlantic Canada Aviation Museum in Halifax, Canada and Mark shared photos of the recent New York Air Show at the Orange County Airport in New York. 

In progress and completed work included: DH Comet, DH Hornet, Stinson (never rely on a second kit for spare parts, eh Vaughn?), F-22, Medusa bust, Lucy bust (Kevin's build, so it's from a Dracula film, not a Peanuts comic strip), A-6, F-18A, Chariot (from Lost in Space),
Ho Ri-II and alien figure. Acquisitions included: F-35 B, Spitfire, German tank crew, decals and Tamiya lacquer paints. 

The tool was the Spot Sanding Pen by 3M. Gil reminded us to careful working with the pen because of its fiberglass fibers. 

How do we feel about updated kits? While some guys have enough and aren't interested in adding to their stash (Erasmo and others want to build as many kits as they can before, well, you know), most feel updates are expensive and can be unnecessarily complex. Lou recommends looking for reviews on YouTube before buying. Some guys get updated kits when they don't have time or inclination to struggle with an old kit and some guys prefer their older kits. Turning philosophical, Mark wondered, which is better, an old flawed kit or a new flawed kit? Frank noted overly complicated updates can take the fun out of the build. He feels it's not age of the kit that's important, it's what you get out of it. We can learn from old kits. They can be built as practice for the new kit. Some people purge old kits from their stash and some would feel bad about getting rid of them. Maybe that explains Quin Shi Huang's terracotta army? 

The next meeting is Tuesday, 8/27/24 at 7:30 pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there.
~Russ 

 

BPMS & Fantasy Modeling Magazine

 

A blast from the past. This shows you how long age the BPMS was involved in Sci-Fi and Anime models. The magazine was put out by Starlog magazine during the mid 1980's. BPMS member Andy Yahacus was the editor of the magazine. Plus BPMS member Murray Richter built the Bandai 1/60 Zaku II on the cover of issue number one. Magazine only ran 6 issues. (From Jeff E)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkYkWGO5Rdw

Spotlight Modeler: Joe Hartigan

During the July BPMS Meeting we voted in our newest member: Joe Hartigan. While most of us think of Joe as the friendly gentleman who is very knowledgeable about model trains, he turned heads at the meeting with his stunning 1/24 scale Ford and Volvo trucks.

For Joe, getting this this point has been a journey, like most of us. At ten years old he took a shot at his first plastic model. It was the Monogram Little T which he promptly ruined. (Hint, that’s how you build like a 10 or an 11-year-old. It’s about getting it done while having fun!) From there, growing up in College Point, Queens, life happened with its twists and turns. Model building took a pause. He went to St Peters College. He put in his years as a Fire Fighter. Now in retirement Joe was able to return to the hobby.

Now that Joe has been able to get back to the hobby he’s been reacquainted with the best part of it: the FUN of building in his basement and getting projects done. While he does enjoy his train set -ups he also likes getting his plastic models done, too. Of course, that requires inspiration. Where better than the hobby shows? Back to the journey. Going to a local show can easily include side trips to other places of note, especially hobby shops. And, despite being a big train enthusiast, all shows can provide inspiration, and you never know what might show up in the vendor rooms.

Joe sees great value in learning from the mistakes of others. Why re-invent the wheel? Do your research and watch YouTube videos and be prepared for your builds, he suggests. You can also find good detail parts from flea market and FB Marketplace finds. Some of those trashed dis-cast models can be a treasure trove of useful parts.

His outlook for the hobby is positive. With advances in the technology with 3D printing and printing companies that are ready for the future.

When Joe came to us at the BPMS he was impressed with the friendliness with which he was greeted. He had been to other places that things didn’t go so well. Plus, we aren’t very far as currently resides in Belle Harbor, NY.  

In closing, Joe can’t emphasize enough that we should just try to finish off more our projects. They won’t finish themselves! 

~BP

BPMS Sponsors IPMS/USA Winners!

 As is known to most members, the BPMS raised enough member donations to sponsor not one, but two categories. In all fairness to those that donated, we thought you would like to see who won our awards. 

Category 2

 

2024 IPMS Nationals Winners Slide Show

https://www.svsmgallery.com/Top-level/Contests/IPMS-USA-Nationals-2024/Awards-Presentation-Slide-Show

August 6, 2024 BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting

Fifteen people attended. 

We remembered long time BPMS member Jimmy Maroney, who passed on August 4th, on Long Island. RIP, Jimmy. 

There's no Tuesday Zoom meeting next week. The in-person meeting is Friday, the 16th. It's Pizza Night and Quarterly Contest Night. Details are in the Bulletin, which is in the mail. 

Julio recapped last Saturday's group build at BrookLAN. It was well attended and will be repeated on 10/12/24. There may be another Pier 57 group build in September. Julio is looking at other group build opportunities in Manhattan. 

Lou informed us Tamiya's 1/72 F-35 B is available. Other new products are on the club's Facebook page. 

Kosta told us about the train show in Edison, NJ this weekend and the Gloucester, MA, Schooner Festival on 8/28/24 - 9/2/24. 

In-progress and completed work included: Stinson Reliant, F-22, Tiger 1, Lucy bust (from the 1992 film Dracula), Medusa bust, DH 88 Comet (the vintage kit, not the new one), F-18 A (an almost vintage kit), 3D printed tracks for the Lost in Space Chariot (Gil makes them in 1/35 and 1/24) and Ho Ri 2. Only one acquisition, Flintstones Go Lowbrow. 

Vaughan is using very diluted Simple Green (full strength will corrode metal) to clean airbrushes. Kevin noted that soaking a piece in Simple Green for a few days will remove the paint. 

Gil told us a tire tread depth gauge can be used on models in addition to car tires. They come in digital and mechanical styles. 

The stash. Bobby recalled Frank Tripoli saying the hobby is as much about collecting as it is about building. But how do you explain your stash to others? We heard about stashes that disappeared because of relationships, about ways to convince others your stash isn't so big, about rearranging storage areas to make new arrivals less obvious, about the value of peace offerings and, finally, about why we keep adding to it even though we know better ("When you see it, you gotta buy it!"). Julio called the stash a blessing and a curse and Chuck observed there are two kinds of people, those you don't explain it to and those you can't explain it to. 

The next meeting is Friday, 8/16/24 at the Community Center in Brooklyn. Doors open by 6pm, and the meeting starts around 7:30 pm. Hope to see you there. 

~Russ

Jimmy ‘Shea’ Maroney: 1950 - 2024

 

Jimmy ‘Shea’ Maroney: 1950 - 2024

Long-time Brooklyn Plastic Modelers Society member Jimmy Maroney passed away on August 4. Our quiet, knowledgeable, and unassuming friend was 74 years old.

 

Jimmy joined our club in the 1970s when the group met at the Marcy Photo Studios on New Utrecht Avenue in Bensonhurst. He had a lifelong passion for history and built 1/72 and 1/48 scale aircraft with special emphasis on Irish subjects. Jimmy and his father attended some of the earliest BPMS Christmas dinners. He and his sister, Stacey, returned to Brooklyn for holiday luncheons at Nora’s Deli long after the two relocated from Brooklyn to Suffolk County on Long Island in the early 2000s. Significantly, Jimmy maintained his BPMS membership and contacts years after he moved away from the club.

Jimmy grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and graduated from Bishop Ford High School. He had a long career in New York banking and traveled enthusiastically to his ancestral Ireland. Jimmy was a long-time member of the International Plastic Modelers Society. He attended several regional IPMS conventions with our group. He was also a model railroad enthusiast and helped build the elaborate layout in the basement of BPMS founder Bert Berg.

Though he never held BPMS office, Jimmy was a great representative of our club, friendly, respectful, and inquisitive about modeling. He is missed.

 

Gundam Group Build ay BrookLAN

 Thanks to Julio G., and Richie in the Sieg Zeon group,  there was a Gundam Group Build  today, 8/3/24, at BrookLAN, 136 Troutman St, (Brooklyn) from 2 to 6pm.

 Good people, good place, good burgers and Lots of good looking models! 

 

BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting Report: July 30, 2024

Twelve people attended. The next group build is tomorrow, 8/3/24, at BrookLAN, 136 Troutman St, (Brooklyn) from 2 to 6pm. Building models in a bar. What could be better?

 

Congratulations to Mark N on being named IPMS's Regional Coordinator of the Year. Unfortunately, he didn't make it to the Nationals, but Charlie did and he gave us a full report on the show. Son Steve, you may recall, posted a link to pictures of the event on Monday. 

 

We heard that several companies are coming out with new kits of the Pzkw 1 tank, S-55 helicopter, A-4 and F-14 B. 

 

In progress and completed work included: FL-282 Kolibri, F-22, Stinson Reliant, Igor bust, Sam Elliott bust, Evel Knievel bust, Skyray prototype, RW-D 6, Tiger 1, River Tam figure (from Firefly) and A-6 (Frank had a pleasant build, thanks to tips from Vaughn).

 

The discussion on making your own decals brought to mind the old saying, if it was easy, everyone would do it. Several people tried and were disappointed with the results. Gil, who scans kit decals into a library for backup, is more familiar with the dos and don'ts of printing decals on laser or ink jet printers and not wasting space on the decal paper. It can be intimidating. Guess that's why they have people who make decals, like https://www.decalcomaniacs.net/index.html

 

Next meeting is Tuesday, Aug 5, at 7:30 pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there and at BrookLAN. 

 

~Russ