The Brooklyn Plastic Modelers Society: May 2025

Thursday, May 29, 2025

BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting: 05/27/2025

Eleven people attended.

Bobby reports Hobby Lobby is having a 40% off sale, so this might be a good time to pay them a visit. Their newest store is in lower Manhattan on Murray Street, between West and Greenwich. We saw lots of cars and Gundam, some aircraft and ships, very little armor and a good selection of paints, tools and supplies. The discounted prices are reasonable. For online consumers, Jimmy recommends visiting BNA modelworld.com and Mr. K recommends the Draw Decal website.

Russ shared photos of the USS New York, in town for Fleet Week. A photo of the ship's Sea King is attached to remind everyone of June's Long Live the King theme contest.

We saw Vaughn's Mosquito, Comet Racer and Hornet, Chuck's Panzer 2, Mr. K's Vampirella figure, Tiger Meet F-104 and F-14, Kevin's Aztec Princess figure, Gil' s Veronica bust and Mark's Porsche 959. Acquisitions included Canadian Universal Carrier decals, German tank crew figures, 1/72 aircraft details/ordnance (from Jet Passion), KC-130, Yak - 200, Leo Mobile Suit and two Angel Interceptors (from two manufacturers).

This week's tool was a collapsible silicone paint brush washer from the dollar store.

The featured topic was ways to mix paint. Many use coffee stirrers but Gil prefers a glass stirring rod. It's easy to clean and convenient for transferring paint drop by drop. Bobby likes using old paint brush handles. Some put stainless steel ball bearings in the bottles before shaking them up. Magnetic mixers and vortex mixers can work well but we were reminded that if you need a power tool to reliquefy the paint, it may never dry properly.

The next meeting is Tuesday, 6/3/25 at 7:70 pm. Invites to follow. Hope to see you there.

~Russ

Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Andy Yanchus

1944-2021

A name that will be familiar to many 1960’s-70s modelers is Andy Yanchus (1944-2021). Andy was a long-time member of the BPMS, and worked with Aurora Plastics in West Hempstead, NY, beginning in the mid-1960swhere he one of the two Project Managers there. Andy came up with the Monster Scenes idea, a smaller version of Aurora’s classic monster kits, but presented in ‘scenes.

Andy moved on from Aurora to Marvel and during his 17-year career there, he contributed to several ongoing titles such as UNCANNY X-MEN, ALPHA FLIGHT, and NEW WARRIORS.

Although Andrew had left his kit modeling career to pursue coloring comics, his passion for the community and his hobby never waned. He later co-wrote a definitive book about Aurora called Aurora Monster Scenes — The Most Controversial Toys of a Generation (2014). He also wrote for Starlog, Fantasy Modeling, and Collecting Scale Models magazines.

Since 1972

In 1972 a group of guys from a local hobby shop decided to start meeting together for their shared interest in models. By May 1973 they were more formally known as THE BROOKLYN PLASTIC MODELERS SOCIETY.

The Brooklyn Plastic Modeler Society is one of the oldest local chapters of the International Plastic Modelers Society and resides in Kings County (Brooklyn), New York. Since our inception we've been bringing a diverse group of modelers with varied tastes together for monthly gathering to discuss the hobby and display our latest works.

Some notable moments in BPMS history include our involvement in bringing the Aircraft Carrier INTREPID to NYC as well as many displays on-board over the years; in October of 1975 we hosted the Big Apple Con and Noreastcon 6 in May, 1977; as well as displays for many events and make-and-takes over the years.

We've also been supporters of Speicher Model Group overseas as well as Wounded Warriors closer to home.

We were named IPMS/USA Region 1’s Club of the Year for two years running – 2023 and 2024.

We currently reside in the Bergen Beach Sports Complex and meet on the third Friday of each month.

Saturday, May 24, 2025

BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting - 05/20/25

"Don't even think about it" is bad advice for model builders, but you know that. How do you maintain your concentration while building?

Eleven people attended.

Lou reported Trumpeter's1/16 Tiger 1E, mid production, with zimmerit, is available.

Jimmy shared photos of the MFCA show and Mark spoke about The Rhode Island Brick Convention (aka Lego show) he attended in Warwick, RI. Technical issues prevented him from sharing photos. Maybe next Tuesday?

The Long Live the King theme contest is coming up. We encourage those who can't be at the June 20 in-person meeting to participate by sending a photo of their King related model by June 15 for display at the contest.

In NYC, Fleet Week 2025 is underway. Ships are moored near the Intrepid in Manhattan and at the Staten Island Homeport.

Check https://www.nynavyleague.org/fleet-week-2025 for details.

We saw Vaughn's Ju-88 (he's convinced the designer of this ICM kit never built a model), Simon's Caudron Goeland C440, B-24, P-40 E, Ki-54 and Yak-7 and Kevin's Zombie/maggoty 3D printed figure.

Acquisitions included: two Tiger 1s, M-113, Hetzer, WW2 Berlin sewer vignette and LVTH 6.

Maintaining concentration while building was the featured topic. Some find it easy, just get comfortable, get in the zone, and focus on the work. Some get distracted easily and view fixing mistakes as part of the fun of modeling.

Having several kits in progress gives you things to concentrate on while paint dries or glue sets. Some of us concentrate best in silence, others prefer background noise. For certain models, Mark can remember what was playing in the background when he built the kit. Laying out all the sprues in advance, especially on kits with large parts counts, eliminates distractions caused by rummaging through a pile of sprues over and over.

The next meeting is Tuesday, the 27th, at 7:30 pm. Invites to follow.

If you're able to attend any Memorial Day events, take a few pictures for the rest of us.

~Russ