September 9 2025 BPMS Zoom Mini Meeting Report

Eleven people attended. No Tuesday Zoom next week, the in-person meeting is Friday the 19th. We'll remember Don Illjes by telling stories and bringing in the types of models he liked to build. Hypothetical and real WW2 German aircraft, Sci-fi, fantasy, submarines and armor come to mind, but there may be more.

Lou was pleased to report Meng's 1/48 EA-18G Growler, Ryefield's 1/35 Leopard 2A7, M-109A Paladin, M-4 A3 76mm with full interior, Takom's 1/35 Tiger 1 (early production), Tiger 1 (early command), Israeli M1 Super Sherman and 1/32 Horton 229 Flying Wing are available. 

Talking about the 2026 IPMS Nationals got us talking about Cleveland (it's kinda close to Ft Wayne) and aviation pioneer Roscoe Turner, his accomplishments and his pet lion, Gilmore. 

A mystery was solved when Bobby told us how a pencil extender can be used. 

We saw Vaughn's F-100, Simon's Fw-200, Chuck's Me-262, Gil's 3D printed swamp buggy, Frank C's Blackhawk, Kevin's Fr. Karras bust and Russ' M-109. 

Acquisitions included: UH 60 M Blackhawk, Moon Hopper, and German Rocket Ship Airliner. 

Two tools this week - Gil's Steel Wall Target, from Gator, is designed to hold tools on the wall but lay it on your workbench, get a couple of magnets, and you have an assembly jig. Bobby's mobile phone pry bar, from AliExpress, can safely disassemble mismatched parts or entire models. 

The topic was precut masks. The general consensus was they were a good product requiring a lot of patience to get a good result. Even so, paint can bleed under them. Like photoetch, they may or may not be used if included in the kit, depending on the modeler. Gil showed us the sheet with 165 masks that came with Fujimi's 1/150 Water Taxi, Himiko (the model is about 8.5 " long - good luck). Many of us use liquid masks. Gil told us that silicone tipped shapers, available at Michael's, Hobby Lobby or online, can be used like paint brushes to apply liquid masks precisely. Just make sure the shaper has the right density for the job. And who can talk about masks without talking about stencils? Not us, but that's a topic in itself, one we'll revisit soon. 

The next meeting is Friday, 9/19/25 at the Community Center in Brooklyn. No invites needed. Doors open around 5pm. Meeting starts around 7:30. I seriously doubt you'll bring in as many models as Don did after lockdown, but you can try, we got lotsa tables.
 

~Russ