Zoom Meeting Report for Oct. 7th.

 

 Zoom Meeting Report for Oct. 7th.

Twelve modelers generally content with the variety of currently available kits attended the Oct. 7 BPMS Zoom Meeting.  The meeting theme asked what desirable models had been announced but never released.

Lou cautioned that some kits just remain in development for a very long time. The 1/32 scale A-6 Intruder from Trumpeter took 10 years to come to market.  However, the 1/700 scale USS Enterprise announced long ago in the DML catalog never appeared. “That is the kingpin of missing kit announcements. “ Lou reported no new kits released this week and observed the annual Tamiya holiday announcement promised only cars, without new aircraft, armor, or naval releases.  “This is the first time it’s ever happened.” 

Tom K now awaits the 1/35 scale Heinkel 111 from Border Models. Test shots of the big, new bomber with realistically wrinkled ‘tin-can’ skins have appeared on Facebook. However, our grizzled former president concluded,  “I’ve been promised a lot of things. I’m still waiting.”

Vaughan’s work on his 1/72-scale F-100 Super Sabre and RF-101 Voodoo has been stalled by “one decal disaster after another.”  Vaughan over-sprayed one sheet of decals with Testor’s Glosscote and found some of the markings curled in water while others refused to come off their paper backing. Replacement decals proved so fragile that the uncoated markings just disintegrated in water. Vaughan’s list of wished-for but never-announced kits includes early Cessna light aircraft and a 1/48 model of Sikorsky’s S-67 Blackhawk gunship.

Jimmy T noted that sprues in Tamiya’s F-4B Navy Phantom are marked for an F-4C/D Air Force version  still to be announced. Exciting plans for 1/35 scale Star Wars Walkers from DML never came to be. Jimmy also recalled CAD drawings of a new-mold 1/48 OA-4M Skyhawk published a decade ago by Kinetic Models though the kit itself never materialized.  “That’s the only thing I’d like to see.” 

Russell called into the BPMS Zoom meeting from California and announced that he was venturing into paper-modeling. “I’m realizing I can just make a mess, print another sheet, and take another shot at it.”  Among promised plastic kits he acknowledged, “I’m always looking for someone to do a Sherman Duplex Drive. I don’t know why they haven’t done that yet.”

Simon expressed his wish for an Avro Lincoln, the long-range  Lancaster Mk 4 bomber built for the RAF to fight the Pacific war but ultimately sold to Argentina and other post-war operators. He also wants quality kits of the Lancastrian and York airliners. Simon noted a Handley Page Hastings transport, issued by Roden in 1/144 scale, appeared in 1/72 scale only in an expensive resin kit. “That was the one I was hoping to see that never came out. Simon later showed his modeling talent with images of his neat kit-bashed Hastings conversion.

Gil continues working on the Moebius model of the Spindrift spaceship from Land of Giants, one more replica to join his Aurora and Lunar Models kits.  “You can’t have enough Spindrifts,” he said. Significantly, 3-D printing and kit-bashing has answered a lot of Gil’s kit dreams. “All the kits I ever wanted, they came out.” Gil showed his own resin-cast sculpture of Raquel Welch from Fantastic Voyage and noted heavy, expensive garage castings have been superseded by 3-D printing.

Bobby showed the fine detail captured in Gil’s 3-D printed Selene from the Underworld movies. The new technology grows more widespread with home printers and cheap or free STL files readily available on-line. Bobby P  added, “It’s pretty much killed the entire garage-kit business.” He still wishes for kits of the Gundam Zaku robots. The cool-looking Zakus were available only in Japan and sold out immediately.

Gil’s weekly tool tip was a ¼ in. square paper punch used to make sandpaper squares glued to the end of wooden dowels – End Sanders. “There are those times where you can’t get a file or a sanding stick in that one area.” Gil also showed chopsticks with an alligator clip at one end and hanging hook at the other to suspend painted parts as they dry.

Kevin K continues work on his moon-hopper from the UFO TV Series and says he finds plenty of projects to build on the current market.

Frank C showed his recently completed 1/72 scale Hasegawa F-35A in subdued Japanese markings. He also shared a boxtop image of Minicraft’s 1/144 scale LC-130J ski-Hercules, posted on the Minicraft website but never released before the company went under. Fortunately, Academy has acquired Minicraft molds and may yet produce the ski-equipped Antarctic Hercules.

There will be NO on-line Zoom next Tuesday, but the BPMS will meet in-house at the Bergen Beach Sports Complex on Friday, October 17.

The October 17 in-house meeting will feature this year’s Pledge Models. Completed Pledge Models will earn BPMS members five bonus tickets in the always-exciting Super Raffle!

The last Group Build of the year is scheduled for October 18 at Japan Village.

The announced tour of Brooklyn's historic Floyd Bennett Field on October 25 has been canceled due to the Federal Government shutdown.