BPMS ZOOM MINI MEETING REPORT: February 3rd, 2026

Fifteen people attended. We met Al L, a sci-fi and WW2 ship modeler from Brooklyn who found us on Facebook. Welcome Al, you have two weeks to figure out how to get to Bergen Beach for the February in-person meeting.

Bobby was part of an IPMS Region One meeting about June's Noreastcon in Rochester. They're looking for people to give clinics, also looking for sponsors. 

Lou reports Airfix's 1/35 Alvis FV 662, 1/72 Westland Wessex HC 2, 1/48 Supermarine Spitfire PR XIX, and 1/144 SLS Artemis are available. 

We saw Vaughn's F-105 G (he liked the Trumpeter kit but was disappointed with the generic color callouts), Michael C's AT AT (the MPC kit has major fit issues), Chuck's 1/48 Jeep (part of the P-47 kit - the best part, according to Chuck), Gil's 3D printed hubless bagger motorcycle with rider, Kevin's Salome figure, and Frank C's AH-64A Apache and F-104.

 

Acquisitions included: Serenair compressor with airbrush, Dora Railway Gun, Ki-64 Hein, and Victory 357 Hawk Ekranoplan.

Gil created this week's tool by using a W440 tap to thread a metal BBQ skewer to accept two nuts to secure an item for painting.

Fixing or not fixing mistakes was our topic. We heard about shattered decals, reversed decals, incorrect decals, incorrect colors, rushed paint jobs, blemished paint jobs, parts ruined while being "corrected", parts not installed before the canopy was glued in place,  and parts inadvertently thrown away.  Some mistakes are easily corrected if you have a spare kit to replace the broken/missing part. Some could have been avoided if you thought ahead or didn't work when you were rushed and/or tired. Having good lighting at the workbench and painting a prime coat will find mistakes when they're relatively easy to fix. Two former judges said judging made them better builders. And, sometimes, trying to fix a mistake only makes things worse. So, make the best of it, learn from your mistake, and get back to work. 

The next meeting is on Tuesday, 2/10/26 at 7:30 pm. Invites to follow. Enjoy your Super Bowl Party leftovers as we talk about America's real favorite pastime, building models. 

 

~Russ