BPMS Bulletin
by Bobby B2 Blue Pokorny
November was an excellent meeting. We had 25 members and no guests who brought in 20 models, most of which were for the quarterly contest.
November
Meeting
COntest
night – 4th qtr 2022: This was the
final installment of the quarterly BPMS Annual Contest. Now it’s my turn to
crunch the numbers and see who we voted for in 2022!
super
raffle: This is the
reason why you must fill out your paperwork at each meeting. For every new model you brought in over the course
of the year you got ONE SUPER RAFFLE TICKET. We had around 285 tickets and 125
prizes for the year. Nice job! Can we beat that in 2023? Also, thank you to
everyone who made donations!
DUES 2023: With all the expenses going up, the club is forced to push up the dues to $35 annually.
NEW
MEMBER: If you come on
the Zooms you should already know Frank “Grail”. He’s been to
three meetings and has shown us his models so we voted him in. Welcome to the
fold!
raffle: We did NOT have a regular raffle during the meeting. It’ll probably return in
December.
DECEMBER
THEME CONTEST: Finally! It’s
Here! It’s time for the December theme contest:
The Golden Age of AURORA Models.
Sponsored by Joe B
and Kevin K
HOLIDAY DESSERTS: ‘Tis the season! Why not close out the
year with your BPMS buddies and some tasty treats? You are cordially invited to
bring some sort of dessert or snack or treat to this meeting. Thanks in
advance!
AWARDS
CEREMONY: At the time this
is being written, I have the numbers crunched. Hopefully I’ll have the awards
printed out in time so we can see who the winners are for 2022.
Photo-phone
list: Gordon started taking photos of the group for the
photo-phone list. If he didn’t take your photo at the last meeting, please see
him at the next meeting.
WEEKLY
ZOOM: Even though we are back to having regular meetings,
the weekly ZOOM will continue! New day and time: Tuesdays at 7:30 PM. Every
week EXCEPT for weeks with an in-person meeting.
SPOTLIGHT MODELER: Julio
G.
Where do you live? How Long?: I’m from
the Bronx, NY. Lived here just about my whole life.
Where did you go to school?: I went to
DeWitt Clinton Highschool in the Bronx and Eventually Bronx Community College.
When/ how were you first exposed to the hobby?: My first
experience was through one of my older brothers that liked Sci-fi Models. For
my 11th Birthday he got me the Battlesaurus model from the
Techno Zoids (Now widely known as just ZOIDS) series, which he had a few of
growing up. We spent a few hours putting it together and it was pretty much the
coolest thing I had. I didn’t build any other models until I was about 17,
buying Gundam Models from a local video game store I frequented. I pretty much
bought out the stores entire stock over time.
How long have you been involved in the hobby and
what do you like to build?: I’d say I’ve been building seriously for about 4 or
5 years. I did build some models when I was younger but there wasn’t any effort
outside of snapping them together. Nowadays, I like giving my models a bit of
work and breathing some life into them. I’d say my taste in models is rather
broad, since I do enjoy armor, I enjoy giant robots and I also enjoy busts.
Basically, if I like it, I’ll want to work on it.
How did you learn the techniques you use when
building a model?: They were learned online, by looking for websites with how-to turtorials
and youtube videos. I also have some friends that are into scale modeling, so I
consulted with them too. Great thing about the current day and age is that
there is a ton of information available, gathered from so many experienced
modelers, readily available with a few clicks of a mouse or taps of your
finger.
Do you remember the first model you built?: First
model for sure was the Battlesaurus (aka Ultrasaurus), a giant mechanized
Brontosaurus, by the Kenner toy company from a line they released called Techno
Zoids, a rebranded localization of the ZOIDS series. While it was from a toy
company, this thing came in a huge box loaded with a ton of runners. All
pieces, like a traditional model, needed to be cut off the runner and put
together. It was a snap tight model (As is the nature of almost every ZOIDS
model out there) so assembly was pretty easy. My older brother and I put this
together in an evening, I’d say over a course of 5 hours. Despite being a
model, it was marketed as a toy due to the fact it came with a battery powered
motor to make the model not only light up, but walk as well, which was a new
feature to ZOIDS models. They all used to sport a simple wind-up motor to make
them move.
What was your favorite model to build? Why?: My
favorite model to work on would be this Cthulhu bust I worked on about a year
or two ago. It’s a 3D printed model, made from grey resin, and I don’t think
there was a scale to it at all. Its my favorite because it was a very new
experience for me, being outside of a traditional plastic model and also being
a bust, which I was interested in working on for some time. Having to paint
this both via airbrush and by hand, was an enjoyable experience and I tried to
pour as much of what I’ve learned so far into it. It currently sits in a friend
of mines house that liked it so much, I decided to give it to him.
Where do you usually work on models?: I have a
dedicated desk space for working on models. Its located in my living room, in a
nice corner out of the way from everything else. Its currently a mess right
now, but what kind of scale modeler doesn’t have a messy desk?
Are there any models you wish would be produced?
Why?: I’m not
sure. Nowadays, there are models of almost everything. There model kits off Cup
Noodles out there, so I don’t think there’s anything left that doesn’t have a
plastic model out there.
How do you feel about the current state of the hobby
and how do you think it will survive the future?: I think
the current state of the hobby is doing well and only going to get better.
There’s more interest in plastic models as they are somewhat easier to get a
hold of these days and there is an extremely large selection to choose from.
You like tanks? There are plenty of tanks. You like big robots, there’s plenty
of those. Like boats? There’s so many to choose from! Scale modeling as a hobby
will definitely be a thing, now and many years into the future. If there is a
version that exists of it, there will always be someone out there with love and
an appreciation for taking a subject and making a real looking counter part in
a scaled down size.
How/ When did you find out about the BPMS? How long
have you been a member?: I first heard about BPMS after looking up on line
what the closest to home IPMS Chapter was. This took place after a trip to
Mosquitocon a few years ago. Saw it was in Brooklyn, said hey, I’m going to go
participate and I am looking to continue to do so.
Do you have other interests or hobbies?: I play
Video Games pretty often. Mostly platformers or action/adventure games. Always
have since I was a kid and don’t plan on stopping. I think it helps keep my
hand/eye coordination in check.
Any other comments, such as anecdotes or hobby
stories that you would like to share?:
Thank you to all the awesome scale modelers out there. From the people
who are just getting started to the seasoned veterans, without you guys, the
hobby wouldn’t be as rich, rewarding and fun as it is now.
Meeting Date: Dec 16, 2022
Location: BBSC
Time: Doors open by 6 PM, business starts at 7:30 PM
See you there!
Posts
