Quad-City Scale Modelers Society’s
June 2007 Newsletter

 

The meeting minutes:

The May meeting was pretty interesting.  Seventeen people showed up, and we were missing a number of the regulars due to scheduling conflicts, so not a bad turnout for the start of summer. One of the first things we discussed was merging our show with Cedar rapids.  We will do this and will recommend to Cedar Rapids that the 2008 show be held in Cedar rapids as we do not have a show chairman available in our club at this time.  We will write up a proposal and send it to the Lippisch chapter to get the ball rolling. The June meeting will be the Regional in Ottawa, but there may be a local get together, see Bob Horton’s note below.  If you are interested in meeting that day, please contact him and let him know at (309) 762-4235.  It now looks as if I will make at least Saturday at the Regional.  My boys are both home on pre-deployment leave as I write this the last week of May.  Christopher will leave for Camp Dodge on Sunday and we will see him off at the deployment ceremony on 5 June. His unit will be training at Camp Shelby in Mississippi and then deploy to Iraq from there.  Alex goes back to Fort Hood on 8 June around noon and will deploy to the National Training center at Fort Irwin for a train up prior to leaving for Iraq.  Both boys should be in Iraq by late Fall.  Christopher’s unit will be on the same post as one of the Baghdad model clubs, so hopefully we can keep him supplied with distractions.  The July meeting will be the barbecue at Keith Johnson’s house in Dubuque.  The address is 828 Kaufman Ave, Dubuque, IA 52001-3151.  Keith recommends that you use Google or Mapquest for directions.  Please bring a covered dish or dessert.  Keith will supply the meat (courtesy of the club).  We will have a club raffle and a club contest – bring the kits that you got at the Christmas gift exchange or raffle to enter.  Bob Horton has been taking care of us at the museum and we know have two display cases to use at the museum.  The theme will be “Got History?” we can bring in anything that is historical and in good taste.  This is a museum, after all.  So classic muscle cars, planes, ships; both military and civilian, plus spacecraft.  A little something for everyone.  I have arranged a tour of the Rock Island Arsenal museum for the August meeting, so we will meet at the museum.  Directions will be in the next issue.  We will get a tour, plus fill up the display cases.  The research area is not open to the public without prior arrangement, but we will get a tour to see what is available.  This is a great museum and I hope you can make it.  Bob is still working on getting SGM Bowman to speak at a Fall meeting.  On to0 the Regional, we did confirm that we will sponsor two categories.  Mike V, we need to get a check to Ronbo.  I urge all of you to support the regional by entering lots of models, these guys have always been behind our show and I hope we can step up.  I am building and painting again and trying to get some new stuff done.  By the way, the new issue of the IPMS Journal should be in your mail boxes now with the ballot.  You can vote on line or using the Journal ballot, but I urge you to vote.  This is our society and we do have a say in how it is run.  I’ve been thinking it’s about time for a new membership drive.  I’ve meet a bunch of folks who frequent the hobby shops but have no idea we exist.  I would like to ask you all to get involved.  If you have an idea for a poster or flyer, send me a copy via email or snail mail and the club can have them printed up to post in the local hobby shops and pass out to folks who buy models.  The meeting demonstration was on Figure painting, provided via Ralph Nardone’s DVD demonstration from the Atlanta National. There were a number of good tips, such as using wax paper for a paint mixing palette.  Some other tips were going with quality Winsor and Newton brushes.  I believe that you can some times get these on half off sales at Hobby Lobby, he recommends getting a 3-0 brush that is of the highest quality, you can go cheap on the other sizes if you want to.  Take care of your brushes and clean them after every use.  Ralph’s primer o choice is Floquil’s Reefer white which can be both brush painted and airbrushed.  It’s especially useful when you want a little bite to your primer to bond with the figure material.  He also recommends using Turpenoid rather than turpentine as it has a little less funk.  5 minute epoxy is recommended over super glue as it is flexible and lasts longer.  “Milliput is your friend”, use superfine white to fill gaps.  Dip your finger in a bowl of water use it to smooth the Milliput the use a wet brush or toothpick to clean and shape.  A stainless steel burnishing tool also woks well to sculpt with, as does a pint brush handle.  A tip for painting brass, don’t mix or shake the bottle, use the residue from the bottom of the jar and put that on the palette, it will give you much better control than the runny paint you get if you mix it.  That’s it for this week.  I hope to see you at the Regional.

 

Some news from Bob Horton, Chapter Contact:

Hi guys:  Got a couple of issues to bring to the bunch.  First:  In an effort to help out a local hobby dealer, Mel at MVR Hobbies.  I was talking to him yesterday and he was troubled by the fact that somehow a story had been circulating around lately that he was either closed and out of business or closing and going out of business, don't know how or why that story started.  One thing that adds to the problem is the fact that the store west and down front of him has closed and up for sale or empty and trying to attract a new tenant.  So anyone looking for Mel’s might see that sign and think it was Mel.  He definitely is not closing or going out of business and he would appreciate anyone hearing that statement please correct it.  Second. It looks like I may very well not be able to attend the Regional in Ottawa next month.  Wife having surgery in a couple of weeks and I probably will not be able to be away that long.  So, are there enough people not going that we may want to have a little bull session meeting at the regular place, regular time.  Or do we want to see if we can move the meeting to the week Saturday after the Regionals.  I can be at the regular meeting at regular time and date if anyone wants to come over....or forget the thing altogether....whatever is the will of the people.

 

An update from Travis Russ:

Hello Friends and Family, Just a note letting you know that most everything is going well. I see my Cardiologist next week and hope to have most of my restrictions lifted then. I still cant drive and am not allowed to lift anything over 10 pounds..(shut up Jack). But I feel pretty good and I feel ready to get back to work and the rest of my life.

Travis

 

Show and Tell:

Shawn brought in some Warhammer and Crimson Skies figures and aircraft.  The planes are very small scale and are very “what if?” looking.  They are all painted in the Polish Mercenary Air Force colors.   The 1/3 scale raptor was back after getting and updated paint job, it was looking very good, as was the “Panzer pal” figure that Shawn brought.  Lots of flesh tones on that one….

Keith brought a Aoshima Lexus kit in 1/24 scale.  It was out of the box with a very nice paint job.  He also brought his $20 challenge Nissan pathfinder in all built up and in a primer coat.  I think this one is gonna get done.

Earl brought in some of his latest projects such as the old Hawk Beta-I atomic bomber wit parasite fighters.  This is an actual kit.  He also brought in a dinosaur skirmish diorama that was a work in progress.  He also brought an old Revell F-94 that he’s been working on.  Earl is looking for some of the old Revell or other manufacturers, airplane stands.  If you have any please bring them to the next meeting.

Ronbo had an in progress Stryker that he’s been working on for the Regional.

There were also some nice kits still in the box that folks brought by, the new DML M51 Sherman, a 1/32 Hasegawa P-47D that had some serious plastic in the box.  A 1/35 scale Hobby Boss Ontos; Ronbo is obviously punishing himself for something.  There was a ’43 Wily’s gasser and a Fujimi 330 P4 Lemans 2nd place winner. 

Brian Clemmons brought in a MRC Stargate RA model in 1/9th scale.

 

The Dates:

June 9:  No chapter meeting!  We will be at the Regional!

June 8-9:  Region V Regional, Knights of Columbus Hall 401 West Main Street, Ottawa, IL 61350 Contact: Steve Stohr: 815-434-7279, 2615 Cherie Lane, Ottawa, IL 61350 thestohrs@aol.com

July 14:  Chapter Meeting.  Club barbecue

August 11: Chapter Meeting at the Rock Island Arsenal Museum

August 22-25:  IPMS/USA 2007 National Convention hosted by IPMS/Orange County; Anaheim Marriott, Anaheim, CA; details at www.ipmsusa2007.org

September 8:  Chapter Meeting

October 13:  Chapter Meeting

November 10:   Chapter Meeting

December 8: Chapter Meeting.  Christmas party and annual “What If? Contest.  The $20 challenge will also be held.  Bring in the completed kit you bought for $20 from Ed and get your money back.

 

Mikey’s collected wisdom:

A lot of folks can't understand how we came to have an oil shortage here in our country.  well, there's a very simple answer. Nobody bothered to check the oil.  We just didn't know we were getting low.  The reason for that is purely geographical.  Our OIL is located in Alaska, California, Coastal Florida, Coastal Louisiana, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas.  Our DIPSTICKS are located in Washington, DC !!! Any Questions ???

NO?

I didn't Think So.

 

Substandard Modeling

By Glen Broman, IPMS Quad Cities

Sorry folks, I couldn’t resist.  It may also be a case of truth in advertising as well as I built a model, not just any model, but a submarine model.  Hence the title of the article.  I was wandering around the consignment shelves in the basement at Major’s and found a Revell 1/144 scale Type XXI U Boat that one of our former members was getting rid of.  I brought it home last Thursday and had it built by Sunday.  I plan to paint it this week and bring it to the Regional as an out of the box entry. This kit is one of the Revell of Germany kits and overall was a tremendously moderate kit.  There are only two sprues, and one of them has the two hull sections, which are single piece moldings.  The detail is not bad and this is a fairly large model.  There is no visible flash, but one problem that I have found with Revell of Germany kits is that there is always a small seam of flash around the outside of all the parts.  This makes clean up a bit tedious.  I made a decision early on when I was looking at the kit, there is opportunity to detail this by removing the solid molded on ladder rungs and make some railings from sprue and your choice of rigging material and it would really improve the looks of the kit, but I decided to go out of the box and just have a fun build.  You may notice that there is interior detail on some pieces and inserts on the sail (that’s sub talk the thing that sticks up from the sub deck where the Caption rides when the boat is on the surface and the periscope and other nautical thingies stick out of.)  I found out that Revell marketed two versions of the sub, the WWII Type XXI U-2518 and the post war Wilhelm Bauer of the Federal German Navy.  It turns out there is a surviving ship, now a floating museum in Germany.  This was a German war time boat scuttled off Hamburg at the end of dubya-dubya two and raised at least a decade or so later when the German’s were hurting for submarines during the Cold War.  It was rebuilt and served the German Navy for many years until it was decommissioned and opened to the public.  The other version of the kit is the Wilhelm Bauer and apparently has some interior detail.  A quick note on research.  I didn’t find anything really useful on the Type XX! In my reference library, so I went online. I did find some line drawings but very few pictures that were useful for determining details and colors.  There is a nice color walk around of the Wilhelm Bauer in Hamburg on the IPMS Stockholm site, but that is not useful for modeling the WWII version.  There are some interesting U-boat sites on the web, but details on the Type XXI are just hard to come buy unless you get one of the books covering the Type XXI.  Anyway, back top the build.  The build itself is not that bad but there are some fit issues and gluing and cleaning up the joins lines can be a bit tedious.  I did try some new techniques using Tenax – 7R liquid glue, which is my favorite glue in the whole world.  The instructions are fair at best, with pages of multi-lingual warnings of the dangers of building models with dangerous toxic glue and sharp objects.  Yadda, yadda, yadda.  Real men don’t follow the instructions anyway.  Assembly starts off wit the forward diving plane assembly.  This assembly can be built to move back and forth.  Since I don’t plan to play with this boat in the bath tub, I glued it in place with the diving planes rigged out. Do not glue this on to the hill side until you are ready to glue the two hull pieces together.  If you don’t get it absolutely perfect, you will never get the hull together. The middle torpedo tube door is glued I next. I don’t know why the center one is a separate part and the rest are molded closed, but you need to be careful to get a good fit so you aren’t filling and rescribing later.  The aft horizontal stabilizers are glued together next, they require some care and some filling.  The outer end pieces have huge sinkholes that will require a fair amount of putty to fill.  I tried using typewriter correction fluid that I took from a blonde at work that was covering her computer screen with it.  It only worked so-so, so I am dropping this little trick from my repertoire.  After sanding the seams I glued them on, but I left the propellers off until after painting.  Step 10 is where everything starts looking like a U-boat.  I glued the diving planes in at the same time I glued the hull together, put the rudder in and started gluing the hull together using Tenax.  By using capillary action wit the liquid glues, you can get a good bond and in some places get a little filling action with a bead of plastic that comes from the “welding” properties of the glue.  Getting the hull glued together takes some time and patience, but it will save a little filling and sanding down the road.  The two deck pieces went on next, there is a sizable gap. There is nothing you can do about the aft hull section as it has some inserts in the deck it fits into and the fit is a challenge getting the sides to line up with the upper hull anyway.  The forward decking gives you two options, try to line up the hull scribing with the deck plates.  This will leave gaps both forward and in the middle where the join wit the rear deck is, or just glue the forward deck flush with the bow and just fill the center section.  This is what I did.  I used some 10 thou plastic card to fill the gap and then sanded it lightly and it looks just like the rest of the deck.  Once this puppy dried overnight, I used my new Tenax trick.  I saved all of the plastic shavings from cleaning the flash and trimming and applied these small plastic pieces to the gaps, and then I dipped the brush in the Tenax and applied it to the plastic.   It melted and filled the gaps beautifully.  I am such a freakin’ genius.  I then spent an evening enjoying The Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel while sanding the living crap out of the hull until it looked half decent.  Eventually, I decreed victory and started building the conning tower.  This has an insert that is a little tricky, but is no major problem.  I left the 30mm gun turrets off until the conning tower was filled and sanded (gun turrets on a sub?  How cool is that?).  I glued the coning tower on, which will take some care to avoid gaps and headed for the home stretch.  You have the option of making 39 identical 7mm stanchions out of stretched sprue if you choose to add hull railings, but photos suggest not all subs mounted them.  I decided to pass on the fun.  The last step is gluing on all of the periscopes, schnorkels, antennae and what not.  These are a bitch to glue on straight.  A suggestion, you can cut them down to the stowed position or partly raised, instead of fully raised and they will be much easier to align.  Guess who didn’t think of that until he was twenty minutes into the periscope alignment dance?    The decals and painting instructions are pretty much useless.  The two or three small pictures on the box side show a scheme not even mentioned in the instructions.  I decided to go with a gunship grey upper full and dunkelgrau lower hull using Model Master paints.  I have decided that the only decals I will use are the small U-boat sail numbers. According to the decal guide, the sail had significant amounts of yellow paint, which are depicted by thick decals.  If you do decide to do this, I would suggest painting the sail with German sand yellow, masking over the areas where the stripes are and then paining the sail Gunship grey.  That might not look too bad and would certainly add some color.  Anyway, it’s time to stop writing and get the old airbrush out and finish this off in time for the Regional.  It might win, if no one else enters any subs……           

 

THE ART OF RESEARCHING PRIOR TO THE BUILDING OF A MODEL

By Tony Avalos, Courtesy IPMS OC Newsletter

So how should I build this model? What colors will I use? How much detail should be included? Then again, are there any detail kits even available for my model? To many of my fellow modelers I will most likely be providing information that is largely already known. But for those who are only just getting into the art of model building or for those who are returning after a long absence, like me for instance, then the information in the next few paragraphs may come as a nice surprise.  So much has changed since I made my first model some thirty years ago. Back then I was literally ecstatic whenever I bought my favorite brand – Monogram. My dream of course was being able to afford the Tamiya’s, for they were at the top of the pecking order.  So, I’ve returned to my first best hobby and to my surprise there is so much more available today than in the early 1970’s. Over the last year, I’ve been researching my building options and visiting hobby shops, book stores, and libraries throughout California. I’ve visited shops down in San Diego and as far north as San Francisco. Don’t think that I am rich, because I’m not. I simply have a job that requires me to travel and along the way I find a little solace in looking for these gems from long ago and find myself daydreaming as I once did as a ten year old kid.

So let’s get on with it and here’s what I found as good resources if not in themselves, then perhaps a lead to the next lead. First and foremost, the best all in one resource if used correctly has been the IPMS Orange County model club. I’ve learned many good starting points (leads) from which I was able to acquire additional information. It seems like many of my fellow modelers are pretty serious about the craft and are very good resources in themselves.  The next best resource has been the Internet. This includes our local chapter’s website as well as the national chapter’s website. Another resource is simply typing into Google key words such as Luftwaffe, plastic models, model plastic stores, to name a few, has provided many leads for online stories, histories, pictures, availability of books, models, additional resources, and of course hyperlinks. Don’t get stuck on just using Google, be brave and use other search engines and resources such as Alta Vista and Yahoo. Here are some websites that can get you started: www.google.com www.ipmsoc.org www.altavista.com www.ipmsusa.org www.yahoo.com www.squadron.com Used book stores have been a very good resource as many good detailed books are no longer in publication and unfortunately many of the new books in the market today are prohibitively expensive. It’s not unusual for a new aircraft or armor book to start at $50.00 and many as high as $90.00. Used books are often available for under $30.00. Several publishers are putting out detailed books and pamphlets on specific subjects such as a particular aircraft, vehicle, armor, etc. Many of these books can be found new for under $30.00.  Some of the books that I have found to be very helpful in color selection, history, and detailing of aircraft have been the Monogram series of books. Squadron books especially the “walk-around” series have also been very helpful (You can check the clubs website for a listing of all the Squadron publications and those marked with an * are available for review from the webmaster - ed.). Others include the Kagero series, Profile series, Luftwaffe In Focus, and general modeling detail books. Some of the bookstores that have had helpful information include Once Read Books in Long Beach, Altair 4 Books in Orange, The Bookman in Orange, and Book Baron in Anaheim. Additionally, many of the local hobby shops also have a variety of books on modeling and related subjects such as for trains, planes, and automobiles, oh and armor.  I’ve also visited many of the libraries in Orange and Los Angeles counties and although many have WWII sections or similar categories, few have detailed books we modelers often require. A few have had books on the more popular aircraft such as the P-51s or B-29s as well as books on the common tanks such as a Sherman or Panzer. Sadly, most have little detail and fewer still have those precious color photographs, which could help to provide the final decision on what color should be used to paint a whip antenna or what color a pitot tube should be. I’ve yet to visit the main library in downtown Los Angeles so I can’t opine on the quality of the books that may be available for additional reference. I can’t finish this article without mentioning the most unique places to visit. These include our local museums. That’s right; Southern California is the home to many fine museums many of which are less than an hour’s drive. Visit a museum and you can see and photograph the fine detailing of that Cobra sports car or that eye catching Ferrari. We are blessed here locally with the Planes of Fame Museum and Yank’s Air Museum in Chino and a little drive down to the Palm Springs Airport and you can visit the aircraft museum where several older planes are on display. Visit any of these locations and you can photograph that fine detail not available in many books. You can also focus in on areas of special interest; perhaps engine wiring, flap detail, color schemes. You may also find additional resources such as books and videos, which may also be helpful in the completion of your model. I’ve gone full circle. These are many of the resources I have used to help me decide what models I want to build, the history, how they should be painted, and most importantly… have helped me to appreciate and enjoy the art of model building.

 

New Revell Chopper Kit

Subject: Aces Wild Custom Chopper

Manufacturer: Revell

Kit Number: 85-7315 Scale: 1/12

By Chuck Herrmann, courtesy IPMS GTR Newsletter

Revell has issued a series of kits depicting custom chopper style motorcycles in 1/12. There are 6-8 different kits planned, the first ones came out in July. These are “phantom” kits in that they do not represent a specific real subject, rather they are an example of what a customer could order from one of the specialty custom motorcycle shops. Each kit has several options, and all the parts are interchangeable between kits so ultimately there would be a lot of possibilities if you were to kit bash parts from the different kits.  The kit I built was the Aces Wild version. The kit is molded in white and chrome, with clear glass and rubber tires. There are 54 pieces, which includes the optional parts. In this kit you have a choice of wheels, gas tank, exhaust pipes, air cleaner and belt drive cover.  The design is relatively simple, especially when compared to the Tamiya 1/12 bike kits. But then it is about a third the cost. The tube frame is two main pieces. It fits together well, but in order to secure the front fork, the fork mount on the front of the frame clamps around the fork, which means there is a seam that needs filling once the pieces are assembled. Also, the frame cannot really be painted until this is filled and sanded, by which time the chrome fork is attached making it difficult to mask and paint. The frame does fit together nicely, the mold lines are not excessive, and the other join seam is on top, which can be sanded smooth and is eventually hidden by the fuel tank.  For wheel options there are the standard spoke wire wheels or custom billet wheels, which mount treaded rubber tires. The wheels need to be glued to the fork and rear frame, so they cannot turn. The fork style is not the same as shown on the box art. There are chrome disc brakes. Speaking of chrome, there is a lot of it in the box, probably half the parts. This is the way real custom bikes are finished, but all the usual problems with plated plastic crop up here. The engine is all chrome, but the two block halves leave a big gap that cannot be filled without ruining the chrome, same for the oil tank. The mold lines are very noticeable on the fork and handlebars. This is common on models with lots of chrome but since everything here is so visible it is an issue. I bought my kit on a Monday and wanted to finish for the Saturday meeting. Since this meant I didn’t have time for a nice paint job, I went for a rat rod theme. I removed the chrome from the fork, assembled the frame per the instructions and filled the front seam afterward. I brush painted the fork and frame with Humbrol metallics, the fork chrome and the frame dark gray. When dry I burnished the frame to give it a metallic patina, this worked better than the fork. The fenders and gas tank I sprayed Testors Flat Black from a rattle can, then polished and waxed with “The Treatment” to give a satin sheen. I sanded the seat smooth (it has an Ace logo molded in), then painted it Model Master British crimson, a flat paint which I rubbed out to look like leather/vinyl. On the engine, I just glued it together then ran thinned flat black in the fins for highlighting. I picked the straighter exhausts, stripped the chrome and painted them Model Master Jet exhaust, another metallic paint you can rub out to get some sheen. The rest I glued as is, since I had a tight deadline. (Note the bottom of the oil tank is in the kit but not called out in the instructions). The assembly goes smoothly; I did not experience any major fit issues. The fork will turn, the finished bike stands up using the kickstand. It builds up into a decent shelf model. The negatives are the mold lines and joints for the chrome parts, again a common modeling problem, and the design for mounting the front fork. For the next one I do, for the GTR club theme, I will probably remove more chrome and refinish or paint it. Also fill more joints, and do a better paint job. I am looking at an alternative way to mount the fork, maybe a bolt or rivet from the bottom? And I may look at some of the aftermarket pieces made for the Tamiya kits.

 

Product Report:

Courtesy of the 72ndscaleUSmilair@yahoogroups.com

By John Huggins

Good day,
A few days ago there was some discussion about Mattel Vac-U-Form machines and the repair parts that were available. My machine had some problems. The heater worked fine, but the chamber just didn't have enough suck to get a good part. My platform had been lost, and it was a pain to get the plastic sheets to stay in place with out drilling a bunch or holes first. I spent the $20.00 for the kit and here are the results. It comes from a place called Lo-Tek Inc.  Their main focus is gauge holders and the like, but he has a side line for the Vac-U-Form repair. They are at http://www.gaugepods.com/vacuform/index.htm.  The kit includes a new valve for the pressure chamber. It is larger than the original and is a one way device. You have to drill a 3/16 inch hole in the floor of the vacuum chamber. Put a bead of the silicone sealant (included with the kit) around the new valve and install. The rest of the silicone is supposed to go around the chamber where it attaches to the frame. With the help of a dental tool it can be done. Let the silicone cure for about 12 hours. While that is curing, wipe out the inside of the vacuum chamber tube, then apply the silicone lubricant as instructed. While you are working on the bottom side, go ahead and install the new feet that are provided. If yours is like mine, one or two of the original feet will be missing any way. After the silicone has cured, replace the vacuum platform with the new one provided. Make sure it is pushed down below the edge of the frame. It will be a tight press fit.  The other part of the kit is a piece of diamond plate that is designed to go over the heat chamber to help keep the heat around the plastic and enable you to get a better part. Use it, it works.  As per the instructions, heat the frame up for 8 to 10 minutes prior to putting in the first piece of plastic. Raise the frame, put in a piece of plastic and push the two parts together. It does work; no need to drill a bunch of holes first. Put the part you want to make a copy of on the platform and put the diamond plate over the heating plastic. Give it a couple of minutes to heat the plastic. It should be soft all the way to the edges of the sheet. When ready, flop the heated plastic over the part to be duplicated and start pumping.  Bottom line, this system does what it is advertised to do. My machine works better that it ever has. The seal is very good. The vacuum chamber doesn't leak, and I got a good usable reproduction the first time. In the past, it would always take three or four times to get a usable part. This was a well spent $20.00

 

Revell-Monogram Sold!

HOBBICO ACQUIRES REVELL-MONOGRAM

Champaign, Illinois, May 2, 2007 - Hobbico, Inc. announced today that it has acquired Revell-Monogram. Revell will continue to operate from its Northbrook, Illinois headquarters and will be led by Jim Foster, the company's President since 2002 and a hobby industry veteran for over 40 years. Revell is a world wide leader in detailed, scale model kits including cars, trucks, ships, and planes. Founded over 60 years ago, the company markets under the brands of Revell and Monogram which were combined in 1986. In September 2006, Revell's European business was sold to a group led by Revell GmbH management. Hobbico is the world's leading manufacturer, distributor and retailer of model hobby products, including radio controlled models, plastic model kits, trains and other hobby products. The employee-owned company sells products through hobby shops, toy stores, chain stores as well as its retail subsidiary, Tower Hobbies.  "Revell has had seven different owners over the last 37 years," said Jim Foster, "but this new combination with Hobbico represents a unique partnership that provides stability for the company's dedicated staff and the resources they need to create exciting new models. Hobbico understands what's important to serious modelers. Joining the strengths of the two companies will lead to products that modelers will really appreciate."  Revell's research and development staff includes many talented professionals who have been with the company for as long as five decades. They will continue to manage the creation and manufacturing of all new and existing products from their facility in the Chicago area.

"Many modelers who fly or drive R/C got their start in the hobby by building a plastic model kit," said Wayne Hemming, President of Hobbico. "Plastic kits are the foundation of model building. We are committed to giving Revell the support it needs to continue its 60- year tradition of quality and excellence in plastic models." The Revell and Monogram brands both originated in 1945. Revell started out with plastic toys. Their first plastic model kits sold in 1951 were a series of vintage cars called Revell Highway Pioneers. The first model was a 1913 Maxwell, a car made famous by comedian Jack Benny.

Monogram started with wooden ship models and progressed to flying control-line and free flight airplanes as well as CO2-powered cars. Their first all-plastic kit, a midget racing car, came in 1954 and sold for 98¢. Next came a Hot Rod and a Racing Speedboat which both were sold as "Snap-Fit and Press-Fit for Jiffy Assembly." "Both Revell and Monogram have produced literally thousands of different models over their long history," said Jim Foster. "Every effort has been made to preserve the production tooling for possible future re-releases. Over the coming years, we will work to not only create exciting new releases, but also bring back many classic favorites from years gone by."

Press release from www.revell.com.

 

This is Mike Valentine’s fault:

Apple Computer announced today that it has developed a computer chip that can store and play music in women's breast implants.  The iTit will cost $499 or $599 depending on size.  This is considered to be a major breakthrough because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.

 

Kit Review: Dragon Models Limited 1/72 Scale Armor Pro Kit No. 7208; Soviet SU-100 Tank Destroyer; 152 parts (134 in grey styrene, 14 etched brass, 2 DS plastic track runs, 2 twisted steel wires); price about US$14.95

By Cookie Sewell

Advantages: first new kit of this subject in this scale, very nicely rendered components

Disadvantages: like 1/35 scale one will not build postwar Czech version

Rating: Highly Recommended

Recommendation: for all small-scale Soviet armor fans

DML continues to make the same "Big Brother - Little Brother" pairs of kits with its 1/35 scale models and 1/72 scale companion pieces. This one follows hot on the heels of the Premium Edition 1/35 scale kit, but is a new effort. Like all of the recent 1/72 scale kits, this one uses the same conventions of shared sprues, DS plastic flexible tracks that may be glued together with styrene cement, and etched brass components to enhance the model. The kit comes with only two sprues - one from the 1/72 scale T-34-85 kit family and a dedicated SU-100 upper hull. The lower hull is a late T-34 hull with separate beak" edge for the bow and with the now-familiar DML "Slide Molded" wheel sets for their 1/72 scale '34s. About half of the T-34-85 parts are not used, but the rest are the detail bits to complete the model. It comes with a choice of plastic or etched brass grilles for the rear, four new 95 liter spare fuel tanks, and twin tow cables made from twisted steel wire.  Assembly is simpler than the 1/35 scale version as the upper hull and casemate are in one piece, with only a "pulpit" to be added to the right side of the hull and the hull rear and front plates. Both are, like all DML '34 series vehicles, basically appliqués over a frame molded onto the hull part. All hatches except the engine access hatch are separate parts and may be posed either open or closed. The gun barrel is styrene but is "slide molded" with a hollow bore. Etched brass parts consist of the aforementioned grilles, the internal air louvers for the radiator exhaust grille, and some smaller fittings.  The kit offers five different finishing options: Unidentified unit, Bohemia 1945 (white 433 on 4BO green); Unidentified unit, Vienna 1945 (red stars with white surrounds on 4BO green); 7th Mechanized Corps, Hungary 1945 (whitewash over 4BO green); 11th Guards Mechanized Corps, Hungary 1945 (faded whitewash over 4BO green); and Unidentified unit, Czechoslovakia 1954 (white 482 on 4BO green). The decals are from Cartograf and it is a "targeted" sheet with just those markings on it.  Overall it is a very nice effort, but as with the large kit it's a shame that the markings and few extra parts needed to convert it into a Czech-made vehicle serving with Egypt could not be provided. Thanks to Freddie Leung for the review sample.

 

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