July’s Newsletter for
the Quad-City Scale Modelers Society

 

The Meeting Minutes:

I don’t know if anyone showed up for a bull session at the Carriage House in June, but we did have about 8 folks show up in Ottawa for the Regional, so there are no meeting minutes.  Just a reminder from last month’s newsletter though.  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.  For the August meeting, we will meet at the Rock Island Arsenal Museum. We now 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.  Due to the fact that we have a tour guide coming in, I need to stress that you need to be at the museum at 1:00 so we can start on time.  To get to the museum, enter the Arsenal at the Moline gate. Unless you have a DoD registered vehicle and military or government ID, this is the only gate you can enter.  The on ramp for the Arsenal Viaduct in Moline is located on 3rd street, AKA River Drive. Stop at the Guard Shack and present photo ID and tell them that you are going to the museum.  Once you leave the Guard shack, continue straight ahead, you will be on Rodman Avenue.  Turn right at the second traffic light. Just before you get to the second traffic light, you will see Memorial Park on your left; it’s full of artillery pieces and some armor.  Don’t worry; we plan to visit it before we leave.  After you turn right at the light, take a left at the stop sign.  ¾ of the way down the road on your left is the museum.  There is ample parking in the lot across the street from the museum. We will get a tour, plus fill up the display cases, so bring the models that you would like to display.  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.  If you have any questions, please call me at (309) 523-3671.   Anyway, more about the Regional.  I have included some info below on the Regional, but I gotta say that SPASAM did a great job.  I had a blast, there were close to 450 models on the tables, lots of vendors and the raffle was to die for.  It was very well organized, registration was a snap and judging was done ahead of schedule.  I did something I haven’t done in two years, finished a model.  In fact, I finished six models for the Regional.  After all the support that Mikey, Ronbo, Sam, and especially Ed with his world class registration system have given us over the years, I felt that bring some entries was the least I could do.  The Type XXI U boat I wrote about in the last issue won a first place in the Ships out of the box category.  As I predicted, it won because there were no other entries. I did manage to pickup two seconds and three thirds, all in categories with more than four entries, so I feel a little better about that.  Actually, the sub model turned out really well, I really am pretty pleased with it, but the periscopes and rigging are a little fragile, so I may not be hauling it up to Dubuque. Also, Ottawa was kind of a neat town and it was absolutely a gorgeous day.  Congratulations to the SPASAM crew for a job well done.     

 

The Dates:

July 14:  Chapter Meeting.  Club barbecue.  Keith’s House in Dubuque

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.

 

Hobby Shop News:

MVR Hobby will be closed from July 3rd to the 7th. They will re-open July 10th.  Mel has some new stuff on the shelves as well.

Hobbytown:  They are having a 50% off sale on models until they are all gone.  This is being done to clean the shelves for the next big order.  They still have some pretty good armor left, with some ships and cars.  Aircraft are pretty much all gone.

Majors have some new consignment stuff and expect more in the coming weeks. 

Barnes and Noble book store at Northpark Mall have the latest model magazines in.

 

SPASAM Newsletter.............VOL 1. #1

The Regional report:

Okay Boyz and Girlz...............it was a GAS!!!!!!! It really was a Gas!!!! (From Humble Pie's Performance at the Fillmore)

This is the following posted on the IPMS/USA Forum.  “It was a tremendous success and I will let Herr Thorne report on that and get the accolades the Team so richly deserves.  As the Region 5 Coordinator that accepted this Bid, it was unique in the fact that it accomplished three things. NUMBAH 1: It gave a NEW crew the experience needed to put on a Regional. Yes, several of us were on hand that served and ran the 2001 National Convention.......BUT, it was our intention only to weigh in when asked. In that respect, these guyz did an awesome job and gained so much experiance that anything is now possible. NUMBAH 2........It also was IPMS/SPASAM's first solo effort in the Local or Regional arena giving the Region another tree to bear fruit from. NUMBAH 3.......it was the first time that I've seen a Local Municipality give a grant to a Chapter to host an event to bring in business. That in itself was a GRAND EFFORT that paid off for all involved. Ron will send a Report to the DLC on this and perhaps it will prove beneficial to other Chapters in the Future.  Were there lessons to learn....???  Yes, and much was learned.  Is there a base to spring forward to bigger and better things using all of the assets now in tow????  Just wait :) I would like to THANK Ron, Steve, Sam , Ed and Mike!!!!  ALL of the guyz that helped............Max, Ed, Ritchie, Steve, Bill, John, Donut, Bob, MadDog, Kevin, April and all of the people I can't think of right now........the tribe is hungry :)

Most of all, I would like to say HI JOE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God I can't wait till the next time........it really felt extraordinary to get the Band back together again. It was GREAT to hang out with you guyz from Cincy....Alabama......KY.....TENN........and MISS.  Cheers!!!! Crazy Don is the Best and if I was a Chick..........HAHAHAHA!!!!

YES.............the disappearing act was planned....(I was in the Bar having a Beer with Herr Stover and Schock).......I do not like being put into a spotlight, but I do appreciate the Award and you thinking of me. Again, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!  More from Ronbo in the coming dayz with the particulars :)”

So Gang................as you can see it was very cool!!! My THANKS to all that made this happen.  There were 433 Kits entered by 100 Modelers. Display kits did not enter into this. John Leyland took the Judges BOS with his Dio of the USS INDIANAPOLIS. There were also several deserving kits all around but the detailing involved that s noticed the second time around really made this stand out.  Ed Wahl can supply us with a winners list that will be posted on the website and perhaps shot out to you via this newsletter.

IPMS/Ft. Crook was awarded the 2008 Regional. That will be in NE.  YES, the vendors had a few issues but nothing that was overcome. The Vendor area was a tad oversold but that is now in the brain bank and point taken. No........there was NO FIGHT. But, confidence was high  :)  The Money Part right now is now in approx. numbers only.............but SPASAM is set for a long time. Mike can give you the numbers at the Meeting.  Dinner afterwards was very special and I didn't have that feeling of camaraderie in a long time. I missed it so............and I will make it a point to show up more often as work permits :)  God Bless You and I'll have more down the road!!!!!!

Jack Bruno IPMS #25313

SPASAM Newslettewr Editor
Region 5 Coordinator RETIRED
2003 Regional Coordinator of the Year

 

Drafting Guys Over 60

A contribution from Paddy McGannon:

I’m over 60 and the Armed Forces say I'm too old to track down terrorists. (You can't be older than 35 to join the military.)  They've got the whole thing backwards. Instead of sending 18-year-olds off to fight, they ought to take us old guys. You shouldn't be able to join a military unit until you're at least 35.  
For starters:

Researchers say 18-year-olds think about sex every 10 seconds. Old guys only think about sex a couple of times a day, leaving us more than 28,000 additional seconds per day to concentrate on the enemy.   Young guys haven't lived long enough to be cranky, and a cranky soldier is a dangerous soldier. If we can't kill the enemy we'll complain them into submission. "My back hurts! I'm hungry! Where's the remote?"  
An 18-year-old hasn't had a legal beer yet and you shouldn't go to war until you're at least old enough to drink. The average old guy, on the other hand, has consumed 126,000 gallons of beer, and a jaunt through the desert heat with a beer and an M-60 would do wonders for the old beer belly. (Note there are 24 hours in a day and 24 bottles in a case...another convenient way to measure time!)

An 18-year-old doesn't like to get up before 10 a.m.  Old guys always get up early to pee.

If captured we couldn't spill the beans because we'd forget where we put them. In fact, name, rank, and serial number would be a real brainteaser.
Boot camp would be easier for old guys. We're used to getting screamed and yelled at and we like soft food. We've also developed an appreciation for guns. We like them almost better than naps.

They could lighten up on the obstacle course however. I've been in combat and didn't see a single 20-foot wall with rope hanging over the side, nor did I ever do any pushups after completing basic training. I can hear the Drill Sgt now, "Get down and give me ... er ... one." Actually, the running part is kind of a waste of energy. I've never seen anyone outrun a bullet. An 18-year-old has the whole world ahead of him. He's still learning to shave, to carry on a conversation, and to wear pants without the top of his butt crack showing and his shorts sticking out. He's hasn't figured out that a pierced tongue catches food particles, and that a 400-watt speaker in the back seat of a Honda can rupture an eardrum, and that a baseball cap has a brim to shade eyes, not the back of his head. These are all great reasons to keep our kids at home to learn a little more about life before sending them off into harm's way. Let us old guys track down those dirty rotten cowards who attacked us on September 11. The last thing an enemy would want to see right now is a couple of million old farts with attitudes.  

 

Regional Coordinators Corner:

Hello Region 5,

Yes, it is that persistent Regional Coordinator again.  I bet some of you are just mumbling “does this guy ever shut up?”   The answer is generally only when my wife tells me to.  As I have mentioned from the beginning, I plan to be a frequent communicator.  I hope you all will communicate back with me from time to time.  First, I want to apologize to the West Central Mo chapter for not making their show after I said I would.  My ride got ill the night before and my wife (with our good car) had family commitments so I was without reliable transportation at the last minute.  Guys, I know you set me up for some meetings, I owe you.  Next item.  Most of you who are receiving this are your chapters’ contact.  As such you should have been receiving some recent things sent out by our DLC, Dick Montgomery, about the duties of the Chapter Contact and using the Chapter Fact Sheet.  I know some of you are already on the ball with this and will breeze through the charter renewal process in the fall.  I hope all of you are getting familiar with these forms and the process.  If I can assist you in any way, please let me know.  Regional Convention.  I want to thank Ron Thorne for a great event.  I am not positive about the numbers but I think they were about 100 participants and over 400 models.  I am sure they will give us an update shortly.  I was there and greatly enjoyed speaking to those who attended.  I thought the event went really well and did not notice any hiccups to dampen anyone’s spirits.  As a result of the conversations there, I have some things to focus on for the RC’s website and to discuss with IPMS USA on behalf of our chapters.  Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.  I am very pleased to announce that IPMS West Central Missouri was named the Region 5 Chapter of the Year.  Also, the R5 website of the year went to IPMS Twin Cities Aero Historians and the R5 Newletter of the Year went to the IPMS GTR chapter.  Well done all of you.  Keep up the outstanding efforts.

Drum roll Please, the 2008 Region  5 Regional will be hosted by IPMS Ft. Crook on May 16th-17th.  Regional Coordinator’s website.  I am very close to getting this going.  The hold up is me, getting the material to the webmaster of the hosting site.  Again, one of the things I will be posting on it is bios on chapters and members within Region 5.  Another thing I want to do is provide links to the chapters in Region 5 that will take anyone visiting my page, straight to your chapter’s website.  So…..I am requesting that you send me a good quality JPEG of your chapter logo so we can use that for the link.  Some other things I will hopefully be adding are some descriptions of the contest/regional process for approval.  Basically it will be primarily based on the one Jon Vanek has in Region 6.  As a result of talking to some folks at the regional, I now have some things to add to this site such as scheduled events (with contact information).  Judging.  I want to thank Sam from IPMS SPASAM for getting me a list of those who judged at the Regional.  I will be contacting each judge and asking if I can place them on master list for Region 5 so those who hold shows can contact them for help.  A mix of judges not in a host chapter goes a long way to prevent accusations of “home cooking”.  Sam and IPMS SPASAM did a great job of getting a mix of judges.  There were judges from Wisconsin to Mississippi and from Indiana to Nebraska.  Again, super work guys.  Elections.  We are currently in an election cycle.  You can vote by mail using the ballot in the journal or electronically on the IPMS USA website.  Contact the website webmaster if you are interested in voting electronically.  They can get the process going.  I have also attached to this a couple of updates from our DLC, Dick Montgomery.  Well, enough for now folks.  Great Job IPMS SPASAM on the Region 5 Regional. 

Mike George

Region 5 RC

 

Kit Review: Italeri 1/35 Scale Kit No. 6462; LVT-2 Amtrac

By Cookie Sewell

Price:  $45.00

Advantages: first kit of this vehicle in this scale; very nice interior details

Disadvantages: as it comes, will only build into a late-production version of the base LVT-2; some shortcuts in production; tracks are a matter of acceptability (see text)

Rating: Highly Recommended

Recommendation: for all "alligators" and US WWII fans

Since Italeri released their first LVT kit in 2001 (LVT-4 Water Buffalo, No. (6)379) they have also produced two others, the LVT(A)-1 and LVT(A)-4 but to mixed reviews.  Acceptance of the kits depends upon what the modeler wanted to see, and over six years has ranged from very happy to extremely disappointed. The first kit was met with the same views - it was either (A) "kit of the year" or (B) "dog of the year" with little in between. As then, my views on the kit were (C) None of the above. This model builds on the previous kits and has its own unique points, both good and bad. The actual LVT-2 was a developed version of the "proof of concept" LVT-1 and fixed many of its problems with thrown tracks by modifying the track return roller assemblies, adding five feet to the bow section to provide a more seaworthy hull profile and solve some of the handling problems with the LVT-1. It had a down rated version of the engine used in the M3 light tank family, and over 2,950 were built with about 52% going to the Army and 46% to the Marine Corps. Its one fatal flaw was the fact that the troops carried in its hull compartment had to climb up and over the sides to get out of it, which silhouetted them for Japanese machine guns and caused a lot of casualties. It also made loading and unloading anything other than man- handled cargo very awkward and difficult. Due to crew casualties two options were taken, one being a simple armored sheet with slits stuck over the normal folding windows in the cab, and the other being a full- fledged armored cab and appliqué package. This kit provides the basics for a mid- to late-production LVT-2 and the sprues indicate that somewhere down the line Italeri has an LVT(A)-2 variant coming as well. The kit only comes with the "two hole" version of the sponsons, as those are shared with other kits. Most of the early production LVT-2s had four, with two more being located about 30 inches above the two in the kit; this is an annoyance to have to build as it requires a lot of cutting and filing to get the holes to match. The kit is fine as it comes, but some modelers would have liked the option. The running gear has taken a lot of heat as Italeri unfortunately simplified much of it to provide an easy to assemble kit. When assembled it looks the part, but some items could be better done such as the idler adjustment assembly. The most savaged part of the Italeri LVTs has been their tracks. Now admittedly many people do not like Italeri tracks in general as most of them tend to be very stiff and inflexible, and that is not a good quality for a model that intends to represent a prototype with curving or drooping tracks and flat runs. The ones in this kit have been hit hard on those grounds. The biggest problem is the fact that in order to get a clean "pull" from the molds there are two ejector pins located in the "cups" of the track shoe attachments, and those do degrade their appearance. The tracks also do not sit down on the identical drivers and idlers, so to get a proper look the teeth must be trimmed down to get the tracks to sit properly. But the tracks, like many model parts, are part compromise, and overall they really do not look all that bad when properly seated. (The alternative is to seek out a resin set or a $90 after-market set which is as close to correct as one could possibly hope for, but it is up to the modeler if he wants a $45 weekend build that looks good or a $200 one that looks fantastic - e.g. brass, the high end tracks, etc.) Ittaleri has done a fairly decent job on the interior, as it comes with the driveshaft and tunnel in two parts split laterally, but once assembled it looks fine. The kit also has the floor plates for the gunners in the right spot and other interior details which match the photos I could locate and my own slides from Camp Pendleton. But Italeri is still using the .50 caliber Browning M2HB they came up with 32 years ago for their Sherman kit, and it has seen better days and should be replaced. The .30 caliber Brownings are a bit better but also could use either replacement or some TLC. The kit also comes with
a solid styrene tow cable, which is borderline in this day and age. Note that there are a number of holes that must be opened from the inside during construction, and while called out careful attention must be paid during construction or you will miss the callouts.  Markings are provided for four vehicles, but sadly Italeri has picked four nearly identical ones with identical overall grey schemes. They cover vehicles from Saipan 1944, Makin Island 1943, New Guinea 1943 and Tawara 1943. It's a shame they didn't do more research, as the LVT-2 stayed in service for the duration of the war and some very colorful ones with three-color camouflage, stripes and white numbers fought at Iwo Jima in 1945. Overall this is not a bad kit to use as a basis for a great model, and at the end of the day credit should be given to Italeri for doing these vehicles. Or, for the "sniffers" you could either pony up $225 or more for a resin one or wait until one of the other companies does one. Thanks to Bob Lewen of MRC for the review sample.

 

Kit Review—Ed Mate

Modeling notes for Hasegawa’s 1/48 F-86F Sabre

Courtesy of IPMS Will-Cook Newsletter

Because I like to build kits in pairs, I was looking for a subject to pair up with my F-86D.  I considered a Korean War F-84 and F-86.  You don’t see many completed F-84 kits, but in the end the appeal of so many Korean War aces’ F-86’s won out.  I used the original issue Hasegawa kit that I swapped a couple of submarines for at the Will-Cook SHOW XI.  I started building this kit at the cockpit – only not per the kit instructions, but using an Aires resin replacement cockpit.  Once the parts were cut away from the pour sprues they were painted Floquil black.  One of my references indicated all Korean War F-86s had flat black cockpits.  The ejection seat, however, seems to be a bit more variable.  In color photographs, I’ve seen black and grey, sometimes with a silver back plate, and with red or black head pads.  I chose a grey seat with red head pad.  Once again (like my Ki-100 cockpit) there were no instructions about what portion of the kit fuselage halves need to be removed.  I ground away the rear deck (under the canopy) and started fitting the large resin cockpit tub.  One of the less pleasant tasks of this kit was cleaning up the ejector pin marks on the insides of the intake trunk halves and exhaust pipe halves.  I filled mine with putty, followed by tedious sanding, Mr. Surfacer, and more tedious sanding.  Then it’s on to gluing the halves together followed by more Mr. Surfacer along the seam and even tighter tedious sanding.  Once everything was smooth the inside was airbrushed silver.  The intake was glued to the nose piece; then both intake and exhaust assemblies were glued to the right fuselage half.  At this point I realized the ejector pin marks on the inside rear of each fuselage half can be seen (the tail pipe ends short of the marks), so I filled and sanded to make those go away.  Once all of the detail painting of the cockpit was done, the instrument panel was added and the assembly was fitted inside the right fuselage half.  I added a little lead in the nose just to be sure the model will sit properly on the landing gear.  With all of the internal parts done, the two fuselage halves were joined.  This was not an easy task!  I could apply pressure with my fingers in the right spots to persuade the gaps to close and the joints to line up, but no amount of tape and clamps could do the same thing.  I started this task when I had an extra 15 minutes before having to leave for work and was late that day when it took almost a half hour to clamp and tape to end with something acceptable.  That evening after removing clamps and tape, I found I could not live with the result between cockpit and rudder on the fuselage top, so I split this seam.  With all the stress that joint was under, it was easy and resulted in a 1/32” gap.  The second time around I used super glue (gel type) and ended up with much better alignment (and I pray the super glue never fails under the stress).  Needless to say, I spent a fair amount of time with files, sandpaper, and scribing tool to get all the joints looking the way I wanted.  I inserted a .012” shim between the right fuselage half and the fuselage insert in front of the nose gear well, another small .012” shim at the rearmost part of the fuselage spreader (under the wings), and a .005” piece of plastic on the right wing top half (to increase span).  These shims filled the biggest gaps and helped keep the putty content down.   Next time (well, I did build five Hasegawa P-47s, so there will likely be a “next time”), I’m not going to add the nose piece to the right fuselage half; I’ll add it after the two fuselage halves are joined so that I get a better result with the joint up front.  If that weren’t enough, during a club meeting, when talking about the progress I’d been making on the kit I noticed that the rudder wasn’t straight.  It had a gentle bow in it curving off to the right from bottom to top.  This had to be fixed!  With fingers and thumbs I applied “persuasion” to counter the bow.  I fully expected white stress marks to develop in the plastic; instead I was treated to a “snap”.  Fearing the worst, I flipped the model over to discover what happened.  Fortunately, the “snap” came from splitting the leading edge seam open.  A little more persuasion and I finally had a vertical rudder.  Some liquid glue and clamps fixed the leading edge seam and I was on my way once more.  The wings and tail are nice moldings.  The lower wing on my kit had a kink in the trailing edge, but it was not a problem when glued to the upper wing half.  The wing fences are a bit thick for my taste, so I plugged the rather large locating holes in the top wing halves with stretched sprue and thinned down the kit parts.  In doing this I lost the stiffeners on one side (I placed the lost detail inboard), but the fences are about half as thick and look much more to scale.  Joining the wings to the fuselage went smoothly (with the .005” shim added earlier).  I had some gaps both front and back on the fuselage underside but these were eliminated with some stretched sprue and putty.  The drop tanks are split into left and right halves rather than top and bottom, but the seams cleaned up OK.  The drop tank fins are a bit thick, but not as much as you might guess – I was surprised at how thick the full-scale fins look in photographs.  I replaced my kit fins with thinner replacements from plastic card anyway.  The kit parts measure .024” thick, which scales to over one inch thick on the original.  Using 0.010” card put them much closer to reality.  To get the stabilizer/elevators attached with consistent dihedral (they are not horizontal; they angle up), I made a cardboard jig using the correct angle from a scale drawing.  Once glue is applied, just hold the elevator against one edge and make sure the other edge is flush with the fin.  Almost every photo of an F-86E or F-86F that shows the airplane parked shows the speed brakes out.  Hasegawa provided separate parts for the speed brakes so it is easy to show them deployed.  I started the painting process with Gunze acrylic white paint.  This is the surface primer for the Alclad II metallic paints and serves double duty as a white backing for the yellow areas on the model (which were masked with masking tape prior to painting the various silvers).  Even though I used gloss white paint, I sanded the paint with 1200 grit sandpaper for an even smoother surface.  I also sanded out bits of dust and a couple of fingerprints (boy, that paint is soft for a long time!).  I noticed the seam between the cockpit and the rudder (haunting me again), so I applied Mr. Surfacer and sanded that out.  A little more Gunze was sprayed to cover the areas that were sanded through to the plastic.  The yellow is a deep orange-yellow; I used some Floquil Japanese ID yellow (for wing leading edges).  The base color is Alclad dark aluminum.  While putting the first coat on, I held the model by the taped areas.  Unfortunately, I rolled my thumb and put a fingerprint into a wing tip.  The next morning I picked up the model and proceeded to sand the offending print out.  I noticed a new mar on the leading edge.  I started sanding that out and saw another.  Then I peeled my thumb away from the leading edge.  The Alclad had softened the Gunze and it was still soft eight hours later!  I waited a day, sanded all of the offenders, and put another coat of Alclad on the model.  The marks could still be seen.  A day later (after the monthly club meeting) I sanded more aggressively right down to the plastic in some areas.  Touch up with Gunze, more sanding, and back to the Alclad to finish the paint job (with ample time before touching the model).  Various panels were masked with parafilm, post-it notes, and masking tape, then painted with other Alclad colors.  Then I noticed it – cracking!  This happened to a P-51 model of mine.  A few small cracks formed and a year later it looked like a turtle shell.  My wife gave me the day to do what I wanted on Father’s Day (2006), so out came the sandpaper and I started all over again.  Yep, sanded right down to the plastic; lots of water and 400-grit sandpaper followed by washing, 600-grit, 800-grit and more washing.  Two hours later I was ready to start again.  Starting over gave me a chance to reconsider the kit’s wing fences.  I decided to do away with the thinned down kit parts and use metal sheet instead.  I used my Tiger razor saw (from Czechoslovakia) to cut thin slots in the wing then super glued replacement fences, made from photoetch “extra” stock, into the slots.  I had hoped to save the drop tanks, but sure enough, the cracks formed.  Off came the 0.010” plastic fins with the paint.  I was prepared to use the Tiger saw to cut new slots for brass sheet stock the second time around, but I decided this was way too much work to put into very marginal drop tanks.  I cast resin replacements using the very nice Monogram F-86D drop tanks as the master.  The second time around I used Alclad grey primer.  The primer was sanded with 800- and 1000-grit sanding pads; then the model was ready for the second painting session.  This painting session was much like the first, only Gunze paint never got anywhere near the model.  The black trim areas are carefully masked Floquil paint.  I also masked off the wheel and speed brake wells and painted them chromate green, followed by detail painting and oil wash.  The model was sealed with Future before decals were applied.  I wanted to model a Korean War aircraft flown by John Glenn (USMC), so I used some Superscale decals.  There’s a photograph of Glenn’s airplane in Mig Alley published by Squadron/Signal and another shot in their Walk-Around book.  The Superscale decals are not accurate compared with the photograph, but they look OK on the model.  Hasegawa has released the same kit many times with different options, including “Mig Mad Marine.”  I have found that the Hasegawa decals are well researched (many times they are more accurate than after market offerings), but I don’t have that release so I don’t know if they are more accurate.  However, Hasegawa’s decals are often thick and hard to make disappear.  Once all decals were on the model, another coat of Future sealed them in and a dark brown oil wash was used to highlight the panel lines.  The final shininess was accomplished with a coat of Floquil crystal clear.  The model was finished by adding all of the remaining parts – landing gear using Tenax 7R, gear doors, speed brakes, and their actuators using super-glue, and ejection seat and canopy using white glue.  I added the resin drop tanks using brass pins and super-glue.  The final touch was painting the formation lights using the carrier, but not the pigment, from some red and green metallic paints.  Natural metal finishes are a lot of work (when done twice it just about converted me to armour modeling); but I enjoyed building the kit and will likely build the other copies that I have in my collection.  I rate the kit an 8 out of 10 on the Mate Meter.  Now, would Hasegawa invest in another release (F-86E) with wing slats?

 

A Mother's Day story

Sent in by Kerri Broman

So, we had this great 10 year old cat named Jack who just recently died.  Jack was a great cat and the kids would carry him around and sit on him and nothing ever bothered him. He used to hang out and nap all day long on this mat in our bathroom. Well we have 3 kids and at the time of this story they were 4 years old, 3 years old and 1 year old. The middle one is Eli. Eli really loves chapstick. LOVES it. He kept asking to use my chapstick and then losing it. So finally one day I showed him where in the bathroom I keep my chapstick and how he could use it whenever he wanted to but he needed to put it right back in the drawer when he was done. Last year on Mother's Day, we were having the typical rush around and try to get ready for Church with everyone crying and carrying on. My two boys are fighting over the toy in the cereal box. I am trying to nurse my little one at the same time I am putting on my make-up. Everything is a mess and everyone has long forgotten that this is a wonderful day to honor me and the amazing job that is motherhood. We finally have the older one and the baby loaded in the car and I am looking for Eli. I have searched everywhere and I finally round the corner to go into the bathroom. And there was Eli. He was applying my chapstick very carefully to Jack's . . . Rear end. Eli looked right into my eyes and said "chapped." Now if you have a cat, you know that he is right--their little butts do look pretty chapped. And, frankly, Jack didn't seem to mind. And the only question to really ask at that point was whether it was the
FIRST time Eli had done that to the cats behind or the hundredth. And THAT is my favorite Mother's Day moment ever because it reminds us that no matter how hard we try to civilize these glorious little creatures, there will always be that day when you realize they've been using your chapstick on the cat's butt.

 

Masking

By Pete Hiatt, courtesy of IPMS Orange County Newsletter

Masking is a process by which we are able to progress from a monochromatic, dull, boring, pedestrian finished item to, instead, a multi-color, vibrant, living, outstanding model that brings a viewer into the model from a different perspective, one of realism.

I will cover briefly the use of tapes, liquids, putty, papers, and foils.

Tapes-Masking tapes run the gamut from narrow to wide, thick to thin, flexible to rigid, low tack to high tack, expensive to cheap. For my money (time is money), Tamiya tape is indispensable. It comes in several widths and is easily cut to any size narrow enough for the task at hand. Similar to Tamiya tape is a product called Kobuki tape available in much wider widths of over one inch. Tamiya tape is so outstanding that Eduard, famous for photo-etch, has developed a line of masks using Kobuki tape (similar to Tamiya tape) that are pre-cut for many different modeling subjects. The tack of Tamiya tape is low enough to not lift the surface it is applied to (usually) yet, as the tape stays on a surface longer, it sticks tougher. Tamiya tape is utilized for demarcation lines, canopy masking, and protecting areas from overspray.  Liquids-Liquid masking medium is available from many different makers. Some are easier to use. Some are more durable than others. All require care of application and some testing prior to actual use on your project. Don’t be impatient with liquid masking as you may experience a major problem removing it from a painted surface, especially “flat” painted surfaces. Liquids are useful for masking irregular areas such as seat upholstery on automobiles, filling in canopy glazing after outlining with tape strips, landing gear struts, or AFV road wheels, to mention but a few items.

Putty-Putty can be used for many masking chores and help you to get results quickly. This type of putty is available from art supply and office supply stores. It is generally used for temporary mounting of paper and poster items and is not used to fill gaps and joints. There are many brands of putties. My very most favorite is the “UHU” brand. In the world of model painting, however, putties are best used for masking irregular patterns such as camo patterns, filling and covering depressed areas such as wheel wells and cockpits, covering previously painted wheels enabling the spraying of the tire area, and so many more there is not enough space to cover it. The putty is applied as a small ball to an area and spread around with fingers and toothpicks. After spraying, the putty is easily removed by sticking a toothpick into it and lifting, then just stick the putty on to itself and pull out the remaining putty from the masked area. Then simply roll the used putty into the original ball and reuse all of it. No waste!

Papers-Papers, in this case, will include post-it notes, frisket films, paper, and paper towels. Post-it notes can be used for quick, low-tack panel masking and helping to contain overspray when doing touchups or detail work. Frisket films are thin, see through sheets of various tacks and surface finishes. It is easily cut with scissors or knife and can be applied and removed over and over, if necessary. Frisket film is very good for duplicating a pattern and its transparency enables you to see details that need to be considered for alignment. Another type of frisket film is a product called Para-Film. It comes in rolls which are cut to size, and then the film is stretched, let set for a short time, and then applied. After application the film is trimmed to cover the area needed. Paper, including paper towels, can be used with tape to cover areas that need protection from overspray. In addition, patterns may be cut from paper which is then held in place with tape or putty, producing a “soft-edge” when air brushed away from the edge. The blue shop towel” paper towels are lint-free and don’t scratch the surface of your finished project. Using tape and blue towels you can make a localized covering, sort of a glove, which acts as a handling spot and eliminates wear and tear of finished surfaces.

Foils-Self-adhesive foils such as Bare-Metal foil may be used for masking. The pros include a low-profile edge, great conformity, and ease of contouring. The cons include the need to unmask at the earliest possible moment, possible scratches while trying to lift a corner of the mask, and adhesive residue to remove after unmasking.

 

Review:  Skif BMP -3, 1/35 scale

By Dennis Leonituck, Jr. IPMS #35776, courtesy of IPMS Richmond Spare Parts Newsletter

The BMP-3 is a further development of the BMP series of fighting vehicles designed and produced by the Soviet Union, first appearing in 1990. It is larger than the BMP-1/2, and carries a larger load. The two-man turret mounts a 100mm gun with a 30mm auto-cannon mounted coaxially. It also has a 7.62mm machine gun. In the two front corners of the hull there are two additional 7.62mm machine guns. The vehicle has a crew of 3, and can carry seven soldiers. The kit is molded in the Ukraine by a company named Skif. It is molded in White plastic, with vinyl tracks. Included is a partial interior.  Construction is pretty straight-forward, starting with the hull and running gear. The hull is built up from flat plates which may give novice modelers some trouble. This is typical of kits from Eastern Europe.  The road wheel arms do not have strong attachment points, so care must be used in their construction. Filler is required around the upper hull plate and hull sides. Also, the rear doors are fiddly and need careful alignment before glue sets, or crooked doors may result. The turret assembly went together well, but some of the fittings will give you trouble. The arm that attaches the gun mantlet to the search light is a good example. There is not enough plastic on either mounting points. There is no mantlet cover, but one can be fashioned from putty or tissue and white glue. There were a few sink marks on the commander’s station, and the detail on the rear turret storage straps is overly simplified. Eduard produces a photo-etch detail set, which I used to replace the hull firing port covers, and the smoke discharge mounts. It’s a pretty comprehensive set which goes a long way to improve the kit.  This kit is a change of pace, if you are used to building Tamiya or Dragon products, but it’s a good change.

 

Parting shot:

A stranger was seated next to a little girl on the airplane when the stranger turned to her and said," Let's talk. I've heard that flights go quicker if you strike up a conversation with your fellow passenger.

"The little girl, who had just opened her book, closed it slowly and said to the stranger, "What would you like to talk about?"

“Oh, I don't know", said the stranger. "How about nuclear power?"

"OK," she said. "That could be an interesting topic. But let me ask you a question first. A horse, a cow, and a deer all eat grass, the same stuff. Yet a deer excretes little pellets, while a cow turns out a flat patty, and a horse produces clumps of dried grass. Why do you suppose that is?"
The stranger thinks about it and says, "Hmmm, I have no idea,"

To which the little girl replies, "Do you really feel qualified to discuss nuclear power when you don't know s**t?"

 

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