July Meeting Minutes
24 Members in attendance. 16 models on display.
Dave Lockhart, Darryl Cordell, Art Murray, Bill Ficke, Mark
Grzenia, Jim Pernikoff, Martin Hatfield, Thomas Rice, Rob Morales, Greg Dyar,
Chuck Davenport, Patrick Cook, Paul Crawley, Mike Rinehart, Mike Idacavage,
Mclean Gilbert, Gary Litavis, Luis Venegas, Buz Pezold, Joe Geib, Dick Cowart,
Brit Bunkley, Fred Heil, James Young.
Dave Lockhart’s presentation kicked off our meeting. A point
of interest included discussion of the use of Mosquitos in the movie “The
Purple Plain” starring Gregory Peck after a mention of another big scale Mossie
hitting the shelves. Also mentioned was the Nationals, the Huntsville Show and
Wings Over North Georgia Airshow.
Kevin Westphal brought us a smattering of new offerings
hitting the shelves at Hobby Town:
|
Scale
|
Manufacturer
|
Subject
|
MSRP
|
|
1/24
|
Moebius
|
1971 Ford Ranger
|
$31.00
|
|
1/24
|
Moebius
|
1969 Ford F100
|
$31.00
|
|
1/35
|
Meng
|
Leopard 2A4 MBT
|
$75.00
|
|
1/35
|
Miniart
|
Panzer IIIC
|
$55.00
|
|
1/48
|
Eduard
|
Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
|
$75.00
|
|
1/48
|
Trumpeter
|
F-106B Delta Dagger
|
$75.00
|
|
1/48
|
Eduard
|
Lockheed F-104 RCAF
|
$75.00
|
|
1/35
|
Mirror
|
Diamond T Wrecker
|
$75.00
|
|
1/48
|
Eduard
|
Mc Donnell Douglas A-4 Skyhawk
|
$89.00
|
|
1/35
|
Tamiya
|
Somua
|
$55.00
|
|
1/24
|
Monogram
|
Jinx Express
|
$23.00
|
|
1/700
|
Dragon
|
U.S.S. Zumwalt DDG-1000
|
$38.00
|
|
1/144
|
Revell
|
U.S. Navy Landing Ship, Medium
|
$43.00
|
|
1/72
|
Polar Lights
|
Space 1999 Eagle 1 Deluxe Edition
|
$55.00
|
|
1/48
|
Encore
|
F3D-2 Skyknight
|
$60.00
|
|
1/25
|
Monogram
|
1957 Ford Del Rio Ranch Wagon
|
$24.00
|
|
1/32
|
Revell
|
Bell UH-1D Iroquois
|
$20.00
|
Bill Ficke introduced a motion to keep our club meetings on
the Second Saturday of each month. Buz Pezold added an amendment to that
motion, keep the meeting on the 2nd Saturday unless a conflicting
event of interest occurs on the same date and members vote to move that meeting
to an alternate date. Both motions were passed 23-1.
Our show and tell period started with Dave Lockhart having 2
works-in-progress. Dave has been working on his 1/96 scale U.S. Frigate
Constitution for some time and expects some more years of pleasure to go. This
is the Revell kit to which he’s added a strip wood deck and copper tape hull
plating. He still will build his own dead eyes and other furniture. This will
be a sight to behold.
Dave was unable to complete his planned Medic theme build.
He has the Starcraft resin kit of the USS Pasteur. This was the Starfleet
Medical Ship in the last episode of Star Trek Next Generation. The full resin
kit is modeled to 1/1400 scale.
Darryl Cordell had an older kit for the Medic build. The
subject was the HH-65C Dolphin II in 1/48 scale from Trumpeter. This was
released many years ago and was not a cheap or easy/good kit. Darryl suffered
through it to present a nice replica.
Mark Grzenia completed his Spitfire Mk.IXC from Eduard. This
is their 1/48 scale kit finished in markings for Polish ace Henryk Dygala. Mark
added Eduard’s Brassin cockpit and hand painted the camouflage scheme with
Model Master enamel paints. This is a great effort from Mark.
Mclean Gilbert had his Bell H-13H M*A*S*H chopper that he’d
completed last month as his Medic build which was fantastic and June’s Model of
the Month.
Mac also had a naval subject with a Medic relation. Mac built Trumpeter’s
Buckley-class Destroyer Escort in 1/350 scale. This kit was his first to use
photo etch parts and he meticulously hand painted the Measure 32 camouflage
with Model Master paints. Mac built this for his wife in honor of her
Grandfather’s service aboard her from commissioning until her loss by a Kaiten
torpedo off Leyte in 1945. She was escorting a flotilla of ships transporting
Soldiers wounded in the Philippines when they were attacked by a Japanese
Submarine and two Kaitens. Underhill sunk the sub and one Kaiten, but the
second struck her bow and she went down taking 112 Sailors.
Mac’s project M3A1 “Pain in the Ass” is continuing to
progress. The turret interior and basket are complete and he’s got an Olive
Drab basecoat on it. There is light at the end of the tunnel…
Gary Litavis was able to finish two for the Medic builds.
The first is a typical U.S. Army ambulance in 1/72 scale. This comes from the
Academy U.S. Ambulance and Tow Truck set. Gary finished it in the standard OD
Green and used the kit decals.
Gary’s more challenging build was the Tamiya Land Rover
Ambulance. This kit is a bit vintage and suffers from some inopportune ejection
pin marks. Gary handled it well, used Archer Transfers for the markings and
weathered it with Mig Pigments to give it a nice field effect.
Mike Idacavage displayed his eye-catching F/A-18C Hornet in
1/72 scale. He used the Hasegawa kit which can be a struggle. Mike added a PE
interior. A scratchbuilt searchlight and aftermarket AIM-9X Sidewinder
missiles. His decals are from Zotz representing a Swiss Air Force bug from the
2008 Tiger Meet Fighter Competition.
Mike also showed progress on his SA-9 Gaskin Anti-Aircraft
Missile System. Mike is building the Dragon kit in 1/35 scale, super-detailing the
missile containers and the launcher assembly. This will represent an Iraqi Army
target, uh, I mean vehicle from the Invasion of Kuwait/Desert Storm. This is
Mike’s first foray into armor subjects (but is has missiles so it’s OK)!
Tom Rice presented a big scale Cold War jet. Tom’s subject
was the Convair B-58 Hustler. This was the I.D. Models vacuform kit in 1/32
scale. He did add some aftermarket; the Aries F-4 Phantom burner cans. Most of
the rest of the kit such as landing gear, wheels, lathe-turned weapons pod,
etc. was scratch built. Tom even modeled crew stairs. The model represents aircraft
5661 from the 3rd production run. This truly is a sight to see.
Paul Crawley continues to turn out impressive and somewhat
obscure airliners, each better than the last. His subject this time was A Model’s
Antonov An-10A propliner. OK it was not obscure if you lived behind the Iron
Curtain, this was the late 50s-1960s version of the An-12 cargo aircraft
capable of carrying 100+ passengers. Paul uses Alclad primer and metallics and
Testor enamels on the finish. Paul also added PE antennae and windshield wipers.
Prieser figures and a Max Models base add perspective to this project.
Greg Dyar shows us yet again that some of the more vintage
kits can be made wonderfully. Greg took the old Hasegawa 1/72 Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.
He armed this bird with some 750 lb. bombs on the centerline station for
variety. Model Master paints and Micro Scale decals finished Greg’s gem.
Rob Morales continues forward on his current armor project.
He is building Tamiya’s 1/35 scale Schutzenpanzer Marder 1A2 mit Milan ATGM.
The kit is a slight improvement over the first iteration of the kit with the
addition of a Milan missile launcher at the commander’s station and glueable
tracks. Rob added weld seams with thinned putty to enhance detail and added
several styrene bits to replicate locks and stoppers welded on the hull deck. Rob
painted the track with Tamiya paints in the standard NATO tri-color scheme as
appeared on Bundeswehr vehicles from the 1980s on. Weathering and base are to
follow.
Fred Heil also is breaking into the armor range with a repop
of a vintage kit. Fred is building the Revell remold of Renwal’s M42 Duster anti-aircraft
track. This 1/32 scale kit features some decent gun detail and engine
compartment (aka “power pack”). Fred is adding some GI Joe ammo clips as they
match the smaller scale 40mm clips. Fred used dry brushing and chalk pastels on
the Model Master finish for weathering. He has some more work to go but this is
shaping up nicely.
The Medic Build model was awarded to Gary’s Land Rover
Ambulance. Tom Rice’s Hustler was the Model of the Month. Buz Pezold won the
gift certificate.
We will next meet on August 8 at 1:00 PM at Hobby Town USA
Kennesaw. Hope to see you at the IPMS Nationals in Columbus, OH July 22-25!
Remember, you can’t spell manslaughter without laughter; however,
a well-placed apostrophe makes it all legal.
