Show and Tell - October 11, 2007
Meeting Location: HobbyTown USA, Petaluma
Meeting Time: 7:00pm
Theme: Frightening Models
Pictures by Steve Elliot
Commentary by Doug Dropeskey
Edited by Doug Dropeskey
Club Announcements (by John Admire, President):
• Regular club meetings take place on the second Thursday of every month, starting at 7pm, at HobbyTown in Petaluma.
• Board meetings take place on the fourth Thursday of every month, starting at 6:30pm. Please come to the board meetings if you would like to contribute.
• All future board meetings will take place at Round Table Pizza in the Marlow Shopping Center, Santa Rosa (Map)
• John reports some emails bouncing from members. He will contact affected members individually. • Club shirts in both old and new styles are available for $20 each. If you prefer the old style, get them now before they sell out.
• Some people still owe club dues for 2007. Please contact Brett Halby to make a payment.
• Please consider joining IPMS USA. You will receive their excellent magazine 6 times a year, with information about the organization, upcoming events, new kit reviews, and build reviews. The latest issue is reaching members now.
• Each IPMS Chapter awards one Meteor Award annually, to the greatest contributer as judged by club leadership. To become eligible for this award, you must be a current member of IPMS USA. The award comes with a $25.00 gift certificate.
• The first weathering class was cancelled; the instructor was unable to attend.
• The board has decided to cancel all remaining weathering classes. We could not locate skilled instructors, and the classes never seemed to generate much interest. The club will try again next year, with a focus on more basic skills.
• The Armor Modeling and Preservation Society (AMPS) is organizing AMPS West for the fall of 2008 in San Joseand they need volunteers to help. For more information, please visit the AMPS website. Jim Lewis, the AMPS west coast vice president, is organizing the effort.
• The club continues to sponsor club builds and reviews. If you would like to participate, please contact us. Mike Vice has volunteered to build a Pfaltz D.IIIa.
• The club field trip to the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien and U.S.S. Pampanito was very nice but poorly attended. John Admire and friends were able to tour many different restored vessels on a rare, perfect day in San Francisco.
Upcoming Events (Please see the Event Calendar for more information.):
• On October 17 at 7pm, the Pacific Coast Air Museum will hold its monthly meeting. You may attend a meeting without actually joining the organization. If you do want to join, club dues run $30.00 a year. PCAM currently comprises over 600 members, and attracts superior speakers in the aviation field.
• On October 13, IPMS Fremont Hornets will host their annual model contest and show.
• On October 21, Hiller Aviation Museum will hold a special event, Aces with Wings of Gold, presented by the Northern California Friends of Fighter Aces Association. Local IPMS chapters are supporting this event, with members building and displaying models of representative aircraft. Please see the Home Page for more information. Randy Bumgardner and Greg Reynolds will attend.
• On October 27, IPMS Shasta Scale Modelers will host their annual model contest and show.
• On Friday, December 14, IPMS Santa Rosa will host its annual Christmas party at the Round Table Pizza across from Coddingtown Mall in Santa Rosa.
Website Announcements (by Doug Dropeskey, Website Administrator):
• Please see the Update History page for a complete listing of all changes to this website.
• Please visit the online Task List to view all planned improvements to the club website. If you would like to add to, remove from, or comment on the task list, please contact us or attend a board meeting.
• If you would like to contribute photos of events, meetings, walkarounds, and so forth, please contact us. We are happy to handle all image processing and include any information or captions you like.
Demonstration: The Many Uses of Future (by Greg Reynolds based on a suggestion from Dale Bohling):
A well known method of preventing decals from silvering, is to use Future Floor Finish to gloss-coat any flat paint to which they will be applied. This fills in the microscopic roughness of the flat paint that traps air between the clear carried film of the decals and the paint - the cause of "silvering". After the decals are all set, airbrushing a final clear coat restores all to the desired degree of sheen.
Dale's tip is that you can take a shortcut. You do not need to airbrush the whole model with Future prior to applying the decals. It is perfectly OK to just hand brush the Future only where it is needed. The Future will dry thin enough and "level" enough that the final clear coat will blend it all in.
In this demonstration, I airbrushed a quick 3-tone Navy camouflage with Tamiya flat acrylics. After drying for a day, I crudely brushed patches of Future Floor Finish, straight from the bottle, on about half the area where the decals would go. After another day's drying time, I applied some Super Scale decals using Microscale Microset and Microsol. These decals were the late war "white only" national insignia so there was plenty of clear carrier film. They were applied half on and half off the patches of Future.
You can see the carrier film and a little bit of silvering in "before" pictures where the decals were applied directly to the flat paint.
After another drying day, I over sprayed them with a 1:3 mix of Tamiya Flat Base and Future, with about 50% Tamiya X-20 thinner. I highly recommend using the Flat Base mixed with Future. By adjusting the ratio, you can adjust the final sheen and the Tamiya Flat Base has no yellowing tint.
Fuselage with a coat of Future applied to half, and then a decal applied.
Fuselage with a second coat of Future applied over the decal.
Wing with a coat of Future applied to half, and then a decal applied.
Wing with a second coat of Future applied over the decal.As you can see in the "after" pictures, the silvering and the hand brushed Future are completely invisible. It took about three passes with for the fuselage and about six for the wing. With the food dehydrator going, this took no time at all.
A great website devoted to the modeling uses of Future Floor Finish may be found at Swanny's Models
From the audience: You can use Future with Simple Green, in a 3 to 1 ratio, to achiever a super shiny coat. Future gets stale, so avoid using old batches on your models.
Question and Answer:
How do you thin Mr Kit silver acrylic paint to remove clumps
Stir the paint very well, possibly using a motorized tool. Try straining the stirred paint to remove large clumps. Metallic paints have a tendency to settle out over time, and may never recorver their original level of pigment dispersion. Try thinning with distilled water, alcohol, or Liquetex flow improver. Note that different acrylic paints thin with different chemicals, so test before you commit.
How do you make relalistic vision blocks?
Try using confetti, crystal clear, or tinted Future, as appropriate.
How do I create realisti water?
TAP Plastics once again carries EZ Cast. This two part epoxy costs about $10 US a pint, cures in 24 hours, and dries very clear. You can pour it in 1/8 inch layers.
Show and Tell (select a picture to view at full size):
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• Grant Moulton brought in the US NR-1 nuclear research submarine by FX Models in 1/72 scale, a book on the Cahr B1 Bis, and a P-36 in 1/48 scale by Hobbycraft. It took Grant almost a year to get the NR-1 model. The kit includes a reference book detailing US nuclear submarine research efforts in the 1950s and 1960s. The P-36, which Grant built about 10 years ago with a resin cockpit and engine, recently took a nose dive. Restoration is underway. • Dennis Dow presented three models, a 70s era Trans Am by Monogram in 1/24 scale, a Tiger tank by Tamiya in 1/35 scale, and a Corsair by Hasegawa. The Trans Am features custom engine work including wiring. The Tiger tank features metal tracks and an aluminum barrel. • Tom Young brought in a series of airshow pictures from the recent Reno Air Races, a 1/72 scale diorama of Russian cavalry in action, and a P-61 Balck Widow. The airshow pictures include Glacier Girl, a newly restored P-38 Lockheed Lightning, and a nearly perfect 3/4 scale P-51D Mustang. |
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• Tom continues to build dioramas of Russian WWI units, including this vigenette with elements of a Hussar regiment crossing a bridge. The Black Widow comprises the wings and tail of a Strombecker kit with fuselage and other parts carved by Tom's father. • Brett Halby displayed the Incredible Hulk, a Polar Lights kit painted freehand with Vallejo acrylics. Apparently the Hulk also has connections to the Balco Industries scandle currently impacting the sports world. |
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• Lon Irwin presented a 1/32 scale Hellcat by Hasegawa in WWII Navy colors. • Dave Hansen brought in an F7U-3 Cutlass by Fujimi in 1/48 scale, one of the scariest aircraft ever from a pilot's perspective. Dane built the model in late 80s or early 90s, finishing it in bare metal with the livery of a squadron stationed at Moffet Field. |
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• Dave also brought in a Hellcat by Hasegawa in 1/48 scale. The model features a JAG resin interior, Ultracast wheels, Model Master paints, and Aeromaster decales. • Jack Riggar began work on his next project, and Russian anti-tank gun by Miniart in 1/35 scale (not shown). Miniart, a Ukranian company, does not number parts on the sprues, making familiarization more critical than normal. Jack also notes that the soft plastic in Miniart kits can lead to pilling when sanding, and you must cleanup some flash. The figures approach Dragon in detail and molding finesse. The wheels of the field piece build up from a series of disks. The inner disks lack appropriate tread pattern, so Jack scribed it using the outer pieces as a guide. Jack then cast the completed wheel, ensuring a uniform appearence on the completed model. Rivet detail was added using convex disks punched out from thin sheet plastic using a pin vise. • Doug Dropeskey also began work on his next project, a buildup of every 1/35 scale panther in his stash--at the same time. Doug started with the Dragon Panther Ausf. G late smart kit, detailed with an aluminum barrel and photo-etch parts from the matching Cyber Hobby set. Since all track pins on the individual link tracks point in the same dirrection, Doug shaved off and reversed the pins on half the links. The underside of the mantlet, the fan covers, and the copula were textured using Mr Surfacer 1000. Chain on the towing pintel was taken from shipbuilding supplies. The track chaging cable is made from metal beading wire. Doug also brought in the Cyber Hobby Panther Ausf. F and the Cyber Hobby Panther Ausf. D Beobachtungswagen, both in very early stages of construction (not shown). Finally, Doug displayed a Stone Lurket by Reaper Miniatures in 25mm scale. The base was made from a wood disk, stained and clearcoated. The miniature is attached to the base with sculpted milliput, and decorated with plaster cast rocks from Woodland Scenics molds. Rocks and static grass from Woodland Scenics were also used. The miniature itself was painted in shades of gray and green with an airbrush, and then detailed. WINNER: THEME AWARD |
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