SEP - The Craig Hewitt Chapter, IPMS Phoenix

SEPTEMBER 2007 1 THE CORSAIR 

Volume 9, Issue 9 

SEPTEMBER 2007 

INTERNATIONAL PLASTIC MODELERS SOCIETY, USA 

CORSAIR 

NEWSLETTER 

T 

H 

E 

IN THIS ISSUE: 

Sept. Meeting Pictures ............................. 2 

In Memoriam/Join IPMS/USA.................. 4 

Want Ads.................................................... 4 

Jim Pearsall’s Flakzwilling....................... 5 

Editor's Note .............................................. 6 

Jim Pearsall’s P-61 Engines.................... 7 

Links............................................................ 8 

USAF Unit Designations .......................... 9 

Ed Kucharski’s Aircraft Photos ............ 10 

Support Local Hobby Shops................. 12 

Jordan Ross brought in the beauty of a 1/48 Monogram PBY-5A Catalina. 

Presidents Message 

Spare Parts 

It may be the change in the weather (the summer heat has finally broke) or 

maybe simply that we are now in months that end in “ber”, but my hobby-life has 

been a jumble lately. I finally finished my “Space In Miniature” book on the 

Apollo Lunar Module, started a car model (yes, “car” as in “automobile”), and 

suddenly had to go out of town on business for a week. We got the word that Art 

Gerber (IPMS national head judge for armor for over 20 years) suddenly died, and 

I announced my retirement as head judge for Space and Science Fiction. 

I cannot even figure out how long I have been doing the head judge job. I 

found some notes that confirm I did it in 1986, so it’s probably been even 

longer. It will be nice to attend a national convention with no particular obligation 

(it involves several extra seminars, meetings, doing the final judging, etc.). Time 

to let someone else do that (it will be Manny Gutsche). 

Speaking of volunteering, this month we will take nominations for club officers 

for the next two-year term. Please consider running for office, as it’s fun to 

be more involved and not really that much work. You’ll have lots of help. If 

that’s a little scary, keep Nov. 10 penciled in to come and help with the Model- 

Zona contest and swap meet at the Commemorative Air Force museum at Falcon 

Field. It should be a lot of fun, and it will be more fun if we get a lot of help. You 

club members were great at the regional we hosted, so I’m confident we’ll 

get the same level of support for the Fall show. Don’t forget, we need trophy 

sponsors, as well. 

At the October 1 club meeting, Brian Baker will host an aircraft recognition 

contest. He’ll show a picture of an aircraft (no doubt something really obscure) 

and you’ll get to identify it from a multiple choice list. We’ll score 

the results and see who knows their stuff. Hope to see you there. 

Mike Mackowski 

President, Craig Hewitt Chapter, IPMS/USA


September 2007 Meeting 

In September, a nice crowd was on hand to hear the 

recap of the Nationals. In case you haven’t heard, the 

Club’s group build took home three trophies: First Place in 

the group build, Best IPMS Chapter Entry and the Custer 

Trophy (which will be kept for a year before being passed 

along to next year’s winner). A big 

CONGRATULATIONS to all who participated. 

In addition to all the Nationals wrap-up, it was time for 

the second annual Club Swap Meet. Members brought in 

models that they wanted to sell. There appeared to be 

some lively action with many people taking home new 

kits. 

See you at the October meeting. 

Bill Sanborn’s award winning 1/72 Hasegawa KI-167 Sakura Dan 

(Peggy) 

Brian Baker’s 1/72 Airfix Fiat G.50 

Chuck Ludwig’s 1/72 Monogram F8F Bearcat 

Charles Swanson’s great looking Dragon 1/35 Panther 

Ausf .A (Early) 

Dave Weitzel’s 1/72 Italeri AC-47 Gunship 

Dick Christ brought in this 1/144 Airfix DC-9-30


Gary Thomas’s 1/72 MPC Avro Lancaster 

Mike Pabis finally finished a model with this National 

group entry 1/48 Hasegawa F-16C 

Jim Pearsall brought in this 1/144 Dragon B-1B Lancer 

Joseph Garcia’s nice looking 1/72 Italeri Boeing X-32 

JSF 

Greg Ewald’s 1/25 Revell Urban Task Vehicle 

Remember to bring in your models to the next 

meeting in order to be photographed and put in 

the next issue of the Corsair. 

One of the trophies received at the 2007 Nationals 

for the Group build


News and Notes 

In Memoriam 

It is with great sadness that I must report the passing 

of Art Gerber overnight (9/13/07). Art was not only a 

very good friend for over 30 years but also 

a great asset to IPMS, serving as Head Armor Judge 

since the mid 1980's. He set the standard by which all 

judging should be accomplished. He will be missed for 

his fine wit and his humanity. 

Our sincerest sympathies go out to Carolyn, his wife. 

Rest in Peace, Art 

Jack Kennedy 

IPMS/USA President 

Join the IPMS/USA! 

$25 annual membership includes a one year 

Subscription to the IPMS Journal. Visit www.ipmsusa.org to 

download a membership form. Or you can write to: 

IPMS/USA National Office 

P.O. Box 2475 

N. Canton, OH 44720-0475 

To see all of the 

models that 

were on display 

at the September 

meeting, 

visit our website 

at 

www.ipmsphx.org. 

WANTED 

Chris Helgrud is looking for a 1/72 Norden bomb site. If you have one or know of where one is, contact Chris @ 480- 

664-7994. Or you can email him at chrishh@cox.net 

Robert Csendes is trying to find an out-of-production vacuform kit of the 1/72 Convair XC-99 formerly made by Rick’s 

Models. If anyone has one they are willing to part with or knows where he can find one, please contact him at 

ggccorp@earthlink.net. 

Michael Gossman from Huntington, West Virginia is looking for someone to paint a model of a hydroplane boat. He 

would like it painted in the same scheme as the one he roots for. The boat is about the same size as a typical model 

car and it is already assembled. Michael will provide photos of the real thing for reference. If you are interested, 

contact Michael at MGossman@TSRCC.com and name your price. 

David Peyton from the Tucson IPMS chapter is putting together a 1/35 scale collection of vehicles used by the 

20th Armored Division in WW II for their annual convention to be held in Tucson in September 2007. This was 

my fathers division. I am still looking for the following: 

A 1/35 scale model of the Ward Lafrance M1 series wrecker. 

A 1/35 scale model of a 2 1/2 ton truck with a HQ-17A shelter and a semi-trailer carrying the PE-95 power 

generator which housed a high powered radio section for each armored signal company. 

A 1/35 scale model of a 2 1/2 ton repair truck. Any version. 

If anyone knows where I can find such models, please contact me at dmpeyton@cox.net


12.8 cm Flakzwilling 40 

Attack Models (resin) 

1/72 Scale, Kit # 72327 

by Jim Pearsall 

The Kit 

The kit is all resin, except for the two turned aluminum barrels. 

I was impressed by the level of detail, and the fineness of the 

molding. There was some flash, but never enough to be a 

problem figuring out where the part ended and the flash started. 

Thanks to Attack for the review copy and the chance to build 

something out of the ordinary. 

THE EQUIPMENT 

The 12.8 cm Flakzwilling 40 was one of those concepts which 

efficiency experts (now known as “industrial engineers”) love. 

The problem: Allied aircraft overflying the entire Reich, the 

Luftwaffe is unable to put a dent in the problem, and the 88mm 

Flak guns aren’t solving the problem either. The solution: 

Get a bigger gun. No, get two bigger guns. That way you only 

have to have one ammunition supply, one comm. setup, one 

commander. Efficient. 

Only about 35 of these behemoths were built. They were installed 

in flak towers, as they were really too big to be mobile. 

There was a 12.8cm Flak single. This is a pair of these, but the 

entire loading and aiming mechanism for each gun is either left 

or right handed, so they can serviced from the outside, without 

getting between the guns. 

There were a few parts with bubbles, but only one of these 

made any difference to the assembly. The guard rails for the 

loader’s stand are very thin, and, it turns out, fragile. One was 

broken, with the fragments missing, the other had a cracked top 

rail. 

The only other real challenge to this kit was order of assembly. 

Since you’re working with CA glue here, putting a part in the 

wrong place, or putting part C in place when Part B should 

have been put in first can have consequences. So I spent 3 evenings 

carefully checking and fitting each part before gluing. 

And I only made 2 errors in assembly. The cylinder above the 

barrel was misaligned because I put it on before mounting the 

barrel. Also, I assembled the barrel and support, and the carriage 

so that the barrel assembly wouldn’t fit. That required 

disassembly and reassembly. As you can see the instructions 

do not lead the modeler by the hand. 

Then the good part. Everything fit great. Once I had the right 

gun assembled, it looked very good, even unpainted. 

After having to check the fit and sequence of every part for the 

right gun, the left unit was a breeze. I now had a sequence, and


the left gun took 3 hours instead of 3 evenings. 

with some dry brushing on wear spots and silver for the hydraulic 

pistons. 

I pulled off what was IMHO, a pretty good fix for the broken 

railings. If you look at the left railing in the photo, there are two 

extra vertical pieces of resin. They are great matches for the broken 

parts. There wasn’t quite enough to make the entire repair, 

and a small length of stretched sprue was necessary, but it looks 

pretty good. 

I left the gunner seats and the loader platforms off until both 

guns were complete. I had some interesting moments installing 

the gunner seats. There are no locating items (pins, 

holes, slots, etc) on the foot pedals and the corresponding 

mount. Getting them in place and keeping them aligned 

while the CA set up was an exercise in patience, especially 

since they are tiny parts in an almost inaccessible place. I 

couldn’t get an applicator with accelerator in there. Thinking 

back, this is an excellent spot to use gel-type CA. 

Overall Assessment 

A great kit, with some “shoot yourself in the foot” problems, 

which a step-by-step assembly instruction would fix. OTOH, this 

is a limited run kit, and I’d rather have a kit with a higher degree 

of difficulty that has good detail and good fit, and a less than 

wonderful instruction sheet. I remember that Aurora always had 

pretty good assembly instructions. Point made? 

It was nice to build something which turns the tables on the aircraft 

guys. They keep referring to anything that doesn’t fly as a 

“target”. Well, Bucko, for this one, anything that DOES fly becomes 

the “target”. 

Thanks to John Noack for a chance to do something that isn’t a 

target. 

Painting was pretty straightforward. Panzer grey overall, 

Editor’s Note 

This is my first attempt at doing the Corsair after taking 

over from Keenan. With this first attempt, I don’t 

think we realize how much we should be thankful for 

having Keenan put out such a fantastic issue each 

and every month. I can now see how much work he 

put into making this a truly great publication. I'll do 

my best to keep up to his standards. Thank you 

Keenan. 

As time goes by, I may try some new things. Others 

will probably stay the same. Remember, this newsletter 

is written by us, members of the IPMS Craig Hewitt 

Chapter, so please feel free to submit any article, 

however long or short. Whether it is about a kit you 

built, an inbox review, a website or something funny 

related to the hobby, I would love to have it to include. 

So bear with me as I get my bearings on publishing 

this and we’ll continue to have some fun.


P-61 Engines—QB72081 

P-61 .50 cal guns for upper turret—QB72082 

For the Dragon/Bilek P-61 


guns at all. 

Now for a small problem doing more than a “first look review”. 

The Dragon kit is unavailable. It’s not listed in their catalog, 

and I couldn’t find one anywhere. Ditto for the Bilek kit, although 

it’s probably available in Eastern Europe. I couldn’t find 

anything on it at Hannants. It’s now there under “new arrivals”. 

SO, I went ahead and did the review with what I had. The old, 

awful Airfix P-61. The one I couldn’t sell for $3 ten years ago, 

so it’s still in the stash. Sigh. 

Of course with the project nearing completion, I got my hands 

on a Dragon kit. That’s where the boxtop scan came from. 

Quickboost is a line of resin replacement parts produced by Aires 

of the Czech Republic. The idea is to provide the AMS sufferer 

with parts which replace the details provided with their 

kits, which are “not up to standard”. Whatever that standard 

may be. In this case, it’s the engines and upper turret guns on 

the Dragon/Bilek P-61. Here’s a drawing of Bilek’s P-61. 

Engines: 

Each engine is nicely molded, with both rows of the radial. 

There are 2 parts which I think are distributors, and the air intake. 

Each engine is finely molded, flash free, beautiful. I had 

no problem doing the assembly, but the engines didn’t fit the 

Airfix cowlings. I cut the Airfix parts, rather than ruin the nice 

resin. 

The Quickboost engines are far superior to Airfix’s offering. 

Since I now have a Dragon kit to look at, Quickboost’s are better. 

The Dragon engines only have one row of cylinders, and 

the small details aren’t as clean or good looking as the Quickboost 

engines. For these reasons, I do recommend these engines 

for the extreme AMS sufferer. 

Note for the Dragon kit, the turret is blanked off, no .50 caliber 

But here’s the catch. The P-61 had close cowlings and large 

spinners. You really can’t see all that wonderful detail in there.


Thanks to John Noack and Quickboost for the review parts. 

Guns 

OK, here’s a replacement / add-on which is really useful. The 

guns are very nicely molded, very finely done. They have the 

cooling ports in the barrel shrouds, and the very tiny holes for 

the muzzles are there. These are definitely far superior to Airfix’s 

4 little sticks with zero detail. Since my Dragon kit is the 

“gunless” version, I can’t tell if they’re better, but I suspect that 

I’d have to say yes. 

"Rosie the Riveter" 

Links 

http://www.largescaleplanes.com/reviews/NonKit/DOUSEK/riv 

eter/riveter.html 

This is an interesting tool for creating rivets on your aircraft. 

Judging by the shots on the website, it looks to be really cool. 

The detail work that it creates on an aircraft is amazing. 

A New Way for the Air Force to use 

Cargo Planes 

http://www.specialoperations.com/USAF/SOLLII/default.html 

Creative uses for the C-5 Galaxy, C-17 Globemaster and the 

now retired C-141 Starlifter. 

Overall 

Lee Valley Tools 

Contour Sanding Grips 

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=20183&cat= 

1,42500 

The best sanding pads out there. They are molded in different 

shapes to fit al the areas you need to sand on your kits. Highly 

recommended. 

I really wish I had the Dragon kit when I started this project a 

month ago. As it is, I’ve had the Dragon kit for 3 days. The 

better interior, and all-around nicer, cleaner parts would have 

made the whole experience better. But sometimes you go with 

what you’ve got. 

I also added True Details wheels to this project. What the heck, 

if you’re putting lipstick on a pig, and mascara too, why not add 

some eye shadow?


United States Air Force 

Unit Designations Since 1978 

By Brian Rogers 

Specialty Press. 


The book is strictly a reference work, laid out with page after 

page of tabular information (a tabular is a table without a 

table title, but I digress). And it’s pretty easy to use. It has 

the information, and even I could figure it out in minutes. 

The basics: Softbound, 8 ½ X 11 inches, 260 pages, with 50 color 

photos. 

I want to thank Specialty Press for sending this review copy. 

The Contents: the first thing I did when I got this book was open 

it and find the ANG unit I was with for a long time. It’s in there. 

It’s correct. OK. 

But the question came up in my mind, “Why 1978?” Well, there’s 

obviously the answer that if it went from 1947, it’d be about 6 

inches thick. But the REAL answers are: 

1. 1978 was the last year that Aerospace Defense Command existed 

as a separate entity. 

2. 1978 was when the Air Force went to the Production Oriented 

Maintenance Organization concept, and the colored bands on the 

tails actually designated squadrons. 

3. The large scale base closings and reorganizations of the mid- 

70s had settled out, and wings/groups/squadrons were stabilized. 

There’s already a great book, “Combat Wings of the Air Force” 

which covers the subject from 1947 to 1977. 

How it’s laid out: 

Section 1, Air Force Wings 

Section 2, AF Reserve Wings 

Section 3, Airlift Squadrons 

Section 4, Air Refueling Squadrons 

Section 5, Bomb Squadrons 

Section 6 Fighter Squadrons 

Section 7, Flight Test Squadrons 

Section 8, Flying Training Squadrons 

Section 9, Miscellaneous Squadrons and Organizations 

Section 10, Reconnaissance and Air Control Squadrons 

Section 11, Rescue, Special Operations, and Helicopter 

Squadrons 

Section 12, Tactical Air Support Squadrons 

Section 13, AFRES Squadrons 

Section 14, ANG Squadrons 

There are two appendices, one with tail markings, the other


with Unit Designator & tail codes. Since this is the info 

most of us want to find quickly, it’s very handy. 

Conclusion: This is another of those labors of love. This 

information is probably available somewhere, but finding it 

can be a real chore. If you’re into USAF grey jets, this book 

was compiled for you. It’s a single source for who flies 

what, where they’re based, what they were called before. 

Also, the tail markings and tail codes are something no one 

else pays much attention to. 

Yes, that is a KC-130F taking off from an aircraft 

carrier. 

Not a normal site on a carrier deck. 

A PB1-JH taxiing on a carrier deck 

Yes, a B-29 in England during World War 2. 

A P-51 doing carrier qualifications


UPCOMING EVENTS 

OCTOBER 2007 

• Tuesday 2nd, 7pm - Craig Hewitt Chapter 

meeting at American Legion Post #1. Contest - 

OPEN - any subject, any scale. 

• Saturday 20th, 10am - Saturday morning gettogether 

at Jim Pearsall’s house in Sun City. E- 

mail Jim at n9joy@cox.net for more info and 

NOVEMBER 2007 

• Saturday 3rd-Hobbytown in Gilbert is holding 

their local contest. 

• Tuesday 6th, 7pm - Craig Hewitt Chapter 

meeting at American Legion Post #1. 

• Saturday 10th 10am-4pm - ModelZona 2007 at 

the Commemorative Air Force Museum, 2017 

E. Greenfield Rd., Mesa, AZ. 

December 2007 

• Tuesday 4th, 7pm - Craig Hewitt Chapter 

meeting at American Legion Post #1. 

♦ 

Friday 14th 6pm - Craig Hewitt Annual 

Christmas party @ Dillon’s 

ModelZona 2007 

At the 

Commemorative Air Force Museum 

Saturday, November 10th, 2007 

10 am - 4 pm 

Come and see some of the best plastic models 

in 

the West while enjoying one of the best 

collections of warbirds in the US. 

Model Registration from 10 am - 1 pm 

Museum Admission: $7 Adults, Children 6-13 $3 

Children under 6 FREE. 

Adult Model Registration Fee: $5 (first 5 models) 

Additional Models: $1 each 

Junior Model Registration Fee: $3 (unlimited entries) 

There will be plenty of vendors on hand, so bring 

plenty of cash. You just might find that kit you’ve 

been looking for! 

Hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and sodas will be 

available for purchase. All proceeds from the food 

sales benefit the CAF . 

The club meets at 7:00pm on the 

first Tuesday of each month at the 

American Legion Post #1 in Phoenix. 

Check the club calendar on 

the website - www.ipms-phx.org - 

for any changes. 

American Legion Post #1 

364 N. 7th Ave. 

Phoenix, AZ 85003 

The post is located South of I-10, 

just a few blocks North of Van 

Buren on 7th Ave. Look for the 

large flagpole. 

Club Officers 

President Mike Mackowski mjmackowski@inficad.com (480) 926-4765 

Vice President Keenan Chittester kchittester@qwest.net (480) 206-8450 

Secretary Brian Baker aeronut43B@cox.net (623) 933-1479 

Treasurer Jim Pearsall n9joy@cox.net (623) 583-2308 

Chapter Contact Dick Christ dickc24@aol.com (480) 983-7131 

Member-At-Large Jim DiGiacomo jimmyd30@netzero.net (480) 380-5844 

Webmaster Mike Ronnau ipms_phx_webmaster@cox.net (602) 504-2097 

Corsair Editor Mike Pabis mpabis525@aol.com (480) 515-3627


The Corsair 

13613 S. 37th St. 

Phoenix, AZ 85044 

A 

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RIGHT STUFF, 

RIGHT PRICE 

www.thehobbydepot.com 

216 W. Southern Ave. 29 N. Val Vista, Suite 102 

Tempe, AZ 85282 Gilbert, AZ 85234 

(480) 968-1880 (480) 497-3254 

Copper State Models 

“The Cutting Edge In Military Details” 

Eric R. Hight 

3245 E. Hillery Dr. 

Phoenix, AZ 85032 (602) 867-8822 

www.gofastest.com/cruzin 

2018 N. Arizona Ave., Ste. D118-126 

Chandler, AZ 85225 (480) 899-6640 

Space modeling reference books by Mike Mackowski. 

Avalon Books and Hobbies 

1510 N. Scottsdale Rd. 

Tempe, AZ 85281 

(480) 994-2263 

www.airline-hobby.com 

Your One Stop Source for 

Scale Model Airliner Kits, Decals, 

Diecasts and Accessories 

1817 E. Baseline Rd. 

Gilbert, AZ 85233 

(480) 892-0405 

Don’t forget to sign up for your HobbyTown Card!

SEP - The Craig Hewitt Chapter, IPMS Phoenix

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