B U L L E T I N - IPMS Edmonton

B U L L E T I NThe Newsletter of the International Plastic Modellers Society of EdmontonNOVEMBER 2008In Flanders fields, the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row,That mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below...We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved, and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders fields...Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies growIn Flanders fields...3 NorthernWingsand othernews4 1/48 Special HobbyScreaming Scarlet Skystreak –Part 2Vic Scheuerman5 Braille ScalePart 3Jack Parent6 Braille ScalePart 4Jack Parent6 Lion RoarModeling SawreviewChris Aleong

BULLETIN, IPMS Edmonton November 2008 www.ipmsedmonton.com page 2NOVEMBER 2008The BULLETIN is a monthly publication of the InternationalPlastic Modellers Society, Edmonton Chapter. It is distributed toall members in good standing from September to June. Articles inthe Bulletin may be published in other IPMS Newsletters if creditis given to the author and IPMS Edmonton.CLUB MEETINGSIPMS Edmonton meets the second Tuesday of each month(September to June) from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in the cafeteria ofMcNally Senior High School,8440 – 105 Avenue,Edmonton, Alberta.There is no admission fee and club meetings are open to thegeneral public. Members and non-members alike are encouragedto bring models, books, accessories, or other modelling relateditems for show (or sale) at the meetings. The club is run veryinformally and is a great opportunity to learn how others approachthe hobby. There are also workshops and demonstrations – if youwould like to volunteer please contact a member of the executive.Monthly meetings have a very short business portion andmembers who bring completed kits to show are eligible for amembers-only door prize. There is usually a raffle draw open tothose who purchase tickets.ANNUAL MEMBERSHIPSIPMS Edmonton memberships cost $20.00 CDN annually.Membership fees are due each September and include a Bulletinsubscription and IPMS membership card. A good number oflocal hobby shops provide discounts to customers with validmembership cards. Membership gives you access to the club’sdecal bank, privileges to purchase raffle tickets, privileges toenter in the members-only contests, voting rights for the club, andthe option to run for the Executive.SUBMISSIONSThe BULLETIN is possible because of the voluntary contributionsand participation of our members. You can be part of sharingyour hobby by writing about your modelling interests. That mightmean an in-depth build article, a “how-to” story, a preview of anew kit, or perhaps a review of a new book. Submissions caninclude photographs, drawings, or illustrations. We welcome yourparticipation and have three people coordinating submissionsaccording to theme:Aircraft Rep > Brent Fordham > bfordham@telusplanet.netArmour Rep > Kevin Johnson > in personCar Rep > Dave Anderson > dmkhealy@yahoo.caOr direct > Dennis Weber > shreddy@telusplanet.netOf course we welcome submissions in other topics too, so don’tbe shy about sending those too. If you are not sure what isneeded to make your submission into the Bulletin, contact a repand they’ll help you through the process. Views and opinionsexpressed by submitters are their own.2008/2009 Event ScheduleJust a quick reminder that we do not meet in July or August.Each month we encourage you to bring a kit for show and tell.Paid-up members receive a ticket for a door prize and those withkits related to the theme receive a bonus door prize ticket. Here isa tentative schedule for 2008/2009:November 11 Canadian NightDecember 9Oh Tanenbaum (German)January 13For Queen and CountryBritish and Commonwealth subjects)February 10Orient Express (Eastern subjects)March 10Ides of March (Italian subjects)April 14April Fools (Fictional and Sci-Fi)May 12TBAJune 9Swap meetIPMS Edmonton ExecutivePresident 780.406.4692Gary Fairfullbentwing@telus.netTreasurer 780.483.0279Geoff Robertsongeorob@telusplanet.netMember at large 780.473.0038Chris Aleongchris174@shaw.caHOBBY SHOP DISCOUNTSUpon presentation of your IPMS Edmonton membership card,the following hobby shops offer members a discount of 10% offregular priced plastic kits:Alberta Hobby Centre14220 Yellowhead TrailComex Hobby1780 West Edmonton MallComex Hobby115 Kingsway Garden MallGreat Hobbies5144 – 75 StKites and Other Delights10024 – 21 AveKites and Other Delights1209 West Edmonton MallRoundhouse Sales9532 – 87 StBrightside Hobbies10130 – 100 Ave (Morinville)Uncle Bill’s HobbiesCalgaryLAST MONTH’S NEWSLast month there was concern that the November meeting datemight have to be moved because of the Remembrance Dayholiday. It so happens that this stat holiday will not interferewith our use of the cafeteria so it is business as usual. TheOctober door prize winner was Carl Boon, who won a $25.00 giftcertificate to Great Hobbies.

BULLETIN, IPMS Edmonton November 2008 www.ipmsedmonton.com page 3Northern WingnotesVic ScheuermanChris Hewitt placed 3rd in the new Aircraft ThemeAward with his Ventura. John Baniak received anHonorable Mention for his Nazi Flying Wing.Over all the number of participants was up, the numberof entries was up, but the big news is the number ofjuniors that entered has doubled from the year before. Weare getting as many or more juniors entered in this aircraftonly contest than the local regular all-venue shows.For the 2010 show the theme aircraft will be the B-25Mitchell.This years theme aircraft was the Ventura. First placewas awarded to Sean Adel (Calgary) for his Ventura/Howard 500. Second place was awarde to MassimoSantarossa (Calgary) for his RCAF Ventura. Third placeto Chris Hewitt (Edmonton) for his PV-1 Ventura.John Baniak(below) received an honourale mentionin the Resin/vacuum formed/scratchbuilt/conversioncategory for his Flying Wing. The people’s choice winnerwas awarded to Colin Reid (Edson) for his 1/24 Spitfire.Visit www.northern-wings.ca to see the complete prizeresults and a great photo gallery of the kits.◆Decal Bank noticeChris AleongHere is a quick a note about the club’s decal bank.Chris will have the boxes of spare decals at thenext meeting. People can rummage through tosee if they need anything for their projects.◆

BULLETIN, IPMS Edmonton November 2008 www.ipmsedmonton.com page 41/48 Special HobbyScreaming ScarletSkystreak – Part 2Vic ScheuermanThis is part of a larger three-part submission whichstarted with the October issue of the Bulletin. Italso follows an in-box review of the same kit inSeptember’s. Here is this month’s portion with handsomedetail photos.CockpitSpecial Hobby certainly offers a complete cockpit.In fact, given the small viewing panes in the operationalcanopy it is down right generous! First step was gettingall the parts ready for assembly. After clean up, the photoetched harness was glued onto the seat and the controlcolumn was assembled, all with super glue. The acetateinstrument panel had the back side painted with whiteacrylic paint and after drying, was trimmed to fit thephoto etch face.Painting started with a base coat of Testors ModelMaster (MM) Aircraft Interior Black enamel (unlessstated otherwise this is the make and type of paint used).Next, MM Gull Gray was misted on most of the partsleaving the corners and the base of raised details a littledarker to give the impression of depth. Detailed paintingfollowed using various acrylic colours applied by brush.To help highlight the harness, some black was brushedaround the edges while all the surfaces received a drybrushing of light grey to bring out the raised detail.Before the instrument panel was attached to the acetatewith white glue, it was given a brushing of graphite toimpart a metallic appearance. In Photo 9 one can see thecompleted cockpit tub in place, while Photo 10 shows theseat and control column.Next month, the landing gear. ◆

BULLETIN, IPMS Edmonton November 2008 www.ipmsedmonton.com page 5Braille ScalePart 3Jack ParentWell as the call for articles has gone out and Ifeel guilty about not doing my part, I have satdown at the computer and bashed out a coupleof notes on the glories from the world of small modelling.Attached this month is another wonderful renderingby the late Mike Bell. This is the US-built White M3A1scout car. Much like the staghound armoured car, theAmericans used this vehicle in small numbers, if atall. They opted instead to send them out to lend-leasecountries, most notably Britain and Russia and toCommonwealth countries such as Canada. In the novel byGeorge Blackburn, “Guns of Normandy” he mentions theuse of this vehicle buy Canadian artillery groups.In the east the Soviet forces used them as personalcarriers and recon cars. There is some evidence theRussian used them for prime movers, albeit for smallloads. At present, to my knowledge there are no smallscale kits of this APC. Back in the day this was availablewith injection moulding offered by Esci. There is somehope it my re-appear as the Esci moulds are now in thehands of Italeri and at sometime in the future may return.I have one in my collection and all-in-all it’s a pretty goodlittle piece.Your other choice is to kit bash on from the old AirfixM3 halftrack, which I did with two. It takes some workand some good reference but it is doable. The results arequite acceptableFor the 35 scale builders, I believe the White is, or willsoon be, out in the larger scale. I think the manufactureris Italeri.Hope you enjoy the drawing and can make some useof it. ◆

BULLETIN, IPMS Edmonton November 2008 www.ipmsedmonton.com page 6Braille ScalePart 4Jack ParentDuring our display at the Model Train Show atthe end of Sept, one of our members droppedby our display and we began talking about adiorama he’s thinking about doing in 1/72 scale and wechatted about the availability of figures in this scale. Irecommended a couple of cottage industry suppliers thatI have used in the past. So that got me thinking about justwhat is available and thought I could turn a quick reviewinto a bit of article. So here goes.At the top of the list is of course Preiser. For the mostpart these figures are well moulded and most sets comewith all kinds of add-ons (Small arms, kit, helmets).With the exception of their first offerings, German pilots,ground crew and fallschirmjager, the rest of their line arethe multi-pose type. In may cases the heads are separate.A word of caution. Preisers afore mentioned set are notmulti-pose and for the most part crude compared to whatthey are producing now. The figures are mostly Germanwith about half a dozen Russian troops. The only otherwestern figures are modern US tankers and infantry. Their1/87 line of military offerings are huge. A good line ofhorse drawn subjects to POWs to women clearing rubble.It would be nice if they extended these sets into the 1/72realm. Also sometimes you have to wonder why they pickthe subjects they do. Price-wise they are quite reasonablewhen compared to resin and metal producers. Suppliersinclude Roundhouse here in town and Michigan ToySoldier (www.michtoy.com)Number two on my list is AB figures.These figures aremarketed in 1/76 scale, are white metal, well sculpted andcome in a verity of nations. Aimed mainly at war gamersand pure collectors some of the detail is incredible. Theirmain focus is on German (and of course) British and UStroops. In their inventory you’ll find everything from firstaid sets to artillery crews. Other countries like France andthe Soviet Union are not as well represented. With thedollar at it’s present value these white metal sets can bepricey. Find them in Great Britain (www.abfigures.co.uk).My third favourite is Milicast (www.milicast.com).Again sold as 1/76 scale, they match up well to 1/72figures. Cast in a grey or cream resin, may sets comewith separate heads, weapons, arms and in some casesextra heads. The variety of countries is better than eitherof the two fore mentioned, but the number of sets islimited, with the British figures running to around twodozen sets. Less represented nations such as France andPoland are limited to two or three sets. The sculpting isquite good, but not up to the standard of of Preiser oreven AB. A quick mention here about Milcast, they havea huge range of vehicles and landing craft from mostcountries and have just added a model of Pegasus bridgeof D-Day fame to their range. Also announced is a Baileybridge. Remember this is all in 1/76 scale. The companyis located in Scotland so is dealing in the British pound.Again it can be pricey.There are, of course, many other producers. Plenty inthe soft plastic range, which are more toys than models.Others are built mainly targeted for the war gamer. Againwith most things some are good and some are not. Morelike hobbits than men. If anyone wants more info just tapme on the shoulder at the next meeting. I’ll be the onlyone with small scale stuff. ◆Lion Roar ModelingSaw reviewChris AleongIf you like to detail your models with resin update setsone of the most tedious aspects of using those setsis the clean up. In many cases the resin detail partis moulded on a large block of resin due to the way themaster was mounted for moulding.Most of us either use an Xacto saw or some such toolor in some cases a power sanding belt. Well Lion Roarhas released a set of saw blades that fit in those “Olfa”style retractable blade holders. Simply take your knife,remove the break-awayblade and replace it withthis new saw blade. I foundthat the blade was nice andstiff and well up to the taskof making short work ofthose pesky blocks.Since it is mounted inthe retractable blade holderyou can use any lengthof blade required for thejob depending on howfar you extend it. As anadded feature, the blade isprotected when not in use.You get 3 blades and thatshould last for many projects. I would think that the sawwould also be very useful in removing the pieces from thesprue on those limited run kits where the attachment pointis quite beefy.I bought my set from Comex Hobby in Kingsway Malland I think I paid around $10 for the set. Well worth themoney.◆