APR - IPMS Phoenix

VOLUME 15, ISSUE 4 • APRIL 2013
THE CORSAIR
President’s Message
Greetings
With the March rains
roaring out on both our ChandlerGilbert Community College display and
the CAF Bombing Campaign Seminar,
we still made an admirable showing of
display models and handed out some
Model Clinic flyers.
Speaking of the upcoming Scale
Model Clinic II, please see Bill Dunkle
for your stack of flyers to pass out to
your favorite local hobby shop or any
other interested parties...... the more
the merrier!
Also see Bill D. to volunteer to help out
at the clinic by manning a booth on
your favorite subject.
This month's speaker will be
Chad Lares on the care and feeding of
a real, live, 1:1 M-18 Hellcat and other
military vehicles. Thanks to Ethan for
arranging this speaker.
This month's contest is
Modern: 1975 and newer ...so
anything made after 1975
Build a model and read a book...........
Happy Modeling, Keith Pieper
Keith Pieper
Chapter President
The winners of the March contest were Craig
Pierce’s 1/72 scale Matchbox V-2, and Duane
Kolstad’s Grave Digger.
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March 2013 Meeting Pictures ........................................... 2-4
Raffle Update ........................................................................ 7
Upcoming Events ................................................................. 7
Club Officers ......................................................................... 7
Surfing The Web ................................................................... 9
Box Art of the Month .......................................................... 10
1/144 Dragon X-15 Review ................................................. 11
Tips ...................................................................................... 14
Estate Sale .......................................................................... 15
Support Your Local Hobby Shop! ..................................... 16
THE CORSAIR
March 2013 Meeting
Another packed room greeted IPMS Phoenix in March.
Some of the highlights included discussion about the upcoming
2nd Annual Scale Modeling Clinic in May.
Numerous topics related to national IPMS came up. Among
these were Steve Collins’ announcement he is running for 1st
Vice President of the national board. The topic of the IPMS
Journal going to an all digital format also came up.
With warm weather approaching, you know what that
means? Contest season is about to start and trophy package
donations are starting to come into IPMS Phoenix. First
package donations of the season went to the Desert Scale
Classic with one major award and two categories being paid
for by the club.
Thanks to Dave Weitzel for putting together The Corsair over
the last several months.
Unfortunately, I did not take home the model information
sheet which matches to the model photos. Therefore, just
enjoy the pretty pictures.
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APRIL 2013
THE CORSAIR
More March pictures...
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APRIL 2013
THE CORSAIR
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APRIL 2013
More March pictures...
Comments from the Editor…
Over the next several months, I would like to try a few new things in regards to The
Corsair. I have a few ideas up my sleeves but I will need some help.
Do you know of any notable modeling related individuals who would like to be interviewed? Do you have pictures of your hobby bench or kit displays you would like to
share? What about telling the club a little about yourself? Is there anything YOU
want to see in here?
Send me an email about what you want to see covered in future issues of The Corsair. Likes and dislikes are welcome too.
THE CORSAIR
PAGE 5
APRIL 2013
MODEL BUILDER WANTED
Mike Makowski’s wife is a member of the local Mayflower Society, a family history organization. They are looking for someone to build this ship model of the Mayflower. They are
willing to pay a fee, to be negotiated. It is a 1/60 scale laser-cut wooden kit. Folks can contact
us at 480-926-4765 or email at [email protected].
THE CORSAIR
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APRIL 2013
THE CORSAIR
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APRIL 2013
The following quality items will be on the raffle table for the April 2 meeting:
Item A: Minicraft 1/144 U.S. Coast Guard RD5,
Item B: Trumpeter 1/72 P40-B/C
Item C: Italeri 1/72 Lockheed Hudson MK IV
Item D: Revell 1/48 MIG 25
Item E: Academy 1/48 Merkava
Item F: Italeri 1/72 Sd. Kfz. 171 Pz Kpw. V Panther
Item G: Airfix 1/350 Trafalgar class submarine
Item H: Is there a bottle of Pledge in your future? We pledge that Pledge is Future and will be in this raffle--not
the future!
Thanks to Jim Pearsall and Steve Collins for recent donations. Chuck Ludwig, Vice President
UPCOMING EVENTS
APRIL 2013
•
•
Tuesday 2nd, 7pm– Craig Hewitt Chapter meeting at American Legion Post #1. Contest
Theme: 1974 and newer.
Saturday 6th, 11am—Estate Sale @ 1911 East Latona, Phoenix
MAY 2013
•
Tuesday 7th, 7pm - Craig Hewitt Chapter meeting at American Legion Post #1. - Contest
Theme: Drones
•
SATURDAY MAY 18th , 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM—SCALE MODELING CLINIC II, American
Legion Post #1, 364 N. 7th Ave.
The club meets at 7pm on the
first Tuesday of each month at
the American Legion Post #1 in
Phoenix. Check the club website
at www.ipms-phoenix.org for
more meeting info.
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. Look for the huge
American flag.
Chapter Officers
President.............................. Keith Pieper [email protected]
Vice President..................... Chuck Ludwig [email protected]
Secretary ............................. Doug Solomon [email protected]
Treasurer ............................. Craig Pierce [email protected]
Chapter Contact.................. Bill [email protected]
Member At Large............... Sam Bueler [email protected]
Webmaster .......................... Jim Pearsall [email protected]
Newsletter Editor ............... Mike Pabis [email protected]
THE CORSAIR
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APRIL 2013
PLASTIC PONDERINGS
BY MIKE PABIS
Yeah! That’s right! I am back in charge of
things! Just don’t tell anyone that I am secretly using
the newsletter and position as editor as a cover.
This time I am not only back producing but
nowH.writing articles. These are my random
modeling thoughts.
Don’t you wish you could go back and do it
over again? Yeah, we have all had those moments.
Well, I am talking about woulda, coulda, shoulda
moments with modeling. As for me, there have been
quite a few over the years. Now in my second stint at
building models, I have had my fair share of these
moments.
When it comes to different kits, I have a ton that I
wish I could do over. There was the 1/35 Mk. III
Pibber that I got for Christmas as a 12 year old. While
the kit went together fine over winter break, how I
wish I could have repainted it differently. No, I did not
paint it in dayglo orange or some wild scheme.
Rather, I decided to brush paint it olive drab. You
read that right. I brush painted the entire thing. In
hindsight, maybe I should have gone to the hobby
store down the street (which I visited about once a
week) and picked up one of those fancy, new fangled
things called spray paint. Sure those days spent
hunkered over the kitchen table putting on a few
coats were good modeling time, but I think simplicity
and ease would have been more prudent.
Or there was the time I got out of modeling as a
teenager. Yeah, I am sure we have all had that
experience. Life and events just take over and you
realize that modeling can’t make it. For me, I just
wasn’t building anymore and it was time for me to
move onto other hobbies. Plus going to college would
make it a little tough to build in a dorm room. So, I got
rid of all my kits. Even though they went to a good
cause, the local children’s hospital, how I wish I could
get some of those back. I had a ton of DML kits that
are now out of production or took a long time to get
remade at a much higher present day cost. Even if I
wouldn’t have built them, Ebay would have helped
pay for a vacation. Oh well.
Perhaps it was the time when I thought I would try a
new technique I read in Fine Scale. You know, the
one where if you spray/airbrush paint over a finished
canopy you can scrape it off with a toothpick or sprue
and not damage the clear part? Well, maybe my 1/48
Monogram EA-6B would not have wound up in the
trash if I had reread it and understood what a Future
coat was. I have not tried this tip again out of fear.
Who wouldn’t have wanted to take advantage of an
opportunity to visit a museum, memorial or some
other significant site while on vacation? I was
fortunate growing up that my parents wanted me to
get out and see the country. Even when they couldn’t
afford to go along, they made sure I could experience
something.
On one family vacation up through the garden spots
of California known as Modesto, Morro Bay, Monterey
(which was nice) and Sacramento, I experienced
something I wish I could have a do over on. In
Sacramento, our hotel just happened to be the hotel
for a military reunion. Sure, many have stayed
somewhere where a bunch of guys are getting
together and swapping war stories for a weekend.
Well, this one was a little different than that. It was the
national reunion of Tuskegee Airmen. Everywhere, I
went at the hotel, I couldn’t move without bumping
into a living, breathing, walking historical figure.
Unfortunately, I was too shy to bother talking to them.
What I could have learned from these Americans?
Yeah, can I have a do over on this one please?
Oh sure, I have screwed up my fair share or five of
kits. A few have even left imprints on the wall
afterward. There are many times I have screwed up a
technique that ruined a kit in my opinion. However, I
will never fully avoid it, just learn from it and make
adjustments. At least that is what I tell myself six
months later when I am still finding pieces of that
1/200 C-130 Hercules in the garage. For a little kit
with not many parts, it sure made a mess.
I woulda, coulda, shoulda-d a lot of things over the
years. What are yours?
THE CORSAIR
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APRIL 2013
Pictures from the February Make and Take at Falcon Field
SURFING THE WEB
Concept, canceled, proposed and rumored aircraft variants through the years.
http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?220875-Concept-Canceled-Proposed-Rumored-Militaryamp-Civilian-Projects
A pretty cool way to make grass out of twine rope.
http://fichtenfoo.net/blog/making-tall-late-autumnwinter-field-grass-from-jute-twine/
Did you know that DC-3s are still flying? Did you know that the US government is using them right now?
http://theaviationist.com/2012/10/05/dos-dc3/
A walkthrough guide on how to make a neat water based vignette using clear resin.
http://www.reapermini.com/thecraft/49
Everything you need to start taking great pictures of your models at home, except the camera of course.
http://www.micromark.com/Photo-Studio-In-a-Box,9552.html
More great articles, tips and walkthroughs from FichtenFoo above.
THE CORSAIR
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APRIL 2013
Box Art of the Month
A collection of notable, amazing or otherwise great looking box art from kit
boxes over the years. Feel free to contribute any images you have or know
of for future issues. This month: DML.
THE CORSAIR
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APRIL 2013
Dragon Models 1/144 X-15
Product/Stock #: 4631
MSRP: $19.95
by
Jim Pearsall IPMS # 2209
The Aircraft
The X-15 was the first aircraft to “officially” make a space
flight. The US considers any flight that reaches an altitude of
50 miles to be a space flight, and 8 pilots met this criterion.
The FAI requires 100 km (62 miles) altitude for a space
flight, and two flights, both with Joe Walker as pilot achieved
this height. The X-15 also holds the record for fastest
manned aircraft, at 4092 mph.
With all the publicity surrounding the X-15 program, I was
surprised that there were only three built, and you can build
two of them, 56-6670 and 56-6671. The third, 56-6672 could be built from the parts supplied, but you’d
need serial number decals.
The Kit
This is one of Dragon’s 1+1 kits, and it comes with enough parts and decals to build two complete X-15s.
You also get the wheeled dolly that was put under the landing skids to allow the X-15 to be moved after
landing.
When I opened the box, I was very impressed by the quality of the molding, crisp, clean, flash free, and a
lot of tiny parts. I found it interesting that the Dragon designers made the fuselage halves front and rear
instead of left and right. It sure made it a lot easier to hide the seam.
Building the Kit
Looking at the 3-step instructions, this build is a piece of cake.
1. Do the interior, insert it, put the fuselage halves together (front and rear), add the wings, stabilizers.
2. Decide whether it’s going to be in flight or on the ground. Half of the lower tail is jettisoned before
landing, so the parts are different.
3. Add the canopy, landing gear or doors, and finish.
Ah, if it were only that simple. Well, it really is, but there were some
problems. The first one I encountered was that after I put the nicely done
instrument panel and seat into the cockpit and inserted it into the front
fuselage half, it wouldn’t go in. The seat is too tall to fit past the
bulkhead. Remove the seat, install the cockpit, reinstall the seat, and go
on.
Fit of the wings was spectacularly tight and good. There was a tiny gap,
which I took care of with a bit of Mr. Surfacer. Splendid engineering.
I ran into another problem with the horizontal stabilizers. The part
numbers on the instruction sheet appear to be switched between left and
right, and I had to swap them to get the correct anhedral. So be sure to
test fit these.
THE CORSAIR
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APRIL 2013
X-15 Review Continued from pg. 11
I was going to test-fit the nose probe when I discovered that the fuselage has a pin at the nose, and the
probe also has a pin. I eventually solved this problem by putting part number B30 on the nose, which
has holes front and rear. There’s no mention of this part in the assembly instructions, and parts B30
and B31 don’t appear in the sprue layout. Also, there are two different parts numbered 34 on the B
sprue.
Also, the callout for the nose gear wheels is incorrect, calling for part number B13 for these. These
wheels are for the towing dolly, and are too large to fit. The nose wheels are part B16, and are smaller,
and very nicely molded.
Painting
Wow, the paint job was simplicity itself. One color, overall for everything but the interior, the wheels
and the rocket motors. The color callout is for 36081 Dark Gray overall. I disagree with this, as the X15s at NASM and the AF Museum are definitely black overall. I thought maybe Dragon might be correct,
so I painted the aircraft 36081 first. Then I repainted it with Floquil Grimy Black after I saw that the
color just didn’t look right. Coat with Future, and it’s ready for markings.
Decals
All right, Cartograf decals on a tiny little blue paper. Excellent decals, no problem, right? Well, wrong,
there’s a problem. When I put the USAF on the wings, I discovered that the decal film didn’t really
connect the letters. There was a tiny “bridge” from one letter to the next, but it was so fragile that any
handling broke it. I got these in place, and then went to Plan B. I put Microscale liquid decal film over
the US Air Force, the X-15, and serial number decals. This worked beautifully. I also appreciate that
the decal reference numbers are printed in black on the decal sheet, so that you can read them.
Final Assembly
After putting the flat coat over the decals, I could now put on all those parts I would have knocked off
while fooling with the decals. This part went very well, except for the one “tweezer ping” where I
launched a part into another dimension. I fixed that, but all of these tiny parts fit beautifully, with all of
the pins fitting cleanly into their holes.
Overall Evaluation
This is an excellent model. The parts fit is excellent, and everything just falls into place. It’s the closest
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
Membership also gives you access to the online Discussion Forum, where
you can exchange ideas and information with other members of IPMS.
THE CORSAIR
PAGE 13
APRIL 2013
X-15 Review Continued from page 12
thing to a “box shaker” kit I’ve built in a long time. The instructions aren’t anywhere near this good.
But since this kit contains parts which are used on the “stretched” X-15, Dragon has the opportunity to
fix this before they issue the next version.
Thanks to Dragon USA for the review kit, and to Steve and IPMS/USA for the chance to build it.
CONTENT NEEDED!!!!
The Corsair needs your help! To keep this newsletter filled
with all the great content, I need your help with content. Here
are some useful items that I can use to put together future issues each month:
• Kit reviews/In-box reviews
• Website links
• Modeling related articles
• Commentary and featured columns
• Neat, strange or otherwise shareable pictures
• Book reviews
• Trip and vacation write-ups
Anything you have can be used. Don’t hesitate. Even a few
paragraphs are great.
THE CORSAIR
PAGE 14
APRIL 2013
Useful Tips
Courtesy of Leeland Lempkins of the Georgia Mountain Modeler Newsletter, I found this too good to
not share.
How to Rebuild Weldments
To rebuild weldments lay down two pieces of tape. It took
me awhile to realize get the tape closer together than you
think. The thinner the better, I think. Rub the edges with
your finger nail to seal it down especially when coming to
intersections.
Use Baking Soda and push it into the space.
Apply CA along the line. Then sand it down flush to the
tape right after applying CA.
Pull tape away and there you go, recreated weldments.
Voila.
THE CORSAIR
PAGE 15
APRIL 2013
Estate Sale/Silent Auction
If you have any funds left after Chowlewa's swap meet
last month, here's an opportunity to pick up some real
esoteric models as well as some kits from a while back.
Saturday April 6th
starting at 11am,
located at:
1911 East Latona, Phoenix
Some 400 plus kits will be on sale. The modeler passed a year ago
and his widow is trying to recoup a few bucks as she will have to soon
move to a smaller home.
This collection has been inspected by 3 members of the
Club. Most kits are sealed boxes or sealed bags. Many
have PROFILE reference magazines in the box. As with
older kits, there is yellowing of the decal sheets with a
few that are beyond saving. There is also some box tape
jobs as the original carton glue work dried up.
Though the modeler was not a member of Craig Hewitt,
he did quality work. There are a few built kits that just
might be what you are looking for. This fellow was all
over the map in what he purchased. Mostly aircraft with
most of that being biplanes in 1/72. Sailing ships and
early automobiles are abundant. Only one figure (Aurora
Blue Knight) and sadly no armor.
Please bring paper money, bids will be in dollar increments. She
hopes to wrap things up no later than 2pm.
THE CORSAIR
APRIL 2013
PAGE 16
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HOBBY SHOP!
RIGHT STUFF,
RIGHT PRICE
www.thehobbydepot.com
216 W. Southern Ave.
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 968-1880
Copper State Models
Avalon
Books and Hobbies
1510 N. Scottsdale Rd.
Tempe, AZ 85281
(480) 994-2263
“The Cutting Edge In Military Details”
Eric R. Hight
3245 E. Hillery Dr.
Phoenix, AZ 85032
Space modeling reference books
by Mike Mackowski.
(602) 867-8822
www.spaceinminiature.com
www.airline-hobby.com
Your One Stop Source for
Scale Model Airliner Kits, Decals,
Diecasts and Accessories
THE MAD MEATBALL
HOBBY BENCH
2 Great Locations!
8058 N. 19th Ave.
4240 W. Bell Rd.
1817 E. Baseline Rd.
Gilbert, AZ 85233
(480) 892-0405
Don’t forget to sign up for your HobbyTown Card!
MIKE CHOLEWA
602-944-4096
“DEALER IN PRE-OWNED PLASTIC”
12629 NORTH 21ST DRIVE
PHOENIX, AZ 85029
HISTORIC HOBBIES OF PRESCOTT
In the Cortez Street Emporium
115 N. Cortez Street
1/2 block North of the Courthouse
Prescott’s only hobby shop dedicated to finescale plastic modeling - Aircraft, Armor, Auto, Figure & Ship
kits and books for all skill levels.
Sun.-Thurs. 10am - 5pm • Fri.-Sat. 10am - 6pm