MAR - the IPMS Phoenix Craig Hewitt Chapter

VOLUME 17, ISSUE 3• MARCH 2015
THE CORSAIR
IPMS Phoenix / Craig Hewitt Chapter
President’s Message
February Contest Winners
Greetings,
Wow! How to top the February meeting.
We had one of the largest attendances in
a long time with nearly every seat full for
the meeting. Further, we had to add extra
tables for all the models on display. It was
great to see the interest in the night and I
look forward to seeing all that energy
throughout the year. Topping it off was a
fantastic photo tour through Normandy by
Kevin Wenker.
Brian Weikert’s 1/80 Carmen Wood Schooner
Based on the success of the last special
raffle, we will be having a couple more
throughout the year. Clearly there is an
interest and we will deliver equally high
quality items.
A huge shout out to Bob Bott. Bob was a
longtime member of the club and a good
friend of Craig Hewitt. He was kind
enough to donate a HUGE stash of high
quality kits to the club for raffles and
Modelzona. That type of generosity is
astounding.
The 4th annual Scale Modeling clinic is
now set. On Saturday May 16th, we will
most likely be holding the clinic from
10AM to 2PM. More details to come.
You keep building, Phoenix!
Mike Pabis
Jeff Alderman’s 1/700 IJN Akagi
February Meeting Model Photos ................................ 2
I Su-30MKK Review by Jim Pearsall ............................ 4
N February Meeting Photos............................................ 9
T
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U
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Conley Elem. Make & Take ...................................... 11
1/48 AH-1Z Decals .................................................... 13
Secretary’s Sound Off .............................................. 15
Modeler of the Year Standings ................................. 18
Club Meeting Calendar.............................................. 19
Raffle Update & Upcoming Events........................... 20
Plastic Ponderings .................................................... 21
Box Art of the Month ................................................. 24
Surfing The Web ........................................................ 25
Support Your Local Hobby Shop! ............................ 26
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MARCH 2015
2015 Club Contest Themes
January: Loaded - A kit with any sort of visible weapons load, aircraft,
vehicle, car, ship. Can be bombs, missiles, guns, artillery, etc.
February: Large Scale. Must be a large sized model with at least one
dimension 12-inches or larger.
March: Vietnam Era - Aircraft, boats, tanks, that participated in the
Vietnam war.
April: Spy or Recon Aircraft - any aircraft designed for either spy or recon
missions.
May: Armor - Armored cars, tanks, assault guns.
June: Surface Vessel Ships - Anything designed to float, surface vessels,
seaplanes.
July: Helicopters - self explanatory, any scale or type.
August: Concept Aircraft/Experimental Aircraft - any type of experimental
aircraft that never made it into full scale
September: The Need For Speed - Any vehicle specifically recognized or
attached to speed or breaking/setting speed records. X planes, rockets,
race cars, bikes, planes, speedboats.
October: Classic Plastic - Any old or classic model kit (Monogram, Frog,
Airfix, etc.) produced sometime before 1980.
November: Aces High - Any aircraft that was flown by an ace, any scale
or type.
December: Bombers - Let's see your bomber aircraft. Can be WWI, WWII,
Korea, Vietnam, or modern era. Any scale or type.
February Model Display Photos
Ed Kucharski’s 1/72 Airfix C-130
Dale Mickley’s 1/25 Scratchbuilt AMT KW
Monster Truck
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MARCH 2015
February Model Photos Cont.
Gary Thomas’ 1/72 Academy B-29
Brian Baker’s 1/72 Zvezda Petylyakov Pe-8
Jim Pearsall’s 1/200 Hasegawa E-4
Dick Christ’s 1/12 Tamiya Porsche 934
Ethan Dunsford’s 1/16 Tamiya M4105
Don Stewart’s 1/72 Monogram B-52D
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MARCH 2015
February Model Photos Cont.
Tim Bongard’s 1/32 Jimmy Flintstone Resin
Craig Pierce’s 1/161/16 Hooben/Attack Elefant
Golden Rod
Chuck Ludwig’s 1/72 Lindberg P-51B
Charles Swanson’s 1/35 Amusing Hobby
VK 3002
Dennis Hutchison’s 1/25 Polar Lights Delorian
Tim Bondgard’s 1/35 Tamiya M151A2 Mutt
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MARCH 2015
Trumpeter 1/72 Trumpeter Su-30MKK
By Jim Pearsall
THE AIRCRAFT
The Su-30 is a two-seat version of
the Su-27. The mission is long-range
all-weather strike fighter. Think F15E vs F-15C in the US inventory.
The MKK is currently operated by the
Peoples Republic of China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Venezuela. There’s going to be a wonderful aftermarket decal sheet for this kit!
There’s also a newer version, the Su-30MK2, which has maritime strike capability
added.
There’s also a suspiciously similar aircraft called the J-16. China claims this is all Chinese technology, but the Russians aren’t so sure.
THE KIT
When I opened the box, I was impressed with how well Trumpeter had packed the
parts. The fuselage halves (top and bottom) had a rubber ring holding them together,
a piece of foam protecting the rear “stinger” and sprues around the wingtips to prevent
damage during shipment. Also, several of the delicate parts were wrapped in the
foam, including the clear parts.
The general parts were well molded, with no flash, no voids, and no warpage. I was
also gratified to see how the sprues went into the intake trunks. The sprues go into a
place where they can’t be seen once the parts are assembled. Superior engineering,
and I’m thinking I remember this from
a Hasegawa kit.
The one exception to this was a mold
line right down the middle of the
windscreen and canopy. I was able
to sand this off with #1500 sandpaper
and fix the scuffs with Future.
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MARCH 2015
Su-30 cont’d.
ASSEMBLY
The instructions were pretty good. I had some problems figuring out which decals
went where in the cockpit. I went back to my Su-27 kit and got the decals in the right
place.
The general assembly went well, with all of the parts just fitting well and playing nicely
with the other parts. I was impressed at how well those large castings of the top and
bottom fuselage/wing assemblies went together. No putty needed, just a scrape along
the edge. I left the airbrake closed, as most of the photos of the Su-30s I found on the
internet didn’t have it open, except for
landing.
I put the windscreen and canopy on the
fuselage and created a mask using Tamiya tape. This allowed me to paint the
canopy and fuselage top in one step,
and also made sure I wouldn’t paint that
nice interior by accident.
PAINT AND MARKINGS
This is where the project came to a halt.
There wasn’t anything telling me what colors went where. No color references. No
decal placement diagrams. I found a sentence on the front page of the instructions
saying that there was a separate sheet with color references and telling you which
paints to buy. It was apparently missing.
I sent a request to Stevens International, asking for a scan of this sheet. They replied
quickly, saying they had to pass this request on to Trumpeter in China for this.
Then I found the thing that saved the project. The website www.1999.co.jp has
the Trumpeter Su-30, and they post
scans of all the instructions, including the
missing color/markings references. I did
a copy, print and was thankful.
Of course that was not the end of the color problems. The blue gray that the color
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MARCH 2015
Su-30 cont’d.
profile shows doesn’t match the color callout from the Gunze paint. I used the Model
Master version of the color (FS 35237), and Flanker Gray for the underside. The nose
cone is Gunship Gray 36118, with a couple of places where the gray comes onto the
nose cone on the bottom.
I put a coat of Future on the entire aircraft, and applied decals. There are 4 decal
sheets with this kit, and they include every little panel warning, no step, and ground
point marking on the entire aircraft, as well as missile markings. I painted the stripes
on the missiles, put on the national markings and individual aircraft identifiers, and the
intake warnings. At this point, I called that enough. Sometimes you can overdo the
markings.
FINISHING TOUCHES
I put on another coat of Future to protect the decals, then assembled the landing gear.
I painted the edges of the main gear doors Floquil Caboose Red. I installed the missiles and the landing gear.
I then took the mask off the canopy and finished the interior with the back instrument
panel and the HUDs. I glued the windscreen back on, but left the opening part of the
canopy off until almost last. I added the two air sensors near the rear cockpit, the antenna behind the cockpit and the part which may be an air-to-air refueling point.
I put the canopy on in the open position to show off the interior.
The last thing I did was put on the pitot tube.
OVERALL EVALUATION
Recommended. This is an interesting aircraft, and the kit does it justice. As with Soviet aircraft, it might be difficult to get detailed info on shape, but this one looks
like the photos I could find. Even the
photos of the J-16. The build took longer
than I liked because of the color problem,
but we now know how to fix that.
Thanks to Stevens International and
Trumpeter for providing an interesting
model. And thanks to IPMS/USA and
Steve Collins for allowing me to build it.
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Su-30 cont’d.
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MARCH 2015
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MARCH 2015
February Meeting Photos
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MARCH 2015
February Meeting Photos
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MARCH 2015
Conley Elem. Make and Take
Now entering its second decade,
IPMS Phoenix’s supported Conley Elementary School’s Aviation Club with
its annual Make and Take. A huge
thanks goes out to all the volunteers
who were able to head back to school
during the day in order to assist the
kids in building models. Big thanks to
Ed Kucharski, Duane Kolstad, Kelley
Liebst, Don Stewart, Dave Weitzel,
Hal Sanguinetti and Chuck Ludwig for
offering their time. Through their
help, each student went home with a
built Revell F-18 Hornet.
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MARCH 2015
Conley Elem. Make and Take
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MARCH 2015
Werner Wings 1/48 AH-1Z Vipers Den Decals
By Floyd Werner Jr.
Werner’s Wings is pleased to announce the release of our latest decals, AH-1Z Vipers
Den (WW Decals 48-08), for the new Kitty Hawk 1/48th scale AH-1Z Viper. The sheet
contains markings for eight aircraft from the often overlooked West Coast units, as
well as, limited stencils for two aircraft. Thoroughly researched by Mason Doupnik
and Patrick Najmulski these decals are the same quality that you’ve come to expect
from Werner’s Wings. The colors are spot on and
the markings are unique and interesting options.
The units included are:
HMLA-369_SM45
HMLA-169_SN45
HMLA-267_UV50
VMM-163 (REIN)_YP43
HMM-268 (REIN)_YQ41
HMM-364 (REIN)_PF44
VMM-161 (REIN)_YR44
VMM-166 (REIN)_YX46
They are available now through the Werner’s
Wings website (www.wernerswings.com ) or at our
Ebay store. Pricing will be the same as our other 1/48th scale decals, $14 USD plus
shipping.
Our next release will be for the Kitty Hawk 1/48th scale UH-1Y Venom. WW Decals
48-09 will be entitled UH-1Y Deadly Venom look for it shortly. We are also working on
a Marine Corps AH-1 Sheet that will cover the Corps’ use of the Cobra from the AH1G models in Vietnam to the Zulu in Afghanistan.
We are working on some resin updates for the Kitty Hawk AH-1Z. They will be printed in CAD and hopefully available shortly. We have a few projects in the works including helicopter crew and pilot figures by Doug Cohen in a variety of scales. We will
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MARCH 2015
also be releasing our first 1/72nd scale upgrade for the AZ Models and the Special
Hobbies AH-1Gs. Both kits and most UH-1D/H kits have the incorrect tail rotor so we
are providing a new tail rotor blade assembly.
If you have any questions feel free to contact me at [email protected] or overseas should write me at [email protected]. We also have an Ebay Store to
purchase items. We are also on Facebook for those who want to get the latest news
and just say hi.
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MARCH 2015
Secretary’s Sound Off
By Hal Sanguinetti
We welcomed as a guest the president of Albany OR chapter of IPMS. Also, Dick & Suzanne Christ here for first time in long time.
Craig discussed tonight’s raffle, and the results of the BIG raffle last month.
Will do 2, maybe 3 of these ‘extra’ raffles this year.
Bill Dunkle discussed the finances. We are ahead, but expenses are almost
the same as revenue. We only make money by: dues, raffle at meetings,
and Modelzona. Bill discussed member statistics, average attendance, etc.
Plea was made for membership dues, and for new members to join.
Steve Collins/IPMS contact; we have received our 2014 charter certificate
Asked for and got contest Judges for tonight.
Old Business:
Conley Make & Take discussed for next week. Renew your memberships. T
-shirt report (expected next month).
Mike Mackowski discussed the Southwest Makerfest, March 28, He explained what the concept is, noon to 8pm. Club gets a 10x10’ space. Need
volunteers, will have Make & Take, need kits (discussed & approved). Setup will be at 10pm, need tables & chairs. Please volunteer.
Mike also discussed the Region 10 Regional on June 12-13 in Denver. Very
family-oriented event, we’ll have a booth so if you attend, please help out
for a while.
Gary Thomas has a student who is related to Richard Bong, he is trying to
get relatives to come for a discussion.
New Business:
Mike Mackowski talked with an old member (Bob Bott) who knew Craig
Hewitt, he made a substantial kit & magazine donation, may do a discussion on Craig and the hobby.
Our Board Meeting was discussed: new member welcome packet (Dirty
Plastic DVD, membership info, map of local hobby stores, and certificate to
Avalon Books & Hobbies). Also, Board discussed a Membership Directory.
We will be publishing a directory, members will be given the option of opting
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MARCH 2015
Secretary’s Sound Off
By Hal Sanguinetti
out if desired. We’ll keep you posted. Also, Board discussed getting more
involvement with the Corsair newsletter. Bonuses for members who supply
model or item for review; every 5 such items will receive a $10 cert to a local shop.
Dale Mickley brought up the Desert Scale Classic; looking for donations.
last year was major & 2 trophy packages. Motion made & passed.
Ethan discussed his Tank Battle, Feb 21.
Bill Dunkle discussed our Scale Modeling Clinic; has been successful in the
past, we need to discuss whether we want to do it again, May is best time.
Advertising: Ed wanted to know if we can reach out to the schools. Many
previous efforts were discussed, and possible new efforts for this year, as
we’ll have more time to promote it. Libraries, etc. Mike discussed things we
talked about at the Board meeting to try and get new members. Good discussion. Keith will co-chair with Bill.
Mike M. has some free F/A-18 photos.
Feb 19-20 chance to fly in a Ford Tri-Motor.
Very successful raffle.
Kevin Wenker show pix of his Normandy trips,
Monthly Contest Winners;
Novice: Brian Weikert - wooden schooner
Advance: Jeff Alderman - IJN Akagi
As a side comment, from now on your secretary WILL wear a hat so as to
be able to find him in the crowd......
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MARCH 2015
Annual IPMS Phoenix club membership renewals
will commence beginning at the January meeting.
For only $12 a year, your membership dues reward
you with a lot, such as:
♦ Monthly club newsletter
♦ T-shirts
♦ Modelzona
♦ Monthly raffle prizes
♦ Monthly contest awards
♦ Annual Christmas party
♦ And more….
Make sure to see new Treasurer, Bill Dunkle at the
next meeting to re-up your membership.
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MARCH 2015
Modeler of the Year Standings
Name
AtModtenda Total
el Pts
nce
Jeff Alderman
11
2
13
Jim Pearsall
8
2
10
Tim Bondgard
5
2
7
Ethan Dunsford
5
2
7
Dale Mickley
5
2
7
Don Stewart
4
2
6
Brian Wiekert
4
2
6
Gary Thomas
3
2
5
5 @ 2 pts
2
2
The current Modeler of the Year
standings are to the left. The top
modelers are shown.
Points are earned by bringing a
model for display and winning the
monthly contests. Point values are
as follows: 1 point for each model
on display and 3 points for a contest
wining model. One point for attendance at a monthly meeting is also
included.
Be sure to bring your latest finished
projects to each meeting.
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2015 CLUB MEETING CALENDAR
All meetings held at American Legion Post #1, 364 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85003
JANUARY 2015
Tuesday 6th, 7pm
Contest: Loaded - A kit w/ any sort of visible
weapons or load
Seminar/Speaker: Casting and Molds by Tim
Bongard
JULY 2015
Tuesday 7th 7pm
Contest: Helicopters - self explanatory, any
scale or type.
Seminar/Speaker: Club Build Night—bring a
model to work on
FEBRUARY 2015
AUGUST 2015
Tuesday 3rd, 7pm
Contest: Large Scale- Must be a large sized
model with at least one dimension 12-inches or
larger.
Seminar/Speaker: Normandy by Kevin Wenker
Tuesday 4th, 7pm
Contest: Concept /Experimental Aircraft - any
type of experimental aircraft that never made it
into full scale
Event: Club Swap Meet
MARCH 2015
SEPTEMBER 2015
Tuesday 3rd, 7pm
Contest: Vietnam Era - Aircraft, boats, tanks,
that participated in the Vietnam war.
Seminar/Speaker: Airliner windows by Scott
Solomon
Tuesday 1st, 7pm
Contest: The Need For Speed - Any vehicle
recognized or attached to speed,breaking,setting
speed records.
Seminar/Speaker: Figure Conv.—B. Dunkle
APRIL 2015
OCTOBER 2015
Tuesday 7th 7pm
Contest: Spy or Recon Aircraft - any aircraft
designed for either spy or recon missions.
Seminar/Speaker: WW2 Vet Harold Bergbower
Event: Distressed Kit White Elephant Exchange
Tuesday 6th, 7pm
Contest: Classic Plastic - Any old or classic
model kit (Monogram, Frog, Airfix, etc.) produced
sometime before 1980.
Seminar/Speaker: NASA photos -Tim Bongard
MAY 2015
Tuesday 5th, 7pm
Contest: Armor - Armored cars, tanks, assault
guns.
Seminar/Speaker: Col. Fred Cone—USMC
aviation pioneer
NOVEMBER 2015
Tuesday 3rd, 7pm
Contest: Aces High - Any aircraft that was
flown by an ace, any scale or type.
Seminar/Speaker: TBD
Event: TBD
JUNE 2015
DECEMBER 2015
Tuesday 2nd, 7pm
Contest: Surface Vessel Ships - Anything
designed to float, surface vessels, seaplanes.
Seminar/Speaker: Dot Filtering by Craig Pierce
Tuesday 1st, 7pm
Contest: Bombers - Can be WWI, WWII, Korea,
Vietnam, or modern era. Any scale or type.
Seminar/Speaker: TBD
Event: New Kit White Elephant Exchange
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MARCH 2015
Here are the items up for raffle at the March meeting.
Item A: Polar Lights Customizing Monster Kit
Item B: Airfix 1/76 AEC Matador & 5.5 Inch Gun
Item C: Airfix 1/72 Douglas Invader
Item D: Hasegawa 1/72 Grumman F-14A Tomcat w/ photoetch
Item E: Monogram 1/48 Huey Hog
Item F: Classic Airframes 1/48 F-5B USAF Aggressor (w/Resin details)
Item G: Swallow Model 1/32 Nakajima KI-84 Hayate (Frank)
Item H: Revell/Monogram 1/25 31' Ford Model A Woody
UPCOMING EVENTS
Saturday March 7th, 9:00-2:00 - Falcon Field Open House— Falcon Field, Mesa,
AZ http://www.mesaaz.gov/falcon_field/openhouse/
Saturday March 14th, 8:30-1:300 - Cholewa Model Swap Meet— Postal Workers
Social Club, 3720 W. Greenway Road, Phoenix, AZ
Saturday March 28th, 12:00-8:00 - Southwest Maker Fest— Main St, Mesa, AZ
Saturday April 11, 9:00-6:00—Desert Scale Classic—3401 West Greenway Road,
Phoenix, AZ 85053 http://www.cactuscarmodelers.com/desert-scale-classic/
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.............................. Mike Pabis [email protected]
Vice President..................... Craig Pierce [email protected]
Secretary ............................. Hal Sanguinetti [email protected]
Treasurer ............................. Bill [email protected]
Chapter Contact.................. Steve Collins [email protected]
Member At Large............... Sam Bueler [email protected]
Webmaster .......................... Craig [email protected]
Newsletter Editor ............... Mike Pabis [email protected]
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MARCH 2015
PLASTIC PONDERINGS
BY MIKE PABIS
Gifting
Maybe someone did it to you once. Maybe you did it to someone else. Perhaps you
have never done it before.
What is it? Gifting a built model to someone.
Really, it is not a big deal when you think about it. As a modeler, you build models.
You meet someone and learn something about them that sparks an interest in wanting
to give them a gift. Sure, you could buy a gift card; get a book or something else.
However, the most personal thing you can do for someone as a modeler is building a
kit for someone else.
Normally, we build for someone else as recognition, an accomplishment or some sort
of link to the past. Often, when we give a gift of a model to someone it is a link to
something they did before. Maybe they owned that type of car, flew that airplane or
sailed on that specific ship. These types of gifts often are given to family members or
close friends.
It really is a perfect gift when you think about it. Even if the person receiving the model
knows it is coming, they still tend to be really appreciative. Those around them may
not know why it is important or even if they do, they will never fully grasp what it is to
have that model in their hands. But you, as the builder can see it in their eyes and how
important that gift often is.
It is really strange when you think about it. Giving a built model to someone is just a
piece of plastic with paint on it. But it is so much more than that. Realistically, you will
never be able to give a person that piece of their past back to them. Whether you can’t
afford it, the government wont release it or if physically doesn’t exist anymore, that
model can be the closest thing they have to their past. Medals, awards, plaques and
other doohickeys are great and can ignite a lot of memories inside someone. However,
looking at the physical recreation of a machine they spent significant time with can jog
memories unlike few other things.
For the giftee they now have the ability to see the past right in front of them. Whether
they wind up putting it on their desk, shelf or somewhere else, each time they look at it
they can remember their time spent around the machine. Your model can show them
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Plastic Ponderings Cont.
the engine of the plane they spent countless hours toiling on to get back in the air.
Perhaps the ship model you built will jog their memory about that one night spent
manning their battle station. The car model will make them remember those times
when they were younger with their friends.
Whatever it is, you have the skills and knowhow to really change someone’s day. Best
of all, just spending time giving a model your best effort may be enough. You don’t
need $150 in aftermarket parts that get sealed up on the inside of the model. You can
simply build a model. Remember those things we used to do before AMS?
Rather than building for a contest where every possible seam could be the end of your
award chances, the person you are giving it to will not notice the tiny seam that wasn’t
filled. They won’t care that the paint you used was one or two shades lighter or darker
than what it was supposed to be. They won’t care that you blacked out the airliner
windows instead of doing a full interior of the plane they flew. They will just appreciate
what you have done for them.
Now that doesn’t mean you just spread bottles of glue and call it a day. No, we are
proper enough to build to our best abilities, but our audience this time is not judging us
to the top of the model building scale. We can just build a good model and have it
appreciated. Sometimes this can be a rewarding step back from our normal hobby and
break the monotony that AMS and contests can bring.
I have only built one model for someone else. It was a surprise package in the mail for
them. For me, I was just glad to make a little something for the grandfather of my
oldest son’s friend. He flew KC-97s in the Cold War. Many hours were spent talking
with him. I just enjoyed talking about planes and listening to a few of his stories. I think
he was just happy to have someone know what he flew and what it did.
Regardless, coming across the 1/144 KC-97 kit at the Cholewa swap meet for only a
few dollars was a message that the Fates delivered. Why would I ever consider buying
and building that kit for myself? I wouldn’t. It just isn’t my cup of tea. But as soon as I
saw it, I thought of Sid. With all those talks about flying that plane, wouldn’t he like to
have one to look at again? For all I knew he had 7 on his office desk back in Maine.
But, why not? Why not make him a model of a Stratotanker? It couldn’t hurt.
Several weeks later, I packed it off and sent it along to him in the mail. It was an
unsolicited surprise that resulted in a very positive reaction. His profuse thank yous
and declarations of how much he enjoyed it actually were beyond whatever I could
have imagined. It was just a model after all. It should have been one of those, “Aw,
that is neat” kind of moments. Rather I didn’t anticipate what Sid would have felt when
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Plastic Ponderings Cont.
he saw that part of his life back right in front of him. Now, a couple of times a year
whenever Sid is back in town visiting his grandson the first thing I hear from him is
about how much he appreciates and enjoys looking at his KC-97 sitting on his desk.
For me, I have only been able to build and give a model to someone once. Perhaps it
is that my generation really doesn’t know many who were connected with something so
critical to their past. If I ever get another opportunity to build for someone I would
thoroughly enjoy it. Maybe one day I can muster up the cash and courage to build a
model of my dad’s ship that he served on in Vietnam. Being a short run, expensive
resin kit and the fact my shipbuilding skills are woeful has deterred me for a while.
Someday.
***One thing I did learn from this whole experience was about shipping a model. I had
never done it before. For me, there wasn’t really a truly confident way I could ensure
putting a delicate model in the mail would arrive in one piece. Before handing it over to
the USPS, I made sure to ask a lot of club members about their experiences shipping a
model. Combined with some web searching I learned a few things.
First, heavy duty craft foam is your friend. This is the kind of stuff you find at Joann’s
Fabrics in the back (their 40% off coupons are a godsend for the price of foam isn’t
cheap). It usually is green or white. I cut the piece horizontally into two. What I was
left with was an inch thick top and a much thicker bottom. For me, I then used a
sharpie to sketch a silhouette of the plane over the thicker piece of foam. I carved out
a section from the thick foam (make sure you get foam a couple of inches thicker than
your model for extra support and piece of mind). After carving the silhouette, I had a
plane shaped cavern to rest the model in. I didn’t cut all the way through, just enough
to cradle and rest it in there. The remaining piece would act as a foam lid. Further
carving was done to refine the shape and add other pockets for things like the
propellers and landing gear which I shipped unattached (I sent super glue and
instructions on how to attach the few pieces upon receipt).
Second, now that the plane could rest nicely in its new foam sleeping bag, I added
another extra measure of security. I lightly tied the wings and plane body to the foam
to keep it from moving in transit.
Third, to make sure that if anything landed on the box it wouldn’t get damaged, I carved
holes into the foam around the plane and at the corners. In the holes, I inserted PVC
tube to act as a structural report. Yeah, I didn’t want anything happening to this plane.
Was it overkill? Maybe, but all I know is it worked
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MARCH 2015
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: Cannons and Artillery
THE CORSAIR
PAGE 25
MARCH 2015
SURFING THE WEB
Restoring a B-52 at the Boneyard
https://medium.com/war-is-boring/i-ll-be-damned-these-boneyard-b-52s-can
-still-fly-4eec4c8bf5cf
Restoring a B-29 to flying condition
http://www.wired.com/2015/02/b29-doc-restoration/
Police DieCast Decal Sheets (1:18)
http://www.policediecastdecals.com/
3 Foot Star Wars Super Star Destroyer Eclipse Class
https://re.dwnld.me/Cflz-super-star-destroyer-eclipse-class-3-foot-star-wars-model
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.
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
MARCH 2015
PAGE 26
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL HOBBY SHOP!
RIGHT STUFF,
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(480) 968-1880
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“The Cutting Edge In Military Details”
Eric R. Hight
3245 E. Hillery Dr.
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Space modeling reference books
by Mike Mackowski.
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www.spaceinminiature.com
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Don’t forget to sign up for your HobbyTown Card!
MIKE CHOLEWA
602-944-4096
“DEALER IN PRE-OWNED PLASTIC”
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Grand Prix Reproductions
Jeff Alderman
12522 West Montebello Avenue
Litchfield Park, AZ 85340
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Email: [email protected]