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The SBD’s of Bombing 8 are getting closer to being completed. I made one of them with canopy open and dive brakes open. There will be two more with just the rear gunner canopy open and the rest will be all closed. I had to fill in the hole for the tail wheel so I could mount the photo etch version. Another thing I am doing is since the SBD’s do not have folding wings some of the aircraft on the ship had their wings, bomb swing, and propeller removed then the fuselage was hung in the rafters of the hangar bays. So there will be a wing rack as well as a rack for holding the propellers as well as spare propellers for the aircraft. I also found some reference photos of how the aircraft were arranged in the hangar bay. The very few photos I found show the F4F Wildcats forward, TBD’s mid-ship, and the SBD’s aft. So once the SBD’s are finished I will map out where the aircraft will be placed on the hangar deck. The photo etch set also has bomb carts and torpedo carts which will be added to the hangar near the weapons elevator. I bought some brass early MK 13 torpedoes to place on the torpedo carts. I am hoping to start working on the hangar deck details and crew next week. Still need to figure out the routing for the fiber optics to illuminate the hangar deck as well. See more photos and details from the start in my build log at https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-350-uss-hornet-cv-8-doolittle-raid/

Rusty has already pointed out that the show has to make a profit. I would surmise that casual transient visitors to the US Nationals would be small in number compared with the number of members and non members who have an interest in the hobby visiting. You cannot pander to those who who might just wander in off the street for a couple of hours and just give the models a casual glance before leaving and forget what IPMS is upon going out the door As for worrying about them getting annoyed when they get to vendors because they actually have to pay to buy something? Er, isn't that the same at any other venue? If you take your kids to a zoo or theme park you don't get the ice creams and souvenir merchandise for nothing either do you?

Get a photo of a paved, divided road and work toward duplicating it. For example:

The skin thru sheer fabric work is really nice.

The juxtaposition of snipe and beach really catches my attention. IMHO, this is a great example of a vignette telling a story.

The wall painting was impressive ... and realistic, if you've ever seen one.

Actually, the CBL says: Article VI Elections c. Each member will have a ballot made available to them with sufficient time to return the ballot by Sept. 1 of that year for counting. I understand making adjustments for unforseen delays, but under what authority can this be extended? Asking for a friend. (And Nov 1st is the date in the CBL)

Thanks Mark. My 1/48 Red Air Force commanders are quite happy. It looks like Star Decals is starting to make their stuff in 1/72 now, as well as 1/35 and 1/48. So perhaps in the not too distant future they’ll scale down their 1/35 Pershing & Patton sheets to 1/72.

That’s fine for those in the hobby, but transient visitors who could generate goodwill won’t pay premium prices. A high GA fee is the wrong place to make a profit. High fees erase goodwill. Day

As has been amply explained here, there is no way to make everyone happy with GA. My policy at the '03 nats was first and foremost, that it was a business intended to make a profit; plain and simple. As I recall, we made the GA fee as equally fair to everyone as we could. Making money on the event was, and always should be, the major consideration for the host chapter. As long as the GA fee is published in advance, everyone can make an informed decision if they want to attend.

The problem with a “day” ticket is still that many—-like my friend—-would only be there a couple hours and they might also resent paying to see the vendors where they will pay out money. Dak

Thanks Eric. And I assume that those who have been chosen to serve will take office on Nov 1?

Due to a delay in the mailing of the latest Journal, we are extending the voting period for Executive Board and Staff members to October 1. Electronic votes and paper ballots postmarked by that date will be accepted.

IPMS/USA Members - due to a delay in the mailing of the latest Journal, we are extending the voting period for Executive Board and Staff members to October 1. Electronic votes and paper ballots postmarked by that date will be accepted. View the full article

I thought that there was a deadline of Sept 15th for votes to be received either by the online voting system or by paper ballots being sent to the IPMS Office Manager's address. Checking today I see no note that voting has been closed, and in fact, the message on the Online Voting System link shows it is still open. What is the deadline date? When will the results be announced? And I assume that, as in the recent past, the newly elected will take office on Nov 1. Is that correct?

It is a difficult thing setting an entrance fee that does not sell the society short but also remain attractive. Dak brought up about a co worker taking his family and finding the entrance fees prohibitive. Well maybe the answer to this is that adults pay and their kids get in free on a day ticket. It depends on various things when costing out as small local shows generally have a bit more flexibility than when a large venue is booked and has to funded.

No worries about selling the decals to the other guy. I have plenty to keep me occupied right now. Nice scores man! Way to go, there's some nice aircraft in that haul. And yes, I do need the Pershings and Pattons in my Marine Corps; now if only someone would printed decals for them in my scale I'd be able to rectify that.

Hey Mark, since you had said earlier here that you don’t have any builds for the decals I’ve agreed to sell them to the guy on another site. And yes, you do need some USMC Pershing’s & Pattons. So, over the past week or so, the mailman has brought me goodies for my 1/48 wingy thingies… first up, some decals for that FJ-2 Fury I picked up last month. I like the VMF-235 markings then I picked up a good deal on this Eduard PE set for the Revell Foxbat in my stash… there are actually four frets of PE in the package, and they fix many of the kits external shortfalls Then I made a couple of Mig kit scores… This one will need some help, but I’ve seen it built up nicely online, so it can be done and then this one… Now I just need my building muse to return…

That canon should have been in category 223. Mike

We've reached the age and time where the people who moved and shaped (literally) the hobby of plastic modeling are starting to pass on. We can be thankful that such artistic and talented people opened doors for the rest of us to a lifetime of enjoyment. I hope the pride the family takes in his accomplishments, and their loving memories buoy them through their grief. Gil

This is sad to hear. May he rest in peace and may his family find strength in the face of this loss. I'll be praying for them.

Andy Yanchus, former Project Manager at Aurora for many years, expert on kit history, and co-author of the Aurora Monster Scenes book (with Dennis Prince), and later a colorist for Marvel Comics, died Saturday, 11 September 2021, aged 75, after a longish illness. He was staying with his sister, Pat, at her home in Florida, having moved down, he had hoped temporarily, from his home in New York. Recently he had been working with Atlantis Models as a consultant. (info via Mat Irvine, Space Modelers group)

I agree. One thing that gets lost is that new folks to the hobby will get turned off if you're going deep into their pockets before they even walk through the door. And it is often overlooked that you will get money from them sooner or later, either via raffle ticket sales, SWAG purchases (T-shirts, pins, and the like), or indirectly via the vendor tables. That last one sounds odd, but the better the vendors do, the more likely they are to come back year after year, and the patrons will get that taste for the excitement that the Convention brings and they'll likewise keep coming back. That's one reason our local show doesn't charge for walk-ins. Our vendor table rentals cover most of the venue costs, the contest supports itself, and the raffle fills the gap. As long as we break even on our local show, we're happy. Cheers! Ralph

Thanks for the replies. John - the two I mentioned were not Mark Ford's. His winning M10 was displayed as a full diorama with a lamp post higher than the vehicle and six figures during the show, but when judged it only had the maximum 2 figures and the lamp post was removed (see the photos below - 1st one from the awards presentation, 2nd one from the general armor photos found at the IPMS SVMC website gallery for the 2021 Nationals.) Obviously he knows the rules and abides by them.

I believe a nuisance fee is a good thing to keep out those that really have no interest, but just happen to be bored and looking for something to do. A fee of a dollar or two is fine. However, bigger fees work against us. I know few people who aren't serious model builders who would come in for more that a couple hours. They definitely wouldn't keep coming back every day. In 2003, I told a coworker about the convention and he brought his whole family only to be hit with a big fee which he wasn't willing to pay. He was really angry about it. No good will there. If you want to attract people, then let them in. Trying to make a profit on visitors is counter productive. Dak