Nick Filippone

It is just a stupid old vaudeville joke. One guy says “ I am going to get rich. I will buy gloves for $1.00 a pair and sell them for .50 a pair.” The other guy asks “How will you make any money?” The first guy responds, enthusiastically “Volume!” Your perfect description of we modelers’ blinkered financial planning reminded me of this silly old routine. Regards, Nick

One member of our club had a solution for this problem. Instead of having to buy kits, we should be able to just rent them. But Noel’s friend’s observation about buying kits then selling them at a loss can be turned into profit with one word - VOLUME! Good luck. Nick

Thank you, Gil! Nick

What would be a pity would be to discover that we have all followed the Forum rules, but are threatened with being shut down because one person with the authority to do so, locks the thread for reasons the rest of us do not understand and, apparently, are not to be made privy to! Nick P.S. And what the heck is “flaming” anyway?

Without doing any research on this and, dangerously trusting my memory, I am pretty sure that the Hasegawa Buffalo was issued in two different forms- one being specifically- supposedly- of the version used by the Finns. I have built the shorter nosed version in American pre- war markings. The kit is designed with separate fuselage parts forward of the wing roots. The Finnish version has different and longer forward fuselage parts. I do not know if the cowl differs. I have always been fuzzy about the subtle differences between the various iterations of the Buffalo. I will think your most reliable reference source would be the Squadron Publication on the Buffalo. This was written by a former chapter member of ours Jim Maas and is thorough and authoritative. The Buffalo was his passion and he was exhaustive and demanding in his research. Additionally, as with most Squadron Publications, they are a good source of variations through their drawings. Good luck. I am going to my library now to scope this out some more. Nick Filippone

Rusty, With all due respect, I guess you will have to be more explicit about which part of my post violated those rules. I am being straight now. What part lacks a ‘Nihil Obstat?” Nick

But was it tongue in cheek? What rule did I violate, please? I am curious. I used no bad language. I singled no one individual out for insult. I did not use all capital letters or coloured type. So what rule has been violated? Thank you.Regards, Nick

The British are a much more disciplined people than we are. We are a nation of common louts and nobody is going to tell us what to do, by God! Nick Filippone

Good judges do not make “ arbitrary decisions.” They even-handedly apply the rules to the best of their ability in order to be fair to everyone. One could hardly expect an unbiased opinion that might affect his or her chances of winning to come from the modeler him or herself! We might as well start asking modelers to judge their own work. Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge

Yes, Rusty, my remark was intentionally insulting! It was a measure for measure response to insensitive, uninformed and insulting criticism of those members of IPMS who bust their rear ends to entertain us each year at the National Convention. If one is going to dish it out, one should be prepared to take it! Mr.Kimbrell’s remarks are why so many people think IPMS stands for “ International P***ing and Moaning Society.” I offer no apology. Nick Filippone

Indeed, Archer makes such strips of rivets. They can be used to excellent effect as demonstrated by an IPMS member on this Forum I think about a year ago. He took the old Monogram DC-3 (the about 1/96? scale from the 50’s) and did a great job restoring the raised rivets with this product. In can be done. I actually book marked it on my old i-Pad. I will try to find it. Nick

I do not think the presence of rivets would be a disadvantage per se even if they were not in scale. It would not affect how I would judge it. The challenge of rivets or raised panel lines arises when the builder fills seams and cleans up joints and the adjacent detail is sanded off. Now it has to be somehow reintroduced or else there will not be consistency in the appearance of the surface of the model. Raised panel lines are not too difficult to replicate, but rivets are a challenge, at least in my experience. Unless you are able to re-introduce the lost rivets with an appearance similar to those rivets left behind, I think you are better off removing them all. Regards, Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge

“ I do not know how hard it is to put on an event...” Therein lies the classic disclaimer of those members who are uninformed about the process but positively overflowing with criticism! IPMS is never lacking for members who have no understanding of or appreciation for the effort these groups of VOLUNTEERS put in each year to entertain us, and who themselves have never lifted a finger to help and actually learn something. Your last sentence would be almost funny if it was not so insulting to our hosts- especially coming from someone who, by his own admission, is completely ignorant of the challenges involved in hosting a National. Perhaps you are so well off and so sophisticated that mundane matters such as cost never have to concern you. How fortunate. Many members, I bet, are quite willing to do without the rose water in the lobby and free fluffy slippers of which you have so great a need, just to be able to attend a National at all! When we get to Chattanooga, I’ll be sure you get a turn-down for your bed each night and a chocolate on your pillow. Nick

It is always about cost. It is always about the host chapter being able to find a venue that is affordable with a room price that is not out of the attendees’ price range. It is a complex calculus that cannot be replicated in every city, year in and year out.The host chapters put so much work into putting on these shows that as a membership we should nit-pick less about such trivialities and, instead, enjoy the show for the reasons we go. If it’s high class, Park Avenue style you seek, you are definitely in the wrong hobby! Nick

It is true about that flea bag in Columbus! They put 5 mattresses on my bed and I could still feel the pea under them. Nick Filippone