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Nick Filippone

IPMS/USA Member
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Everything posted by Nick Filippone

  1. From what I can see, that looks like the result of water/ moisture in the line. You need to install a water trap between the air pressure source (presumably a compressor or compressor- pressure tank combination) and your airbrush. Good luck. Nick Filippone
  2. I am going to play devil’s advocate here and suggest that, respectfully, you have done a beautiful job on this cockpit, but are unnecessarily driving yourself mad with this trivial molding error. I submit that, first of all, the picture of the real seat shows that the edges of the cushion are not against the metal frame. So the cushion must be convex in cross section if viewed from above and, therefore, there should be a gap at the edges. The simplest solution to an issue that probably nobody would notice anyway is to get some Perfect Plastic Putty, put it into the gap, and when dry, sculpt a cushion like shape, set back from the edge of the kit cushion on all three sides and then paint it an entirely different colour than the cushion already there. Do not try to paint it the same. Most people looking at it, including Judges, will have no idea it is anything more than a second layer of padding. Or a wedge of plastic, again a different colour, would accomplish the same thing. Strictly speaking, accurate? - not quite. More than acceptable to even close examination?- definitely! Remember, this is supposed to be relaxation and fun - not a source of stress. Regards, Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge
  3. The National Vendors are just as much our “customers” as the registrants or walk-ins. They are the main reason, myself included, why many people attend the National Convention. They may not run the show, but their enthusiastic presence and financial support is vital to its success. No such decision potentially restricting their reasonable profit should be even considered without their input. Nick
  4. Last summer, it took me 36 hours to get from Austin, Texas to Albany, New York, most of it spent waiting for the much vaunted airline industry to get its act together. I could have driven it faster myself. Add to that the fact that it is getting harder and harder to find a safe place in the cabin to put even a small box of entries. The two great advantages of being a subject of His Majesty: a Parliamentary system of government and a great train system. Where can I sign up? Nick
  5. This is very sad news, indeed. I discussed modeling and IPMS related issues with him on many occasions. I think we all could agree he held and expressed his opinions with the vigor and passion of someone who really cared about this hobby and this organization. He was always honest and forthcoming. He was always friendly to me. I will also miss his contributions to discussions on this Forum. Respectfully, Nick
  6. In the face of this deepening crisis, especially the disappearing leadership at both the E Board and the NCC positions, then those remaining to manage IPMS/ USA must assume a caretaker role and concentrate on the one and only important task facing the Society this year: the planning and carrying out of the National Convention and Contest in Madison. Policing social media, rethinking how to judge any contest, how to award winners- now or in the future, challenging the freedom of expression rights of the Journal Editor, electronic journal vs. printed, cogitating on how competitive we should be, etc., etc., etc. are all, now, unimportant compared to Madison! This will mean that the rump E Board will need to suppress their collective egos, admit that the Society was not ready for the changes the leadership sought (and certainly, in many cases, not accepting of they ways they were rationalised and then rolled out), however well- intentioned, and put all their efforts into recruiting a complete and competent as possible NCC who will administer the National Contest in Madison exactly the way we have always done it! There is no time, no Society-wide will and no apparent man power to implement drastic philosophical and procedural changes in the National Contest for this year. With the likely ad hoc Head Judges team we will we lucky to cobble together and who may be unfamiliar and inexperienced in their role, by sticking with well known and successful procedures, the line judges will at least have comfort in the historically successful. With this, we, the experienced troop of National Team Leaders and Judges can support each other and fill in the knowledge gaps in operations if and when they appear. It would be grossly unfair, disrespectful and ungrateful to Jeff Herne and his team to sabotage the 2024 Nationals over silly ideological differences in which most of the membership and most of the National registrants have little or no interest. Let us set aside, at least for now, all these discussions and differences and concentrate on another successful Nationals. Respectfully submitted, Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge.
  7. Gil and I in agreement on something- it’s going to be a great year! 🙀😉🤔
  8. But there also are built-in inequities in our current “land rush” system. What about the person who is working (some of us sometimes do work on Saturday) or is otherwise unavailable or unable to get to a computer or use a phone for those critical, apparently, precious few minutes, after which all the most desirable rooms are gone? What about those who struggle to make the website work even if he or she is on time: those, for example, who didn’t know you could not book a Tuesday through Saturday night because that was not how the block was set up and by the time he or she figured it out, it was too late? What about those who called and got an incompetent reservation clerk, hung up, called back, got a knowledgeable clerk, but it was, again, too late? What about cyber challenged folks who just can’t do such things on-line: you know- older people (like a significant portion of our membership) for whom operating a computer is not second nature? A system that simply allows members to make their reservation as soon as 365 days (the usual start date for hotel reservations) before the show date rolls around would remove all this grousing. It would reward those who show individual initiative and assiduity, always admirable traits to be rewarded. It would eliminate the overloading of the reservation process in those first few minutes that it would seem no reservation system can handle. An additional benefit would be reducing the work for the host chapter that is required in setting up and monitoring an “equitable” reservation process that will never satisfy everyone, despite their best efforts. As has been cogently pointed out, you cannot fit (legally or comfortably) 700-800 people into 150 hotel rooms. Regardless of what system is employed, there will always be a lot of disappointed people, many of whom will need someone to blame. With the system I am here suggesting, if you miss out, you got no one to blame but yourself! Nick
  9. If you tried to book a reservation from the 16th to the 20 th, it would not let you probably because the block was only for reservations from the 17th the 20th. I ran into this problem last year when booking for San Marcos. I had to book the Wed. to Sun. then add the Tues. after. Nick
  10. Gil, That looks great and a nice way to recall one of my favorite childhood TV shows. Do you know if anyone does those markings in 1/72 scale? I would like to do the the KP kit in that scheme. Nick
  11. In fact, the number of judges who could recall from memory were and how lights and inspection panels were arranged on each P-40 variant can be counted on the fingers of one elbow. This is one of the main reasons why we are exhorted NOT to use such accuracy issues as a criteria in evaluating entries. Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge
  12. How about when you bought most of you kits at the hardware store or drugstore? Or, in order to make flat paint, you had to decant the solvent off a bottle of Pactra flat brown, then decant the solvent off the top of some other gloss colour, and replace it with the Pactra flat solvent? (Yes, it actually worked! ) Or worse, to make paint flat, just add Talcum Powder. Yuck. Nick
  13. Linden Hill Decals lists a couple of sheets in 1/72 scale.
  14. If you go on Google Earth, you can see the relationship of the Convention venue to the parking lot, the nearby hotels and downtown Madison. Nick
  15. The best way to understand the judging process - and improve your modeling skills- is to become a judge. Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge
  16. I have attended 35 out of the last 36 Nationals. So I am as experienced as anyone in the acquisition and interpretation of show information- especially hotel reservations. Jeff and his team are not at all to blame for the idiotic behaviour of IPMS members. The amount of info they have released is perfectly appropriate and in keeping with that of previous National host chapters. The tradition has been to provide few details until after the current show is over. This is as it should be- to keep the spotlight on this year’s National. Host chapters contract with hotels every year. That is not news or too much information. It is Standard Operating Procedure! The fact is, other than knowing where the Convention is next year, the 2024 hosts have told us nothing that anyone with a modicum of intelligence, a little common sense, assiduity, and some experience making hotel reservations could not have figured out for themselves. And, again, appropriately, as previous hosts, they have not gone onto any more detail while the current show is being planned or underway. It would not matter how much or how little information was released or when it was released, a certain fixed percentage of the membership will behave this way every single year. The fact is, my friend, ‘ the fault is not in Jeff Herne and his 2024 stars, but in ourselves! ‘ Nick
  17. It is again the issue of “apples and oranges.” The fundamental principle of category creation and placement has been to try to keep similar entries competing against each other. There is, in fact, a BIG difference between a horse and a motorcycle and a BIG difference in the skill set required to competently and competitively complete each. That is not to say that the same modeler could not possess both skill sets. But these Uber modelers are few and far between. Most of us mere mortal “ object” modelers are unable to be even mediocre figure modelers while the quality of the work of those who model human and animal forms often borders on true art. Check out the figure work sometimes placed with ordinary tank or aircraft entries, and, when you stop laughing, you ask yourself why the modeler tainted a good Sherman or P-51 with crude, by comparison, figures. I always marvel at the regularity with which, each year, as the Nationals approach, there appears just such a conundrum of category placement, proposed by a modeler who, likely with tongue firmly implanted in cheek and, feigning ignorance of a competition in which he or she has participated for years, bedazzles and befuddles the membership with a virtual Gordian’s Knot of entangled rules. 😼😉 Have a nice day. Nick
  18. Ron, I applaud your effort to be diplomatic. But, of course, none of the examples of the term “ mounted” that you provide are remotely related to figure modeling. Context often mandates how a word is meant to be defined and understood in a particular situation.This is especially true of the English Language, in which many identically spelled words have radically different meanings. I do not think it fair to once again importune the Contest Committee by asking them to clarify their usage of a word that everyone with a firm grasp of the English Language (except, apparently, IPMS USA members) clearly understands a priori. Nick
  19. “Mounted” - “seated or riding on a horse or other animal.” Dictionary.com Nick
  20. “Mounted” (definition) : “ riding a horse or involving people riding a horse.” Cambridge English Dictionary. Nick
  21. Assuming you are not putting us on, I believe, traditionally ( and based, also, on my personal observations of entries in figure categories for many years), mounted figures refer to humans mounted on an animal of some kind. This is usually a horse although I suppose a camel or an elephant strictly speaking would likewise qualify. I guess even rodeo figures on a bull might be considered a mounted figure. But in each case the figure is mounted on a living creature. If a person on a motorcycle is a “ mounted figure,” then how about a figure sitting in a car, an aircraft cockpit or a speedboat? How about a kid on a bike or a skateboard? What about an old person sitting in a rocking chair? A logical extrapolation or “ Reduction ad absurdam?” Nick
  22. The Czech Prototype books are available from the Publisher- Jakab in the Czech Republic. Nick
  23. In addition, I recommend (and you would need to seek these out on EBay) “Aircam #30- Czech Aircraft 1918-1970” (English text, lots of photos and many colour profiles) and “ Czechoslovak Prototypes 1938”by Patel Kucera. Two volumes. Czech and English text- photos, 3- views and colour 3-views. Nick
  24. Keith, Check ( no pun intended) out ViZi Models in the Czech Republic.They are doing pre-war Czech aircraft in 1/144, 1/72 and 1/48 scale. They are 3D printed resin and are very nice. They are friendly and easy to do business with. Nick
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