Nick Filippone

Solstice- one of two times in the year when the sun reaches its lowest (winter) and highest ( summer) point in the noon sky. Solace- support, consolation, etc. Just sayin,’ Nick

As long as a category is entered in sufficient numbers, it serves a true purpose. The National Contest Committee, in a sense, does not make the decision. They quite properly let the membership determine the desirability of a category based on participation. When the numbers drop off, a category is deleted. Nick

Chris, I have this sheet. You are welcome to it. Please PM me with your mailing address and I will get it on the mail to you as soon as I can. Regards, Nick Filippone

I refer you to National Contest Rules (2019) which should be considered the current contest rules unless or until the National Contest Committee makes any changes for next year. ( These are still on the IPMS Website home page.) Section III, No. 2, letter D is pretty explicit in that it states that improving the model by replacing parts would make the entry no longer eligible for an OOB category. Currently accepted exceptions are defined elsewhere under No. 2. Replacing parts that the builder feels are poorly molded or inaccurate is not one of the listed exceptions. As always, in grey areas, the judging staff has the final word. And, of course, keeping the playing field level, always, in the end, depends on the integrity of the modeler. If I may, I will let you in on a little secret of which you may not be aware. If you want to maximize your chances of winning in an OOB category and still obey the rules, pick a good kit and do a good job on it. Trying to resurrect a poorly molded lump of plastic by building it OOB and hoping to make a winner out of it in an OOB category is more work than it probably deserves. You may be such a good modeler that you can bring a 1970’s kit up to modern standards. But having done it, the result would not be OOB. Good luck. Regards, Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge

May I add my congratulations to the Chattanooga team! A great show, great venue, and a vendor room that was almost too good. There was excellent organization and the entire staff was very friendly and helpful. The several choices for dining outside of the hotel were conveniently located with great food and service. Mark me down for the next time you host the Nationals. Thank you for all your effort. Nick Filippone

I was all set to buy a 2017 Rolls Royce Ghost from them but I spent all the money in the Vendor Room at Chattanooga! Now I’m walking. Nick Filippone

I found my error. So much for automatic fill-ins on my I pad. But the point is still made! But, I in the process of trying to figure out my mistake, I found an interesting fact about that quote. In fact, it was from a Letter to the Editor of The Daily Telegraph on 2 December, 1929 criticizing Prohibition in the U.S.! This thread isn’t ridiculous at all. We learned about Churchill’s attitude toward Prohibition. We also learned that I still can’t competently operate electronics communication devices. Oh! Damn! My ink well has gone dry! Nick

If it isn’t Churchill, who is it? When you google the quote, that is who comes up more than once! Educate me, please. Thanks. Nick

Dak, Since you did not put your last post in quotation marks, and did not cite the author, you have placed your self in the unenviable position of appearing to be plagiarizing Sir Winston Churchill. At least, that is what I would have been accused of by any professor of mine during my education. I will concede it is more likely to represent academic sloppiness on your part, and less likely to be intellectual dishonesty, but neither of those accusations is particularly desirable. I trust you judge with rather more care. Nick “ obtuse and sanctimonious “ (1)Filippone. (1) Kimberly, D; “ The PR Problem, “ IPMS Forum, 30July, 2019 See? That is how an educated person credits the intellectual property of someone else! Nick

Huh? Nick

Dak, By what confabulations do you get these notions? Where is your data? I have judged 35+ years and have never used preference for a particular subject to make a judging decision. Nor have I ever seen a judge do it- at any level. Such an idea insults conscientious judges. There is always another way to decide and good judges can always find it! I would be happy to give you a primer on good judging at the Nationals, if you are open to improving your judging skills. From your last posting, it sounds like you would benefit from it. Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge

What exactly do you need the letters and numbers for? There are actually a lot of letter and number sheets available but the style or font, if you will, varies. RAF differs from U.S. for example. British aircraft civil codes have a different style than military. Nick Filippone '

I am on topic. The topic is Public Relations - how IPMS is perceived by members and non-members. What could possibly be more important in cultivating a favorable perception of this organization than our members demonstrating sensitivity about such an important episode in history as the Holocaust? Nick

I would be more careful in the use of the “Yellow Star” allusion! The subject matter of this discussion hardly rises to the level of The Holocaust and to suggest such is grossly disrespectful of its victims. It is simply not appropriate! Nick Filippone

If you google “Jim Baumann” it can be easily found. It is really remarkable! Nick

Vegas! Great! I can see where Moe Green got shot.

Omaha did not present a bid at the Bid Presentation in Phoenix. But they had prepared a flier that representatives from Omaha were distributing in the Vendor Room. I think it was to drum up support for the idea of returning in 2021 to Omaha. I assume that that is the bid referred to in the recent E-Board minutes. Certainly, if any other potential hosts were planning a bid for 2021 or 2022, they had better done some of the ground work by now. The National is only six weeks away! And, while it would only be two years between their last National and the bid, it would be four years between the two actual Omaha shows- not unreasonable!

Given the excellent Nationals that Omaha has put in the past at a great venue, and, if they are the only bidder, I would say it is is fair guess that we will be going back to Omaha. And that is just fine with me. Nick Filippone

If anyone believes the British are not very competitive by nature, a review of Tudor history alone should disabuse them of that misconception! Whose Empire was it that the sun never set on? Regards, An incurable Anglophile💂‍♂️

Congrats, Pat!

Another point ( I can’t let go of this thing!) all the kits either with trailers or on launchers are pretty good representation of the real thing. Dick’s model’s trailer does not look anything like that in any photo of the real Snark. I think the trailer does not belong with the missile. To solve the mystery, we need to identify the source of the trailer.

Dick’s model has a “USAF SNARK” on the nose. If you look at pictures of the box art of all these kits, only the Mongram kit has that marking. The arrangement of the white stripes is almost the same as the Monogram kit. If Dick’s model is small scale (c. 1/135 scale) could it be some combination of the Monogram kit and a different trailer. It is worth noting that the missile is pointed backwards on the trailer. The Lindbergh and Monogram kits have it pointed forward. Is it fake? Cobbled together?

John Burn’s “ Plastic Aircraft Kits of the 20th Century” while exhaustive, covers only manned aircraft kits. Specifically, the listings for Northrop do not mention any Snark kits. So that is a dead end. Looking at Dick’s model, and comparing it to images of the Lindbergh kit, it is apparent that there are differences in the markings. So both Snark and trailer are something entirely different. Dick, did you calculate the exact scale?

I googled “ plastic Snark kits.” I found two more. ( They may both be from the same mold. They are both the same scale- 1/135.) Comet and Kleerware are the brands. Kleerware apparently had a reputation for re-issuing others companies kits. But the kits are very simple- at least based on the pictures of them. They consist of just the missile and a very simple launch cradle. The plot thickens. Dick, is this a photo of a kit in your possession or a photo of someone else’s? Could we see additional images? Could it be a scratch built trailer? Perhaps a trailer modified from another kit?

It’s not the Lindbergh kit. The trailer is not the same. Most obviously, it doesn’t have enough wheels. For the same reasons, it is not the Monogram kit. The Revell kit is not mounted on wheeled trailer. (This can easily be checked by googling these kits if you do not have them in your stash.) It would appear to be a kit unknown to us all. I will check my plastic kit directory tonight. I love these mystery detective adventures in our hobby. I offer a first prize/ no prize to the first person to solve this. Nick Filippone