Moose135

Will the new server help Mark get his Journal sooner? ;) And let me say - thanks for all the work, Eric!

Glad to have you back, Dave! From an earlier thread on the May/June issue of the Journal, this was posted on June 5: You should expect it shortly. John said the next issue will be on schedule, there were some personal issues that resulted in the delay with the May/June issue.

I'm pretty sure they were all course workers or credentialed photographers. Yes, it was a scary place to be, but I understand why they were there. That's a sweet looking Challenger, Ralph! I spent the weekend in the Poconos for the NASCAR race, so I didn't get to work on anything...maybe next time.

One week to go! Just a reminder, RepLIcon XXV will be next weekend. We have sold out our vendor area, and are looking forward to a great show. Hope to see you there!

Following a short break to host NorEastCon 2010, the Long Island Scale Model Society proudly announces the return of RepLIcon XXV, our well-known annual scale model show and contest. This year's affair will be a FULL WEEKEND event, hosted on Saturday June 11 and Sunday June 12, 2011. We're pleased to inform you that The American Airpower Museum has again made its showcase facility in the historic Republic Airport aviation hanger in Farmingdale, NY available as our show site, ensuring a unique and historic dimension for this exhibition. Operational aircraft, re-enactors in period dress and a variety of displays telling the story of brave men and women who won the Second World War will greet you on arrival. All contestants and general admission attendees arriving Saturday will be admitted to the museum BOTH days of the event at no additional cost. First arrivals will find over 60 fully stocked vendor tables alongside our large contest area, raffle tables and exhibits. The club will continue its tradition of accepting donated items for U.S. troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Model kits, hygiene supplies and dry sundries are welcome items that have been generously donated in the past. Show your support for our brave men and women by bringing along something to drop in the collection boxes. We'll package them up and make the overseas delivery and postage arrangements. Full information is available at our RepLIcon Web Site or by e-mail at lisms@juno.com Photos from the museum in 2010 We hope to see you there!

Not that I build PT Boats, but let me pass along a little inspiration to those who do...

I've never heard of them, but a quick Google search shows a number of listings for the company (at the address shown on their home page) in various Milwaukee area business directories, so it looks like they may in fact be a legitimate hobby shop. Could their pages use work? Probably, but it gets the job done.

You say that like it's a bad thing... ^_^ Besides, I'll just bring my own.

The clerk doesn't have a clue... I don't know about a camera setting, but aspect ratio may be coming into play. Aspect ratio is the ratio of the width to the height of the image - a photo with an aspect ratio of 3:2 for instance, would have a width 1 1/2 times larger than the height. Your typical 4x6" print has a 3:2 aspect ratio. Many (most?) digital camera shoot with a 3:2 A/R, although 4:3 is used in a few - that is based on the shape of the sensor capturing the image. 35mm film also uses a 3:2 ratio. The problem comes when you take your 3:2 shot and crop it for different sizes. If you wanted to produce a 5x7" or 8x10" print, different parts of the photo will end up cropped out to fit that A/R. If I think I'll be producing some different size images (say for a portrait) I'll leave some space around the subject so I can crop accordingly. Not being familiar with your camera, it might be possible to change the aspect ratio of the photos you take, but I suspect that simply does the cropping automatically, it can't change the size or shape of the sensor. As always, RTFM. It sounds like they are cropping your photos to a different aspect ratio without paying attention to the original images. If you can do some basic editing, you may be able to avoid the problem, you could ask if they can crop to different aspect ratios - although that will be limited by the print size you are getting. You can also leave a little space around your subject to give yourself a little leeway. I'm on my way out the door right now, but if my explanation isn't clear, I can post some examples tonight. Actually, one easy way to visualize it is with your TV - a standard TV picture is a 4:3 aspect ratio, and many old movies were shot in the same format. Most movies today are filmed in a 16:9 ratio, so if you watch a modern movie on a standard TV, either part of the picture gets edited out (the old "This program has been modified to fit your screen" disclaimer) or you get the "letterbox" look with black stripes above and below the picture.

You're on Double Secret Probation, Chris!

I have a tube of Green Stuff that has to be 10 years old (well, maybe not 10, but certainly 5+) It is still in fairly good condition, but I got to reading some posts here, on the ARC Forum, and talking with the guys at a recent club meeting, and thought I'd try something new. I really didn't want any of the 2-part solutions - I don't use a lot, and can't be bothered trying to mix up a batch for the little I use. I picked up a tube of 3M Bondo Glazing & Spot Putty - the red stuff. I looked for the 3M Acryl-Blue, but didn't come across any at the couple of auto parts places I tried. I've given the red stuff a try on my current project, and it seems to work well - covers and fills well, dries quickly (I was sanding light seam applications within 20 minutes), and sands smooth with a fine edge. I'll see how it looks as I move through the build, and how it works on other projects, but so far, it looks good.

I did lots of take off data using the manuals too - in the mid-80s, they started giving the crews a huge scientific calculator that had the formulas pre-programmed, and as mentioned, the new FSA/CAS would also generate the numbers, but at the time, they were strictly used to confirm what you manually calculated. And no good Boom would be caught dead without his whiz stick (That sounds so wrong ^_^ )

Those were some great photos, Pete! And the video sure brings back memories. If I remember correctly, that wasn't a GPS on the panel (if you were referring to the unit on the upper right of the fuel panel) That was part of the updated fuel control system - it was called FSA/CAS (I forget what the acronym meant, and my books aren't handy) It included the new fuel panel (with the little switches and buttons, I always thought it looked like it would be more at home in a biz jet then a tanker) The other panel allowed you to input certain info, and let you get stuff like take off data, CG, and such.

That's an official photo (read public domain...) I found in a gallery on the AF web site years ago. I can pass along a larger copy if you like. Heaviest take off I remember was going out of Pease, en route to RAF Mildenhall, dragging some F-4s out of Seymour Johnson. Had about 175K of fuel, making our t/o weight somewhere north of 285K. Pushed up the power and started the water - we made lots of noise and smoke, but not much acceleration, as we headed down that 11,000 feet of runway. If I remember, we rotated around the 2K remaining marker, and were airborne with something like 1K of runway left. Was chatting with a friend who recently (about 2 years ago) completed USAF pilot training, and is now flying KC-10s at McGuire. We were going back and forth with little digs at each others aircraft, when he came at me with a crack about needing water injection to get the -135 to fly, I reminded him of this important fact: We were Gods - we made water burn!

The one that has what I need to finish a model the night before the contest... :P

I was flying KC-135As out of Grissom AFB in the mid to late 1980's. Much of what Pete wrote matches my memories, but I do remember a few differences - might have been local variations or procedure changes over time (and fortunately we didn't have B-52s stationed with us!) In the summer (well, non-winter) we had intake covers on all engines, held in place with bungee cords around to the exhaust end. In the winter, there were exhaust covers as well, and they were attached to the front covers with those bungee cords. As Pete mentioned, we used a cover on the front windscreen, which was usually bright yellow. I think we had a ground wire plugged in as well, but I'm not sure - may have only used that when topping off the fuel after an alert start. Pitot covers were on both sides, with bungee cords that were run down the side of the fuselage and hooked together underneath the aircraft. As a copilot, I remember trying to pull one off during a klaxon one day and having it hang on the pitot tube. I pulled on it, stretching the cord, until it came loose and snapped back at me - fortunately I turned and got smacked in the back of the head, not in the face! We normally had a power cart off to the side of the aircraft (don't know what kind - it was big, green, and noisy ) By this time, we were not allowed to use the on-board APU due to several fires, so the cart was used to provide electrical power during daily pre-flight, maintenance, and such. In cold weather, the power cart was also used to heat the water tank (below 40F, it needed to be heated, below 20F, it was dumped...the crew chiefs spent lots of time heating water in cold weather). Typically when the horn went off, the crew chief responded to the jet as well, and would be on the interphone monitoring engine start, the Boom would be upstairs with us (usually verifying the Nav's message decode...) We used cartridge starts for all alert starts, usually in the two outboard engines, but depending on the alert level, in all four. If I remember, the MITO interval behind another KC-135 was 12 seconds, 15 seconds behind a B-52 (I think I did one of those at Castle AFB during initial crew training) And yes, a four-ship, wet MITO was an act of faith in the crews of the aircraft ahead of you! Those were some interesting times, Gil. Fortunately, every time the horn went off, it was an exercise message - would hate to think about what would have happened if it was real. And if someone made a decent KC-135A in 1/144 scale, I'd have done a couple of dioramas by now. It's been 20+ years for me, but every now and then I'll hear a klaxon-like horn go off somewhere and stop to check the time (to see if it's just the daily klaxon check!)

That's some really nice looking work! Great job! Matt, Jerry was seriously injured in a crash in 2003 at Richmond during a practice session. Among other things, he suffered serious head injuries, and still has aftereffects from those injuries. He hasn't raced since then, and has said that he will likely never compete at the Cup level again. He has worked with a few teams, acting as a mentor to young drivers (David Gilliland included). He has done some kart racing and is trying to work out a deal to run a Grand Am car next year.

Yes, Eric, I don't see a cursor, but can type text in the reply box. I can highlight text I've already typed, but cannot copy and paste into the box. I can't use the mouse to move to text I've already typed in order to make edits - if I want to change something I've typed, I need to backspace (deleting) all the text back to the point I want to change, then retype the text. As I noted above, I don't have this problem on any other board I use, and it only started happening here when I upgraded FF to V3.6.2

A little late here, but I just seem to have developed the same issues Mark was having. It's only been the past couple of days. I'm running Windows Vista and Firefox 3.6 (sorry, I don't do IE anymore...) It seems to have sprung up when FF updated me to Ver 3.6.2 (and now with 3.6.3 it is still giving me the same problems) I don't have this problem on any other forums I frequent.

Big changes indeed! Really good work Dennis (and all those who help with the forums) This should go a long way in helping to promote IPMS/USA while allowing us to discuss society business amongst ourselves. Great job, guys!

Anthony, looking at the threads you posted, the photos you are unable to see are hosted on Photobucket. I suspect your corporate IT policy blocks access to PB, perhaps classifying it as a "social" site. I run the LISMS web site, and when I display photos linked from my SmugMug site, our club president complains he can't see them from his work computer, but sees them at home.

From the National Contest Rules: The only thing really specified is the differentiation between a model on a base and a diorama. When I've judged at our annual show (we don't pick up models for judging, but may turn them for a better look) or at regionals, if it's not in a diorama category, I really don't pay attention to the base, as it's not being judged. The presence or absence of a base don't factor into my decision. One thing I often see at shows is a note on some of the entry forms saying "Model is not attached to base." You don't want a judge to pick up the base for a closer look, only to have your masterpiece go sliding off, crashing back to the tabletop because it was only placed on the base, not firmly attached.

Make sure you use the URL of the actual image itself, not the web page it is displayed on. It should be something like: http://www.hostname.com/bigphoto.jpg Click on the "Insert Image" button above the message text box, and paste the URL into the pop up box.

All the "toys" I have are expensive, but I do much more than photograph models - I shoot a wide range of subjects, and have even made a couple of dollars shooting events (no where near paying for my equipment...) And with the way my life is right now, I don't get to do as much model building as I would like, so I end up spending a lot of time on my photography. There are more cost effective ways of going about it - it all comes down to getting comfortable with your equipment and learning the best way to use it, taking advantage of its strong points, and working around any shortcomings it may have. And just an update to my description in the original post. I took a look (since I haven't had the set up out in a while) and I'm using 100w bulbs for the side lights (and they do make a difference in the level of light on the subject). Dennis and Kevin, about your questions on the flash - I do use the Speedlite, pointed upwards with a bounce card to add a little extra light. The room lights are probably what is causing the extraneous shadows, unfortunately the room layout hasn't allowed me to correct that, but I'll have a different shooting location for NorEastCon (since it's in a different facility) and I'll have to see how I can avoid some of that - perhaps some fabric to act as a big diffuser. And I do shoot a gray card to check adjust for custom white balance with all the light sources. I recently made myself a light scoop/bouncer for my flash, like this one. I shot a few models at a recent club meeting and thought it gave me decent results, and cost me about $3 in materials. Kevin, I shot slides for 25 years before going digital, and I couldn't be happier.

Great idea for a forum, Dennis. I'll kick this new forum off... I'm the unofficial, official photographer for the Long Island Scale Model Society. As such, I do the club photography for our annual RepLIcon show. Here's how I shoot the models at our shows. Here's a look at my show set up: I shoot with a Canon 40D DSLR on a tripod, with a Canon 580EX flash. I have two side lights - the fixtures are Home Depot clip-on lights with 60(?) watt bulbs. I clip a sheet of copy paper over the bulb to act as a diffuser. The model is placed on a sheet of light blue poster board, taped to the wall, to create a seamless background. For camera settings, I use ISO 100, and an aperture in the f/7.1 - 11 range for acceptable depth of field. I'll take a few test shots to check the exposure - my settings usually result in a shutter speed around 1/8 - 1/15 second. In the setup above, I'm using a program called DSLR Remote, which allows me to control the camera from my laptop via the USB cable. I can adjust settings, and preview the image on the laptop, and photos are saved directly to the hard drive. Here are some examples of my results: I shoot in RAW these days and use Photoshop CS3, but I try to keep my post processing to a minimum. I'll crop the photo as necessary, and use a little sharpening (USM - Unsharp Mask filter) and save as a JPEG. I'll probably do a little experimenting before we host NorEastCon 2010 - I'm not wild about some of the shadows I'm getting (although some of that is being caused by the lights in the facility.) That's probably a bit of overkill if you are photographing your in-progress models, but here are a few ideas for that as well. If you can, use a tripod, or some other method to steady the camera. Set your aperture to a mid-range - f/7.1 or 9.0 for depth of field, and keep your ISO low. That's where a tripod will come in handy, so you can get a nice crisp shot at slower shutter speeds. If you can avoid using a direct, on-camera flash, that will help avoid harsh shadows in your photos. A desk lamp or two should give you enough light, especially if you can use a slower shutter speed. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. You can see more of my photos at http://www.moose135photography.com