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MikeMoore

IPMS/USA Member
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Everything posted by MikeMoore

  1. Another Graybeard here, younger than Nick, Ralph, and Gil, but still literally a graybeard. And a dissenting opinion. There are likely many reasons for not attending the banquet, only one of them is not wanting to partake of what may be perceived as an over priced, poorly cooked meal (though I have had some excellent banquet food in recent years). Another reason for not attending the banquet is the simple fact that most times, there isn't room at the banquet for everyone who actually registers for the convention. The day we are prepared to seat every registered attendee is the day, in my opinion, we can take the blanket attitude that if you want to see the awards, buy a ticket to the banquet. Can anyone name another event where one pays to compete and isn't entitled to attend the awards? It seems to me that it makes more sense that someone registers and pays for the convention, which includes automatic entry to the contest, and feels entitled to view the awards than it does to tell them no, there is no entitlement there, if you want to see the awards you have to pay an additional fee for the banquet. The reality though is that not only can we not always guarantee that everyone can have a seat at the banquet, but also not everyone wants to attend the banquet. It's not right, it's not wrong, it just is. Another reality is that nowhere does it state that if one wants to attend the awards one has to purchase a banquet ticket in addition to registering for the convention. We need to do everything we can to accommodate everyone who has registered for the convention at the awards. On the other hand, when that is not possible due to venue considerations, we should make note of that up front, and let everyone who registers for the convention know that seating at the awards will be limited and the only way to ensure a seat at the awards is to purchase a banquet ticket and those will be sold on a first come, first serve, no refunds allowed basis. But first, every effort needs to be made to assure every entrant to the contest will have a seat at the awards, even if that becomes a consideration in awarding the convention. Every Nationals I've attended to date, 9 of the last 11, has done an outstanding job of doing everything possible to make sure we all get a seat at the awards. Some, like Virginia Beach in 2008 with the separate auditorium for the awards, had it made in the shade (though to prove you can't make everyone happy, I know there were some who bought a banquet ticket solely to guarantee a seat at the awards that were then upset at the move to the auditorium), while others, like Columbus are very limited due to the venue. But everyone did their best. But it's wrong to take a dismissive attitude towards someone who is new to the Nats experience and feels like paying for entry to the convention and contest entitles them to the awards as it is a logical conclusion. Mike
  2. Just out of curiosity, why isn't there a link to the event website on the home page here? Mike
  3. Did someone say there was a bike in the picture?
  4. Careful with T-34's. The "Mythical Weapon" book, while many look at it like the Hunnicutt for T-34's, I've seen lots of folks say there is a lot of poor information in the book as well. As far as modeling references, I don't know that there is one good reference. The problem is largely that there is more variation in T-34's than there is in Sherman's. All the different factories put their own twist on what they built, things changed from year to year, and who knows what spare parts might have ended up on a tank in the field. About the best you can do is find the best pictures you can of the tank you want to build, and then try to identify the factory that built it, and what year it was built. That should get you into the ball park as to knowing what generalities might be in play, and the photos can get you the specifics, at leat those that are visible. And for what it's worth, when I was looking into details for a T-34 build, there were several guys who hang out on Missing-Lynx that were very helpful. Good luck Mike
  5. Holy Bleep Nick. You need to step away for a while. Your posts of late have been full of arrogance and holier than thou, but this one takes the cake. I'm just glad some reasonable folks answered Brian's questions. Mike
  6. Dave, you're right, they are different numbers. I could be wrong, but I would think the percentage who register but don't enter would be pretty small. Either way, I would think either number should be pretty easy to get to. If it's not, we should definitely be looking at modifying the CMS so those numbers are easy to get to. Mike
  7. Ron, not to be argumentative, but I have a sheet from when we bid for 2014 that shows a bunch of statistics, including the number of convention registrants each year from 2001 to 2010. There has to be a simple way to get to the total number of convention registrants from the CMS. Maybe Graham would have that? And if there isn't, that's something that REALLY needs to be addressed. And to note, at least speaking for my part, there is no disapointment with you guys. If that number isn't easily available, that's a shortcoming of the CMS, not your group. Mike
  8. The idea of a "National" Convention committee sounds like it's well worth investigating. While my experience is limited to bidding on a Nats and being the Show Chairman for the Chattanooga show, I'd certainly be willing to participate. As for committee burn out, I do like the idea submitted earlier that there essentially be 2 teams who handle alternating shows. That should relieve some of the burden. Replacements should be continually recruited. If we were to end up with 3 teams as a result, I don't see any harm. I'm sure there would be some logistics to be worked out regarding hand offs but those should be surrmountable. Mike
  9. I see your point Ron. However, I think it's still appropriate here on the chance you guys bid again, you should know that it's important to people. And the board should know its important to people. The folks organizing Columbia aren't the only folks who need to know. I'm sure that since you guys just got done running a fine show, a couple guys sqawaking about acceess to the awards program seems like an insult. I don't mean it to be, and if it's being taken as such, I apologize. I only think it's worth keeping in mind if you were to bid again, and as I say, the board should know that at least some feel that access to the awards program is important. Mike
  10. Francis, I don't have any idea of how much a CCTV quote was, or would have been for the Columbus venue, but I did see on a lower level wall that PSAV is the IT vendor for the facility. I can tell you from experience putting the Chattanooga bid together a few years ago, that PSAV's rates are obscene. For the money they wanted to charge for LCD projectors and screens for 3 seminar rooms, we would have been MUCH better off buying our own projectors and screens as we have folks in our chapter who could easily have supported those. However, setting up a CCTV system would likely been well beyond what we could have supported, were the equipment even available to us. I can easily believe that a CCTV set up was well out of the budget in Columbus. Mike
  11. Ron, Thanks for the clarification. I pretty much assumed the banquet was a facility requirement (as it usually is). I also understand that many if not most of the folks who attend the banquet do so because they like it. I also know that no matter how hard you try, you just won't make everyone happy. However, this one does seem to be important. The contest is a primary focus of the convention, so access to the awards should be a primary focus. I can also appreciate the challenges of juggling the vendor rooms. One thought for the "next time" if there is one. You need to close one room early so it can be set up for the banquet, which would take some time due to all the tables. Could it be possible to take the other large room, and close it at say 3pm and still have time to convert it over to just seating and a small stage? Michael, Your statement is nothing more than the good old, it's always been this way, so it's good enough, live with it. I'm sorry, there is NOTHING in any convention advertising that says if one want's to see the awards program, one must buy a banquet ticket. That may be good enough for you because you understand that's the way it's always been, but what about the poor guy who has never been? And why can't we try to make it better? Do I feel entitled to a seat at the awards, you bet. Like I said above, I paid my way to the convention, I paid for 4 nights in the convention hotel, I paid my registration fee, I entered my models, I judged. I did decide that I would go to dinner with some modeling friends rather than join the banquet, but I see no where in any publication that says that precludes my attending the awards. Again, as I've said, I think the folks in Columbus did a great job, and the challenges of the facility were pretty much out of their control. I also appreciate Ron risking the flak and jumping in here. However, it seems that a great many folks feel that because partaking of the banquet has grown to be "understood" to be necessary if you want to see the awards program, it's ok. Well, maybe more emphasis needs to be put on making the awards open to everyone who has registered for the convention and wants to attend. There may be places (and Columbus may be one of those) where there just isn't an acceptable work around, but that shouldn't be taken for granted and accepted out of hand. Mike
  12. Jim, I don't believe there is any IPMS rule or bylaw that requires a banquet. It's Ben bandied about on these forums plenty of times that something else might be done to meet the venue's food and beverage requirement. As I understand it the only requirement is for the convention. But that's beside the point. As it stands now there is a group of folks who travel to the convention, pay the money for the convention, support the convention, and then because they either choose not to attend the banquet, or they don't get a ticket in time, they are excluded from participating in the awards program. I'm with you (to a certain extent) that change for change's sake can be a mistake, but when you have folks excluded from something they feel they've paid for, I think "so there ya go" doesn't quite cut it. I'd like to know that the board hears us and will at least make an attempt to make sure that everyone who registers for the convention and wants to participate in the awards program can. Mike
  13. First off, I'd like to say that I believe the folks in Columbus did a great job hosting the Convention in a difficult facility. Most of the less than optimum conditions were easily dealt with. I'd prefer one or two large vendor rooms instead of the 1/2 dozen needed at the Hyatt. The elevator situation on Saturday evening was obnoxious, but completely out of their control. The low lighting in the model room was what it was. But, I was very disappointed in 2009 that there weren't accommodations made for those who didn't do the banquet to be able to view the awards, and this year was no different. I very much believe that anyone who pays the convention registration fee and enters a model in the contest is entitled to a comfortable seat at the awards. When this subject came up after the 2009 convention, a standard answer was that if you wanted to see the awards, buy a banquet ticket. Let's disregard the blatant unfairness of that position, and look at the reality that even if everyone who wanted to se the awards wanted to buy a banquet ticket, there wasn't enough space for them. I realize that other than the model room the Hyatt doesn't have a room big enough to accommodate the banquet and those that only want to attend the awards. So why not hold the banquet, then move across the hall to another room that's set up with only chairs for the awards. That way, the folks who like the banquet can have their dinner, and everyone who registers for the convention can enjoy the awards. I really hope the guys in Columbus bid again. They do a great Convention, and it's easy to get to.. But if they do, I really hope they find a way to accommodate everyone at the awards. Mike
  14. I'm not a car modeler, but I applaud you for taking action that by all appearances has been long overdue! Mike
  15. Ok...Epic Fail on my part. I was scrambling to get three done that I thought could be possible. Net result? None done. Oh well, I type this from my room at the Contemporary, looking forward to 2.5 days of pre-function fun before the convention fun starts! Mike
  16. Join the crowd. I'm coming down to the wire on 3 builds. I'm betting that at most, one of them will make it, and it will likely be finished in my room sometime before the Friday deadline! Mike
  17. Didn't they lose the war?
  18. I like Model Airplane International. I've always found the builds in the magazine to be good to great quality, and most of them have good nuggets to pass on. And they publish my articles! I also like Model Military International and Military in Scale. Unlike many, I also like Fine Scale Modeler. While many of the articles are pretty basic, I almost always find something of interest in each issue, and I do tend to trust the build reviews they run. Also, as has been mentioned, the IPMS Journal is a top rate modeling magazine and is always read cover to cover in this house!
  19. I'm currently using 2 airbrushes, a Harder & Steenbeck Infinity, and a H&S Evolution. I picked up the Infinity at the 2008 VB Convention, and have been head over heels in love ever since. A couple years later I picked up the Evolution as a back up since the internals are pretty much the same as the Infinity. Now I have both of them hooked up full time with a manifold and change back and forth constantly depending on what I want to do. I keep the Evolution set up with the .2 or .4 needle/nozzle for doing general spraying and the Infinity set up with the .15 needle for stuff like free hand camo. Both are gravity feed with small cups. I like the gravity feed because it requires less pressure, and with the smaller cup, I waste less paint. If I'm spraying a big job, I'll just mix up a bunch of paint in a 1 oz plastic cup and re-fill the AB cup as needed. I also find the smaller cup preferable as it gets in my way and blocks my view less than the larger cup. There are three things I really love about both brushes. First is the self centering nozzle which makes it possible to withdraw the needle out of the front end of the brush, which gets far less paint into the inner workings of the brush. Second is the design of the paint bowl. It is truly a bowl with no square edges for paint to collect in, making clean up very easy. And third is the action of the triggers. The Infinity is slightly smoother than the Evolution, but both are much smoother and easier to control than any other airbrush I've ever used. I've gone from using cheap Harbor Freight brushes, to a cheap a cheap Aztek, to a Badger Anthem 155, to a Bear Air Peak, to a Thayer and Chandler, and finally the H&S's. I also used a Hobby LObby 40% off coupon to pick up the gravity fed Neo by Iwata several months ago. Boy am I glad I only paid about $25 for that thing. Despite being a double action brush, it really only has two air flows, full on and full off. And it's really cheap on the inside. I don't think I'd recommend it to anyone. As for an air supply, I've used the $89 Harbor Freight AB compressors for about 9 years. I've now got two of them and they work fine and are pretty quiet. I am also strongly considering moving to CO2. The total quiet is really appealing to me. As for paint, I use Tamiya almost exclusively. Most of the time I thin it with 70% Iso Alcohol, but if I want a really smooth finish, I'll thin it with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner. It really lays down beautifully with that. But of course one has to deal with the odor and toxicity issues. Regardless of which thinner I use, I spray it very thin. At least 50/50, and more likely closer 25/75 paint to thinner ratio. It takes longer to build up, but I get great control and can spray anything I want with almost no build up on the needle of clogging. Sometimes, depending on temperature or humidity I imagine, I do suffer a bit with build up and clogging, but it really isn't often and is easy to address with a q-tip dipped in thinner. But as I tell anyone who asks, what I said above is only what works for me. Anyone else will have to do what I did. Experiment until they find what works for them. Feel free to start from what I've said, but don't think it will absolutely work for you. I once listed for a friend everything I could think of that would or could affect how an AB session would go. It went something like this, in no particular order: Airbrush type Airbrush condition Paint Thinner Paint/Thinner ratio Air source Air pressure Temperature Humidity One's mood One's wife's mood Phase of the moon/alignment of the planets Alcohol consumption Urgency of getting the painting done I'm sure there are others, and I'm not so sure how much of a joke the 11th and last points are! Mike
  20. MikeMoore

    Mamluk

    Dude, I wish I could figure out how to get those kinds of flesh tones with Vallejos. The only way I can get close is with oils, and even then they don't look as good as yours. Nice work Chris! Mike
  21. Call me crazy, but from the picture of the IDF Sherman turret, there doesn't really seem to be anything that Verlinden has done that we can't do pretty easily ourselves with the kit supplied turrets. And $21.95 seems pretty pricey for just a turret. Of course since I build mostly worthwhile (read aircraft :blu-plane: ) models, I might not be thinking straight in regards to the target models that I dabble in! (please read the sentence immediately above with the humor in which it is intended.) Mike
  22. Aw Come on Mark, if you're motivated enough, anything in the lower 48, and even Alaska is within road trip distance! :Smile_sceptic: Very cool Duke...look forward to seeing you again next year! Mike
  23. Outstanding work Chris! The guide looks great, but I'm most impressed with the hunting dog. The variation in the white/grey of his coat looks fantastic. Mike
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