Roktman

If you been looking in the Figures forums, you been seeing that I've been doing a lot of busts and figures lately. Needing a change from my Figures, I decided to pull the Special Hobby He-178 out of the stash. I first saw this in the New Kits section of SAMI magazine. It's not exactly my "genre" of X-planes and jets. But being it's "A first" I figured it's worth a spot on the shelf. The kit is one sprue, with a clear styrene "glass" , an instrumentation film, and a piece of PE. Nice - I started the build with the cockpit and thats when I realized this wasn't going to be a simple build. The cockpit has to include a seat, the stick and the foot pedal mount. The foot pedals are formed with PE, but there are no indications on the part thats the floor of the cockpit. Oh boy... So I just had to guesstimate. Then getting it in the cockpit I had to keep cutting the floor down so the seat and the stick would show in the opening of the plane. Ugh. I'm not used to, and don't like hacking up models like this. Finally I got the two fuselage halves together with a lot of glue and tape - I needed to leave this for a while to thoroughly dry. So I went on to do the wings, which is in 3 parts. The wings "sorta" fit and again with lots of Tamiya Thin glue and some sanding afterward it went together. I moved to the landing gear which has PE folded around them. After getting the parts fold and glue to the styrene parts, I was ready for a break. How can a kit have excellent PE parts, and the film for the instruments be so devoid if marking for where part should go? Check back for another chapter.

Thanks, guys, for the kind words.

Very nice! The aftermarket parts really make it come alive!

Another kit from the team of Gillman Productions and sculptor Mark Van Tine. The 10 piece kit went together very quickly. I took some time with the Aves and tried to blend in the fur. Meh, didn't come out as good as I think I can do... Anyway, here's some WIP - The base primed - Eddie two tone primed - Finding pics of Eddie was tough b/c most of the images from the set were *very* dramatically lit. Also with all the werewolves in the movie it was tough to keep them all straight. So I decided to go with a few tones of gray and then browns on the face and hands - While that was drying I finished off the base - Then back to eddie. Here he is finished. Thanks for looking.

Hi Scott, Just a heads up that on your Accommodations page it has the two hotels that we have been talking about. On the bottom of the page there's a title "Other Area Hotels," and below that is blank. If it were me, I'd get other hotels listed there ASAP. ;)

I just got off the phone and Embassy was sold out for the Wed thru Sat. They were willing to let me have the room for my extra Sund thru Tues, and I would be on the list if there was a cancellation. I did get a room at the Nats rate with Marriott for the Wed. thru the following Tues. Are the Nats getting that popular? I remember being able to wait until the New Year to get the room. But now... In a way it's sorta not right ppl snagging rooms on spec only to give them up a few months from now...

Whoa, awesome job with the BMF! Excellent build all round. It's sure to be the center piece until you have your next one finished.

Not to make excuses, but I have a friend who's a caster and he is having fits trying to get his orders out in this humid weather (he's in NJ). Says the trick is to make small batches. It takes longer but the bubbling is minimized - he also roto-casts. But anyway, you are certainly making a silk purse out of that sow's ear!

I appreciate your point, John, but I don't feel the IPMS will ever become the International Plastic Gundam Society. There will always be an overwhelmingly number people that will continue to build Aircraft, Armor etc... My son and his friend for example are each 14 and "if it ain't WW2 , they're not building it." I on the other hand (at 55) am the one building sci-fi, Ma.K, Left '46 and figures. What I think the point is to let it evolve if it's going to. if a "kid" comes in with a Ma.K, then treat it like a Judge. You don't have to like the subject to appreciate the build. But let him enjoy the experience of a few guys admiring the model on the display table (or wherever it is) As an example I really don't care for the Car models, would never build one, but I could appreciate the build that there's no glue marks, the 4 wheels are all touching the ground the paint finish is even and/or whatever else that car judges look at. Just my 2¢.

Nice builds and paint ups! The BRDM is pretty unique looking. Nice job. And I'm rooting for ya for the final 10!

God bless your eyesight. Nice job on the vehicle. The edge highlighting works well! :D

Beauty. Thanks all.

Despite my saying it's time to move away (temporarily) from the horror kits, Eddie has been sitting on my night stand with no nose etc... Ok, I thought let me, at least, put his together. Sculpted my Mark Van Tine and casted by Gillman Productions, Eddie comes in about 8 pieces of gray and cream resin. There are no bubbles or flash to be seen. The parts were key and went together easily. IIRC there was only one join that needed more than a tiny bit of putty to close off. Here's where I am so far - - Every once in a while the sculptor will doodle on the bottom of the base. :D Thanks for looking!

Very nice work on an apparently very rough kit. I would notify Masterpiece, that's not what I usually see from them. Looks like their pressure canister wasn't working that day. Sorry 'bout, that, but you're doing a fine job.

WOW! Awesome build. As Wild Bill said - it's good to see models that don't look like they're beat to sh*^. I also like when models are built to replicate a specific aviator's plane etc...

None of the models in any of the categories are mine, but I'm trying to get things straight. Observation. Figures- #305B- Pre 1900 - 71mm or larger - - Page 17 in Vlads presentation shows The Viking (or whoever he is) winning 2nd place. IIIRC the order goes 3rd, 2nd, 1st... OK? So if the figure won 2nd how did it win Best of Class - Best Figure (Vlad's page 30). I thought the Best model in whatever category was decided from all the 1sts in the category. As I mentioned I didn't enter any figures, so no sour grapes here, but just wondering if there was an oops.

Thanks for the answers!

I'm glad you posted Tim and David validating my observations. For another way to look at it do a search on You Tube for guys building the miniatures (Games Workshop and others) compared to "regular" model building. There are gazillions of people showing how to paint these minis. What the Admins need to realized that to "young" people (except my son) WW2 subjects are comparable to the Civil and Revolutionary Wars. It's something that happened a long time ago. While I'm not say to get rid of these subjects, I am saying to look at these other subjects as being just as valid. Maybe, with the help of the local clubs to help welcome these new people, the IPMS should advertise in these mini and other magazines of the type like they do in the other modeling magazines.

Thanks!

I was sitting in on of the seminars in Columbia, and a qestion was asked that no one in the audience really had an answer for. Q: If you use a screw up thru the bottom of a base and into a tank securing it firmly to the base, and the judges look underneath and see the screw, is that strike one? TIA

Hey Bill, I think you did an excellent job on the kit. I *think* I know of the 3 Footer, but this kit looks much better than that. I'd be proud to put it on my shelf. :D

Lookin' good!

Those are some really nice models! I started by son off with some Snap-Tites when he was 7, and 7 years and a bunch of models later (Including a few wins at local shows) I just showed him the basics of an airbrush last night.

Ralph, I think you hit the nail right on the head. And that's where the problem lies. Most "kids" don't want to build WW2 armor, etc... (except for my 14 yo who is a big WW2 buff), Lurking on forums like Starship Modeler and the like when the IPMS is mentioned you'll read all the time how these young guys would take a Gundam, Ma.K or some sci-fi subject to a local meeting and the oldsters gathered around the 10th Bf-109 on the table would look over and sneer. Offering advice of "how about building something real." It's to the point where mentioning IPMS on these forums is like screaming profanity in church. The solution is to get these oldsters to either welcome the new blood and their models, even if they have no interest in a subject, or sit in the corner of the meeting room and keep their cranky ways to themselves.. Local clubs should also have a "greeter" to welcome these new people and sorta stick with them until they are made a part of the group. Years ago I left my local club, as after a year+ it was still too hard to break into the clique.

That's certainly... Different.