Scale Model Contests in St. Louis and Branson

Last Tuesday (15 May), I came straight from work to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) to help run this month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) (https://www.facebook.com/IPMSGateway/) meeting. It featured the second Model of the Year contest of this year, with the Special Category of Crazy Eights. That is, the subject has an eight (8) in its name or designation. I built a 1:72 scale model of the German 88mm Flak 18 anti-aircraft gun for this contest. It wasn't much and it didn't get many serious looks in the contest, but at least I earned the two points (one for entering in a category, another for entering in the Special Category). We had a good turnout of models: 28 total, with 18 in Crazy Eights.

Also at the meeting, Rick Keasey gave his demo on painting figure heads. This was delayed from last month, when a family matter kept Keasey from being at the April meeting. It was quite an interesting demo, especially as Keasey has won awards at recent contests for his figures.

Early yesterday morning (19 May)--as in 4 am--I was at Marion Morris' house in Maplewood, soon joined by clubmates Jim Triola and Don Will. The four of us got into Marion's minivan and soon we were off on the road to Branson, Missouri, where IPMS/Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists (http://ipmsmoss.com/) was holding its annual show, MOSS CON. This year's event--held at the Branson Convention Center (http://www.bransoncc.com/)--also served as the IPMS Region 5 Contest. After a breakfast stop in Rolla, we made it to Branson just after 8 am. We waiting at the Convention Center until the show opened at 8:30, where I entered two models--the 1:72 scale 88mm Flak 18 and a 1:72 F4F-4 Wildcat--in the contest. Neither won any awards in the contest, but at least I entered in it and that's the important part.

There were 195 models from 42 entrants in the contest at MOSS CON. IPMS/Gateway sponsored the Junior (Ages 12 to 17) category in the contest.

The four of us had a good time at the show, including hanging out with Mike Bobela of IPMS/West Central Missouri (http://ipmswcmo.webs.com/) and his wife. We ate lunch at Famous Dave's restaurant (https://www.famousdaves.com/) at Branson Landing (http://www.bransonlanding.com/), just a short walk fro the Convention Center. We all enjoyed a great barbecue lunch and wonderful conversation.

I won one kit (a 1:72 scale Ju 88C) in the show's raffle, and bought a few items from the vendors present. Late that afternoon, as the contest awards were presented, we four left the venue to head home. After a stop for fuel and refreshments in Rolla, we made it back to Marion's house early that night. It was a fun trip and I look forward to more such trips in the future.

Later.

A Trip to Kansas City and Soccer on TV at the Bar

Early last Saturday (10 March), I was on the road to Kansas City. I arrived in mid-morning at the First Church of the Nazarene, venue of KC CON, a model contest co-sponsored by IPMS/Great Plains (http://ipmsgreatplains.org/) and KC AMPS (http://kcamps.org/). I brought four models to enter in the contest. Neither won an award; the competition in their respective categories was too strong. I did help judge the automotive entries, and my team had some real good entries to look over.

I had better luck in the raffles, run by both clubs. I won two kits and a pin vise. I also shopped around the vendor room, buying one kit. Additionally, I brought flyers for the IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) show in September and picked up flyers for upcoming shows in the region.

After the show, I drove to Q39 (https://q39kc.com/) in Overland Park, Kansas for dinner with my friend and former Enterprise Rent-A-Car (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) colleague Meggie Snipes (nee Goeke) and her husband, Cody. We got caught up on things and enjoyed a wonderful dinner at this barbecue restaurant. I had the Certified Angus Beef brisket, with slaw and beans on the side, and it was delicious. I also shared in an appetizer of spiced onion straws. The three of us had a great evening, and we promised to keep in touch. Then, I began the trip home, arriving late that night.

It was a good thing I came home when I did, because we got a bit of snow the next morning. Approximately 2 inches (5 cm) of snow fell Sunday morning; however, because the ground was warm, the snow soon melted. At least having some mid-March snow was different.

It was back to work Monday morning (12 March), and it was busy as usual, but the day went well. That night, when I came home from work, I found my Saint Louis FC (https://www.saintlouisfc.com/) season ticket package. It had my ticket booklet, parking ticket booklet, coupon for refreshments at an upcoming match, and my 2018 season ticket member scarf.

The work week went well, and my off day Thursday (15 March) was nice. I finished up the March edition of the IPMS/Gateway newsletter, The Arch Scaler News, and sent it out on Thursday afternoon. Our next meeting is this Tuesday night at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/).

After a fairly busy Friday at the rental branch, it was off to Kirkwood Station Brewing Company (http://www.kirkwoodstationbrewing.com/), where I joined the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) in watching Saint Louis FC's season opening match at Rio Grande Valley FC Toros. I enjoyed a dinner of The Engineer burger, with a side of pub chips, all washed down with Ale Fleur One. We saw the match on the TV screens around the bar, and cheered our team on. After giving up a goal well into the 2nd half, Saint Louis equalized off a corner kick and earned a 1-1 draw. We would have preferred a win, but a draw on the road wasn't bad.

I met two of the team's management team--Chief Executive Officer Jim Kavanaugh and Chief Financial Officer Tom Strunk--at the watch party, where they mingled with the crowd. I also picked up the 2018 St. Louiligans scarf I had ordered. All in all, a good night.

Today is St. Patrick's Day. I had thought about going to one of the parades in St. Louis today, but decided I was too tired and not in a great mood, so I just stayed home and watched TV.

Erin go Bragh!

Later

Air Show and A Modeling Trip to Branson

A week ago last night (11 June), I joined with others from the Ethnic Restaurant Fans Meetup group (https://www.meetup.com/Ethnic-Restaurant-Fans/) at Anis Hyderabad House (http://www.anisusa.com/) in Creve Coeur for Indian cuisine. It was a good time for our group as we enjoyed our dinner and conversation.

The next day, my Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) colleague Marion Moen came to pick me up at home, then he drove us to Scott Air Force Base (http://www.scott.af.mil/). The base hosted an air show to celebrate its Centennial. Marion and I staffed our Society's table in Hangar 1, in which we gave out info on our group and showed a pair of documentaries we had a hand in on a television screen. I did go out for awhile to view the aircraft on static display and to see the US Air Force Thunderbirds (http://afthunderbirds.com/site/) perform. It was a hot, but satisfying day.

Work at the rental branch went very well this past week, despite the heat. Temperatures reached 90 degrees F (32 degrees C), with heat indices (heat plus humidity) topping 100 degrees F (38 degrees C). It was busy early in the week and leveled off by mid-week, then picked up again on Friday.

I was off to Toyota Stadium at World Wide Technology Soccer Park right after work to help cheer on Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) against Chicago Fire in the Fourth Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup (http://thecup.us/). I marched into the stadium with fellow St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) to cheer on the home side, but Chicago escaped with a 1-0 win. It was a game effort by Saint Louis FC witnessed by a standing-room-only crowd.

Off work Thursday, I took my Corolla in to Jim Butler Collision Center (http://www.jimbutlerbodyshop.com/) to get the damage done a week and a half before hitting a telephone pole evaluated by a GEICO (https://www.geico.com/) claims adjuster. He gave me the figure and cut me a check to give to the repair shop I would go to for repairs. I arranged to have it taken this Tuesday morning to Dave Sinclair Ford's Body Shop for the repair work, and for Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) to have a loaner car for me.

That night, it was off to Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/) for this month's Missouri Aviation Historical Society meeting. This was a debrief on the Scott Air Show, with several members presenting their pictures, videos, and stories from that weekend. I came early, to bring in the Society's gear from the Air Show booth.

As work ended Friday, I checked into a rental car at Enterprise, then drove home to pack up. Early yesterday morning (17 June), I set off for Branson, Missouri and MOSS CON, a model contest hosted by IPMS/Missouri Ozarks Scale Specialists (http://ipmsmoss.com/) at the Branson Convention Center (http://www.bransoncc.com/). I took nine models to enter in the contest, and some flyers for this September's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) Contest. I shopped among the vendors there, bought some raffle tickets, and had lunch at Famous Dave's (http://www.famousdaves.com/) at Branson Landing (http://www.bransonlanding.com/). I won two model kits in the raffle, and one of my contest entries--a Kuebelwagen--took Third Place in its armor category. I had a great time there, and hope to be back next year when IPMS/MOSS hosts the Region 5 Contest.

Midday today, Mom and I went to the hotel at River City Casino (https://www.rivercity.com/) to pick up my brother Brian, who got into town late last night. He's drumming for Melissa Etheridge (https://melissaetheridge.com/), who is performing at River City tomorrow night. Brian, Mom, and I had dinner at Rich & Charlie's (http://www.richandcharlies.com/) in Mehlville, then came home to relax.

Later.

A Great Weekend in Chicagoland

I picked up my rental car (a Toyota Camry) from Enterprise (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) in Ellisville one week ago this afternoon (18 May) for my weekend trip. This car got me to the Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) meeting at Creve Coeur Airport (http://www.crevecoeurairport.com/). We had an Aviation Open Mike Night, with several attendees giving their aviation-related stories to the audience.

Early the next morning, after waiting out some stormy weather, I began driving to Chicago for my mini-vacation. Late that morning, I arrived at the Museum of Science and Industry (http://www.msichicago.org/). I had bought my ticket online, so I didn't have to wait in line. That was a good thing, as there was quite a few school groups there that day. I walked through the Transportation Gallery, Science Storms, YOU! The Experience, Extreme Ice,and The Art of the Bicycle. Then, it was (for me) the main reason for my visit, the German submarine U-505. I toured the vessel's interior, and took in the exhibits around the submarine. I remember visiting the U-505 on a family trip nearly 40 years ago. After the submarine tour, I went to the Henry Crown Space Center, where the Apollo 8 Command Module and the Mercury Aurora 7 spacecraft are on display.

Rainy weather and an accident on the Kennedy Expressway slowed the drive out of downtown Chicago late that afternoon, but I eventually arrived at the Motel 6 in Palatine, where I stayed for the night.

The next morning (20 May), I headed to McHenry County College (http://www.mchenry.edu/) for NIMCON 6, the 6th Northern Illinois Model Contest, presented by IPMS/Lakes Region Scale Modelers (http://lakesregionmodelers.com/). This also served as the IPMS/USA Region 5 Contest for 2017. I entered six of my models in the contest, which used Chicago rules (few basic categories, three judging teams evaluating the entries, no limits on the number of awards per category). Three of my IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) mates arrived together that morning. I spent my time there admiring the models, browsing the vendors, taking in the raffle (I won two kits there), and chatting with my club mates and others there. When the awards were announced at the end of the show, I was surprised to receive two Bronze Awards. One was in Armor, for my 1:72 scale Kuebelwagen; the other was in Ships, for my 1:700 scale Tug Boat. I was amazed that those models were good enough for these awards, given the competition in their respective categories. Still, I was happy to receive the awards for entries I had finished early that week for the IPMS/Gateway contest.

After returning to my hotel in Palatine, I ate dinner and watched TV before falling asleep. Early the next morning, I checked out of the hotel and got breakfast in the area, then started to head home. On the way, I stopped in Bloomington, Illinois late in the morning, shopping in a Barnes & Noble store (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/) before driving to the Prairie Aviation Museum (http://prairieaviationmuseum.org/). It's a small museum, but still most interesting to me. After browsing inside, I headed outside to view the aircraft on display there. I walked around the two helicopters and eight fixed wing aircraft there, taking many pictures. I then returned inside to view more exhibits and bought a few postcards there, and also mentioned the Missouri Aviation Historical Society to them. I left one of the Society's cards with one of the Museum's volunteers.

I then headed to the Enterprise branch in Ellisville, where I removed my luggage from the rental car to my car and then parking the rental on the lot, leaving the keys in the night deposit box in the back of our building. Then, I drove home to unpack and tell mom of my weekend.

Back to work Monday morning (22 May), it was most busy, but we got things done. The work week has gone well, although we were a bit short handed with our manager Cory on vacation this week. I flexed out Tuesday afternoon, as I am working this Saturday morning. It should be interesting with Memorial Day weekend ahead.

I drove to Rick Keasey's house in Edwardsville for this month's IPMS/Gateway business meeting on Tuesday night. We planned the meetings next month and discussed some club business.

After work Wednesday, I went to the Des Peres 14 Cine (http://www.marcustheatres.com/theatre-locations/marcus-des-peres-14-cine) to watch the 1977 action-comedy "Smokey and the Bandit," presented by TCM (http://www.tcm.com/) and Fathom Events (https://www.fathomevents.com/). It was great fun seeing this movie, which starred Burt Reynolds.

Off work today, I remembered this was Red Nose Day (www.rednoseday.org), and did my part to help end child poverty.

Later.

Chi-Town Weekend; Volunteer at SLIFF

After work last Friday night (6 November), I got into my rental car at the branch at began my weekend road trip. I grabbed a bit of dinner on the way and then drove into Springfield, Illinois for the night. I stayed the night at the Motel 6 Springfield (https://www.motel6.com/en/motels.il.springfield.1189.html), where I stayed a year ago, and it was a good place to spend the night.

Up early the next morning, I checked out, grabbed some breakfast at a nearby McDonald's, then hit the highway for Downers Grove, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. I was there to attend the IPMS Butch O'Hare Chapter Contest (http://butchoharemodelers.com/), which was held at Lakeview Junior High School. I brought in four models for the contest, including my latest, a 1:144 scale USA-USSR Missile Set. This show uses "Chicago Rules"--few general categories (aircraft, armor, ships, etc.) and three judging teams looking over the models. Instead of the normal 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place awards for individual categories, the judges can award gold, silver, or bronze medals, with no limit on the number of such awards per category. None of my models won any awards--the competition was too still--but my friend Don Will took a silver and a bronze for two of his entries in science fiction, fantasy, and comic. Frank Ciccarella, a former IPMS/Gateway colleague now in Chicagoland, helped run the raffle with his wife, and his large scale diorama of German locomotives being serviced during World War II won a most deserved gold award.

I did get lucky in the raffle, winning three model kits--all of aircraft--out of six tickets bought for $5. I also bought two more kits from the vendors, and there was quite a selection in the vendor room. My friends Chris Merseal and Dan O'Hara manned the CRM Hobbies stand there, and they did some good business. Overall, it was a very nice show.

I took a break from the show in midday to co-host Writer's Block, the monthly online radio show from Autistic People. (http://www.blogtalkradio.com/autistic-people-/2015/11/07/writers-block-steady-ships-10am-pstradio-drama-grooming-hour--11am-pst) Tim Pylypiuk and I discussed the fictional universe of Frank Herbert's science-fiction classic "Dune," then I talked about the editing process and how it helps make a writer's work better. I was in my rental car, with the phone connected to the charger while the engine was on in the parking lot during the show. This worked out well.

After I was done with the show, I packed up my models, got into the car, and drove into Chicago for the night. I checked into the Chicago Getaway Hostel (http://www.getawayhostel.com/), located in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood. This was my first time staying in a hostel--I was one of six men in one room, each with a bunk bed--but it was hard to beat the price and the neighborhood (although I had to park my car in a hospital garage three blocks away). It was comfortable and suited me well for this trip.

I took in a continental breakfast at the hostel before checking out early Sunday morning (8 November), then drove into the Loop of downtown Chicago. After parking my car, I walked a few blocks to see the runners go by in the annual Hot Chocolate 15K/5K runs (http://www.hotchocolate15k.com/chicago/). There were hundreds of participants in this event, and many of them were doing so for fun, as I saw quite a few stop along the way for selfies. (By the way, there will be a Hot Chocolate 15K/5K run in St. Louis on 13 December; I signed up to work as a volunteer there.) After spending some time with this, I got back to the car and started driving home, arriving at the rental branch in Ellisville in mid-afternoon. Then, I got my luggage out of that car and into my personal car to drive home. I would have liked to see some friends in the Chicago area while I was there, but neither of them were available for one reason or another. Maybe next time.

Back at work on Monday, things were busy as usual for us. I flexed out Tuesday afternoon (10 November), and visited some colleagues at our Kirkwood branch before doing home. That night, I worked my first volunteer shift at this year's Whittaker St. Louis International Film Festival (SLIFF) (http://cinemastlouis.org/). I was at the Hi-Pointe Backlot (http://hi-pointetheatre.com/), a small theatre located behind the main Hi-Pointe auditorium. I was taking checking tickets of customers entering the theatre, where they saw the film "Before the Border," a comedy-drama about a law student retracing the Underground Railroad while trying to get back at a blackmailing fellow student. It was quite an interesting movie. Tonight, I'll be at Moore Auditorium of Webster Hall at Webster University for my second SLIFF shift. The documentary "Orion: The Man who Would Be King" will be screened. My final SLIFF shift will be Saturday night at Saint Louis University's Central for Global Citizenship. Hope to see you at the Festival!

This morning, I met with Glenna Gossett, a sales and marketing communications professional, at the Starbucks in Crestwood, Missouri. She gave me some ideas on applying for positions in my field, particularly at where I work, and had a few pointers for my resume and cover letter, which I had been working on updating this week. I think I am getting my ducks in a row for a job search campaign to get going later this month.

Later.