Right after work Tuesday night, it was off to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's IPMS/Gateway (http://www.ipms-gateway.com/) meeting. We were open early, due to this being our annual Slam Fest, in which we had two hours to assemble and finish a model kit. I took a 1:144 scale F-14 Tomcat kit and got it done in about 1 hour 45 minutes. Mine was one of six models completed and judged by a popular vote of meeting attendees. Mine did not get into the top three for prizes (hobby shop gift certificates), but it was not a bad effort under the circumstances.
Off work Thursday (20 July), I had my annual physical examination. Everything checked out fine. I then treated myself to an iced beverage from Starbucks (https://www.starbucks.com/).
That night, I was at Creve Coeur Airport (http://crevecoeurairport.com/) for this month's Missouri Aviation Historical Society (https://moavhist.org/) meeting. Our guest speaker, Doug (Vasilchin) Kennedy, spoke about flying the F-111 in combat missions late in the Vietnam War. A video about the F-111 and some information on the aircraft's development--including escape pods built in St. Louis by McDonnell Aircraft, later McDonnell Douglas--were also presented.
I had been working on a model to enter at this week's IPMS/USA National Convention (http://www.ipmsusa2017.com/) in Omaha; however, problems that developed during decaling Saturday morning caused me to not complete it in time for this show. I'll work on it for IPMS/Gateway's September contest. I did make rental car and hotel reservations for the trip, but need to confirm with my travel mate regarding his coming along.
Late Saturday morning, it was back to Creve Coeur Airport for the Missouri Aviation Historical Society's annual member barbecue. It was a very nice turnout of members and guests and we enjoyed a good lunch. This event was livened up by the visit of two World War II era fighter aircraft making a fuel stop here. They were a P-51D Mustang and a P-63 Kingcobra, both of the Commemorative Air Force (https://commemorativeairforce.org/) Dixie Wing (http://dixiewing.org/) based near Atlanta. The aircraft were on their way to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for this week's EAA AirVenture. I and others in our Society got to meet the pilot and to walk around the Mustang and Kingcobra before they departed for their next stop. I then went back to the barbecue lunch.
That night, I was at Toyota Stadium of Worldwide Technology Soccer Park for the Kings Cup darby match between Saint Louis FC (http://saintlouisfc.com/landing/index) and Louisville City FC. The two teams played to a scoreless draw in Louisville at the season's beginning. I joined in the St. Louligans (http://stlouligans.com/) tailgate, which was visited by the Coopers, supporters of Louisville City. We raised over $1800 for the Greater St. Louis Food Bank, which helps needy people.
The match itself started off well, with Saint Louis scoring just before halftime. However, a Saint Louis player was sent off early in the second half for a vicious foul on an opponent (at least the screen shot I saw this morning looked vicious to me), and Louisville City took charge. The visitors ran off 4-1 winners.
Stayed home today. Working tomorrow and Tuesday, then it off to Omaha for the IPMS Nationals. Going Downtown. More on that next time.
Later
