IPMS Gateway Meets at Calvary One More Time

Tuesday night (17 March), I was at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) meeting. It was the club's last meeting at Calvary, before moving next month (we hope) to Affton Elks Lodge 6235 (https://www.elks.org/lodges/ContactUs.cfm?LodgeNumber=2635). Concerns about the current coronavirus outbreak limited the meeting's attendance to 14 members--usually attendance is closer to 30.

Early in the meeting, club president Rick Keasey presented my mother Joan Delaney with a $50 Target (https://www.target.com/) gift card, in appreciation for her work opening the Fellowship Hall for the club these past few years. She was pleasantly surprised by this gesture, and thanked us for the card.

After discussing other club business, we had Show & Tell. I told of my T-34/85 model taking a Bronze in Armor at KC CON (http://www.ipmsgreatplains.org/KCCon2020.aspx) in Kansas City, Missouri the previous Saturday. There was some other interesting items shown off by a few of our members.

After Show & Tell, Jim Triola, with assistance from Jim Victor, presented a demo on photo etched (PR) metal parts. They used ship models they are working on--Triola, a 1:200 scale USS Hornet (CV-8); Victor, a 1:200 HMS Nelson--to show the PE parts installed to this point, and the tools, techniques, and adhesives they use. It was quite an interesting demo and welcome by club members not experienced at all in PE parts.

The next day, word came that the Affton Elks Lodge is closed for now, which means we may not meet there on 21 April as planned. Hope to hear back on this soon. Already, several IPMS/USA (http://ipmsusa.org/) contests have been cancelled or postponed, and many chapter meetings have been cancelled due to their venues being closed due to the coronavirus outbreak. It's the right decision under the circumstances, though not welcome for those who worked hard to get these shows on and to meet their fellow modelers.

Stay safe everyone.

Later.

IPMS Gateway Meeting: Contest and a Demo

Last Tuesday night (18 February), I arrived after work at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for this month's IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) meeting. I brought in the two models I had just finished the night before--a 1:72 scale F6F-5 Hellcat and a 1:76 scale T-34/85 tank--to enter in the Out of the Box Contest. This was the first contest for Modeler of the Year, and all entries were out of the box.

Both models were up against some stiff competition and neither placed in its respective categories. However, I did earn two points for each model--one for entering in the category, and the other for being in the Special Category this month--Out of the Box.

At the meeting, it was announced that IPMS/Gateway will move their meetings from Calvary to Affton Elks Lodge 2635 (https://www.elks.org/lodges/home.cfm?LodgeNumber=2635), starting this April. This move was made necessary by Calvary's announcement last month that they will close this July, due to a declining congregation. I was told that this Elks lodge is a great fit for us--location, size, facilities, and cost.

Also at this meeting, yours truly gave a demo on painting and weathering aircraft landing gears. I used a 1:48 scale P-38J Lightning kit's landing gear parts to demonstrate how to paint then for authenticity. This included using chrome silver paint for the gear struts' oleos, using porter tack putty to mask off wheels while painting tires, and a paint wash for weathering landing gears and gear bays. I also asked the attendees for any thoughts on materials and techniques. This demo went off very well, considering I only firmed up the details the night before.

Later.

Swap Meet, Auction, and Honor for Me

The Gateway Chapter of the International Plastic Modelers' Society (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) held its first general meeting of 2020 last Tuesday night (21 January) at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/). This was the annual Swap & Sell and Kit Auction. The Swap & Sell enabled members and guests to sell or trade model kits and related items. There were quite a few sellers there, and I bought a kit and a book for my collection.

After a while, we got some club business done. One item was the presentation of the club's Robert A. Stroup Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement. Named for a founding member of the club who died in 1979, it has been presented annually to a member chosen by his peers for his work on behalf of IPMS/Gateway. Formerly a once-in-a-lifetime honor, in 2019 the club decided to make it open to all members, whether they won before or not. I was surprised to be the person named as the latest recipient of the Stroup Award. IPMS/Gateway honored me with this award back in 1990; thus, I became the first repeat winner. I was humbled to accept the award from club president Rick Keasey, and expressed my thanks to the membership for this honor.

Dave Roeder then was presented the 2019 Ron Foulks Memorial Award for Modeler of the Year by last year's contest chairman, Marion Morris. This was Roeder's first such honor, having earned the most points in four contests the club held this past year.

Then, we had our Kit Auction, in which Keasey auctioned off kits donated by members. Proceeds from this event will go towards funding club activities this year. The bidding got spirited at times, but it was all in good fun. I picked up a few more kits with winning bids.

IPMS/Gateway's next meeting is Tuesday, 18 February, at 7:00 pm at Calvary Presbyterian Church. The 2020 Modeler of the Year race begins with the annual Out of the Box Contest. I have two models I'm working on now for that contest.

Later.

Christmas 2019

It was a mild Christmas Eve last Tuesday (24 December). The Ellisville branch of Enterprise Rent-A-Car (https://www.enterprise.com/en/home.html) closed at 3:00 pm. On my way home, I stopped by my friend Del Miller's house in Concord Village, where I gave him a get-well card signed by my IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) mates and my annual newsletter. Miller is recovering from a stroke he suffered last month. He was up and about on his walker when we talked.

I then came home, and early that night joined Mom in a Christmas Eve service at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) in Mehlville. It was a moving service.

Then, we came home and began opening our presents. I opened one from my brother Doug: a black SpaceX (https://www.spacex.com/) hoodie, which I really liked. He knows of my great interest in aerospace. I also opened a package from my brother Rick, with two books from Arcadia Publishing (https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/). One was "St. Louis Advertising," on ads that ran in the St. Louis area (print and billboard) since the 19th century. The other book was "St. Louis: Bridges Highways and Roads," a pictorial look at the area's road network over the years.

The next morning, Mom and I had breakfast before returning to the living room to open our remaining presents. Rick sent me two more Arcadia Publishing books: "Area 51," on the top-secret CIA (https://www.cia.gov/index.html) and US Air Force (https://www.af.mil/) test site in Nevada; and, "Flight Research at NASA Langley Research Center," on aircraft test work performed at this NASA (https://www.nasa.gov/) facility in Virginia.

Also for me were: a 2020 calendar "Historic Warbirds," with illustrations and history on several classic World War II combat aircraft from Osprey Publishing (https://ospreypublishing.com/); insoles for my work shoes; four pairs of wool work socks; and, a bag of candy. Plus, Brian, sent me a Barnes & Noble (https://www.barnesandnoble.com/) gift certificate. Not bad at all.

After that, Mom and I relaxed at home.

Later.

Scale Models and Business with IPMS Gateway

After work ended for me Tuesday night (19 November), I made my way to Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) for that night's IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/prod/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) meeting. This was a big meeting.

For one thing, we had the fourth and final contest for our 2019 Modeler of the Year Award. This featured the Special Category of "Italiano" (Italian subjects), which drew a few entries. I had completed a P-51D Mustang aircraft that I built for my friend Linsey Daman, who wanted it named for her uncle Jimmie. The kit gave mew a few problems, but I got it done and it was in the Aircraft category. However, it did not place.

We also had nominations for next year's club officers and this year's Bob Stroup (Member of the Year) Award. Final nominations and voting will take place at next month's meeting. Additionally, Rick Keasey did a demo on color modulation using oil paints. There was also Show & Tell, and several kits were donated to the Kit Auction at our January meeting.

Members who entered models in the contest or had something for Show & Tell were entered in a raffle for prizes. My ticket was picked and I won a 1:72 F6F-5 Hellcat kit.

Next month's meeting is IPMS/Gateway's annual Christmas Party. Should be fun.

Later.

Scale Modeling in St. Louis and Leavenworth

One week ago last night (17 September), I arrived at Calvary Presbyterian Church (http://calvarypresbyterianchurch.org/) after work for that night's IPMS/Gateway (https://sites.google.com/prod/view/ipmsgatewaychapter/home) meeting. After helping set up the meeting hall, I helped to run the meeting as Secretary of the club. That night, I gave a demo on using poster tack gum for masking paint jobs. Despite a glitch with my airbrush forcing me to brush paint onto the wing surface, the demo went well and there was feedback from a few members on their use of the same or similar techniques.

We also had the Modeler of the Year contest, with the special category of "Let's Go Topless," for open-topped subjects. We also had a recap of our recent contest.

Early last Saturday morning (21 September), I drove to Leavenworth, Kansas for the modeling contest being held by IPMS/Prison City Modelers (http://leavenworthmodelersclub.org/) at the Heritage Center (http://www.heritagecenter-leavenworth.com/) in downtown Leavenworth. I was going in my capacity as Coordinator of IPMS/USA (http://www.ipmsusa.org/) Region 14 (Mid Central). It was a good show, with 46 modelers entering 160 models. I entered two of them: the British submarine Turbulent, and a Soviet Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) done as a humor model.

I browsed among the vendors there, and chatted with show attendees. Several congratulated me on being named RC-14, and wished me all the best in that job. I helped to judge the automotive and figure model entries. My Turbulent took second in the Ships--Submarines category. That's the third local show award that model has won, having picked up awards at the Louisville show in May and Gateway's show earlier this month.

I drove home after the show, arriving back in St. Louis that night. It was a happy trip, and I plan to make several more trips to scale modeling shows in my region in the coming months.

Later.