Category: Back in the day

(Note:  I am publishing this more or less simultaneously on the Iron Modeler blog and in the IPMS/Mid-Carolina Newsflash.  The local guys may wonder why I add identifiers to folks they know well—there’s why!)

Howdy, All!

This year’s IPMS/USA National Convention is in the books, and all I can say is that the folks of the Chattanooga crew are to be congratulated on what was a superb event.  From the time I arrived at 1PM on Wednesday until I departed on Saturday around 5PM, I had a thoroughly enjoyable time.  The things to see, the people to meet…

If you’ve never been, you simply must go to at least one.  Why?  Well, here’s a recap of my extended weekend…

Wednesday, 7 August:

I arrived a bit after 1PM.  I went inside the huge Chattanooga Convention Center, and walked down to the Pre-Registration room.  Yes, they had a small room to handle the task, which worked a treat, since there were no long lines and crowding in the corridor.  From the time I said “Hello” to Ann Strandberg until I walked back out into the corridor took about 30 seconds.  Seriously.  This was the quickest I was ever in and out of Pre-Registration out of the five IPMS/USA Conventions I have attended.

By the way, Ann is a HUGE asset to these shows—she is a First Class organizer, and I learned from our experience in Columbia that she’s very good at what she does.  She and her husband Bill seem to be omnipresent at these shows.  Bill and I spent more than a few minutes sharing ideas and catching up during the show.  Bill and Ann, it was great seeing both of you!

After that, I went back to the car to retrieve my Display Only models.  I think I’ve told you all before that my competition days are behind me, but when someone offers display only space, I’m on it.  I had a few models that will be covered in their own right in a later installment, and I found a table and set the models out.  I took the containers back to the car, and then ventured back to the model room.  The display tables seemed to be filling up rather quickly—a good sign, to be sure!  IPMS/USA hasn’t been very big on Display Only up until maybe 10 years ago, and interest didn’t seem to be there.  I believe this year may change some minds—if future conventions continue this trend, it will be a good thing, indeed!  Mike Moore and the whole Chattanooga crew are to be commended for making this one of their focus items.

I checked out some of the Display Only tables.  Rich VanZant of Mississippi had four tables full of his 1/48 scale airplanes.  Mark Deliduka of SoCal had some 750 armor pieces on display.  Gil Hodges had several tables full of resin and vacuum-formed models.  Dave Maher, Bob Kerfonta, and the IPMS/Charlotte crew was setting up their Corsair display…

I took a quick sweep through the contest tables, and, as usual, was impressed by the quality of work on the tables.  Several collections caught my eye.  The IPMS/Race City Modelers had a group of 1/48 scale P-51’s built from the available kits, each one perched on a base featuring the box are for the kit from which the model was constructed.  Very nice, and from my standpoint it simply proved to me that “older” doesn’t automatically equal “unbuildable” or “obsolete”.  There was also a group of Afrika Corps armor, a chronology of 20mm weapons, a U-Boat pen in what I can describe as a semi-boxed scene, and more.

Since it was early days and the models were still rolling in, I stepped into the World’s Largest Mobile Hobby Shop, aka the vendor room.  As I walked the aisles, I was amazed by several new products…

Wingnut Wings had several of their 1/32 Lancaster proofs on display.  Wow.  Too big for me, but they have a solution in the works for those looking for a large Lancaster but don’t have the space—they will offer the forward fuselage (from the wing leading edge forward) as a separate kit at some point next year.  If you like Lanc Nose Art, this may be your ticket.  A Fokker Dr.I was being shown along with shots of their upcoming Handley-Page O/400 and O/100—the latter was a bit of a surprise.  They were already doing a brisk business, selling kits…

Tamiya were there with their display kits including the 1/24 Toyota TS-050 Hybrid (gotta get one of these!) and, of course, their new P-38F/G.  One of the benefits of Pre-Registration?  Tamiya provided 300 pre-release copies of the kit to the convention to do with as they wished with the proceeds going to the show.  The organizers decided to include a green ticket in the Goody Bag that worked as a sort of raffle—they would draw numbers throughout the event, and if your number was called, you had the opportunity to purchase one of the kits.

Eduard was at the show with around 400 of their new P-51D-5 “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” kits in 1/48^th scale.  I understand that the lines at the Eduard stand were out the door when the vendor room opened on Wednesday, people were so geeked up to get a copy or two of the kit!  I perused the parts trees, and this one looks to be a winner.  I already have a herd of Mustangs in the stash—Hasegawa, Tamiya, and one of the new Airfix kits—but I will probably buy the Eduard kit, too.  I just didn’t buy one at the show…

Speaking of Airfix, I spoke to the Hornby’s representatives at the Squadron table.  I got to run my hands over the new 1/25 F6F-5 Hellcat kit—rather large for my tastes, but it is a spectacular kit.  We talked a bit on upcoming releases.  I believe if they can tie down their financial woes, Airfix will continue to be a strong player in the hobby.

Thursday, 8 August:

I was up with the chickens, since I was going to present “Model Building 101” at 9 AM.  I went downstairs (I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express a few miles away—best cinnamon rolls around!), grabbed some eats, and headed out.  The seminar went well—I had 17 or 18 people in attendance, and I believe everybody learned something.  It wasn’t as well-attended as the same seminar at our show in Columbia, but it was also early in the show—I wasn’t worried.  I got the right 17 or 18 people—people who wanted to be there.

After the seminar, I stashed the laptop and laser pointer, and headed to the vendor room.  I made a few purchases—I had been waiting for the Special Hobby 1/72 scale SAAB Viggen for a while, and I was surprised to see that they not only had the JA-37 kit as a single, but also had a dual kit (Duo-Kit) with the AJ-37 and the SK-37 two-seater along with a reference book.  The single kit cost $30, the Duo cost $64—in effect, I either paid $2 more per kit and got a free book, or I got a great book for $4.  Win-win, either way.

I was also under orders to see the guys at the fündekals table, which I did.  Jonathan Strickland was there with some product, as well as some renderings of the stuff they are working on, and all I can say is you need to check them out if you haven’t yet:  http://www.fundekals.com/

As I wandered, I started to bump into people I know, or had met years ago and hadn’t seen since.  This continued throughout the weekend and I suppose I should thank all of them for saving me money by keeping me away from the vendor tables.  Seriously—by the time you’ve been to a few of these, it happens. 

In the words of Phil Collins and Genesis, “I can show you some of the people in my life”:

Paul Boyer and I first met at the 1999 convention in Orlando.  He was the Senior Editor for FineScale Modeler back then, and I attended a seminar he was leading.  We had corresponded a few times, and I’m a member of the 72^nd U.S. MilAir Yahoo group, but we seldom physically cross paths.  Well, I was under orders—he and my wife are working on a joint project, and when she couldn’t attend I was told I needed to go by and chat with Paul.  Paul, I loved your USN Jets display, and I enjoyed speaking with you.  I hope it isn’t another 10 or so years before we have the chance again.

Bert Kinzey is the face behind Detail and Scale, and I have sent him a few model photos for the D&S Facebook page over the past year or so.  One of the photos I posted piqued his interest, so he told me to stop by the D&S table and see him.  We had a short but enjoyable conversation as he started to photograph the models in the display room.  I left him to conduct his business, and I would bump into Bert and Rock Roszak a few more times during the show.  Bert and Rock, it was a pleasure meeting you both.  I wish I could have met Haagen Klaus (he and I crossed paths in Columbia in 2016, but we were both rather busy at the time) and Chris Sakal as well, but sometimes there are more important things than models.

When I was the Seminars Coordinator for the 2016 Columbia Nationals, my wife asked me if I had approached Tommy Thomason to see if he wanted to present anything.  She’s his SH-3 Subject Matter Expert, so she asked and he agreed to present “Revolt of the Admirals”.  I found him this year in the vendor room with a table full of his Ginter Books titles.  Tommy does a great job with his research on U.S. Navy subjects, and I was glad to see him again.

Gil Hodges is someone who I bump into every now and then, but we never seem to talk for very long.  We have some mutual friends, and in this case it allowed a discussion that ran for longer than a minute or two.  For those who have no idea who Gil is, he used to write for the defunct Scale Modeler back in the day, and has written for FineScale Modeler and the late, lamented Aerospace Modeler Magazine.  Gil often builds large scale resin and vacuum-formed kits, and it seems that he fears naught in his approach to them.  Gil, I’m glad I could see some of your work up close again.

Jerry Wells and I met via a mutual friend in the run-up to the 1999 Convention in Orlando—in fact, we were roomies for that Convention.  He is a great modeler—he had reworked the Revell 1/72 80’ Elco PT Boat into (IIRC) PT-165 for the show.  It was a wee bit dusty and missing a rudder, and before I arrived in Orlando he had secured another kit, robbed the rudder, painted it, attached it, and was in the process of dusting it.  Now, one would seem to think that a dusty, broken model—regardless of the fact that it had been repaired and cleaned—wouldn’t stand a chance.  Even Jerry had misgivings, yet it did indeed win a First Place.  Jerry and I seldom communicate on a regular basis—nothing nefarious or anything, we just travel in different circles—and I enjoy catching up with him when I see him at the various Conventions.  Jerry, enjoy your retirement!  You need to come up to the Columbia show next June…

Bill Bosworth and I became acquaintances in the run-up to the 2016 Columbia show.  Like Tommy, he was a seminar presenter.  But the best thing about Bill is that he doesn’t just talk models.  He had some of his scratchbuilt aircraft on display, but as we were talking about them, he would tell stories from his life as an Ad Man.  Bill, like so many people I’ve met in the hobby, is good people and I enjoy the short time I spent chatting with him at these shows.

Gordon and Brandon Kwan were at the Sprue Brothers Models table.  I had an e-mail coupon to redeem—a spin of the wheel—and I won a Verlinden book on the Hawker Hurricane.  I chatted with Gordon about the Convention, how his business was doing, and basically caught up with what was going on between the Columbia show and now.  Gordon runs a great webstore, and if I have to buy online, his is the first site I check.  If you’ve never heard of them, what rock have you been living under?  Check them out at http://spruebrothers.com/.

Steve and Amanda Nelson and I finally found more than two seconds to chat on Friday.  I first “met” Mandie on the old ARC Forums through the AIM Chat.  We finally met face to face at the 2005 Atlanta Convention—by that time, she and Steve had married, and my wife and I had been together for almost six years.  I always like to spend time with them, because they are simply good people.  Guys, I’m sorry our time was short.  I told the wife that you were asking after her.  She was sad she had to miss the convention, and I think every time I told her, “Oh, by the way, so-and-so says ‘Hey!’”, she got sadder that work got in the way of this one…

Peter Frearson, Jeff East, Butch Bryant, and the whole IPMS/Flight 19 Gang and I bumped into each other several times.  Y’all are my old home boys from back in the SoFla, and I miss those meetings from back in the day.  Jeff, we’ll always be on the Presidents for Life rolls—and thanks for trying to slap me back into reality, but yeah, I’m a Chapter President again.  What can I say?  Talking with the guys, the club is in good hands, and I hope to get down there for your ModelFest one of these years.

Phil Perry and I met maybe 25 years ago, and I immediately learned that he was a great modeler and a fine human being.  We would chat from time to time until I moved to SC and we lost touch for a while.  But I still see him at the Conventions, and we usually chat for a bit at every one.  I feel a wee bit bad because at the NCC meeting Phil and I found ourselves on the opposite sides of an issue.  Phil, I meant no disrespect, and I hope there aren’t any bent feelings.  After all, we all share the common goal of building models, no matter how a group of judges looks at them or how an organization plans the awards…

Danny and Mindy Vazquez bumped into me at the Columbia show, and again in Chattanooga.  I know I’m getting old when I’m told their daughters are 28 and 31, with kids and the whole shebang.  It seems like it was not too long ago that they were wee little girls, talking about Beanie Babies.  Guys, I’m glad I got to spend some time with you.  It is always a pleasure to catch up and to look at Danny’s spectacular models. 

Ed Okun and I crossed paths for about five minutes.  I spied some 1/32 IDF airplane models that looked awful Okun-esque, and indeed they were Ed’s.   Ed, it was fun chatting with you.  Enjoy your retirement and the grandkids, and keep building those impeccable models!

Rick Geisler and I first met back in the early to mid-1980’s at the Twin Oaks location of the now defunct Warrick Custom Hobbies—he was my first Plastic Guru, offering inspiration with each model he would build and bring to the shop.  I saw Rick last at a show in Winston, NC some 10 years or so ago, so it was nice to be able to get together and talk about the “Old Days”, when Flight 19 was a much different group.  Rick, I’m sorry I got called away—but we’ll have to find a mutually agreeable show and meet again soon.  Oh, and I’m glad your phone finally charged!

Mike Idacavage is usually the Contest Coordinator for the conventions whenever it is in this area.  Mike met my wife long before he met me, but he’s been a great friend to both of us.  We couldn’t talk long—he had “convention stuff” to do (and I know that all too well!), but he did complement my Special Hobby ER-2.  Thanks, Mike, I’m glad you liked it.  I hope we will see you in a few weeks at the Atlanta Airliners Collectibles Show!

Patrick Cook, like Mike Idacavage, is another good friend in the Atlanta area.  Patrick was wandering the vendor room when we first bumped into each other, but we had a chance to chat for a while taking a load off in the comfy chairs in the hallway.  The same wish for Mike holds for you, Patrick—I hope you’ll be at the Museum in October…

Jim Kiker, aka Yoda, is from up the road in Charlotte, he’s a great model builder, and has probably the best outlook on the hobby f all my model building friends (I mean, he’s nicknamed Yoda for a reason).  Jim, we missed seeing you this year in Columbia, but we’re doing it again in June next year.  Head on down and have some fun with us!

My friends Trevor Edwards and Mike Roof arrived on Thursday afternoon—Mike was giving a seminar on Friday, so we wandered the model room, vendor room, and throughout the afternoon I continued to bump into people…

I made a few more purchases—I got a few Liveries Unlimited decal sheets from fündekals that my wife was looking for, along with their 1/48 scale Spitfire Part 2 sheet– and later we got together with Tony Abbot and Rebecca Hettmansperger (they of HQ72 Resin Products) and had some supper upstairs at the Table South attached to the Marriott.  I don’t know about them, but my feet were sore, my friend Arthur Itis was showing himself, and I was tired…

Friday, 9 August:

Mike, Trevor, and I met downstairs for breakfast in the hotel (cinnamon rolls…mmmm), and then headed out to the Convention.  We spent the morning doing the convention thing.  We wandered the model room; we perused the vendor tables: and basically enjoyed the show.  I sat in on Dana Bell’s Cruiser and Battleship aviation units seminar, and then went to see Bob Steinbrunn’s talk on the Bluejacket PT boat.  Both of these guys have provided numerous hours of inspiration and guidance through their books and articles throughout the years, and I was grateful to see Dana again (he graciously presented a seminar for us in 2016), and to meet Bob.

I snuck into Mike’s Photoetch seminar that was by now in progress (what can I say—I really wanted to meet Bob and hear him speak on his PT Boat model), and the room was full.  I’ve seen this presentation a few times, so I spent my time gauging the folks who were seeing it live and in person for the first time.    It was interesting—every time Mike changed slides, the smart phones all went up in the air and everyone snapped a photo, almost in unison.  Mike has a certain analytical method to things, and I think once he can lay out the procedures for any task, the light bulb goes on with many people. 

Incidentally, Trevor is in his early 20’s, and is a great model builder in his own right—all that I said about Mike?  Yeah, Trevor is a student, and his quality has improved markedly under the tutelage of Mike and a few of the other local IPMS and AMPS members.  With Mike as one of your teachers, you are steps ahead.

Friday afternoon was when, if you have been at the show since it opened, you tend to start wandering on autopilot.  I had to check some raffle tickets, both my own and from a friend who had to leave early—I won a Tamiya 1/24 Mercedes AMG on Wednesday afternoon, but nothing else all weekend.  I then remembered I had a Green Ticket in my pocket.  What the hell—let’s go check…hey, there’s the number!  I go across the corridor to the table, present the ticket, and after handing over Fifty Dollars American, I am the proud owner of a pre-release Tamiya 1/48 P-38F/G kit!  After giving it a quick once over—I had already seen the sprues on Hyperscale, at the Tamiya table, and at the Sprue Brothers Models table—I believe this one may have to get bumped to the head of the line…

We all met again for supper, and packed it in for the night.

Saturday, 10 August:

We met at the hotel for breakfast—yep, more cinnamon rolls!  Mike’s and Trevor’s fun meters were pegged, so they left for home.  I wanted to hang around, since Rick would be getting there early in the day.  So, I made a sweep of the model room—judging took place the night before, and this was the earliest I could get a look at all the great work that was on the tables, both contest and display only.  Every time I come to a National Convention, I am awed by the models I see.  Lots and lots of great work was out for folks to marvel at this year.  I believe the count was over 2,500 contest models and a further 1,750 on the Display Only tables.

Then I made a final sweep of the vendor room.  One more check of the raffle tickets—skunked again!  Then Squadron started calling their raffle—you guessed it.  Nada.  But it was fun, and I finally nailed down Squadron’s Chief Modeler, Jef Verswyvel, and exchanged pleasantries.  Jef doesn’t recall that we met years ago, when he and Willy Peeters initially set up Kendall Model Corporation (KMC) back in the early 1990’s…

As I strolled by the Rare Plane Detective table, a few kits caught my eye—Revell’s 1974 and 1976 issues of their 1/72 F-15A and (as determined later) FSD F-16.  They take me back to one summer, probably 1977 or so, when my brother and I would ride our bicycles to the local SupeRx Drugs and buy model kits.  On one visit, we got these kits—I cannot remember who got what, but for some reason I think I got the F-16.  I recall the F-16 kit as being the epitome of cool, with all that ordnance, the engine dolly, and the tug included.  Of course, they cost a wee bit more than the buck and a half or so that we paid back then—but I bought them.  At some point, I will build them, too…

The rest of the day was eaten up by the NCC meeting I was asked to attend.  I was initially going to depart at noon or 1PM, but I decided to stick around.  About a half hour before the meeting, I retrieved my containers from the car and loaded up my models.  I returned them to the car—a covered parking garage is a great thing, coupled with a rather mild day in Chattanooga, so I wasn’t worried they would get damaged.  I found a cool drink, and walked to the meeting rooms.  Since it was an IPMS Committee meeting, I cannot comment on it other than it was a three and a half hour long meeting …

After the meeting, I made final rounds—everyone was packing up in the vendor room, and the Display Only folks were likewise packing their models.  Everyone was either leaving or getting ready for the dessert reception before the awards ceremony.

I found Rick sitting in one of the comfy chairs—his phone charger wasn’t working on his trip, so he borrowed mine, and needed a wall outlet.  We chatted for a few more minutes, and, since each of us had a five hour drive to look forward to, we headed to the exits. 

With that, another IPMS/USA Convention was over for me.

Now, I’m a bit biased—I think the Columbia convention, regardless of the numbers, was the best show ever.  But I gotta tell you, Chattanooga put on an awesome show!  Was it better than ours?  I dunno—by numbers, yes, I think it was.  The intangibles—Columbia was our show, so that sense of ownership will always color my feelings—might favor the Chattanooga crew, too.  Does it matter?

In the end, no, it doesn’t matter.  It was an awesome show.  I got to meet some super people, I got to catch up with other great people who I hadn’t seen in one, or three, or five, or ten years.  I got to look at a room full of spectacular models.  I got to talk with people from around the world who shared my hobby.  I shared ideas and information.  I had fun. 

I had a chance to turn a lone wolf hobby into a social event.  That, right there, makes it worth the trip.

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We took a vote last month, and yes, Virginia, there will be a 3rd Annual South Carolina Scale Model Mega Show.  Watch the show's website for details.

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With that, I'm done for this installment.  Thanks for reading.  As always, be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

Howdy, everyone!

Have you ever seen the Clint Eastwood flick “Magnum Force”?  You know, the second of the “Dirty Harry” movies, where a band of rookie cops goes out and kills the hoods that have proven difficult to bring to justice using “the system”?  Their leader (and Harry Callahan’s superior), Lt. Briggs, plays the role as the cop who is calm and collected, and when he reminds Harry that his weapon has never been out of its holster, Callahan tells him “You’re a good man, Briggs.  A good man always knows his limitations…”

Why do I bring this up?  No, we’re not playing Movie Trivia.  I would hazard a guess that most of us who build models seem to forget the fact that we do, no matter how much we say we don’t, have a limitation.  Or two…

The limitations that seem to always catch me are (in no particular order) time, skill, money, and desire.  Let’s examine, shall we?

Let’s start with skill.  I’ve been at the game quite a while, and during that trip I’ve developed my skills into what I think is a pretty formidable tool box.  There are things I can do easily and quite well.  On the other side of the coin, there are things I cannot do as well as someone with my experience should, for no other reason that I either have not attempted them or have limited experience doing. 

For instance, to me photoetched parts are “the Debbil”!  Why?  I don’t use them often.  I find a lot of things that photoetch is supposed to “make better” actually don’t.  When I really paid attention to such things, I was always curious why Airwaves and Eduard would etch a brass replacement—a flat brass replacement—for an item like a door actuator or control stick that had depth and dimension (these days, Eduard does these in their “Brassin” lines). 

So, by and large, I’ve avoided photoetch—until now.  I’m starting to gain interest again in ship models, which, quite honestly, require a modicum of photoetch to be “handsome”.  Without the PE parts, they look almost naked.  What this means is that I will become better acquainted with railings and other bits and pieces as I build ships.

The skills that are holding me back right now concern armor models.  My poor little StuG IV is more or less complete, but for two things: weathering and completing the base.  Now, neither skill is completely foreign to me—I’ve weathered armored vehicles before, using “Old School” methods like washes and drybrushing.  I’m still learning some of the techniques that have been developed over the time since I last built an armor piece, and I’m confident that I can get the job done—once I start.  The same goes for the base—I just need to knock some rust off and get to the job at hand.  I’m close, really close…but somehow, I haven’t been motivated for whatever reason.  More on that later…

Time can be a real issue.  It was when I was working 14-hours a day, 6 days a week.  It isn’t as big a crunch these days, but for some reason I don’t seem to be getting any further on projects that I have up until this point.  Hmmm…

When you don’t have time to model, it kills your momentum on any project or projects that you may be in the middle of.  That’s largely the case for all of the half-built models I have on the workbench.

Money.  It can be the equalizer of everything.  Fortunately, I have such a large stash that I probably have any kit I’d want to build close to hand (the only new kits I would like to buy are the Takom 1/35 Merkava 2 and the Eduard 1/72 MiG-21MF).  See my earlier comments on aftermarket—most of the time, I don’t see the need.  My decal stash is kept in two copy paper boxes, so I think I might be set there, too.  No, at this point money isn’t really an issue.  Don’t get me wrong—I still need income, but as far as buying new models?  Nah, I’m set.  Really.  Most of my hobby shop trips these days are to look more than anything else.  If I do buy something, it is either a consumable (paint, etc.) or a reference book.  Money—or lack thereof—isn’t what is slowing my production these days…

So, that leaves what?  Ah, yes—desire.  Another way to put it is motivation, or lack of laziness.  Bingo.  I admit, lately I have been a bit of a slug.  Why?  Well, I had some heavy lifting to do when I was elected President of the IPMS Chapter, stuff that (in my mind) needed to be done.  Add to that an upcoming model show that wasn’t really being moved along, so now I’m busy running the Chapter and doing all those little things that need to be done for a model show..  In the space of three months, I managed to craft a Constitution and By-Laws for the club, design and have medals made for the show, manage the club website to include show updates, fine-tune my meeting agendas, and write something for the newsletter. 

Once the show was over, I was hammered by an upper respiratory ailment that took a while to kick.  I was not feeling much like riding the bike, so I’d plant my fourth point of contact firmly on the couch and vegetate to whatever was on the TV.  I’ve told you about my periodic funks, and this is perhaps the largest one I’ve encountered in quite some time.

Now that I’m on the far side of everything, I’ve had some time to think—which is something a man should not do.  One of the items on the list is the ever-bulging stash.  I actually wrote a short piece on stash management for the club newsletter, but the gist of it is that I really need to do a SIDNA sale.  Since I was part of the Show Committee in June, I really couldn’t tie myself to a vendor table, so I’ve had to think of other ways to reduce the number of unbuilt kits upstairs.  While it doesn’t all have to go NOW—I don’t need the dough to pay for a kidney transplant or anything like that—the sooner I can move it, the better.

For those who ask, “Why would selling off model kits help your production rate?”  For me, the answer is easy—I go upstairs to work on one project, it gets stalled (for whatever reason), and I have hundreds of other potential projects staring me in the face.  In a word, it is a distraction.  Second, I believe it would help me get back on point with some of the collections I’ve outlined over the years.  And, finally, it will give me more room to work.  My workbench becomes cave-like at times…

Were there other things that lit a bit of a fire under me?  Since you asked, sure.  First, our June show—model shows are real good places to draw some inspiration.  When you have a chance to look at everything up close during judging sure helps feed the brain.  Next, a few weeks ago, we had a display at the State Museum, where we simply put models out for people to look at.  I managed to bring several, including the Corsairs, the ER-2, and the F-111F.  And, finally, I took a few Works In Progress to the IPMS meeting last week.  As I looked at all three, I noted that none of them was beyond hope (I took the StuG, the Macchi C.200, and the 1/72 F-101B), and that if I’d only get up and actually work on them, I’d probably have them completed before too long.

Stay tuned.

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Last time we met, I regaled you with stories of Stuff We Used To Have.  We covered paint, filler, and the like.  This time, let’s look at model companies that are no longer with us…

I recall the first model magazine article I read that didn’t feature a kit from the American Big Three of my day (Monogram, Revell, Aurora)—it was the article on the then-new 1/48 scale ESCI kit of the IDF/AF Kfir C2, showcased in the March 1978 issue of “Scale Modeler”, the same issue that featured Shep Paine’s Marauder diorama (and my first taste of a modeling magazine)…

Now, I was familiar with the Mirage series of aircraft, having built the Revell 1/72 Mirage III kit a few years earlier.  I knew the Israelis flew them.  I had read a few short encyclopedia articles on the Mirage 5 and how the Israeli order was embargoed, and how Israel worked to develop an in-house replacement, but had never seen a picture of a Kfir.  Here, in color, was a superbly built model kit, right there in the pages of my newly discovered magazine!  But the article only raised questions…

ESCI?  What the heck was ESCI?  How do you say that?  ESS-kee?  E-sky?  (For the record, it is an acronym for Ente Scambi Coloniali Internazionali, “International Organization for Colonial Trade”; most people pronounce it ESH-he).  All I knew is that the kit got high marks, and I saw ads for others, including their only 1/48 WWII aircraft kits of the Hs.123 and Hs.129. 

ESCI initially would design tooling, ship them to other firms (usually Italeri) to have them molded, then box and market them.  In the course of their existence, the produced a series of 1/72 scale aircraft and armor that, for the most part, were excellent kits.  They had a huge 1/72 scale armor selection by the time they folded, most of it exquisite.  Their 1/72 WWI aircraft series, likewise, couldn’t be beat.  In short, if the box said “ESCI” and “1/72 scale”, you could be pretty sure what you got was a winner…

Their 1/48 scale line wasn’t as extensive, and certainly not as finely done, but for the most part they were viable (several exceptions exist: their 1/48 scale F-100D and A-10A were the big stinkers of the bunch—interesting, too, since their 1/72 F-100D is still one of the finest examples of that aircraft in that scale). 

ESCI also produced a line of automobile kits—European road racers, mostly—in 1/25 scale, and some motorcycles in 1/9 scale.  Perhaps their most interesting kits were their 1/12 F-16 and F-104 cockpits.

ESCI kits had several things going for them, but first and foremost was that they were affordable.  Their 1/72 scale kits were usually a few bucks each, and when Squadron would have a sale you could find them for as little as One American Dollar each!   

Their fortunes waned in the mid- to late-1980’s, and by the mid 1990s the company had been sold to the ERTL Group.  They were gone by the turn of the Century.  AMT, also under the ERTL umbrella, took the F-100D and produced an F-100F kit, and produced an F-104G based on the ESCI F-104C.

Some of their kits are still available in other companies’ boxes–for a while in the early 2000s, you could find them in Revell GmbH boxes, and some are seeing new life in Italeri boxes.  That’s a bit of a win for the better kits—as I said, I prefer their 1/72 F-100D to all other comers.  Their F-104 series was also quite nice—now superseded by Hasegawa’s efforts, they’re a great “budget” choice when/if you can find them.  Their 1/72 scale kits of the Sea Harrier, F-4C/J, F-4E, and F-15 still hold their own, too…

Otaki was a Japanese brand who was into a lot of things—airliners, aircraft, cars, even model railroad.  My interest in Otaki came from their line of 1/48 scale WWII airplanes.  The group included the P-40E Warhawk, P-47D Razorback, P-51D Mustang, F4U-1A Corsair, F6F-3 Hellcat, Ki-43, Ki-44, Ki-61, Ki-84, Ki-100, A6M, J2M, J1N1, K5W, Bf-109G, Fw-190A, and Spitfire Mk. VIII.  These kits were quite well done, and for the most part quite accurate to boot.  They, too, were affordable.  Sure, they cost a little bit more than the usual Monogram kits, but they were less than contemporary Hasegawa and Tamiya kits in the same scale.  They also had an interesting line of 1/144 scale kits, notably a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and C-5A Galaxy, and an Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde, each of them superb.  To wit, Airfix’s Concorde wasn’t as nice, Airfix’s and Revell’s attempts at a TriStar were lacking, and nobody attempted a C-5 until the Roden kit earlier this year…

By the time I discovered Otaki, they were on the verge of bankruptcy.  I noticed that by the late 1980’s the boxes said “ARII” and no longer featured multiple color schemes and the color plate was missing.  The plastic was still the same, though, so I was not really concerned at the time.  Arii continued the line for several years, even sending kits to AMT, Airfix, and Matchbox to be packaged and sold in those boxes, too.  In some circles, they still exist, now in Micro Ace boxes that still bear the Arii logos, so they’re not really gone, but to me, without the color plates and multiple decal options, they may as well be.

The interesting part of the Otaki saga is to this day shrouded in mystery and whispered rumor: before they went bankrupt, some disgruntled employees loaded some of the tooling on a boat and dumped it in Tokyo Bay!  The kits usually associated with this heinous act are the two 1/144 scale kits, the TriStar and Galaxy.  And, since we have yet to see these kits in anyone’s boxes for quite some time (Revell AG, Testors, and Doyusha all re-boxed the Galaxy while Otaki was still solvent), it stands to reason that there is some truth to the story.  I wasn’t there, I can’t say one way or the other, but…

The last company I’ll talk about tonight is Monogram.  Yep, *that* Monogram, before their marriage with Revell, before ProModeler, before the bankruptcy…

I discovered Monogram kits by chance.  The first “look at the model I built all by myself!” kit I built was the Monogram Snap-Tite L’il Red Baron, the caricature version of the Tom Daniel classic.  A year or so later, as I started down the path to being a “serious” modeler, I discovered their U. S. Navy aircraft—the SBD, TBF, SB2C, Hellcat, Wildcat, Corsair, and TBD.  Of course, I just had to build them all and add them to the collection.  As I would acquire and build each, I took notice of their other kits of WWII airplanes.  As I was to learn, some were great, some were good, and some were, well, in interests of being fair, products of their time.  And I built all of them, ignoring the things people cringe about today…

As I started to build jets, I was impressed by the quality of Monogram’s 1/48 kits.  The cockpits were excellent, and the kits themselves would build up with no major issues—nothing I couldn’t handle, for sure.  I built their F-100D, F-105G, F-84F, and a couple others while I was in college—the F-84F crashed and burned for whatever reason I can’t recall, but I built the same kit again and featured it earlier on this blog.  Each of them was a treat to build…

Not long after I graduated from the Harvard of the Sky, I switched scales to 1/72 and discovered Monogram’s F-105G, F-4D, and EF-111A.  I was just as impressed.  The cockpits were veritable jewels, the completed models were lovely to behold in the display case, and, in case you forgot, they were affordable and, they were made right here in the good, old USA.

What made Monogram kits special?  They had the right balance of detail and ease of assembly.  They went together quickly.  They didn’t need a lot of extra stuff, even after extra stuff became a requirement for some modelers.  In short, they were just good, straightforward, well detailed model kits.  Sure, they had the dreaded “raised panel line” disease, and some of them exhibited less-than-stellar fit (anyone who has even built their A-10A in 1/48 scale knows what I’m talking about), but for the price, they packed a lot of fun into those boxes. 

After the mergers between Monogram and Revell in the mid-1990s, a lot of the kits began to appear in Revell boxes—the united company had decided to use the Revell name for business and financial reasons—and the plastic changed from that nice, hard, shiny non-brittle styrene that was a stock in trade from Morton Grove to the soft-ish, prone to warp, high vinyl/regrind content plastic that came from overseas.  I still like a lot of their kits, but when I do build them I try to use an original Monogram boxing to get that nice plastic…

The new holding company who bought Revell GmbH and Revell USA now owns all the history and heritage that traces its lineage back to the old Morton Grove, Illinois location.  That is good.  It tells me that perhaps we will see these kits yet again.  Hint, guys in Germany:  Have your kits molded where the quality of styrene is better, you will make modelers world-wide happy.

There are other model companies who have come and gone, and I've talked a bit about some of them on this blog:  Lindberg, AMT, MPC, HAWK, Accurate Miniatures, Hobbycraft Canada, and others.  Fortunately, Round2 Models rescued AMT, MPC, HAWK, and Lindberg several years ago, while the Accurate Minuatures tooling seems to be in the hands of the folks at Academy (or at least the mold shops in Korea, whether it be Idea or ACE) and make regular appearances in Academy, Italeri, and (before the bankrupty) Revell GmbH boxes, as do some of the Hobbycraft Canada kits.

STOP THE PRESSES!

I originally had this post ready to post on Wednesday, 29 August, but as I usually do, I let it marinate overnight so I could proofread it the next morning.  Well, as Ferris Buehler said, “Sometimes life moves really fast…”

The news was broken by the website cultvman.com yesterday:  Atlantis Models, a company started in 2009, has announced that they have acquired some of the old Revell (and this would include Monogram, Aurora, and Renwal) tooling in storage at a warehouse in Oak Grove, IL.  What exactly they got is still a bit of a mystery—the new Revell (Blitz Partners) owns most of the tooling that was being used at the time of the Hobbico bankruptcy. 

From their Press Release: 

 Peter Vetri, President of Atlantis, states, “It’s a lifelong dream to own this historic tooling and archive material related to these molds; to be able to preserve the tooling is a real honor. We look forward to reissuing many classics that have not been available in quite some time. All of the model kits will be made here in the USA and all the tooling and the Archive have been moved from Elk Grove to our facilities in Deer Park, NY.

Atlantis Models has, in the past, re-issued or retooled several classic kits from the Revell and Aurora lines, so these kits should fit right into their lineup.  I wish them well, and look forward to seeing which classics they have acquired.

You can read about Atlantis here.  

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Salvinos J R Models, a new American model company specializing in NASCAR Stock Car model kits, announced today on their Facebook page that they, in a deal reached with Atlantis Models, are the new owners of the Monogram NASCAR kits from the 1980’s and 1990’s:

VERY BIG NEWS!

You may have read some very big news from Atlantis Model Co. that they have purchased a considerable portion of the molds for Revell, Monogram, and some of the other Hobbico owned companies from Revell Germany that were stored in Revell’s Elk Grove, IL warehouse. Well we were fortunate enough to work out arrangements with Pete and Rick of Atlantis Model Co. and Salvinos J R Models are now the proud owners and guardians of the entire catalog of Revell and Monogram’s American made stock car molds from 1980 through the 1990s! In the very near future we will be adding these kits into our catalog with new drivers, new decals and some updated bodies to go on these platforms.

——————–

So, there you are sports fans.  I read about the Hobbico bankruptcy (I was still employed at the hobby shop when it all started to go pear-shaped for Hobbico), and I read about the Blitz Partners purchase, and I read all the doom and gloom about how “They’re gone!  All those kits are gone!”  Well, anyone who has been around the hobby for a while knows that old kits never die.  They just get produced by different companies.  As noted, ESCI kits are now found in a variety of boxes from Revell GmbH to Italeri, Otaki’s stuff can be found in Micro Ace/ARII and Doyusha boxes, and Monogram kits are going to be in Revell, Atlantis, and Salvinos J R Models boxes.  Life is still good.

That’s all I have for now.  Be good to one another, and, until we meet again, I Bid you Peace.

I finally was able (once again) to get a weekend off, so the wife and I took a ride to Aiken, SC and Augusta, GA (part of the reason for the ride was to reconnoiter a possible driving route for an upcoming event).  While in town, we stopped in at the HobbyTown USA in Augusta.  Dave has a large selection of kits, the largest selection I've seen since I left South Florida.  So, I wasn't really surprised to see that he had several new kits as well a a whole mess of reissues in stock.  Some random thoughts follow…

I like what Round Two Models is doing.  In case you haven't noticed, they acquired the rights to several manufacturers' catalogs from years gone by, including AMT, MPC, and Polar Lights.  Dave had the reissue of AMT's 1/25 scale 1976 AMC Gremlin X in their "Original Art Series".  You get the same AMT plastic from years gone by, and they also include an 11" X 14" print of the artwork less any other copy–no logo, no other text, just the artwork.  I just had to pick the kit up, since this is just the type of kit I grew up building.  The plastic parts are quite nice–no flash, very nice, very clean.  It looks like it will be a fun build, too.  The other things about this kit that caught my eye was that Round Two encloses a small fold-out catalog of their products as well as a postcard that asks the buyer "What do you want to see from Round Two Models?"  It warms my heart to see a company is once again willing to listen to their customer base.  The other Round Two products that caught my eye were a Limited Edition of the 1/16 scale Dodge Charger in the guise of a "Street Charger"–rumor has it that the NASCAR version (the Petty Charger) will be released shortly.  Also, their 1/25 scale Big Rig collection has been joined by the reissue of the Diamond Reo.  Very nice…

The other kit that caught my eye at HobbyTown USA was the new Revell 1/48 scale PV-1 Ventura.  Twenty years ago, I would have been all over this kit like a fat kid on a box of Krispy Kremes–I lived for 1/48 scale WWII aircraft, and the Ventura was one I would have loved to build back in the day.  Since then, I have switched scales to 1/72 for multi-engined subjects, but the Revell kit still interests me by the fact that is is a new release from the re-re-reborn Revell.  By all accounts, it is quite the kit.  I'm happy to see Revell back in the game.  I'm also happy to see Revell reissuing recent kits (if you call 10 year old kits "recent") like the 1/48 SB2C, P-47N, and the Prowler/Intruder series.  If that doesn't wake you up, have you seen some of the Renwal kits that Revell has been reissuing?  Sweet…

Then there's Moebius Models.  If you haven't seen them in stores yet, their 1/25 scale kits of the 1952/1953 Husdon Hornet are out, and they are very nice, indeed.  My wife preordered the Tim Flock 1952 NASCAR version of the kit, and I am impressed.  Build reports from the Internet are saying wonderful things about this kit and its 1953 street version brother.  Next up from Moebius is a 1955 Chrysler 300, and I can't wait to see it.

Even better?  All of them are offering some sort of newsletter or modeler's club.  Nice, right?

I think what we're seeing here is a return of hobbyists having a say in how model companies are run.  Back in the days of Lew and Royle Glaser (Revell), Jack Besser and Bob Reder (Monogram), Joe Giammarino and Abe Shikes (Aurora), to name but a few, the model companies were run by modelers and hobbyists.  There was a sense of business behind them–after all, if the company made no money, they were out of business–but the driving force was the hobby.  These folks were hobbyists themselves, and they knew what they wanted to see.  They'd research a subject, and if they thought it would sell, they'd design, tool, and produce the product. 

A lot changed, and not for the good, when Nabisco bought Aurora and Mattell acquired Monogram.  The hobby people were either out for good or shunted to the side while the businessmen made the product decisions.  Now, granted, not every hobbyist running a company had the Golden Touch–when Royle Glaser began running her late husband's company, she did some trimming, since Revell had a huge catalog, but was never very stable financially.  But in the end, Revell, too, was sold to a business group.  With the departure of the hobbyists, these companies did continue to thrive for a while.  But things weren't as rosy, I guess, as they appeared.  Monogram merged with Revell.  They were bought and sold several times.  The Monogram name has all but gone away for new kits.  The last new aircraft kit from Revell (not Revell-Germany!) that comes to mind was the 1/48 scale F/A-18E and F kits from around 2005.  The names MPC and AMT all but disappeared when Racing Champions acquired the company in the late 1990's.  Nabisco liquidated Aurora in 1977.  Hawk Models went away, many of their kits reappeared in Testor's boxes. 

Recently, though, things have been looking up.  J.Lloyd International has the Lindberg, Hawk, Weird-Ohs, Frantics, and Silly Surfers lines in their catalog.  Round Two, as we've discussed, has AMT, MPC, and Polar Lights under thier banner, and they have been busy reissuing kits from years past.  Moebius is going quite well with their Sci-Fi, vehicle, and various comic book and movie character kits.  With the Revell release of the Ventura, one can only hope they are on the road to many more new releases and reissues of their kits from back in the day.

Add to all this the recent releases and reissues from Dragon/DML/Cyber-Hobby, Hasegawa, Trumpeter/HobbyBoss, and Tamiya, several new issues from Italeri along with their extensive back catalog, the availability of Fujimi kits once again in the United States, Academy's releases and reissues, Roden's ever-expanding line of kits from WWI crates to airliners to, well, whatever strikes their fancy…and that's just airplanes, folks.  We haven't begun to discuss autos in depth, let alone armor and ships.

If there is any modeler out there who can't see that we are living in another Golden Age of modeling, they haven't been looking very hard.  I, for one, am being reenergized…

On another note, I'll be once again heading out to our comany's Dallas facility for a week.  I hope to have more time to see the area than I did last November.  No rest for the weary…

Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.

We finally have an empty hangar again.  While not necessarily a great thing–no airplanes in the hangar means no work, which means no income for the time being–it does give us some time to catch our collective breath and reset the place for the next job.  In the meantime…

One of the hobby shops I used to frequent–although not to the extent that other modelers I knew did–was Orange Blossom Hobbies in Miami.  Just getting there could be an adventure, as the shop was located in a not-so-great neighborhood on NW 36th Street.  Let's just say that when there is a Security guard and a walled-in parking lot with a gate, you need to be heads-up at all times.  Carrying a firearm–legally, of course–didn't exactly hurt.  Once you made your way through the 'hood and parked in the semi-secure lot, though, you were in for a treat.

OB was located in an old bowling alley.  Right next door was their wholesale operation, Pan American Distributors.  As you walked in to the place, you immediately noticed the layout.  The ceiling had staggered tiles, the floor was skinny strips of harwood complete with the lane diamonds.  No matter, though–the place was usually packed with merchandise.  The first thing you noticed at the entrance was the RC counter directly ahead of you–it was usually three deep with people looking to buy that latest RC truck, car, or airplane.  It was the center anchor of the store, so to speak, since it really did occupy the center of the store (as well as one wall).  Off to the left, though, was plastic treasure…

From the first visit I made to the store to the last, one thing remained constant–the guy behind the counter.  Pat Parnther was always there, always working, and always had some story or joke to tell.  His favorite quips were, "That's life in the tropics!" and "Happiness is a winning lottery ticket!"  I don't think I ever went in there when Pat wasn't selling the latest stuff to come out of the hobby industry.  You'd spend a few minutes with Pat, then check out the shelves.  The shelves…well, they were packed.  If you couldn't find it on the shelf at Orange Blossom, they either just sold what you wanted or it hasn't been made.  You could (and I'm speaking from experience, here) spend a day just hunting among the boxes on the shelves.  But wait, there's Pat, telling another joke…

Another fun feature of the shop was the row of cabinets behind the counter.  After a visit or two, you'd get to know Pat–and then, he'd say, "Go back there and look–I don't even know what's there."  And he was usually as surprised as you were when you pulled some oddity from one of the drawers.  He had decals–stacks of decals–from anyone and everyone who ever made decals.  When airliner models had their heyday in the mid- to late-1990's, Pat would have multiples of not only kits, but the decals that went with them.  Aeromaster was pretty much the house brand, too, so there were plenty of Gaston and Company's latest and greatest.  If it was made in the form of a decal, resin update, white metal update, conversion, or limited run kit, it was there.  I'll never forget the day we found a stash of ATP's 1/144 scale Metroliners in one of the drawers…

Along with the accessories, there were resin kits.  At one point, Pat had several of the Blue Water Navy kits in multiples.  If you were even remotely interested, Pat would go get one and let you fondle it.  After a while, he's sweeten the deal a bit.  And, before I knew it, I had quite the collection of them.  But that's the way the store worked–you'd take your stack of soon-to-be attic insulation and plop it on the counter.  Pat would pull out a calculator and total it all up, then say, "Ahhh, give me ____ bucks."  With that, you handed over the coin of the realm and concluded the deal.  But there was more to see…

Up front, on the side of the store that butted up to NW 36th Street, was where the entrance to the old bowling alley was.  The restrooms were up there, as were the display cases.  After spending hours searching the shelves, you could spend even more time looking at the models in the case.  Some of it was done using the Aeromaster products as sort of a sales aid, but most of it was from the local club guys and the regular customers–much the same, dare I say, as many hobby shop display cases the world over.  I still remember some of those models, and I still remember talking with the guys who built them.  One time, there was a model in the nicest bare metal finish I had ever seen–and was then told that the finish was Aerogloss Silver dope.  I never did get around to trying that on one of my models, but it certainly looked the part.  Gaston was one of the proponents of using dope–it went on smooth and dried hard.  Trouble was, you had to be careful in your prep or the dope could craze the plastic.  I was still using Floquil's silvers at the time and figured they worked well enough for what I wanted.

My last visit to Orange Blossom was about ten years ago–I was about a month away from moving out of South Florida, and I wanted to hang out with the gang one last time, since I didn't know when I'd be back.  Stories had begun to circulate, too, that they were in financial trouble and may be closing.  I went by, picked up some stuff I had noticed during one of the foraging sessions in the cabinets, and spent a while talking with Pat.  He was not happy, since it was becoming more and more apparent that he'd soon be out of a job…

The end came sometime that October or November.  The next trip we made to South Florida was in December of 2001, and during that trip we stopped at another haunt, Pearl Art and Craft.  There, on a table out front, was a pile of model kits.  There was no mistaking where they came from, for prominently printed on the original price tage were the words "ORANGE BLOSSOM HOBBIES" and under that, "Miami, Florida."  The kits were being sold at closeout prices.  We had been informed of Ornage Blossom's demise some week earlier, but here was visual confirmation of the same.

My wife and I often think about the treasure trove of out of print decals and other goofy things in that row of cabinets.  We often wonder what became of them.  And when we do, we look back to the day when you could go into the store, spend a few hours uncovering some long-forgotten kit, or decal sheet, and then hear those magic words:  "Ahhh, give me fifty bucks…"

Those were the days, when hobby shops were made of bricks and mortar and run by hobbyists.  That's becoming a rarity these days.  And that's a shame.  It is one reason that I will visit the local hobby shops, no matter where my travels take me.  There's something about finding one of those shops where they have stashes of oddities, stacks of old kits, and a guy behind the counter who knows models.  When you find one, you don't forget–and you want to go back to that shop as often as you can.

Thanks for reading.  Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.