Howdy and all that…
I've been pondering a few things of late. In no particular order:
1. I really need to do some Spring Cleaning. There are things I have hidden away that haven't seen the light of day in years and probably should go. And I'm not just talking models–there are things that I have accumulated that have moved with me everywhere that haven't been out of the moving box they were packed into since the mid 1980's.
2. I'm going to (finally) purchase a photoetch bending tool, since the itty bitty 1/700 scale Independence-class CVL has even ittier and bittier photoetch, and the ruler/razor trick ain't getting it done. I've settled on "The Bug" from The Small Shop, I'll let you know how it works for me. Others rave about it, so I think I've made the right choice.
3. Progress is once again being made on the bench, albeit slowly. I have one more color to squirt on the hull of the aforementioned 1/700 scale USS Cowpens I'm building. So far, it looks real nice. Then again, I still have to un-mask the hull. Time will tell…
4. I'm still trying to finish the camouflage on the 1/48 Macchi C.200. Two steps forward, three steps back, it seems, but I think I'm closing in on a result that I'll be satisfied with.
5. The StuG IV is also progressing. I finally got a coat of primer on the skirt armor–and knocked off three of the mounting points doing so. Once again, did we really need to use nickel-steel for those? Brass wouldn't have been just as nice? Anyway, a little super glue and I should be ready to paint it–once I get the little ship and the Macchi complete.
6. After the StuG, I have a 1/72 F-111F in work. I'd like to get that one done soon, but it all depends on the rest of the backlog.
7. Just for fun, I pulled out a 1/72 Special Hobby U-2R/TR-1/ER-2 kit that I had started for a now-abandoned project. I'm picking away at it as time allows.
In the meantime, other events are in the works. It would seem that the U.S. plastic modeling world will descend on the Greater Upper Midlands Co-Prosperity Sphere in 2016–the AMPS International show will be held in Sumter, SC in April 2016 and the IPMS/USA National Convention will be held in Columbia, SC in August 2016. I sit on the planning boards of both local Chapters of these organizations, and I can tell you that we are all working hard–even at this early date–to bring our attendees the best in plastic modeling. Stay tuned for further details, as we can't really ramp up the full-on advertising campaigns until this years' shows have been concluded…
On a sad note, another mom-and-pop brick and mortar hobby shop has closed. The Great Escape in Greenville, SC has shut down the hobby shop completely. Last year, they consolidated the shop to the Greenville store and moved all the stock that had been in Spartanburg over. We went to the Greenville store a few weeks after, and all appeared as it always did–the shop was fairly busy, mostly in RC sales, and the shelves were full–more so than they had been in a couple of years, in fact. Apparently, right around the end of the year the new owners decided that all they wanted to concentrate on were bicycle sales and shut the hobby end of the business down. When we went, they were down to a couple of paint racks and some orphan kits. I managed, somehow, to get two of the new Special Hobby 1/72 scale AH-1G Cobra kits and some of the long defunct Testor's Acryl marine colors for the little Mighty Moo. Otherwise, there wasn't much left, and they were only going to continue for another day or so.
Sadly, this is becoming more common as fewer dollars chase more products. The brick-and-mortar stores can't possible stock everything that the large mail order companies can–even if they could, it would be financial suicide to do so. But we also have played a part in this–modelers are notoriously cheap, and in chasing the bottom dollar bargains we tend to forget the little local shops.
As always, support your local shop.
Well, the back-to-work bell is ringing. Be good to one another other, and I'll see you later. I bid you Peace…