Febuary Meeting Notes:
Good news, everyone!
   A new guest joined us for our February 2006 meeting.  Ritchie is newly back to the hobby, and is acquiring Macross and Starblazers kits.  You're in good company with both of those genres, Ritchie.  As promised, here's the link with great Yamato (Starblazers) artwork akin to the work done around Macross.  The images of the Cozmo fighter make me want to superdetail one like this artwork.  Even more-so, there's a Freedom Flight type painting of a WW2 Japanese Zero and the Cozmo Zero.  That will make a very pretty vignette.  The website is in Japanese, so you'll just have to start clicking! http://www.yamatomechanics.org/

Ritchie - send me an email and I'll send you the full resolution images of my VF-1D.

Upcoming events:
   The Mad City Modelers show is March 18th.  If I sound like I'm pushing this show, I am.  Neil, Neil, Jon, Larry J and I went last year, and I got about $200 worth in raffle items - stuff I actually wanted, too - you pick from the pile.  It's a good show - we met another Starshipmodeler (Corsair) there, and reunited with Zog, too.

   IPMS is revamping the journal.  This is the first major revamp in about a decade.    Their website is quite good, and the gallery is always looking for good pictures.  IPMSUSA.org

   The Lakes Region club president apparently wants to resurrect NIMO and wants to enlist Techmage help.  I don't know what this fool is thinking, but NIMO used to be a good show.  If you want to help organize for 2007, send him an email at Larry J

Sparky Note:
   Wonderfest looms on the horizon as-well!  Don't Panic, Don't Panic . . .

Techmages Activities:

 Builddays
   Sparky Joe reminds us that he's willing to host group build days on the same day as our meeting.  He's in South Elgin, if you haven't been there before.  We'll still likely have a quick dinner before the meeting.

 Gamedays
   I'd like to have some more game days, I've got some new games to try.

 Demos
   I know it's difficult to do demonstrations which could get messy at the community center.  But if you have some ideas for demos during the meeting - let me know.  There is plenty of time, I'll just herd the cats a little closer and cap the "discussion" time.  Joe has shown some soldering techniques, John was going to show the vacuformer this month, but we had something of a geekfest over other things he brought.  If you want some weathering technique demos, Neil P has volunteered to show what he does with armor.  That's directly applicable to most SF.  I can show some airbrush shading techniques I use on aircraft, too.  That might be best Joe's build day considering potential for mess.  Email Joe or me if you have some ideas for techniques you'd like to see.  We'll find the right people.

Sparky here. . .
   With builddays/demos we can allocate more time and mess to demos.  And allow for more hands on; Larry S. came by and we built up a circuit he got after Sci-fi U at last year's Wonderfest.  If it's you're first time building circuit it will take more time than you might think, a buildday is the perfect time and place to give it a try.  Also more tools and supplies are available.  Say you would like to mold up a little detail, we could do that demo at a buildday.  Casting is also a possibility.
Pictures of the last buildday held on the Sunday before our club meeting, can be found over here.  This was Tony's birthday buidlfest, held on Sunday just for him;)

Attendees:
   Art, Richie, Balta, James, Tony, John, Chad, Mike, Larry J, Neil B, and Terry.

Part Deux: le Sheaux-and les Tell.

Chad:
   Chad is researching the Original Series Battlestar Galactica Viper.  He purchased the prop replica, which has its problems as I mentioned in last month's report.  He's collecting vidcaps from the DVD, and has begun detailing differences between the full-scale mock-up and the studio miniature.  If I recall correctly, the mock-up was actually a forced-perspective prop.  Am I wrong about that?

Mike:
   Mike is looking to cast some parts of the big Enterprise-D for personal projects.  I'm not sure if that kit isn't too rare to just acquire additional copies, but it depends on what he wants to do.  He's got a few more projects in the shop, too - maybe we'll see some progress next time!

Larry J:
   Larry J. is modifying a Jedi Fighter from SWIII.  He's going to turn it into a bounty hunter ship with a sleeper cab etc.  I like the ideas for dirtying up the cockpit, including torn seat cushions - DUCT TAPE!
  He brought along the Hulk Bust from Trifon Miniatures - which carries some very interesting subjects I've been meaning to order myself. . . http://www.gdcdreams.com.ar/trifon/index_eng.html
Larry painted the Hulk bust with the generous use of oil paints, and has achieved a healthy green glow on the Hulk's skin.  He also used pastels to help with the rust effect on the base.
   Larry's a busy modeler, he's also making progress on his 1/35 Sparky-Edit BushWhacker mech, and showed off the SMT Bubble fighter - one of the last produced.

Joe:
   Evil Joe showed us more greeblies - a sheet of thrusters and nozzles.  Very nice and VERY useful.  He showed us a circuit he's building for Neil P.  This is an 8-unit chaser for some engine I suppose.  Pretty slick, and the speed is controllable.  He's using a protoboard with only holes, so it's infinitely adaptable.

Kevin had nuthin' to show.

Neil B. had nuthin' to show.

John:
   John had a whole bunch of stuff.  First, a 1/48 Me-109 kitbash for the informal Starshipmodeler challenge.  This will be an asymmetrical aircraft, with multiple power sources.  Oh, those Lancasters will never know what hit them.
http://starshipmodeler.net/cgi-bin/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=57

   The rest of this list from John are items for the Starship Modeler store.  And what a list it is.
 First, a 1/72 Chaffee-class shuttle which needs a little work, but is pretty cool.
 Second, Jeff Griffin's 1/2500 TOS kitbash - another single-hull heavy destroyer type.
 Third, the Sith Fighter from one of the SW games.  It's huge at 1/24 scale - and could be a cruiser at a smaller scale.  It looks really great, I may have to buy one.
   All these next items are detail and add-ons for the ERTL Millennium Falcon kit.
   Landing gear and additional details to make the version from a different movie (I'm not sure which).
   Alfred Wong mastered new side panels which are quite nice.
   Triliance guns look far better than the kit parts, and might be useful for other projects come to think about it. . .
   MMI photo-etch and resin bits for the vents etc. which are very fine details - be careful not to destroy them when working.  The grills look great, though.
   A translucent engine section and photoetch grilles for the main engine promises to make the ultimate in-flight Falcon.

Art:
   Art has a later casting of the SMT 1/48 Mk. II Viper.  It's not hollowcast, unlike Tony's which will make any interior detailing a bit more difficult.  If you want to drill those engines, let me know, Art.  We'll strap it down and use my drillpress.  Forstner bits make short work of that job.  He's also built the old Deora van with scratch-built consoles and headlights.  This was a concept vehicle in the '60s and has that "California" look which fit the surf culture of the time.  Very nice work, Art.

Richie:
   Richie received a transformable Macross Valkyrie kit from John.  I've got a built one in my display case, it's a nice kit.  Have fun with it.  He's also going to start the 1/500 Space Battleship Yamato.  That will be interesting to see.  Neil and I both have plans to build that kit, and we have different ideas about how to go about it.  Welcome to the club, Ritchie.  If you want demonstrations about anything at all, let us know - and feel free to join us at a build day or gaming day.

Baltasar:
   Baltasar is building a teeny-tiny Yamato.  He's also working on a 1/72 Chinook.  According to expert advice (Kevin and John) you can't make those beasts dirty enough.  Another Balta-project is a 1/72 T-34 tank.  He messed up the exhausts, so had to buy another kit.  Chad moved in to scavenge those exhausts - apparently they're used on the studio-scale Viper!  Balta's also working on the 1/1000 TOS Enterprise, and is having issues with the pylons and some other fit problems with the secondary hull.  When informed he actually removed some needed detail, he reminded us this is the Medina refit which doesn't have those parts. . . .

James:
   James is working on an Apollo accurization project and the "Wet-Lab" version of Skylab.  The plan was to launch a series of Skylab modules already loaded with fuel and expendables.  It seems a bit dubious now, but that was the plan.  There's plenty to do here, and it might make a nice conversion kit eventually.  He's working on the Auroroa Batplane, too, which has a whole raft of issues.  It's a pretty rudimentary kit, and if he wants to make it look like a real aircraft, he'll have to do some serious surgery and detailing.  The T-33 trainer might be a good source of parts.  He's already revised the intakes, splitter plates are a good idea.

Tony:
   Tony brought along a long-forgotten kit from the closet, a Space: 1999 Eagle accurization set and Space: 1999 Hawk kit.  Oh, one of these years Tony will tackle the complete Space: 1999 genre, I'm sure.  These things have a way of working their way to the top of the pile - or back to the bottom of the closet. . .
   He also showed a Tony Classic build, from his unemployed 1993 days.  Using the scant references available back then, he accurized a Millenium Falcon.  Time worked to his advantage, showing once again why modeling is a great hobby for the manic.  To show you his bulldog approach to modeling, Tony brought the aft half of SMT's 1/48 scale Millenium Falcon kit - a very rare beastie indeed.  It's friggin' huge!

I:
   I brought a big stack of things along.  I'm working on an F-100F conversion, the final goal is the first Wild Weasel aircraft from the Vietnam War.  For the uninitiated, the Wild Weasel mission is to bait anti-aircraft batteries into locking radar, then blowing them up.  The F-100 wasn't a great platform for this mission, but it was sufficient as a proof-of-concept.  The C&H Aero conversion is much the same, it's good enough but could use a lot of upgrades.
   I brought Ravenstar Studios Battlestar Galactica fleet ships, these are miniatures for an upcoming game and include the Battlestar, a fleet carrier, a Gunstar, a cruiser and destroyer.  Also in the line will be Cylon ships, at present only the base star is available.  Contact Chris at www.ravenstarstudios.com and tell him Terry sent you if you want to buy some of these.
   I'm also working on the WARP replicator.  This is a 1:1 scale kit of the scuttler-type replicator and is a challenging build.  I'll work on it for a few days and set it aside.  Yes, I am taking plenty of pictures and will update my folder appropriately.
   I brought a completed Italeri Autoblinda AB41 kit, in 1/35 scale.  This is quite a nice kit, and only a little challenging in places.  I like it a lot, and though it's about $40 I think it's worth the cost.
   One more thing, I finally purchased the FM (Fonderie Miniature) F-11F Tiger kit.  Though expensive, it's clearly FM's best kit to date and features some very nice metal parts.  It should be a straightforward build when I finally get around to it.

Final Notes    As I seem to keep saying, this was another packed meeting.  After a half hour of "socializing" time, we packed the remaining 90 minutes.  If you've missed some meetings, we've missed you.  Come on back and show us what you've been working on.

Your benevolent despot,
XOXOX,

Terry "ter_or", President

Image: Art, Richie, Balta, James, Tony, John, Chad. . .

Image: Mike, Larry J, Neil Sr, & Terry

Image: The Gang

Image: There's Kevin

Image: Tony's Crouching Tiger

Image: Carrier, Battleships. . .

Image: Galactica class full carrier

Image: Carrier, Battleships. . .etc

Image: Battleship engines

Image: Galactica carrier

Image: TOS Cyclon Battle Star

Image: Gunner's side

Image: Gunner's side

Image: Nose

Image: Rear suspension

Image: Turret and rear bumper

Image: Rear suspension

Image: 2 seat Cockpit detail

Image: Forward cockpit detail

Image: Fighter seat

Image: Green Monster bust

Image: Full Paper build up

Image: A toy from Larry S, fire suppression

Image: Reactor Core Plug Cape

Image: Cockpit with reactor housing

Image: Engine and Wings

Image: Fuseladge and plastic-struct bubble

Image: More progress on the mini Battleship Yamamoto

Image: A mini tank

Image: Engine exhausts

Image: The cargo area interior roof

Image: Cockpit details

Image: Cargo Area wash

Image: Cockpit bulk heads

Image: Nose shot completed BSG

Image: Engine coloring

Image: Assembled Replica bits

Image: Fine Molds MF Top Deck

Image: Ertl MF Top Deck

Image: Tony's ERTL build up

Image: The top gun

Image: Left side edge detail

Image: The Dish

Image: Cockpit

Image: Birds Eye view

Image: Battle Damage

Image: Hand brushed streaks

Image: ROTJ belly details.

Image: Docking Rings were rebuilt

Image: Someone's in the gunnery chair

Image: Alliance trucking, model railroad dry transfer

Image: This is the tail section fo the super MF rotocast

Image: Rear lip and engine gril detail

Image: The main fuseladge

Image: A me-109 mated to a p-38 lighting

Image: ya it'll be non-symmetrical fighter with props on this enigne

Image: and a jet engine on this side

Image: Upper Deck details replacements

Image: Starboard Side rail & docking port/ring

Image: Mandible detail bits

Image: Port rails

Image: Mandible inset details

Image: Mandible nose details

Image: Photoetch screens over the docking port corridors

Image: Another look at them

Image: the one on the starboard side?

Image: Rear deck vent screens also have rotory engine inserts!

Image: Some new deck pieces too (mini y-wing butts?)

Image: new more detailed/gribblied gun

Image: A Blue LED strip for the engines

Image: Originally for the PL refit

Image: 2 strips came in the original kit