IPMS/Techmages - Adventures in Imaginative Scale Modeling

Models By IPMS/Techmages Members

April, 2007 Meeting

^John's ¹/₄₈ Scale Tamiya Sherman Firefly Mk I buildup	^2 MBGD Walls, 1 with a started Garage Door, 1 Bay, and 1 Parking Lot square
^StarBlazer Cosmo Zero with a 'fresh' ink wash

	10:30-4:15PM Sparky's Basement Techmage Group Project Buildday
	~5:30-7:39PM Hoffman Estates' Blackhawk Recreation Center Techmage monthly meeting:
From the President (Fireside Chat)
From the Minister
		Both Larry S. and Neil B. are out of the hospital and recovering well, and both made the meeting.
		Congratulations to Ed Taylor, who missed the meeting so he could get married.
		Hope to see everyone in Madison WI for the Mad City Modelers show- if not we will see you at the May Club meeting (on 5/12/07).
Attendees:
		Tony Augustin, Ken 'Valkyrie, ' Neil Butler, Bob 'bobber', James 'ambassador_londo,' Larry J. 'scifi58' and wife Cynthia, Art Krull, Jon Kunatz, John 'Onezero,' John McDannell, Terry 'Ter_or,' Neil 'Mechmoneky,' Joe 'Sparky,' and Larry 'lds20'
Club Business:
	Ongoing:
		We are still in the design stage for a new T-shirt for the group. John Lester is still waiting for design ideas for "Techmages- Heavy Industries". Please E-mail John with ideas.
	Road Trips:
		Our first road trip of 2007. We did a show of hands. It looks like we have 8-9 group members interested in going to Mad City Modelers show 4/21/07 in Madison WI. Joe needs help touching up paint on the J-57 station before we can lug it up there.
			Well maybe it'll make it next year. . .
	Dues/ Collections:
		Joe Suttie (Treasurer) reports we are on target and that all members who owe dues have been emailed.
	Group projects/ Build days:
		The Mech Bay Project group met 4/14/07 prior to the 5:30 meeting. The project is progressing but not quickly enough to be fully complete for 5/26/07 (Wonderfest). The group had mini meetings during the meet-n-greet stage of the club meeting, and a full discussion after show-and-tell, to discuss an optional Plan B. Tony pointed out that if we bring a bay and door section stripped to the bone, say for dispaly only, we tip our hand to the judges. If we bring a 'parking lot', aka Plan B, to show mechs and vehicles completed we once again tip our hand. Also the people with mechs nearly ready will have to do the work to complete this base, Tony has stripped his model setup and is preparing to move to the basement, and hopefully host builddays. No new builddays are scheduled at this time, work will progress on the bays on an individual basis. There is a lot of molding and then casting to be done on the detail junk, crates, tools, etc. Sparky has his MBGD Walls to detail and clad. Neil has submitted a crane drive for molding . . . Carry on amongst yourselves for now.
	Greeblie roundup:
		Please be sure to contact Joe if interested in purchasing from the Great Greeblie Hoarder.
Upcoming shows/ Events:
	4/21/2007		Mad City Modelers 12^th Annual Contest; Madison, WI Plenty of people will be going so car pools can be arranged. There's a great raffle and a chance to see the Great Zog.
				Radisson Inn Madison 517 Grand Canyon Drive Madison, WI 53719 608-833-0100
	5/5/2007		IPMS Duneland Show; Portage, Indiana
	5/26/2007		18^th Annual Wonderfest (Memorial Day Weekend roadtrip); Louisville, Kentucky Semi-Live Web updating for this Wonderfest is scheduled
	6/8/2007		IPMS Region 5 Convention; Ottawa. IL
	Editor's Note: Events marked in Bold are 'traditionally' attended by Techmages, contact the officer's about carpooling if you'd like too
Introduction of new members:
		No new members at the April meeting.
Awards:
		Big Biter, For Biting off more than our share of the pie, goes to the Mech Bayer's.
Kit Reviews:
		None.
Announcements for Next Meeting:
	Location:
		Next meeting will be held at the Blackhawk Center on 5/12/2007. Last meeting before Wonderfest!
	Demo:
		Tentative Informal demo set up for the May meeting. John Lester made a generous offer to bring in his light tent/ tripod to the May meeting for pictures. Please bring something you are proud of to the May meeting so we can start posting some of our work on our website. Bring that kit you just finished for Wonderfest so we can see what it looks like before the drive down.
	Special Guests:
		We have invited a new film maker to the May meeting. He's asking for some help with a model project, here's the email:
			thomas.decarlo writes: I came across the TechMages website, for which you are listed as the contact. I am a Chicago filmmaker and am in the initial phases of producing a Sci-Fi mini-series, my first large project since graduating college. This is all low-budget and done in my spare time, but I was hoping to find help from veteran model-builders in creating the space ships. I will initially design the ships using Legos (classy, I know), but could use help in creating the actual models for the final filming. If I can't find help I'll end up doing it myself, but hopefully you would know someone in the group who would jump on the opportunity to make a few models for a series. Unfortunately, there is no real money to be had. I would attempt to compensate for the materials so that the builder was not spending any money to help out. Let me know if someone in the group may be interested in getting involved and feel free to pass on my information. Thanks, Thomas DeCarlo
Onto the meeting:
	Demo / Speaker:
		There was no demo scheduled. John Lester brought his light tent and photo gear, but no one remembered to bring a model for photographing. We'll try again next month.
	Show and Tell 4-14-2007:
	Larry 'LDS20':
		Larry brought the hover/counter-grav tank he's been working on for a while. He showed off the completely re-built main gun, which he made from an oddly-shaped pen, brass tube and parts from a Star Wars kit.
			1) ¹/₃₅ scale hover/counter-grav tank (for the Mech Bay Project)
	Jon Kunatz:
		Jon was able to get some more work done on his vehciles for the Mech Bay porject
			1) Scratchbuilt ¹/₃₅ P-2-S Shadowcat mech, a work in progress that is coming together.
			2) ¹/₃₅ scale hover-trailer for the mech bay display has had bits and pieces added, most notably a box for equipment storage on the trailer and lots of plating.
			3) He also brought two ¹/₇₂ Humvee models that he is trying to finish for the Madison show. He reported that the kits, by Dragon, are well-engineered and practically fall together. He's a self-described "HMMWV nut" and quite pleased with how the kits were coming along.
	John McDannell:
		John returned after an absense of several meetings (good to see you back!). He brought along two Tamiya ¹/₄₈ scale armor kits he had recently completed - after being seduced to the dark side from his normal fare of things with wings. He reported that the M10 Tank killer and Sherman Firefly Mk I were a blast to build. John had also attended the last MMSI meeting, where one of the legendary Tuskeegee Airmen was the guest speaker. He was able to get an autograph in the book "A TRAIN" (by LtCol Charles W Dryden), which is history of the outfit by one of the leaders of the group. The 88 year old speaker (1st Lt Martin) was a P-51 pilot with 63 ¹/₂ missions. He told a gripping tale of his combat days, including being shot down over Yugoslavia and being rescued by partisans.
			1) Tamiya's Sherman Firefly Mk I ¹/₄₈ scale armor kit
			2) Tamiya's M10 Tank killer ¹/₄₈ scale armor kit
	Terry 'Ter_or':
		Terry brought in his Bandai ¹/₁₀₀ Cosmo Zero space fighter (from Starblazers/Space Battleship Yamato). Terry put a lot of effort into this little gem, including tinting the canopy with pearlescent green.
			1) Bandai ¹/₁₀₀ Cosmo Zero space fighter (Starblazers/Space Battleship Yamato)
	James 'ambassador_londo':
		James is working on the Polar Lights 'Batplane' jet. He has completely reshaped the intakes and added scratchbuilt splitter plates. He's looking for a suitable ¹/₇₂ two-place cockpit to replace the unsuitable kit-provided mess, and trying to figure out a method of straightening the droopy wings. He also brought along his AMT/MPC Eagle Transporter (Space:1999). He's done a lot of work to accurize the old kit, including opening up all the framing on the pods. His next big hurdle is to correctly align the kit's engine cluster.
			1) Polar Lights 'Batplane' jet.
			2) AMT/MPC Eagle Transporter (Space:1999), with opened framing on the pods.
	Tony Agustin:
		Tony never does anything small, and the three kits he brought in to show are no exception:
			1) First up was Howling Wolf's just-released ¹/₂₄ scale Blackbird from the new Battlestar Galactica. He got a special early-bird deal through the RPF forums, but it should be available now through Howling Wolf or Federation Models.
			2) Tony also brought a huge, and heavy, ¹/₂₄ scale Rebel Bomber produced by the same guy that did the master for the Master Replicas model.
			3) Last up was a ¹/₄ Ayanami Rei figure (from Neon Genesis: Evangelion). This kit has Rei in a languid pose holding the Lance of Longinus, and features clear-cast hair and pre-finished eyes. He got the kit through Hobbyfan.com.
			4) Tony's heavily detailed Prototype Mech Bay Garage Door, with all the parts present (includng the giant door).
			5) Prototype Mech Bay Walls with carne truss work, work platforms in place, walls had cladding and some detailing.
	Bob 'bobber':
			1) In-progress ¹/₃₅ Stryker AFV (from Trumpeter). It's a multimedia kit (plastic, brass, vinyl) which he says is going together very nicely.
			2) A Terran Space Marine figure (from the Starcraft PC game).
			3) A copy of The Spaceship Handbook.
	Joe 'Sparky':
		Joe set up the latest configuration of the Mech Bay diorama complete with a mock-up of the lighting. This will be most impressive when it is completed. He showed off some of the variations between bays, including the inset equipment rooms and workspaces made by hollowing recesses in the foam. He had some parts and a base set a side for the Plan B discussion, a parking lot for mechs under minor repair or resupply or parked He also had the master parts for Neil Prentice's overhead crane. Neil says there is still some work to do in re-designing the tracks for it.
			1) Sparky's in-progress Mech Bay Garage Door Walls with extra inset details
	Ken 'Valkyrie':
			1) In-progress, scratchbuilt "Canadian Bomber" (from South Park: The Movie -- Baldwins beware!). Ken hopes to have this completed for Wonderfest.
			2) Ken also had managed to score some resin models of various fighter aircraft from Japanese video games, and some Radius and Megazone models.
	Neil 'mechmonkey':
			1) The Mirage C05 Selena mech (another video game model). He's had problems with the pearl paints he was using to finish it and has to strip and repaint.
			2) He also passed around a copy of the Kow Yokoyama MaK Sketchbook, which was filled with far-out designs for mecha and vehicles for Kow's SF3D/MaK universe.
	John 'Onzero':
		Lots of projects in the works. And Some cool new tools that have just arrived at Starship Modeler. In-progress ¹/₃₅ JSU-152 and 28mm Imperial Guard Basilsik armor models he was working on last meeting, now with the first coats of paint. Both had rusted metal effects made with the "salt wash" technique. John's decided he can't leave well enough alone and plans to add the main particle beam armament from a Necron destroyer model to the JSU-152 assault gun, replacing the badly warped main gun that came with the Dragon kit.
			1) In-progress ¹/₃₅ JSU-152 armor models
			2) In-progress 28mm Imperial Guard Basilsik Warhammer40k armor model.
			3) A hand-held, adjustable vice to aid painting and gluing of small figures and models
			4) EtchMate 3C photoetch folding tool from Mission models, that worked to fold up the 1/350th Enterprise brass after market cargo containers.
	Larry 'sci-fi58' and wife Cynthia:
		Larry had his ¹/₃₅ scale Bushwacker. It now has a well-detailed cockpit complete with LED lighting that Joe helped him install, as well as a completely detailed gun bay. He's now turned his attention to the feet, shins and 'codpiece' of the vehicle.
			1) ¹/₃₅ scale Paper 2 Styrene scratchbuilt Mech (Bushwacker).
	Arthur Krull:
		Art brought in some decals for 1/1000 Star trek ships that had been scaled up from sheets for miniatures. He is also looking for the little alien figure that came with the Lindberg/Glencoe UFO kit.
			1) ¹/₁₀₀₀ scaled-up decals from Star Fleet Battles [mini] Star trek ships.

Techmages April Meeting:

Image: April turnout was great

Image: Tony has another huge figure

Image: Even the Mech Bay Project squeezed in

Jon's Tiny Hummers:

Image: Gun Mounted Version

Image: Open Bed Version

John McDannell's Tamiya SUP>1/₄₈ scale armor kits:

Image: M10 Tank killer

Image: Sherman Firefly MK I

Terry's Starblazers/SBY Nearly Complete Cosmo Zero:

Image: Cosmo getting an ink wash

Image: Pearlescent Gren in Canopie

James' Eagle Transporter:

Image: Open pipe work

Bob's Stryker AFV:

Image: Trumpeter Stryker AFV

Terran Space Marine:

Image: Star Craft Terran Space Marine

Tony's BSG Blackbird from Howling Wolf:

Image: Early Bird specials included in the kit

Image: The blackbird is semi hollow and wonderful

¹/₂₄ scale Rebel Bomber:

Image: Giant Rebel Bomber

Image: Cockpit

Image: Back of the nose section

¹/₄ Ayanami Rei figure kit (Neon Genesis: Evangelion):

Image: She's got no arms or eyes

Image: Back side. . .

Image: The hair piece is Clear Cast

Image: The yese are separate pre finished

Image: Shes on fire, or battle damaged

Ken's Scratchbuild kit its to secrete to show here!:

Image: Code named Blame Canada

Image: 2 and 2 will be cast for sure

Radius and Megazone kits from a Japanese video game:

Image: The Star Fighter

Image: the Two Radius kits

Neil's Mirage C05 Selena:

Image: Pearlescent Paint

Image: Mega weapons

John's 28mm Imperial Guard Basilsik, Weathered:

Image: Deck

Image: Beauty Shot

JSU-152 Tank, Weathered:

Image: Tread wheels

Image: Rear Deck

John's Testing:

Hand-held, adjustable vice:

Image: Handheld vice

Image: With a figure clamped in

Mission Models' Etchmate Folding table for brass,nickle,steal etch:

Image: Etchmate

New SM kits:

Image: Box O goodies

Image: Klingon Gorlos

Art's Star Fleet Battles decals scaled for 1/1000 kits:

Image:

¹/₃₅ Mech Bay Updates:
4 Plates: 2 MBGDWalls 1 with Garage Door, 1 Bay, 1 parking lot:

Image: 2 MBGDWalls, 1 Bay, 1 Parking lot

Image: Head on view, its going to be big

Jon's P-2-S ShadowCat:

Image: ShadowCat assembly

Image: A look at SC's the cockpit

Plan B Parking Lot for mechs being re-supplied, minor repairs, or full assembly:

Image: ShadowKitty and cooling tower

Image: The BushWhacker parked in place, with scaffolding mockup

Image: BushWhacker

Image: The parking Lot

Image: Just Passing through

Image: Neil's one-off Work Trollies

Image: The generator cart

Image: The anti grav tank comes in for a gun replacement

Image: The mech parking lot w everything

Jon's Munitions Truck and trailer:

Image: Trailer belly

Image: Loaded Trailer

Image: Bringing replacement parts

Image: Bringing Bushwhacker leg parts

Image: Some Gribbly

Larry's Anti-Grav tank:

Image: Nearly Ready for primer

Image: Rear Detail

Image: Tri Barrel Main Gun

Image: TriBarrel and mount

Image: Detailing review

Image: Missile pack gribbly

Larry 'scifi58' Bushwhacker with compelted cockpit:

Image: BushWhacker

Image: New Shins

Image: Codpiece

Image: Completed Cockpit

Image: Armored tanks

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