bay colony historical modelers

Bay Colony Historical Modelers October 2005 Volume 24 Issue 2

Bay Colony Historical Modelers - 12 Garrison Drive - Plainville, MA 02762 E-Mail – [email protected] Web Page – http://ipmsbaycolony.com

Recon: Model Festival 2005 – October 9, 2005 – Milford, CT Contact Mike Gondor [email protected] Granitecon XIII – October 16, 2005 – Nashua, NH Contact [email protected] Baycon 2005 – November 6, 2005 – So Attleboro, MA Contact Bob Magina, [email protected] or 508-695-7754 Valleycon 16 – April 2, 2006 – Chicopee, MA Contact AL Lafleche 413-733-9247 or [email protected] Masscar 18 – April 2, 2006 – Taunton, MA Contact Norm Jean 401-766-4322 or [email protected] Downeastcon 2006 – April 29, 2006 – Biddeford, ME Contact Noreastcon 2006 – May 19-20, 2006 – Marlboro, MA Contact Bob Magina, [email protected] or 508-695-7754

The Modeler’s Bench – Robert Keith

I was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts and graduated from Dedham High School and Vesper George School of Art in Boston, majoring in commercial art and advertising. Upon discharge from the United States Air Force, I worked for Rust Craft Greeting Cards in the

design and also the finished art departments. Moving to Dartmouth, I was employed in advertising design in Fall River and also did a tour with Sears & Roebuck in their display department. I served twenty-five years with Dartmouth Fire District 3 as a call firefighter lieutenant and ten years as a fulltime EMT on the town’s medical rescue. In 1976 I earned his private pilots certificate at Norwood Airport and in 1980 added a seaplane rating at the Merrimac Valley Seaplane Base. Flight experience includes logged time in the Goodyear blimp Enterprise (now renamed Stars & Stripes) based at Pompano Beach Airport in Florida, a 1940’s US Army C45H Expeditor, a Waco VKS7 cabin biplane and a Robinson R22 helicopter. During the 1980’s I served as crew chief on a hot air balloon named Snobyrd that was owned by my wife Nancy who is a LTA rated pilot. In 1983 I participated in the U.S. Air Force’s civilian pilot physiological training program, which included the high altitude chamber training, at Pease Air Force Base in New Hampshire. Painting aviation subjects began in 1985 by taking commissions from fellow aviators and enthusiasts. Since then the bulk of my sales (over 200 to date) come from commissions with clients ranging from Texas to Maine. I joined the American Society of Aviation Artists as an associate in 1999 and in 2002 was voted Artist Member in the organization. I am also a twenty-eight year member of the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association, the Experimental Aircraft Association, the Seaplane Pilots Association and the Bay Colony Historical Modelers (circa 1990’s). My most recent undertaking is compiling a biography of flight and aviation art experiences, totaling almost thirty-years for both my wife Nancy and I. Bob's Website http://www.geocities.com/rjnkeith/Main.html

Bay Colony Historical Modelers

IPMS Nationals by Hal Marshman Sr. Frank Knight and I started out at 0500 on Wednesday the 20th of July to Drive the 1135 miles from Dedham, Ma to Atlanta, Ga. for the Nats. We arrived at the Cobb County Convention facility at approximately 1630 on Thursday, July 21. Spent one night in a motel both going down, and returning home. The facility was very large, well lit, comfortable, and quite modern. There were three display halls, one for the contest displays, one for the dealers, and one for the Dragon Exposition. Thursday evening, there was a get together with finger food and free beer, sponsored by several small model companies, aftermarket providers, and the webzine, Aircraft Resource Center. This get together was attended by about 200 people, and I was able to meet several folks with whom I’ve had Net conversations, and idea exchanges. Bay Colony’s own Brian Millette was there. Frank and I ran into Charles Landrum, a foremer Bay Colony member, who is now with Tidewater (Va) IPMS .Frank and I “accidentally” stumbled into a buffet sponsored by the Dragon folks, and had a few bites. Our table mates turned out to be three Japanese and three Germans, so conversation was at a minimum. Did try out a few words of Japanese with one of those folks, and the response was very positive. Seems the fellow liked to hear an American barbecue a few words of his native tongue. Ok, what were the displays like? In essence, the entries went from mundane to absolutely superb. I spent most of my time looking at 1/48th aircraft, figures, and ships. Of course, I paid heavy attention to a display of Eastern Airlines planes, plus a few entries in other categories that were EAL subjects. Glad to see the old company colors on display. Among the displays that I found most interesting, was a large clear cased diorama of a 1/35th German railroad gun being prepared out of its tunnel, with at least 50 or more personnel in attendance, cargo trucks, and very well done scenery. Being in a clear case, I couldn’t take good pics of the entire diorama, but by placing my camera lens against the glass, I did get some neat close up shots. Another clear cased model that

caught my attention was a three funnel pre-dreadnaught battleship of the “Great White Fleet”. This vessel was gorgeous, resplendent in its white hull, buff upper works, and US shield on the prow, with its gold embellishments. Did I say it was huge? Maybe four feet long, at least. Now good friends, imagine a show so large that there was a separate category for 1/32nd Bf-109’s. Had at least 35 entries. 1/48th was divided into many separate categories, with for instance, a category for US Navy single engined aircraft of the World War II era. Yes, there were individual categories for 109’s, and for FW-190’s. Frank was very impressed with a small model of a hockey rink, completely empty with the fence gate left open. Represented this year’s pro hockey season, and its NHL strike. Terrific idea. Right next to it was a clear cased diorama of 2 divers in a raft, with one below the surface, checking out a 1/24th Zero fighter. Airplane was representative of what you might find were you to dive on a real one tomorrow. Very well thought out, and carried out. The list goes on and on. Suffice it to say that there was much great work, many innovative ideas, and lots of esoteric subjects. The dealer’s hall was where I spent much time, browsing all the kits, decals, aftermarket parts, and meeting folks. Met Joe Meyers of Accurate Miniatures, Jules Bringieur of Classic Airframes, my old friend Bill Koster, Jerry and Judy Crandall, the well known aviation artist and his wife, John Beaman, well known author and Bf-109 expert, local Luftwaffe experts John Quinn of Rhode Island and Jim Perry from Maine. From the net, I met Steve Banford of ARC, Brett Green, author and brains of Hyperscale, noted post writer Steve Modeldad Eisenman, Lynn Ritger of “the 109 Lair” on Hyperscale, and last but far from least, Paul Boyer of Fine Scale Modeler. Paul and I reminisced some on his days in Mass, when we met at the old Fisher’s Hobby and Cycle Shop. What did I purchase? Another Classics Airframes Defiant, Westland Whirlwind, and Polykarpov I-153, and an Academy1/72nd P-51A. Several decal sheets, including a Pyn Ups sheet for A-20’s, Some Ultra cast wheels and seats, and a few books. Could easily have spent a coupla thousand bucks if I had them. Billed as the “World’s Largest Hobbyshop”, with quite a good bit of justification. The Kamaradery, fellowship, and elbow brushing alone was worth the cost and time involved in attending. The Dragon Expo was an extra I hadn’t planned on, and was well worth seeing. It seems to have involved those GI Joe sized dolls, and all the accoutrements you could possibly imagine. Centerpiece was a huge diorama


of the “Battle of the Bulge” featuring those self same dolls, accoutrements, and yes, huge sized model vehicles. Impressive beyond belief. It would seem that the majority of the figures and accessories cover just about every German WWII subject, with a smattering of US, USSR, and UK subjects. As a person who has collected full size German militaria and weaponry for most of the time since the war’s end, I can verify that just about all that I saw was pretty authentic. Weaponry was spot on. There also a few actual pieces of uniforms and accoutrements on display, to include a genuine WWII Zundapp motorcycle with ammo trailer. This seems to be a facet of our hobby that is catching on like wildfire, and is most impressive. We left for home at noon Saturday, so weren’t around for the final sales by the dealers, but such signs as “40 pct off,” and “50 % discount” were springing up all around the dealer’s hall, and I’m certain that had we stuck around, we’d have been able to secure a good many deeply discounted bargains. Hey, we were in a new Toyota Camry, and we still needed to have room for our baggage and butts. Kansas City in 06, and orange County, Ca in 07. Do believe I heard Frank mention something about how many miles it would be to KC. Have fun, Hal


As an aside to the article I wrote on the IPMS Nats, I'd like to add that although Wings and Wheels and Southern Maine had no representation that I saw, on Friday I wore my Southern Maine shirt, and Saturday, my Wings and Wheels shirt. All other times, I wore a Bay Colony shirt. This means that all 3 clubs' colors were on display at least one day of the Nats. I was very proud to be seen in these shirts, and as always, value my association with the clubs they represent. The pic is me with Brett Green of Hyperscale. Note the Southern Maine shirt. have fun, Hal Marshman, Sr

IPMS/USA Region 1 Update for Sept

Greetings again, This will be really short!! The most common question I've been getting the past few days related to the mini-meetings planned for this fall. The answer is yes, there will be two mini-meetings this fall. The first will be held at Syrcon in Syracuse NY on 16 September for all the chapters in the western end of the region. The second one will be held at Baycon on 6 November for all the out-easterners. My sincere thanks to IPMS Syracuse and Bay Colony for allowing me to do these at their events. I hope each chapter in the region sends at least one rep to the meeting closest to them. Or send a rep to both, then compare notes. But do come on down!! I'm happy to say that all the re-chartering materials have gone out to all chapters, and should be in your hands by now. Please, make it a point to fill it out, and get it back as soon as you can. As IPMS will have new officers in place at the first of the year, it's more imperative that this task accomplished with as much speed and accuracy as possible. It's hoped that all re-chartering is complete before our next DLC Dick Montgomery takes office. On a related note, please be sure to vote in the current IPMS National election. Make your voice heard. It's easy to do by checking into the IPMS web site and following the link.


On CBS News Tuesday night was a report on the on going battle relating to licensing fees charged the kit manufacturers by the defense contractors. In case you missed it, it can be viewed at: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml IPMS is playing a role in this issue, and we all need to keep the pressure on our elected officials to let them know how we feel about the issue. If they hear from enough of us, they'll have to take notice. As I've said before, contact your reps in Washington, and let them know, civilly of course, that we're tired of being ripped off!! That's it for now. Hope to see a good number at the mini-meetings. And as always, please share this with the officers and members of your chapter. Semper Fi Doug Zero Ameiro! By John Nickerson While out at NoreastCon I picked up Scale Aircraft Modelling's, Combat Colours No. 4, "Pearl Harbor and Beyond, December 1941 to May 1942". Not a bad publication overall. There is a section in the text that discusses "ame-iro", where it comes from and what color it is. The text uses Ame-iro as a standard Japanese Navy color painted on almost all of it's attack aircraft and repeats it in the color profiles. This feeds a current trend in modeling. The text describes the color as 'light caramel brown', and matches it to the FS 595b colors as somewhere between -0277 and -6350. We discussed this at the May meeting. This prompted me to do some additional research, mostly to try and find an available color match. (What I found for a color match was Floquil 303349 'Israeli Khaki', PollyScale F-505348 'Israeli Khaki', and Tamiya XF-49 Khaki are approximate matches for 30277, not allowing for any scale effect.) My research lead me down different avenues and I now believe the current trend and "ameiro" to be wrong. An online essay by Yoshihito Kurosu entitled "Out of Ameiro Cloud into Hai-Ryokushoky Sky" reinforced my opinion and provide most of the information you will see here. First, 'ameiro' or 'ame-iro' describes a color,

literally 'candy color', "but is commonly used to mean a transparent light yellowish brown or light brown, such as honey, maple syrup, or amber." I don't think this makes much sense color wise but might reinforce the varnish overcoat theory. Prior to the start of the war IJN carrier board fighters were painted silver, experimental or prototype aircraft were painted orange. Beyond this there were no painting or camouflage specifications. Mitsubishi painted their new "Zero" prototype fighters in 'hai-ryokushoku', literally ash-green. There is no know regulation or no know cases of Zeros receiving a protective topcoat. A report known as Kugiho No. 0266 described a series of test conducted between November 1941 and February 1942 to find a better color or camouflage scheme for the Zero. These tests introduced some greens and two new greys, J2 'sei-kaishoku' (bluish ash) and J3 described in the report as 'haiiro' (ash). The existing color J1 'mei-kaishoku' (light ash) and sometimes called 'mei-kai-hakushoku' (light ash white) was not tested. At this time INJ colors J1, J2 and J3 were glossy, additives were used to create a matte finish for the tests. A statement made in the report compared the current Zero color to the new greys saying it was "...similar to a J3 slightly tinted with ameiro, but differs from the experimental colors as it has luster". In March 1944 a color table was issued to comply with Provisional Standard 117 Color Norms. The table specified an upper surface color of D1'an-ryokushoku'(dark green) for the Zero, with lower surfaces painted in J3 which the table describes as 'hai-ryokushoku' (greenish ash). Lt. Cmdr. Sanders, who tested the Zero captured in the Aleutians, reported that the original finish was "...a very smooth light gray, tinted with blue light green. Matching existing relics against FS 595b, weathered and faded surfaces of chalky pale grays close to FS 36357, 36492 and 36495. The same samples "lightly buffed" revealed olive gray colors beneath the weathered surfaces that were close to FS 16350 and 24201. Conclusion: There is no official IJN color "ame-iro". At the start of the war, Zeros were factory painted 'hai-ryokushoku' which is near FS 16350 less aging.

Bay Colony Historical Modelers Up Scope:

Zero Ameiro! Cont’d Cross reference: I've used my resources to try to match the FS numbers to available colors: FS 16350 is a glossy medium gray with an olive tint. I could not find a match. FS 24201 is a semi gloss medium dark khaki to light olive drab. I think this color is too dark. It would look dark in photos. Model Master claims 1792 SAC Bomber Tan is a match. FS 36357 is a light to medium gray with an olive tint, lighter than both colors listed above. Floquil Concrete is a good color match. FS 36492 is a light gray with almost no olive tint, it is lighter than any of the colors listed above. Urban Fredriksson's Color Reference Charts give Tamiya XF-12, Xtracolor X355 and Gunze H61 as matches. FS 36495 is a light gray with a touch of blue. This is the lightest of all the colors. Floquil or PollyScale IJN Sky Gray are matches along with Model Master 1732 Light Gray. See the Forum string on ameiro on our website for additional info.other ideas I came up with. With the right size die you could punch out dozens of wheels, gears, Frisbees or whatever. I give the stuff 9.5 out of 10.

Dec 10th 2005 Meeting

- Host – Steve Kwasny – 28 George St. #4, Attleboro, MA

508-222-1056 Take Rte 95 to Exit 3 (Rte 123E). Go left to lights go right to center of Attleboro. Go under railroad bridge and through lights onto Park Street. (Attleboro City Hall on right – Attleboro Museum on left). Stay on Park St. pass Strudy Hospital on right. Take second right after hospital (George St.) Condo complex on left (Cherry Blossom Complex) PARK ON STREET ONLY.

November 12th 2005 Meeting

- Host – Gian Montecalvo – 161 Oak Park Drive

North Providence, RI 02904 401-383-2822 From the North take 295 South to exit 7A, (Rt.44). Follow Rt. 44 1.5 miles and take a left on to Mineral Spring Ave. If you hit the rotary you went too far. Left out of the rotary will lead you to Mineral Spring Ave at the light. Follow Mineral Spring Ave. and take a left on to Smithfield Road at the Getty Station and follow for about 100 yards and take the first right on to Forrest Wood Dr. Go up Forrest Wood and take your first left, on to Oak Park Dr. 161 will be the building on your left as you make the turn. Please park on the street. From the South and East take I-95 North to Rt. 146 North. Follow Rt. 146 and take the second exit at Mineral Spring Ave. Left at the bottom of the ramp and follow 6 traffic lights to Smithfield Ave. Take a right at the Getty station on to Smithfield Ave. and follow for about 100 yards and take the first right on to Forrest Wood Dr. Go up Forrest Wood and take your first left, on to Oak Park Dr. 161 will be the building on your left as you make the turn. Please park on the street.


In Range:

August 13th Meeting – Quonset Museum

1/48th Scale AU-1 Corsair – Hal Marshman Sr. 1/48th Scale SB2U-3 – Bill Collins 1/48th Scale F3D Skyknight – Bill Collins 80mm Scale VN Green Beret – Frank Knight 80mm Scale VN LRRP – Frank Knight 1/72nd Scale Goodyear FG-1 – Ray Laskorski 1/72nd Scale Consolidated P-30 – Ray Laskorski 1/72nd Scale F-15C – Javier Brown 1/72nd Scale A-4N IAF – Javier Brown 1/72nd Scale A-4R AAF – Javier Brown 1/24th Scale #3 Naccar – Mike Collins Raffle: None In Attendance: Kevin Conlon Bob Magina Hal Marshman Sr. John Gisetto Sr. Ray Rosario Frank Knight Bill Collins Stan Wright John Nickerson Javier Brown Chris Libucha Tony Fallon Kevin Colburn Bob Keith Ray Laskorski Gian Montecalvo Ted Conway Dan Angelone Jim Hayman

Sept 17th Meeting – John Nickerson

1/48th Scale P-40E – Bill Collins 1/48th Scale P-400 – Bill Collins 1/35th Scale Emil – Bill Collins 1/35th Scale Porche Tiger – Bill Collins 1/72nd Scale Folkert’s SK-3 – Ray Laskorski 1/72nd Scale F-84 Thunderjet – Frank Knight. 1/25th Scale 69 Shelly Cobra Mustang (WIP) – Gil Costa Raffle: 1/48th Scale P-47N – Winner John Gisetto In Attendance: Kevin Colburn Gil Costa Hal Marshman Sr. John Nickerson Bob Don John Gissetto Chris Libucha Bill Collins Ray Laskorski Frank Knight

Bay Colony Historical Modelers The President's Column FROM THE BRIDGE

We are now into membership year, 2005 - 2006. Have you renewed your membership? Dues will still be only $10 per year. If you would like to pay a couple years in advance that's ok. Mail your payments to me or see me at a meeting, checks to be made payable to Bay Colony Historic Modelers. For those of you that made it into Boston for World Expo 2005, or for those that have heard us talk about it, Bill Pritchard gave me some interesting numbers. There were over 1000 models in competition. They represented modelers from 40 States, 8 Provinces of Canada, and 23 foreign nations. At the last Noreastcon planning meeting a major item of discussion was security. There are stories that the Best Auto winner was 'stolen' from the display floor at the Nationals in Atlanta. As this story unfolds, as I understand it, the model may have been left behind and was disposed of by hotel staff. I have no additional information than what I have been told so I reserve my opinion. But that said, this story has our attention and we are working to avoid any resemblance to this happening. We are still in need of a Juniors Coordinator for Noreastcon. That persons responsibility would include working with the chief judge to ensure that the Junior contest works, running the Juniors awards ceremony, and putting together another Jr. event for Saturday afternoon. Let us know if you think you are interested or would like more info. The September meeting had a small turnout. We knew that the armor guys would be off to CT, for AMPS east. But I still managed to set off a furor and some heated discussion. Amongst the normal announcements I made an announcement of what in reality are four different issues but they have common ground and are related in some ways. I tried to point out these situations all happened in a very short time frame, but happened independently of each other and we have not voted on any of these issues. So I am going to try to clarify these issues here:

1. While at the August meeting at the Quonset Point museum, Stan told John Gisetto and myself that they are putting out feelers to see if there is local interest in regular modeling meetings at the museum. We were asked if we, Bay Colony, could assist them by helping out, doing a make and take, some demos, etc. to get this project going, We replied that we could assist in some manner. As of this date we have had no discussions beyond this initial broaching of the subject. 2. A year ago we voted not to participate in the IPMS MAP program. I suspect we are not the only ones. MAP stands for Modeler Achievement Program. IPMS has released a revised program that is a great improvement over the old one, although you still have to be an IPMS member to take advantage of this program. The statement I made or tried to make was, "If a club member, also an IPMS member, wanted to participate in this program we could sign on to this as a club." Not everyone has to participate in this program. If you would like to know more about this program see me or visit the IPMS/USA site. 3. John Gisetto and I have been working on developing a similar concept program aimed at kids and adults at the beginner level up through the intermediate level. The important part of this revised IPMS document is that it gives us permission to use all or part of this program and adapt it for our own use! Saving us a lot of time. 4. We are working to expand our "Make and Take" program. Last year we did one with the Raynham Cub Scouts using snap-tite kits, which we think are perfect for this level. We are planning to work through the Cub / Boy Scouts Annawon Council, to which John G. is closely related, and hopefully do two or three make and takes this year. We received very positive feedback after the Raynham event and have been invited back. 5. As John and I have been discussing and planning in relation to the above 4 items we have decided that if we start, as a club, assisting the Quonset Point Museum with a model building program that we should also start a similar program on the opposite end of our region. If we are doing the make and takes in the Raynham - Middleboro area, that this may be a good area to try. This may help to show if the make and take fosters any interest in model building. (This item was not split out at the meeting but I am doing it here because I think it helped to add to the confusion.)


6. We have received some sample kits from IPMS intended for the make and take programs. These are all simple, (their term), glue together kits. We have decided that these are not useable on the Cub Scout level but may fit better with the new proposed programs or the Boy Scout level. (This was not mentioned at the meeting.) So, all that said, a number of separate issues, but all well interrelated. I will post these items on the forum on our web site so that you can express your opinion and provide us with some feedback on these subjects. Ok, now it's time for my annual BAYCON pep talk. Now don't say you didn't know, BAYCON is Sunday, Nov. 6th, at the South Attleboro Knights of Columbus. Where else? This is the big club event of the year. I'd like to get every member to come out and join the fun. First and foremost the purpose of the competition is to put models on the tables for all to view. That's why people are there! They come to see models, oh, and of course, visit with the vendors. I'd like to encourage all our members to bring something to enter. You can download the entry forms from our web page and have your paperwork almost all filled out when you get to the show. I understand that all people are not comfortable with entering, then show up just to offer support. There is plenty to do all day and many ways to help out. The front tables need to be manned, there are raffles, there is setup and break down, and of course there is the judging. You have read it here before and you've heard me say it at the meetings, "Judging is the best modeling teacher". If you feel that you're not quite qualified, then join with a team as an observer. (Please, not a team that is judging your model.) Ask the Line Judge to assign you to a team as an observer in your area of interest. This is part of the training program. It will help get you familiar with judging with out putting you on the hot seat right away. We have 39 categories and a number of special awards to judge. That can require a number of people and a lot of time. It's been my policy to ask for help at the show from the attendants in general, so many of the judging teams have non members on them. I like to make sure that at least one member of the team is a Bay Colony member. I would like for all the teams to start asap, but please don't rush. We need the decisions to be the best we can make. If we can get all of the judging out of the way, we should also be able to tabulate the results on time. We have a lot of awards to give out. (It works out to around 175 awards to be given out.) The more help we have the faster we can get it done. Just in case you are not a club member and are reading this on the web

and you think you'd like to help, than by all means join in. I hope to see you all there. If you are one of those members that we don't normally see, please introduce yourself around. Most of all enjoy the show. It's a great place to spend the afternoon with the grand kids. Just remember that set up starts at 8:00 am. Food this year is by the Knights of Columbus. They wanted to do it. There seems to be a new attitude there. Doug Hamilton, Regional Coordinator, asked if he could hold an IPMS Region 1 Mini Meeting at our show, to which I agreed. I think these mini meetings are a plus. Last issue I offered to do a seminar on painting faces, I have had one response. Any others? There is strong sentiment in the club to make a donation of club funds to help the victims of hurricane Katrina. If you would like to voice your opinion as to where this donation goes log onto the Hurricane Katrina thread on our web site forum. As always, you can reach me on the web at [email protected] . God bless America! Happy modeling and give kits to kids! John J. Nickerson

Poll Results: How do you feel about the current trend of using photo etch or PE in building models? 28 Votes were made 18 feel PE is not necessary 8 feel PE is absolutely necessary 2 have no feeling either way

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