Hi all,
Hobby Link Japan (hlj.com) is having a big sale on naval subjects.  In addition to a very good sale price they are also giving store credit for future purchase of about 10% +/-.   The dollar remains very strong against the yen.  Here's the link...

http://hlj.com/2016-winter-sale

December meeting update:

We got a very good response for attending a meeting at Colpar Hobby Town a week earlier than normal on Saturday, December 17th.  Because the numbers attending would make it too cramped for Hugh's space alone we asked Fred if we could use his meeting tables in the larger basement area.  He agreed to let us have the space from 10:00 am to noon.  Not to say we won't spill into Hugh's area to see what's up over there.  😎

Next meeting date:  Saturday December 17th 10:00 am

Location:  Colpar Hobby Town,1915 S. Havana St., Aurora, CO  80014 in the basement.

No formal agenda at this point.  

As always... please bring any new kits, parts, or tools.  If you have any modeling challenges bring those as well.  If you have anything specific you would like to talk about or focus on in 2017 please reach out to me.

Thanks and looking forward to seeing you all to close out 2016!

Another successful and interesting meeting.  Thanks to everyone who attended and participated.

We started with Martin, Rodrigo, and Sam sharing their Pearl Harbor model projects with us.  They were all a little different.

Martin shared some history of the colors of the Japanese Zero and the controversy over the correct colors.  Martin shared that much of the evidence pointed to a caramel colored brown.  You can learn more about IJN aircraft and details at www.j-aircraft.com.

Rodrigo shared a joint project he did with his children of the USS Arizona using a very challenging Hobby Boss Arizona kit.  We got into the discussion of what color the Arizona was at the time of attack.  I particularly like the rigging using a couple of different materials including one suggested by Hugh years ago of using fibers from gift bag handles.

Sam updated his diorama of the USS Raleigh undergoing salvage after the attack.  Somehow I lost my picture of Sam's project but he very accurately recreated the scene below in 1/700 scale.  As soon as I get a chance to take another photo I will share it with you all.

Sam continued on with his presentation on the attack on Pearl Harbor.  I always learn something new from Sam's presentations.  This time is was the discussion of the mini sub attack on Oklahoma and the fate of the min-subs during the attack.  Where was that West Lock again?  :-)

John never disappoints bringing a new kit of a gantry system that would make for a wonderful dockside diorama.  I'm anxious to see what John does with this one!

  

John also brought to our attention some cases he found from a company called Pioneer Plastics.  The nice feature on these cases is that they do not have the mold injection marks found in many commercial cases.  I believe they make cases for Testors and I have one in my collection.  Prices are very good but you have to buy in a case.  If we can get enough interest in an agreeable size we can order some cases for the group.  Or if you can use case quantities this could be a good choice.  I always recommend putting your models in a case to protect them.  Trumpeter also makes cases that do not have the injection marks in the case.  A good find from John and worth further consideration.  You can find this company at this link https://www.pioneerplastics.com

I'm behind schedule on my build.  I brought in the USS Ward hull with the "bits" attached to the plates.  I have no idea how they make these but it's impressive.  You can find these parts individually in many scales.  

I also brought in my Amagiri/PT-109 project to demonstrate adding the hand rails to the gun and torpedo turrets.  These don't come with the kit.  These hand rails are made by Flyhawk.  The advantage of these is that unlike most manufacturers Flyhawk has a flared attach point which increases the contact with the plastic parts.  They actually call these easy glue.  The key to attaching these is to drag the feet across a gap filling CA glue and then set in place.  Not all the feet need to be glued on the initial attachment.  Then after the CA has dried I use a sewing needled dipped in extra thin CA and drag it across the joints multiple times.  This solidifies the attachment even more that the gap filling CA along and there's no sign of glue marks.  I also ended up using 1/700 scale hand rails because the 1/350 were much too large.  I found this the case with other 1/350 parts I examined from Tom's Modelworks.  Parts made by Infini Models were much more scale but they also don't include the flared attach points.

We ended up torturing our U-Boat demo model by trying out the Oilbrusher from Ammo by Mig.  We used rust color for the demo.  Earlier in the meeting I applied some of the color to the hull.  Then we let it dry to the touch.  Next with a flat brush damp with Turpenoid, we drag the brush across the dried oil paint.  The thinners reactivate the paint.  Move it around and remove as much as you like.  At the end of the day it is in a handy container.  Pre thinned so you don't have to mix up the paint.  But there are limited colors at this point.  A tube of oil paint will cost about twice as much but will probably last you the rest of your life.  You decide.  If you want them they are available at MegaHobby online.  

Next meeting would be on Christmas Eve so we'll not meet at Rockler that day.  Instead we're considering the 3rd Saturday of December in the basement at Colpar.  Stay tuned for updates.

An update for our meeting on Saturday.  It's the 75th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Sam will be following through with a presentation on the events of December 7th, 1941.  He's also promised to bring his Pearl Harbor Diorama.  I'm looking forward to both!

Alert member, Jerry Beasley, called me last night to tell me about shows PBS is releasing on Pearl Harbor.  One is "Into The Arizona", and the other is "USS Oklahoma, The Final Story".  I'm not sure when it will play again but it's worth following up on.  Check out RMPBS for viewing times.  You can also stream them both from the PBS web site.  Here's a trailer for Into The Arizona:

See you Saturday.

Dave

Hi all,
It's time for our ship club meeting this Saturday.

Location:  Rockler Woodworking
Address:  2553 S. Colorado Blvd., Suite 108, Denver, CO  80222
Time:  November 26th (this Saturday) 10:00

This meeting I have a few things for you.....

First we'll follow up on the latest shirt order.

Next I ordered and received an AMMO by MIG Oilbrusher to test out.  You'll remember that these are pre thinned oil paints for weathering models.  I'm bringing my U-Boat crash test dummy to test it out on.  I've played with it a little but the idea is for you to play with it as well.  Here's a quick video about the product.

A tube of oil paint will run you about $7.00 and will last longer than us.  An Oilbrusher probably won't last as long as a tube of oil paint and it costs $4.85 online from MegaHobby.  

Next you may remember David Shields visited us and had a challenge with photo etch foot rails.  While working on my project, 1/350 IJN Amagiri, I found myself with the same challenge.  First I ordered some 1/350 hand rails.  It is after all 1/350 scale.  I'm going to show you what that looks like compared to what 1/700 hand rails look like on the same piece.  I found most of the after market parts are sized about the same.  

Getting these to secure to our models is challenging.  But I did find a product from Flyhawk Models called Easy Glue.  Which features a great design for attaching these fiddly pieces.  The rails have a base designed into them which increases the area being glued by a factor of at least 3.  Check out the little feet on these hand rails!  You can see that, right?  Yea, I need my high powered visor for these bad boys!

As always bring any challenges you have, any completed or in progress models you would like to share, and any new items you've found.  

See you Saturday!

Dave

Blake has our shirt order ready on the Custom Ink web site.  You an go there following the link below and order directly from Custom Ink.  If we order more than 10 we will get a refund.  Really impressed with how these came out.  I ordered two tonight.  Here's a look at how they came out...

Here's the link to the Custom Ink web site.  If you're not comfortable ordering from the internet I'll be happy to work something out with you.

https://www.customink.com/g/hax0-00au-3f9b

See you at the meeting.
Dave

Got an update today that Roger Schafer made it through surgery today and everything went well.  Roger had work done on his ankle.  Let's all wish Roger a speedy recovery!
Dave

Salute to all the Veterans, especially in our group.  Thank you for your service.  I hope that your Veterans day was peaceful.  I look forward to seeing you at the next meeting.
Dave