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.