Sorry for the delayed response.  I've been off at IPMS Nationals which was an amazing experience.  At the next meeting those of us who attended will give a recap of the experience.

Following up from the last meeting...

Sam gave an excellent presentation on Naval Anti Submarine Warfare aircraft.

  He's on a mission to replicate this bad boy in 1/700 scale?  Or was it 1/350 scale?  In any event, that's a challenge!  

I continued with a discussion on creating cases for ship models.  Some of the tips I passed along were...

Instead of oil based stains try water based dyes instead for coloring wood.  The dye penetrates the wood better and is more even than oil stains where the pigment sits on the surface of the wood.  Finish it off with a wipe on polly urethane finish.  Very easy finishing!

To get perfectly square miters this ancient looking tool is actually a slicer for cutting paper thin layers of wood.  Initial cut with a miter saw.  Use this tool to take small layers and get perfect miter joints, all cut to the exact same size.  You can find these from a variety of sellers such as Grizzly, Rockler, and others.  Look for a sale and you can get them for $150 to $200.  I got mine on a sale for the former price.

Last, glue up your base and use this clamp hold it tight as the glue dries.  No nail holes in the finished product box!  You can get this at Rockler for $27.98.

Here's the finished result...Oooh!  What's that in front of it!  More on that at the next meeting.

Roger made a nice find with this Sky Wave (Pitt Road) set of Germany Navy Equipment.  I found it on eBay for about $18.  

Roger also shared a new find with us.  Mesh sand paper.  He came across this at a woodworker's show.  I've seen this before but this is far superior.  Because it's mesh it's easy to clean out any material that it picks up.  You can find this online at Wood Carver's Supply.  A 4.5 inch by 24 inch roll is only $4.95.  Rockler sells discs for electric sanders of the same or similar material.  Nice find Roger!

Bill Smallshaw shared with us a publication called Warship International from Warship International Research Organization.  Click this link to their web site.  Some great information there.  Check it out!  Thanks for finding this Bill!

Once again John Widmar did not disappoint.  He brought a new tool which is an ultrasonic cutter.  Wow!  This thing vibrates at 40,000 times per second.  Try to comprehend that number!  If you have a pace maker DO NOT BUY THIS cutter.  We found a warning about it on the packaging.  We gave it a go after the meeting and I was amazed how well this thing worked.  It went through plastic sprue like butter.  Best part about it is that when it cuts off an items on a sprue, the part falls straight down.  It doesn't go flying somewhere.  They are pricy!  The one John brought is about $317 and up.  There are a couple of other brands out there that are around $400 and up.  John had me cut through some paper.  It went through it like it wasn't there and actually cut into the wood below.  It's not a hot blade but can produce heat as it cuts.  Just ask Roger!  Here's a video...

John and Bill also brought us some kits.  We had a mixed review on the Blue Ridge Models 1/700 USS Sargo.  John thought it was over priced.  Bill thought it was essential to his collection.  A little pricy but you get a lot in the kit.  Resin hull, Resin 3D printed parts, and Photo Etch.  About $48?  I picked up one at the IPMS Nationals.  I'm going to have to pull Jerry's mill out and do something with this kit.  More on that later!

Additional kits that are all little gems!

We'll see you next time!

Dave