This Months Meeting

7.30pm, Tuesday 19^th October.
First floor - Ley’s Institute Library, St Mary’s Bay Road, Ponsonby, Auckland.

October Meeting

Discussion and Final Planning of North Island Regional Competition and Academy Awards to be held over Labour Weekend.

Chairman’s Bit

Short and sweet this month. By the time the meeting rolls around we are going to be only 3 month’s from the end of the year and less than a week from Labour weekend and the competition. The committee decided to forego newspaper advertising for this weekend, as it did not seem to be generating the response in proportion to the outlay. Mike Rather has worked his magic and done some nice posters which have made their way into the various model shops around the city and we have sent an information pack to the other North Island clubs, which look to have a good turnout headed this way.

There are still a few organisational tasks left to do, and we will finish these off over the next week. We will start set-up at the Marine Rescue Centre on Tamaki Drive at 5pm Friday night. For those interested, there will also be a dinner organised on the Saturday night, with a venue yet to be decided (but the Lone Star Café in Newmarket seems the likely contender at this stage).

Don’t forget to bring along those in-progress and recently finished kits on Tuesday night – see you there.

Craig.

Editor’s Column

I cannot believe that it is October already. All those clichés about life speeding up as you get older seem to be true. All my competition-winning models are still in their boxes and the sum total of my year’s building so far is 2 models completed. Am I depressed? No way! I retain the foolish sense of optimism that results in me buying ever-more kits in anticipation of the days when I have plenty of time to model. In other words, I’m just a typical modeller!

Hopefully you have all made better progress than me and the pleasing number of models on the table for the BSK competition last month suggest that many of you have more application to the task than I have. I believe special praise is due to Martin Short who finished one each of the kits and all to a very good standard.

New Acquisitions
The endless Auckland rain results in my suffering from SAD each winter and spring. No, not sad bastard syndrome, but seasonal affective disorder caused by weeks without seeing the sun, sort of like living in London. For me this results in the choice of either seeing a shrink and going on Prozac, or buying large quantities of model aeroplanes. I find the latter option to be preferable every year.

I could not resist the Grand Phoenix F3H Demon, even though it is quite pricy. This brute of an aircraft was a typical 50s design; overweight and underpowered, although it was apparently quite nice to fly once it hauled its fat butt off the carrier deck. The similarity in appearance to the famous F4 Phantom is striking. I am fascinated by fighters of the fifties, especially if they flew off a carrier, and have been looking in vain for the elusive Golden Wings vac from many years ago. As is often the case, some poor bugger had just finished a slap-up job on said vacform for SAMI at about the same time as this GP kit came out, and now the average modeller can achieve at least as good a job as that modeller for a fraction of the effort. The kit looks amazing in the box, with swags of resin and photoetch along with excellent Aeromaster decals. The panel lines are much finer than on the early Fury kit and initial reports from builders on the Net say that it goes together very well. GP is an offshoot of Aeromaster and run by the formidable Gaston Bernal, and more power to his elbow I say!

Still in the fifties, I spent a small windfall (or a small fortune my wife would say) on my first large resin kit, the Collectaire B 66. This fifties USAF bomber was derived expensively from the A3 Skywarrior and was an unsung but important part of the USAF inventory from about 56-68, mainly in its electronic warfare form. When considering Collectaire kits one has to canvass opinions from those in the know as to which are the good ones. This is one of the best, to the extent that all 200 of the first run sold out in under 6 months, at USD $220 a pop! The final result (if I ever get it built) will be massive, and is a rarely seen shape even in the more manageable form of the Italerei 1/72 kit.

Concorde is one of my favourite aircraft of all time and it is one of my eternal regrets that it did not stay in service long enough for me to be able to afford to fly in it. It is an indictment of BA that they decided to take it out of service early and then not allow anyone else to operate it, and it is an indictment of the airline industry that we are still condemned to slog across the Pacific at 600mph. The modelling world was agog when moribund Airfix announced a 1/72^nd scale kit and I could not resist the lure of one, even though I had no great hopes of a quality product. The Brits will shoot me but I am afraid that in the massive and dramatic box (opening out like an old Frog box) there lies a large (88cm long when finished) disappointment. The shapes look reasonable, though I cannot believe that the beautiful ogival wing is shaped as simply as the kit has it, but the detail is clunky in the extreme, with the most amateurish attempt at recessed panel detail you can imagine. It looks a bit like the Matchbox Victor but with recessed lines, which is worse because you have to fill them and then rescribe instead of just sanding and rescribing as John Darlington has done so brilliantly on his Victor.

Having said that, it has been produced, it is not too expensive, the decal sheet looks amazing and I’m sure that some lovely models will be made from it over the years, but state of the art mould making it ain’t!

New Announcements
Of great interest to RAF/FAA fans is the news that Revell has finally announced a 1/72 Hunter F6. If this is anywhere near the standard of their recent kits it will be a treat, and will hopefully sell in such massive amounts that Revell will see the need for more 1/72 British jets such as Lightning, Vampire, Venom, Scimitar etc etc etc. I will buy a minimum of 10 and I can imagine many in the same position.

Of almost equal interest is that Classic Airframes has announced a 1/48^th Wyvern. CA seem to be thrilled by the sales of their British subjects such as the Meteors and the Seahawks, and have to look no further than the Aeroclub and Dynavector catalogues for suggestions for the next line-up of kits. The Dyna Wyvern is of course an excellent vac, especially if combined with the brilliant but rare Compass Rose resin sets (mastered by Roy Sutherland) but there remains a large constituency of modellers for whom the art of vacform building is a too arcane to attempt. This is not a criticism as I have only ever built one, but needless to say the injection version of the Wyvern will be completed in much greater numbers than the vac ever was.

Not a new announcement, but the Trumpeter 1/48^th Vigilante is apparently on schedule for early 2005, but the Wellington in the same scale has been delayed for some reworking of the moulds. This latter step has received some criticism on the net, from those who decry Trumpeter for “pandering” to the “rivet counters”. I for one would rather they get it right first time. After all, we have waited decades for a 1/48^th Wellington and the kit will no doubt be around for decades more as a unique item, so why not wait a few months to get it right? After all, it is not as if we don’t all have dozens, nay hundreds, nay thousands (in some cases) of kits to build already.

Enough rambling from me, I have sent a plea for enthusiastic support of the Labour weekend show in a separate mailing, happy and productive modelling to you all,

Mark

PS. Thanks to John Weir and Mark Davies for articles, and to John Dryburgh for compiling the list of kits at the last meeting.

Models On The Table Last Month

Modeller	Model	Manufacturer	Scale	Status
Peter Randell	Amagiri and PT109 (diorama)	Tamiya	1/700	Complete
Peter Randell	British ‘O’ class destroyer/mine layer with White Ensign photo etch	Tamiya	1/700	WIP
Shin Kang	Oshkosh M977	Revell	1/35	Complete
Ted (Son of Shin)	F15E Strike Eagle	Academy	1/72	Complete
John Darlington	HP Victor K Mk 2	Revell	1/72	WIP
Bob Beadle	Vosper – Brave Borderer Class	Tamiya	1/72	Complete
Bruce Salmon	KI42 Oscar with Eduard cockpit	Hasegawa	1/48	Complete
John Watkins	Gloster Gladiator	Matchbox	1/72	Complete
	Spitfire Mk1	Hasegawa	1/72	WIP
	Spitfire Mk 1X	Matchbox	1/72	WIP
	Spitfire Mk XV1E	Heller	1/72	WIP
Kevin Benson	Elephant & figures (elephant missing)	Verlinden	1/16	WIP
Mark Davies	Convair 106B (Falcon conversion kit)	Hasegawa	1/72	Complete
	Loire-Nieuport LN 411 (French Navy)	Azur	1/72	Complete
	Lockheed F-4 (P-38 conversion) RAAF (flying)	Airfix/Hasegawa/Contact Resine	1/72	Complete
	Lockheed P-38J USAAF	Hasegawa	1/72	Complete
	Lockheed P-38M USAAF	Dragon	1/72	Complete
		17

Build The Same Kit Results

Italeri 1/35 DUKW
By John Weir

What does DUKW stand for?

D=First year of production code "D" is for 1942

U=Body style "U" utility truck (amphibious)

K=Front wheel drive.

W=Two rear driving wheels (tandem axle)

When Italeri released their 1/35^th DUKW it appealed to me, so when it became available I just had to have it. First impression upon opening the box was, this is a big kit. I quickly put aside other half built kits and started on the DUKW. The kit went together well with crisp moulding and the fit is very good. I added the Verlinden detail kit, which includes a lot of resin and photo-etch parts. I started by assembling the resin engine, after a look on the Internet I found a lot of good photos taken of the motor and the outside hull details. Armed with this, I detailed the rather sparse Verlinden engine with all the wiring, hydraulic lines and linkages, scratch built the wiring loom, throttle linkage, distributor cap, even fitting wing nuts to the top of the air filter and battery. After the engine was finished the top deck was glued in placed and the engine was masked off.

I noticed on my reference photos the DUKW’s top deck was bolted down with hex bolts, so I sanded of all of Italeri’s rivets off and replaced them with bits of hex styrene. Photo etch and resin replaced the tools, Gerry cans, winch, seats, 50cal & gun ring and engine grills. Most DUKW’s had wheel covers, these were not provided by Italeri so I scratch built them out of styrene card and strip. The cargo was a mixture of bits out of the parts box and scratchbuilt balsa boxes. I found some old netting material at home, which I thought, represented the cargo netting very well, so it was stretched over the finished cargo. The assembled cargo was glued to a balsa base so I could work on it out of the vehicle, and when finished the 1 piece cargo was glued onto the cargo deck and the photo etched brackets installed. Painting was done with Tamiya acrylics washed in oils and weathered with Mig pigments. The base is a piece of foam with dirt white-glued to it. Tools, table and tank obstacle are from the parts box with scratchbuilt barbed wire. The figure is a combination of two Verlinden figures joined at the waist to produce a seated mechanic.

Hasegawa 1/72 F-106B Delta Dart
by Mark Davies

The F-106 formed the backbone of the USA’s interceptor defence for the 60’s and 70’s, and as a result there are numerous unit markings variations available to the modeller. The two-seat F-106B trainer retained full offensive capabilities but was obviously far less common than the single-seat F-106A. I’ve always like the Delta Dart, and thought that the two-seater would be an attractive aircraft to add to my collection.

The Hasegawa kit is one of their early renditions with fine raised detail, minimal cockpit interior, and basic undercarriage etc. That said, it looks the part and, ignoring the missile bay, generally fits together OK. I had a Falcon vac-form triple conversion set that featured an F-106B fuselage, canopy and refueling receptacle. I chose to use just the canopy and refueling receptacle, retaining the kit fuselage. Problems with closing the missile bay would later cause me to regret this decision.

I scratch-built a cockpit interior and built up the fuselage behind the canopy, adding and improving on the vac-form refueling receptacle. I added some detail and ducting to the air intakes, air brakes and engine nozzle. I removed the kit’s small wing fences (applicable to first few F-106s) and cut some slots in their place.

Falcon only supplies the clamshell part of the canopy, and so you have to use the kit’s windscreen. I think it would have been preferable to have a complete canopy including the windscreen, as I had some alignment problems here (probably my cutting), plus a thinner windscreen would allow a more accurate vision splitter to be made as it wouldn’t be compromised by the thickness of the kit’s windscreen.

To be honest I got a bit tired of the model after a while. I had thought it would be quite straightforward, but in closing the missile bays was difficult to get a nice smooth result (I believe Aeroclub make a set of closed doors for the F-106). The F-106B has different shaped missile doors to the F-106A, as some electronics are relocated from where the second seat is placed to the missile bay. Having smoothed the area down I drew these door outlines in using pencil as the surface made from four closed doors wasn’t the best for scribing on.

In addition to the missile door problems there was a stubborn seam on the fin, and old decals that broke up. In the end I rushed finishing the model a bit just to get it into the display cabinet and move on to another project. This model will never be a competition winner, but it has made an interesting addition to my collection. My F-106A will be built flying to avoid detailing speed brakes, and I’ll put more thought into closing the missile bay.

2004 North Island Championships

I) ELIGIBILITY

1.Any one may enter the North Island Championships, be they an IPMS member or not. However, the IPMS Auckland Perpetual Trophies may only be awarded to current IPMS Auckland members

2.Models that have won First, Second or Third places in any previous Nationals may NOT be entered in any Regionals.

3.The Contest Chairman or Head Judge may exclude any entries that they consider offensive to generally held standards of taste and acceptability.

4.Juniors: Junior entries are limited to modellers under 16. Junior members may, at their discretion, enter models in the Senior classes; however, any such models will become ineligible for Junior awards.

5. Models must be entered by 9pm Friday 6^th October (Auckland residents) or noon Saturday 7^th October (out of town modellers). Late entries will only be accepted at the discretion of the Contest Chairman or Head Judge.

II) CONTEST

(A) General

1.Judges: A head judge must be chosen and they must brief all judges prior to the contest judging. Judges may NOT judge any category in which they are personally entered.

2.Final placement of models in classes is the decision of the contest judges. Judges may also combine or split categories during judging.

3.ALL JUDGES' DECISIONS ARE FINAL.

(B) Composition and Definitions

1. Plastics: Entries must be largely composed of a plastic medium (i.e. styrene). However, the use of other materials are permitted (i.e. resin, etched, white metal), except models made in metal die-cast form, or not sold as kitsets.

2. Collections: A collection is any group of five or more related items (e.g. five WWII fighters would not be a collection, but five Me109 fighters would). Past National Contest winners (or place-getters) may be entered as part of a collection, but must not constitute more than 40% of the group. The collection may be the work of one or more modellers.

3.Figures: Category entries may be made of metal or plastic. Metal miniatures may be used in dioramas. The inclusion of accessories included in the figure kit will not cause the figure to be classed as a diorama.

4.Missiles: All REAL vehicle-carried missiles will be placed in the appropriate Military Vehicle class. Missiles in flight attitude or on landing gear will be entered in the appropriate Spacecraft/Sci-Fi category. Missiles used for space research will be placed in the Real Spacecraft class.

5.Bases: Bases are allowed in all categories, but will not be considered in the judging, except in the diorama classes, or where a decision is required between tied models for Best of Category. A base may simulate the natural surface on which the model would be found, however, nothing additional to that surface may be used.

Aircraft and vehicles may rest on simulated ground or paving, and aircraft, which need beaching gear or dollies, may be so equipped. Ships may be displayed in water (no dry-docks or wharves).

The base must not be the predominant feature of the entry, and must be of a size proportionate to the model.

The model may incorporate primary crew figures if included with the kit. The addition of any other figures or equipment outside or attached to the model (e.g. support equipment, foliage, shell splashes or buildings) will make the model a diorama, which must be entered in the proper diorama category.

III) AWARDS

1.Models will be judged for accuracy, realism, skill in construction, and finish. First, Second and Third awards WILL be given in each category. Highly commended awards may also be presented by the judges.

2.Best of Class awards will be given for each division, and from these a Best of Show award will be voted on by the full judging team.

3.A popular vote for best of show award should be held to encourage the viewing public to participate in the contest. Voting forms and a ballot box should be made available for this purpose.

CLASSES

Out Of The Box Award

An award for best out-of-the-box model MAY be made in each of the following overall categories:

Aircraft
Military vehicle
Civilian vehicle
Ship
Space/sci-fi
Junior model

The intention of this award is to recognize modellers who produce excellent models from the materials supplied in the box from the manufacturer. Models in this category may not have any features added that are not in the box:

Aftermarket decals may be used.
No alterations may be made to the plastic, such as thinning trailing edges, deflecting control surfaces, drilling out gun barrels, vents and intakes and exhausts etc.
Antennas, aerial wires and seat belts may NOT be used unless supplied in the kit.
Kits with recessed panel lines may have such lines repaired where they are damaged by the process of hiding seam lines.
Kits with raised panel lines can also have damaged lines repaired, or the entire line may be removed in order to achieve a consistent appearance. General removal of panel lines or extensive rescribing is not permitted.
The kit instructions must be supplied if the model is to be considered for this category.

Models in this category will be entered in their primary category (e.g. a T-34 in armoured vehicle) and identified on the entry form as “Out Of The Box”. It will be possible for an out of the box model to win (for example) both Best Aircraft Model and Best Out-Of-The-Box Aircraft.

I) AIRCRAFT
1. Aircraft 1:72
   a)Propeller
   b)Jet
   c)Helicopters
2. Aircraft 1:48
   a)Propeller
   b)Jet
   c)Helicopters
3. Aircraft 1:32
4. Aircraft dioramas
Note: 1:72 covers all scales smaller than 1:71, 1:48 covers 1:71-1:33 and 1:32 covers 1:32 and larger.

II) MILITARY VEHICLES
1. Armoured vehicles
2. Soft-skin vehicles
3. Artillery
4. Dioramas - more than 1 vehicle (or 1 vehicle with figures not included in the box)

III) FIGURES
1. Busts
2. Dismounted
3. Mounted
4. Dioramas and vignettes

IV) CIVILIAN VEHICLES
1. Cars
2. Trucks/Commercials
3. Motorcycles
4. Dioramas

V) SHIPS
1. Ships

VI) SPACE AND S/F
1. Real spacecraft and missiles
2. Fictional
3. Dioramas

VII) JUNIOR
1. To be determined dependant on entries.

VIII) COLLECTIONS
Five or more closely related items built by one or more people – all scales, types and eras. See rule II (B) 2.

IX) MISCELLANEOUS
Any subject not covered by any of the above classes.

North Island Championships

Model Competition and Display

Incorporating:

The Academy Awards.

IPMS Auckland Regional Competition

23^rd & 24^th October 2004

Venue:

Auckland Marine Rescue Centre

3 Solent St, Mechanics Bay

Auckland

Hosts:

IPMS Auckland Branch

Contacts:

Craig Sargent Ph 419 9956 vmfa451@xtra.co.nz

Kevin Benson Ph 527 2380 Kevin.Benson@nz.huhtamaki.com

Programme:

Friday 22^nd 6:00 pm- 9-pm Set-up and receiving models

Saturday 23^rd 9:00 am- 5:00 pm Open public- Judging all day

Sunday 24^th 9:00 am- 4:00 pm Open public

4:00pm prize giving

4:30 Models removed and pack up

The event:

Competition Models

IPMS Display

Displays from other clubs:

AMPS (Armour)

MPH (cars)

Time-Bandits (figures)

Prizes:

Two trips to Korea –

One for Best of Show

One for Best use of Academy Models

Ribbons, Certificates, Sponsors prizes

Competition fees:

IPMS Members – free

Non-IPMS members $5 per model to a max of $20 for unlimited entries

Entry forms will be available at the event

Entry:

Competitors and IPMS Members free

Adults $5 Children $2 Families $10

North Island IPMS Competition

AND ACADEMY AWARDS 2004 Entry Form

(Leave greyed out areas blank)

Entry Number			IPMS Member		Circle: Yes / No
Entrant’s Name
Manufacturer			Scale		1/_
Model
Class	Initial:		Changed to:
Academy Awards Entry	Tick if yes:	Out Of Box Entry		Tick if yes:

Entry Number			IPMS Member		Circle: Yes / No
Manufacturer			Scale		1/_
Model
Class	Initial:		Changed to:
Academy Awards Entry	Tick if yes:	Out Of Box Entry		Tick if yes:
Construction Details

(Please use reverse for further details if required)

Modeller	Detail

Tamiya 1/48 P-47 Thunderbolt
Andy Hoskins (winner)	Razorback D15 - USAAF
Peter Vanderschaff	Bubbletop - USAAF
Colin Griffin	Bubbletop - USAAF
Martin Short	Bubbletop - RAF
Doug Parrington	Bubbletop - USAAF
	5
Unfinished
Craig Sargent	Bubbletop D30
Mike Rather	Bubbletop
	2

Academy 1/72 P-38 Lightning

Martin Short (winner)	USAAF
Mark Davies	F5B – French Air Force
Mark Davies	P38J - USAAF
Paul Young	Luftwaffe markings
Martin Short	USAAF
Dimitri Berdebes	USAAF
Shin Kang	USAAF
	7
Unfinished
Steve Lowe	USAAF

Trumpeter 1/72 Ferdinand

Trevor Garnet (winner)	Wehrmacht
Martin Short	Wehrmacht
John Weir	Wehrmacht
	3

Editor’s Column

Modeller

Build The Same Kit Results

Tamiya 1/48 P-47 Thunderbolt

Unfinished

Academy 1/72 P-38 Lightning

Unfinished

Trumpeter 1/72 Ferdinand

I) ELIGIBILITY

II) CONTEST

III) AWARDS

North Island Championships

Model Competition and Display

Entry Number

IPMS Member

Scale

Class

Academy Awards Entry

Tick if yes:

Out Of Box Entry

Tick if yes:

Entry Number

IPMS Member

Manufacturer

Scale

Class

Academy Awards Entry

Tick if yes:

Out Of Box Entry

Tick if yes:

Construction Details