In attendance tonight - Steve R., Steve F., Chris, Gary, Rob
(Mike could not make it as his father was not well. Hope he is feeling better Mike!)
Another very interesting night, some very good work, some interesting stories, and as always - some learning by all hands.
Chris - Czech T-72, Syrian T-62, Jagdpanther, Figure
Chris had a bevy of kits tonight. His most recent work is a Czech T-72 with a unique camo pattern, but as always, Chris’ niche is the weathering. Look carefully for the paint chipping and the fading. Another fine piece of work.
The Syrian T-62 is an old piece that Chris just received back from a colleague in the western US. He built an AA IDF Diamond T 981 and Rogers trailer tank carrier, and asked Chris to fill the flatbed. See attached photo by Anthony Guarderas. Again the theme is realistic weathering using all the most modern techniques, some of which Chris is developing himself.
Chris has a work in progress that he shared tonight as well – the German Jagdpanther from WWII. This one will be a late model, from spring 1945. In his first foray in a while doing figures, he brought in an example that he will use with this tank.
Steve - submarines, Citroen, Stutz Bearcat
Steve brought in a trio of submarines, not all recent, but Steve is a theme guy so he brought a new submarine in to join some he already had completed. And more often than not, it is a Canadian theme.
The center piece is HMCS Onondaga, a recent Canadian submarine from the British Oberon class.
HMS Torbay is a Trafalgar class submarine (nuclear), and a likely candidate to replace the Canadian Oberons, before the Upholder class was ultimately selected (non-nuclear). This is the AIrfix kit.
Rounding out the trio is the most recent British submarine, the Astute class. HMS Astute, the class ship, launched in 2007. This is the Hobby Boss kit.
Who makes the HMCS Onondaga kit you ask? Well, it was a small group of modelers who got the plans, created the molds, and produced the resin parts. The called themselves the Western Approaches. One of the chief architects of the molds was one of IPMSSJ’s own founding members! Interesting fact, only 5 kits were ever produced, and this is one of them…..
Rounding out Steve’s exhibits is a couple of Autos, something for our dedicated car guy Gary to check out. The Stutz Bearcat is a classic. However the Citroen has the best story I have heard in a while…
The Citroen was a French design, but has striking similarity to the Volkswagon. An ugly Volkswagon, you might say. Steve assures me they were designed in isolation and there would be no cross information that would influence the other. That sounds credible when Steve explained this..
The Citroen was designed and built before World War II, same as Volkswagon, but the Citroen was designed to work the crop fields. Early models had cloth ceilings that could be folded back to allow overhead loading and stacking, bringing in the crops from the field – to market. But it was not for that reason, upon entry to WWII, that the French buried most of these vehicles to prevent them from getting into German hands. The real reason for their value? It was their unique suspension that was articulating enough to provide a very, VERY smooth ride over plowed fields while transporting crops and goods. Imagine what a stable gun platform that suspension could provide in the days before gun stablization mechanisms? Wow – neat story that Steve sums up as – Not so much an ugly Volkswagon, as it is a pretty tractor!
And finally a shot of the table at the meeting....
Until next time, Keep building! Recreate history before your eyes…..
Joe
