January 2008 Newsletter

of the
Quad-City Scale Modeler Society

 

The meeting minutes:

Unfortunately, I seem to have lost my notebook with the meeting minutes.  I can tell you that the weather did affect the turnout as we only had about 12-14 pope show up, but those that were able to make it had a good time.  Jack Bruno came from Chicago with Mike V. and Ronbo.  There was a great holiday meal and some good gifts in the gift exchange. Everyone in attendance picked from the raffle table and those that missed the meeting will get to pick at the January meeting.  Brian Clemmons was the winner of the “What if?” contest with his twin 88mm flakwagen mounted on a SD.KFZ 18 halftrack.  It looked very convincing and something you probably would not have wanted to run into on the battlefield.  There were some nice models on the table, my apologies to those that brought them, but I don’t have my notes.  Elections are in January, all positions are up for election, President, Secretary/Treasurer and Chapter Contact.  Just a reminder that Michael Vinson will be doing the newsletter the next two months while I am gone, so please get your stories, review and what not to him.  Since Ed Wahl could not make the December meeting, the $20 challenge has been moved back to the January meeting.  Unfortunately, my internet service has crashed again and I have no access at all. I am sending this from work to Mike, so the newsletter will be shorter than usual and late.   That’s all I have for now. 

 

The Dates:

Jan 12:  Club elections.  The $20 challenge will also be held.  Bring in the completed kit you bought for $20 from Ed and get your money back. 

Feb 9: chapter meeting

March 8: chapter meeting

April 12: chapter meeting. Club photo shoot

May 10: chapter meeting

June 14: chapter meeting.  Club barbecue and annual club contest.

July 12: chapter meeting

August 9: chapter meeting

September 13: chapter meeting

October 11: chapter meeting

November 8: chapter meeting

December 13: chapter meeting.  Christmas party, Annual “What if?” contest and gift exchange

 

What I did on my Christmas Vacation

By Glen Broman

As most of you know, my family has a collective case of genetically transmitted mild traumatic brain injury, and have all deployed to Iraq and Kuwait.  Since I had no reason to hang around, I went back to Seattle over Christmas on leave.  I arrived on an overcast and rainy day.  Go figure.  I left on an overcast and rainy day.  All of the days in between were overcast and rainy.  It was so good to enjoy all that great Seattle weather again.  We did get a white Christmas, the first in 15 years, coincidentally, the first since the last Christmas I spent at home.  It melted by the end of the day, but it was a nice touch.  Besides seeing some old friends, I decided to hit some of the old hobby shops and bookstores.  Back in the day, American eagles used to be the best hobby shop in Seattle.  For many years it was in Ballard, it is now in Lake City, just a short drive from my folk’s house.  It is still a decent shop, but just isn’t anything like the old days. My friend Jim Foley and I would save up our paper route money, lawn mowing money and what ever other odd job money we could earn and bum a ride to American Eagles.  Later, in high school, Bill Horan and I would build dioramas and models to enter in their store contests and IPMS Seattle contests.  I won my first contest there.  It was a great place. No one I knew works there anymore, they are all long since retired.  No one is around to talk new releases and modeling anymore, it seems they know more about trains these days.  Oh well.  I did have time to hit another model shop in Seattle; this is the new best model shop in Seattle, Skyway Hobbies out in Renton.  I make it a point to stop there whenever I’m in town.  Emil Minnerich runs a great store with new releases, plus tons of old stuff.  I found an old Heller 1/35 AMX V10, which I have been looking for for years.  I picked up the new Trumpeter Richelieu battleship, the Hobby Boss M4 High Speed tractor and The Mirage 1/400 USS Ward.  I had a great time and recommend you stop in next time you find your self in Seattle.  The store is a short drive from SEATAC airport.  I stopped in at some of my favorite bookstores, Comstock’s in Auburn, which is one of my favorite bookstores; they have a huge selection of used military books.  I even found three copies of my Abrams book.  Mikey, one has your name on it buddy. I also found several years of the Coast Defense Study Groups Journal and picked up the lot.  The Half Price books chain has always been one of my favorites and I visited the store in Bellevue where I used to spend a lot of time when we visited the In-Laws back when they used to live in Bellevue.  Being just a few days before Christmas, it was packed.  I found another Half Price in Redmond, which had an ever better military section, as well as a good selection of modeling books.  Oddly enough, they were in the Art section.  These stores have bought out a lot of Osprey’s remainders, so you can get Osprey books, as well as there reprints, for $5 or less.  The chain had a 20% off sale after Christmas, so I waited a few days and then did some serious book shopping.  Across the street from Half Price in Redmond was a HobbyTown that was pretty good, they had a great selection of kits, one of the best I have seen at a HobbyTown.  They had some discounted prices, so I picked up a 1/48 Tamiya Deuce and Half and an M8 armored car. I hope to do a few in box reviews of some of the kits I picked up in the future.  If you ever get a chance to go to Seattle, I recommend Skyway Hobbies, Half Price Books and Comstock’s books.  They are definitely worth the visit. 

 

Happy New Year Region 5,

Well, a new year is upon us.  It is hard to believe that I have been an RC for 13 months now.  It really does not seem like that long.   So how was 2007 for your chapter?  It was an up and down one for your RC.  Not because of you guys, but health/family/job issues at times kept me very busy and worried.  I hope 2008 is better.  The first thing I want to do is thank all of the chapters for making 2007 a good year for your RC.  Starting with the Chapter Charter renewals, you folks are awesome.  We got all the current chapters rechartered (and even added one) before the deadline.  GREAT WORK folks!  I believe only 4 regions accomplished this.  Since this region has the total chapters to charter that means we had more opportunities to fail.  This time last year, we still had 5 chapters to go, and ended up losing 2.  So I consider this a move for the positive and can’t thank your chapter contacts and officers enough.  Even those who were not chartered by mid December were keeping myself and the DLC informed.  Absolutely great work by ALL of the Region 5 Chapters.  I figured I would make this a kind of a retrospective update.  I thought I would look at 2007 from and IPMS and Modeling perspective and see what went well and what didn’t. IPMS USA Convention.  I attended as well as about 2 dozen folks from Region 5 that I recognized or spoke to.  My personal observations were mixed and mostly on the negative side.  I don’t believe in mud slinging or slamming folks.  There were good things; the number of models entered was the main one.  Some problems were the Registration, Banquet, Tours and seminars were, well, messed up.   I would like to offer this as the best explanation for the event.  Help to the host chapter was offered from many different sources prior to the event to help them.  They chose not to accept or use the recommendations given, probably for reasons they felt were sound.  As part of a planning committee for a National in St. Louis in 1991, I know the difficulties they faced.  You do the best you can.  Some folks are able to step it up and some cannot.  I’ll let those who attended give you their opinions.  Regional Convention.  Our Regional in Ottawa was great!  Ron Thorne and his crew did a spectacular job. They kept me informed regularly and got forms/flyers, etc out early and often. I had a very good time and got to speak to quite a few of the members from the Region.  Many had some good and/or thought provoking comments.  Hopefully I was able to convey what is going on the Region and IPMS to you folks.  I am hoping to have a similar thing at the Regional this year.  IPMS USA.  We had elections this year, I hope you all participated.  We lost an exceptional modeler and IPMS Head Judge, Art Gerber this year.  The National

Contest Committee formed a group to revise the Competition Handbook.  They also made some significant changes to the National Contest and Rules, which will go into effect in 2008.  Your RC.  As it was my Rookie year, I was pretty sure what to expect.  It did pretty much go as I thought.  I was pretty sure you folks were good people who cared about your chapter and as such would be good communicators.  I found this to be true with only 1 or 2 exceptions.  I thought an RC website for Region 5 would be a good thing.  Thanks to IPMS Gateway for hosting and maintaining it for me, we have one.  I put information on it for those thinking of hosting a regional, some historic information and some general information.  These I thought were good.  The downside is my keeping it current.  I did not do a very good job of keeping it updated.  That is one of my goals for 2008.  It has been a couple of years since I finished a model, and I can count on 1 hand the number of hours this year I spent working on models.  On the positive side, in the final weeks of 2007, I actually located my workbench and cleaned 2 inches of dust from it.  I took stock of what I was out of, gone bad and what projects were sitting there.  Another of my goals for 2008, finish a model.  I want to improve as an RC as well.  So if you have suggestions, comments or whatever that you think will help me be a better RC, please let me know. Modeling industry.  I am not too up to date on things here (obviously since I haven’t built a model in quite a while).  But modeling companies being bought and sold and some long time hobby shops closing have me quite concerned.  In fact a well known hobby shop in the Midwest, CRM Hobbies in St. Louis, announced on New Years Day that he was closing the store.  I think he is planning to continue mail order business but the store is gone in February.  I find the trend as very distressing.  The places we like to go and “talk shop”, get opinions on various kits, aftermarket stuff etc are dwindling.  Products like Ambroid Proweld (a favorite of mine) are no more.  It is not all bad; the aftermarket stuff seems to get better and better in quality.  Where will be in say 5 years?  It is hard to say.  Modelers.  Some personal observations.  From the IPMS Nationals all the way down to local shows.  A trend I see is that the attendees don’t seem to get any younger.  There are some youths who participate but not like there were a few years ago.  Perhaps when they are in their 30s they may take it up again with their kids but I am not so sure.  In fact a three of the best modelers I know have either passed away or have had health issues that have all but killed their ability to build models.  Those in their 30s aren’t all that prevalent at the modeling shows that I have made it to.  At the National I watched one of the best modelers I have EVER seen have a fit in the modeling room because his model he felt should win best of category didn’t. Another of his models did win best of category, but he was quite embarrassing.  I wondered how many of those watching the event were at their first National and came away from that with less than a wonderful outlook of IPMS events.  Most modelers would give their left (name a part of the anatomy) for his talent.  Yet I watched another great modeler talk to a new modeler at his first National for over an hour explaining the techniques he used on his models.  I see the same at other events as well.  I believe we are a shrinking group of enthusiasts.  I don’t for a second think we will come to an end.  I am not sure if the numbers we currently have will increase or stay stable.  I would hope that we would think of how we can share what we truly enjoy and quite a number of us are very, very good at.  Those

whose egos are what drives them can cause a problem with our future.  We are not the Few, The Proud, the Masters.  We are by Modelers, For Modelers.   So in beginning 2008 let me say I thank you for your efforts.  Enjoy the hobby.  I am going to try and be a better RC, starting with keeping the website more up to date.  I am going to build a model this year.  I will do some type of teaching event (demo or class) somewhere to share my knowledge (what little there is) on model building.  A final note, I am again attaching the 2008 IPMS Region 5 Convention Flyer.

See Ya,

Mike George

R5 RC

 

 

 

The AWNAA's Act of 2008

The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA)
WASHINGTON , DC - Congress is considering sweeping legislation which will provide new benefits for many Americans. The Americans With No Abilities Act (AWNAA) is being hailed as a major legislative goal by advocates of the millions of Americans who lack any real skills or ambition.

"Roughly 50 percent of Americans do not possess the competence and drive necessary to carve out a meaningful role for themselves in society," said California Senator Barbara Boxer. "We can no longer stand by and allow People of Inability to be ridiculed and passed over. With this legislation, employers will no longer be able to grant special favors to a small group of workers, simply because e they have little or no idea of what they are doing."
In a Capitol Hill press conference, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pointed to the success of the U.S. Postal Service, which has a long- standing policy of providing opportunity without regard to performance. Approximately 74 percent of postal employees lack any job skills, making this agency the single largest U.S. Employer of Persons of Inability.
Private-sector industries with good records of nondiscrimination against the Inept include retail sales (72%), the airline industry (68%), and home improvement "warehouse" stores (65%). At the state government level, the Department of Motor Vehicles also has a great record of hiring Persons of Inability (63%).
Under the Americans With No Abilities Act, more than 25 million "middle man" positions will be created, with important-sounding titles but little real responsibility, thus providing an illusory sense of purpose and performance.
Mandatory non-performance-based raises and promotions will be given, to guarantee upward mobility for even the most unremarkable employees. The legislation provides substantial tax breaks to corporations that promote a significant number of Persons of Inability into middle- management positions, and gives a tax credit to small and medium-sized businesses that agree to hire one clueless worker for every two talented hires.
Finally, the AWNA Act contains tough new measures to make it more difficult to discriminate against the Non-abled--banning, for example, discriminatory interview questions such as "Do you have any skills or experience which relate to this job?"
"As a Non-abled person, I can't be expected to keep up with people who have something going for them," said Mary Lou Gertz, who lost her position as a lug-nut twister at the GM plant in Flint, Michigan, due to her lack of any discernible job skills. "This new law should really help people like me." With the passage of this bill, Gertz and millions of other untalented citizens will finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.
Said Senator Ted Kennedy: "As a Senator With No Abilities, I believe the same privileges that elected officials enjoy ought to be extended to every American with no abilities. It is our duty as lawmakers to provide each and every American citizen, regardless of his or her adequacy, with some sort of space to take up in this great nation."

 

 

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