CSM Debrief Feb

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1 Cincinnati Scale Modelers IPMS/USA Chapter IV / 26 CSM Debrief Feb President: Don Flynn... donaldflynn@fuse.net Vice President: John Bishop... bishmanjc@fuse.net Secretary: Fred Parker... ftparker111@cinci.rr.com Treasurer: Mike Bailey... ma.bailey@hotmail.com Membership: Tom Bebout drapesman@yahoo.com Editor: Rob Schorry... rschorry@cinci.rr.com Our January meeting was very well attended. Our next club meeting will be on Sunday February 14 th from 2 4 at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, at 4600 Erie Avenue, Madisonville, Ohio The February meeting includes the annual in-house kit swap. Anyone wanting to sell please bring your stuff, it is time that some of your kits get shuffled to some other persons stash! We had four visitors in January: Luke Aquilzada, Jeffrey & Sheila Lane and Michael Leftwich. Welcome and we hope you come back! Raffle & Door Prizes - Show up with a model and get a door prize ticket. Raffle tickets are available for sale (which helps to acquire more raffle kits and pay the bills). Door Prizes: Tamiya 1/48th Zero Minicraft 1/144th Pan Am Clipper Monogram 1/48th DC-3 Tamiya 1/48th Sherman Firefly ICM 1/48th Yak-7v Raffle Prizes: Tamiya 1/48th Fw-190D9 DML 1/48th Fokker D.VIII Tamiya 1/48th F4U-1a Academy 1/35th M3 "Honey" DML 1/35th Stug IIIG 10.5cm Revell 1/48th F-86D Tamiya 1/48th Gekko DML 1/35th SU-85M (donated by Frank Ciccarella) Tamiya 1/35th Panther G "late" Yahoo Group Cincinnati Scale Modelers has a webpage on Yahoo Groups plus our regular website The group is moderated by Scott Lane ( slane6@cinci.rr.com ). This is a way to communicate without using your home and might provide another channel for modeling info and tips. You have to join the group to access it. 1

2 Tri-State Warbird Museum Exhibit Matthew Davis We will do a change out of models in May or June. We will go with F4U's, AU-1's, and FG-1's. So break out those RN, Kiwi, and Central American decals and start building. Lets change things and include 1/72 scale. Sorry, 1/32 is too large. Since the museum has a jeep, let s add WWII era jeeps to the display. Both 1/48 and 1/32 will work. Early in 2011we will go with B-25's and T-6's so plan accordingly. I expect to see you buying kits at the Columbus and Indy show! Interested in writing an article or taking photos? The CSM Debrief is looking for original info on models, workbench techniques, or Roadside Relics you may see. Send them to the editor for possible publication. The Debrief is available by post or . It is also posted each month on the CSM club website: and the Yahoo Group website. If you desire to read the Debrief in glorious color, please send an to the editor (Rob S.) to get onto the list. Membership Renewal & New Members Annual Cincinnati Scale Modelers membership fees are $15. If you are a club member and have not renewed this year please see Mike Bailey or Tom Bebout and ask them if they are willing to take your money for another fun year. If you want to mail your CSM dues to Mike: 1930 Cardinal Way Hebron, KY IPMS/USA national membership fees are $25 a year and include the IPMS/USA Journal. See for details. CSM logo items - People may want to purchase more items to wear to the with the CSM logo in it. The company is EmbroidMe and they carry hats, t-shirts, sweat shirts, jackets, tote bags etc. They are at Reed Hartman Highway, Cincinnati, Ohio, ( CincinnatiNE.com ) Phone is CincinnatiNE@EmbroidMe.com. Most items can be made in 10 working days. Just walk in, view items in the showroom and tell them you want the CSM logo on it - probably listed under Tom Bebout or CSM. They are very helpful. 2

3 Make n Take by Dave Reed reed.dw@pg.com (513) Update from our last meeting.: We have the Tri-County Hobby Lobby for Saturday March 13 from 10am-2pm. I ve sent invites 10 of the kids that were at the Oct MnT and asked if they would be interested in a follow-up. Fifteen modelers have signed up as of Jan. 28 th. This evening I ed the remaining participants from the March and October MnT that might be interested. Based on feedback at our meeting, I set the price for the event at $5. The letter is below. Parents, I'm sending this to those that attended one of the CSM Make-N-Takes in March and/or October and might be interested in a follow-up event. The Cincinnati Scale Modelers are planning another Make-N-Take event that will target more advanced builders (youth or adult) that: - are ready to tackle a glue kit - are interested in more than just building the model Saturday, March 6, am to 2 pm Hobby Lobby, Tri-County Cost: $5 Reservations required! Just reply to this if you are interested: davereed_314@yahoo.com This event will be smaller than our previous events (10-15 builders) and will focus on learning the techniques of building and finishing a plastic model. The group will build a 1/72 scale aircraft kit similar the one shown here: We plan to have a CSM volunteer for every 1-2 builders to demonstrate: - removing parts from sprues - preparing parts to obtain proper fit - gluing different parts and materials - basic painting - applying decals - basic construction materials The fee will help cover the cost of the kit and supplies. The event will be open from 10-2pm. We recommend that you arrive by 10am so we can start the group at the same time. However, it is NOT necessary that you attend for the entire 4 hours. We'd recommend at least 2 hours to complete the kit: - 1 hour for construction - 1 hour for painting & applying decals However, you are welcome to stay the entire time. We will also have door prizes, hobby information and a display of prize-winning models from the October 2009 show. 3

4 A few pictures from our January meeting photos by Rob Schorry Tom Bebout 1/48 Mitchell PBJ-1 and 1/49 AT-6 Texan Justin Lynch 1/72 B-24D and 1/72 B-24J Mike Bailey 1/35 Panzerjager I Mark Statt 1/32 Me-109 Otto Maurer 4

5 Isaac Zelazny Paper Russian planes Attilio Tore 1/48 A-26C Invader Attilio Tore 1/48 Monogram StealthF-19? by? Jeffrey Lane 1/350 BB-63 USS Missouri 5

6 Gary Adams 1/87 Maine boatyard (circa 1920s?) Upcoming model contests (from the IPMS/USA website) Feb. 6, 2010 Feb. 20, 2010 Michigan Bay City Region 4 Ohio Columbus Region 4 Mid Michigan Model Makers 26th Annual Contest & Show Knights of Columbus Hall 360 S. River Rd. Map IPMS Mid-Michigan Model Makers John Martin (989) BlizzardCon Aladdin's Temple 3850 Stelzer Rd. Map IPMS Eddie Rickenbacker Graham Holmes (614) Havoc A-20 by Tom Bebout A-20 (USAAF photo) I've always been interested in this aircraft as it saw lots of duty in both theaters during WWII but seems to have received little press. That's unusual as not only was it used by US forces but also the British, Australians, Free French, the Dutch as well as the Russians. It was the forerunner of the A- 26 Invader which saw action in not only WWII, but also Korea and Vietnam (a nice testament to Douglas Aircraft). There are no flying examples in the US which is a shame, but the USAF Museum has a solid nose G Model on display. I read where the old Confederate Air Force used to have one but apparently it was destroyed several years ago when their pilot had a heart attack on take off. The attached link shows there's one in Geneseo, NY, at the 1941 Historical Aircraft Museum that's awaiting final assembly to flying status. I will watch for the final construction and hope to see it fly some day. There also is one at the Pima Air Museum that's under reconstruction but from the photos it appears to be years away from flying status. 6

7 SSC Leif Ericson (aka Interplanetary U.F.O. Mystery Ship) by Rob Schorry The late Matt Jefferies, who designed the USS Enterprise of Star Trek, the Klingon D-9 and the USS Botany Bay, received a contract from AMT to create a new starship. The idea was that the Strategic Space Command would be patrolling, out there The Leif Ericson was the first of the new line in Modelers of sci-fi either have been hording original issues, dealing with expensive resin versions, or waited for this re-release from Round 2 Models. The approx. 1/500 scale kit has been dusted off as the Interplanetary U.F.O. Mystery Ship, molded in glow-in-the-dark plastic. The kit runs about $29 and includes two sets of decals by JT-graphics. Lacking are the original star drive engines, but those are available as resin bits from Federation Models for $10: N.S.E.A. Protector Never give up, never surrender! - Commander Taggart Pegasus Models of California has just released the 1/1400 scale starship from the 1999 movie Galaxy Quest. The Protector takes her crew of daring, uh - actors, on a star filled thrill ride, who ultimately become the on-screen heroes they used to portray. The kit runs about $30 and is molded in grey plastic. It also comes with blue transparent parts for the engines and a nice decal sheet. The top Command Ship is removable for flight. This star ship can t wait to be built and displayed on the included GQ display stand. 7

8 Book Reviews by Justin Lynch Serenade To The Big Bird by Bert Stiles Schiffer Military History In last few years History Channel series WWII in HD, Bert Stiles war experience as a 22 year old 8 th AF B-17 co-pilot was used as one of the narrative vignettes. Tragically Stiles did not survive the war, dying during his second tour piloting a P-51. Don t worry, I didn t just give away the ending! After his first tour he spent a couple of weeks at one of the several flak houses, idyllic estates set up by the AAF in England for nerve frayed airmen to rest and recuperate. During his time there he spent most of it writing about his B-17 experience. Serenade To The Big Bird was the result, and was first published shortly after his death. My first impression of this book was how fresh and vibrant his recollections are. This isn t a memoir of a veteran years removed from the war, but a youthful prose accomplished while still in the thick of it. Stiles is a young dreamer from Colorado on a directionless path when the war engulfs his life and freely admits that he s not a very good bomber pilot. This definitely isn t a hero s story. In fact it reminds me most of Kurt Vonnegut s Slaughter House Five or Blue Beard; a young man lost in an endless cycle of stark fear, exhaustion, boredom and loneliness. He describes his crew mates in great detail with fondness as well as his time wandering around the English countryside when not flying. The mind set of the flying segments are at once harrowing and day dreamy; it weighs heavily on his conscience that he can t keep his mind on his job while in the air, and equally, the senselessness and sudden violence of the job itself. His heart isn t into it. Good thing then that his pilot s heart is. They are great friends while on the ground and practically at each others throats when airborne, mostly due to Stiles inability to concentrate on the job at hand (ironic considering he died of target fixation when he followed an Me-109 into the ground while concentrating on shooting it down.) There is not much, if any, practical information or reference for the modeler in this novel. Instead it offers a window into the life of an average WWII bomber co-pilot who, if he had lived, would have probably been one of the great writers of his generation along side Vonnegut, Heller and Vidal. I found it greatly inspirational; enough so to finally break out the B-17F kit I d been putting off for a couple of years (I m a shameless B-24 fanatic but, I digress.) I d recommend this book to any and all who are interested in both WWII history and great literature. Serenade To The Big Bird is available at THEHISTORYMALL.COM for $24.95 Death Traps - The Survival Of An American Armored Division In World War II by Belton Y. Cooper published by Ballantine Books Death Traps is the memoir of Belton Y. Cooper a company grade ordinance liaison officer of the 3 rd armored division in Europe from shortly after D-day until the German surrender. His function as ordinance liaison was to travel with the combat command during the day and assist in coordinating 8

9 recovering, evacuation and maintenance of damaged combat equipment. It was his responsibility to prepare a Combat Loss Report of all vehicles and tanks during that day and take it back to the Ordinance Battalion, often traveling through bypassed German units. The next morning he d return to the combat command guiding replacement tanks and vehicles. Whoever said inventory control was boring? Cooper is a Virginia Military Institute ordinance graduate with experience in engineering, ordinance disposal, and tank maintenance. He is analytical in his recollections but extremely easy to read and understand. The reference, death trap in the book s title, is the M4 Sherman tank,which he describes in depth as tragically out-gunned and under- armored against its German counterparts. The 2 nd Armored Division Shermans suffered an ungodly loss rate of 580 percent because of its feebleness against German armor. Even the up-armoring that Cooper supervised of all his divisions tanks in England before they left for Normandy had little effect in stopping the damage done. He makes a case that, had the M26 Pershing production not been de-emphasized due to Gen. Patton s demands, that the Battle Of The Bulge could have been averted. This book, with all its information, could have been a long- winded technobabble reserved for graduate students if it weren t for Coopers down to earth way of putting things in layman s terms for the average WWII buff. It is a wonderful read (I reread it a 3 rd time for this review.) Before it was published, Stephen Ambrose quoted the manuscript extensively while writing his own, Citizen Soldiers. There is a massive amount of information for the armor modeler in Death Traps as well as a handful of fine black and white photos of damaged American and German tanks for visual inspiration. Descriptions of field modifications of Shermans as well as the only M26 Super Pershing issued to the 2 nd Armored Division should keep tread heads busy for a while. I d recommend this to every WWII modeler including wing waxers, as it will give a great appreciation for what the front line armored units went thru. Death Traps is available at fine booksellers for $ Next month I ll delve into Caissons Across Europe by Richard M. Hardison and B-24 Combat Missions by Martin W. Bowman Wants & Disposals If you have a want or a disposal of kits, modeling tools, reference books, etc, please call (513) , or send to: rschorry@cinci.rr.com and we ll list your surplus or need here. 9

10 CSM Debrief Cincinnati Scale Modelers Monthly Newsletter Feb Editorial address: 5675 Sovereign Dr. Cincinnati, Oh