Something seems odd in the fact that it’s mid October School’s just started and they are already enjoying a two week break. Football Season has sort of started and Halloween is around the corner closely followed by the rest of the big Holidays. With the colder weather coming that translates into more time available to pursue our hobby.

A bit point to remember is effective September 2011, the Art Museum will commence charging $5.00 to park either in the Garage or the close in lots. The club voted in quorum that this was an acceptable cost even though we meet after peak business hours and we are onsite for just a few hours. Some comments were made that since we are renting the meeting room as well that we should receive a dispensation from the Museum. Fighting that one may be a forlorn hope. It seems the consensus was to pick the battles you could win. So, from the August meeting on, bring an extra five Dollars or you get to hike from the outer parking lots. Evidently, Handi-Cripples, like yours truly, get to ante up the cash as well or hike. Seems like for once there are no exceptions. The one out is to join the Museum and become a member at $45.00 per year. If you attended every club meeting at the Museum, that would cover some 9 months of parking fees. You'd save some $5.00 or $10.00 per year in parking fees if you became an associate member of the Museum. Doing the short math, for many of us and myself, it is basically a wash or cheaper to ante up the $5.00 for parking.

September Meeting Recap.

Jim Philhower called the meeting to order around 7:30 P.M. and first asked for guests to introduce themselves. In attendance were guests Issac Brown, and returning members Rupert Daily, David Whitlock, and Mark Hiott. After guests and returning members we got down to business.

This is a correction... MY BAD. John Bowery and Dave Samson went to St. Louis, MO over the Labor Day weekend attending a 3 Day Seminar on figure painting.

Next came the Treasurer’s Report. No new info. There are funds in the bank and we are not in the red.

Again, per Mr. Kindler some folks still have outstanding dues owed for this years membership. It’s only $12.00 for the year. Please see Ken and get squared away ASAP. Usually Annual Dues come around in December so plan accordingly.

A Club steering committee will contact Raymond Park Middle School to coordinate dates available for the March 2012 Contest.

On October 1st 2011 there was an IPMS Contest held in Cincinnati, Ohio. A number of club members were present and several of us entered models in the competition. On a personal note it was humbling and invigorating to see the flaws in one’s own work as compared that of others from the region. The invigorating part comes from the resolve to become better and more competitive. Also found some really great bargains in armor models. Yay! (Okay, okay, it takes so little to make me happy)

Show and Tell

Mark Hiott displayed and discussed a 1/350 scale ICM Grosse Kurfurst Battleship. It was a 7 month build with lots of fiddly bits and brass. It builds into a nice model and Mark did a really great job finessing the kit together.
Issac Brown showed a Trumpeter 1/35th T-55 tank and talked about its construction as an out of the box project which turned out a very nice kit.
Steve Pavey displayed the following: Nicely prepared Zvezda Troll and an Orc. He also discussed a Bretonian Knight from the Warhammer Game Series. He brought in a Euoplocephalus Dinosaur figure made by Kaiyodo. (will not grump about the critter names, it's part of the job) Steve discussed as well a Giant figure of an unknown manufacturer.
John Bowery brought in the figure and a photo book about the workshop in St. Louis. He discussed and answered a raft of questions about the 3 day workshop.
Dana Griffith discussed a small 1/72 Revell Poliparkov I-16 Rata of the VVS in WWII.
Rick Wilkes brought in a work in progress B-25 which had turned into a challenging project.
Jim Philhower discussed 2 well detailed 1/35th Sherman tanks he brought in. One is a M4a1 Late Normandy 1944 and the other is a M4a6 76mm what if Frankenstein.

Rick Wilkes is sponsoring a club competition called "The 90 Day Wonders". Here is how the contest will go:

For the September Meeting, bring in a model which you have not started building. During the meeting, the kit will be verified that assembly has not started. It will then be logged as the kit that you will build for the Contest. It can be any kind of kit requiring assembly, gluing, and finishing. The Contest and Show and Tell will be held during the December meeting. This is intended to also help the Support your local Hobby Shop drive.

September Club Contest was Multi Engine Bombers.
The ballots were issued. The judging club members scrutinized the entrants. The ballots were cast and tallied resulting in the winning slate.

1st Place - Charlie Haines – Matchbox PB4y2 Privateer using Cobra after market parts
2nd Place - Dana Griffith – Frog Bristol Blenheim Mk1
3rd Place - David Whitlock – Junkers JU88a1

November - Support your local Hobbyshop

December - Double D's, contact Erik Fox & Angelo DeGrassi for details.
Has 2 D's. Delta Dart, Douglas Dauntless, Elvira, etc.

If anyone has ideas/suggestions or events they would like to sponsor, please bring it up at any upcoming meeting. Model contests will be held during even numbered months while hobby related events/displays/visitors etc. will be held during odd numbered months.

After the contest and some more chatting around the meeting room, Jim officially adjourned the meeting for the evening.

Upcoming area contests:

11/06/2011 The Cleveland Show

11/12/2011 Butch O'Hare Contest
Lakeview Junior High School
701 Plainfield Rd, Downers Grove, IL

If someone knows of any good local model contests or pending events, please let me know and I'll add them to the newsletter.
Finally, slow but steady progress is being made to rectify email and newsletter issues. Please be aware that the Newsletters are being prepared using MS Word 97. Please notify the editor of any additions or corrections. Occasional pats on the head are accepted as well. I've been told I'm not allowed to accept monetary gifts... how depressing. Please include at least your name, phone number and address if possible. The phone number is the only easy way to verify the correct email address if it is returned.

See you all at the next meeting on October 21, 2011 at the Art Museum.