Mother Nature surprised the Detroit Metro Area with about 4-8″ of powdery snow the day before our November meeting. So while most of our members were curled up in front of the fireplace with a mug of hot cocoa, a few of us braved the elements for the last Model-of-the-Month for 2019. Attendance was light, and the number of models on the table was even lighter (2.). But it was a fun meeting with good discussions and laughs.
It was also Nostalgia Night. And Bob B. brought a table-full of vintage magazines, flyers, models, paints, and other historical items from the modeling world. It was quite a haul, and Bob said it was only part of his collection. Jerry F. brought one of his favorite die-cast vehicles to show. Mike A. brought in a Bandai Super Star Destroyer to show off the incredible detail. And Alex brought a 3D-printed 1/48 armored Rolls Royce from Lawrence of Arabia to pass around.
As we plan for our 2020 season, Alex put out a call to see if anyone would like to see any specific demos, presentations, or discussions. Put your thinking caps on, and bring your ideas to the December meeting please.
Have you checked out the IPMS Willow Run website? They’ve put together a cool project called the “Internationally Connected Modelers Group”, where they have connected with other IPMS groups in the UK that have an historical connection to the Willow Run Bomber Plant. In their case, they selected Branches in areas that had B-24 Liberator bases during WWII.
Do you have any cool ideas for an internationally connected sister club? One idea tossed around was perhaps IPMS Latvia, which exists in the former Kingdom of Livonia. Does anyone think this sounds fun? Would anyone like to be an official Ambassador? What events do you think would be fun to do with a sister club on the other side of the world?
Don’t forget, we’ve been giving away a Nankin gift card at each meeting. Brian F. was our big winner last night. He said he liked the odds of a low-turnout meeting.
Our Model-of-the-Month meeting only had 2 entries: 1 adult, and 1 junior.
Al Vassallo brought a 1/32 Stuka. He shared a story of growing up in Malta. A Stuka had crash-landed near the soccer field they playing in growing up, and the wreckage was like part of their playground.
Robert Helms brought a 1/12 Tamiya motorcycle rider figure, with a really nice paint job and a hand-lettered jacket.
For the first time since I’ve been in the club, there was no need to vote on the entries. They each took 1st place by default!
Which leads us to Modeler-of-the-Year…
As of last month, Ian Dow and Bob Pizio were both tied for 1st place. If either had shown up with an unpainted sprue, they would have added 1 point to their year’s score and won. But neither of them showed up for the meeting! So, the rules state that we break the tie by looking at who had more 1st place wins during the year. Well, they *both* had (2) First Place wins, (1) Second Place win, and (1) Third Place win each. We tossed around some tie-breaking ideas. But in the end, Alex decided to let the tie stand. Therefore, the Modelers-of-the-Year standings for 2019 are…
Adults
30 pts – Ian Dow
30 pts – Bob Pizio
17 pts – Jim Ashford
15 pt – Tim Howell
12 pts – Al Vassallo
11 pts – Erik Hjelmberg
8 pts – Chris Wesley
8 pts – Fabrizo Pesce
8 pts – Randy Helms
7 pts – Jerry Fraske
6 pts – Alex Mierzejewski
4 pt – Chris Nichols
3 pt – Steve Freeman
2 pt – Albert Divetta
2 pt – Mike Anderson
2 pt – Bill Pelton
1 pt – Dan Robichaud
1 pt – Brian Fedoroff
1 pt – John Kesner
1 pt – Jeff Wiertalla
Juniors
26 pts – Robert Helms
20 pts – Rowan Bennett
Thanks to everyone who participated this year. We saw 64 new models in 2019, and that doesn’t include any of our mini-contests!
See you in December!
