Daniel Peterson

Nice web site! I've added it, along with the others here. I appreciate it!

Well, as I have a moment or two before all the photos complete their finepix to fotki migration, I have to say that I was blown away by this month's gathering. We had a great turnout for the monthly open contest, especially for a holiday weekend, and the "Peek" portion of our "1932 Ford Peek and Reveal" contest (the reveal is in December) filled the table with Deuces in all stages of construction. Here are a couple photos, and the link to the rest. Oh, and there were hot dogs and barbecue...and cake...and chips and salsa...and [burp!] you might have guessed you needn't look for Jenny Craig on our membership roster...

Thanks for the replies. I've added them to our links page. Good stuff, fellas! Thank you!

Mark, you saved me a lot of extra work. Very early this morning I typed pretty much the same thing, citing many of the challenges ahead of such a proposition you did, then when I went to post it I got an error and lost the whole thing. I had taken it a step further, to the insane cost of marketing all of this. Anybody here buy trade show space, product cartoning, magazine ad space or pay for a top notch web presence recently? That stuff ads up quicker than an argument for not buying a used parachute! It's a great dream, but not at all a realistic concept. Still, I'll drift off tonight with visions of factory fresh, $10 Lug Bug kits stacked by the dozens in each WalMart across America...

I'm trying to update and expand the model club section in the "links" section of the Central Pennsylvania Model Car Club's web site. I'm inherently lazy and respectfully ask that you folks just drop them right here in my virtual lap. Doh! I almost forgot to say "please"! "Pleeeeeeease"? If your club has a web presence, and you don't mind us having the link, please reply with the full URL, or at least the link to your site. Thanks to freewebs, I have managed to put our site together a little bit at a time, and again thanks to freewebs, they made it easy enough that I haven't figured out how to screw it up yet. If your club doesn't have a web site but wants one, and you are the mental equivalent of a bag of donuts when it comes to web design like I am, you might want to consider going this route. You can build a site for free, but going with a premium account is very reasonable and adds features you can really use. Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.

NEW YORK Model Masters PO Box 5761 Cortland, NY 13045 Wade Tomlinson IPMS/Niagara Frontier 48 Greengage Cr East Amherst, NY 14051 Frank Ciccarella Salt City Auto Modelers 6539 Fremont Rd East Syracuse, NY 13057 Don Wilson Motoring In Miniatures Assoc PO Box 346 Hamburg, NY 14075 Town Of Newburgh Model Car Club 16 Linden Drive Newburgh, NY 12550 Rick Hanmore 845.564.3757 Raging Plastic Maniacs 19 Alford St Rocheste,r NY 14609 John J Ragone Jr 716-288-0197 Lone Wolf Modelers Association 419 Sanders Ave Scotia, NY 12302 Dave Carnevale Long Island Auto Replica Society c/o George "Skippy" Vita 40 Kejaro CT Centereach, NY 11720 631.736.3556 gliars@optonline.net American Model Club 34 Post Rd Sloatsburg, NY 12303 John Parliament Staten Island Modelers 22 Ellsworth Ave Staten Island, NY 10312 Carl Pomponio Glen Modeling Experience 386 Rock Cabin Rd. Montour Falls, NY 14865 gmeshow@aol.com (607) 535-1822 Modeler's Choice Model Club c/o Craig Hosfeld P.O. Box 13 Manchester, NY 14504 716.750.6519 modelerschoice@yahoo.com Suffolk Scale Model Club c/o Arthur F. Sintef, II 4 Johnson Ave. East Moriches, NY 11940-1137 631.878.8410 Adirondack Glue Crue Retirement Home c/o John Papp 58 Woodlawn St. Schenectady, NY 12306-4621 Scoutmaster357@Juno.com Eaglemaster_3357@Juno.Com Central New York Scale Model Builders c/o Allen Koster 702 Allen Road N. Syracuse, NY 13212 315.458.7363 Adirondack Modelers Mafia c/o Brian S. Batease P.O. Box 2217 Glens Falls, NY 12801 518.761.3096 montesscouple@nycap.rr.com www.adirondackmodelersmafia.com Other than this, I got nuttin'.

I honestly can't recall this series of kits being referred to as "great" by builders I've spoken to or those I've seen post comments about it. I guess it's just a matter of perspective. It's up to the builder to control how sweet a batch of lemonade they can make from the lemons they have. Whether this is a "good" kit or a "bad" kit is academic. You did a wonderful job crafting it. It's gorgeous!

I had to miss the show, but I am sure you guys had a blast. I guess missing you at club meetings is a necessary evil because of work, but I'm glad I got to see this latest build. It's gorgeous! And PERFECT for the club display...but tell me, did you consider entering it in the contest, too?

How about the 1950 F-1? Or the 1950 Chevy? Or here's one...the 41 Chevy,for a real budget racing combo look.

Amazing build up! The diorama setting really brings it to life.

I might be the only gearhead from the East NOT going. I love this show!!! And our club is managing a model contest for the NSRA guys. I might get to the event on Sunday after I get back from Las Vegas, but it doesn't look too promising.

It might have fought you, but you won! Big time! (In UFC lingo, it was a tap-out.) It's Beautiful!

Dare I say it's drop dead gorgeous? There's a lot of body work buried in there that's been very nicely executed.

Good gracious! Do Pegasus TTs ever NOT make a model look better!? I really like this! It's clean, mean and nasty...and I'll bet the air blows cold, too!

Man, that's nice! And it's also a great example of why natural, indirect light is excellent for shooting models...especially ones as well done as this!! Sooooo....since it looks like it'd just about fly, can we refer to this as the Cruz Missile? I will. I can't promise it won't find its way into the newsletter!

I generally do not care for Cadillacs, but what you've done to this kit proves these things can be too cool for words. By turning the bling way down, and adding some judicious detailing, you made this car look simply magnificent! As always, a great build up! Excellent job!

I've been to Michael's, and although they (at least the one in my area) seem to have a decent supply of some "okay" kits, the retail prices are insanely high. I'm spoiled by the likes of my local plastic pushers (Bradley's Car Collectibles, Model Man Lynn Mara, Fantastic Plastics and others) from whom I get kits at killer prices, but Michael's at 50% off puts their kits in that "gotta buy" zone. And if you're after a big ticket item there, it sure seems like a good plan to check out Michael's over the Memorial Day weekend. I also noticed the trickle of kits showing up at WalMarts has completely dried up. It sure doesn't bother me, cuz I got connections, but I don't know how kids buy, or even get the idea to buy, a plastic model kit anymore. Guess it's up to the established "modelistas" to market the hobby.

Simple, Elmer's style white glue can work, but you do need to wait for it to dry. The big advantage is that it doesn't bite into the plastic at all. You can use very small amount of liquid cement or even super glue. It's the same theory as a tack weld; small enough to hold temporarily, weak enough to break without destroying the part. While kind of on the topic, the white glue is also magnificent stuff for masking small holes and pins. When painting a chassis and the suspension parts, I test fit the parts after cleaning them up, then pit a drop of Elmer's on the pin or in the hole (put enough in the hole to give you a "crown" that you can grab onto with a hobby blade later) that's going to be sprayed... Let the glue set up, then paint the assembly. After the paint and glue have dried, I find I can simply pop the glue "mask" out of the hole or off of the pin with the point of a hobby knife. There you have it, nekked plastic ready for the final bond using the glue of your choice! If the holes are through and through, a round tooth pick can be used to fill the area you want to prevent from getting painted. And the fun tack or poster tack or whatever they call it at whatever store you find it is GREAT for masking like I described with the white glue and pins/holes. Even after you get over spray on it, you can still use it for more masking. Just ball it up and work it between yout fingers until it's somewhat pliable. One thing I confess I pick up in this tread was the pinning idea. I will definitely make use of that technique next chance I get!

And, dare I say Lyle, you will be available for autographs and photo ops again? Looks like the MidAtlantic show was (again) an outstanding event. You and "da boyz" have apparently hit the right combination. I really hope I can make it next year. I'm tired of hearing how great these shows are and not seeing one first hand.

For the record, and for the benefit of those who currently run clubs, or would like to at some point: Model car clubs on their own merits are a very good thing. They help generate and maintain interest in the hobby and give members an outlet for their talents. You foster a cameraderie among fellow members and can make it as simple or complex as you choose to. Add in the networking that you get by drawing members from outside your immediate community, and you add a whole new dimension to the club. The Central Pennsylvania Model Car Club was around long before I joined and was already well on its way to becoming pretty well known regionally. They held contests, had parties, participated in community activities and supported charities like Toys for Tots. Those things, in addition to the quality members I met on line and later at a meeting sold me on the club. I was hooked. Fast forward a decade later and we have 70 members, a web presence, a full color newsletter, and more stuff going on than we can keep track of! We are finding ourselves evolving into something more than just a novel display at some automotive events. We have become invited participants to some really top shelf shows. The NSRA East Coast Nationals event Mike is talking about has really become something special, with us having space in the hall where we put on a 70-80 model display, handle the Make & Take for the NSRA and now this year, manage a full-blown contest. Last year we were involved in the Goodguys DuPont Great American Nationals in Hershey, too. Later in the summer, we will also be in the hall for the 7th Annual MuscleCar Madness at the York Reunion. Through some of that networking we talked about, we ended up getting invited a few years ago and have been a fixture ever since. There aren't any figures to prove it, but I have to think us being there certainly doesn't hurt sales for the vendors selling model car kits. And since we are placed just inside the main hall entrance, everybody gets a good look at the club. When September rolls around, we'll be holding the 9th Super September Showdown. This contest and vendor show does the same thing all the other public events do, which is bring scale modeling back to the forefront and gain some exposure for the club. Prospective members get to see what we do, discuss the club with current members, and if nothing else, get a chance to peek back to their youth when model car kits (and Hot Wheels, GI Joes, a bat and glove) were all a kid needed to live the good life. The sum of all this rambling is simply to say that having a model car club to belong to is great, but remember that there's also a whole world of opportunity outside the room where you hold your meetings, should you choose to take advantage of it. And though it takes a little more time, and little more member participation, and maybe a little work, it's a blast!

I have the desire, but between work and my Dad duties, I'm finding I run out of day long before I run out of things to do. I'll keep pluggin' away until I finish something. And thanks for the compliment, too!

Cruz,this is going to be one cool fish when you're done! It's looking very sharp already. Don't laugh, but if I ever get my chubby butt back to the bench I want to make use of some of the techniques and tricks I see you and Bill use. I miss building so much it makes me want to stick myself in the leg with a #11 just to feel like I'm doing something hobby related!!

Mike Cole took some. I only shot pics from inside the hall. Ranks were thin because of the threat of rain, but Terry Myers did bring his roundy-round chevy. Larry arrived in his hew acquisition...a late model Mustang Cobra. CPMCC will soon stand for Central Pennsylvania Mustang Car Club...Adams, Cole, Tate, Landis, Gunshannon...that's 5 red Mustangs, two of which are Cobras I believe... Nick, if you're willing to help me out with the "cheddah" to buy one, I'll let you look at it longingly at it on the first Saturday of every month.

You got me thinking about cracking open an old stagnant project. This is the Camaro I started and then stalled. The front and rear pans always go on pre-paint when I do these. The radiator won't be a problem on this one, but the shroud on the stock build-ups I've done needed surgery. The more I look at these photos, the more I want to smack myself in the head for not keeping it going.

Thanks! You were missed yesterday, but I understand you had a legitmate excuse. Mike's pick-up was sweet! The Firebird was insane, and Blair's entry had people buzzing. Then there were all the other models...very, VERY cool stuff. Cruz even demonstrated the correct posture for removing hubcaps...apparently part two of his ongoing series of midnight auto supply seminars. Good luck with the NNL next weekend. I had hoped to be there, but I am attending a memorial for a very close friend of mine. That's the only thing that could keep me away!