8th Annual 2002 East Coast Hobby Show

The 2002 East Coast Hobby Show
(Page One)

Thursday, April 18, 2002

(Introduction)

The 8^th Annual East Coast Hobby Show took place some four weekends ago, on Saturday, March 23^rd through Monday, March 25^th. On Monday the doors were opened for retailers and distributors only.

I ended up attending the Show on the Friday before, to check things out. I was also at the show on Saturday and Sunday, primarily to help conduct airbrushing demonstrations for the Iwata Company.

I dropped by on Friday to meet up with John Smith, who works for Iwata. In addition, Joe Smith and Joe Baxter, two modeling partners-in-crime who were also helping out with the airbrushing demos were on hand. (John Smith, Joe Smith and Joe Baxter…this had all the makings for a confusing weekend).

Another reason I dropped by the Fort Washington Convention Center on Friday was to check out the model kits that Scott Pressman - (the show's promoter and organizer) - had obtained for the scheduled Make & Take It program that was being conducted. Members of the Delaware Valley Scale Modelers - (the modeling club that I belong to) - were doing the honors.

Unfortunately, Scott and his workers were soo busy setting things up and getting ready for the show that I was unable to obtain the samples that I was looking for.

Saturday's Show - Iwata

On Saturday morning, I arrived at the show (a bit late) and headed over to the Iwata booth. I had brought a number of my models to display on a table that had been set up on the side of the Iwata area.

John, Joe and Joe were already on hand.

Joe Smith had set up some of his personal airbrushed artwork, along with a number of the models that he had brought with him.

Unfortunately, he and I got our signals crossed. Instead of me bringing some of my sci-fi models, I ended up bringing almost exactly what Joe had already put out on display - WWII and early jet aircraft. (Oh well, there was always tomorrow).

I set up my models and unpacked the rest of my stuff. I had Del Val Club flyers to distribute, along with a number of Testors 1:48 scale Corsair kits (left over from last year's ECHS' M&TI) that I was planning on giving to children of the parents who dropped by to chat.

After I got myself organized, I started working on setting up the Spectrum 2000. "The Spectrum 2000? - What's a "Spectrum 2000?" I'm glad you asked.

The Spectrum 2000 is a device that Iwata released a number of months earlier. It allows up to 8 different colors of paint and a bottle of thinner to be set up together, attached to an airbrush through a common connection.

There is a circular dial incorporated in the attachment point that allows one of the nine different paints and thinner to be selected. In addition, by setting the dial partially between two adjoining colors, a mixture of two paints can be selected.

This system is pressurized, with an airline feeding it from an air compressor. A second airline is connected on the other side of the Spectrum 2000, running from the paint changer to the airbrush that it is connected to.

The instructions indicate that after being used, you can leave the bottled paints connected to the device for up to 2 weeks, without having to clean it out. This is because the system is sealed off from (fresh) air.

Any period longer than 2 weeks requires the system to be cleaned out. This is accomplished pretty easily, though. You simply remove the bottled paints, leaving the thinner attached. Then, the bottled thinner is screwed loose and attached to each of the paint positions, one at a time.

The appropriate dial setting is selected and the thinner is drawn up and airbrushed out until it becomes clear. This step is then repeated for each of the remaining paint locations and selections. When done, clean bottles can be reattached to the paint changer.

Ok, enough of this detailed description (and sales-pitch) here. For most of Saturday's show I worked on mixing Tamiya paints and the thinner (that had been supplied). This was done while talking to numerous folks who dropped by to chat.

After the paint had been poured into the bottles and diluted, I tried to connect the paint changer to the air compressor. Unfortunately, I discovered that the connector that was attached to the compressor would not come off.

Ultimately, I ended up making a trip to a nearby Home Depot to pick up an adaptor. Once I arrived back, the show was winding down for the day. I attached the adapter to the air compressor and attached the airline from the Spectrum 2000 to it. It was ready to go, (for Sunday's show!)

In between battling with the Spectrum 2000 and talking to folks, I was able to get away and float around a bit, seeing what I could see.

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