8th Annual 2002 East Coast Hobby Show (Page Three)

The 2002 East Coast Hobby Show
(Page Three)

Sunday's Show - Once again into the Iwata fray

Sunday found me once again at the Iwata booth. This time, I brought my Robotech and Gundam models to display, along with a sci-fi vehicle or two to put out.

Also, this time I had the opportunity to play wit….uhh, that is, conduct very interesting, informative and enlightening demonstrations with the Spectrum 2000.

I ended up doing airbrush demos out the "ying-yang" with that paint changer. I used a built-up Testor 1:48 scale Corsair as my guinea pig, transforming the plane through a spectrum of multiple colors.

I really liked how the Spectrum 2000 worked. The paint became a bit sluggish at times when switched, though. This was possibly due to the Tamiya paint not quite being diluted enough.

Still, after changing the dial setting, it only took around 5 - 8 seconds for the new color to start coming out.

I talked over (and over and over again) about how there are really only 3 factors to master when airbrushing: Your paint-to-thinner ratio, your air pressure and the distance your airbrush is from your modeling subject.

In addition, I talked about a number of miscellaneous airbrushing topics, like how you can use acrylic, enamel and lacquer paints in an airbrush. I talked about the importance of cleaning your airbrush out thoroughly when finished. I also talked about how you can just shoot some thinner through your airbrush in between colors until the thinner comes out clean, before going onto your next color.

Finally I talked about some of the different problems that can occur with airbrushes, which can cause problems with the painting.

After demo-ing the Spectrum 2000 for a couple of hours I decided to take a break and look around once again.

Make & Take It Program

As I previously mentioned, there was a model building Make & Take It Program that was being conducted by the Del Val Scale Modelers Club.

Due to a number of factors, the building session could only be conducted during Sunday's show.

The club members who conducted the M&TI were Jim Durso, Amadeo Delosrios, Dave Garbern, John Walton, Joe Turowski, Fred Bowers and his son Joshua.

Around 500 models kits had been obtained. Half of these were Spirit of St. Louis plane kits that Testors manufacturers. The other 250 were very old - (ANCIENT), poor fitting car kits of various types, dating back to 1953 (from Minicraft). In addition, Testors "organic" glue, (found in those blue and white tubes) was supplied.

Due to my commitment to Iwata, I was only able to drop by the M&TI for a short period of time.

I was later informed that around 200 - 250 kits were assembled during the 7 hours the building program took place.

As fate would have it, I ended up running into a fellow sci-fi/horror modeling Internet chum, Bob Jaconetti, (alias the MonsterModelMan). We had sparked up conversations in the past over the Internet on a variety of different model related topics, including this show. Bob (and his son Matthew) were finally able to drop by.

The IPMS Model Contest

Jack Smith, the President of the NEPA IPMS Chapter was on hand as well. Jack was holding the annual IPMS model contest that's been taking place at the ECHS almost since the show's inception.

The way this contest works is folks enter their models in (free of charge) on Saturday and Sunday. The judging takes place on Sunday afternoon, with awards given out to those who "placed."

This modeling contest was BY FAR THE BEST ONE TO TAKE PLACE AT THE ECHS YET! There were probably over 300 kits entered! In addition, the workmanship of the kits was very high!

Probably the best diorama out on display was a scene depicting a burned down building. I talked to the guy who had built it, and he shared with me his secret for accurately depicting a miniature representation of a building that had almost burned to the ground - He actually set his building on fire, (quickly dousing it with water once the desired look had been achieved).

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