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#21
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Anne McCombs exhibit
Anne McComb is not only a friendly and gregarious member of the group, se's also very talented. She provided the first booth after Pete's, just after the Alan Rose Tribute exhibit.
Anne organized a visit to the Space Shuttle a couple of conventions back for members (no...I didn't get to go...) & likes to promote cordiality amongst members and visitors. Her build skills are equally impressive. Pic 1 illustrates some buildings that she completed. If you look close, you can see an unfinished tank that she is working on, behind the church. What makes these building kits unique, she shared, is that they were some of her oldest works, and now over 50 years old! In the next pic, she exhibited a variety of other kits (see pic 2); a spaceship and two airplanes, a sphinx, a couple of matchbox cars, a pyramid, and a couple of other buildings (all build for IPMCs). Note how tightly the kits were built, with no visible separation of seems and no incomplete edges. Note also the matchbox car container, next t the paper matchbox car, which she attributes to AirDave's valuable nostolgia design. Her recently completed, for this convention, her self-described magnum opus, which was an exquisitely detailed Sherman tank; complete with field tools, gas tanks, & an antenna (see pic 3). She was most proud on this work (deservedly so) and shared that she had made effort to have it ready for this exhibit. She is very open to share her build tips and suggestions, with a small payment of Burger King (no endorsement for this disclosure...Yet!).
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"One does not plow a field by turning it over in his mind..." |
#22
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#23
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And once we had some people who were staying at the hotel and had no connection at all join in on the auction bidding. They just saw that we were having fun and so they joined in. I wonder of they ever built the models they won at the auction. I hope so.
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#24
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Oh!
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I didn't know that! When I chatted to you the table, that wasn't made clear. I would have come and bid, had I known. There was a nice Titanic model book. I'll have to remember that if I can come next year.
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"One does not plow a field by turning it over in his mind..." |
#25
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You should. If I can figure out how to buy plane tickets a year in advance, and not have the flight cancelled at the last minute, I'll be there.
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#26
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Good point...
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Its hard to make plans in a world managed by chaos...
__________________
"One does not plow a field by turning it over in his mind..." |
#27
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Don Bose Exhibit
Next to Anne's booth was a large table exhibit for the work of Don Bose. For anyone unfortunate enough to have not met or conversed with him, Don is a true gentleman and exceptionally talented builder.
Don manned the table with a collection of his works with his wife Lil. Please pass along you best wishes to the two, for since the convention, Lil suffered a stroke and has been hospitalized. Don assured me that she is recovering, but the incident was quite difficult for him. Lil was showing a kit that Don had built for his wife, a (-Don Weeks-) Rigby Spitfire modification. Don had a collection of aircraft that he had completed (see pics 1 & 2). Note how tightly formed the bodies are and with no suggestion of edge or gaps. Don was particularly happy with his newest run; a collection of armor. The first group (pic 3) was of early military vehicles, with a second lot of later (see pic 4). The collection reflected fine craftsmanship and historic accuracy (see pic 5). He was working on an old WWI tank at the booth (see pic 6). Note how the process of this kit was coming along...
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"One does not plow a field by turning it over in his mind..." |
#28
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Don Bose Exhibit continued...
As I mentioned before, Don is a gentleman and generous with praise and his time. I noted that he met with several youth, at his booth, sharing as he could his experience with the craft.
One tip that Done shared with me was his edging technique. To remove the white coloration for a contracted kit, that comes from when a colored print is cut form the appear, Don uses special markers that he gets from an art store, named Fader Castel (See pic 1) . He said that they are very expensive but that they cleanly blend the edge to the color of the printing without bleed-over, and are consistent in coloring. Don keeps a collection off these (see pic 2). He said that they are pricey but that they come in a wide variety of colors to blend the edging to the printed model part. Just look at the previous entry, and the clean, lack of edges that distract from the over-all beauty. You could say that Gentleman Don gave a great tip, at the tip of these markers, to promote effective edging.
__________________
"One does not plow a field by turning it over in his mind..." |
#29
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Kevin Stephens Exhibit
The next table to visit was that of Kevin Stephens. Kevin is a very personable fellow and clearly very talented (see pic 1). He displayed a couple of very detailed tanks next to each other. Note how clean the build is and how the antenna on the one and the machine gun on the other look realistic.
The special exhibit of Kevin's was his tank hauler. The model consists of the truck, the trailer, and the tank on the trailer. The detail on this kits is awe-inspiring, and my camera phone did not due the exhibit justice. There was a full interior, visible through the open apertures (see pic 2), tools scattered about the sides (see pic 3), more tools fixed to the tank hull (see pic 4), and even a chain pulley system (see pic 5). Stephens shared that to accomplish the chain system, in a realistic representation, he had to hunt down the right linkage and he offered a tip to be wary about choosing something that would look like jewelry chain. Though harder to find, what he selected was more realistic and therefore believable. The final result is astounding and inspiring, both (see pic 6). The entire assembly is filled with gears, control levels, gas cans, shovels, buckets, dirt in the treads, and the awkwardness-of-reality touched into the design, making the model look like a holographic representation of a real vehicle, than modeled of paper. His windshield even reflects light well, making the effect very realistic. Mr. Stephens also shared other tips for building, such as for the tires. Note again pic 3, specifically about how the tires have such quality texture. I was unable to get a pic of the tire process which he had provided in his exhibit, before he put it away, but the skilled management of layers of paper had been built up over each other, providing the rounded shape of the tires and groves in the tread. The sculpted layers resolved to develop the three dimensional texture he had affected, smoothed over with the paint. He even added dirt in the treads. If he forwards a pic of the example tire, I'll post it here as well. Stephens and his partner were very open to answering questions about his techniques, and should be a resource to consult if you attend next year. He seems to enjoy discussing his work and sharing how to replicate his skills. Together, he and his partner noted that they shared an interest in developing young minds and seeing the value of paper modeling to do so. In this light, Stephens was very cordial to young visitor that attended, in my presence, and I recommend brining aspiring builders by his exhibit next year. As we all age, our craft can be lost. Young people do not have the experience or exposure to building models that most of us had as we were developing, nor do they have as much opportunity to exercise very much hand-eye skill. So much of their world is attuned to digital screens and keyboard. Its easy to underestimate the need to teach them. It is equally difficult to realize how intimidated and anxious they can be when first trying to paper model; the experience being so alien to them. If we want to see this craft progress to the next generation, we need to teach and inspire young people to learn what we know. We need to provide the instruction and demonstrations that will encourage young, capable minds, to learn what we know before they are no longer willing or able to learn these skills. As they age, the priorities of the net and computer screen can be very seductive. We need to develop teaching opportunities and adequate instructions for kits that are designed to keep the flame going, so to speak. Kevin Stephens impressed me with recognizing the value of this mission.
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"One does not plow a field by turning it over in his mind..." |
#30
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Kevin Stephens Exhibit continued...
One more quick note: I'm going to wait a couple of days before posting the next booth, to give time for Stephens to forward to me, or post himself, the layered tire example. I think you's find it interesting.
In the mean time, here's one more pic of the effect of the=is layering of the paper to create the three dimensional effect (see pic 1). Note the detail of the layered paper, and also the detail of the chain that he suggested. Another example of effective layering may be noted on the gas cans at the toplight of the pic.
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"One does not plow a field by turning it over in his mind..." |
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