THE ROTUNDA The newsletter of IPMS Birmingham,

September 2010

Terry’s Hurricane scored 27 out of 35 to win last month!

Winners all, in my opinion.

COMPETITION MONTHLY THEMES 2010 September 26th October 17th November 21st

And --- Action! Main Title From a book, film etc Drama

December 19th

Grand Xmas extravaganza!!!

Forthcoming club events September 26th October 17th November 21st December 19th

Airbrush day reprised TBC NOT the AGM normal service resumes AGM Xmas exrtavaganza

THANK YOU as ever to everyone who has contributed this month and in the past-I think I forget sometimes but I thank you all. We have some members and friends in the wars I am sad to say: BOB DEELEY I am sure most of us know this already but below is an e-mail from Bryan Philpot; I am sure it goes without saying that we all wish Bob all the very best; I have, of course, added him to the ‘mailing’ list as Bryan suggested, although I cannot imagine how seeing this newsletter would HELP anyone’s convalescence! Good luck Bob. “Hi gents from the modelling fraternity. I thought I would let you know that Bob Deeley is recovering from Pancreatic Cancer. He was diagnosed mid June and had the operation towards the end of June. He was in hospital about 4 - 5 weeks. He is now home making a recovery. He has lost about 5 stone in weight due to op and loss of appetite, but his appetite is now returning and he is stable, hoping to put on weight. He is now getting back to his old jovial self and sarcasm! I saw him yesterday and he agreed for me to let you all know. His email address is: [email protected] He would like to hear from you Roland Can you please include him on you club email Many thanks Regards Bryan Philpot” BILL NICHOLLS Bill has had a bad fall and broken his wrist, apparently he was doing some shopping with Anne in Kings Heath High Street the other day when it had rained heavily and the tip of his walking stick slipped on the pavement. I understand that his wrist is

broken in three places and may need surgery. I have spoken to Bill this afternoon, he 'phoned me at the Avon Show, he seems in quite good spirits but was frustrated at missing the show. Of course I told him that, as a man of his seniority, he should stop giving break dancing exhibitions in public places. It would be nice if club members could contact Bill and let him know we are thinking of him. Roland MIKE PORTER As you will recall a couple of months ago I announced the "Mad Mike" Porter, one of our friends from IPMS Syracuse, had suffered a stroke and I took a group photo which I then manipulated on Picasa or Photoshop to send as a digital 'get well soon' card to Mike via email. "Mad Mike" is a huge fan of Airfix and John Kesler asked if we could get a copy of Arthur Ward's book "The Boys' Book of Airfix" signed by Trevor Snowden and send it over to the States and John would pay all expenses. I approached Paul Regan (IPMS UK President) about this, knowing that he is in regular contact with the sales team at Margate and would probably have a phone number or email address for Trevor. Paul went one (or more like ten) better than that, he contacted the Airfix sales team who donated the book and got the whole crew to sign it, including Trevor, and then arranged for the shipment by courier to John Kesler all for no cost! As you can see from the photographs John arranged for the members of the Syracuse Chapter to be in attendance when he presented the book to "Mad Mike". He reports that Mike was surprised and touched by the gesture and John has asked that we pass on their thanks to Airfix. Full marks to Airfix for taking the time to do this and it would be nice if we could express our appreciation to their sales team - perhaps at Scale Modelworld - in some way, suggestions please. And of course not forgetting Paul Regan, his input was invaluable. Roland MIDLAND EXPO 2011 Roland has updated the Midland Expo website, in addition to a list of

the committee it now has a new Logo and there is an on-line booking form for clubs to registered for space at he show - it can be found on the 'Exhibitors page'. To view the website go to; http://midlandexpo.blogspot.com HYPERLINKS I will include a list of pertinent hyperlinks each month; if you think of one I’ve missed, please let me know. http://midlandexpo.blogspot.com http://ipmsbirmingham.blogspot.com http://www.flickr.com/groups/ipmsbirmingham/

show website club website club pictures etc

KEY PUBLISHING LAUNCHES AIRFIX MODEL WORLD ‘Key Publishing Ltd are delighted to announce the launch of Airfix Model World, an exciting new magazine for scale modellers, published under licence from Airfix. As Europe's leading publisher of aviation magazines with sector dominant brands such as FlyPast, Airliner World and AirForces Monthly, Key are ideally placed to bring this title to market due to their knowledge of the subject area and the promotional opportunities afforded by their current portfolio. Airfix Model World will cover all modelling genres but will focus on aviation, the largest sub-sector within this market. The 100 page magazine, which launches on 4 November 2010 with a monthly frequency and superb production values, will have a cover price of £3.99.’ c/o Roland AVON SHOW, YATE Sunday 22nd August and the club attended the ever popular Avon Show held in the Community Centre at Yate, just north of Bristol. We were allocated a large L shaped stand and fortunately were able to fill the space with a varied selection of models, one end being given over, appropriately in the 70th anniversary year, to a Battle of Britain display. The branch was represented by David and Christian Child, Pete Betteridge, Terry Walton, Norman Otty, Roger Hartill and Roland Turner. Unfortunately Bill Nicholls, who had intended to attend, had fall a few days earlier and has broken his wrist, however we did speak to him by telephone from the show so he was there in spirit so to speak.

(Please note that much of the above, and show reports etc, unless otherwise credited, is courtesy of Roland and his (our) excellent club website. Thanks Roland)

MILLIPUT and FIGUREWORLD Rowland has included a brief report on the club’s website of Rogers’ excellent demonstration of Milliput last month, which I have reproduced below. Coincidentally Roger has sent me a short report of an event called ‘FIGUREWORLD’ which I have also included. Thanks to you both.

Milliput Most of us have used the product at one time or another, with varying degrees of success but Roger covered a whole range of possibilities encompassing all aspects of the hobby from aircraft via armour to figures. Even those people that have used Millput for a long time learned some new techniques or uses for the two-part epoxy putty. To illustrate his talk Roger brought along some examples of his own work, particularly impressive were the figures and busts that he modified or resculpted as can be seen from the photographs here.

Figureworld I have attached a few photos from "Figureworld " which was a really good day out in Mansfield. Like the American system you just created your own small display usually draping a piece of velvet over some boxes and posing your figures at differing heights. There was no competition and the show did not suffer from that. Plenty of displays on a variety of subjects, demos on several topics, Models that grace the covers of Military Modelling and other magazines and a good chinwag. A few specialist traders ensured some money was spent. No rules, no elitism and unfortunately no

food but there was a bar and the food will be put right next year. Anyone interested can visit www.tbforum.co.uk. This is the website for the Basement which is a figure modelling group. Once in click on tbwebzine and that takes you to the show page. Norman's stuff is on gallery 3 and a bit on 4 I think and mine is on gallery 3. The site gives you a good flavour for the show and 80% of the models on the Figure special Mil Mod cover (and inside) were at the show. TB incidentally stands for The Basement. (The grey figure on the photo is a master sculpted by Rob Lane of Billy Bishop and he has caught the soul of the WW1 ace superbly. It will be on sale soon from Hawk Miniatures.) The stand view is our " Art in Miniature" at Beltring in the tent. Roger

Please find below the pictures I took of the Dragon Wagon. This is quite rare especially here in the UK but it may be useful to people who have the model or intend to get one.

WOMBOURNE SHOW SEPT.5TH As usual we were made very welcome and had a good day. Steve, Dad and myself filled a couple of tables. It was nice to see Big Bob and the UMS lads. I thought it seemed a bit quiet this year and one Club didn't show, however Les Bouts and his team came to the rescue and filled the tables with some interesting stand-by models so it was ok. Interesting stuff in the second smaller Hall (which was mainly armour) where there were models in progress showing the use of resin add-ons, conversions and turned gun barrels which (whatever your point of view) make for a nice end result. Point of discussion-Is the large Airfix Mosquito kit really worth £100 quid? It wasn't worth taking sarnies really as the ladies did everyone proud with some excellent fare at even better prices. Roger and Norman kept the Birmingham end up by winning the best stand award with their beautiful figure models which never fail to impress and amaze me. Well done guys! I did a "Bill" on the Tombola by walking away with an armful of prizes. I looked like a Crackerjack contestant! It got embarrassing after the fourth winning ticket and I thought the woman next in the queue was goning to bounce me over the head. Unfortunately the kit prizes I won weren't the best so look out Hospice here they come! A good day had by all Rob Newton

DROITWICH SALT DAY 2010 Last year we were invited by the Forever Forties Group to put on a display of models at Droitwich's annual Salt Day and they were kind enough to ask us to attend again this year on Saturday 11th September. The club was represented by David Child, Peter Betteridge, Terry Walton and Roland Turner, we arrived early and having found our pitch, set up our stand only to be caught by a sudden downpour, rapid action was taken to protect the models but some of us got a good soaking. The day's activities were officially opened by the mayor of Droitwich's French twin town who made a speech in French translated into English to, what must have appeared to him, an unusual audience comprising of the local Air Cadet squadron band, a troop of Roman Legionaries, a few modellers from Birmingham, a quantity of people in assorted WWII uniforms plus ordinary members of the public.

Our display, in keeping with the Forever Forties theme, was of World War Two subjects and in particular, as we are in the 70th anniversary year, the Battle of Britain. As the day progressed the sky cleared, the sun shone and we had a steady stream of people coming to look at our models, talk about either modelling techniques or reminisce about the types of aircraft and vehicles giving us the opportunity to hand out flyers for next year's Midlands Expo. The Forever Forties people brought along a variety of 1940s vintage vehicles both military and civilian and dressed themselves in the appropriate uniforms and styles. By the end of the day we had talked to a lot of people including one former club member and a couple of potential new members, such events give us an opportunity to show our hobby to a wider public. Thanks are due to David Bowlas and the Forever Forties Group for inviting us again, those of us that participated had a thoroughly enjoyable day Rowland DASSAULT MIRAGE IIIBE in 1/48 scale Next year will be the 50th anniversary of the Dassault Mirage III entering service with the Armee de l'Air (French Air Force) and I have committed myself to building a number of models of various versions of the ubiquitous French fighter for the French Air Forces SIG display already being planned for Scale Modelworld 2011 (We haven't even had the 2010 show yet). One of the variants that I have volunteered to build is the Mirage IIIBE two seat trainer using the Heller IIIB as a basis for the conversion, I actually started this a few years ago but it got shelved a some point and had been languishing in a box out of sight for quite a while. So far the rear fuselage has been assembled, as have the wings, a new nose cone has been fabricated from layers of 40 thou. plasticard, the cockpit and ejector seats have been partly detailed using a spare etched brass fret from the Heller Hi-tech version of the kit. The ventral fuel tank pack and afterburner have been cross kitted from the ESCI kit, however this requires further detailing, a jet pipe has been cobbled together from a spare resin one from the Fonderie Miniatures Mirage F.1B kit and a turbine casting of my own. Additional work has included separating the flaps/elevons so that they can be remounted in the drooped position characteristic of the Mirage III at rest and rescribing the raised panel lines. As can be seen from the photograph there is a lot more to be done before the model is finished and I will be recording my progress in future posts. Rowland.

LA MUSEE DES BLINDES, SAUMUR lthough I’d been to Saumur and the Musee des Blindes before Mary and I were off camping in France again and I was lucky, or crafty enough to plot a route that took us there again, this time with a digital camera and a large memory card. Oh! What joy! This truly is a SUPERB museum, even for one whose main obsession isn’t armour, like myself. Upon arrival in the car park there are two Shermans on duty, one with a welded hull (I suspect this is one of their many ‘runners’) and one welded hull specimen on a plinth. The latter has a big gun and the less common suspension that I see from time-to-time on my travels. (Do we have a volunteer within our ranks that could perhaps do a tank-talk? I am aware that there were many types of Shermans, and I THINK this one is a Firefly, but why all the different hulls? Why the different suspension systems, etc. etc? Any volunteers?) To the side of the car park is a reserve collection/graveyard of old T34s, Panthers and dozens of French tanks from the 50s and 60s. Some of these are undoubtedly under restoration and one, a T34/85, is one that, along with much of their German armour, they ‘run’ in demonstrations, events etc.

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Moving indoors, past the shop you enter the French WWI hall in which are contained a Schneider tank, St Chamond tank, Renault FT17 tank and a Renault Truck. From there you pass into the hall containing the collection of French tanks from the 1940 campaign, including a Hotchkiss H 39, Renault AMR 33, Renault R 39, Renault R 35, Panhard AMD 178, Renault B1 bis Somua, S 35 Renault UE 31,and a Gnome & Rhone Motorcycle and Side-Car. Painted on the walls are large murals showing scenes of how it might have looked in 1940, the French troops sandbagged in, bridges across the Loire blown Loire blown, smoke across the river as they await the onslaught of the Panzers……

peaking of which, a right turn takes you into the Panzer hall, and you start to wonder HOW IN GOIDS NAME DID THE ALLIES WIN against what is contained there? A Panther is there, along with a Bergepanther, a King Tiger (which runs!) and a Tiger I with late steel wheels, but on its narrower transport tracks rather than the bigger combat tracks. Then Panzers II, III and IV (only a Panzer I is missing from the set), an Sdkfz 11, various anti tank gun types, nebelwerfers, a standard horse drawn wagon, and the finest set of SPs to be seen. Where else to go to find a Wespe, a Brummbar, both early and late Jagdpanzer IVs, both 75mm and 105mm armed Stugs, a Hetzer, Marder I, 2 types of Marder III, a Hummel, a Mobelwagen and others.

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Moving on into a temporary tented display there are a couple of Italian AFVs, with an M13 and the Sermovente Assault Gun, and, with some more unusual civilian cars, a French Delahaye Jeep, the little UE Infantry Carrier and some other modern French built armoured cars. In the next main hall, there are a number of experimental prototypes and more unusual machines, and a few more German pieces to draw you in. There is a Schwimwagen alongside a Ford GPA, as well as a Trippel, and a large Henschel tractor as well. A Goliath and a hand drawn German Cable Laying cart are also on show. Moving on again, you come to a hall for equipment from the old Warsaw Pact nations. T55 and T62 , PT76 and a BTR 70 and the ex-East German RM70 Rocket launcher which I believe is quite rare to find, at least in France plus a sectioned instructional T72, to see how everything is shoe-horned into the armoured hull of a tank, and still allowing room for the crew. Next it is on into the WW2 hall, where exhibits are on show from a variety of nations. Here you will find the likes of an SU100 and KV1, Sherman, Humber Scout Car, British Light Tank Mk VI, Matilda II, a Crusader AA (which is a rarity), an early T34/76 (but maybe a dummy mantle and gun barrel), Staghound, M5 and a Grant which again has dummy gun barrels and appears to have been adapted from a Recovery variant.

Representing the French involvement in Indo China you will find a Chaffee, along with a Weasel (referred to as a Crab) and a Buffalo (referred to as an Alligator). With the open ramp on the Alligator, there is a very good internal view Finally we move into another large hall for more modern equipment, both French and Foreign. An Israeli Merkava, is here. Elsewhere are AMX 30s, another Leclerc, the AMX 10, a Pluton battlefield nuclear missile (an inert one, presumably!), Chieftain (in Berlin scheme), Conqueror and others. At the end was a children’s play area, with a DAF APC and a little French tank located here, both open to allow children to climb into!

Back through the shop, into the open, grab some more batteries and in we go again.. A day is hardly enough but I would recommend this to ANYONE who gets a chance. Superb stuff, well presented, plenty of room to get in with a camera. Perhaps we could organise a club trip there from the profits from the show next year? JD