December Meeting: Was canceled due to the wrath of Mother Nature…something we expect to do during the winter in Wisconsin.

November 2008 Highlights

A club is only as good as the modeler that make up its membership. That said, our club is made up of not only some of the greatest folks you’ll ever meet, but some of the best modelers around. One of the greatest attributes of our little band of modelers is our diversity in interests as well as the fact we love to share our techniques with anyone who attends.

Roger Witt demonstrates basic soldering.

This month the call was for a demo in basic soldering principles, and our resident master brass builder Roger Witt answered the call. Roger builds not only some of the greatest aircraft, he also is a class A model railroader. I mentioned his building buildings in my blog.

Roger gave us a down and dirty lesson on soldering. I wanted his guidance on soldering PE as well as the other metal I use for scratch building my models. He delivered.

If your club isn’t spreading the wealth of information, it is time you ask why. It is always pleasant to have a “Show n Tell” but it means more if you share ones techniques and learn from others as they share theirs.

I’ll expand on Roger’s tips in my blog in the very near future. Until Next moth…Happy Modeling!

October 2008 Highlights

Our meeting was well attended including some new faces and a guest. The early birds met at Friar Tuck’s for supper. Normally we are seated straight away, though this time the eight of us had to wait and wait and wait until a table was available…the place was packed. Our delay in getting seated and served put our arrival time at the meeting a bit late but there were others patiently waiting our arrival. There was a lot of great models for show-n-tell.

Billy Crisler was my guest, he found the meeting quite enjoyable and commented afterwards that he can see why so many of us are willing to travel such distances to participate. Of those at the meeting last night one one was a “local,” the rest of us commute anywhere from 20 miles to over a hundred, just to reach the meeting. That does say something. Add in the fact that Al and Doc have been doing this for more than 20 years!

Last year the weather for our October meeting was much milder. There was a definite nip in the air this year.

August 2008 Highlights

Our “Pre-Meeting” at Friar Tuck’s in Oshkosh was attended by ten hungry souls. As usual our conversations covered a variety of topics (including modeling) and the food was good too.

At HobbyTown, the number in attendance grew adding in a couple more who came directly to the meeting. Bruce Williams brought his “Dragon Wagon” tank transporter which he is getting closer to completing. As with all of his builds this one promises to be another winner.

Al Jones brought a trio of vehicles…one an old Peerless kit of an armored car. As Al mentioned these old kits are still great builds and should be brought back again.

At any of our meetings you will find a very broad diversity in the modeling skills and subject categories our members build. Even though our club is named after a pioneer of aviation, our club does more than aircraft.

We have some fine Armor builders as illustrated here as well as some great automotive, ship and railroad builders. This is what makes our group so successful. This diversity in modeling helps expand our knowledge of modeling skills and techniques which is why most of us attend. It also is true that we also like to spend time with others who enjoy the same hobby too.

For several of us summer has meant less time for modeling. Though that sounds bad, it in fact is probably a good thing in that we will be able to take fresh approach once the kids are back in school and the outdoor activities slow.

Thanks to everyone who brought models! As usual there were several great builds displayed and I am looking forward to the next meeting which will be on September 16th. See you there!

July 2008 Highlights

What can I say…we had a great turnout including a couple of guests…we ate well as usual during these special meetings…though I never got to sample the raspberry dessert, someone else in this household ate mine! Oh well, snooze you lose.

The kitchen was a buzz of activity as Shari and Verna help ready the food to feed this hungry crew. Bob and I tended to the grill to get the brats & burgers and chicken ready. Though getting the house ship shape for these sort of events requires a bit of work on our part, Shari and I are looking forward to doing it yet again later this year. The chili potluck was so successful and enjoyed I think we’ll be doing that again!

After dinner many of us enjoy frozen novelty treats…aka Drumstiks and conversation. David is our resident paper modeler in the group and he shared a couple of his recent projects…including an engine that looked like a plastic kit! With the price of plastic is this the next widespread trend in modeling?

As usually all of the models that were brought were spectacular, I’ll be adding those pictures soon.

June 2008 Highlights

Doc Funcke and Al Jones discuss Al’s HobbyBoss Wildcat.

Roger Witt refers to this as an easy 30 year project. Let’s just say that there is more than meets the eye with this project. It’s amazing!

Doc Funke’s Trio. Doc and his amazing WW I aircraft are always a must see when he brings them to the meetings.

Pete says he hopes to see ya next month!

Troy and Bob…Troy working some magic?