International Plastic Modelers' Society / USA

International Plastic Modelers' Society / USA

IPMS/USA

IPMS/USA

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Updated: 1 hour 18 min ago

Revell 1/426 scale USS Arizona BB-39

Fri, 08/21/2026 - 19:40
This next build is the Revell 1/426 scale USS Arizona BB-39. I will be building it as she looked before the attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941. I will be using the Gold Medal Models photo etch detail set, Model Monkey 3D printed turrets to replace the kit versions, and some 3D printed O2U Kingfishers to replace the kit Curtiss Bi-planes. This will be displayed next to a Bradford Exchange USS Arizona Memorial sculpture that I received a number of years ago as a gift. I chose the Revell kit because the length of the kit is the same length as the sculpture. I started this build with the hull. I first drilled out all the portholes on the sides and opened up the anchor and mooring holes on the bow. I then removed the molded in railings. The two halves fit were not as bad as I thought it would be. The seam still required putty but was surprisingly close so not much was needed. I then removed the molded in anchor chains as these will be replaced with real chains. At this time I ordered some other items. The first was the Legends of Warfare book by David Doyle on the USS Arizona. The second items I ordered were the 1/426 USN Vought OS2U Kingfisher Seaplane Set from Distefan. These are 3D printed aircraft. I ordered these because the kit only supplies the Curtis Bi-planes which were replaced in January of 1941. I then needed to remove the molded in railings and gun shields as these are being replaced with photo etch detail parts. I also removed the molded in stairs as well. It took a few days to carefully remove them so I am currently working on the photo etch parts now. I will then work on the numerous upper decks that have the plastic railings and replacing them. You can see all the photos and details from the start in the build log at: https://davidsscalemodels.com/build-log/1-426-uss-arizona-bb-39/

COI for the Gateway Invitational Event dated: Sept 19, 2026

Thu, 08/20/2026 - 16:03
I'm the chapter contact for the Gateway/IPMS club, that will be holding our annual Gateway to the West model contest on 19 Sept 2026. The facility that we are using is requesting the Nationals COI for the event, which I should have received on the second week of August. I have emailed the DLC to look into this, but I have received no response. thanks for your help, Marion

2026 Nationals meeting topic

Wed, 08/19/2026 - 09:26
Greetings, all. I was in attendance at the general meeting on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. One of the topics raised by the President, John Noack, is the lack of participation in members voting. Not reaching a specific number for a quorum makes it difficult to get changes passed and moving the organization forward. One idea of his was to lower the threshold of required votes to "pass" a ballot measure. I think this is not the best way to achieve the goal. Lowering the number required places the organization at peril to a small, but motivated group, to hijack the aims and purpose of IPMS/USA. One way to get a higher level of participation is to allow the President of each chartered club to gather the proxy of each of their members. This would keep the opportunity for less than noble efforts to a minimum. Randall Cox, 8068

Bandai 3241 kit

Mon, 08/17/2026 - 20:32
This kit is of a 1/24 scale jeep with what appears to be a 1/4 ton trailer. A friend wants to know if this is a rare kit. I have no idea. Can someone help?

VELOCIPEDE in 1/48

Sat, 08/15/2026 - 08:38
HI ! Here another project I have done in the past , it,s an scratch one of course..If tyou like to view more pics, Just follow this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/KjaGc9nGf5YydvaC7 Enjoy ! Jmarc

TAMIYA 1/48 WWII GERMAN TRAILEURS

Sat, 08/15/2026 - 08:34
HI ! Here another project I have doe in the past using the TAMIYA kit, if you like to view more pics, Just follow this link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/myfdKrxsiPNoRocp8 Enjoy ! Jmarc

FOCKE-ANGELIS FA-336 in 1/48

Sat, 08/15/2026 - 08:27
Hi ! Here another project I have done in the past , it,s scratchbuilt of course.. If you like to view more pics, Just follow thsis GOOGLE link: https://photos.app.goo.gl/cB9cSpJXqRVBsxAT7 Enjoy ! Jmarc

The Duke Completes the ECTO-1A

Wed, 08/12/2026 - 19:46
At last, I can finally claim this car in my collection. This is the AMT 1/24 scale Ecto-1A Ghostbusters car I bought in San Diego at Comicon: Thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome!

The Duke Completes One Helicopter in August

Wed, 08/12/2026 - 19:41
It's been a slow month for me modeling-wise, but I did get this one done so far: Mach 2 1/72 scale Australian Navy AS-350 Squirrel: There are at least two more helicopters that might get finished this month but for now this is it. Thank you all for looking in, comments are welcome.

The Duke Completes two Armor in August

Wed, 08/12/2026 - 19:38
It's been a slow month for me so far modeling-wise, but I did manage to get these over the finish line: Modelcollect 1/72 scale Russian BAL-E Coastal Defense System: And this Shelf Queen, the Pegasus Hobbies 1/72 scale M46 Patton tank in Marine Corps livery: There's a couple more finished items, feel free to check them out. Meanwhile, thanks for looking in, comments are welcome!

WWII GERMAN BARGE in 1/48

Sat, 08/08/2026 - 07:28
HI ! Here another project I have done in the past , using the VERLINDEN 1/35 barge as a guide and there 1/48 flak , acessories and figure I use are from my spare box , If you like to view more pics , just folow this link https://photos.app.goo.gl/5xy8uwhYioNAay7Y7 Enjoy ! Jmarc

FORD MOTORTUG in 1/48

Sat, 08/08/2026 - 07:26
HI ! Here another project I have done in the past ,using the TAMIYA kit , if you like to view more pics, just follow this link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/1qgN35dWh7nzS4Tu5 Enjoy ! Jmarc

Airfix 1/72 Vampire TT

Tue, 08/04/2026 - 14:36
A friend gave me some models that a friend of his had already started. In this case, the center "pod" was together, the cockpit done and the canopy was in place. It sat on my shelf for a few months (years?), but being between projects, I dragged it out to fiddle with. One thing led to another and, voila, I got it finished. That's Tamiya AS-12 silver and Testers Florescent Orange. I used the Testers because I didn't have access to the Humbrol color that was called out and it was as close as I could get. It may be a little too light, but, meh, it's just going to sit on my shelf. After having done some of these new Airfix kits I have learned to go slowly, study the instructions and do what they tell you when they tell you. If you don't, well, bad things can happen. In this case the only really bad thing was the previous owner hadn't put any weight in the nose so it's a tail sitter, thus the clear plastic prop under the tail. This little bugger has somewhere north of 60 odd decals on it, some literally the size of a pin head. Tedious work, that. In the end, it turned out pretty nice I think.

AVRO VZ-9 AVROCAR project in 1/48 !

Sat, 08/01/2026 - 10:08
HI ! Here another project I been working on for a couple of years, now is the AVROCAR PROGRAM , not much people know that this program started by selling the ideal to create a flying saucer for the USAF and US ARMY , when US military officials visited the AVRO CF-105 ARROW program in MALTON ONTARIO , One of the main AVRO enginer 'Mr JOHN FROST' offer to US OFFCIAL to visit a secret test lab , where AVRO CANADA was working on VTOL project call Y1.. when they saw it the US OFFICIAL came back with an offer to subsadize the program , this project was call PROJECT 1794 SILVER BUG ..While working on the program , AVRO build a smaller version of the propose propulsion VIPER ENGINE , this version was call the AVROCAR , If you like to view more pics just follow these links: AVRO Y1 ( project US OFFICIAL saw at AVRO CANADA MALTON ,PLANT ) https://photos.app.goo.gl/ERhUtBqwV9pthSRx7 AVRO PROJECT 1794 (FLYING SAUCER project propose to US OFFCIAL) https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qy86TXs2uK4S1rCh6 VIPER ENGINE TEST SITE (IN PROGRESS) https://photos.app.goo.gl/a4U68zGFD4hUm1m88 AVROCAR VZ-9 PROTOTYPE 1 in is original airframe with the GROUND EFFECT JIG TEST site https://photos.app.goo.gl/BBQgQQuk8v2JQBPVA AVROCAR VZ-9 PROTOTYPE 2 in is last test airframe before cancellation on is test site at AVRO CANADA plant https://photos.app.goo.gl/CQR663YQcvpAuh4x5 CAE AVROCAR FLIGHT SIMULATOR ( IN PROGRESS) https://photos.app.goo.gl/Qy86TXs2uK4S1rCh6 Since this is an ongoing project they will be more to see later on , and I plan to upgarde it with completed and new projects Enjoy Jmarc

WWII RAF DINGHY 'TYPE J' in 1/48

Sat, 08/01/2026 - 09:36
HI ! Here another project I have done in the past , if you like to view more pics of the project , just visit this GOGLE link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/8Md8WHC7JX9ZrfTb8 Enjoy ! Jmarc

Weird paint effect

Sat, 08/01/2026 - 09:10
Recently I airbrushed some Testers Fluorescent Orange paint and had something strange happen. While the paint went on well, as soon as I started spraying, gossamer strands were floating in the air all around me. At first I thought the moving air had stirred up some old cobwebs, but I noticed that they had a slight tint of color similar to what I was spraying. They didn't seem to be emanating from where I was spraying, they just sort of "appeared" all around me. They settled on things and did, indeed, look like cobwebs but were easily brushed away and did not leave any residue. Have I unleashed some portal to hell or can someone give me a more scientific explanation.

Tamiya 1/35 Krupp Protze Sdkfz.70

Fri, 07/31/2026 - 00:34
So I finally wrapped this one up a short while ago, and it is my 6th completion for this year. I’m almost on track for an average of one a month at this rate! This is the Tamiya classic Krupp Protze, with only minimal changes made. I did add the missing steering linkage, and of course added stowage items in the cargo bed. I also cut off and repositioned the windshield, then made a Zeltbahn cover for it using tissue and thinned white glue. The base colors are Mr Hobby Gunze Aqueous, and most of the detail colors are AK 3rd Gen and Vallejo Model Color acrylics. The mud is AK Splatter Effect Dried Mud with some Mr Hobby Dried Earth pigments to alter the shade, and Humbrol Dust Wash airbrushed on. Markings are for 24th Panzer Division in the Summer of 1942 that are combination of decals from my spares and kit decals. Stowage is mostly out of my spares bins, along with a few small 3D items that I printed. Thanks for looking, comments and critiques are welcome.

Young Frankenstein "Froderick"

Wed, 07/29/2026 - 20:55
"It's Fronkenstein" "You're puttin' me on?" "No..." "Well then why isn't it Froderick Fronkenstein?" "It isn't, it's Fredrick Fronkenstein." This time around we have another bust from Pestilence Labs from 1974's Young Frankenstein series - the Doctor. The kit is a pretty simple kit consisting of the 1:4 scale bust, castle base, the "How I Did It" book, and the 2 parts of the collar that flies open during the Act Normal! scene. I would have to look hard to find any problems but one thing I would have to guess is whys does the Doctor appear to be looking down? I have a theory that I'll keep to myself, as it's an excellent likeness. (@Pestilence image) To change things up a little I decided to do the base first. It's a simple pile of stones and decided to leave them blend into the overall look - so simple grays and blacks with light gray mortar were used. Moving on to the face I added my regular pink/purple mix. While I was waiting for it to dry, I painted the book with some of V's Cavalry Red. Adding some various flesh colors I got the color I was happy with.Looking closely at his hair it seemed that he had very dark roots with some bright highlights. It's also quite obvious that they had Wilder in a lot of mascara. Finally I had to look it up to find out he had blue eyes. While that was drying I turned back to the book to add the gold lettering. Finally, it shows him in a dark (black?) tuxedo jacket with a white shirt and collar. Not wanting to use just black and white, I used V's Black Gray, and their Off-white. Just recently I noticed the buttons on his shirt were dark. I'll have to make that change. Thanks for looking. ~~~

HobbyBoss 1/72 Ch-46E of HMM 261.

Tue, 07/28/2026 - 16:18
A easy, basic kit of the Bull Frog. With the exception of the cockpit clear piece, the fit was good. Had to use stars & bars and the HMM 261 (actually a 268)from a Fujimi kit as HB got theirs wrong or were not included. The instructions had no interior color call outs which I thought was strange. Maybe someday Academy will re-issue their 48th kit again.

FORD FLYYVER in 1/48

Mon, 07/27/2026 - 06:44
Hi ! Here another project I have done in the past , this is the WILIAM BROS kit with a little lve..If you like to view more pics, just follow this Google link : https://photos.app.goo.gl/bAq7npPZ9eL4NCUX7 Enjoy ! Jmarc