Re: Hello! New to List

Matt Bittner (meba@cso.com)
Thu, 14 Sep 1995 13:59:57 -0500

On 14 Sep 95 at 13:23, Bill Ciciora typed diligently:

(Only one problem: you might want to look how your mailer handles
carriage returns/line feeds. As you can see, it appears that your
mailer hasn't inserted any.)

> ****** LONG POST WARNING ******
>
> I just found out about this list via a friend's link to your homepage. I've been lurking for a week or so; now I'm ready to introduce myself.

Welcome! Glad to have you here.

> My interest in WWI kits goes back to the 60s, when I built all the Revell 1/72 kits at age 10-11. Now that I'm 40, I'm finding the fingers aren't so nimble and the eyes aren't so sharp, so I prefer
> /48. I've been following the slams back and forth between proponents of both scales. Isn't there room for both? Can't we just get along?

Usually, the scale "slams" are in good taste, are puns, and not to be
taken seriously. I personally hold anybody who models WW1 in high
regards, regardless of scale. There is plenty of work to do, no
matter how big - or how small. And, if you haven't noticed, we have
plenty of flying-scale people as well. My honest sojourn into WW1
modeling began when I built a Sterling Peanut-scale Fokker D.VIII.
Actually, the league of 1/48th scale modelers is growing, and I think
might even be winning. :-o

> I'm a member of the Midwest Cross & Cockade. We have quite a few talented model builders in the club, and usually some members bring their work to each meeting. We also have some members that build
> n 1/1 scale <g>, including a Sopwith Camel with a real Gnome rotary and a Fokker D.VI (still in production) with a Warner Scarab. If any of you are in the Chicago area, or even the surrounding state
> , our meetings are the second Saturday of January, March, May, July, September, and November. Greg Van Wyngarten is a member, and usually drives in from Iowa. The November meeting is our model conte
> t. Meetings are held at Klas Resturant in Cicero, 5734 W Cermak Rd. Lunch is $9.00 and is good Czech fare.

Any friend of Greg is a friend of mine!! Next time you see him, tell
him I said "Howdie!" When the time comes that I have time, I just
might have to make the trek to Chicago.

> I've been back building kits for only 2-3 years, so there's a considerable gap in the technology I knew as a kid and what I'm seeing now. The biggest changes are superglue and photoetched parts. As
> kid I could not affort an airbrush; I'm just starting to get the hang of this great tool. I subscribe to FSM and am gradually coming up to speed on modern modelling.

Sometimes, the newer kits are scary. You never know just how much
these manufacturers are going to put into a kit. I just "acquired"
the Eduard Hannover, and the PE (photo-etch) is immense! Definite
scary ground.

> I just completed the Testors SPAD XIII, adding some detail in stretched sprue. My current project is the Smer SVA-5. I've purchased and stored the Eduard kits, but I figure I'd rather wreck some $5
> its and learn before I wreck the $25 kits.

Good plan. It will be good when Glencoe "re-releases" all those old
Aurora molds. They might not be "scale perfect", but it doesn't really
matter when you can make up an entire squadron _cheaply_!

> My references on the SVA-5 are pretty sparse, with no color. The kit comes with Russian markings on the decals, but I'd rather build it in Italian service. Before I spend $15 for the Windsock Datafi
> e on a $5 kit that's not going into a contest, I figured I'd ask here. The machine gun with the kit is pretty poor, so I'll either build one from scrap or get an aftermarket one (or two?) Also, does
> anyone know if the struts are bare metal, wood, or painted? If anyone has any paint scheme suggestions, unit markings, etc., I'd greatly appreciate them.

If you're looking for Italian, maybe try the Blue Rider line. Or, if
you're not picky about making your own personal markings, you could
get Americal/Gryphon Italian cockades (they do make these in 1/48th,
correct?). If I remember - and if no one else responds - I'll try
and bring in my Datafile tomorrow and give you the answers. My only
internet connection is through work.

> Thanks for listening to me ramble, and I hope to learn from and eventually contribute to this list.

Ramble on! There are others on this list who tend to ramble -
although I can't quite figure out who they are... ;-)

Matt

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Matthew Bittner WW1 Modeler, ecto subscriber, new dad,
meba@cso.com PowerBuilder developer; Omaha, Nebraska

"It must be inordinately taxing to be such a boob." - Brain
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