Three Clubs Make Big Hit

After a one-year hiatus to host the 2003 NRG Conference, the Chicago Tri-Club Meeting and Modeler’s Symposium made a successful return. Please extend thanks and congratulations to Kurt Van Dahm, Bob George, Doc Williams, and Bob Filipowski for their terrific work! (Click on thumbnails for larger images.)

Facilities

The Oakbrook Terrace Park District Heritage Center provided excellent facilities for this year’s Tri-Club, including an airy meeting room and a 150-seat theater with a 17-foot projection screen and Bose sound system. For demonstrations, the organizers set up a table, focused a video camera on the surface, and routed the output to the screen. A great idea, and help for anyone not six inches away from the demonstration (all of us except the presenter), although we were dependent upon the camera pointing in the right place.

Presentations

Phil Krol gave the first presentation of the day, introducing Silver Soldering (or Silver Braising) with both a talk and and a demonstration. View his article on the subject here. While Phil used a modern oxy-propane outfit for his work, he pointed out that Harold Underhill did all of his braising with an alcohol lamp and a blow pipe (and the breath control of a well-trained opera singer)! Phil finished with a Q&A session that continued well past the official end of his talk (thanks for the advice!). Suppliers recommended by Phil can be found on our Links page under Tools and Resources.

After a quick break so several of us could clean out our wallets at the swap tables, we returned to hear Richard “Doc” Williams discuss the creation of a case for his Royal Louis.

Unlike previous cases Doc has made, this case emphasizes quick breakdown and portability for traveling to shows. He showed images of an earlier case for his sizeable Prinz William, a solidly constructed brute weighing in at several hundred pounds. On display at a local hospital for several years, renovation found the model returned to Doc...and now, he states, the model is his living room!

You can find Doc’s presentation here along with a couple of quick illustrations showing the case components.

Before we took our next break, the Tri-Club took a moment to confer the “Workhorse” award on a surprised Dave Botton.

For a long time now, Dave has provided help for set up at shows, assembling cases, moving tables, folding chairs, stringing wire, and other essential-but-often-overlooked tasks...all while remaining unfailingly cheerful and polite. Dave’s a modest guy, but we know he’s worth a million! Thanks for all the help! (Photo courtesy Tim Riggs)

After a brief break, we returned to listen to Bob Filipowski expound on the mysteries of spiling, a two-part presentation continued into the afternoon. Beginning with a discussion of average plank dimensions over the centuries, Bob discussed scaling techniques before a plank-by-plank breakdown of the process. Suppliers recommended in his talk can be found on our Links page under Tools and Resources.

Wrapping up the day, Kurt Van Dahm provided a historical overview of Illinois Waterway and Inland Water Tugs & Towboats (we’ll be posting his presentation shortly!).

Models

Sure, the talks were nice. But the real stars of the show weren’t in the theater, but in the main floor meeting room. A couple dozen models represented a wide range of historical eras and materials with superb craftsmanship. An equally wide range of scales included such gems as Earl Krantz’s 1:1200 fleet and Tim Riggs’ 1:192 Admiralty-style HMS Grasshopper!

The models below represent just a portion of the displays.

Sea Skiff John Pocius brought several of his exquisite recreational watercraft. This particular craft is 1:64 replica of a 1926 Sea Skiff out for an afternoon cruise.

Twin-Cockpit Runabout Another Pocius creation, a 3/16":1 Twin-Cockpit Runabout from 1909. John has captured the graceful lines perfectly. This was in a terrific case, complete figure for scale, but reflections forced the photo to be retouched.

Flyer A retouched photo of the Pocius 1/2":1 hydroplane Flyer from 1936. Sheer perfection, a craft to lust for both in scale and full-size!

Flyer Cockpit A detail showing the tiny cockpit of the Flyer, complete with scale pattern on the upholstery and scale gauges.

HMS Fly Bow John Mitchell brought this beautiful model of the cutter Fly circa 1765. An early antecedent of the extreme breed of cutters built in the 1770s, the Fly was capable of rigging out a ridiculous amount of sail for a single masted ship. The Fly served as a revenue cutter throughout the late 18th century after being one of the first cutters purchased into service in 1763.

HMS Fly Another view of the Fly. Mitchell used his computer to generate plans from a set of lines he discovered on the web. He had paper models created from his printouts showing the construction of the bulkhead-style framing used in the actual model. Excellent work and an interesting model.

HMS Grasshopper Tim Riggs came with several of his jewel-like models in unbelievable tiny scales. This particular craft is the 1:192 HMS Grasshopper. Close inspection reveals such details as a tiny checkerboard floor cloth in the captain’s cabin and intricate, multi-piece capstan—in a model the length of your forefinger!

SMS Wespe Another Riggs creation, this time a crisply-executed paper model of the Imperial German Navy gunboat SMS Wespe. The Wespe lent its name to a whole class of gunboats built between 1876 and 1880, all carrying a formidable 30.5cm in the open barbette forward. The model is 1:250 scale, from a kit by HMV Hamburger Modellbaubogen Verlag.

Louise Howard Bob Filipowski’s clean model of the Grand Banks schooner, the Louise Howard, attracted quite a bit of admiration. Judicious color use and contrasting woods combined well with the delicate scale features.

Louise Howard Bow A closeup of the bow on the Louise Howard.

HMS Alert Another Royal Navy cutter at the show, the HMS Alert, circa 1777. Built by Robert Cole in 3/16" scale. Note the superb painting and craftsmanship of this model.

Predestiny: Midships Illya Kerman brought his magnificant scratchbuilt Russian warship, the Predestiny, complete with sails. Here, a midship view shows where Illya left off deck planking to reveal the interior detail, the carved wreaths and sculptures (most maple).

Predestiny: Bow A closer view of the bow.

Predestiny: Sails The Predestiny’s topsails. Illya used a diluted mixture of white glue and water to shape and fix the sails, going over the reef points with a brush to loosen and reposition them before the sails dried. Flags are painted foil.