Hi Everyone,
Just a reminder that the first meeting for 2026 is this Sunday, 1st of Feb!
It would be great to see as many of you there as possible. Remember to bring your In Progress & Newly completed builds and anything else of interest to add to the discussion.
Looking forward to seeing at the usual place at the same time!
Cheers,
Our December meeting is always a special one as it closes out the year for us. We take the opportunity to have a bit of a competition where members can submit a model from the year they have entered into any club competition.
We also take the opportunity to present club perpetual trophies for various club build competition during the year.
For our end of year competition we had 3 categories:
There was only a single entry in this category but it was still won by Martin Reid with an exquisite example of modeling in the form of a Wingnut Wings Pfalz D.XII in 1/32 scale.
This was a very tough category with many excellent models submitted for judging by the club. There were a lot of sighs and groans as people grappled to find the smallest of faults to find something…..ANYTHING!….to make the judging easier.
The subjects ranged from modern jets, to WW2 warbirds, Vietnam era planes and Cold War planes.
This really could have gone several different ways but eventually a strong winner came out in Gary Storr with his Monogram B-58 Hustler in 1/48 scale.
Finally our small scale planes were presented. This scale is one that is gaining a lot of momentum with modellers as the quality of the kits get better and people search for space in their house to display all their models.
Also tough to judge, with a eclectic mix of countries and airframes represented.
The winner was Mike Dawkins with a Tamiya Tornado F3 in 1/72
The members choice was the model that everyone enjoyed in any scale. With the all the tough competition there was a chance someone who didn’t get a place might win this but pretty convincingly the winner was Gary Storr with his Monogram B-58 Hustler in 1/48 scale.
Our meeting closed out with the presentation of the Club Annual Shield Awards.
The Warbirds AMG Theme Build shield went Jason van Lint for a Hasegawa F-16N 1/48 scale in Marines livery.
Finally here is a pic of all the place getters and winners of the end of year competition.
That’s it for 2023. It’s a been a great year for the Warbirds with some new club members and some great wins in various comps throughout the year including several place getters in the Nation Model Expo this year. We’re looking forward to seeing what kits everyone gets for Xmas and get building again in 2024.
The good new is that the Warbirds 2021 meeting dates have been confirmed by the Ashburton Library so we are all set for our February meeting. We will be able to attend our normal venue as well as run our COVID Skype format on alternate weeks – more to follow!
2020 was a year that disrupted the modelling community in every possible way due to COVID. From the cancellation of scheduled modelling competitions to the inability of clubs to hold meetings at their various venues. Our favorite walk in model retailers were mostly closed but eventually opened with limited numbers of customers and strict 1.5 and handsan on entry. The real savior was that the online retailers were alive and well and most items were easily available. Although is some instances the supply of some stock was either reduced or just not available due to wholesalers/distributor supply issues, mostly coming from overseas.
Even though we are a modelling group we are all members of the wider community who has felt the punch of all things COVID. We were all looking in dismay as people began to hoard toilet paper which drove store shortages and how people then moved onto cleaning out staples like pasta, rice, sugar, flour etc etc. It was crazy out there, and when you did get toilet paper it was like you needed a security guard just to get it to your car. I can remember looking out of my office window to see a massive line of people lining up for CentreLink. It really made me value the fact that I had a job and it hit home that people out there were doing it tough. Masks became mandatory and more and more people were now working from home. Social distancing became the norm, and a huge amount of effort and cost was put in place to make it work – and it did! For a while my son couldn’t leave the house to earn some more driving hours, and booking a licence test was put on hold for thousands of learners. Boarders were closed and you needed permits to travel for work. Pubs were closed, restaurants were closed and many other retailers were closed so life wasn’t easy for most. Small groups began to protest about restrictions and police were fining those who were breaking the new COVID rules. Mind you all of this was in Victoria and the approach was different for all states, which made me wonder why a national unified plan wasn’t formalised.
2020 was really a crappy year but it gets better, or worse depending on how you look at it as its not really over. Victoria had gone 60 days without any new cases until we got 3 new case a day ago and Sydney is becoming the new Melbourne of a few months ago. At least now things in Victoria are looking much better than earlier in the year and we did come out of COVID and enjoyed a xmas with family and friends.
One of the positives for me during this time and for many others who I know is that my modelling time has increased with more kits being built. I have a feeling that once the comps return there will be a flood of kits, which will be a great thing of course. Our members have continued to keep in contact using Skype which really helped to break the feeling of isolation. Even though Skype has been around for years I think COVID showed us what a great tool it is especially for our more remote members. We will continue to use it or perhaps explore some of the other similar tools available.
Lets hope that 2021 is more brighter and that our Ashburton meeting schedule kicks off with out any COVID surprises. Please check out our new 2021 meeting dates.
See you all there!
Michael Tabone
Club Secretary
This is no joke, we have actually been given the green light to host our meetings back at the library, this Sunday 5th July!
OMG this cannot be real after months of being separated from fellow members and being locked out of our club venue – we are finally back in business. So much has happened in the COVID modelling world. The truth is that most of us model alone, locked away in a world similar to COVID…..so what really changed anyway……life’s been normal for me!
Ok, we are back to hopefully a normal club schedule but we will have to monitor the news for any expansion to the current lock down arrangements. COVID has presented our club with an opportunity to host meetings via Skype, which has worked really well. I can see this as being something we will continue to do into the future, as a way for the more distant members to attend meetings. There will more discussion on this one coming soon.
This meeting we will be having a topical discussion on ‘Coffee Table Model Displays’ which will be interesting. We will also be gathering numbers for our next Warbuild (club build weekend) at San Remo in August. There will also be the usual show and tell.
See you all there!
Michael Tabone
Club Secretary
Arrrhhhh………..finally we are back on this Sunday 2nd, for the beginning of the 2020 club calendar year. It would be a great opportunity to bring along anything you got from Santa, purchased since or last meeting or anything you have been working on. We love to see whats on your bench and hear the pain and the wins along the way for your current or completed projects.
This years looks to be interesting with a whole bunch of kits to be released, infact too many to mention so here’s a link to check out to see whats coming. WingNut Wings have a few beauties that are not too far away so keep an eye out for these:
Warbirds continues to be a inclusive group of like minded people with a predominant focus on aircraft. We also understand that we all build and love other genres of model kits, and as a result we are open to seeing anything else that might be sitting alongside your aircraft.
Modelling is a hobby that can consume a huge amount of time and a hobby that we get a lot of enjoyment from. Its not just the building its also about the research, the book library and all those necessary products that make model building a real joy.
Our passion for the hobby brings us together as a club and creates a healthy environment where we can all share what we love to do. I look forward to the new year and to seeing you all again.
Cheers,
Michael Tabone
Club Secretary
Please check our new meeting dates for 2020, which have been posted under Memberships & Meetings.
We look forward to seeing you all during the year and no doubt there will be a lots of new releases and modelling news along the way.
Please remember to check back here for whats going on at Warbirds!
Michael Tabone
Club Secretary
This will be our last meeting of the year so will be an opportunity to close the year on a high. There will be much to chat about especially regarding the Santa list and what the new year may hold.
Dont forget to bring along anything new or in progress builds as well as something to work on during the meeting.
Cheers and see you all there!
Michael Tabone
Club Secretary
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