News

Point Cook Museum Visit in Review: 2017

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Martin our illustrious club president arranged a club visit to the RAAF Museum at Point Cook. The day began with 7 club members meeting at Michels Patisserie just a few minutes up the road from the museum. The weather was perfect with a sunny 23 degrees and after a Banana Smoothie and an Aussie meat pie we were off for a fun day.

After parking the car our first sighting of an aircraft was that of an outdoor display of a DHC- 4 Caribou, with a nicely weathered exterior and perhaps a future modeling project in the making. The entry to the museum was via the front entry (funny that) which was actually the gift shop. We were greeted by a gentleman who took us through the visitors guide and pointed us in the right direction to being our experience.

Our first stop was an area that covered the RAAF early history with exhibits enclosed in glass cabinets with some terrific memorabilia and artifacts. As we moved through the exhibits we next came to areas covering the major wars, and after that it was onto the main display hangers.

The first hanger otherwise known as the ‘Training Hanger’ included the following:

  • Maurice Farman Shorthorn (20)
  • Avro 504K
  • DH82a Tiger Moth
  • Macchi MB 326H
  • de Havilland Vampire T Mk35
  • CAC Winjeel
  • CT4A Airtrainer

Then onto the ‘Technology Hanger’ which included:

  • SE 5a
  • BE2a
  • Supermarine Seagull V/Walrus
  • de Havilland Vampire F-30
  • Bell UH-1B Iroquois
  • Douglas A-20C Boston
  • Mirage III0
  • Various missiles and armaments

The next hanger was called ‘Display Hanger 180’ and included:

  • Hawker Demon
  • Avro 643 MkII Cadet
  • CAC CA26 Avon Sabre
  • GAF Pika
  • GAF Jindivik
  • Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina – hull
  • De Havilland DH-84 Dragon
  • CAC CA-12 Bomerang
  • Cessna O-1G Bird Dog
  • Fire Appliances
  • Sikorsky S-51 Dragonfly
  • Dell UH-1H Iroquois

The next hanger was ‘Strike / Recce Hanger 178’ which included:

  • McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom
  • General Dynamics F-111G
  • GAF Canberra MK20

The final hanger was the ‘Restoration Hanger 187’ where we could see a few projects on the go including:

  • De Havilland Mosquito
  • P51

We all had such a great day and can highly recommend going along for a visit or even for a club field trip. From the moment you access the base and enter the hangers, I can guarantee that you will be impressed and satisfied that you took the time to make the trip. The layout and display hangers are real quality and have been put together with the visitors in mind. There is something for everyone, and as I have visited some of the best military museums in Australia and NZ, I can honestly say that this one is right up there with them – highly recommended.

Click here to view images of the day.

Bayonet Model Comp – 12th November

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This coming weekend on the 12th November will be the annual Bayonet Military Model Club event which will be held at:

B24 Liberator Restoration Hanger

Corner of Princes Hwy and Farm Road, Werribee

Melways Ref: 205 F10

This is an amazing event held inside a WW2 era hanger which is home to a restoration of a B24 Liberator. The various vendor tables and competition tables are placed around the aircraft and gives the event an interesting presence.

WarbirdsAMG will have a club display table with a general mix of member kits including aircraft and war machines.

See you all there.

Bayonet Military Model Club Face Book page

October Meeting Update

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Another meeting done and dusted with the format change marked down as a success. The general feel of moving from a formatted agenda to a more free moving one has proved to be the right mix and my be just what we needed. We had a general chat about this, and the consensus was that the meeting should be flexible with the option of fine tuning as we go. A few of us brought along some kits to build, we had a collection of pre loved kits that were for sale, as well as a demonstration on decanting spray paint from a rattle can into a paint pot.

The formalities were occupied with a small 15-20 segment at the beginning, with an open forum topic of ‘building for yourself or for the club’ and a ‘whats on the table’ segment in the middle, plus a wind up towards the end with the demonstration. In between the formal parts we built our kits and had general chats, with the whole format being really engaging, with plenty of time to cover what we need to as a club and to include all the more fun bits.

This was a great meeting and will no doubt form a template for future meetings.

 

Next Meeting Sunday 2nd October

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Dont forget that our next meeting is on this Sunday so bring along anything you want to build or show. We will also be experimenting with the format a little to create a more relaxed feel to the meetings.

Rene De Konig will be awarded his winning trophy for his entry to the past event of Build A Bitch. Later in the meeting Rene will also take us through a demo on ‘How to Decant Spray Packs’ for airbrushing.

We will also be seeking member nominations for the ‘Gunna-Build’ in an effort to get members to build that kit that has been sitting in the stash as one of those must builds – but never got around to it!

And as a separate segment we will present an open forum on ‘Club Builds vs Personal Builds’

It will be another fun day so look forward to seeing you all there.

Model Expo – Presidents Report

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Another Model Expo is done and I must start with a huge thank-you to club members for their support with the display. A final tally of 32 display models was beyond expectations and pre-commitments so such a strong turnout was a brilliant result.

I had the opportunity to meet and discuss modelling and future projects with Richard Alexander from Wingnut Wings and Neil Yan from HK Models. It was a pleasure to talk to these guys and see how passionate they are and not simply businessmen looking for a quick profit. Both companies have established a reputation for quality products and I look forward to planned future releases. The Sopwith Camel is a classic that will have me purchasing multiples when Wingnut Wings release theirs soon and although I have nowhere to put a completed kit, I absolutely must have the upcoming 1/32 Avro Lancaster from HK Models. The HK Models 1/32 B17 on display at the Metro Hobbies and was jaw-dropping!

I also had a great chat with Kevin Futter from Large Scale Planes fame. Make sure you check out the great work on the website with one of the most civil and informative modelling forums out there. Check it out at http://www.largescaleplanes.com

A huge turnout of competition kits, great club displays, the ever-present retailers and a Swap & Sell that was more Sell than smell made for a thoroughly enjoyable long weekend.

The Expo Committee should be suitably proud of the show and from what I could see and hear, was one of, if not the best yet. Roll on Expo 2017.

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Warbirds President Martin Reid with Richard Alexander from Wingnut Wings

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Martin with Kevin Futter, Administrator of the Large Scale Planes website and forum, and Neil Yan from HK Models. Martin embedded an idea with Neil and is hoping it will eventuate in the not too distant future!

 

Martin Reid

Club President

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Model Expo 2016 Update

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Model Expo is over for another year and Warbirds once again demonstrated our diversity when it comes to club displays and member contributions. This year our members built an array of kits to fit in with our theme of ‘Stormbirds’. The only requirement was that the subjects name had to relate to weather patterns – hence the theme name.  The response was very pleasing and raised some lovely kits that graced our nominated display table.

I was one of attending members at the table and was happy to see people walking up and asking questions, taking photos and really enjoying what we have presented. As a tribute to John Xigalatas, who recently passed away, we thought it was fitting to include a small plaque along with the two models that he produced and sold through his Melbourne store ‘Showcase Models’. This was well received and helped to round off what was a very successful display and a very successful event.

I would like to thank all our members for the effort involved and is something to be proud of!

Click here to view additional photos

 

June Meeting Update

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We are only a week away from Model Expo 2016, with most of us chipping away at the final touches to both competition and display models. Not all members were able to come along to this meeting but I did manage to take a few pics of completed and works in progress, from thoses that did. We also had a range of new items recently purchased, while most of us are holding onto our cash for the pending Expo.