Joe tells how he performed a ‘slam’ on the UFO to come up with his entry

The latest club model build challenge was completed at the November meeting with five entries on display.  Originally scheduled for October, the low meeting attendance made pushing the Challenge to the next meeting a reasonable move for those present.

As previously voted upon, the challenge was to construct a model using the vintage SciFi “Rosewell UFO” kit by Testors.  A deceptively simple kit of only 24 parts, the UFO tests the modeler with complex joint lines that need work for the best fit and a slew of tiny decals for interior detail.  Of course, the cornerstone of the Build Challenge is there is no requirement to build the model as designed.  As long as the kit was part of the effort, the result could literally be anything the modeler desired.

Joe’s model benefited from a fantasy war-gaming scale figure to help tell the story

Although one of the previously completed models was missing from the November meeting, the three finished and two unfinished entries showed a wide range of creative bents.  Perhaps the biggest departure was Rich Mack’s “conversion” into a Batwing type aircraft while Wiley Williams’ entry presented the very definition of ‘max warload’.  All were to a high standard and attractive models.  By popular vote, the winner of the Challenge & the Hobbytown gift card, was Joe Montes’ entry as a ‘crashed craft’ diorama completed, as he said, the morning of the meeting.  Goes to show just what can be accomplished on short order – even when a part (the right fin!) turns up missing.

Wiley’s UFO “bomb truck” which included a Panzer barrelled turret in the nose

Wiley incorporated P-38 parts for landing gear, bombs and tanks plus some Hellfire missiles from an Apache kit.  The interior also received some avionics upgrades from an F-4 Phantom cockpit.

Ken Patrick applied several decals from automotive sheets to his UFO, which had a special ‘textured’ finish courtesy of a “slight” paint chemistry interaction.  Although unintended, it still worked!  And since the UFO’s crew were Triple-A members, there were no worries…

Ken Patrick’s Green Machine – Note the mud flap figure on the fin

The last finished model was unfortunately absent for the Challenge.  Steve Riordan brought his entry to the October meeting and it showed a fine metallic finish using SNJ lacquer.

Steve’s fine metallic finished model (seen at October meeting) was unfortunately absent from the November gathering

Although unfinished, Rich Mack’s entry showed a lot of innovation with a conversion to a Batwing inspired design.  Using the upper and lower halves of the UFO kit, he added extensions for fins, wings and fuselage from white styrene plastic.  He also converted a 1/32 P-38 pilot into a Batman & thermaformed a canopy plus a few ancillary parts.  It should be very interesting when completed!

Rich’s Batwing “ate” the UFO (note the gray plastic areas from the Testor’s kit)