Surgicon 26 (Finally!) 2 April 2022

[Rhino]

As your most proliferous IPMS Plastic Surgeon, I felt obliged to extend a Laurel and Hardy Handshake invitation to all of your Model Men to attend!

IPMS Plastic Surgeons Surgicon 26 | IPMS/USA Calendar

Surgicon returns for 2022. Surgicon 26 will take place on Saturday, April 2, 2022 at the Hy Vee Euclid Room at 2540 East Euclid Ave., Des Moines, Iowa 50317. This event features many awards and special awards along with both a raffle and a Super raffle. All Juniors enter free.Registration is...

calendar.ipmsusa3.org

Vendors will be plentiful! I hope we have enough table space for model entries!
Raffle prizes are piling up.
Preparations are near ready to entertain modelers and friends from across Region 14 and even them entitled model Folk that are still included in Region 5.
Prizes will be the ones we own from before the CCV Panic-demic in 2020. (IF you don't want it, give it back.)
A spank-brand-new Chuck Award awaits the excellence of classic Aircraft model makers!

Wanna come play models with us?! Get in yer car! Come have some model fun!
Or don't.

 

[Rhino]

Gearing up for Saturdays contest!
Another "Best Of" award has been added to the list! Stay tuned for further developments as this fascinating (silly) story unfolds!!

 

[Heavens Eagle]

Would have liked to have come, but it is just a wee little bit too far for a day trip.

 

[Rhino]

The shocking pink Surgeons sallied forth in the wee hours this AM. As the sky lightened just a wee bit, we had us an interesting, fresh, gooey Wendy's Breakfast and continued to the contest venue. Our fellows were busy about the contest space readying for the arrival of droves of award-starved model makers and a great influx of model vendors.
Dane, Teresa, Aimee and I shouldered the task of registration. I like to do registration because I get to meet (bullshit with) all the contestants. The downside is I don't get to see very many models until after registration closes.

Kinetic Models joined us, along with the always affable Winston Vermilyea, Mark Johnson, Kent Kirkpatrick and vendor stalwart and friends, Virgil Stansbury and his sweetie. Nate, Ty and Sara Stevens offered popular, mainstream model kits at VERY Un-inflated prices. Larry Clausen came all the way from the QCA, and some other nice people I didn't meet, filled out our oversold/rented vendor tables.

After having fed my Sweetie lunch, I moved on to Judging and Teresa began her "Harvest" of the club raffle. As usual.
How about some model pictures?


The WWI Flying ace, in his C-S coded (Charles Schultz?) Sopwith Camel prepares to face the vaunted Red Baron once again. Look closely! That's Snoopy in the pilot seat of Academy's 1/72 Sopwith Camel. I LOVED this humorous Vignit!

The "Crossing Over" German army pontoon bridge diorama told a story and showed action. Was it Flawless? Is any model EVER flawless? It was very interesting and awarded Best Diorama.

A Jedi Figure of the Artist. Shinnies! and Miscellaneous. Many of the Miscellaneous models are paper models. Greg Perry can carry many of these to a show, if there isn't much wind. The 1/20th scale M88A1 Recovery vehicle is best of Miscellaneous. It's a paper model too!
Once again I apologize for not giving a true Show report. I still take pictures of models that interest me.

 

[Rhino]

Jet MADS 1/32 scale Viggen. Winston had an unbuilt kit of this model in his booth. It is composite resin cast and 3D printed parts. The end result is beyond dispute. An excellent Viggen finished by a skilled modeler. I resist these composite models with 3D printed assemblies. I cain't say why. Like how earwax tastes? There's an explanation for this, I just cain't explain it to you.

12-pound field gun! SWEET! 1/72 Type 87 JMSDF SPAAG. I tried to plant the thought in Ed St. Denis' head that he had put the 35mm gun sponsons on upside down. References prove Ed assembled his model correctly. I have a collection of "Tanks that shoot down Airplanes".
Ed's model is near perfect. I WANT ONE!!

In the second and third picture you can see Rick Rasmussen's 1/35 Cadillac Gage V-100 Gate Guard. This was our Judges Grand Award choice. Rick and I both kept our caps on to keep from blinding other contestants!
Picture 4 and 5 show Samuel Parent's wooden models. The civilian Railroad Tugs was STUNNING!!

Richard Sliwka's Light Cruiser and Bill Kruger's 1/350 Fujimi PT-337. Space Coke. Served COLD!! Liquid Sodium Nyborg maybe?

 

[Rhino]

Bill Hounsom's 140 cm 1917 Skoda Howitzer. A grand old bullet spitter indeed! Scott Hackney's Toon Matilda in 8th Army camo.
Best Bandai subject Razorcrest. The 1/72 Y-wing (Space Skyraider) was a stunner as weyel!



Two years ago, our show theme was also "Groovy '60's." Good ol' Virgil Stansbury built this VW kombi Hippie bus for the cancelled 2020 show and waited 2 years to win a Theme Award. I suspect, back in the Day, Virgil WAS a Hippie. MAYBE He still is! A skilled modeler and a fine friend!

 

[Frank]

What Chris is not speaking of is the Special AWARD!!!
As I was the recipeant of the award, it will be built and diplayed in my collection.
As you know my skills need some improvement.
This AWARD should help me greatly.
I was very honored to be blessed with this award.
Thank you Chris.

 

[Rhino]

Mark Donohue's 1966 Lola is a 1/43 scale car model. It is intricate as a Swiss watch! Impressive, No!?
I do love Funny Cars and Gassers! Scott (obnoxious Bastige) Raisbeck's Mustang Funny car.

Randy Fields 1/48 Monogram F-105D Thunderchief won this years Chuck Sterns award. Years past I had spent an exorbitant amount of $$ on the Chuck award. This year, in an effort not to upstage our Club Awards, I awarded Randy something he might use more often than a huge-O Eagle trophy. Not many truly " Vintage Classic" models are being built these days it seems.

 

[Rhino]

What Chris is not speaking of is the Special AWARD!!!
As I was the recipeant of the award, it will be built and diplayed in my collection.
As you know my skills need some improvement.
This AWARD should help me greatly.
I was very honored to be blessed with this award.
Thank you Chris.
View attachment 148795

It is true. I made a Special Award with Frank in mind as the intended recipient. At my behest, he opened it before the assembled group at our show.

He used a sharp 4-inch knife to do so. I got off easy with no new knife wounds for my jocularity! I figger that Surgicon is my personal playground while I "Run my Mouth" to announce awards. NOTHING is sacred. NO modeler, no matter how skilled, is safe from my japes and jibes! Look for quotable quotes at the end of my contest posts!! "The King of Mix-masters" graciously played along!
Well done Frank!!

 

[Rhino]

Club Raffle. Teresa's Raffle Harvest. 19 prizes.
A few Gems and a few Turds. A couple of Keepers!

In a personal bit of contest news, My buddy and Wisconasin Submarine owner, Mark Karolus built TLAR Models Confederate Submarine Horace L. Hunley as she appeared moments before she blew the livin' dog-snot out of the USS Housatonic in Charleston harbor in 1864.

I pondered if 1864 qualified for Groovy '60's and decided against it. Mark's Hunley and my 1/700 "Three Mile Limit" were in the same hard-fought category. Mark came out the Victor this day.

55 Contestants entered 297 models at SurgiCon 26 today. I think everyone had a good time. I know I did.

A few Quotable Quotes:
"Another award for Mr. Ed St. Denis! Stand up Ed! OH! You are standing. OOPS!"
"If any of you sumbitches come up here to slap me, you're in for a SCRAP! Chris Rock, I ain't!"
"Am I done making fun of Scott Raisbeck yet? I am? OK, moving on."
"I would do ANYTHING to get out of Danville!" Bill Robertson.
"I'm NOT doing this again next Year!" Aimee Wright.
"JUDGES!!" Joe Lotz. "Jawohl Mein Fuhrer!" Me.
"You know my name isn't really Dr. Terrence Dactyl." I did that.
"I don't judge models, I judge people." Ronnie Schultz.
"And now, Tanks!" Me "You're Welcome!" Teresa.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls welcome to the Wild Thing!" (awards). Yep! I used pronouns!
"Is that a 6 or a G? Can any of these nerds actually spell?" Aimee Wright & Teresa
"Penmanship is not these people's strong suit!" Teresa.
"George, whaddya doin'? Did I catch you doodling again?" me.
"Here She comes again!" Barry Rolow and Ronnie Schultz commenting on our raffle wins.
"Buy raffle Tickets! You can win prizes like me too!" Teresa.
"Can I un-donate one of these?"
"Hey Nate, your Wife just made me a killer deal on that 1/72 Moonbat Kit!" Frank. Nate Stevens about shit himself!
"I know what word describes that. It starts with a "P" and ends with a "rick!" me

Having been recently so unwell, I wore myself out with the activities of the day. We returned home, took medications, fixed drinkies and reflected on what fun our Show truly was today.

Thanks again for looking in!

 

[Duke Maddog]

Awesome show and awesome models! I've always wanted to put Snoopy in a Sopwith Camel! That so rocks!

Congratulations to all for the wins and the fun!

 

[Rhino]

Yep! Me too! With all the Red Baron airplanes I've made, Snoopy has gone largely unrepresented!