The Countdown begins!

This closeup of the Grand Phoenix Firefly Mk. I as built by the very talented Jean Barby showcases the BarracudaCast resin upgrades for this otherwise very nice kit. Shown are the Early Mainwheels, the Prop and Spinner, and the Cannon Barrels, as well as the vac canopy .

The IPMS USA National Convention is bearing down on me like a freight train with the throttle stuck wide open. I'm sure many other cottage industry guys and modelers trying to finish models in time know exactly what I am talking about. As the show approaches, plans are constantly redrawn and some projects I was sure would be done in time have had to be shelved.

We have tables booked at the show and will be there with all the new resin, plus six NEW decal sheets to be announced tomorrow. These sheets are done, printed and on site. I am awaiting instructions from the printers to get them packaged and ready for sale.

For those of you that have known me and seen me at the Nationals for many years, this will be an interesting show, as Cooper (my son), will be making his first appearance at an IPMS show since he was 3 or 4 years old. He is now 16, so you just might not recognize him! He will be working the tables with me, so stop by and say hello.

Just a quick word about the new resin. Those of you that have ordered some of the new sets know that there have been a few production problems that have delayed shipping. The second biggest was the card labels, which took forever to arrive. The printer claimed one day turnaround on their website. That may be true, but what they failed to mention that once they turned it around in one day, it would then take them an additional 5 days to ship! Then they found the cheapest possible mailing service that takes about 7 business days to get from the East Coast to the West Coast! The Pony Express would have been faster.

But the bigger problem was that my printer, who has been excellent for the last two years, royally screwed up my header cards. After much discussion, we agreed that I would have to find another printer for this job, as it was beyond their capabilities. I am expecting the reprinted header cards (the card shown in my earlier post showing the Firefly and Sea Fury packaging) on Wednesday. Once they arrive, the orders will again start shipping. My sincere apologies for the delays.

The good news is that all orders will be shipped before I leave next week, and that all new resin sets will be available for sale at the show.

The new 365th FG book will also be showcased in Phoenix. This is such a cool project. The weekend before last, I attended a Hell Hawks symposium in Vacaville, CA and got to meet nine surviving pilots. They were all very interesting and nice guys, and I enjoyed meeting them. They are very excited about the new book, but are all a little bemused by the attention they have received in the last two years, after almost 60 years of near anonymity!

Anyway, I better get back to casting and packaging. There are a lot of orders to fill, and I don't want to keep anyone waiting any longer that I have to.

Happy modelling! Roy