Bill Hupe

This month’s clinic was turned into an interesting experience for all who attended.

It, as always, was good to see the regular crew: Jack Hamilton, Armand Cyr, Jim Byerley, Pete Rowe, Steve Neupert, Steve Avery, Bud Johnson, Glen and Corey Walls, Reed Cranmore and new member Jerry Enders.  Surprise visits from the Superintendent Ken Liesse and the rest of the Liesse clan, Ed, Gay and Dave, made the clinic special.

Our scheduled clinician had to cancel at the last minute, which left me wondering how the clinic would progress.

We started off the meeting with reports from around the NMRA. Reed reported that the Bremerton Northern Model Railroad Club had set up the small configuration of their new layout for the Veterans out at Retsil Veterans’ Home. Said it worked well and once again was appreciated by the Vets. He said they are now working on completing the scenery by the Kitsap County Fair in August. He also said the fair is talking about moving them to the Pavilion from the Presidents Hall.

I then passed the floor to Ken, who brought us up-to-date on 4th Division business. Ken also introduced his clan. Most attendees had not met Ken’s family, so it was good to have this opportunity. Ken also brought up the thought of us hosting layout tours on this side of the “Sound” in conjunction with a 4th Division event.

I then passed the floor to Jack Hamilton, who brought us up to date on the NMRA. Jack presented Merit Awards to Jim Byerley for his Structures – Jamestown Station and Lumber Yard. Jim also was awarded a Civil Merit Award for his dual-gauge turnout. Jack then presented Pete Rowe with Merit Awards for his structures:  Coaling Tower, Pennzoil Service Co. and Cycle Shop. Pete doesn’t have a home layout, but his structures show up on other modelers’ layouts.

Jack also brought a couple of new modeling items to share.  First was Balsa Foam, an amazing plastic foam that carves like butter and paints like wood. It’s ideal for sculpting and model making because it can be carved, chiseled, sawed, textured, or embossed with sharp-edged detail. He also shared a set of brushes: “Special Brush Set” from Micro-Mark™ that appeared to be a set of make-up brushes.

Glen Walls entered his first scratchbuilt building, a freelanced engine shop, in the Model of the Month contest. And Pete Rowe shared a diorama created to showcase a trestle built by Dennis Hill (past 4th Division Superintendent) which will be presented to his widow.

We took a short break where the Liesse Clan spent time with clinic members.

Following the break, Jack Hamilton presented a clinic on “Building a Resistance Soldering Machine” based on an article from October 1995 Mainline Modeler™ “Resistance Soldering” by Karl Eiler.

The clinic wrapped up with a drawing for door prizes.

Come join us April 12th at United Way of Kitsap County, 647 6th Street, Bremerton. Clinic starts at 6:30. Clinician Walt Huston will present a clinic on DCC Decoder installation.