Capital Area Modelers Society

Information about the members and meetings of the club.

Meeting Minutes for May 7, 2026

William B, Michael B, Brian D, Dick D, Tony F, Steve H, Bill H, Chris K, Keith L, Chris L, Mike O, Brad S, Reedis T, John W and Norm W were present.

Tony had no Vice-president report. Treasurer Mike O reported our current balance. R4 Coordinator Chris L said all nominations for special IPMS awards have been submitted, awards will be announced at National Convention.

Dick mentioned the immediate upcoming events: Modelrama May 15-16, Franklin, IN; SVASM Swap Meet, May 16, Sharon, PA; Taylor Town Model Car Show, May 23, Taylor MI (Chris K asked for a volunteer to cover the Nationals promotion table for this event); Model Cars & Coffee, May 31, Deforest, WI. Dick noted that Chris K keeps upcoming events current on the CAMS web site.

Build night – six attended the April 15 build night at Makers Network; the next is May 20 at Tanuki’s. June 20 was selected for next month at Evolution Games; Dick said he would confirm with them and notify members.

Convention updates: Brad said approximately 86% of volunteer hours are committed; CAMS has far and away the largest portion, which will benefit us financially. The plan is that, should someone not be able to fill their slot, the effort will be to find another member of the club to take the shift so the club still gets the credit. He recently learned there need to be volunteers who won’t attend the banquet and are willing to distribute medals/trophies in the contest room, with enough people to insure no theft (which, sadly, has occurred in the past). Chris L reported plans are going well for the Tiger Meet room. There will be some special recognition for different categories, such as Special Interest Groups. He said CAMS already has a table reserved. Dick explained the Tiger Meet is display only, not competition, as a way of showing who we are. He encouraged all members, whether attending Nationals or not, to provide some projects which could be displayed on our club table. Chris K continues working on the technology. Dick showed the quarter-page ad CAMS placed in the convention Journal special issue, noting that Steve F had created the design for the convention.

Dick reminded everyone the Ignition Makers Fest is next Saturday, May 16. Chris K said sample projects are needed for the display table. Dick also passed around the sign-up sheet for Capital City Comic Con, July 10-12. Several volunteers are still needed for a shift of 4 to 5 hours.

Dick talked about our friend Kevin Epling of Small Scale Pics. Dick said Kevin will have a booth at the convention so folks can have professional photographs of their models. He said Kevin has a sign-up on his web site and encouraged those interested to sign up now. He reviewed how Kevin has come to meetings a couple of times, taking photos and giving presentations and demonstrations on creating photos. Recently Kevin has offered to come to CAMS again, if there is interest. Members were enthusiastic for the offer and suggested the September meeting. Dick will confer with Kevin.

Norm introduced the idea of a group build with the theme of “Thunder and Lightning.” Anything that touches the topic would be eligible. So, for example:

P-47 Thunderbolt
A-10 Thunderbolt II
P-38 Lightning
F-35 Lighting II
F-84 Thunderjet
F-84F Thunderstreak
RF-84F Thunderflash
F-105 Thunderchief
Any of the Thunderbird aerobatics team
Aoshima Blue Thunder helicopter
Ford Lightning pickup
Ford Thunderbird
Sherman tank named Thunderbolt II
The Thunderchild from “War of the Worlds”
Sci-fi models from the Thunderbirds series

The group agreed with the suggestion and set a completion date of the December meeting/holiday party.

Brad brought up his suggestion of a Dayton trip to the Air Force Museum. He set a date of September 25-26. His plan is to drive down to Dayton Friday night, stopping along the way for dinner. Saturday would be devoted to the museum, returning home that evening and stopping for dinner along the way. Family members are welcome. Ten members expressed an interest.

Keith gave a fascinating presentation on using AI in modeling, with numerous examples of developing color/paint schemes, designing scratch-builts, placing the model in various scenarios. Keith said he relies primarily on Chat GPT and Google Gemini for his projects. The group encouraged Keith to submit this as an article to the IPMS Journal.

Our next meeting is Thursday, June 4, at 6:30 p.m. Brad will show and talk about the progress on the interior of his Tiger I build. Dick will give a presentation on contest judging.