RiverCon VIII (Rick s Thoughts) I read Boyd Waechter s coverage of RiverCon 2019 with great interest, and his perspective was much the same as mine in many ways. Not being retired yet, nor having Friday off, I elected to make my drive at o-dark-thirty on Saturday, which I did not mind doing. Traffic at 4:00 a.m. is light, the roads are mostly good (right up until you cross the state line at Bethany, Louisiana), and the rain mostly held off until the afternoon. I arrived at the show at precisely 8:45 a.m. only to find I was behind Richard Kern and his 3,482 entries in the registration line. Fortunately, a second person was assigned to check in everyone else, so I sped on through registration. Air was a bit light, as Boyd says, and armor was quite heavy. I was nearly unopposed in large ships, while the small craft had more, some of which were excellent, and one of (some Italian sub-torpedoboat-thingie) which turned out to be Best Ship. It was well done, and deserved the awards. Cars were moderate, as were the remaining classes. Overall model count seemed down from last year s 400+, and if I had to guess, I would say there were around 280-300 entries this year. Vendors have always been light at this show, and this year was no exception, although I did score a couple of bargains, including a 1/35 th Rye Field Models Tiger I with a full interior. Got it from a car vendor, who was glad to unload it. I was glad to help him out. I helped judge aircraft, and it was a fun and easy time, right up until we had to decide between a lovely 1/48 Saab SK-37 Viggen and Boyd Waechter s fabulous TF-104G Starfighter. We went back and forth between these two. Paint? Spot-on, with two very difficult and demanding schemes. Decals? Check. Alignment.d*mn near perfect. Susan Andreas after about 15-20 minutes of us going back and
forth.finally found an alignment issue about the size of a flea s thoughts it was THAT close. We all remarked that it was too bad we couldn t give a 1 and a 1A. Two of the best aircraft models of the ENTIRE show, in the same category! I nailed the raffle, and scored four kits. The $20 raffle deal (40 tickets for 20 bucks) paid off handsomely, although Richard and Mike Stucker gave me dirty looks every time I won. The awards ceremony, I think, may still be going as I am writing this. No doubt, they ran long, way long, and I got a priceless photo of Boyd, Mike, and Vince trying desperately to stay awake during the TWO HOURS of festivities. Yeesh. After the show, Mike, Vince and I headed for The Riverfront, Bossier City s touristy area at the Red River, where all the expensive shopping and Tillman Fertitta restaurants are, conveniently near the casinos. Imagine that. If you miss the one and only exit, you will take the scenic tour across the Red River bridge into downtown Shreveport...said bridge is under construction, and this detour will take a while. Ask Vince how he knows. We contributed some cash to Tillman at one of his overpriced restaurants, and headed out to sleep the day off. Contrary to Boyd s statement earlier, I did NOT pick the cheapest hotel it was TOO scary. I spent an extra 2 bucks at the Super 7 Inn, which was definitely not super. It was reasonably clean, however, and very quiet. The 8-foot razor wire fence around the property made me feel much safer. All in all, the show was quite fun, and I will probably go back. I will not stay at the Super 7 again (it will probably collapse in on itself before I can get back anyway). I will stay at the Hilton with the rest of the party boys. Yeah.talk models and BS.sounds like fun to me! Rick Cotton
Excellent 48th Scale SAAB SK-37 Viggen Two Seat Trainer won 1 st in it s category, Best Aircraft, and Best of Show
Boyd Waechter s superb 1/48th TF-104G Starfighter. It was in contention for 1st in it s category and Best Aircraft, but eventually lost out to the SAAB SK-37 Viggen
Eduard 1/48th Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat in David McCambell s Minsi III markings.
Tamiya 1/32nd USN PBR31 Mk.2 Patrol Boat