August, Aussies, and the IPMS National Convention: August Twelve Minute Modelsphere

Digger Dave Goldfinch joins us for some brief travel talk, from recent events to what’s ahead, including the 2026 IPMS National Convention in Fort Wayne. There’s a full-on side quest too: a road trip to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, plus essential Americana stops like Waffle House and Buc-ee’s. 

Look for National Convention show content along with another listener submitted topic "Shop Talk" episode. In addition we will have a Model Show Spotlight in August as well, so stay tuned.

Come find us at the Nationals, say hi at the table, and if you like the show, subscribe, share it with a modeling buddy, and leave a quick review so more builders can find us.  

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Transcript

Why KitMask Exists

Janelle (KitMasx) 0:00

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Kevin (KITMASX) 0:02

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Janelle (KitMasx) 0:10

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Kevin (KITMASX) 0:15

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Custom Requests And Precision Quality

Janelle (KitMasx) 0:17

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Kevin (KITMASX) 0:22

We do.

Janelle (KitMasx) 0:23

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Kevin (KITMASX) 0:29

Several times.

Janelle (KitMasx) 0:30

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Kevin (KITMASX) 0:32

And Janelle, she does everything else. She cares about each customer and is the heart of our business.

Janelle (KitMasx) 0:37

If you ever reach out, you're talking directly to us. Real people, real modelers.

Kevin (KITMASX) 0:42

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Guarantee And How To Order

Kevin (KITMASX) 0:46

asked.

Janelle (KitMasx) 0:46

Visit kitmask.com, join the mailing list, and treat yourself to easier, cleaner masking.

Kevin (KITMASX) 0:52

Kitmask, made by a modeler for modelers.

Janelle (KitMasx) 0:54

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Kevin (KITMASX) 0:55

You're not a modeler.

August Catch Up With The Daves

Mike 1:13

All right. Well, August is upon us. Summer's coming to a close, but we got some exciting things going on. Dave, what's happening?

SPEAKER_03 1:20

Well, not much. I'm just being busy laying around the pool, getting beers handed to me and having lovely steak dinners. How are you going? I'm good.

Mike 1:29

Digger Dave. We got Digger Dave tonight and Kentucky Dave in the house. Yes, I'm here.

SPEAKER_03 1:35

Well, that's good. Well, how was your journey over? Journey over was good. Had a great time. Went via New York to uh drop into uh an associate that we may or may not all know that left unsaid perhaps for another show. But I've had a wonderful time, and Dave has been, as usual, the perfect host, and I can't recommend this fantastic hotel highly enough to anybody who's passing through Louisville, Kentucky.

Mike 2:04

Uh we'll have to get some Google reviews on Dave's place. That's right. Well, we have not been anywhere, but we're all about to go somewhere. Digger Dave, you've been somewhere. You went to a show and uh you talked about it on your your own podcast on the bench, but have you been anywhere else modeling related since uh since that trip?

Recent Shows And Travel Plans

SPEAKER_03 2:24

No, this is this is the big the trip you're referring to is uh the Malcolm model show in Penang, Malaysia. But since then, not nothing at all. I've been busy sort of planning this trip here stateside. When I get back home is a trip over to South Australia to the Adelaide show. Then of course we have that big one, which is the ACT, Scale Model ACT coming up in November. And of course, I'm sitting here now planning maybe I'll see if I can come back another year. I went, well, I don't know. We'll have to see.

Mike 2:56

You must have a lot of time and uh a nice disposable income. Or you save well, man. You you travel a lot and it's really impressive. But we're glad to have you back in the United States, man. And we look forward to this upcoming trip to the 2026 IPMesh national convention in Fort Wayne. Unfortunately, I can't travel with you you guys on Wednesday, but I'll be there soon enough and really looking forward to it. So, folks, if you're gonna be there, stop by our table and say hi. And uh, there might be an Aussie or two there as well. Yes, I think there might be one or two flooding around.

Kentucky Dave 3:27

Yeah, they're kind of like cockroaches, man. They show up and you just can't get rid of them no matter what you do.

Mike 3:33

Well, you've guys got a little side uh quest going on this week. What you tell

Nationals Preview And Meet Up

Mike 3:37

us about that, Kentucky, Dave.

Kentucky Dave 3:38

Well, we're going to tomorrow, as people who listen to On the Bench realize, Digger Dave is a huge real space modeler. And he has never been to the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. And so we are going bright and early tomorrow morning down to Huntsville to go to the Rocket Center to let him take the tour and hope hopefully that will inspire him enough to come back next year to

Huntsville Rocket Center Road Trip

Kentucky Dave 4:14

the Nationals to do it again. Um, and also while we're at it, we're gonna take him to a Bucky's. I took him to a Waffle House this afternoon.

Mike 4:24

I thought that was Waffle House. I saw some black and yellow tile along the ceiling there.

Kentucky Dave 4:28

Yes, well, he needed to get a Waffle House coffee cup. So I took him to Waffle House, and now I'm gonna take him to Bucky's. So we're checking off his Americana card one by one.

Mike 4:40

Well, digger Dave, you survived the Waffle House of Great American Greasy Spoon breakfast, I guess.

SPEAKER_03 4:46

I'll tell you what, it's the best Hesh brands I've had in a long time.

Mike 4:49

You know, it's it's it's always dependable. We'll say that. You know what you're gonna get.

SPEAKER_03 4:54

Well, that's a fix.

Upcoming Episodes And Club Show

Kentucky Dave 5:15

So, Mike, uh, are we recording any episodes this month?

Mike 5:20

We are. We're gonna have two-ish. We're gonna say that. We're gonna have probably some uh national convention content, I hope, unless we get really lazy. And then we got to get through all these wonderful suggestions we've got from the listening audience for our shop talk episodes. So uh I think that's what we're in store for. So if folks have submitted that, submitted one or two or five or twenty, however many you submitted, we're just gonna be mining through those and enjoy it. The first one was our last episode, feature episode we posted, and I don't know, we're getting a lot of mileage out of those. In addition, we will have a model show spotlight coming up a little later in August to feature our own show, Dave. Yeah. Yeah. The Military Modelers Club of Louisville show is coming up in September, and we should get somebody new to do it. And I think we're gonna do that. We're gonna let somebody come on who's who's who's not been on the show before. We've had a couple of three representatives from our show pitch that and time for fresh voice. And I think we got somebody lined up who's excited to do it. So gonna be good, gonna be good. Other than that, man, that's that's what the episodes are gonna be. And folks, just again, I'll say if you're gonna be at the national convention, come by and say hi. Our our table is gonna be over in the squadron corral, and we got a nice spot angled out not too far from their checkout line. So ought to be a popular place, and it looks pretty immense. So everybody come in there and check it out. Well, it's gonna be the caravan of Dave's going up your route. Yes, there are to the national convention.

Kentucky Dave 6:51

In fact, my my wife has been joking that every modeler I know is named Dave, and I told her that I couldn't wait for her to meet my my modeling friend from Lexington, Dave Baskett.

Bucket List Shows And Sign Off

SPEAKER_03 7:05

Well, Mr. Goldfinch, are you looking forward to it? I'm like a cat on a hot tin roof, jumping around. I'm so excited. I can't wait to get there.

Mike 7:13

Well, we're glad to host you again, man. We're glad you made it over again because it was uh a real joy last time. And man, you you may end up making this a perennial event.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

Well, I'll try to make it a biannual event for myself because uh other big things I need to go and see. There's Japan, there's Telford, there's a whole heap of other wonderful sort of model shows out there. It's uh I want to sort of spread myself around a bit.

Kentucky Dave 7:37

The Podfather and I were talking, Mike, about what shows are on your bucket list that you would like to go to. And we both, I think, agree that Telford is one. And for me, Moshan is one. And then I'd like to see a show in Japan, and and Digger Dave was saying that he would like to do that as well.

Mike 8:01

Well, we may have to do a collab episode and talk about that stuff.

Kentucky Dave 8:05

Yeah, see, that's what I thought. Sounds like a plan.

Mike 8:09

Well, guys, I'll let you get a good night's sleep to get on the road to Huntsville, Alabama, and I think you're gonna have a really nice day, Dave.

SPEAKER_03 8:17

I think we are too.

Mike 8:18

Looking forward to it. All right. Well, I will see you guys maybe Tuesday evening. If not, certainly Wednesday evening at some point. So uh uh we're gonna sign off here for our travels to the National Convention. So uh everybody have safe travels if you're coming, and we'll see you there.