I was involved with HyperScale when Dave Roof put out the call to the HyperScale community and got the thing off the ground. The response was tremendous, and they established a very worthy club here. Now I am here in Afghanistan, and there is just a sad shell of a club.

First, some caveats. This was my first meeting, so there may be some info I do not have. There are some players who didn't make it out tonight, so there may be more to the story. Maybe even some Hyperscaler has been keeping up with info on the club. I therefore reserve the right to be wrong. If any of my observations can be refuted/corrected by a Hyperscaler who knows better, then I am happy to have that correction. As an aside, it may be illuminating to say that no one present at the meeting had ever heard of Hyperscale, and none of them knew the history of the club, who ran it previously, or where any of the club's tools and supplies had gone (a bit of unavoidable foreshadowing).

Now the news. I will attempt to be brief. Currently, the model club meets in the MWR "library" in the back of the "Dragon Palace" (definitely not a palace). It's not so much a library as a small reading room for nickel paperbacks that didn't find their way to the trash can yet. It is perhaps an 8'X8' room (very small). There are five seats and one coffee table. There are full bookshelves along the wall eating up some of the 8'X8', and as we apparently "share" the room, there is no storage. We don't even have exclusive use of so small a space for our time, as the "role playing" crowd tried to squeeze in right after we convened. What I've heard is that the club got pushed into gradually smaller and less-suitable rooms over some period. The maddening irony is we had more people show up for the model club than were vegetating to a movie in the hall from which we were evicted. So now we meet in a room that doesn't even hold everyone that wanted to come and all but five have to stand around the periphery of the room. There are no tables to work on, and only the coffee table to put anything on. As one can't work on or show a model (with the furniture in an 8'X8' room, people can't move around at all), or even properly greet and converse, the meeting broke up in about 15 minutes with no one having done anything model related or even really talked with one another.

Worse, there are no hobby supplies of any kind. There are no tools, no model paints (only military-grade camo spray cans and Crayola finger paint-looking capsules), no brushes. If I hadn't brought my own cement, there wouldn't even have been any glue! The only purpose the "club" served was to march people 2-3 at a time across the building to a small closet where the donated kits are stored. This closet is in the middle of the moral call phone room, so going in there disturbs people on the phone. (They have complained, apparently.) Regarding the kits, there is some stock there, overwhelmingly cars. There are no tanks (glad I brought a 1/35 Merkava), 2 or 3 ship kits, and a few dozen aircraft in 1/72 scale. Not to complain, but aside from the 60 or so car kits, most of the remaining kits are extremely old and incomplete. I've been modeling for 30 years and I have a stash - I know what throw out kits look like. The Polish group that showed up complained about their kits missing parts or being so old the parts shattered as you handled them and the yellowed decals disintegrated on contact with water. I brought my own kits and some basic supplies, so don't think I'm being ungrateful. However, while I'm sure they appreciated the gesture, I can also imagine what it would be like to try and build a kit that was missing parts and in that state. The good kits appear to be gone and only the "parts kits" remain, for the most part. (They've already started a sign-out sheet for kits to keep track of use, which is a good start.)

Bottom line - there is no club. Currently, there is just a closet full of old kits that we come to pick through and then leave.

The good news is that we had 4 US and 12 Polish modelers show up for the meet, and the room was more than filled. In fact, 3-4 people came and left immediately because they couldn't get in the room. There very clearly could be a robust and active club here.

I have written a detailed proposal for the local MWR representitives - who's job is to support such functions. I extend this proposal to you because we will need the help and generosity of Hyperscalers to get things going again.

I propose to either determine who is in charge of the club right now (no one really knew definitively) and either work with them or assume leadership and restore the club. Either way, I intend to play a leadership role of some kind in the club. I also intend to make the club more of a permanent entity, with strict accountability for club supplies and equipment. If people are kind enough to donate, they would probably like to know that what they send isn't going into a black hole. I'm sure recent supporters of the club will be upset to hear this news. To that end, my first goal is to secure a dedicated space that is adequate for our needs. If 20 people will show up for an unsupported club with no facility and no equipment, clearly the demand is there. I intend to fight like hell for a dedicated space, because this is the key to our success.

As for other needs, we need basically everything but very old 1/72 aircraft kits and car kits.

I would like to obtain for the club two airbrushes and two light-duty air compressors (110v US). Used is fine but should be servicable and in good shape. I realize these are big ticket items, so these will be accountable items. To address both the leadership issue and the current lack of accountability, clear clear club leadership will be instituted and change over formally as people leave, and these items will be signed over as property of the club.

Hobby supplies and equipment. We need everything. Think of the very basic items you would need to take on a trip with you to work on a model. Liquid cement, hobby knives, sprue cutters, sand paper, Tamiya tape, common paints, detail brushes, etc. Common paints are needed, such as your basic RLM colors, US colors, etc. Acryl preferred because it's easier to work with, and many of these guys get enough contact with solvents in their duties.

Kit restock. I would just reiterate that we need everything but cars and 1/72 aircraft. I only ask that people refrain from sending partial kits, kits missing decals, etc.

I brought most of what I need with me. I am not rich, but whatever can't be obtained officially or from donations, I will attempt to obtain by "other means" for these guys to use and build/learn with. The majority of the people tonight were beginners. This would be a great opportunity to reinforce the hobby with some of these guys. The couple of us that are advanced modelers could provide a wealth of experience and teach these guys new things, such as weathering and how to use an airbrush. If we have an airbrush . . .

I will update you as I get more info.

In the meantime, the address I for contact and/or donations of kits and supplies is:

J. Myers
Bagram Hobby Club
PRG 6-1
APO AE 09354-3005

Vy way of advice, do not modify the address. Additionally, when filling out customs forms, put only "hobby supplies".

As before, sending money does us no good as there are no hobby shops around.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

Regards,
JP