THE HISTORY BEHIND Roc City Scale Modelers

---

 The Rochester Hobby Shop on South Clinton Avenue—located three blocks from the Cinema Theater—was the birthplace of the Historical Scale Modelers Association (HSMA). Our founding members first met one another while patronizing the store in the late 1960s.

In addition to plastic and balsa models, the Rochester Hobby Shop also carried model railroading products as well as craft supplies. The shop was owned and managed by Ginny Steinberg, who became an important supporter of the local modeling community.

Phil Pucher, our last surviving founding member, recalls becoming acquainted with other Rochester area modelers in the spring of 1968 while roaming the aisles of the Hobby Shop.  Before long, a loose-knit group of about ten modelers had formed.  The first informal gathering was held at the home of Bob Morasse, whose recreation room featured an entire wall covered with 1/72-scale aircraft hanging by their tails. 

 Phil Pucher

Bob McCrae

Bob Morasse
Dick Bagg

George Harmston

Steve Mayer
Ron Stafford

Ed Book

Bob and Joe Henry (father and son)
Eugene LaDue

Ken French

Dick Werner

 By the early 1970s, the club had formally organized and regular meetings were held in members’ basements.  Wives were invited, and refreshments were often served.  One summer, the club even held a picnic at the home of Ginny Steinberg, the owner and manager of the Rochester Hobby Shop.

It was during this period that the club formally adopted the name Historical Scale Modelers Association.

Club members occasionally displayed finished models in the Hobby Shop’s front window.  One memorable incident involved Armand, who was surprised to find his 1/48-scale P-51 Mustang suffering from sagging landing gear and drooping wings—courtesy of a rare sunny Rochester day.

 As membership grew, it soon became clear that basement meetings were no longer practical.  The club briefly met at a church on East Avenue.  The club was eventually asked to leave one church—due to objections over the swastikas displayed on the tails of German aircraft models.

The club ultimately settled at the 40 & 8 Club on University Avenue, where the clubs first contest, ROCON 1, was held on October 3, 1976.  One of the early contests even featured a real half-track vehicle on display. 

 The club newsletter, Final Approach, was written and printed by George Harmston who was employed at Xerox.  He produced the newsletters during printer maintenance runs, when test copies were required—a resourceful solution that benefited the club for years.

HSMA also organized several public displays. At one local mall, members constructed an eight-foot-square “ocean” using sheets of craft paper and populated it with 1/700-scale warships to form a dramatic naval battle diorama.  A display at the Naval Armory (now GEVA Theater) also featured an actual 40mm gun mount, much to the delight of children both young and old. 

 In 2016, the club was rebranded as the RocCity Scale Modelers, a change that was inclusive of both “historical” and modern genres.  The new branding also gave rise to the now well-known Purple Shirts—a symbol of the club’s identity, camaraderie, and continued presence in the scale modeling community. 

 Prior to new branding came a new way for our members to connect with each other.  Club build nights began about around 2015, occurring about once or twice a month at the Webster, Irondiquoit and Chili Libraries.  10+ members would meet up to build and talk.  The club eventually settled in at the Sea Breeze Bill Grays Restaurant and build nights became weekly events, with 12-15 participating builders.  Dining patrons would often come in to see what was going on.  Build nights have provided a good public exposure for the club and has led to new memberships.