SCALE MODELWORLD 2012 - TALENT APLENTY AT THE SHOW

REPORT BY MAT IRVINE
The annual show of the UK International Plastic Modellers Society (IPMS) was held over last weekend, November 10-11, at the massive Telford International Conference Centre, now made even larger by the addition of a fourth hall.

Important lighting
The extra hall was handy as it allowed the competition area to move to its own room. This also had the advantage of having windows down one side, allowing natural light in - very important when it comes to the actual process of judging the entries. And it was especially important to me, as I was one of the judges.

Range of entries
The pictures you see here are a just tiny taster for the massive number of entries, and that’s all they can be, for attempting to photograph everything on show - competition entries, club stands, Special Interest Groups, special exhibits, let alone the companies and traders - is somewhat impractical. I’d probably still be there if I tried to grab a shot of every single item, so this is a starter set to show you some of the superb entries on display at Scale ModelWorld 2012.

SMN note: Great looking entries Mat - must have been a tough choice picking winners from such a rich field of entries.

IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD 2011 - PHOTO REPORT

SMN report:

The Scale ModelWorld 2011 Show was a major event last weekend for the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society), and a galaxy of models were on display. SMN’s own Mat Irvine was at the show with a stand (above), and all in all, the annual bash went down very well indeed.

Dan Dare spaceship

SMW 2011 was so packed with stuff that we’ll leave the photo-report to tell the story, but there was one model that caught our science-fiction radar, a spaceship labelled as the Valiant from the classic Dan Dare comic strip. The Valiant was a spacecraft star in the 1953-54 Dan Dare adventure Operation Saturn but, ahem, the one at SMW 2011 didn’t look much like the shapely vehicle drawn by Dan Dare’s creator, Frank Hampson - a good model, just not a replica of the original. 

Dan Dare spacecraft heads for the planet Saturn, with US pilot Hank Hogan above.

Spacecraft loaded for action

Hey ho - but the upside is that there’s still room for an accurate Valiant, powered by monatomic-hydrogen engines and armed to the teeth with space-cannon batteries, and the fearsome centrifugal-mortar defence system! Mind you, we’ve yet to see a decent scale model of Dan Dare’s personal spacecraft, the dainty little Anastasia, so we're not holding our breath on this one. Still, here’s hoping...

Photo report from France

We have the French site ‘Modelstories’, run by JC Carbonel, to thank for the photo-report, and there’s a link to visit there later on. Modelstories is well worth visiting in any case for its wide-ranging content, covering any and all aspects of scale modelmaking. 

Albatros kit of Jules Verne's Clipper of the Clouds.

Steampunk selection

There’s so much on the site that it’s difficult to point out a single area to home in on, but as confirmed sci-fi and steampunk fans, we have a soft spot for the ‘Maquettes dans l’Universe de Jules Verne et Cie’ section, which covers not only Verne, but HG Wells, Edgar Rice Burroughs and more.

Do you speak French?

The site is in French, so if you don’t speak the language, then you could fire up an Internet translator app, though results can be somewhat variable. For example, the picture to Mat Irvine’s stand (top) reads: “Le stand de Mat Irvine, ancien responsable des effets spéciaux à la BBC (notamment sur « Dr Who »). Mat donnait les deux jours une conférence sur la fabrication de maquettes pour le cinéma.” 

Yahoo’s Babelfish translates this as: “The stand of Chechmate Irvine, former head of the special effects with the BBC (in particular on “Dr. Who”). Chechmate gave the two days a conference on the manufacture of models for the cinema.”

Well ‘Chechmate’, we ‘sorta’ get what it’s trying to say!

Google manages it a bit better: “Mat Irvine's booth, former head of the BBC special effects (including "Dr Who"). Mat gave a two days conference on manufacturing models for film.”

Bet this movie alien doesn't speak French either.

Summation

Great show, huge modelmaking skills, heaps to see and do. Here’s to the 2012 edition! And a salute to Modelstories for the dedication to upload so many pictures.

Visit Modelstories here.

Visit IPMS Scale ModelWorld 2011 here.

IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD 2011 - THIS WEEKEND

SMN report:

The Scale ModelWorld 2011 Show is a big event in the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society) diary, and is thought to be the world’s largest model show, in both size and visitor numbers. It attracts thousands of people from all over the globe, and is on today and tomorrow, November 12-13.

SMN’s own Mat Irvine will be there, and there are many other highlights if you can make it, such as:

* Giant display of racing and sports car models, provided by the automotive modelling group, Les Garagistes.

* Display of vehicles including a James Bond 'baddie' Jaguar from Die another Day and a replica of the XK8 Shaguar from The Spy Who Shagged Me. 

* Over 135 traders and manufacturers from across the world, including Europe, Japan, Russia, UK, and the USA.

* More than 150 club displays in three large halls.

* ‘Meet the Maker’ with guest star Kunihiro Suzuki, President and founder of the Japanese model manufacturer Fine Molds. 

* Airfix 'Make and Take' for younger modellers.

* Overseas area, featuring traders and clubs from all over the planet.

* Specialist bookshops, publishers, and modelling magazines.

The pictures, courtesy Tony Horton, are of various entries in last year’s 2010 IPMS  Scale ModelWorld - and there are even more on show this weekend.

Visit IPMS Scale ModelWorld 2011 here.

IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD 2011 - A MUST-VISIT SHOW FOR MODEL FANS

SMN update:

The Scale ModelWorld 2011 Show is heralded as: ‘The Greatest Model Show on Earth’. It’s certainly a mega-event that the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society) reckons is the world’s largest model show, in both size and visitor numbers. It attracts thousands of people from all over the globe. So keep your diary free for next weekend, November 12-13.

Scale ModelWorld 2011 highlights:

* This year’s theme is ‘Cars’, and features an amazing 25 metre-plus (84 ft) display of racing and sports car models, provided by the UK automotive modelling group, Les Garagistes. This will be complemented by a display of vehicles from the Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust, including the ‘bad guy’ Jaguar from the James Bond movie Die another Day and a replica of the XK8 Shaguar from the Austin Powers movie The Spy Who Shagged Me. 

* Over 135 traders and manufacturers from across the world. Companies from Europe, Japan, Russia, UK, and the US will display an astonishing variety of products. There's a saying: “If you can’t find it at Scale ModelWorld it isn't available." 

* Over 150 club displays in three large halls, with every imaginable genre or special interest in the modelling world represented among the thousands of models on display.

* ‘Meet the Maker’ in conjunction with HobbyLink Japan, presents guest star Kunihiro Suzuki, President and founder of the major Japanese model manufacturer Fine Molds. He will give two one-hour talks with a question-and-answer session. 

* Talks by well-known modelling personalities including Trevor Snowden, and SMN’s own Mat Irvine. Mat’s stand will feature a galaxy of models, and many of his books will be on sale. 

* Airfix will be running 'Make and Take', an opportunity for younger modellers to try their hand at building and painting a free 1:72 scale kit. Airfix staff will be on hand to offer help and advice.

* Overseas area, featuring numerous traders and clubs from all over the globe.

* Most of the UK’s specialist book publishers, bookshops, and printed modelling magazines, as well as some from Europe will be there.

Pictures shown here courtesy Tony Horton. They show various competition entries in last year’s 2010 IPMS Scale ModelWorld - and there’ll be even more on show this year!

SMW poster has all relevant details for the Show.

Visit IPMS Scale ModelWorld 2011 here.

FineMolds here.

Mat Irvine here.

Les Garagistes, not forgetting the site's nifty slideshow, here.

UPCOMING IPMS SHOW - A MUST-VISIT FOR ALL MODEL FANS

SMN report
For UK and European model enthusiasts, the IPMS (UK) Scale ModelWorld 2010 Show is ‘The Modelling Event of the Year’. Well, that’s the poster’s description, but it’s pretty accurate, for the show - in Telford, Shropshire - is certainly a mega-event. You’ll have a choice of 100-plus trade stands and 100-plus IPMS Branch and SIG (Special Interest Group) displays to look at, surely enough to keep any model fan drooling over the entire weekend of 13-14 November.

Model competition
A big draw at the IPMS event - over and above all those display stands - will be the model competition, in which entries are all-new - or at least, cannot have been entered in an IPMS event before. Note that all entries except Juniors should be pre-registered by November 6 - that’s this coming Saturday. The standard of modelmaking at IPMS events is simply superb, and doubtless this event will be well up to previous levels of excellence.

Mat Irvine
SMN’s Mat Irvine will be judging the Space, Science-Fiction and Fantasy competition entries, and will have his own stand at the show, where his excellent model books will be on sale. Mat is also aiming to display some of the car models that will appear in his new book Scale Car Modelling, scheduled for publication in mid-2011.

Visitor from the Far East
Also present at the IPMS show will be HobbyLink Japan. HLJ is eager to give UK enthusiasts a taste of their vast range of interesting and exotic stuff. A real draw for aerospace fans will be HLJ’s guest, the revered Japanese artist Shigeo Koike, who has  painted so many superbly-drafted kit box-tops. Shigeo will be signing prints and other artwork. 

Visit the IPMS here.

Visit HobbyLink Japan here.

Visit Mat Irvine here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  IPMS poster.
2  A blast from the past - two very early Airfix kits.
3  Shigeo Koike Mustang art.

AIRFIX 1:24 SCALE MOSQUITO BREAKS COVER AT IPMS SHOW

Report: Mat Irvine
The UK branch of the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society) held its annual National Meeting at the International Conference Centre, Telford the weekend before last. There were two main halls, plus a slightly smaller one used for the competition area. The main halls were packed with trading stalls and club stands, which incorporated SIGs (Special Interest Groups) the ‘Interests’ of which ranged widely - Korean War, seaplanes, NASA, Wallace & Gromit and much more besides.

One of the show's prime interests for aircraft fans was the sneak peak of what has to be the most anticipated model kit ever - the Airfix 1:24 scale de Havilland Mosquito. Airfix Product Manager Trevor Snowdon talked kits with customers, while in front of him stood the ‘wooden wonder’ (well, plastic in this iteration) itself, a Mosquito in part-assembled test-shot form. And very nice it looked, with pale-grey parts laid out around. The box was there too, and really showed off the excellent design trend exhibited by Airfix these days - brightly attractive for general buyers, yet clean-looking and serious for experienced ones. Just right.

The Airfix 1:24 scale Mosquito will be available shortly. Meantime, other Mosquito kits are available here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1 Box-art for the initial version of the Airfix 1:24 scale Mosquito.
2 Test-shot of the Mosquito on display.
3 Trevor Snowden, Airfix Product Manager and one of the driving forces behind Airfix since the Humbrol days, discusss models with a customer.

SMN note:
Mat Irvine took many pictures at the IPMS show, and we’re planning to release these in Freeebook form for you shortly. There are many tasty items, so keep checking for the Freeebook release.

A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY - IPMS MODEL SHOW IN NOVEMBER

The International Plastic Modellers’ Society (IPMS) has expanded across the world since its beginnings in the UK, in 1963. Today, there are IPMS chapters in more than a dozen countries.

For UK model makers, the Telford ModelWorld 2009 will be a big bash, with 200-plus trade stands and model displays.

If you’re in reach of the show, keep at least one day free over the weekend of this 7-8 November to drop in, and be awed at the craft skills displayed.

The models above depict:
1 Interceptor from the Gerry Anderson TV series ‘Captain Scarlet’.
2 Fully loaded tank transporter.
3 Diorama scene from The War of the Worlds. Note the street name.

Visit the IPMS here.