Peter Chiang reports: This modelling idea came about after the successful Airfix Spitfire Group Build on 23 April 2022, during one of our Saturday modellers group chat sessions.
40th anniversary story: Mick Stephen suggested that as June 2022 was the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, we should have an event for which he would sponsor the non-Airfix entry prize, though he eventually sponsored all the prizes.
I agreed to the concept and announced it in our WhatsApp group chat and Facebook. The format was to submit the entries online at www.airfixcup.com for the online competition for 14 June, which was the last day of the Falklands War in 1982. We then heard about the ‘Kits for Kids’ charity event on 18 June 2022 at ITE Central (Institute of Technical Education) in Singapore and adjusted our competition date to match and have the display entries.
Background on Kits for Kids
Kits for Kids is a fundraising activity by the scale modelling community in Singapore, led by Mr. Tan Chuan-Jin, Speaker of Singapore Parliament. All proceeds go towards running the services and programmes for children and youth at SHINE children and youth services. We hope that scale modelling enthusiasts will join us by donating their scale modelling kits for sale, purchasing these sets, and making donations in support of our fundraising efforts. Through Kits for Kids, we hope to raise money to run the various services and programmes for our beneficiaries. This event is being organized with the help of a group of dedicated volunteers.
Impressive stats
On 18 June 2022, the fifth Kits for Kids event had more than 800 models for sale, and approximately 300 people came. They raised $29,000 (GBP£17,000) from the sale of kits, and with a matching grant they raised a total of $68,000 (GBP£40,000) from this event!
About SHINE
Children and Youth Services is a registered charity and a member of the Singapore National Council of Social Service. We have been empowering children, youth, and their families in Singapore since 1976, and remain committed to enabling them to maximise their potential. SHINE serves around 8,000 students, aged 5-21 years old, each year. The work we do helps to build young lives, enhances their resilience, and SHINEs the light of hope for their future.
Quiz and exchange
Before the competition, we had a lot of trivial quizzes and exchange of information on the WhatsApp chat group. Many of the work in progress models were displayed, and I was impressed by research and effort put in. Examples are Razali Ahmad’s 1:32 scale Pucara and 1:700 scale SS Atlantic Conveyor, Soon Tuck’s Airfix Falklands War 1:600 HMS Arrow Leander-class ship.
All entries had to be submitted on Friday 17 June 2022 by 1300 hrs, and judging was done at 1530 hrs. We were very pleased to see 22 entries, including some from Brazil. Here are the winners:
The winners for best Airfix models were:
1st prize- Kevin Kuo
2nd prize - Thiago Vinicius Gusmao Datria
3rd prize - Linus Chan
Non-Airfix prize:
1st prize - Leslie Choy
Interschool freestyle:
1st prize - Tan Xiang Qing
2nd prize - Sharmaine Ong Jia Ning
3rd prize - Zheng Wenxin
Congratulations to all and thanks to Mick Stephen, who sponsored the prizes, and to Mat Irvine and Tony James for judging.
