CORBY SCI-FI SHOW – BRILLIANT MIX OF ALIENS AND MACHINES

WE SAW SMALLSPACE 9 reaching out to sci-fi model fans recently. Last weekend, it was the turn of the sci-fi enthusiasts of Corby, a town in the UK’s East Midlands.

IPMS 2016: SCALE MODELWORLD WINNER CLOSEUPS

INCREDIBLE ATTENTION TO DETAIL and a beautiful finish mark out Stefano Marchetti's fantasy Ferrari. The model took overall gold in the 2016 International Plastic Modellers' Society (IPMS) competition.

WINNING MODELS AT SCALE MODELWORLD 2015

SCALE MODELWORLD is the national show for the UK IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society). It was held over November 7-8, 2015, at the Telford International Conference Centre.

STEAMPUNK WORLD'S FAIR 2015 PROVIDES INSPIRATION FOR SCI-FI AND FANTASY MODELLERS

FOR SCI-FI AND FANTASY MODEL FANS, steampunk - Victorian flavoured gee-whizzery - has provided a new dimension to miniature making. And the recent 2015 Steampunk World's Fair (video above) provided plenty of ideas that might be incorporated into a scale model, especially where figures are concerned.

MORE MODELS FROM IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD 2014

HERE IS A SECOND SET OF photos, taken by Mat Irvine at IPMS Scale ModelWorld 2014, in Telford, UK.

IPMS SCALE MODELWORLD 2014 - COMPETITION WINNERS

HERE IS AN OVERVIEW of winning models for the 2014 Scale ModelWorld, held recently at Telford, UK.

DIARY FREE? THEN LOOK FORWARD TO SCALE MODELWORLD 2014

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR again for model fans within reach of Telford, UK, where the IPMS (International Plastic Modellers Society) holds Scale ModelWorld, the annual IPMS (UK) mega-bash show.

PORTUGUESE SPEAKERS, SAY 'OLA' - OR YOU CAN USE GOOGLE TRANSLATE FOR THE IPMS SANTA MARIA MAGAZINE

THERE'S GOOD WEEKEND reading here, and some fine models to look at through the 63 pages of the IPMS Santa Maria Magazine.

INCOMING: NEW KITS FROM AIRFIX DUE FOR RELEASE IN 2014

Mat Irvine: The 2014 London Toy Fair took place over January 21-23 at the Olympia Conference Centre. As I reported for last year’s LTF, the show is primarily concerned with ‘toys’ so the venue was full of items such as electronic games, teddy bears, and extras wandering around dressed up as cartoon characters.

MODELKRAFT SHOW 2013: A FEAST OF SCALE TALENT ON DISPLAY

MAT IRVINE:
The UK-based Milton Keynes Scale Model Club held its annual ModelKraft Show recently, and there were thousands of beautifully-finished miniatures on display.

SCALE MODELWORLD 2012 - THE WINNERS

MAT IRVINE REPORTS
The competition at Scale ModelWorld 2012 was split into a number of classes depending on subject, scale, and construction type. This has led to approaching 100 different classes, sometimes leading to some confusion as to which class to enter your creation.

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.

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.

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:

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.

NEW BOOK FROM A FRENCH AUTHOR - 1973-2000 THE STORY OF MATCHBOX KITS

Mat Irvine reviews:

The well-known French modeller, Jean-Christophe Carbonel (otherwise known to all as ‘JC’), has produced another book for the French publisher, Histoire & Collections.

The Story of Matchbox Kits homes in on a very British subject, and those whose French may not be up to scratch can breath a sigh of relief right now, as the edition I am talking about here is printed in English!

JC at the UK IPMS Scale Model World, Telford.

DOUGLAS SKYRAIDER - HEFTY SINGLE-SEAT ATTACK PLANE

SMN report
Seeing that beautifully produced Hobby Master Douglas Skyraider made us think that the diecast industry has one more ‘mission impossible’ to fulfill in the quality stakes - and that’s to fill those tiny cockpits with decent-looking humanoids.

Skyraider cockpit
As you can see from the superb pix and video of the real thing above, the pilot sits high and mighty in the Skyraider’s cockpit, the big bubble canopy giving him a terrific all-round combat view. Sad to say, the HM aircraft features a shrunken little man looking half asleep at the controls; in fact, the figure is pretty much on a par with the infamous and malnourished Airfix flight crews of long ago.

Hobby Master pilots
Part of the problem is to do with what’s actually possible. The limits of moulding technology simply don’t allow a canopy of scale thickness (yet!), so the pilot is bound to sit somewhat low in the cockpit. Even so, the average diecast pilot is pretty half-hearted, and in open cockpit machines, the issue shouldn’t arise at all. Now Hobby Master is at least addressing the issue, with several sets of figures now available, and they are better than the in-cockpit bods. But there’s a way to go yet, so that’s our next target for HM and other brands - pilots who look like they really have been to flight school!

Revell 1:40 scale Skyraider
The video in particular reminds us of that old Revell kit from 1960, made to a one-of-a-kind 1:40 scale. It was packed with must-have features of the time, including retractable undercarriage. In the Skyraider’s case this is particularly complex to model, because the wheels rotate 90 degrees to lay flat in the wings. In the kit I built some time ago, the wheels (and other features, such as the massive underbelly dive brake, sliding canopy, and folding wings) worked after a fashion - but only after a fashion. When extended, the landing legs were rather weak at the knees and, combined with the hefty weight of the finished item, made them go splay-legged the moment you tried to sit the plane on them!

You tried so hard Revell - but perhaps there are some things best left alone...

Spooky the Cat’s treasure trove
Incidentally, we chanced on this interesting clutch of kits, purchased at the IPMS Seattle Spring Show 2008. You can see the reissue of that original 1:40 scale Skyraider in the set, picked up for just $10 (fine value, even for a reissue) by model fan ‘Spooky the Cat’. Trust you enjoyed the build Spooky, and that you managed to fix that feeble undercart! Below it is the original box, painted with that early-Revell style and panache. The box subhead describes it as ‘frameable’ art, which just goes to show - never cut up a box at the suggestion of a copywriter!

Visit here for Skyraider kits and books.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  Kit selection from IPMS Seattle 2008.
2  Revell box from 1960.
3-4  Skyraider demos its barn-door speed brake, and flying in formation with a Grumman F4F, called the Martlet in Fleet Air Arm service.

Video courtesy ‘octane130’.

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.

SPACE IN MINIATURE MODEL REFERENCE GUIDES

Mat Irvine reports
Mike Mackowski is a long-time space modeller and one of the main members of the online Yahoo ‘Space Modelers’ group. Over some years now, Mike has compiled seven hardcopy books especially for modellers on spacecraft topics, including titles for Gemini, Mercury and two volumes on Apollo, one for the Command Service Module and one for the Lunar Module. Now he has produced his first ‘Tech Report’, a series intended to be shorter and to be available only as a download, thus having the advantage that they can be in colour.

Skylab details
Tech Report #1.0 (TR1) is on Skylab, prompted by Mike’s particular interest in America’s first space station. Mike worked for a time at McDonnell Douglas in St Louis, where Skylab’s airlock module was built. Previously he had spent time as a student at NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the Skylab trainer was housed. He was also at Marshall when Skylab was actually launched in 1973.

What’s in the TR1 pdf
TR1 contains images of the actual Skylab (perhaps surprisingly, not that many were taken) and many drawings showing schematics of what was a very complex object, especially when it came to the Apollo Telescope Mount (ATM) that once in orbit, had to rotate 90 degrees from its stowed launch position.

Making a 1:96 scale Skylab
TR1’s end-section has details of Skylab models that have been available (not many) with reference to my own Creating Space book, and then a chapter on modelling a Skylab in 1:96 scale. In all, you get 22 pages as a pdf download, well worth the asking price of $6.00 USD.

Visit Yahoo Space Modelers group here.

For Tech Report #1.0 and previous books, check out Space in Miniature here.

See Creating Space here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  TR1 download cover.
2-3  Space in Miniature hardcopy covers.
4  Mike Mackowski (left) with Mat Irvine at the 2002 US IPMS Nationals held at Virginia Beach, US.
5  Logo for the Yahoo Space Modelers group.

KOREAN WAR REMEMBERED IN MODEL FORM

SMN report
Today is the anniversary of the 1950 Battle of Incheon, a two-day United Nations amphibious assault that was a defining moment in the Korean War, and led to the liberation of Seoul, present-day capital of the Republic of Korea. UN forces were commanded by the famed General of the Army Douglas MacArthur, in an attack that was not the easiest to mount because by 1950, the US Marine Corps had been cut back to about 27,000 troops, less than 10 percent of its World War II strength.

Korean theme
And this year, the Northeast Military Modelers Association has made ‘Korea: The Forgotten War’ its theme for the two-day model show IPMS AMPSEast in Danbury, Connecticut, on September 24-25. The NMMA reckons the show will be the largest model show in that part of the US, and the event will include 80 vendor tables, eight seminars, and the ‘famous monster raffle’ - which sounds great!

Military Museum to visit
There’s also the excellent Military Museum of Southern New England nearby, so making a weekend of it with a day at the show, followed by the trip to the Military Museum sounds a good idea.
  
Visit the NMMA here.

Visit the Military Museum of Southern New England here.

The pictures show, top to bottom:
1  An F-4U Corsair flies over the Incheon fleet.
2  Colourful NMMA shield.
3-5 Showstopper models created by NMMS members.