IPMS 2018 Nats In Review

General Discussion Scale Model Events
1

Well, the fun in the sun is over and I hope everyone who attended had a great time and made a safe journey back home. Kudos to the Craig Hewett chapter and all the others who made the Nats possible. The dust storm that blew through downtown Phoenix on Thursday was a first for me! It looked a lot scarier on TV, with a high shot of a brown tidal wave slowly engulfing the airport. I think we were crossing the street when the dust cloud passed, as it was calm one second, then all heck broke loose and I got a mouthfull of sand gakwing at all the stuff that was suddenly blowing all around us.

Anyway, here is a link to some photos of the cars, space/sci-fi, and figures. It is by no means comprehensive, as I was just casually strolling the tables, shooting whatever caught my fancy.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ntizumi/albums/72157699532767894

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ntizumi/albums/72157699917191855

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ntizumi/albums/72157698283357611

I’ll post aircraft, armor, ships, and miscellaneous stuff as the days go by.

I welcome attendees to post comments, impressions, and of course pictures from the event to share with those who were unable to make it. So how about it? What did you guys see? What cool stuff did you buy? Did you snag any trophies?

2

Those are some great looking builds and great picture taking G.

3

Any aircraft?

4

Thanks Steve! But I should have reviewed them in the hotel room like I ususally do; some came out awful. [:$]

Here’s the planes and tanks:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ntizumi/albums/72157699538564434

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ntizumi/albums/72157672027851238

And I have gotten lazy and stopped bringing a proper camera. So lazy…

5

Oh, and ships:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ntizumi/albums/72157696733152482

6

And bits-n-bobs:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ntizumi/albums/72157698290382851

By the way, I finally got an invite from FSM to have my model photographed! Woo-hoo!

https://flic.kr/p/28MBULW][/url]IMG_8470 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

It didn’t place (the judges probably saw what the underside looked like), but it was a thrill nevertheless!

And I got a 2nd place, which is more than I deserved:

https://flic.kr/p/29T5zUx][/url]IMG_8505 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

7

Congrats on both G! [Y]

Was that all the ships? I could have won something if I went. At least 3rd maybe.

8

First of all, CONGRATS ON YOUR 2ND PLACE!!!. It’s not easy to place in the IPMS nationals for sure. Well done - and a great piece indeed. And congrats on the photo op, also a good nod right! And finally, thank you for all the great pics. Once again, just extraordinary work across the board. I would hate to be a judge at the nationals. So many museum quality pieces. Fantastic! The hobby is alive and well :slight_smile:

9

Steve, don’t let my paltry pictures deceive you; there were a lot of ship models built with a high degree of finish and detail. To me, ship modelers really have to bring their “A” game to the show. If you can go to a Nationals, go with all guns firing and give no quarters! Nickels, maybe, but no quarters!

Keavdog, actually judging is a really good way to gain insight into what makes a contest winner, and equally importantly, what shoots down an entry. I have done it once so far at the Nats, and it was really an educational experience.

10

Here are some of my favorites from the show:

https://flic.kr/p/29NFEoy][/url]IMG_8307 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I know it’s almost become cliche’, but I always love looking at a 1/32 Zoukei Mura Ho-229 stripped down. I was lucky to get to chat with the fellow who built it, who was a very nice guy BTW.

https://flic.kr/p/29NFHf5][/url]IMG_8276 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

An excruciatingly tiny (1/350) Mitsubishi “Pete”.

https://flic.kr/p/28v2o6H][/url]IMG_8359 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Monogram’s 1/48 B-58 Hustler is a challenging kit to build, and even more so to do it well. And the builder even did it in my favorite scheme!

https://flic.kr/p/28MuASd][/url]IMG_8341 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Japan Airlines’ livery was always nice looking, and this very pretty model only makes it more so.

https://flic.kr/p/L823ZP][/url]IMG_8375 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Sorry, I have a soft spot for weird vehicles. This is Skoda’s PA-2 “Turtle”, a pre-WW II armored car. Yes, it was real!

https://flic.kr/p/29SWsqa][/url]IMG_8368 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

This model of a German tank destroyer (Nashorn?) captures the “Geman Armor Feel” to a tee.

https://flic.kr/p/L824dz][/url]IMG_8373 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

There’s nothing like Cold War Soviet hardware! I believe this is a missile guidance radar system.

https://flic.kr/p/28wyNbP][/url]IMG_8460 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

There’s something about this vignette that just bursts with life, despite depicting a quiet scene.

https://flic.kr/p/279EyYQ][/url]IMG_8487 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

A “flat” of the Red Baron. A rather teeny one, but with amazing paintwork.

https://flic.kr/p/2766mWN][/url]IMG_8350 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

By far, my favorite sci-fi entry was this kit bashed race car that scored an 11 on my Bazongas Meter! It was primarily made up of a Nu BSG spacecraft.

https://flic.kr/p/L64agV][/url]IMG_8488 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

While the Hummel is not my favorite Fledermaus variant, the beautiful execution of the mottled camouflage made me keep going back to marvel at this entry.

https://flic.kr/p/29LCFLS][/url]IMG_8327 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

Industria Mechanica resin kits rock, and this one particularly caught my eye. There was a massive mecha (Briegel?) that towered over the competition, but I liked this one best.

https://flic.kr/p/2765VWY][/url]IMG_8267 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I have a soft spot for monster squids, and this one is the coolest one I have ever seen. The paint job just rocks!

https://flic.kr/p/MLW7Mo][/url]IMG_8284 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

https://flic.kr/p/279Ezs5][/url]IMG_8411 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

I saved the best for last. This was a junior entry that got my attention from the moment I saw it. It has everything - concept, execution, and presentation. Simply brilliant. Now THAT is what good modeling is about. And the builder was a young girl - take that, you diorama moguls!

11

Last pic. My only model kit purchase was a Wave Destroid Defender. For some reason, it has yet to be re-popped despite the Tomahawk and Phalanx coming back at least once or twice. A nice, lucky find.

https://flic.kr/p/29T6f6H][/url]IMG_8421 by N.T. Izumi, on Flickr

The USS Franklin is for a friend, so it doesn’t count. [:D] For me, this is a record low number of kits brought back from a model trip.

Okay, my dust is settling. What did everyone else who attended see?

12

Thank you for posting these !

Ther were “Many” Favorite’s among your photo’s, But the one I liked best was this one…

I’m gonna “Steal” it and put it in my shop ! ( with a few drop’s of Blood Red paint on the floor below it !)

13

Congrats Real G, great looking entries you were up against. Maybe some day I will have a chance to put something on a Nat. table.[Y][Y]

No money from me tonight LT, sorry, I do like that poster though.

14

Little Timmy, we are all fans of Ellie!

Armornut, thanks, and yes try to get to a Nats. You see a lot and you learn a lot!

15

Hi;

Well , you certainly have done some of us a service . Thank You so much . The photography is excellent . I would like to know where you got the Mecha you won Second with . Oh , Nice win by the way . I see no shame in that build !

And for me , that you were asked by F.S.M for a photo session . Capitol !!

16

Just Think !

You could take the Skoda’s turret off , add windows on both ends and the sides and have a multidirectional auto that would be at home in this " New " world of Ugly cars . So Ugly it’s fascinating as to what kind of " What If " could be done with it . How about a Pick-up - You know a "technical " ?

I would just have to really enjoy looking at that awesome Squid !

17

Tanker-Builder,

The space avocado mech is a Black Knight by Love-Love Garden. I got mine from Hobbylink Japan. Since it is a resin conversion kit, it goes in and out of stock. Right now it is listed as discontinued. But Hobbysearch also carries it, but it is also OOS:

https://hlj.com/product/LLVMAK011

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10327919

If you can order the kit, I would recommend the one without the Hasegawa White Knight plastic kit parts, as it is cheaper and both boxings lack the necessary decal sheet.

The White Knight by Hasegawa is a regular injection molded kit and goes in and out of stock:

https://www.1999.co.jp/eng/10289605

All of the decals I used came from the White Knight kit, except for the yellow “II” markings which were made from white decal film spray painted yellow.

The squid is from a kickstarter project, of which a friend who builds wargaming minis buys stuff from. I thought it was pretty big for a gaming piece. I too was impressed by the paint job as well as the exquisite detail molded on the figure.

The Skoda PA-2 is truly a wacky design. When I first saw illustrations of it, I thought it was from some steam punk artist’s imagination. The real thing was cramped, overweight, underpowered, and had skinny tires which made it unsuitable for off-road terrain. But I love it. The crazy-quilt paint scheme only makes it better!

18

Hey , Real G;

So True on the Skoda . When I first saw one I couldn’t stop laughing !

19

LM_AO ! That IS a good one.

Real G, Thanks for sharing your pictures of the show.

20

Ha ha, yeah love that Ellie! I wonder if we can get a PDF file from the designer?

Glad to share the contest pics. I got lazy this time and as a result there were lots of omissions. Next time I go to a contest, I’ll take more comprehensive photos. Pinkie promise.