Organised by IPMS UK the founding branch of the society, and taking place on UK armistice day weekend Saturday and Sunday 10th 11th November 2017. Fantastic show taking up all 4 halls plus suites at Telford International Exhibition Centre UK. At the heart of the show is the competition that was formerly the IPMS UK Nationals. It is still a competition that only IPMS members from any country can enter by an earlier registered entry. Besides the competition where you can see the best of the best, there will be many, many trade stands catering for all interests. Lots of IPMS SIG (Special Interest Group) displays, IPMS Branch (Chapter) stands and our famous Kit Swap Area (actually Second Hand Kit Sales) that is only available to all IPMS Members on the morning of each day before being opened up to the general public. In one of the halls there is an area where there are International displays by many overseas IPMS organisations. Hope as many visitors from across the pond can attend.
Where is 2018 show at?, and when?
Its always in Telford and in Nov. 10th and 11th this year.
http://ipmsuk.org/ipms-scale-modelworld/
One of these days i might actually get there.
I’ve never been to a IPMS show…I reviewed the link you provided, and that looks like a pretty good and big show. Do a lot of vender show up to this show? I hope you get to go one day Bish.
I was at the 1986 IPMS-USA National Convention hosted by IPMS Silver Wings at what is now the DoubleTree Hilton across from Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento, California, was a three-day event if memory serves right.
There were thousands of entries; somebody had a scratch-built Focke-Wulf 400 that looked like it been hidden in the attic tad too long somebody else had a large collection of 1:1 scale small arms on display, couldn’t be sure they weren’t Real McCoys.
There also were a large number of Auto & Armor models on display well as large-scale ship models including magnificently rigged sailing ships; everything for everybody near for sure, can’t remember seeing many sci-fi entries, no ST:TNG stuff that’s for sure!
At that time I was a Silver Wings member, entered two 1/72nd FROG FIAT G.55s placed next to somebody’s fabulous 1/32nd Revell Hawker Typhoon modified to show scratch-built wing construction detail, neither he or I won anything alas.
The last night of the show there was a grand dinner in the hotel, hundreds there indeed was crowded! Just before going into the dining hall came across a small man in his 60s smartly dressed in a light blue suit wearing an Army Medal Of Honor decoration around his neck and nothing else, likely only time I’d see one on the winner.
The Show MC was the IPMS-USA president decades older than I, good third of the folks there were also. After the intros the awards were announced; when the Armor categories were called the MC wily muttered “Targets” to audible groans towards end of the program announcing with surprise that the show’s “grand winner” was a “Junior” garnering ooohs & ahhhs from some in the audience.
There were a hoard of vendors at the convention, many more than any other model meet I’d attended in the 1980s & early 1990s, y’all could buy anything & everything. Am not entirely sure but somebody could had been selling PC gaming software on floppy disks, why he’d been there can only guess.
From what i gather yes, a lot of vendors go to this one. Even the smaller shows have quite a few.
I have made it to one UK Scale Model World back in 2014, and about a half dozen US Nationals. The difference between the two that was most apparent was that in the UK the non-competition club displays outnumbered the contest entries by a considerable margin. The vendor rooms were stupendously huge with more stuff than I could mentally process. I felt the contest entries, although fewer in number compared to a typical US Nats turnout, were of generally higher caliber in quality. That’s not to disrespect the US Nats, it just seemed that the heavy hitter modelers were the ones to enter the contest. A friend who I regard as an expert modeler only managed an “honorable mention” for his entry. I didn’t bring a model to the contest, but if I ever do, it had better be pretty darn impressive!
It may be far away, but guys in the US should go at least once to Telford, just to experience it and see how they do it “over the pond”. Plus there’s the RAF Museum in Cosford a couple of train stops from Telford. Heck I’m in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and it was a lo-ng flight. But I watched six movies so it wasn’t too bad!
Well if you can make it G, i have no excuse. Not all of the shows i have been to have shows, but those that do, even small ones, seem to have a very high standard. There is one guy in our club who builds some of the best aircraft models i have seen, and he struggles at Telford.
Do it Bish, you will be glad you did!
Telford was a bucket list destination for me since the late 1970s. The issue of Scale Models with the Hasegawa 1/32 TA-4 Skyhawk in bicentennial colors on the cover was the catalyst. IIRC the show report in that issue had a photo of a working 1/3 scale Merlin engine that ran on something called “petrol”. I was amazed that such things could be built. Also in the issue was a scratchbuilt Fairey Swordfish in 1/24 scale I think. And there I was looking on with incredulity, sitting on the floor with my tube glue and crummy Testors nylon bristle brushes!
Our club has a display there every year, i just haven’t saved up the cash for it. I need to start putting some away.
Ye, that petrol stuff lol. Its seeing thing like that as kids that i think really inspires us and sets us on the path.
Hello G,
That’s cool you have been to this IPMS show. The wife has been wanting to go to the UK…maybe I can kill two bird’s with one stone. Plan it to where we go and end up there for the show. I also agree with you in regards to the quality of builds from our friend’s on the other side of the pond. Between the photos, YouTube and Military Modeller I have noticed the attention to specific details, and the diorama’s they put out are amazing.
Bish, Bish, Bish…please save up and get to this show. And make sure to take some of your builds.
Hunter, if you plan on timing a visit here with the Telford show, just don’t let the wife check the weather forcastes [:D]. Could winds and drizzel are not exactly the ythings most people look for in a hiliday destination [;)]
I will and i’l be sure to take some pics.
LOL…boy I would not hear the end of it if I took her there during the rainy season, It would not bother me.
Rainy season, now thats good. We don’t so much have a wet and dry season, more like a very wet seaon and a bit less wet seaon.
LOL…at least the gentlemen on eash side are getting a laugh out of it.
England may be a bigger show in the world.But;The U.S. is where the very detail is at.I have been at those shows in Europe,and have seen no match like our I.P.M.S. Nationals winners In the past few years.
Not to create bad waves .We need to have a sponsorship type of modeling show that can be bigger and eventful for the hobby.Thats how they do it over there.A ribbon won’t cut the cake .You need a -example— a 2,000$ prize and so on.Some what an incentive To work twards e real craftmanship.
Been there , Done that !
When I worked for British Petroleum / Shell as a tanker captain . We had some standown due to a tug bending our bow Bulb badly . Got to drive in the U.K. Too .That was a blast ( I guess I always wanted to drive on the " wrong side ").
Anyway this was some years back .The work on the models was almost Anal . We had a lot to learn . Anyway as is the case, Modeler to Modeler , this was like a breath of fresh air .
Remember , tankers don’t hang in port often . If we ain’t movin we ain’t earnin ! Telford shall always one of my favorite experiences . Biggest point at that time , No Snobbishness was shown anywhere .
You ain’t got a bloody choice [:D] Why do you think we have such a warped sense of humour.
Do they, thats a new one on me. If you need money as incentive to build a model, your in the wrong hobby.