After a bit of digging I found a rather large and active IPMS club near me. They seem pretty serious, and have competitions, guest speakers, and raffles. I think this would be a fun thing to pop into occasionally (it is unfortunately on weekdays and I could probably only go during the summer or if I have that day off). I was wondering if clubs like these would be good for beginners or would I be too overwhelmed/out of the loop and should wait until I hone my skills more? I was thinking it would be fun to socialize and see everyone’s work.
They can be great places to meet fellow people with similar interests who can help you grow ylur skills and love of the hobby. Show competitons are also great meeting places and offer seminars and vendors from neighboring areas that sell their wares. I belong to both IPMS and AMPS and have found some great modeling friends through both.
Emphatic Yes. Its a treat to meet all those model builders who come up out of their basements on occasion. Looking at OPM’s (Other People’s Models) is a learning experience and you can ask questions like “how did you do that?, or where did you get that?” All model builders want to talk about their models. Listen, learn and there’s usually something to eat.
YES, join as fast as you can. Clubs are great sources of assistance and motivation and a sense of camaraderie(much like this forum). The one thing to be aware of is that sometimes a club has a member that “knows everything” and might say something that’s not positive. Hopefully your club has a policy about such behaviors with their members.
Absolutely! I’ve been a member of our local IPMS chapter (Centennial IPMS) for over 20 years and we have all sorts of skill levels in the club. We’re always encouraging new members and share our experiences, techniques and tips with everyone.
The only way to know for sure is to visit a meeting or two and see how it goes.
Much will depend on the people who belong to the club, and on you and how you are in a social setting.
Joining a club is the one thing I recommend every single scale modeler should do.
In a club obviously you meet people with a similar intrest, but that is just the begining. Every club I have seen has builders bring their recent projects in for every meeting. They talk about what they are working on, and how they are accomplishing things.
Magazines and videos can help you with your builds but nothing beats looking at the kit and talking to the builder and learning how they did something first hand. (Sorry @Tim_Kidwell1 )
I got back into the hobby again about 8 years ago. I joined the local scale model car club right out of the gate. My first build or two were ok, but I learned things from the guys in our club and the quality of my builds grew by leaps and bounds.
Now I am trying new things with each build and specifically pushing my skills just so I can bring a kit in and have the other club members take a look at it and help me figure out where I can improve next time.
Clubs are esential if you want to learn and grow as a builder.
I would definitely recommend, at the very least, checking out the local clubs. As many others have noted, they can provide great opportunities for learning and growth within the hobby. That said, there were a few groups that I joined in the past that just didn’t work for me. I encountered very politicized, sometimes cliquey, groups where some members were “always right”, unsupportive, overly critical, to even outright hostile to new members. This happened when I was younger and it left me disappointed and a little bit jaded toward clubs.
This hobby includes people of every stripe, the good and the bad. Find yourself a group of people who are most of all supportive and easy to get along with. Years later a local hobby shop owner started setting up a table in his shop where you could just drop by and build. It became so popular that we eventually started a monthly get together at the local veterans legion, in addition to putting on an annual show.
That shop eventually closed when the owner passed away, but we’ve continued the monthly meetings and yearly show since. It’s still very casual (meetings in one of the guys’ basement) where we get together, stick some plastic together and just have a night out of our own modelling bunkers.
For me these monthly meetings are highly important, I even prioritize those days off when bidding my work schedule. It’s an stress-free evening of complete disengagement from the larger world, where I can lose myself in styrene and glue. The people in our group span a variety of ages, backgrounds and perspectives. I know I can rely on any of them for help if needed in modelling or anything else.
I guess what I’m saying is, don’t latch onto a club, group or forum (for that matter) just because they build models. Make sure that any group you join is one in which you can relax, be yourself, make mistakes without fear, and that you overall feel comfortable with. The meetings should be enjoyable, positive, productive and most importantly….FUN.
You’re dead to me, Truss! You hear me?! [shakes fist vigorously]
But seriously, Chad knows of what he speaks. He joined a modeling club and his abilities have skyrocketed. But, as someone else pointed out, the vibe has to be right for you. And if it’s not, you may find yourself turned off—not only from the club experience but modeling in general. I’ve seen it happen before. So trust your own instincts. If the group you find at first doesn’t click for you, don’t feel bad about looking for another. And online groups are a viable alternative. I know quite a few modelers whose group is a Zoom/Discord/Skype group call one or more times a month. Modeling groups come in all shapes and sizes.
An excellent idea! I belong to two clubs, the Phoenix area IPMS club (one of the largest in the US) and a local car model club. Both clubs put on awesome contests, have cool meetings and are a great social outlet as well as a good source of modeling info.
That said, some IPMS clubs have a really bad “we know it and you don’t” attitude - do trial visits to any club and find out if you and they are compatible. But definitely check it out.
Don’t do what I did. For years the local club (also Phoenix IPMS…) met fairly close to my workplace, and I could easily have gone to meetings. But I went, “Am I good enough? Is it worth trying? Will I be out of place?”
Eventually, through spending more time in one of the local stores, and regularly attending the local show/contest, I got to know a number of the members, and get along fine. But now, the meetings are at a time/place that doesn’t work for me…
Even if you can’t make meetings regularly, at least give it a try. And go to the show, and above all, volunteer to help judge. You don’t have to be an expert to judge, and the first few times, they’ll put you with experienced hands. Along the way, you’ll get to know some of the members, and you’ll learn what judges look for, and how to get it right (often by seeing it done wrong…).
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