Show Reports

Report by Bill Curtis – Held at Temple Park Centre,Tyne and Wear

We had decided to take a break in the Scottish Borders and completely unintended as the Sunday coincided with the Northern Model Show. So after a drive up on the Saturday and a restful night’s sleep we set off for the seventy five mile drive back south.

The venue was easy to find and after parking the car we found the hall where the show was being held. I had decided this was to be a flying visit as we had a full schedule for the week.

Their were various clubs from the north in attendance as well as IPMS SIG’s, traders including: Little Cars, MDC, Aviation Book Centre and others from which kits, books and all the odds and ends one requires to produce that masterpiece we all hope for could be purchased. Geoff and Jamie were there of course with the SMN stand and there was plenty of interest.

I did not see the competition as I left before this was judged, but there are some images here from the competition.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves as there were some stunning models on display. Although this was a short visit for me I really enjoyed it and hope to make it another year.

The Czech Republic is now arguably to modelling, what Germany is to car manufacture and the success of Czech modellers at the UK’s Scale Model World competition has brought to prominence the impeccable standards of the Czech modelling community. The Republic’s ModellBrno Exhibition has acquired a reputation for the quality and volume of the models in its competition and Geoff had no hesitation when invited to attend the show and spread the good word about the virtues of SMN.
Read Andy Brown’s report and view some images

Report by Les Venus
A really fantastic little show in a truly great museum.
Read Les’s report and view some images

Show Report by Bill Curtis, SMNs Armour Editor

I had decided to go to this show last year as it was the first one by this club but circumstances conspired to stop me.

So this year it was good to know that I could attend and on the appointed day set out with my good lady wife. The day started with bright sun and the drive was nice and easy with no hold ups and we arrived in the market town of Downham Market and found a parking space from the map that had been sent to Geoff. A short walk and we were at the venue (The Town Hall) and paying the entrance fee we decide to have a walk round then get a coffee. We had been told that all the proceeds were being donated to the Norfolk Air Ambulance so not only the chance to see models but to help a worthy cause.

The displays both Cub and SIG (special interest group) numbered about twenty and on top of that 5 or 6 traders were present, including SMN of course. When we arrived both halls were full and the traders looked to be quite active.

The models on display were varied and the host club displays showed a variety of subjects including Armour, Planes, Ships, Lorries and Figures. In all an impressive display!

A few models stood out for me, like the Vietnam river diorama, the three V bombers, the Sabre with some nice burnt metal on the jet pipe and the Coastal Command Liberator to name but a few. Check out the pictures and judge for yourself.

As usual it’s a social occasion and one sees people from other parts of the country as well as some from my own area and to chat with new like minded people. All in all this was a good day.

As with most shows, there was a competition which encompassed all the models on display and judged by the members of the visiting clubs who were displaying. A new idea for me and one I think some others could adopt. I even got a Merit award for the Chaffee displayed on the Scale Modelling Now stand which was nice.

My wife had also found some other ladies (model widows) and had a good time.
On the way home we both agreed it was a very good show, well attended and friendly. I think this could be a good event to put on ones calendar and next year is down for a visit.

Well done lads and lasses.
Bill C.

Report by Adam Brown
Once again I made the annual pilgrimage to the IPMS Barnet show held at the fascinating RAF Museum located in Hendon, North London.
Read Adam Brown’s full report on the Show…

By Andy Brown

The UK boasts a packed model show calendar culminating in what is probably the planet’s premier model exhibition at IPMS Scale Modelworld in Telford, so why would anyone feel the need to travel to Europe to experience their brand of the same?
Find out from Andy Brown’s full report on the Euro Model Expo in Germany… 

By Graham Thompson

The Peterborough Model Show, organised by the Greater Peterborough Modelling Club, is one of those smaller shows that is so well supported and visited that I am not sure how long it can continue in the current venue of Peterborough Town Hall. To me, it is starting to possibly out-grow its home. However, it is billed as the largest show in the East of England so it may be the fact that it is held in my home town that makes me see it as ‘small’.

A really healthy mix of trade stands surrounded the superb modelling exhibits. Contributors included Belvoir Model Club, Ipswich, IPMS Rutland, IPMS Lincoln and Newark, Northants Military Modelling Club, Nottingham Modelling Club, Brampton Club, Bedford Modelling Club, Mildenhall & Lakenheath Modelling Club, Coventry and Warwickshire IPMS, Britmodeller, West Norfolk IPMS, Norfolk Scale Models Group, various IPMS SIGs and, of course the organisers Greater Peterborough Model Club.

The Town hall is a grand setting for the show with the entrance via the splendid double marble staircase up to the first floor rooms where the show is held in four rooms and the grand landing over the stairs. Unusually, entrance to visitors is free with donations and proceeds going to the Mayors Charities so it also supports good causes. Refreshments were on tap with excellent coffee and a good range of hot and cold snacks to refuel the visitors.

The standard of models displayed was very high making picking out the exceptional ones very difficult indeed. If I had to pick one just for its number of high class builds, it would have to be the West Norfolk IPMS Scale Model Club. The quality of their exhibits and interaction with the viewers was really very good. The outstanding diorama for me though had to be on the Bedford Modelling Club Stand and depicted a Vietnam river scene with a US Patrol boat edging past villagers in their boats with two elephants on the riverside road, one of which appears to be towing an M113. Lots of figures, good storyline superbly modelled water, what more could you ask for.

The whole atmosphere was of a friendly, good natured bustle as people switched between viewing the displays and parting with wads of money at the stands. All in all a great day and a big thanks to the exhibitors and the Greater Peterborough Model Club for organising another successful show.

We had decided in 2010 that we would go to Truck and Tracks which is held at the Leas Hall in Folkestone. Before the appointed news arrived that “The Show’s been cancelled” but after some time the gap had been filled and an alternative show which was to be put on called On Track so we decided to go.

The day started well for me as I forgot to reset the alarm and woke half an hour late. So after a rushed ablutions and a cuppa my wife and I headed for the agreed meeting place at Sleaford. Andy and I then set off on the now familiar trek south and on the journey we put the world to rights as well as refuelling the car and ourselves. Brekkie baps were just like the poster and tasted damn good even if I had to search the whole restaurant for the brown sauce before Mr Brown managed to extract a coupe of sachets from the staff. The journey passed very quickly and three and a half hours from our start saw us walking into the show.

My first impression was for a show put on at such short notice it looked pretty good. We decided to have a quick walk round and see if any familiar faces were there and what was going to lighten our pockets.

The Leas is on several levels with most of the traders in the main hall. The competition was on the upper floor balcony but I found the lighting a little poor. As the morning wore on the tables filled up with all sorts of models till that part of the show was closed for the judging.

Their was a good selection of traders and some good deals were on offer as well as some discounts although the one thing I wanted above all else was some paints and unbelievably I found none on offer.

The building is built on the cliff side so as usual we decided to take lunch on the balcony overlooking the sea. This being February we braved the drizzle/rain and sat in an alcove made by the windows. Only the Brits would do this.

After lunch we then walked round and had a long talk with the First World War gamers and admired the painting of the figures and equipment in such a small scale. Also a stand which caught my eye was the Nottingham branch of MAFA who had some very nicely built and finished armour models.

The competition having been judged we spent some time looking at a collection of nice models which covered all aspects of the model scene. See pictures for a selection of the models. The best of show was a small scale Model of a Jagdtiger which was on a trailer, being towed by a Famo halftrack.

We collected a few purchases and then headed back to the car park with others who had bags of treasures to pore over and build in the coming months.

I’d like to say the trip back was uneventful but with the Sat-Nav voice turned off and yours truly supposedly keeping an eye for the turnings we missed the M11 and then the A1 but we did eventually get on the right road before stopping on the way back for a coffee and a shared cake. My excuse was I thought the pilot had the route but as their were no colours on the road (as in air routes) we had little or no chance

Well in conclusion we both had a good time and I have to say the organisers did a great job in a short time getting the show off the ground. The place was never over-busy, but the aisles always had people walking round and some were actually parting with their cash. As said some of the models were excellent both in the competition and on the club stands.

Next year it’s hopefully back to Truck and Tracks.
Bill C.

Report by Andy Argent
“As it was the first show of the season I was looking forward to getting out and about at a show again. I had a twelve foot table for showing models at the event. This stand was shared with Big E (Ian Whyte). With both of our efforts being on show our stand caused a lot of interest and we were fired with questions all day long. There were loads of exhibitors there and a lot of talent was on show. Traders were also out in force, maybe slightly down on last year but when you consider that there were four large halls to be filled there was still a lot there, all four halls were full.
Airfix sponsored the show as they always do and they were out in force. They also had the model construction room filled with youngsters trying their hand at the hobby. 

The competition was bursting with the latest creations from the many talented modellers that participated in the event.
Scale Modelling Now did very well in the competition with Andy Argent winning Bronze for Figures, Silver for Autos and Gold for Dioramas, and to top all of that received the trophy for best of show for the Diorama titled Timeout.
This is a great event with the added bonus of being held in a museum full of rare Aircraft and one not to be missed if you get the chance to go.

Editor’s note
Many thanks to Andy and Big E for displaying their great models at the FAA Model Show – one that we attended last year and had a very successful time too. Maybe this year? Congratulations to the guys for a fantastic haul of trophies – richly deserved from what I can see. You too can see several of their models in SMN, so do check out the Subscriber Gallery and Finished Now, plus of course Build Now that has (or is about to have) Ian’s excellent AFV Club Tiger I underway! Geoff C.