niteowl7710

I worked with a guy about 25 years ago that had a square body truck he was so overly proud of for some reason that spent it's entire existence we worked together painted primer gray with what I can only assume was a shop broom. It almost looked like one of those swirled textured ceilings...

SJR wouldn't allow anyone within 500 nautical miles of their tooling, but their 70s era kits that they tooled themselves (Olds 432, Monte Carlo, Roadrunner) are 1/25. The logic was Monogram reset the standard to 1/24 from the 80s forward, so the current 202x cars are also 1/24, but the original 60s/70s NASCAR kits are 1/25 and so theirs are too. If you're interested in that era of NASCAR, but haven't gotten any of their kits, you've been snobbish for no reason.

Given Tamiya's extensive track record of doing two kits per tool, and there already being two kits from said tool, I wouldn't expect there to be any further versions of their 240Z unless the grandson takes the company in a more aggressive direction now that the old man has passed away.

The IPMS is dying the same way the hobby as a whole is...which is to say it isn't. I'm no sycophant of the group, they make me shake my head sometimes, but that doesn't negate the fact that membership of the National organization has been steadily increasing since 2020. I know of several local chapters that have formed since then as well, while we've (as car modelers) have just been bleeding show after show after show. (NNL Toledo, GSL, NNL West and countless local shows) in the same time period. Given that there are 26 other classes (at IPMS Nationals) to put car models in - outside of the two box stock classes that 3D/resin/et al can't enter - it smacks of trophy hunting and or complacent modeling to say one can't build a competitive model for xyz competition unless I have a special place to put it that "caters" to how "I" build.

More goodies...

There are no instructions, box stock requires they be on display with the entry. Also if you read the rules for Box Stock - the ones from GSL are still up on their website for example - you can't use aftermarket parts. Well that whole thing is aftermarket. Recycling a manufacturer's name doesn't somehow make it a commerical model kit. I've yet to come across the IPMS show that would allow an aftermarket armor or aircraft be entered into Box Stock either as the IPMS (especially on the National level) are really hung up on the idea that Box Stock is single media and really a throwback class to showase older kits that wouldn't stand up to modern day tooling.

Not to pile on the kid, but there were several models attached to the wrong companies, a dash of things already released (ergo not upcoming) and a splash of things in the Japanese kit section that are straight re-stock reissues that are in fact not new nor upcoming since they're just resupply. He's a really decent modeler, but his video appears to be a slide show based on the Cyber Modeler list referenced earlier in this thread and those folks wouldn't know their hind ends from a hole in the ground when it comes to accurate information, particularly about import kits.

This argument about "checkbook modeling" has been in the hobby for entire time I've been old enough to be aware of it - so 35+ years (out of the 40 I've been building models). Back then it was resin, p/e, turned metal and pre-wired distributors. Just because you can buy something doesn't mean you can actually use it effectively. Making a model into a blingatron shrine to the aftermarket means nothing if it's not executed properly. Very little 3D modeling is done to be model-specific, and even what is still isn't exactly plug and play.

The only shows that I know that have/had a dedicated "Scratchbuilt" category/categories were GSL (with the If I had Designed It class) and IPMS Nationals. Some Regional and Invitational IPMS contests have or have had Scratchbuilt classes included if the previous contests demonstrated enough entries to justify them.

As I said, the models are "competing" against our judging rubric, not against each other. So subject matter of the diorama is irrelevant. The only "head to head" competition if you want to call it that would be for the overall Best Diorama. Given our Best of Show in 2024 was a Gunpla and in 2025 it was a giant scratch built Sci-Fi ship, it's quite possible an automotive diorama - if done better than all the others - could certainly win Best Dio. That's the beauty of the Open System, it rewards excellence, and recognizes all good work. If you took a populated Auto Class like Factory Stock or Competiton Drag are you telling me that there in fact only 3 models in a class with 18-25 entries that deserve recognition?

We have Aircraft, Armor, Ships, Automotive, Sci-Fi, Figures, Diorama and Miscellaneous. Period. When every model is judged itself vs our rubric you don't need a bazillion breakdown categories for any genre since models (and modelers) aren't competing directly against one another like traditional 1/2/3.

As someone who's won several awards, including class wins with OOB models in the standard categories the vehicle would otherwise normally go into...I don't even see the point of Box Stock/OOB except to give more $3 plaques away to people who want to category shop their build into something that think would make their model more likely to win. At the local IPMS Chapter - of which I am the Head Automotive Judge - we used the Open System (Gold/Silver/Bronze) and our Automotive Categories are...Automotive. It's so nice not to have 29eleventy7 Categories where people win stuff just for being one of 3 people who decided to build 1/32 & Smaller Competiton or some such nonsense.

But they aren't, it's just a reissue of the same P400 SV they've always had. There isn't anything new about it at all, not even the box art is different.

Recent acquisitions and arrivals.

So to actually answer the question - not that the debate wasn't amusing - you couldn't put a 3D printed kit in Box Stock at IPMS or anywhere else for that matter because you have to have the instructions on display with the model. I've yet to meet the 3D file that comes with assembly instructions...unless it's a full on kit like the Orange Wheel Tucker & '48 Cadillac in which case the P/E would kick you out of Box Stock in most places since most contests don't allow multi-media within that category.