IPMS Fayetteville, NC (11/05) - -Now this is better than a plaque or trophy!

[Custom Mike]

OK, this is for the guys in North & South Carolina, and anywhere nearby. There's an IPMS contest in Fayetteville on November 5th I'll be at, and you might want to be there too. Here's a copy of the e-mail I got from Mike at Hayes Hobby House about it, who needs a new airbrush?

PRIZE PACKAGES FOR 1st PLACE IN CATEGORY AND BEST OF SHOW WINNERS

I am pleased to announce our prize packages for our 1st Place category winners and Best of Show winner. The prize packages are sponsored by Badger Airbrush Company- THANK YOU KEN SCHLOTFELDT & BADGER!

There will be a custom engraved airbrush for each 1st Place category winner, and a Jet Black plated "Best of Show" engraved airbrush for the Best of Show winner.

That's no typo, folks. Winners get an airbrush that is a custom engraved, one-of-a-kind item.

Each 1st Place category winner airbrush will have:

"LAFAYETTE MODELERS" on one side, and "SHOW YOUR STUFF 2011" on the other

The Best of Show airbrush will have "LAFAYETTE MODELERS" on one side, and "BEST OF SHOW 2011" on the other

Unfortunately, Lafayette Scale Modelers could not fit on to the side of an airbrush. But I'm not complaining.

ALL category winners- 1st, 2nd and 3rd place, as well as Best of Show, will receive a trophy.

So on November 5th, be prepared to SHOW YOUR STUFF!

I plan on bringing home at least ONE new airbrush!

Edited October 18, 2011 by Custom Mike

[Eshaver]

Hummmmmmmmmm, mebbie I should bring the Shell shaped Shell diorama ? Ed Shaver

[mikemodeler]

Going to be visiting a college that weekend with my son- otherwise I would be at the show Ed. Those are some great prizes and I do hope you get one!

Best of luck to all that enter the contest!

[Jantrix]

Hummmmmmmmmm, mebbie I should bring the Shell shaped Shell diorama ? Ed Shaver

Wait a sec Ed, aren't you one of those "never have, never will" guys when it comes to contests? Or am I thinkin' of someone else?

[Custom Mike]

Ed, I'd love to see that on the table, we don't see many non-military dioramas at this contest!

[Eshaver]

Rob, I show even at a "FEW" select I P M S events . Problem is , my stuff in Virginia given the "Fetishists" who think only WWII stuff need apply seems to dominate the arena . Actually, the people in North Carolina are FAR and above a whole lot easier to deal with overall. can tell ya , they are friendlier , more hospitable and more open to ideas . Oh an yes , I have SERIOUSLY considered moving to the Charlotte area in the past year too. I need to sell one more house I own . Ed Shaver

[mikethepoormodeler]

Mike, what is the location of this show? I've been to this show before, but I can't remember the address. Thanks for posting this.

[Custom Mike]

Mike, what is the location of this show? I've been to this show before, but I can't remember the address. Thanks for posting this.

Mike, it's at the Honeycutt Recreation Center, 352 Devers Street, Fayetteville, NC.As soon as I get some more info (Classes, times, etc) I'll post 'em here!

[Custom Mike]

OK, here's a link to the Club's website with all the info you'll need. There's only 10 classes total (Which means only 1 automotive class...bummer), but it's still gonna be a good one I'll bet!

http://www.lafayettescalemodelers.com/contest/index.html

[Eshaver]

Mike , that is good information. Considering the fact that Military judges can't or won't see a civilian effort is enough for me to save gasoline on this one . Ed Shaver

[Custom Mike]

Hate to hear that Ed, but I understand completely. I've been attending this contest for the last 5 years, and they're slowly getting better at judging our stuff, but I've still got some work to do...Rivet Counters!

[showbuilder]

if you guys are never happy with ipms shows then why do you keep going? a lot of the armor and aircraft guys who you refer to as "rivet counters" are better model builders than a lot of us will ever be. i have learned many things about building from these guys. the theory of "military" guys winning everything at these shows is ###### and saying they don't know how to judge is even further off base. i will agree that they may not know automotive well, but they know a great model when they see one.

i build and compete in heavy commercial class and just debuted in the auto class with my corvette. the corvette won it's class at an ipms show on it's debut and was judged by military modelers. my truck builds which are also in the automotive side have won at ipms shows in six states. i have also won several best automotive, best paint and been runner up for best in show many times with my truck builds. i'm not bragging just saying that you can be very successful in automotive at ipms shows.

this past year i have judged several ipms events and what holds a lot of builds back is the lack of modelling basics. you can put every aftermarket item on a build but if it had injector pin marks, seams, moldlines, flawed paint, overglue and so on...........it most likely will not place at an ipms event. please do not take this as a bash to anyone, i'm just stating a point. if you build a good model you will be rewarded at ipms shows, if there is a bunch of good models on the table then it will take a great model to win. B)

[Kmidd65]

i'm just stating a point. if you build a good model you will be rewarded at ipms shows

I tend to agree with you Hunter. I am mainly a Box Stock builder. I do not hesitate putting my cars in the full detail classes at IPMS shows. My stuff can hang with the full detail builds and routinely place at IPMS shows. I too am not bragging; but there is a reason for the results. My attention to basic modeling skills! I will fill every visible seam, smooth/polish the paint and use a variety of paint shades throughout the build. The IPMS judges zero in on these details and will reward the effort! On the other hand, I have entered the same builds in the Box-Stock classes at some non-IPMS shows and have not placed. When I surveyed the winning models, I found obvious seams and gaps left unfilled, rough paint, etc. but boy oh boy, that HOK paint shade really drew the judges and spectators in!

I have attached a picture of the chassis of one of my "Box-Stock" Nascars that has placed at numerous IPMS events. This is an example of basic modeling skills devoted to seldom seen areas of a build. The IPMS judges get it. Just my two cents on the topic.

[Custom Mike]

Hunter, I've been very successful at IPMS shows, but certain ones in this area are just giving us car guys lip service. When a judge has absolutely no idea what he is looking at, how can he fairly judge what you've done? If he has never built an automotive kit, and makes it clear to anyone around the "Car guys are like annoying little kids" (A direct quote from a judge at a show a few years back!), then what do you expect my reaction to be? I've built many aircraft models in my time, and have no doubt that I could build those and win, but I burned out on them quickly. I worked with the A-10 for 8 years, and know that beast inside and out, and to have some yahoo who has never seen one except in pictures try to tell me that someone did something wrong on their build (Because it was 100 times better than his A-10), it stinks of jealousy. One of my best friends while in the USAF worked in the paint barn, and I saw the Tech Orders that told them where all the markings went on the plane once the paint was finished. Did you know there is a 1 foot radius area that the tail numbers and letters, squadron markings, etc. are allowed in on the tails? Apparently neither does the IMPS, because this guy was ripping on another A-10 because the tail numbers were in a slightly different location than his, which of course was perfect according to him. I had to point this out to him, which of course offended him, because us car guys don't know military stuff, do we? I found out later that he was judging in the automotive class, guess who went home empty handed that day? But I met some really great car guys there, so it was a good day. I walked away from this contest with a 2nd and 3rd, last year I walked away with 5 firsts, 2 seconds and a third. Every time I go, there are more cars, and less bias, so it's a slow process turning a bunch of hard-core military builders into tolerant modelers. We all have tips and tricks that go both ways, and I may even break out another A-10 someday just to show 'em how it's done...

Kirk, beautiful work! And you have a gigantic advantage in South Carolina, there's a man in the IPMS down there by the name of Tim Kirkland, and he is one of the biggest proponents of automotive builders in the IPMS! I met him at a contest in Sumter a few years back, and was blown away at how well received and accepted we were. If Tim is involved, it's gonna be a great show for EVERYONE!

Edited December 4, 2011 by Custom Mike

[Kmidd65]

Thanks Mike and congrats on the 2nd and 3rd place. That is AWESOME given there was only one category for automotive at that show! You should be pleased. BTW, I love the paint on your Fairlane. Very nice buid, maybe I will get to see it in person someday at a show around here in NC or SC.

Yes, I agree what you are saying about Tim. I have been to his Spartanburg show the last two years. Actually, the car count trumps the military model count at his shows! He is a good advocate for non-Military builders.

It seems some IPMS modelers do have a bias about automotive builders. Unfortunately, it often goes both ways... I have picked up on the Us and Them air at a few IPMS shows but I just roll with it. I enjoy viewing well built scale models, no matter the subject matter.

Generally, I feel that the IPMS guys do a better job judging models but there are exceptions. I was recently at a show in Virginia where they had some IPMS guys judging the Box-Stock automotive class. A builder entered an AMT Pinto modified kit in the class. He had the motor wired, brake lines plumbed and a photo-etched/turned aluminum gas filler. I picked up on it before the judging but figured the judges would sort it out. Guess what, the car placed in the Box-Stock class!! The judges obviously had no idea those parts were not included in the base kit. Heck, he didn't even have a copy of the instructions (required for the class) and they did not ding him for it! So yes, there can be a down-side to non-automotive modelers judging our stuff. Likewise, I too would probably miss some stuff if I had to judge one of their classes...especially armor!

Thanks for the link to your Album!!

http://public.fotki.com/KMidd65/

[Custom Mike]

Kirk, if you can let me know when any contests are going on in SC, I'd love to go, especially Sumter and Spartanburg. They may be long drives for me, but they're great contests!