LyleW wrote:
As for the Zoom meetings, they are great fun. We are due for another one. No agenda, just visiting and sharing what we are working on at the moment. They have lasted from one to three/four hours, I think. Be ready, though. There is a lot of gray hair, or no hair.
Hey, I resemble that remark!
Declan, I agree with everyone about going to shows. However, don't be intimidated by some of the incredible mastery you'll see on the tables. I'm not. I still go to all my shows showing almost everything I build and I always claim I'm "locked for Fifth Place" in all my categories!
Hiint: there is no Fifth Place!
Here is my personal experience so you know where I'm coming from. Just so you know; I'd been entering in Orangecon every year for the past 26 years. Orangecon here in So Cal is one of the toughest, yet fairest and most comprehensive contest there is; in the quality of the judging as well as the quality of the models; it is the closest to a four-day-long IPMS Nationals that I've ever been to; and I've been to a lot of shows! This year, for the first time in 26 years, I won a First Place at that Orangecon. To me that is the same as a First Place Nationals win; which hasn't happened yet for me. This is why I consider myself a mediocre modeler with meager skills.
That being said, I have to admit that I have enjoyed overwhelming people at the IPMS Nationals with quantity though!
In Phoenix in 2018 they started doing display tables at the IPMS USA National Convention. I took my entire 1/72 scale armor and vehicle collection to put on their tables for display.
In Phoenix 2018; I had 700 models on the display tables...
In Chattanooga Tennessee in 2019, I had 750 models on their display tables.
In Las Vegas in 2021; it was 820 models on display on their display tables.
So, because of my meager skills (my First Place notwithstanding); I like to overwhelm with quantity instead of impress with quality. Then again, Stalin said it himself: "Quantity has a quality all it's own! LOL!
So, that being said, I do hope top see you at the next Zoom meeting. It's always tough for me being on the opposite side of the continent, but if we do get to see each other on the next Zoom call, I'll give you a visual tour of "Maddog Manufacturing and Military Base"
And as everyone else said: be sure to being LOTS of cash to any shows you attend!
Woh! That’s quite a collection! Very nice! 