Schmitz

Ron, It sounds like - and please correct me if I'm wrong - you're saying the "best bid" is the one that makes the most money for IPMS. That seems short-sighted. The Nat's is one of the main assets of IPMS - people join up just to attend. We want as many IPMS members - from everywhere - to attend regularly, and have a good time, and not feel like they're getting squeezed for every nickle IPMS can get (leave that to the airlines for the trip to the show), so they keep coming back every time they have a chance. To my mind, IPMS should set a target for revenue based on experience and minimizing the risk of a loss, and set a target for cost-to-attend based on what we know members are willing to pay, and if you've got two bids that meet those targets, than they're equal there and you can look at the rest of the package: tours, seminars, and geographic coverage. By making those targets public, the bidders will know what they need to be competitive, and they can try to juggle everything else to make their event fit the finances and still have the best package. As long as there is a revenue share, the hosts will have an incentive to do better than the target, but I'd sooner see the hosts spending to make the show better than trying to maximize the profit. Don

The distribution for the Hampton Nats - aside from an obvious boost from Northern VA - looks a lot like the population density of the entire US; the clusters of registrations in the west basically correspond to the population centers (suggests the percentage of people willing to fly across the country for a model contest is the same everywhere). Spend some time getting driving distances out of Google Maps and you'll see that no cities in the west are really driving distance close - at least not in the way that Baltimore is close to Virgina Beach - except for Phoenix and Los Angeles (about 400 miles apart). Add in the fact that Phoenix is not a major tourist draw like the coast, and that it is a Southwest Airlines hub and I think its hard to beat as a western location.

Jim, I wasn't trying to make an excuse for anything - just explain that there is no rotation any more and why. I wasn't at the bid presentation and don't know any details. For most of us on the east coast, going to Omaha is no easier than going to Phoenix - you pretty much have to fly either way. I've been to Phoenix and Loveland in the last 10 years, but we have relatives in Phoenix so that was a family vacation, and Colorado was just after I had made my kid's last tuition payment and I was feeling rich. I had a great time on both trips, but as I get closer to retirement, I have to think those cross country jaunts are going to get harder for me to justify. I think you're right that west coast bids have a built in disadvantage in competing with east-coast/mid-west bids, just because their costs are going to be higher and their estimated attendance will be lower. I think you guys (and any other clubs in the west who are interested in bidding in the near future) should get together with the new 2nd VP and hash out some guidelines where western cities will have a fair chance to win a bid. Don

Ralph, I'm sure the general distribution of membership hasn't changed much, but the last 40 years have seen huge population growth in the south-west and west-coast so those areas might have changed a bit. If you just want to see the current population distribution of the US, I like this map: http://demographics.coopercenter.org/DotMap/ (try turning off the color coding and turning on labels). It is amazing how empty the western half of the country is - Phoenix and Denver are the only real population centers not on the coast (Salt Lake City, Boise and Spokane may be roughty the same size - I'm not sure if there are IPMS chapters in those cities). Don

Phil, the rotation was officially removed a few years ago (if I remember, it required an amendment to the C&BL, and the E-board put on a full court press to get out the vote to approve it). The problem with the rotation was that if no one bid from the designated area (in which case bidding would be opened up to everyone) other chapters would have a limited amount of time to put a bid together. Don

Rusty - I think those parenthesized letters are referring to James Kelley's screen name...

Seems like a good start. One thing to think about from the beginning is how to keep the core committee staffed. People will burn out over time, so making it a "for life" position may not be a good idea, but you also want continuity on the committee and the ability to draw replacements from an experienced pool. Maybe each host chapter should appoint a "liaison" to work with their committee counterpart, that would create a pool of known candidates to draw from. Don

Steven, We've had this discussion before (I've made similar suggestions in the past - e.g. ski-resorts during the summer). We don't strictly need a convention center, but it simplifies so many other things that the lower costs are not as significant as you think. You need a site with good accessibility by air, as half of the attendees do not drive. Which also means you need transport from the airport to the venue, and if the model show is not right next to the hotel(s), you need a shuttle service (because a lot of the out-of-town attendees don't want to spend $40 a day for a rental car that isn't going anywhere). If the location is too remote, there are no restaurants near by, which adds more to the out of pocket cost if you have to eat the hotel restaurant. If you just have a big empty warehouse or hangar, you need to bring in tables and cater food. Using a convention center just simplifies many things. Its not accurate to say that we can't hold a Nats in big city - we can't hold a Nats in a big city that is not a convention city. Places like Orlando have worked because they have the necessary infrastructure in volume; there are many competing convention sites there to keep the prices down.

For the folks who've actually run a Nats, would upping our prices to those comparable with other hobby shows open up more venues and attract more potential hosts? Basic registration at the model railroad shows is about $150, and then everything else (seminars, tours, banquets, etc.) are extra. I'm pretty sure an extra $50 or even $100 for registration would have little impact on a lot of the "regulars" at the Nats, I don't know how much it would effect the more casual attendees. Don

If we had 5 bidders every year, then bidders would expect to lose, but given how hard it is to find bidders to start with, rejecting 1 of 2 good bids seems like a mistake. Seems like we could modify our bidding procedure somehow so we could optionally award two Nats at once (one for 2 years and one for 3 years into the future). That might not always work out - a chapter might not be able to push out their dates by a year, but they would have a head-start on the planning and would at least have a chance to recoup some of the work that went into the bid. Don

Thanks Dave. A friend told me I had to see the p-47, but I thought he said b-47 and never did find one of those:) I'll have to wait for the pix.

Due to complications beyond my control, I got to spend just 1 day at the nats and had to leave before the awards, definitely not enough... Can someone tell us what the big winners were? Thanks! Don

It is with sadness that I report that Jim "Doc" Bonanni passed away on July 2nd. Jim was a long time IPMS member, a founding member of the Three Rivers IPMS Chapter, and for years a regular at National Conventions and model shows up and down the east coast. Walking through a contest room with Jim was always an adventure, as he seemed to meet an old friend every few feet traveled. Jim always had a joke to tell, and I have fond memories of him holding court in the club "hospitality suite" at our last Regional; he was a great guy to share a beer or a long ride to a model show, and he will be greatly missed in our club. Visitation will be held Sunday evening in Sharpsville, PA.

If you just want to get it in the contest, maybe buy two memberships and enter it as a group entry? It's not your typical group entry, but I think it meets the letter of the rule.

GIL, I think you're conflating two different issues. You're right that IPMS is unlikely to convince kids (teenagers) to take up modeling the way we did in the 50s and 60s. We can do basic outreach just to plant the seeds, but we're not going to displace computer games and Facebook, and we shouldn't invest too much time and money there. What we should be doing is trying to reach today's 30-somethings and pull them into the hobby and into IPMS, just like we were. I think there are signs of interest there - you can see it out on the social networks - but the complication is that those 30-somethings grew up with more distractions than we had, so they were never as obsessed with modeling as we were as kids. Getting their attention is going to take new ideas and more work than it has in the past. Don

Three Rivers IPMS hosted its annual show in Pittsburgh yesterday. We had 280 odd models on the tables and a packed vendor area, our best numbers in years. I'm also happy to report a strong turnout of modelers in the under-40 age bracket - I think the reports of the death of the hobby have been greatly exaggerated! I've seen photos showing up on facebook already; I'll post here when we update the club website. Thanks to everyone who entered the contest, supported our vendors, and especially everyone that helped with judging. I hope you all had as much fun as the membership had in putting on the show! Don

A few years ago I hit the jackpot in a raffle and won a 1/32 Tamiya Mustang. I mostly build cars, but I also have an interest in 1940s-50s aircarft, and I finally got up the courage to build this monster... First question: this kit has two different tails - the tail parts overlap a band at the end of the fuselage about 1/2 inch wide, with practically no gap in the surface. What I can't figure out is what glue and technique to use to get a strong clean joint. If I was just overlapping two pieces of styrene sheet for a scratchbuilt part I'd just slather on some tube glue and clamp the joint, but I'm afraid if I do that here the glue will ooze out onto the outside surface or distort the surface of the tail (which has lots of rivet detail). Epoxy seems too thick to get a good fit. If I just flow some liquid cement into the back of the joint it will only be glued on one edge... Second question: the main landing gear on this kit are attached with screws so they can be (optionally) removed for an in-flight model. There are removable leading edge parts (held in place with magnets) that cover the mounting point. I never plan to take the gear off, so I'd like to glue the leading edge parts on when I build up the wing, but then you can't put the screws in to hold on the landing gear... I'm afraid if I attach the landing gear when I build the wing, they'll get broken off before the wing is attached to the fuse and painted. Is there some trick to this? Any tips greatly appreciated! Don

Just two more weeks until TRICON 2015, hope to see some of you there. Don

Wire wrap wire? Very fine gauge copper wire with really thin plastic coating. No strength at all. Radio shack used to sell it, you probably have to go internet now. Check electronics suppliers.

Our local science center has a huge 1/48 scale Saturn V that looks like a double-size copy of the old Revell 1/96 kit; I've heard rumors that Revell built these kits back in the day for museums (if anyone can confirm that I'd love to know the details). I'm guessing if NASA ever manages to fly an Orion we'll get a kit of it from Revell or maybe Dragon, but probably in 1/48. A 1/32 Orion capsule would be reasonably sized; the real thing is only about 20% larger than an Apollo capsule, and back in the day Revell did a 1/32 Apollo CSM. If we're thinking big, lets think 1/24! Don

I looked at the description of the Airbrush Flow Improver on amazon.com; it seems to be a "retarder" - an additive to make the paint dry slower. That can come in handy with acrylics that dry so fast they clog up the tip of the airbrush, or don't flow out on the surface you're painting.

I have to think a 300 SLR will be next? ---- Never mind. I just googled this and discovered the 300 SLR looks like a 300 SL but is a completely different car. Guess I'll have to hope Peter Jackson runs out of wwi airplanes to kit and develops an interest in 1950s le mans cars :)

Hi Tom, welcome to IPMS. Let me cordially invite you to the Three Rivers IPMS show coming up on March 21st. I've made the reverse trip a few times - its a nice road trip especially with a couple modeling buddies to help pass the time (and share the gas). Pittsburgh is a bunch of heretics that use GSB style judging; its worth checking out as an alternative to the traditional contest. If you make it look me up - I'll be the guy with gray hair and a black shirt Don Schmitz

Not sure what you mean by a pour on mold. The technique I've seen for small parts is to attach a styrene rod to the part, apply some mold release to the part, then use the rod to suspend the part in a small box and fill it up with RTV. Once the RTV cures, take a sharp knife and split one end of the rubber down the middle to the part; you should be able to open the mold up and pull the part out without tearing the rubber. Now you've got a single piece RTV mold with a pour hole (where the rod was sticking out of the part). Rubber band the split end shut and pour in the resin; once it cures it should come out as easily as the original. Not sure how well that's going to work for a road wheel, but worth a try.

Three Rivers IPMS in Pittsburgh, PA will host TRICON - our annual 1 day show, on Saturday March 21st, 2015. Same place as last year - Beattie Career Center (map). Vendor setup at 7:30 AM, doors open at 9:00 AM, Awards around 4:00 PM (give or take). The show continues to use or version of Open (GSB style) Judging, and includes Best Of Show, Best Aircraft, Best Auto, etc. plus a number of member sponsored special awards. Entry is $10 for the first 3 models, $1 for each additional. Feel free to post questions here and I'll follow up. If you're interested in vending, get in touch with me at dnschmtz@gmail.com (6 foot tables are $25 until March 1st, $30 after that. Watch the show website for updates and details. Hope to see you there! Don Schmitz - TRICON Vendor Guy