Nick Filippone

Then, I owe the hotel staff an apology. Obviously, the fault lies with the Chattanooga National staff who did WAY too good a job in making their show a "must attend" and the IPMS Nationals faithful who sat up all night of the 13th, obsessive compulsively waiting for the clock to strike 8AM - as I did! Nick

This seems to be an ongoing phenomenon with every show. One of us calls and we are told the hotel block is filled. It is almost always due to the fact that the particular hotel staff person does not know how to access the block. Some options : (1) Ask for the manager (2) Always call during regular work hours- not outside the 8-4 window, not on the weekend (3) hang up and call back and hopefully get a different reservation person. Like every other organization, it takes a while for everyone to get on the same page. With respect to parking fees (1) $11. per night is dirt cheap! (2) I have never, ever seen a hotel rate at a decent in-town hotel that included the parking- especially not a Marriott! With all the Nationals we have all been to, does this really come as a surprise? Besides, you can always park on the street or hire a homeless person to drive your car around the block for four days. Nick Filippone, sophisticated world traveler.

I think that your F-35 in real markings would have been left there. The fact that you came up with a novel way to depict an aircraft in flight is does not, and in my opinion, matter. And, again, let me congratulate you on a creative and striking concept, very well executed. Nick

While this may be the official release of the "proposed" scheme, since it has yet to be applied to an actual F-35, it is thus hypothetical. All category designations could be argued as arbitrary. The goal has always been, in so far as practical, to group "like with like." A realistic scheme or configuration, it might be said, should not be in a category with something that isn't real. It would be impossible to decide if something on the unreal was wrong or simply, well, unreal. While we do not judge just on basics, they are much of the beginning of making early "cuts." But gross errors such as a pink B-17 would not be abided, regardless of how well the basics were executed. Why should an excellent real model knock out an excellent hypothetical model simply because the hypothetical builder has a more creative mind and a more vivid imagination? It shouldn't. So let him or her compete against other creative minds and and vivid imaginations. Nick

Generally speaking, once an aircraft is depicted in unauthentic markings, as this is, it does not qualify for ANY aircraft category. Since the F-35, as far as I know, and please correct me if I am wrong, is not being operated by the Thunderbirds, and therefore has never been marked as you have marked it, it becomes a hypothetical entry by definition. And, no, generally, this is not left to the discretion of the entrant. Much time is spent by the Aircraft Class judging team, prior to the actual judging, in scouring the aircraft categories, to relocate entries mis- located by the modeler. We almost never consult the builder to adjudicate this. This entry, while clever and quite dramatic and skillful in its execution, as marked, does not depict a real aircraft. Moving it to hypothetical is the correct call. I hope this helps to clear up this admittedly sometimes subtle "point of law." Nick Filippone, Senior National Judge.

I guess my experiences in this are simply substantially different from those of others. But then, I went to Catholic Schools where the good Sisters reminded me that " God helps those who help themselves!" We can only ask our fellow members to do so much. Then we have to pitch in ourselves, even if it means doing something as onerous as sending someone an e-mail request for information. Gosh! My back hurts just thinking about how much exertion that would take! Nick.

When did we ever not have transparency in this matter? For as many Nationals as I can remember, I have always left one knowing pretty much exactly when the reservations could be made for the next. I have always made them on the first day possible. My recollection is that each host chapter does an excellent job of keeping the membership informed. Nick

Two companies that are careful to the extreme in packaging are Hobbysearch and Jadar. I have never received anything damaged from them. But, also, both come via U.S. Postal Service. Nick

I was really not trying to show you or anyone up, Ron. I was just doing what I am often accused of doing- being a smart ___! LOL! Nick

The median is the number in the middle of an ordered list of numbers such that half of the numbers are below it and half are above. Just sayin'. Nick Filippone

Great! I love the animals! Nick Filippone

It wouldn't be a National ( or, for that matter any other show ) if I wasn't scrambling to finish things! It does focus your modeling, however, and compels one to finish things, which is good. Good luck! See you there. Nick

People probably also predicted the demise of paper modeling and balsa wood modeling. And if they had any sense, scratch builders would have given up their media of choice long ago. But each has persisted because people will always build what gives them the greatest satisfaction! Whether and when 3-D printing replaces injection molding remains to be seen. My understanding is that at least at this point, it is slower than injection molding on a kit by kit basis. So the economics may have yet to be resolved. I the meantime, it is important to keep in mind that the overiding principle in National Contest judging is trying to make sure only comparable models are judged against each other. The ultimate solution for the 3-D model entries may someday be a category of their own. Meanwhile, ' rumors of the death of ejection molded kits are greatly exaggerated!' (Apologies to Mark Twain.) After all, vinyl records are making a comeback. Regards, Nick Filippone. Senior National Judge

This question intrigued me! Since Lt. Uhuru is off duty today, I had to do it myself and googled "snow in the U.K" . It does indeed snow, although not with the same consistency as, for example, upstate New York. It actually snowed in June, 1975 enough to cause cancellation of cricket matches! It snows more in Scotland than England, naturally. Short answer is that it does snow in England often enough to make your diorama plausible. Regards, Nick

This is the last straw! Henceforth, I will no longer buy stuff for my hobby on line, anywhere. ..........NOT!!!! LOL!!!