Nick Filippone

Is this a call for Judges for the National Convention (as suggested by the topic title) or a call for Judges for 2026 Model Con 419 ( as suggested by the actual post)?

Ron, I share your anxiety about airfoil cross-section strut stock. I too am hoarding some but I have not found a new supplier for years. I have long hoped that Evergreen would offer it but nothing so far.

I don’t understand what this post is supposed to be or do!🧐

Chris, Nice, lucid explanation. Thank you. And I am aware of Vlad’s Ca impregnated paper for small parts. It works well and has been described as ‘poor man’s photo-etching.’ I have used it to make propellers in 1/144 scale. Nick

Chris, Nice work! Can you give a little more detail on how you used the toilet tissue to make the canvas cover so convincing? Nick

Nice work, Ron. I did that conversion myself about 50 years ago using the old Frog Tempest. I used a plug of balsa to reshape the cowl and sheet plastic extensions at the leading edges of the wings for the radiators. I have always thought that this configuration was the most aesthetically appealing of all the Typhoon/ Tempest family. Nick

I appreciate the prompt reply of members of the E Board. For my own part, I guess we will simply have to agree to disagree. Respectfully, Nick Filippone, IPMS # 969, Senior National Judge.

Having attended 38 National Banquets, I too will claim a certain authority with which to comment on these matters. I pretty much agree with all these comments. I also lament the dearth of public speaking skills in this organization in particular (and in the products of the American education system in general). Bill and Aris had gratefully been the consistently notable and happy exception to this. They were able to read All the awards (and they all could and should be read), pronounce names correctly, add the occasional and effective asides and quips to break up the litany of awards and STILL get us out at a reasonable hour. It can be done. All the other suggestions made by Joe and Gil are entirely appropriate but, for implementation, would require the E Board to tightly script the whole ceremony with strict guidelines and a demand for adherence to schedule. The National Orgnization has taken over other aspects of the National Convention and Contest with admirable success. This would simply be the logical next step. As part of this, it should be possible to identify, in an organization of 5000+ members, two people with sufficient public speaking skills to read the awards with clarity and alacrity. If the host chapter cannot demonstrate that they have members in their ranks with such ability, then skilled presenters from the membership at large should be summoned from the bull pen. The Awards Banquet and Ceremony is the culmination of the National Convention. Hearing one’s name read as a contest winner is an honour and a thrill. It should not be treated as an anti-climactic, time- wasting after- thought! Nick Filippone, IPMS #969, Senior National Judge.

The rule is explicit: “ However, nothing other than that basic surface may be used.” That’s pretty clear. Why not just put the wheels back on and enter it OOB or modify and display it as you wish in the regular category? It’s better and more fun to build what you want, the way you want and put it in the category it ends up in rather than picking a category and trying to squeeze a model into it. Nick

In fact, of course, the issue here is not whether this entry, as described, is OOB or not. According to the 2025 National Contest General Rules, Section 4, paragraph D, this entry would be a vignette or diorama. The rule is very clear that anything other than the simplest of bases- runway only for aircraft, pavement only for vehicles, water only for ships, etc, mandates the entry be assigned to a vignette or diorama category. The jackstands are just the sort of embellishment that makes the base more than “simple.” Nick Filippone, IPMS #969, Senior National Judge

Contrail marketed airfoil struts but, as you say, they are long out of business. There is or was a product called “Strutz” - airfoil section lengths out of metal. They are sturdy and therefore useful when weight- bearing becomes important but otherwise are not as easy to glue or use. Nick

The 2026 IPMS National will be in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Nick

I am not sure that what this message says is that the writer is going to get some special consideration from Scott Bregi. My interpretation of this is that he would simply be informed before the block went public when the block would be public so he could apply to get a room when the block went public. Mr. Stevens pointedly does not say ‘so I could get a room before the block went public.’ Perhaps when there is reasonable doubt about what is meant in a statement, it is best to resist the temptation to start what may be a false and potentially destructive rumor based on what one only guesses is the meaning in the statement. Nick

In the immortal words of Joel Cairo: “ Excuse me. I must have expressed myself badly.”😉 I was referring to the fact that I cannot post on our forum without being signed in with a user name and password. Perhaps I should not have assumed that such a restriction could be applied to other IPMS website functions. My apologies. Nick

Based on my reading of the Facebook announcement, Gil is correct. Without any apparent security or identification requirements provided to IPMS members only, it would appear anyone could hop on the Facebook link to the reservation site and reserve a room. If this really is the case (and I would be happy to learn I have misunderstood the process), it seems to make any advantage to IPMS members receiving priority in obtaining a reservation at their desired hotel non-existent. Some IPMS website access is limited, such as posting, requiring members to input a user name and password. Should the link be made available only on our website and should there be a requirement to enter that user name and password as a necessary step to making a reservation? Again, maybe I am misunderstanding the exact details of how this will happen, but, if not, Gil has a legitimate concern. In a broader sense, this is the downside to making IPMS more accessible to all by transacting so much of the club’s business on such public forums as Facebook. To the best of my knowledge, IPMS has never restricted membership to anyone other than for disciplinary measures. All are welcome. But if one wants the manifest benefits of membership (such as priority in hotel reservations at IPMS functions), then pony up the membership fee and join. We IPMS members are entitled to our organizational privacy. Whatever goes on amongst us, good, bad or indifferent, is our business and only our business. But isn’t this the endemic defect in “social media” : hanging out one’s laundry- clean or dirty- for all to see! Nick

I didn’t think of that but you’re right! That would be the quickest way to source the necessary documentation. Nick

I enthusiastically applaud the National Contest Committee’s introduction of the new categories for this year’s National Contest. I am especially excited about the Paper Model Category and the Vintage Model Categories. I have been campaigning for a Paper Model Category for a while. I have felt it could be a way to grow the Society and our Contests as well as provide learning opportunities for us and them. When Orange County had a Paper Model Category in 2007, the quality and quantity of the entries was impressive. The participation of paper modelers in the Tiger Meet display area at Madison was significant. (Of course, now I have to put my money where my mouth is and build a paper model.) The creation of Vintage Model Categories demonstrates a recognition by the NCC of the importance of this very exciting trend in our hobby. Being able to compete with the kits we cut our modeling teeth on will be fun. It is an incentive to recall our earliest building adventures and maybe even do better this time! My thanks to the NCC for “reading the room” as it were, observing and listening to the membership and having the courage to take risks and embrace change. I hope other members will join me in recognizing the responsive leadership IPMS’s National Contest Committee is providing. Nick Filippone, Senior (30 year) National Judge

Unless one thought there was some educational value in “diverse” modelers exchanging ideas and techniques with each other. Nick Filippone, Senior (30 year) National Judge

David’s post betrays a certain commonly held contempt for paper models because they are pre- coloured and pre- printed. As a life long (70 years) plastic modeler, I have tried my hand at paper or card modeling. It is very difficult to produce even a mediocre result. An excellent result- which I was never able to achieve- in my opinion, (having judged both plastic and paper models) represents a skill set and degree of patience at least equal to that demonstrated by most plastic modelers and, again, in my opinion, in fact, superior to most plastic modelers. In short, it is frustratingly hard to build a good paper model! But it is satisfying and enjoyable! Whether or not paper models should be admitted to our contests- and I contend that they should, with their own categories- it is unfair and narrow- minded to disparage them as “stuff.” Paper modeling is an ancient craft, centuries older than plastic modeling. I encourage you to try one and see if you would show your first effort to any judge (or anyone). Good luck. Nick Filippone, Senior (30 year) National Judge

Given the difficulties navigating our website and the Internet that some of our members seem to encounter (at least as confessed to on this Forum) trying to find IPMS information, how much more confused will changing the name and the acronym make them? Nick

I thought he was asking for a remake of the movie! Nick

I apologize but I can no longer forbear to ask: What does this post mean or refer to? Nick Filippone

At last- something Gil and I can agree on! We absolutely should not change our name! Our “name recognition” is vital and valuable. Change the name and in a short time people will wonder what happened to IPMS. Additionally, the Oxford Dictionary also defines “plastic” as anything that can be shaped or molded. That would include metal, resin, paper and wood. We’ve already got all the media we see at our shows covered, therefore, with our present name. So no need to change. Nick Filippone

1) Don’t need it yet. 2)We already know when it is and where. 3)Ditto. 4)But the link was there and clicked with minimal effort. 5)A lot of useful info if you weren’t at their power point presentation. 6)They’re volunteers. Give them a break! They will get around to it. 7) I didn’t create a link for everyone else’s convenience because I don’t know how! I did go to the trouble, however, two twice inform members on the Forum how they could find and access what information is available with minimal physical effort. I am a victim of ‘60’s Catholic school education where it was drummed into my head that: “God helps those who help themselves.” I do not think it reasonable or fair to expect the volunteers in Hampton Roads or those responsible for the National Website to wipe my nose for me. I do not suggest people who demand they get what they want the moment they want it are stupid. They are, however, impatient to the point of rudeness. Nick

Or, just ask Lieutenant Uhura to look it up for you. 🤔 “Beam me up, Scottie…….” (You know the rest.)😉 Nick