Highlander

It is essentially a matter of geometry and optics. In an ideal judging world, each model would be placed on an individual stand perfectly lit by several banks of dedicated lights -- where the judges could walk completely around it, view it up close, view it from afar, view it from above, and view it from below. Would require a venue about the size of Utah and a budget about twice that of the US's.. But with multiple models on tables which allow only one side from which a judge can view (sometimes two), covered with models, some of which are only inches from each other, some of which are teetering on the edge, some of which are at the absolute back of the table, some of which are lighted and some of which are in the darkness -- it becomes absolutely necessary to move models. Add to that the common practice, not yet mentioned, by contestants who enter their entries later or who decide that their chances for recognition are improved by optimal placement -- moving other entries already on the table. Yes, I said, "...common...". Cause I've seen it hundreds of times. Models get moved. Some out of necessity, some out of convenience, some of out competitiveness. With the introduction of reality, we do the best we can.

And, once again, the judges have to adjust on the fly ... attempting to advise which category an entry should be placed in, moving an entry to another category, and, believe it or not, trying to serve the membership in the best way possible given the changing definitions and circumstances. So, consider a little slack when definitions are ambiguous and categories are not perfectly clear.

Really smart move by using a photo as a model ... for your model.

Your color choices are a strong point.

Nice, indeed.

Yes, very nice.

Nice. Sculpt and painting.

Apparently, it is due out soon. Any word of mouth or links to what we'll be seeing ... and the quality?

As I have pointed out elsewhere, $225 for a room is what my wife is paying for a quilting convention this year. And registration for another convention I just attended was a flat $100 ... plus additional fees for classes and such. I don't know if IPMS members are truly cheap bastards, or it they haven't kept up with the reality elsewhere. In my mind, the ES breakfast is the biggest attraction -- it would cost about $30 for DW and myself ... or more ... if we had to purchase it separately.

From Facebook: Holiday Inn Express a few hundred yards down the street and within walking distance. Made my reservation last week. If true, then the system has already broken down. See from above: Like the Embassy Suites, I will be linking their dedicated reservation websites (with the IPMS code already programmed in) to our website - www.nats2023.com at the same time as the Embassy Suites link. Note that I said, "If true." Of course, the reservation cited could be at a non-Convention rate.

To paraphrase and modify Pareto's Principle, 90% of the complaints come from 10% of the commenters. Many of whom won't participate anyway. My advice:

After experiences with IPMS Nats and booking hotels at other events with an incredibly high demand for hotel rooms, I concur with the above. In sort, it seems: 1. That the organizers make all due preparation for the opening of hotel room reservations. They check and double check. 2. In spite of those preparations, the hotel chain's system is seldom in synch with that preparation. Computer systems, the host hotel itself, central reservations (located somewhere in Sri Lanka), and individual hotel chain employees seldom are on the same page. 3. Problems occur. 4. The hotel/hotel chain apologizes, but the damage is then in the past and cannot be rectified. Most recently, the magic words --- "The pandemic is at fault because....." are seen as clearing the hotel/hotel chain of responsibility. 5. People who played by the rules are unhappy. 6. The organizers get blamed. In short, it seems that the current technology and the state of the hotel industry are not up to a massive rush to reserve rooms held in convention room blocks. And the organizers reap the whirlwind.

Impressive.

One of my favorites, in arguably the best Western ever is: "You skin that smoke wagon and we'll see what happens! " Very good work.

CA would be an issue for me.

I am not disagreeing, but I would be more convinced if I had data on: 1. The number of room nights required to subsidize an IPMS Nats ... the recent average. 2. The number of rooms reserved by the venue for the convention block. 3. The number of times, before each Nats, that the host chapter has asked for more rooms to be released for the convention block. My experience has been that (1) all the rooms sell out immediately (or before immediately, but that's another story), (2) the host chapter asks for more rooms to be released -- sometimes multiple times, and (3) the various forums and social media sites have multiple complaints from IPMS members about not being able to get a room. My experience would lead me to believe that the appetite for rooms significantly exceeds the number of rooms available. Which leads me to wonder that, if more rooms are available, they would be easily sold and generate the room nights required to support a larger venue in a bigger city. HST, I have also observed the cancellations that occur 3-4 weeks before each Nats. I did not go to Columbia because I could not get a hotel room within reasonable distance of the venue. I was on several waiting lists, and, two weeks before the Nats, the host hotel called and offered me a room. It was too late. The hotel informed me that they had about 20 cancellations starting three weeks before the Nats. One might wonder how many people cannot come because of issues that impact upon their lives and how many people make reservations just in case they later decide, maybe, could be, things could fall into place, to attend -- after all, they can always cancel. HST, again, I have overheard Nats sponsors, during registration, worrying about whether they will generate enough room nights because of the number of last minute cancellations. Finally, as if this post is not already long enough, I've pointed out elsewhere that hotel rates for conventions have been rising for years. IPMS's members expectations of a room for less than $200 a night will soon be dashed; IPMS is already an anomaly. My wife is paying @$260 for a convention in Houston this fall. And, now, let's factor in runaway inflation.....

From the 2022 Nats Contest Rules: To enter the model contest, a member must be registered for the convention and have an individual IPMS member identification number. This includes individual (senior or junior), family, international, or proxy registrations. It does NOT include general admission / walk-in visitor attendees. A member may also serve as a ‘proxy’ to enter models for an absent member who is not attending the convention. Entry fees for absentee/proxy entrants may be set at the discretion of the Host Chapter. Can anyone direct me to the policy that Omaha has established for fees for proxy entries?

I know. I much prefer the Cafe du Monde at the Riverwalk. Same offerings and you get to sit watching Old Man River roll by.

If we have to give up something, I'm suggesting the model. Breakfast at the Camellia Grill, hit up the WWII Museum, down to Cafe du Monde for some beignets, and then to the bars. Greatest Nats ever.

My three choices would be: Tahiti Maui London In the unlikely event that none of these come about, then: Dayton, OH Boston, MA New Orleans, LA I can dream, can't I?

It has been pointed out over and over, but it might bear being pointed out one more time. Judges are volunteers. If you don't like the judging, volunteer and become one yourself. Then, I'm sure, perfection will ensue. Besides, the pay rate for judges has nearly doubled over the last three Nats.

Panel lines is another area in which reality -- particularly in used and abused aircraft and used and abused vehicles -- is not at all necessarily neat or aligned or gap free. But, at scale, most of those interesting variations from perfection disappear from view. So, in the IPMS world, it has to be "perfect". I note also that, when you compare a photo of a model that is blown up to the same visual scale as the real thing, the model is nowhere near as tidy and detailed as the real thing. It is usually quite unbelievable as a representation of the real thing. It is a coarse approximation. But, hey, we do scale models ... not 1:1 models.

In another hobby, which features an annual convention, the national headquarters had to step in and sponsor 2021's annual convention .... due to no bidders. They did it virtually. I have no idea how successful it was, though national claimed success. 2020 was slipped to 2022. The national headquarters also sponsored the 2019 convention ... no bidders ... which they did as a cruise out of Florida. The national headquarters first move was to ask my club, which was committed to sponsor the nationals in 2020 to move it up a year to 2019. We declined. With the impact of COVID, we slid our nationals to 2021 and then again to 2022. During that period we were asked to move back to 2021 from 2022. We declined...it was possible, but the workload would have been extraordinary. To my knowledge, there is no bidder for next year. Which leaves it in the national organization's hands.

A common topic in my club is where the upcoming Nats will be, combined with where we would like them to be. It usually boils down to an area that (1) hasn't had a Nats at all or had one in the last couple of decades or (2) has other attractions. We talk about the Nats we really enjoyed ... one of our guys loved Chicago. I really liked Anaheim and Oklahoma City. Our consensus recently has been Dayton OH ... so we could arrive a couple of days early and spend them at the AF Museum. I lived in Dayton and I could easily spend three or four days visiting my old haunts. New Orleans has been popular ... the WWII Museum is a big attraction. In my case, again, I've spent time there and can navigate the bus/streetcar system and know where to eat. There are many places that are attractive. Even Hawaii and Alaska. Once IPMS members get over the hurdle of understanding that hotel prices will never go back to what they used to be, we might see some exciting locations.

Are you sure you didn't mean that the Hawaii guys have been begged to host a Nats? As to transport, IPMS could charter a cruise ship. However, if all of the rooms were taken up instantaneously, like within CONUS, not many who missed out would rent an outrigger as an alternate.