MikeMoore

Mike, there are still plenty of rooms available at the Read House. It's a 1/2 block farther away then the Day's Inn, and $10 a night cheaper than the Marriott. And having just undergone a major renovation (as in they closed and gutted it, not just redid finishes) it will be VERY nice. Mike Moore

Another hotel update. The Marriott is pretty much sold out. There are king rooms available on Wednesday and Saturday nights, but nothing in between. Until and unless there are cancellations, the Marriott is sold out. The Day's Inn still has rooms for the whole convention, but for Friday night, they are down to Kings only, so if you don't want to share a bed, you'll need to bring an air mattress. The Read House still has lots of rooms. Mike

Marriott Updatae - There are still rooms available. However, due to the way the block was assigned, there are currently no double rooms left in the block for Saturday night the 10th, only King rooms. In talking with the National reservations desk, it appears that there are still double rooms in the hotel, but we can't get them added to the block until Monday when the sales folks come back to work. But it does sound like they are very limited. Check back on Monday to see if there are any doubles available on the 10th. There are still plenty of rooms at the Day's Inn and the Read House. Mike

Ok, here’s what I know. First, yes, parking is not included in the room rate at the Marriott. In the interests of full disclosure I’ll make note of that on our website. It also isn’t included in the rate for the Read House. Second, I don’t know where we stand exactly in regards to a sell out at the Marriott, but as of earlier this afternoon it was selling very quickly. I don’t know if I can get anyone in sales tomorrow, but I’ll check and see if they can tell me where we stand in regards to selling out. Mike Moore

Hello, the availability of hotel rooms for a National Convention is always a hot topic. We've tried to be as honest and transparent as we can regarding when the room blocks will be opened up and available for reservations. We announced in Phoenix that we thought it would happen in Mid-September, and I didn't realize how accurate that was. Let this serve as the official announcement (or one of several) that the room blocks for all three convention hotels will be open, and reservation links posted on the convention website (www.ipmsusanationals.com), on Friday September 14, 2018. There are three hotels at this point: 1) The Marriott. This hotel is physically attached to the Chattanooga Convention Center, and will therefore be the most convenient. The room rate is $144/night. 2) The Day's Inn Rivergate. About a block and a half away, it's a very easy walk to the CCC, and for the budge conscious, the room rate is $109/night. 3) The Read House. A historic downtown hotel, it's just now wrapping up a complete renovation. I'm told they left the "ghost room" alone, but I don't know what they did with the room that housed Al Capone as he was transported from Florida to Chicago to stand trial. An easy 2 block walk to the CCC, the room rate is $134/night. Again, all three blocks will be opened up on 9-14-18 with reservation links posted on the convention website - www.ipmsusanationals.com Thanks Mike Moore Convention Chairman

Guys, the 2019 Convention Website is LIVE. www.ipmsusanationals.com we are still adding content, and we expect the hotel reservations to go live by Mid-September. I’ll be monitoring the forums, so if you have questions, please ask. I can’t promise an immediate response, but I’ll work hard to make sure you get answers as quickly as I can. Mike Moore 2019 IPMS USA National Convention Chairman

I'm sorry, the convention is my vacation, and I intend to be comfortable while on vacation. And I am most comfortable in shorts. Given that I work from home, I wear shorts year round. Most of the guys in my chapter have never seen me in long pants. i don't typically attend the banquet, but a requirement or a strong suggestion that I dress in long pants would ensure I never attend...a fact that might well prompt such a rule! Seriously, times and customs change. A relaxation of the "dress code" at the banquet seems a pretty minor thing. Like I said, it's a vacation, let's let folks be comfortable. If that means dressing in a coat and tie, or slacks and sport shirt, or shorts and a decent t-shirt, it's all good to me. Mike

Well, since he's doing nothing wrong or illegal, I agree, there is nothing that can absolutley be done to prevent him, or others like him from doing what they do. I think the best thing for show hosts to do is to politely ask vendors to not sell out until "x" time. I think that if we explain that we are concerned about the long term health and vialbility of our shows, I believe the majority of them will understand and go along. And if we get wind that someone is badgering people for deals, we politely invite them to leave the show. Mike

Gil, I can't really speak for the Wright Field Scale Modeler's, the hosts of the show, but I can tell you that Izzet was there on Friday plying his trade, and he did in fact make a couple deals before apparently being made aware of the fact that his presence wasn't appreciated. From what I was able to piece together, after he made a couple of deals, he was approached by a show official and asked to hold off until noon on Saturday, the same thing I asked him to do two years ago when he came to Chattanooga, and the same thing I asked all our vendors in Chattanooga to do this year. I can also attest to the fact that when he isn't happy he get's very beligerant. When he saw me on Friday, he threatened to sue me (on the grounds that I was being discriminatory) for having used his name in addressing the subject on our club website leading up to our show this year. There were more than a few folks within ear shot and at least a couple were concerned that he was going to start swinging. I apologized to him for any percieved offense, and explained that I meant none. My sole intent was to ask our vendors to stick to the agreement I made with him the year before and not sell out before noon on Sunday. I didn't insist on it, or make it a condition of getting tables at the show, and I never said not to sell to him. Never the less, he, and apparently his attorney, felt I had infringed upon him. After telling me how he would never come to our show again (drat, drat, and double drat), and would spread the word to everyone he knows that we are bad people, ultimately all I was able to do was apologize again to him and tell him if he wished to sue me, go ahead, he won't get much! I saw him in the corridor outside the vendor room about an hour later, and then never saw him again, so I assume he left. All in all, I remain convinced that he, and others like him, are bad for shows. He didn't do it this time, but he has in the past cleared enough tables out to be noticable. He also aggrivates vendors who don't want to sell by badgering them, as he did both in Chattanooga and last weekend. And he brings no benefit to the show aside from possibly paying general admission. If he was at least buying a couple of tables and putting what he just bought back on a table for the duration of the show, that would be one thing. But he comes in, buys up bargains early, leaves empty tables in his wake, and goes home and either stocks a retail store, or, probably puts it on eBay. We all know that a lot of folks go to shows more for the vendors than anything. Enough empty tables and those folks will likely stop coming to shows. I just don't see an upside to him. Granted, the threat to sue me MAY be coloring my thinking a little... Mike

Dick is correct. If folks want to buy out tables, and vendors want to sell out, there really isn't much we can do about it. We can ask everyone to hold off, but it is a free market, and buyers and sellers will do pretty much as they please. However, I disagree that there is no harm done, particulary with a two day show. As has been mentioned many, many times, one of the primary reasons folks go to shows is to shop vendors. If they start seeing empty tables, or believe there is a good chance that much of the "good" stuff will be gone due to buy outs, I believe they may be disinclined to come to shows. It's possible that I'm paranoid and overstating, but from conversations I've had, I don't really think so. In my opinion, and what we've done in Chattanooga, the best thing to do is ask both vendors and buy outers to hold off on buying/selling out until "x" time. That way, everyone through the door before then has a good opportunity to shop, and the folks interested in buying/selling out can still do so. I think that if the request is made up front, and politely, most will understand that the health of shows is the concern, and will cooperate. Mike

Happy to help Tim. I can't remember who originally developed them, but Panda bought them probably 6-7 years ago. I got my sets from Rob Ervin when he still had Formations, and I believe that Rob had a hand in developing some of the tracks. I don't think you'll be disappointed with them. Mike

Tim, Have you looked at the Panda Plastic tracks? They are individual link tracks, but they go together pretty easily. When I used them, I built my own jig, and I didn't have any trouble putting them together. They were definitely not a nightmare to assemble as some other brands have a reputation to be. http://shermantracks.com/index.html Good luck! Mike

As always, I find it astonishing that a registration fee of $40-$50 can be considered expensive. To those that say that charging for convention registration would dissuade someone from bringing display models, I think you're looking at it, and selling it, the wrong way. The guy who brings display only models isn't paying $50 for the privilege of displaying models. He's paying $50 to participate in the IPMS USA National Convention. Just like contest entrants, displaying models is only one part of that experience. If there is a problem with that perception, I think there is a larger problem with the Nats in general and we need to look at ways of adding value to the whole convention, because it means the Nats is really only a contest wrapped in the trappings of a convention rather than a convention that also has a contest. But that is a conversation for a different day. Also, as long as everyone showing models, either in competition or display pays convention registration there won't be any income reduction even if some folks switch from competition to display. And I'll say it again, anyone showing models, be it competition or display should be treated the same. If you want to show your models at the IPMS USA National Convention, you pay registration. Now, since display models won't get awards, perhaps their registration is reduced by $5, but I don't really think that would be necessary. Make providing display tables a requirement at Nationals, promote the crap out of it from the top down, track the numbers, and see what develops. No, it probably isn't or won't be that easy, but we don't need it to be harder than necessary either. Mike