> To Erik and others interested,
>
> The 1995 IPMS/USA Nationals held in Albuquerque, NM July 6th-8th was
> fun!
>
> 1) The contest room was a bit smaller than Omaha's last year (and MUCH
> darker!). Lousy lighting, waaaaay too dark....
See, Omaha isn't that bad!:-)
> 2) 1324 models were entered this year total. (1206 last year).
> 3) The vendor room was also smaller than usual. I'd guess about 80% of
> average.
> 4) Not much new on hand with the vendors. Much released the last few
> months that wasn't there! (example - Blue rider's new decal
> sheets to name but one thing).
> 5) Columbus OH got the bid for the 1997 Nationals over Chicago's
> offer. Good presentation & planning.
Being originally from Ohio, I will probably be there! I now have two
years to get my best work(s) going!
> 6) Excellent quality on hand, though WW I, 1/72 Biplanes catagory was
> very weak, only about 18 entries. 1/48 scale biplanes was a bit
> stronger at 23 or so entries - oddly 5 Fokker E.V/D.VIII's with
> the same scheme were entered! (One in the 1/48 Vac. catagory).
> The scheme with the horizontal white arrow on the fuselage.
Understandable, since there weren't that many WW1 schemes for this
plane. Even though I'm a "die-hard WW1 fan", I will probably do mine
in one of the Polish schemes.
> 7) The Albuquerque guys did a good job overall. Thanks to them!
>
> I did well, but I'm not going to "blow my own horn" on the list here.
> Sorry.
>
> Rob Willis got the Mike Fritz Memorial award (Best WW I aircraft) for
> a very nice 1/72 Xtravac Albatros D.III of Jasta 5. I won this last
> year (1/72 Aviatik B.II Vacform) and now am one of the judges from
> then on out for this award. Rob will help us judge for it next year,
> and so on.
Way to go Rob!!! For anybody that doesn't know him, Rob's a great
guy, and his company is Hawkeye Designs, which makes resin
replacement parts, mostly cockpits (Steve: did he have any new
stuff?). Rob used to be a member of IPMS/Des Moines, and is another
great modeler.
> As to the Pfalz D.XII (one of my favorite WW I birds) - I have not yet
> started it! It's "in line" for building in the next year or so. My
> "unbuilts" closet is now up to around 415 kits so.....
I assume this is the Pegasus kit. Lately, Pegasus kits are
wonderful, although a bit pricey (see a previous post). Since I have
a lot of the earlier Pegasus stuff, I can honestly say they have
gotten at least 100% better. At least they are now providing
pre-built struts (they only used to provide Contrail material for all
struts). Once I finish my work for our Offutt/WW2 50th anniversary,
I'll have to start on the LVG C.VI. I'll also have to get Pegasus'
lozenge.
I too am also almost as bad as Steve. I have 357 unbuilt models, the
majority (over 200) being WW1. Retirement never looked so good!
Matt Bittner | "We devour those
meba@cso.com | who would subdue
Omaha, Nebraska | us."