So, i know this seems really late but ive been wanting to put some of my thoughts in from attending my first IPMS Nationals event.
First off to put my experiance into a couple words, mind blowing and eye opening.
I started modelling when i was a little kid and quit for a bit as i wasnt that into it. It wasnt until high school when i started getting back into it when i started making friends and finding out that they also were into this hobby and that was what really pushed me to get serious with the hobby and start buying things like an airbrush and look into better model kits than what i could get at the local Michaels hobby store.
But it wasnt until i left for the Military that i found that this hobby could be such a good outlet for me and its also when i found out about IPMS and the national conventions that they put on, so when i arrived at my base in 2015 and found out there was a local IPMS club i joined right awayand we found out that in 2 years there would be a nationals event only half days drive from where we were me and the IPMS club i joined decided we would attend this event
But thats enoguh of a back story, lets get to the event, me and my friend that i car pooled with arived a day early so we could rest up befor the next 3 days and get everything unpacked, I called ahead to the venue to ask if we could drop off our very large crates that housed our models (the wood crates are probably 5'x2'x2') which they allowed us to do which was very nice and put a lot less stress on us as it was very hot and we didnt want to leave these crates in the car with the possibility of the models melting and we also didnt want to bring them all the way up to our hotel room just to bring them back down again.
So the first day we awoke bright and early and headed straight to the venue, we arrived before it opened and it was nice that the IPMS directors allowed us to set up our very large models early as once more people started to arrive we knew it would be very hard to navagate these large crate too the display spot, i shoudl probably tell you all that the models in the crates were 2 1:48 B-1Bs (with a 3rd on the way later that day to be added to our display)
So once the event started that were the mind blowing parts come into this and there are multiple points which ill list off.
1. The size of the display room: I had no idea that the display room would be as big as it was, and better yet, that they would fill the whole thing
2. The Vendors: Om my gosh i spent way too much money there, but i also got some really amazing deals.
3. The Door Gifts: It was awesome getting that big folder full of stuff, and it was way more than i was expecting.
4. The People: It was amazing to see just how many people came to this event.
Now onto the main eye opener.
The people, again: The people there was a huge eye opener, in a good way, and the reason is becuase everyone was different but all shared one thing which was the hobb so you could easily start a long conversation and possibly make really good friends with people who live on the other side of the country just by talking about something that i just thought was so small. And second with the people, the people who either owned or worked for the vendors, they were all so friendly and actually took the time to get to know you and the minute they found out that you were using their product they imediatley wanted to go see the model you brought and take pictures and ask how well it worked with my build. To some this may seem normal but to me it made it special and put things with the company on a more personal level.
I enjoyed the whole experiance, i was not able to stay for the whole thing as me and my friend had to make our way to Oshkosh but the event was unforgetable. But there was one issue i had but it more cam after the fact. There was an award that i read that was a post 9-11 award that was awarded to a model of a WWII dio. Now to some i may sound like a soar looser which isnt true, i didnt care if i won an award or not i was just happy to be presenting something there. But i didnt know why that award was given to a WWII dio?
But those are my thoughts on the event.
Thanks for reading