Well, it has finally wrapped up and I am completely exhausted. I was helping the judges until 3:30 AM the night of the judging, got up early and helped with a ton of other stuff until finally relaxing at the banquet and then packing up to go home.
I also personally won six Out-Of-Box awards which totally stunned me. I went in believing that I was NOT going to win anything, or even place, since I felt like a Jr. High School football player trotting onto the field to play with Pro-Football players in the Super Bowl. I am ecstatic. I thought that the only thing I was going to be leaving with besides my models was the bragging rights for having set a record for Most Models Entered by One Person at a Nationals.
One sad note however, someone decided that he just HAD to have three of my aircraft and stole them right out of my box as I was packing the rest of my entries.
These are those models that were stolen:
The Beechcraft Bonanza was one I'd built for my brother who was a pilot and dreamed of buying a real one someday. He died before he could realize that dream and so I have ---or rather HAD---that model as a reminder of him.
I cannot replace those planes because they are not made anymore and there is no chance of them being re-issued in 1/72 scale.
So to the person who took them, if you are reading this, enjoy them as much as you can, knowing that you did NOT build them or finish them. Just know that you took away a collection of planes that were the product of another builder's efforts and that these planes meant more to the builder than to you. Every time you look at them or show them off, you'll know that deep down that you took some part of another modeler's life when you took those planes.
I may get this Thread locked and/or deleted, but it does have to be said. I could ask for them back no questions ask, but if this person was so unthinking of others, then they won't ever give them back.
All in all however, I had a fantastic time at the Nationals this year and I hope to make it to the Columbus Nats in 2009.