I.P.M.S./ALAMO SQUADRON show and contest.

It was an overcast day, but, the parking lot filled up fast .There were folks anxious to get their models on tables and let everyone see what they had created since last year.The VENDORS were busy too! There was one that ran along one wall and he marked everything down and there was a field day getting to sort through his goodies.I didn,t get to enter anything , so I volunteered to judge in any category they wished.I enjoy that ,if anything it let,s me see what my competition is up to for next year,he.he. No really ,SHIPS and ARMOR were lighter than usual but CARS,WHATIF,S and AIRCRAFT were big time full.SCIENCE FICTION and DIORAMAS were fairly represented too.I noticed a trend and it,s been seen over on scale auto in the mag.Folks are building' em rusty,dented,and pretty much beat up with big engines in  'em.A long term trend for "rat rods"/Anyway I noticed ships tended toward 1/700 and specifically subs.There was one we used a flashlight on.Why?well it was all black,and that little scudder had crewmen on it!Mounted on a water base it looked pretty good .The ship that took the prize for best ship was a JAPANESE supply ship.It was also was in 1/700 scale underway and pretty darn well done. As for ARMOR I judged with the team as with ships,ARMOR and ARMORED SOFTSKINS. There was some interesting things there and try if you will to imagine, a small 1/35scale trailer that hed helmets in it .They were upside down and that,s what caught my eye,They had the inner liner and webbing in them!There was another vehicle that had a lot of GERMAN stuff inside of it and the "POTATOE MASHER" grenades looked like they had real wooden handles(I gotta talk to that fella!).The cars were spread all over their tables and glittering examples could be found the length and breadth of the area assigned.There was a PORSCHE that caught my eye because of the P.E. mesh! Well , that,s about for me.Due to health reasons I had to leave.I hope someone elsethat was there chimes in.        tankerbuilder