IPMS? How Many Of You Out There Are Members?

stikpusher

I am not a national member, at least not since 1982, but I am a member of the local chapter. An excellent decision that I made to join up, if I do say so myself. While I have learned a lot on here, going to meetings, meeting other builders and learning from them has really helped kick up my builds a couple notches over the past almost 5 years since I joined. I can't vouch for every chapter, and I have heard horror stories about the old days (International P*** & Moan Society was pretty accurate), but for me it has been a very positive experience. I have met some superb builders, learned from them, made a few freinds and partaken in the after meeting social outings, and even got hooked up with the local AMPS chapter.

Hey stikpusher, I used to be a member of IPMS Orange County until I moved to Arizona. I'm now a member of IPMS Craig Hewitt which covers Phoenix.

kermit

Would anybody know if there are chapters in washington state? I mean, how does one find out?

Richard

Hey Kermit. Go here- http://www.ipmsusa.org/. Go to the Chapter and RC section on the side. That'll help you find one near you.

I belong to the Houston IPMS Chapter. Haven't been able to go lately due to work. Our meetings are always on the second Tuesday of each month and it seems my work days always fall on meeting days.

Would anybody know if there are chapters in washington state? I mean, how does one find out?

Richard

yup.. I am also.. Dupes is my fearless leader... !

Vance.. you need to coordinate with the next Marden's trip the Mrs makes to the states.. come visit !

Reasoned

RedCorvette:

I was a member from the mid 70's until the early 90's.  I drifted away when our local chapter disbanded.  The founding members literally died off and the younger members didn't want to put the effort in to continue it. 

I also stopped entering contests and cut back on my modeling about that same time to get more involved with my kid's activities when they were in middle school and high school.

I enjoyed the monthly chapter meetings; we usually had a short program or guest speaker and a well-supported "show & tell" table.

Since I've become an empty-nester I've started building more again, but haven't had the motivation to find another chapter to join.  Quite frankly, I don't feel like driving an hour or more to attend a meeting.  Maybe someday after I'm retired and not working full-time.

Mark 

 

Hey Mark, if you are still in Sarasota, I was just in your neighborhood a few days ago on vacation, love it there.  Looks like modeling stores are a little thin there but there is a little hobby store in a mall off of hwy 41 that has a Marseille 109F kit I want, didn't buy it myself, guess I could fly down and get it.

 

Hope you enjoyed your vacation here.  We appreciate all you visitors coming here and spending all your money so we don't have to pay any state income tax! 

I've lived here for 26 years and unfortunately have seen more than a dozen hobby shops come and go.  The one constant has been a train shop that has been here the whole time.  That's where I've bought most of my supplies (glue, paint, etc.) for the past few years.

One of my favorite places used to be a shop that dealt exclusively in wooden ship models.  They had regular Saturday morning classes/group build sessions (always with a fresh pot of coffee and danish supplied by the owner).  Was great to just go there and hang out. 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, a lot of local modelers have literally died off, which is what did in our local IPMS chapter.

Mark 

I'm a member of my town's IPMS chapter,
But I'm not really going that long allready,
but I have allready learned a lot of stuff!

With regards, Ninetalis.

RedCorvette

I was a member from the mid 70's until the early 90's.  I drifted away when our local chapter disbanded.  The founding members literally died off and the younger members didn't want to put the effort in to continue it. 

I also stopped entering contests and cut back on my modeling about that same time to get more involved with my kid's activities when they were in middle school and high school.

I enjoyed the monthly chapter meetings; we usually had a short program or guest speaker and a well-supported "show & tell" table.

Since I've become an empty-nester I've started building more again, but haven't had the motivation to find another chapter to join.  Quite frankly, I don't feel like driving an hour or more to attend a meeting.  Maybe someday after I'm retired and not working full-time.

Mark 

Hey Mark, if you are still in Sarasota, I was just in your neighborhood a few days ago on vacation, love it there.  Looks like modeling stores are a little thin there but there is a little hobby store in a mall off of hwy 41 that has a Marseille 109F kit I want, didn't buy it myself, guess I could fly down and get it.

Hmmm, Denver you say. That's only 5 1/2 hrs for me.

                                      Joe

I did miss the Omaha Nationals last year.  My daughter got married on July 2 and then I took off with a couple of friends to catch the last shuttle launch in FLA.  Needless to say the budget and time was shot to heck.  I did attend the 94 nats in omaha.  I'm only about 6 or so hrs out of Denver.  Gonna have to keep it in mind.

Bill

I've been a member for almost 25 years now and I live in central Nebraska.  Nothing close chapter wise that I am aware of except the clubs in Lincoln and Omaha. Both are about 3 hrs away so it would be impossible to go to an evening meeting without missing work and staying overnight.  One of the WW1 aircraft as an online club membership that would be good for associating at national events.  At some point the IPMS nationals will be reasonably close and it is well worth the trip.

I haven't joined our local chapter yet, in fact not even sure they meet anymore.  Being new to the hobby (at least since "restarting"), I haven't entered a contest yet either.  I just might do that come next year, I heard there is a good one in Cedar Rapids IA.

I would probably join but there are no chapters where I live, at least any that I know of or the owners of my LHS knows of.

Bill

Don't feel frightened to pick up the phone and call a point of contact as well. At the IPMSUSA website I linked earlier, there is a listing of various POCs and is usually more up to date than a club website that may or may not be updated on a regular basis.

Thanks for the replies.  There is an IPMS chapter that meets once a month in the hobby shop that is literally across the street from my office and only about 15 minutes drive from my home.  I sent an e-mail to the link on their website, but still have not heard anything back.  A little concerned that there just isn't much activity since the website does not appear to have been updated in a while.  Not sure anyone is monitoring the e-mail.

I believe there is a chapter a little further north of here that is much more active, the "Georgia Mountain Modelers".  They also meet at a Hobbytown.  The drive is about 30 minutes the opposite direction.  Their website is current and it looks like they make an effort to get kids involved.  Will give them a shot, it's not like I have anything to lose!

Kurt

Been a member for years, but don't belong to a local club. The magazine is very nice and every issue seems to cover the gamut - military, aircraft, armor, sci-fi, figures, autos, ships.  So there's always something for everyone as its produced by and for members. Commerical magazines of course have to worry more about relatively popularity, hence lot more articles about Aircraft than say ships.

Hey, Doug, I hear you. My online handle is my name.. of course I happen to have a unique name here in the US.

I've been a member of IPMS for about 28 years.  I belong to 2 chapters in the Denver area and am president of 1.  Great bunch of guys and gals. I've learned a lot from belonging.  The techniques I've  picked up from the others and at the meetings has really been an influence on my skills over that time.  Working at the contests both here and at Nationals has helped a ton also.  Before joining, I was just flailing about,  the only model information was from the old Scale Modeling magazine in the 70's.  After I started going to meetings in the late 70's did I start learning more.  I joined the clubs, but not Nationals until '83 or so.  By joining the national organization I felt more connected to the larger group and liking that, I have stayed.  The Journal is an excellent publication.   Plus members get a nice discount at the hobby shop.  I can save on dues in one visit.  I have never warmed up to the faceless web.  Especially here, where many are nameless with cutesy nicknames and avatars.  Oh, everyone is nice and all, but you have no way of really telling with most who they are.  Not everyone, but most.   I kind of wish FSM would change that.  I much prefer face to face meetings where everyone knows your name.

I realize that in larger cities, the odds of there being a chapter are greater, so the web has that connection for  lot of modelers.  Ah, unfortunate that this is a bit of a fringe hobby to the general public.

Doug

 Funny how I just caught this thread a couple of days ago and was thinking that I wouldn't mind a membership. Then I come home from work yesterday and my sister-in-law sent a belated birthday gift for me home with my wife, low and behold an IPMS membership. Awesome!

 The nearest IPMS club to me is a 100 miles away unfortunately. But I do go over and participate in their contests.

                               Joe

I was a member from the mid 70's until the early 90's.  I drifted away when our local chapter disbanded.  The founding members literally died off and the younger members didn't want to put the effort in to continue it. 

I also stopped entering contests and cut back on my modeling about that same time to get more involved with my kid's activities when they were in middle school and high school.

I enjoyed the monthly chapter meetings; we usually had a short program or guest speaker and a well-supported "show & tell" table.

Since I've become an empty-nester I've started building more again, but haven't had the motivation to find another chapter to join.  Quite frankly, I don't feel like driving an hour or more to attend a meeting.  Maybe someday after I'm retired and not working full-time.

Mark 

Umm...don't know about the rest of the country, but here in central Texas the IPMS reps at the local shows offer a free kit with signup or renewal.

So I basically see it as a 1/32 Trumpy F4F-3 for $25...

Al's pretty much nailed it...face-to-face interaction beats online tutelage in just about every case.

Also an IPMS member - President of my local chapter!

Vance - you're always welcome to come to one of our meetings. I think the drive might be a bit extreme, though...what are we looking at, 4 hours? 5?

Nope, there is a local club starting up in my area now though, not sure if there are any IPMS connections or not.

Rob Gronovius

 

 

The biggest advantage to being a member of the national IPMSUSA is that they provide the blanket insurance policy for shows put on by local IPMS clubs. Without it, putting on local shows would probably be too cost prohibitive for local clubs if they had to provide the insurance themselves.

Without people joining the national organization, they would not be able to provide this service and the number of shows would decline. While being a member is not a requirement to participate in a show, if no one was a member, there would be no money to fund the insurance policy.

Another thing the organization does in terms of shows is to standardize how things are judged. While judging varies from show to show because of individuals involved, if you know the standards from your club in NJ and decide to go to a show in PA, you're pretty sure of what the standards will be there.

Good point!  And, I believe I knew that too.  Thanks for the reminder.  Maybe I will re-up one day.

I'd recommend both joining IPMS and at least attending a few contests even if you don't enter them.  The IPMS Journal has improved markedly through the years, and is now a nice magazine.

I never fail to get new modeling ideas when I attend a contest or show.  And, by evaluating my work against what else is on display, I see my strengths and weaknesses, showing where I need to improve my work.

I've been in IPMS for over 20 years and a member of one or another local club for 30 years. As Rob said, the current iteration of the Journal is on par with just about any modeling magazine out there, and if you consider the dues your subscription fee,  it's reasonalby economical, less than half the cost of a typical new 1/48 aircraft. 1/35 tank or 54mm figure.

Membership in a local club is far more helpful in growth than any on line site. You can develop a relationship with better modelers who can act as mentors. Face to face communication and critique are far better than posting on a website and getting either know it all my way or the highway comments, do what you please, it's your hobby/money or endless attaboys for mediocre work (kind of like a jubilee for a queen whose main achievemant has been to remain upright and taking nourishment.)

If you are looking to improve your skills, consider attending a few contests and judging, even if you don't enter. This is a crash course in what makes a good model.

 I just double checked your post. You're in the Atlanta area. From what I can tell, that is a modeling hub with very active IPMS, AMPS and figure clubs. The figure group there is quite active and I've befriended one of the women who attends the Valley Forge figure show each year. The put on one of the biggest US figure events each February and now have piggy backed with the local AMPS club for a, as Ed Sullivan used to say, "really big shew" each February. If I were in youyr shoes, I'd look them up forthwith. One or more of your local geoups sponsoredtehr IPMS Nationals a couple years ago.

Echo139er

I used to be both local and Natl. back in the late 80s.  Now I belong to a non-IPMS club.

I can't say I see the benefits in being part of IPMS.

The biggest advantage to being a member of the national IPMSUSA is that they provide the blanket insurance policy for shows put on by local IPMS clubs. Without it, putting on local shows would probably be too cost prohibitive for local clubs if they had to provide the insurance themselves.

Without people joining the national organization, they would not be able to provide this service and the number of shows would decline. While being a member is not a requirement to participate in a show, if no one was a member, there would be no money to fund the insurance policy.

Another thing the organization does in terms of shows is to standardize how things are judged. While judging varies from show to show because of individuals involved, if you know the standards from your club in NJ and decide to go to a show in PA, you're pretty sure of what the standards will be there.

I used to be both local and Natl. back in the late 80s.  Now I belong to a non-IPMS club.

I can't say I see the benefits in being part of IPMS.

Was a member of National and local in the 1970s thru early 1990s.

Did not re-up when I left the hobby.