Interested in possibly join a club and need feedback.

I belonged to a local IPMS club when I first moved to Sarasota 30 years ago.  We had well-attended monthly meetings that always included a extensive "show & tell".  The club also did several exhibition shows at local malls and other venues during the year.  I enjoyed my time as a member.

Unfortunately as the senior members & leaders literally died off, none of the younger members wanted to pick up the reins.  Membership fell off and the club eventually folded.  

The situation wasn't helped by the closure of several of the remaining local hobby shops about the same time.

The nearest club now would be about an hour's drive for me to attend.  Not something that appeals to me.  Maybe when I eventually retire and have more time.

Mark

Asking about the local clubs at your LHS is an option.  If there are several clubs in area, folks at LHS may be able to recommend the one that best fits your interest.

Yes, with today's internet and social media, there has got to be a way to get together a group of like minded enthusiasts easily. It just takes a bit of time to do the start up.

About 5 years ago, I started looking at the posts on here where guys tell where they are located.  I found 2 within 1/2 hours drive. Then I started seeing pics in the photo gallery of FSM from guys in my area and posts in the comments and tips sections.  One by one, I looked them up in the phone book or on the internet and got in touch with them.  We now get together once a month for meetings at each others homes and we have been going to shows and contests together. We don't have an "official" club but we are all IPMS members too.  I don't know for sure, but there should be a way to check the IPMS site for a way to get a list of  members in your area.  

Between the members of the Forum and the guys in our little group, I have learned soooooooo much and I've been building for 68 of my 74 years.

Jim  

Sad to hear that some here tried to join a modeling club or group in the spirit of the hobby only to find it something vastly different than what's advertised. Like stikpusher, I joined a club- the Southern Maine Scale Modelers in my case- that's all about the promotion and spirit of the hobby. I first joined in 1990 and thought I'd died and gone to model heaven. Due to various life events (marriage, divorce, relocation-within the state) my membership had lapsed, but not my interest. Upon attending one of their local contests almost 10 years ago,  a longtime member of the club and passionate purveyor of the hobby talked me into rejoining the club. The rest is history and I have no regrets.

Dave

Stik, if I lived where you are, I'd join your local IPMS club. :)

Pretty much. Any club is the sum total of its' members, either good or bad. If they are into their model making, the club will reflect that. If it is a group of guys who happen to build models but don't really meet about that, the club will reflect that instead. If the clubs that I joined were the latter. I would not have stayed more than a few meetings to be sure that they were not for me. It is a shame when a club about one thing becomes something else and strays from its' true intent. If you have a LHS, see if you can form your own club with similar like minded modelers. Put up a flyer and meet at the local library or some similar locale.

I guess it depends on the group where you're at. It could be good or really bad. I joined an RC club once and they weren't very helpful to newbies to the hobby. Then I tried a local model group  and it was more of the same with different faces. Mostly crotchety old men who sit around and trash talk their spouses and tell off color jokes. Not my thing. I learned the lesson and won't do it again. Belive it or not some of us adults act like adults.

The internet is a great thing. Everything you could want to learn you can on forums and facebook groups. you can steer clear of the bad ones and ignore what doesn't appeal to you. It isn't really great if you need verbal validation and thattaboys for your work but you may not get that with a club either.

Of course Im sure there are groups that aren't just outlets for adolescence.

About 2 years ago I joined a small "Special Interest Group" called SAC (Southern Air Craftsmen) HERE IN Pensacola, Florida. It is an Aircraft-specific SIG spin-off of the local IPMS chapter. Unlike many clubs I've heard of, this group actually builds MODELS! We've done a few group builds, and won some group build awards--the most recent was an in-flight USAF Thunderbirds display that is now featured on Revell's web page!

I have learned SO much from these guys...future, canopy masking, sprue goo, etc. My modeling has gotten worlds better, and I have a few awards to my name now. I'm glad I joined the local club. We meet once a month at the LHS, and we get into some DEEP discussions about aircraft history, paint colors, campaigns, new kits, etc.

IF YOU CAN FIND A LOCAL GROUP, THEN GO FOR IT!!!!

I joined the local IPMS chapter after visiting a meeting on the invitation of a member here. BEST decision I have ever made related to model building. I have learned so much from the other guys there that it kicked my skills up several notches since then. That in turn led to joining the local AMPS chapter. I can't speak for other clubs, but between the two of them, I have learned so much to take and use for my own model building. Go check out your local club(s), see what they have to offer, and decide for yourself.  

Ditto what the Doog said.  I tried a club here, and after attending for a year, realized that only 2 people knew my name.  There was a core inner clique of a few members who pretty much ignored the rest of us more recent arrivals.  They spent most of the time talking about unrelated topics and organizing shows and contests.  So I bid them adieu…..

I first joined a club or should I say just got together with some kids from school at his house.  Later I joined, for  a short time, a club at school and decided to join I.P.M.S. in about 1967 until I got drafted a few years later.

I joined my first actual I.P.M.S. club in 1975 while assigned to Littlerock A.F.B.  We held a monthly meeting and contest at the local hobby shop just outside the base and had good times competing and learning new ideas and techniques.  

Later I joined the Shogun chapter of .I.P.M.S. at Okinawa as well as the club at Minot A.F.B. in North Dakota and nowhere in Orlando.  

Clubs can be very helpful in developing your skills and knowledge about building as well as the subject you are interested in. Building by yourself can kill time, but with a club you can show your work, get reference material for a project.  Like Doog said above you can learn a lot on the forums, but you can also learn a lot by talking to builders in person and you can never tell what will come next.

By all means look for a club in your area, go to a meeting or two and give it a chance.  

If you don't like it stop, but keep checking their site for contests.

BlackSheep

Looked up both the Las Vegas IPMS and the IPMS/S what ever that is, unfortunately I work during the days and times that they meet, now I'm not ruling them out. I'm just trying to see what my options are. Is there any IPMS members here that would be willing to answer some questions?

I briefly joined a club once and found out that it was really just a "pizza and talk sports away from the wives and kids once a week" club without much modeling or actual sharing of technique going on. I have actually learned more on forums like this than I could have learned there.

Try looking into a local IPMS club in Vegas.