ipms uk column
http://www.ipms-uk.co.ukWWW.SAMPUBLICATIONS.COMA Hobby for All
presented by john tapsellI
was recently asked to write
a guest article about IPMS (UK)
to be published in Tankette, the
magazine of one of our
fellow modelling societies – MAFVA. The two
organisations are of similar age but are very
different in terms of size and style. Despite that,
there is a lot of communication between the two
organisations since we are both in the business
of promoting modelling as a hobby and not least
because there are many IPMS members who
are also MAFVA members – myself included.
In fact, a number of the current IPMS (UK)
Executive Committee are long term MAFVA
members, a reflection of our abiding interest in
military vehicles.
It seemed a fairly straightforward task at first.
After all, I’ve been writing this monthly column
extolling the virtues of IPMS (UK) for nearly ten
years so how difficult could it be to do a single
one for Tankette? However, the more I tried to
put my thoughts in order and compile a suitable
piece of prose, the harder I realised it would be.
The advantage of the SMMI column is that I can
concentrate on a single aspect
in each column, knowing
that I can cover something
else the following month. The
Tankette article needed me to
pull everything together into
a one-off column of similar
length.
The difficulty was in part
that I was addressing an audience that already
understands the concept and value of belonging
to a wider organisation. If you don’t believe in
that concept to begin with, you are unlikely to
join any modelling society, let alone IPMS. There
are however differences. I’ve already alluded to
MAFVA’s focus on military vehicles so what value
is there in talking about an organisation like
IPMS, which is seen as a fundamentally aircraft-
oriented society? The answer is to continue to
break down barriers. More importantly it’s about
ensuring those barriers don’t build up in the first
place. Modelling can be a very solitary hobby
for many people, often by choice rather than
necessity. However, for those of us who prefer the
social aspect of the hobby and seek out clubs and
shows as a major part of enjoyment, it shouldn’t
lead to a polarisation of attitudes. We are not,
thankfully, talking about opinions or beliefs. It
should not matter if a modeller prefers to build
aircraft or tanks (or ships, cars etc.) or indeed a
mix of all those types. Neither should it matter
what scale they build in. There is room in the
hobby for everyone, at every level, of every ageand of every interest. Sadly, there are always a
minority who seem to make it their business to
try and differentiate where none is needed. They
have found a nice little niche that represents what
the hobby should be, must be to them and any
modeller who doesn’t follow that path is seen
as a lesser being. Because IPMS has always been
a general modelling society that supports scale
modelling in a broad sense, we are perhaps less
prone than some to suffer such characters, but
we can never be entirely free of them. I’m sure
you’ve all come across such individuals – the scale
police, the detail police and
the paint police. The thing is
I’m all for doing the best you
can, getting the detail right
when you can and making
the finished model look fairly
realistic, but at the expense
of fun or enjoyment? No,
there’s a balance to be had
and sometimes that gets lost in that desperate
need for perfection that some modellers seem to
be driven by.
Much of my role as Publicity Officer is to
promote IPMS as an organisation but as I’ve said
before in these columns, without the grassroots
modelling community, we would not have a pool
of potential members to attract. Therefore, I see
my wider role as promoting the hobby as a whole.
There are other national modelling organisations
in the UK and overseas, as well as a broad
selection of independent clubs. That strikes me as
healthy. It offers modellers choice, not just about
whether they join a Society, but also a choice of
clubs and societies to join.
The broader purpose of my work is also
to attract more people to modelling because
without new blood, the hobby is destined to
wither and fade away. IPMS has long had a belief
that attracting junior modellers is important
to us. We know we are likely to lose them when
they hit their teens, but we take a longer view. By
sowing the seed at an early age, we are more likely
to find them returning to us as adults in fifteen
to twenty years’ time. The question is more
about how we present the hobby to a younger
age group – a hobby that requires patience and
care to achieve great results rather than an online
experience that often offers more short-term
gratification. Despite that, modelling has always
had to compete with other hobbies pastimes
for attention and in some ways the challenge we
face is no different now than it was twenty to
thirty years ago. The challenge is to find the most
effective way to fight for that attention.Membership
Details
Membership of IPMS (UK) ofers you six high
quality magazines per
year; access to our decal
bank, instruction library
and technical advisory
service; discounts at a
number of well-known
retailers, including
online traders and free
entry to Scale Model-
World. Membership is
open to anyone, regard-
less of skill level and
with no requirement to
belong to a Branch.Membership Secretary:
For further information about IPMS (UK) please
write to Membership Secretary, enclosing three
irst class stamps. You will receive an informa-
tion pack including a complimentary copy of
our in house magazine within ten days.IPMS (UK) Membership Secretary
45 Havisham Drive, Swindon, SN25 1SL
[email protected]Membership Subscription Rates
UK Membership is now £23 per year
European is £30
Rest of the World is £35
Adult members may add family members living
at the same address at a cost of £5 each for the
irst two, free thereafter.
We also ofer a UK Junior membership for
people under eighteen which costs £10.
You can also now join online at
http://www.ipmsuk.co.uk/join.phpPlease enclose a stamped, self-addressed enve-
lope or International Reply Coupon in all postal
correspondence if you require a reply.IPMS (UK) Website
The Society has an online presence at http://www.
ipms-uk.co.uk which provides information on
all our Branches, Special Interest Groups, Events
and Executive Committee as well as details of
how to join us. We also maintain a web forum
accessible from the website. The forum is open
to IPMS Members and non-members. Anyone
can view the forums, but you must register
online before you can take part in them.
http://www.ipmsuk.co.uk
http://www.smwshow.com53