By Jason Champion

W

hat is an IPMS (UK) SIG?

SIG stands for a Special

Interest Group that

is dedicated to a specific subject

and is officially recognised by the

IPMS. A SIG can be on a specific

vehicle or aircraft like the Tornado

SIG, geographical like the Asian

Air Arms SIG or broad-based like

the Splash SIG, which is dedicated

to flying boats and seaplanes.

If it is related to modelling the

boundaries are set by the SIG itself.

I chose my SIG to cover

everything related to the Spanish

Civil War (SCW), during the period

1934-1940. The conflict itself ran

from 1936-1939, but I extended

this time period to include some

interesting vehicles and planes, as

after the war all remaining aircraft

were re-painted to conform to

the new Nationalist regime. This

included captured aircraft and the

thought of a Messerschmitt Bf

109 and a Polikarpov I-16 flying

in tandem springs to mind...

Modelling-wise, the Spanish

Civil War is most notable for

the huge variety of aircraft that

took part, ranging from bi-

planes of the 1920’s right up to

the Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-3;

this gives the modeller a chance

to build some iconic aircraft in

unusual schemes. As well as the

aircraft, however, my SIG includes

all other aspects of the war: naval,

military vehicles and ground

troops, artillery, and anything

else that can be found in plastic!

I started this SIG to broaden

my knowledge of this important

period, and I welcome modellers

of any skill level to participate.

My approach has been to create

a website and Facebook page

(which I encourage members to

participate in), showing off builds

of models related to the SCW in

any scale, shape, or size. I don’t get

too bogged down in my modelling

by precise details and replicating

every aspect of the aircraft I’m

recreating, which is especially

important given that this period

lacks references in some areas.

Luckily, and maybe surprisingly,

there are a lot of kits available

for aircraft from the SCW. There

are plenty of Bf 109s (obviously),

but thankfully, short run

manufacturers like Special Hobby,

Azur, and RS Models have, over

the years, released more obscure

aircraft like the Hispano-Nieuport

NiD-52 and the Loire 46. This

gives added depth to the subject

and certainly helps with my SIG.

My hope is to create a website

with all the information a modeller

needs on subjects from the SCW.

As well as encouraging others to

post build logs and pictures of

their builds, I also have a section

for research. I find this to be very

interesting, as I like to break down

a particular aircraft or subject

and give a bit of history and

information relating to its time in

the SCW. An example of this would

be the post on Spanish Bulldogs,

where I talk about the eight

Bristol Bulldogs that made it to

fight in Spain for the Republicans,

via the Estonian government!

So, if you have any interest in the

Spanish Civil War, please make your

way to my site and get involved.

http://www.scwsig.wordpress.com

And you can also visit the IPMS

UK website at http://www.ipmsuk.org/

ipms-network/special-interest-

groups/ to see the 100-plus SIGs

that cover many different subjects.

If you don’t find one that covers

your particular interest, then

why not start one of your own!

“SIG STANDS FOR A SPECIAL

INTEREST GROUP THAT IS DEDICATED

TO A SPECIFIC SUBJECT”

SIG

My

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP

78 • NOVEMBER 2017 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

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