Scale aviation modeller international

20 Lightning Strike

MENG 1/48 F-35A Lightning

II by Jared Demes

66 Civil Matters

Valom 1/72 DH.91 Albatross

(RAF) by PeteR Barker

28 The Big Project

The First part of the

1/16 Scale Artesania

Latina Fokker Triplane

by Tim Upson-Smith

I

tend to use shows as my

benchmarks for the year,

as I quite literally build my

year around the show schedule.

The year starts on the 28th of

January in Bolton before really

getting going with the spring

season, starting with the

Southern Expo at Hornchurch.

This is followed in short order by

models shows at Poole, Cosford,

and Hinckley, before ending

with ModelKraft XXL in Milton

Keynes at the end of April.

As we move into summer we

have Model Brno in the Czech

Republic in June, then the US

Nationals (or as I call it, “the

travelling show“ due to it never

being in the same place twice,

or at least not without a large

gap between return visits).

Autumn starts in September

with E-Day in Prague and

the Brampton Model show,

before we run into the biggest

and best model show in the

world – of course, I am talking

about the IPMS UK Nationals

Scale Modelworld at Telford in

November. Finally, we finish with

Plastic Winter in Bratislava at the

very end of November, and these

are just the main highlights; in

between we have many smaller

shows up and down the UK.

All of these things have

one thing in common: YOU,

or at least people like you!

All of these shows are

organised by volunteers from

clubs and organisations across

the country. None are organised

as profit -making events (though

many do raise money for local

charities and hospices), but this

year at many events across the UK

there was one thing missing...

You!

Or at least modellers like

you. Most shows have no trouble

filling their venues with tables

of wonderful models supplied by

clubs who travel across the country

to attend, and traders ready to sell

you everything you need to pursue

your hobby. Unfortunately, though,

in 2018 the model show season

to date has been disappointing,

with a large drop in the number

of paying customers coming

through the doors at nearly

every show I have attended.

The reason why is hard to

pin down, but after a long hard

winter that lasted well into the

spring season, many stayed

indoors. Then we had a really

good spring and summer, and I

fully understand the attraction

of staying outdoors in one of

those rare blue-sky summers

that are so infrequent in the UK.

Also of course, money has been

far tighter than in recent years, and

with Brexit looming we can expect

this to continue for a few more

years. But this lack of numbers

has had a knock- on effect, in that

many shows are struggling to

survive! Therefore, just like your

local model shop, it is now a case of

use it or loose it, probably forever.

I will end this month’s editorial

with a big “Thank You” to all the

individuals at clubs across the

country that have put in hours

of organisation and some quite

large financial outlays to put on

the shows in 2018; and if you are

planning on putting on an event

in 2019, please tell us about it!

You would be amazed by how

many events seem to operate in

stealth mode, then tell me just a

couple of weeks before the event!

All you have to do is email

the Editor at david@

sampublications.com at least

four months in advance, and

we will advertise your event

in our show diary for free.

David Francis, Editor

[email protected]

Images of the Finished Model

courtesy of Artesania Latina

4 • NOVEMBER 2018 • SCALE AVIATION MODELLER INTERNATIONAL

WELCOME

Scale Aviation Modeller International

November 2018 • Volume 24 • Issue 11

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