The Central South Carolina "Wildcats" Chapter of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society (AMPS) held their Inaugural show yesterday, and it was quite a hit. We held the show in conjunction with the Midlands Chapter of the South Carolina Modeling Association (SCMA) at the Basketball Gym on Ball Park Road in Lexington, SC. SCMA is a statewide group with several Chapters, and they cater to all modeling genres and skill levels. AMPS is an International group of modelers who share a passion for armored vehicles from all eras. Again, they are not all "Master Modelers" (what does that mean, anyway? A post for another time, maybe?), but they share the interest in armor. Yesterday's show was split–the autos, ships, and airplanes were entered into the SCMA show and judged per SCMA rules (Popular Choice), and the armor and figures were entered into the AMPS show and judged accordingly.
If you're not aware, AMPS judging is different from most. Rather than do a comparative judging against the other models that showed up, each model gets judged to an established standard and is scored to that same standard. There are different skill levels (Junior, Basic, Intermediate,a nd Advanced), but the judging practice is the same–the basic assembly carries the most weight, and a construction flaw that may warrant a comment to a Basic modeler can take away a point from an Advanced modeler. There is a flow to an AMPS show…
The modeler carries their models to the registration desk. There, they pay their admission fee and check their models in. An AMPS member looks over the forms and assists the modeler is getting entered in the proper category. This person is the Ramrod. Once the models are entered, they go onto a tray and are placed in the staging area. Once a judging team is ready, the model goes to the judging station. The judges will asses the model, assign a score, then call a runner to pick the model up and place it onto the competition display tables. With a small show such as the one held yesterday, it may still take five or six hours to judge all the models–it is most definitely a labor-intensive process.
Each model is eligible for a Field Award in the form of a Bronze, Silver, or Gold medal. Medals are awarded according to the Skill Level of the modeler and the score the model receives. Other awards in the form of Category Bests are also bestowed, and they usually go to Intermediate and Advanced modelers only. In the case of a Regional Show, though, depending on what shows up, it can be opened to all models. From those Category Bests, the Judges Best of Show is decided. In the case of yesterday's show, a Theme Award was also up for grabs.
For an Inaugural Show, we did well–a total of 26 participants entered 75 models, with another 20 Display Only and Works in Progress on display. Sixty one medals were awarded. Not too shabby for a first effort…
The SCMA show also did well, with over 300 models entered and/or displayed. Again, nice effort!
As you can see, our Theme was "Mideast Turmoil: Past and Present". The Theme covered one of the most intriguing areas of the world from a geopolitical standpoint, and one of my favorite research areas.
The Registration desk, with our honcho Mike Roof working the desk. His wife Sheila was a great help, too, performing the Registrar duties all day.
Fortunately, the Carpet Monster went hungry yesterday…
It looks quite now, this is the Judging Pit before the show.
This means you!
And what is a model show without vendors? Although it was a small vendor's area, the pickings were pretty good, and the prices were, too!
Some of the work on display:
Mike Reaves' magnificent Tamiya Matilda in 1/35 scale. I judged this one, and it was a spectacular build. This model took Judges Best in Show.
David Varetonni's 1/35 scale ASLAV took the Theme Award.
Two judging teams in action. At the height of the show, we had three four-man teams judging models at a fairly pedestrian rate of a model every ten minutes. AMPS usually likes to have a rate of one model every six to eight minutes, but there were a fair number of new judges working (yours truly included). If the number of models had increased, we would have been quite busy trying to get everything judged by the end of the day…
I build primarily 1/35 scale armor, and I give huge props to the guys who work in the smaller scales. Here's a 1/72 (?) Italian L/33-35. The builder of this one gets extra props, since there are too few of us who build Italian subjects…
Our own Jeff Nelson has been working on building an accurate Abrams in 1/72 scale, and has been since the Chapter formed a year ago. Amazing…
And to prove that 1/72 scale is "easy", Jeff is working on a pair of Tigers in 1/144 scale. He's added a bunch of detail from scratch on these two, including headlights complete with the wiring.
I'm not a fan of German WWII subjects, but this 1/35 scale King Tiger was nicely built and won Best German subject. The Ing Tiger is one of those I will build, and I hope mine turns out half as good.
Our own Mike Roof is a man of many talents–this German NCO in 1/35 scale won Best Figure. I can't paint 120mm figures as well! I have a lot to learn…
That's Mike Roof on the left (gray shirt) and AMPS National Chief Judge Mike Petty on the right (tan shirt). Mike Petty came down to present a Judges Certification course to us, and was a great help all around. Here, Mike Roof presents Mike Petty with a signed copy of our sho poster in appreciation for his help.
What the hard work yesterday in the Judging Pit was all about–several Wildcats were confirmed as Certified AMPS Judges. Thanks to Mike Petty for making it possible!
I can't wait for next year's show…
Thanks for reading. Be good to one another, and I bid you Peace.