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I.P.M.S. - Milton Keynes |
Jan 27, 2003 |
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On Sunday, January 27th 2003, I visited Bletchley for the Milton Keynes IPMS "Modelkraft"
show. This annual one-day event is normally the first big meet of the year and
I anticipated a big turn out. The show is held in the main hall of the Bletchley
Leisure Centre whose lofty ceiling provides a light airy atmosphere for the proceedings.
On arrival, however, I felt the scene was somewhat subdued. Although there was
a sizeable gathering of traders and people, there seemed to be little of the eager
hustle and bustle of other shows which I visited towards the back-end of last
year. This may be due to the fact that the event was brought forward by one week
from it's normal spot on the callendar. Whatever the reason, I got the distinct
impression that some of those present - and perhaps many who weren't - were still
feeling the after effects of too much Christmas pud!
 As
you might expect, many of of the regional chapters of the UK IPMS were out in
force - their tables adorned with examples of their work which spanned a variety
of different genres. There was also a good showing by several Special Interest
Groups (SIGs). On one table was an eyecatching collection of huge meccano vehicles,
many with working lights and motors. I was also particularly impressed with the
Northampton Boat Builders Club, who had brought with a them a wonderful "fleet"
of vessels of all shapes and sizes. The centre piece of the display was a massive
model of the RMS Titanic - which must have been approaching 6 feet in length!
At the top of the hall was a table manned by several local representatives of
the Miniature AFV Association - know as MAFVA. This non-profit making organisation
promotes AFVs and their associated equipment through their bimonthly publication
the Tankette. Each issue contains photographs and drawings of AFVs as well as
articles, tips, book reviews and even multi-view scale plans. Sadly, I'm not yet
a member of the group but that didn't stop the chaps manning the table from engaging
me in several minutes of lively banter. I left them only after making a mental
note to fill in my application form at the next available opportunity.
Towards the end of the day I went off in search of the competition tables accompanied
by Simon Farrugia from Great North Roads. The quality of the work was very good.
What's more Simon was pleased to see that several of the vignettes and dioramas
included items from his own range of scenery. My eye was drawn to the number of
different "Hollywood" inspired pieces on display, including a large
diorama from Aliens and a full scale representation of Jack Nicholson's
maniacally grinning face appearing through the door in the famous scene from The
Shining!
I certainly enjoyed my day out at Bletchley simply wandering the aisles and observing the fine work of others! To view some of my favorite images, click on the thumbnails below.
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