Hello, every one.
I thought I’d just let you all know just what I’ve been up to lately.
On 3-30-08 I entered a modeling contest in Chicopee Mass. The 18th contest put on by a model club there called Wheels and Wings. Valleycon Scale Model and Figure Exhibition.
It was a great turn out for every thing in model form. All kinds of military stuff like tanks, cannons, dioramas , WWI - WW II and pass wars. Figures no bigger than about 2” high to large figures from war stuff to scifi stuff.
Car, trucks, boats and ships , air craft, of all sorts and sizes.
There was over 20 different categories to enter in so every one was covered no matter what you brought , and 4 classes of building skill levels from Masters , Exert , Novice, Junior. I played it safe with entering the Novice class.
I think the military modeling guys out number the other modeling guys like 5 to 1 .
For me I entered 6 pieces into the Scratch built or Modified figures category , and 2 cars in the Show Car Hot Rods.
For cars I entered my Vending Machine and the Out House. Didn’t win nothing for them. Like I’ve said in the pass, I’m pretty good at it but there are guys that put me to shame with their builds.
For the figures I entered the Super Smitherman dio. Al Smitherman let me borrow it for the contest but then decided to give it back to me cuz he was having a big problem finding some place large enough to display it at his house. He said he mostly wanted it at his home to show it off to his family and friends that came up from down south and church during the holidays
So now I‘m stuck trying to find a place for it here, My wife Kim is already saying , ( yelling ) at me that
“ It isn‘t going there!!!”
Any way the other 5 figures where my wacky Jetson guy , EB Fab Tech , Dirty Motha’s M/C Club gang. ( 3 figures in all of the gang )
Just before judging was to start, we were all told that if anyone had more than one entry in one categories , the models would be judge as a group . That’s where I fell into. I just made it fairer to others so not just one person would win all 4 wins 1 , 2 , 3 , 4. in that class.
Ist place went to a guy who painted up some bust of famous war generals. He was also judge as a group too.
2nd place went to this Chinese guy who’s figure was no bigger that about 2” tall jumping off this Roman like pillar thing . You really needed a magnifying glass to see the detail in his painting of it.
I came in 3rd. As a group
During the day , I heard talk about how big of a turn out they had this year compared to the last two years.. To me that may explain why we the winners where given medals in stead of trophies . It’s a clubs cost thing I guess. It was kinda funny when the first guy got up for his 1st place award . He was handed the medal and had a look on his face like he was thinking “ What the hell is this ? Where’s my trophy ? “
I also saw three guys wearing club shirts taking lots and lots of photos , then giving the memory cards to this other club member to load into his lap top computer. He said they will take the best of the best photos to put into their web site and do some write ups to send out to various magazines. It would be up to the magazines writers when and what time if they will put any thing into their mags. It has been done many time before in the pass.
So all -n-all , it was a good day. I’ll be posting some photos that I took in my photo bucket page soon. I didn’t take photos of all the military stuff but enough of most every thing other.

3-30-08 Valleycon model contest photo link……..
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My model photo link………
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Pser,
I was a bit disappointed with the photos that was posted of my figures in the clubs web site cuz they were taken from a over head view. You can’t see the faces very well in them.
I guess in the next contest I enter , I’ll have to place the models in a more picture taking friendly position.