¶ Show Season Kickoff
all right , mojovia show season is in full swing now . Oh man , is it ever .
Uh , not only are you going to get to be at your first contest for the year . The spring and the fall are just the model show seasons , and we are really hitting the stride in spring .
Well , we'll talk about us at the end , but we got a couple on opposite ends of the country to feature tonight and they both sound like fairly sizable shows compared to what we're used to .
Yeah well , I would love to attend either one of these shows .
Well , I'd really like to attend the first one , because it's in sunny Florida , down in the greater Tampa area , held by the Pelican Model Club down there in the Tampa area , and it's a Pelican 2025 . So let's see what that's all about , dave . Okay , see what that's all about , dave .
Okay , dave , we got a double header this month for the show Spotlight , and our first one is coming from sunny Florida . We've got Mr Don Berger from the Pelican Model Club with us down in the greater Tampa area . Don , how are you doing tonight ? Oh , pretty good .
It was a beautiful sunny day . I was out on the balcony . Actually a little too hot , 83 degrees .
Well , you know what ? It was rainy here , but at least it's been warm the last few days . But I got to tell you Tampa , St Pete , is one of my favorite parts of Florida . I love the place .
We're west of Tampa but we have Dunedin and Safety Harbor and all these places that are beaches . The spring training is going on here right now and it's just . Even with the hurricanes . They get that stuff and put it back into order quicker than the whistle .
Yeah .
Well Don ? We hear you're hosting a show down there coming up in the coming month . Yeah , why don't we start off by you introducing yourself and your role with the club and maybe a little bit about your modeling background , and then we'll get right into the who , what and where of the show ?
Okay , yeah , I'm originally born in Detroit and lived there in junior high onwards . After I went to my high school , I joined the Toledo Modeler Group there . That was an IPMS chapter and we put on conventions and things .
I went to the original used to go to the original squatter shop in Detroit in John R and 9 Mile Road or whatever People are familiar with that . Oh yeah , john R and .
Nine Mile Road or whatever , people are familiar with that .
Oh yeah , I was in there almost 20 years and left because I was building architectural models . You weren't going to build tanks and airplanes when you're doing that for a living . So I kind of quit modeling for a while . But then I moved down to Florida in 2008 , basically and eventually joining the Pelican Model Club , and we have a pretty large membership .
We average 35 folks at the meetings . We have about six women in our club too , and they all build one-painting flats and they go to that Atlanta show .
Those are impressive . People who can do that are really talented .
We were involved , I think , in the 1999 Nationals in Orlando and then our club put on the 2012 Nationals in Orlando at Disney World there .
Great .
Nationals . People say that I was actually in the club at that time , but I went Sunday to the show and then it was like a whirlwind . You couldn't take it all in . I wish I had done the entire weekend . I had quit modeling and then I picked it up the worst way when I moved down here . I had nine kids to my name
¶ Pelican Model Club Show Preview
and now I have over 200 .
Yeah , that seems to be a common theme I have more tools modeling tools than I do models . I probably do as well . Well , tell us about your show coming up , when is it , and all that .
It's April 26th . We got a new venue this year . It's St Lawrence Higgins Hall . It's basically a Catholic school , middle school , elementary school , but they have a hall that is all of them is just 10,000 square feet . Beautiful place out there . And I don't know if you're familiar with Florida , but we have a number of conventions that happen during the year .
But we have a number of conventions that happen during the year . Jaxcon just happened about two weeks ago , three weeks ago , and they got 150 entrants and 551 models in their contest . We kind of trade every other year with Space Coast and us because we don't do one every year .
There's Pamscon in June , then there's the Nationals , then there's Modelpalooza in Orlando come October . So after COVID hit , we kind of went from two-day affairs to one-day shows . They seem to be the trend these days and it's gold , silver , bronze . That's what Jacksonville does .
I think a lot of people are going toward that where every model if you would bring in five models , they would all be judged on their merit and out of words as such Seems to be really successful people like that .
We have 27 categories and 11 special awards , including Judge's Bestest Show , one of our founding members , the club founded in 1970 , 72 , something like that Charlie Hess . He was featured in the latest IPMS journal and he passed away just real , suddenly out of the blue .
So then we have a US Marine Aircraft Special Award and then one of our members worked for the Artemis program with NASA and he was a Marine helicopter pilot . 35th anniversary , desert Shield , desert Storm .
So it's Saturday from 9 till till 6 and there'll be a food truck there and we expect I know it's hard to say , you know things have picked up since COVID and the main theme I'm sorry the main theme is lights action , camera action , so it's anything that's related to movies or TV is the theme of the show .
And I assume you have a theme award . Yeah , yeah , and I don . You have a theme award .
Yeah , yeah , okay , and I don't you know . Spray Gunner , yes , yeah , well , they're in our backyard here . It's about 15 , 20 minute drive here In 2023 , we did a convention at the Hampton over there in Oldsmar and they were right behind us so they had a cook up for us and prizes and tickets and they're going to be at the show .
There's a book that an employee and a member of ours , nestor , did that big ammo sales . I paint cars and he's going to do a demo .
He's had some amazing work at the national conventions of late . Yeah , he did win a couple of years ago . Yeah , a big , big , big car model .
Yeah , he'll be at our meeting this Monday and so he's going to bring some raffle prizes for for our raffle , which seems to be growing by leaps and bounds , so we're expecting a pretty good show . You know it's in the I-4 corridor all the way down there . That's a problem with Florida . The state is region 11 , but not the whole state .
The west end is in a different region . We're kind of sitting out here by ourselves , right in the middle of hurricanes .
Let's go back to the judging a little bit . You're right , since we've been doing these shows Spotlights and a little over a year now , think dave . I think that's right . We've not been seeking these out , in particular to to find and feature , but it seems like a surprising number , at least to me , have have gone to that format either in part or completely .
And how long have you been doing it that way ?
Well , we canceled a couple of shows during the height of COVID , but we kind of picked it up . This is our third show , I think , using the coins and doing it that way . I prefer that . It's just because it gives everybody a chance . Naturally , not too many golds are given out and there's more silvers and bronze .
You know that way , meet a certain standard of quality , you're gonna , you're gonna walk away with something and , uh , and if you don't meet that , unfortunately you won't . So people were really happy with our last contest and I , I believe , jacksonville , their convention , they just did . Does it the same way ? Um , monopalooza , does the coins too ?
I think they might judge a little differently .
I'm not sure and is that , I guess , attendees ? Now , just that's just the a matter of fact , the way that show's going to be and , uh , just generally accepted without any kind of pushback or anything . I mean , we like it too , but we're curious with the number of shows that have gone this way and everybody seems to be enjoying it .
Yeah , I've literally heard no complaints about that and you know IPMS needs to . I mean , they've talked about it , they've sent out surveys and things . But you know , old ways are hard to die sometimes , you know .
What do your vendors look like at your show ?
Well , we have Cult man TV there .
Okay , well , that's always a good one .
You know , jacksonville gets more of those because they're you know , they're on the border of Georgia there . So we had a real small venue in our last show and we had 40 , 45 vendor tables . We we have 65 and they're the last one sold yesterday , so we're a little more than a month off from the show .
You know it's local people and sometimes others that I say usually call it man . You know , it's really strange because this is the first time when we had an Oldsmart that there were more space sci-fi , gundam models entered , actual models at the tables and there were aircraft and armor and it's like wow , where did that come from ?
Yeah well , the Gundams and sci-fi are becoming really , really popular , as is real space . So you say the show opens at 9 to the public and you're done with judging by when .
Let's see Awards . Well , it says our fly awards at 4.30 , but that probably happened . They're going to judge as soon as models come in . It's not like Amp's style of judging . Well , they kind probably happened . They're going to judge as soon as models come in . It's not like AMPS style of judging . Well , they kind of judge when they come in .
But I think we're going to the judges meetings at noon and we have experts , hopefully in each of their fields there , and then we'll probably , during the awards , just mention the golds and the special awards , because we have to be out of there by a certain time .
The other thing with putting on these conventions in COVID is they're so expensive now To put on a show . You're looking at hall rentals and things and table rentals . You're looking at $5,000 , $6,000 .
if you're lucky , you're looking at $5,000 , $6,000 if you're lucky . Well , and that is that it's one of the things that I can tell you the national faces in trying to get local chapters to bid for the national contest is that we're already priced out of the really big markets .
There's just no way a convention of our size can afford it , and you're right , that trickles down to the chapters . Even though they're using much smaller venues and only using them usually for a day . You still have that problem that prices are going up everywhere .
So that settles down In Florida . Things are really expensive because it's a tourist state . Sure , You've got to find those little nooks and crannies . It's like trying to find a meeting place for your group .
So now does your show have a raffle .
Yeah , we wrote regular manufacturers . We've got a $5 raffleaffle and we got a regular raffle and we might have guest bags and things , hidden bags , or you might win that and there might be a variety of things in there modeling related . Yeah , we're going to have . You know you got to always have the raffle and whatever we're going to have .
You know you got to always have the raffle and whatever . And we're going to have Nestor do the demo and probably do something to do with the books that he wrote .
So yeah , so is that the only demo at the show , or do you have any others going on ?
No , just that one , you know , with a one-day show you're kind of Sure , you're limited , limited .
Most don't have one at all , exactly One day show . So if you've got that as a feature , that's a good thing , that's a plus .
Yeah , no , it's kind of like a regional . I don't know if we really have a regional here , because everybody calls their show a regional and they're all big . I mean PAMS . They do it up by Polk County , that's over by Lakeland , and they throw a huge show in June and they have about 500-some models show up .
We consider all these local shows In Orlando same thing . They do it at a big hotel , expensive hotel in Kissimmee and they always put on a good show Model Palooza .
Well , you said there was a food truck on site . Well , we plan on getting one . Okay , yeah , you're still about a month out . Well , that shouldn't be too tough , but the in the event that's not appealing to everyone or you don't get that worked out , is it convenient to other things ?
well , we will have food at the show one way or another . Um , the vendors have to , you know , be served , and if they're by themselves without somebody helping them out , then that'd be .
Yeah , it's at the northeast corner of Tampa International , and right at that intersection there's a Wendy's there too , so it's not like there's not food nearby , but there you go .
We found a service that will get you a food truck in a certain price range they demand the one my co-chairman there , Ozzy , got , was they need $800 worth of sales and their average food price is like $15 . So if you go 50 times 15 , that's somewhere around $50 . But if we don't make that $800 , then the co-op's got to make the balance .
Ah , okay , interesting . Yeah Be something for folks to keep in mind if they're thinking about food trucks .
Yeah , yeah . And with the popularity of food trucks and I know here in Louisville we've got tons of them . And with the popularity of food trucks and I know here in Louisville we've got tons of them . So you know , you go around .
If you don't like what you hear from one food truck , there are plenty of others and some who are really hungry for business and you can find one of those and they'll meet your needs .
Yeah , just finding one on a Saturday if you do it during a weekday . Yes , weekends are kind of taken sometimes . There'll be food at the site one way or another , even if I have to make peanut butter sandwich and jelly sandwiches .
Well , I'm sure those should be good .
Well , where can folks find information about the show ?
Well , you go to the IPMS website . We're listed as upcoming shows . I'm reading the latest journal . Somehow we missed that deadline of putting our show flyer in there . But you can go to our website , which is the wwwpelicanmodelcluborg and Pelican spelled differently . It's P-E-L-I-K-A , no C but Pelican all one word pelicanmodelcluborg .
And it will take you to a GoDaddy site and one of the first sliders on the side is Pelican 2025 , opening pre-registration . So you can
¶ Gold-Silver-Bronze Judging Format
take care of all that online with credit card or whatever , safely . $15 is pre-registration . Day of the show is $20 . Up to five entries . That includes up to five entries , $5 for juniors and $8 for walk-ins and the date again and place April 26th at St Lawrence Higgins Hall in Tampa , Florida . It's over by the big airport Tampa International .
It's at 5225 North Himes Avenue , Easy to get to . It's not too far from the Hard Rock Casino and I-4 and all those spots .
All right . Well , thanks for joining us and giving us the ins and outs , and we wish you all the success at your show .
Yeah , I appreciate the time and the plug . I've been listening to you . Get down to Florida in April will be able to see what you all had .
Great , fantastic . I will .
Thank you All . Right Don Thanks again , and we wish you all the luck . Okay , thanks for the right Don Thanks again , and we wish you all the luck . Okay , thanks for the opportunity , eric 500 entries is a typical , that's not bad .
That's not bad . And not only that , but Florida in March . I mean , how can you beat that ? Go to a model contest , then go to the beach and grab some seafood .
That sounds awfully nice . Well , they're benefiting from the population density down there , I'm sure , yeah . So , folks , if you're in the greater Tampa area at the end of April time frame , make a point to get to this show .
Yes , absolutely . I mean , why would you not , if you're a modeler , anywhere within decent driving distance , go to the show man , enjoy yourself , Make a weekend of it , Dave .
the next one takes us out to the complete opposite end of the country . Yes , it does Diagonally . Even Yep Up in the Pacific Northwest . We have the Seattle Spring Show from the Seattle Club , seattle IPMS , out there , and if you thought 500 was big , they've got an even bigger one out there for a one-day show .
Yeah , yeah it frankly rivals Heritage Con in size as far as number of entries . Our second one for the evening is going to be the Seattle Spring Show from those guys out on the West Coast , and tonight we've got Mr Martin Pietta with us to give us a little bit of ins and outs . Martin , how are you doing tonight ?
I'm doing great . How about you and Mike and Dave ?
We're good . It's been a little rainy , but you're probably used to that out there .
Oh yeah , it was dumping today .
Well , Martin , we're not too familiar with many of the West Coast shows . Why don't you tell us about your club a little bit first ?
Well , the club's been around since 1962 . It started out with about six to seven people and it was in the history and industry which is now the MOHAI , and , from what I was told that the rooms that they used were geared towards elementary school kids and so wasn't so comfortable to sit down for a meeting .
Little tables and chairs .
Yeah , I mean , I can imagine how that was back in the day . We've done national conventions , from the first one in 1965 , 1972 and 1992 , and currently we are meeting at the bellevue Community Center and we have 140-plus members and we meet the second Saturday of the month starting at 1030 .
That's a good-sized club . That's about the size of our local club here in Louisville . It is , of course , now you've got a much bigger metro area . You've got that huge Seattle or metro area . You've got that huge Seattle . How many IPMS and non-IPMS clubs are there in the Seattle-Tacoma ?
area . We have the one club that I know of that I go to , and then the Northwest Scale Modelers , which you guys are familiar with with Jim and some of the other people , and then there's the Am and I got you . I know there's a couple more like .
There's gundams and there's car groups , but I'm not familiar with those as well gotcha well , sounds pretty well covered , which means it's probably a great place to have a show yes , we have a lot of people that come well , won't you tell us about your show ?
well , some of the the history last year was we had 220 modelers that registered and there was 902 entries that we had . We had a great raffle and lots of vendors , food there and everything else . It was a great show .
Do you always do it around the same time in the spring every year ?
Yes , yes , we do .
And so what's the date this year ?
The date this year is Saturday April 26 . This year is Saturday April 26th . The doors open at 9 am and the awards are at 3.30 and things start to close up right after the awards are issued and we all break our butts to help clean up .
And where is it again ?
It is at the Renton Community Center , which is 1715 Maple Valley Highway , Renton , Washington , 98057 .
Now you all do . You said you try and get the awards done around 3.30 . That's a trend that Mike and I are seeing in a lot of shows where you to be able to make it a one-day show and get back home .
Well , I kind of misspoke , dave . The awards start at 3 , 30 okay , and they do go , but they try and get through them really quickly . It's usually done by 4 or 4.30 . Good , you know they're only doing really the first and second place and you know the main awards that are issued .
That's another trend that Mike and I have seen . Now you're using a fairly traditional IPMS 1-2-3 system with a modified version of the IPMS categories .
It is a traditional IPMS Nationals award , but we don't close the model room , so judges will be walking around working . I haven't had any issues with people and I don't know if we've had any issues . Pretty chill .
That's great .
That's another trend that we are I think Mike and I have observed , as we've been doing these show spotlights is that and I understand why judges wanted closed judging rooms , because there were occasionally issues , but I do think that people have gotten more comfortable and if you leave that room open , I think that really enhances the show for people who may have
arrived right toward the end of registration and want to get a chance to see the models on the tables prior to the award ceremony
¶ Seattle Spring Show Preview
beginning . So I really am happy to see that .
I agree with that , you know , especially when it's a one-day show and people don't have a lot of time to actually see them .
You know .
A lot of times myself I'm running through , or last year I volunteered to take photos of the show and the models out there . I found out yesterday that I'm not even going to be able to make it because we are coming back from visiting my grandfather , who is 100 , and in June will be turning 101 .
That's important .
It is . My wife , gwen was like well , can you do this , can you do that ? I'm like there'll be other shows . Grandpa won't be there forever .
That is the proper attitude and the proper perspective . Good on you . Now you mentioned food at the show . Is there food at the show ? Is there food nearby the show ? Do you all bring in food trucks ? How is that handled for both the vendors and the attending public ?
So there'll be both food at the show and there will be food close by . There's Angel City Deli , which will have coffee and pastries for sale in the morning and lunch . Options include a rib plate , roasted chicken plate or hot dog and Polish sausage . Include a rib plate , roasted chicken plate or hot dog and polish sausage with a variety of sides .
And there's a whole bunch of restaurants nearby too .
Now , where do you all draw from ? I assume you get some folks coming down from Canada and up from California and Oregon and you draw from Idaho and maybe Utah , colorado . What's your general area for attendees ?
The big areas are obviously local here , but the Canadian club comes down and they're always a huge help with volunteering for judging and everything else . Great people One of my first lead judges that I learned from , who's now passed away they would come down and help judge and the organ group is also heavily involved with healthiness .
They're a bunch of great people . You know quite a few of them and they come up and help judge also .
Canadian . Nice is a stereotype for a reason . I've yet to meet a Canadian that wasn't just the most friendly guy on the planet . It's really nice that your club actually gets the folks who are coming from out of town not only to participate in the show I mean enter and all that but also to actually help out , because , man , that can be a big slog .
Now you all are a large club so it's not as bad for you . I know that many smaller clubs , when they put on contests , they struggle with that .
I can just imagine , you know , you do get some people that and I'm sure this happens in a lot of clubs where you have a ton of people , or you have a few people that are doing a ton of work and then you have a few people that are pitching and here and there , but all that adds up to definitely a great show .
You know , everyone kind of gives what they can give . Some they push it a little bit harder . Our show coordinator , rick Taylor , has been doing this for a couple of years , but his wife has said this is the last year .
I understand .
Well , what's your registration process ? Is it all day of , or do you have something online or forms available , or can it be done electronically ? What do you have for your registration system ?
download the form and then you bring it to the contest for registration and the cost of the registration is adult entries are $20 for unlimited , junior entries $5 , unlimited and spectators are $5 . And it's cash only . We don't have a way to take credit cards and so forth , and a lot of the vendors are the same way they want cash only .
So those are the best ways to do that and then , once you have the form , you'll be in line , you'll bring your model through , you'll register and then you can go set your model out on the table in the assigned areas .
So you mentioned vendors . What are your vendors like as far as the number of tables , and have you sold out the show ? Maybe mention one or two of the vendors that may have the larger presence at the show .
So we have 80 vendor tables . There's 67 tables that are sold so far and we have 41 vendors . I guess the sprue man group is planning on bringing 6 000 plus models to sell oh wow . And then we have several other vendors . One of our local model shop stores has not signed up yet . He's usually always there which is skyway models oh yeah we're .
I mean that he'll be there . The vendors are always , there's always stuff to look at and we usually have kinetics there . I don't know if they will be there this year , but there's a ton of models to buy .
Well , good , it sounds
¶ Impressive Model Counts and Vendor Tables
like you need to bring a lot of cash .
You do need to bring a lot of cash .
Good , we could ask about a show theme or , and in addition to that , is there anything else about the show that you would consider unique to what you guys do versus some of the other shows in your region ?
I think it's just that we have a huge amount of models . It's a large show and from there we just don't . You know , we include everyone . There's a lot of Gundam there , there's a lot of dioramas there and fantasy stuff . I'm always impressed with what they had or what different people have .
Last year we had this young kid that he made this anime castle that's on feet . I'd never seen it for , but he scratch , built everything out of like garbage and like yogurt containers and so forth like that . And the paint job that this kid did was so good that even if it had been a kit I would have been impressed .
But knowing that it was garbage was something even more , and I mean you couldn't tell it was garbage . I mean there was rivets and everything like that . So it's amazing to see what these modelers do and see their imagination . You can see new things that these creative people do and it's great .
Now , do you all have any seminars ? Do you put on any seminars at the show while the show's going on ? Any presentations or anything like that ?
There's not presentations at this show . Usually we're leaving that to the Northwest Scale modelers . There is I forgot to mention make and take for the kids .
Great .
So the kids can come in and they can build a model and then take it with them , and that's provided by the club .
I was going to ask .
That's great . All right , it sounds like a really big show for a one-dayer . Yeah , that's maybe . Yeah , that's pretty impressive . We're looking at . Oh gosh , most , of most shows down .
There are like what , Dave , between 300 and 500 , something like that yeah , between 300 and 500 is a typical show , maybe a little larger for a regional , but here in the Midwest 900 is an impressive number of models . 220 modelers showing up is pretty darn good .
I think we had even more right after COVID . Oh yeah , everybody did . It was amazing , everyone pent up and so forth . We usually have a display table also that people can bring , but we're not doing that this year because of running out of room and we had the same issue the last couple of years , gotcha .
But I'm sure if you just have a display , you know something you want to display , not necessarily add it to the thing that makes the room , gotcha .
Well , it sounds like a good one to get to in your area . So let's let folks know one more time when and where , and then let's hear the web address again where they can find information online .
It's Saturday , april the 26th , the doors open at 9 am , contest entries close at 12 noon and it's at Renton Community Center , 1715 Maple Valley Highway , renton , washington , 98057 . And the website is ipms-seattleorg .
Well , I hope you have a great show . I hope you get a really big turnout . I'm sure that between now and April 26 , those remaining 13 or so vendor tables will get sold and I'm sure it'll be a huge success for you .
I'm sure it will be . Usually those tables are gone and people are looking for more and luckily , when talking with the kit mask people last year , they were able to make it down . I don't think they're going to make it down this year .
I haven't talked to them so I don't know but it was really great to meet them and I reached out to them after listening to them on your podcast , and so they've been really great people to talk with .
Kevin and his wife are good people . There's no question . I'll tell you what . We'll see them at Hamilton in a few days , so Mike and I will mention your show to them .
Yeah , definitely . I love Kevin and Janelle . They're really nice people .
Yeah , good people , all right . Well , thank you for joining us . We're happy to help you promote the show and we wish you great success .
One last request when the show have somebody I know you're not going to be able to make it , but have somebody at the show take some pictures and post it on the Plastic Model Dojo on Facebook , so that those of us who can't get to the West Coast can see some of these fantastic models we do actually have photographers .
Normally I would be photographing also with a group of other guys . We do post those on the website and we can put a link on your guys' Facebook .
That would be great , thank you .
All right . Well , thanks again for joining us , and we look forward to hearing how it went .
Sounds good .
Thank you , gentlemen 900 in a one-day show . That's not HeritageCon , that is big , that is .
That is a very impressive show .
I hope we see some imagery from that one . Yeah , after the fact , because I'd really like to see what that looks like . They got some galleries on their website . I need to go back and look at the others .
I would really like to go . You know , tie a trip out to see Jim in with that show , Maybe next year , who knows . We'll see Well .
Dave , by the time this drops , we'll be getting ready to attend our first big show of the year . I've already started packing , man . Well , I don't have a lot to pack , but I guess I've started packing too .
We are going to be up at HeritageCon in Hamilton , ontario , the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum , and we look forward to seeing all our fine Canadian friends and the folks from the Hamilton Club and just seeing an absolutely terrific model show .
And , guys , if there is any way you can get to Hamilton now , keep in mind the show's on Sunday , but if you can get there , go . If
¶ Upcoming HeritageCon & Final Thoughts
I were to name the three most impressive model shows in North America , most impressive model shows in North America , the three that always are just super impressive and a cut place to see the art of figures , which is just so different , so special . The other one that I would throw in is the one here locally which is Wonderfest .
But Mike and I are fans of contests , as you all know . But if you can get to HeritageCon , you should do so . You will not regret it , you will , I guarantee you . You will have a good time .
Well , we will be there .
Yes , we will .
If any of you listening out there in attendance , please come by the table and introduce yourself and say hello , and we look forward to meeting you as well as seeing all our old friends . So yes looking forward to it , man .
Yep , I am too . Well , we'll see how much , how much coverage we can get at the show up there .
Get to a show , folks . It's a lot of fun , it is .