2013 IPMS USA National Convention Report

by Al Magnus

The IPMS USA Nation Convention ran from August 14 through August 17, 2013. The venue was the J.Q. Hammons Conference Center in Loveland, Colorado just north of Denver. This was my second IPMS USA National Convention, the first being the 2011 Convention in Omaha, Nebraska. With some experience under my belt my time was more focused and the convention much more relaxing. While I spent much of my first convention flitting from place to place trying to take it all in, for this convention I spent more time in the contest room, checking out the vendors tables and taking in a few of the seminars. Immediately following registration and the placing of my entries on the tables I hurried to the vendor rooms to see what was available, especially with regards to 1/72 scale armour. Much to my surprise, and unlike 2011, there was a lot available. My plan was to peruse the tables quickly and then cherry pick the kits I wanted, but that plan went by the wayside as soon as I got to one of the vendors and discovered John Shimek with an armload of kits. Turns out John had got into the vendor rooms well before I had, and was busily buying up most everything this vendor had available, piling away kits into a box of better than modest proportions. Prices were great and obviously marked to get the kits out the door quickly. Well like a shark in a feeding (or should I say buying) frenzy I soon found myself in possession of a half dozen Ace artillery kits for the very modest price of $4.00USD each, along with a few other kits with prices well under half of what I'd pay back home in Canada or buying through eBay. I did restrain my spending somewhat and after my initial purchases I only bought a few more kits, mostly newer releases that didn't look like they'd be reduced much by show's end. The majority of my convention was spent cruising through the display room, checking out the new entries as they slowly trickled in, and hobnobbing with anyone interested. Like 2011, the majority of the entries didn't show up until later, and by the end of the registration period the tables were pretty much covered. Many of the tables, such as the 1/35 scale armour and 1/48 scale aircraft were crammed with models, packed together like sardines in a can. A quick count by me and Bill Powers tallied some 300 plus entires in the various small scale armour categories. Most impressive! On one of my cruises through the contest room I bumped into Mark Deliduka, a man I knew would be at the contest and someone I dearly wanted to meet. When I did eventually find him I learned that he'd brought over 100 entries on his own, which apparently put just a small dent into his collection still sitting at home. His Dora gun was an absolutely commanding presence on the table, even in 1/72 scale! As for the contest, and specifically the small scale armour, the models on the table were impressive once again. Without a doubt small scale armour is doing quite fine and the models on the table showed how well a small armour piece can be built. My personal favourites on the tables were Bill Powers' UN M3 scout car and scratch-built Sd.Kfz 247B, and Mike McFadden's DUKW, the latter two snagging awards. Speaking of awards, the presentation ceremony was as entertaining as it was in 2011. Unlike many of the other categories, where you hear the same names repeated often as winners, the small scale armour categories winners were spread out much more (though Mike McFadden did walk away with three trophies). I think this is a good sign that small scale armour is vibrant and one that has many capable builders entered making it tough to walk away with an award.