IPMS(UK) Magazine History

The IPMS(UK) Magazine – ‘By modellers, For modellers’

The Magazine is one of the centrepieces of IPMS(UK) together with the National Championships, the Branches and the SIGs (Special Interest Groups).

The style of the Magazine over time reflects not only the growth of IPMS(UK) and the changes in its fortunes (especially in financial terms) but also mirrors commercial printing developments, the increasing sophistication of the plastic modelling hobby and the depth of research modellers now undertake.

The first 12 issues of the Magazine in 1963/64 were actually newsletters produced from typed wax master sheets used on a Roneo ‘Gestetner’ ink-duplicator which transferred ink on to foolscap (8” x 13”) paper with the ‘printed’ sheets then stapled together by hand.

In Issue 7 of the Newsletter the first drawings/sketches to be included were produced by a volunteer using his firm’s Cyanotype machine to produce traditional engineering blueline drawings using a process based on various chemicals exposed to ultra-violet light.  These large sheets (about 30” x 40”) were then cut to approximate foolscap size and stapled to the back of the printed newsletter.

In January 1965 a recognizable Magazine appeared but still produced by typewriter and Roneo duplicator.  Issues were slightly larger than A5 with a black/white photo on a card cover and each issue was now both dated and had an issue/volume number.  Increasingly sketches, plans and profile drawings were included with the articles as Roneo had now introduced a scanner which cut waxed masters from prepared drawings.

The July 1967 Magazine (7/4) was produced on gloss paper by a commercial printing process and was the first issue to include photographs.  The September/October 1981 issue (5/81) was the first ever issue with a colour page reproducing photos taken at the 1946 Wright AFB Air Fair (P-63, He 162A-2, F4-U and a Ju 290A-7) but it was not until 2001 that a colour page again appeared.

From October 1963 until October 1973 the Magazine was issued each month with a few exceptions when ‘double month’ issues were needed, usually in the summer due to the Editor taking holidays!

At the end of 1972 a special edition of the Magazine appeared for the first time in addition to the normal monthly issues – an International IPMS Special Edition (7/72).  This featured articles previously printed in various overseas IPMS branch magazines and was available to UK members for an additional 17½p!

In late 1973 during the ‘Three Day Week’ crisis with rapidly rising costs, especially postage, the Magazine became bi-monthly and stayed in this format until 2001 when internal IPMS(UK) financial difficulties forced the Committee to further reduce the Magazine to four issues per year.

The Magazine’s 25th Anniversary in 1988 was celebrated by a souvenir issue (5/1988) sponsored by MIL Slides Ltd which had a colour cover and contained a selection of articles taken from early issues.

The bi-monthly Magazine re-appeared in 2005 and with steadily improving IPMS(UK) finances the all-colour Magazine we know today became the norm in 2007.

Various significant historical anniversaries were celebrated with themed issues such as the D-Day theme of May/June 1994 (3/94) and the coverage of Operation Jubilee (Dieppe 1942) in the July/August 1989 (4/89) issue.  The 50th anniversaries of VE and VJ Day in 1995 were celebrated with an additional issue (7/95).

Although not ‘regular Magazines’ the 2001 and 2002 SMW Show Guides included modelling articles as well as the SMW timetable/floorplans and are included in my Index as 5/2001 and 3A/2002. The 2012-2023 Show Guides had no modelling articles but in 2024 and 2025 the SMW Show Guides again contained modelling articles details of which have been added to the Index with the issue numbers 5A/2024 and 5A/2025.

In 2014 the first of three separately printed booklets produced ‘by members, for members’ appeared – a history of the Red Arrows illustrating their Gnats and Hawks.  A booklet detailing Porsche Winners at Le Man was printed in 2015 whilst the history of the Panavia Tornado was covered in 2019.

Mike Davey, June 2026