News items
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New SIGs and Branches
Welcome to the following new Special Interest Groups and UK Branches: Airborne Police and Emergency Forces – Worldwide US Navy Warships Doughnut Models Monster Mayhem Scale Fanatics …
Overseas clubs at Scale ModelWorld 2024
22 overseas clubs are now confirmed for SMW 2024 Click here for the full list
Traders at Scale ModelWorld 2024
The list of traders attending Scale ModelWorld 2024 has now been updated. Click here to view the list
Dates for SMW 2025 and 2026
Scale ModelWorld 2025 will be held on 8th & 9th November 2025 Scale ModelWorld 2026 will be held on 7th & 8th November 2026 Click here for more details
Branches and SIGs at Scale ModelWorld 2024
Following the Annual Returns exercise all Branches and SIGs booked for SMW 2024 are now showing on the website. Click here for Branches at SMW Click here for SIGs at…
Seam Tools out of stock
Online sales of Seam Tools are suspended as at 15th May 2024 through shortage of stock. Items may be available at shows where IPMS Executive is present, click here for…
New Executive Members
We welcome Keith Goldsworthy and Mark Sanderson to the executive team. Keith has been co-opted to replace Doug Hughes as Membership Secretary, while Mark has been co-opted to replace John…
SMW 2023 IPMS Belgium judged Best Overseas Display
Congratulations to IPMS Belgium, who were judged to be the best overseas display at Scale ModelWorld 2023. Here they are being presented with a commemorative plaque by IPMS(UK) Overseas Liaison…
Podcast: Rich Middleton and SMW
Scale ModelWorld Manager Rich Middleton has been interviewed by the Just Making Conversation podcast. Rich covers his own background, and gives insights into SMW 2023. Click here for the…
New Glass File available online
The new IPMS(UK) Glass File was launched successfully at Scale ModelWorld 2022, and is now available to purchase online. The Glass File is a sanding file manufactured from tempered glass,…
Change from PayPal to Stripe
As of 1st September 2022 online payments for IPMS(UK) memberships and merchandise will cease to use PayPal. Instead, payments can be made using either a credit card or a debit…
Magazine Index and Magazine History
The latest version of Mike Davey’s index to the IPMS Magazine is now on this site. It is available either sorted by subject, or by date. Mike has also written…
Nic Bavington
Obituary notice at request of family: Nicholas Allan BAVINGTON Sunrise 25/09/1973 – Sunset 29/12/2021 Former pupil of Ousedale School and a man who always thought of Newport Pagnell as home,…
Videos from Scale ModelWorld 2021
A brief introduction to Scale ModelWorld 2021 An overview of Scale ModelWorld 2021 by DSOP (4 mins 54 secs run time)
Your Society Needs You
It may seem a long time away but already we are thinking about the Executive Committee roles that will be up for grabs in 2021. Each member of the committee…
The Social Imperative
We all know that Covid 19 has had a disastrous impact on the model show circuit in 2020 and is likely to have a big impact on the shows in…
Business as Usual?
Although Scale ModelWorld has now been cancelled, it doesn’t mean that the business of operating IPMS (UK) has ground to a halt. Far from it. If anything, not having Scale…
What is Normal?
I was going to talk about the fact that after all the work the EC have been doing in the past few months to get Scale ModelWorld off the ground…
Spilling the Beans
So now you know. There won’t be a Scale ModelWorld in 2020. For several months we continued to work towards the goal of running an event in November that despite…
Celebrating Diversity
Earlier this week I came across a thread on a discussion forum that got me thinking. It’s not a new subject and nor does it generate any real answers, but…
The Need to Belong
‘Why should I join IPMS (UK)?’ is a question I sometimes get asked when I attend model shows and run the IPMS Membership stand. In principle it’s a fairly easy…
A World Gone Virtual
Because I have continued to work from home throughout the current Covid-19 environment, the brief chats that I have colleagues and suppliers at the start of the ‘virtual’ meetings that…
Harnessing the Power of Technology
The IPMS (UK) Magazine is the only communication tool that reaches our entire membership. For this reason, amongst many others, the magazine will remain our primary tool for communicating with…
Planning for the Future
I mentioned last week that although there seems to have been new guidance issued on indoor events and specifically conferences and exhibitions, it doesn’t really change our planning for Scale…
(Not much of) an update on Scale ModelWorld.
I thought I’d provide a quick update on planning for Scale ModelWorld in this blog. To be honest it’s more a case of “nothing’s changed” but a bit of commentary…
The Seam Tools Return
A short blog this week with just one major announcement to make. As mentioned elsewhere on this website I’m pleased to announce that we have now re-opened the online sales…
Overlooking the Obvious
I have have very little to report my blog entry last week. The new edition of the IPMS (UK) Magazine should be dropping onto your doorsteps at the moment so…
The IPMS (UK) Magazine
The next edition of the IPMS (UK) Magazine arrived on my doorstep late last week, so it should be arriving with the wider membership within the next 10 days or…
Update on the AGM and Seam Tool News
Back in March we had to postpone our AGM. Government guidance issued at the time strongly recommended that any company due to run an AGM should either postpone it or…
The IPMS (UK) Network
One of the cornerstones of the IPMS (UK) has been its Branch network, something that has existed almost since the society was formed back in 1963. In more recent years…
Tales of the Unexpected…
Life in IPMS world doesn’t change all that much from week to week so there isn’t a great deal to add to what we’ve already said over the past few…
The March of Time
As I write this blog entry I’m conscious that the show calendar continues to be decimated by the current circumstances. This evening I received notification that one of my favourite…
A Sense of Perspective
I keep seeing the words ‘lock-down project’ or ‘coronavirus project’ cropping up on the various forums and social media groups I frequent and it’s clear that many modellers are using…
The More it Changes, the More it Stays the Same
After several days of slightly eased restrictions I have to say that I haven’t noticed much difference around where I live. The roads are slightly busier and as I type…
Keeping up the Momentum
It should have been the IPMS (UK) AGM this weekend but like so many other events, it’s been postponed until such time as public health guidance allows us to stage…
Planning for Scale ModelWorld
It is perhaps inevitable that as other model shows are cancelled deeper and deeper into the year that the future of this year’s Scale ModelWorld continues to raise its head….
Retail Therapy
With so many model shops closed at the moment and no shows to attend, the opportunities for buying models and all the bits and pieces that go with them is…
A Change is as Good as a Rest
It’s almost four weeks since the UK went into lock-down to try to control the spread of Coronavirus and it’s been a strange few weeks. Working from home means that…
IPMS (UK) Easter Blog
It’s Easter weekend, but not like any other I’ve experienced. To a degree, the first week of lock-down didn’t impose on me quite as much as I expected. I was…
John Tapsell writes: Coronavirus and IPMS (UK)
The last month has seen a seismic change in the traditional modelling schedule for the year. Show after show has been cancelled and club meetings are also now something that…