# Modelpalooza in Orlando this weekend



## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

The Orlando IPMS group is hosting their annual Modelpalooza 2011 contest this weekend in Orlando at the Wyndham resort out on International Drive. I am going over and entering the contest but will be driving home each day rather than getting a room for the night. And I was wondering if Frank will be setting up a Moebius booth in the dealers room as he is only about 50 miles away? So Frank, are you going to make it? I will have my Dracula and Hornet this Wednesday but unless I can live in my workshop for 2.5 days there is no way I could enter them that quickly. I have plenty of other things I've built over the last year so will have at least 10 entries anyway.

http://www.ipmsorlando.com/index.php?topic=1033.0

Bob K.


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## Els (Mar 13, 2011)

I can't go on Saturday, but I am going to try and check it out on Sunday.
Els


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

First show I have been to in a couple years... man things have changed. Show was DINKY. Only a few dozen entries of all types. Usually the meat and potatoes stuff like aircraft and armor dominate but not this year. Unless they get more entries, turn out is way down. I assume entries had been closed by about noon as judges were already going around to the mostly empty tables looking at individual kits. This is the first show I have seen where they charge people to go in and look around too. Vendors room was decent though. Nice Moebius table with lots of goodies. I noticed a lot of vendors had jacked their prices wayyyyyyyy up but just to rent a table at the show this year was $50... ouch. Was worth a 45 minute ride to go and I spent about 4 hours there. But I would not drive much farther than that. Most of the sci fi type models entered were mediocre at best too.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I went over to the show today and saw a large group of the SpaceCoast IPMS guys there as well as a couple of other acquaintances from past shows. I had 10 entries with most being in the figure category.

Now the big news is that Frank of Moebius was there and he had a half dozen Green Lanterns for sale. I picked one up for $25 so that was very cool. I'm not sure when they are hitting the streets but I decided to grab mine today. Frank had numerous other kits for sale at very good prices for the Moebius items, obviously. He even had a number of other "geeky" kits from other manufacturers on his table.

Tomorrow it is another ride back to Orlando, about 50 miles to the motel from my house, to see if I won anything and pick up my models as well.

I would have liked to say hello DJ but I didn't notice you. I had my Saturn 5 along with a number of models on the figure model table. You might have noticed my Elvira, Hunchback, Spock, and the large MIM Phantom of the Opera as well as a couple of others. As I said, back to the place tomorrow to pick up my models and whatever awards I might have garnered.

Bob K.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

You must have brought those after I left (around 11:30 or noon). I definitely didn't see any of your kits. The only realspace model I saw was a small space shuttle. I hope you got an award. Your kits are good... based on the stuff I saw you should do well.


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

We didn't get there until a bit after 12. I guess that explains it then, I would have liked to have said hello. I do agree on some aspects of the show, it didn't appear there was a huge number of entries but of course the aircraft and armor tables were full. I believe that maybe another 25% or so more models might have come in after you had left. There were three of four guys checking in when I was. And would you believe this, they wanted to charge my wife to come in even after I paid $20 to enter my 10 models. There was also no discount for IPMS members which most shows do, at least IPMS shows. The other small shows around Florida I have been to, including my local Spacecoast IPMS, don't charge spectators and that helps the vendors as well as getting new people into the hobby. Finally, you aren't going to get any passerbys charging $5 so you probably aren't losing anything if you let them in. My wife was allowed to help me put my models out but she could not stay and browse or anything like that which didn't bother her anyway, she sat out in the hallway in a comfortable chair and read a book.

Bob K.


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

See not letting family or the public in is a HUGE mistake IMHO. If you want to get people interested in the hobby making them pay nickle and dime fees to view a mediocre show is not the way to do it. I have never seen that at any show I have been to in the past. I notice they jacked the price of their vendors tables up to $50 too which is really steep. I got in free because my friend and I came in the back door to the vendors room from the service area behind the hotel. Thats the vendors entrance. Granted he did bring a box of kits to sell at his club's rented table, and I brought him there... So in a way we were vendors.


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## The-Nightsky (May 10, 2005)

i am going tomorrow


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## Els (Mar 13, 2011)

Even though it isn't sounding that great, I am still going to check it out tomorrow. If we don't support the shows, they will go away.
Els


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## falcondesigns (Oct 30, 2002)

And they wonder why the hobby is dieing.....


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## Steve CultTVman Iverson (Jan 1, 1970)

I really wished I could have made it to the show again this year. I flew down for it last year and had a lot of fun. Was able to meet a number of guys I knew from the internet. Lots of good models. It is a local IPMS show with a diverse turn out and a lot of quality models. I'll try and make it back again next year.

Steve


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

I saw Els over in Orlando at the contest today. I had met him once before at a local meeting in Cocoa and he's a great guy. I missed DJ the day before but met him once back when he owned his shop in Orlando.

So they did the awards ceremony in about an hour. Of course the largest number of models in the categories was aircraft and there were obviously some nice builds. Then was armor followed by automobiles. There were a reasonable amount of the more geeky subjects. I took 5 third places. One for my Gigantics Tarantula using Steve's resin base in miscellaneous, one in autos for my Munster's cars, one for my Saturn 5 in scifi/spacecraft, one for my Sinbad in figures and one for my Invisible Man in figures. It is always interesting to see how these awards turn out as my MIM Phantom of the Opera that got a merit two years ago at Wonderfest and a first earlier this year at Jaxcon did not even get a commendable award. But I was happy overall although I honestly would have judged differently myself. One thing to consider though was that the figures category encompassed all types of figures so some military and 9/11 type figures garnered top awards. It would be nice to break them down further.

And for those who don't know, the IPMS Nats will be in Orlando at the Disney convention center in early August next year. The prime sponsor is IPMS from Pinellas County, where I was raised, but with other local clubs assisting such as the Orlando club. Something I will not obviously miss.

Bob K.


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## The-Nightsky (May 10, 2005)

hey!!!! im from pinellas county!!!
made it to the show yesterday and it was pretty cool.lots of young kids this year.im glad because i brought my daughter and she was able to meet and play with some younger kids.met Frank again and talked with him.Frank says all is good with moebius he just doesnt have enough time to make it on here much and he apologises for that.Frank had a nice table set up with a 1/16 dukes of hazzard general lee i wanted tht for the wife cuz shes s big dukes fan...it ws gone when i went back but i did relieve him of mk2 viper...thanks Frank.also got to see the hudson hornet...nice kit.....was also lookin for a mini spin drift but didnt find any.....it was a good time. i managed to bring home 13 kits half of which were ww1 bi planes......:wave:


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## rkoenn (Dec 18, 2007)

Hey Nightsky, I was raised in Tarpon Springs from 1959 when I turned 6 and we moved there from Ohio until I left the area permanently in 1978 after graduating from college although I was on and off living there from 1971 until leaving for good in '78. Pinellas changed hugely over those years and was a great place to grow up in the '60s when it wasn't so built up and there were woods and places to run around in. All those woods are housing developments now and I am so glad I grew up there before Pinellas became a 6 lane shopping center. We are considering moving back someday to the Tampa or Pinellas area as our younger son is in Tampa and my family still lives around the Pinellas, Pasco, and Hillsborough area. I wish I could have said hello yesterday. And it was nice that all those young kids got awards and are building models. I started building models when I was about 8 or 9 or maybe even younger but there were no clubs or shows to help further develop that interest.

Bob K.


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## The-Nightsky (May 10, 2005)

been here since 74 excluding my military service so i know the county as you did yes lots has changed but if you look hard enough you can see the ol days. I actualy grw up in pasco county or more specific moon lake and i know and miss those woods.what fun and adventure'old' florida had


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## Asmenoth (Feb 27, 2009)

djnick66 said:


> First show I have been to in a couple years... man things have changed. Show was DINKY. Only a few dozen entries of all types. Usually the meat and potatoes stuff like aircraft and armor dominate but not this year. Unless they get more entries, turn out is way down. I assume entries had been closed by about noon as judges were already going around to the mostly empty tables looking at individual kits. This is the first show I have seen where they charge people to go in and look around too. Vendors room was decent though. Nice Moebius table with lots of goodies. I noticed a lot of vendors had jacked their prices wayyyyyyyy up but just to rent a table at the show this year was $50... ouch. Was worth a 45 minute ride to go and I spent about 4 hours there. But I would not drive much farther than that. Most of the sci fi type models entered were mediocre at best too.


Interesting comments about the show. Attendance was higher than last year, though the number of entries in the categories was down, except in Sci-Fi. We also had better attendance since moving from the fair grounds to the Wyndam. Entries were mediocre huh? Interesting. As for your comment somewhere else here...we did not stop people from entering at Noon...if you had looked at the table you would have seen signs that said AM judging. To make judging easier, we had the tables split up into morning and afternoon judging. You just saw the first shift judges. 

We had some vendors reserve tables and then could not make at the last minute. No one had "jacked up" their prices because of the table costs...I am sorry if paying $25 for a kit that would be $50+tax in a hobby shop seems to be a "jacking up" of prices. I guess you won't be attending the Nationals next year since the tables are $100 each...imagine the "jacking up" there.

I know we can't please everyone, but how come the few who are displeased are the most vocal?


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## djnick66 (May 2, 2008)

No I will not go to the Nats probably but I am not a fan of IPMS. I do like the Pelican group though, and they put on some good shows in the past.

I can be displeased if I want to be. Its not really displeased anyway. Just my opinion. 

Never saw split shift judging, but thats just my own experience. I had not seen judging started before all the entries had been received. I did not say you stopped entries at noon I said I assumed they were done by then since judging had started. I did not see signs either.

My comments on some of the prices and table costs actually are based on talking to people selling there and who had tables (this year and compared to at the fair grounds, etc.)

Again, its my opinion.

It may be a sign of the times but I remember the good, big shows in the 80s and 90s. Three day shows with guest judges (we had Shep Paine judge our Tampa show). And the main categories had as many entries as many shows have in total now. Now you see one room shows with the contest and vendors in one room.


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