IPMS membership....is it worth it?

[kalashnikov-47]

I was an IPMS/USA member on two occasions.  Late 1970's I let the membership lapse

because there was some serious infighting between two factions.  I don't remember

what the fighting was over.

Gave them another chance in the early 1990's and different war was in progress. 

That was enough.

[quang]

5 hours ago, Out2gtcha said:

I'd say, if you ever go to official contests or the like, it's worth it.

If not, it's probably not really that worthwhile.

Never mind the contests.

You won’t find any benefit with IPMS (or any other kind of club) if you don’t realize that it’s first of all, a community.
Nowhere else could you meet people from all walks of life and ages, talk with them as equals and share one another’s’ skills as peer-to-peer.

I joined IPMS Brussels in the 1980s. I made some very good friends which number never ceases to dwindle with the years passing.

 

Internet killed IPMS… but somehow replaced it by forums like LSP which make the most out of how it was.

Yet I would kill for a slap on the back and a glass of beer with my old IPMS pals.

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by quang

[MikeMaben]

I joined in 1967 , a kid, I thougth it was the coolest thing. Like others I let it lapse in the late '80s

then rejoined. The only Nationals I went to was 1991 in Seattle. Also like others, the internet took

it's place. I still like to go to the regionals whenever possible and get to chat with other modelers

I've gotten to know over the years. Overall a good experience but not really worth any money.

[Shoggz]

4 hours ago, kalashnikov-47 said:

I was an IPMS/USA member on two occasions.  Late 1970's I let the membership lapse

because there was some serious infighting between two factions.  I don't remember

what the fighting was over.

Gave them another chance in the early 1990's and different war was in progress. 

That was enough.

You possibly won't want to have a look and see what's going on currently then.. 

[Joe Hegedus]

Whether or not it's worth it is really a question that can only be answered by the individual.  For me, it's a "no".  I'm not interested in entering contests in general typically, and here in the US, the National Convention is the only contest I'm aware of that requires entrants to be a member of a national IPMS organization.  

 

Otherwise, I haven't seen anything that IPMS offers that can't be obtained elsewhere in either a more convenient, or superior, form.

[Phartycr0c]

The free entry to Telford and the fact that I have to be a member to set up the LSP / 32 Sig stand at Telford, which, by the way, we will be attending again this year so anyone around, come visit or even better bring something for display if you fancy it? 

[quang]

6 minutes ago, Joe Hegedus said:

Otherwise, I haven't seen anything that IPMS offers that can't be obtained elsewhere in either a more convenient, or superior, form.

So glad for you, Joe! 

[cbk57]

I joined IPMS to become active in my local club, and to participate in local and regional sows, I know you do not have to be a member strictly to do these things but it is a cheap membership.  Participating in NATS is not a high priority for me.  I would love to go for the educational aspects but as long as the competition is a 1-2-3 with a million categories it is not that compelling.  I look foreword to a full throated adoption of GSB.  I have participated in two competitions on that format and really enjoy it.  I also participated in judging recently both to meet people and learn more about other peoples builds and have found it highly educational.  Having spent years working on my own and looking at models on line there is a huge difference seeing the work in person.  

[kalashnikov-47]

17 hours ago, quang said:

You won’t find any benefit with IPMS (or any other kind of club) if you don’t realize that it’s first of all, a community.
Nowhere else could you meet people from all walks of life and ages, talk with them as equals and share one another’s’ skills as peer-to-peer.

The best model club experience I ever had was in the 1990's at Ramstein Air Base, Germany.  It was a mixture of Americans and local Germans and

one Arab that lives in the area.  Everyone got along beautifully.  I made plenty lifelong friends from that experience and about 80% of us are still in

touch despite the distance between us.  We have a reunion of sorts every year (November) at the USAF Museum.  The chemistry between us is

as good as it ever was.

[Christa]

Face to face is a friendly force. I mislaid that memory. Also, non LSP modelling topics shown at the shows have been surprising, entertaining and very interesting.

 

There have been rare kits for sale too and all manner of bargains . . .

 

 

[Confusionreigns178]

On 10/23/2023 at 8:40 AM, Shoggz said:

You possibly won't want to have a look and see what's going on currently then..

Eh? Could you expand on this a bit, Shoggz? I've been an IPMS member for about ten years now and I've never heard anything along these lines. 

 

Maybe we should consider one aspect of this.... you put two model-makers in a room and they will argue about ANYTHING you care to mention, for days on end. 

 

Cheers. 

 

Chris.  

[Shoggz]

2 hours ago, Confusionreigns178 said:

Eh? Could you expand on this a bit, Shoggz? I've been an IPMS member for about ten years now and I've never heard anything along these lines. 

 

Maybe we should consider one aspect of this.... you put two model-makers in a room and they will argue about ANYTHING you care to mention, for days on end. 

 

Cheers. 

 

Chris.  

 

Sure thing Chris. NB: What I was referring to was purely US related - not the UK.

 

There was quite a hoo-hah coming out of the US Nationals at San Marcos, first of all about one of the judges picking up a tank model to look at its underside, leading the national body to issue an edict that judges should not handle models - which then led to a number of resignations by the head judges of various categories followed by a heated debate around one of the judges who had allegedly shown a bit of 'favouritism'.

 

Listening to a number of the modelling podcasts, as I do, it all attained almost 'soap opera' levels for a while!

[Confusionreigns178]

Thanks for the reply, Shoggz. 

 

I remember seeing a cartoon in a US model-magazine years ago, in which a gentleman is being interviewed to be a judge for a major model-show....

 

Interviewer:  "Have you ever built a model, yourself?"

 

Man:     "Er..... no, I haven't, to be honest".  

 

Interviewer:   "Do you know how much work goes into a competition-level model?"

 

Man:     "Not a clue, to be frank".

 

Interviewer:    "Have you ever been to a model-show and walked around the competition-tables?"

 

Man:       "No, never".

 

Interviewer:    "So, you have no prior knowledge and no real interest in the hobby?"

 

Man:         "Erm, yes, that's correct".

 

Interviewer:   "Well, I'd say your just about the perfect candidate for this job!"

 

Before I get inundated with cries of protest at this post, it is written entirely tongue-in-cheek and is NOT intended to offend anyone. 

 

Chris.  

[Jack]

I'd say....hear hear.......i've experienced some "judgemental" issues at certain IPMS contests that almost made me quite the hobby.......

As a matter of fact, not even contests but the ongoing bickery at some times concerning "justified" ways of detailing and bringing to "real life" the difference between a real time object and a model.........

[Dennis7423]

For me, it's a yes. I enjoy getting the IPMS journals in the mail, as it gives me something to read while I'm on the crapper instead of surfing the internet on my phone. It also gives me a great calendar of upcoming events. For someone who just moved across the country, this is incredibly helpful, even though I haven't been to a show in my new area yet. I also enjoy the perks of being able to get into shows for cheaper, or sometimes free. I enjoy showing off my models from time to time, and competitions are a great opportunity to do that, win or lose.

 

When I lived in Colorado in the Denver-Metro area, being an IPMS member had an amazing perk: Colpar's Hobby Town in Aurora, one of the best plastic model hobby shops in the country, offered a 20% discount off the sticker price for kits and aftermarket, for IPMS members. That alone was worth the yearly subscription fee! I'm confident they still offer that discount for members.

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA