Is IPMS still relevant?

[Randy Lutz]

I am placing this on ARC as it may have a different audience than Hyperscale. If you have already replied on Hyperscale, please do not reply here

In this era of instant access to modelling information, I would be curious to know from those of you who are members of a national branch of IPMS, such as IPMS USA, IPMS UK, IPMS Canada, etc, what is the number one reason why you are a member? Conversely, if you are not a member, what is the number one reason why you are not a member?

Note that I am not asking about membership in a local chapter of IPMS. I am asking as it applies to a national level of IPMS.

I ask because I wonder if IPMS in general, has lost, or is losing its relevance since the advent of web based modelling sites.

Cheers

Randy Lutz

IPMS Canada

[The_Animal]

Not a member because I build for my enjoyment, not competitively.

[Emvar]

Randy,

I was a member then let my membership lapse, largely for cost cutting. I have cancelled my subscriptions to magazines as well and only pick up what I think is relevant to me. This cost cutting is not just aimed at the hobby, there are many other places where we have cut costs within our family. I think others are in the same boat. Places like here Hyperscale and Armorama provide a place where my inquiries will be answered in a quicker fashion. This is where we can showcase when we have the time all year round. The trade off for a free site like this is the advertising which is tolerable.

Don't get me wrong RT is valuable in my opinion and it should continue, but right now I can't justify the expense. If I where you I would do away with the free decal sheets once in a blue moon and instead affiliate yourselves with a decal company an provide discounts for decals of certain subjects. All sheets except the Voodoo sheet have been useless to me thus far and really have no bearing on whether I subscribe or not.

Emil

[Horrido]

When I was an IPMS member, the number one reason was to provide the requisite head count to become an official chapter and therefore have insurance provided for meetings and shows.

[jester292]

I am not a member because I can't commit to attending the meetings (due to my changing work schedule). It has been on my radar for many months though, and I'm seriously considering joining to compete at the Nationals (someday).

As a side note, and this is just my opinion and directed to Animal; you can still be a member and build for fun. Nobody says you have to build competitively as a member of IPMS.

Aaron

EDIT: And yes, IPMS is still relevent for many people.

Edited July 23, 2012 by jester292

[ChippyWho]

Put a poll in the thread?

[niart17]

Yes I think it's still relevant, maybe even more so than in the past. This hobby has more competition for getting people interesting in it than ever before with increasing technology in video games and computers etc...keeping the youth occupied. One of the goals of IPMS is to promote the hobby. Make-and-takes and other programs such as kits for soldiers etc... help promote the hobby. The national organization helps make all of that possible by supporting the locals with (as others have mentioned)things like insurance etc... It's not all about competition. Heck, even the competitions aren't all about competiion. It's about a fun hobby and helping keeping it alive.

That's just my opinion anyway.

Bill

[bikerider]

I am not a member... I have thought about joining my local chapter, but I build models for fun personal enjoyment, and am a bit intimidated by going to some kind of formal get together. I have learned tons from the internet (ARC members mostly) and yes I might learn more and better person to person, but I want to keep making models fun for me and I am afraid if I join and go to meetings the fun part will disappear and it will seem like another "must-do" thing in life. That being said, I do try to go to the public contest shows the local IPMS chapter hosts and I do enjoy that.

K

[Phantom ordie]

I believe we need IPMS. I joined several years ago and it has guided me to a fresh experience in modeling. I now belong with a great group of guys to Midstate Modelers in Asheboro NC. Have attended several shows including IPMS nationals at Virginia Beach. I don't build competively but enjoy the shows and seeing the art of modeling. There is a need for a guiding organization to keep modeling alive. Hopefully IPMS will be around for a long time and I don't think 20 or thirty bucks a year is asking to much. About the price of one model in your stash that you will probably never build.

[Joe Hegedus]

I was a member for several years, but a year or two ago I let my membership lapse. The reason was largely financial; expenses have a way of increasing and the household income wasn't increasing at a fast enough rate to keep up. I can't say that I didn't get anything out of it, as I did several reviews for the journal and website and got to build some nice kits that I most likely wouldn't have otherwise, so I'm not complaining about the lack of value as overall I think I probably came out ahead. But in all honesty, I haven't missed it. I may rejoin some time in the future, but then probably only if I decide to enter something in a national contest. At this point, that isn't too likely as I'm not interested in competing anymore.

I let my subscription to FSM lapse recently for the same basic reason.

There's still the local (non-IPMS) club that meets regularly, as well as an IPMS chapter up the road that I occasionally visit - one does not need to be a national member to participate there.

Joe

Edited July 24, 2012 by Joe Hegedus

[UKPonchoMan]

I'd add to the votes for IPMS. Clubs, societies and websites come and go but IPMS is a constant in the society.

[splatcat]

I would say yes. If for no other reason than the hobby needs to be promoted if it is going to continue. Modeling is one of those hobbies that everybody thinks is ttrange util they actually see a finished model. Then they say something along the lines of "Oh that's cool!". It takes a whole lot of those to bring someone into the hobby.

I joined my local club and if nothing else it helps to keep me motivated. I've had fun at the meetings, made a few friends, and became a better modeler. You really can't ask for more than that.

[Moose135]

Not a member because I build for my enjoyment, not competitively.

I'm a member, and I haven't entered a contest in years. IPMS is about much more than competing in contests...

I am not a member... I have thought about joining my local chapter, but I build models for fun personal enjoyment, and am a bit intimidated by going to some kind of formal get together.

Go down to your local club and get to know the folks there - they are regular people, just like you will find here on ARC, with a wide range of building skills and interests. When you are comfortable, bring down one of your models, and let people look at it - even ask for advice on how to improve your skills (we can all learn something). You'll be pleasantly surprised.

I've been a member of IPMS/USA and my local chapter for over 30 years. My building skills have improved, I've learned new techniques, and I have friends that I will keep for a lifetime because of my membership. A few years back, I got to talking with a fellow club member I had known for almost 20 years - I knew he had been in the Army Air Force in WWII, and one thing led to another, and it turned out he had crossed paths with my father in Dalhart, TX in 1944. My father came down to a meeting to meet him, and they still keep in touch.

Edited July 24, 2012 by Moose135

[jester292]

I'm a member, and I haven't entered a contest in years. IPMS is about much more than competing in contests...

Go down to your local club and get to know the folks there - they are regular people, just like you will find here on ARC, with a wide range of building skills and interests. When you are comfortable, bring down one of your models, and let people look at it - even ask for advice on how to improve your skills (we can all learn something). You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Good advice, Moose. Thanks for sharing.

Aaron

[dmk0210]

Conversely, if you are not a member, what is the number one reason why you are not a member?

Quite frankly, I build models to get away from everyone, decompress and forget about the stresses of job and life. It's a solitary hobby for me. I have other hobbies for when I'm in a social mood.

[Quiddy]

I am a member of IPMS Canada and have been for about 9 years. We don't have a local chapter here, but we do have a small informal club. That is the way I like it. I am a part of the national IPMS as it gives me another form of education and research for my hobby. I am going to the Nats in 2 weeks and I will proudly wear my IPMS Canada pin and gives me something more in common with the other modelers.

[JasonW]

Quite frankly, I build models to get away from everyone, decompress and forget about the stresses of job and life. It's a solitary hobby for me. I have other hobbies for when I'm in a social mood.

Couldn't have worded it better. This is exactly my thought on the matter.

[fulcrum1]

I signed up to get the discounts at Colpar in Colorado and CRM in St.Louis!

[Jay Chladek]

When I hear people say "I just build for fun, not contests, that is why I don't join" it makes me want to say that IPMS is not all about contests, not by a long shot. Sure, they are part of it. But contests are the primary way for a club to get its work shown publicly. I know, different IPMS clubs are made up of different members and some clubs tend to focus on contests to the exclusion of all else. But IMHO, those that are are just cutting their nose off in spite of themselves as different members who don't build for contests can add so much tapestry to a club.

I have been a member of IPMS USA off and on for years (and usually it is budget that leads to a lapse in membership). But, I still try to stay active in the two local clubs I am part of (IPMS Fort Crook in Omaha and IPMS Scott Sumsion in Lincoln). The web will not fully replace that monthly interaction I get on a personal basis with other modelers. Seeing a technique on the web is great, but seeing it in person is better. Constructive critiquing (not negative criticism, which the local clubs sought to try and abolish and have succeeded at) can improve techniques by quite a bit. The contests in tern can help to show an individual modeler how well they have improved the building and finishing techniques. And we still have members that will likely never improve their modeling technique by much, but they still have much to contribute to our club as equals.

As for things like magazines, I find times to read articles in them. I prefer seeing stuff printed on a page to reading it on my screen all the time. Besides, the hard copy is relatively easy to store while crashes can kill the web stuff if one isn't careful.

[phasephantomphixer]

I try to maintain my membership. I like their website speaking of...and I try to get to the Nationals whenever I logistically can. If not going to be feasible, I use the internet to see what I missed. There is no other venue where I can find anything I need or want than a Nats vendor room-especially the Deals! Learn many things and meet many good people each time I go too. The four days ALWAYS Fly by. If I am not shopping the vendor room, I am attending a seminar or photographing as many models as I can. Then on Friday eve, I get to judge and meet more good people. Thye make it as fun as possible I think. Try that on the internet. Too many positives for me to agree-sorry. I support IPMS and enjoy the many aspects of it.

[rm20886]

I was a member for a couple of years but had trouble getting out to meetings. I think IPMS still has a purpose to bring people together who share this interest and would rejoin if my schedule permitted so.

[vince14]

Quite frankly, I build models to get away from everyone, decompress and forget about the stresses of job and life. It's a solitary hobby for me. I have other hobbies for when I'm in a social mood.

Same here. For me modelling is an escape from the everyday, the chance to spend a couple of hours sticking bits of plastic together and not having to worry about what anyone else thinks of what I'm doing. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad IPMS exists and I hope it continues to do so, but I'm a solitary modeller and I wouldn't get anything out of going to a meeting.

Vince

[john c]

I am a member of IPMS UK because of the vast number of world wide contacts in my researches into obscure corners of aviation history. Also the annual subscription is well worth it financially. The admission cost to such events as Scale Model World is nearly that of the subscription (members have free admission). I usually enter competition in the local club. I never win but learn an awful lot!

jphnc

[AX 365]

Go down to your local club and get to know the folks there - they are regular people, just like you will find here on ARC, with a wide range of building skills and interests. When you are comfortable, bring down one of your models, and let people look at it - even ask for advice on how to improve your skills (we can all learn something). You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Interesting comment Moose. I considered joining IPMS Canada while a member of IPMS Ottawa. Some of the members of the local chapter turned me off IPMS and they also alienated a couple of potential members from joining the local chapter as well. Some people in the chapter thought that their skills and abilities were above everyone else and that they were superior modelers. Comments to that effect at a chapter meeting a few years ago really annoyed and angered a few members. It caused a couple of people who were attending their first meeting to look like deer caught in the headlights, never to return to another chapter meeting. It also caused a few members to leave the chapter. At one chapter meeting many years ago, I remember asking one very skilled modeler a question about what paints and flat coat he used to get such a great finish on his aircraft. He looked down his nose at me, turned around and walked away without answering my question. This was at the second or third meeting I attended. A great ambassador he was! Despite that person, I stayed for a couple of years and I did make a couple of very good friends during my time with the chapter but I won't be returning any time soon. I get more information and support here and on other forums that I belong to than I ever did at IPMS.

I won't say that that the IPMS irrelevant. It's just not relevant to me.

Edited July 24, 2012 by AX 365

[Horrido]

The membership at clubs, as anywhere, is going to be a mixed bag. I've found that the same goes for individual people and their moods, where on one occasion a particularly skilled modeler would be friendly and informative, the next run-in the same person could be completely unsociable and childishly rude. The trick I've found is to tuck-in with a few of the friendlier, more relaxed and supportive types, and just ignore those with self-inserted ram-rods.

For me, I do enjoy the social networking available, even if it's just for company where a couple of us may just sit down, busy-away at our chosen project, and not even say a word. I think the most disappointing experiences for me are when I've attended a show or a meeting and just felt too off to actually want to visit with people I haven't seen for awhile.