Plastic Model Mojo
Plastic Model Mojo, a podcast dedicated to scale modeling, as well as the news and events around the hobby
Plastic Model Mojo
Coast to Coast, Inside Spring's Biggest Model Shows:PMM Model Show Spotlight
The unmistakable energy of model show season pulses through the latest Plastic Model Mojo episode as we journey from coast to coast exploring two major spring modeling events. Our cross-country virtual tour begins in sunny Florida with Don Buerger of the Pelican Model Club, who shares details about their upcoming April 26th show near Tampa.
Don walks us through the evolution of Pelican 2025, highlighting their shift to the increasingly popular gold-silver-bronze judging format where models are evaluated on individual merit rather than through direct competition. With 65 vendor tables already sold out, a movie and television theme ("Lights, Camera, Action!"), and special awards honoring club founders, this Florida event promises to be a highlight of the southeastern modeling calendar.
The conversation then pivots dramatically northwestward as Martin Paietta introduces us to the Seattle Spring Show happening the same weekend. This impressively large one-day event boasted 900+ entries from 220 modelers last year, making it one of North America's largest single-day model exhibitions. The Seattle show maintains traditional IPMS 1-2-3 judging but keeps the model room open during judging, allowing continuous viewing of entries throughout the day.
What emerges through both conversations is a fascinating look at how model shows are evolving while maintaining their core purpose: bringing together diverse modeling communities from across regions and disciplines. Whether you're fascinated by aircraft, armor, science fiction, or scratch-built dioramas crafted from yogurt containers, these gatherings showcase extraordinary creativity and craftsmanship.
Whether you're planning to attend HeritageCon in Hamilton, Pelican 2025 in Tampa, or the Seattle Spring Show, this episode offers valuable insights into what makes model shows such vital gathering points for hobbyists. Connect with fellow modelers, find inspiration, expand your collection, and experience the joy of seeing hundreds of meticulously crafted miniature masterpieces in person!
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Mike and Kentucky Dave thank each and everyone of you for participating on this journey with us.
all right, mojovia show season is in full swing now. Oh man, is it ever.
Kentucky Dave:Uh, not only are you going to get to be at your first contest for the year. The spring and the fall are just the model show seasons, and we are really hitting the stride in spring.
Mike:Well, we'll talk about us at the end, but we got a couple on opposite ends of the country to feature tonight and they both sound like fairly sizable shows compared to what we're used to.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah well, I would love to attend either one of these shows.
Mike:Well, I'd really like to attend the first one, because it's in sunny Florida, down in the greater Tampa area, held by the Pelican Model Club down there in the Tampa area, and it's a Pelican 2025. So let's see what that's all about, dave. Okay, see what that's all about, dave. Okay, dave, we got a double header this month for the show Spotlight, and our first one is coming from sunny Florida. We've got Mr Don Berger from the Pelican Model Club with us down in the greater Tampa area. Don, how are you doing tonight? Oh, pretty good.
Donn Buerger:It was a beautiful sunny day. I was out on the balcony. Actually a little too hot, 83 degrees.
Kentucky Dave:Well, you know what? It was rainy here, but at least it's been warm the last few days. But I got to tell you Tampa, St Pete, is one of my favorite parts of Florida. I love the place.
Donn Buerger:We're west of Tampa but we have Dunedin and Safety Harbor and all these places that are beaches. The spring training is going on here right now and it's just. Even with the hurricanes. They get that stuff and put it back into order quicker than the whistle.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah.
Mike:Well Don? We hear you're hosting a show down there coming up in the coming month. Yeah, why don't we start off by you introducing yourself and your role with the club and maybe a little bit about your modeling background, and then we'll get right into the who, what and where of the show?
Donn Buerger:Okay, yeah, I'm originally born in Detroit and lived there in junior high onwards. After I went to my high school, I joined the Toledo Modeler Group there. That was an IPMS chapter and we put on conventions and things. I went to the original used to go to the original squatter shop in Detroit in John R and 9 Mile Road or whatever People are familiar with that. Oh yeah, john R and.
Kentucky Dave:Nine Mile Road or whatever, people are familiar with that.
Donn Buerger:Oh yeah, I was in there almost 20 years and left because I was building architectural models. You weren't going to build tanks and airplanes when you're doing that for a living. So I kind of quit modeling for a while. But then I moved down to Florida in 2008, basically and eventually joining the Pelican Model Club, and we have a pretty large membership. We average 35 folks at the meetings. We have about six women in our club too, and they all build one-painting flats and they go to that Atlanta show.
Kentucky Dave:Those are impressive. People who can do that are really talented.
Donn Buerger:We were involved, I think, in the 1999 Nationals in Orlando and then our club put on the 2012 Nationals in Orlando at Disney World there.
Kentucky Dave:Great.
Donn Buerger:Nationals. People say that I was actually in the club at that time, but I went Sunday to the show and then it was like a whirlwind. You couldn't take it all in. I wish I had done the entire weekend. I had quit modeling and then I picked it up the worst way when I moved down here. I had nine kids to my name and now I have over 200.
Mike:Yeah, that seems to be a common theme I have more tools modeling tools than I do models. I probably do as well. Well, tell us about your show coming up, when is it, and all that.
Donn Buerger:It's April 26th. We got a new venue this year. It's St Lawrence Higgins Hall. It's basically a Catholic school, middle school, elementary school, but they have a hall that is all of them is just 10,000 square feet. Beautiful place out there.
Donn Buerger:And I don't know if you're familiar with Florida, but we have a number of conventions that happen during the year. But we have a number of conventions that happen during the year. Jaxcon just happened about two weeks ago, three weeks ago, and they got 150 entrants and 551 models in their contest. We kind of trade every other year with Space Coast and us because we don't do one every year. There's Pamscon in June, then there's the Nationals, then there's Modelpalooza in Orlando come October. So after COVID hit, we kind of went from two-day affairs to one-day shows. They seem to be the trend these days and it's gold, silver, bronze. That's what Jacksonville does. I think a lot of people are going toward that where every model if you would bring in five models, they would all be judged on their merit and out of words as such Seems to be really successful people like that.
Donn Buerger:We have 27 categories and 11 special awards, including Judge's Bestest Show, one of our founding members, the club founded in 1970, 72, something like that Charlie Hess. He was featured in the latest IPMS journal and he passed away just real, suddenly out of the blue. So then we have a US Marine Aircraft Special Award and then one of our members worked for the Artemis program with NASA and he was a Marine helicopter pilot. 35th anniversary, desert Shield, desert Storm. So it's Saturday from 9 till till 6 and there'll be a food truck there and we expect I know it's hard to say, you know things have picked up since COVID and the main theme I'm sorry the main theme is lights action, camera action, so it's anything that's related to movies or TV is the theme of the show.
Kentucky Dave:And I assume you have a theme award. Yeah, yeah, and I don. You have a theme award.
Donn Buerger:Yeah, yeah, okay, and I don't you know. Spray Gunner, yes, yeah, well, they're in our backyard here. It's about 15, 20 minute drive here In 2023, we did a convention at the Hampton over there in Oldsmar and they were right behind us so they had a cook up for us and prizes and tickets and they're going to be at the show. There's a book that an employee and a member of ours, nestor, did that big ammo sales. I paint cars and he's going to do a demo.
Mike:He's had some amazing work at the national conventions of late. Yeah, he did win a couple of years ago. Yeah, a big, big, big car model.
Donn Buerger:Yeah, he'll be at our meeting this Monday and so he's going to bring some raffle prizes for for our raffle, which seems to be growing by leaps and bounds, so we're expecting a pretty good show. You know it's in the I-4 corridor all the way down there. That's a problem with Florida. The state is region 11, but not the whole state. The west end is in a different region. We're kind of sitting out here by ourselves, right in the middle of hurricanes.
Mike:Let's go back to the judging a little bit. You're right, since we've been doing these shows Spotlights and a little over a year now, think dave. I think that's right. We've not been seeking these out, in particular to to find and feature, but it seems like a surprising number, at least to me, have have gone to that format either in part or completely. And how long have you been doing it that way?
Donn Buerger:Well, we canceled a couple of shows during the height of COVID, but we kind of picked it up. This is our third show, I think, using the coins and doing it that way. I prefer that. It's just because it gives everybody a chance. Naturally, not too many golds are given out and there's more silvers and bronze. You know that way, meet a certain standard of quality, you're gonna, you're gonna walk away with something and, uh, and if you don't meet that, unfortunately you won't. So people were really happy with our last contest and I, I believe, jacksonville, their convention, they just did. Does it the same way? Um, monopalooza, does the coins too? I think they might judge a little differently.
Mike:I'm not sure and is that, I guess, attendees? Now, just that's just the a matter of fact, the way that show's going to be and, uh, just generally accepted without any kind of pushback or anything. I mean, we like it too, but we're curious with the number of shows that have gone this way and everybody seems to be enjoying it.
Donn Buerger:Yeah, I've literally heard no complaints about that and you know IPMS needs to. I mean, they've talked about it, they've sent out surveys and things. But you know, old ways are hard to die sometimes, you know.
Kentucky Dave:What do your vendors look like at your show?
Donn Buerger:Well, we have Cult man TV there.
Kentucky Dave:Okay, well, that's always a good one.
Donn Buerger:You know, jacksonville gets more of those because they're you know, they're on the border of Georgia there. So we had a real small venue in our last show and we had 40, 45 vendor tables. We we have 65 and they're the last one sold yesterday, so we're a little more than a month off from the show. You know it's local people and sometimes others that I say usually call it man. You know, it's really strange because this is the first time when we had an Oldsmart that there were more space sci-fi, gundam models entered, actual models at the tables and there were aircraft and armor and it's like wow, where did that come from?
Kentucky Dave:Yeah well, the Gundams and sci-fi are becoming really, really popular, as is real space. So you say the show opens at 9 to the public and you're done with judging by when.
Donn Buerger:Let's see Awards. Well, it says our fly awards at 4.30, but that probably happened. They're going to judge as soon as models come in. It's not like Amp's style of judging. Well, they kind probably happened. They're going to judge as soon as models come in. It's not like AMPS style of judging. Well, they kind of judge when they come in. But I think we're going to the judges meetings at noon and we have experts, hopefully in each of their fields there, and then we'll probably, during the awards, just mention the golds and the special awards, because we have to be out of there by a certain time. The other thing with putting on these conventions in COVID is they're so expensive now To put on a show. You're looking at hall rentals and things and table rentals.
Donn Buerger:You're looking at $5,000, $6,000.
Kentucky Dave:if you're lucky, you're looking at $5,000, $6,000 if you're lucky. Well, and that is that it's one of the things that I can tell you the national faces in trying to get local chapters to bid for the national contest is that we're already priced out of the really big markets. There's just no way a convention of our size can afford it, and you're right, that trickles down to the chapters. Even though they're using much smaller venues and only using them usually for a day. You still have that problem that prices are going up everywhere.
Donn Buerger:So that settles down In Florida. Things are really expensive because it's a tourist state. Sure, You've got to find those little nooks and crannies. It's like trying to find a meeting place for your group.
Kentucky Dave:So now does your show have a raffle.
Donn Buerger:Yeah, we wrote regular manufacturers. We've got a $5 raffleaffle and we got a regular raffle and we might have guest bags and things, hidden bags, or you might win that and there might be a variety of things in there modeling related. Yeah, we're going to have. You know you got to always have the raffle and whatever we're going to have. You know you got to always have the raffle and whatever. And we're going to have Nestor do the demo and probably do something to do with the books that he wrote.
Kentucky Dave:So yeah, so is that the only demo at the show, or do you have any others going on?
Donn Buerger:No, just that one, you know, with a one-day show you're kind of Sure, you're limited, limited.
Mike:Most don't have one at all, exactly One day show. So if you've got that as a feature, that's a good thing, that's a plus.
Donn Buerger:Yeah, no, it's kind of like a regional. I don't know if we really have a regional here, because everybody calls their show a regional and they're all big. I mean PAMS. They do it up by Polk County, that's over by Lakeland, and they throw a huge show in June and they have about 500-some models show up. We consider all these local shows In Orlando same thing. They do it at a big hotel, expensive hotel in Kissimmee and they always put on a good show Model Palooza.
Mike:Well, you said there was a food truck on site. Well, we plan on getting one. Okay, yeah, you're still about a month out. Well, that shouldn't be too tough, but the in the event that's not appealing to everyone or you don't get that worked out, is it convenient to other things?
Donn Buerger:well, we will have food at the show one way or another. Um, the vendors have to, you know, be served, and if they're by themselves without somebody helping them out, then that'd be. Yeah, it's at the northeast corner of Tampa International, and right at that intersection there's a Wendy's there too, so it's not like there's not food nearby, but there you go.
Donn Buerger:We found a service that will get you a food truck in a certain price range they demand the one my co-chairman there, Ozzy, got, was they need $800 worth of sales and their average food price is like $15. So if you go 50 times 15, that's somewhere around $50. But if we don't make that $800, then the co-op's got to make the balance.
Mike:Ah, okay, interesting. Yeah Be something for folks to keep in mind if they're thinking about food trucks.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, yeah. And with the popularity of food trucks and I know here in Louisville we've got tons of them. And with the popularity of food trucks and I know here in Louisville we've got tons of them. So you know, you go around. If you don't like what you hear from one food truck, there are plenty of others and some who are really hungry for business and you can find one of those and they'll meet your needs.
Donn Buerger:Yeah, just finding one on a Saturday if you do it during a weekday. Yes, weekends are kind of taken sometimes. There'll be food at the site one way or another, even if I have to make peanut butter sandwich and jelly sandwiches.
Kentucky Dave:Well, I'm sure those should be good.
Mike:Well, where can folks find information about the show?
Donn Buerger:Well, you go to the IPMS website. We're listed as upcoming shows. I'm reading the latest journal. Somehow we missed that deadline of putting our show flyer in there. But you can go to our website, which is the wwwpelicanmodelcluborg and Pelican spelled differently. It's P-E-L-I-K-A, no C but Pelican all one word pelicanmodelcluborg. And it will take you to a GoDaddy site and one of the first sliders on the side is Pelican 2025, opening pre-registration. So you can take care of all that online with credit card or whatever, safely. $15 is pre-registration. Day of the show is $20. Up to five entries. That includes up to five entries, $5 for juniors and $8 for walk-ins and the date again and place April 26th at St Lawrence Higgins Hall in Tampa, Florida.
Donn Buerger:It's over by the big airport Tampa International. It's at 5225 North Himes Avenue, Easy to get to. It's not too far from the Hard Rock Casino and I-4 and all those spots.
Mike:All right. Well, thanks for joining us and giving us the ins and outs, and we wish you all the success at your show.
Kentucky Dave:Yeah, I appreciate the time and the plug. I've been listening to you. Get down to Florida in April will be able to see what you all had.
Donn Buerger:Great, fantastic. I will.
Mike:Thank you All. Right Don Thanks again, and we wish you all the luck. Okay, thanks for the right Don Thanks again, and we wish you all the luck. Okay, thanks for the opportunity, eric 500 entries is a typical, that's not bad.
Kentucky Dave:That's not bad. And not only that, but Florida in March. I mean, how can you beat that? Go to a model contest, then go to the beach and grab some seafood.
Mike:That sounds awfully nice. Well, they're benefiting from the population density down there, I'm sure, yeah. So, folks, if you're in the greater Tampa area at the end of April time frame, make a point to get to this show.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, absolutely. I mean, why would you not, if you're a modeler, anywhere within decent driving distance, go to the show man, enjoy yourself, Make a weekend of it, Dave.
Mike:the next one takes us out to the complete opposite end of the country. Yes, it does Diagonally. Even Yep Up in the Pacific Northwest. We have the Seattle Spring Show from the Seattle Club, seattle IPMS, out there, and if you thought 500 was big, they've got an even bigger one out there for a one-day show.
Mike:Yeah, yeah it frankly rivals Heritage Con in size as far as number of entries. Our second one for the evening is going to be the Seattle Spring Show from those guys out on the West Coast, and tonight we've got Mr Martin Pietta with us to give us a little bit of ins and outs. Martin, how are you doing tonight?
Martin Paietta:I'm doing great. How about you and Mike and Dave?
Mike:We're good. It's been a little rainy, but you're probably used to that out there.
Martin Paietta:Oh yeah, it was dumping today.
Mike:Well, Martin, we're not too familiar with many of the West Coast shows. Why don't you tell us about your club a little bit first?
Martin Paietta:Well, the club's been around since 1962. It started out with about six to seven people and it was in the history and industry which is now the MOHAI, and, from what I was told that the rooms that they used were geared towards elementary school kids and so wasn't so comfortable to sit down for a meeting.
Mike:Little tables and chairs.
Martin Paietta:Yeah, I mean, I can imagine how that was back in the day. We've done national conventions, from the first one in 1965, 1972 and 1992, and currently we are meeting at the bellevue Community Center and we have 140-plus members and we meet the second Saturday of the month starting at 1030.
Kentucky Dave:That's a good-sized club. That's about the size of our local club here in Louisville. It is, of course, now you've got a much bigger metro area. You've got that huge Seattle or metro area. You've got that huge Seattle. How many IPMS and non-IPMS clubs are there in the Seattle-Tacoma?
Martin Paietta:area. We have the one club that I know of that I go to, and then the Northwest Scale Modelers, which you guys are familiar with with Jim and some of the other people, and then there's the Am and I got you. I know there's a couple more like.
Mike:There's gundams and there's car groups, but I'm not familiar with those as well gotcha well, sounds pretty well covered, which means it's probably a great place to have a show yes, we have a lot of people that come well, won't you tell us about your show?
Martin Paietta:well, some of the the history last year was we had 220 modelers that registered and there was 902 entries that we had. We had a great raffle and lots of vendors, food there and everything else. It was a great show.
Kentucky Dave:Do you always do it around the same time in the spring every year?
Martin Paietta:Yes, yes, we do.
Kentucky Dave:And so what's the date this year?
Martin Paietta:The date this year is Saturday April 26. This year is Saturday April 26th. The doors open at 9 am and the awards are at 3.30 and things start to close up right after the awards are issued and we all break our butts to help clean up.
Mike:And where is it again?
Martin Paietta:It is at the Renton Community Center, which is 1715 Maple Valley Highway, Renton, Washington, 98057.
Kentucky Dave:Now you all do. You said you try and get the awards done around 3.30. That's a trend that Mike and I are seeing in a lot of shows where you to be able to make it a one-day show and get back home.
Martin Paietta:Well, I kind of misspoke, dave. The awards start at 3, 30 okay, and they do go, but they try and get through them really quickly. It's usually done by 4 or 4.30. Good, you know they're only doing really the first and second place and you know the main awards that are issued.
Kentucky Dave:That's another trend that Mike and I have seen. Now you're using a fairly traditional IPMS 1-2-3 system with a modified version of the IPMS categories.
Martin Paietta:It is a traditional IPMS Nationals award, but we don't close the model room, so judges will be walking around working. I haven't had any issues with people and I don't know if we've had any issues. Pretty chill.
Kentucky Dave:That's great. That's another trend that we are I think Mike and I have observed, as we've been doing these show spotlights is that and I understand why judges wanted closed judging rooms, because there were occasionally issues, but I do think that people have gotten more comfortable and if you leave that room open, I think that really enhances the show for people who may have arrived right toward the end of registration and want to get a chance to see the models on the tables prior to the award ceremony beginning. So I really am happy to see that.
Martin Paietta:I agree with that, you know, especially when it's a one-day show and people don't have a lot of time to actually see them.
Donn Buerger:You know.
Martin Paietta:A lot of times myself I'm running through, or last year I volunteered to take photos of the show and the models out there. I found out yesterday that I'm not even going to be able to make it because we are coming back from visiting my grandfather, who is 100, and in June will be turning 101.
Kentucky Dave:That's important.
Martin Paietta:It is. My wife, gwen was like well, can you do this, can you do that? I'm like there'll be other shows. Grandpa won't be there forever.
Kentucky Dave:That is the proper attitude and the proper perspective. Good on you. Now you mentioned food at the show. Is there food at the show? Is there food nearby the show? Do you all bring in food trucks? How is that handled for both the vendors and the attending public?
Martin Paietta:So there'll be both food at the show and there will be food close by. There's Angel City Deli, which will have coffee and pastries for sale in the morning and lunch. Options include a rib plate, roasted chicken plate or hot dog and Polish sausage. Include a rib plate, roasted chicken plate or hot dog and polish sausage with a variety of sides. And there's a whole bunch of restaurants nearby too.
Kentucky Dave:Now, where do you all draw from? I assume you get some folks coming down from Canada and up from California and Oregon and you draw from Idaho and maybe Utah, colorado. What's your general area for attendees?
Martin Paietta:The big areas are obviously local here, but the Canadian club comes down and they're always a huge help with volunteering for judging and everything else. Great people One of my first lead judges that I learned from, who's now passed away they would come down and help judge and the organ group is also heavily involved with healthiness. They're a bunch of great people. You know quite a few of them and they come up and help judge also.
Kentucky Dave:Canadian. Nice is a stereotype for a reason. I've yet to meet a Canadian that wasn't just the most friendly guy on the planet. It's really nice that your club actually gets the folks who are coming from out of town not only to participate in the show I mean enter and all that but also to actually help out, because, man, that can be a big slog. Now you all are a large club so it's not as bad for you. I know that many smaller clubs, when they put on contests, they struggle with that.
Martin Paietta:I can just imagine, you know, you do get some people that and I'm sure this happens in a lot of clubs where you have a ton of people, or you have a few people that are doing a ton of work and then you have a few people that are pitching and here and there, but all that adds up to definitely a great show. You know, everyone kind of gives what they can give. Some they push it a little bit harder. Our show coordinator, rick Taylor, has been doing this for a couple of years, but his wife has said this is the last year.
Kentucky Dave:I understand.
Mike:Well, what's your registration process? Is it all day of, or do you have something online or forms available, or can it be done electronically? What do you have for your registration system?
Martin Paietta:download the form and then you bring it to the contest for registration and the cost of the registration is adult entries are $20 for unlimited, junior entries $5, unlimited and spectators are $5. And it's cash only. We don't have a way to take credit cards and so forth, and a lot of the vendors are the same way they want cash only. So those are the best ways to do that and then, once you have the form, you'll be in line, you'll bring your model through, you'll register and then you can go set your model out on the table in the assigned areas.
Kentucky Dave:So you mentioned vendors. What are your vendors like as far as the number of tables, and have you sold out the show? Maybe mention one or two of the vendors that may have the larger presence at the show.
Martin Paietta:So we have 80 vendor tables. There's 67 tables that are sold so far and we have 41 vendors. I guess the sprue man group is planning on bringing 6 000 plus models to sell oh wow. And then we have several other vendors. One of our local model shop stores has not signed up yet. He's usually always there which is skyway models oh yeah we're.
Martin Paietta:I mean that he'll be there. The vendors are always, there's always stuff to look at and we usually have kinetics there. I don't know if they will be there this year, but there's a ton of models to buy.
Kentucky Dave:Well, good, it sounds like you need to bring a lot of cash.
Martin Paietta:You do need to bring a lot of cash.
Mike:Good, we could ask about a show theme or, and in addition to that, is there anything else about the show that you would consider unique to what you guys do versus some of the other shows in your region?
Martin Paietta:I think it's just that we have a huge amount of models. It's a large show and from there we just don't. You know, we include everyone. There's a lot of Gundam there, there's a lot of dioramas there and fantasy stuff. I'm always impressed with what they had or what different people have. Last year we had this young kid that he made this anime castle that's on feet. I'd never seen it for, but he scratch, built everything out of like garbage and like yogurt containers and so forth like that. And the paint job that this kid did was so good that even if it had been a kit I would have been impressed. But knowing that it was garbage was something even more, and I mean you couldn't tell it was garbage. I mean there was rivets and everything like that. So it's amazing to see what these modelers do and see their imagination. You can see new things that these creative people do and it's great.
Kentucky Dave:Now, do you all have any seminars? Do you put on any seminars at the show while the show's going on? Any presentations or anything like that?
Martin Paietta:There's not presentations at this show. Usually we're leaving that to the Northwest Scale modelers. There is I forgot to mention make and take for the kids.
Kentucky Dave:Great.
Martin Paietta:So the kids can come in and they can build a model and then take it with them, and that's provided by the club.
Kentucky Dave:I was going to ask.
Mike:That's great. All right, it sounds like a really big show for a one-dayer. Yeah, that's maybe. Yeah, that's pretty impressive. We're looking at. Oh gosh, most, of most shows down.
Kentucky Dave:There are like what, Dave, between 300 and 500, something like that yeah, between 300 and 500 is a typical show, maybe a little larger for a regional, but here in the Midwest 900 is an impressive number of models. 220 modelers showing up is pretty darn good.
Martin Paietta:I think we had even more right after COVID. Oh yeah, everybody did. It was amazing, everyone pent up and so forth. We usually have a display table also that people can bring, but we're not doing that this year because of running out of room and we had the same issue the last couple of years, gotcha. But I'm sure if you just have a display, you know something you want to display, not necessarily add it to the thing that makes the room, gotcha.
Mike:Well, it sounds like a good one to get to in your area. So let's let folks know one more time when and where, and then let's hear the web address again where they can find information online.
Martin Paietta:It's Saturday, april the 26th, the doors open at 9 am, contest entries close at 12 noon and it's at Renton Community Center, 1715 Maple Valley Highway, renton, washington, 98057. And the website is ipms-seattleorg.
Kentucky Dave:Well, I hope you have a great show. I hope you get a really big turnout. I'm sure that between now and April 26, those remaining 13 or so vendor tables will get sold and I'm sure it'll be a huge success for you.
Martin Paietta:I'm sure it will be. Usually those tables are gone and people are looking for more and luckily, when talking with the kit mask people last year, they were able to make it down. I don't think they're going to make it down this year. I haven't talked to them so I don't know but it was really great to meet them and I reached out to them after listening to them on your podcast, and so they've been really great people to talk with.
Kentucky Dave:Kevin and his wife are good people. There's no question. I'll tell you what. We'll see them at Hamilton in a few days, so Mike and I will mention your show to them.
Martin Paietta:Yeah, definitely. I love Kevin and Janelle. They're really nice people.
Mike:Yeah, good people, all right. Well, thank you for joining us. We're happy to help you promote the show and we wish you great success.
Kentucky Dave:One last request when the show have somebody I know you're not going to be able to make it, but have somebody at the show take some pictures and post it on the Plastic Model Dojo on Facebook, so that those of us who can't get to the West Coast can see some of these fantastic models we do actually have photographers.
Martin Paietta:Normally I would be photographing also with a group of other guys. We do post those on the website and we can put a link on your guys' Facebook.
Kentucky Dave:That would be great, thank you.
Mike:All right. Well, thanks again for joining us, and we look forward to hearing how it went.
Martin Paietta:Sounds good.
Mike:Thank you, gentlemen 900 in a one-day show. That's not HeritageCon, that is big, that is.
Kentucky Dave:That is a very impressive show.
Mike:I hope we see some imagery from that one. Yeah, after the fact, because I'd really like to see what that looks like. They got some galleries on their website. I need to go back and look at the others.
Kentucky Dave:I would really like to go. You know, tie a trip out to see Jim in with that show, Maybe next year, who knows. We'll see Well.
Mike:Dave, by the time this drops, we'll be getting ready to attend our first big show of the year. I've already started packing, man. Well, I don't have a lot to pack, but I guess I've started packing too. We are going to be up at HeritageCon in Hamilton, ontario, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, and we look forward to seeing all our fine Canadian friends and the folks from the Hamilton Club and just seeing an absolutely terrific model show.
Kentucky Dave:And, guys, if there is any way you can get to Hamilton now, keep in mind the show's on Sunday, but if you can get there, go. If I were to name the three most impressive model shows in North America, most impressive model shows in North America, the three that always are just super impressive and a cut place to see the art of figures, which is just so different, so special. The other one that I would throw in is the one here locally which is Wonderfest. But Mike and I are fans of contests, as you all know. But if you can get to HeritageCon, you should do so. You will not regret it, you will, I guarantee you. You will have a good time.
Mike:Well, we will be there.
Kentucky Dave:Yes, we will.
Mike:If any of you listening out there in attendance, please come by the table and introduce yourself and say hello, and we look forward to meeting you as well as seeing all our old friends. So yes looking forward to it, man.
Kentucky Dave:Yep, I am too. Well, we'll see how much, how much coverage we can get at the show up there.
Mike:Get to a show, folks. It's a lot of fun, it is.
