From July 4th to the 8th I attended the IPMS/USA Nationals in Chicago. After and uneventful USAir flight I arrived at O'hare and was met by Fred Stalbaum. We then went to the convention site at the Hyatt Regency, where we met up with Tim, Tony and Paul from the Sumter, SC club.

First stop was the vendor room! The world's largest mobile Hobbyshop certainly lived up to it's name. There were two vendor rooms with everything from modelers cleaning out their closet to major manufacturers showing off their latest kits. Tamiya was there with their new 1/32 Zero, which truly is a work of art. Revell-Monogram had their new F-86D and several automotive kits. Classic Airframes had their new Grumman Ducks and Lockheed Hudson kit available and announced the following kits for the coming year; 1/48 Re-2001 & 2000, SM-79 Supermarine Walrus and the Arado 68. By far the most attention was paid to the Banner 1/350 USS Arizona. This Chinese company has produced the first 1/350 injection-molded plastic kit of the ship that symbolizes WWII to the USA. Everything you need is here; decals, drop in detail sets, resin kits plastic kits, vacuform kits , tools, magazines, books, you name it and it is here. Also the Nationals always has the best contest raffle. Hundreds of great prizes for just a dollar a ticket and a little luck. I bought $20 worth of tickets and came home with over $250 worth of prizes. Lastly a big thank you to Bager airbrushes for giving free tours of their facility (the only area hobby manufacturer to do so) and for providing the DEAL of the show, their new $395 Sotar airbrush which can paint a 1/1000th of an inch line to convention goers for $100.

The contest room was huge, and it needed to be. With around 2100 models entered it was a very big show. Just look over the pictures from the show and you can tell how large and filled with quality models it was. From the 8 foot German train diorama, wonderfully executed armor dioramas to the outstanding scratch built 1/24 X-15 to the numerous scratch built Star Trek ships and various figures and Dinosaurs it was a tremendous showing of all types of models. The automotive section contained many works of art as well. Nowhere, not even in a museum, will you find as many great models as at the Nationals.

As always it is good to make new friends and see old ones. The only disappointment this year was that Avia Imports could not make it and for the first time in several years Tim and I did not get to have a few drinks with the Avia ladies. A big thank you to Ken Lawrence of Pacific coast models who provided free beer and snacks at the first annual Italian night.

The food in Chicago is the best. After getting over the shock of the hotel's food prices ($5.25 for a muffin and 1/2 pint of milk) we decided to explore our options in the area. Within walking distance was Giordano's which feature a Chicago specialty,  Stuffed Pizza and as Tim said in Sumter's Newsletter two slices was about all one person could eat. Great steak places abounded too. On the last night Fred and I went to Harry Carey's restaurant in Rosemont for a truly sumptuous meal. Chicago is truly a great place to eat.

After four days of modeling heaven it was time to return home. The extra suitcase I had packed was bursting at the seams with all the stuff I bought and all the items won from the outstanding raffle at the Nationals. I still had to get another friend (Phil Hale) to take a few kits home for me.

Next year's Nationals are at Virginia Beach, which is only a 6 hour drive from Columbia. So if you have never been to the Nationals before this is an excellent opportunity for you to be a part of the biggest event in plastic model building. Start planning now!