The event had 783 modelers enter 2031 entries. Over 1000 participants attended the seminars and 35 kids joined in the "Make-&-Take" event. The Convention was held at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Kansas City over the weekend of August 2 – 5. The well-lit model display room was most spacious with plenty of room to move around in between the display tables.

The equally spacious vendors’ rooms (yes, that is plural—they had two vendors’ rooms) had all the plastic modeling candy that an enthusiast could ask for. When I walked out of the main vendor room, I had spent almost an entire paycheck and then had to bargain with my wife on the phone to let me dip into the emergency funds.

There were so many top-quality models, books, tools, decals, etc., that my head was spinning. I’m not sure how I got it to sit straight long enough to finish my traditional "all-nighter" hotel room Nationals model build. Yes, I did it again! Can’t help myself. And it turned out to be worth it, too—I brought home a few pieces of wood (awards) of my own.

One of our club members’ greatest achievements was when our representative dirigible/amphibious scratch builder, David Straub, took the 1/72 scratchbuilt category first place award with his marvelous L-32 Zepplin. That same work of art was the model that won the prestigious Michael L. Fritz Memorial Award. And, get this, he also built a car model! Bet you didn’t know he builds those things. Before you start wondering what was he thinking, he won first place with his 1/20-scale 1939 Mercedes Benz Indy Car in the Compet_ition Open Wheel category. I just hope he doesn’t start thinking about building motorcycle models.

ASM’s highlight at the Nationals was placing third in the Group/Chapter category. No less than nine of our club members banded together to build not just six but seven Tamiya 1/32-scale F-16 Thunderbirds. The primary builders were Patrick Dick, Frank Randall, Tom Perea, John Pattison, Brian Peck, and Kyle Garber. During the closing weeks before the Nationals, problems in building popped up and an alternate joined the group, Keith Liotta. With only three weeks left before the Nationals, Keith was able to build up a complete T-bird to have at the ready in case a backup was needed. With all the little hiccups along the way, it turns out that the alternate was needed and in true Thunderbird team spirit, Keith’s F-16 became aircraft No. 3. All six models were displayed on a superb eight-foot-long display base that had been crafted by our resident treadhead, James Guld. Master figure painter Stan Harris painted most of the pilots, while the remaining pilots were painted by the aircraft builders (due to scheduling issues). All of these members deserve a big round of applause for their magnificent achievement.

Our club can also be proud of the following members for having received awards with these models:

When walking through the display room I was able to capture over 400 digital images of the incredible model work. That certainly didn’t cover all 2000+ models but those that I did catch appeared to be of exceptional quality. As is the case with most every Nationals, the judging results was spot on with no occasions where one was left wondering what the judges were looking at. The Judges Grand Award was presented to a fabulously built 1/72 scale USS Kidd, and the People’s Choice went to a magnificently super detailed 1/72 B-2.

There are several web sites where you can find photos of the Convention and the models, including:

http://www.ipmsusa2006.org/results/index.html

http://www.ipmsusa2.org/EventsGallery/2006_Nats/ index.htm

http://www.scalewarbirds.com/nats2006kcpage01.htm

And a few to view the full results:

http://www.ipmsusa2006.org/results/index.html

http://www.ipmsusa2.org/EventsGallery/2006_Nats/ 2006IPMS_NationalWinners.pdf

The banquet room was as spacious as ever with the dinner served in the buffet format that seems to have become the norm for the banquet. Over the past few years, the awards presentation seems to have been bitten by a bug or two. This year’s seems to have fared a little better than most. However, for those that were counting, only four photos of the wrong piece appeared in the slide presentation and the presentation had to stop only three times to re-align the award announcements with the photo slide sequence. Once the awards presentation was complete, model removal from the display room went a little smoother and without as much haste and urgency as has been the case in the past.

Next year’s 2007 IPMS/USA Nationals will be held August 22 – 25 at the Marriott Hotel in Downtown Anaheim, California, and will be hosted by the Orange County IPMS Chapter. Having been a former member of that group when I still lived in Southern California, I can attest to their commitment and love of the hobby to put on a superb convention. Make your calendars, start planning your trip, save your vendor room money, and above all, build those award-winning models! See ya there.

2006 IPMS/USA Nationals ASM?Award Winners

Don Alberts: 1st Tam 1/48 Swordfish

1st Mono 1/48 TBD Devastator

3rd Trump 1/72 RA-5C Vigilante

Rick Carver: 2nd Misc 1/35 Italian Roach Coach Diorama

3rd Unk 1/35 Medieval Mortar

Mike Franklin: 2nd Has 1/48 P-47D

James Guld: 2nd Mult 1/35 "Things to Come" Diorama

Premier DML 1/35 V-2

Ken Liotta: 1st Tam 1/12 YZR-M1 2005

3rd AccMini 1/48 F3F-1

Dave Miller: 2nd Unk 1/15 Browning 30 Cal. MG

2nd Unk 1/72 8.8cm Flak 37 ZGKW 18t

Dave Straub: 1st Revival 1/20 1939 Mercedes Benz Indy Car

1st Scratch 1/200 L-32 Zepplin

& the Michael L. Fritz Memorial Award

Apologies if I have left anyone out. -KL