Support Your Community with Model Displays

Ideas on Getting Started 

There may be events in your community that lend themselves to a model display of some kind. You need to keep your eyes peeled at the newspaper or internet (conventions and events pages) to see what is going on in your area and to make plans far enough ahead of time with the organizations. Your club members might belong to other groups that may want a display. You might expand your search outside your immediate locale. There may be an event further away that would love to have a model display. Based upon what the event is, you need to scope out what a display could be. Some, like a comic or science fiction convention, are obvious. Veteran museums may enjoy a permanent or rotating display. If your city does Veterans Day or Memorial Day events, see if they would like several tables of models to support it. You can tie in “anniversaries” as well. Almost every year is a player for something that your club has models available for. Some examples in 2019 were the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing and the 75th anniversaries of D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge. 2020 included the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Korean War. 2022 was the 75th anniversary of the United States Air Force (USAF). Other venues to consider include local museums, city hall, libraries, schools, and Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Girl Scout events. Note that there is a “Model Maker” Scout Activity Badge. Members of your club may have children in the Scouts and they are a great connection to get that set up. Make & Takes are also a player with the Scout groups. You could also work those in at a convention if you advertise set times. Another venue that you might consider is a state or county fair. A display here might be a weekend display, or maybe your club could sponsor and conduct a model contest for the fair, if they don’t already have that competition in the arts and crafts area. If they already do, then you might talk to the organizers about helping them with the model registrations and judging. They would likely welcome the help. This is a great way to have an annual connection with the community with a combination contest and display.  

Proposing Your Display and Themes

Have some “display themes” in mind when you approach an organization. What is the theme of their event? What can your club provide that would enhance their event? For some themes, you may need to have club members build outside their normal modeling areas. A club contest with the theme of the event is a good way to encourage members to participate. Get that included on your club’s schedule. Your supported organization might throw in some plaques or items that you could use as contest prizes. When you approach the organization with your display proposal, have some pictures of previous displays that you have done. If you haven’t done any, then some shots of one of your club model contests would be okay. Make sure that you point out that your display is “free” and that you are not trying to sell anything. That can relieve concerns the organization might have about your club. If your display is supporting an event that requires an admission cost to get into, then it should be discussed that the club members supporting the display get free admission, parking, etc. If the venue is large, consider the best places to drop off and pick up the models. Have a plan for getting the models into the venue to your display location—how many folks do you need and are there carts available, or do you need to bring your own fold-up carts. Another consideration is the security of the models. Locked cases are a must for anything where club members are not manning a real-time display. An example might be display cases in a library event that is running several weeks. If you have display tables at a multi-day convention, what kind of overnight security do they have for all the vendors and displays at the event? Are the rooms locked and the hallways patrolled? 

Tools for Your Display

On the display itself you need to do more than just place the models on the tables. Little note cards describing what the model is and how it fits into the theme of the event are a must. It will take some effort to create these at first, but the cards will be reusable at future events. Be sure to “capture” all of them after the event for future use so you don’t have to print and cut them out over and over again. You might want to build some “What is Scale Modeling?” charts or cards to use with your display. Those, plus some models of the same subject—for example a P-51 Mustang—in different scales, are great starters/references to use to talk about “scale modeling.” You should also build a “What’s in the Model Kit Box” demonstration tool that goes with your display. Take a small 1/72 scale kit—we used a P‑51—and tape the sprues, decals, and instructions to yellow card stock to make them stand out, and place them beside the model box and the same built kit. This tool never fails to engage people on what a model really is. Pictures of the demo tool and “What is Scale Modeling?” cards are included below. And last, but not least, have a club sign or banner and some club promotional material like flyers available in a nice plastic stand/holder for anyone interested in scale modeling to pick up. Include your club logo and website address or Facebook page if you have one—include a Quick Response (QR) code to your site—or other contact info on the flyer, and when and where your club meetings occur. Don’t forget to include the IPMS/USA logo and some information on the IPMS/USA organization as well. Consider building some small stand-up fiberboard signs with your club’s name and the QR code to post within the display. You might also bring some business cards to your local hobby shops, if they are okay with that. Those are handy when you get asked “Are there any hobby shops around here?” Bottomline here is that event attendees need a way to remember who you are for when they are planning their own events at a later time, or decide they might want to attend one of your club meetings. Take pictures of your display to use in your future proposals with other groups. You will also need those pictures for the next time you talk with the same group—they may have new or different POCs running the event and they do not know who your club is.