[THE DC]

The night before the convention, a buffet is traditionally held as a meet & greet. This year, the buffet was held in the lobby of the hotel for the participants who paid $35 to get a plate of food and meet & greet those present, who will be participating in the big event the next day. Those that stayed after getting their plates, met in the lobby to chat and meet new participants and prospective members. The event is informal and relaxed, with not meet & greet activity; you just jump right in.

The next day, the first actual day of the convention, the participants presented their skill and their displays in three reserved rooms, upon rented demonstration tables. The rental fees for the tables went to the management of the IPMC for costs associated with this next year’s event. Each exhibitor rents a table for $165, and may add another table (or even more than another) more at $65 each additional table. The exhibition lasts all day. New exhibitors may get a $10 reduction for the table rental. Those starting out with the IPMC, but not wishing to pay for a whole table, may rent space upon an “open” table that is typically in the third of the presentation rooms; reserving a space for a single model for $10, for each displayed model. All paying displayers are put in a cue for a series of potential prizes, judged by the participants and my voting visitors. Beyond the bragging rights, some of the prizes include very nice model kits. The visitors do not pay an admission to view the works.

At the end of the Saturday, a dinner is provided, for a membership fee of $55, where participants gather to share fellowship, swap stories, and participate in a traditional auction of paper models to raise funds for the next event. The models are donated to the convention staff, by participating members, for the annual fund-raising “auction”; to earn money for next year’s event. Many of the models are quite nice. This year saw Alan Rose kits, several Peter Zorn’s kits, and even some E. M. Gillon Jr. kits. There were even some European paper models of varied subject matter. Participation in the auction requires attending the dinner. The auctioneer is renown for making the auction fun and for driving up the bids.

Some years, a Sunday gathering of old friends can take them from Burger King to the wheels of a Space Shuttle. The group can gather and head over to the National Air and Space Museum; car-pooling to cut down on the rather expensive parking fees. They are older associates and this is not an official part of the IPMC events, so any participation is of invitation only.