Military Modelers Club of Louisville, Regionals 20/21 May 2005.
I've been to the Louisville show several times over the last few years and this is the second time they've held the Regionals. After hitting the road around 3.30 AM (time zone change), we arrived just a bit after 9AM. MMCL had provided entry forms on their web site so all the info had been filled in except for entry number. Despite this, there was some sort of confusion at the entry desk. Apparently they had more entries than expected as the folks at the table were busily writing down consecutive numbers so that they could apply them to forms and then cross them off when done. This was exacerbated by two of the folks using the same numbers with two people's forms and this delayed things for the rest of us. Perhaps it would be prudent to have a form already filled out with consecutive numbers and to take a bit more time to communicate with each other.
Entry fee was $13 for non IPMS and $10 for IPMS members. That included one model. Additional models were $1.
Once registration was done, we entered into the convention hall. This is a concrete floored hall that was divided by curtains into a model display area and vendors area. The tables were all on risers, putting them pretty high off the floor. This is great for us taking photos and to keep small hands away from the entries. Not so good for those folks in wheel chairs who had difficulty seeing the models as for some of these folks, the table tops were at or above eye level. The tables filled quickly and much shuffling around of models had to be done in order to make additional room. Several of the aircraft and armor categories quickly filled while others (like cars) had nearly no entries at all.
The vendor's area was full, though there were a few tables where the vendors had not shown. As usual, there was a preponderance of retail stores there. I heard some folks complain about not being able to find any deals. This may well be due to the show being a two day affair and it would be logical that most of the real bargains would be snapped up on the first day. The on-line auction sites hurt this as well for most of the really rare or interesting kits are no longer vended, but put up for auction. Personally, I found several good deals on things I was looking for (and a few I wasn't).
The kit raffle was a good one with lots of goodies. It was a buck a ticket or 6 for $5. The tickets were matched to items before the ticket numbers were posted so once your number was called, you got whatever they stuck the other part of the ticket upon. This is as fair a way to do things as any, though I'm sure some would have preferred segregating into aircraft, autos, armor, etc. As usual, I did not win anything I really wanted for my $20, and were I to buy the items at retail I'd have actually saved money. However, that is not the point of raffles, as one hopes for goodies, but if they don't come, so be it. My personal luck at getting goodies at raffles this year has been pretty abysmal. Perhaps the second half of the contest season this fall will be better.
There was a concession stand on the premises that sold sodas and the usual fast food fare. There were also a number of restaurants quite near and we feasted on some excellent Chinese food at a most reasonable price. In fact, we consumed so much that we passed on doing supper that evening.
A nice thing about the Louisville show is that there is always a vehicle or two on display. This year it was a Schwimmwagen and a Jeep, both very nice and something that was a nice additional attraction. I'd like to see a tank in there, but I'm sure it would crush the floor if they tried to bring one in!
The awards ceremony was scheduled for 3:30 and though they were a few minutes late, it wasn't a problem. The club got smart and placed all but the major awards on the tables with the entries. This way, we didn't have to sit through a prolonged ceremony and those who didn't win any first place awards could start packing up and leaving even before the major awards were announced as we knew we wouldn't win one of them. Awards were the same as provided at their last event; medals in a plastic case with the little brass plate on the outside of the case stating the event for which they were awarded. This is one way to do things as the club can buy medals in large quantities and then just get enough little brass plates to cover the categories, of which there were 80 for this event. The major awards were very nice plaques and while I'd have loved to win one, I was happy enough with three thirds and a second out of my 7 models entered. This is what happens when one shotguns categories!
We were on the road by 4 PM Louisville time and actually arrived home before dark for a change!
Overall, I'd have to give two thumbs up to this event. The organizers have done their homework as to what works and what doesn't. They have no control over the concrete floor, which had my feet hurting by the time we left, but a mat would be nice if they could arrange it. Should you be within a few hundred miles of next year's event, I can recommend it as a good time.