Tamiya-Con 2005
The 10th Annual TamiyaCON 2005 was held this past weekend, April 16th and 17th, in their American corporate offices located at Aliso Viejo, California. The weather was great all weekend – quite a few demos were held outside so this made it enjoyable for everyone. A concession stand was on-site, very affordable with an covered outside eating area.
Being a manufacture sponsored event, only Tamiya models were allowed to compete, however models could be enhanced with after-market items. Registration was allowed on both days, Saturday 9:00am to 4:00pm and Sunday 9:00 to 12:00pm. There was no entry fee. The registration process was smooth with paperwork that could be downloaded from the website and there was plenty of help and guidance. No personal information was displayed with the models. One raffle ticket was given to all contestants and visitors.
The display areas were small – the aisles between tables were very narrow. The staff tried to reduce the number of people but it was still very crowded and hot (I overheard a staff member comment that this contest had more entries than in the past). Three rooms were used: one for aircraft, ships and dinosaurs, another for automotive, motorcycle and finally military vehicles, figures and dioramas. Of course the largest showing was the military vehicles category – however there was a curious grouping in this category. Tracked armor was allowed to compete with wheeled vehicles, i.e. Tiger I vs. Steyr utility truck, Sherman vs. GMC 2˝ ton. H’mm, well that’s how they setup the categories. Lighting was very good with plenty of room for model display.
A sales tent was setup with great buys on radio cars, trucks as wells as models. Modeling demos were presented by past winners throughout the weekend. A full-size vehicle display was located in front of the main entrance, the star attraction being the M1A1 Abrams. Master Sergeant M.E. Mummey was the guest speaker – he did a great job explaining the workings of the Abrams. U.S. Marines of 29 Palms were also present to answer questions. A Stuart tank, GMC 2˝ ton truck, Humvee and modern transport truck were also on display along with WWII equipment. Radio control car and tank demos were held throughout the weekend.
The raffle was just before the awards presentation. The first raffle was for all visitors, great prizes were given to the winners. The second was for the contestants and this is where Tamiya really did a great job. Many prizes, like RC tanks and cars, many of their more expensive models were given away to lucky winners.
The judging started at 1:00pm and ended at 2:30pm. No volunteer judges were used in the process. During the ceremony, third and second place winners were only announced. First place winners were presented with their awards and received a handshake from Mr. S. Tamiya himself. Four lucky winners won all expense paid trip to visit the Tamiya facilities as well as take in the sights of Japan.
Tamiya of America and its staff should be commended for putting together a great modeling competition and experience. There was always something to do or see – I can’t wait until next year!!