The Inaugural "MarauderCon" local show - Sept. 15th, 2007
This show was a joint effort between the Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC IPMS chapters. It was held in the Harry Ruhl National Guard armory in Towson, MD just north of "Balmer". The directions provided in the online flyer were excellent, and there was plenty of parking all day. Walk-in fee for those not entering kits was $6.00, with $10.00 giving contestants unlimited model entries. A nice touch was allowing spouses and children of entrants free admission. They gave me a nametag sticker to show that I had paid, and in I went.
The main hall was given over to the vendor tables. Plenty of space, plenty of light, and the back of the main hall was open for ventilation, so it never got stuffy. A nice lady was parked out back with a snack truck selling hotdogs and chips. This was the only onsite food venue. $3.00 got you a pretty big , juicy hot dog with all the fixin's. There were plenty of dining places within 5 minutes drive (a mall was nearby), but most people stuck with the dogs.
The main hall also had a neat exhibit (pictures and text only ) on the Martin B-26 Marauder, which was manufactured in Baltimore. You learn something every day - one of the pictures in the exhibit was for an early conception of the Marauder that had twin fins and rudders, just like a B-25. It looked way hot!
The raffle table was off to one corner and was well stocked, with some BIG kits (more on that later). Tickets were a buck a pop, with drawings done every half hour. A ticket was attached to a kit, then the number was called out over the sound system and put up on a whiteboard. They drew about 10 tickets each time. Not a bad system.
Right off the main hall was one of the contest rooms, with another contest room downstairs quite a bit away. I talked to one of the local guys, and he explained that they were the only rooms they could get with enough lighting for judging. Walking for a minute wasn't going to kill me, so I had no problems with it. Also downstairs was the room for seminars and the make-n-take for the kiddies. When I poked my head in there, some guy was lecturing about Russian WWII armor and kits thereof. It was pretty cool.
After hitting the vendors, snarfing a hot dog, and saying hello to old friends, I ran out to a local ATM for more vendor money! When I got back, I heard announcement asking for volunteer judges. "Those that can't do, judge" I thought, so I went and got the 15-min primer on IPMS judging. I wound up with two other rookies and an experienced judge - our subjects were Junior, and Figures. It was fun, but I now have more respect for contest judging! Our mentor, Mike Kendrick, was very helpful.
I kept checking the raffle table periodically. I ended up hitting six times on only 10 tickets! They had a Trumpeter 1/72 Tu-95 Bear, a Mono 1/72 B-52, and other kits of various sizes, as well as magazines and accessories. The biggest thing I got was the Revell 1/4 "Visible V-8", which I swapped for a Trump Tu-16 Badger to make up for not getting the Tu-95. All in all, a good haul! It was announced that any raffle prizes not claimed at the close of the show would be sent to our troops in Afghanistan.
Although I had to leave a bit early , I did have a great time. The DC guys are old buddies, and the Balmer bunch were nice guys, so it was fun. The event was well attended, and everyone seemed to have a good time. I'd rate it a big 9.0 on Brother Rick's Fun-O-Meter ( i couldn't give it a 10 because they didn't have Hooters girls there). I look forward to their next one.