Modellers Without Borders

    Scale Modelling Has Changed

    The hobby of scale modeling – creating small versions of bigger things – has grown and evolved incredibly over the past ten years, and we believe that there’s a need for a scale modeling association that reflects that change.

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    Modellers Without Borders Is Working with Local Clubs and Help Heal Vets

    Click the banner to visit the MWB/HHV webpage an see how we interact with HHV!

    Modellers Without Borders has begun reaching out and talking with local modelling clubs here in the US about the hobby. We’re discussing best practices for planning and hosting open system, exhibition style modelling events, and how MWB can help support them.

    We’ve also joined forces with Help Heal Vets, a US based organization dedicated to making a real difference in the lives of America’s veterans. According to their website, “HHV helps veterans heal from the visible and invisible wounds of war through therapeutic crafts. Founded during the Vietnam War, Help Heal Vets supplies craft therapy kits free of charge to active-duty military and veterans and is the nation’s leader in using craft therapy.

    The therapy kits often become an integral part of the treatment plan for patients recovering from traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, or other wounds of war. Heal Vets has distributed more than 33 million kits.” Find out more about Help Heal Vets at https://healvets.org/about-us/

    For those not familiar with the Open System, the MMSI website says it was created “to recognize the good modelers and encourage the promising ones at a ‘juried exhibition’ (not a contest).

    MWB leadership also reached out to some local clubs that host open-system, G-S-B awarded exhibitions and contests for some round table discussions. We shared and discussed best practices for planning, hosting and evaluating entries in this popular and fast-growing model show format.

    Representatives from San Antonio, Texas’ Alamo Squadron, the Tulsa Modelers Forum, Wine Country Modelers, Pittsburg’s Three Rivers Modelers, the Ventura, CA based One-Oh-One Wonders, Northern Colorado AMPS, and the Southern Maryland Scale Modelers got together on Zoom last month. They reviewed their club’s history using the open system, successes, failures and lessons learned, and shared current best practices implementing the open system at their shows.

    The system is intended to counter the weaknesses we’ve seen in other shows, particularly those which use category systems, with first-, second-, and third-place awards in each category.

    The problem is that the competition is always stiffer in some classes than others, and the fourth place loser in a crowded category is often much better than the first-place winner in another. Thus, a first-rate piece goes home empty-handed, while a mediocre work gets recognition it does not necessarily deserve. And the majority of modelers get no sense whatsoever where their work fell in terms of all the pieces on display and the state of the hobby in general. Perhaps the most interesting feature of this system is that it is not a competitive one. Because the number of awards is expandable, no piece wins an award at the expense of another. Each exhibitor’s work is evaluated on its own, and he or she receives the level of award the judges feel the work merits, without regard to the awards given to other pieces in the hall. Shep Paine and other top modellers developed this system for evaluating models against a standard of excellence, for the Military Miniature Society of Illinois back in the 1980s.”

    More round table discussions are upcoming with this group and others interested in this approach to celebrating the hobby at modelling events. Additionally, other sessions are being planned for new clubs or those wanting to establish local clubs, and how MWB can support their efforts. If you wish to be included in any of these discussions, please use the contact option, choose (local clubs) on our website, and we’ll get you included in the discussion.

    MWB Board.

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