Telford 2013

[splash]

Another idea.

How about a 1963 advert display a bit like the box art display but we take adverts out of 1963 magazines/papers and reproduce them in model form, imagine an advert for the Mini that hase used a pen and ink drawing of the car within the advert, now imagine the advert made into a poster and the car model coming out of the advert.

Regards Splash

[JohnRatzenberger]

Bummer, I looked through my duplicates and have appear to have none from the 1961-63 era. You can understand that I'd be loath to send my only copies.

As we get closer and can narrow this down a bit, I'd be more than glad to "reprint" some covers, articles, ads, full magazines, etc that might help the display.


EDIT: my post is not in response to Splash's above, he got his in first ....

[JohnRatzenberger]

There went 8 days lead time ....

[philp]

Going to jump in as I will be attending my first SMW this year (and am chuffed). That said, not sure what I will be trying to bring across the pond on the iron bird but am hoping to contribute to a SIG or 2.

Regarding the 1963 builds currently being discussed, how many of you have your old builds from back then (I also was only 3 and would take 3 more years to put my first one together)? If you want to show the differences between building then and now, dusting off some of those ancient builds and displaying them with some more modern buds would really show how modeling has changed (and that includes those of you who were building excellent models back then.

Next, do we want to limit the builds to 1963 and today? A lot of modelers started after '63 like myself. Why not bring out your builds from 1963 on? Ok, maybe too much table space would be needed (how many tables are we trying to fill by the way).

I do like the idea of a display showing builds from kits back then compared to kits now. Old tool Spit, Mustang, 110, etc. compared to the newer releases of the same subjects. But is Airfix really the only company remolding their old lines?

Anyway, I am more than happy to try and support whatever theme the group decides on. I did manage to bring a kit or 2 to the Phoenix table which Paul ran so well and hopefully, I can bring a build or 2 with me in November.

[Martin R]

Lots of good ideas . . . how are we going to pull them all together into a 'go forward' plan?

regards,

Martin

[JohnRatzenberger]

I went back to James Guidelines & extracted:

* It is the 50th anniversary of IPMS (UK) and no doubt there will be other SIG and branches wanting to tap into the celebration. Just because it seems too 'obvious' for the Classic British Kits SIG to do something to tie in with this doesn't mean that it's a bad idea. With everyone looking back at what has happened in the modelling world over the last 50th years it would be foolish to not be a part of that just to be 'different'.

and one of my posts, where I said:

I don't see a focus on 1963 as being on the IPMS Anniversary, but rather a way to use the IPMS Anniversary to focus on an aspect of CBK ....

and thinking about a few other remarks here ....

I suspect we have gotten focused on 1963 and we ought to step back, put 1963 aside for a bit, and determine what we would like to do for our next CBK display, then come back in and ask ourselves how we can tie that to 1963(-ish), if at all....

Which frankly puts me back to the "cottage industry", but I don't have the knowledge/access/stash outside aviation to propose a theme/table/etc ....

My 2 cents ....

[mattbacon]

Well... it was me who proposed the "1963 and all that" theme. I'm more than happy for anyone who wants to to propose any other theme to throw it in, obviously.

The essence of the "1963 and all that" idea is simply to build any CBK that _could_ have been built in 1963, in any way you like - retro style or state of the art. It's not about building as you did in 1963, because as Al points out, most of us were probably not around then, and certainly not building plastic models. But there are a LOT of CBKs that already existed in 1963.

I'm going to be honest here -- I have very little interest in the "cottage industries". They're not part of my modelling history, I don't build them now, and my enthusiasm for tracking down arcane vacforms is strictly limited...

I'd love to hear some alternatives to discuss, though. One factor -- from past experience, we need to put 100-120 models on the table to fill it, unless we do something like the Box Art.

bestest,
M.

[beany]

I'm going to be honest here -- I have very little interest in the "cottage industries". They're not part of my modelling history, I don't build them now, and my enthusiasm for tracking down arcane vac-forms is strictly limited...

Ditto I'm afraid - no interest whatsoever. I've already made my suggestion and can think of nothing else besides that, but like Matt, would still be interested in other ideas. We need flesh on these ideas though, not just vague suggestions, and preferably from those only contributing builds to the display and/or attending either SMW or one or more of the other shows the CBK exhibits at.

Al.

[JamesPerrin]

I will email the CBK masses to jog some more opinions shortly.

As leader I've let this run without getting too involved as I don't want anyone to think my opinion means it's a done deal. Don't worry though I will voice some soon.

[mattbacon]

A few thoughts to jog the discussion along:

1) CBK SIG displays make people smile at shows. We really tap into a vein of nostalgia. By far the most common reaction we get is "Oooh, I remember THAT... I built one of those as a kid. You've made much better job of it than I did when I was 10, though..."
2) Based on past experience, we need about 100 models to fill the table at SMW. We've done fewer -- I think in the end about 90 of the "101 Gems" made it. And we've done more, if the models were mostly 1/72 aircraft and small scale armour. But roughly 100, unless we do something VERY different like the Box Art.
3) It's a good idea if we don't have to build everything new for the display. Even between the 25 members of the SIG, 4 builds each for SMW is a big ask out of a year's production. We're generally pretty good (certainly compared to many other SIGs ;-P), at not just turning out the same display year in, year out, but there are always options for re-use (like the 101 Gems, which incorporated a number of builds from previous years).
4) Our agenda, generally, is to demonstrate that CBKs are still fun, enjoyable kits that are accessible and can turn out great results.

So here are a few more ideas for discussion and debate, and to spark off thoughts in other people:

Changing of the Guard
Inspired by MartinR's Secret Santa build. We've seen quite a few people building Italeri Sunderland's or Trumpeter Wellingtons. Why not do a display of built CBKs next to their newer equivalents? The fact that we're the CBK SIG doesn't preclude us, I don't think, from displaying non-CBKs as well, if the point is to demonstrate that the CBKs are still worthwhile. Build the CBKs as well as we can, and let people make their own judgements about reviews that say "about time that old, tired xxxx kit was put out to grass". By Nov 2013, there'll be a host of replacements from Airfix and Italeri that many will want to build anyway.

Only Game in Town
Almost the opposite of the above... build a display of kits where there is NO modern, easily available state of the art kit, to show what you can still do with older kits if you want an xxxx in your collection. This one could easily include "Cottage Industry" kits, for those who want to explore that theme.

Everything but aeroplanes
More controversial, perhaps, but for me one of the joys of CBKs is the wide range of subjects that they encompass, especially if we spread the net wider to include KeilKraft, Merit, Rosebud etc -- some of the less well-known and earlier CBK makers. Build an entire display celebrating this diversity, and go to Teford without a single aeroplane on the table...

Let debate continue!

bestest,
M,

[JohnRatzenberger]

Bear with me here, it's a long series of text & pix ….

I got to reading all this yet again, and this time, after reading Matt's last post, I went back to his very first and saw it, and other suggestion,s in a different light.

If we need 100-120 models (or something) then there is room to do several different things on the tables, some of them can be done in the same spot, like themed clusters.

Let's take the venerable Sunderland, since it got mentioned so often.

We could show the Airfix kit OOB, so why not use our boxart to display that -- there's the excitement.
We could tart one up with WEM goodies and display next to it -- Martin's "what can you do" idea.
And on the other side, the Italeri kit -- Matt's "changing of the guard".
And here's the cover of the 1st Airfix Magazine displayed nearby ….
And here's a "Just like the real thing" ad (I know, not a Sunderland but I'm sure I have one somewhere).
And somewhere in my Airfix Mags is a conversion/update article that could become a model.





There, a CBK, and an era, in a package …. with supporting things around ….


===================


If we do best when we recreate (our) excitement then maybe that's part of our theme. Where I got my excitement was magazines (no, not that kind). In 1963 I was getting Aeromodeller, RAF FR, Air Pictorial, Model Airplane News, and some others …. remember I was 18 then ….

I got ads, like these ….





Check the Silver City ad ... "daddy, can we ..."



and these ….








Yes, black and white. Yes, corny by today's standards. But short of going to the LMS or five&dime, what else was there -- TV? Internet? not hardly ….


So what about a display theme that captures some of the excitement of "Ad Art", very similar to our box art display of the last couple years. I know, some of this would be impossible to replicate, not sure we can get a Woolworth's counter, etc … but we could do similar things and have some posters/displays around …

Reminding people of what they saw and the excitement ….


And it might be interesting to recreate an "ad art" display or two, looking just like a grayscale picture of a model ??? I know I'm not that artistic, but it would be interesting & eye-catching ….


And from the ads above, you can see more than just airplanes ….


Lastly, and I mentioned the magazines I used to get, never underestimate them for excitement. The 40's into the 60's were some of the most exciting for cover art -- especially Aeromodeller and Model Airplane News ….

Here's an Aeromodeller with a Zero on the cover, one of the famous "Aircraft Described" articles, and a list of plastic kits available ….








And Model Airplane News, with some ads inside ….










My RAF FR collection is in a closet, awaiting a bookshelf to be built, but I can find similar there.

Yes, all airplane, but so was I back then ….


So, we can do some comparative things -- maybe pick a half-dozen or more subjects, of different types, and build clusters, supported by box-art displays, ad-art displays, and such ….

I know I get excited every time I dig into these old magazines …. and reminiscent when I see what was do-able back then that I have forgotten today …. The Airfix Magazines are a treasure trove of articles that could keep one busy for years ….

Now, I just briefly hit some magazines around 1963, I can dig a lot deeper & wider if we are narrowed down ….


So some "comparative", some "changing of the guard", some "what can you do", some "only game", not airplane-centric (I love the no airplane thought, but …) and "excitement" supported by some box art and something new we call "ad-art" ….

????

[PaulBradley]

Hey, now that's a well-thought-out and interesting idea, John - i could go for that.

Funnily enough, I just got my bound FRI for 1966-7 in the mail from e-bay, meaning I now have 9 years-worth dating back to 1955.....fascinating stuff. I love looking at those old ads. Another sugestion would be the Lancaster - again, a pre-1963 kit with a new (Airfix) kit on the way with plenty of supporting materials. We'd need to find some non-aircraft subjects for balance, but I really think you could be onto something here, John.

Incidentally, here's a list of subjects for 1963 Airfix ads:

Jan- Bristol Superfreighter, B-17

Feb - none

Mar - NA.39 Buccaneer, tank transporter

Apr - Halifax, HMS Warspite

May - none, but revell GB had a full-page ad for their new "Pocket Mney" kits - Spitfire, Me109, etc.

June - Superfreighter, Ariel Arrow

Oct - Buccaneer, Areil Arrow

Nov - Halifax, F-104

Dec - none

Of course, they had their monthly modelling column, and i can list all th ereviews they did too if necessary.

Airfix mag was around then, and I'm sure John can supply some useful materials there as well.

[mattbacon]

There's certainly some interesting stuff there, chaps! I like John's idea -- my only concern is that while the "Box Art" has continued to be used until more or less today, and so is part of many people's modelling memories, no matter when they were building kits as kids, the "Ads" are much more time-specific, and may not be such a nostalgia-fest for many people.

Riffing further along your lines, how about "Ten things we love about CBKs", with the "clusters" as John describes, combining the other ideas:

1) Nostalgia
2) Only game in town
3) Box art
4) Simplicity
5) Still scrubs up well compared to new kits
6) Coloured plastic
7, etc).... to be completed

You get the idea! I can see the T-shirts already:



bestest,
M.

[mattbacon]

...and one more alternative, that came to mind in the small hours, and I had to write down before I could get back to sleep!

Another way of celebrating diversity without being so hard-core about aircraft.

The ABC of CBKs
Aeroplane
Bird
Car
Dinosaur
Engine
Flying Boat, Fire Engine
Galleon, Guardsman
Horse, Helicopter
Infantry
James Bond
King, Knight
Locomotive
Man O War
Naval Vessel
Omnibus
Passenger Aircraft
Queen
Rider
Ship, Sportsman (Barry Sheene and a Showjumper)
Tank
Uniform
V-Bomber, Victory, Volkswagen
Wagons
X-Plane
Yacht, Yeoman of the Guard
Zero

This list is by no means meant to be definitive, and is up for suggestions and revisions, but I wanted to satisfy myself that it could be done.

26 squares on the table, each with one or more relevant models in it. I can pretty much think of at least one CBK for all of them, and obviously many for some of them! There are some alternatives -- we woudn't go for "Horse" and "Rider", so the Bengal Lancer for example could be in either, and we'd probably choose "Helicopter" instead of "Horse". Alternatively, there are probably much better "R"possibilities, if anyone cares to suggest them!

bestest,
M.

[beany]

Before I had read even half of Johns post I was thinking along the same lines (I think) that he comes to - a reproduction of one of the ads in 3D - I'm thinking the Lancaster being held by a hand as shown there - I have a craft magazine from years back with an article on how to model a human hand in plaster - modified to be gripping a Lancaster now of course - and all painted in the greyscale of the article. And then the four models below - Lifeguard Trumpeter, Bentley(?), Level Crossing and small ship - all 3D mounted on an upright reproduction of the advert page.

Whilst the Ads will not be as well known as the box art - I think the public will immediately "get it" - I don't actually recognise or remember the specific Ad. John used above but I recognise the style from my childhood which is good enough for me. I may knock something up anyway - a 3D sketch if you like, to see if the idea has legs.

Matt - one of the SIGs did the A-Z thing last year. If we did it it would have to be in such a unique way so as to prevent people drawing a direct comparison I think.

Cheers
Al.