Chris Clifford and Stu Fone report on this year’s IPMS (UK) extravaganza at Telford
There’s always high expectation in the weeks preceding Scale ModelWorld.
Whether one’s focus is on the many club and Special Interest Group tables, shopping, or the competition entries, the event seldom disappoints. This year, though, the Best in Show caused quite a stir…not least because the top accolade was won by a British modeller. Skilled builders from overseas have scooped the silverware for the past two years, so it was pleasing indeed to see the winning 1/18 Spitfire Mk.XIVe built by Peter Castle, proprietor of aftermarket firm Airscale. It was a mind-blowing replica, based on HpH Model’s Seafire FR.47, but with a dazzling array of scratch-building, metal skinning in the form of aluminium litho plate, and hand-painting.
Amazingly, it was Peter’s first ever competition entry, in any show. He told AMW: “I’d been going to Telford for seven years as a trader, but five years ago I started to put some of my models on forums and trade displays got some great feedback, but still wasn’t sure my work was good enough, or if I wanted the pressure…I wasn’t sure if competitions were my thing. I…
