Hundreds of detailed, intricate models––tanks, planes, cars and more––will be on display Saturday in Schoharie.
The event is Noreastcon 2008, held by the regional chapter of International Plastic Modelers Society (IPMS).
Open to the public, the show, which will have about 400 models, is at Holiday Inn Express in Schoharie. The best time to come is between 11am 4pm, according to IPMS member Al Boone of Cobleskill.
Mr. Boone is thrilled the event is returning to Schoharie, where it was held four years ago.
“People come from all over for this,” he said. “They loved it here, and it’s great to be able to show off Schoharie County, too.”
The modelers will compete in dozens of categories, and Mr. Boone hopes the public will take advantage of the show.
A retired licensed engineer with the Department of Transportation, Mr. Boone builds World War II military models and describes himself as being about in the middle range of the talented field at Noreastcon.
His workshop says otherwise. Airbrushes, tiny tools, cabinets of spare parts and pieces, goose-neck lamps and magnifying glasses show Mr. Boone’s dedication.
In most cases, these aren’t the usual plastic models off the drug store shelf. But often modelers start with “out-of-the-box” models and embellish them, Mr. Boone said.
He even shops cosmetic counters to buy items for the detailed work.
“I don’t know what they think of me when I’m buying eyebrow tweezers, but I need them,” he said, laughing.
Such detail is necessary for realism. To a kit of a tank, Mr. Boone added soldiers’ knapsacks and gear, mud on the wheels and even a thin coating of dust to make it look as though it had rumbled through France.
The colors and dust must be just right, and the edges of the decals can’t be visible.
“It’s the difference between something right out of the box and something an experienced modeler will do,” Mr. Boone said.
“It has to look like the real thing and not a model. It’s more of an artistic endeavor.”
Visitors will see vehicles like his tank––and some much better, Mr. Boone said––at Saturday’s show.
Like many other IPMS members, Mr. Boone builds models because he loves history and working with his hands.
His central interest is World War II.
“I don’t do anything after that, like Vietnam,” he said. “It’s too close to the political reality. And anything after the Second World War we probably shouldn’t have been in, anyway.”
And even though Mr. Boone and others build military vehicles, he’s far from a political hawk.
“I’m a pacifist, really,” he said. “Just because I build military models, I’m not an advocate.”
IPMS members come from all fields. His chapter, Mr. Boone said, includes a surgeon, retired biologist and an editorial cartoonist, among others.
Saturday’s Noreastcon will have about 40 percent aircraft, 20 percent military vehicles, 20 percent autos and trucks and miscellaneous science fiction and figurines, Mr. Boone said.
“I think people will like it,” he added. “Some of the best in the country will be there. You’re likely to see anything from a plane to a dinosaur.”