This August, the Arma Hobby team travelled to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to attend the IPMS/USA National Convention – one of the most important scale modelling events in North America.
For several days, the Nationals bring together thousands of models, some of the leading companies in the North American hobby market, clubs, content creators and, above all, an extraordinary community of scale modellers from across the United States and beyond.
For Arma Hobby, however, this trip was about much more than displaying our models.
One more stop – O’Hare’s Wildcat
And there was one aircraft we simply could not miss on our way through Chicago. At O’Hare International Airport we stopped to see the Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat displayed in honour of Edward “Butch” O’Hare – the famous US Navy fighter pilot after whom the airport was named. Naturally, we took the opportunity to have a closer look and take plenty of photos. A detailed walkaround of the O’Hare Wildcat will be published soon here on Arma Hobby News.
Marcin Ciepierski and his favourite aeroplane.
Wojtek Bulhak celebrates Wildcat fighter and scale model. Who knows who is pictured on Wojtek’s T-shirt? Let us know in the comments!
Arma Hobby in the USA
We came to Fort Wayne at the invitation of MMD/Squadron and Russ Lowe, sharing our display space with Squadron throughout the show.
One of the main purposes of our visit was to learn more about the American market directly from the people who know it best. We had extensive discussions with our US partners, including Russ and Brandon Lowe from MMD/Squadron and Gordon Kwan of Sprue Brothers, talking about distribution, availability, promotion and how Arma Hobby can build a stronger presence in North America.
The conclusion we brought home from Fort Wayne is very encouraging: we see considerable potential in the North American market for a company like Arma Hobby.
The trip gave us an opportunity not only to discuss how to increase the availability and visibility of our kits in the United States, but also to listen. Understanding what American modellers, retailers and distributors expect from a European manufacturer was one of the most valuable parts of the visit.
Mike Dobrzelecki and Wojtek Bulhak, old friends reunited after 22 years.
New Curtiss fighters in the spotlight
Naturally, we also brought some new models with us.
The star of our display was the forthcoming 1/72 Curtiss Hawk 81-A2, the first release from our completely new P-40B/C family. The model attracted a great deal of attention and gave us an excellent opportunity to present the project directly to American modellers.
We also talked about what comes next: the further development of the P-40B/C family in 1/72 and our forthcoming Curtiss P-36/H-75 family in 1/48 scale.
It was particularly interesting to discuss these aircraft in the United States. They are an important part of American aviation history, but their story also extends far beyond the US – from Pearl Harbor and the Flying Tigers to the RAF, France and many other air forces.
You may be interested:
See the Curtiss Hawk 81-A2 “Flying Tigers” 1/72 kit in the Arma Hobby shop
Models, reviewers and podcasts
Meeting modellers in person was probably the most enjoyable part of the Nationals.
We had many conversations with individual modellers, modelling clubs, reviewers and content creators. Their questions, comments and suggestions gave us plenty to think about – and several ideas that may find their way into future Arma Hobby projects.
We also handed out pre-production samples of the Curtiss Hawk 81-A2 for independent reviews, together with the new Flying Tigers pilot figures created in cooperation with White Stork Miniatures.
Fort Wayne was also an opportunity to talk rather than just type. We recorded conversations with Model Geeks Podcast and Plastic Model Mojo, discussing Arma Hobby, our new Curtiss projects, the American market and our plans for the future.
We were also very pleased to meet Brett Prusso of Hammerhead Model Making, whose modelling work and videos are well known to many scale modellers.
Thank you!
A trip like this is valuable because of the people you meet.
We would especially like to thank Russ Lowe and Brandon Lowe of Squadron for inviting us and hosting Arma Hobby at their stand, and for the many conversations before and during the show.
Our thanks also go to Gordon Kwan of Sprue Brothers, Mike Dobrzelecki, Stephen Gilbert and Brett Prusso of Hammerhead Model Making, as well as El Presidente and Frilldo from Model Geeks Podcast and Mike and Kentucky Dave from Plastic Model Mojo.
The Squadron booth at the IPMS Nationals – the calm before the doors opened.
And, of course, thank you to everyone who stopped by the Squadron stand to talk with us, show us your models, ask questions or simply say hello. For a manufacturer based thousands of kilometres away in Warsaw, seeing how many Arma Hobby kits are being built in the United States was extremely rewarding.
We went to Fort Wayne to better understand the North American market.
We came back with new contacts, new ideas and a strong feeling that Arma Hobby should be much more visible there.
Arma Hobby models at the Nationals
Of course, no IPMS Nationals report would be complete without models.
We did not have enough time to properly explore the entire competition – we were in Fort Wayne for only two days, and most of those two days were filled with meetings and conversations.
Still, whenever we had a free moment, we walked through the competition area with a camera.
First, here are some Arma Hobby kits we managed to spot on the competition tables. Seeing what modellers have created from our kits is always one of the best parts of visiting a major modelling show.
A few personal favourites
And finally, something much less systematic.
The following gallery is simply a selection of models that caught my eye while walking through the competition area. It reflects my own interests rather than the overall character of the show.
With thousands of models on display and only two days in Fort Wayne, there was no possibility of seeing – let alone photographing – everything worth showing.
So please don’t treat this as a “best of the IPMS Nationals” selection. These are simply a few models I personally liked and managed to photograph along the way.
B-17/Me-109 Diorama by Brett Prusso.
Scratch Built Japanese destroyer Akitsishuma 1/72 scale diorama.
USS Texas main gun turret with Catapult 1/72 scale diorama.
A few snapshots from the trip
A rabbit paid us a visit one morning.
Air National Guard at Fort Wayne Airport.
Chicago!
See you next year!
Modeller happy enough to work in his hobby. Seems to be a quiet Aspie but you were warned. Enjoys talking about modelling, conspiracy theories, Grand Duchy of Lithuania and internet marketing. Co-founder of Arma Hobby. Builds and paints figurines, aeroplane and armour kits, mostly Polish subject and naval aviation.
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Thank you for coming to Nationals! I really enjoyed talking to you and Marcin.