How do I Start a Modeling Club ???

Hi All,

I have become really hooked on modeling in recent years and been wondering how hard it might be to start my own modeling club. There are a good handful of model clubs in my state but nothing right around the corner.

So....my question is "How does one go about starting their own modeling club?"

Mangry

Reply to
Mangry
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When you start a club you first must find out if there are any lke minded people in your area.

Two methods are to:

  1. Get your local hobby shop(s) to put up a simple notice for you. Include tear offs at the bottom with your contact information.

  1. Contact IPMS and ask for a list of members in your zip code area and possibly close by areas. It helps if you are already a member.

  2. Start of with an organizational meeting in your home. Start looking for a free meeting site immediately. That's probably going to be the hardest part of having a club.

Good luck,

Tom

Reply to
Maiesm72

Descide where you want to meet. Put up a note about your intentions in every place that has anythint do do with models(wallmart,hobby shops etc). Include your phone number, and set back and wait. Phil(frog)

PS don't forget the local library or places where magazines are sold.

Reply to
FROGofOKC

We have just started one in Jacksonville, NC. Tim, the fellow who founded it, made some flyers and left them in our local hobby shop, plus he did some posting in this newsgroup and message boards on other sites like FSM asking if anybody was interested. We started in late October, and so far so good...

Sean

Reply to
Sean Magill

It takes a bit of work. Back in about 1992, along with Chuck Holtie and about

5 other modelers who were stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, we went through this process; forming the IPMS Gamecocks in Sumter SC.

We had a lot of support from an already established IPMS chapter in Columbia and they helped get the word out to others in the community. We posted notices on the windows of craft and hobby shops in both Sumter and Columbia and I actually put an ad in one of the local advertisment-type newspapers and we posted notices at the base Rec Center. We got a bit of interest in the military community as well as some in the local community. Initially, we hosted our meetings at the base Rec Center and slowly the membership grew; within about a year to a year and a half, the civilian members outnumbered the military ones and we moved the location to an off-base location (I seem to remember it being the library but could be mistaken on the exact location). At any rate, it was a meeting place that was gratis for us since we really didn't have much of a treasury.

We co-sponsored several events with the already established IPMS Columbia club and got more publicity from that; leading to even more members. Last I heard, IPMS Gamecocks was still going strong.

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Reply to
Bill Woodier

I and a couple of others are doing this now in Minnesota. There ARE modeling groups, but we are intending a somewhat different emphasis. We had our first meeting with people that were interested in the new club but were already members of one of the other clubs. That is only eight people. However, the more help the better, as in going to hobby shops with posters. Also consider the activities announcements in local newspapers and radio stations. Public libraries usually have meeting rooms available for no cost.

Reply to
Don Stauffer in Minnesota

modeling club?"

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but I've never been to a modeling club meeting. What usually is discussed? Is it a show and tell of projects? Discuss new/different techniques? Is there usually a set agenda, or are they loosely structured? Just curious.

Reply to
Pauli G

in article snipped-for-privacy@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com, Pauli G at snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote on 10/1/05 16:25:

We here in Yeovil Somerset used to meet in a pub just for a chinwag , gossip, discussing new/different techniques, show off the latest creations and drink beer.

Come to think of it we didn't talk models much, bit of a beer ex really!!!!

Rory Manton

It's Not Pink It's Telemagenta

Reply to
Rory Manton

place that has anythint do do with models(wallmart,hobby shops etc). Include your phone number, and set back and wait. Phil(frog)>

I could be way off here, but don't you also need to apply to IPMS for a charter to make it official, or is that just a good, but purely optional item?

When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return. --Leonardo Da Vinci EAA # 729686 delete the word spam from email addy

Reply to
TimeTraveler658

in article snipped-for-privacy@mb-m23.aol.com, TimeTraveler658 at snipped-for-privacy@aol.comspam wrote on 10/1/05 18:02:

You CAN be a modeler without being IPMS!

Reply to
Rory Manton

Join the International Plastic Modelers Society at

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They'll be able to get you all the info including the major advantage of being included on their insurance rider. hth

The Keeper (of too much crap!)

Reply to
Keeper

Purely optional. There are lots of modeling clubs that aren't affiliated with IPMS - perhaps the majority.

Reply to
Al Superczynski

take a big stick and whittle it down... What? Not that kinda club...d'oh! off the top of me lil head... Try advertising at the local hobby shop? Ask them if they think there would be enough interest in the first place?

Reply to
Eyeball2002308
Reply to
Digital_Cowboy

'cept more beer gets drunk. Or maybe that's just us...

RobG

Reply to
Rob Grinberg
Reply to
Digital_Cowboy

I guess the best part about going to a model club meeting is just being around others who have the same hobby interests as you. You get to show off your latest work, and the members are always willing to trade helpful modeling hints. The last part is really interesting: Some techniques I thought were almost universally known were unknown by some of the other guys, and the exchange of tips and techniques make all of us better.

Sean

////snip////

Reply to
Sean Magill

Ours usually are. We tend to meet at members' houses, so no-one drinks too much unless they have a lift, or they live there... (c: Sometimes, the meeting goes on into the late evening, especially if the member is single (or has an understanding 'significant other') and mentions BBQs, videos, or "Hey, guys, try this wine/port/scotch/bourbon/insert beverage of choice." Most of the guys will put on munchies for the gang during the meeting - chips, dips, etc. We have a good time, enjoy our meetings, and sometimes we learn something, too. And no IPMS affiliation. Although one of us is a member - we'll have to have stern words with him about that. (c:

RobG

Reply to
Rob Grinberg
Reply to
Digital_Cowboy

If you want to have a small group in someone's home, a bar or wherever, you don't need insurance.

If, however, you are going to have a larger group, open to the public, or a contest in a public location you'll probably find that the insurance demanded will be horrble.

IPMS USA's offering insurance as part of a chapter registration is a huge selling point.

Tom

Reply to
Maiesm72

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