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George Johnson
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2018 IPMS Phoenix

August 8, 2018 · in Show Reports · · 35 · 3.3K

Here are a few images I took of some of the models at this year's in , Arizona. Who thought Phoenix in August was a good idea? There were, from what I understand, a little over 2,000 entries. There were some amazing examples of superb modelling skills on display. My favorite was the Mercury-Redstone stack. I think it won best in show. My Horten came in 2nd place. I was pretty happy with that as this was the first time I entered a model in a national competition.

I was really impressed with the automotive categpry. There were some incredibly stunning and beautifully built examples on display.

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35 responses

  1. Congrats on the win George - well-deserved!

  2. your Horten is still one of my favorites and I am happy you rec'd an award for 2nd place. I looked closely at all your excellent pictures of the show and considering what I saw you should be very very excited for 2nd place b/c it was an amazing show with amazing competition. Do u know who got, or what model, was 1st place in your category? It must of been amazing b/c your second place is amazing. I truly did enjoy the pictures, left my mouth watering and stimulated some new ideas for future builds. I really liked the F-100 in NMF...one of the best NMF I have seen especially how he weathered the exhaust section of the tail. I wish I was able to get to a show like that. Nothing like that in my part of the country (New England).

    • Thanks, Paul. Glad you liked the pictures. A Heinkel He 162 won in the category. It was nice, but I didn't take a photo of it. The F-100 was awesome. It was probably the best jet I've ever seen in that scale. It won some kind of special award, but wa not mentioned at all in the award ceremony.

    • Oh...another New England native, huh, Paul ? Personally, I don't care if I EVER see another snow flake (now if it gets below 70, I'm cold) - 🙁

  3. Lots of gifted stuff there. Like the van Gogh robot.

  4. Some excellent work here. Thanks for posting.

  5. A most impressive display of modeling talent there, Paul - especially all those NMF examples...beautifully done! Thanks for sharing the experience and congratulations on your win.

  6. A nice show there! The Gemini display is awesome. Congrats on the win! [you shoulda got first].

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    said on August 8, 2018

    Congratulations on your award George. Thanks for posting.

  8. George, Thanks for sharing the photos. Some nice work displayed. Congrats on 2nd. That's quite and accomplishment.

  9. I saw your Horten on Friday George, VERY NICE build indeed. And yes there was some gorgeous work there. 110* out while waiting for a taxi back to the airport...no bueno.

  10. Congrats and thanks for posting the pics!

  11. Love the burnt metal on the Hun. The Israeli F-15 mid-air survivor is a neat addition. (And a very interesting story!) The A2D was unexpected. (Who's was it it looks like the sheet says Trumpy in 1/32 but I didn't see it on their site.) Just wondering if someone brought Steve Brandt's B-32 to the show or if it is a new build. (Oh how I miss the tales from Bondo Industries!) Just lots to see here!

  12. Congratulations with your award, very well deserved. Thanks for sharing your photos, fanatastic work on display.

  13. Great pics George, enjoyed viewing lots of great looking models. Some excellent skills on display, and congrads on the 2nd place. Well deserved.

  14. WOW!
    Some fine work there! congrats on your award. One day I will be able to get to one of these contests.
    Dan.

  15. A lot of very nice real space subjects there by David Weeks, including the MOL, Big-G and the Mercury Redstone and Mercury Atlas.

  16. Congratulations George. You're Horton is a masterpiece and the award is well deserved.

    Thanks for sharing these pictures with us. There's a lot of great stuff here and that is a testament to the quality of your build.

    Well done my friend !

    Like the others have said, the heat discoloration on the F-100 looks extremely realistic to me.

    The space models remind me of the "rocket garden" that NASA has at the Cape. Years ago I worked there on launch pad 40. Its an amazing place to see.

    Thanks again buddy, and the next step is on to the Smithsonian !

  17. Hello George,
    Congrats with your 2nd price. Thanks for sharing your pics with us.
    Indeed, the F-100 looks superb. Regards, Dirk/The Netherlands.

  18. George, Nationals was a lot of fun, and it was nice to see you Horten in person. It was very deserving to place !
    I did not take very many pictures myself so I'm glad to see you posted some here. Thanks for sharing and congratulations !

  19. Hi George - I will add my congrats on your Horten's award - very well deserved. I was very happy to see it in person at the Nats and any pictures I have seen don't begin to do it justice. It was beautiful. So much nice work at that contest - it is always inspiring. I was very impressed with this year's overall quality across the board. Lots and lots of good stuff on the tables. I judged a few categories (not yours!), and it was certainly NOT an easy task. But that gave me a real opportunity to see the exquisite work close up and personal on some beautiful builds.

    I have a ton of photos but haven't downloaded them yet. A lot of personal favorites were out there, but seeing things in person like a 1/72 Spruce Goose (!) made for a lot of fun viewing.

    Of course I came home inspired to build and build and build!

    @paul teixeira - the nats do rotate to different places around the country, but it is dependent on which chapters bid. if a New England chapter (or chapters) ever bid on it, you may see one in your neighborhood. I think the closest they have come is Virginia a few years ago.

    Highly recommend visiting a Nats to everyone if they have the opportunity!

    • Hi Paul,
      Thank you.
      Yes, there certainly were some beauties there. And you're right- the Spruce Goose was not only gigantic at 1/72, but beautiful, too.
      It must have been very difficult to judge all the models. 99% of them could have won a first place so I', sure the difference between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places must have been miniscule.

  20. Hey George, I'm a little late to the game here, but I just wanted to say what a beautiful model your Ho-229 was. It was probably my favorite aircraft model in the show. Very well done, and congratulations on the award.

    I had a model in that category as well, but I was on the other side of the split from you - and the split in our category turned out pretty good for me. Mine was the F-4J in the Jolly Roger scheme which won the "McDonnell Douglas" side of 1/32 jets. You can just see it in the back of your picture with the Blue Angel F-18 in the front. If there hadn't been a split I would have been in a battle for distant 3rd behind you and the He-162.

    Again, very well done.

  21. Thank you, Bruce. I remember your F4J very well. As a matter of fact, it inspired me to build one. I haven't started it yet, but I'm hoping to do so in the next few months.

    Too bad we didn't get a chance to meet. Maybe in Nashville.

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