December Newsletter

The SIG December Newsletter/Update was sent out today by e-mail. It was basically a rehash of December's update posted last Tuesday, but did include a greeting by SIG Co-Leader Paul Bradley.

Welcome to the first newsletter of the new IPMS/USA Classic British Kits SIG! Our aim is to celebrate the great British kit makers of the past – Matchbox, Frog, et al – and the resurgence of the “granddaddy” of them all, Airfix. Many of us will remember our first kits and I’ll bet that more than a few of you will have built one of those classic British brands early on. My first, at the tender age of 6, was the Airfix 1/72 Bf109G, what is now regarded as a kit well past its prime, but which was the catalyst for my hobby.

I remember well sitting at the kitchen table as my mum cooked dinner. It was a simple little kit, yet I managed to get tube glue all over it(and quite probably the table as well!). I didn’t paint it at all, and I had trouble with the decals not staying put. But it was fun, and gave me many happy hours of play value before all the bits broke off and it was thrown away. But I had other models to play with by that time – I was hooked!

It’s that simple pleasure that remains with me today - even though my hobby and the way I view it has become more mature, I have been trying to build more models out of the box, just like the old days. Even now I have trouble with decals…

Of course, a SIG is only as good as its members make it, so I’d like to encourage you all to send us articles for inclusion, from your memories of CBKs, to build articles, to historical pieces – whatever you think should be included!. And I’d also like to invite you to participate in our Nationals Display at Phoenix in August. We’ll look at expanding our presence as time goes by, particularly at local shows and regionals.

Of course, outside of the Nationals display our main focus will be our web presence, and I'd also strongly encourage you to participate in the Unofficial Airfix Modellers’ Forum (UAMF) – it’s fun and free and we all share a common interest.

Our aim is to be fairly informal and relaxed about our hobby, so beyond Jim and I as contacts, there will be no officers and no dues. We may wish to solicit for donations for special events such as the Nationals, but most of all we’d appreciate your support in the way of chat, discussion and participation – after all, you get out what you put in! The fact that you are getting this newsletter is the first sign of your interest; let’s see what we can build!