¹⁄1

VIII International Festival of Plastic Scale Models

Introduction

Although the end of February is a rather cold month in our corner of the World, the last weekend of February was extremely hot for modellers. It is the date of one of the most expected events for the model-builders in Eastern Europe: the Festival in Bytom. Because the number of displayed models grows with every edition of the festival, Bytom is one of the biggest events of its type in Poland. This year’s edition moved to a new location in the local Sports Hall, and in the opinion of visitors, this was a huge step forward: large display space, expansive windows providing much light, good ventilation in the display hall, and much more space for swap & sell traders – all highly-improved over the previous editions.

The festival organisers were the Modelling Section of the Youth Centre no.2 in Bytom, together with UKS “Karb.” Major partners, without whom the event wouldn't take place, were KAGERO Publishing (the major sponsor), and the co-organisers, IPMS “Silesia,” the model shop “Modelworld,” and two scouts sections: 16th Scouts Squad “Undefeated,” and 26th Scouts Squad of A. Małakowski (“The Foresters”). The chief of the judging was Mr. Henryk Głodek.

During the festival, the International Challenge of the UE pot “Euro Pot” took place. The challenge had been organised by IPMS Silesia and model clubs from Koprivnice (Czech Republic), Poprad (Slovakia), Mosonmagyarovar (Hungary). Models were judged by representatives of these clubs. Beside the countries mentioned above, the festival had visitors from Serbia, Austria, Germany and as far away as Great Britain, though not all of them decided to display their models or compete.

Beside the models displayed, visitors had an opportunity to supply their stashes or workbenches from the “swap and sell” area. Many booths were prepared by shops or publishers (not only from Poland), so the selection was very wide, and presented attendees with a large choice, often at special prices. As far as I noticed, lots of people carrying out some pretty large boxes had very broad smiles on the faces... at least until they got home.

This year the festival gathered 284 modellers who brought 914 models in total. These numbers include airplanes, helicopters, civil vehicles, figures, dioramas, ships and sci-fi-related models. The quality of the models was outstanding: even the “old dogs” had to take their hats off seeing the entrees. As one visitor said, “There's no chance to choose the best model, I'm glad I'm not the judge...” See the pictures for details. The organisers provided some non-modelling attractions during the show as well, including rides on an OT-64 SKOT armoured vehicle, fights between medieval knights with the swords and axes, and a short performance of the youth brass band.

To sum up, the 2011 edition of the festival was as usual a great success. Bad things from the previous years were completely changed, good things were improved. The number of the junior or beginning modellers grows every year, many times presenting unbelievable skills we can watch develop into the next generation. Many modelling-dads came to the show with their kids, explaining the weathering techniques or teaching them about particular wars or campaigns. I don't know why, but only seldom could I see the Mums with them... This was a really enjoyable weekend for me, and many other people whom I talked with about the festival agreed. One more time, let me borrow somebody else's words (found on an Internet forum): “You don't go to Bytom for prizes, challenges or trophies. You go there for the other people who attend.”