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Scandinavian C4-OPEN

Introduction

Each year on the last weekend of October modelers gathers from across Scandinavia (mostly Sweden) for the C4-OPEN Competition. This time (29-30. October) it was 20th anniversary of the event and I decided to attend it to meet fellow modellers and take part in the competition.

The C4-OPEN takes place at Malmø, a nice city located in southern Sweden and only 8 kilometers from Copenhagen (both cities are connected via a very nice bridge that crosses the Øresund strait). That means that foreign visitors can easily fly to Copenhagen and join the party at the local Technical and Maritime Museum.

The good geographical location, excellent organization, a lot of models, and local food and beers to taste in the numerous town cafes and restaurants, what else do you need for a great model show? Well, I guess you need to come there and experience that yourself!

If I am not mistaken there were almost 400 models and amongst them a lot of armor models. The categories included regular judging and extended judging (with detailing taken into consideration) so you could easily find a place for your level and preferences. Apart from the model competition the museum offered great exhibitions of aircraft, cars, locomotives and even a U-boat!

I was surprised at the attendance of local public which was very good and the museum was filled with kids and parents all day from 12 to 4pm. Many of them joined the big family of modellers at the tables of sponsors (there were a lot of them) while some had an opportunity to try modeling straight after seeing the grown-ups works (one of the shops provided 1/72 models and paints for the kids and teenagers). I think it is great to see the next generation coming.

In addition to the main competition there were several SIG’s like “our Nordic neighbors”, “S.O.S.”, and models of former gold and silver medalists. The last one was especially interesting – it was an example of evolution of finishing techniques.

The meeting was over 2 days – Saturday and Sunday. Both days featured presentations from famous Swedish masters, where one could ask a question and get some tips on how to improve painting skills or construction skills. On Sunday morning the judges results were put on the entrance door and I was surprised that I got 2 silver medals for my models!

OK, enough said, let the images speak for themselves (not all entries are shown since there were too many of them). I am sure you will enjoy the amazing models of the Scandinavians and if you have any questions or comments – feel free to write them.

Next year at C4? C4 Open Live links