HeritageCon Model Show

HeritageCon Model Show

The HeritageCon Model Show is an event organized by the IPMS Hamilton Model Club. The club makes its home in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, located at the Western shore of Lake Ontario. Each year the club hosts this show and it is one of the larger events in scale modeling in Canada. This event is the club’s fundraising activity for the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, which is where they are fortunate enough to meet and have their regular meetings.

This year saw the seventh HeritageCon show held on Sunday the 3rd of March in one of the museum hangars at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ontario. Numerous vendors were on hand selling all forms of modelling related items as well as books and artistic works.

A major part of the show program is the chance for modellers to enter, display and have their models judged in the hope that their work would be recognized and receive an award. There were 10 major competition categories available including Aircraft, Military Vehicles, Automotive, Ships, Figures, Dioramas, Paper Models, Miscellaneous, Junior and Bantam. Each of these was in turn further subdivided into 70 individual subcategories. The number of subcategories varied from category to category but for each a first, second and third prize award was available. This year there were also eight special categories where the prize was a distinctive trophy. There were no less than 15 subcategories devoted to “Armour” related subjects and a further 8 to figures and dioramas.

While official statistics were not available during the preparation of this Feature, casual observations and comments by a few show officials to this writer were offered. According to one show official, approximately 450 models were entered while another was quoted as saying by his count, there were 480 entries. These two also estimated that there were between 150 and 175 entrants. Speculation as to the number of visitors that attended the show weren’t available but several knowledgeable people felt that this show had one of the highest attendance numbers of all HeritageCon shows to date. It was also suggested that perhaps this was a reflection of the relatively decent weather that day, as opposed to the messy days they’d seen in previous years. My thanks to the various members of the show for assisting in the preparation of this feature.

This feature dedicated to the memory of H. B. Skitch, long time modeller and friend.