Does anyone know if the IPMS plans on having their nationals any time in the near future in or around the NYC area? They always seem to be out west somewhere, in the midwest, or in the South. Sorry I may have missed any in recent years going back because I have only been in the hobby about 6 years now. Was just curious because after seeing all of those pictures and all the cool stuff at the shows I really want to go to one, but without having to purchase a plane ticket. I'm saving those bucks for all the kits I buy!

IPMS National Conventions are awarded to Bidding Chapters, which means that a chapter or several get together, do the work up and presentation as to venue, and surrounding attractions/things to do for the members and their families, hotels and pricing, etc for the convention several years in advance. If no chapters in the NYC area are doing this prelim work or submitting realistic bids, then it's not likely going to happen. I guess it all boils down to the same old adage of it's really up to the members to get involved to put it together, present it and then pull it off. I guess those folks out west, in the mid states, and down south where the conventions are held, know how to work together or have more interest in doing a convention than NYC does. It's a shame that the chapters in the NY-NJ area can't work closer together to do this.

My first IPMS convention was in NYC, it's the only one I have a memory of in this area, and it was so long ago, that I was still living with my parents, fresh out of the Navy!.

Another factor here is the cost of space in the NYC metro area. It's a tough area in which to host a model show.

Both IPMS and AMPS do regional shows within easy distance of NYC though. AMPS East is coming up on Sep 29 in Danbury, CT. Easy drive from NYC. If you build armor this is the east coast show to go to, if you can't make it to the AMPS national held every April.

IPMS-Noreastcon is in May in Schoharie, NY (about a half hour southwest of Albany - easy drive from NYC and very pretty country).

Hope this helps.

Danny Egan
President
AMPS
http://www.amps-armor.org

Yea Dave I guess thats the major factor in it is that not a lot are involved in the NY area trying to get a big convention in place, or because of financial reasons.

And Danny thanks for those two coming up! I will follow up on both and try to make them both!

Thanks guys for your input.

Jim

the IPMS National rotates across the three areas, East, Centrral and West, unless there are no bids form one area for a given year. 08 will be in Virginia Beach and 09 in Columbus OH.
The most likely issue you aren't seeing one in the NYC area is cost . The last regional I was involved in (06) cost the four clubs about $200 each after expenses. In the past, we'd triple our investment. The cost of two mediaum sized rooms, maybe 5000 square feet, 20 miles out of Boston, would have been $20,000 without a room offset, plus banquet seats. You'd need, for a national, something like 100,000 square feet of exhibition hall at least Thursday morning through midnight Saturday. That would have to have an adjoining hotel/banquet facility.
On top of that, the sponsoring club has to have a really committed work force willing to put in at least three years of work. A regional is hard enough, with two years of work. I know one guy who nearly had an emotinal breakdown by the end of the one he chaired. While there are sevral clubs inthe general NYC area, I don't know if any oneor group of clubs could come up withthe financial guarantees and risks of sponsoring a national.
Be forewarned, Scoharie in in the middle of nowhere but the club does a good job.

That's true, Schorarie is definitely cow country. But very pretty cow country.

The venue is very easy to get to and is close enough to the highway that you could probably hit the road with a baseball thrown from the hotel. The club that hosts - IPMS Northeastern New York - does a really excellent job, as Al says. Not to put down anyone else's efforts, but those guys have been doing this for many, many years and it shows. Nice guys too.

Danny Egan
President
AMPS
http://www.amps-armor.org