Additional info: Format of June 19 SC Megashow/Regional: Pls read if attending

[lgriffin]

Please read this information if you plan to attend to the June 19 SC IPMS-AMPS Megashow/Region 12 Regional. The format and judging are different from typical IPMS events.

Also, attached are PDF copies of the contest rules and the eligibility for the special contest theme "Reconnaissance Through Time."

Thank you,

Lee Griffin
Eagle Squadron Chapter Contact

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Howdy, all!

As the President of the Host Chapter, I would like to thank you all for your support.  We weren't certain how the show and format would be received, especially since it is like nothing many scale modelers have experienced before.  To that end, I urge all of you to to read the rules package a few times (Jeff sent a copy to each of you, but it is also posted to the show website--the link to the site is at the end of this message) .  If you still have questions, feel free to contact us at scmegashowinfo@gmail.com and we will be glad to assist.

We will be at the same venue we've used in years past, the SC National Guard Armory at 1225 Bluff Road in Columbia.  As always, General Admission to our show is free.  We're planning on having food trucks on site, too.

Here is the 4-1-1, as described by Co-Chair Mike Roof:

For 2021 we'll be using the exhibition and contest format we had planned to introduce at our canceled 2020 event. Each entrant will be assigned an individual display space (~36" wide and 30" deep) in which he or she can display as many works as desired and can fit. One (and only one) of these may be designated for judging. The exhibitor must self-select his or her best work for judging. All judged entries will also be eligible for their respective best in class awards in addition to an individual award based on skill level and entry score. In addition to the display space, each exhibitor will be given a chair and space to sit behind his or her models to interact with other exhibitors or show patrons.

Potential entrants who have works they would like to exhibit but which are too large to fit in the regular-sized display space MUST contact us BEFORE the show dates to make arrangements for these large works (email or by phone). If the exhibitor wishes to join with his or her modeling club to display these large works, rather than displaying them at a designated large space, the club leadership must make whatever appropriate plans are necessary to fit all of their members' works into their assigned, collective display space (see below).

All display spaces, to include the very few over-sized individual display spaces, will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis at the time of registration. We do make or imply any guarantee that there will be exhibition space available to anyone or for any work.

Model clubs that would like to arrange to have all of their registered members assigned to display areas next to each other to create a "club display" are encouraged to do so. We will ask you to keep the individual models to be judged segregated from the rest of your works, but aside from that, you may organize your club's area as you wish, to include putting up club banners, recruiting and meeting info, etc. Please CONTACT US IN ADVANCE if your club wishes to do this. The total available club space will be based on the sum of the total of the display spaces your members registered for.

Although we won't allow folks to sell stuff from their contest display spaces, clubs are free to set up a banner or place table signage, flyers, or other promotional and recruiting materials. Those who wish to have models judged in the contest portion could also do that (as long as those models - max of one per entrant - were segregated and identified IAW the rules). Finally, your combined display space could be organized to exhibit the other models any way you'd like - club theme, timeline, etc. - and include any number of models you could fit into the total area.

Entrants who are traveling with or intend to meet with friends and who might wish to have co-located display spaces should plan with each other to enter and register at the same time. Please don't arrive later in the day and ask during registration to be placed next to your friends who arrived earlier and who have already registered and been assigned their display areas.

All judging will be conducted using a written, 10 point system very similar to that currently used by AMPS. All judging will take place "on the table," so there will be no sequestered judging teams or a "judging room." Armor will be judged IAW AMPS rules. Cars, Ships, and Aircraft will be judged according to new scoring cards developed specifically for those genres. The same skill levels and award score breakdowns as used by AMPS will be applied to all entrants. Figures, Dioramas and Vignettes will be judged using the existing AMPS rules and scoring since those are not armor genre specific. The written scores and judges comments will be returned to each entrant in addition to any awards that may be earned.

We will be conducting judges' training sometime in the week or two before the show date (probably on a Saturday afternoon). Our intention is do in-person while simultaneously showing it on Zoom. For those of you who live out of the Metro Columbia, SC area, but who will be attending the show, this will hopefully afford you the opportunity to attend the judges' training and participate at the show.

We will be offering theme (our 2020 theme--"20/20: Reconnaissance Through Time"--and a 2021 theme TBA) and special awards (TBA) as well as Best in Class (genre) and Best of Show awards in addition to the individual bronze, silver and gold medals.

Vendor tables are going fast.  If you or anyone in your Chapter wants vendor tables, contact Tim Darrah at scmegashowvendors@gmail.com.  8 foot tables are $30 each.

If you wish to sponsor the show, contact us.  We accept Class Award sponsorships as well as general donations.  Also, if you would like to donate to our raffle, we certainly won't turn you down!

Everything you need to know is available (or soon will be available) on the show website, https://scmegashow.com.  It will be updated regularly, so, as the man says, keep watching this space...

Cheers, all!

Ralph Nardone
President, IPMS/Mid-Carolina
Co-Chair, South Carolina Scale Model Mega Show