The Northern Show 2023

8 Jun

Fresh from a wonderful day at the annual Scale Model Show in North Shields here is our review of The Northern Show 2023. The first of what we hope to be many reviews going forward.

Firstly, I would like to say a massive appreciation to Rob Sullivan and his team from IPMS Tyneside. They put on a terrific and throughly enjoyable show. This was the clubs second show back after Covid-19 and there was a noticeable increase in numbers attending compared to last year. The show is held in Parks Sports Centre with adequate on site free parking, facilities and great lighting. All the traders and clubs are on the same floor with the competition area held just adjacent up a couple of small steps and a ramp for wheel chair access is available.

There was a great array of genres on show from planes and tanks to Sci-fi and the more weird and wonderful. One particular display that stood out for me was Washington Model Club who showed just what happens to anyone who dares to break that unspoken rule of Scale Model Shows - touch one of the models on display and you might just lose your arm! In all seriousness the club had a wide range of models which I hope you agree show just how talented the club is.

In the competition area there was a good selection of categories for modellers to enter including the popular 1/48 Scale category, other categories included: 1/72 Scale, 1/144 Scale, Juniors, Military vehicles, Dioramas, Figures, Vignete, Sci-fi/Fantasy, Cars, Motorcycles, Wargaming, Ships and Trucks.

One model which I particularly loved was “Noddy’s Sausage Run” built by Ian Hopwood (Hoppy) from Nomad Modellers. I liked how his own dog Noddy was the inspiration behind the build and the realistic looking nature of the model.

Being a very big fan of The Addam’s Family I enjoyed looking at the Wednesday Addams model which gained a silver in the competition.

Robin from one of our very own clubs - Sheffield Model Group - gained a silver in the figures category, Well Done Robin it was throughly deserved. It was clear that there are some very talented Scale Modellers out there and I would have had difficulty not giving out multiple first places in each category!

Unfortunately I didn’t get time to talk to each group, however, here are a few photos I managed to get while on a short break from The Crafting Well Stand.