How are you doing, all my SWS brothers?
Members of the Zoukei-Mura SWS development team, including yours truly, were away for nine days from August 5th to 12th to participate in this year’s the IPMS U.S.A. National Convention held in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In this blog post, I’ll share some photos to give you an idea of the show.
For those of you still enduring hot summer days in Japan and those of you in the northern hemisphere, even those of you freezing in the cold southern hemisphere, I hope you enjoy seeing this report of the IPMS convention in Chattanooga.
▋Here we are! This is the convention center for year’s IPMS USA Nationals! Modelers came together from all over the U.S. and all over the world in this lovely facility. Doesn’t it just fill you with excitement?
▋Like always, the vendor’s area on the day before the show seems open and vast. There’s nothing but the sound of the blowing dry air resounding in the gigantic event space. Our Zoukei-Mura team is coming in from Japan, so we have lots of unpacking and setup to do. We’re very grateful for the chance to prepare the day before. “Okay, let’s get to work! Don’t get me down, jet lag!!” But really, we’re all so tired.
▋Just look, Zoukei-Mura has done it again this year, bringing as many kits, tools, and other products as possible from Japan. Time to get excited, everybody!!
It all began on August 5th, at the height of summer. Our Zoukei-Mura team met up at Kansai Airport and flew on the Delta DL182 straight into Seattle.
Our final destination was Chattanooga, Tennessee, the location of this year’s IPMS National Convention. With stops in Seattle and Atlanta, our long journey took over 20 hours in total including layover time.
Come on, Delta, Boeing 767, you can do it!!!
▋The highlights of our lineup this time are the newly released 1/32 Ki-45 Toryu, the 1/72 & 1/144 Ho 229, and the 1/48 F-4J NAVY.
▋At last setup is in the final stages. The “Zoukei-Mura” banner is raised high and proud. Like every year, we look forward to and warmly welcome everyone who comes to our booth here at IPMS USA Nationals.
▋Oh my! A test shot of the 1/32 Hs 129, now in its final stages of development, was displayed at this year’s show. There will be four SWS Hs 129 kit variations: B-2/RIII, B-2/R8, B-3, and B-1. With all of these kits, we aim to make them the very best in the world!
▋At last the Zoukei-Mura booth is all set up. SWS kits both early and recent, completed display models, optional parts, display bases—everything came all the way here from faraway Japan!
Thankfully, this year we were able to set up our booth the day before the event. This was immensely helpful, as it allowed our long-travelled team from Japan to take our time preparing our booth for the convention in advance. Thank you so much to all of the organizers of the IPMS convention in Chattanooga!
▋The first day of the IPMS show in Chattanooga is finally here. And oh my! There’s already folks gathering around booths! But this is still pre-open. Those people are actually all vendors
▋You’ve been waiting for it, and it’s finally here! Hats off to this gentlemen for snagging one of these kits, the second version of Toryu! Once you start building this kit, your life as a modeler will never, ever be the same. Please enjoy the spirit of SWS kits to the fullest. Thank you for your support!
▋Oh my! You’ve gotten your hands on both an F-4 Phantom and the 1/72&1/44 Horten! That brilliant smile of yours is truly contagious, bringing us so much joy. And although we brought a generous stock of that Horten kit, it was already all sold out at the show by the morning of the second day. Thank you so much to everyone who purchased it! And sorry to everyone who missed their chance!
▋And look what we have here!! Yes, it’s that 1/72&1/144 Horten for you too!! Nice choice!!
What’s incredible about this Ho 229 kit is its incredible quality, comparable to 1/32 and 1/48 scale. Be sure to thoroughly enjoy every detail!
At last! It’s finally time for the IPMS National Convention in Chattanooga to begin!
▋Here is our master Mr. Kobayashi giving his demonstration. We quickly sold out of all of the tools we brought from the Zoukei-Mura “Old Man’s Seven Tools” series! It seems American modelers also have keen eyes to see what’s really important in a tool. Thank you all so much for your support!!
By the way, Mr. Kobayashi is speaking 100% in Japanese!! It’s beautiful to see how his ideas can be communicated regardless of the language barrier thanks to the deep connections and bonds of friendship between fellow modelers. And we are driven by all those words of kind encouragement from the American modelers. Thank you, everyone!!
▋This is our secret weapon at Zoukei-Mura, Anne! She translated for my SWS brothers stumped by my difficult-to-understand Japanese. Her careful and kind interpretation is truly impeccable. You wouldn’t believe your eyes!! She was surprised to be told, “You seem almost like an American,” and said to me, “It seems I’ve been confused for a Japanese woman”!
▋Look, look! In the hand of this SWS brother is…!! Yes, it’s the 1/72 scale Ho 229. Can you believe that these macho modelers can build such incredible scale models? I didn’t believe it myself until I saw the contest entries at IPMS Nationals. American SWS brothers forever!!
▋That’s right!! This is a sample test shot of the next SWS 1/32 scale kit, Hs 129! The incredible quality of this model is instantly apparent to knowledgeable fans. I had them take it into their hands to see every nook and cranny of this fantastic model for themselves. I heard many, many modelers tell me that “I will definitely buy it as soon as it is released.” Thank you, brothers!!
And a toast to the boss-lady behind you who has kindly given you permission to buy it with her warm gaze!
▋And yet again this year, our SWS brother-in-arms John-san and his wife Lyn-san came all the way from Las Vegas to be volunteer staff members. All of the miniature metal Zoukei-Mura flashlights handed out to questionnaire answerers were provided by John-san. Thank you, brother John-san!!
Next, following my seminar, it’s finally time for the “SWS Raffle” held by Zoukei-Mura, a famous highlight of IPMS national conventions!
▋To my surprise, this year I was given the chance to hold a seminar at IPMS Nationals. I spilled many secrets about the development of SWS kits in the short 50 minutes I was given, and ended with warm applause from our many SWS brothers. Thank you, brothers. Remember, everything I said is top-secret, just between you and me, all right?!
▋Just look! See that focused gaze of all these brothers! It seems everyone’s interest was piqued by this mysterious plastic model maker from in the Far East Asian country of Japan, and the story of the company’s beginnings and dreams for the future. Thank you all for supporting Zoukei-Mura!! Here’s to a long future together!!
▋Now it’s time for that famous “SWS Raffle,” always a treat to look forward to at IPMS conventions!
From Zoukei-Mura official T-shirts to SWS kits, we read out the names of the winners drawn from those who filled out one of our questionnaires.
▋Oh boy, you’ve won a 1/32 Raiden kit!!
Please be sure to finish it. After all, building this kit will surely change your modelling life!
▋And this gentleman has won a 1/48 F-4J! Please thoroughly enjoy the kit to understand the development concepts behind SWS.
▋For a change of locations, here is the contest entry room adjacent to the vendor’s room. Models fill the huge space from wall to wall, greeting visitors with the passion and determination of modelers. From Army, Navy, and Air Force, to science fiction and figures, to architectural structures, the incredible level of execution is enough to make one at a loss for words.
▋It’s so exciting to see this SWS 1/32 Ho 229 entry. My goodness, it’s amazing!! This must have been so much fun to build! This here old man’s eyes are getting misty just at the thought.
▋And here we see more of American modelers’ great technical skill in this SWS 1/48 F-4!! I can’t help but smile sensing how much enjoyment was had with this. Thank you!!
▋Wow!! This 1/32 Ho 229 is incredible, too!! This Horten finished with unfettered wooden plywood catches the viewer’s eye. And a round of applause for finishing all these details—no complaints here!! Thank you.
▋This Vietnam War F-4D is also quite skillfully built! The markings may not be flashy, but the careful attention to detail is fascinating.
Time flies when you’re having fun, and finally the last day of IPMS Chattanooga has arrived.
▋All of a sudden, we found ourselves on the final day of the convention. And the time to close is here. The mountain of SWS kit boxes that enveloped the entire booth has been reduced to only these few. Thank you very much to everyone who made a purchase at our booth. This photo here is the best souvenir I can bring back to my wife waiting for my return to Japan.
▋And you can see Mr. Kobayashi feels the same!! Having sold all of the “Old Man’s Seven Tools” series tools that we brought to the show, he can’t find his big smile. You can feel his heartfelt thanks to all of our American SWS brothers. Thank you for your work, Mr. Kobayashi.
▋Now it’s time to take down the booth, which looks like a reversed play back of the setup process.
The event space, once so full and lively with many modelers, will return tomorrow to the empty lifelessness of before. It’s a shame to say goodbye, Chattanooga! Thank you! Until we meet again.
▋As you can see, there was only a very small number of supply boxes left to be packed up. Some will be sent back to Japan, and some with be sent to Volks USA Inc. Hopefully you will next see them in Telford…!!
▋Today is the last day of the IPMS show for John-san and Lyn-san too, after all their great work. John-san and I have essentially become the symbolic two Zoukei-Mura OYAJI (Old Men). Take care. Thank you to Lyn-san for your work as well! Next they’re off to fly back to Las Vegas, Nevada. Thank you both.
Thank you very much for coming to visit the Zoukei-Mura booth at the IPMS USA National Convention in Chattanooga.
All of us at Zoukei-Mura are so grateful for your heartfelt kind words of encouragement and for your patronage in purchasing our SWS kits.
Even now, the Zoukei-Mura team and I are filled with happiness and pride from those words of gratitude you shared with us.
Thank you all very much for filling out the over 400 questionnaires with your valuable input.
All of the members of the SWS development team are now poring over each and every one of them, with the determination to make your dreams come true.
After all, your dream is my dream, and my dream is your dream.
And coming up…
The next time we will get the chance to meet our SWS brothers is on November 9th and 10th in Telford, U.K., at the IPMS UK Scale ModelWorld show.
This year I should be able to participate for the first time in a while.
I am so excited and nostalgic at the idea of seeing England and reuniting with my SWS brothers from all over Europe. Of course we will be continuing our traditional of the SWS Raffle at IPMS conventions with splendid prizes, so I hope you will all come to visit us.
Everyone, take care and be well! Until we meet again!!
▋There is a chance that you will be able to get your hands on an SWS 1/32 Hs 129 packaged in this box at IPMS Scale ModelWorld, held in Telford this November.
With its incredible high quality, this scale model kit could easily be mistaken for a museum model. Designed based on insanely precious research materials and crafted to a level beyond imagination, this kit is sure to ignite to your modelling life with a whole new joyous light.
Look forward to it!!
This is at most just a possibility, but…
The Hs 129, now in its very final stages of development, may be available in a highly limited quantity at Telford for pre-release sale!!
However, we will have to bring the instruction manuals and decals separately from Japan and package them in the boxes when we arrive in Telford, so there will be no outer white sheet wrapping on the kits.
For all those who wish to one of the few, very first in the world to add this kit to their collection, please use the Kit Reservation link below!!
| Product Name | Event Price | |
|---|---|---|
 |
SWS 1/32 Henschel Hs 129 | £115 |
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Please email the following address by November 3, 2019 (Sunday) at 23:59 (JST) in order to reserve a kit.
Warning!!
However, as you all well know, that major change known as “Brexit” awaits Britain. Because of this, I don’t even know if our international packages from Zoukei-Mura will be able to arrive on schedule this time, filling me with worry and uncertainty.
And in the first place, it is still not clear that the all-important Hs 129 kit itself will be ready in time to debut it for sale during the show.
I will write in more detail about the Hs 129 kit in my next blog post.
Please look forward to it in the meantime.
Hideyuki Shigeta
President, Zoukei-Mura
Old Man Blog No.103
A Big Hello to All of My SWS Brothers!!
Old Man Blog No.105
Let’s Meet at SMW in Telford!!