■Took a Trip!! To IPMS “Omaha By The Sea”!!! Part 1!

An entire week, from August 1st to August 8th.

I, plus 4 members of the SWS development team, finally traveled to represent the manufacturer Zoukei-mura with a display booth at the dream modelers’ event, the International Plastic Modelers’ Society (IPMS) USA National Convention, which was held in Omaha in the American state of Nebraska.

In this entry in the Old Man’s Blog, I hope to grow closer to you by sharing my IPMS trip diary in full detail. For a short while, please give me the pleasure of casting your thoughts with me to the event grounds of IPMS “Omaha By The Sea.” That week flew by in the blink of an eye, it was so much fun~~~!!

We’re going to lay out the true essence of SWS in front of real American fans~!!
Keeping that resolve hidden within our 5-man SWS development team, we departed! As if in blessing, even the local sparrows seemed to give us a noisy send-off.

To tell the truth, I have always loved sparrows. Remember, there’s that fighter plane known as the Commonwealth Boomerang, right? The one from the Royal Australian Air Force.
Isn’t it surprisingly cool in how it so closely resembles a sparrow in both appearance and ambience?

Thus seen off by sparrows, we departed from Osaka-Itami International Airport and transferred at Narita International Airport, for a total flight time of 12 hours.

We entered the USA in Chicago, at O’Hare International Airport. After that, a further 2 hours of flight time. Already completely exhausted, we finally touched down in Omaha!

“Oh! So this is Omaha~! The city is bigger and more beautiful than expected~!”

A 5-man team in pretty rough shape. Holding the boxes that contained the completed Skyraider, Shinden, and Ta 152 models (more precious than anything except our lives!) under our arms, we staggered from the airport and just barely survived making it to the rental car agency.

“Oh! What’s this~! It’s summer in America, too~!! It’s so hot~!”…????

At that moment, every single member of our 5-man team was still a tourist at heart.
Completely unknowing of the fate that awaited us, we were the very definition of carefree optimism!!

In the rental car, which was completely loaded with the 5 of us and our luggage, we set off for the city of Omaha proper. By the way, the car that we picked was an Infiniti SUV.
It was a gutsy car, with a huge body that you don’t see in Japan. It was truly delightful, such that I felt that even if we fell from a cliff, surely I’d survive. Furthermore, it was brand new, and filled to the brim with power!

With a great roar, pedal to the metal! The start of a truly splendid journey!!!!

“Welcome to IPMS Omaha! Let me show you where your booth is.”

Randy was a gentleman to the utmost. He was an older American man who loved his hobby, and who had a truly beautiful smile.

Surrounding the huge main event hall for the model contest were 4 large rooms of varying sizes where sales, workshops, and panels would take place.

Our Zoukei-mura booth was in the West Vendor’s Room, the 2nd-biggest room which was dedicated to sales, and where many wonderful plastic model manufacturers were clustered.

This time, our booth consisted of only one table. On it, we displayed the finished models for the Shinden, Ta 152, and Skyraider, with all sorts of tags, banners, posters, and flyers, as well as merchandise for sale – the table was fully loaded with goods that we had brought with us, which all needed to be displayed.

Day 1 was only a preparatory visit, so we retired for the day at that point. After making preliminary arrangements, that night we worked diligently at sleeping to reduce our jetlag.

The day prior to the opening of IPMS Omaha dawned. It was finally time to begin constructing the Zoukei-mura booth.
We were filled with energy. In the morning, the staff went to Home Depot, a large home improvement center, to purchase materials. To them, who are well-used to hosting events, there is no difference between America and Japan. Just like always, they smoothly begin to prepare setting up the booth.

By the way! Just as we began to set up the booth, a large group of people came along.

We were still at the point of opening up all the boxes, with nothing at all on the table yet, but they came seeking handshakes anyway, amidst cries of, “He~ey, Shinden!!” or “Zoukei-mura?” or even an unfamiliar pronunciation, “ZM?”
That’s right. Apparently Zoukei-mura is difficult to pronounce in America, so we are often referred to as ZM here.

“I see~! So we’re ZM, huh~!” And in the way of Japan, we quickly grew used to it. As we bustled to and fro, the booth was also completely finished.

Finally, all there was … was to await the event opening….
But for some reason, everyone frequently came to ask, “Will you be selling the Shinden?” or “Do you have the Ta 152?”
There were also inquiries of, “Is it possible to purchase the Skyraider?” For some reason, it seemed that everyone, while still hurrying about their own work, was still thinking about the Zoukei-mura booth.

And one more thing! Right after the event opening, a local Omaha TV station came to interview Zoukei-mura!
They focused on the Skyraider, and after hearing that it was a display from Japan, they carefully circled it with the camera. Unfortunately, we were unable to follow up on the broadcast, but I’m sure it made good news for the viewers.

At IPMS, along with merchandise and finished models, we had brought along button badges to sell for “Great East Japan Earthquake Relief,” just like we do at our events in Japan.
Along with showing our gratitude to America and the American military who gave so much relief to earthquake victims in Japan under “Operation Tomodachi,” we hoped to receive donations from attendees at the event site.

They were colorful buttons, showing the SWS logo along with pictures of the Skyraider, P-51, Shinden, or Ta 152.
And what do you know, many people expressed interest, and plopped down a 5-dollar donation. How truly kind everyone was! And all at once, the buttons began to sell out one by one. Everyone, thank you so very much for all of your donations.

We will send the donations to the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake, by way of the Japanese Red Cross.

From the bottoms of our hearts, we extend our gratitude for your kindness.

Hm~~~m. No matter how you think of it, it was pretty tiring.

Once we arrived, the symptoms of jetlag gradually grew stronger. Our days and nights had been reversed, after all.

“All right~! Tonight, let’s go to downtown Omaha and splurge on the best steak in Nebraska~!!” With that said, we all tore into 50-dollar steaks.
Of course, I ordered Budweiser and the New York steak. “Oh, man~~ This is delicious!”

The following day, we stretched our legs a bit and left the event site to take a plane to St. Louis, where we took a company field trip to the Verlinden workshops. Well, now – what kind of story do you think will unfold regarding that trip?

I’ll continue with that story in my next entry, which will be uploaded in a few days. Please look forward to it.

From an old man who is feeling strangely nostalgic about IPMS – to be continued next time in the Old Man’s Blog!

Hideyuki Shigeta
The Old Man of Zoukei-mura

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