AMPS 2000 "Hot Wash"

The Armor Modeling and Preservation Society held its sixth annual national convention on 14 and 15 April 2000 in Harve de Grace, Maryland. This is to thank the hundreds of modelers and armor fans who braved the rain to come out to AMPS 2000, which was the biggest and best AMPS show yet. This year’s theme was "Little Wars", or wars between smaller countries and their neighbors.

Those who came found that the show was 10% larger than last year with more vendors (79 tables), more models (467 registered), and more registrants (166) than ever before. Over 30 manufacturers and vendors sponsored the show with donations and raffle prizes, and Tamiya America and Kalmbach Publications provided a wealth of material to support the show as well. The editor of Fine Scale Modeler, Terry Thompson, was also on hand to capture the great pieces on display for posterity.

This year, AMPS provided six great seminars for armor modelers and fans: John Tapsell from the UK gave a presentation on British armoured engineering vehicles in Desert Storm; Tom Jentz disclosed secrets of the Tiger which you never knew; Tom Gannon covered US built SP weapons on the M3 and M4 medium tank chassis, a good choice with all the new kits coming out; Woody Vondracek gave a very thorough demonstration on dry transfers, both how they are produced and how to use them to their best advantage; Steve Zaloga covered some of the tricks of the hobby in detailing armored vehicle models; and Bob Oehler of Tamiya America gave a great course on how to get the most out of your airbrush. Our sincere thanks to all of them, as well as AMPS member Dave Kahn and MFCA Grand Master Dennis Levy who gave of their time to cover some of the methods they use in producing their masterful efforts.

The show was one of the most amazing concentrations of the modeler’s art ever seen, and those fans of armor modeling really had a treat this year. The big winners at the show were as follows:

Best German Entry - "Leopold" Railway Gun by Roger Lang
Best US Entry - Airfield Control Jeep by John Robinson
Best Commonwealth Entry - Coyote Reconnaissance Vehicle by Frank Huot
Best Soviet/Russian Entry - Zis-5 Truck by Ed Kennedy
Best Small Army Entry - IDF M579 by Adam Profit
Best Diorama - "Vorwarts" by Lynn Kessler
Best Theme Award – IDF M579 by Adam Profit
"Andy Smith" Award for Best Basic Level model - IS-2 by Brian Dwight
TWENOT Award for Best AFV Participating in the Liberation of Holland - Firefly and Cromwell by Sean Dunnage
New Jersey Historical Miniature Association Award for Best Workmanship - "Leopold" Railway Gun by Roger Lang
Best of Show - Popular Choice - "Leopold" Railway Gun by Roger Lang
Best of Show - Judges’ Choice - "Leopold" Railway Gun by Roger Lang
KC AMPS Best US Artillery Piece - "Fire Support" Diorama by Tony Zadro

AMPS also awards Gold Medals to the Best Manufacturers’ products every year, and for 1999 there were some tough choices at hand. There are seven categories, and here they are with the winners in each one:

Best New Plastic Kit - M25 Dragon Wagon by Tamiya
Best New Multimedia Kit - Faun Elefant by Accurate Armour
Best New Plastic Accessory Kit - VVSS Suspension by AFV Club
Best New Multimedia Accessory Kit – Anvil Resin Track Sets
Best New Figure/Figure Set - 2^nd Armored Division Infantry 1944 by DML
Best New Modeling Product - Russian/Soviet Dry Transfers by Archer Fine Transfers
Best New Modeling Book/Reference Work - (tie) Bradley by R.P.Hunnicutt and Marder III and Grille by Francev and Kliment

AMPS 2001 will be returning to Harve de Grace, Maryland on 20-21 April 2001. The theme of next year’s show will be "Keeping the Peace: Peacekeeping Missions Around the World".

No show like this can be put on without the efforts of a great many people, and since many of them were unsung at the show, I would like to personally thank them here. AMPS webmaster Chuck Rothman created a special data base which was used to run the contest and determine the results, and Nancy Sewell and Sue Bibelaut performed yeoman service as data loggers ("keyboard queens") to get the data into the system. Ben Cliche again served as host for the seminars – the "ticket goon" at the door who kept the presentations in line and on time. Vern and Annie Goodrich, Ralph Martin, Annie, Gerry Gardiner and Monique, Randy Ray, and Mike Luisi kept the admin area humming along, and Mike Memmo and Katie Sewell worked on the raffle. Paul Roberts served nobly as head judge, aided and abetted by Bob Collignon, Bob Clifton, Mike Siggins, Brian Bocchino, Steve Andreano, Devon Terpening, Dave Lockhart, Bill Hornbeck, and Andrew Dextras. Bob Collignon also designed the show pins and judges’ presentation mugs, and the show shirts were designed by Howie Belkin. At least 50 unsung AMPS members also served as judges, and made the competition work smoothly one more time. Many other members, such as Tony Matelliano, Dick Scheulenberg, Tony Bartoszek, and Frank De Sisto worked as "floaters" and took up the slack where it was needed.

Cookie Sewell
President
AMPS