Meeting Notes: February 2026

Spring is a time for renewal, and a group of scale model builders in the Mid-South will greet the season as a revived chapter of the International Plastic Modelers Society (IPMS) USA.

On Feb. 28, the scale modelers who meet at Mid-South Hobbies in Memphis voted to recharter as IPMS Memphis Belle. Steve Nimtz, longtime modeler and group leader, was selected to serve as chapter contact.

The move connects the Memphis-based group to IPMS/USA, the national organization. The club previously held a charter but let it lapse.

Rechartering the club with IPMS/USA has been a topic of discussion for months among longtime club members looking ahead to the future. Several attendees renewed or applied for membership with IPMS/USA last fall when talks of restarting the charter got serious.

Show and Tell

In progress models:

Stan Parker brought an Eduard P-51B Mustang in 1/48 scale.

John Mahaffey brought a 1/25 scale model of a 1950 pickup truck he’s converting to be a wrecker.

Gabor Tigyi brought a Testor’s XR-7 Thunderdart aircraft in 1/72 scale.

Completed models:

German Candia finished his 1/35-scale Tamiya M-18 Hellcat tank.

Paul Palazolo brought the 1/35-scale Tamiya Sherman Easy Eight M4A3E8 tank he finished.

Stan Parker brought two finished model aircraft: a 1/48-scale ICM UH-60A Blackhawk in U.S. Customs markings and a 1/48-scale Eduard P-40N Warhawk. 

This and That

John Doherty recently bought a 1/48-scale Eduard Mi-24V/Mi-35 Tiger 3366. It’s a “Hind” helicopter with NATO Tiger Meet markings. He hasn’t started building it yet, but is excited about the prospect.

Larry Montgomery, who often brings goodies, brought tools to show the group. For the February meeting, Larry brought a tweezers set, a Kagyifly rechargeable drill, and a Table LED Moon Lamp HD-M10X desk lamp. Great for your workbench or nail salon (your choice!).