Building Friendship and Sharing Modelling Knowledge Across the Atlantic

Kawartha Scale Modellers and IPMS Gloucester have established a twinned-club relationship linking two modelling communities in Canada and the United Kingdom.

The idea grew from something fairly simple: model clubs have more to gain by knowing one another than by working in isolation.

When KSM Executive Director Dalt Nyberg introduced Kawartha Scale Modellers to the members of IPMS Gloucester, he did not spend much time talking about organizational structures or formal partnerships. Instead, he talked about the part of the hobby that happens beyond the finished model.

Craftsmanship matters. Skill, patience and attention to detail matter. But so does the fellowship that develops when modellers exchange ideas, encourage one another and pass along what they have learned. As Dalt observed in his presentation, the modelling bench may often be a solitary place, but the hobby itself does not need to remain solitary. Kawartha Scale Modellers Introd…

That thinking provided the basis for the conversation with IPMS Gloucester.

An Informal Relationship Between Two Clubs

The intention is not to create another committee, administrative structure or set of obligations.

Dalt described the proposal as an informal bond of goodwill: two clubs learning from one another, sharing ideas and experience, supporting each other’s efforts and, in the process, helping strengthen the hobby. Kawartha Scale Modellers Introd…

That is really all a useful club-twinning relationship needs to be.

KSM remains KSM. IPMS Gloucester retains its own identity and traditions. What the relationship provides is a direct connection between the two clubs and an opportunity for members on both sides of the Atlantic to see more of what the other is doing.

Jeff Brown has been KSM’s contact with IPMS Gloucester and has helped develop that connection between the clubs.

There is no predetermined programme attached to it. The value will come from what members choose to share.

That might include photographs of current builds, modelling techniques, historical research, club activities, show reports, technical articles or presentations. There may also be opportunities for joint themes or other projects as the relationship develops.

The important part is that the line of communication is now there.

Sharing What We Know

Most modellers can point to something they learned from another modeller.

It may have been a painting technique demonstrated at a club meeting, a better way of approaching assembly, a useful historical reference, a new tool or simply seeing how somebody else solved a problem at the bench.

Clubs make those exchanges easier.

They also give people a reason to show unfinished work, ask questions, compare approaches and share experience that might otherwise remain at one workbench.

That was a recurring point in Dalt’s introduction to Gloucester. KSM places value not only on the quality of the models its members produce, but on the atmosphere surrounding them: the willingness to teach, learn, listen and take an interest in somebody else’s work. Kawartha Scale Modellers Introd…

Extending that exchange to another club simply gives both groups access to a wider pool of experience.

A modeller in Gloucester may approach a subject differently from a modeller in Ontario. That difference is useful. There is no requirement that everybody adopt the same methods; often the value is simply in seeing another way of doing something.

More Than Models on a Table

The same principle applies to club meetings and model shows.

Dalt noted that club events do more than display finished models. They bring people together, support the local hobby community and help attract new interest. Kawartha Scale Modellers Introd…

That is an area where two active clubs can learn a great deal from one another.

How another club runs a meeting, presents member work, organizes a show, encourages participation or communicates with the public can be just as interesting as the models themselves.

Some ideas will suit one club and not the other. Others may travel surprisingly well.

That exchange does not need to be formalized to be useful.

A Wider Modelling Community

Scale modelling remains a hobby built largely by individuals sitting at their own benches, but very little of what we do develops completely independently.

Techniques are shared. Research is compared. Mistakes are discussed. Somebody tries something new, shows the result, and another modeller builds on it.

Clubs provide a place for that process to happen.

Twinning KSM with IPMS Gloucester simply widens that circle.

As Dalt told the Gloucester membership, the hobby is ultimately larger than separate clubs meeting in separate places. It includes modellers, builders, historians, artists and craftspeople connected by the same underlying interest. Kawartha Scale Modellers Introd…

For KSM and IPMS Gloucester, the twinning gives that idea a practical form.

We now have friends on the other side of the Atlantic, another modelling community to learn from, and another place to share what we are doing here.

Where it goes from here will depend on the members of both clubs.

That is exactly as it should be.

KSM • IPMS GLOUCESTER
TWINNED CLUBS