Sooo...the IPMS national show was in Ft. Wayne, Indiana this year, so it was a much easier day's R/T drive for yr. obt. svt.

All I can say is: WOW. Just... WOW. Were I to do it again, even locally, I would plan an overnight, the event and opportunities cannot be absorbed in a single day, two might not even do it.

The Ft. Wayne convention center is a very nice facility, and the host chapter (not coincidentally, Chapter of the Year) did a superb job with everything, mad kudos to them for all the work. If you search it online, you will see pix of the vastness of the display and judging areas and the infinite diversity of subjects.

As one might expect, probably 80% of the show was aircraft, armor, ships and sci-fi. If you've ever built in those genres, hold your hat down cos the work is amazing. That said, I didn't see much that lined up with my personal kinks, including prop airliners (Constellation, DC's, etc) 50's 60's bare metal USAF strategic bombers and century series fighters or famous postwar pylon racers.

To the point, here: There was a good bit of space reserved for auto modelers, and the work of the master modelers who displayed was impressive. That said, I'd say the top tier of any NNL show would be fully the equal of what I saw on the tables, so if you are at that level, you're definitely in contention. I think tho that technique and tools transcend the subjects, and it's hard not to love a perfectly rendered P-47 Razorback sitting on its hardstand.

The real benefit IMO is being able to visit with the manufacturers (R2, Revell, Atlantis, Tamiya ) and stroll the tools and paints available - it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to see the applications to our corner of the lunchroom.

So, yeah, if you can swing it, the show is absolutely worth doing. I cannot imagine a modeler of ANY stripe NOT being knocked out by what was there.