Strana 149
While preparing an article about the exhibition
at the Technical Museum in Brno for this issue,
and especially during many conversations
with visitors to the event, I came to think
about the meaning of such exhibitions and the
meaning of model competitions as a whole. The
explanation requires me to go back a few years.
The idea of holding a large exhibition based on
plastic models and what this hobby needs and
entails has a long history with me (the club
KPM BRNO also organized two similar large
exhibitions in the 1980s in cooperation with
the Technical Museum) and I was indirectly
connected by extension with MODELLBRNO,
not being a traditional model exhibition.
We always tried to relegate any competitive
aspects to the background at MODELLBRNO to
give as much space as possible to club tables
and theme displays. We were among the first
to public workshops called MODELLBRNO XXL
in order to get new trends among as many
modelers as possible going and spreading,
thanks to the space available. This was
also incorporated into the side lectures and
demonstrations plugged into the event. And
I am very pleased that today this trend is part
of almost every event of this calibre. Thanks to
conversations during weekend modeling with
visitors to the current event in TM, both active
and non-active moselers, we discovered that
they don’t go because they feel they are not
up to it and yet when they show me photos
of their creations, it’s clear that they have
nothing to keep them from attending. I see the
whole problem in the naming of these events
and I think it is time to open up this hobby to
the wider public, to transform the competition
system into a series if meetings and displays.
It is great that, for example, E
-
DAY has
the phrase INTERNATIONAL MODELING
EXHIBITION in its name. The fact that modelers
(a commission of modelers) will choose the
so-called BEST OF in some categories at the
exhibition is probably okay. And also that
especially young people will receive some kind
of recognition, but when I hear that someone
refuses further attendance because they did
not receive a prize for their efforts, I find that
almost laughable. Let's stop racing, let's have
fun. It’s modeling.
I have nothing against a championship
competition, but that type of event is a different,
somewhat restricted dynamic. Clearly defined
rules, trained judges, models are limited to
stringent specifics. OK, they can be. It can also
be part of a larger exhibition….
It is first and foremost a hobby and every
modeler makes creates as best they can, and
through meetings and exhibitions that include
workshops, all modelers can move forward
and improve. Yes, some people are satisfied
with how they build, but many modelers do
not know what to do at all, they do not know
new technologies and tecniques, and so have
no opportunity to master them. Above all,
the proverbial plunge needs to be taken, and
I see that on weekends at our shows. The book
PSPM 1, published by Kuba Vilingr, is perfect
for this, and thanks to him and the connection
to the publisher, we have a limited number of
copies for sale - the publisher no longer has
even a copy of No. 1. Maybe it would be worth
considering updating the book over time and
publishing an expanded edition. Time flies
even in our hobby, and this juicy little cookbook
has been on the shelves for a year. Similarly,
a model school could be published in model
periodicals, or try to rework this book into
a how-to manual, for example on Youtube,
to include up-to-date trends. Legislation and
the approach of the spread of learning do
not help our hobby much either, while every
modeler is a bit of a historian, artist, builder
and architect. It develops a lot of things –
patience, diligence, skill, and all of that the new
generation will need. We should, while there
are still many of us, try to start new model-
making blood. That is the main reason for the
current exhibition at the Technical Museum - to
show our hobby to the general public.
POST SCRIPTUM TO THE WORLD
OF PLASTIC MODELING
Text: Petr Vacek
INFO Eduard
149
December 2025