International Plastic Modellers' Society

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The International Plastic Modellers' Society (often shortened to IPMS) is an international organisation of hobbyists interested in building plastic model kits. The Society is made up of national branches, and within these, local clubs who usually represent a town, city or locality. The first branch was established in the United Kingdom in 1963.

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Local clubs organise regular meetings, typically once a month for members to meet up, show off their latest models, discuss the hobby and work on ongoing projects. Many also organise their own annual shows and invite fellow clubs to display alongside traders, and together, these shows make up a busy calendar of events throughout each year. The UK has the most developed club network, with organisations covering virtually the whole country. Elsewhere, local clubs can often function as national branches simultaneously, such as IPMS Argentina who also represent the Mar del Plata region of the country.

At a higher level, national branches will also organise their own shows. These are typically termed 'Nationals'. The largest of these is IPMS UK's Scale ModelWorld, held at Telford in November each year and features not just local British club displays, but also contributions from overseas branches and clubs, such is its scale.

In addition to the branch and club structure, Special Interest Groups (SIG) exist which focus on a specific area or type of model building, for instance a particular aircraft such as the Tornado, a time period like the Cold War, a manufacturer such as Airfix or a genre like science fiction and fantasy. SIGs often transcend club and branch boundaries, being made up of modellers from around the world sharing a common interest. As a result, most SIGs do not meet up on a regular basis like clubs, but instead communicate more frequently online.

UK SIGs

List of current UK SIGs on IPMS UK website

IPMS (USA) SIGs

List of current SIGs

National branches

NameYear foundedWebsite
Flag of Argentina.svg IPMS Argentina1985 IPMS Argentina
Flag of New Zealand.svg IPMS Auckland (New Zealand) IPMS Auckland (New Zealand)
Flag of Australia (converted).svg IPMS Australia1964 IPMS Australia
Flag of Austria.svg IPMS Austria1970 IPMS Austria
Flag of Belgium (civil).svg IPMS Belgium1968 IPMS Belgium
Flag of Brazil.svg IPMS Brazil (GPPSD)1978 IPMS Brazil (GPPSD)
Flag of Brunei.svg IPMS Brunei
Flag of Bulgaria.svg IPMS Bulgaria2011
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg IPMS Canada1964 IPMS Canada
Flag of Chile.svg IPMS Chile1987 IPMS Chile
Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg IPMS China IPMS China
Flag of Colombia.svg IPMS Colombia IPMS Colombia
Flag of Costa Rica.svg IPMS Costa Rica
Flag of Croatia.svg IPMS Croatia2016
Flag of Cuba.svg IPMS Cuba
Flag of Cyprus.svg IPMS Cyprus1996 IPMS Cyprus
Flag of the Czech Republic.svg IPMS Czech Republic IPMS Czech Republic
Flag of Denmark.svg IPMS Denmark1965 IPMS Denmark
Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg IPMS Dominican Republic2021 IPMS Rep. Dominicana
Flag of Ecuador.svg IPMS Ecuador2013 IPMS Ecuador
Flag of Egypt.svg IPMS Egypt IPMS Egypt
Flag of El Salvador.svg IPMS El Salvador
Flag of Finland.svg IPMS Finland1968 IPMS Finland
Flag of France.svg IPMS France1975 Fédération Française de Maquettisme Statique
Flag of Germany.svg IPMS Germany1966 IPMS Germany
Flag of Greece.svg IPMS Greece1981 IPMS Greece
Flag of Guatemala.svg IPMS Guatemala IPMS Guatemala
Flag of Honduras (2022-).svg IPMS Honduras IPMS Honduras
IPMS Hungary2017
Flag of Indonesia.svg IPMS Indonesia2001
Flag of Ireland.svg IPMS Ireland2007 IPMS Ireland
Flag of Israel.svg IPMS Israel1987 IPMS Israel
Flag of Italy.svg IPMS Italy1968 IPMS Italy
Flag of Lebanon.svg IPMS Lebanon2017 IPMS Lebanon
Flag of South Korea.svg IPMS Korea2011 IPMS Korea
Flag of Latvia.svg IPMS Latvia2014 IPMS Latvia
Flag of Luxembourg.svg IPMS Luxembourg1980 IPMS Luxembourg
Flag of Malaysia.svg IPMS Malaysia
Flag of Malta.svg IPMS Malta1981 IPMS Malta
Flag of Mexico.svg IPMS Mexico1977 IPMS Mexico
Flag of the Netherlands.svg IPMS Netherlands1971 IPMS Netherlands
Flag of Norway.svg IPMS Norway IPMS Norway
Flag of Pakistan.svg IPMS Pakistan2017 IPMS Pakistan
Flag of Panama.svg IPMS Panama IPMS Panama
Flag of Peru.svg IPMS Peru
Flag of the Philippines.svg IPMS Philippines1968 IPMS Philippines
Flag of Poland.svg IPMS Poland2011 IPMS Poland
Flag of Portugal.svg IPMS Portugal IPMS Portugal
Flag of Puerto Rico.svg IPMS Puerto Rico (Borinqueneers) IPMS Puerto Rico
Flag of Qatar.svg IPMS Qatar2012 IPMS Qatar
Flag of Romania.svg IPMS Romania (AMA)2010 IPMS Romania (AMA)
Flag of Russia.svg IPMS Russia
Flag of Serbia.svg IPMS Serbia2011 IPMS Serbia
Flag of Slovenia.svg IPMS Slovenia IPMS Slovenia
Flag of South Africa.svg IPMS South Africa IPMS South Africa
Flag of Spain.svg IPMS Spain IPMS Spain
Flag of Spain.svg IPMS Canary Islands IPMS Canary Islands
Flag of Sweden.svg IPMS Sweden1967
Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg IPMS Switzerland1973 IPMS Switzerland
Flag of Turkey.svg IPMS Turkey IPMS Turkey
Flag of Ukraine.svg IPMS Ukraine2018 IPMS Boryspil (UA)
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg IPMS UK1963 IPMS UK
Flag of the United States.svg IPMS USA1964 IPMS USA
Flag of Uruguay.svg IPMS Uruguay1987 IPMS URUGUAY
Flag of Venezuela.svg IPMS Venezuela2011 IPMS Venezuela


See also

Similar societies
Models and model building
Manufacturers

References