Disney World is a decidedly strange place. Disney has done such a good job of convincing people it is the place to take the family that on any given day a quarter of a million people - roughly the entire population of the City of Pittsburgh - file through the gates of the various Florida amusement parks. The dirty little secret is that while the parks are beautifully maintained and the rides and shows are top notch, you spend most of your time waiting in lines just to get to those rides and shows. Hard core Disney visitors develop strategies to minimize their time waiting, turning a day in the park into a race against the clock to ride and see as many attractions as possible.
Of course all those people need places to sleep, so most of the hotels are built on a scale that make you think the architect misplaced a decimal point when he drew the plans. The Contemporary Hotel where the Nationals were held has a lobby big enough to hold an average Holiday Inn, and sleeps about as many people as you'll find at a high-school football game. That means that modelers only filled up about half the place. Disney, especially in the summer months, tends to naturally select visitors who are young, athletic and look like they have wandered off the set of a 90210 episode. In short, they look nothing like most IPMS members - which no doubt made for some interesting elevator rides.
Aside from the clash of cultures, Disney turns out to be a great place to hold a Nats. The model room was huge and well lit, the vendor rooms were equally huge (no crowded aisles) and well stocked, and (unofficially) 2700 models were on the tables. No doubt due to the location, a number of truly international modelers traveled to the event, including a contingent from Venezuela who took home a lot of trophies. And after a hard day of looking at and shopping for models, it was really nice to relax poolside with friends and a cold drink.
This motorcycle is the model that won it all, taking home the George Lee Best of Show award. The builder was Ricardo Gonzalez from Venezuela, and he looked to be in heaven as he walked up to collect the award.
I helped judge the automotive categories, and while I didn't judge this model I got to take a good look at it as part of the voting for the Best Auto award. I don't know how the Best of Show choice was made, but among the dozen automotive judges this model was a nearly unanimous choice for Best Auto.
There has been some discussion on the internet about this being such a "simple" model and whether it was deserving of Best in Show; but I can say it was far from a simple build. The modeler added lots of detail parts (front forks, PE chain, more I can't remember) and then built it flawlessly. The paint was clean and shiny, the decals were perfect, and the more you looked the more you saw. Some day I'm going to try to explain how IPMS judging works here, but this model literally did everything right.
For 2013 the Nationals are in Loveland Colorado - north of Denver - and for 2014 they will return to Virginia Beach for the 50th Anniversary of IPMS - a show you won't want to miss and an easy drive from western PA. I better get building...
