Omacon 2007

I have been meaning to write this post for sometime.  Over a month ago I went to a model show just outside Omaha, Nebraska.  Actually it is Council Bluffs, Iowa.  

This is the first time I went to Omacon and I have to say that I really enjoyed myself.  The show was held at The Mid-America Center, which was a great venue.  They had two rooms – one for the models and one for vendors.  The vendors varied from online shops, Spruce Brothers, to individuals selling off their stash.  I picked up several great deals – finally found a 1/48 Dragon Spad XIII (American Flag version) that was cheap. 

I entered my 1/48 Eduard Fokker (Alb).  I have attended several shows and this is the first time I ever entered a contest.  I won first place in my category (yeah).  I was stunned when they announced the winner – personally, I didn’t believe that I would win anything as there were a lot of good models in the bi-plane category.  Actually, I got lucky because they split up the category. There was a guy from Minnesota (I think he won second place at Nats last year in the bi-plane category) that built some incredible 1/72 WWI planes.  Lucky for me, they split up the 1/48 and 1/72 scale bi-planes in separate categories.

I went with friends that my wife and I stay with when we go to Omaha.  The funny thing is that my friend who hasn’t built a model in over 20 year was inspired and took home about 15 kits.  His son was also excited and couldn’t wait to get home to put a model together.

The majority of the modelers I met very friendly and were more than willing to share tips.  In fact, another modeler that I met at the show runs a build journal.  I recommend that you also visit his site (http://zerobxu.spaces.live.com/)  I think he inspired me to attempt to try to build a Gundam.  I still can’t believe that he hand paints with Tamiya paints (braver than I am). 

Overall I had a great time and plan to attend next year.  This weekend I am going to the West Central Missouri – Show Me State Model Fest, which also has been a good show in the past.