Sutton Coldfield Model Makers' Society

George Wright

Fri Oct 2 2009

Friday 2 October 2009: After a short illness, George died on 2nd October 2009. George was born in Kent but was evacuated to Sutton Coldfield during World War II and stayed in the Midlands. His National Service saw him become the youngest RSM ever in the Royal Military Police (the 'Redcaps'). He later went into engineering and sales, a career which took him all over the world when working for Cosworth. This brought him into contact with companies such as Ferrari and the revived Bugatti firm. But it was early memories of watching dogfighting Spitfires and Messerschmitts over Kent during the Battle of Britain that fired his imagination and later influenced his modelling. As his skill grew, he gravitated towards the colourful racing aircraft of first the 1930s and later the 1950s. He became a key member of 'Bent Throttles', the Racing Aircraft SIG. His lasting memorial will be the collection of 8th Air Force assembly ships which he started building because he was attracted by the wierd and wonderful colour schemes. Because of the lack of information then available on the subject, George carried out considerable research which resulted in his building models of all the 8th Air Force assembly B-24 Liberators. This project came to the attention of the 8th Air Force Association and led to his being contacted by many former aircrew. This in turn resulted in his collection going on permanent loan to the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library in Norwich, where they can be seen today. Our sympathies go to his widow, Joan, his son Anthony and daughter Christine, and their families.

Published in Sutton Coldfield Model Makers' Society

IPMS Coventry show, Midland Aircraft Museum

Sun Jun 28 2009

Sunday 28 June 2009: Over the years, this show has been a moveable feast. The first couple of years, it was held in March. We were in the main museum building on one occasion and it was warmer outside than in! Then they moved it to September. But this year, it was held in June. As ever, the weather was variable - whenever it's held, this show seems to attract a downpour! But this year, it also attracted a number of well-stocked traders and quite a few clubs. The main Robin hangar where they put the clubs was heaving half an hour before opening time! As with last year, there is no separate competition but instead every model on display is judged. Last year, Joe Bridges was a winner; this year, Andy Keane won 'Best military vehicle' with his Pz.Kfw.38(t). (See the photo in the collection for the Shropshire Scale Models Show at RAF Cosford earlier this year.)

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Fellowship Hall re-opening

Sat Jun 6 2009

Saturday 6 June 2009: Our regular meeting venue, the Fellowship Hall on South Parade, Sutton Coldfield, has been the subject of a major refurbishment project over the past year. This morning, it was formally re-opened by Councillor Peter Howard (though our own Doug Burchell, as Chairman of the Friends of the Fellowship Hall, has done a lot to drive the project forward but got no recognition for it). (Things were ever thus.) The ceremony was followed by a display from various users of the Hall, such as ourselves, the Suttton Coldfield Flower Club, The Horticultural Society, The Guild of Artists, the South Staffordshire Bonsai Society, over-60s line dancers and a nice Turkish lady who demonstrated fitness through ethnic dance.

Published in Sutton Coldfield Model Makers' Society

East Midlands Model Show, Hinckley

Sun Apr 19 2009

Sunday 19 April 2009: This show gets more and more popular - and more and more difficult to park at if you're at all late getting there. The adjoining Indestructable Sock Factory car park is no longer up to the job!

Published in Sutton Coldfield Model Makers' Society

Shropshire Scale Models Show, RAF Cosford

Sun Apr 5 2009

Sunday 5 April 2009: A crisp, clear Spring morning saw us off to Cosford, and a mega-display by the TSR.2.

Published in Sutton Coldfield Model Makers' Society

Awards Night 2008

Thu Dec 18 2008

Thursday 18 December 2008: To complement the collection showing the year's finalists, here are some pictures from the Awards Night, showing some models not included in the Finals competition (mainly Letter Night competitors). Also seen here are the entrants for the new Ivan Poyner Trophy, awarded for the first time by Dave and Mike Poyner, Ivan's sons. The trophy, in memory of Ivan, is given for the best World War 2 aircraft model.

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Finals night 2008

Wed Nov 26 2008

Wednesday 26 November 2008: Finals night 2008

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East Midlands Model Show, Hinckley

Sun Apr 20 2008

Sunday 20 April 2008: East Midlands Model Show, Hinckley

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Miniatura

Sat Mar 29 2008

Saturday 29 March 2008: We had been invited to have a stand at Miniatura, a dolls' house show at the NEC. Never wanting to miss a chance, Roy Poultney, Paul Barand, Peter Mells and I went along, and had a lot of interest. It was a bit of an experience. The demographic was almost completely inverted from the shows we normally do. Here, at least 60% of the punters and probably 75% of the exhibitors were women; and it was amusing to see the number of husbands being dragged less than willingly around the show. Also, given the propensity of dolls' house collectors to go for the more ornate look, with the Victorian era appearing to be quite popular, it was very easy to get all chintzed out. One guy descended on our stand and the neighbouring Warley Model Railway Club stand with a cry of "At last! A proper Manly corner!". Dolls' house collectors can spend a lot on accessories - some we saw were very pricy indeed. In particular, anyone wanting the working TV set for their house should probably put their bank manager on danger money. A lot of nice modelling was on display, though. And we made some new friends and contacts, too.

Published in Sutton Coldfield Model Makers' Society

2007 Finals Night

Sat Dec 8 2007

Saturday 8 December 2007: 2007 Finals Night

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Rolls-Royce Ansty Families' Day 2004

Sat Jun 26 2004

Saturday 26 June 2004: The Society was asked to put on a display at the 2004 Rolls-Royce Families' Day at the Ansty plant near Coventry, which produces gas turbines for a variety of applications, including aero engines. The European Cup football tournament was on at the time, so we were pleased to find ourselves placed in front of a large England flag! The pattern for the day was that we had to be set up by 10am, so we would be on show for the families walking through the plant. Then, at 2pm, we had to be shut down and packed away for the field events, which was basically outdoor entertainment for the families, plus a small air display. 'Oh good,' we thought, 'aeroplanes!'. Unfortunately, the English summer intervened, and there was the worst downpour of rain you can imagine. Visibility dropped to a couple of hundred yards; charter flights heading for nearby Coventry airport were having difficulty getting in, and the flying was eventually cancelled. We retreated to the works canteen for warm drinks and then made our way home.

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SAMI photo-shoot

Wed Jul 13 2005

Wednesday 13 July 2005: For an article about the Society planned for 'Scale Aviation Modeller International', we held a photo-shoot evening of members' aircraft models on the July competition night. Here is a selection of the pictures that were sent up to the magazine. The article appeared in the October 2005 issue of the magazine.

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