Report on the Lier Convention 2005 by Aleksandar Šekularac

This was as much a road-trip as anything else. From Worms in Germany, to Lier near Antwerp in Belgium, there’s about 390 km of smooth highways, with some quality limit-free stretches in the German section. A tank full of diesel, trunk full of models, and some good music (i.e.
”Race With The Devil On Spanish Highway” by Al Di Meola) is all one needs.

We started on Saturday late morning cutting through Western Germany towards Köln. Mosel valley is in full color at the moment, so we made a short brake at an overlook.

Next was a quick dash through Holland, and then down to Belgian capital, Brussels. We spent the rest of the day strolling the old streets around the Grand’ Place, and rummaging through stores stocked to the brim with used books, CD’s/DVD’s. One can enjoy some very good food too, and of course Belgian beer…  [ED Note: of course Belgian beer!!!]

Our final stop was a small town Lier, where their  “Modelbouwclub” organized a Scale Modeling Convention. And the special theme this year was “Russians”!

We arrived there some half an hour before the official opening time, but the place was already bustling with activity. Many models were already positioned on contest tables, special interest groups were ready, and all of this was surrounded with mountains of kit boxes and accessories for sale.

Belgian modelers seem to have a preference for things that remain on the ground, namely tanks trucks and other rusty machinery. However, many guests of this contest, especially one Hungarian modeling club with a very impressive club exposition, provided compensation in airplane department.

While I wouldn’t call this convention a large one in terms of number of models, the quality definitely outweighed the quantity.  Some stunning pieces were on display, showing where hobby touches art. A small vignette with two balloonists, which won Best in Show award, is a point in case. Mostly scratch built, this model captures perfectly a moment of dread for two observes, trying to vacate their basket with the approach of enemy aircraft. The basket, by the way, is made completely of hand-woven copper wire!

I was charged with a task to award certificates to the best VVS GPV subjects in the contests, in the name of “vvs.hobbyvista.com”. It happened so that the best models were “lend-lease” subjects. These were the winners:

1st Place (First Prize):   IstvanVadasz,  with Russian P47 & P39 both in 1/48:

2nd Place (Honorable Mention):   IstvanVadasz, with Russian B-25b in 1/72:

3rd Place (Honorable Mention):   Rudy Meert, with Yak 3 in 1/72:

Hungarian modeler Istvan Vadasz went home with two of the three certificates, but he deserved it-- not only for the quality of his models, but also dedication. You see, apart from these models entered in the contest, he had a full table of models on display, all VVS GPV subjects. Here are a couple of his models on display:

I also made a general selection of pictures, a crosscut of what was on contest tables, and what left an impression on me.

Lastly, apart from having the pleasure of giving awards, I also received tribute for my work. My TB-3 “Zveno” won gold in 1/72 category, while in 1/48 scale I-16, and La-7 received gold and silver, respectively. Additionally, TB-3 was awarded with “Best of Category”, and as “Best Russian Subject”.

[ED Note: Our warmest congratulations to Aleks. His medals were well deserved, and highlight his extraordinary talent and artistic merit in model building. Brilliant, mate!]

Overall, this was a thoroughly enjoyable modeling convention. Friendly organizer made sure that everything runs smoothly and on time. With guests from many European countries, and even Mexico, this gathering had a distinct flavor of diversity, and balance of different interests. The only small letdown for me was that the award ceremony was in Flemish, making it somewhat hard for non-locals to follow who won what, and for which model. But in the end this was not really important, as the common language of the hobby prevailed.

[ED Note: Our thanks to Aleks for this outstanding report. Please join with us in congratulating him for a job well done.]