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.

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 Name Year founded Website IPMS Argentina 1985 IPMS Argentina IPMS Auckland (New Zealand) IPMS Auckland (New Zealand) IPMS Australia 1964 IPMS Australia IPMS Austria 1970 IPMS Austria IPMS Belgium 1968 IPMS Belgium IPMS Brazil (GPPSD) 1978 IPMS Brazil (GPPSD) IPMS Brunei IPMS Bulgaria 2011 IPMS Canada 1964 IPMS Canada IPMS Chile 1987 IPMS Chile IPMS China IPMS China IPMS Colombia IPMS Costa Rica IPMS Croatia 2016 IPMS Cuba IPMS Cyprus 1996 IPMS Cyprus IPMS Czech Republic IPMS Czech Republic IPMS Denmark 1965 IPMS Denmark IPMS Dominican Republic 2021 IPMS Rep. Dominicana IPMS Ecuador 2013 IPMS Ecuador IPMS Egypt IPMS Egypt IPMS El Salvador IPMS Finland 1968 IPMS Finland IPMS France 1975 Fédération Française de Maquettisme Statique IPMS Germany 1966 IPMS Germany IPMS Greece 1981 IPMS Greece IPMS Guatemala IPMS Guatemala IPMS Honduras IPMS Honduras IPMS Hungary2017 IPMS Indonesia 2001 IPMS Ireland 2007 IPMS Ireland IPMS Israel 1987 IPMS Israel IPMS Italy 1968 IPMS Italy IPMS Lebanon 2017 IPMS Lebanon IPMS Korea 2011 IPMS Korea IPMS Latvia 2014 IPMS Latvia IPMS Luxembourg 1980 IPMS Luxembourg IPMS Malaysia IPMS Malta 1981 IPMS Malta IPMS Mexico 1977 IPMS Mexico IPMS Netherlands 1971 IPMS Netherlands IPMS Norway IPMS Norway IPMS Pakistan 2017IPMS Pakistan IPMS Panama IPMS Panama IPMS Peru IPMS Philippines 1968 IPMS Philippines IPMS Poland 2011 IPMS Poland IPMS Portugal IPMS Portugal IPMS Puerto Rico (Borinqueneers) IPMS Puerto Rico IPMS Qatar 2012 IPMS Qatar IPMS Romania (AMA) 2010 IPMS Romania (AMA) IPMS Russia IPMS Serbia 2011 IPMS Serbia IPMS Slovenia IPMS Slovenia IPMS South Africa IPMS South Africa IPMS Spain IPMS Spain IPMS Canary Islands IPMS Canary Islands IPMS Sweden 1967 IPMS Switzerland 1973 IPMS Switzerland IPMS Turkey IPMS Turkey IPMS Ukraine 2018 IPMS Boryspil (UA) IPMS UK 1963 IPMS UK IPMS USA 1964 IPMS USA IPMS Uruguay 1987IPMS URUGUAY IPMS Venezuela 2011IPMS Venezuela

See also Similar societies Armor Modeling and Preservation Society (AMPS) Miniature Armoured Fighting Vehicle Association (MAFVA)

Models and model building list of model aircraft manufacturers. Kitbashing, creating a model by combining different kits. Model military vehicles Ship models, some of which are plastic kits. Gundam Models, plastic models of Japanese science fiction.

Manufacturers Tamiya Corporation Academy Plastic Model Co. Revell Aoshima Bunka Kyozai Co. Dragon Models Limited DML. Hasegawa Kyosho Airfix

References

External links IPMS Farnborough club site IPMS Middleton Cheney club site IPMS Vancouver club site