NEWS 2022
Check in here to see the latest news and events at the North Devon Model Society.
December 14th 2022
A quick head’s up our final club night of 2022 will be on December 20th and we look forward to meeting up again in 2023 on January 10th. I hope everyone has a great Christmas and comes back to the club with armfuls of kits to build. All the best, Sera.Â
December 6th 2022
Congratulations to David Campbell who won this year’s ‘Ray Osborne Memorial Trophy’ as voted by the club members. David’s 1/144 model of a Flower Class Corvette, ‘HMS Bluebell’, was a clear winner amongst some stiff opposition. Well done David. You can see more of David’s model HERE.
November 27th 2022
The North Devon Model Society are proud to announce that Sera Staples recently not only won ‘Gold in Class’ at this year’s ‘Scale Model World’ but was awarded ‘Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy Model 2022’.
We are fortunate at the NDMS not only to have modelers of all ages and abilities but to have a willingness to help one another learn and develop our modelling skills. Massive thanks to Steve, Barrie and Kevin who all played their part in this build, thanks guys.
November 14th 2022
The first club night in December is always our ‘Annual Competition’ night but this year the aim is to make the evening also a celebration of our favourite builds. Members are invited to bring their models along to display so the evening will be more of a mini-show. It’s great to see the fruits of members labours and often be quite astonished by what members build.Â
Last year the ‘Ray Osborne Memorial Trophy’ was won by James Cann, let’s see who is going to take it home this year! Competition rules are HERE.
September 4th 2022
Sadly our former Chairman, David Jeremy, died on the 5th August. He was a retired Major RCT and spent his early career in the Army Air Corps flying low level reconnaissance missions over Germany during the Cold War and in Singapore. The work was dangerous and required high level flying skills in Austers and Beavers, really low tech. He shared many memories with us, the flying stories, the delights of NBC clothing and living in tents. The latter part of his career was as a Ground Liaison Officer at Lossimouth and Sharjah including more flying in Germany and serving on Ark Royal!
We, of course, knew David through our shared interest in modelling. Although one of our more ‘senior’ members he was always looking to the future, one sign of his optimistic nature was paying his subs annually in advance! His forte was model figures, of various types, subjects and sizes. He was a prolific collector and a trader too, he is well known to the figure community and I am sure many will be asking why they haven’t heard from him.
David was very passionate about military history, including that ugly duckling of military machinery, the DUKW. He was proud to live near the site of the stranding of one of these amphibians and to have worked with 18 squadron at Fremington (the reason David and family moved to Instow in the late 1960s). He was also very caring about the local area and was very vocal about the desecration of the countryside by over development.
David is survived by his daughters, Alison and Louise, to whom all members of the club send their sincere condolences.Â
Blue Skies David.
September 1st 2022
The Waterloo competition was a real success and a bigger challenge than most of us expected! Those of that made the deadline produced some incredible mini dioramas. These 1/72 scale figures were a real challenge with well deserved winners being voted for by all the club members as follows. In the ‘Historically Accurate Catergory’ – 1st Graham Sutch, 2nd David Campbell, 3rd Peter Sutton. The winner of the ‘Historically Inaccurate Category was David Campbell. Well done to the winners and everyone who took part, the standard was amazing.
August 19th 2022
After a lot of careful thought I have come up with a new logo for the club. Last Tuesday after showing the new design to the members this is the final version. The different colour schemes are for different applications. You will see the full colour version on the website and social media. The white on black is for clothing and the black on white is for stationary. The colour choice for the main logo is based on our Devon flag, and if you zoom in you will get the reference even clearer. I hope you like the new design it will be appearing on a range of new merchandise soon.
August 18th 2022
A bit late in the day but a massive thanks to Barrie and Jacky for running this year’s BBQ. The weather may not have been on our side but the food and company was excellent. The raffle prizes were a real bonus thanks to ‘Youings’, ‘Small World’, ‘Shady Lane Models’, ‘Shirmart Craft’, ‘Warhammer’ and ‘Simons Trains’ for the prizes. A great day had by all.
July 19th 2022
A date for your diary…. SUNDAY AUGUST 13th 2023. This will be our first model show in over 4 years and we are now taking bookings for exhibitors and traders. If you would like to attend please contact us via the form on the ‘SHOWS’ page HERE  75% of the profits from the show will go to ‘Littlebridge House’ Children’s Hospice South West. The ‘NDMS Model Show’ will be held at ‘The Park Community School’ Barnstaple EX32 9AX. We hope to see you there. More details to follow…
July 7th 2022
Here’s a heads up for you all. August will see the ‘Waterloo Build & Paint’ competition. Each member will receive a set of 1/72 scale Napoleonic figures as well as a base and grass surface to build and paint as they see fit. There will be two categories ‘Historically accurate’ and ‘Alternate Waterloo’ so feel free to use your imagination and enjoy the competition.
July 1st 2022
It’s that time of year again! The annual club barbeque will be on Sunday the 24th of July at Barrie and Jacky’s in Bideford. The food and company is always excellent and it’s a relaxing way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It’s always a good event. If you want to go please pay Sera £7.50 per person on a club night. Partners are welcome too and if you are vegetarian or have any special requirements please let us know.
June 16th 2022
Also this week we had the great pleasure of handing over a cheque for £232.77 to Hazel Millard for donation to the North Devon Hospice. Hazel recently lost her husband and donated his models to the North Devon Model Society. David Campbell and Barrie Smith have worked hard to raise as much as possible from the sale of these models and this is the amount raised to date for the Hospice, with more to follow. As a thank you to Hazel, David Campbell built an RAF Phantom FG1 in 43 Sqn in recognition of Hazel’s time serving in the RAF at Leuchars. You can see more of the Phantom by clicking on the image below. Thank you Hazel, and we hope the model gives you many happy memories.
June 15th 2022
Thanks to Games Workshop Barnstaple and everyone who attended who last night submitted their Warhammer figure to the competition. We had 15 entries on the table. Some amazing skills were on display. We are lucky to have such talented members in the club. The results were as follows – 1st Sera Staples, 2nd Peter Sutton, 3rd John Blackett, 4th Barrie Smith, 5th Nicholas Radford. Well done to everyone who took part, hopefully we will do it again sometime.
June 7th 2022
And now for something completely different! The guys at our local Barnstaple branch of Games Workshop have kindly donated a batch of identical sprues to us for a competition build. Make sure you collect yours from Sera and just add glue, paint and your imagination for the competition. What you create from this figure is entirely up to you the sky is the limit. Judging will be on the 14th of June by members vote.Â
MAY 19th 2022
Well, our third ‘Photography Night’ was a massive success. Thanks go out to everyone who brought models along for photography. I took over 200 photos so there is a lot to process and get onto the site over the next few weeks. It was a great opportunity to see what you have all built and I think there were some fascinating builds on show. Well done everyone.
The night also saw the return of our show sign which now has a gorgeous oak base thanks to Kevin Young. There is such a variety of skills in the club and it’s great when someone steps up and helps take the club forward. Thanks Kevin, from us all.
The RESOURCES page (under the ABOUT tab) now features Barrie Smith’s company ‘HS-Precision Engineering’. Barrie is a highly skilled precision engineer so if you have any parts you need turning up have a chat with him on club night or give him a call.
MAY 11th 2022
I’m not one for family photos but I took the opportunity last night to get a photo of the members who attended, all of whom I now regard as friends. We are a very talented group, not without our flaws, but share a common bond. We welcome members of all ages and abilities and are fortunate to have some great new young members. Harry our youngest at 12 and Gerald our oldest at 89 both brought along their Lancasters last night. I think the future looks good for the NDMS.
MAY 7th 2022
Photography night is back! If you would like your models photographed and added to the club website bring them along on the 17th of May. Guidance on how to set up and take model photos will be available so if you have any questions about your setup, feel free to ask. Images files of your models will be available from Sera.
MARCH 25th 2022
That time of year is coming around again when we can all see how the club is doing and discuss how we are going to move forward over the next 12 months. If you can attend that would be great. If you would like to join the committee and contribute to the running of the club please come forward.Â
MARCH 10th 2022
‘Stash Night’ is back! After the massive success of last year’s event Stash Night returns… Usual rules apply, bring your unbuilt kits along to sell marked up with prices. Sell on the night with 10% going to the club. If you have books you wish to sell bring those too. I would advise arriving early to claim your pitch. See you there.
MARCH 9th 2022
Our first ‘Blitz Build’ was a lot of fun! Given that everyone was just given a basic 1:144 scale model the level of skill and imagination show was tremendous. As voted for by the members the results were as follows. Best paint – James Cann ( Ju87 Stuka ), best ‘Outside the Box’ – David Campbell ( Wildcat ), Best Model – Peter Sutton ( Helldiver ). Peter’s model was truly incredible with open dive brakes and a scratch-built cockpit. Well done to everyone who took part, ‘Blitz Build’ will return…
A great night was rounded off by Greg Whitworth who managed to raise £40 towards aid for Ukraine selling some of his collection of military history books.
FEBRUARY 17th 2022
A big thanks to James Cann of LPJ Models for giving us an excellent airbrushing demonstration at the club this week. We all learned a lot about setup and picked up a lot of new techniques. Hopefully James will be back to demonstrate some more advanced skills for us to learn soon.
FEBRUARY 7th 2022
March 1st 2022 will be our first ‘BLITZ BUILD!’ What’s a ‘Blitz Build’ you are all saying? Well, each entrant will be given a free model which they must build on the night with just the aid of their own glue a knife and a sanding stick. The built model can then be finished at home over the following 7 days to be judged on March 8th. How you build and finish your model is entirely up to you. Use your imagination and have fun.
JANUARY 22nd 2022
We have lots planned for 2022. There should be something going on every month. We’re kicking events off with an airbrushing demonstration by the master himself James Cann. If you are unfamiliar with James’s work check out some of his models in the gallery section. You can also see a lot more of his amazing builds on his YouTube channel HERE. I would expect this evening to be very popular as I know we will all be able to learn something from James to improve our model painting skills so I advise arriving early.
Upcoming events yet to be finalised are, another photography night in March, and the return of the very popular ‘Stash Night’ in April.
JANUARY 13th 2022
Welcome back to everyone. Our first two club nights of 2022 have been a great success and we have even welcomed some new members. It’s so good to see the club growing.Â
We now have an eBay account set up and are currently selling models that were recently donated to the club. 50% of the proceeds from the sale of these donated models will go to the ‘North Devon Hospice’. Once these have been sold we will begin to sell models on behalf of club members. For more details speak to Sera on club night. A big thank you goes out to Barrie Smith for setting up the eBay store. You can see what is currently up for auction on eBay at our store ‘ndms_modellers‘ by clicking on the image below.
JANUARY 3rd 2022
Firstly a Happy New Year to all the members of the ‘North Devon Model Society’, and if you’re not a member, join us and come along to out first club night of 2022. This will be on Tuesday January 4th at the Fremington Parish Hall from 6.30. We look forward to seeing you there.