We did it! Our club put on its first show and by all accounts it was a great show. We had just over 303 models entered, 21 vendors who signed up but 18 who showed, and we held a superb raffle. For our small club that is still a very new club on the IPMS scene, we did very well. The models entered were superb. I had my favorites, but I know the members each had models on the tables they really liked. Our friends from the ModelGeek Podcast were present for our show – what a show of fellow-modeler support from the great guys of ModelGeek. We really appreciated their being on site to support us.

We also had great sponsors. Notably, the Blue Ridge Model Club, Squadron Mail Order, Volks US (Zoukia), Frontline Hobby Store, All Nation’s Hobby Store, Carpet Monster Hobby Store, Richmond and NOVA IPMS chapters, and several of our own members who sponsored a Best of Award. The social media reviews of our show have gone quite well and all the vendors reported to various members during the show that they had a great experience with some remarking the free coffee and donuts for them was a nice touch and they liked the layout of the vendor area. Great work Tom S in designing the floor. The food trucks were a big hit and I for one can say the food was delicious!

Shows like this do not just happen. They take the focused effort of the club members of that particular show. To a person, the Ravens showed up, put the sweat on, and delivered. Each of them deserves to be proud of their commitment and hard work. Baby Raven awards to all!

We will look to run a next show, stay tuned Ravens!

We had a smash of a Monster Mash October meeting. Can you believe we had a three way tie for the monthly Baby Raven award. Tim with his scary mecha figure, Ed with that evil looking skeleton, and myself with the apocalypse horseman. Tim left just a bit early to get his Baby Raven but Ed got his – his first ever model contest award to boot. Congrats Tim and Ed for some fine work!

The bulk of the meeting was devoted to discussion about Ravencon 2026, with Mark M providing his keen insights and recommendations. Many thanks Mark and to the members who offered up critical questions that needed answers. We also learned we need Vendor Door watchers and Coby and Andre stepped up for that task. Super volunteering guys, Many kudos to Marcin for bringing in lots and lots of paper entry and registration sheets along with category list pages. That helped out immensely.

See everyone for Ravencon!

September was a busy month for the Ravens. There were two shows members participated. Randy and I went to the National Capital Model Soldier Society Show on September 12 while Scott, Tom 1 and Tom 2, Jeff, Belle, and Ross participated in the PennCon Show. That show was also on September 12 so we have divide and conquer and conquer we did. At Penncon, Scott and Belle both won Gold at Penncon with Jeff, Tom S, and Ross pulling off a nice collection of Bronze and Silver awards. Fantastic work. Meanwhile, over at NMCSS, Randy took a Gold and I also took a Gold and Best Armor. We both collected Silver and Bronze awards as well.

Both Raven teams noted both events seemed to be a bit smaller than in recent past shows. It is late in the year so that could account for some slowdown or the fact that on the same day, there were actually three shows taking place all within relatively close distance to one another so modelers had to choose. Though we were only able to “fly” to two shows, the birds did well and brought much bling back to the nest! Good show to all.

Due to our venue being used on our September meeting day, the club opted to move the meeting to August 29, the first double for August. As no one entered the them contest for the first August meeting, there were two themes during the second August meeting-another double tap! Congrats to Chaz for winning one of the themes-the fall colors theme with his P-47 and to Chris for the other theme of never shown before with Sgt Reckless the horse! The highlight of the meeting however was Pat’s explanation of the alternate universe to justify his Vietnam-era cammo paint scheme on his B-36 model. Take a nice rest Pat! Ha ha

Enjoy the month off and best of luck to those going to the Penncon and Model Soldier Society Show on September 12. See everyone in October.and keep building and keep trying new things like Ed is about to do with his first kilt pattern paint job on a large 1/6 scale Scot figure.

In August, several Ravens “flew” to the Virginia Shootout show sponsored by the Roanoke IPMS club. This club host their show every two years and they do a great job of it. Unique about this particular show is that not only is it a individual competition, clubs from Virginia vie for bragging rights as the best club in the state for two years. In 2024, when we went as a newly formed club to our first participation in the shootout, our individual members who went all placed, but as a club we did not even make the top 5 in the club to club shootout. What a difference time makes as this year the Ravens took 3rd! What a giant leap. We were bested by clubs that have superb builders – Tidewater (2nd) and the Roanoke club (1st). Despite not winning the shootout, we did very well against clubs with deeper benches and much more history behind them. Let’s take it all in 2028!

My mailman is retiring from the Postal Service on 31 August after more than 28 years of service alone in Berryville. “Boog”, his name like The Beaver from TV, was working my neighborhood when it was developed back in 2008. Besides delivering the mail, Boog has delivered countless Sprue Brothers, BNA, Etsy 3d printed kits, and ebay hobby finds. He delivered them with his characteristic smile and humor-demeanor. To thank him for this dedication and professionalism, the Mrs and I presented him with a batch of homemade cookies, a big chocolate bar, and a case of cheer (cough cough). On this same day, he delivered two e-bay aftermarket T-38 talon exhaust kits! Good bye Boog and as we say in the Navy, “fair winds and following seas” .

Well, no one had an entry for the Eastern Europe theme contest. No love for East Europe in the Ravenhood? Despite not have any entries in the theme build, the “regular” build models brought to the meeting were top notch. The Swedish assault craft was spectacular along with Scott’s Mack truck and display. Credit to Scott for the truck and credit to Tom and his brother in law for an outstanding looking display. It was truly next level. Personally, I love bases for just about everything so I am biased towards them – even more so when they are done so well. The Stug was a great build but we could not take a good photo of it due to the protective plexiglass cover (too much light interference).

We got a new member! Everyone say hi to Tim He should be up on Discord in a day or two. Tim does Warhammer figures and has done sci-fi and aircraft. It’s good to see the club grow with new members and new talents!

We are all focused on the shootout at the Roanoke show in late August. Let’s try and get as many members entering as many different categories as we can so we can get a shot at the Shootout Trophy for 2026! The Ravens are excellent builders so we stand a good chance but we need a deep bench! Show up and participate and remember to wear your club shirt!

Whew, the July meeting was hot! Literally! The outside temps these past few days were Sahara-like. Inside, the temps were hot due to the fantastic Tomcat builds for the monthly theme. The tribute to this venerable Navy fighter was impressive; Tom S and Chaz both are big cat lovers and their passion bore through on their builds! Good job guys and good job to Tom S for his Baby Raven award for the build of the month and a poster of a F-14 to go with it.

Plans for Ravencon are proceeding quite well. We are getting to the point of auto pilot into the final leg of even preparation. This is a good place to be and thanks to everyone involved so far to bring it this far. I am confident we are going to have a great show for our first time out of the gate. We are good on raffle donations by club members so you all can hold off and rebuild your stashes.

Good day gents. The club held its June meeting on the “day of days”. June 6. We honored the courage, sacrifice, and determination of all those soldiers, sailors, and airmen on that fateful day by having the theme of the meeting as “D-Day”. Many congratulations to Mark M for his outstanding M-18 tank destroyer. Mark M is very skilled at armor modeling and he did not disappoint with his submission at the meeting. His M-18 won the Baby Raven award but his M2A3 Bradley on the non contest table was just as impressive.

Also impressive was Jeff’s Rat Fink semi. That was a very interesting and colorful build. Scott’s blue Mac truck was typically superb. Another well deserved shout out to Gabe for his awesome Stuka and Me-109 diorama. The aircraft were both done very well and Gabe’s base was done quite well. Good show Gabe!

Mike, our guest from the NOVA club, gave a well received primer on running the raffle. His insights and suggestions were very helpful and the club very much appreciated his willingness to drive nearly 2 hours to our meeting location and give his brief. That was an excellent example of the camaraderie of model builders and the desire of each of us to help in any way to other clubs and builders. Thanks Mike!

Before classes wrapped up for the academic year, the Shenandoah Valley Modelers coordinated with Randolph Macon Academy for a make and take event with ten of their students in mid May. The event was organized and led by the club’s Outreach Program Coordinator, Marc’in S. Ravens who supported this event were club treasurer Tom S, club expert-level builder and judge Randy C, Marc’in, and club benevolent autocrat Chris K. The students built a range of kits from the simple to the mildly complex; even two of the school instructors got into the building as well!

The students at RMA are very sharp and each of us participating from the club were impressed by the students’ intelligence and drive to succeed. Hopefully the make and take event sparked a new interest in model building and a new generation of craftsmen and craftswomen. We will look to return for the Fall semester as well as doing reach outs to other schools.