Reflections of 2006

[M. Vann]

All I can say is that this National was great. I just want to give kudos to the people that deserve them. Kelly Quirk and his whole convention staff did an excellent job. Meeting up with Bamford, Filak, Frankc, Waco, Anthony Wan ( Who by the way is one heck of a modeler. And the pictures really don't do his model justice ). Congrats again Anthony on your first place. Waco also I want to thank you again for the decals. I am sure I may left out some people I met and I apoglize. Yes I did remember one I forgot. Darren Roberts and Gordon Kwan. What can I say about these two. Darren is the nicest guy you could want to meet. Gordon from Sprue Brothers is one top notch guy. And for those of you who have not met Gordon personally, I would do business with him anytime. He strives for such good customer service and will do what it takes to make any problems right, unlike some of these businesses that just take your money and pretty much tell you to stick it. All in all it was a very good trip.

Mike

Edited August 7, 2006 by M. Vann

[deepstriker]

I totally agree with you M the show was great and the trip was really worthy!! Meeting you was really cool!

Well about the show, it was my first (I hope of many) and as far as I can tell, the organisation was great the quality of the builds was great as well. I agree totally on anthony's work, it is just great!!

What I liked the most about the nats is absolutely the spirit of it, it's a big party and the competion is secondary to the joy of getting together and be surrounded about models!!

A special thanks to the whole organisation and the Judges.

See you soon!!

[SBARC]

The show was very good......I won't compare it to other Nats except to say the KC crowd should be very proud of the show they put on......it was first class.

Mike V scored one of the long out of production collectable ARC Sandbox alleycats from Waco........and Steve Stohr, myself and Steve Filak all signed the decal sheet. How cool is that!!!

Meeting the people was a riot......I want to begin mentioning names.........I really do but I met so many people.....so many good people......that's the best part for me....the people. The contest is secondary.....but the contest part was still mindblowing......so that should give you some idea how much fun it was meeting the people.

25 of use had dinner at the banquet on the last evening......sat through the long but entertaining awards ceremony.....then went back to the model room to talk to the modellers.......once we left there we sat in the lobby all night talking........none of use wanted to go to bed........we really didn't want it to end......1am.....2am....3am....4am....and slowly friends came down to the lobby with their bags to grab their shuttle back to the airport for their flights home. It was very sad to know it was ending. Finally it was time for use to say good-bye and head to our rooms to pack our own bags.

When I came down for the shuttle I met up with Randy Bumgardner from LSP......Randy and I talked on the shuttle.....in the airport and on the flight from Kansas city to Salt Lake City before we said good bye and headed to different flights. And it wasn't just a quiet conservation......we had a riot talking about everything. That's the thing.......the Nats is like one long party.....and I don't mean the drinking type party........it was simular to standing at a party with 6 friends and laughing your head off......for 5 days 18 hours a day. Mind blowing how much fun it was.

Steve B

[AnthonyWan]

long but entertaining awards ceremony

we really didn't want it to end......1am.....2am....3am....4am....and slowly friends came down to the lobby with their bags to grab their shuttle back to the airport for their flights home.

It was very sad to know it was ending. Finally it was time for use to say good-bye and head to our rooms to pack our own bags.

it was simular to standing at a party with 6 friends and laughing your head off......for 5 days 18 hours a day.

Long - yes.....entertaining -

Yep I fit into that 3 am category :blink: Slept the whole way back, got off the plane, slept in the car, got home, slept for another 5 hours :lol:

Well...look on the bright side, we get to do it all over again next year in CA, and then again in '08 in VA

Anthony

[Chuck1945]

Had a great time at the Nats, met up with old friends I hadn't seen for several years, enjoyed the seminars, admired Anthony's ship on the shuttle ride from KCI to the Hyatt, and so forth ...

I am sure I met at least in passing other ARCers, but other then the Steves at the ARC forum Friday afternoon, I have no idea - if the was an ARC recognition sign, I missed it

the long but entertaining awards ceremony

at my age, most meals have a requirement to take some sort of medication afterwards, the banquet was no exception, I endured for 90+ minutes after dinner, then used the need to take a pill as an excuse, left, went up to my room, popped a pill, did eye drops, called home, stalled a bit longer, came back down and the presentations were still going on.

Great time, finally home, after 10 days traveling, I am not sure just what time zone my body is presently in.

[sleepydwarf]

Being as this was my first Nats, I didn't know what to expect. I knew it was going to be a long week (didn't realize just how long till it began to wind down), and I knew we were going to have a great time. But Brian and I had a blast! As many have already said, it was great meeting everyone! Everyone here on ARC has been very accepting and encouraging towards me since I became hooked, but in person, that acceptance and encouragement was amplified. Thanks, guys! Ya' know how to make a girl feel welcome in a hobby/crowd! :lol:

It's amazing how inspired you can become from admiring so many amazing models! If it weren't for the exhaustion I'm still dealing with, I'd have jumped back into the hobby room by now! And about Saturday night, I'm glad everyone had a great time after the banquet! Unfortuantely, Brian and I had to buzz out pretty quick, as I had to be back to work at 0700 Sunday morning. :lol: We're hoping our work schedules work out to allow us to meet up with everyone one in OC next year, but only time will tell. (And at this point I do have plenty of time to get an entry ready.) All in all, it was an overwhelming experience. And I can't wait to do it again!!

~Jami

[viper50]

Finally, I get to sit down to recognize and thank some of the folks that made my trip to the Nats in KC a week that I will never forget. First off, I would like to thank Steve Bamford for letting me hang with the ARC bunch, going to Jack Stacks and Aurther Bryants was REALLY good eating. KC bar-b-que is by far some of the best food I have ever eaten. I sat in on the ARC seminar and met Steve Filak. Most of us have no idea what it takes to put up such a great website for us to visit eveyday. The long hours and commitment these guys put into ARC, these guys deserve a medal. Several of the locals, Jami and Brian Aldridge were very gracious hosts at almost every function we attended. Very friendly folks there in KC. Darren Roberts..... I don't think I have ever met anyone with as much energy and willingness to help EVERYONE that was there. The directions he gave me to the Combat Air Museum were spot on. I also have to thank Gordon Kwan and Renee for their help in getting us out of KC and headed in the right direction to the Museum. Steve B.,Anthony Wan and myself were the only ones that took the trek over to the Comat Air Museum Saturday morning. We waited until 10 AM to be sure we didn't leave anyone behind. J.C. Bahr met us at the museum and was a great guide, telling us some of the history behind the aircraft in the collection. I only took around 150 pics of the displayed aircraft. Not the largest museum, but a well stocked and well maintained facility. While models are cool, the 1:1 scale aircraft are alway interesting to see. It was very much worth the trip. I ran in Kelly Quirk and Frank Lemay, they were kinda busy keeping everything together. Everyone of the KC group did one hell of a job making everybody's stay enjoyable. The vendors and model exhibit rooms were busting at the seams. The models just seem to get better and better every year. Congrats to all of the winners, especially the Juniors. The vendors had eveything on my shopping list, plus a few goodies I could not live without. This is my third Nats and so far the best one I have attended. I think putting faces with the names of the folks here on ARC and meeting up with old friends and starting new friendships with people that have a common interest was the best part of the whole trip. I can't say for sure that I will be in OC for the next Nats, but I do have a relative that lives in the LA area, may be time to pay a visit. Thanks again to all that made last week a total BLAST!! Don Mackay

[Steve Filak]

That reminds me: does anyone have any photos from the ARC seminar? I'm finishing up a series of articles on the Nats, and I'd like to include a photo or two of the seminar if anyone has any to share. Of course, you'll be credited in the article with any pictures that you send my way. If you can help out, I'd greatly appreciate it....drop me an e-mail or a PM.

Thanks!

Edit: Got 'em. Thanks again, Steve N!

[J.C. Bahr]

That reminds me: does anyone have any photos from the ARC seminar?

Only the ones seared in my brain! :)

J.C. Bahr met us at the museum and was a great guide, telling us some of the history behind the aircraft in the collection.

My pleasure, Don! Was a lot of fun hanging out with you, Anthony and Steve! Could have been just a bit cooler out that day though!