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THE COVETED BLACK SWAMP MODELERS TROPHY To help attract and motivate builders of non-mainstream subjects, the Black Swamp Modelers awards the coveted BSM trophy to competitors in International Plastic Modelers Society events who have created what we think is the most outstanding non-mainstream entry in a show. One of the privileges of membership in the BSM is the ability to award the trophy in whichever Region that member lives. In considering the candidates at any given contest for the BSM Award, we look to see that the models meet the same standards of craftsmanship that any other entry in an IPMS contest must display. As you can see from the photos, the trophy has generally been handmade by Mark. After June of 2009, BSM members will be able to come up with their own trophies, with the SIG providing the nameplate. The past trophies are presented below, with the most current at the top of the page.
The theme for the coveted Black Swamp Modeler award for 2011 was voted to be "Best Movie Monster". The Region 4 award was presented to John Brindley at the Tol-Con show, which was held on Saturday, May 14, by the IPMS/Toledo Plastic Modelers and IPMS/Fremont KitBashers chapters. We ran into an unheard-of situation, because John, a previous BSM trophy winner, had entered a model of Godzilla on a custom base in the contest. Ordinarily, a previous trophy winner wouldn't be considered eligible to win another BSM award, but John's model was the only one entered in the contest that fit the theme. Congratulations, John!
Ed Taylor won this coveted Black Swamp Modelers at the 2010 IPMS Region 5 convention that was held in Portage, Indiana by the Duneland chapter. Ed also received all the benefits of membership in our SIG.
This trophy was created by Joshua Swift for the 2010 IPMS/Lt. j.g. Nathan Gordon/CASM chapter's Sproo-Doo Model Show & Contest held in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Joshua also judged the models and presented the award to our third winner of the covented Black Swamp Modeler award this year, Rusty Nail.
2008 - The trophy was presented at the 2008 IPMS Region 4 Convention held in Kirtland, Ohio, by the IPMS/John Glenn and IPMS/Western Reserve Chapters. That year's theme was "Best Subject from the Year 1968". The winning model could have been based on any film or television presentation that was released or aired during 1968. Possibilities would include the "Orion III" space shuttle from 2001: A Space Odyssey, Cornelius from Planet of the Apes, The "Flying Sub" from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,, the Klingon battle cruiser from the original Star Trek TV series, and so on. The coveted 2008 BSM award went to Gary Cohoe, for his Discovery spacecraft from the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Our records are unfortunately incomplete; we're missing the 2004, 2005, and 2007 winners. If you are a past recipient of the coveted Black Swamp Modelers award, we'd like to hear from you - you're already a member of the SIG! If you haven't won yet, we hope that this site will inspire you to build the next coveted Black swamp Modelers trophy winner! 2006 - IPMS Region 4 Convention was hosted by the IPMS/Toledo Plastic Modelers chapter (which hosted all the events at which the previous Black Swamp Modelers awards were presented). As it coincided with the 40th Anniversary of the debut of Star Trek we felt it only appropriate to make that the theme of the 2006 BSM award:
2003 - The President of the IPMS/Fremont Kitbashers chapter, Mike Edwards, recived this trophy for his scratchbuilt Mamba Trans-Atmospheric Vehicle. To the "Celebrating a Century of Flight" theme of that year's Century-Con we added a theme of our own, "Best Super-powered Flight".
2002 - John Lemons was the winner. In lieu of a trophy (but still earning the bragging rights and privileges of membership in the BSM) he was presented with a package containing Polar Lights reissues of Frankenstein's Flivver and The Wolf Man's Wagon model kits, plus a Posthumous Productions resin nameplate that read, "Frankenstein's Flivver Meets the Wolf Man's Wagon" (in the box art lettering, naturally).
In 2001, John Brindley won with his Godzilla collection.
Mark (whose back was turned during the judging) won the first trophy with his Colin Clive figure. On a personal note, the happenstance of me having won my own award has bugged me for years. This year (2008), events transpired that have driven me to try and correct this inequity. I am doing so by removing the 2000 plaque from the trophy, and will replace it with a new one for 2010. Given the trophy's design, the theme for 2010 coveted Black Swamp Modelers award is suggested to be: "Best Model of an Extra Terrestrial Subject". This might be anything from the critters that oozed through the Alien films to Superman to an U.F.O., just as long as it's from Somewhere Out There. |
2010
- Because
the 2009 IPMS Nationals were held in Region 4, there was no coveted Black Swamp
Modelers trophy awarded. In 2010 we are making up with three BSM trophies
being awarded, with the theme of "Best Extra Terrestrial Subject". The first one went to 
