The results for the 2025 Leavenworth model contest have been posted. Congratulations to all our winners, volunteer judges, and this who just came to Leavenworth to enter their models!
Our next contest is October 3, 2026, and the special theme is “The Land of the Rising Sun.” Until next year, we’ll see you around some Region 14 shows this fall and spring.
Keep building!
We had a great turn-out for the October 4, 2025 show and contest. There were 61 modelers who entered 255 models– discounting the first post-COVID show, this was a record for our venue. Quality of the builds was fantastic, making the decisions hard on the judges.
I’d like to thank the people from other clubs who volunteered to join our judging teams. It is great meeting new modelers, plus it helps overcome any judging biases. I’d also like a big shout out to our sponsors. We have a full page listing who and what they contributed, but I would like to mention in particular Eldritch Foundry and StirlingKits. StirlingKits donated a large number of swag items for the visitors, and our raffle’s grand prize– a T700 Turboshaft helicopter engine kit, retail value of $499!
Here are a few photos of the venue, sponsors, and models that were on display on Saturday.
Save the date of Saturday, October 3, 2026 for the next contest!
The IPMS Prison City Modelers’ contest is finally here! Doors open at 9:00 a.m. for the general public. Location is the Heritage Center, 109 Delaware Street in downtown Leavenworth.
The final sponsor we’d like to highlight is Eldritch Foundry. They advertise themselves as: Where Imagination Meets Craftsmanship
We’re Eldritch Foundry, a team passionate about bringing your gaming characters to life. Specializing in custom miniatures, we combine artistry with innovation to transform every player’s unique idea into a detailed, tangible figure. Our journey is fueled by a love for role-playing games and a commitment to make each session visually captivating and uniquely personal.
When you look at their site, there are literally millions of variations for the figures you create. From choosing the race of your character (human, elf, dwarf, creatures, etc) to the hair style, weapons carried, and body poses, the choices are nearly limitless. After designing the character, you can either have the print the model, or you can download the stl file and print it on any 3D printer. Their website is Eldritch Foundry Custom Miniatures
We will have a display of a few minutures we designed and then printed from the site at the contest.
The Leavenworth Model Show and Contest, sponsored by the IPMS Prison City Modelers is right around the corner. Doors open at 9:00 a.m. for registration; judging begins at noon, and the awards ceremony begins at 3:00 p.m. It is at the Heritage Center, 109 Delaware Street, in historic downtown Leavenworth. Hotels, resturants, and shops are all within walking distance of the venue. The link to the registration forms is IPMS Prison City Modelers 2025 show and contest – IPMS Prison City ModelersIPMS Prison City Modelers
Today’s sponsor spotlight is StirlingKit USA. They advertise themselves as:
“Welcome to Stirlingkit.com! We offer stirling engines, internal combustion engines, RC engines, steam engines, tesla coil, engine model kits, and RC cars for modelers, collectors, teachers or simply those who are looking for a gift. Please don’t hesitate to visit our website to start your journey into your micro engine model.”
They also offer a military and student discount. For the Leavenworth show, StirlingKit donated a Teching T700 Turboshaft engine model in 1/4 scale. This is the engine that powers the UH-60 Blackhawk. The retail value of the kit (contains over 480 pieces) is $499.00. This will be the grand prize in our show’s raffle. Thank you StirlingKits!
#stirlingkits; #T700turboshaft;
Only six days until the Leavenworth Contest and Show, or five days and a wake-up as we’d say in the Army. If you build models but have never entered a show, this is a great place to start. We have modelers of all different calibersas well as junior class (under 18), and you can volunteer to join a judging team, which lets you see what judges look for in a model. We’ll have a full vendor room, and huge raffle.
And speaking of the raffle, today we’ll highlight another sponsor. Atlantis Models descriptes itself as Build and Be Happy! Building models can be an artistic discovery and a journey through history. Develop your skills and build a collection with Atlantis Kits. Atlantis is looking to grow a new generation of modelers that can help expand and grow the hobby for generations to come.
Atlantis History:
Atlantis Model Company was founded in 2009 by the former owners of Megahobby.com, Peter Vetri and Rick DelFavero. We manufacture injection-molded plastic model kits and hobby related products. When we started Megahobby.com back in 2000, we had dreams of becoming more than just another retail hobby shop. We wanted to become an actual model production company like the Aurora Model Co and Revell-Monogram. As Megahobby grew, it gave us the opportunity to create Atlantis and finally come out with our own branded model kits.
Thanks to Atlantis Models for their donations to our contest raffle.
Folks, we are one week out from our Leavenworth contest and show, Saturday October4. Registration opens at 9:00 a.m. at the Heritage Center,109 Delaware Street in downtown Leavenworth. Information such categories and paperwork to enter your models can be found at: 2025 Model Contest Categories – IPMS Prison City ModelersIPMS Prison City Modelers
We have a full room of vendors, so even if you aren’t entering a model, please come by and support them. You may find some motivation to start your next project. And as always, it is free to just come in and look over the entries.
We are going to highlight our corporate sponsors over the next few days. Testors provided glue, knives, paint and a variety of modeling items for the raffle. Thank you Testors! #Testors; #prison city modelers
Thanks and keep checking this page over the next few days for further sponsor updates! See you next Saturday.
Good luck to our members who traveled to Hampton VA for the IPMS National Convention this weekend. Can’t wait to hear about the contest and in particular, the vendor room!
Our July chapter meeting is Wednesday, July 16 at 6:30 pm at the Pilgrim Community church, 500 Arch Street in Leavenworth. Until then, enjoy the July newsletter.
It is getting hot in Kansas, so it’s a wonderful day to head down to your workbench and get some model building done. Our chapter monthly meeting for July is next week, on Wednesday, July 16 at 6:30 pm. We meet on the lower level of the Pilgrim Christian Church, 500 Arch Street in Leavenworth.
Our yearly Prison City Model Contest and Show is just a few months away on Saturday, October 4. Check out our contest page for the complete list of categories. Special Theme Award this year is “As Seen on the Small Screen.” This can be any figure, vehicle, etc., that was seen on a TV show. Can’t be a film released to theaters and then re-run on TV; must be original to TV. Think of the Twilight Zone episode “The 7th is made up of Phantoms” and the Stuart tank, or any of the many TV series Star Trek vessels. Car modelers have a host of options– scan any 1960s cop show like Adam 12 or Dragnet for ideas. Anima and Mecha modelers should be well represented too!
We still have vendor tables available for our show. The tables are $10 each. Contact the contest chairman with how many you need. You can pay on the day of the show.
Hello all, despite the snow over the past two days and now the extreme cold, the monthly chapter meeting for February is on. We’ve pushed the demo back until March in case you don’t want to make the trek out of doors.
The meeting starts at 6:30 pm at the Pilgrim Community church, 500 Arch Street in Leavenworth. We’ll be on the bottom floor, so go around to the north side of the building, lower level, to enter.
Hope to see you there–it’s not THAT cold out!