An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 9 REPORT By CPL PAUL MILLAR M ilitary modelling is as relevant today as it was in the days of the Cold War. The massive number of variants of today's armoured and soft skinned fighting vehicles can only be distinguished by subtle differences. These minor changes can mean the difference between friend or foe, between waving and the call to, "get ready." Most of us have been introduced to military models through the Armoured Fighting Vehicles (AFV) recognition course and it's application to the majority of DF weapons courses. For some this has progressed into a hobby and a passion. One outlet for this hobby is the Irish Model Soldier Society (IMSS). Now in their 56th year and one of the longest running Scale Model Clubs in existence, they held their annual Scale Model Show and Exhi- bition in the Hilton Hotel, Charlemont Place, Dublin 2, on the week- end of 17th/18th May. The show had displays from Ireland's leading model makers as well as contributions from international award winners and stockists of model kits and hobby accessories from Ireland and abroad. The IMSS members and visiting contributors ranged from novice to International Award winning model makers representing the four corners of Ireland, the UK, Netherlands, Italy, Sweden, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia. Displays in the show were also entered into a competition that had numerous categories, with one of them being the An Co- santóir Award for Best Entry featuring the Irish Soldier in National Service from 1922. The award this year was won by Alan Hughes for his very original portrayal of an old Irish Air Corps Vampire Jet in 1/72 scale, now in a field in Casement Aerodrome, used as a fire crew train- ing aid. Second place went to Philip Donnelly for his General Michael Collins 75mm figure and third place went to Paul Wisely for his Irish Air Corps EC 135. Another award is the Celtic Cup for the Irish Soldier in Foreign Service, this year being won by Karl Hoy for his WWI Ini- skillings Private. Other entries covered all scales and all eras, ranging from Ancient Greece and Rome, through Napoleonic times to the current conflict in Syria. The level of detail and painstaking research that went into the models was evident to all the spectators. Some went beyond simple depictions of vehicles and people, venturing into representa- tions of some defining moments of military history. One that really caught the attention of all visitors was the very original 1/35 scale depiction of a destroyed Syrian MBT, be- ing passed out by other AFVs on a des- ert road. Not only were the paint and weathering effects eye catching on the knocked out tank, it had actual smoke effects coming from the turret with the flick of a switch. To find out more contact Sgt Glen Phelan at 6383 or Pte Shane Curran at 2659. The club meet on the first Thurs- day of every month in the NCO's Mess in Cathal Brugha Bks, and you can find them on facebook and at: www.irishmodelsoldier.com. Capt Brendan O'Dowd (AC PIO) and winner Alan Hughes.

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