NSW Scale Model Show 2025
We've been attending the NSW Scale Model Show for a few years now, and once again we made the trip up to Wollongong to attend the show put on by our friends from the Illawarra Plastic Models Association (IPMA), this year held on the weekend of May 17th and 18th, 2025.
After leaving early on the Friday morning and navigating traffic issues in Melbourne, the run up the Hume Freeway was good. I stopped into the usual spots along the way to take a break such as Holbrook where you can see the HMAS Otway submarine on display.
And also got to see the lovely scenery along the way too.
Finally reaching Wollongong and gaining access to the venue, I got to work and set up the SMS tables. For shows like this, I only take a selection of our range as it's hard to fit everything in the back of the Ute and also one of our retailers, Star Hobbies, trades there alongside us so between the two of us, there is heaps of SMS products available. 
Saturday kicked off well, with a large number of people in early as they dropped off their entries into the show. Lots of people came to see us to not only buy some products, but most importantly, to say hello. It's always great to see our friends new and old at the shows we attend, and this was no different. It was fantastic to see so many people again, some we only see once a year, twice if we are lucky!
With over 310 entries on the tables, there was a wide range of top-level models on display. Here's a few that stood out to me :
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You can check out more photos from the show via Callum Gibson's Hamfisted Modeller Facebook Page : NSW MODEL COMP 2025 ALBUM
I entered 10 models myself and out of those, I managed to win 10 Gold placings and 2 of those were category winners (Cars and Gundam)
Sunday was a bit quite in comparison to previous years, but still, it was a successful day trading for us. As it came to a close, I packed up all our gear and headed home, to be treated to an awesome sunset as I travelled back down the Hume Freeway.
And then as the final stop on the trip back, I stopped in to see the submarine again at Holbrook at night.
Overall, the show has a huge success for us at SMS. It was great to come up once again and catch up with our friends and to meet a ton of lovely people.
Thank you once again to our friends from the IPMA for hosting us, you always make us feel wanted and welcomed every time we come up.
For more information on the NSW Scale Model Show, check out the IPMA website here : NSW Scale Model Show (ipmamodels.net)
Our next show is not too far away, with the Australian Model Expo happening in less than 3 weeks at time of writing. We hope that we will see you there!
And as always, keep on modelling!
- Scott