On the Road - NSW Scale Model Show 2026

We always look forward to attending the NSW Scale Model Show that is put together by our friends from the Illawarra Plastic Modellers Association (IPMA). It's a laid back show that is always great to attend, and this year we headed up again to attend as both traders and entrants into the competition that was held over the weekend of May 23rd and 24th, 2026. 

Leaving early on the Friday morning, I had a good run up the Hume Highway to Wollongong. I stopped at my usual spots for a break including the submarine at Holbrook, before getting into Wollongong around 4pm. 

Getting into Wollongong, the weather turned pretty ordinary, with constant rain starting to fall. I checked into my motel and then headed over to the Illawarra Sports Stadium in Berkeley to set up our stand. 

So after setting up, I went back to my motel room to crash and get some much needed sleep. 

The Saturday morning kicked off strong with a ton of people coming through the show. This didn't really let up to around 2:30pm when it started to quiet down a little. The show wrapped up at 4pm for the day and the judges got to work on reviewing the entries and judging them. 

Sunday was very quite to begin with, but that's always the way no matter the show I am at. Things picked up around lunch time as people started to come back to see how they fared in the competition and to pick up their models.

I did alright myself, taking out 5 Golds, 5 Silvers, 1 Bronze and 2 Category Winners. 

Then as the clock ticked closer to 2:30 and the awards ceremony, I packed up our stand, said goodbye to Wollongong for another year and headed home. 

The drive home was good, but long. I stopped a few times to rest on the way back including the submarine at Holbrook again, then I finally pulled into my driveway at 12:40am on the Monday morning.