MAFVA

John Baumann was for many years the information officer for MAFVA. Typical of his dedication to the hobby and his generosity, he left a bequest to MAFVA to fund a prize at the annual National competitions. John had an interest in the unusual and obscure so the prize will be awarded to one of the lesser known vehicles entered in the competition. This will be judged by the London MAFVA group of which John was member.

MICK BELL MEMORIAL PRIZE

This is a new prize donated by MAFVA members in memory of Mick Bell, an early member. He was a gifted modeller and draughtsman, producing high quality plans regularly for Tankette. In recognition of his contribution to our magazine, a prize will be awarded annually to the author of a notable plan or piece of research. This will be decided by a small committee of members and announced at the annual MAFVA competitions. The prize will be a years subscription of Tankette. It is hoped that this will encourage new authors to contribute to Tankette. As a non-modelling prize it allows enthusiasts who may not be regular modellers to participate, including overseas members who may have difficulty attending the Nationals.

Reviews:

Duxford 2006

Duxford 2007

Pictures

Clubs Attending

Traders Attending

Classes & Rules

Three for one!

The annual UK show of the Miniature Armoured Fighting Vehicle Association will take place on Sunday June 15th at the Imperial War Museum Duxford. As in previous years, the show will take place in conjunction with the Military Vehicle Show organised by the volunteers of the Duxford Aviation Society. Thus you get three events for the same price! For the same entry fee, you get to see the Model Show, the Military Vehicle Show and the whole of the Museum as well. In addition, there is always something flying at the weekend. The Model Show will be in a very large marquee adjacent to the American Air Museum, and will contain the competition, the traders and displays by numerous MAFVA branches and other clubs from around the country.

Who will be there?

The show has become that popular that it has been virtually fully booked by both traders & clubs, and we cannot squeeze another table in. The competitions will consist of the usual MAFVA only classes in both large and small scales, plus three open classes which anybody can enter. These will be for any vehicle model, any scale figure, and a Junior class for modellers under the age of 16 on the day of the show. For adults , the competition fee is 50p per model, but for juniors it is free, and every junior entrant will receive a prize of some description whether they win or not. Not bad for the juniors eh? Free entry to the Museum, free competition entry and a guaranteed prize! Not a bad day out for Mum and Dad as well with many other traders and concessions on site.

The list of attending traders will include all the usual suspects, so make sure that your wallet is full and check on the flexibility of your plastic. Model club exhibitors include both MAFVA branches from around the country and other model clubs displaying a wide variety of models, along with ‘El Presidente’ and the MAFVA HQ stand with ample supplies of back issues of Tankette. Branch & Club members are always willing to discuss their models, techniques and sources of information. So you will be able to get your subscriptions in, buy back issues and hand over contributions for Tankette as well as catch up with friends from the Association.

The MAFVA ‘Tea Garden’ will be in operation as usual, allowing you to relax from the hurley-burley of the marquee, and the crowds around the AFV arena. The other regular ‘attraction’ is of course the Tombola which will be in operation with a bewildering array of prizes throughout the day.

Many members make a weekend of the event, so that they can see round the museum before the hordes arrive, and watch the military vehicles being moved around. Quite a few of the traders will have arrived to set up on the Saturday & are usually willing to take your money early! There are plenty of places to stay overnight, but early booking is required as the tourist magnet of Cambridge is so close.

Cambridge is well worth a visit if you are in the area, both from the tourist point of view & the abundant shopping facilities, that may help keep less enthusiastic family members happy. If you are coming and you need accommodation we advise you to book early. Cambridge is a very busy tourist city in the summer when the competitions take place.

Information: the Venue

For further information visit http://duxford.iwm.org.uk/ . Gates open to the public at 10.00hrs, which is when competition entries can be booked in as well. Competition entries close at 13.00hrs with judging starting 10 minutes later. Prize presentation will start at 16.00hrs and the show will close at 17.00hrs, the Museum closes at 18.00hrs.

Information: the Show

Any enquiries should be directed to Paul Middleton, 39 The Leas, Baldock, Herts, SG7 6HZ or e-mail: paul.middleton600@ntlworld.com. If you plan to stop overnight avoid accommodation within Cambridge as traffic can be a pain. If you wish to visit Cambridge make use of the Park & Ride service and save a lot of hassle. Good news is that it now operates on Sundays.

http://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/transport/around/park_ride//

Not been to Duxford? For the last few years the Nationals have been held at the Imperial War Museum Duxford near Cambridge. This is a superb venue with a full size military vehicle rally and flying displays of historical aircraft on the day, as well as access to the museums usual exhibits. For those unfamiliar with the museum, Duxford houses the larger exhibits of vehicle and aircraft that cannot be displayed at the Imperial War Museum London. So you have a full-size airfield, a fine collection of vehicles, and a magnificent aircraft collection, including the USAAF's war memorial collection.

http://duxford.iwm.org.uk/ Worth a visit any time - and a great background for our key annual event.