How it Works
The 580 approach is one of having fun and enjoying your modelling, being open to change and always trying to improve. It is a formula that has brought us considerable success during our existence.
The model has undergone a little refinement and improvement, to better serve our members since we attended our first show with just three exhibitors in 2008.
Firstly we have a mailing list for all members: About ten days before a show 580 Modellers sends out an e-mail to all on the list, inviting attendance, with a deadline by which to reply. Once the deadline expires then 580 Modellers replys to confirm what to bring based on the number of tables to be filled and the number of exhibitors. Some shows e.g. Cosford, are very well attended and hence those wishing to attend may be restricted to one or two models each. Other shows may be less well attended and a request may be made to bring more models! The only real rule we enforce is that in order to put models on the table at ScaleModelWorld (the biggest model show in the world usually held in Telford in early November) you must have exhibited with us at least once during that year.
Secondly there is the website: This has a page dedicated to the shows we are expecting to attend during the year and the status of both the show and the 580 application to attend. Shows are attended by consensus; after ScaleModelWorld I embark on the production of a list of shows for the following year. Around the end of the year this list is circulated to all along with a question as to which shows you, as an individual member, wish to attend. The scores are then 'totted up' and the proposed schedule for the year imparted to all and posted on the web site.
Thirdly, and most recently, there is the WhatsApp group: This is a 'community exchange' and although open to all, not every member of the crew participates. It is a mixture of progress on modelling projects, advice line and witty banter (which does occassionally need moderating).
So how do you join?
Co-operative effort: At ScaleModelWorld 2013 three of the 580 crew provided models of the F-104 Starfighter in 1:48, including a very weathered orange target drone, which received a lot of interest.
Firstly, there are absolutely NO fees for joining, exhibiting or remaining a member of 580 Modellers as the club is self-funded by a variety of means. Becoming a member is as simple as requesting that you be included on our mailing list (which of course requires the provision of an e-mail address) and it just takes-off from there. It is absolutely your choice as to how quickly, and deeply, you become involved; you can wait a few months using the e-mailed invitations to get a feel for how the club operates or jump in with both feet at the earliest opportunity. It is totally up to you! We are a friendly, welcoming and vibrant group who take modelling for what it is and we make sure we both enjoy our hobby and showing off our efforts, immensely.
We currently have a membership of over 40 who benefit from this arrangement and receive the invitation to attend whenever a show is approaching. Some just reply when it is their local show, others (and we have a 'hard-core' of several crew members for whom the next show cannot come around quickly enough!) want to attend every show; we usually aim to attend a show about once a month, which equates to around ten to twelve shows during the course of the year. This of course includes the biggest model show in the world - ScaleModelWorld held in early November; as 580 Modellers are an affiliated club they are guaranteed a table at this show every year.