The International Plastic Modellers' Society (often shortened to IPMS) is an international organisation of hobbyists interested in building plastic model kits. The Society is made up of national branches, and within these, local clubs who usually represent a town, city or locality. The first branch was established in the United Kingdom in 1963.

Local clubs organise regular meetings, typically once a month for members to meet up, show off their latest models, discuss the hobby and work on ongoing projects. Many also organise their own annual shows and invite fellow clubs to display alongside traders, and together, these shows make up a busy calendar of events throughout each year. The UK has the most developed club network, with organisations covering virtually the whole country. Elsewhere, local clubs can often function as national branches simultaneously, such as IPMS Argentina who also represent the Mar del Plata region of the country.

At a higher level, national branches will also organise their own shows. These are typically termed 'Nationals'. The largest of these is IPMS UK's Scale ModelWorld, held at Telford in November each year and features not just local British club displays, but also contributions from overseas branches and clubs, such is its scale.

In addition to the branch and club structure, Special Interest Groups (SIG) exist which focus on a specific area or type of model building, for instance a particular aircraft such as the Tornado, a time period like the Cold War, a manufacturer such as Airfix or a genre like science fiction and fantasy. SIGs often transcend club and branch boundaries, being made up of modellers from around the world sharing a common interest. As a result, most SIGs do not meet up on a regular basis like clubs, but instead communicate more frequently online.

UK SIGs

List of current UK SIGs on IPMS UK website

IPMS (USA) SIGs

List of current SIGs

National branches

Name Year founded Website
Argentina IPMS Argentina 1985 IPMS Argentina
New Zealand IPMS Auckland (New Zealand) IPMS Auckland (New Zealand)
Australia IPMS Australia 1964 IPMS Australia
Austria IPMS Austria 1970 IPMS Austria
Belgium IPMS Belgium 1968 IPMS Belgium
Brazil IPMS Brazil (GPPSD) 1978 IPMS Brazil (GPPSD)
Brunei IPMS Brunei
Bulgaria IPMS Bulgaria 2011
Canada IPMS Canada 1964 IPMS Canada
Chile IPMS Chile 1987 IPMS Chile
China IPMS China IPMS China
Colombia IPMS Colombia IPMS Colombia
Costa Rica IPMS Costa Rica
Croatia IPMS Croatia 2016
Cuba IPMS Cuba
Cyprus IPMS Cyprus 1996 IPMS Cyprus
Czech Republic IPMS Czech Republic IPMS Czech Republic
Denmark IPMS Denmark 1965 IPMS Denmark
Ecuador IPMS Ecuador (GMEC) 2013 IPMS Ecuador (GMEC)
Egypt IPMS Egypt IPMS Egypt
El Salvador IPMS El Salvador
Finland IPMS Finland 1968 IPMS Finland
France IPMS France 1975 Fédération Française de Maquettisme Statique
Germany IPMS Germany 1966 IPMS Germany
Greece IPMS Greece 1981 IPMS Greece
Guatemala IPMS Guatemala IPMS Guatemala
Honduras IPMS Honduras IPMS Honduras
IPMS Hungary 2017
Indonesia IPMS Indonesia 2001
Republic of Ireland IPMS Ireland 2007 IPMS Ireland
Israel IPMS Israel 1987 IPMS Israel
Italy IPMS Italy 1968 IPMS Italy
Lebanon IPMS Lebanon 2017 IPMS Lebanon
South Korea IPMS Korea 2011 IPMS Korea
Latvia IPMS Latvia 2014 IPMS Latvia
Luxembourg IPMS Luxembourg 1980 IPMS Luxembourg
Malaysia IPMS Malaysia
Malta IPMS Malta 1981 IPMS Malta
Mexico IPMS Mexico 1977 IPMS Mexico
Netherlands IPMS Netherlands 1971 IPMS Netherlands
Norway IPMS Norway IPMS Norway
Pakistan IPMS Pakistan 2017 IPMS Pakistan
Panama IPMS Panama IPMS Panama
Peru IPMS Peru
Philippines IPMS Philippines 1968 IPMS Philippines
Poland IPMS Poland 2011 IPMS Poland
Portugal IPMS Portugal IPMS Portugal
Puerto Rico IPMS Puerto Rico (Borinqueneers) IPMS Puerto Rico
Qatar IPMS Qatar 2012 IPMS Qatar
Romania IPMS Romania (AMA) 2010 IPMS Romania (AMA)
Russia IPMS Russia
Serbia IPMS Serbia 2011 IPMS Serbia
Slovenia IPMS Slovenia IPMS Slovenia
South Africa IPMS South Africa IPMS South Africa
Spain IPMS Spain IPMS Spain
Spain IPMS Canary Islands IPMS Canary Islands
Sweden IPMS Sweden 1967
Switzerland IPMS Switzerland 1973 IPMS Switzerland
Turkey IPMS Turkey IPMS Turkey
Ukraine IPMS Ukraine 2018 IPMS Boryspil (UA)
United Kingdom IPMS UK 1963 IPMS UK
United States IPMS USA 1964 IPMS USA
Uruguay IPMS Uruguay 1987 IPMS URUGUAY
Venezuela IPMS Venezuela 2011 IPMS Venezuela


See also

Similar societies
Models and model building
Manufacturers
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