IPMS Seattle
Preliminary information
This working information carries forward the rules and category list published for the 2025 Spring Show, the most recent IPMS Seattle Spring Show.
Rules, category numbers, eligibility, and awards may change as planning continues. Please check this page again before preparing registration forms or entering a model.
Model classes
OOB identifies a category carried forward as eligible for a Best Out of the Box award. Final eligibility will be confirmed before the show.
Ages through 17. At their discretion, junior entrants may enter senior classes.
Best Junior Award
Best Aircraft Award
Best Military Vehicle / Weapons Award
Horse and rider, mounted or dismounted, are a single figure. Two figures on a base are a diorama.
Best Figure Award
Best Ship Award
All scales; non-military.
Best Automotive Award
All scales.
Best Space Fact / Experimental / Science-Fiction Vehicles Award
All scales. A diorama is two or more models relating to tell a story.
Best Diorama / Vignette Award
(l) Unmodified Gunpla, 1/144 scale: Entries must be presented as the base model, regardless of finish. No added customization such as scribing, plastic plate, or kitbashing. Painting and decal work are acceptable.
(m) Custom Gunpla, 1/144 scale: Entries must show customization such as scribing, plastic plate, scratch-building, resin conversion or parts, or kitbashing. A new color scheme alone does not qualify. Entrants are encouraged to bring the original instruction manual.
(n) Unmodified Gunpla, 1/100 scale: Entries must be presented as the base model, regardless of finish. No added customization such as scribing, plastic plate, or kitbashing. Painting and decal work are acceptable.
(o) Custom Gunpla, 1/100 scale: Entries must show customization such as scribing, plastic plate, scratch-building, resin conversion or parts, or kitbashing. A new color scheme alone does not qualify. Entrants are encouraged to bring the original instruction manual.
(p) Other Gunpla: Any Gunpla kit without another assigned category may be entered here. Entries are judged on quality of finish and presentation.
(q) Mecha: Any non-Gunpla or non-Gundam mecha model may be entered here.
Best Gundam Award
Before you enter
These rules are adapted from the 2025 Spring Show. The final 2027 rules will replace them as official decisions are made.
Anyone may enter any number of models in the IPMS Seattle show and contest. An entrant may serve as a proxy for a modeler who is not attending. Except for chapter or group entries, each entry must be solely the work of the person named on the entry form. Commercially built or finished models that require no significant additional work by the modeler are not eligible.
Junior categories are limited to entrants age 17 and younger. Junior entrants may place any or all of their models in senior categories, but models entered in senior categories are not eligible for the special Junior award.
A model that has won first place or an Out of the Box award in any previous IPMS Seattle contest may not be entered in a later IPMS Seattle contest. Previous winners may be used where permitted in Collections and Group Builds. A model that won only as part of a collection or group entry may later be entered individually; a model that already won individually remains ineligible even if it later won as part of a collection or group entry.
Head Judges may remove from competition any entry considered inappropriate or offensive to generally acknowledged standards of taste and acceptability.
The following may be entered or displayed only behind an opaque screen or similar barrier, with a fair written description. A person younger than 18 may enter the screened area only with a responsible adult and subject to local law.
An entrant with a model exceeding four feet in width or length, or requiring power or special placement, must notify the Spring Show Coordinator at least one month before the show. Advance notice is necessary because contest space and support are limited.
Exhibitors are strongly encouraged to leave their models in the display room until the awards presentation is complete so attendees have the greatest opportunity to see them.
Models are judged for construction skill, finish, realism, and scope of effort. Additional criteria apply to special classes such as dioramas, collections, and conversions. Models are evaluated as three-dimensional objects and may be handled by judges for placement or judging.
A display case may remain over a model while the contest room is open to the public, but judges will not remove it. Ordinarily the case must be removed for judging. Before judging begins, a Head Judge may approve a written exception when removing the case could damage the model and the case will not prevent effective judging.
Plastic is encouraged, but builders may use other modeling materials. The same standards for finish, detail, and authenticity apply regardless of material.
A scratch-built model may incorporate minor parts such as wheels or guns from other kits, but those parts generally should be unrelated to their original identity. Models judged to be scratch-built must be placed in the appropriate scratch-built category.
A conversion must portray a version different from the base kit and include significant structural changes to contour or configuration. Judges consider the complexity of the conversion as well as the usual contest criteria. A conversion accomplished mainly with commercial aftermarket parts may be at a disadvantage to one accomplished mainly through the builder’s own work when the two are otherwise comparable.
Simple conversions may remain in regular categories; extensive conversions must be entered in the appropriate conversion category. The builder must describe changes to the base kit on the entry form or accompanying documentation. Judges have final authority over category placement.
A figure entry is not considered a diorama merely because it includes accessories supplied with the figure kit.
For aircraft and military vehicles, markings determine the category. For example, a C-47 in military markings belongs in a propeller-aircraft category, while one in airline markings belongs in an airliner category. A Space Shuttle alone or with tank and boosters belongs in Real Space, while a Shuttle displayed on a NASA 747 belongs in Civil Aircraft.
When a missile’s transport vehicle or launcher is the predominant part of the system, such as a SCUD or Patriot, the model belongs in the appropriate Armor category. Military launch vehicles, civilian launch vehicles, and military launch vehicles adapted for civilian missions belong in Real Space.
Jet Aircraft categories include manned rocket-powered aircraft such as the Me 163, X-1, X-15, and X-24.
Bases are allowed in every category and are considered in judging only in Diorama classes. A base may be plain or may reproduce the natural surface or paving on which the subject would be found. Ships may be displayed in water, but not in dry docks. The base must be proportional to the entry and must not be the predominant feature.
A model may include its primary crew figures. Other figures or unattached equipment, effects, or structures make the entry a diorama. Dioramas are judged both on construction and on the strength of the story or theme. A previous IPMS Seattle contest winner may be included if it is not the principal focus of the diorama.
A judge may not judge a category in which that judge has an entry. Teams contain multiple judges and, when possible, judges from different regions. Strict impartiality is required. Designated teams may check category placement and split large categories before final judging.
Contest registrars can assist entrants with category selection, but final category placement is determined by contest judges. Judges may split categories during final judging, and all judges’ decisions are final.
IPMS Seattle and the contest judges assume no liability for loss of or damage to contest entries.
The Head Judges may waive a rule when circumstances warrant.
An OOB model is entered in its regular contest category, remains eligible for placement awards in that category, and may also be considered for an OOB award. The entrant must identify the model as OOB on the entry form.
Models that do not represent a factual physical prototype generally belong in Hypotheticals. Because the definition varies by class, entrants may choose Category 802 or the regular category for their class, but the Head Judges make the final placement decision.
A collection consists of five or more closely related items, all built by one person. Previous IPMS Seattle contest winners may make up no more than 40 percent of the collection. The closeness of the relationship is an important judging factor. A model in a winning collection may later be entered individually if that model was not already an individual winner.
This is the exception to the rule that an entry must be the work of one person. It allows an IPMS chapter or group to display a project too extensive or complex for one builder, including a project prepared for another event. Subject, time period, scale, and setting are open. A model in a winning group entry may later be entered individually if it was not already an individual winner.
First-, second-, and third-place awards are presented in each category. Categories marked in the category list may also receive a Best Out of the Box award in addition to the placement awards.
Additional theme or special awards may be presented at the discretion of IPMS Seattle. The official list will be published with the show information when available.
Questions or corrections
Because this information is preliminary, please contact the Spring Show Coordinator if a rule or category affects an entry you are planning. The web coordinator also welcomes corrections to the page.