Welcome to the Buffcon 36 homepage!

Buffcon 36, presented by IPMS Niagara Frontier, was a big success thanks to our show entrants, vendors and club volunteers. Thanks to all who came to the show, and who helped make it work. See you again next year!

7:45AM - Doors open for setup.
9:00AM - Admission and Registration open.
9:00AM - Coffee and donuts available for purchase.
10:00AM to 11:30AM - Demo (TBA).
11:30AM to 1:00PM - Demo (TBA).
12:00PM - Food available for purchase.
1:00PM - Judges meeting.
1:30PM - Registration closes.
1:30PM to 4:00PM - Judging (Vendors open).
4:00PM - Awards presentation.
5:00PM - Teardown and cleanup.

General Admission - $7.00, under 12 FREE.
Admission free (for entrant only) with contest entry.
Senior entries - 1-3/$10.00, $2.00 each additional.
Junior (ages 11 - 17) - $1.00 each entry.
Bantam (under 11) - free.
(Sales tax included with admission fee.)

BuffCon Judging Notes


IPMS Niagara Frontier is proud of its reputation for fair and impartial judging at our annual BuffCon shows. We would like to extend an invitation to show attendees and entrants to volunteer as judges. Experienced judges will fit right in, and those who have never judged before are welcome, too! If you've never judged at a model show, don't be concerned - you'll be assigned to a team with experienced judges who will show you the ropes and guide you through the process. The more judges we get, the shorter the judging process and the sooner we can start handing out trophies. Here are some notes on our judging process and rules.

There is a judges meeting held at 1:00PM on the day of the show. You MUST attend the meeting if you want to judge. Procedures will be explained, and you'll be assigned to a team and category.

You cannot judge a category in which you have entries, so you must notify the Chief Judge if you have models entered in the show when team assignments are being made.

BuffCon judging is based on modeling fundamentals: seams filled, no glue marks, quality of paint and decal application, application of added detail, proper alignment of model components, and generally clean assembly. Models are NOT judged on historic accuracy, but on the construction and finishing of the model.

As a result of the previous note, you do not need to be an expert in a particular category to be able to judge that category. Feel free to volunteer for any category that interests you, or categories that need more judges.

All major categories, e.g. Aircraft, Automotive, Ships, etc., will have a Category Coordinator assigned by the club. For large categories, multiple teams will be formed. The goal is to have teams of three judges, to break ties when opinions differ. We try to assign a club member to each team to help ensure conformance to our guidelines and process.

Any issues with model classification, resolution of disagreements within teams, or any other questions will be decided by the Chief Judge.

Check this site, or the IPMS Niagara Frontier website for updates.