What Is MassCar Model Club and What Does It Offer Modelers?

Updated

MassCar Model Club is the oldest model car club in the New England area and an award-winning chapter of the International Plastic Modelers Society (IPMS). It is open to modelers of any skill level and any automotive interest, and it promotes the hobby through meetings, an annual show, a newsletter, and its website. If you build model cars — or want to start — and you are looking for other people who share the interest, this is the kind of club you would look at first.

What the club is

Two facts define MassCar's identity:

  • Oldest model car club in New England. That longevity matters less as a bragging point than as a signal of stability: the club has kept a regular schedule of meetings and events going for a long time.
  • Award-winning IPMS chapter. IPMS is the International Plastic Modelers Society, so MassCar is part of a larger organized modeling community, not an isolated local group.

The club describes itself as existing "by and for its members," which is the standard structure for a hobby club: members run it, and members are the audience for everything it produces.

What it offers members and visitors

Offering What it is
Meetings Regular gatherings where members meet in person
Annual show A yearly public event; the site also lists a "model car show" and "model exhibition" among its themes
Newsletter Club news distributed to members
In-house contests Internal competitions, with past results archived on the site
Galleries Photo collections of models
Events and past events A record of what the club has done and what is coming

The site also links out to kit manufacturers, after-market parts and modeling supplies, and other clubs — useful if you are sourcing materials or looking for additional groups beyond MassCar.

Who it is for

The club states plainly that it welcomes any and all skill levels, regardless of automotive interest. That is worth taking at face value:

  • You do not need to be an expert builder or a contest winner.
  • You do not need to specialize in one type of car. Muscle cars, classics, racing subjects, trucks — the club does not restrict by automotive niche.

The club's own reasoning is that modeling is a solitary hobby, and spending time with others who share the interest makes it more enjoyable. If you currently build alone and have never shown anyone your work, that is exactly the situation the club is aimed at.

How to get involved

The site's navigation lays out the practical paths:

  1. Join the Club — the membership page, where you would go to become a member.
  2. Meetings — meeting information, so you can attend before deciding anything.
  3. Member Login — a separate area for existing members, which implies some content or functions are reserved for members.
  4. Contact — a contact page for questions.
  5. Facebook — the club maintains a Facebook presence for updates.

A sensible order if you are new: check the Meetings page first and attend one as a visitor, then look at Join the Club if it seems like a fit. Existing members use Member Login for member-only access.

What the site does not tell you

The available page content does not state membership dues, meeting times or locations, or whether the annual show charges admission. Those details would be on the Meetings, Join the Club, or Events pages, or available by asking through the Contact page. Do not assume membership is free or that events are open without checking — the site simply does not say here.

The short version

MassCar Model Club is a long-running, IPMS-affiliated model car club in Massachusetts open to all skill levels and automotive interests. It gives members meetings, contests, a newsletter, an annual show, and galleries, plus links to kits, supplies, and other clubs. To get involved, start with the Meetings page, then the Join the Club page, and use Contact or Facebook if you have questions the site does not answer.