VCON Attendees! Once registered, you'll find the detailed itinerary and all necessary links over in our Forum. Click the Community tab above, and once in the forums, look for the VCON 2024 forum. The APMM is pleased to present our next conference offering, VCON 2024. Since our first Virtual Conference in 2020, we've been taking notes on what our members loved about the experience. This conference continues to perfect on the formula, offering you a brisk two-day virtual event brimming with insightful presentations and valuable tours, capped with two excellent guest speakers guaranteed to inspire and educate.
View the teaser trailer on YouTube!
Presentations will be a combination of live Zoom events with pre-recorded YouTube releases followed by live Q&A with the presenters on Zoom. No travel costs, no hotel rooms, just lots of great learning opportunities, networking and personal interactions, and visits to model shops and studios all across the US!
Here are the presentations and tours you can expect to see:
“AI” is the buzzword of the moment so join us as we dive into everything Artificial Intelligence! Joshua, Paul and David will lead a discussion digging into what AI is, the pro’s and con’s of how AI is used, and what AI means for model makers. Starting with a solid understanding of any technology is crucial before adding it to our toolbox, so we will help you understand what to expect from AI and how it could potentially help you in your present and future model making.
Taking tips from experts in the field (including immersion training from Amazon Web Services) and research that is guiding the curriculum for future model makers, our panel will deconstruct the realities of how AI is used and what technologies model makers can focus on to stay on the cutting edge of data, software, and technology. The discussion will be interactive so bring questions, concerns, and all your curiosity about AI and the group will hopefully come away with a firm grasp on what exactly AI can do for model making.
Meadors Inc. is a unique collaboration between 6 workshops, including Architecture and Interior Design, Design Services, Construction, Conservation and Preservation Planning, Cabinetry and Millwork, and Estate Management and Maintenance, located in Charleston, South Carolina. APMM Secretary Alika Brooks will lead us on a tour of their facilities, including a large production workshop, conservation lab, design studio and model shop; showcasing some of their unique equipment such as a molder, CNC, 3D scanner, dry ice blaster, laser cutter, and more.
Be transported to sunny, warm Southern California for a guided virtual tour of MMSD, recognized as one of the top three maritime museums in the world. In addition to seeing their collection of actual sailing ships, steamships, a submarine and more, we'll visit their two exhibits: the "Steam and Splendor" exhibit showcasing the past and present worlds of luxury travel, and the Model Gallery exhibit, "Celebrating the Art of Model Making", featuring many new additions to the collection.
"Of particular note in the last two years are the number of significant donations of museum quality ship models. These now grace our new Model Gallery exhibit space on the ferryboat Berkeley which employs models as examples of fine art and as engaging illustrations of our common seafaring heritage.” - Raymond Ashley, Ph.D., K.C.I., President/CEO MMSD
For part one of this presentation, we join Patricia and Thomas Hooper of ASL Pewter for a tour of their workshop in historic Ste. Genevieve, Missouri and watch as they demonstrate the centuries old techniques of working pewter, one of the oldest metal alloys, dating from the Bronze Age. Watch as Tom spins a pewter vessel on his vintage 1873 lathe, and as Pat hand casts pewter into molds that are several hundred years old. Like many aspects of traditional model making, each project produced at ASL Pewter is unique and truly demonstrates the skills of a talented maker working in an environment without benefit of the latest high-tech tools and equipment. Part two takes us downtown, to Zymo Sculpture Studio, where the Hauck family have been crafting amazing and fascinating objects for advertising and marketing for over 30 years. APMM President Michael Scribner tours the studio and interviews founder Wally Hauck, who shares knowledge and insights from more than 3 decades of crafting everything under the sun.