Early Years
In the early 1990s a group of air cadet staff decided to further the skills of modelling in the Thames Valley wing of the Air Training Corps. Steve Abbey and Mick Marshall contacted the IPMS who allowed the group to exhibit at the Nationals at Castle Donnington in 1992. There was so much interest from the modelling fraternity, with official approval, we were asked to form an IPMS branch in 1994.
Pictures of The Air Cadet Group stands at Scale ModelWorld '03 and '04
The cadets and staff were seen at many shows around the country. Two cadets won major trophies including the Junior Make & Take. Meetings were held at the Woodley Squadron Headquarters next to the Berkshire Museum of Aviation off the Bader Way, Woodley.
Earley Risers Formed
In 2004 we changed the club's name to The Earley Risers and moved to Reading University Campus in Earley*. In 2005 we won The Jessie Wright Trophy**, an award for the Best Club Stand, at Scale ModelWorld in Telford.
In 2012, the club won the Bronze in the Jessie Wright Trophy, narrowly beaten into third place by a few votes and In 2014, our 20th Anniversary, we managed to win Gold again.
To complete the set of colours, in 2016 we won the Silver for our 50 Shades of Grey display. On our 25th anniversary in 2019, we gained another Bronze award - pity it wasn't a Silver!
We moved to our previous meeting place, at Sensory Dimensions new offices during 2018.
Earley Risers Now
We have seen a steady influx of new members who bring with them quite varied modelling interests. You are likely to see us at various model shows around the country. If you do, come and have a chat, tell us what your latest model is. We'll even spur you on if you've hit a modeller's block.
As of September 2022, we were looking for somewhere new to meet. After much searching, we found our current abode, still in Lower Earley, at the Maiden Place Community Centre. We also won The Bronze Trophy at SMW22
If you want to know more about the club contact Steve Abbey
* We wanted to reflect the area where we meet in the club's title, the fact that we model in plastic - a Riser is part of the plastic sprue found in most injection moulded kits - and a sense of the fun we get modelling together.
** The Jesse Wright Trophy is awarded annually to the Best IPMS Branch display at Scale ModelWorld