SA Scale Model Expo 26

Saturday 10 to Sunday 11 October 2026

Open to public 9:00am - 4:00pm Saturday and Sunday

Come and see aircraft, armour, ships, automotive, sci-fi, dioramas PLUS MUCH MORE!

Expo themes for 2026

As Seen on the Screen

Endurance Racing 500km or more

Australiana

Seen a machine on a movie or TV show? Netflix’s ” Thing” looked amazing. The screen is your inspiration for a model for the table. Let the imagination of the medium build your idea, and let the expo be the place to show it

Endurance racing is the ultimate test of both drivers and race machinery. From the early
days of the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1923 to the present, to the Bathurst 1000, Sandown 500
and Spa 24 Hour Touring Car races, the Nurburgring 24 Hours, USA classics like the Daytona
24 and Sebring 12 Hours, and many other sports car and touring car races. For the open-
wheel racing fans, there are also the long distance events such as the Indianapolis 500.
Help celebrate this diverse and rich racing history, and build a model of any race car that
has competed in a long distance circuit race, as long as the scheduled distance was 500 km
or more. (No rally cars please – we will save that for a future Group Build theme).
Any scale, any race car from any endurance race with a scheduled distance of 500 km or
more. The possibilities are almost endless, from over 100 years of endurance racing

Football, meat pies, kangaroos…you know how it goes.

This year’s model expo features the theme “Australiana”, i.e. anything that relates to our Australian history or way of life. Think Holden cars, Boomerang aircraft, Mad Max interceptor, maybe even a shrimp on the barbie! The list goes on.

Enter a scale model that represents Australian icons and you could be eligible for some prizes. The entry will be displayed on our Australiana table and can still be judged within it’s respective category.

There are some great kits available and expo is getting close, so “crack on” and build something special.

Location

John Dunning Centre, Prince Alfred College, Dequetteville Tce Kent Town.

Entry is at the rear of the school via The Parade West (look for the Pirie St entrance). Enter through the school gates with car parking found on the left. The hall is approximately 50m further on via a path (will be signposted).

About the EXPO

Are you under 17 years old? 2026 is a great year for you at the SA Model Expo!!

Whether you are just starting out or have been modelling for
some years, ENTER this year’s competition in one of the two the junior
categories for a chance to win a great PRIZE. Every entry gets a chance to win!

Under 14 & Under 17s

ALL subjects welcome; Warhammer, Mechs, Gundam, Spaceships or just a
classic Aircraft, Tank or Car model like your dad builds.

FREE entry for up to 3 models

General Admission Charges

Entrants : FREE, as long as they have 2 entered models for judging

Adults: $10.00 (2 Day Pass $15.00)

Concession and Students: $5.00 (2 day Pass $7.00)

Family (2 adults, 2 children) $15

Children 12 and under: FREE (must be with an adult)

Entering the EXPO

Entries Close Midnight Thursday October 8th 2026. No further entries will be accepted after that.

Entries for judging or display must be entered through the online entry system. Walk-up entries over the weekend will not be accepted.

Times for delivery of your entries:

Friday 10th Oct – 6pm to 8pm
Saturday 11th Oct 9am to 2pm

Entries can be lodged at the expo entry desk just inside the main entrance to the John Dunning Centre, Prince Alfred College. Entry to the facility is through the school gates off the Parade West at Kent Town.

Judging Criteria

Categories have different criteria for judging, as they represent different objects that need to be treated differently during evaluation. Here are the current categories and the criteria we use for judging:
AFV (Armoured Fighting Vehicles) – Click here
Aircraft – Click here
Automotive – Click here
Gaming Figure or Creature large – Click here
Gaming Figure or Creature small – Click here
Gaming Vehicles Mechanical – Click here
Historical Figures – Click here
Science Fiction – Click here
Science Fiction / Fantasy Movie Full Figures – Click here
Science Fiction / Fantasy Movie Busts – Click here
Ship – Click here

Each judged category will use one of these as a guide, with selections that make logical sense (for example, helicopters will use the Aircraft criteria).

Conditions of Entry

All expo entries either for technical judging or display are subject to our conditions of entry. Please read carefully before lodging your entry.

Technically Judged $8.00 (inclusive first 3 entries) (Fourth entry onwards) $3.00 each

There is no charge for entries lodged for display, but ‘display only entrants’ will be charged normal admission prices for the weekend.

17 and under FREE

Click here to download a copy of the Conditions of Entry

References for your entry

The one thing which can mean the difference in winning or placing in the model expo is the references that are supplied with the model. Many times the expo judges have judged great models at the expo but the models references have been nonexistent or wrong and this has prevented a worthy model from placing, or in some cases even winning.

Ensure your referencing is succinct and make sure you include the relevant details relating to the build. Box art, kit instructions, aftermarket part (if used) instructions, modifications which you may have made in the build and any corrections that you may have made to kit flaws or inaccuracies. If you have corrected flaws or enhanced a model, provide some photographic or drawing references. If some of the references or photos that you used are in a book or books then photo copy the relevant material and include it.

Please make sure the supplied references are relevant to the subject modelled. This is also especially important if you choose a different scheme or markings than what was supplied in the kit. If the accuracy of the references to the subject doesn’t match then this will lose you points.

For some model kits supplied references can be problematic. Many figures or Sci-Fi kits come from low-production manufacturers and sometimes kit instructions or box art are scant or non-existent. In this case Google is your answer. If someone has kitted a subject then that subject must have some information be somewhere online

Categories for Judging - New Category changes for 2026!

AK1 – Animal Kingdom (Open all scales)
Sponsored by Kookaburra Hobbies

AV1 – AFV (Small Scale tracked and wheel driven) 1/72 and smaller
Sponsored by RW Hobby

AV2 – AFV (Medium Scale tracked and wheel driven) 1/36 to 1/71
Sponsored by Aeroworks

AV3 – AFV (Large Scale tracked) 1/35 and larger
Sponsored by Military Hobbies

AV4 – AFV (Large scale Wheel Driven) 1/35 and larger
Sponsored by BNA Model World

CA1 – Civil Aircraft (open All Scales)
Sponsored by Icky Sticky

CR1 – Cars (Small Scale) 1/43 and smaller
Sponsored by Marie Baker

CR2 – Cars (Medium/Large Showroom Stock) 1/42 and larger
Sponsored by David Langfield

CR3 – Cars (Medium/Large Competition) 1/42 and larger
Sponsored by BNA Model World

CR4 – Cars ( Medium/large Kustom) 1/42 and larger
Sponsored by Kookaburra Hobbies

DR1 – Dioramas (Small) < 900cm2
Sponsored by 3D Mat

DR2 – Dioramas (Large) > 900cm2
Sponsored by Military Hobbies

DR3 – Dioramas (Civil – Open All Scales)
Sponsored by Icky Sticky

FG1 – Gaming Figures or Creature (under 54mm)
Sponsored by Chaotic Kraken

FG2 – Gaming Figures (54mm and over)
Sponsored by Military Hobbies

FG3 – Gaming Figures (Large Miniature / Vehicle)
Sponsored by Military Hobbies

GD1 – Gundam (Open all scales)
Sponsored by Canberra Hobby Centre

HF1 – Historical Figures (open all scales)
Sponsored by Firestorm

JT1 – Jets (Small): 1/72 to 1/99
Sponsored by Aeroworks

JT2 – Jet (Medium scale): 1/36 to 1/71
Sponsored by Supercheap Hobbies

JT3 – Jets (Large Scale): 1/35 and larger
Sponsored by Pete Reljic

MA1 – Micro Aviation 1/100 and smaller
Sponsored by Blue Tongue Hobbies

MB1 – Motorbikes (Open all Scales)
Sponsored by Icky Sticky

ME1 – Mecha (Open all scales)
Sponsored by Military Hobbies

PR1 – Prop Single Engine (Small Scale) 1/72 to 1/99
Sponsored by Avonmore Books

PR2 – Prop Multi Engine (Small Scale) 1/72 to 1/99
Sponsored by BNA Model World

PR3 – Prop Single Engine (Medium Scale) 1/36 to 1/71
Sponsored by ModelKitClub.com

PR4 – Prop Multi Engine (Medium scale) 1/36 to 1/71
Sponsored by Aeroworks

PR5 – Prop (Large scale) 1/35 and larger
Sponsored by Peter Reljic

RA1 – Rigged Aircraft (open all scales)
Sponsored by Aeroworks

RH1 – Rotors & Helicopters (open all scales)
Sponsored by Andy Stockings

RK1 – Rockets Space and Missiles (open all scales)
Sponsored by The Scale Modellers Supply

SF1 – Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Movie Figures (open all scales)
Sponsored by 3D Mat

SF2 – Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Movie Busts (open all scales)
Sponsored by David Couche

SF3 – Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Movie Vehicles (Small) Up to 15cm in length, width or height
Sponsored by Kookaburra Hobbies

SF4 – Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Movie Vehicles (Medium) between 15cm and 30 cm in length, width or height
Sponsored by Spurecutter

SF5 – Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Movie Vehicles (Large) greater than 30 cm in length, width or height
Sponsored by Spruecutter

SH1 – Ships (Open All Scales)
Sponsored by Military Hobbies

SH3 – Submarines (Open All Scales)
Sponsored by Phil Pojer

TR1 – Trucks Bobtail and Combination (Open all scales)
Sponsored by Icky Sticky

UN1 – Unnominated / Scratch Build
Sponsored by Paulo Castro

J14 – Junior (Modelers Aged under 14)
Sponsored by Supercheap Hobbies

I17 – Intermediate (Modelers Aged 14 – 17)
Sponsored by The Scale Modellers Supply

Special Awards Categories:

Best of Show – Judges Grand Award

Trader tables

SA Scale Model Expo has tables available to commercial traders for sale of a wide range of scale model related items.

Traders must be commercial traders and hold a current A.B.N.

If you are interested in being a trader please send through your details to ExpoDirector@SAPMA.com.au

SA Scale Model Expo thanks the following sponsors for their generous support:

Avonmore Books

EXPO 2026