MIA is currently an unaffiliated model club that was started in 1996 by Gil Silva, manager of Hobby Town USA at Citadel Crossing in Colorado Springs. The intent of the club was to gather with other modellers, work on our kits, share techniques and enjoy the hobby. There would be no "right scale", "right colors" or "right genre". The belief is that modelers with different interests could learn a lot from each other. Modeling is, after all, just a hobby to be enjoyed. Meetings are usually on the second and fourth Wednesday and Sunday of each month starting at 6 PM.

As the membership became larger, things began to get more interesting. Our first in-house contest was the UFO Contest. This idea blossomed into what is now called the MIA Quarterly Challenges. Thanks to Gil, we were also able to show off our work in the store's display case one month out of every three. We rotate thru the case with two other local organizations.

When our host-store expanded and created a classroom/meeting area in the back of the store, MIA started doing model building International Plastic Model Society MIA now presents Make-N-Takes at various community events. Kids under 18 get a free model kit and the members help them build it. Member Tom Grossman sets these up and made it possible for us to have Aztek airbrushes at our Make-N-Takes for the kids to try out on their kits.

Recently, since the club has grown and become so active, an Executive Committee was formed. Near-future plans include gaining local non-profit status and hosting our first model contest