Rising Hawley Elementary School fourth grade student Conrad Chapman attended the International Plastic Modelers Society USA 2014 National Convention in Hampton, Va., from August 6 to 9, and brought home a first place title.

Conrad took first place in the pre-teen junior category for his model diorama titled, “BTR-70 Wrecked,” according to his father, Chris Chapman, who also had his own entries at the convention.

Conrad said this week that he has been creating models since he was 5 years old. Model building is a family hobby for him, his father, and his younger sister Madeleine, who is a rising first grader at Hawley.

Conrad’s mother Sherry Chapman and his sister also attended the convention for the second two days of the gathering.

According to Mr Chapman, the “three-day convention brought plastic model building enthusiasts from around the country and world to exhibit their works and compete for top honors in their specific category, ranging from aircraft, ships, automotive, military vehicles/dioramas, figures, and sci-fi.”

The “BTR-70 Wrecked” model was created from a box set that Conrad then built, added to, and painted. It is the first model, he said, created from an imaginary scenario, and all his other models until this time have been based on historical events.

Conrad credits his father with inspiring his love of building models.

After submitting three models into a different category at the convention, Conrad said all of his models were moved to a different category of their own, so he knew he would win. But attending the convention also inspiring and exciting, according to Conrad. It gave him the opportunity to meet venders and attend seminars with his father, Conrad said.

He is already working on other models and has plans to build more.