Possibly the most coveniant show I take part in has to be the International Model Boat show at the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre. 10 minutes drive from home along the Fosse Way, we see 1 set of traffic lights and a roundabout. Even the parking is easy as long as you keep your wheels near the hard stuff while on the field. Anyway, after setting up on Thursday evening we found that our stand was bigger than expected. This allowed for a nicely spaced out display. There is a tendency at these events to cram as many models into as small a space as possible making it difficult for visitors to get a proper look at anything.
The display was in a new location within the hall. Central but without our normal view of the boating pool. The layout worked well but it was a shame not to be able to watch the action. Mind you, we've been lucky the last few years so I can't complain.
Friday was very busy with crowds from the opening. Traders seemed to be doing excellent business with many people wandering around with big bags of goodies. I wouldn't say that the trade had changed much from last year but the selection on offer is very good with most of the stuff you need for the hobby being on sale.
Saturday was spent at the IPMS show but I was back on station for Sunday. The highlight of the day as far as I'm concerned is the 2-minute Remembrance Sunday silence. Always well respected, it's particularly affecting to be somewhere where you don't have to take part but everyone does.
To follow the silence, vintage pinup and burlesque artist Kitten von Mew (Web site safe for work as long as you are careful where you click) sang some appropriately war-time songs. In fact she performed 3 times during the day although the sound didn't really carry down to our bit of the show. The audience around the pool seemed to like it though and wandering up, it was a nice and unusual addition to the show. ]#
Club stands were as usual, very interesting, The Manx model boat club rightly won the best in show award with a large display full of top quality models including the best Waverly paddle steamer I've seen and an automatic operating dredger (Video here).
Our weekend went well with several potential new members talked to. Three live within 5 miles of our waters and didn't know of the club - that's now fixed and we hope to welcome them on board soon. The only downside was a lack of heating on the last day. Friday was warm but the heater above our heats went off at about 10am and never came back on. In November, any exhibition hall is cool and this one downright cold! I can see why some clubs sell branded fleeces to their members - we could have done with some as it looks smarter than wearing coats on the stand.
Anyway, I did manage to avoid buying any new kits for the collection. Piles of plasticard and many lengths of wood though - well you can't easily buy the larger sheet sizes can you? And the wood will come in handy one day and it was a bargain...
Lots of photos on Flickr for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment