I wasn't really looking to visit a model railway show. But then UKModelshops told me that the Bournville show was taking place the next day, and I decided a train ride would be nice. I remembered from last year's visit that the show is next to Longbridge station, making for an easy trip. There was a layout on the list that intrigued me, and that would (hopefully) compensate for the lack of cake I also recalled.
The ride was nice. I read a book and looked out of the window occasionally. The journey involved a change in Birmingham with a bit of a stroll around New Street station, noting that a 'spoons has appeared since I was last there. I like a ride on a train and quite like the Class 730 units with their super-wide connections between coaches. Despite the heavy use they get, the insides are still pretty tidy too.
Arriving at Longbridge, I decided to follow people who I thought might be going to the show. I chose well, and a group of three of us chatted during the five-minute stroll.
Inside, I hunted down the layout that had caught my eye - Moonbase Apha.
The first thing to say is that this owes nothing to Space 1999. There are nods to 2001 and Silent Running, but this is very much its own creation.
What it is, is a good idea, exceptionally well done.
3D printed monorails, cleverly making use of OO gauge track that has been heavily modified and ex-Tri-ang mechanisms, circulate around the station complex. Both passenger and freight trains have been modelled, and several designs of each. There is a distinctly Flash Gordon look, with a hint of the early APT designs and even Belgian "Goggle" trains.
Inside the buildings, people move along a travelator, or rotate inside geodesic domes. Outside, Airfix astronauts perform various tasks, including examining a black rectangular object in a hole.
The modelling is sharp. The lunar landscape is exceptional. If I'd just come to see this one layout, I wouldn't have been disappointed. I have suggested we need it at the NEC next year...
The rest of the show was OK. Apart from the American narrow-gauge layout, there was amazing, but I remind myself that every one of these models is being exhibited by a proud owner, and there were a few ideas I will be taking away with me. It proves my point that you can always learn something from any layout, no matter what the standard.
And no, there wasn't any cake. A can and a Double-Decker bar sustained me until I returned to the 'spoons spotted earlier.
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