Stoke-On-Trent Model Show 2018 - MORE PICTURES!

[Weaver]

Stoke-On-Trent Model Show 2018 is on the 25th of March, details here: http://www.stokemodelclub.co.uk/stoke-on-trent-model-show--figureworld-west.html

Anyone interested?

[Howard of Effingham]

i think my club [IPMS Coventry and Warwickshire] is having a stand there but i am not sure.

if they do, i will see you there and will naturally bring wiffs.

[Weaver]

Well I think I'm on to do a stand at this show: the organisers have added What If SIG to the list of exhibitors but haven't replied to my e-mail (OGl isn't doing this one).

Whatever, I'm going to the show, stand or no stand. It looks pretty good so hopefully see some of you there? If you are coming please bring a model or two for the stand I've (probably) got.

UPDATE - not the show organisers' fault, it's mine (kinda): they DID reply to my e-mail but my spam filter took exception to it for some reason. The stand is DEFINITELY booked!

[Weaver]

BUMP!

Anyone fancy going to this? The SIG WILL have a 12-foot stand, so plenty of opportunity to display your models.



http://www.stokemodelclub.co.uk/stoke-on-trent-model-show--figureworld-west.html

[PR19_Kit]

I wish, but I'm doing railway things that w/e. 

[Weaver]

Well that went well, despite my every effort to screw things up....

I got up in plenty of time, got out of the house only slightly late, and then, on the way, 'realised' that I seemed to be an hour earlier than I should be. Since I am very, VERY dopey early in the morning, I assumed that I'd set the alarm wrong or got some other kind of wrong impression. The instructions from the organizers emphasized that exhibitors shouldn't show up before 8m to avoid clashing with the traders' setup, so since it looked like I was going to breach that , I stopped at a Subway and had a quick breakfast. Then, when I got to the show, I was informed that it was just after 9am, and I was one of the LAST exhibitors to arrive.

What had actually happened was that the information that the clocks went forwards on Saturday night had, for the first time in years, completely passed me by without notice. My alarm clock, which is fairly sophisticated, had adjusted itself automatically, but the simple clocks in the car, and my phone hadn't....

Fortunately, Trevor and Richard had saved the day by borrowing some spare cloths from their club and putting out a very impressive collection of whiffs on two thirds of our stand. All that was left was for me to somewhat sheepishly put one of my cloths and some of my models out on the remainder, and we were still up and running with time to spare.

Many, many thanks to Trevor and Richard for all their help at this show: it made a huge difference and I was very grateful for it.

The show itself was really good. It's in a modern school (the Sir Stanley Matthews Academy, no less), so the main area was a light and airy hall with several other halls and classrooms leading off it. We had a good spot next to the excellent tea and cakes stall, so we got lots of 'passing trade' and interest. Model displays were excellent (photos will follow), and there were lots of kids around, taking an active interest and getting plenty of encouragement, which was nice to see. Also nice to see was a decent number of women of all ages who were active and very good modellers, not just 'dragged along' wives and girlfriends. I suspect this had something to do with the heavy emphasis on figure modelling, which seems to attract women in greater numbers than the hardware side of things, but whatever the reason: good.

I didn't sell much (swings and roundabouts...), but Richard did, and we all got some decent and unusual finds from the various stalls. There seemed to be an unusually large number of sales and events supporting charities, which was good, but also quite a few displays and sales that were in memory of a modeller who'd passed away, which was sad to see. Another reason why it's important to get kids and ladies involved: we don't want to die out!

Organization was first rate, and though they said they'd had some serious last-minute problems, that wasn't at all apparent from a punter or exhibitor's point of view. Well done to Stoke On Trent Model Club: I highly recommend this show and I'm definitely going next year.

[Weaver]

I've been fighting a dodgy internet connection and Flickr being a pain, but here's an album of my unedited photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/156465715@N04/albums/72157667106711178

I'll tidy up some of them and post them directly here in a bit.

[Weaver]

SIG Stand:







The most amazing thing about this van in the car park was that it didn't belong to Radish:



Somebody had made a model of him though:

[Steel Penguin]

good looking display there folks 
and I must admit that van is rather stand out,  and in the best way 

[Weaver]

There was a large display of dioramas by the late Steven Pilbeam. These were really excellent, with every one telling it's own little story, not just a collection of posed models on a base. Apparently he did some even bigger and more impressive ones, including a post-war junkyard with literally hundreds of wrecked vehicles in it, but the guys running the display have yet to work out how to transport them to shows.

[NARSES2]

Glad you had a good show lads and cheers for the photos H 

[PR19_Kit]

Really well done you three. 

I've seen some of the late Stephen Pilbeam's stuff before, but none of those. He was very talented. 

[Weaver]

These were all in the competition:


"It makes... pretty pictures...."











If you're thinking "okay, so it's another 1/24th Typhoon", then think again: this is 1/72nd scale...



My kind of tank accessory, and the real world equivalent of the Titchy Scooter in Tank Girl. "Don't traverse-rear please Boss: don't ask why, just don't...."



This is a wargames miniature in 1/lots scale modified to recreate the old Matchbox Sherman Firefly kit on it's half-a-bridge base:



This won a prize and quite right too!









This is 1/144th scale....