Telford SMW 2018 - Now with pics!

[zenrat]

Thanks for sharing H.

[NARSES2]

Well I must admit I agree with Mr penguin as far as the hardness of the floors are concerned. My feet are complaining like mad by about 11:00am no matter what I wear 

As far as I was concerned all the arrangements worked well and I had no problems through from 3:00pm Friday to 5:00pm Sunday so well done the Committee 

Thoroughly enjoyable show and great to meet up with everybody again, some of the chat was as mad as ever, and some as serious. Whilst our taste in wine is certainly improving  Didn't get to see anywhere near everything going by the pictures, and most of what I saw was fantastic. It was good to see a fair few younger modellers, and female ones, plus the Airfix "Make and Take" stand seemed to be doing well 

Only real downside is that I am absolutely knackered and the journey home in particular really did me in. Still got a year to recover and the hotel for 2019 is already booked 

[Weaver]

Well I must admit I agree with Mr penguin as far as the hardness of the floors are concerned. My feet are complaining like mad by about 11:00am no matter what I wear 

As far as I was concerned all the arrangements worked well and I had no problems through from 3:00pm Friday to 5:00pm Sunday so well done the Committee 

Yeah, I thought my legs and feet were okay, but then when I got out of the car at Stafford services my right leg felt like it had been kicked, and it's still stiff three days later...

The only arrangement I have a quibble with is the ban on taking ANY wheeled device out via the front doors after break-down. I was heading out towing a very small luggage trolley with three boxes on it: very obviously a punter, not a trader. A guy stopped me at the lobby entrance and told me that because it had wheels, I had to go out of the Hall 1 fire exit and walk around the back of the building instead. I offered to pick it up and carry it: nope. I offered to fold it up and put it in my bag: nope. So I gave up (politely) and went round the back way, since it wasn't that much of a nuisance to me personally. However, if I'd been an older guy, maybe struggling and maybe using the trolley to help me cope, then he would just have made me walk twice as far. Can't see any sense in this at all really: you can tell who's a trader and who's not, and in any case, why would the traders want to go out of the front door when their vehicles are all around the back anyway?

[PR19_Kit]

Oh for goodness sake! They keep ON shooting themselves in the foot! 

I reckon it's a lack of communication between the IPMS team and the International Centre people, the latter seem to be different every year so they have no experience.

[Thorvic]

Well I must admit I agree with Mr penguin as far as the hardness of the floors are concerned. My feet are complaining like mad by about 11:00am no matter what I wear 

As far as I was concerned all the arrangements worked well and I had no problems through from 3:00pm Friday to 5:00pm Sunday so well done the Committee 

Yes my knee's are filling me, they were already knackered but SMW really did take its toll the floors are hard and there's a hell of alot of walking involved (although i find the ice rink floor of Perth to be the worst show surface), compounded somewhat by the lift in the hotel breaking on the Friday night  . our position in Hall 2 was great as a base during the show but not so clever for the unloading and loading of the car especiallly as they were at the top of the parking at the side of the hall.

[Weaver]

Oh for goodness sake! They keep ON shooting themselves in the foot! 

I reckon it's a lack of communication between the IPMS team and the International Centre people, the latter seem to be different every year so they have no experience.

Yeah this was an IC guy. I wondered if he'd got the wrong end of the stick, but I wasn't going to make a fuss...

[zenrat]

I'm on my feet all day at work.  I wear shoes made for nurses (i draw the line at stockings and the apron though) which have gel filled inner soles.

[Hobbes]

The What-if SIG stand had fewer exhibits than in previous years. I, for one didn't bring more than 2 What-if models (with the usual 2pp limit in mind), but for next year it may be prudent to have a few extras on standby to prevent a half-empty table.

[PR19_Kit]

I had my usual VAST box full of Whiffs with me, and ended up with four of mine on the stand, but it still looked somewhat underpopulated to my mind.

[Martin H]

I had my usual VAST box full of Whiffs with me, and ended up with four of mine on the stand, but it still looked somewhat underpopulated to my mind.

It did look underpopulated compared to previous years. And the rule of two wasn't being enforced either. Hence why Mike McEvoy had 7 items up. You could have put more on the tables if you wanted to Kit  I've always said when the limit is operating that you can bring more and swap them around if that's what the owner wishes to do. It also gives us a backup if as this year the numbers of people behind the stand is lower.

On the positive side it meant the models that were on display had a greater share of the limelight. The Canberra PR9 and the Helicrane had quite a lot of attention as did the Ratte.
Also, the smaller items on display wernt lost in the crowd as sometimes can happen.

[PR19_Kit]

With my current burgeoning cold heavy in my head I wasn't thinking clearly the entire weekend, or I may have suggested unpacking more of my stock. 

Actually I think this was the first year since I built them that there were NO PR19s on the stand. I'm not sure if that's good or bad............... 

That's Meteor PR19s of course, Lee did have his lovely Rhodesian PRXIX Spitfire there.

[Weaver]

Well I had three out, which was all that would fit in one box. Since I went home on Saturday night, I could have brought a few more on Sunday, although many of mine are still broken. However, Sod's law, the thought didn't occur to me until I was well on my way Sunday morning...

This is another example where the restrictive nature of the kitswap/setup situation at Telford has consequences. Since I wasn't on the setup crew and didn't have a hotel room, there was no way I was going to drive down and back again on the Friday just to book my stuff into the kitswap. That meant I had to carry all my kitswap and display stuff in during a 45 min window on Saturday morning (if the display stuff was going to be on the stand before opening time), so my total 'payload' on Saturday morning had to be what I could carry in one trip, bearing in mind that kitswap book-in takes a LONG time.

At a normal show, you can arrive for setup up to two hours before opening time, and your under-the-table sales boxes only have to be put in place, not meticulously logged in, item-by-item.

[Martin H]

Actually I think this was the first year since I built them that there were NO PR19s on the stand. I'm not sure if that's good or bad............... 

A fact that did not go un noticed. 

Consider yourself duly reprimanded  (only kidding)

[PR19_Kit]

I had the original PR19a and the later (big winged) PR19b in the box too.

I'd dropped the black PR19 packing up and it needs a new nosewheel. 

[The Wooksta!]

There WERE two PR19s on the stand!  Admittedly, Spitfire PR19s, but still PR19s!