jasonb
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,209
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Post by jasonb on Jan 18, 2019 14:07:57 GMT
I hope you will be posting plenty of pictures for those of us up north to enjoy. Paul I'll take my usual photos and if you are lucky I may allow a loco or two to slip in. Re the charges there are two slightly different URLs for seetickets site one via Meridian has no additional costs, the other if searching on say Google does have the additional charges.
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JohnDK
Active Member
Northampton SME member
Posts: 15
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Post by JohnDK on Jan 18, 2019 19:07:16 GMT
We went today. It was pretty quiet and was effectively the same show as last year (or the year before that). The highlight for us was the Chelmsford Society stand - their stand is great advert for the hobby. John K
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Post by Roger on Jan 18, 2019 19:11:16 GMT
It was pretty quiet there today, which made taking pictures a lot easier of course. Hopefully some of those will be up on the modelengineeringwebsite in the next day or two.
As always, it was good to catch up with Adam Cro, David (Midland) and John (Simplyloco).
There aren't many Traction Engines but quite a few locomotives, one or two being exceptional (a Royal Scot being one). Chelmsford ME have excelled by making an imaginative and enormous display that must have taken a huge amount of thought and determination to design and build.
There was a fine workshop scene with characters being scanned from live human models and all surrounding a 15xx which had more detail than any other SPEEDY I've seen to date. You can get yourself scanned and 3D printed if you want to appear on the footplate of your model, whatever scale you like. It's exceptional work and I'll certainly consider doing that myself.
The Big Boy finally begins to look like some progress has been made, but it's still a long way from being a running chassis/s?
I'm sure the new 'Steam Punk' exhibits are going to raise a few hackles, you may have to google that to get a clue as to what that's all about. I had to ask, I'd never heard of it. It appears to be a fusion or Victorian inspired mechanisms, merged with art and design, possibly while taking something hallucinogenic. Very theatrical/movie style props but very creative and interesting if you give it a chance! It's certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but the enthusiasm with which its creators talk to you about it is infectious. I'd never do it myself, have no idea why anyone would want to, but I'm impressed and glad they do!
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dscott
Elder Statesman
Posts: 2,438
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Post by dscott on Jan 19, 2019 0:55:09 GMT
A very enjoyable day and a loosing track of time around 2.00 when Lily got hungry!!!! Lots of Photos! Interesting chats and of course? SPENT TOO MUCH! Roger you do need a Box to keep her in and a collection of friends gathered and scanned in to admire!! What a lovely model Tom has done. David and Lily.
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rrmrd66
Part of the e-furniture
Posts: 339
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Post by rrmrd66 on Jan 19, 2019 9:13:50 GMT
It was pretty quiet there today, which made taking pictures a lot easier of course. Hopefully some of those will be up on the modelengineeringwebsite in the next day or two. As always, it was good to catch up with Adam Cro, David (Midland) and John (Simplyloco). There aren't many Traction Engines but quite a few locomotives, one or two being exceptional (a Royal Scot being one). Colchester ME have excelled by making an imaginative and enormous display that must have taken a huge amount of thought and determination to design and build. There was a fine workshop scene with characters being scanned from live human models and all surrounding a 15xx which had more detail than any other SPEEDY I've seen to date. You can get yourself scanned and 3D printed if you want to appear on the footplate of your model, whatever scale you like. It's exceptional work and I'll certainly consider doing that myself. The Big Boy finally begins to look like some progress has been made, but it's still a long way from being a running chassis/s? I'm sure the new 'Steam Punk' exhibits are going to raise a few hackles, you may have to google that to get a clue as to what that's all about. I had to ask, I'd never heard of it. It appears to be a fusion or Victorian inspired mechanisms, merged with art and design, possibly while taking something hallucinogenic. Very theatrical/movie style props but very creative and interesting if you give it a chance! It's certainly not everyone's cup of tea, but the enthusiasm with which its creators talk to you about it is infectious. I'd never do it myself, have no idea why anyone would want to, but I'm impressed and glad they do! Hi Roger.
Never heard of Steam Punk. Roger really! Get yourself to Whitby and "get in the groove".
Best wishes Malcolm
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Post by Roger on Jan 19, 2019 9:18:32 GMT
A very enjoyable day and a loosing track of time around 2.00 when Lily got hungry!!!! Lots of Photos! Interesting chats and of course? SPENT TOO MUCH! Roger you do need a Box to keep her in and a collection of friends gathered and scanned in to admire!! What a lovely model Tom has done. David and Lily. Hi David, Glad you enjoyed the show too. I do like the idea of creating a scene to display the locomotive in, it's much more interesting than it just sitting on a piece of show track. Maybe that's what I'll do later.
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Post by simplyloco on Jan 19, 2019 9:31:39 GMT
Good to see you Roger, and I met one other forum member (Andy) who saw my name tag! I spent only £17 on bits, and nearly bought a Stuart Sirius kit (£450), but they weren't offering any show prices, just a reluctant "I might knock off a tenner" - Myford syndrome? - and I also refused to spend nearly a fiver on one sandwich! The four of us went up in my car, enjoyed a good day out and it only took three hours to get home... John
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jasonb
Elder Statesman
Posts: 1,209
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Post by jasonb on Jan 19, 2019 16:12:14 GMT
Rather than post them all again I have spread my photos over a few posts on MEM forum starting here
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Post by silverfox on Jan 19, 2019 18:48:42 GMT
Off there tomorrow.
What are the parking arrangements?
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JohnDK
Active Member
Northampton SME member
Posts: 15
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Post by JohnDK on Jan 19, 2019 19:04:56 GMT
Off there tomorrow. What are the parking arrangements? Park (free) in the Ally Pally Paddock car park and ride up the hill on the free shuttle bus. Easy and efficient. John K
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Post by steamlaser on Jan 19, 2019 20:05:27 GMT
I saw little of the show on Friday as I was stuck on our club stand. (However had the pleasure of meeting David and Lily!) We used to bring up 4 inch Traction Engines, but the owners found the transport costs, travel distances and logistics of loading / unloading made it just not worth while. As the hall was not crowded we could actually sit by the side of our stand. Back on Sunday and hopefully will get a chance to look around.
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Post by Cro on Jan 19, 2019 20:31:59 GMT
Enjoyable day yesterday at the show catching up with Roger and chatting to lots on interested people. Just a couple of photos of our Beech Hurst stand. Will try get a few more photos tomorrow when back on the stand and looking around with the old man. Untitled by Adam Cro, on Flickr Untitled by Adam Cro, on Flickr And the 9f back on show again, was last at the show 2 years ago and a fair bit of the cladding has been finished since. Untitled by Adam Cro, on Flickr Adam
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dscott
Elder Statesman
Posts: 2,438
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Post by dscott on Jan 20, 2019 0:47:07 GMT
We got in for 10.00 having set off at 8.00 from Reading! I had a small shopping list that grew as we walked round. Current projects catered for with 3 Jintys photoed for later reference. Lovely to see some 1500 locos as well me getting out after center popping over 200 holes in the Scale Frames!!! We know Chris Eden-Green (Guy squatting down taking a vintage photo of Tom Parhams 1500 in its super shed scene BOX) From our spending time on the BIG STUFF! We also know Tom through the Jinty connection. Just before a late lunch (Stuff smuggled in via a searched bag) I got talking to someone all about Class 3 pony Trucks and their Swing links!! CAD animation taking up an interesting 10 minutes! We shared a tea and added to the list. JB incerts and some Perma Grit files. Home and Workshop just a look but a Raglan Backplate made it into the bag. "The last one unless someone wishes to start making new ones! Warco got a visit and the mill had gone up in price £100! The tool holders had been made to the wrong shape in China so they were waiting for a new order to be made and come in? Blackgates were my last stop topping up on packets of various Bolts and rivets. Sad news about the Bristol Exhibition because of their track issues!! And a new friend on Facebook! I boringly meet them in real life!! Regards David and Lily.
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Post by silverfox on Jan 20, 2019 8:03:40 GMT
John K
Thanks
Just of to get a good grid position on the M25 Grand Prix
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chrisb
Part of the e-furniture
Posts: 345
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Post by chrisb on Jan 20, 2019 9:24:56 GMT
Looks like a nice Dougal on the end of the Beech Hurst stand. I must make some more progress on my 7 1/4" version when my container arrives here in New Zealand.
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4303
Active Member
Posts: 44
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Post by 4303 on Jan 20, 2019 10:51:37 GMT
It was quieter and the aisles appeared wider but, as usual, the clubs put on excellent displays on their various stands. The most enjoyable aspect (of this and any other show) was being able to meet old friends for a chat in front of the aforementioned stands. On Friday there was a clear (cold) blue sky with the sun shining brightly; the views across London from the 'Ally Pally' terraces were there to dazzle and delight (well I think so).
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Neale
Part of the e-furniture
5" Black 5 just started
Posts: 279
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Post by Neale on Jan 21, 2019 13:37:38 GMT
I spent 3 days at the show (on the SMEE stand - I was the bloke demonstrating the wire EDM machine, for anyone that might have seen it) but had a bit of time to wander round the show as well. Overall impressions - lots of shiny models, generally well-displayed. While these are impressive, I have to admit to finding them also a bit depressing as while they should give me something to aim at myself, I can't help feeling a bit as though my own work is very second-best alongside these. Never mind - that's just me! However, another impression is the number of times someone from a club stand came to talk to me when they saw I was particularly interested in something. In fact - precisely never. I spent some time looking at the detail and photographing for later reference a couple of Stanier 4000 gallon tenders in 5" gauge, which is my current project - but maybe everyone on the stand was too busy to notice? I spent a lot of time looking at the detail of the construction of frame stays and the like on a BR MT4 (was it? Mr CRO's work, possibly, based on what I have read in this forum?) which was really useful as again, this is what I am working on. I did see a number of club stand stewards who seemed to believe that their main role was to stop the great unwashed putting sticky fingers on shiny models...
A lot of people, I suspect, would like to have a bit of a chat and might even get converted to model engineering (as I was, 40-odd years ago) if they are approached politely, but are unwilling/too shy to make first contact. I suspect that dwellers on this forum are not the right people to ask about this as many seem to know it all already, or at least know a number of contacts on club stands and the like, but I wonder if we as a hobby could make a better impression on visitors if we were a bit more "customer-facing" and a bit less "exhibit-minding"? Where in the Alexandra Palace show do you think a member of the public could go to ask the question, "this all looks very interesting - how do I start?"
And I'm sorry if I offend anyone with my remarks, but as a hobby that could do with more new blood, how do we make a show like this into a bit more of a welcoming recruiting exercise, without being too obvious?
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Post by Cro on Jan 21, 2019 14:46:53 GMT
I spent 3 days at the show (on the SMEE stand - I was the bloke demonstrating the wire EDM machine, for anyone that might have seen it) but had a bit of time to wander round the show as well. Overall impressions - lots of shiny models, generally well-displayed. While these are impressive, I have to admit to finding them also a bit depressing as while they should give me something to aim at myself, I can't help feeling a bit as though my own work is very second-best alongside these. Never mind - that's just me! However, another impression is the number of times someone from a club stand came to talk to me when they saw I was particularly interested in something. In fact - precisely never. I spent some time looking at the detail and photographing for later reference a couple of Stanier 4000 gallon tenders in 5" gauge, which is my current project - but maybe everyone on the stand was too busy to notice? I spent a lot of time looking at the detail of the construction of frame stays and the like on a BR MT4 (was it? Mr CRO's work, possibly, based on what I have read in this forum?) which was really useful as again, this is what I am working on. I did see a number of club stand stewards who seemed to believe that their main role was to stop the great unwashed putting sticky fingers on shiny models... A lot of people, I suspect, would like to have a bit of a chat and might even get converted to model engineering (as I was, 40-odd years ago) if they are approached politely, but are unwilling/too shy to make first contact. I suspect that dwellers on this forum are not the right people to ask about this as many seem to know it all already, or at least know a number of contacts on club stands and the like, but I wonder if we as a hobby could make a better impression on visitors if we were a bit more "customer-facing" and a bit less "exhibit-minding"? Where in the Alexandra Palace show do you think a member of the public could go to ask the question, "this all looks very interesting - how do I start?" And I'm sorry if I offend anyone with my remarks, but as a hobby that could do with more new blood, how do we make a show like this into a bit more of a welcoming recruiting exercise, without being too obvious? Neale, I must apologise if you had been itching for more communication from us, I will admit yesterday I did see someone in a SMEE jacket eagerly looking over the 4MT chassis but each time I clocked the person I was deep in conversation with others. On that, it was my chassis but up till now not my work, hopefully progress it later in the year, if you have any questions thought do ask, always happy to chat! (hence why I was busy when you may have been looking, it took Dad and I most of the day to look around as I kept stopping to talk to people!) Adam
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Post by silverfox on Jan 21, 2019 15:58:24 GMT
Neale,
I could not agree more. We need stand attendees to talk to people who stop to look, On Sunday i did notice a lot of fat chewing between guys who possibly last saw each other the other week, and not taking an interest in the viewers of the models, all it needs is a open ended question What.why Where and one that isn't answered by Yes/No Can i help you? No thanks, and that is it you have hit the buffers. Whereas a general'Ttook the chap X years to build that at 2hrs a night' average type of thing ,should get a response that can be enlarged upon. Have a list ready of all clubs and tracks 'Where do you live?' 'i live at X' .Did you know there is a club/track that runs/build these?, here is their address /contact. Unfortunately the average member is not a communicator and also tends to look upon an interested person as an interruption into their world, and possibly dont like new faces into their little circle, It is like being warm and freindly to a stranger was the part in the manual they didnt read. I have been to several clubs/tracks and wandered around thinking i had Harry Potter invisibility cloak ondue to the lack of being approached. Remember, they dont know anyone and perhaps might feel a bit selfconcious in asking the first, and what seems to them the silly question. Whilst we may be preaching to the converted who visit, What if a club(s) put up a stand with S/H machines lathe,mil/drill ( off ebay? etc) and a range of hand tools that the beginner would need to convert a block of metal to swarf? to show them what is needed
Put guys on it who can talk to a complete beginner, without getting technical, and showing them how to turn a diameter, and then give them a piece of scrap so they can do it themselves, putting wheel castings on in the chuck and get them to face off there rear face, stuff like that
Even getting a full set of castings along with a selection of 'virgin; material that would make up a loco nuts and bolts, rivets. We will be talking to people who have been brought up on smartphones and the Internet. No Meccacano or Brickplayer for them as children, Lego..perhaps This to them could be caveman stuff, and it is up to us to help them make the step. Explain it isnt a cheap start up hobby, be honest tell them we dont live forever and good equipment can always be got from the family of a recently deceased member if they so wish
We have to show that is can be self taught, you WILL make mistakes, but you will learn by being a member and attending track days and asking.
One thing we all must od is encourage new chaps. I know of one club, and it insn't an isolated example, where one guy left because he felt he 'didn't belong' he was a good member, went to track maintenance days helped out at track days, yet not one loco owner offered to show him how to drive or even offer him a drive. He is going back when his loco is finished and when one of the 'others' requests a drive he will politely decline the request. We have to get rid of this 'closed shop' mentality ,you see it at TE rallies where ask a question and you are being a nuisance and they make you feel they are doing you a favour by replying, meanwhilef rapidly getting back to discussing what all the others had done. More inbreeding than a village in the Forest of Dean ( or so i have been told!)
We have to be more customer facing friendly otherwise the chaps like Adam and Peter could well be the last generation to take an interest
Just my thoughts
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Post by Jo on Jan 21, 2019 17:23:58 GMT
If you think you have a problem just I imagine the reaction I get if I approach someone: "have you lost your husband"?
When I used to exhibit at the Guildford show I used to take along my Cowells lathe and would be attempting to turn something up which encouraged visitors to talk to me . I would always be making a model that was available from a <£100 set of castings suitable for a beginner. Then once I started chatting to them they would realise that the name on my badge matched the name on the cards of the models alongside me... I never managed to turn anything up because of the interruptions but that wasn't the point.
Sadly that did not last long: A couple of years ago I was informed by the Guildford club that they didn't want me to take my lathe along to the show it was back to the visitors treating me as a wife who had been told to look after hubby's models It was after that that I left the Guildford club.
Jo
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