Peterborough BRM show Oct 17th 18th

[Steve Hewitt]

I thought the trade balance was pretty good overall.

 

The costs of running an event like this are immense Bear in mind this is a VERY large venue - the main hall alone is 42000 square Ft. That is a hell of a lot to fill, and it is expensive to hire. Expenses need paying to the layout operators, the free shuttle bus also has to be paid for, as well as all the advertising. when you consider this, the ??10 entry fee isn't so bad. Its only the cost of three pints down the pub these days.

 

I believe last years show resulted in a net loss for the organisers, despite the ??10 entry fee

 

This year there were more layouts and more traders and a pretty good attendence, and hopefully a profit for the organisers to help toward the costs of next years show.

 

Considering this is only the second year of the show, the organisers did a very good job. The amount of unused space was considerably less than last year, and it won't be long before there is no spare space. It takes a few years for a large regional show like this to become established, so don't write it off just yet.

 

I'm not wanting to be an apologist, but I'm sure you'll encounter many of the same issues if and when you decide to organise your own regional show, and start looking at the costs...

 

I believe that the Peterborogh Show is oganised by and for Warners, who are a commercial company and do it for profit.

Unlike shows put on by Modelling Societies who plough any profits back into the hobby, Warners have shareholders to satisfy.

I've no problem with that, but don't confuse a commercial show with those put on by "not for profit" organisations.

As a frequent exhibitor, I never expect to recover more than my out of pocket expenses from the organisers, knowing that anything they make will be for the benefit of modellers like myself.

I might have to question wether that is the correct approach to an orginser who wishes to make a profit directly from my (or in the case of a club layout, our) contribution.

 

Steve.

[westerner]

I went on Sunday and thoroughly enjoyed it. I liked the wide aisles as has already been said one did not get the constant buffetting that one gets at other large shows.

The feeling on the way back ( there were 4 of us) was that the star layout was Westcliff and extremely well presented layout with excellent stock that ran very well. We all liked the sound of waves breaking on the shore. It gave the feeling of a hot sunny summers day.

[Gravy Train]

Enjoyed the weekend very much, plenty of chit-chat and party tricks with a piece of microstrip and clear plastic and was nice to meet up with some RMwebbers new and old( i don't mean age ).

I managed to see some layouts early morning before opening and agree westcliff is very well done and it runs as well, didn't buy much only materials as usual but was taken by a superb model of an R24 buckjumper in 7mm built by Charlie King, yeh i know its not 4mm EM or LYR.

[pete_mcfarlane]

I liked the wide aisles and plenty of space - less chance of being whacked by rucksack man or having to negotiate past the two old blokes who always pick the narrowest spot to hold a conversation.

 

Not sure I liked the road to the car park - about half a mile of rutted track that had to be negotiated at 2mph. Having just paid ??300 for new suspension bits I winced at every bump. It also wasn't obvious where the entrance to the building was was once I'd parked up.

 

A pretty good mix of layouts - the one of Barmouth bridge was particulary impressive, and there were none of the identikit OO modern image and bizare freelance OO9 layouts that seem to act as padding at so many shows. Good selection of trade stands as well - I tend to ignore the RTR box shifters but there were plenty of useful small suppliers. Finally got some Replica glazing for my EPB unit and various other bits.