DEMU Showcase 2014, Burton upon Trent, 31 May & 1 June 2014

[Robert Shrives]

Hi all,

Enjoyed every minute and look forward to 2015 -exhibition shown shared between town hall and brewery museum- ideal locations in every way. Ben and co with Horsley fields along with Drem flew N flag really well. The level of thought in presentation showed with good layouts well lit with good sized name headers - all best practice. Traders very good  nodoubt sombodies fav was not there but that is lfe.

 

Re comments on pricing - well join DEMU . I paid a fiver which worked out a less than a pound and hour. But I also fully understand the pressures of family life.  Membership opens up another forum 4 great mags a year and for me has led to meeting and learning more, a win all round.

 

As said before, whilst not wishing my life away, roll on 2015.

Thanks to all who made it possible

Robert        

[298]

I accept what you are saying, just stating that if you compare its £8 price to other shows it is more expensive than Derby Moorways which had more than twice the number of layouts and exhibitors. Stafford was not much more and it had three times the number of exhibits. No complaints on the quality of the show, and the free guide was of a very high quality so that balanced things a little.

So what's the solution...? Charge everyone the same rate and risk loosing members as you take away their privilege, move to a cheaper venue (best of luck finding one), or reduce layout costs by making it a more general show with, *ahem, Steam...?

[Mike Bellamy]

I guess it all depends on what you want from the show - we also have a much reduced rate for our members when we use the Town Hall (£3 instead of £5) but it only becomes viable as an event if we allow in the 'general public' - if it was members only then to get the same income we would have to charge considerably more and then the members wouldn't turn up. However by opening up our show to the public we do open ourselves up to criticism - such as a genuine complaint that there was too much narrow gauge - well the clue is in the title - 7mm Narrow Gauge Association !!

 

 

 

.

[Guest Digital]

Great Show as always.

I really enjoyed the social side of the show meeting up with many old friends.

Some great layouts to.

John

[black and decker boy]

Just back from a 220m + round trip to showcase. Very good show, first showcase I've done since taking Weston Road (Freightliner Crewe) around 10 years ago. BCB and Law Junction are great layouts and always good To watch. Glenuig always raises a smile for its character and you can't beat Sulzer type 2s ( well except a 37 on full bore). Horseley fields was nicely done though the Perspex screen was a bit of a hassle breaking up the viewing angles but I do appreciate its necessity given the low level of the layout. New Bryford was as colourful as ever even with a BR blue Tornado! Tullygarth was new to me and I spent quite some time taking in the Scottish nostalgia.

 

I had one disappointment personally, a layout I had specifically gone to see wasn't as good in the flesh as in magazines (on inspection, the photos have clearly been photoshopped to increase the depth of the board & scenery) but that was more than made up by Outwell Village which was wonderful indeed.

 

Trade was not quite what I needed as no plastic / brass section so it's online for what I want.

 

Roll on 2015 :-)

[Phil Parker]

First time I've been to the show and I enjoyed it. Layout quality was excellent with several I'd not seen before. Trade was excellent for a small show too - I really want to build a 7mm Judith Edge 01 but must resist...

 

A few photos here:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45131642@N00/sets/72157644948520242/

 

Did I imagine it, or is the average age of visitors at least 10 years younger then general shows too?

[steve1]

Phil, I suspect you average age comment is about right.

 

steve

[James Makin]

I went yesterday and it was another great show, nice work chaps!

 

There were many great layouts, would be unfair to pick any particulars out as all so good but I would say that the N gauge examples were particularly inspirational, having just as much detail as the larger scale layouts but with much more fiddliness in achieving the result! 

 

And to whoever was selling the dusty old Hornby OAA for the cracking price of £2 on the DEMU stand, I love you! Just what I was looking for, a right old fun project awaits.

 

Me and the Worthing lads went off to Water Orton for a freight train photting session later on, ordered fish & chips near the station and were served basically a whole carrier bag full of chips - clearly everything's bigger up North!! Sod's law was seeing an endless procession of Turbostars and then missing the only freight train just as we were leaving!

 

Fantastic day out and looking forward to the promise of a multi-venue show in 2015!!

 

Cheers

James

[250BOB]

First time I've been to the show and I enjoyed it. Layout quality was excellent with several I'd not seen before. Trade was excellent for a small show too - I really want to build a 7mm Judith Edge 01 but must resist...

 

A few photos here:

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/45131642@N00/sets/72157644948520242/

 

Did I imagine it, or is the average age of visitors at least 10 years younger then general shows too?

 

A few pals of mine who normally go to exhibitions, dont do this exhibition because there are no steam engines.....I suspect this is a general view of some steam era modellers, who are perhaps the older generation(like myself).

I went and really enjoyed it....I model transition era.

[alan]

Just arrived home after having a most enjoyable weekend at the show. Outwell Village was very well received, thanks to everyone for their kind comments. Also thanks to the organizers and their team for a great show from the Outwell operators

[Swifty11]

Brilliant show!

 

Does anyone have any photos Llywdd Town?

I had a great 30 minutes operations and never got a photo!

[Lt_ELLZO]

This was my first exhibition in about 10 years or so. For me it was great, great atmosphere, great layouts. Planning on going to 2015, quite interested in joining DEMU as well. It also gave me a few ideas for a layout to build.

 

 

Elliott

[Calnefoxile]

Elliott,

 

Glad you enjoyed the show. You could have joined DEMU at Showcase by coming to the DEMU Zone, which was Stand No1, but as you missed that here's our website address  http://www.demu.org.uk and on the home page is a link to 'Join DEMU'.

 

Regards

 

Neal. 

[Tom J]

As the guy who pays the bills for the Derby show I can tell you that if we were still using that venue we would have to charge about double the Moorways admission to cover our costs.By coincidence, I am also involved as one of the organisers of the 7mm Narrow Gauge Assn exhibition at Burton Town Hall in two weeks time (as already noted in one of the posts above, we will have the bar open!). It's only in the last 3 years that the Council have started charging for the car park because it is so close to the station. However the road side restrictions in some of the side streets only apply Monday to Friday and we find that many of our visitors can find a space within a short walk at no cost..

I understand, Mike - the Assembly Rooms made a rod for its own back with many users, I think. I look forward to next year's new venue at the Roundhouse. I certainly didn't feel hard done to at Derby 2014, either!

 

Ironically, having paid to park at Burton Town Hall, I walked round to the door and found three empty, free, spaces next to the Mayor's! Hey ho.

[Lt_ELLZO]

Elliott,

 

Glad you enjoyed the show. You could have joined DEMU at Showcase by coming to the DEMU Zone, which was Stand No1, but as you missed that here's our website address  http://www.demu.org.uk and on the home page is a link to 'Join DEMU'.

 

Regards

 

Neal.

 

I was planning too actually as well as the EM stands, but I was in the strolling around mode!

 

Will have a look into it, thanks matey.

 

 

Elliott

[newbryford]

New Bryford was as colourful as ever even with a BR blue Tornado!

 

 

And the looks of disdain (after all, it's a DIESEL & ELECTRIC show......) we got from other parts of the hall when we blew the whistle on Tornado, were quite amusing to us. And we did have three different whistle sounds to play with, which made it even more fun.

 

I often had to point out that it was a mere youngster when compared to the 50+ year old 20's and 37's!

 

Cheers,

Mick

[Clive Mortimore]

I understand, Mike - the Assembly Rooms made a rod for its own back with many users, I think. I look forward to next year's new venue at the Roundhouse. I certainly didn't feel hard done to at Derby 2014, either!

 

Ironically, having paid to park at Burton Town Hall, I walked round to the door and found three empty, free, spaces next to the Mayor's! Hey ho.

 

Having also fallen in to the same situation as Tom when I arrived I was very pleased to be greeted by a big welcome from Chris Ibbotson as I entered the town all.  I met loads of people who I had not seen for ages and was able to put some faces to RMwebbers names, far too many to list but it was great meet everyone. I person I will say I was very pleased to meet was “Bodge” Peters who is as nice in real life as he is on here.

 

Ok here is my short review of the layouts.

 

Albion Metals…..Roger’s home sized layout always is a pleasure to view.

 

Black Country Blues…..First time I have seen it and was impressed by it. Not so the operators, that Yorkie bloke lost control in the morning. “Nothing new there then”  Oi quiet in the cheap seats.

Then in the afternoon clam was restored , no sign of Mr York. “That sounds a good idea for RMweb” Look here you, I said be silent.

 

Brighton East….Looked better in the flesh than in the photos.

 

Dubmill Sidings…..I wish I wasn’t chatting so much, I should have had more time viewing this wonderful layout, best in the show in my opinion.

 

Glenuig……Very nicely modelled and presented but sorry it wasn’t my cup of tea. I do not expect to like all layouts at show. Likewise when I have shown my layouts I do not expect everyone to like them.

 

Horseley Fields…. A very enjoyable layout.

 

Law Junction……Another enjoyable layout. Both Law Junction and Horseley Fields showed the potential of N gauge with full length trains that ran from somewhere to somewhere. Too many N gauge layouts are small copies of 4mm layouts.

 

Llwydd Town…..Thanks George, Nobby, Paul and Smasher for the high quality micky taking ……......................................................................................……again.

I hope Richard looks after it and we still see on the exhibition circuit.

 

New Bryford….. Another layout I enjoyed seeing.

 

Oldshaw……now this is embarrassing I totally forgot to go up on the stage….sorry.

 

Outwell Village …….just lovely, I really enjoyed seeing the J 70 steam tram.

 

Tullygrath…..I must have my “I don’t like Scottish highland trains” head on today. Again nothing wrong with the modelling or the presentation, just not my cup of tea. Sorry

 

As you can see the layouts were excellent. I enjoyed having a chat with the guys on the demonstration stands. Big thanks to Colin for the discussion about track.

 

The trade stands all seemed to be displaying loads of interesting stuff, but none jumped out at me and said buy me, so I came home with no models, tools, bits and bobs or books. I will go and see my doctor tomorrow.

 

The Bachmann Met-Cam unit was on show, now it looked like a Met-Cam but some of the comments indicated that it may not be perfect. I will wait and see if I can have a prod and poke of one in my local shop soon.

 

Cheers to all the exhibitors, demonstrators, traders and DEMU members who staffed the show, I had a great day. 

[PaulRhB]

Well some of us liked it Mick

I know its great to get up close up but one thing I did note with a lack of barriers was that to get a spot to watch I was so close to several layouts I couldn't a see much at the back because of the lighting pelmet. It's another twist on the height thing in a way for us lofty sufferers but being kept back a couple of feet does give a wider view of the layout too, plus as the BCB guys noted the public can block the operators too

Not a moan but something to consider when planning the hall layout as on Micks layout there wasn't much room in front due to the stand opposite. Certainly not going to put me off but know layouts that are likely to attract a scrum maybe could do with something, even a rope and pipe barrier just for crowd control?

[Andy Y]

that Yorkie bloke lost control in the morning. “Nothing new there then”  Oi quiet in the cheap seats.

Then in the afternoon clam was restored , no sign of Mr York. “That sounds a good idea for RMweb” Look here you, I said be silent.

 

 

That,s nothing Clive, I had the toys taken off me on Saturday for misbehaving with Uncle Geoff! Rumour had it that a swipe card system was being devised overnight to stop me having access to the signal frame. ;-)

[andyram]

It seems I may have opened a can of worms with my comments about the admission price. I am a steam era / preserved steam modeller and appreciate that DEMU is a specialist show. As a result of my interests I do not wish to become a member of DEMU, but that does not stop me appreciating the quality of more modern era models.

 I did enjoy the show and have to admit that New Bryford and Glenuig are two of my exhibition favourites not just from this show but from others too. The show guide is the best of all of the shows I have been to and that is worth an extra quid or so. But for the number of layouts on show I do think that £8 is a little high, surely this show needs the general public and not just DEMU members to survive. If the general public compare the entrance price for this show to other, much larger but general shows, I am sure they will feel that it is comparatively high. Just my opinion though and it did not detract from my enjoyment of the event.

[Velopeur]

To me, one of the benefits of a specialist show is that the general public aren't likely to be interested, so the exhibition will be less crowded. I have no problem with the general public, but at a specialist show it is nice to have more space, to be able to get closer to the layouts, to chat at length to the operators etc. A specialist show should be a very different experience to normal public exhibitions.

 

If it costs me a little more to get in and there are less layouts, that's not a problem. It is a different experience.

 

The forthcoming 2mm Supermeet has only a small handful of layouts and is very unlikely to be heavily attended - but it will likely do its job very well.

[PeteScR]

. But for the number of layouts on show I do think that £8 is a little high, surely this show needs the general public and not just DEMU members to survive. If the general public compare the entrance price for this show to other, much larger but general shows, I am sure they will feel that it is comparatively high. Just my opinion though and it did not detract from my enjoyment of the event.

The show is open to the general public, it is not for DEMU members only although it provides a great social platform for us to be with like minded modellers, but you fail to recognise one key factor.

DEMU Showcase is a niche exhibition aimed at the D&E modellers primarily.

This in itself means that the attendance figure is low compared to many other exhibitions on the circuit, except maybe for Expo EM and Scalefour events.

You cannot compare Showcase to Stafford or Aylesbury cost wise as they are general shows and probably get 4 or five times the attendance figures coming through the door, so they can go bigger.

 

Costs have to be covered and based on the fact it is a niche event, that has to cover exhibitor costs (some from far flung corners of the country) and hall costs etc., £8 is very fair. The entry fee of £5 was held for about four years whilst other shows were on the increase too.

The society will not make very much money from the event, and will only make enough to make sure they can run the event next year.

 

As with other society shows, members get a good concession on entry, so many people go for that option.

 

Working on a well know trade stand this weekend, it was obvious that everyone enjoyed the event and we never heard any comments on the entry fee.

[andyram]

The show is open to the general public, it is not for DEMU members only although it provides a great social platform for us to be with like minded modellers, but you fail to recognise one key factor.

DEMU Showcase is a niche exhibition aimed at the D&E modellers primarily.

This in itself means that the attendance figure is low compared to many other exhibitions on the circuit, except maybe for Expo EM and Scalefour events.

You cannot compare Showcase to Stafford or Aylesbury cost wise as they are general shows and probably get 4 or five times the attendance figures coming through the door, so they can go bigger.

 

Costs have to be covered and based on the fact it is a niche event, that has to cover exhibitor costs (some from far flung corners of the country) and hall costs etc., £8 is very fair. The entry fee of £5 was held for about four years whilst other shows were on the increase too.

The society will not make very much money from the event, and will only make enough to make sure they can run the event next year.

 

As with other society shows, members get a good concession on entry, so many people go for that option.

 

Working on a well know trade stand this weekend, it was obvious that everyone enjoyed the event and we never heard any comments on the entry fee.

 

See highlighted areas below!!!!!

It seems I may have opened a can of worms with my comments about the admission price. I am a steam era / preserved steam modeller and appreciate that DEMU is a specialist show. As a result of my interests I do not wish to become a member of DEMU, but that does not stop me appreciating the quality of more modern era models.

 I did enjoy the show and have to admit that New Bryford and Glenuig are two of my exhibition favourites not just from this show but from others too. The show guide is the best of all of the shows I have been to and that is worth an extra quid or so. But for the number of layouts on show I do think that £8 is a little high, surely this show needs the general public and not just DEMU members to survive. If the general public compare the entrance price for this show to other, much larger but general shows, I am sure they will feel that it is comparatively high. Just my opinion though and it did not detract from my enjoyment of the event.

 

Hardly missing the point. Constructive criticism only. I enjoyed the event and congratulate those who organised it.

[Revolution Mike]

Folks

 

Thanks for all the kind comments.

 

Just a quick word on the entrance fees (as the person who set them!) - as Pete said (and he knows all too well having been the manager of the show a number of years) we basically aim to make the show break even as we don't run Showcase to provide funds for DEMU (though it is great if it does contribute to the coffers).  Travel costs are our largest cost and they only rise with the ever increasing price of fuel! 

 

Guy (lyneux - the Showcase Manager) and I take the view that we are trying to put on a mix of different high quality D&E layouts from across the UK (we had exhibitors travelling from as far afield as Scotland and Plymouth) whilst at the same trying to retain the friendly social atmosphere of the sho - we hope that we achieved that. The result of that is that I suspect that our cost per layout is slightly higher than many shows.  Car park charges are completely beyond our control.

 

Anyway I can't thank enough everyone who came to the show as a member of the public, as a trader, demoer or exhibitor, and all the folk who helped steward and made my life so much simpler.  Despite missing my mate (Guy) who did so much of the work in preparation for the show, you all helped make me much less stressed than I feared. Thanks to all of you who have posted photos as well - it has made me realise how little of the show I really got to see, despite being on my feet all weekend!

 

Roll on 2015 - lots to do for a unique 21st anniversary show which I'll post about over the next couple of days.

 

Cheers, Mike (Substitute show manager!)

[Revolution Ben]

Hello all,

 

I just wanted to say thanks on behalf of the Horseley Fields team for all the kind comments and encouragement this weekend.  We had a great time and I really enjoyed spending time looking at the other layouts when I was able to get away.

 

cheers

 

Ben A.