Crantock

A great show. A good venue with good car parking. Great layouts and a proper guide. So many good layouts its hard to call them out. Hope under Dinmore never fails to interest. Chapel en le frith the inspired pairing of a Midland 3f piloting a Fowler 7f showing the same lineage stretched to failure. Bewdley, Charwelton & Harlyn were great. James Street though suffered from the lighting of its hall. Uncrowded but with atmosphere. I hope that with rail strikes and Sunday traffic chaos it was ok financially.

I visited Scaleforum yesterday and Stafford today. Both good shows. The Stafford site worked well and the gallery has great potential. The layouts were a little too spread out for the best atmosphere but it worked. Real quality stuff. James St was amazing. I have seen it before but at Stafford it was uncrowded and unfenced. I hope it was undamaged! One thing lacking was a good show guide. That would be manageable but, given the extra space, the exhibits should have explanatory boards.

Would be interested to see a mixed rake of Hornby & Hattons to see if the colour matches are within tolerances. The cancelling of longstanding orders is worrying.

That’s a bit negative. I only stayed for a few hours. I would struggle to make it an all dayer. Th show was good, and I am 4mm, the trade was good. Am I right it was those with older readers that could not link to the show’s wifi that struggled? Perhaps an issue with the cottage industry end. That said, the failure to have an on-site cashpoint is clearly one for Stafford Showground to sort.

If you are coming, load up with cash. Its a disaster zone for trader connectivity.

An Email that they are closing shop. No mention of selling as a going concern just liquidating stock. A surprising approach for a niche and novel but expensive product. link https://www.archertransfers.com/ArcherMain2 CLOSING.html

A good show and a useful venue but I am not sure if there is room for expansion. I appreciated Clackmannan and Wellpark. Both Clack and the S4 display of wagons were detail excellence. Some building layout foibles, the stage didn’t work, the stairs to it are iffy and would be better to have had a gangway in front of it. The toilets were well hidden. The trade was good but one thong I don’t get is that no one sells paint at exhibitions any more. Any idea why?

Dropped in to visit. A nice show from a standing start. Good balanced trade support. Seemed a lot of N gauge but that suited the venue. Fitting big oblongs into octagons is challenging. The natural daylight is an odd effect. It makes it harder to focus on the layout exclusively as opposed to something in a room. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention but somehow £80 left my wallet..

Not me haggling prices. A book was all I bought. I parked a couple of streets away. The big thing is that community shows still work!

Small and friendly indeed. I detoured to visit it which was worthwhile. Those who think local shows have no future should have been there. It wasn’t too small and was in a nice venue. Trade was mostly second hand and some silly prices being asked. Modelling materials support was limited. Attendance mostly local and families. it was well attended and I fear the neighbours may be non too happy on the parking.

I think that whilst the last delay was disappointing this was expected. Life’s a mess. If China fouls up big time on Covid it could slip further but some 9 coaches being late is the least of my worries. Inflation and capital tied up must be a worry for Hattons. They have my sympathy.

How do you price up an order? I dont assume he is sticking to 2018 catalogue prices so is it a case of email and call back for what’s in and credit card details?

This is a real disappointment. York has the best atmosphere to me of the shows I visit. The right mix of trade and specialist. I hope it can return. i visited Doncaster, where I learn’t of York’s cancellation from a trader. The catering seemed less queuey than York but after a long drive, I like a drink and York offered that. With Wigan, Warley Stafford and York lost, this last year has had some big gaps.

Well that was a good show. Very busy around 13.00 when I arrived but calmed down. Nice to see so many old faces. Roger pushing SE Finecast was a strong positive message for the brand.

Ok no disservice meant. I simply lack the experience of a pre-order being delivered and will continue to lack for another 8 months. There is a difference between notifying and giving an opportunity to change though. The latter is what is needed.

Well such is life. However, I am expecting some £300 odd of coaches and if they are planning on posting late August they will need to let customers specify when. I can’t be having that lot sitting in a doorway. I won’t be the only one on holiday (Covid permitting).

Irish 201 model? Was a lima one once?

A very good show with quality layouts. i enjoyed Rosedale, Herculaneum and Grantham. A couple may have been short handed. So a special shout out for the operation of Maristow where 2 operators kept constant activity. I visited Sunday PM by which time any bargains on the trade had gone and some tat was surfacing. Good to hear the voices of Charlie and Roger around the trade.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OO-Gauge-Bachmann-Ex-LNWR-Webb-Coal-Tank-Demios-in-Custom-Livery-Weathered-/115026209214?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0 why? Just why? And a spurious ref to Hornby in the search.

Disappointing and given some were earmarked for Q3 its a bit late in the day. Still we are buying because building is beyond us. I suspect the trick is to keep the delay short enough people don’t rush to the Hornbys.

Its August, lets play cool for a few weeks. I could email my work contacts and half would be away. Sorry but every August we have people excited they have not had an instant reply from a small supplier.

Well lets not explore that. Far from wasted as the museum stands on its own. There does need to be a sign urging people to go up the stairs as I confess I didn’t.

Sorry, what is this? I was at the Middleton Railway on Saturday and saw no model railways. If I missed them, they were not well signposted. There were also no trains running on Saturday. Is this a Sunday only event? There is also no link.

After reading the exhibitions thread at the weekend I was thinking how over-cautious we all are compared to society at large where much caution has been dropped. However, it only takes a small dropout of spending visitors, paying exhibitors or working volunteers to make the thing unworkable. Or, as mentioned above, by being the first, it could be overcrowded. The Warley club can not run the risk and so understand the cancellation. Leeds then Stafford for me.

Well an interesting survey and discussion. I attended 10-15 exhibitions a year pre covid and look forward to returning. I worry though how many will be viable. We may see a rush back, as with pubs and gyms, or reflecting the demographic a demise accompanied by moans about price rises. As a multi show attender, I will be raising the bar. It needs to be good or special. I have visited most venues and have views. Masks are a no - spectacles steaming up I expect venue organisers will be broadcasting precautions on here but I will also read the reviews and be a day 2 visitor. I have avoided my local Tesco as mask wearing is poor, I try and shop on the way back to Birmingham from a weekend walk using better managed sites. I expect it will come, but the requirement to self isolate if vaccinated and merely in contact with someone must go. A number of my work colleagues were sentenced to 10 day solitary because they sat near some unvaccinated idiot who went to the pub to watch some silly football game. Just not a risk people will take in the holiday season.