JSModels

As a small trader - and one who only started up in business at the beginning of lockdown, so never traded 'pre-covid' - I don't attend shows to make money; I go for the exposure more than anything else. To get my stuff in front of more modellers, and show them what I can do, in the hope that they might buy something from me at some point in the future. But I do have to try to cover the basic costs of attending, I can't afford not to.

Out of the 10 shows I've attended in the last 12 months, I consider myself lucky that I've only made a loss at one show. The other 9 covered the expenses, but some only just (and that's without paying myself anything for my time).

I've come to the conclusion that unfortunately some shows are just not economically viable to attend. And not necessarily the smaller ones either. Small, local shows (within an hour or so's drive) are OK, since the only real expenses are the cost of the stand itself, and fuel. Smaller shows (obviously) have a lower footfall, and therefore fewer potential sales, but lower stand costs, and if I can keep the expenses low then that helps.

Shows further afield are more problematic, mainly due to the phenomenal increase in hotel costs. I used to travel quite a lot for work a few years ago, and pre-covid you could get a room at a Premier Inn for under £40 (and Travelodge, maybe less than £30) but that same room now costs £90-£110 a night. If that's 2 rooms for 2 nights, then throw in evening meals and you're immediately adding over £500 to the costs for the weekend - and there's very few shows where the sales would even come close to covering that. Certainly not the smaller ones.

The bigger shows have more footfall, but much higher expenses - some of which are, in my humble opinion, unjustifiable; for example I've recently converted my stand to operate entirely from small USB battery packs, as one show in particular wanted over £120 for 2-days' use of a mains socket! Around £50 on rechargeable battery packs, and 2-3 hours' work, and I'm all set for any future shows too.

You have to weigh up the costs vs. the potential takings. It doesn't help that some show organisers can be 'somewhat optimistic' about how many people they expect through the door. I don't think it's malicious, or that they're attempting to purposely mislead anyone, but they do want to seem to be an attractive proposition (one show promised 5 to 6 thousand people over the weekend, but in reality I'd bet my mortgage that it was less than 2,000). Then you have shows that target the general public rather than the existing modelling fraternity - a noble thing, to try to get the 'new blood' that the hobby needs, but whilst they're happy to pay to get in, they don't generally buy stuff once inside, so there's no benefit to most of the traders.

In the end, it's all a bit of a gamble; you pick the shows you do based on the information you have, and you hope you do OK.

Regards,

Jonathan

JSModels

PS - I'm at Leeds this weekend, which was the very first show I ever attended as a trader, last year. So my first return visit!

7 hours ago, mozzer models said:

if its a Business Account its not Free

For many business accounts, automated payments are free. Even for those that do charge, automated payments are considerably cheaper than paying in either cheques or cash.

But if you run your own business, it's entirely up to you how you accept payment. In this case however I note that the business owner stated that he last looked at alternative payments back in 2009. Things have changed an awful lot since then!

Jonathan

JSModels 

36 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Hope to see one or two RMwebbers over that weekend...

 

Baz

I'll be there! 😀

Jonathan

JSModels 

16 hours ago, D6775 said:

Hattons are knocking out the blue and yellow industrials for £249 atm and its post free. Yellow one is probably the best bet. Mask off the wasp stripes and a can or BR blue and you're away.

Thanks, that's good to know 🙂

It's a long shot, but does anyone have a Heljan class 03 that's died, had an accidental meeting with the floor, let out the magic smoke, or in some other way come to an untimely end? I'm after one for a static diorama of a less-than-pristine example, so doesn't need to be working or cosmetically perfect. I'm not in a position, financially or ethically, to spend £400 on a nice shiny-new loco just to wreck it.

Ideally a BR blue one would be perfect, but a respray certainly wouldn't be out of the question...

Thanks. I know it's unlikely, but thought it worth asking before I explore other options!

Jonathan.

The new kit is now available to order via my website: JSM40999S Small Stone Warehouse (Full)

Jonathan

JSModels 

7 hours ago, Gopher said:

I am a huge fan of these kits, having made a couple of 00 gauge low relief buildings, the full canal warehouse, and the new boiler house and small chimney.  They go together beautifully.  Very clear instructions.   Look great when painted.  So good to hear you are still expanding the range Jonathan 

Thank you Clive, that's so nice to hear! Would love to see some pictures if you have any?

Jonathan

JSModels 

On 21/09/2022 at 18:38, Stubby47 said:

Nice warehouse, Iike how you've made the corner tabs as quoins.

Some very fine window bars too.

Thank you, Stu!

Jonathan 

It's been a while (yet again!) since my last update - I really must find a way to fit more hours in a day (or more days in a week)...

Exhibitions

I was at Leigh a couple of weeks ago, and I'd like to say thank you to several RMWebbers who stopped by for a chat over the course of the 2 days. It was nice to put faces to a few names, and even nicer to hear some very positive comments about my kits!

In 48 hours' time, all being well, I'll be in Stafford ready for the exhibition this coming weekend. After that it's on to Wigan next weekend (1st & 2nd October) and then Leeds a few weeks after that.

I'm happy to confirm that I will be at the Warley show at the NEC in November too, my first time there (as a trader, at least!) Another first will be the Manchester Christmas Show on the 10th & 11th December.

New Products

I've been promising some new products for quite a while now - the tower kits have been 'coming soon' for nearly a year now, and they're still not ready! I've had a couple of changes and additions to those in the intervening months, so I think it'll be worth the wait! I've also got a couple of other completely new items waiting in the wings, that I hope to be revealing in the coming weeks & months...

In the meantime however, this new kit will be debuting at Stafford this weekend:

It's a full building, based on the low relief JSM09 kit (with a few minor changes). With a footprint of 186 x 95mm (approx. 7 1/2" x 3 3/4") and a height of 165mm (6 1/2", give or take) to the ridge, it's a lot smaller than the full building version of the canal warehouse.

The back wall is all windows (12 of them) and there is one plain end wall and one with windows & a door:

The end walls can be arranged either way round (i.e. the plain wall can be on the left or the right hand end, with reference to the front).

The kit has all the usual features - removable windows, optional blanking panels, internal floors, a choice of open or closed doors, roof slates, glazing, etc.

Price for this kit will be just £45.00, which I would like to think is very reasonable! As I mentioned earlier it'll be available at Stafford this coming weekend, and then it will be available on the website sometime next week.

Jonathan

JSModels

4 hours ago, Michael Hodgson said:

Perspex is brittle, difficult to cut, drill and bend.  Clear acrylic is slightly better, though it has similar problems..

For what it's worth, they're both the same - Perspex is just a brand name for acrylic (but has become generalised in a similar way that 'Hoover' has for vacuum cleaners).

Jonathan 

I do a couple of my kits in 7mm scale - https://www.jsmodels.co.uk/home/O-Gauge-7mm-Kits-c63279568

In addition, I can upscale any of my 4mm kits, I already have the artwork done for JSM12, JSM13, JSM23, and JSM93 in 7mm versions, available to order. Others can be done as required.

Jonathan

JSModels 

I'm up and (almost) ready for an early start this morning, hoping to be there around 8am to set up, so should see you all soon!

The Pump / Boiler House kit I launched earlier this year has proved very popular, and is now joined by a brick-built version:

Available now via the website, and will also be featured on my stand at the Keighley exhibition this coming weekend, 25th & 26th June, at Woodbank Garden Centre, Harden, Near Keighley.

3 hours ago, Asterix2012 said:

Hi Jonathan

 

Just discovered your thread here, I do have a couple of questions.

 

Is this where the idea for your business came from?

 

Do you have any more photos you could upload to get an overall picture of what you have achieved, unfortunately most of them are no longer showing.

 

 Thanks 

 

Mark

Mark,

Yes, it is. The building I designed and had laser cut for this layout became (with a couple of changes) my first kit, JSM01.

As for the photos, I haven't re-upload any as I was waiting for the automatic process (from what I understand, they will all come back at some point, because they were uploaded prior to March 2021. I haven't added any new pictures as nothing has changed, I just haven't had the time/inclination to do anything with the layout (although I do play with it at the club sometimes when I'm there!)

Jonathan 

To celebrate the Bank Holiday, I've just set up a discount code - you can get 10% discount plus free postage on any order over £70 with code "QUEEN70"

@AY Mod Andy,

I'm sure you've got plenty to do already, and there's really no rush, but I've just signed up for the premium version (somehow I'd missed it, I didn't see it was an option until last night!) and the layout of the page on my phone is... let's just say 'different'.

Here's the Layout Topics thread in the 'ad version':

And the same in the 'Premium' version:

The tags, thread title, and page shortcuts seem to be arranged in columns (vertical) rather than in row (horizontal), which on a phone screen just doesn't seem to work (admittedly the sheep chronicles is an extreme example that looks even worse than most threads!).

Is this deliberate, or a fault? Is it something that can be changed in settings? I'm one of those people who don't like change, but if it's something I just need to get used to then so be it. Just thought it was worth asking.

Jonathan 

As of last week, JSModels is back up & running! Some out-of-stock items on the website are now in stock again, others will be added over the coming days & weeks as and when they're cut & boxed up.

I'm hoping to have everything back in stock by mid-June, and if things go to plan I might even have a new product or two available for my next shows, which are Keighley MRC's on 25th & 26th June, at their new venue (Woodbank Garden Centre, Harden, Bingley, BD16 1BE) followed a week later by Railex Buxton (2nd & 3rd July).

Regards,

Jonathan

JSModels

A customer of mine has uploaded a few videos of his build of my canal lock kit, JSM4LK01, so I thought I'd share them here.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

Unfortunately this kit is out of stock at the moment, and will remain so until the new workshop is up & running - which is currently on schedule for the end of next month😀

Regards,

Jonathan

JSModels

On 01/03/2022 at 13:01, zr2498 said:

Jonathan

I have checked for Orleton Road on RMWeb and there does not appear to be any details of the layout. Would love to have some info from Dan on the methods he has used for painting and weathering, plus more views on how your kits have been integrated into the layout.

Dave

Dan has just posted a video overview of Orleton Road. Featuring several of my 'Waterside' warehouse kits, the new Pump/Boiler House kit, and one of the prototypes of the upcoming tower kits to join the warehouse kits together:

https://youtu.be/XIpq8ezHfGM

It's been rather busy at JSM headquarters recently - unfortunately NOT with new products - we're in the process of moving house, and since the workshop was at home, that means moving the workshop too!

The laser-cutter has already been stripped down & moved to the new place, but there's a lot of work to be done to get the new workshop up to scratch before the machine can be re-commissioned. This means that I'm not in a position to cut anything at the moment - I did manage to run off a few items before the machine was dismantled that I've still to box up & add to the stock, but apart from those I cannot replace stock as it's sold for the time being. It's likely to be several weeks, possibly a couple of months, before I'm back up & running properly which means some items will inevitably be out of stock for a period.

Rest assured though, if something is showing as being in stock on the website, then it is genuinely in stock; any orders received will still be dispatched, although there may be a day or two delay on posting them.

On the plus side, the new workshop is more than twice the size of the old one - the business has grown quicker than I anticipated and the old space was already very cramped, so this will be most welcome.

I'll still be attending Macclesfield show next weekend (26th-27th March) as planned. After that, my next appearance will be our club open day on the 10th April (AVRMC, Keighley) and then I've got nothing booked until Railex Buxton 2nd-3rd July, so I should definitely be back up to speed by then!

Onwards & upwards!

Regards,

Jonathan

JSModels

All set up and ready to go at Preston 

1 hour ago, zr2498 said:

Jonathan

I have checked for Orleton Road on RMWeb and there does not appear to be any details of the layout. Would love to have some info from Dan on the methods he has used for painting and weathering, plus more views on how your kits have been integrated into the layout.

Dave

PS Just about to order the Pump/boiler house

Dave,

He is a member on here (@Dan Evason) but he's far more active on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/tunnellanemodelrailways/?ref=share

Jonathan

JSModels

PS - thank you for the order!

@Dan Evason bought one of the new kits from me at Doncaster, and has sent me pictures of it already built, painted, and weathered!!!

And here it is in it's location on his current build layout 'Orleton Road', with a bit of pipework detail added:

I think you'll agree it looks pretty good ☺️

Jonathan

JSModels

***Limited Quantity Now Available***

Designed to complement the 'Waterside' range of buildings, and in the same architectural style, this smaller building can be used as a pump house or boiler house. Measuring 156mm long by 84mm wide, the height to the roof apex is 97mm. Includes blanking panels to replace windows where necessary. Can be used in conjunction with our small, medium, or large chimney kits.

Model Features:

• Windows/doorframe which can be individually removed from the main building for painting & glazing separately, and re-fitted afterwards (makes painting the frames so much easier!);
• Doors can be modelled as either closed or open;
• Internal roof trusses;
• Guttering, supported on stone corbels;
• Laser-cut tile strips for the roof.

The kit includes:

• 4x sheets of parts (3 at 2mm thick, 1 at 3mm thick) laser-cut from high-quality laser-grade MDF;
• 1x A4 sheet of laser cut card tile strips for the roof;
• 1x sheet clear acetate for glazing;
• Full assembly instructions.

Regards,

Jonathan

JSModels

1 hour ago, Garry D100 said:

New kit looks interesting :-)

 

Any news on the possibility of sample packs for the roof slates yet please?

 

Thanks

Garry

Garry,

Apologies for not getting back to you previously. I don't think it's worth doing sample packs, but so you can judge the size please download & print the attached PDF (ensure printer is set to 100% scale or actual size).

Regards,

Jonathan

JSModels

JSModels Slate Sheet Sizes.pdf