There was more high level interest in the exhibition with two of the editorial team from Engineering in Miniature attending, as did a reporter from Model Engineer and even the local newspaper. All went well and our exhibition was described to me as being unlike most other exhibitions in that the atmosphere was more like a social gathering. Even the organisers from the Bath and West ME show came along to see how we did things.
My thanks go out to all the visiting clubs for their displays which were as varied and interesting as they were of good quality engineering. Picking out any particular club or model would be unfair. But our thanks go out to Westland &Yeovil, South Somerset, Tiverton, West Huntspill and Bristol Model Engineering Societies; Tone Vale Model Boat Club and the Blackdown Radio Controlled Model Aircraft Club. We were also pleased to have had the 7¼” Gauge Society and the Model Steam Road Vehicle Society as special guests impressing us with the sheer size of the models (and how they packed them in their van), how well they looked and ran.
Two of our Visitors at the Exhibition—Bob Danton and Lou Lewis
There were two less-usual displays, the first from Wellsprings Primary School (Class SDW) whose pupils won a lot of praise for their skill and innovation for toys they made using cams Finally, for those that wanted to escape models and engineering, there was a very sophisticated display of art created from recycled materials by Rachel Hartland.
On the organisation front I would like to thank the committee for their guidance; Andy Cooke for controlling the outside events; Barry Baxter, Lee Kimber and John Henson for all their help in setting up the halls, overnight security and generally being on hand throughout the three days. For their marathons in front of the public giving demonstrations we must thank John Selby, whose loco is now starting to take shape, Noel Whiting demonstrating tools sharpening; Mark Davis for demonstrating his skills at some very fine work; Mitchell Chandler for his demonstration of the more technical side of Lego, and finally David Spicer and Graham Barford for showing and answering questions on the finer skills of clock making.
As ever the caterers did us proud and special thanks must go to Ken and his team from Heathfield Community School for their help in getting the tables in and out of the classrooms.
Feedback from the traders was that they had a better year than last year. With the machine tools and basic kits from Axminster Tools, a display from Hotspur Designs, materials from Noggin End, cutting tools from Tracy Tools and JB Cutting Tools, boilers from either Cheddar Valley Steam or Western Steam, you could have bought all you wanted to get you on the way to model making. If you needed special tools, chucks, face plates etc HJH Tooling had an Aladdin's Cave for you. Please remember to support these people during the year and mention you saw them at our exhibition.
The display from TME was very good with a wide range of models, many quite curious and with a historic slant. In particular I was intrigued by the model of the first powered aircraft which put Chard on the map. There are some good models within the club and no-one should be shy in coming forward. It was good to see the progress on some of the models such as Andy Webb's LNWR compound and the Hymek being built by Don Hancock. Have a look at the pictures on the website to remind you of the quality and range of models to be seen.
Whilst I had been asking for models since Christmas many of the final offerings were very last minute and there were complaints that there was not enough time to prepare models. This had the added problem of making security arrangements very difficult to put in place. Please expect to be harassed much earlier for next year‘s show and for tighter security arrangements to be put in place.
Publicity in the model press went awry again this year for the most frustrating reasons. Even where we were mentioned in a diary, one did not give dates or venue. However the show was posted on every relevant website I could think of which seemed to pay off and thanks have to be given to the traders (particularly Tracy Tools and Noggin End Metals) for their help. Next year we will be spreading our favours in the press ever mindful of cost and payback.
What for next year? The new hall layout gave extra display space and there is some room for more exhibits if desired. This is subject to having more available tables. Do we have something different from the trade and/or more gauge societies or extra clubs who would be prepared to travel? Please pass on your views to the committee or myself.
I have run the exhibition for two years and for various reasons feel I should stand aside and allow someone else to have a go, especially someone who is more familiar with the members and models within the club. Please speak to me or the Chairman if you, or a group of you, would be interested.