At long last, the great day had arrived!
This show must be the most impressive show on the model boat calendar and is absolutely massive.,.....There must be about twelve Exhibition halls, spread over two floors. As is the norm, security and the strict regimental organisation is very impressive. The main hard working organisers, are Jean and Arthur Barlow and countless dozens of assistants, all in all.....A fantastic achievement!
Congratulations to Joan and Arthur......I don't know how you do it!
I entered three models in the scratch build section, but the competition was awesome
Some of the models, especially the impressive warships, took ten years to complete!
There were hundreds and hundreds of quality models to be seen..........There were so many, I have to confess that, I got slightly bored at times!
I actually galloped through the upper floor in about ten minutes!
Really impressive stuff and club stands etc, but far too much to take in, on a busy two day show
It's very nice to meet old friends and put faces to names of people we chat with, on the Model Boats website etc
This years main model theme was for models designed by Glynn Guest
Glynn is a prolific designer of easy build models and he could be seen many times, walking about the halls with Paul Freshney, Editor of ModelBoats Magazine
The only thing that let's the show down, is the lack of a real lake
It's not much bigger than Coniston Pool on my drive at home
Had a quick sail with SloMo2, but the pool was too small to demonstrate the Brushless motors
Apologies once again to the lad with the model, I slightly bumped into.........Having lost the reverse signal for some reason
No harm done, but his boat got a bit wet.
The pool was in use all day, with announcements when free sailing was available
The Pegboard was not very well controlled, the frequency being used was written on a chart at the entrance, with no reference to this method at the pond side
The days of the crystal system are numbered.
Mr and Mrs Paul Freshney talking to Paul Thomason, about the size of fish he never caught last week!
Paul organised our stand in aid of the charity for Parkinson's disease and has done a fine job. I think we collected about £150 altogether
Our stand, as you can see, was very convenient for easy access to the car park and next door to the cafeteria too........Very handy for a quick cuppa!
Lady Joyce at the show, with club member Willy Williamson, admiring the novel motor drive system, which impressed most visitors
We were very impressed with battery life, we did nearly 7 hours on one charge, demonstrating the motor drive
Got a nice idea of asking for a 10p donation to the charity for most demos
The visitors were all for it.
Lady Joyce herself came on the Sunday and she enjoyed the event very much
We all enjoyed the show in fact and we never got bored, the whole two days!
There was too much to see and lots of visitors and acquaintances to talk to and have a few laughs with!
Paul talking to our website colleagues, Mr and Mrs M Farrell
We've known Mike for quite a few years now and he has built Paul's tugboat Thor
He's a real glutton for punishment.....They stayed the night and came back for more.
Our old friend..... Dave Wooley........The official reporter for the ModelBoats Magazine
He came to see us quite a few times and is always good company and easy going.
He took our photo with the Lady Joyce model and we hope to see it published shortly in the magazine
Nice meeting you again, Dave!.
General pictures around the stalls
Lady Joyce........Stephenson's Bros 55ft bridge deck motor yacht
also referred to as The Lady Joyce.....Vintage Gentleman's Cruiser
Powered by four MFA 850 motors.........As a crowd puller
Refer to ModelBoats website forum for the full story.
Etherow Model Boat Club stand.....With Colin, Donald and Geoff Garside, the resident Electronic expert
I am a member of this club
The Bring and Buy stall was trading well for the two days
Spotted a nice old Burgess Bandsaw.....Going for a song
Paul sold a few of his old models for the Charity
I also sold the "brass" "Glasgow paddle boat", but forgot to include the plans and instructions......Thinking that it was gone for ever, I threw the file in the waste bin!
Walking round later, I spotted the model on a stand, but the bin had been emptied!
"Can I see it run please?"......Said the visitor........Reaching for the smelling salts
"It'll cost yer 10p, Sir"........Says I, very politely of course
"No problem, Bob, here's a pound"
"That's the way to do it!
Note.....Mike still yapping........All very important and technical of course!
Finally, another picture of the Etherow stand
The Sci Fi model in the foreground is an actual model that appeared on the TV
Can't recall the details at the moment.
Think it was "Stingray". Bob.
Well, that's it folks
End of a fun filled weekend.
Bob the Abell.
Thanks for your very concise report & Pictures, Bob!.
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Next Events.
1000 6th September Sunday Fiesta Racing Landing stage
2000 9th September Wednesday Club night Club House
1100 14th September Sunday Commodore’s Challenge
See tab at top for details Landing Stage
1900 16th September Wednesday Club 500 Racing Landing stage
