The Green Machine on the Road again

Well, it was touch 'n Go there for a while What, with road works during the weeks run up to the Show and then on the Saturday when they were setting out the halls there was a leak and a small flood in an ante-room that was to be used. This required some minor re-jigging for Sunday but all was well in the end.

​Parking was also mentioned and though it was very different from the previous years it all came good in the end with visitors filling many of the Car Parks around Hinckley for the day. We all got some exercise too boot! (And don't I know it!). Signage giving directions to the event was not evident on the approaches, this didn't help as the postcode doesn't register in your satnav. Visitor numbers were harder to access with this being the first time in a new venue but it seemed a quiet but steady flow. The post show results may become known at some point.

Certainly a very different venue is this new Hinckley Leisure Centre. Smaller - Yes! but much lighter and brighter with the white lights. Space was at a premium as there were restrictions to Clubs and more noticeably for SIG's which are generally attached to Clubs anyway. With the tighter displays and the loss of the extra space, there was also no room for a Competition and I for one didn't actually miss it. I'm not a Competitor anyway unless its via an Open Table Form.

However, there was generous space between the tables for visitors and as important, space for the exhibitors to breathe and we certainly needed that with 18 members present to a fantastic turnout. When you consider that members travelled from as far away as Scarborough, Maidstone along with Birmingham and Derby as well as our more local gang, the spread of Leicester Modellers is certainly covering a wide area.

​A very wide range of Traders were present and it could be argued that there were far too many 2nd hand sellers but most seemed to be trading well. My own focus was with M.A.N Models, Little-Cars/Modelling Tools, Avid Reader and Barwell Bodyworks which relieved me of the contents of my wallet. Also there were Wendy from the Aviation Bookshop, Phil & Andy of Mainly Military Models, Mr Models, Kits Kits, Collectakit, Starmers Armour along with others I cannot remember.

​Every aspect of the static hobby was catered for on the Club & SIG tables and lots of fine examples were displayed - many (but by no means all) can be seen below as examples of what caught my eye today. Our very own display was busy throughout the day with comments, enquiries and interest in many of the display items, no one subject seemed to take precedence this time.

​The camaraderie and banter between ourselves and those of the visitors was friendly and jolly with many questions about our builds and about the Club in general. Our signature snack food of Tunnocks Tea Cakes & Caramel Wafers too a hit but there were a few survivors left over for Build Club next Saturday.

When is a Mulberry NOT a Fruit?

Most, if not all of the members walked away with 'something' from today - some more than others.

​I was accosted a couple of times by Nigel stating that I was 'out of uniform' as I was sporting the Mulberry SIG Shirt but it did have my Name and our Club Name on it and I was performing double-duty today as Peter was doing his Trader thing over on M.A.N Models.

​And, all too soon it came to the end so we packed up very quickly and I was able to bring the car from the carpark - didn't need the walk with all our gear, too much for the distance and would have needed at least two trips. I was heading home by 4:45pm having dropped the lads (Lee, Ashley & Stephen) off earlier and was home by 5pm which is a good result - I finished my lunch with a coffee!

​Thanks today go to: Ashley, Stephen, Lee, Tony, Gary R, Nigel, Andy, Stuart, Daryl, Richard, Steve, Anne, James, Chrissie, Gary E, Chris, Peter all for their contribution and support. We just couldn't do this without you.

New Kid on the Circuit

A Brand new SIG was Launched here today with its first Show Display - Mulberry Harbour 1944 - EVERYTHING about this SIG is B...I...G, from the Roadway and Beetle of the harbour itself right down to the 4 foot long Landing Craft Infantry (Large) atop the box area.

​This is just a fraction of what is planned across the coming months with more massive vessels being added to the collection from Modellers/Members all around the UK and contributions from across the wider Modelling World community.

​The next Mulberry outing is scheduled for the Shropshire Model Show at RAF Cosford Museum in 3 weeks on 2nd April so we shall see what that region will bring to the game.

Around the Show in 80+ pictures