MEX Photos for those that stayed home

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Neil,

Yes, I do know how these shows 'work'.

When we lived in Biggleswade, and Stevenage, I regularly attended the Model Engineer Exhibition, but since moving North, I have only been to Harrogate and a couple of local shows.

My reason being that I find the display of the exhibits [increasingly] disappointing.

My initial thought was that you would have [say] four turntables, with one or two being active at any time.

You clearly don't like the idea, so I will stop wasting space on this thread.

MichaelG.

Thank you Michael G

Hi Sam,

I won't defend the exhibition from someone proud to have sneaked in without paying.

I will defend Brooklands - they only moved the Wellington to its new location yesterday.

Sorry to hear about your tooth.

Neil

Neil that photo of your models being judges was taken at 11.13 on the Friday, judging was done after the show had opened.

Well don't know where Sam was looking but there were signs in place, The young lady with the accent was busy putting them up early on Friday. I only found one of the rooms a bit hard to find (Vickers room) but no real problem.

Apart from the previously mentioned lighting I did not find the way the models were displayed any worse than other exhibitons, in fact the way the tables were arranged it was easy to get a look from both sides which is a lot better than a row of tables up against a wall.

It is worth remembering that the judging, stewarding, setting up and breakdown is done by the great unpaid volunteers who do a very good job. If anyone wants to see improvements come on down and implement them or be prepared to pay a lot more for a ticket.

I found this interesting exhibit in the trade hall, I think the chap exhibiting it had not long arrived when I spoke to him. I think he would like to get it running again and it would be interesting to to see it running at the show if he succeeds. This is a picture of similar unit I found on the net. (NASA Stirling engine from late 70s early 80s)

Mike

Edited By Michael Poole on 17/09/2016 13:48:45

Actually i was not " proud" to sneak in without paying. There was no indication that I was actually expected to pay anything !!!. It was a case of there just being a table inside one of the buildings ( the second one I went in) with some people wandering about infront of it & no one behind it so i kept going as no one seemed to care. Was that the ticket office ?? I do not know !!

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 17/09/2016 13:48:52

Come on people time to stop Neil bating and congratulate him for taking the trouble to exhibit and show what can be achieved with a smaller workshop from scratch. My 1831 should look as good as Ivans because I am using the same laser cut body kit!!

Paul

Sam,

Naivety is no defence, all the ads for MEX say get your tickets and the pricing is quite clear.

As Chief Marine Judge at the MEX (and also Model Boats Website Editor) I am very disappointed to read some of the sneering and patronising posts on this topic. If you can't find anything good to say or offer constructive and informed criticism then best to keep silent in favour of those who do support the hobby. As for not realising you had to pay - well, pull the other one please.

No, the show isn't perfect but it is there due to a lot of unpaid effort by volunteers, mostly not in the first flush of youth, but who are still willing to go the extra mile. They should be appreciated, not dismissed as 'old codgers'. If you aren't one yet, you will be soon, believe me!

Judging is intended to be done on the Thursday, but you can only judge what is there. In our case two models came all the way down from Liverpool, got stuck in traffic on the M25 and didn't arrive until 5pm so those models did not get judged until Friday. Most of the models arrive from late morning onwards which does put the judges under pressure and it is not necessarily going to be possible to finish the job the same day. The glory days at Wembley when two days were allocated for setting up and judging are long gone in these days of declining numbers and decreasing budgets.

Instead of whingeing be grateful that people are still willing to make these shows happen, albeit on a relatively shoestring basis. Enjoy them while you can as the ageing demographic of model engineers and model makers means that they may not be there for very much longer. Attendances will keep going down as old timers fall off the perch and are not replaced.

Colin

Don't really see how you could avoid paying, there was a queue when I arrived which was a pretty good indication of where to part with the cash. No wonder it cost me £14 I was obviously paying for two people!. Excellent models, not convinced it is the right location. Seemed much smaller in scope than in previous years. Weather didn't help much and the M25 went into "car park mode" on the way home, just to round the day off nicely.

John

When I left about 2.00pm yesterday results had not yet been posted. Will have a look tomorrow afternoon when I go back. Apart from that I expect results will be in ME.

Edited By Frances IoM on 17/09/2016 15:03:37

What a bunch of old sourpusses so many of the commentators on this thread are. This thread is about the photos that Jason so kindly shared for those of us who are unable to attend MEX.

So thanks Jason, the photos are great, and I for one very much enjoyed viewing them, and despite the negative comments from a few malcontents, would have loved to have visited MEX if not for the few thousand Km commute.
Clive

I am sorry but I object to your comments. This is roughly what happened in the approximate order so you understand where I am coming from.

When I arrived at the main entrance I was given a couple of leaflets & told to park with the other cars & go to the registration building on the right, which I duly did. There , after some explanation it was explained that I did not have to register as I was not an exhibitor but a member of the viewing public ( i thought it was where one had to pay & register ones name for record purposes) & i was told to walk around the site.

I then walked to the chap with the 3 inch marshal & spent 15 mins chatting to him in the rain. After that , on seeing the white tent I went to the trade stands, not seeing any obvious main entrance. From there I walked to the steam railway where nothing was happening & i think I wandered round to the building with the bomber. As I came out I commented to a chap that it was like hunt the thimble & he said some of the exhibition was on the upper floors so I headed to the white balcony & up to a decking & into a lounge from where I entered a corridoor thence downstairs to a very busy cafe & loo then out of an exit door to a stall selling hot dogs etc Still I did not see any signs directing me to any exhibition of models so I walked round to Concord & a Hawker Hunter then into a building which I believed was the exhibition hall plus another deserted room with kids games in it. I then went up some black metal stairs to a pair of locked white doors & down again - still no signs & later found a way up to the second floor.

After that I had had enough & it was then that i walked in the front of the main building - thinking it was just a cafe, saw the table with no one behind it, used the loo & went home

There was no attempt to deliberately avoid paying. I am not whingeing. I did go in some other buildings & perhaps I missed some signs but they were not obvious. I am not running down the exhibitors, they have my full admiration. i just feel that the organisers need to get some advice on how to do it or not bother because they are not being fair to those who attend or those who take the effort to bring items along to exhibit. I did feel a little sorry for the 2 steamers outside the buildings as they did seem a little " lost" & had clearly gone to a lot of trouble to put on a demonstration.

Ok many will disagree with me but that is my take on it so perhaps it is better that we agree to disagree . It will not stop me going to other events. I enjoyed Alexandra Palace & drove a long way to see the Doncaster one but this one - no , not again

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 17/09/2016 15:57:21

Edited By Sam Longley 1 on 17/09/2016 15:59:09

As far as the photos are concerned I would hasten to add that my rants are not in any way directed at anything connected to them. So in some way i should apologise if I have spoiled the thread with my comments.

The photos are great -- but can we have one of that skeleton clock please I am sure you will have seen it. The owner ought to engrave " Rolex " on it & display it in the Burlington arcade with a price tag in the tens of £ thousands.

It would sell in days as a work of art, if not as a clock.

Well never mind Sam, perhaps you should've gone to Specsaver.s.... It would appear that you actually arrived at the back entrance which is why you were assumed to be an exhibitor. Had you gone to the main entrance (which is signposted on the local approach roads) all would have been a bit clearer but I find it difficult to understand how you thought admission to the site and show would have been free.

I agree that the layout was fragmented and not ideal but there were some signs about plus a detailed plan of the show which could be downloaded online and was no doubt available to visitors using the main entrance and it was not too difficult to puzzle it out really.

I don't know if the show will be held there again but if it is then no doubt there will be improvements.

Colin

Sam, sounds like you came in via the opposite side of the site to where the usual entrance is and there are really no signs to point you towards the entrance/shop building from there that I can think of. I really don't know what arrangements if any exist for entry via this way which is what Diane suggested for foot traffic.

Also sounds like you missed the main room with the competition entries which was up the white external stairway which would have been to your right just as you came out that first registration building.

Signage has always been a problem at past MEXs, given past moans about it and people not being able to even find their way upstairs at Sandown maybe lessons should have been learnt and decent size signs prepared in advance for this spread out site rather than a few hastily printed A4 sheets.

Jason

Thank you for the pix that give a feel of the exhibition. I've often attended in the past but now, with a trip of at least 3 1/2 hrs each way, I'm afraid my show visits are over! Just one disadvantage of retiring to the best county in England (DEVON) I guess!

Norman

Edited By NJH on 17/09/2016 17:24:48