MEX Photos for those that stayed home

Well, I'm back from my (Saturday) trip to MEX and my experience was unirformly good. (I was one of the speakers today, by the way, but I have no affiliation with any of the organisers).

Brooklands is a treasure trove of British automotive and aviation engineering and to see our models and displays presented against the backdrop of, for instance, the extraordinary stratosphere chamber (**LINK**)was just great. Both the museum and the model engineering community benefit from this type of event. (I hesitate to use management speak like 'synergy' here: but that's what we have.)

There was a much better atmosphere at the museum than at a deserted race course, I thought. We had traction engines wandering around the buildings through the crowds rather than being coralled in a small display area. There were more families than at a typical model engineering event. The upstairs display of models was to a very high standard. The catering was excellent: much better than Sandown or Ally Pally. The staff and volunteers at Brooklands were uniformly helpful. Nobody who can read read an engineering drawing would have any difficulty at all reading the supplied maps, and every room I went into was jammed at lunch time.

If anybody is going tomorrow, I would particularly like to commend the live steam OO display by the OO live steam club (**LINK**) I was given a very detailed exposition of the internal workings of these tiny steam engines by one of their team.

The issue with traders falling away is real, but is caused by the shift to internet shopping not by the actions of show organisers. I believe that Chronos stopped going to all exhibitions after about 2010. If I ran a business with an enormous stock of heavy items, I might prefer to stay home and receive orders online rather than having to check out pallet loads of kit.

We are going to need new ways of doing engineering exhibitions if they are to survive in the future. I think this has been an excellent attempt to re-imagine the traditional approach, and I hope that the team will continue to develop the show, bringing in more of the maker community, more smaller-scale railway models along with, perhaps, RC aircraft and boats.

Adrian

Edited By Adrian Johnstone on 17/09/2016 18:57:09

Phew. 6 hours walking round and I'm sure I missed something. Don't know how anyone gets round in an hour, except Usain Bolt (sort of engineering joke there - get it)

Great to see the Adept on show - so teeny I think a Boley watchmaker's lathe is bigger, and I saw Mike Chrisp and a judgelike person having another look at it while pretending to look at the skeleton clock nearby. Also saw Cherry Hill going into the motorbike building and coming out again a minute later so Sam was not the only person getting confused by the layout. Didn't see Neil but not sure if he really looks like his avatar anyway.

It was interesting to have the motor and plane exhibits to look around though I'm not really into either in a big way but had a moment of nostalgia going round a VC10 for the first time in 40 years. They were such an advance over the old Britannia turboprops and I never before thought about where they were made.

Had lunch with a chap who had come down from Manchester and gave a lift to the station to a chap from Holland so it is still attracting people from a fair distance.

Norman, who are you trying to kid? Best county in England is well known to be Yorkshire. However it would have taken a similar time to get there.

Edited By duncan webster on 17/09/2016 19:49:41

It appears that Sam got his money's worth.

Not when you add the 6 hours & 5 minutes of driving time he did not !!!!!

I spent over 6 hours walking round without stopping. The model engineer exhibition was much better than the 2 I have been to previously - more models and better atmosphere. Brooklands museum was fantastic. All together a much better venue. I enjoyed the treasure hunt. Well done.

On the down side : took a long time to and from 'park and ride' but next time I will be expecting it; very (very) disappointing trade stands which was 70% of the motivation for going (however I still spent £40 on half price angle grinder consumables); very disappointing bacon and sausage bap but probably still better than racecourse refreshments.

I suspect that the place couldn't accommodate many more trade stands?

I found the SMEE display upstairs by chance but couldn't find it a second time when I wanted to say goodbye to someone (not the display area at the top of the white exterior stairs). After walking around the site twice, I gave up. The signage could've been a lot better. A simple "more exhibits this way" type of sign would be better than just "SMEE" because punters don't know if that's just for the SMEE exhibitors or for public access. The venue itself was interesting if a little derelict. As someone mentioned earlier in the thread, it wasn't clear if you had to buy your ticket for the exhibition from the museum shop. I had to ask to check I wasn't merely buying entrance to the museum. The lack of traders attending was a disappointment. If Home and Workshop Machinery hadn't been there, it would have been a huge disappointment for those looking for second hand stuff. However, it was the first show there so I cut it some slack.

Sam,

It appears you came in by the wrong entrance, this was staffed by a Brooklands person who was apparentlyseveral people in who were not on his list... He should have directed you to the other car park where our bright eyed and bushy tailed folk would have happily fleeced you.

Your other post about 'playing hunt the parcel' made me think you meant you pretended to be looking for something to sneak past security, a misunderstanding for which I apologise.

Thanks for the photos. This is the first exhibition I have ever been to and I had no idea what to expect. My wife, daughter and I spent all day there today from opening to closing, and I enjoyed it so much that I shall be driving there from Portsmouth again tomorrow to take my other daughter.

Yes, there were shortcomings; yes, improvements could be made; yes, I'm sure there will be a washing-up meeting to discuss those improvements; yes, I'm sure it will be better next time; yes, I'm sure there will still be people who gripe.

As the book of Ecclesiastes says," Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this." Far better to put your assistance where your gripes are, says I. Many thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard to put it on.

George

> Didn't see Neil but not sure if he really looks like his avatar anyway.

I do at the moment Bazyle (maybe a bit grayer), but the beard comes and goes on a Monthly basis!

Neil

George,

Thanks for your appreciation of the volunteers, it is iniquitous to single out people for special praise as you will leave some many others out, from judges, to clubs, exhibitors, stewards and the organisers, but thanks to them all and special thanks must go to Mike Law, Steve Eaton and the SMEE. I must also thank Diane who has done a huge amount of work on the exhibition while I have done little more than lob in 'helpful' comments from the side.

No, it isn't perfect, but its a huge improvement on Sandown and most visitors had huge grins and want to come back again - that, if anything, is what will encourage more participation by the trade. I can also report we have had enquiries from other clubs wishing to come along next year, including a model boat club.

I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow, not least because I didn't see all the models, let alone all the hairy-planes and the Campbell exhibits and....

Neil

I really enjoyed the show and the Brooklands bonus, I thought I would have a shot at getting in the museum car park but it must be for the really early birds! Parked on the old Brooklands circuit near Merc world. A few signs would have helped initially but it all fell into place and I don't think I missed anything. Will probably make a return visit to just see the Brooklands stuff in more detail, didn't get to the bus museum or get a Concorde ticket. Journey home took 3 times as long as journey to show, didn't like the look of a stationary M25 so thought I knew a better route it seems the closure of the M25 M4 and 3 accidents on M3 pushed traffic onto all the alternative routes so everywhere I went there was a queue. Should have gone on Saturday.

Mike

Well, we went today and (in summary) had a very good visit.

The 'Traders' tent was (in my opinion) a bit pants (as my sons would describe it) - so I would not return just for that - although I did purchase a s/h vice (my wife worries if I don't spend anything). But since I purchase most of my hobby stuff online these days, this was not a particular disaster...

As for the rest of the day - we had a very good afternoon and we didn't actually have time to see everything that was there (we had to miss out on the Grand Prix stuff for instsance) . I would have liked to have spent more time in the London Transport Bus building but we only had time for a very quick run through. The modelling exhibits and Club stands were very good and I saw some wonderful craftsmanship - that I'm afraid I can only dream of achieving.

My highlight was a bit of personalised training in scraping in the SMEE room - sorry I didn't my Mentors name - just some very useful feedback (in a few just a minutes) and I will practice my wrist action more (I promise!!!)

In summary - I think there is no point in going to these events for "Traders" any more - but do go just to see some wonderful models and because the Museum is a good day out for any "engineer" just in its own right.

Better than Sandown - yes - because Brooklands has much more of interest than Sandown Racecourse - and there were some very nice - no - wonderful - models on display.

Regards,

IanT

Edited By IanT on 17/09/2016 23:14:10

Didn't go as working so can't comment on it.

Many thanks Jason and others for a flavor of what was there.

Hi, well I went today. My journey turned out to be a bit of a nightmare, as there were serious delays on the big London car park (AKA M25) so Mrs Sat Nav said I could save 14 minutes via an alternative route, but what she didn't say was that she told just about everybody else me thinks, so I think I had an even bigger delay taking her advice. The post code given for the event, took me to the exhibiters entrance, but the guy at the gate gave me good directions to where I needed to go. I don't consider this to be the best MEX that I've attended and found it very fragmented and the trade attendance was very disappointing, must be the least spend that I've ever had, none the less I do appreciate the hard work that goes into the event and I did like the way the competition and loan exhibits were arranged so that you could see them clearly from both sides, but I do think that Sandown was a better venue overall. I do have to say that JasonB's photos do the displays justice, and it was good the see the Southam as if it had been in service and the "Mega Adept" in the flesh, as well as JasonB' exhibits, Rod Jenkins hardness tester looked well made also. The chap who made the spot welder on the Gas Turbine Association stand gave me a good overall description of how he made it, which is one thing that interested me quite a bit.

I really only have a passing interest in cars, bikes and planes, which are at Brooklands but I did find the Barnes Wallace Stratosphere Chamber very interesting, the fabrication of which I felt amazing, given the time it was made and I think I must have spent as much time looking at that as I Did everything else.

I did enjoy my day out, but even my journey home was a bit frustrating, I became desperately short of fuel, with no filling station to be found until the very last drops almost must have run out, my fault entirely of course, but it is a new car to me and hadn't anticipated how far I can get on the last quarter of a tank.

Regards Nick.

It is encouraging to see the more positive and considered posts now emerging and I’m sure that the organisers will happily take on board the more helpful suggestions being made if the show is held at Brooklands next year.

Taking a step back, I think we need to acknowledge that model related hobbies are rapidly becoming ever more of a niche interest and that the numbers are simply no longer there to support shows at the more prestigious venues. I was sad to learn recently that Brighton Modelworld, considered to be one of the best general modelling shows, will not take place next year as the organisers can’t make the numbers add up.

In that context, moving the MEX to Brooklands could be considered an imaginative exercise in managed downsizing. OK, you have to live with the rather fragmented layout in historic buildings but improved signage and directions will go a long way to overcome that. On the plus side you have access to all the wonderful full size engineering of different flavours on the site which can hardly fail to be of interest to most of us. So perhaps not a bad all round compromise really. Some show is generally better than no show.

As far as trade presence is concerned, it is a similar story in the model boating world. Retail operations are increasingly being conducted online with direct sales from China looming large. Model Boaters do like to see before they buy though and the UK retail side is largely made up of small family businesses. Attending a show represents a significant overhead for them and impacts on their day to day sales operations which are mostly online these days. In recent years many have simply been priced out of shows at the larger venues and now often only attend smaller regional shows or piggyback on club events.

So we have to adapt to the situation and I do think that despite a few drawbacks due to this being the first time the show has been held at Brooklands, it does have the potential to literally keep the show on the road for a little while yet.

Colin

I have nothing against MEX, except that anything close to or inside the M25 is difficult to visit from far away, but I have not been to the show for some years. I visit shows less and less these days since a lot of the traders are happy to use the internet and see no reason for the shows. To be honest I, like a lot of others, visit shows to buy stuff. It is nice and good to see fine models but really they are the icing on the cake. I am not surprised that without traders the numbers don't add up and I guess that for the traders their numbers don't add up if they go to all the shows.

Like high street shops shows are slowly going the way of the small local shop. They are unable to move with the times, particularly the advent of the internet and the instant shopping experience it brings.

JA

A quick thought; Where shows can win is the interchange of ideas face to face. That is meeting knowledgable persons either formally, as in organised talks, or informally on stands. That means anyone on a stand must be prepared to chat and be outgoing, no just sit there with a thermos of tea looking bored.

Edited By JA on 18/09/2016 11:58:29

Duncan

"Norman, who are you trying to kid? Best county in England is well known to be Yorkshire......."

​Well, of course, Yorkshire is known for its puddings so that would be attractive ....... but then Devon is known for its dumplings ( and other things!)

In truth I "escaped" from work early and "Retired to the Country!" My daughter lives "over the border" in Cornwall, my eldest son lives close by in Devon so we see both of them often. (........ and the youngest son lives in Australia!) .

Norman

Big enginnering, small engineering - all in one place - terrific!

Martin