Are Model Engineering Exhibitions The Same

A couple of weekends back I visited a model rail exhibition, the first one in a long time. Over the years I have been to dozens of them as well as RC aircraft shows.

The one recently was very good with some lovely layouts and nice models, but I came away thinking that some things have not changed. I wondered if there should be a compulsory dress code before you can be admitted i.e. full body armour like that worn by American footballers. Also should there be large warning signs placed around the show "DANGER beware of people with monster size rucksacks". The number of times you get swiped by rucksacks with people barging past or spinning around.

On a more delicate note I wonder if some of the visitors have ever heard of "a shower or bath and deodorant" The wife left after 10 minutes saying she couldnt stand it.

I wondered are model engineering shows the same or does everyone smell of oil and cutting fluid, I would be quite happy with that...LOL

I agree with you about the large rucksacks ridiculous things to have in places like exhibitions, the wearers seem oblivious to the problems they are causing for others nearby and very rarely apologise.

As to cutting oil smells: my wife would walk out instantly if there was even the merest whiff of the old fashioned soluble variety (I dare not use it).

Edited By V8Eng on 14/08/2018 12:20:06

In many cases, the problem is made worse by the venue having narrow aisles, (Such as The Fosse. Which, one day, will stop me going there).

Howard

I must say I've noticed the same thing at model railway exhibitions. Rank BO and dandruff. What the hell?

Mind, I also have a thing about people walking around shirtless. What is that about? Who wants to see another man's nipples?

For me, just follow the average golf club dress code and you can't go too far wrong. Tuck your shirt in (once you've put it back on), and buy a can of deodorant!!

There seems to be a common complaint of rucksacks but over maybe a hundred shows I haven't noticed it as a big problem. Only a very few people have them at ME shows and mostly nowadays the aisles are wider. What does still happen at several shows is that there are one or two points, a door typically or a particularly popular stand where there is a problem. Model railway shows are often in schools so the doorway & narrow corridor effect is more likely than in an exhibition hall. The St Albans show coming up on the last weekend of September is in a school but if you find it crowded you can always escape to the outside live steam area.

Nor is it just shows but the world of public walkways. Loads of people dawdle in narrow passages or stop in doorways to talk to some one on the phone. There also people I call 'widewalkers' who plod down the middle of a pavement with a bag or two taking up the entire path that should accommodate six abreast.

A particular attraction for these people is the canteen. They queue for five minutes then only when they get to be the next to be served start to think about what they might have, look at the options for a minute and choose, then pick up the spoon for serving themselves vegetables and freeze. Now a conversation with the idiot accompanying them becomes the only thing on their mind. Well it's lunch time - I have to join a queue. Ill be back in an hour if lucky.

I must admit that I agree entirely with the previous comments about rucksacks, B.O. and shirtless men ugh!

Brian

All for elimination of BO and dandruff - but golf club dress code? Gordon Bennet.

I always think of the golf club dress code as a general benchmark...Not plus fours mind you...

It's probably because I've always worn a uniform of some description, I'm used to being reasonably smart most of the time.

Shirtless men though....bless them, when the world is finally mine their deaths shall be swift and painless! May I add mouth breathers and people with long nasal hair?

What?!? Next they'll be complaining about the deerstalker & shooting stick, doncherno.

Regards,

Richard.

Nowt as damn aggravating as folk

Bristol xbn this weekend, would love to go as I rated highly in the past. Long way to go from Brighton and I've lost the "jump in the car 'n' go" attitude. I'll join the other members @ Hove Park Railway as its barbeque on Sat.

Oh for the Spalding Show with its wide aisles!

No more, alas!

Howard

You evidently aren't a wheelchair user. Between being swiped in the head by rucksacks and people walking backwards and falling over me, I dread exhibitions and worse still model railway shows. The latter are made even worse by layouts so high that the operators stand on boxes.

Having said that, some shows are better than others, Alexandra Palace has, for the model engineering exhibition at least, pretty wide aisles (but overly sprung doors to get to the disabled toilets), whilst the garden railway show at Peterborough is exemplary. At Brooklands however, I only really got to see about half of the show - even the trade marquee was difficult to navigate in a wheelchair.

Brian

Edited By Brian G on 14/08/2018 16:11:12

Yes, simple answer!

We manly men know that, in life, you must choose between being a sheep and a wolf.

Intimidating the enemy allows you to see everything properly and to get all the bargains.

The very best way to remove unwanted clutter like wives, brats, and other weaklings from an overcrowded venue is to turn up tattooed, unshaven, topless, foul-mouthed and smelling of Lorry Driver's Tee-shirt. A large rucksack is essential for sweeping riff-raff aside, and - like cyclists positioned in mid-road - it is always necessary to dominate the aisles.

Hoping to get to Bristol this year. Keep an eye out for me. I'm always pleased to meet fellow enthusiasts...

I get the impression that many of these people have never heard of soap and water,never mind anything else.

Those huge backpacks should not be allowed indoors,what the hell do they want them for anyway ?

As for going shirtless----the less said about that,the better. Some tits are worth looking at,others are not !

The smell of oil,I can live with,the others are a different matter ! My dogs smell better than some of them,and that,s before the dogs are washed !

I agree with all that has been said and I wonder whether model engineer exhibition visitors at other European shows smell and behave in the same ways.

I do sympathise with the fellow in the wheelchair, I have read similar complaints before and I do try all the time to remember but stepping back is something one does after spending money, if only to get away from the purse moths. I can't see any end to this problem unless there is some sort of preferential wheelchair time allotted.

I would add some of the show people themselves who stand casually chatting for minutes, blocking the front of their stand, with their backs turned to people with questions or simply wanting to pay.

Don't get me started on lottery tickets in newsagents: the discussions, the fumbling to find the right change then dropping it in the choclate bars on the counter.

I have a feeling that we are describing most of the human race, present company excepted.

+1 for the backpack problem and the lack of personal hygiene, a nice little enhancement is to put long thin metal rods in the pack and then try and spear an eyeball, I collected a scratch only millimetres from my eye at one show.

Mike

Well we're not supposed to be talking politics, but here we have it:-

Petit Bourgeoisie versus Lumpenproletariat

Seconds out!

Gentlemen,

If rucksacks are frowned upon then what suggestions do you have (humorous or otherwise) for carrying around the goodies one has purchased. Having had my hand in a split for a large chuck of the year, then carrying a bag/holdall (weighty or otherwise) is a NO NO, unless I wish to have a damaged hand for the rest of my life. I suppose items could be deposited in the car after each purchase but this seems a waste of good tool/model/display viewing time.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Colin