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Well, The biggest exhibition of the year has come and gone and what an exhibition it was. I went on both days and had a good time. the wonderfull thing about this show is that it currently has just about evrything you could want to see do do with modfel railways under one roof.
Transport - saturday was not a problem. Straight up on the pendolino from euston. took about 90 minutes and cost about £25. I arrived in tood time to help finish a friends stand before the flood gates opened.
Sunday was much more difficult with engineering works all over the place it was actually quicker to get the slow train from marylebone. it took about 2 hours go get me there but took well over 3 to get me back. cost about £9. both journeys were uneventfull. - 8/10
Building - The warley show was in the biggest hall of the exhibition centre this year (aparently due to a last minute swap.) the NEC is really a great venue. i was comming buy train but people who cane buy car were directed to what must have been one of the furthest carparks and had to walk or get on a very long cue for the bus. it was a good 10-15 minute walk particularly on the sunday when it was tipping it down!
I know some people are not going to like this bit but i am going to say it anyway. yes i know the hall was swapped at the last minute, but i think if i was exhibition manager then i would have found a way to use all that extra space at the front of the hall. even if was just a case of making the isle between the front and the back of the show twice as wide. they were not paying extra for that space so i think they may as well have used it. i think the wall of white boards made it look a little uninviting. there were plenty of loo's and places to rest. the tannoy system was dreadfull! - 8/10
Layouts - With such a large exhibition its verry difficult to fill the hall with quality layouts but i really think they managed it this year. the standard of modelling was generally high and i cant think of a single layout that looked like it was there just to make up the numbers! one point i would like to make (and perhaps this is a discussion for another day and another thread) is whgat actually constitutes a layout? there seemed to be alot of this large scale very small alyouts with mabye 1 or 2 points. the modelling on these was often exceptional but to mee they are dioramas rather than layouts. i am not suggesting they dont have evry right to be there and they were very welcome. but to mee they just dont fit in with my idea of a "layout" - 8/10
Shirts - This winter was nothing like as cold as last year and i was expecting some pretty unpleasent moments but they just didnt happen. there were one or 2 coats that had obviously not been washed since the milennium but with that number of people you are bound to get 1 or 2. - 9/10
Backpacks - Oah dear! Now i dont mind a small pack for people to take their belongings home in but there were people there who looked like they were going on a camping holiday! at many shows this can be excused to an extent because there is nowhere else to leave your things but at warley there are facilities for left luggage. i was backpacked several times over the course of the weekend. -3/10
Trade support - Very good. I often have well founded concerns that the smaller traders are being squeezed at big shows like this. it has happened many times in tha past that a show gets bigger and they put up their prices and the smaller traders cant go leading to a lousey show. but this has been adressed buy the warley mrc and prices have been lowered and even invitations went out to smaller traders. this is to be commended. all the usual players were there. the hornby stand seemed smaller than usual. and i wish some of the intl stuff had been on show. but never mind. - 10/10
Now i dont know weather attendance was down but it seemed to be. there was more stand frontage this year but even so i think attendance was slightly down and perhaps the 2 factors together ment the crowding was not such a big problem this year.
There were no real gaping gaps in the line up of traders although it has to be said that fox transfers is sorely missed - 9/10
Bagains - They were pretty thinly spread but they were there to be had. most of the 100 Dynamis systems had gone and some people had lynched some of the bachmann stuff before the exhibition even opened on the saturday. but i dont think this os the reason people go to warley. they go to see the new products and to see the stands and layouts. there was a mehano thalys going for £50 on the sunday. now why in the name of all things holy didnt i buy it???? - 3/10
Peter
Now for the pictures on this occasion i cant blame my camera, but this was the first time i had used it and so the lack of quality is purly down to my lack of practice with it. (sorry!)
Photobucket is being very slow so these will have to wait a few minutes.
Transport - saturday was not a problem. Straight up on the pendolino from euston. took about 90 minutes and cost about £25. I arrived in tood time to help finish a friends stand before the flood gates opened.
Sunday was much more difficult with engineering works all over the place it was actually quicker to get the slow train from marylebone. it took about 2 hours go get me there but took well over 3 to get me back. cost about £9. both journeys were uneventfull. - 8/10
Building - The warley show was in the biggest hall of the exhibition centre this year (aparently due to a last minute swap.) the NEC is really a great venue. i was comming buy train but people who cane buy car were directed to what must have been one of the furthest carparks and had to walk or get on a very long cue for the bus. it was a good 10-15 minute walk particularly on the sunday when it was tipping it down!
I know some people are not going to like this bit but i am going to say it anyway. yes i know the hall was swapped at the last minute, but i think if i was exhibition manager then i would have found a way to use all that extra space at the front of the hall. even if was just a case of making the isle between the front and the back of the show twice as wide. they were not paying extra for that space so i think they may as well have used it. i think the wall of white boards made it look a little uninviting. there were plenty of loo's and places to rest. the tannoy system was dreadfull! - 8/10
Layouts - With such a large exhibition its verry difficult to fill the hall with quality layouts but i really think they managed it this year. the standard of modelling was generally high and i cant think of a single layout that looked like it was there just to make up the numbers! one point i would like to make (and perhaps this is a discussion for another day and another thread) is whgat actually constitutes a layout? there seemed to be alot of this large scale very small alyouts with mabye 1 or 2 points. the modelling on these was often exceptional but to mee they are dioramas rather than layouts. i am not suggesting they dont have evry right to be there and they were very welcome. but to mee they just dont fit in with my idea of a "layout" - 8/10
Shirts - This winter was nothing like as cold as last year and i was expecting some pretty unpleasent moments but they just didnt happen. there were one or 2 coats that had obviously not been washed since the milennium but with that number of people you are bound to get 1 or 2. - 9/10
Backpacks - Oah dear! Now i dont mind a small pack for people to take their belongings home in but there were people there who looked like they were going on a camping holiday! at many shows this can be excused to an extent because there is nowhere else to leave your things but at warley there are facilities for left luggage. i was backpacked several times over the course of the weekend. -3/10
Trade support - Very good. I often have well founded concerns that the smaller traders are being squeezed at big shows like this. it has happened many times in tha past that a show gets bigger and they put up their prices and the smaller traders cant go leading to a lousey show. but this has been adressed buy the warley mrc and prices have been lowered and even invitations went out to smaller traders. this is to be commended. all the usual players were there. the hornby stand seemed smaller than usual. and i wish some of the intl stuff had been on show. but never mind. - 10/10
Now i dont know weather attendance was down but it seemed to be. there was more stand frontage this year but even so i think attendance was slightly down and perhaps the 2 factors together ment the crowding was not such a big problem this year.
There were no real gaping gaps in the line up of traders although it has to be said that fox transfers is sorely missed - 9/10
Bagains - They were pretty thinly spread but they were there to be had. most of the 100 Dynamis systems had gone and some people had lynched some of the bachmann stuff before the exhibition even opened on the saturday. but i dont think this os the reason people go to warley. they go to see the new products and to see the stands and layouts. there was a mehano thalys going for £50 on the sunday. now why in the name of all things holy didnt i buy it???? - 3/10
Peter
Now for the pictures on this occasion i cant blame my camera, but this was the first time i had used it and so the lack of quality is purly down to my lack of practice with it. (sorry!)
Photobucket is being very slow so these will have to wait a few minutes.
