TOPIC:

No, not that sort of modelling show - perv!

I used to go to the Model Show at Sandown Park and really enjoyed it. Does anyone know of any decent shows in the UK?
A quick search of the Internet turns up this site .
I see I've just missed the London show at Ally Pally and the Midlands one is at the end of the year. There is one in Manchester in a couple of weeks, but that's quite a drive.
I'm also worried that these shows might be too much men-with-beards-in-sheds-messing-about-with-steam-engines rather than 40-something-blokes-reliving-their-youth-with-plastic-toys-cars sort of thing. I have nothing against live steam and the fantastic engineering that goes into the models, but I worry that it might be a bit dry
Does anyone have any experience of these shows?

I suppose the problem is that RC cars are now primarily RTR because of the instant gratification needed by today's youth...

The ME show at Ally Pally in London is awesome - there's a bit of everything, proper model engineering, large-scale steam stuff, plastic models, Meccano, choo choo layouts, headcases stunt-flying RC planes in the corner, engineering & modelling supplies stalls etc etc. Gets really packed though, & you have to time it right to be able to see anything. Haven't seen anything toy car related there yet.
Peeps of all ages/interests there, not just "strange with beards &/or anoracks".
Didn't go this year, couldn't afford it (70 quid on the train). Highly recommended if you've never been though, & in the unlikely event you do get bored, the London Science Museum is only a short tube journey away...

I have an interesting story about "modelling shows" that probably fits in with the experiences of you guys.

There's a very similar modelling show to the ones you describe, in the western suburbs of Sydney. I think it may even still be running.

It's a park (acreage owned by someone) with ride-on steam trains, a building with slot car and train layouts inside, and some outer fields that are used by RC aeroplane flyers and even a Tethered car track.

Way back in 1995 I visited this place with my Dad and we spent the day there, looking at all the various models.

I was already very much into RC car collecting at this point though, so we were hopeful of seeing some RC car models on display or even some racing action.

However what we saw was a pretty telling situation as far as cars were concerned. There were no RC cars anywhere. We asked some other modellers where the RC cars were, and they pointed at an overgrown area of scrub over in a forgotten corner of the property - there had been an off road track there, but it hadn't been used in years and was now pretty much rubbish.

My dad and I went over and looked at it - you could still find the sweeping turns and jumps and so on, hidden in the long dry grass.

I think it was pretty indicative of what ended up happening to RC off road racing, as a populist kind of hobby and a participant in these kinds of hobby shows.

Every other hobby - HO trains, ride on trains, scale steam, slot cars, RC plane, Control-line plane, even Tether cars had all survived. But the newest hobby of the lot had burned too bright too quickly, and was relatively defunct by 1995.

For some reason, even the old men with beards who run the steam engines still seem adept at keeping their hobby going in the public's eyes, but the people who advanced RC racing into the 90s seemed to end up confining the hobby more to competitive events. There's very little in the way of "come and watch our RC cars" types events anymore, that might "get the kiddies involved"... (as Roy & HG would say! - sorry, Aussie joke there)

Cheers,
H.



www.rctoymemories.com

The home-fabricated steam engine & large-scale steam train etc hobby is regarded differently by the general public. That & toy aeroplanes has been going for an extremely long time, & "proper" model engineered stuff isn't something anybody can buy from a shop & own, which is probably the reason for the public's interest. RC cars are still regarded as "toys" rather than a hobby of skill, collectability & "Something somebody made", & specialist RC cars (ie something that didn't come from Argos at xmas time) are still not widely known about in the public's eyes.
A perfect example of this is the race track at Snetterton Park in Norfolk - people come to look around the huge toy shop, but are then distracted by the very fast toy cars whizzing around the track. You can tell that most of them have never seen anything like it before.

I think there will be more in the way of RC car stuff appearing at shows in the future though, we just have to wait until the hobby is old enough that the "Old men in beards" are the RC car enthusiasts, showing off their vintage cars, which will spur the interest of the public enough that new RC car manufacturers/suppliers etc will attend the shows.

You have to remember that RC cars as a hobby is still relatively young, & until there are more of us, we'll always be looked at as weird adults who play with toy cars