Midlands Show 2014

[Jim Nic]

Just back from the Midlands Show where I briefly met Jo, Tangler and the Muddled Engineer.  Slightly disappointed this year, some good models to see including some beautiful wooden steam launches which I had not paid much attention to previously but also some models I had seen before and plenty of locos.  I didn't manage to spend all my pennies even though the hard core of traders were present.
A reasonably entertaining couple of hours but I left early having seen all I wanted to.
Jim

[Twizseven]

Also just arrive home and unpacked goodies.  Best bit was the Cowells collet chuck and collets from Jo.  I'm sure it looked a bit odd as casting tokens  and goods exchanged at the front of the entry queue.

Jo put the tokens to good use and her new shiny bits looked very nice.  Look forward to the build log, some time in the near?? future.

Lots of nice models but again I do miss some of the other equipment suppliers like Chrono and Arc Euro.  I can't be the only one who likes to pick up tools and look at them prior to purchase rather than blindly buying over Internet.

Hope you all enjoy the show.

Rgds,

Colin

[Jo]

Nice to meet all you guys at the show (lurkers included  )


Col I hope you get as much pleasure out of your new collet chuck as I will get out of my shiny new casting sets  The only problem being that they might have to go off to be wrapped for Xmas  but we will have a couple of days together before that might happen.


It was a good show and of course the icing on the cake was when a lovely man put temptation in my way by giving me a set of drawings for a steam engine  No castings needed.

Jo

[b.lindsey]

What.....no pictures? 

Bill

[Ramon Wilson]

It was a long haul there on the coach and and what seemed an even longer haul back but it was all worth it.

Bought a few bits in anticipation of the new mill coming and caught up with Jo Eric and Simon again for another mini-MEM chat over tea and biccy's. I gave Jo some cast iron - she, in exchange may have given me (and Eric) her cold 

Bill, sorry about no pics but didn't take the camera  Overall, though extremely well attended, I felt the 'substance' of the show was diminished somewhat from previous years - perhaps that's familiarity breeding contempt? I don't know, maybe; I've been to so many over the years but nothing much really caught my eye (save a really beautifully built 'J' class yacht). A few ever present traders now noticeable by their absence and with others exhibiting a far diminished display - negative comments  by a couple of other traders over costs involved gave a feeling that things will slowly but inexorably decline.

Good to have another get together with Jo, Eric and Simon, but missed Rod.

Time now for an early night and an early start back on those crankshafts tomorrow

Ramon

PS  Simon - turned out I was sat just across from 'Steam Guy Willy' on the coach-  Apparently whilst we were chatting he was upstairs in the cafe asking people if they were you 

[Jo]

I gave Jo some cast iron - she, in exchange may have given me (and Eric) her cold 

Sorry  I am feeling a little better today. So a few photos:





















Jo

[Jo]

Jo

[Jo]

This was a strange version of the Stothert and Pitt 







And this one to the original S&P Casting Kit



I must get on and do the etchings to finish mine 











Jo

[Jo]

Jo

[Jo]

Jo

[Jo]

A big one:



And a model of it











That's it for this year

Jo

[Jasonb]

Thanks for that mamoth load Jo, I'm surprised you found time to buy anything between taking all of those.

Never seen so many Economy's in one place at the same time, Senior looks quite nice as does the Pioneer.

J

[EASy]

Jo

Thank you for the photos Jo.

I have an engine which is quite similar to this, which I've never been able to identify. Do you (or anyone else) know what this one is?

Thank you,

Andrew

[tangler]

Good to meet up with a few of you, albeit briefly.  The show became very crowded.  I had a shopping list for a few replacement taps and dies but couldn't be bothered to wrestle my way to the front of the stands.  Jo, thanks for the pics I only took a few and you've covered those - I particularly like the Sanderson beam engine because you can see the un-obscured Watt parallel link.  I've got the drawings for that.  What I did notice was this:





It's the Lammas hardness tester that I picked up the castings for at Harrogate (and was the subject of my mystery object which I thought I had posted here but I can't find it ).  Edit Found it:

http://www.modelenginemaker.com/index.php?topic=3833.msg69907#msg69907

I suppose I should get on with making it and testing out the heat treatment regime for LM4 

- negative comments  by a couple of other traders over costs involved gave a feeling that things will slowly but inexorably decline.

Good to have another get together with Jo, Eric and Simon, but missed Rod.

Sorry to have missed you, Tug.  Interestingly, the chap on the Rotagrip stall was saying that they were there because the price of postage was now so high.  Perhaps the pendulum is starting to swing the other way.  We left at about 12:30 and visited the Heritage Motor Museum just down the road.

Cheers,

Rod

[b.lindsey]

Thanks for the pictures Jo! Lots of nice engines at the show and it looks like a good variety of things as well!! So....are there pics of the casting sets you picked up too

Bill