The Little World

Well, there we were – the morning of the Big Local Scale Model Exhibition. And I was off to do my bit.

5:00 AM: Up and clean for the show. Loaded the car with the 6 little airfields plus a model box to work on – and a sandwich for lunch. I live locally, so the trip is a short one.

7:00 AM: Just as well, a committee official at the exhibition hall told me I was too early – the club display people were not to be let in to set up until 9:00 AM. I offered to help with tables but apparently there were enough official people for this task. Home again to a cup of coffee and a comfort stop…

9:00 AM: Back at the hall. No chaos – all the tables set out and many decorated…already. A simple task to put my models airfields on display and set out my work box for the day.

10:00 AM: Rousted out of the hall to muster in front of the place and then to file back in, paying as we went.

10:30 AM: Hard at work on a bargain kit. Several enquiries from spectators about the model airfields – and they were intelligent questions, too. The finish on several models was admired so I basked in the the glow of petty praise.

11:00 AM: A saunter about the joint looking at the items on sale – the tool stand – always attractive but the prices daunt. The kit tables were a bit better, and a AK Super Mystere B was picked up for 30% off an already reasonable price. Not to be greedy, this was all I spent.

11:30 AM: The coffee van sounded like a good idea but searching for it was a bit of a puzzle. it turned out to be at the back car park, around three corners of the building. The lady running it had no customers save me, but seemed philosophical about it all.

12:00 PM: The coffee van left.

1:00 PM: I wandered into the competition hall while the cement on my kit was setting. Can’t say if the entries were sparser than previous years, but nevertheless they seemed to be very good quality. A deal more of the science fiction and fantasy types…and they were very colourful indeed.

The back-light from the frosted windows of the competition hall threw many of the models in a half-shadow, but the flash fill from the Fujifilm X-E2 made short work of that. The ISO was kept deliberately high to allow for small apertures.

2:00 PM: The model airplane went together very well, I had a sandwich lunch, and commenced another wander of the other tables and stalls. There seemed to be a good trade being done at the miniature painting table and the Committee provided some free kits for youngsters to build – one produced a pretty good small tank. A boy spent an hour with his dad building a Jeep from an Airfix starter kit.

Note: when another youngster was sitting with his dad, the older chap spent his time talking modelling so the kid lost interest and reverted to a mobile phone. An enthusiast lost…

3:00 Pm: Hall thinned, model airplane was setting, time to take stock. I hoped Sunday would see more general visitors.