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2 DAY SHOW - NOV. 20-21, 2004
This was Novalug's 3rd show at the Dartmouth Sportsplex. All six
members and two guests participated. Owen sent his Grand Central
Station (which many of us decided might be worth buying, luckily TRU
just put it on sale) and Wanda, kid-wrangler extrodinaire sent two of
her large, Victorian houses, and showed up herself on Sunday.
This was our largest and most sophisticated layout to date. Due to
careful planning, construction and the superb tracking of Lego trains,
the display ran flawlessly the entire 2 days. There were three large
independent loops, one smaller elevated loop, a cogwheel train and a
trolley. The trains running were a combination of out of the box lego
constructions and MOCs. Unique among the MOCs was Jean Marc's
articulated European passenger train which is an amazing piece of
construction and works well even on the sharp Lego curves. It also
works best at high speed. If grabbed from both ends, it can be lifted as
a unit even though it is around 4 feet long. From a previous show, it
can be seen here:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=578732 I thought JM's
wife (Karen) took some video of it going around a corner, but I guess
they had some trouble with the new camera as it isn't posted yet. On
straight track, there is no separation between the cars. A rubber band
allows them to separate just enough to make it around curves.
Many building were on the layout. Some represented actual models of
building in the Halifax-Truro areas and were recognized by many of the
visitors to the display. In particular, Prince's Lodge (
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1005288 ) was noted by
some who exclaimed "Hey, I drive by that building everyday on the way to
work!".
There were two animated displays on the layout. The station designed by
Lawrence had a working elevator (which no one took pictures of). We
also had four cows controlled by a Code Pilot and a couple of reed
switches. Many expressed great joy and merriment watching the cows.
Various and assorted comments of amazement were made about these
displays. It has been decided that future layouts should have more
animated displays (as soon as someone builds them).
We also had a table set up for the children to play at. We had a bit of
trouble with our event kit bricks. Unfortunately they were stored in
the back of a closet, and it was discovered just before the show that a
bunch of mothballs had fallen into the box. No time to sort the moth
balls out of the bricks and wash the bricks (they stink to the point of
making one member ill). We had to make do with the loop of track, power
controller and train bases we were planning on adding to the play area
this year, along with the DUPLO trains JM usually brings. This table was
a big hit with the children. By having just the trains to run rather
than a loose pile of bricks to build with, we found it attracted mainly
the younger kids (~6 and under) who seem to be much less hassle than the
~8-14 year old twerps (young arrogant males) who monopolized much of the
play area the last time we had loose bricks. We also gave away
stickers, book covers (from event kit) and postcards to kids who found a
number of things equal to their age from a list of things to look for on
the layout. This was fun and cause a lot of interaction with the
display that might of not happened otherwise. We added a few 'hard' and
'very difficult' items marked as such at the bottom of the list,
requiring a knowledge of local history or a keen eye, that entertained
some of the adults.
Of particular note was the kid handling skills of one of our guests, a
school teacher. Some of the kids pushed the loose rope barrier right up
against the layout, and started reaching for things. Wanda spoke to
them
Wanda: "Have you ever built anything really cool out of LEGO?"
kids, excitedly: "Yes!"
Wanda: "Has you sister ever played with it and wrecked it?"
kids, dejectedly: "Yes."
Wanda: "And how did that make you feel?"
kids quickly scamper back from layout.
A brilliant way of dealing with kids we welcome others to use.
We were well received by the public and the other model railroaders at
the show even though some of them don't really consider us as a
"serious" modelling effort. We made a point of visiting their layouts
and making good comments about them. After reading all the ILTCO
comments about reaching out to other layouts at shows, Gail decided to
make the rounds during setup and tear down offering home-made squares.
They seemed to go over well, and she got to meet many of the other
modelers. In particular, we noticed the spiffy shirts some of the groups
had with their name and logo. Considering that the clothing choices of
one of our members had us considering wearing welder's goggles (
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1001799 bad photo, much
brighter in person) it may be awhile before we can agree on shirts for
ourselves :). We have been invited back again for next years show. We
are also slated to appear at several new shows in the next year. It is
becoming realized locally that we are a very good draw for any hobby
show. Some visitors indicated that they came only to see the LEGO
display.
Ours was a successful display as indicated by the fact that the children
usually had to be hauled away by their parents while they were kicking
and screaming that they wanted to stay. It was also fun to listen to
the reactions of adults as they entered the small room we took up half
of. It's great to be appreciated.
Below are links that will take you to the member's Brickshelf galleries
for more pictures:
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=106215
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=105907
George Chapman
Gail Meagher
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