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LUCNY held it's first public display at the Syracuse Oncenter Convention
Center in Syracuse, NY this past weekend, January 11th and 12th. The show
was the first time GATS had stopped in Syracuse, and we took advantage of
the great location to get organized and out in the public eye.
Setup started on Friday night with a flurry of activity by several members,
which resulted in a 8'x15' single level layout, with an additional 5'x8'
static display area off to one side. We used that area to showcase MIB
sets, track design and engineering, let the kids look inside non-moving
rollstock and engines, and chat with interested aprties out of the fray.
We continued to tweak structures and scenes prior to the Saturday show
opening, and kept busy reminding little hands that perhaps it's not best to
touch a moving LEGO train... Only a couple of "accidents" resulted from
horizontally opposed digits the entire show, and that's not bad since we
didn't use any formal crowd control. The crowds were up to three deep at
times, but were manageable, friendly, talkative, cooperative, and interested
in what we were doing.
We gave out several hundred LEGO train catalogs, as supplied by Jake McKee
(thank you), along with a similar number of our version of the LTC FAQ flyer
(http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/ejmcglynn/LUCNY/GATS/SYR03/Flyer/flyer-gats-syr-2003-v5.doc).
We heard back several reports of sighting of the catalogs in shoppers' hands
at local stores looking for sets on the shelves. There was a good deal of
interest in the product, and we were able to steer people in the right
direction for a change. Nice move, LEGO.
Here's a link to some photos from the show, available upon moderation:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/ejmcglynn/LUCNY/GATS/SYR03/Pictures
...in the meantime, here's a shot of the layout, taken near the end of the show:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/ejmcglynn/LUCNY/GATS/SYR03/Pictures/img_1384.jpg
We had the "endless train" on the layout at the time, with a consist that
was joined head-to-tail in a loop all the way around the outside loop of the
layout. Other features in this shot are the dam/tunnel, Spatchula City,
station, remote controlled point motors, A&W, doctor's office, pizza
trolley, etc.
Here's a shot of our downtown district, with construction pressing
ever-onward to support more urban sprawl:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/ejmcglynn/LUCNY/GATS/SYR03/Pictures/img_1368.jpg
Our club logo truck is featured in this shot:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/ejmcglynn/LUCNY/GATS/SYR03/Pictures/img_1369.jpg
...watch out for that falling lineman!
We had a good location in the front right corner of the hall, near a kids'
play area:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/ejmcglynn/LUCNY/GATS/SYR03/Pictures/img_1375.jpg
...did I mention how well those table skirts turned out? :^)
Here's a shot of our small switching yard - gotta build more room for this
on the next layout:
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/ejmcglynn/LUCNY/GATS/SYR03/Pictures/img_1363.jpg
In summary, we had a blast. I recommend the experience to any club out
there, as the GATS folks were friendly and helpful at all times. Very
professional group to work with. Thanks goes out to several of our club
members for their contributions - most notably John R, Nate, Kevin, Peter,
and John B. Thank you for your materials, time, sense of humor, and good
spirits throughout. Thanks to Kevin's Mom and John R. for the goodies,
too...did I leave you guys any?
Anyhow, onward and upward. I look forward to IndyLUG's inaugural GATS show
report and photos as well.
Ed
LUCNY
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