Shows and Events 2008 - some dates for your diary:

Craft Workshops

Casting in Resin and Model Boat Electrics . . . . sorry, you've missed them!

Brian Shore's  Craft Workshop on the subject of airbrushing was, by all accounts, inspirational.  I am sorry to have missed it.

During the 'dark season' next year I hope we will be able to run another series of workshops, so get your thinking caps on!   What might YOU be able to offer!

March 30th.  The 9th Hot-air and Stirling Engine Rally.
I observed with concern that some club members failed to attend this event.  
You missed a jolly good day!   Apart  from the hot-air stuff (which was fascinating), most of the Kew Bridge museum's enormous steam pumping engines were also in operation, some of them as big as house!  

April 5th and 6th.  South Wales Model and Craft Show, Bridgend.
There were mixed views about this.  Those of us who went on the Saturday had a jolly fine day; there was even a display of Stirling engines!   Sunday's team seemed to be less happy with the event, perhaps partly due to meteorological inclemency on that day (it snowed heavily!)

April 12th and 13th.  Large Scale Model Rail Exhibition.
At the Warwickshire Exhibition Centre (Leamington Spa).  Did anyone go to this?

May 4th and 5th.  Wythall Transport Museum open days.
Well, actually we got the date wrong!  This was just an ordinary museum weekend so there were no buses running and not many punters about.  Much more importantly, the cafe wasn't doing hot breakfasts and I had to make do with an egg butty.  Still, I'm sure  those of us who turned up enjoyed ourselves; the welcome we got was as warm as ever.  And where else can you get a decent ride behind a 7 1/4 inch gauge  Black Five for ten bob?  Anyway, they'd like us to go again on the 'proper' weekend which is 25th and 26th July.  Watch this space! . . . . . . .  Hope you're still watching because the 'proper weekend' is now just a single day, so we've decided to give it a miss.

May 18th.  Club Barbecue at Upton Warren.  
We were owed some really good weather this year and the Gods smiled on us!  Our sincere thanks are due to all those members (and in some cases their wives too!) who supported and contributed to this event.

June 7th and 8th.  Wolverhampton Steam Fair.
We sat in the sun (and a cold wind on Saturday!), munched a cheese-and-onion sandwich, put the world to rights and  sailed a model boat or two.  All accompanied by the sulphurous smell of marauding full-size traction engines.  Delightful!  

Those who went on Saturday were treated to an additional bonus when one of Admiral Green's battleships capsized and sank in just a few seconds after striking the wooden goose-barrier.  A court-martial is to be  arranged soon and its first priority will be to ascertain whether the cause was technical failure or no-one-on-the-bridge syndrome.    Those present were, once again, witness to the spectacle of Admiral Green stripping to his underpants and wading in to effect a (successful) rescue of the wreck.  If he keeps doing this, one day his luck will run out and he'll be arrested.

June 28th and 29th.  MSRVS Rally   (at Tewkesbury Rugby Club)

My earlier concerns about lack of support for this event turned out to be entirely misplaced.  Two dry and mostly sunny days were very well attended and we easily managed to fill the tables with models on both days.  The rally itself was well organised and enjoyable.   Even the dreaded sevens and threes somehow seemed less onerous than usual. Here's a photo of Sunday's recalcitrants; thanks to all!

July 5th (Saturday).  Club charabanc outing to Portsmouth.
This was a family day out with a nautical flavour accompanied by our own resident tour guides Admiral Green and Ged-the-bike, not to mention John-the-driver.  Portsmouth in glorious sunshine.  Visits to the dockyard, HMS Warrior, HMS Victory, Mary Rose, the Submarine museum, a hovercraft trip to the Isle of Wight, or just mooching round Pompey.  A grand day was had by all!  Everyone's asking 'when's the next one?'

July 30th (Wednesday).  Evening visit to the Bromsgrove S.M.E's track.
Many thanks to Phil Lamb and members of the B.S.M.E. for making us so welcome at what was an excellent (and very different) sort of evening.  What skill and dedication these Model Engineering chappies have!  Quite a few of us managed to drive a huge Class 50 diesel-electric outline loco (owned by Phil), learning how to obey signals and when to hoot.  One or two also took up the offer to drive a live steam loco for a couple of laps - the realisation of a lifetime's ambition in my case!

August 16th and 17th.  Eastnor Castle model show.
Back by popular demand!    Despite a waterlogged site and some rain on the Saturday we had a super weekend with excellent sailing, mind-boggling model aero displays and a useful selection of trade stands.  Our thanks are due (and have been conveyed) to the Wrekin Model Flying Club for being brave enough to organise the reincarnation of this event.  There's talk of another show next year; let's hope their accountants give it the thumbs-up.  Thanks also to the usual bunch of club stalwarts who gave their time to grapple with the 'sevens and threes' (putting up two large gazebos) on the rig-day (Friday) and also taking them down on Sunday.  It really would be nice to see a few other faces on occasions when there's work to do!

September 28th.  The 2008 DSMBC Plank Race.

Another great event with lots of varied planks.  Clear winner was Graham Rodda with his very-well-thought-out contra-rotating drive plank powered by his now customary yards of elastic.

Results were as below:

1st prize:  Graham Rodda (30 points)
2nd prize: Trevor Coveney (90 points)
3rd prize:  George Gregory (170 points)
Heath Robinson prize (judged by all participants):  Graham Rodda 
4th place:  John Chapman (180 points)
5th place:  Graham Rodda's second entry (250 points)
6th= place:  Tony Addison and  Tony Holt  (310 points)
Other entrants (George Aldridge, Bob Brooks, Jim Cook, Ian Green, Bob Lee) were unplaced because their planks failed to complete at least two of their three runs.

Interesting that the top three places went to the same three members as last year, although not in the same order.  Clearly skill has a lot to do with it!

My thanks are due to Trevor for his help and support in setting up and running the day and also to him plus Brian Shore and Graham Rodda for donating prizes.  Thanks also to the rescue tug captains, Terry Barber and Trevor Coveney, who were kept busy.

October 4th (Saturday). Bournville Cub's Viennese Evening.
Not very well supported by our club, probably because it was a cold and windy day.  Those who went enjoyed themselves.  Bournville's hospitality was good.

October 18th (Saturday). Club Coach trip to the Blackpool Model Boat Show.
Admiral Green organised this in his usual efficient manner.  Big, comfy coach, pleasant driver, nice journeys there and back.  A good show with lots of models and a surprisingly large trade section.  The hall included a decent-sized pool and reasonably-priced catering, so some folk never ventured out of the exhibition all day.  A few, myself included, incorporated a tram ride (in my case as far as the terminus at Fleetwood) followed by a bracing walk along the prom.  An exceptionally good day. 

October 17th - 21st.  Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition, Leamington Spa.
Yeah, it was O.K., but increasingly this show is for the purveyors of big live-steamers, the likes of which ordinary mortals like myself can only dream about.

October 24th and 25th (Friday and Saturday).  Donnington Park Radio Rally.
Now this was much more my cup of tea!  Myself and your Hon Sec (Trevor) were in the queue just after opening time and we didn't leave until they threw us out.  I love rummaging over electronic junk, and there was tons of it.  My best buy was a brand-new, boxed Yaesu battery charger, complete with timer and sixteen separate outputs.  The price?  One pound sterling.  Later in the day Trevor bought TWO for a pound!  By the time we left there was so much stuff in the back of the car that we had to stop and pump the tyres up.  A truly wonderful day.

November 7th - 9th.  International Model Boat Show, Leamington Spa.
Despite previous misgivings, this year's show was as good as ever and quite a few members appeared on the stand at various times during the weekend.  In the event, only a handful of clubs managed to put on a pool display and I'm pleased to report that we managed to do this - very successfully - on all three days, complete with commentary. 
In particular, our thanks must go to George and Sheila Aldridge, Jeremy Garner and Tim Skillern, who cheerfully manned the stand on all three days,  to John Webb who not only manned the stand but also managed the detailed arrangements with the show organisers, and to Bob Lee, Ged Power, John and Diane Rider, George Gregory, Ian Green, and Howard Beard, who generally 'flew the club flag' on the days they were there.

Our stand was much larger than in previous years and we were able to space out the models to better effect.  There was a competition for the best stand in the show (which we didn't win!) but there was a lot of interest in our models.  We signed up a few new members and gave out application forms to a good many more!

As you can see, members took their responsibilities during our daily pool displays very seriously; I have rarely seen such intense concentration, so determined were they to put on a good show! Thanks to member Dave Stratford for taking the photographs.

Now how's this for a feat! Part of a display by a team of German modellers - conducted with typical Germanic precision.  Takes your breath away, doesn't it? Actually, it's not quite as I remember it.  I suspect Dave Stratford's been playing with Photoshop again!

December 1st (Monday).  Club A.G.M.
Items for the agenda and nominations for the 2009 Committee in writing to our Hon. Sec. (Trevor Coveney) by Sunday 15th November at the latest, please.  Don't leave it late or you will miss the opportunity to serve your fellow club members by standing for election to the committee. Venue is room 5 at the Perdiswell Youth Centre, Worcester.  The postcode is WR3 7SN.  Entry to the site is from the A38 Droitwich Road; if approaching from Worcester city centre, take the first turn on the right beyond the Bilford Road roundabout, between a pair of large pillars.

January 31st 2009 (Saturday).  RNLI & Sailing Centre Barbecue at Upton Warren.
I suppose RNLI blokes are used to doing their stuff in the wet and in sub-zero temperatures, and the Upton Warren sailors probably like to think they are too.  Anyway, they are organising a joint Barbecue during the afternoon / evening of Saturday 31st January and seem very keen to invite us along.  I tried to explain to their chief that we are mostly arthritic geriatrics who would otherwise have planned to spend 31st January in front of a roaring fire watching telly.  However, having been so cordially invited I think we should do our best to fly the flag. The lake will likely be frozen to a depth of several inches but this will be no problem for my hovercraft (heh! heh!).  What my begloved Tx fingers will make of it remains to be seen.  So if you fancy doing something a bit daft in the new year, wrap up well, bring a boat, an appetite and maybe a bottle of something warming.  More details of exact times etc when we have them.

September 19th and 20th 2009 (Saturday and Sunday). Exhibition of model-making organised by the Bromsgrove Society of Model Engineers.
This will be held at the Guesten Hall at the Avoncroft Museum, Bromsgrove, adjacent to the B.S.M.E's track.  The exhibition is planned to include boats, cars, aircraft, helicopters, railways, general model engineering and the work of model wheelwrights.  Tight security will be provided overnight.  All exhibitors will enjoy free entry to the museum and to the railway. The B.S.M.E will provide light refreshments.  We have been invited to set up our portable pool and to 'play boats' on it for the two days whilst enlightening visitors on the delights of our hobby.  This sounds to your committee like an excellent and enjoyable event that we should do our utmost to support and so we have agreed to put it in the club diary.

Irresponsible piloting of boats
I have recently received complaints about, and  have myself been a victim of, irresponsible piloting of large, powerful boats.  We have a number of members who own powerful and fast boats and the majority operate them in an entirely responsible way.  When the pool is busy they keep their speed down and keep well clear of other boats.  They reserve their displays of high-speed for periods when the pool is largely of empty of other craft.  Sadly, however, we have a very small number of members who seem to be determined to treat the pool as their own personal dodgem track, with other peoples' boats as the dodgem cars.  Left unchecked, it is only a matter of time before some innocent member's boat is sent to the bottom by this sort of behaviour.  Let me therefore make it clear that any member who, in the opinion of the committee, sails his boat in a way which puts other craft at risk will be asked to remove his boat from the pool and take it home.  Enough said, I hope.

Griffin 600 Hovercraft

This kit had a brief review in the July 2008 edition of Model Boats and a full build review in the November edition.  Yours truly's had one for a while.  Here's what it looks like in operation.  Quite a few members expressed interest in it so here are the details:  The supplier is Palaform Ltd., phone 07711 618483 or 01933 401914 (evenings).  Their website is:  www.modelhovercraft.co.uk It's an easy kit to put together (how else would I have coped with it?) and the parts are very accurately die-cut.  A lot of fun!

The cost is £49.99 plus £6.50 p&p.  You'll need to find your own radio gear, motor, speed controller, airscrew and battery.  See me for more info or to have a twiddle on the sticks.  Thanks to Tony Holt for the photo and to Brian Waters for the loan of some 9.6-volt batteries!

2008 Committee

Your committee members until December 2008 are as below.  
They may not be much, but they're all you've got, so be nice to them!

Jim Cook - Chairman
Trevor Coveney - Secretary
Bob Lee - Treasurer
John Webb - Show Secretary
Ian Green
Richard Wootten