Whofan Posted November 3, 2023 Share Posted November 3, 2023 (edited) In the new (December) Airfix magazine is an announcement of a new Scale Modelling show, in conjunction with model railway, at the NEC in Birmingham 27/28 April next year. This is organised by Key Publishing, and I can't imagine that it is intended as a competitor to SMW and the Warley railway show at the NEC. I'm prepared to give it a punt, they are selling advance tickets now on the key underworld web site. Edited April 15 by Whofan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy G Posted November 3, 2023 Share Posted November 3, 2023 We had an invite to take the trade stand there. However, we won't be attending as it is the same weekend as the Scottish Nationals in Perth which we will be at. I know the NEC is difficult to book but clashing with the Scottish Nationals is a bit much. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DStewart Posted November 4, 2023 Share Posted November 4, 2023 Further details here: Model World Live It's a two day event that currently looks more model railway focused, but that may change in the next six months. It's cheaper than SMW. I could see myself going. Transport links are excellent from where I live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted November 4, 2023 Share Posted November 4, 2023 Last time I looked at going to the Warley show the NEC parking fees discouraged me. I don't see any mention of this in the link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circloy Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 And so it begins. Used to be a time when many, if not a majority of, model railway clubs held annual shows to display their skills and help boost club funds. Then along came the magazines that could afford to pay, up front, the rent on the larger commercial exhibtion venues, attracting more trade stands & paying for larger layouts to attend. At frst the shows were ' in conjunction with' the local club but this was soon dropped. Consequentialy, and very quickly, traders stopped attending the smaller local shows, visitor attendance dropped and club shows became riskier ventures and dissapeared from the callendar. Now even clubs in large cities struggle to put on shows and the model railway fraternity are left, in the main, with large commercial ventures and far fewer local shows. 20 years ago I probably attended on average a show every two weeks, this year at most 6 shows in total, all within a 75 mile radius of South Yorkshire. Looking at the pre-show information it does have the feel of a model railway show and unlike @Whofan I suspect the main target is the Warley model railway show who, I've read, have an exclusive deal with the NEC for model railway shows and maybe the addition of 'scale modelling' is a way round this exclusivity. I see SMW as being less of a target more due to the international nature of the event than its popularity. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy G Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 16 hours ago, Circloy said: And so it begins…. Coming from a model railway background I concur with what @Circloy says. It’s what set the alarm bells ringing when I received the trade invite and especially when I realised the clash of dates with the Scottish Nationals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whofan Posted November 6, 2023 Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 17 hours ago, Circloy said: Looking at the pre-show information it does have the feel of a model railway show and unlike @Whofan I suspect the main target is the Warley model railway show who, I've read, have an exclusive deal with the NEC for model railway shows and maybe the addition of 'scale modelling' is a way round this exclusivity. I see SMW as being less of a target more due to the international nature of the event than its popularity. Actually, I wasn't thinking in terms of competition for either SMW or the Warley Club show, rather I thought it was simply a new venture. Though I think your analysis is intriguing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DStewart Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 (edited) I don't think the claimed clash with the Scottish Nationals is really tenable. The two events are a long distance apart. I'd be surprised if many people living south of Leeds have the Scottish Nationals in their diary, unless they've got another reason to go to Scotland at the same time. Edited December 29, 2023 by 3DStewart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy G Posted November 7, 2023 Share Posted November 7, 2023 7 hours ago, 3DStewart said: I don't think the claimed clash with the Scottish Nationals is really tenable. The two events are a long way apart. I'd be surprised if many living south of Leeds have the Scottish Nationals in their diary, unless they've got another reason to go to Scotland at the same time. It certainly affects the traders and if the traders plump for the NEC as per @Circloy's comments then it will mean curtains for the Scottish Nationals or they will be forced to change the date. The two years we've been to Perth there have been clubs from the south of England there, so people do travel for it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Smith Posted December 29, 2023 Share Posted December 29, 2023 (edited) Parking has always been pricey at the NEC. Just have to accept it so no point in moaning. The car parks are vast, so will an adjacent car park be available for partaking clubs carrying boxes of built models into the show? That might be more important than the parking fee. Not sure about how it will pan out with the Scottish Nationals being on the same weekend with regard as to what venue that traders will prefer. I would guess that the Scottish Nationals have their traders booked for this year and as they are so far apart, each will probably not impact on the other. Edited January 10 by Noel Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DStewart Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 If you follow the link I gave above, you'll see that the show is beginning to take shape. It looks like the majority of it will be model railways, but there are now a number of scale model clubs and SIGs that are confirmed as displaying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEXANTOMCAT Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Wow so tickets are £14.00 per day and " Parking is managed by the NEC with the option to pay for parking in advance and save £5. Advance parking costs £12.95 (available up to three months in advance of the event), on the day parking costs £17.95" so nearly £27 if you buy a parking ticket in advance. Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Have to agree with Texan Tomcat, above. This is Telford level parking and admission-costs and I very much doubt it will have even a quarter of the level of model-making relevance as SMW. I have a feeling that I won't be going. Chris. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rayprit Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 39 minutes ago, spruecutter96 said: Have to agree with Texan Tomcat, above. This is Telford level parking and admission-costs and I very much doubt it will have even a quarter of the level of model-making relevance as SMW. I have a feeling that I won't be going. Chris. I agree with Chris.........I stopped going to SMW Telford sometime ago due to cost of outlay before I even got to the display area..................This is the same, only more expensive............Can find better things to spend my £27 on. Your £27 out of pocket before you even buy anything Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 As much as I want to support any new model-show, in our current economic climate, the parking-fees and admission charge are likely to just kill this show. Maybe the model railway-enthusiast side of things will save the day. We'll know soon enough. Cheers. Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter96 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) I'm going to an airshow in Warwickshire at the end of May and an early-bird ticket has just cost me about £2 more than it would cost to attend the NEC event (not including the £5.00 discount for advanced car-park booking). From where I'm sitting, I think the airshow will offer more "bang for my buck". Other users mileage may vary.... Cheers. Chris. Edited January 25 by spruecutter96 Typo correction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DStewart Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 (edited) Car parking is expensive, but it's not the only transport option. As many will know, the NEC is adjacent to Birmingham International Station on the West Coast Mainline. I know that might not be ideal depending on your mobility and the amount of stuff you buy, but as I live half an hour away by an easy to get train it's more attractive than driving, especially as my rail ticket is 40% less than the discounted parking and I won't have mileage on top. Edited January 26 by 3DStewart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whofan Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 47 minutes ago, 3DStewart said: Car parking is expensive, but it's not the only transport option. As many will know, the NEC is adjacent to Birmingham International Station on the West Coast Mainline. I know that might not be ideal depending on your mobility and the amount of stuff you buy, but as I live half an hour away by an easy to get train it's more attractive than driving, especially as my rail ticket is 40% less than the discounted parking and I won't have mileage on top. I shall be going by train, too. Fore me, it's a 65 minute train journey, and about the same price as the discounted parking. I would give a word of warning about train travel, though; I looked at the NEC map the other day and found that hall 17 where the show is being held is actually the hall that's farthest away from the train station ! It looks like a fair old slog to me, but of course I might be wrong. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DStewart Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) 17 hours ago, Whofan said: I would give a word of warning about train travel, though; I looked at the NEC map the other day and found that hall 17 where the show is being held is actually the hall that's farthest away from the train station ! They've just announced that the show is moving to Hall 12 to give more space. It's also a little closer to the train station. Edited January 27 by 3DStewart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whofan Posted January 27 Author Share Posted January 27 (edited) 2 hours ago, 3DStewart said: They've just announced that the show is moving to Hall 12 to give more space. It's also a little closer to the train station. Oh, that's good news, it'll save my legs a bit!! Actually, hall 12 is still a bit of a walk from the railway station, as this map of the NEC halls shows; https://www.thenec.co.uk/media/4520/site-master-map-a5-for-a5-below.pdf Edited January 27 by Whofan extra information 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julien Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 On 06/11/2023 at 06:02, Circloy said: . Looking at the pre-show information it does have the feel of a model railway show and unlike @Whofan I suspect the main target is the Warley model railway show who, I've read, have an exclusive deal with the NEC for model railway shows and maybe the addition of 'scale modelling' is a way round this exclusivity. I see SMW as being less of a target more due to the international nature of the event than its popularity. It would seem Warley is no more so rather than being a target this gives those that would have attended a show to attend. As to comments about it being a Railway show and not a model show thats not what what Key want, they wish to appeal to other modellers. Ive been involved in local shows where its co-organised by Transport and railway modellers and its been a success in bringing people through the doors. Julien 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul821 Posted February 17 Share Posted February 17 It has now been announced that Warners are stepping into the November gap caused by the end of the Warley exhibition. https://www.world-of-railways.co.uk/news/new-nec-show-announced/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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