AMRA Brisbane Model Railway Exhibition

I’ve just returned home from two days at the 2021 AMRA Brisbane Model Railway Exhibition at the RNA showgrounds in Brisbane.  I along with quite a lot of mates, and I’m pretty sure other exhibitors, store owners and the organising Club will all be 100% stuffed.  This was a great weekend.  I have conversations with many old mates, some I have not seen for well over a year.  I might have picked up a couple of 12mm locos over the weekend.  A couple of 12mm wagon kits, and a few small detail items.  I had my least productive display at an exhibition ever.  I spent the whole time talking to the public and never shutting up.  I was demonstrating either my set of traffic lights controlled by an Arduino, my level crossing detector controlled by an Arduino, or some of the other detail items I make.  I make up two 3D printed staff machine from my mate Greg.  I distributed 10 sets of 3D printed concrete washing tubs (also from Greg) to our Tuesday Nighters (and Clinton).  I just need to wait for 2 more weeks before I can get mine washing tubs now, as I donated my place in the 3D printing queue to a better home.  Hopefully Greg will print off 10 more, so we can spread then around even further in the community.  Over the weekend, I referred countless enquiring people to the various local hobby shops around the exhibition that stock my items for sale.  I also sent them to other manufacturers where we buy our locos, wagons, and other detail items from.

I hope all the manufacturers and hobby shop owners at the Exhibition did a roaring trade, and it was worth their trips.  We had stacks of people at our two tables over the weekend.  We had some benches set up in front of our tables for people to sit at and have a natter.  We just never shut up talking to other modellers, the general public and anyone else who happened to walk past.

I might have moved a bit of my stuff.  I also had a surprise when Bob Mawson from AMRA gave me a stack of his excellent trees.  They will look brilliant on my layout when they get installed.  I do have an uncomplete section of layout that needs the scenery to start on it.  I am collecting trees to line the creek in this location so they will fit in perfectly.

It will take some time to unpack everything and set aside some time to get a few new wagons into the layout roster.  I should have four wagons added tomorrow and another 2 over the next few months.  My next tasks are to work on the presentation for the upcoming 4 day NMRA online convention in June this year.  I need to take some photos, (maybe tomorrow) and then put them into my presentation and then hand the presentation over to PK to add his components.

One of the funny things that has occurred over the last week, is the QR 1720 purchasing competition that has been going on between a few people.  B2 thought he was in with a show, until PK told him he had one extra.  I then told PK I had more than him.  I told PK that one of the Tuesday Nighters was selling a couple of 1720’s, expecting him to buy one of them, but the bugger bought both.  So he then had one more than me.  B2 bailed out of the competition at that point.  So I bought one extra 1720 yesterday and then we were all square.  So PK bought another one after that to pull ahead again.  So today I bought another one and now we are all square again.