RMCQ 2026 Model Train Exhibition

This week started with 3 days up at Caloundra with the boss visiting one of her girl friends.  What a brilliant view we had. 

After that start to the week, I struggled to do anything hobby related, apart from packing the car with what I was taking to this weekend’s RMCQ Model Train Exhibition at the Brendale Sports Complex.  What a great weekend we had!  Great Venue.  Good Layouts in attendance.  Good assistance and company on the NMRA Stand, really good numbers through the doors and reasonably priced food.

I sat at the modelling table with 3 other modellers on Saturday and Sunday.  I completed 8 industrial bins on Saturday, and about 9 clotheslines on Sunday.  I had two animations on my table.  One was a clothesline that spun around, with the mum hanging off it.  This was all on a 90mm end cap and was from a previous competition at a convention.  My second one was an old 6m x 6m garage, with a tilt-a-door where the door would open and close at the pressing of a button.  This was an Arduino Uno controlling a servo linked to the tilt-a-door.

Both of these drew many comments, laughs, and the beginnings of many conversations with the public, hence not much modelling done.  I also had an entry in the RMCQ modelling comp.  My entry was a flickering station platform light that finally answered how many people does it take to replace a  light bulb?  One station light would flicker for a while, (again controlled via an Arduino Uno) then the light would come good for 20 seconds and then repeat the process.  There were three workers standing around trying to fix the flickering light.

A view of the oil siding on the Amby West layout by Arthur Hayes MMR.

A great industrial complex on this layout just inside the front door to the exhibition.

Darren and I took the equipment from the NMRA stand back to Paul’s place for storage after the exhibition.

Now what to do next week?