It was indeed a great show, in terms of what there was to see and buy, and the way it was put together - Bobby's generosity of spirit is enourmous, and the passion he has for this hobby and Museum was evident in many ways, very infectious and pleasing to be around.
I think it's important to say that if a show is not well attended, it is not neccersarily a reflection on the show itself - as in this case. We all know the prohibiting factors for show attendance, location, travel and accomadation cost's, conflict of engagements, family responsibilities and "there are so many shows this year, I can't attend all, which do I choose?"
Anyone who has passion enough for this hobby, and the courage to make such a HUGE effort to provide us with these opportunities has my greatest respect. It is becoming increasingly evident that their 'reward' comes back in terms of rave reviews from those who do attend, and from their own sense of acheivment, which, I'm sure, can be a struggle to find when attendance results are not what would have been hoped for.
I sincerely hope that all those who put on 'independent' shows (for want of a better expression) all around this country and others have the fortitude to continue, and that these herculean efforts will become better rewarded as far as attendance goes.
Enough of my rambling, I'll talk about the show itself!
There was a great array of re-enactors and original uniforms and equipment. Revolutionary War, Civil War, Josh and Chris displayed an amazing variety of WWII uniforms and weapons - I think it pretty rare to be able to see a B.A.R that is not behind glass these days!
The diorama's were superb. Bobby is a real master 1/6th builder, inventive and soooo realistic. Add to that the talents of Wesbo, Joe - and all the others who made contributions - and the results were phenomenal! I hope you will get to see some pictures from others who attended, although there is nothing like seeing this stuff 'in the flesh'!
Cory of Toychest had a very impressive selection of armor and other vehicles - a great display by itself! Several finished pieces and one of Randy's US Half Tracks, looking very, very nice!
Mike Stanard make the trip from Nevada and brought the Metal Box Opel. It was a big effort on his part, and another who was prepared to go the extra mile to support the show and museum project. It is indeed a very nice piece!
I thoroughly enjoyed giving a little seminar, I hope it was useful to those who attended - plenty of chuckles anyway, and it did seem to be enlightening on occasion - I am probably guilty of assuming that more collectors know their way around stuff like this, but it did seem that there was some benifit to the very attentive 'audience'!
All in all it was a pleasure to be there, the spirit of the vendor's and conventioneers was very positive, and keeps feul in my collecting tank.
Special thanks to Alice, Svetlana, Babushka, Oksana, 'Made in Korea', the very talented girl with the amazing dancing buttocks, and what-ever-her name-was, who so delightfully squeezed my last $40 from me before we had to curtail our evening's entertainment. I wish you all well, and my thanks for making an old man (albeit temporarily) happy.
With fond memories of a really GREAT show,
Graham