2014 May

May 2014 Exhibition at Tockington Village Hall (Philip Drew)

The 2014 Exhibition was held at Olveston Parish Hall in Tockington, South Gloucestershire on Saturday 3rd May. The exhibition was opened to the public at 10.00 am after an 8.00 am start for club members attending. The turnout of models was very good and a full report is shown below. We were very pleased to welcome Nick Rodgers and Peter Wood from Runnymede Meccano Club who brought their latest models - Mercedes Benz Cement Carrier and Lamborghini Contach. Malcolm Hanson contributed in the back room with one of his usual excellent displays, this time of late 1920’s/early 1930’s No. 5 sets to show how this particular set evolved over a relatively short period of time. Malcolm also displayed his working Eiffel Tower model, limited to 7’ 6” or so to allow him to build it in his lounge.

There was a steady flow of visitors, both young and old who seemed to enjoy their visit as models to suit all ages were on display. One visitor arrived with a near complete early 1950’s No. 10 set in very good condition with some additional items and small sets. This was auctioned after Malcolm Hanson had prepared a ‘contents and condition’ report to save us all counting. The ex-owner went away very happy with her sales proceeds. The Scrapheap challenge (see below) was held about midday with a winning performance from Neil Bedford. The “Best in Show” (Ben Johnson Trophy) was awarded to Philip Drew for his ball lift game, better models being disqualified as they were previous winners! Refreshments were available all day thanks to Lynn Smith and her trusty helpers in the kitchen. The bacon rolls were as popular as ever, as were the cakes. The normal gallons of tea & coffee were consumed. The exhibition closed at 4.00 pm, the hall was cleared and we were on our way soon after 5.00 pm.

We had a good day out for which we are in debt to all our contributors and with particular thanks to Lynn & Richard Smith for their wonderful organisation.

Exhibition Report (Malcolm Hanson)

We had another successful show at Tockington Village Hall in early May with a good range of models for us and the public to enjoy. John Day managed to cram a Fairground Roundabout, a Jones Mobile Crane, a JCB Digger and a JCB fork lift truck into his Triumph 7, but don’t ask me how!  Steve Briancourt had a sort of mobile restoration workshop to demonstrate how he turns “junk” Meccano into pristine building material. Pete Evans had a wealth of models including various stationary and moving steam engines, shop display models and examples of both car and aeroplane constructor models and outfits. Neil Bedford had a good range of vehicle models including his Mog 4-wheel drive device and Gracie the Steam Roller.  The club welcomed two guests from the Runnymede Meccano Club.  Pete Woods came with his wonderful Lamborghini Chassis whilst Nick Rodgers had his equally wonderful Cement Tanker.  Philip Drew entertained the public with three great ball games.  In fact his vertical Ball Rolling Machine was so popular it won him the Ben Johnson cup for best model in show.  David Northcott brought a pair of 30s race cars, a Morgan and an ERA plus a very elegant Long Clock.  Richard Smith had his beautifully engineered Duchess of Hamilton + City of London versions of the famous LMS locomotives.  As usual David Worth managed to pack over 20 small models into his carrying case to entertain us with. Sam Medworth was very “70s Themed Sets” with both outfits and models from the Crane, Army and Combat outfits of the period.  Ralph Clark had a Steam Engine but for once is what not a locomotive but an impressive Twin-Cylinder Stationary Engine.  John Hawkins had not just one but two 20s Supermodels, a Twin Cylinder Steam Engine and a Roundabout and if that wasn’t enough backed these up with a model of the Walking Dragline from the covers of mid-50s manuals.  I contributed my Eiffel Tower (now with lifts) and a display of dark red/green No. 5 Outfits.  This year’s Scrapheap Challenge was won by Neil Bedford whose device shuffled to victory!  All these models, together with videos of proceedings, can be seen here: http://www.nzmeccano.com/image-76161