Show report, region 14 event here in Saint Louis today

[LSP_K2]

Well, our regional has now come and gone, and I must say that it was a very large disappointment, and in several respects. A. Much of the local vendors, that are nearly always present, were not, for reasons unknown, though vendor participation in general, was pretty decent, as you’d expect at a regional. B. Many of the local personalities, contest entrants and non-contest individuals alike, were also absent, and again for reasons unknown. The largest disappointment however, was the rather pathetic contest entry numbers. For instance, categories that are normally fairly well presented at even our annual event, were way down. Large scale props; three entries total. Large scale jets: two entries total.

 

There was, for me at least, an uptick or two to the show, inasmuch as instead of running my mouth with the dozens of local guys that I know and are usually present, I instead had plenty of time to check out both the vendor area as well as the contest room, which as you’ll see later, did work to my advantage. Regarding the contest room, the lighting was perhaps the poorest I’ve seen in ages, and someone also decided it was a good idea to use black table runners instead of the usual white, making photo taking a real challenge, to say the least.

[LSP_K2]

Now on to the photos. 1:32 and larger props: The B-17 appears to perhaps be the brand new HKM kit? I really have no idea.

 

 

 

[LSP_K2]

The 1:32 and larger jets: What you see is what it was.

 

 

[aircommando130]

Maybe covid had something to do with the low turnout. The big B-17 and B-24 look really good!

 

Cheers....Ron

[LSP_K2]

The one ship model that I actually liked, a 1:200 Nelson, built by the gent in the background, a good friend of mine. (Armor kits, usually fairly dark by their very nature, were almost impossible to make out clearly, so I didn’t bother.)

 

[LSP_K2]

Now on to the goodies: Scott Van Aken seems to invariably have something that I want, but rather than books this time, I snatched these two Barracuda items. Both of these had been on my “wants” list, and I couldn’t pass on the great prices, especially the two 1:24 rocket assemblers (for my big ol’ Airfix Typhoon kit).

 

[LSP_K2]

Last, but certainly not least, also purchased from a good friend that's probably one of the best aircraft modelers in the entire region, I snatched both of these (hold onto your chairs), for $70 total.

 

[Daniel460]

Hey Kevin, it was great to see you there today. And because of your harassing I now have a very large box with a 1/32 scale F-105G in it. So I have three flame throwers in my collection! A F-104C and a F-104 G/S and the Weasel.

 

 Be good......yeah that's not going to happen.....:)

 

 Dan

[LSP_K2]

53 minutes ago, Daniel460 said:

Hey Kevin, it was great to see you there today. And because of your harassing I now have a very large box with a 1/32 scale F-105G in it. So I have three flame throwers in my collection! A F-104C and a F-104 G/S and the Weasel.

 

 Be good......yeah that's not going to happen.....:)

 

 Dan

 

Yes, most excellent to see you (and your wife) again too, Daniel, I get a real kick out of chatting with you two. And the big jets can be addicting. My stash is probably a pretty close 50/50 mishmash of jets and props, though I suspect there may be a few more props.  As to me being good, well if I don't get caught, it's irrelevant.

[LSP_K2]

39 minutes ago, Jennings Heilig said:

Possible that the Delta COVID variant has people rightfully cautious?  

 

That's what we were guessing as a possibility. Either way, the model entries were incredibly low, and the overall quality of work was also significantly down as well, not at all what one might hope for (or expect) at a regional. Hopefully next year we'll be back to what we normally expect from our annual show,... I certainly hope so anyway.