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Three UK sellers with a fourth unknown but non-UK seller. There were vendors and visitors from far and wide.

       

Including Giovanni Montiglio, Armando Bizzotto and Linda Lise of Thunderslots, who are discussing the finer points of their latest release with a couple of interested parties.

               

Weevils setting up. They had a number of my favourite Pioneer Legends, (R.H. pic) including some Dealer Specials at good prices. I was tempted but not for too long as my wallet was already complaining by the time I'd spotted them.  

     

..... and that's a wrap   (Part of SCS's digital track scenery.)

[Bazzer]

Thanks for the 6 part photo report, very good.

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Cheers. I thought it might be OTT but ..... 

[CMOTD]

Excellent stuff Doug. Thanks for sharing.

[Scuderia_Turini]

Cheers Doug, thank you for sharing the photographs. What is your overall impression of this year compared to previous? Has it suffered or benefited from the lockdown period?

Leo

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Mm? Crowds, vendors and displays all seemed to be down on numbers but the enthusiasm was still there in spades.  

Inevitable that it should start off a bit smaller than before, given the impact of Covid and the cost of diesel and petrol. Habits have been broken, priorities changed, some small businesses may have disappeared and the hobbyist exhibitors may be finding it difficult to justify the cost of travel BUT ......

Against that background you have to applaud Julie and Roger for ploughing on regardless.

It went ahead ..... and it worked too.

The buzz was soon back and it proved very successful. 

We're already looking forward to next year. 

P.S. Picked up some great cars too!

[CMOTD]

Seemed busier than usual to me but I usually go on a Sunday when it is a bit quieter so a Saturday visit this time may have given me a false impression. There was certainly a very healthy queue first thing and the car park was pretty full by 09:30.

All the vendors I spoke to were very happy with their sales figures, it was quite a scrum round their tables and Mark Scales reckoned attendance was not far off pre-pandemic. A few previous regulars were absent but there were several new ones, although I sensed some shortfall of the non-profit exhibitors.

The layout had been changed with the swapmeet stalls spread round the building instead of crammed into one end which evened out the people attending.

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Certainly the dynamic seemed to have changed. 

We found Saturday quieter - more adults out to do some serious wallet bashing, so less of the cruising around the displays - but Sunday for us was REALLY busy. There seemed to be a lot more families looking for entertainment, so that's where we non-profit (all cost to us!) 'sideshows' came in.

Back in 2018 the HO Zone was dead from 1pm-ish on the Sunday so we were all surreptitiously packing away from 2pm onwards.

This time we were busy right to the death.

[Gpa113]

Having attended every Gaydon event bar 2, and having been present at both the Brooklands and Donnington events which lead to the current site, I thought it was an excellent day out.

Yes, crowds did seem down a bit, and smaller sellers appeared to be less, but for the first event back after 2 missed years it must be considered a big success. 

The new layout worked really well.  Sometimes it's good to just change the overall layout,  as it refreshes the feel of the event. 


It was certainly busy at 10am Saturday,  everyone looking for bargains,  or that particular special item! 
I grabbed 4 lovely Herpa vintage grandstands,  which needed minor glueing,  but look fab.
A visit to Pendle's stand resulted in 4 lovely resin body shells, including a great looking MGB GT, new out?
A couple more resin bodies,  including a Riley Elf,  and a brilliant looking Cafe from Magnetic racing also went into the bag.
Only one car, which is a record for me, an SCX BMW M3 GT. 

The Track competition this year was 6 layouts. 
2 x digital,  1x HO, 1 x rally, 1 x drag strip and the awesome Four Lane Blacktop routed track.
The ThinkScalextric rally stage was superbly built. Amazing detail, and all based around a working 1/32 ski lift. It was a custom build for the Swiss Tourism board,  and was a credit to our hobby.  Unfortunately the car and controller, combined with no sections of straight track meant it was simply a pig to drive. Nowhere close to Hubs amazing Flat over crest, which is a proper drive. 

Slot track Scenics had an awesome digital track, based on the Austrian Red Bull track apparently.  Massive elevation changes, and super cool. But of course digital meant Stock car racing, so much contact! 

The HO track was fabulous.   Incredibly fast.  We spent a while chatting with Andy on the stand, and getting a better idea of the system. 
The second digital track, Hyspeed I believe?, was really interesting,  with different choices of route available.   Great to race, but again,  plenty of bumper work! 

The Four Lane Blacktop routed track was superb.  The handout ScaleAuto Dodge Vipers the guys were given were super quick, but the rear tyres struggled for grip. I loved it, and got a really good time and lap count out on the red lane.  

Mr D was back with held incredible Drag strip.  All 3 of us took part in the Saturday competition,  with club member Andy reaching the Final. His reaction time was brilliant,  and he was clearly leading,  but he had drawn the slower black car, and the slower starting red car passed him with ease. Unlucky,  as if the cars were equal he would have won.  The top 3 all received lovely Scalextric Ford Capri limited edition models, liveried for the UK Slot car Festival,  with Drag champ on the rear quarters,  plus the overall finishing position on the roof.  Very collectable.

At 15.45 I was still 2nd overall on the leader board, with Andy 9th.   We went to look around the museum,  and I completely forgot to go back and see if I had won a prize or not. In previous years you needed to be there at the prize giving,  or you missed out.  Doh!!
Very happy to be that high up anyway. 
I love the variety of tracks available to race on. My first taste of a routed layout was at Gaydon,  and it inspired me to build my own.
Without all the layouts it would be just like most other swap meets, but on a grander scale.   So a Huge Thank you to all who provided tracks.  I hope you all enjoyed it.

We eventually had to leave the museum at 17.00, as they wanted to go home!
A great day, so nice to be back, and can't wait for next year 

[Scuderia_Turini]

Mm? Crowds, vendors and displays all seemed to be down on numbers but the enthusiasm was still there in spades.  

Inevitable that it should start off a bit smaller than before, given the impact of Covid and the cost of diesel and petrol. Habits have been broken, priorities changed, some small businesses may have disappeared and the hobbyist exhibitors may be finding it difficult to justify the cost of travel BUT ......

Against that background you have to applaud Julie and Roger for ploughing on regardless.

It went ahead ..... and it worked too.

The buzz was soon back and it proved very successful. 

We're already looking forward to next year. 

P.S. Picked up some great cars too!

As you say, the world has changed a lot since the last episode. The plus is that real enthusiasts will still attend and participate and buy. The casual visitors who just look around and don't buy anything would think twice about travelling.  Perhaps the gate-money might be down, but the organisers are all vendors so they may have come out ok on balance.

Leo