SMW (Telford) 2025

[NARSES2]

I find baths more relaxing.  A good wallow with a glass of rum is very relaxing.

Problem is my knees don't like "taking the strain" anymore and my elbows are having to take more and more of the weight as I get in and out 

Should of stopped playing football when the doc' told me to 

[Nick]

I'm looking ahead to next year and it seems likely that I won't be staying in the centre like I have the last 5 years.
Travelodge and Premier Inn are quoting me £500+ for 3 nights in a budget hotel.
My trip to Lisbon is only £440 with flights, parking, insurance and hotel with breakfast included.

I am looking around at other hotels which are offering much better rates even if it means paying a small fee for show parking.

Have you considered an Airbnb? I stayed at a lovely home out at Ironbridge. Took the bus in, £3 each way. Plus, delicious pork pies opposite the Iron Bridge!

That is an option I will consider next year. Quite possible I will be staying in an Airbnb house with my club for under £150 but they won't decide until September and by then hotels are fully booked.
The Mercure reservation is my main plan right now and I can cancel it free if needed.

[Rheged]

Assuming no family alarums and excursions, I'll be driving up from Hereford on the Saturday.

[scautomoton]

I think I will do the same as this year and drive both days. Traffic at the times I was travelling was OK. I just may bring a folding chair for the entry queue on the Saturday.

[PR19_Kit]

........for the entry queue on the Saturday.

Yeah, that's THE main problem for me! Standing there for over an hour holding on to my big model boxes is NOT something I'll do these days. 

[scautomoton]

I may invest in a collapsible trolley for next year. And weld a cheeky seat onto the side too! And maybe a small battery, and then I can put a stereo on it for while I'm sat waiting in the queue. Hmmm........ Everyone loves a bit of AC-DC at full volume at 0830 on a Saturday don't they?.....

[The Wooksta!]

I'd rather have some Joy Division.

[Weaver]

I tried using a folding sack truck a few years back, but the problem is that it transfers every lump and bump on the ground, including knobbly pedestrian crossing surfaces, through to the model boxes in a much harsher way than carrying them. I've gone back to using stacks of 9 litre Really Useful boxes with luggage straps around them. That means you can pick them up, carry them and put them down like suitcases, and they get a much smoother ride as long as you're careful. The risks are 1) they might fall over when they're standing on the ground (solution = be careful), and 2) a luggage strap might break. This happened to me walkinginto Cosford one time, when a plastic luggage strap buckle just snapped without warning. The solution is to use the type of straps that have metal buckles, like miniature versions of ratchet cargo straps.

Of course, this only works for relatively small models. If you have a collection of 1/72nd V-bombers to carry, then you'll have to get more creative.

[Rick Lowe]

Everyone loves a bit of AC-DC at full volume at 0830 on a Saturday don't they?.....

I prefer Cold Chisel, but to each their own...

[Supertom]

I tried using a folding sack truck a few years back, but the problem is that it transfers every lump and bump on the ground, including knobbly pedestrian crossing surfaces, through to the model boxes in a much harsher way than carrying them. I've gone back to using stacks of 9 litre Really Useful boxes with luggage straps around them. That means you can pick them up, carry them and put them down like suitcases, and they get a much smoother ride as long as you're careful. The risks are 1) they might fall over when they're standing on the ground (solution = be careful), and 2) a luggage strap might break. This happened to me walkinginto Cosford one time, when a plastic luggage strap buckle just snapped without warning. The solution is to use the type of straps that have metal buckles, like miniature versions of ratchet cargo straps.

Of course, this only works for relatively small models. If you have a collection of 1/72nd V-bombers to carry, then you'll have to get more creative.

The key is the tires. Inflatable tires provide maximum shock absorption but you're out of luck if you encounter a leak. I noticed that most wagons at SMW used solid/no flat tires, which are indeed harder and transfer almost all vibration up the handles.

[Weaver]

I tried using a folding sack truck a few years back, but the problem is that it transfers every lump and bump on the ground, including knobbly pedestrian crossing surfaces, through to the model boxes in a much harsher way than carrying them. I've gone back to using stacks of 9 litre Really Useful boxes with luggage straps around them. That means you can pick them up, carry them and put them down like suitcases, and they get a much smoother ride as long as you're careful. The risks are 1) they might fall over when they're standing on the ground (solution = be careful), and 2) a luggage strap might break. This happened to me walkinginto Cosford one time, when a plastic luggage strap buckle just snapped without warning. The solution is to use the type of straps that have metal buckles, like miniature versions of ratchet cargo straps.

Of course, this only works for relatively small models. If you have a collection of 1/72nd V-bombers to carry, then you'll have to get more creative.

The key is the tires. Inflatable tires provide maximum shock absorption but you're out of luck if you encounter a leak. I noticed that most wagons at SMW used solid/no flat tires, which are indeed harder and transfer almost all vibration up the handles.

Fair comment, although in the range of sack trucks (2-wheeled, not those folding "festival carts"), fold-up capabilty and pneumatic tires aren't often found on the same product.

Even with pnematic tires, the other thing that affects a truck is tipping. It's very easy to step over a stone or walk past a kerb corner, only to have one wheel of the truck go over it and rock the whole thing from side to side.

[The Wooksta!]

I was given some boxes with wheels some years back, but found that the wheels intruded into the storage space and made it more difficult to fit the expanded polystyrene.  They got swapped for something more useful.

[Weaver]

I was given some boxes with wheels some years back, but found that the wheels intruded into the storage space and made it more difficult to fit the expanded polystyrene.  They got swapped for something more useful.

Yep - spot on. The internal shape and dimensions are more important than the outside ones. That's why I like the Really Useful boxes: they aren't tapered (which only benefits the retailers and carriers, not the user) so what fits at the top fits at the bottom.