Hard to believe another Craftsman Structure Show is behind us, the third no less. Needless to say, the fourth CSS event is already in the works. Jimmy, Scott and I are meeting this week to get things going; to see how we can improve the show some more. You've probably already heard either at the show or on the forums how great it was to have a small army of volunteers helping us out. It's worth repeating; thanks for the help! It made for a smooth, well oiled operation.The fact that it's a three day show meant there was time to actually see the show, walk around and peruse everything. It was refreshing to see so many new products from the vendors. A couple come to mind...from Crow River Products was an O Scale Automatic Steam Engine (pic above). I had to pick this one up. I've been quietly getting interested in steam engines and thought this would be a great place to jump in, and the mini scene Leo created was a big inspiration. I'd like to replicate something similar. It's a detailed project, but small enough that I can see it actually getting completed.
Seaport Model works displayed some new work barges. Dave Krakow of Vector Cut brought a diorama based on a Bernice Abbott photo where nothing in the photo was left out - truly amazing. Lasermodeling 3 showed off their first new kit, an impressive 3 foot coal dock. Jim Harr of Stella Scale Models had his newest kit releases. Those are just a few examples. The best part about the show is seeing so much good work in one place and meeting up with so many people with a common interest.
So now time for a break...aside from shipping some outstanding orders, not much to do this week. Walking around the show, seeing all this cool stuff, I would say to myself, I should start a layout...then I remembered I did start a layout...it's just been neglected for a few months. So I dusted off some track this morning and held a brief operating session ( pic above)...and kicked around some ideas for what I'll do next. I'll keep you posted.
