2010 Chicago O Scale Meet

Attended the Chicago O Scale Meet on Saturday, March 13th.

Two-fold mission, looking for goodies to buy, and our first semi-formal meeting/get-together for our new Chicago area modular traction club (Separate post to follow)

Hadn't been to the meet in a couple of years, having focused most of my modeling of late on the large scale stuff. The meet is in a new location, nicely laid out, very well attended from what I saw, and it is truly kid-in-a-candy-store time. All the stuff that no one hobby shop could ever hope to have in stock, all the odd-ball, obscure stuff that you wonder about when you see a magazine ad or something on-line, all laid out to peruse, fondle, drool over, and hopefully for the dealers,, to be purchased ! And of course, so many rare, dare we say collectible, pieces as well.

Like Christmas in March really

I was able to curb my usual impulses, there wasn't anything that I couldn't truly live without, although a NWSL GE 45 ton center cab caught my eye. The dealer wasn't set to take plastic and it was just too nasty out to make the effort to go find an ATM and come back with cash. All's well that ends well,
Rich Yoder has a couple of his 45 tonners left

(and they're more accurate to AEFRE #5),
so I'll get one of his instead.

Some nice stuff in the contest room, this engine house has some

really nice stonework and detailing

Likewise, this scene was well built and detailed, photos don't do it the justice it deserves

I'm a crappy reporter, didn't take names or details, but I know this will all be well represented in an upcoming issue of O Scale News

Amongst the highlights of the day was getting to meet Dave Miecznikowksi of Clever Models.

Dave markets a line of model kits and supplies designed to be printed on cardstock. Again, pictures don't do this stuff justice, you have to get up close and see it to beleive it. And as Dave notes, the cost is so much less than if this were urethane models or something more "traditional"

A couple shots of the Clever Models display below.

The traction category was well represented in the model contest,
with about a half dozen entries

In the passenger car category was this Walthers combine, done in South Shore colors, really a nicely done car, takes a lot to get the old Walthers cars to look this nice.

All in all a good show, well spent day.

Got to meet a lot of people face to face who previously had either been just well-known "names", or online contacts. In particular Ed Skuchas, from Berskshire Car Shops, really one of the nicest guys you can ever meet, and very willing to share his extensive knowledge and experiences.

We also had our first semi-formal get together for the newly formed Chicagoland O Scale Modular Club. Dave was gracious enough to offer his display as a meeting point, and from there

we adjourned to the hallway for a bit more quiet and privacy.

Check the next blog post for details.