Checking out the Dealers...The dealer-contest room opened at noon the day I attended the Expo. There actually were two rooms of vendors and a third small room that you could see how a kit was made. This room was called the Kit Factory. It was a rare opportunity to seen first hand how craftsman kits are manufactured. Metal spin casting, resin casting, mold making and laser cutting was demonstrated. The kit makers were busy answering questions when I walked through...not something you would normally see at a show, but it did give me a good insight to what is involved.
Almost all the dealers had finished display models. Some dealers also had part built kits which gives you a good idea what is involved during construction. Along with the structure vendors a good amount of building detail parts was available from vendors such as Northeastern Scale Lumber Co, Tichy, and Sylvan Models to name a few.
When I registered at the front desk I was given a yellow bag loaded with flyer's, booklets, videos and scale rulers. There also were coupons in the bag to get free stuff when visiting the vendors tables. Well some of the freebies had $20 price tags on them. When you finally collected all the goodies up your bag was over half full...think they wanted to leave some room for the kits you buy in the bag. I think there was at least $100 worth of modeling details and kits. I have included a photo of my stash laid out when I got home. The DVD's I received were one from FOS scale Models and the Expo layout tour video of George Sellios - Franklin and South Manchester RR. Registrants all got to visit George's layout at designated scheduled times. Visitors were not allowed to take photos, which was a good thing because that would take away from the experience. George was at the door to greet you and welcome you in. What a great layout to visit, one of the highlight of my weekend.
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| HO scale Sheepscot Model Kits built up on display. |
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| more Sheepscot Kits... |
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| Atlantic Scale Modelers O scale boat kit. |
There were a lot of dealers, too many to remember them all. But I do recall the sponsors of this event, BEST, FOS Scale Models, RailroadKITS and Atlantic Scale Modelers. I put my pocket Canon camera to work recording some of the models that interested me. Some I have kits of already and was interested in a few detailed photos to work from. Other photos I took were of models I am considering building and some were just nice kits to look at. Well here is a small selection of what I saw...or as I should call it "the dealers kit premier".
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| RailroadKITS HO scale wood and plaster gas station kit. This is a very impressive kit. I found RailroadKITS kit prices to be some of the best at the show. They also had a good selection of cast plaster detail parts. |
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| Sea Port Model Works display module of boat kits offered. They also have a good selection of boat detail parts. The lighthouse is a kit that will also be offered shorty. |
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| Creative Laser Design big barn model. The prototype of this barn is from Lyndon Center, Vt. It burned down in the 1960's. These kits are the least detailed but are very well priced and fill the needs of Northern Vermont area structures. I have this model that I plan to build as a foreground structure with a few added details and new roofing slate or tar paper. It will be used to hide the hole through the wall leading to Bellows Falls, Vermont. |
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| BEST Bolinger Edgerly Scale Trains model of the large green barn that was used for storage in the town of Lincoln, NH. By now you probably know I favor large barns. BEST has a very nice selection of prototype correct structures that cover all of New England. They also have a nice selection of pewter detail parts and roofing material. I stocked up on the tar paper roofing sheets which was their deal. |
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| Prototype photo for model below located in Massachusetts. |
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| Winchendon Machine Co. a 14" by 6" building offered by Laser Modeling 3. This building includes interior details such as office furniture, drafting boards and working lighting. The prototype is still standing less than 25 miles away from the show. This is a kit I am seriously thinking of building as a diorama display. |
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