Last weekend was the annual Rocky Mtn [Model] Train Show, which, for the first time, was held at the National Western Complex, since the Merchandise Mart, where it had been held for decades, was demolished last year, the way that nearly everything I ever loved about this now decaying town has been. I’ll admit that the National Western has also been the site of many a happy memory for me, and its old school “brutalist” functionality now seems almost vintage (the restrooms are still marked “Men” and “Women,” can you imagine? The state legislature better do something about that right quick, never mind that 150%+ increase in crime over the last decade).
Regardless of the venue, the show seemed bigger this year than it had ever been, with more dealers, vendors and models than ever before. And it was a great time, since I got to attend with a good friend and met another there, an “O” scale modeler who lives out on the Eastern plains who helped inspire a lot of what I do.
So, I must have come home with all kinds of goodies, right?
Well, no. Because in spite of the size of the show, there was hardly a slot car in sight! There was one station where a guy had set up an Auto World drag strip, but aside from one vendor who had 4 or 5 dusty 1:43 scale Strombeckers from the ‘70’s, there was nothing for the slot car enthusiast; not a Thunderjet in the place! Very disappointing!
Still, I did get a few things; there was a vendor there with a lot of cool 3D printed wares, and though I thought his prices were extremely high, he did have a good selection of the elusive “S-scale” which approximates 1:64, so I picked up few cool decorations from him. I also found a vendor selling a whole mess of Plasticville classics for a song so I picked up 4 or 5 of those; I’m honestly not sure what I’m even going to do with them, but I’ll think of something. Lastly I did pick up a few Matchboxes and Hot Wheels, including a somewhat rare Lesney transitional Superfast #49 Unimog, which I bagged for a dime!
What I came away with most was ideas; my friend Harrison dropped by my house after the show for a while and we spent some time mulling over ideas for my track diorama in the basement. And I still think about starting from scratch, about retiring DC Mk IV and beginning with a new layout, but I feel like I should do some landscaping around this one before I take that step. I’ve been talking about that forever, of course, but everytime I have the time and money to do something with it I just buy more cars instead! 😀
Well, I’ve bought a LOT of cars lately and its time to hit the brakes on that, so we’ll see what changes await this layout and where I might be able to use some of these cool new buildings.
It was a great day with great friends, meeting new ones, and seeing lots of cool stuff to fire the imagination. It was huge with a ton more O gauge train stuff than previous years. You got some cool things and ideas for Drag City!