Richard Slater’s evocative Titanic diorama display is full of period detail.

In 2013 I missed this general model show and was very much looking forward to this year’s visit. I was not disappointed and it seemed that the show had expanded into further areas of the Brighton Centre.  This year’s theme was to support the work of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and it succeeded brilliantly. The RNLI stand featured an inshore lifeboat and was supported by more lifeboat models that I think I have ever seen in one place, most coming from the Southern Model Lifeboat Society. Anyway, there was a literal sea of orange and blue boats and at one point no less than eight were afloat on the pool together.

There were plenty of other model boats on show on the club stands which included Southwater Dabblers, Warship Squadron, Hove Lagoon MYC, Moorhen MBC, Swiss Cottage MBC Shoreham and Cornwall Showboaters. As usual, Richard Slater’s Titanic proved to be a crowd puller on the pool although the iceberg seemed to be a bit smaller than in previous years, perhaps it had melted!

Two notable large models on display were of the original Queen Mary and the QE2. Both were working models constructed by the late Wilf Burrows of Falmouth MBC and had been brought up from Cornwall by Mick French. Models of this type are rare and working ones even less so and it was a privilege to see work of this quality on show for which thanks to Mick and the Cornwall Showboaters for bringing them all this way.

Model boating trade support was a bit thin on the ground this year but included Mountfleet Models, Hunter Systems, Mastman, plus other traders of interest to model boaters in terms of selling modelling materials etc.

In this magazine we are primarily interested in the model boating content but modellers of any description will appreciate the sheer variety of the exhibits at Brighton which include trains, planes, fairgrounds, doll's houses, r/c vehicles and just about any branch of modelling you care to name, plus of course the Daleks who are very happy to threaten to exterminate you!

Once again, a superb show and not to be missed for all modellers, whatever your particular interests. Look out for details of next year’s show.

Colin

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