#edenford So I managed to get to Alexandra Palace yesterday, just after lunch. Had a good nose around, saw some great layouts. I didn’t take any pictures, as I had to preserve my battery. I am not meaning to denigrate any of the layouts at all when I say that there are many people on this App posting pictures of their layouts that are definitely at least exhibition quality if not better. Lots of shops too, nice to see the more niche manufacturers with busy stalls. I went mainly to see the DCC Concepts ESP system up close, which didn’t disappoint. Richard and his team were doing a great job of explaining things, I can see this being very useful for block detection and route setting (although need to c/f with the SMS system @Stubby47 - Stu et al are developing). Had a good chat with a guy from Tony’s Trains of Rugby ( @Dylan Sanderson he hadn’t really experienced any issues with the Bachmann V2, thought it a great model). Not sure if it was “Tony” or not but if it was him or his staff then he was great. The stand that really surprised me was the WWS Scenics one. I used to use some of their stuff, but (apart from their fantastic static grass tools) haven’t for a while. Their range has expanded massively and the weathering powders in particular look really good / interesting. Their message on static grass and PVA was that PVA takes so long to dry that it spreads as it dries taking the static grass with it. So please don’t use PVA if you want top results (yes they make / recommend an alternative but the plea was use anyones that isn’t PVA). West Hill Wagonworks was very busy the whole time so I gave up trying to look at couplers. Good for them though, solving a perennial issue. Finally I did make one purchase, not really my region but couldn’t resist at a very good price… Pictures below.

Posted by David N. at 2022-03-20 14:36:38 UTC