Very well put Komata.
Personally, the thing which puts me off is the crowds. I've been to several large exhibitions and have virtually given up because each stand is so crowded (maybe I should have gone on Sunday afternoons).
I now only attend small local shows where you can easily chat to the exhibitors and have time to have a good look at each stand. I am more interested in the scenics rather than train operation (though I do like to see something moving even if it is the same train going round and round).  I do get bored with seeing small shunting layouts with locos moving back and forth moving the same wagons about but that's me. Others love to see that type of operation.
The only draw back living where I do is that the local shows tend to include the same exhibitors in rotation (me included).

for my sixpeneth , the only exibition I attend is at NRM Shildon , and its free entry with a donation box and I always give generaslly ,
The main fault that annoys me is silly little shelf size layouts that shunt from side to side opperators usualy to ignorant to address you with conversation , and worst of all NO trains running , lots of big layouts that goes around and I've yet to see them in action . And sound fitted locos that are too loud and annoying .
Another annoying fault is dim witt opperators fiddeling with electic's because things wont move - this should be sorted before rthe doors are open to the public .

keep up the good work all you exibitors -I've plenty at home to play with 

I do attend a number of shows a year, both as a visitor and exhibitor.

In defence of some exhibitors, i.e. me  , there some challenges when exhibiting - particularly as an overseas modeller.

Something people do forget is that exhibition halls often play havoc with a layout. Often they are humid, increasing as more bodies enter the hall, resulting in also sorts of issues cropping up; boards expanding creating shorts and electrical connections playing up (it is amazing how many people knock against a layout (even with barriers!)). The humidity also means track gets dirty very quickly - the electric current collects grease which attracts dirt. So, the environment of many halls can impact on running; even extremely reliable models such as my Japanese trains.

Age and wear and tear also plays a part - controllers will fail, point motors will die; normally at the most inopportune time! Occasionally a train itself will pack up(don't forget on some of the bigger tail-chasers, trains can clock up huge relative distances in a day (37 circuits of a 16 foot-long layout is approximately 1/4 of a mile - some of my stock on my previous layout could easily cover half a mile in a weekend).

Kanjiyama is an end-to-end layout - that means concentration is required when operating. Operating and talking does result in an occasional derailment, or switching the wrong section. Also, often a show is a weekend after a full week of work - so I'm tired and towards the end of the second day mistakes will crop up.

I have a sense of humour, but do get bored with the layout being knocked and lots of earthquake jokes ensuing...after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, it was amazing quite how many 'witty' comments were made about it - particularly when pointing at the baseboard join. Over 15,000 people died as a result; chortle! I am also well aware of Japan's less than honourable war record - I do not care to discuss it; suffice to say the questioner is often in possession of a Canon camera or such like.

There are naturally a good many more UK outline layouts than overseas, and I like all trains irrespective of era/country/region etc., but I do get bored with large numbers of the same thing at shows - basically BR steam and green. It does seem to me that a pretty average UK layout will always get preference over much higher quality overseas models - and there are some absolute crackers out there. One show does stick in my mind, where there was an okay 00 layout with a crowd of enthusiasts crowding around a Hornby Merchant Navy, but next door and infinitely better (in all respects IMHO) Col. Stephens type layout was virtually ignored - despite having plenty of activity. It seems many enthusiasts don't like something different!

Very well put across, Claude, especially the bit about mainly UK outline which is why I established the media galleries for any Japanese and North American layouts I see at shows as many of these are worth a long look.

I have attended many (and now exhibited at a few) Australian shows, and much the same can be said. 

Each country seems to have its own customs and fashions for exhibition layout types.  Down here in Oz we usually get fairly balanced mixes, typically 40% Australian prototype, 20% UK, 20% the rest (US, Europe, Japan) and 20% other (Lego, tinplate, roads, LGB, etc).  By far the commonest layout type is continuous run with one station in front, storage roads in back, and operating well in the middle.  And yes, this does tend to get repetitive - a large exhibition can have several layouts of this type that tend to blur together in both perception and memory.  Even though most of them are of a good standard, I will usually move on quickly, often after that same brief 10-15 seconds.  That is usually more than enough time to see if there is anything unusual and worth lingering over.

The key is having a good variety - nationality, scale, size, concept, operation.  The occasional layout showing a bit of originality really tends to stand out from the pack and draw good crowds, recent examples being standard types done to an exceptional standard, a big octagonal layout built on a continuous gentle curve, a WW2 layout done all in black-and-white, an operating hump yard, a large scale logging operation which actually loads and unloads the logs, etc.

With a wide enough variety, there is a good chance of finding one or two layouts that you like, and that is enough to make the visit worthwhile.

martink

We seem to have a similar situation across the ditch.  BTW, and FWIW, my wife accompanies me to most of my exhibitions and when bored goes wandering around to inspect other layouts.

She is 'railway neutral' and has no favourites (no, not even mine),  She does however have one criteria when viewing.  This is 'Does the layout tell a story?'  If not, she moves on.

Submitted for what it's worth. I believe it's worth considering...

Indeed. I probably wasn't 100% clear, but a circuit on 16' layout is at least 32'. Including the curves that makes it approx 34' travelled in a single lap.

Edit: post I was replying to has gone...

This is an interesting thread, with good points on all sides but I want to throw my tuppence in for those of us who maybe get to go to one maybe two shows a year (I've not been for ages but I'm going to Timgs this year after having to miss it last year)

When I enter wherever I am, I'm like a kid, part of me can critically evaluate the lasts and sort through my preferences for different eras and countries, but the majority of my brain is screaming OMG TRAINS!!!! And I wander around in an ecstatic daze as it brings home to me that there are other people like me and that I'm in a room full of what I love

So I am totally stoked about TINGS and may even be brave enough to find NGF members to say hi to this year (I'm very much the lone wolf modeller)

Graham

i think one problem you have with layouts these days, is alot of peoples ideas have already been made! so we are limited to what we can make, and there alot of modellers like myself who no matter how hard we try couldnt scratchbuild anything if we wanted!

so the easiest thing for us to do, is theme it off somewhere and use buildings already available in kit for such as metcalfs etc. for us we still feel like we have made something of quality which we are proud of!

what annoys me when i go to exhibitions with my layout, yes mine isnt the best modelled, as im an amature! but love to show off my layout as im proud of it, but you get garunteed 10 people at each show slate me for how bad it looks compared to a different layout.

1-i dont care if its not as good as theres!
2-these people dont seem to give a toss about how much effort and time we put into it
3-they dont know the story behind buidling it

at great central i had to walk away for an hour due to someone slating me on the layout because it wasnt as good as theirs or someone elses! if you dont like it, go away! if you dont like the look of a exhibition, do go! but dont at any point comment on peoples modelling capabilities!

I may have started this thread off very negatively, but after what the above has said, I would like to make it very clear I would never EVER slag off someone's layout either on a forum, or face to face on an individual basis.  I know people put lots of effort, time and money into their layouts, and I should remind myself of that sometimes.

I just feel that there's nothing new out there to see.  I must be getting too old for this hobby....

Andy

Portland docks

Re: 'you get garunteed 10 people at each show slate me for how bad it looks compared to a different layout'.

Yet when asked to produce pics or discuss their OWN efforts. have you noticed that these self-same people suddenly find other things to do, especially if you ask them to 'put up or shut up'?.  Because of the odd things that I do with 'N', I've not experienced THAT specific form of abuse (because that is, I have come to believe, what it is; with the abuser doing-so to make THEM feel good and 'superior'), although there are others I can assure you.  It says more about the people making the statements than about you.  Thankfully, the 'General Public' tend to have a more 'open minded' viewpoint. Knowing nothing about the finer points of brick courses or that one rock is out of place in a remote corner of a local quarry, they they are usually just pleased to see what you've done, so I tend to play to them in my presentations.   And if all else fails, may I suggest that the 'Event Organiser' thought that your work was good enough to be seen in public, and view that as a  compliment, that your layout is totally unique, and that ultimately, the whole point of what you've done is to have FUN; you're just been lucky enough to be able to 'play' in public'. : )    

Texhorse

Re: 'I just feel that there's nothing new out there to see.  I must be getting too old for this hobby....

That, sir, I would doubt, and anyway, ultimately who cares?  You've done what YOU want to do, and are happy with your efforts, and that is I believe the point of the exercise; to have and do what you want since you only have to satisfy YOURSELF - not some right charlie whom you'll probably never see again and who is 'all hat and no horse'!!!. To paraphrase the famous well-known moto: 'Don't let the rivet-counters' get you down'.

Hoping that this helps you both; Happy modelling...

Quote from: Komata on August 27, 2015, 06:49:57 PM
Portland docks

Re: 'you get garunteed 10 people at each show slate me for how bad it looks compared to a different layout'.

Yet when asked to produce pics or discuss their OWN efforts. have you noticed that these self-same people suddenly find other things to do, especially if you ask them to 'put up or shut up'?.  Because of the odd things that I do with 'N', I've not experienced THAT specific form of abuse (because that is, I have come to believe, what it is; with the abuser doing-so to make THEM feel good and 'superior'), although there are others I can assure you.  It says more about the people making the statements than about you.  Thankfully, the 'General Public' tend to have a more 'open minded' viewpoint. Knowing nothing about the finer points of brick courses or that one rock is out of place in a remote corner of a local quarry, they they are usually just pleased to see what you've done, so I tend to play to them in my presentations.   And if all else fails, may I suggest that the 'Event Organiser' thought that your work was good enough to be seen in public, and view that as a  compliment, that your layout is totally unique, and that ultimately, the whole point of what you've done is to have FUN; you're just been lucky enough to be able to 'play' in public'. : )    

Texhorse

Re: 'I just feel that there's nothing new out there to see.  I must be getting too old for this hobby....

That, sir, I would doubt, and to paraphrase the famous phrase: 'Don't let the rivet-counters' get you down'.

Hoping that this helps. Happy modelling...

Your quite right!

I basically tell them now if they have nothing good to say move on

Portland-docks, for myself I don't care if rooms are so detailed that you can read the papers on the station masters' desk or that every tree is at exactly the same scale height that it was on 21st July, 1963 at 3 pm that afternoon! (OK, a bit exaggerated, but some people do (almost) take it to those lengths.
Then, usually, they go and spoil it all by 'playing trains' with 'Rule One' operation! 
Good luck to them, if that's what they want but I don't want to see it. To me stretching Rule One to breaking point is running a Class 14 on a layout set in 1970, which I do only to run examples of all the Hydraulics.
To me, what matters, is that I am seeing a railway as it is/was and therefore so long as all the stock matches the date it's supposed to be set and the layout is operated correctly (signals, where working, are obeyed, for example) then all is well and the layout WILL hold my attention.
Even if the interiors of the houses are empty, road traffic doesn't move and, in general, the modelling is no better than I can do myself.
I would most likely find a layout like yours more interesting than many a 'Railway of the Month' which I have seen in the flesh. Keep up the good work  .
Best wishes,
Greg.

WP

Re: 'Then, usually, they go and spoil it all by 'playing trains' with 'Rule One' operation!'

This is of course where Freelance modellers such as myself have it over the 'prototypers', (and can cause them immense puzzlement BTW), BUT even we have to be able to produce something that is feasible, realistic and conforms to certain basic railway criteria, along with all the other scenery, era type matters that go to make up any model railway anyway.  THAT I can assure you is not easy, and , since we (as freelancer's)  have to 'imagine and invent' everything out of the metaphorical 'thin air' without reference to libraries, magazines photos etc. doing-so actually requires an effort which is probably beyond that required to model 'existing, actual, full-size prototype... 

It's an interesting field to work in (and usually fun - except sometimes )

Quote from: Komata on August 28, 2015, 07:28:39 AM
WP

Re: 'Then, usually, they go and spoil it all by 'playing trains' with 'Rule One' operation!'

This is of course where Freelance modellers such as myself have it over the 'prototypers', (and can cause them immense puzzlement BTW), BUT even we have to be able to produce something that is feasible, realistic and conforms to certain basic railway criteria, along with all the other scenery, era type matters that go to make up any model railway anyway.  THAT I can assure you is not easy, and , since we (as freelancer's)  have to 'imagine and invent' everything out of the metaphorical 'thin air' without reference to libraries, magazines photos etc. doing-so actually requires an effort which is probably beyond that required to model 'existing, actual, full-size prototype... 

It's an interesting field to work in (and usually fun - except sometimes )

What I mean by 'playing trains' is running an express just seconds behind a Class 9 goods rather than keeping the goods looped for the express to run ahead, ignoring signals, putting vacuumed braked only locos on modern, air braked stock (or vice versa), running unbraked goods trains without a brake van, running Virgin Voyagers (or other modern stock) on a layout where steam is predominant - that kind of thing spoils the whole layout (for me, anyway). A solitary steam/'heritage' diesel hauled excursion in the 2000s is acceptable, but not modern stock in the 1960s or earlier.
I suppose I have been a rail enthusiast/professional railwayman for too many years to find it 'acceptable' to my mind.