Some observations we gained from the weekend at the Radnor

Just a couple of insights and observations from our time at the Radnor Concours this weekend. I’d invite your comments:

• The show was a bit exploratory as Brooklin has not had a booth at a show of this caliber before other than our event at The NB Center last year which as successful enough that it encouraged Brooklin to try another event. Brooklin thought there might be some interest on behalf of the 1:1 set. But wasn’t sure. Other companies like B&G Models and Automodello have already learned the lesson about expanding their reach to 1:1 shows and groups. The potential there is also revealed on my YouTube channel. When I can post a video to a full-size group or groups, we sometimes get thousands of views instead of hundreds.
• We tried to present as professional as possible a table. I think it looked good. The simple and inexpensive additions of a formed table cover and some nice frames for our homemade signs, along with a modest banner presented well and we seemed to fit in with the other vendors quite well.
• We tried to greet and chat up everyone who came to our table. There were a few times, not many, when things got a little crowded and we may have missed one.
• Folks were far more interested than we anticipated. They asked intelligent questions and listened carefully to our answers. Furthermore, there was a most surprising number of people who already knew about Brooklin and already had some of our models.
• As I’ve mentioned before, no one balked at the prices. The ones who purchased the engines readily made their decision and were as thrilled as we were when we handed the boxes over to them.
• The younger ones, from under ten through teens, were keen to tell us about their models and what cars they’re going to buy when they start driving. I had one fifteen-year-old young man go on and on about restoring his father’s Bradley GT and replacing the three speed with a five speed. “I’m doing all the work myself.” He proudly stated and added that he would buy a Brooklin Bradly GT today if we had one.

All this to say that our hobby has a future and a larger audience than we might think. We love the folks we meet at the 1/43 shows and gatherings. They are the heart and soul of the hobby. But there are a LOT of people out there that don’t know about the forums, the clubs, the fb pages, newsletters and such. All they know is that they like cars and little models of cars. The more exposure we have to those folks, the healthier our hobby will be. The more time we take with a young one helping him or her (yes, we had young girls come by and spend time) see the wonder in a miniature, the more we build a future for the companies that supply us with our little jewels.

There are a lot of people out there who love and appreciate cars of all sizes. Each one of them can become part of our community if we invite them and make them feel welcome. But some of us, not all of us and not necessarily a lot of us, should be out there spreading the word. We don’t always have to have a table in a show. We can do classroom presentation at schools, have groups over to see our models or take some of them to picnic or local festivals. There are a ton of inexpensive and easy ways we can be ambassadors for our hobby.

If anyone has an interest is attending a local show or gathering and putting up a table, let me know. I can help you make arrangements.