The Last Hurrah, signing off.

The Midland Expo series of annual shows which started in 1994, presented by IPMS Birmingham and, until 2003, in partnership with the Universal Modelling Society of Birmingham (UMS),  has now come to an end.

Over the years the show has been held at two venues, initially at the Leasowes Sports Centre, then after a hiatus of seven years between 2004 and 2010, at Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre in 2011, before returning to the Leasowes in 2014. Over those years we have made many friends and contacts, had a lot of great times, as well as a few tense moments when things looked like they were about to unravel.

I would like to thank all of those who have supported Midland Expo throughout its existence, the Clubs, Special Interest Groups and the traders. Not forgetting the visitors who have parted with their money to come along and enjoy the show. Also a special mention for Chris Bennett and his staff at Leasowes Sports Centre for their enthusiasm and commitment to making the show a success.

And finally I need to recognise the immense contribution of our own IPMS Birmingham membership in organising the show both during the preparation and on the show days themselves, without their contributions the show could never have happened.

For details of this year's show including the competition results please go to the Midland Expo 2017 "The Last Hurrah" page.

This website will remain available on-line as a historical record of the show, the Facebook page will remain active for a short while but will be closed down in the near future and any further references to the show will be carried on the IPMS Birmingham Facebook page.

Roland Turner

Chairman IPMS Birmingham

Into the final straight!

Yes, there is now less than a week to go!

Image from the IPMS Birmingham newsletter urging

members to volunteer for duties on the day.

All the arrangements have been made, T,s crossed and I,s dotted. All the trade spaces have now been taken but we do have a couple of exhibitor slots available for any latecomers - if your club or SIG want to come along please contact Matt via the Exhibitors Page, Unfortunately one trader, Alley Cat has had to cancel owing to personal reasons.

The show timetable has been updated here, as have the directions here. 

Briefings will be sent out via email to all exhibitors and traders in the next couple of days.

The only thing we can't arrange is the weather, according to the forecast, on Sunday we should have light cloud and moderate temperatures, which would be ideal.

Please note: 

Leasowes Sports Centre, being on school premises is now a smoke free site i.e. no smoking anywhere in the grounds, which means anyone wanting to smoke will have to go to the front gate.

Lists of Traders and Exhibitors.

Lists of Traders and Exhibitors attending Midland Expo 2017 "The Last Hurrah" are now available on their respective pages of this website. In some cases we are awaiting confirmation and would be grateful if the representatives of those clubs, SIGs and traders would get in touch us. Also if you have sent a booking but do not appear on the appropriate list please contact the relevant booking secretary show at the top of each page.

Links:


Trader Page.

Exhibitor Page.

Remaining Trade and Exhibitor space.

Following the expiry of the the priority booking period there are still some spaces available at Midland Expo 2017 “The Last Hurrah” for both traders and exhibitors (clubs and SIGs). Remaining spaces will be allocated on a first come-first served basis so it is recommended that any clubs or traders wanting to attend submit their bookings as quickly as possible.

To download invitations/booking forms please click on the following links:

Traders;

Midland Expo 2017 “The Last Hurrah” Trader invitation and booking Form.

Exhibitors (clubs and SIGs);

MidlandExpo 2017 “The Last Hurrah” Exhibitor invitation and bookingform.

Midland Epo 2017 "The Last Hurrah"

As many will already know, this year's show will be the last ever Midland Expo, hence the tag-line "The Last Hurrah". The reasons are explained in the statement from IPMS Birmingham's Chairman, reproduced below.

The preparations for the show are now well advanced, with priority invitations having gone out to traders and exhibitors (Clubs and SIGs) who have supported us in recent years. If you are in this category but have not yet received an in invitation please contact the individuals shown below. The priority invitations are valid until the end of April after which any unbooked space will be made available to all-comers on a "first come, first served" basis.


Booking contacts:

Traders; Roland Turner - chairman.ipmsbirmingham@gmail.com


Exhibitors; Matt Nicholls - midlandexpoexhibitor@gmail.com

IPMS Birmingham Chairman's statement.

30^th November 2016

Following this year's Midland Expo (2016) the Branch Committee and Show Management Team undertook, as usual, an analysis of the event and came to the realisation that, for various reasons, the show would become untenable within a very few years.

From a financial standpoint we have seen a year by year reduction in returns from the show and can predict that there will come a time in the not too distant future when it will start to become loss making. Inevitably costs rise each year which can only be offset by increasing trader fees and entrance prices which we feel would be counterproductive.

Separate to the financial considerations there is also the availability of the organisers. Put simply we are an ageing group - of the six of us involved this year only two are under sixty and none under fifty - I am pleased to add that Karl Robinson has since come on board for the final year which redresses the balance a little. None-the-less it does mean that a substantial proportion of the organising team are either retired, semi-retired or nearing retirement, and while that might be expected to give them more free time, in reality most have plans or commitments that mean that they will have less time to devote to running the show.

Other factors include recent and possible future changes to legislation regarding public events and ensuring our organisers and members are properly protected against legal action and covered by public liability insurance.

Given the above and not wishing Midland Expo to fade away ignominiously we took the positive decision to have one last show – Midland Expo 2017 with tag-line (Competition Secretary George Green's suggestion) “The Last Hurrah”.

Roland Turner

Chairman IPMS Birmingham.

Best in show, Midland Expo 2016

Post show review.

So, Midland Expo is over for another year and the organisers are now taking a well earned rest for a few days. There are of course a few jobs to be done such as producing a final set of accounts to see if it was all worthwhile financially. We will then have to review the show and start look forward to what we are going to do next year.

Meanwhile our friends at Leicester Modellers have arlready published a review of the show on their own website, complete with a photo gallery.

Less than two weeks to go.

With less than two weeks to go until Midland Expo 2016 thing are finally coming together.

We have a full compliment of clubs and Special Interest Groups (SIGs), for a full list go to the Exhibitors Page.

Meanwhile the almost complete list of traders can be found on the Traders Page. At this stage we are just awaiting confirmation from one trader to compete the list.

Midland Expo 2016 flyers now available.

 
The Midland Expo 2016 flyers have been printed and will be available at Scale ModelWorld.

Date for Midland Expo 2016 announcement.

IPMS Birmingham is pleased to announce that Midland Expo 2016 will take place on Sunday 31st July 2016.

The venue will once again be Leasowes Sports Centre, Kent Road, Halesowen. B62 8PJ.

Club/SIG and trader invitations will be sent out in the near future to regular supporters.

One Week to Midland Expo 2015

With just a week to go until this year's Midland Expo everything is now in place for the show to take place.

 A timetable of the day's activities can be viewed on the Timetable page or alternatively be downloaded as a PDF.

As announced in a previous post this year's show is being dedicated to the memory of our old friend Bill Nicholls who passed away in May, he was a long standing, indeed a founder member of IPMS Birmingham and there will be a special display of his models along with photographs commemorating his life.

There is also the new feature, the Social Media Modellers Meet, Greet and Display Area, which we hope will prove to be popular with those people who interact with each other via forums and the likes of Facebook and Twitter.

Details of the clubs, SIGs and traders attending can be found on the Exhibitors and Traders pages.

The car parking will be once again marshaled by our members with assistance from the centre's staff, we would ask that visitors be considerate and park as close as is practical to the next vehicle thus maximising the space available. There are three parking areas on site, the front car park for traders and exhibitors, the side park for IPMS Birmingham members and exhibitors and the rear car park for visitors. There is also an off-site overflow car park which visitors will be directed to should the rear car park become full. Please also note that there are disabled spaces in the front car par which should not be used unless you have the relevant badge.  Centre staff will also be asking for small voluntary donations from visitors which will go towards the upkeep of the centre figures in the region of 20 to 50 pence have been suggested.

We look forward to seeing many of our old friends and meeing a good many new ones, until next Sunday, see you there.

New feature at Midland Expo 2015

We are pleased to announce a new and unique feature for this year's show, at a meeting with the Leasowes Sports Centre manager in the past week it was agreed that a Meet, Greet and Display Area will be available for members of social media modelling groups.

The Social Media Modellers Meet, Greet and Display Area will be located on the mezzanine floor adjacent to the café overlooking the smaller hall/competition area with seats and tables available for people who mostly interact with other modellers via social media; e.g Facebook and Twitter, to meet up and if they wish, display and discuss their models. There are no restrictions on using the area other than you will need to pay the show admission fee, unless you are with one of the displaying exhibitors and have been issued with a pass. We would ask that users act reasonably and do not flood the tables with their models, we suggest two or three maximum depending on size.

Please note that the area will be available during the whole time that the show is open to the public - from 10.00 to 16.00. However people  are free to come and go as they wish, so if there is someone you particularly want to meet up with it is recommended that you make individual arrangements beforehand. Also be aware that any models on display will also be visible to the general public and while "Please do no touch the models" signs will be in place and stewards in attendance the organisers cannot accept any responsibility for any damage to them.

We hope this facility will prove popular with visitors to Midland Expo 2015 and if successful will continue in future years.

Spam emails from Go Displays

It has come to our attention that spam emails are being sent to exhibitors by a company in Peterborough called Go Displays using the Midland Model Expo 2015 title implying that they have an official connection with the show (example below).

At the bottom of the email there is a link "Why am I receiving this?" which opens the following screen in your browser, again misleadingly implying a formal connection with Midland Expo 2015.

Please be aware that this company has no connection whatsoever with IPMS Birmingham, the organisers of Midland Expo 2015, neither have they been given permission to use the title of the show nor any variation of it.

A "Cease and desist" letter will be going out to the Company Secretary of Go Displays in the next week, meanwhile exhibiting Branch Secretaries and SIG Leaders  please delete any emails you receive from this company.

Midland Expo 2015 to be dedicated to the memory of Bill Nicholls

Following the sad news of the death of one of IPMS Birmingham's longest seving members, Bill Nicholls, it has been decided to dedicate this year's show to his memory.

 

Bill was always a staunch supporter of both IPMS Birmingham and the society at a national level. In recent years he had been in failing health and passed away on Wednesday 20th May.

Midland Expo 2015

We now have confirmation that the Leasowes Sports Centre is available for our preferred date - Sunday 26th July 2015 and can announce that Midland Expo 2015 will be taking place as planned.

One week to go!

Midland Expo 2014 is now just a week away and the last minute arrangements are all now in place.

Last week the show committee had a meeting with the Leasowes Sports Centre Manager who has proved to be very helpful and co-operative, both he and the staff are evidently keen to see the show a success.

The centre are undertaking the catering arrangements, there will be a café in the former bar area upstairs with additional tables & chairs in the adjacent balcony area. Additionally there will be two more food stalls at ground level, one of which will be a "Samosa Stand" which we are planning to locate in the small hall/gymnasium so please go along and try these spicy delicacies.

Timetable

Please note that, as in previous years, we are staggering the set-up allowing traders into the hall first followed by clubs & SIGs to help relieve congestion.

• 07.00 - Traders admitted to hall for set-up, vehicles may be offloaded near to the access doors and then moved to the far side of the front car park

• 08.30 - Clubs and SIGs have access to halls, once unloaded cars to be parked in remaining spaces in the front and then the side car parks.

• 10.00 - Show opens to general (paying) public, parking on the rear car park.

• 10.00 to 13.00 - Competition registration. For classes and rules please go to the competition page.

• 13.15 Judges' briefing.

• 13.30 - 14.30 Competition Judging.

• 15.30 -16.00 Presentation of awards.

• 16.00 Show closes, public to vacate halls.

• 16.00 - 18.00 Knockdown, traders and clubs to vacate halls.

• 18.00 Centre handed back to management

Mid May update

Rob Barwick

With a little over two months to go to Midland Expo 2014 preparations are well in hand, Roger Hartill and Rob Barwick have done sterling work with the trade and exhibitor bookings.

Roger Hartill

We now have a full complement of exhibitors (Branches, clubs and SIGs) for July's show - for the complete list please see the Exhibitors page.


On the traders front we almost have a full house, are awaiting confirmation on the last two tables available, the Traders page has up-to-date details.

There will further updated of the website in the coming weeks with more details on directions and access via public transport to the Leasowes venue.

Meanwhile we look forward to seeing you all on 27th July.

Announcement: Midland Expo 2014 Venue and Date

We are pleased to announce that Midland Expo 2014 will take place on Sunday, 27th July 2014 and the show will be returning to The Leasowes Leisure Centre, Halesowen.

 As the show flyer says, IPMS Birmingham will be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2014, having been formed in 1964 - the year following the founding of the International Plastic Modellers Society and we would like Midland Expo 2014 to commemorate this milestone.

The return to The Leasowes has been prompted by the many adverse comments we have received regarding car parking at Cocks Moors Woods. While an excellent venue in many ways with a large car park the popularity of its other facilities including swimming pool, gym and golf course meant there was high demand for the available spaces. With the Leasowes there are no competing facilities and the on-site parking will be almost exclusively available for show visitors, traders and exhibitors. Although the total floor area is slightly smaller we believe that with careful planning we will be able to accommodate all of our regular supporters.

The Midland Expo 2014 poster is now available to download in PDF format here.

Class winners Midland Expo 2013 competition.

 

Photo montage of the the competition class winners at Sunday's show. Photographs courtesy/copyright of Terry Walton.

Last Minute Update

With everything coming together for tomorrow's show there have been a few alterations and changes to the list of clubs attending. Regrettably Locate and Cement will be unable to attend  but we have had two new, last minute bookings from RAF Germany SIG and St Athan Model Club. For the full list of clubs attending please go to the Exhibitors page.

For those entering the competition please remember when filling in your entry slips to PRINT your name and the model details clearly and legibly. Should you be a winner and the organisers have difficulty reading the slip your name may be mis-spelt or, worse, appear to be for someone else altogether.

The weather forecast for the Birmingham area is for a bright morning and sunshine and showers during the afternoon. Temperatures should be a little cooler than of late but we will probably still need to open the exterior doors at some point for ventilation, as those of you at the show the past two years will know the hall can become uncomfortably hot at times.

We look forward to seeing you at the show and hope everyone has a great day.