I went to my first NMRA Regional Convention in about 15-20 years. It was fantastic!! I brought a couple of my models for the contest. I received a 2nd and 3rd place in Displays. This was the first time that I ever entered a Regional modeling contest. I did not expect to win since the models were kitbashed and not scratch built. But, that was OK[:D] I just thought I would participate. I guess because of my structures, several people who live in my area said that they were looking for me to introduce themselves. I made several new friends, who invited me to their club layout. I, of course, have invited them to see what I have going on with my new layout.[8D]
My 7 years old nephew and my sister-in-law came with me. We could only stay for 2 days, but it was great!![8D] Everyone was very personable and friendly. My nephew bought his first steam locomotive, a 4-6-0. He used his own money and got the price down from $135 to $100. He even won one of the raffle prizes, a Bachman building.
We went to 5 different homes to visit layouts. Everyone was pleasant and friendly. No one was bothered by my nephew’s frequent questions. He brought his own stool so that he could see better, but most places had a stool for him and us to stand on. At the convention center, the N scale layout folks had a 2nd small layout that my nephew got to run!! He was in TRAIN HEAVEN!![tup]
My sister-in-law is getting interested in model railroads, too. She bought her first kit. A Bar Mills kit, which she is going to put together. For all of us, this was a BIG CHANGE from recent Train Shows and Open Houses where people were not only friendly, but at times, down right rude.
I meet Bob Charles, who had a lot of nice things to say about my first time structure entries. I will definitely enter more contests with an eye on the AP Master Builder Structures certificate. My nephew, sister-in-law, and I will attend more MER Conventions in the future!!
Great job