Advice on displaying a layout at a local train show

LoneBrickerSG · February 4, 2015

Your photos are really making me wish I had the space for a more permanent Lego train layout.

That station of yours is pretty sweet.

ecmo47 · February 21, 2015

Day one of the show went very well. Here's a few photos I took right before the show opened.

DSC01071 by ecmo47, on Flickr

DSC01073 by ecmo47, on Flickr

DSC01080 by ecmo47, on Flickr

DSC01082 by ecmo47, on Flickr

Observations/thoughts:

1. I had a rope stanchion about 2 feet away from the layout. I was in this area all day talking to people and it kept the kids hands off the trains.

2. I did a Seek and Find. I had 20 vignettes to find which I printed up on a 1/2 sheet of paper. The kids had a ball finding them! My most clever one was "Dinner diners to be dino dinner" which is shown in the picture above.

3. I gave away some Lego sets to random kids that found all 20 items.

4. The Lego LiOn batteries lasted forever! I got 3 hours of run time out the HE pulling a 4 car train most of the time.

5. Not many people looked at the white board sign behind the layout.

6. Many interested adults!

7. Set up took about 4 hours. 45 mins on the table with my son helping and the rest by myself. Not looking forward to taking it down and hauling it home tomorrow.

8.No catastrophes! (Knock on wood)

dr_spock · February 22, 2015

Looks good. I didn't notice the white board in the picture until you mentioned it. It doesn't catch the eyes.

kibosh · February 22, 2015

My suggestion would be to find some fabric that is close to the green of your baseplates, and cover the tables with it before setting up. Cover those expose tables.

Other than that, great display!

Duq · February 22, 2015

That's a great display!

Wishing you all the best for packing up. I know what it's like...

BricksMcgee · February 22, 2015

@ecmo47

Looks great, glad it went well. Do you have a list of the 20 vignettes/photos? Be interested to see them!

ecmo47 · February 23, 2015

My suggestion would be to find some fabric that is close to the green of your baseplates, and cover the tables with it before setting up. Cover those expose tables.

Other than that, great display!

Yes, my wife said I should paint it or something but that just didnt get done. Something for next time!

@ecmo47

Looks great, glad it went well. Do you have a list of the 20 vignettes/photos? Be interested to see them!

Here's the full list. Unfortunately, I didn't take specific picture of each item but most are visible in overall pictures. I'll try to point them out.

Seek and find in Legoville!!!

See if you can find the following on the layout:

1. Flash to the rescue!

2. The Ice-cream man

3. Boy with a Popsicle

4. Cat on a (hot tin) roof.

5. Abe Lincoln.

6. The detective

7. The sad clown.

8. Chicken man and his pet chicken.

9. Dinner diners to be dino dinner.

10. Two pigs going for a ride.

11. Wonder Woman in her invisible jet.

12. Harry and Ron wondering how to get to Hogwarts.

13. Batman chasing the Joker.

14. Cat Rescue.

15. Marge Simpson.

16. The lost (Lego) 100 dollar bill. (Hard!!)

17. Flock of parrots.

18. Dog taking a shower.

19. Hobo cooking dinner

20. Cop chasing a thief.

DSC01085 by ecmo47, on Flickr

2. The Ice-cream man (Blue hat in the middle of the picture)

14. Cat Rescue. (White cat in tree with fireman on ladder)

DSC01082 by ecmo47, on Flickr

1. Flash to the rescue!

4. Cat on a (hot tin) roof.

6. The detective (very left edge of picture)

DSC01081 by ecmo47, on Flickr

3. Boy with a Popsicle (by hydrant in front of Town Hall

7. The sad clown. (to the right of lamp post in front of CC.

13. Batman chasing the Joker. Top of GG.

15. Marge Simpson.(Driving Yellow car)

20. Cop chasing a thief. (Just left of the sad clown)

DSC01080 by ecmo47, on Flickr

9. Dinner diners to be dino dinner. (My favorite clue!)

16. The lost (Lego) 100 dollar bill. (Hard!!) Not visible but it's by the road behind the (miss-adjusted!) railroad sign.

DSC01079 by ecmo47, on Flickr

11. Wonder Woman in her invisible jet. (Left edge of picture on top of brown building)]

12. Harry and Ron wondering how to get to Hogwarts. (2 minfigs on the left side of the inner platform. Scene from book 2)

17. Flock of parrots. (In tree to the right edge of station)

DSC01073 by ecmo47, on Flickr

5. Abe Lincoln. (Back of EN Observation car)

18. Dog taking a shower. (Under water tank. You can see the water puddle but not the dog)

19. Hobo cooking dinner. (Under the apple tree to the left edge of picture. Had to explain to many what a "hobo" was. Guess kids are more familiar with the term "homeless")

DSC01074 by ecmo47, on Flickr

10. Two pigs going for a ride. (In stake truck to left of picture in front of GE)

8. Chicken man and his pet chicken. Barely visible behind the FB tree.

That's all of them!

Edited February 23, 2015 by ecmo47

BricksMcgee · February 24, 2015

Brilliant, thanks ecmo47. Great effort!

pirzyk · February 24, 2015

How did day 2 go and the teardown?

ecmo47 · February 24, 2015

Final after-action on the show.

1. I made my tables too robust. They are 3/4 plywood with 2x4 frames which is over kill and very heavy.

2. I handed out about 50 polys and small sets, mainly #31015 (Emerald Express). This was fun but not necessary. Kids had great fun with the Seek and Find (S&F) without the knowledge of prizes. I did not advertise that I was giving away prizes. I just spaced them out over the 2 day’s time.

3. My gracious wife and a fellow Lego enthusiast helped man the layout which was a good thing since it was always busy.

4. The shay log train impressed the adults but was too slow to run much on the layout.

5.The EN did not perform as well as I'd hoped. It would jump track at switches occasionally and was a little slow.

6. I ran the HE quite a bit as it had a rechargeable battery. Also, the fact that it was orange made it rather eye-catching! One motor pulled a 7 car train easily.

7. I kept forgetting to move the switches so had several rear-end collisions when changing out trains. D'oh!

8. 9v loop ran without fail the entire show on one transformer. I had three 9v trains which I kept switching out. Kids liked the "rocket car" which I could make go pretty fast without it flying off the curves.

9. Of the Seek and Find clues, many did not know who Harry (Potter) and Ron (Weasly) were. Also, as previously mentioned, the term "hobo" confused some.

10. I had the set-up packed up and in the vehicles in 1.5 hours.

11. I did not have much luck with either the EN or Maersk double headers. Seems one engine would work and the other would not. Even though both locomotive receivers would be on the same channel, they seemed to work rather independently!

12. I found that I didn’t have much time to "mess" with the trains as I was always working the crowd, handing out S&F checklists, giving clues and talking to interested adults. I spent much of my time on my knees talking to kids.

13. Using Part #87580 (Modified 2 x 2 with Groove and 1 Stud in Center (Jumper)) to replace sidewalk tiles was extremely helpful in quickly setting up minfigs.

Thanks about all I can think of for now. Fun to do but I’m not interested in making frequent thing!

pirzyk · February 24, 2015

...

10. I had the set-up packed up and in the vehicles in 1.5 hours.

11. I did not have much luck with either the EN or Maersk double headers. Seems one engine would work and the other would not. Even though both locomotive receivers would be on the same channel, they seemed to work rather independently!

...

13. Using Part #87580 (Modified 2 x 2 with Groove and 1 Stud in Center (Jumper)) to replace sidewalk tiles was extremely helpful in quickly setting up minfigs.

Packing up seems to take much less time than assembly. I guess I don't care as much about how it goes back into the box :)

I am interested in the issues you had double heading the trains. I have double (and triple) headed my maersk trains w/o any issue. I did find I didn't need to until I went full length (26 cars with 52 containers), but I also have 2 motors per maersk engine. Was there any other PF displays going on? Could it have been wireless interference?

The 2 x 2 jumper tile is a godsend, I use it all the time for my minifigs too. I'm constantly finding I don't have enough.

Congratulations on finishing your first show!

Edited February 24, 2015 by pirzyk

tomdobs55 · February 25, 2015

Final after-action on the show.

10. I had the set-up packed up and in the vehicles in 1.5 hours.

That's pretty impressive. Does that include the tables?

12. I found that I didn't have much time to "mess" with the trains as I was always working the crowd, handing out S&F checklists, giving clues and talking to interested adults. I spent much of my time on my knees talking to kids.

That's such an important part of running a layout. You could have the greatest possible layout, but if 6+not working the crowd, especially the wide eyed kiddos, you're not doing it right.

13. Using Part #87580 (Modified 2 x 2 with Groove and 1 Stud in Center (Jumper)) to replace sidewalk tiles was extremely helpful in quickly setting up minfigs.

What a great piece! It chops it up a little bit, but 1x2 jumpers combined with 1x2 tiles work very well too.

Great layout too by the way! I'm big fan of the corner hardware store.

**zephyr1934** · February 27, 2015

Congratulations on surviving your first show... especially with only two people to man it.

dr_spock · February 27, 2015

Congrats on your first show. I use those 2x2 jumper too. Great for holding a minifig to the street and various street lights, trash cans, etc.

ummester · February 27, 2015

Great display - I really like how tight packed and lively the front looks. Glad your show went well.

ritztoys · February 28, 2015

@ ecmo47........ thanks for asking these questions and the EB community for responding.

In a few weeks I'll be displaying at Brickworld Indy. ( this will be my second year ) But this year will be my first showing my 9volt train layout! :look:

All of the suggestions I've read here are helping me be better prepared, to expect the best and prepare for the worst. :grin:

Do I really have to have a 'train bucket'? "Oh the thought.................... my train running off of the table"

Our host provides tables, chairs and barriers, we just have to put everything together, as last year.............. I'm very excited to show again. :blush:

Edited February 28, 2015 by ritztoys

ecmo47 · March 1, 2015

First: Ignore post #41. I'd delete it but that doesn't seem possible.

I am interested in the issues you had double heading the trains. I have double (and triple) headed my maersk trains w/o any issue. I did find I didn't need to until I went full length (26 cars with 52 containers), but I also have 2 motors per maersk engine. Was there any other PF displays going on? Could it have been wireless interference?

My two Maersk's only have one motor each. Now that he show is done, perhaps I'll try to put two on one engine. Any idea how long a battery pack lasts running two motors? Where in the world did you find the space to run a 26 car train? That would equal 26+ feet! Im not sure why the they were being fickle since they ran fine at home. Perhaps ther was some interference since many the rest of the model reailroad layouts were run on CCD (?). Im sure if I had spent some time trouble-shooting they would have been fine.

That's pretty impressive. Does that include the tables?

Great layout too by the way! I'm big fan of the corner hardware store.

Yep! I designed and built the tables specifically to move quickly. It was held together with 8 bolts and 32 screws.

Yes, Brick City Depot designs some really nice buildings. I also buit their Speakeasy. Here is a link to there site:

https://www.brickcitydepot.com/

Congratulations on surviving your first show... especially with only two people to man it.

Actually, there were 3 most of the time plus my friends VERY well behaved 8 year old. When he was there on Sunday, he became the official clue "pointer-outer" to those having problems.

Great display - I really like how tight packed and lively the front looks. Glad your show went well.

Thanks! On every Bricklink order I made over the past 6 months, I'd buy any town minifig under $3.00. I have no idea how many were on the layout. Next time, I'd like to round up a few more yellow heads with experssions. I needed a few more terrified faces for the dino attack scene.

Dr Spock: Off topic but Im not having much success at posting one of those cool bitmap trains in my signature. I found the Brick Depot site but am having trouble flipping the HE engine in MS Paint to create the train that I have (2 engine, 6 cars). When I copy into Paint, it gives it a black background. Any tips?

Do I really have to have a 'train bucket'? "Oh the thought.................... my train running off of the table"

I didnt run any trains off the table eventhough my tracks were right at the edge. I will say that there were a few close calls because PF isnt known for it's ability to finely adjust the speed!

Good luck at Brickworld, Indy. One side question, do you have to pay to exhibit at that show? I've heard that was the case.

Edited March 1, 2015 by ecmo47

pirzyk · March 1, 2015

My two Maersk's only have one motor each. Now that he show is done, perhaps I'll try to put two on one engine. Any idea how long a battery pack lasts running two motors? Where in the world did you find the space to run a 26 car train? That would equal 26+ feet! Im not sure why the they were being fickle since they ran fine at home. Perhaps ther was some interference since many the rest of the model reailroad layouts were run on CCD (?). Im sure if I had spent some time trouble-shooting they would have been fine.

I ran the train for 3+ hours on a charge at Brickworld Chicago last year on our club layout. I used the LiPo battery pack and did not run it at full speed.

The train was closer to 29 feet long and was in 2 turns at the same time, but was able to take advantage of the long straightaways that were almost 60 feet.

It does sound like you were getting wireless interference at the venue.

jamesed_1971 · March 2, 2015

A great Lego train layout.

ritztoys · March 2, 2015

@ecmo47.............thanks for your reply, to answer your question...........

The Brickworld Host sends out invitations to various folks to display, until the floor space is filled, about 35,000 sq.ft. of building. This year is a little different, all the displays are from individual members of our local club, IndyLug. ( no outside folks invited this year, we all filled the building! )

Now here is the good part........... during the show the displays are judged and are given a score for our efforts. This score will determine how much is paid out to each display after all bills have been paid..............I just love getting paid to play/display my Lego. :thumbup: :laugh:

Edited March 2, 2015 by ritztoys

kibosh · March 3, 2015

Yep! I designed and built the tables specifically to move quickly. It was held together with 8 bolts and 32 screws.

Can you share more about the design of your tables? I'd love to see how you built them.

ecmo47 · January 3, 2016

Untitled by Scott Roys, on Flickr

Months behind schedule, my new table is finally ready for action! It's now 12x10 feet (was 12x9) and the 10 foot sides are 4 ft deep (was only 2 feet). The 12 foot side is still 3 feet deep. Also new is the green painted surface. I took a old green plate to the paint store and looked at color samples until my eyes bleed. I am happy with the results and you can see it is a pretty close match. I also painted the border black which will look better once the black skirt is on for shows.

Color matching green plates. by Scott Roys, on Flickr

New this year will be an amusement park which will have a very special movie prop as the main attraction. Hopefully all rides will be motorized but the show is in 8 weeks so we will see how it goes.

Untitled by Scott Roys, on Flickr

Edited January 3, 2016 by ecmo47