Random thoughts about the show... (very long as usual...)

[Bubba]

Well, just got clear of the "home from vacation" Quagmire (giggity!), and all
I can say is-WOW!!! Barb and Dan threw one Hell of a party!!!

In most respects, you'd never even know it was their first one. Sure there were some hiccups and no-shows, but if you were either an attendee or a dealer at the show, you'd never know it, with one exception- the absence of Mr. Romero- and even that was out of their control. His shooting window for his current project didn't allow him to get away, but he did record a message of apology directly for attendees of the show. Watch the KBMW website for a link to the video in coming days...

The bands, both Friday and Saturday were good, but Ghoultown STOMPED MAJOR A$$!!! , not to mention they were a complete riot to hang out with! Santi, their bass player, said that so far this was his favorite show they've done, and they hold the current record for convention performances...

KBU was well attended, and I'm pretty sure that we gained a few new GK fans from the students... A lot of car and armor modelers, as well as a few who did leather and doll sculpture... It still amazes me that over the course of 8 hours or so, even folks who've never used an airbrush before, or only for laying down smooth, unshaded coats, were able to come up with a competent, if not always "Amazing" paint job at the end of the day, yet each and every one was different!!!

Could there have been more "kit guys" in the dealers room, and as attendees? ABSOLUTELY, but overall, the "vibe" was reminiscent of the first "ReznHedz" show, which started out fairly low key, and remained successful for quite a few years, but ultimately destroyed by politics... Very laid back, without any of the usual "showboating" or "entouraging" seen elsewhere...

As far as people go, well, it was great putting faces to names/avatars!!! (In no particular order, other than drunken recollection...)

Andreas/Harkon- Wow! You make me look sane! Coming all the way from Germany!!! Talk about support, you set a fine example for all the wannabes!!! Don't even talk about your "8-Hour" sculpt... It looked like you've been doing it for years!!!

JBMidnight- See, we all, including the "Grand-daddy", put our pants on one leg at a time, and not all "demons" are necessarily evil!!! Sorry I couldn't give you a proper send-off, but kid wrangling duties take precedence!!! Next time for sure!!!

RustyNail (or Trombone )- Nice as Hell to meet you, good job on the contest entries!!! Too bad there's only so much time in a weekend!!!

"One-eyed Mike" (sorry, don't remember your screen name ) As the class showed, anybody can do it, just find the "sweet spot" and see what happens! Looking forward to your mug at a few more shows!!!

Steelefrog/Buck- Good to meet you, see JB's post above for more... Valiant effort at the costume contest, but every time I hear "Betlejuice", I can't help but think of Howard Stern's little cronie...

Gerry-Lynn, sorry we weren't properly introduced, but we'll see you again!

Now- to all the usual suspects, JoeD, Kat, Danno, Gabe.. Thanks for the laughs! Sorry for all the Heineken bottles in your room Danno! Mo really appreciated all your efforts to keep her "in the loop" (as do I), so she really gets to see how much fun you guys are, as opposed to just hearing about it from me! Kat, thanks for being such a good "surrogate mommy"! We all love you guys, and look forward to any opportunity to hang out!!!

To the "East-Coast Contingent" (aka-The Goombas)- John and ScottyD, TommyB, Saul, MVT, Adegregorio, Robb, Dave Grant, and whoever I might have missed, well, you know, same as above really... Candor really is worth a million posts or pictures, and BEWARE the "Church of Fudge"!!! John/Scott-If you don't get that sleeve from Ghoultown back before too long, let me know, I'll see what I can do!!!

Matt E- Like you didn't know you'd get at least one sale out of me... Thanks for the hook-up! (MAJOR GRAIL SCORE ALERT- M1 50cm G-64!!!)

Steve/Evil Ryu-Awesome to finally put a face to the avatar... We'll be in touch...

Bill and Clint- Hey what can I say? It wouldn't be a show without you guys there... Mike- Congrats on the costume!!! Bill-Your picture will be there shortly! Clint- Thanks for the invite, and hope to see you soon!!!

Scott J- Glad you made it! Any opportunity to hang is a good one!

Scary Terry- Nice to finally get re-acquainted! Any time you need help, just let me know... In fact you could have asked for more that weekend!!!

Deary-You little Bastardo! Good to finally get some face time, and nice meeting Nadia!!! After seeing my munchkins in action, are you still so certain about the invitation to my ENTIRE family???

Blake (Centaur1), Shane Foulkes, Josh, and anyone else I might have missed, good to see you guys again, especially under less tense circumstances.. You guys rock just for being there!!!

So, in summary, to all those who missed it by circumstance- Sorry you missed a great time, and hope to see you at the next one!!! To all those who missed it by choice- Too bad! It worked, and won't be stopped by naysayers...

A special thanks to BobbyC for his awesome display!!! Your stuff sure looks good when linked from someone else's website!

Now, and I think most importantly, I want to give a HUGE round of applause to Barb and Dan for putting on a great show! You both know we'll be at any you decide to do, wherever they are!!! These guys were the ultimate in composure the entire weekend, and their staff, both family and volunteers alike, handled everything with the utmost professionalism, and their staff choices were excellent! The "Zombie Squad" handled security and other logistics like they were making toast- i.e.- it wasn't a "chore" for them, and did their jobs with a sense of fun yet remained pros the whole time (while the show was running at least), as did "Toyman Tom" and his guys!!!

Now, as an addendum, my wife and I did the website for the show, and had a few reservations about how ambitious it was, but after being there, I have NO doubt whatsoever about any future shows they might perpetrate, however grand they might be!!! Just need a few more "resin heads" just like the first "Reznhedz", and the next one will rock even more!!!

[Bubba]

Oh yeah- How the Hell could I forget?...

John, Drew, and Lance- Hope your recon mission was a success!!!

Seriously guys, it was good to see you again as well, and looking forward to John's WF wedding!!!

[lugnut]

Awesome Bubba. Everybody in the hobby benefits from a good show and sounds like you had a great one.

[jayco35]

Brad its always a hoot hanging with you. We just missed our amigo Shane in the mix. Make sure to bring R2 to wonderfest we have to stock that boy up.
John

[Bubba]

John, well, what can I say, I take my inspiration from those I hang out with, and as always, you guys bring out the best (or worst, depending on who you ask ) in me...

Looking forward to the WF wedding/birthday bash!!!

[Harkon]

We'd a lot of fun, great to meet you all guys! And Brad it's always
a pleasure to talk to you and Mo! Well, I say it was worth the trip.

Andreas

[Renenee]

Sound slike a lot of fun Brad, hope I can attend some time.

[saulcuba66]

Brad, it was great seeing you and the family once again this year, it was a blast!
till WF!

Saul

[swriojas]

Could there have been more "kit guys" in the dealers room, and as attendees? ABSOLUTELY, but overall, the "vibe" was reminiscent of the first "ReznHedz" show, which started out fairly low key, and remained successful for quite a few years, but ultimately destroyed by politics... Very laid back, without any of the usual "showboating" or "entouraging" seen elsewhere...

So, in summary, to all those who missed it by circumstance- Sorry you missed a great time, and hope to see you at the next one!!! To all those who missed it by choice- Too bad! It worked, and won't be stopped by naysayers...

Now, as an addendum, my wife and I did the website for the show, and had a few reservations about how ambitious it was, but after being there, I have NO doubt whatsoever about any future shows they might perpetrate, however grand they might be!!! Just need a few more "resin heads" just like the first "Reznhedz", and the next one will rock even more!!!

Though I never went to any of the ReznHedz shows, I understand the show wasn't destroyed by "politics" so much as recasting by the very guy who put on the show! This spurred not only the low attendance but even caused one of our favorite GK fans who I think you met to launch a one man mission to remove Mr Burbidge from the hobby! When Burbidge ran Kitbuilders magazine, he actually recasted a kit that was sent to him for review and was selling it at the show!! Of course now, it's politics and naysayers. I guess it all depends on which showboating entourage you're in.

Personally, I'm glad everyone had a great time at this show and I really do hope it continues because the truth is, no matter how much it's censored, the economy has a LOT to do with the health of our hobby. The GK scene as we know it would not be possible without the good economy of the 90's and it's a major tip-o-the hat to all of us die hards who are still slugging away during these tough times. Of course Kitbuilders couldn't have forseen this and it's a major bummer that the timing is what it is. I did intend to go, but things didn't work out just like I bet for most of those in the "who wants a show" thread who were excited for a new show at the time but couldn't make it.

Lastly, I guess there was talk about some organized effort to boycott this show. I'm here to tell you that I heard nothing of the sort from anybody. Just BS, seriously. Believe it or not sometimes things happen that keep people from going to a show. I do believe that ALL of us want to be at EVERY show. I never heard anything that if you didn't go to all of the Imaginenation shows you didn't support the hobby, or if you didn't make Chiller you don't support the hobby, or if you missed Wonderfest or even Mad Model Party in the old days that you didn't support the hobby, hell, most of the admins and moderators of the clubhouse have never even been to a show, so lets not go there, but instead get our collective #$#$#$# together before all this cool stuff is gone forever. I'll go on record...I'll certainly do my best to be at the next one and I'm serious about that.

Steve

[jbmidnight]

It was great to finally meet you Bubba. Trust me i do understand about kid wrangling and not in the bad your now on all the news channels sort of way. I have my hands full with my kids at home. At wonderfest i will bring alot of fresh insides for R2. Hoping my daughter will go with me to the Next Kit Builders Show. She will be 5 by then. Till then i am thankfull for these boards. Also as in my other post i am glad to have met everyone else and wish it was a longer weekend.

[Bubba]

Steve, glad you chimed in... I'll try to address your thoughts in order... It's no secret that Larry nailed his own coffin shut, but his show, and the magazine under his leadership were feeling the "bite" well before the incident you mention in your opening paragraph... Don't get me wrong, in no way do I support his less than savory practices, but in-fighting, dissolution of friendships, and one-upmanship were all grinding away on his already fragile footing... His attitude only made things worse. Ultimately, he's still to blame, but he had plenty of help...

Re- Politics, see above, referring to the demise of the show... In my original post, "showboating", and "entouraging" appear in a separate train of thought, referring to the "atmosphere" of the demised show, regardless of who put it on. Shows like KB or WF, by their very nature, attract a majority of people with common interests... The problem is that sometimes there are so many that it becomes easy for people, especially "old hands" like us, or a ton of other guys here, to "stick with what we know", which can make it look pretty insular or stand-offish, especially to folks new to "the scene"... Now I know you well enough to know that you are an approachable and down to Earth guy, but does everybody? Probably not... Nor am I trying to make an example out of you in specific, but let's face it, in our neck of the woods, you're a pretty famous dude... But even that isn't really what I'm talking about. What I mean are the ones who latch on to our hobby's (or any others for that matter) "celebrities" in an effort to be seen, regardless of who they are. Sometimes, by those very actions, they can give a more casual observer the impression that people (again, regardless of who) are un-approachable...

Naysayers- In the original "Who wants a show?" thread you refer to, there were a couple folks (sorry, don't remember who, and it really doesn't matter) who said it couldn't (or shouldn't???) be done. I think the show itself answered that question...

Compiling all 4 of those words together is mischaracterizing my statements...

Oddly enough, I don't think anywhere in my post do I directly or indirectly imply that people who didn't make it to the show aren't supporting our hobby. Certainly not my intention. There is at least one other thread where that does come up, and my post in it says just about the same thing you've said here.

I also have yet to see anywhere any mention of a boycott, but I could have missed it...

And since you included it in your quote, yup, again, my wife and I did the show site for Barb and Dan... It was a much needed job when neither my wife and I were working. Not to diminish our friendship with them, but we rendered and were paid for a service, and would do the same for any customer. Does that make me biased in any way? Maybe, but no more so than you might be partial to one of your box-art paint ups, paint masters, or articles...

Lastly, while you and I don't always agree, I'll back you 150 percent on this-

" but instead get our collective #$#$#$# together before all this cool stuff is gone forever. I'll go on record...I'll certainly do my best to be at the next one and I'm serious about that."

Sorry you weren't there, but we'll catch you at WF, and hopefully the next KB show!!!

[Bubba]

John, good to meet you as well... That R2's a thirsty bugger, ain't he?

[jayco35]

Sticking together and promoting the hobby is all that matters. You do what you can when you can and thats about it. Brad that R2 may need another tank Steve see you at the fest for a tequila

[19ratman66]

do what you can when you can and thats about it

Thanks John, and on that note...
I'd love to be the first in line for two shows a year. But I just can't figure out how to do that without falling further in debt. I like cash, cash good!--MasterCard bad!
Not to mention skimping on contributions to an already semi-stagnant savings account.

On the conservative side after travel, hotel, food, and resin buys WF was $600, KB show $600, that’s 1200 a year.
In my eyes that’s monies for nothing more than a good old-fashioned selfish good time. WoooHoo rock on!

And that’s ok, but a little much to justify as my personal guilt kicks in when kids and family sort of expect every year a nice Christmas,
fun birthdays, other exciting times, and a few days summer beach fun.
To top it off, recently I learned a future Disney outing is also in my future.
Jeeezz where's that frickin money tree
Waaa, waaa, waaa, boooo hoo hoo,, yeah I know ... but the truth is like that.

Anyway I don't feel like I NEED to explain personal trials, but just express to those that might not have the same things going on that for some people,
a once a year show is personally more pleasurable and realistic to certain lifestyles.
And to those that do juggle trials and two shows

I’m very glad those that went had a great time, as I did think non-stop about the camaraderie and fun that was going on!
I do hope two shows can continue as many can and will do it!

[ShaneM]

Brad you know I would have been there if I could. As it was I barely made it into Chiller but to say hi and bye to everyone. I was there for work then straight back to work. The man who ran the haunted house this year was so appreciative he gave me his Airstar V as a bonus in appreciation.

The legend of the R2 lives on. We've had many thirsty nights with that wonderful droid haven't we. Looking forward to many more. Not sure which coast I will be on next year but I will still be attending the shows.

Give MO a big hug for me, tell her it was a mighty fine year here, and there is a box of gundams heading your way shortly. Something for you and your son to have fun with.

[mick]

I am new to the hobby.I attended the beginners KBU class on Friday and had a blast.I came back to the show on Saturday morning and had a great time too.I also managed to send KitKong,Jimmy Flintstone and a few other vendors that I can't remember(sorry guys) home with a good bit of my cash!One thing that impressed me was how gracious everyone was all weekend.I can honestly say I didn't meet one jerk the whole weekend.Weather it was all the guys at the class or the people at the show everyone was cool.All that and the show was in my town!I'm really glad that I stumbled into this hobby.I can definately understand money issues though,times are tight for everyone.I will be back next year for sure,I gotta take the intermediate class after all!

[adegregorio]

So, in summary, to all those who missed it by circumstance- Sorry you missed a great time, and hope to see you at the next one!!! To all those who missed it by choice- Too bad! It worked, and won't be stopped by naysayers...

Nicely put Brad.....

AL

[Bubba]

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, but I had to scrape something stinky off my shoe...

Paladin13, I must have met you by your given name as opposed to screen-name... There were quite a few there, and I got a little of both, so what's your given name, so I know which dude I'm addressing?

At any rate, even if the entire weekend sucked out loud, your post above (for me anyhow) would have made it all worth while! Same goes for "mick"!- After all, what good is ANY hobby you can't have fun with? And it's not like we (as a hobby) couldn't use more "new" people in it...

Even from a producer/dealer's standpoint that only makes sense... I mean, once the same 5, 10, 20, 100 guys buy everything there is to buy, who do you sell your stuff to next?

Also met one of our sculptors, who was in the painting class, MasterShokan!!! Sorry I didn't mention it sooner!!! Also ran into SmokeyJoeJr again, good to see you there!!!

Anyhow- To all the "new to me" folks I met over the weekend, again, It was a pleasure, and I hope your enthusiasm is infectious! I also hope to see you at the next show, whichever one it is!!!

To my old friend Shane, Hugs duly given, and the boy is completely stoked about the Gundams!!! Once a year ain't enough, and even if we pulled it off twice, the weekends are not long enough!!!

Al, thanks!

Ron, I totally get it!!! We're in a lucky spot right now, as the munchkins are a bit too young for stuff like Disney trips, and they actually enjoy the shows as much as they would anything else... We just gotta squeeze in as many as we can before any of the attractions like Disney get on their itinerary...

[Danno]

Hey Bubba, I just want to take a moment to say I really enjoyed you and your families company during the weekend! Look forward to meeting back up at Wonderfest!

[Bubba]

Hey Danno!!!

Thanks for poking your head out from that backlog of paint-ups to say so!!! We ALL look forward to the next time!!!