i Hobby 2014

[Mike 1017]

i Hobby Expo October 2-5 2014

Schaumburg Convention Center

Schaumburg Illinois

[Joe Handley]

I'm going Thursday!

[blackandwhite]

Of course military orders keeps me from home

[Matt T.]

YESSSS! Can't wait to see what news comes out of iHobby.

[Dave Van]

Who from the plastic model field will attend???

Revell hasn't for year or two.......not sure Moebius will....maybe R2??

Not what it was when it was RCHTA for sure.

[Exotics_Builder]

Thursday through midday Friday are trade only. There is some public access on Friday afternoon and Saturday through Sunday.

Round2, Moebius and Testor are supposed to be there. I have a list that I am editing for visiting priority. I will be there Thursday, Friday and Sunday for Model Cars Magazine. I

I'll have a better cut of the list later today.

[Dave Van]

Look forward to your report Gerry.........I chose NNL Toledo this year. I understand Revell and Moebius will be there.....and LOTS of old friends!!

[Joe Handley]

Who from the plastic model field will attend???

Revell hasn't for year or two.......not sure Moebius will....maybe R2??

Not what it was when it was RCHTA for sure.

I'm curious too, Round 2, Moebeus, and Pegusus were there last year, but they were the only ones I remember seeing. After the fiasco of the year before where they held the show in Ohio, I think last year's show in this location was a last minute decision and they couldn't get some of the companies in on this show or something along those lines, as it was small and barely worth the drive to Schaumberg from West Chicago for me even though I was only paying for fuel and going on a vendor day.

[Exotics_Builder]

Look forward to your report Gerry.........I chose NNL Toledo this year. I understand Revell and Moebius will be there.....and LOTS of old friends!!

Well they are a week apart this time. But I live very close to the convention center, hence I'm the Field Reporter

I'm curious too, Round 2, Moebeus, and Pegusus were there last year, but they were the only ones I remember seeing. After the fiasco of the year before where they held the show in Ohio, I think last year's show in this location was a last minute decision and they couldn't get some of the companies in on this show or something along those lines, as it was small and barely worth the drive to Schaumberg from West Chicago for me even though I was only paying for fuel and going on a vendor day.

It is a bit more complicated than what you stated. Many companies, particularly the Japanese such as Tamiya, stopped coming some years back. There were several issues around continuing at the Rosemont Convention Center, many centered around costs. From what I was told, Cleveland was a disaster on many fronts. As I didn't go, Len Carsner was covering, I can't say. The venue moved back to Chicago and the Schaumburg Convention Center became the venue.

Given social media and the internet, some companies feel this is a better means of exposure. The same is true in Japan, as Fujimi stopped attending the All Japan Model and Toy Show. Others feel product exposure to the public helps. In the case of Revell, the parent company, Hobbico, decided to not have a booth. BUT, Revell still supports the make and take, along with other manufacturers.

Here is a list of vendors that will be of most interest to model car buffs (including die cast). Some of these are distributors (such as Stevens International) who provide multiple product lines to Hobby Shops:

• Acrylicos Vallejo
• Alumilite Corp
• American Foam Technologies, Inc
• b2b Replicas
• Daron Worldwide Trading, Inc.
• Green Light LLC
• Grex Airbrush
• HobbyBoss
• ICM
• Iwata-Medea
• Meng
• Merit International LLC
• Minicraft Models
• MMD - Squadron
• Moebius Models
• Monarch Models
• Panache Place
• Pegasus Hobbies
• Phoenix Toys
• Round 2 LLC
• Stevens International
• The Glue Looper
• The Testor Corporation
• Trumpeter Models

[Danno]

I see MENG will be there. I'm curious as to their 'take' on the response to their 1/24 Ford F350 kit. Will there be more 1/24 civilian automotive products coming?

[sjordan2]

I only see 7 kit manufacturers listed there, and not Revell. Will that be enough to lure Harry from his "no shows" cocoon in Chicagoland?

[Harry P.]

I only see 7 kit manufacturers listed there, and not Revell. Will that be enough to lure Harry from his "no shows" cocoon in Chicagoland?

Nope.

As long as Model Cars has no official presence there (as in a booth), I have no interest.

I was there several years ago, back when it was still held in Rosemont (before they decided to move the thing to Ohio). Model Cars had a booth and a presence there. Met a bunch of industry insiders, did the "networking" thing, had dinner with a few Revell bigwigs and Gregg, Bill Coulter, etc. And I went back again a second time, met up with Bill Coulter and Len Carsner and Sean Svendsen... but no Gregg and no official MCM presence there. Bill was covering the show for Gregg, but there was no MCM booth or any visible MCM participation, not even a banner.

I think MCM should have a presence there, and don't understand why we don't (I realize maybe Gregg himself couldn't get there, but some of us who live in the area like myself and Joe Handley and Gerry Paquette and others could easily have manned the booth), but that's not my decision to make. If we had a booth there, I'd be there... but just roaming around aimlessly? Not really interested.

[sjordan2]

Does the other mag show up to cover it for their publication (not that it really makes a difference)?

[Danno]

There's another mag?

[Joe Handley]

Does the other mag show up to cover it for their publication (not that it really makes a difference)?

They have a generic booth there with the most basic amount staff to advertise the presence of all of their magazines, but that's about all I've ever seen out of them.

[Thatswhatshesaid]

There's another mag?

Hundreds of them!!

[Exotics_Builder]

MCM is the only MODEL CAR magazine (or any other I've scanned) that does detailed coverage of IHOBBY along with photos. There was an 8 page spread in MCM on the 2013 show.

[Harry P.]

Does the other mag show up to cover it for their publication (not that it really makes a difference)?

Yes. They have a very visible presence there (at least they did the times I was there).

[Joe Handley]

I just realized something, I'm mentioned to Mom that I'm going that way a few times in the last couple days and she has yet to tell me I need to stop at Country Donuts on the way home

Edited September 29, 2014 by Joe Handley

[Len Woodruff]

Thanks Gerry. Looking forward to the report.

[Dave Van]

Nope.

As long as Model Cars has no official presence there (as in a booth), I have no interest.

I was there several years ago, back when it was still held in Rosemont (before they decided to move the thing to Ohio). Model Cars had a booth and a presence there. Met a bunch of industry insiders, did the "networking" thing, had dinner with a few Revell bigwigs and Gregg, Bill Coulter, etc. And I went back again a second time, met up with Bill Coulter and Len Carsner and Sean Svendsen... but no Gregg and no official MCM presence there. Bill was covering the show for Gregg, but there was no MCM booth or any visible MCM participation, not even a banner.

I think MCM should have a presence there, and don't understand why we don't (I realize maybe Gregg himself couldn't get there, but some of us who live in the area like myself and Joe Handley and Gerry Paquette and others could easily have manned the booth), but that's not my decision to make. If we had a booth there, I'd be there... but just roaming around aimlessly? Not really interested.

WHY is MCM not in attendance??? I know the reason many companies don't.......COST!

Back in the day when iHobby (and RCHTA) was a REAL must attend I went on trade days and most years it was so big it took two days to cover.

Our retail arm carried plastic models, trains and die cast (and we manufactured some of these too) so it was a busy two days and 99% of the time I enjoyed it.

My personal story on cost???

It was my 2nd day at the show....at Rosemont. I had 15 pounds of catalogs etc in my show bag. It was near the end of the day....I was BEAT!

I stopped by a booth of a model railroad manufacture that we did a fair amount of business with.

My salesman was busy,,,,,so I waited. I saw a big stack of chairs next tot he booth. I walked the two feet and started to pull the top chair off the pile to sit.

I hear 'stop, stop, stop.....you can't do that!!!!'

I stop....and this guys runs up to me and explains I needed a Union guy to move any furniture. He said it would be about $5......I passed.

I made a comment to my sales guy when he got free......he said 'Don't ask me how much it cost me to get a electrical cord plugged into a socket!!"

Don't start a bash of how I am anti-union......It is a EXAMPLE of the cost company's face when showing at a trade show. And now that social media is almost FREE....I can see why the trade show is in decline.

[Tom Geiger]

My salesman was busy,,,,,so I waited. I saw a big stack of chairs next tot he booth. I walked the two feet and started to pull the top chair off the pile to sit.

I hear 'stop, stop, stop.....you can't do that!!!!'

I stop....and this guys runs up to me and explains I needed a Union guy to move any furniture. He said it would be about $5......I passed.

I made a comment to my sales guy when he got free......he said 'Don't ask me how much it cost me to get a electrical cord plugged into a socket!!"

Back when we were researching new venues for NNL East we scanned the entire state of New Jersey... Atlantic City Convention Center got crossed off for extreme unionism... they wanted me to hire their company to draw our floor plans. And none of our vendors would be able to unload / load their own vehicles!

[Joe Handley]

Back when we were researching new venues for NNL East we scanned the entire state of New Jersey... Atlantic City Convention Center got crossed off for extreme unionism... they wanted me to hire their company to draw our floor plans. And none of our vendors would be able to unload / load their own vehicles!

Sounds like Rosemont, I've been behind the scene some there during set up when the HTU I work for was going to run a sales booth on public days and unloading our truck then putting the product on display were about the only things we were allowed to do. Then you had to dodge the 500lb union stewards who were racing around on Cushman motor carts checking to make sure somebody wasn't doing his guys' job, what in reality should have been a 4 hour job took 10 by the time we got back to the store so I could sign out and hop in the Jeep to head home. Granted I will say that I was on the clock that whole time on one of my days off, and ended up sitting around while there for a few hours, but it was more or less a waste of 30 hours of combined labor to do 12-15 hours of work for the store. I swear if you wanted to make a disparaging parody video of unions as a whole, just run film while they set up for a convention in Rosemont.

[Art Anderson]

Consider too, that an annual trade show is not the absolute necessity that it used to be, when buyers literally had to attend in order to be up to speed on what was coming out in the next year. Nor are, for the most part, hobby manufacturers under serious deadlines with the Big Box store chains to have such and such product in those stores by the next "reset".

That makes shows such as iHobby much, much less important--even the public days when last I was at that show (2004) were quiet enough you could have rolled bowling balls down most of the aisles, and hit only a table leg.

Art

[Harry P.]

Consider too, that an annual trade show is not the absolute necessity that it used to be, when buyers literally had to attend in order to be up to speed on what was coming out in the next year. Nor are, for the most part, hobby manufacturers under serious deadlines with the Big Box store chains to have such and such product in those stores by the next "reset".

That makes shows such as iHobby much, much less important--even the public days when last I was at that show (2004) were quiet enough you could have rolled bowling balls down most of the aisles, and hit only a table leg.

Art

Exactly.

Which is why I have no interest in attending, even though it's literally only 15 minutes from my house. If Gregg had asked me to be there as a rep of MCM, sure... I'd be there. But otherwise... pass.