Johan Kees
A Fixture
No problem,but we're talking about a twelve month period when Euro went from hero to zero.Euro was always a figure show,as they had Trucks and Tracks in February in Folkstone but it went tits up because of falling numbers.Euro was always a special show for figures,unlike any other.IPMS took care of everything else.
I personally don't want to go to a show,that has stuff that doesn't interest me,unless it's my local show, which i'll always support.
This is just my opinion Johan,and i'll be sticking to Euro.Looks like you guys have found Utopia,but it's the first show i've never heard a bad word about."Perfection"
To finish of,i would still treasure a Gold from Euro above all others.
Hi Brian
It's OK to be defensive about Euro, Brian, as I am aware that you - like a lot of us - will treasure a lot of fine memories going to this show that once was the summit in our hobby. I don't think that anybody wants to 'slam' Euro down just for fun, why would they. Emotions seem to build up rather intense, but maybe that's just because we all are witnessing how greed and sheer incompetence from the organizer's side, results in bringing Euro nearly to its knees. Parents that love their children sometimes have to be severe too. I believe that's what happening with Euro now. In all honesty, IHMO there is no denying that Euro has lost its appeal to many of us for reasons that are explained multiple times here above. And the people that are to blame are acting like the orchestra on the Titanic, they just keep on playing while the beautiful ship sinks.
On the other hand we have the SMC show that is now rising to the firmanent, all to the credit of the people that run the show. It's not Utopia and probably it's neither perfect. Perfection is not of this world, as we figure painters all too well know. But the reason why there's no bad word is because it has a lot - not everything - that Euro is sadly lacking now: a spacious and modern venue with a massive amount of traders, excellent lighting and show tables, good catering at affordable prices and nice hotel facilities. So it's not surprising that SMC is attracting a growing amount of big names in the hobby at the moment. Agreed, SMC still lacks the legendary status that Euro had in the past, given the fact that it's still a relative new event in its current form. And admittedly, maybe the open system that is commonly used on the continent is not as 'harsh' as Euro's 'survival of the fittest' competition. Anyway, it's not surprising either that rumours are growing that the venue of the SMC show is a candidate to harbour the 2020 World Expo.
To end I would like to express my hopes that, one day, the organizing crew of SMC will not get as complacent as the vultures that are seemingly murdering Euro now. We can only hope that SMC keeps getting better each edition and that Euro is revitalized by people that love the hobby. Wouldn't it be grant to have two big shows standing next to each other. But that's just something that only the future will tell.
Johan