[FenderBender]

Check out RCT's last rally (September 2011) if you haven't seen it already, of course.

Here's the link - to Slot Adictos (Spanish Forum)

September Rally

It's quite long and full of Spanish, but the best photos are at posts 42, 59 and 75 onwards.

Just like to share what we do here in sunny mosquito-infested Catalonia.

My personal contribution was track 2 which was meant to be the Wales Rally - hence the English Pub (Er, I mean Welsh Pub!)
The track has a large routed 'grass' section which although perfectly flat was one of the best features of the whole rally IMHO!!!

I also did the little beer garden table and the four pints of beer!
(Plastic tube from a biro cut to size, filled with brown paint, left to dry, topped with white paint, tastes foul but there you go!)

FB

 

[FenderBender]

Yes, Matt I have heard that same wish expressed on previous occasions.

Apart from having the space (we rent the place which was once used as a printing shop I believe), the time (about three weekends from start to finish), the materials (well, as the club has been going for 16 years we have probably got too much of everything) you really need about 12-15 people who are willing to do all the graft - not just building the tracks, but promoting the event, sorting out the webstuff, the trophies and commemorative cars, ordering the beers, bread, sausages etc right down to ensuring there's toilet roll.

Up until this year we organised a full championship with 9 events and the money they brought in paid for everything.

But as with most clubs we saw that the numbers were steadily falling so a decision had to be made: close or pay up. Of course, we decided to pay. We have about 14 paying members (20 quid a month) and this covers nearly everything - so we organised three events which covered the rest.

In fact we will end this year with some cash in the bank. At the next meeting we will decide what to do with that profit. Invest in new track pieces, pay a bit less each month for the whole of next year, just do two events ..... at least we are still in business whilst all around us we hear of clubs having to close or move to smaller places, or even go 'private' as we did.

The important thing is to keep going!

FB

 

[FenderBender]

ss67 - the grass was a kind of wallpaper that I think train modellers use for decoration. It's easy to glue onto the wood (we used watered down wood glue) and it's got quite a bit of grip. But it will wear out in places as time goes by - we just paint these bits green.

It's also quite dear - about 9 quid a roll for 2m x 1m (we needed two rolls!) - we also toyed with the idea of painting the boards green, sprinkling with fine sand and then adding a top coat - the effect would probably be the same.

FB