Good show, seemed pretty crowded Saturday, OK on Sunday. It rained late in the afternoon Saturday, and on Sunday right after the show closed we got a real gully washer! Loading became a real PITA in the rain for everyone. I was luckily able to get parking close to the end I was at, and in a lull in the deluge I loaded up. Still got soaked. Driving home I almost needed a boat!
The GTE folks were great! Thanks to Randy Bachmann and his family, they did a great job even dealing with the bureaucracy that can make the Fairplex a pain at times. I was able to get set up and taken down on my own once again but this time the wear and tear on the layout really took its toll.
To get it in and out on my own, I have to unload it out of the car onto its side onto a collapsible dolly, then roll it in and manhandle it up onto the sawhorses. If I am lucky I can get someone to help carry it in and out but the last two shows I did it solo. Yesterday I had two buildings break off as well as several figures. It was never designed to be tipped on its side as necessary to get it rolled into and out of the hall. I had this problem at the BTS to a degree a but at the Anaheim Citric Festival I had to tip the whole layout 90 degrees and that took a toll as well. At the Anaheim GTE I can drive right into the hall and unload the layout keeping it flat. Its also very bulky and its weight make it very difficult to manhandle onto the sawhorses and in and out of the car on my own. I have to seriously consider that if I have to tip it on end to get it in and out that I’m just going to have to skip those shows. It really beats the hell out of the layout.