Clubhouse?

[pigeonfarmboy]

Originally Posted by trilliwilli

Intresting to read you call us Badass.

There are a lot of permanent courses in Germany and Austria, but most of them are outdoor. So riding in the summer and only when it is dry.

If you see indoor pictures of large courses with sand, buildings and everything around it, it's most of the time a 2 or 3 day event that's held once a year.

Especially in Germany, they have a habbit of building huge courses with several truckloads of sand or soil. Even large watertanks are build with EPDM foils.

Isn't it an idea to organise such an event instead of building a fixed course?

To give you an idea, here are some pictures of the last Intermodellbau in Dortmund.

http://www.abload.de/gallery.php?key=lCPeKCBn

This was a 4 day event, and afterwords everything was cleaned up.
Usually organised in large event centers, there are also traders and lots of other scales and modelbuilding disciplines, so it's only logical that an course is large, it attracks lots of people that also pay entry fees to get in.

For an example of fixed courses, check these sites for inspiration:

Moosbeuren, South Germany
http://indoor-parcours-sueddeutschla.../vom-parcours/

Glashaus, in an old glas wharehouse
http://www.rc-glashaus.de/lkw-1.html

Modellstadt Bremerhaven
http://www.modellstadt-bremerhaven.d...odellstadt.php

I have never been to one of these fixed courses, the events I visit are usually truckshows or fancy fairs where one of the Dutch clubs is hired to give a demo. I placed several photoshoots of these events and placed them in the international section.

They use mobile courses, most of the time made from hardboard, square pieces of 1x1 meter or 1,2x1,2 meter, painted with roads on them. They lay them out in a predetermined setup, and have some foldable/detachable buildings to place on.

I personally think this is the second best to a fixed course, with the advance of flexibility to lay them out where ever you want.

The distances are a lot bigger fot you guys, and I am amazed by the fact that you want to drive for up to 10 hours just for a little bit of fun.

Perhaps a mobile course is the way to go.

And if you plan the dimensions and roads on drawings, everybody can make seperatly from each other a few road sections.

This all just to give you some ideas.

Good luck with the decisions.

Yeah the Moosbeuren location is my favorite I've seen and what would be my inspiration for what I'd want from a permanent facility.

Originally Posted by 9W Monighan

The best or cheapest way to have an indoor layout is know of a local hobby shop that a has a indoor racetrack or crawl area that would accommodate trucks or earthmovers, or by attending a already established show such as Indy without real dirt or The Cabin Fever Expo that I have started where the sky's the limit there with space and accommodations and move all the materials in and out like Trilliwilli has posted.

No offense to any show at all. I have had a blast at Indy and Brookeville. It's just not the same for me. Working in dirt/sand/rocks is a completely different experience. Being able to actually build the roads and work the ground is more involved. Building towards a goal that isn't just torn down at the end of a weekend is a more fun idea to me.

Everyone is going to have a different idea and Spudd is right, no location is going to be perfect for everyone. Give & take is the name of the game here. To be completely honest, without a location like this, I don't think there's an affordable way to do this with the limited number of members that would participate in this. The whole reason I started this thread was to discuss if it's even a remote reality of making this happen. I for one am super-excited this glimmer of possiblity has presented itself.

To move further, maybe we should set a date up there and have a meeting? Or just wait for Indy when most of us are together.

You got any photos of the spot Spudd?

[spudd]

I will get some this weekend and post them

[ihbuilder]

I was thinking more in the line of a sole person own a place/layout and host get together . I'm thinking along those lines in the future with an outdoor/indoor layout once I start my 1:14 scale GR layout . We as americans and canadians have a major draw back ( vast miles between us ) I don't think just 1 place will work I have to finish my shop/addition and truck shed , but after that I'm planning to build another pole/bank barn just for the layout . Me being on the mountain side , it could be an interesting layout

[doodlebug]

Anybody considered a used 53 ft reefer trailer? Portable
just my $.002 from the back far side of everywhere

Cheer's, Neil.

[pigeonfarmboy]

Yeah no reason not to start this same discussion in the other regional forums.

[woodhog]

there should be older rundown homes in almost any part of the country!Take and gut them on the interier.i do like steve's ideas on some one owning for the sake of security when leaving items (toys)

[ihbuilder]

Originally Posted by pigeonfarmboy

Yeah no reason not to start this same discussion in the other regional forums.

Sorry , Nate I was just trying to make a suggestion and give a little insight to something I've been kicking around in my cluttered head for awhile .

[pigeonfarmboy]

No need to be sorry. Just suggesting so you guys could get the ball rolling on having maximum fun! It's a sad truth we're so spread out here.

[Ken Orme]

Hole the event in conjuction with an another event such as the "Cabin Feaver Expo" in york Pa. It would be one way to see what the interst would be.

Ken

[Izzy]

Hey ya'll - Wow - great idea finally crossing everybody's mind. I think we all wouldlove to have some place to go 'play' throughout the year.

I would think that a fixed location would be fantastic, but we are really spread out.

but

a fairly organized group can pull this off. with enough advance notice and we 'all' can schedule a vacation time for a fabulous weekend. I say 'all' because I know there are some that that is just not possible. And like PFB pointed out it takes a structured group - only so that others can easily step in and cover or when some have an interuption. Nothin like calling off a big thing just cause of regular day to day stuff. And carpooling makes all the difference in breaking up the cost - and it takes just a little coordination to pull off.

Also - I think we all know of an almost forgotten biulding on the skirts of a town or in an older industrial area or something like that that could be arranged fairly easily. Spudds offer is huge.

as for the semi trailer idea - on the surface it sounds good, but in actuality - not much space....bummer though.

If we had a regular facility we wouldn't need to rely on events like Indy to get together and have a good time.

Izzy

[pigeonfarmboy]

So.....
Building across from Ed's

Pros:
$1500 per month operating cost
A/C & Heat
Sleeping bag/cot to cut hotel cost
Hotels close by
Airport access
Alarm system
Constantly able to be monitored by Ed on a daily basis.
Area next to bobcat perfect for co-op tools / mill / lathe
Hobby shop access

Negative points:
Distance for some (always going to be an issue no matter where we go)
Cost depending on # of members

Breakdown of monthly membership costs:
10 people $150
15 $100
20 $75

Thoughts? Where do we go from here? Getting a list of how many will participate so we can nail down cost will be key. I've been looking @ buildings here for higher rates and no climate control/ alarm. I'm willing to dedicate at least one weekend a month to this. (more in the winter) I'm sure others will vary. Something else to keep in mind, guys that can't make it often could "work off" dues by building structures or elements to the site. This is the same setup the model railroad club guys have.

Discuss

[Snochaser]

Nate, I was trying to find a "center" point for most of us and I see Ft. Wayne, IN --> Celina, OH. If that works I'll do s'more research. Ben Ed's is a bit far for me to do on a regular basis. I don't Know........

[woodhog]

Originally Posted by Snochaser

Nate, I was trying to find a "center" point for most of us and I see Ft. Wayne, IN --> Celina, OH. If that works I'll do s'more research. Ben Ed's is a bit far for me to do on a regular basis. I don't Know........

same here for us southern guys but if there is enough members to get cost down im game just keep us all posted

[YoungGunz]

I would be in if we had atleast 10 guys. I could come down possibly once a month maybe every two. Keep us posted on what you figure out. Car pooling would also cut down on costs.

[rockNmayhem]

Nathan that was a great location and area to have setup. I would only be able to make it once every couple of months if that but I would be willing to build and help with anything I can. I do have a guy here in town that approached me this morning about having us do a show here in town in april and he has a location that we can set up and he will let us use anything we need to, to have a good time. It will be going on during an antique semi truck antique show so there would be some very interested spectators so I was thinking it may be a neat thing to try and setup if anyone would be interested in heading this far west. I'm about 8hrs out from St. Louis.

Tyler

[dabears]

Location is always going to play the problem part... As well as size. For those that dont have a dump truck or trailer or a loader dirt does no good. road area and docks bridges etc would be needed too. Eds place was a decent size but we outgrew it in a matter of hours with limited floor space to run the highway trucks vs the construction equip... Now if we would be using rubber vs dirt, that makes it a little nicer and cleaner obviously we could build bigger bridge systems etc.. I like the ideas that we could do and things we can make. Maybe we should also look at making a list of all those who would be interested, how often they would go, what they would bring to run as well as how far they would want to drive. Im sure we can find a common medium and if its in an area that we could get good internet services then we can set up IPbased remote security cameras to monitor the area when people are not there. This helping protect any and all assets inside. Just my .02 i love the idea of having a clubhouse or a place to meet when we dont have things like Indy to go to.

[pigeonfarmboy]

I don't expect this to all happen right away. I do think it gives us a reference point for cost and idea basics though to determine the ideal place.

I definitely agree Aaron. I just assumed we would make a roadway for semis. Wifi security isn't good enough for me to leave my stuff somewhere. I need a club "foreman" to be able to take action should something happen. St. Louis sets a pretty high bar for security level. Going to be hard to beat that space. I agree too with amount of space. It's a very large space but the area gets taken up quickly. Unfortunately anything larger than that is likely to drive up the price beyond "affordable".

So Tyler you bring up a good point. Do we allow non club members access any time they want to come? This defeats the purpose of members paying (investing) into the club and doesn't seem fair. That said I think it's stupid not to let non-members play but there has to be an admission price to do so. This is one thing that would add revenue to the club but an unpredictable amount. Not allowing non-members in doesn't allow the club to expand and cuts off growth to the hobby.

[rockNmayhem]

Originally Posted by pigeonfarmboy

I don't expect this to all happen right away. I do think it gives us a reference point for cost and idea basics though to determine the ideal place.

I definitely agree Aaron. I just assumed we would make a roadway for semis. Wifi security isn't good enough for me to leave my stuff somewhere. I need a club "foreman" to be able to take action should something happen. St. Louis sets a pretty high bar for security level. Going to be hard to beat that space. I agree too with amount of space. It's a very large space but the area gets taken up quickly. Unfortunately anything larger than that is likely to drive up the price beyond "affordable".

So Tyler you bring up a good point. Do we allow non club members access any time they want to come? This defeats the purpose of members paying (investing) into the club and doesn't seem fair. That said I think it's stupid not to let non-members play but there has to be an admission price to do so. This is one thing that would add revenue to the club but an unpredictable amount. Not allowing non-members in doesn't allow the club to expand and cuts off growth to the hobby.

Nathan great point there. As I mentioned before I will gladly help out and pay anything I can or build whatever we need (that I can fit inside the car of course) for the facility but as you brought up non member fees for entry would be a good idea.

You could simply have a $10-$20 admission fee for a day to use the facility and run equipment along with also providing growing relations if people wanted to come and try it out to see if it's something they'd be interested in.

I know for me if there was a place to go and play and have a fun day running my machines and it was climate controlled and had all the facilities I needed I'd gladly pay $20 to go play for a weekend of enjoyment.

Now I know some people would think that was absurd but maybe do a one or two day free trial to see it and if they decided it was worth it they may be willing to come back or become a member?

Many many good thoughts to consider and I'm sure something could easily be worked out.

Tyler

[Supermario]

Originally Posted by Snochaser

Nate, I was trying to find a "center" point for most of us and I see Ft. Wayne, IN --> Celina, OH. If that works I'll do s'more research. Ben Ed's is a bit far for me to do on a regular basis. I don't Know........

Hey, hey ! I can do Fort Wayne! It's about 7.5 hrs for me. That type of location would allow us guys just north of the border to get involved..... If you'll take us that is... PLEASE!
In regards to non members and admission. offer an open house every now and then. Get them in and get them hooked!

I know the location which serves the most will make it more successful so I can only hope it ends up somewhere near my neck of the woods. That's my 4 Canadian cents....

Remember this phrase?....." Build it, and they will come "

Mario

[TRUCKMAKER]

I would really like to see some thing like this happen, the set-up in St. Louis sounds great but the 6+ hour drive one way even once a month pretty much kills it for my schedule. I'm already making a 4-6 hour round trip into Michigan every 2-3 weeks (I'm not an over the road driver any more)LOL. This is going to be the problem no matter where we go. That being said If you could get enough people together in that area or that are able to make the drive, to make it viable by all means go for it. I would definitely pay a reasonable fee to come down and work/play when I can.

I would be interested in the Ft Wayne to Celina Ohio area Snochaser talked about, 2-3 hours out works for me!