Conventions And Shows.

[Nack]

Thursday, if you're a member. If not Friday AM, before all the goodies get gone. At least that is what I've been told.

Yeah, not a member.

How much of the show can you see in 1 day?

[ekclete]

I show up Thursday and leave on Saturday. In the past you could join up on the spot on Thursday and gain entrance. When you sign up you are joining the Ohio Valley Military Society or OVMS. I think the cost is $25 or $30 for an annual membership which gains you admission to all their shows and you get a quarterly newsletter to boot.

I think Thursday is the best day. I can get to the tables I want in one day for sure but to see everything in one day is hard to do. I think they have about 2,000 tables each at 8 feet. That is a lot of military stuff to check out!

Plus the tables they have historical figures signing autographs, information seminars on collecting, some great displays of people's personal collections and plus you get to see some great militaria. thanks Clete

[Nack]

Any nuts and bolts tips? I've got my google maps printed out, so I know how to get there, but are there any tricks? Like, avoid Lot C for reason X, etc?

[Nack]

Ok, well, no helpful hints. I'll have to figure it out on my own I suppose.


I'll be there Friday and will be stopping by J4 to meet Dave. Perhaps I'll run into someone else whilst there.

[ekclete]

Hi Nack,
I had intended to reply but life just got in the way. I am not sure what direction you are coming from but I come down I65 into Louisville. If you follow the signs I65 has an exit that will take you right to the show. You come off 65 to a stoplight and the arena is right in front of you.

Drive into the grounds and the arena for the show will be on your right. Find any available parking and walk up to the center. The SOS itself is in the rear portion of the hall off to the right (the conference center has several large conference halls within this building).

The building is in the shape of an L and the SOS is in the junction of the L. There will be signs. If you are not a member of OVMS you can join at the show. Joining is a bit more expensive then paying the daily admission fee. And if you join you get free admission to all the OVMS shows and I think they have four a year. Plus you get the quarterly newsletter.

When you get there make sure you get a copy of the program; that has an index of dealers and what they sell. Also I would recommend bringing a little notebook along as well. The reason for that is if you see something you like you jot down the location of the item so you can find it again later on. I think there are over 2,000 eight foot tables and after a couple hours all the tables start to look the same.

I also bring a digital camera and take pics of things I am researching, are just plain rare or just odd enough to catch my eye. I will be there on Thursday around Noon and will also try to make it to Dave's table and meet some other collectors. Maybe we will cross paths while there Nack.

I am at a table (the number slips my mind right now) run by The Cracked Pot Militaria. If you need a place to rest the feet or leave a bag/recent purchase you can check in there and we will watch if for you. If you are into tanks our little collecting group heads to Fort Knox and checks out the Patton Musuem fo Armor and Cavalry. We have a connection there and we get in an hour early and get to crawl around inside the tanks. I tell you there is nothing compared to a German King Tiger. If you are interested in that let me know and we can make the plans.

I guess the last piece of advice is that if you see something that you want and it is hard to come by I would not pass it up; there are a lot of collectors out there and the good stuff does go fast. But if it is a common item then wait and compare prices. Short of that it is just one friggin huge military show and you just cant bring enough money!!! Thanks CLete

[Dave]

Sorry for not replying either - I'm in the same boat as Clete - life getting in the way...

Anyway, you'll find that parking isn't that bad, as the fairgrounds are massive and it's not like parking at Disneyland... if you can't park in the parking lot right outside the convention center (not to say you might not have a 5-10 minute walk, though) you're probably parking too far away. Normally the national gun show is held the same weekend with probably 2x the number of people attending, so that's normally the majority of cars in the parking lot. Also, the last few years they've had a big muscle car (etc.) exhibition there the same weekend which has stacked up parking, but if you get there when the doors open for the SOS on Saturday, you beat out all the rednecks going to see the monster trucks. :chuckle (Okay, seriously, I'm not making fun of rednecks, so please forgive me if you think I am.)

Clete is also right about the notepad. I have never thought about that before, and it makes sense, esp since I've forgotten where things have been located before and after two days of walking, living on hot dogs and Coke, it's tough for one's brain to be 100% in gear... I've spent upwards of a half hour looking for one particular table that I just KNEW I had seen!

You're also welcome to stash anything under our table as well, though after digging through my closets and boxes, I've discovered more stuff than probably even two or three tables can hold, so I'll probably be stashing stock under the table. (Incidentally, I did clean out a guy's eastern block uniform collection and I'll be dumping some low-end uniforms if anyone's interested - I really don't want to take them home!)

All in all, you'll have a great time and it's worth the effort to make it out there. It's an 11 hour drive for me (I've got too much stuff to take to fly) and I'm looking forward to my departure at 3AM on Wednesday morning!

Dave

[Doug]

Hi All,

Long time no see. I'll also be attending the SOS and will be sharing a table with long-time collector Bob Long - look for his name in the program. Due to some other plans, I will be selling some of my better Soviet orders including a Hero Star to a Shturmovik pilot, a Suvorov 2nd Class and a 3rd Class, a Bogdan 3rd class, Red Banner #2 and #3, a one-of-a-kind variant screw back Red Banner of Labor with hand engraved Mondvor, two screwback Order of the Badge of Honors, and a bunch of other great pieces and groups I already regret selling.

I will also have a posthumous OPW2 to a political agitator especially for Dave to see. Dave, you should bring that little Berlin Red Banner group if you still have it (hint, hint).

All the best. Looking forward to a lot of fun at the SOS.

Doug

[Nack]

Thanks for the info folks--sounds like it will be a good time. I think I may end up regretting having budgeted only one day for the event...

And Dave--remind me to look at your stash of low-end commie uniforms

[Dave]

I will also have a posthumous OPW2 to a political agitator especially for Dave to see. Dave, you should bring that little Berlin Red Banner group if you still have it (hint, hint).

My heart is racing!!!!! Thank you!!! :thumbsup :thumbsup

Ah yes... my Berlin group. If I have room, I'll bring it out. It's just so nicely on display at the moment though...



Dave

[new world]

Dave, Nack, Doug,

How was the show?

Please give brief summary for those of us who could not attend.

William