RACES/EVENTS

From April 13th to 17th 2005 a big event for all modellers in Europe took place in Dortmund/Germany: The Intermodellbau 2005. Airplanes, helicopters, cars and trucks, railways, ships and more. More than 20,000 models on 12 acres, 450 companies and shops, more than 100,000 visitors, a real big event.I got the chance for a day off, so I decided to visit the exhibition on Thursday. My interests are only in raceboats, so my focus was on the the stands of the shops with raceboat parts.

I started at MTC. The owners Rudolf and Bernd are old friends, so for me it is a “must” to visit them and have some good discussions. They produce all kind of hardware, drives, rudders, their own engine line and lots more, all made with CNC milling machines. Every time you have a look into their showcases they have to clean the windows from your nose print or your slobber ...

After that I strolled to the stand of Heiner Gundert. Heiner is the “godfather” of raceboats in Germany. He has been in business longer than anybody else. Heiner and his wonderful wife Ruth have all the small parts everyone needs but which are hard to get. He has screws, nuts and bolts, switches and building materials, propshafts and props, engines, hulls, and much more. You are looking for something special? Go, ask Heiner. He has stored so many things in boxes, drawers etc. that you need a compass to find it. Need some technical advice? Heiner will have some answers for you.

Next stop was at the biggest stand for powerboat enthusiasts; some people called it the “Mekka of powerboating”. Ernest Zavarsky in person from MHZ presented me some of his new stuff. The new Rebel is a mono, based on the famous Cayman but with the look of a modern Fountain. This boat is designed for Zenoah in combination with a z-drive. Installing the pipe into the hull is no problem. This emphasizes the scale look of this boat.

Also new is an engine mount with clutch and waterpump. When installing this unit to your 260 you have only to drill a small hole through the threaded bolt on the frontside into the port of your engine. No more tube is needed to run the pump.

Small engine, but big power! This is a turboprop turbine from the english manufactor Wren. Like a real hydro turbine it has a gearbox to get the right rpm’s to your propshaft. Power is specified to be 10hp. The first turbine will run this year in a 1:6 scale hydro Llamar. But this is another story for MGB ...

After that I found a small stand of a new company, B.A.E. They offer a line of various wooden baots in different scales. Most of them are designed for electric engines, but some of them are good for a gas engine. The kits come as a frame kit, preassembled is available.

Last visit for me was Hydro&Marine. The owner Oliver Siess started some years ago with importing plastic 1/16 hydros from USA. Now he is one of the large producers with his own line of scale hydros, cats and monos. Most of his boats are designed for electric engines, but some of the bigger ones are great scale looking raceboats for nitro and gas.

My result: The Intermodellbau model exhibition and trade show is one of the best options to meet the big brands in one place. The mixture of displayed models and the possibility to buy all the stuff makes it really interesting for visitors. They have the chance to see models from other enthusiasts on the club stands and to buy necessary parts at a good price. And for the non-enthusiasts it is a great choice to see the whole spectrum of modelling in just one exhibtion.

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