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Ciscos SMC Eindhoven/Amsterdam 16-21 Oct09

Posted: Wed 24th Feb 2010 04:55 pm
by Cisco
Cisco’s Scale Model Challenge Eindhoven? Amsterdam 16th-21stOctober 09

Well where do I start ? I have been on a few trips to Amsterdam but have never travelled anywhere else in Holland . My other hobby in life is building scale military models (see do you or have you built models in the off topic thread) So when I heard of a model competition in Eindhoven I thought what a great excuse to indulge in my hobbies ! I first heard of this show a couple of years back , and read about it in modelling magazines !!!!Geek alert !!!!! Lol so I booked time of work to attend the show and decided on extending my stay to include a few nights in Amsterdam ! It would be rude not too ! This show has a good reputation and some well known modellers attend so I knew I would have to build some amazing models to stand a chance in the competition , I have done well in the Scottish nationals but this was going to be a whole new kettle of fish , as I thought it would maybe be a regret if I made the trip and never entered the competition ! For anyone interested here’s the Dutch armour group for North Brabant www.scalemodelfactory.nl So sit back , light a spliff and enjoy !

So I had made my models booked some extra time off work and was ready to go ! The show was not till the Sunday but the SMF had organised an excursion to Liberty park Overloon on the Saturday so I flew over on the Friday to give me plenty time to get organised !

My flight was at 14.30 on the Friday afternoon so I had a mate pick me up , I just live 5-10mns away from the airport so its not to bad smoked a spliff on the way to the airport ready to start my journey !
Uneventful time at the airport through security no problems a coffee at Costa and im ready to go ! And then the waiting starts !!! Called to the gate go through ,stand around longer ! You know how it is ? You just want to get on the plane and get the trip started ! Any waiting and you feel like you could burst ! Lol

Eventually got on the flight , and what a flight !!! Yee ha ride em cowboy turbulence city if your not a fan hold on tight ! Arrived Schipol around 16.50 local time ( I knew the times of direct trains to Eindhoven every 30mns with alternate 15mns changing at Utrecht) Well the next direct train was at 17.14 “no way will I get that” I thought !? Well lets just say I though Schipol was much bigger ! I was on that platform with 5mns to spare ! (I had a dilemma at this point ! Nip into Amsterdam for an hour or so Twichaldhino was in town or not ? If I had not been going to Amsterdam on the Monday I defo would have gone )

Another uneventful journey (my notes say Utrecht looked a very modern city) not that you see much of it ! Lol Train took a bit longer than expected my notes say 19.50 but that cant be right ? I think the journey is only 1hour 30 mns approx although there was work going on , on the tracks ! I was staying at the Holiday Inn were I had got a not bad deal through the SMF weekend €60 per room per night) you can see the hotel from the station so I set off through and under some under passes straight to the hotel in no time 5mns .

Checked in no problems and within 5 mns I had been to the toilet , grabbed my grinder and hit the streets to get completely lost and confused !? Im usually good with maps but I was taking directions from the wrong landmark ! Doh ! Anyway gave it 5mns then back to the station TAXI “coffee shop grasshopper please my good man Grotteberg please” no problem the driver was really friendly showed me a few places on the way €7.50 straight to the door ! I usually would try find my way around but its pretty hard to get your bearings in the dark I find !

Grasshopper c/s Eindhoven . I walked into a pretty small and busy shop , you walk in and the bud tender is straight ahead of you I purchased a €7 of aarbien wiet (strawberry) looked around the place was very busy but there was a seat free next to a guy so I go over and ask if its ok to sit ? Sure no problem so get myself comfy have a look around don’t see any tobacco so just ram the full bag of wiet in a skin then lit that bad boy up ! Mm a creeper was feeling ok then gently started getting more buzzed ! Good tunes dance funky sounds ! Went through a few more spliffs I bought a €7 W/widow €7 Santa Maria im sure there was another bag but cant remember what !? Got on pretty good wi the Dutch Dude cant remember his name ! Sorry dude ! He worked in Eindhoven but stayed outside never took note of where , we had a great chat about numerous subjects my models , he liked collecting coins the general coffee shop scene , the fact im a criminal at home for enjoying a spliff after my work ! How better would it be that you finish work then go to your fav coffee shop !? There are times I get invited for a few drinks after work , I don’t drink much so usually decline . If there were c/s in my city ? Well lets just say I would spend more time socialising as im sure a lot of you would ?
I went through a cornucopia of stonedness ! Chilled to buzzing to I must admit a bit of paranoia creeping in ! He He but I know just to ride it out its all cool ! What happened is I was using my mobile to send a txt when I seen a dodgy looking geezer lean over and say something to the dude I was with , I know some c/s prefer you not to use your phone but the dude says nothing to me when I finished up I think he was just speaking to him ! Lol I think the Grasshopper is a locals shop but hey I ride it out !

As I never had a clue where I was the Dutch dude said he would show me the way back to the station as he was going that way anyway cool , he takes me on the scenic route showed me some sites in central Eindhoven I like architecture so this was a real treat there was a moment in my stoned feeling that I just got IT I don’t know what it is or was but I had it !

I had not eaten all day so decided to get a Burger King on the way back to the hotel I don’t usually eat fast food much but it was quick and easy got back to the room and munched that ! Rolled a fat one then another , no smoking in the room so I was going to find out about the hotel facilities then go outside and smoke a spliff . It was still only 22.49 it had been a long day and I was up early the next day but I could still do with going to another coffee shop or two ! Just rapid toked a couple of joints I have got Amsterdam on Monday for coffee shop crawls TBH I did not think much of the Grasshoppers gear bit dry and very small bits-shake all pre bagged yeah I was buzzing the buds were not worth taking a photo of just changing down ! Lol that strawberry gear has contaminated my grinder ! Stinking !

I went for a walk from the hotel to smoke a joint but I just so happened to have a Google map with directions to the coffee shop The Wall in my back pocket and I totally home in on it like a magnet total cheesing after my earlier head fuck getting lost ! I never set out to find it I figure as I only have €10 on me but I homed in on it ! Lol I buy 1G Brabant’s Wiet smoked a spliff of that then headed back to the hotel totally chuffed with myself yee ha so only been to two coffee shops but still two nights to go !

17th October Trip to Liberty Park National War and Resistance Museum
I was really looking forward to this part of the trip as I had heard that the Museum owns a Panther tank from the battle of Overloon during the Second World War , and German tanks are one of my biggest modelling interest . I was up early showered and down for my breakfast its free so why not !? Im glad I did it was not your usual European fayre yeah it had the continental breckie and also scrambled eggs , bacon , sausage I had some of all ! Lol nice pastries nice coffee set for the day ! I had rolled a couple of spliffs for the day so went outside to smoke one ! Then met everyone at the front of the hotel to start our trip ! There were 10 of us including the guide/driver Eric two couples one of whom happened to be a well known wife and husband who sculpt and paint figures professionally it was good to meet them and got a lot of tips alas there was also another Scotsman so after an hour or so we arrived at the Museum which is set in parkland you take a walk through it to be confronted with !
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We are early so wait around have a look around the immediate area and find

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Go in and we get a guided tour that lasts an hour or so and see some great things Image
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We stop for lunch then the rest of the afternoon is free to spend looking round at your own pace (and to smoke a couple of spliffs when wandering the parkland), there was a lot more to see including a hall dedicated to German parachute troops (Fallschirmjager)
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also exhibits on concentration camps ,
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resistance including a press that was used to print underground newspapers , also pretty moving for myself a bit dedicated to The Scottish regiments who helped to liberate Holland ! this visit was even more poignant as it coincided with the date Overloon was liberated
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Got back to Eindhoven and my mate (who we shall call George)was waiting in the hotel room for me he had arrived earlier in the day and had went into Amsterdam for an hour or so for a smoke he hit up Babas on Worm Street Jack Herer €8.50 G he has a spliff rolled so we head straight out and up to c/s The Wall I bought a G Northern Lights €8 I think also G of Sshaze €12 rolled a pure of SS tasted really nice and fruity .We decided to take a walk up Edissonstraat found the Red Light Area straight away ! Wow total shopping arcade ! You know the shops in Shameless ? Like that just a wee pedestrian square like an industrial estate hard to describe the feel of the place just a square with about 20 windows or should I say houses !? Did this used to be houses do the girls live there ? Anyway had a look around there was one that took my fancy bottom right window blonde , the nicest out the bunch I would say ! I never partook neither did my mate .

We wandered up to C/S Meeting Point nice place , comfy certainly compared to The Wall no real seating in there a raised platform bit of a dive really ! But Meeting Point bought 1G Amnesia €10 just a buy n fly this time head back to the hotel got washed and changed ready for a night out in Eindhoven , we went for a healthy stroll Eindhoven seems pretty small (Centrum) the coffee shops I have visited seem to be in residential streets (how better would your local area be with a coffee shop rather than a pub ?) I would certainly prefer going to a c/s after work rather than being a criminal sitting in private with the risk of detection ! Went round the town looking for some thing to eat decided on a wee Tapas place had some ribs that tasted like crackling !? Nice salty , spicy mmmmmmm meatballs , patatas bravas , chorizo Spanish sausage lovely bread with a couple dips mmmmm all washed down with beer and wine ! Lovely. One thing I did notice is that there seemed to be groups of Females out for dinner are there more Females than Males in Eindhoven ? Lots of girls ! Lol my mate has a girlfriend so no action without a wingman !


Went to the Grasshopper after our food never bought anything just had a coffee and rolled what we had , then went for another stroll eventually noticed some streets that I recognised the name, found c/s New Wave the guys that were working were a bit offish asked my mate for I.d then would not let us into the smoking area if we did not buy straight away ! I like to get comfy first usually then sort a purchase ! I think George bought something but we made like bananas and split . Headed to Euro garden again another neighbourhood shop great feel to the place my fav yet got a bag of Power Plant €8 mm not really my type of weed did not like the taste , pretty harsh almost hash like !? Back to the hotel after that rolled an Amnesia nice pungent smell G rolled something as well we went for another walk ended up at the RLD as you do ! Lol still never used the services although the same girl was working , never even asked how much !? Went back to the room it was around 00.57 so spliff and bed the model show/competition tomorrow !

18th October Scale Model Challenge
Well up and about early down for breakfast I needed to be at the venue for a certain time to enter my models into the competition , think we had to be there for 12.30 so got a taxi there went in . First impressions of this show was good when you arrive you are given a programme ! Never seen or had that at a show before !? Head into the main display area and register my models !



This was a great show with some amazing models/figures/miniatures some I had seen in magazines from some well known modellers. I had rolled four spliffs to last all day so we were nipping out for a smoke now and again ! We also took a wee walk and found a café ,got a burger for lunch (big mistake more on that later!)

Well after a long day it came to the prize giving ceremony and I won Bronze and silver medals ! Well chuffed as there was a very high standard.

The event finished and we had to make our way back to the hotel , no one knew a number for a taxi after asking numerous peeps and the organisers with no luck one of their wife’s offered to drive us back ! Now that was great , really friendly people when we were near the hotel we drove past c/s The Wall so I was like “its ok just let us out here were going to go to this coffee shop” no no there are more in the centre ! I think she didn’t know what kind of coffee shop we were after ! Lol ! I shall defo be returning to this show high standard of work and friendly people !
Returned to the hotel to drop of some stuff I had bought then straight up to Meeting Point 2G W Widow €16 sat around for a spliff I like c/s MP nice n chilled , comfy I also noticed some board games and stuff ! Left there head into town for some food found some place on the main street (what’s the main street with all the pubs restaurants ?) We find a place that’s doing Rib eye Steak with all the trimmings €16.95 mm lovely had some wine with that then off again to Grasshopper just smoked the WW and had a coffee , then another walk in the centre of town found c/s De Bakerij never bought anything pretty small menu if I remember rightly ? Left there and eventually found coffee shop Upstairs ! We must have walked passed this lots of times hard to find !? I found it by luck well actually from a photo of the graffiti in Kadysmums trip report (thanks for that!lol)

Head upstairs to find a giant red button hit that and the door swishes open total Star Trek stylee ! Small place with a separate smoking area the Bud dude and his mate were playing X Box I think !? But at last proper bud nice full bud rather than shake ! Sure its still pre bagged but good looking buds ! Bought €12 J Herer 1.7G €12 Snow White 1.5G Upstairs special 1.5G just smoked a couple of W Widows as I was going to send the rest home as a wee souvenir ! Lol left there headed back to Grasshopper got some o the aarbien (strawberry) to send home . Total novelty but would like my mate to try ! Left there had another stroll round town stopped at a café in the Square where the big church is ! Had some apple pie n cream and a coffee my mate had a beer !

Well that’s it for my Eindhoven trip as I leave for Amsterdam Tomorrow I shall post that soon thanks peeps any comments , questions fire away ?
i shall also post some more photos ! cheers Peace out !

Posted: Wed 24th Feb 2010 09:33 pm
by Toker70
Awseome dude i love all that old war stuff it brings out the kid in me

Posted: Wed 24th Feb 2010 09:42 pm
by Cisco
Thanks Toker70 ! im just pleased to get some feedback ! cant believe ive had 50/60 peeps look at my report but no-one has anything to say on the subject !? or is it just shite ? ! :lol: :roll:

Posted: Wed 24th Feb 2010 09:59 pm
by Kermit
Great report m8 and congrats on your medals 8)

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 03:58 am
by PecosTheCat
Fantastic report! Congrats on the medals won in the modeling competition!

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 06:45 am
by Twichaldinho
cisco wrote:Thanks Toker70 ! im just pleased to get some feedback ! cant believe ive had 50/60 peeps look at my report but no-one has anything to say on the subject !? or is it just shite ? ! :lol: :roll:
I was saving it for after my shift, bloody good report chief.
Cannae wait to be part of yer 420 number :wink:

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8)

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 11:21 am
by NIZZLE
Great report Cisco! I really enjoyed your adventures outside Amsterdam. Nice photos and congratulations on your medals!!! are we going get to see picture of your award winning models?

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 11:42 am
by Jesscass
Better late than never, right :wink: ?!
Thanks for you time, interesting read!

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 01:50 pm
by geoffk
Very cool.

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 02:37 pm
by gixxer
gr8 report cisco,, congrats on the medals m8,, gr8 models btw

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 02:42 pm
by Trad
Nice report Cisco and congratulations on winning the medals.

I have a great interest in history and WW11 in particular, my dad fought through Holland in 1945 with a Highland regiment....the 48th Highlanders Of Canada. Ergo, I found this an interesting report, thanks.

Back in the late 70's I was involved in miniature war gaming, WW11. We used the little plastic 1 inch solders and painted them up....right down to the buttons on their tunics. Same scale as HO rail so we used buildings, fences, trees, etc. from that hobby and fought small unit actions, squad level. We had a few vehicles to use in our scenarios but, nothing of the quality that you are producing.

Once again, well done and thanks.

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 02:47 pm
by Cisco
Thanks for all your kind words peeps ! i shall add some photos of the model show and then on to Amsterdam !!! :lol: :wink:

Thanks again :wink:

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 06:03 pm
by Pauli Wallnuts
gotta be honest when i clicked on this thread i thought it would be only about model building in eindhoven :oops: :lol:
real good reporting, so cs Upstairs was you fav, right? how would you rate the smoke compared to dam, quality/price?, have thought about going eindhoven, ryanair do cheap flights, but remember reading liquidswords report last year & he said it wern't nowhere near as good as dam, have heard of that street with the bars, supposed 2be 1 of the longest entertainment streets in europe??

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 09:55 pm
by spidergawd
Dare I say it........? EPIC :)
Take care m8, see you in the Dam 420.
Peace Spider :)

Re: Ciscos Scale Model Challenge Eindhoven/Amsterdam 16-21 O

Posted: Thu 25th Feb 2010 11:08 pm
by SGawain235
cisco wrote:Cisco’s Scale Model Challenge Eindhoven? Amsterdam 16th-21stOctober 09

Well that’s it for my Eindhoven trip as I leave for Amsterdam Tomorrow I shall post that soon thanks peeps any comments , questions fire away ?
i shall also post some more photos ! cheers Peace out !
If anyone ever, EVER says that all people who do scale models are hopeless dorks and/or nerds, I will direct them to your report. Truly, almost painfully awesome.