willysmb44 Posted August 15, 2008 #1 Posted August 15, 2008 I just got home from Portland's MVPA convention this afternoon. I showed up a few minutes before the doors opened and was surprised to find only 13 folks ahead of me in line for the door less than 15 minutes before the doors opened! I was also surprised to see many vendors not there, their tables had stuff but with tarps over them. But by 11, most (if not all) were open for business. Display vehicles came in all day. Plenty of folks who knew me from the G503 forum and my Army Motors writing stopped to introdcue themsevles, which was really neat. Here is just part of the vendor area. I spent a lot, but not nearly as much as I thought I might as I went with a specific "shopping list" This is just part of all the tracked vehicles in the display area: This neat WW1 truck came from a museum in the Portland area along with a nice WW2 Japanese tank: It's not a "military" vehicle exactly, but this "Flying Tigers" inspired Hot Rod sure turned some heads! And I got to say howdy to my old pal Rob from "Mail Call" again and drool at some of the reproduction stuff he's working on now. He was the co-creator of the show and owns the GPW you saw in each episode:
Johan Willaert Posted August 15, 2008 #2 Posted August 15, 2008 Thanks for the pictures, Lee I attended the 1996 Convention at Portland and would have loved to return this year. But with a trip to HI next year, it justn't wasn't possible Do you know whose Harley WLA was on display?
willysmb44 Posted August 15, 2008 Author #3 Posted August 15, 2008 Do you know whose Harley WLA was on display?Sorry Johan, I have no idea who owned any of these except the local vehicles I knew already (like the M-18 TD) and I didn't bother to read names as I wouldn't have known them anyway. There was a lot of stuff there to see, it all couldn't fit in one photo no matter how far away you were!
willysmb44 Posted August 17, 2008 Author #4 Posted August 17, 2008 Funny thing, my wife and I went to Olympia WA for lunch today and got stuck in very slow traffic. After going around a curve I could clearly make out the top of a Jeep in the far left lane! They got off at the exit on I-5 for the Olympic Flight Museum, beats me where they were going but there was a WW2 Jeep with a motorcycle on a trailer, a Canadian (?) staff car and what appeared to be a WW2 commonwealth dispatch rider on some sort of military motorcycle. I guess they were heading for Canada? I couldn't get very close but I had to chuckle at the irony! More shots. I didn't take too many as I was focused on mostly seeing everything and looking for neat "stinky green" stuff to spend money on!
Johan Willaert Posted August 17, 2008 #5 Posted August 17, 2008 Nice M75 APC, I went thru Infantry School with one of those ....
robinb Posted August 17, 2008 #6 Posted August 17, 2008 I tok a few pictures, too. And somehow I forgot to take a few of my own display. Oh well.
willysmb44 Posted August 18, 2008 Author #7 Posted August 18, 2008 I tok a few pictures, too. And somehow I forgot to take a few of my own display. Oh well.Figures, I'd done that a few times, myself. I didn't bring a display, which was your stuff?
robinb Posted August 18, 2008 #8 Posted August 18, 2008 I did the 75mm pack howitzer and horse mannikin. The horse was all decked out with the Phillips Pack Saddle and 75mm ammunition containers.
craig johnson Posted August 18, 2008 #9 Posted August 18, 2008 Robin I did a crummy job of shooting enought photos myself. I took this and remembered I started talking and got side tracked again. I did get one shot of your pack howitzer and horse. Thanks for showing my M1 Wheeled Mount.
willysmb44 Posted August 19, 2008 Author #10 Posted August 19, 2008 I did the 75mm pack howitzer and horse mannikin. The horse was all decked out with the Phillips Pack Saddle and 75mm ammunition containers.Ah, I know who you are, Robin! Great job with that display, I meant to get photos of your display but forgot and realized it halfway home.
1SG_1st_Cav Posted April 13, 2013 #11 Posted April 13, 2013 Very nice displays. Thanks for sharing! I have to go change my shirt as this one has drool all over it looking at these vehicles! Danny
willysmb44 Posted April 14, 2013 Author #12 Posted April 14, 2013 The convention is coming back to the same venue this year!
Steve B. Posted April 15, 2013 #13 Posted April 15, 2013 Yep. This July. I was going to get some sale tables again, but the price has skyrocketed since last time. I'm not sure I can justify the expense this time around.
willysmb44 Posted April 15, 2013 Author #14 Posted April 15, 2013 There's a thread on this year's event here already: http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/172319-mvpa-convention-portland-july-2013-anyone-going/
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