Tankfest and reflecting on the last months

 Hey all,

Time for an official report on what went on at Tankfest 2018 and some reflection on the last couple of months.

Tankfest ran from Friday 29 June to Sunday 1 July. Arriving on Friday, we (I went with MHV and his buddy) arrived to see the practice runs of the display and had a look at the exhibits. It was the first time I saw working and running tanks, pretty impressive for wingless kit. I also did some preliminary filming, although somewhat less than most other YTers simply because I can’t fit – too – many tanks on my channel. That is good news for all of you as beyond my official vlog that will hit the channel soon, I can share exclusive backup footage with you here. I will also be doing the same with future aviation museum visits, as it seems like a good idea. Tell me whether it is something that interests you or not.

Friday was, although it was an ‘off’ day, quite tough. We only arrived at around 4am in the morning and the blazing sun (for English standards) did the rest. Throughout the day, I ran into some other YTers and viewers. One humorous occasion was when Bernhard and me where walking down the memorabilia section of Tankfest, only to have a viewer recognise us by our voices alone. I also tried myself, for the first time since ….2013 (?) at World of Tanks. Well, I got stomped but at least took two others with me so, hurray. 

Saturday, after a good and long rest, we started filming around noon in the Press area but not without buying some much-needed headgear first. After meeting some colleagues and some of the staff from the Tank Museum, I went off to my first ever fan meet and greet. I had no idea what to expect and was wondering how many people would show up. After all, I am an aviation guy at a Tank museum. Surprise, Surprise, I was indeed kept busy for the full hour as I and MHV talked to viewers, fans and the interested. It was really fun and hopefully I could answer everyone’s questions. Following that, I did some more filming although I had to physically force myself not to stress too much getting everything on camera since I wouldn’t know how and when to use it anyway. Instead, the Archive sale of the museum kept me occupied. Together with what I got the next day, I bought around 10 books. It is surprising how many aviation books the Tank museum and I made sure to get the best selection. Saturday evening we also had a nice little unofficial meet-greet together with The Chieftain and MHV. 

Come Sunday, it was rinse and repeat. We had the first meet-greet shift, with again an hours’ worth of conversation. Considering it was set at 9am-10am, that turnout was another surprise and a truly enjoyable start into a new day. Of course, I also did not miss the chance to go to Mr. David Fletcher's meet-greet. If I know half as much about aircraft as he knows about tanks at his age, I'll be happy. Come the event, I did in fact film some backup footage (or rather shot what I had not seen before) and had a 20min chat with The Chieftain in front of a M16 MGMC. It’ll probably be on his channel come this month. Driving back in the evening, I got home at around 1am and immediately hit the haystack to get ready for the next working day. 

Tankfest marks the end of my 2month/5 countries filming trip. You guys made this possible and for that I thank you! During this time I managed to film around 8 aircraft episodes, loads of smaller videos and make quite a few contacts that could help with future content. That said, it was a lot and I apologize if I haven’t been reactive as quickly as usual to some questions. Sometimes it simply wasn’t possible. However now I can focus on production and keeping up with my backlog. The Tunisia video is up first as a mainstay episode! 

On a related note, tomorrow I am heading to the National Archives for the first time for some primary source digging. I reserved some documents for use and hopefully something good comes out of it. You will be the first to know. 

o7
Bis