When I used to display with our club at airshows I always roped off my vehicles. Some guys didn't want to rope theirs, and after a while many of them became converts.
I did notice some trends regarding ropes:
1: If you let the ropes sag to the point where a person could easily step over them, then you might as well not have them. People for some reason believe the sagging rope is the same as a designated entrance.
2: If you start taking the ropes down at the end of the display, your vehicle will be swarmed by the remaining public. You almost have to wait for them all to be gone.
3: There will always be those who want to retain souvenirs. They don't really care what they get, as long as they get something. A small bit of locking wire between the vehicle and the items will slow them down to the point where they fear getting caught and you will get to keep your grenades/mortar rounds or whatever.
With those in place, there were a couple things I would do for the viewers, so they got some experience from the event. For the kids, I would keep a deactivated rifle and sten handy, along with a couple of the old cadet battle dress jackets and a couple of the smallish mk2 helmets. I would ask the parents permission and let the kids pose with them. It was a good photo op for the kids, and who knows, maybe turn them into collectors one day.
The other thing I did was I would bring one of those sets of mechanics stairs, the ones with handrails and a front bar. The ropes would start and end on the sides of the stairs, giving the public a chance to go up and view (but not go into) my carrier from above.
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