The Little World

Is there a Central Planning Committee for the Little World? Perhaps we should have a conspiratorial organisation that meets in secret bunkers under impregnable mountains? With guard dogs, and henchmen and girls in tight dresses…

What would the Central Committee decide?

a. What things get modelled in which scale. At present the world divides off into scales for different vehicles, structures, dioramas, and figures and by and large the different divisions stay in their own areas. You rarely see 1:35 scale cars but you see lots of tanks and artillery, dollhouses are 1:12 scale but they rarely include airplanes or vehicles. No makers really settle upon a common scale for railways, cars, and planes, but they all circle each other like wolves about the 1:43-1:45-1:48-1:50 campfire. No-one really gets the upper hand.

The Central Committee could sort this out somewhat. Order the garden railroaders to stick to 1:32 and compel the kit makers for cars, tanks, and planes to follow suit. Ditto for the dollhouse and cast car groups – either pick 1:12 or 1:18  but whatever you pick –  stick to it.

And for the miniature railway, aircraft, vehicle, and structure world…well stick to 1:72 for all of it. It’s small enough for all general purposes anyway and tinier is just harder to do.

This would also have the undoubted advantage of causing everyone to go out and buy new kits. And the manufacturers could make their inventories and their fortunes all over again.

b. A systematic reform of paint. Three types only; acrylic, enamel, and lacquer. One maker for each type and as full a range of colours as they cared to produce.

But…

The numbers that would be used to describe the paint colours – and the names of the colours – would be standardised through the three makers. No more wondering if No.45 Humbrol matched N0.X-89 Tamiya which matched 457 Vallejo and why is it described as Dark Desert Green while another jar says Dusky Foliage and the third one is Congolese Camouflage ( Medium). Let N0.45 stand for dark green in all three types of paint.

Also, if there are going to be spray cans as well as bottles, label them the same way.

c. Exhibition dates – these could be placed in a central register in each country – indeed in each state – and cross-referenced so that people could go to an event every weekend if they wanted to, but need not be faced with a conflicting day that sees them miss out on a show.

d. Which model shall be kitted. This really comes down to ” which model shall be kitted yet again to try to take some of the market “. If we could have fewer of the makers duplicating the most common models, they might be able to branch out and offer a wider variety of goods.

e. Rules for competitions. These are traditionally formulated by modelling organisations in such a way that the inner circle members of the clubs can win the trophies. It is not so much a case of dividing up the landscape so that all may farm, but rather enclosing the best bits of land for the more influential to grow rich.

Rule books should be simple – prohibiting cheating, robbery, and unnatural practices. Once they get clauses and sub-clauses the thing becomes Austro-Hungarian bureaucracy allied to Byzantine intrigue and people line up to stay away.

f. The location of hobby shops. These should be evenly distributed in metro areas and even regional centres should have at least one that – like a general grocery store – caters to the rural hobbyist.