The Little World

My annual visit to the model rail exhibition was a resounding success – here in Western Australia it amounts to a trade show and swapmeet as much as it is a pure exhibition…and everyone benefits. And it was somewhat of an eye-opener for a student of Little Worlds:

a. It was very well attended – I arrived at 10:30 and the place was busy – by the time I clocked out at 1:30 it was packed to the gunwales. Old ( like me), middle-aged, and young all well-represented. About the same level of dress and presentation as a hobby show in Cannington, which means that there is never any need to hire a tuxedo.

b. It smelled – but delightfully. Steam oil and coffee – food vans and refreshment bars open. Better catering than Cannington ever affords…but at a higher price as well.

c. Big effort by the local shops,semi-shops, and backyard dealers. Even attendance from eastern states shops and manufacturers with a decent amount of stock to show. Surprisingly, no sign of the tool man. Did I miss him?

Backyard dealers prices were slightly advantageous, but I daresay that advantage strayed either side of the counter on some items. I bought an Oxford Miniatures 1:76 die-cast Thompson refueller for Wet Dog Regional Airport from a job lot man at exactly the right price, so I consider the show a success.

d. There were all sorts of Little Worlds there – from the suitcase size to the giant 1:29th oval. I admire the effort and stamina of the big train people as I know what it feels like to transport something that large and complex.

I’m a little nonplussed by the tiniest of the back and forth layouts – but I realise that some people have not got the room, money, or opportunity for larger worlds…and if they can pour their modeller’s hearts and souls into a six foot box they are to be praised and supported.

e. The Australian layouts are always attractive to me and the Western Australian ones particularly so as I have visited railway towns here since the mid-60’s and can recognise a great deal of the culture that is displayed. The colouration particularly is comforting…but oddly enough the very bareness of the things is the detail that sticks most in the mind. I don’t want to sound disloyal to where I live, but the countryside can be barren and the little towns even more so. If the modeller also adopts a scale operation schedule as well as scale appearance, nothing much happens for most of the time.

At least that has the advantage of being authentic – in the country towns nothing much happens either now or then…

f. The British layouts can be a little more rewarding as far as scenic detail. I particularly like the village ones that can have tiny bits of imagined real life going on all over the place. I think the best of them actually make the railway end of a village of secondary importance to the rest of the place. And I’m not even qualified to judge whether the details presented are authentic…but I want to be generous enough to think they are.

I should like to see a Canadian layout done to the same standard some day.

Unfortunately the average presentation of a North American railroad scene here in Western Australia is most often either one logging loco or a mixture of roads, eras, and styles. I understand the collector’s spirit of the builders and the fact that we all like to go off on tangents. I am having to think hard as to how I might encompass my own models in my Little World with some degree of harmony. Hopefully, I think I’ve got an idea that will do it…

g. The doll house ladies were there again, bless them. I’ll be exhibiting in their show this year again so it was good to make contact.

h. As I wrote in the header – it’s not actually about the trains. It’s about the Little World. The model truckers exhibited to great effect and had a ball.The dollhouse people showed off.

The Lego clubs made an enormous brick world. And I enjoyed seeing all the skill and enthusiasm on display. It always charges you up for another year.

Now if the model and toy collectors could put some more life into their displays, they might get more life-forms through their door. It is food for thought.