The Little World

My recent annual foray to the Western Australian Model Railway Exhibition was fresh in my mind as I set to work planning out my hobby room at the Little Studio. When you see what others do, you can either get good ideas or bad ones. I hope I have observed well and drawn the correct conclusions regarding basic layout philosophy. Note that I’ve also been scouring the Google image pages looking at other people’s model aircraft work as well – particularly those who have made model aerodromes. I’ve come to several conclusions:

a. You can’t have your feet in too many camps nor your wheels on too many runways. There is a limit to what you can do – that may be a wider limit than you first expected, but you’ll come up against it nevertheless. The trick is to accomplish what you really want to do within the limits.

b. You cannot be stationary and mobile at the same time. Heck, Newton postulated that a long time ago. In the context of model layouts, it means that you can either have a magnificent stationary layout or an equally magnificent portable one, but you cannot do both at the same time  – they are different disciplines.

c. The mega-layout can only be stationary. If it attaches to a ceiling, wall, or floor, it is fixed to that location and should not be moved. Any attempt to segment it and trundle those segments about results in the overall lowering of standards and breakup of the actual structures. No-one cannot unsee the joins. Any electrical work will be troublesome and punish the builder continuously for ever more.

d. The portable layout must remain portable and will need to be lighter and simpler. The electrics in particular must be kept as simple as possible – even dictating manual controls instead of automatic ones. The scenery may be detailed but the builder must expect casualties upon every move.

e. The actual purpose of each layout will need to be different – one will be there to entertain the casual spectator and one will be to please the actual builder and operator. If you remember the function and play to it you will be happier.

f. The big static layout will cost less than the small portable one. Think this was an error? You’ll remake that portable one eight times and spend five times the cost on its rolling stock or models. You’ll buy a bigger car, ute, or trailer to transport it. You’ll take time off paid work to truck it round the town and set it up. Wait and see…

g. The people who see your basement layout will appreciate it more than the people who see the portable. They will be more impressed by it. They will have a lot more difficulty persuading their spouses to let them build one that the people who can describe the eight foot portable box layout.

h. The basement layout will win you no prizes – the portable may do so. If you are a pot-hunter, build your Little World for others. If you are not, build it for yourself.

i. Your basement layout will share its room with other family functions; storage, clothes drying, dog beds,home brewing. Do not try to be too protective of the space.

j. The basement layout will not survive a move or a divorce – the portable one will.