The Little World

We’ve discussed scale before and the way that different hobbies and different manufacturers fiddle and footle when it comes to deciding measurements for model building. Everyone goes their own way and demands that you follow.

Well, the thing you’re going to have to do when contemplating your Little World is to decide which scale you are going to follow. You’ll be guided and bullied by the manufacturers later on as to what you put in that world, but right now you have a basic choice of physical size.

Of course, you may be already under physical restriction – a renter in a small flat or bed-sit, a first home builder, a person with multiple family members using up every available space, etc. On the other hand you may have a large unused basement or loft, a shed, a garden, or a complete house to play in. Whatever your circumstances, you’ll have a certain area of your life available for the activities.

If you put small models into that area you’ll get more in – they’ll be housed in more realistic buildings or upon more realistic surface area – and you’ll not need to be a fussy with minute detail that can never be seen.

If you put larger models in, they can have more detail, but will have less space to move or display. The points of interest will be concentrated. The overall scene will be restricted.

If the very thing that you are modelling: an airfield, a complete freight yard, a steel mill, etc demands a vast area, your decision is made for you – go down to the smallest size of model you need to use for the entire effect. All modelling demands some compression, but some things compress better than others. Consider part-scene modelling if the overall reduction is just too small.

Also consider flexible-scale modelling if you need to combine several genres into one. For instance – the 1:72 scale airport may need to use the 1:76 or even 1:87 vehicles and structures that are readily available. Or then again a modeller who wants an airfield and a railway might combine British outline ” N” gauge railways at 1:148 with 1:144 aircraft to good effect. O gauge rail, 1:48 aircraft, and 1:43 vehicles works, and has a vast supply of models to choose from.

One place that planners sometimes come unstuck is forgetting that scale structures can be way bigger than the vehicles they serve – sometimes you have to work backwards from the infrastructure to see if the transport models can be accommodated. I have built low relief buildings and thank the makers for their provision.

Final point to consider is who looks at what you have modelled, and what do they see. If your layout is a portable show box there will be spectators on one side and a definite stage for them to gaze on as you run trains or set out aircraft. If it is a home layout, you might be the only person who sees the thing running – do you want to see it from one vantage point or from several?