The Little World

Make a model of something.

That is not just my entry into the fatuous statement of the year contest – it is the realisation that there are a lot of things that people do as modellers that are not helping themselves. Let me explain…

a. If you essay to be a railway modeller, you need to set your mind to make a railway. Not just a set of frameworks, benches, roadbeds, or tracks. Not just the odd building or the odd signal post. And certainly not just a locomotive and a boxcar. You need to have a plan to make the whole thing somewhere in your mind – even if making it involves just assembling what other people sell.

In the same way that I describe the process of taking professional pictures or purchasing suitable photographic equipment, I urge people with a modelling bent to work backwards from their whole vision to the particular pieces. The overall vision need not be laser-sharp or set in stone – you can have a hazy idea of what your little world will be – but you must be able to see a finish to the model some day.

The good thing about scale modelling, though, is that by the time you get some way down the road to that vision, you will have more visions to add to it and the detail will start to fill in the interstices. You need never be finished if you don’t wish to.

b. If you make any little thing, you will be doing yourself a great favour if you make it with all your skill. I mean all the skill you possess at the time – this will naturally increase as you advance. Whatever you do, do it with a will and take pride in it. I have two little Wills plastic OO scale huts that were an afterthought in Train World in Melbourne. Cheap plastic structures – but I took as much care assembling and painting them as I do a four-engined bomber, and they are perfect for their position on the airfield.

Building sloppy means you can never feature the model you spent time on nor can you show it off with pride. You’ll not save any time in the end and your hobby experience will be worth less to you. Work as well as you can.

c. Make what you like, by all means, but remember what you need for your wider vision. It may not be as exciting to paint little green benches, but little green benches are what a railway platform – or a museum set – need. If you can buy what you find tedious to make, do that…but remember that nearly anything you can buy ready-made is cheaper as a kit and may be cheaper still as a scratch build.

If you can plan for this, you can make multiple models from castings or from small bits. The spray gun is your friend when it comes to those little details.

Also reflect that small details on anything are frequently painted with the leftovers of other paint schemes, so don’t throw away that acrylic pot with 5 drops in it – you may be able to make a wash out of it.

d. Out-think the real-life designers. Model something that is just a little advanced from where they left off. You may be in a better financial position that they were, or have more insight into what was really needed at the time. When you find everyone else agreeing with you and making similar models you’ll know that you were on the right track. I have no advice on what to do when they come to you and tell you that their fantasy model is more authentic than your fantasy model…