The Little World

Well keep away from your fingers, then…

Being the most advanced modeller in your circle is a wonderful ambition, but then so is being a successful train robber. I believe Jesse James used to build nice 1:16 scale stagecoaches…

In our club there are also nice stage coach builders, as well as boat, ship, and tank builders. The aero and car modellers pursue their projects quietly – but few of us would consider ourselves ” cutting edge “. We might have once been, but time has dulled most of us.

it has also provided us with the sorts of lessons that experience teaches. These are expensive and painful, but may be learned once and never forgotten. Of course some people like pain and expense and go back for second helpings, but that is the way of the world. Or, in the case of the model helicopter makers, the way of the whirled…

We all get a chance to be the first kid on the block occasionally – in modelling as well as other pursuits. Of course, you can be the first kid on the block to get a lot of things – a new model of a Lancaster bomber, for instance, or cold sores. It just depends on your luck and who you know. And how.

In my case I try to be the first person to make scientific assessments of modelling materials and paints. I say scientific because it sounds cool and sophisticated, but in reality it is just a case of mix it, smear it on, and wait to see what happens. If I draw up a careful set of variables and tabulate the results accurately I can sometimes make a helpful statement about something – in most cases it is what not to do rather than the other way around. But do or don’t, if you find out which way to go you don’t have to go the other way more than once.

The real test is to stick to the results as discovered and not second-guess yourself. Also don’t flaming well forget what you did!