The Little World

And it’s not an air-raid siren, either…

My love of photographing scale models has returned, after a brief hiatus. I shall be using several new sets to capture views of a new model project. They will be shared on this weblog and sent wherever it is repeated. I shall push them onto appropriate Facebook pages. I will contemplate a small book.

The techniques for tabletop model photography have advanced since I took it up with 1:18 die-cast cars some years ago. Better cameras, better lenses, better computers. The provision for focus bracketing and focus stacking more widely available and lighting systems now in the affordable range for unpaid work. I hope to benefit from all these.

But with everything, an idea must lead the way. In my case it is prompted by the sad demise of an old friend. He was a scale modeller who I’ve known for 25+ years. An ex-Air Force fitter and airframe mechanic, he was able to set me straight on any number of aircraft questions where my own knowledge was very hazy. I shall miss him greatly, but am determined to remember him in a practical sense.

My theme for the next few years will be an aviation museum that bears his name – a collection of 1:72 models presented as if they were the full-size planes. This doesn’t mean the weathering and accurate depiction that many people try for – many museums present their exhibits as speculative history. Paints can be authentic or whatever comes closest down at Supercheap Autos. I have collected images of the current crop of museum exhibits and will refer to them as opposed to the complex plans of the modelling societies.

Morbid to attach the name to my collection? Not a bit. My friend was cheerful, interested, interesting, and a keen modeller himself. And if I remember him well, I am happy.