The Little World

As a kid and teenager I took a serious interest in scale models – and was increasingly scorned for it as years went by.

The climate of the country changed – people expected more serious behaviour – there was nothing cool about pursuing something that a child could do. I was expected to grow up, or old, or out of the hobby.

Yet, here we are.

Old, without being bored by it. Retired from two professions with enough money to play all day. Grown up in taste, but not grown out of the hobby. Indeed, grown far more intensely involved than as a kid.

They often say that the wise and lucky find their niche and know it. This can be sad for some as they are born bums and crooks – and when they blossom fully in their own garden they become a weed.

Scale modellers – Little World people of all sorts – can be wise and lucky when they realise that the interest is a good and clean one and that it can be made to serve them well. They may be a builder, buyer, collector, seller, painter, sculptor, or any combination of the above. They may be artist, historian, experimenter, or show business personality – in the Little World.

They may be far better wives, husbands, partners, and children because of it – if only their nearest and dearest would recognise it. I daresay the scale hobbies have saved more lives than taken them.

And here we are…