Category: Model trains
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“I’m Doing This To Educate The Public”

Horse shit. You’re doing whatever you’re doing for yourself. To have fun, hopefully – but you are trying to justify the expense and the time by making it seem altruistic. Just come out and admit you’re doing it for you, and we’ll be happy – for you. I’ve encountered this porky in any number of…
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Never Too Late

Except if you dined at an Ethiopian restaurant the night before and feel you might need to seek a toilet. No matter how fast you are, you will never be fast enough. And there is no point in getting up and thinking you’re done. You might as well settle in for the day. In the…
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No Change Out Of $ 665

But you will have a small locomotive and several carriages. Plus an oval of track and a controller. What we used to call a toy train set, but would now be referred to as a toy train investment. I should be careful of it – the 1:120 size of the set will mean it is…
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F-16A – Part Three – In Every State Except…

In every state of the Union and nearly every country of the world, the heading image would raise little interest; it’s a toy airplane with a lead weight glued in the nose. In California, I suspect, it would cause sirens to wail and lawyers to leap from their kennels. Lead! A known carcinogen! A dangerous…
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72 ÷ 2 = 36

And 36 ÷ 2 = 18. So you can see the logical mathematical connection between the standard small plastic model airplane scale and the cast-metal car hobby. But what is 1:36 doing in between? Not a lot, if Google is accurate. A few die-cast cars but nowhere near as many as adjacent scales. I think…
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When Little Worlds Collide

A casual discussion overheard at my modelling club about an upcoming Big Local Modelling Exhibition revolved around which club exhibit would win the coveted “ Best In Show “ award. It’s decided by a public vote amongst the paying attendees. Everyone gets a twiddly wink as a counter and places it in a box at…
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Are We There Yet, Daddy?

Or in scale modelling terms: is it real yet, Daddy? There comes a time in every scale model build – whether it is with scratch-built parts, a kit, or a box of Lego – when it becomes real. Perhaps not real as in finished, but real as in a model of something under construction. And…
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Why No 1:64 Planes, Then?

If you were a kid in North America in the 50’s you basically had a choice of three scales for electric trains: 1:48 Lionel, 1:64 American Flyer, and 1:87 HO made by Varney, Athearn, and lots of smaller firms. The 1:87 HO has stayed with us – just as 1:76 has stayed with the British…
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The Big Local Model Show For 2022 Is Coming

Well, I for one, am quite delighted. The big local model show for Perth in 2022 is scheduled and has been announced on a dedicated Facebook page. The venue will be the same – the Cannington Exhibition Centre on Albany Highway…the same ground that holds the dog racing track and the Canning Show, plus a…

