Category: Model trains
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When Is Old Junk…Old Junk?
And when is it Invaluable Historic Resource? This thought was forced upon me as I sifted through the secondhand dealer’s goods at the Model Railway Exhibition this year. There were at least three dealers specifically dedicated to secondhand – perhaps there were more that I did not see. Their stock ranged from quite professional goods…
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The Myriad Of Little Worlds
In one holiday weekend – devoted to Western Australia Day – I found I visited five different Little Worlds. And in most cases the costs were under a sawbuck, including coffee. You can’t beat that on the international travel circuit. Day One: I appear as a cameo walk-on at a belly dance concert…the Little World…
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How Did They Do That? Vs How Would I Do That?
Well there you go. You are now officially trying to out-think the designers and manufacturers of the model kit in the box. You may also be about to transcend the thinking of the original equipment makers. It’s your 30 bucks and your tube of glue, so more power to you and keep out of the way…
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Whenever You Make A Model of Something…
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…
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The Seven Circles Of Modeller’s Inferno
Dante was not the only person who made a journey to the lowest depths of Hell and wrote about it. I’ve been to the hobby shows myself. Apart from a little more sulphurous smell and uglier demons, they are remarkably like the underworld. And just as Dante found, there are distinct levels of the place,…
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Packaging Part Two – The Quality Of The Box
I’ve been buying model kits since Eisenhower was President and Louis St. Laurent was Prime Minister and I think I’ve seen them offered in every form of packaging save a lard barrel; cardboard boxes, plastic packets, plastic bags, sleeves, and even one memorable lot in paper envelopes. As I sit at my desk typing I…
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The Static Show Vs The Mobile One – Part Three – On Showmanship
Does your little World move? Does it need to? I’ve written elsewhere about the vitality your structure needs according to whether you are still a child or have been burdened with age. You decide where you are on the spectrum. If you actually do need to have something move in front of you, consider several hobbies:…
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The Big Layout Vs The Small Layout – Part Two – On Scale Planning
We’ve discussed scale before and the way that different hobbies and different manufacturers fiddle and footle when it comes to deciding measurements for model building. Everyone goes their own way and demands that you follow. Well, the thing you’re going to have to do when contemplating your Little World is to decide which scale you…
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The Baseroom Layout Vs The Train Set – Part One – On Planning Your Little World
My recent annual foray to the Western Australian Model Railway Exhibition was fresh in my mind as I set to work planning out my hobby room at the Little Studio. When you see what others do, you can either get good ideas or bad ones. I hope I have observed well and drawn the correct…
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Peeping Dick
Well, I can’t be Peeping Tom or Peeping Harry. But I got my share of looking into other people’s lives at the Model Railway Exhibition. It was courtesy of the Haltwhistle boys – a group of modellers who set up a British-outline OO-guage layout. It was a looping layout with a front and two sides…
The Little World 