1984
I was reading 1984 a few weeks ago when I came across a blog entry by Scots Region called Victory Road - http://www.rmweb.co...._fromsearch__1. A fictitious layout of a station from the novel. This really got the modeling juices flowing and I began the usual postulating when we get an idea into our heads. I had a half completed station throat model that I'd never been happy with and started to put two and two together. I PM'd Scots Region who kindly allowed me to proceed with his original idea.
The original model underneath the new overall station roof.
INGSOC logo - Newspeak for English Socialism
Underneath the arches - old derelict London where the Proles live.
The Platform and INGSOC advertisements. These were sourced from the internet.
Another shot of the platform and the INGSOC logo.
With most of the work been done it was easy to knock up a bunker style roof out of 6mm ply - this was covered in PVA and given a shake of fine sand.
I wanted to capture the feel of the novel by using a 'Big Brother' utilitarian style overlaying the remnants of old London (Air Strip One). The four big ministries from the novel are housed in pyramid type structures so I wanted to also capture a Pharonic architectural feel - this seems apt to the 1984 theme.
Orwell has to be one of my favorite authors and I'm a great admirer of his plain English prose. Many of his novels contain a gritty reality - read 'The Road to Wigan Pier' for a desperate description of poverty in the North of Britain in the 1930's. He is, of course, most famous for '1984' and 'Animal Farm', both parodies of Totalitarian society's, but he was also an avid reformer. He championed the need for a welfare system, but was always aware of the hidden dangers of ideologies and religions. Most particularly the Soviet regime of 1930/40's Russia - it seems that just causes can always be twisted out of shape by zealots or a power hungry elite.
There's a lot of fun to had with this scheme and I can't wait to start knocking up an armored train. If anyone has any ideas for motive power and coach types I'd be glad to hear them. The novel suggests that things started going awry shortly after the Second World War and the only R and D that went on was related to all things military. Steam would therefore be still being used in the alternative 1984 and there would be a lot of run down engines and coach stock about.
- 9
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