Many thanks for the considerable amount of comment this first blog and post got, if you are reading from the blog and from ‘modelling musings and miscellaneous’ I will be talking here to commentators on both my blog and modelling. Another post later will deal with some critical thoughts on some of the conceptual issues that posters have highlighted, i.e what is modelling, but this post discusses in particular what I am going to be doing from here although I want to start this post with some issues that more recent posters have raised;

Principally this project was developed by myself, although initial ideas for a research project revolved around the emergence of Road Safety in Britain from the 1900’s to the present day, how road space has, since the 20^th century been a focus of technologies, experiments and general governmental concern. In particular the model railway bit of my project emerged from a general lack within the Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences of attention to the hobbyist modelling community, which can be thought of of course as not only railway modellers but military/battlefield modellers and wargamers, ship, aircraft and car modellers, and these come under the idea of the ‘craft consumer’ and we can include many more things too including making and engaging with dollshouses, cooking, making clothes, decorating. I will be engaging with military/battlefield modellers and wargamers, ship, aircraft and car modellers over the course of my research if only to be able to develop some broader arguments. The conceptual framework of ‘model’ and ‘modelling’ emerged generally though the potential for a novel but important line of attack from which to explore these concepts and I will come onto what we can think of modelling is a bit later.

• The project should not be seen as simply a means to an end for a qualification. Whilst the project may earn a qualification I would hope to build on this research throughout a potential academic career. I am viewing this project as the stepping stone to developing some research themes that have the potential to stay with me for the rest of my life.
  

• This project as I highlighted in the previous post is taxpayer funded (and most good academic research is whether at my early career level or through mid and late career), there a various hoops to have to go through (quite rightly) to get it, including relevance and impact (often either one or both). I note some debate around relevance and that this project should not be funded by the taxpayer. I don’t want to get into hot water by commenting on this debate and this goes right through into government and indeed even with academia.
  

• My first post was too long, as some commentators have suggested, and I have to agree with them. Furthermore it was not as grounded in practical substance as it should have been which would have also made some of the conceptual ideas a bit more clearer and thus accessible, as one commentator helpfully suggested I ought to place some forum discussion links that nicely fit with each of the conceptual themes that I am interested in i.e ‘space of the home’ ‘illusion’ etc. Others have suggested I edit the piece; I will have a go at doing this when I get the chance.
  

• On a final point to this section, I have been very impressed by the response that my project has got and will try and reply to as many posters as I can.