Into the New Year
A New Year opens up all sorts of new possibilities! I spent much of last year discovering what I could do by means of 3D printing. In fact, it now seems as though almost any prototype is within my reach – at least in terms of static display models.
I have given one of my recent model photos, the ‘early photograph’ look, as shown below:
‘Argus’ and ‘Rob Roy’ at Bullo Pill
The only additional model I have printed since my last post was a 4-wheel tender for ‘Argus’, which had previously ‘shared’ a tender with my model of the Gooch Goods ‘Tantalus’. It was designed in my usual way, in two parts – chassis and body.
4-wheel tender for ‘Argus’
At Christmas, I converted my Railway Modeller subscription to the digital version, following a prompt from @Annie that this now includes access to all back issues from 1949 onwards. Reading through some of those old articles has been a revelation; I realise that modellers were creating superb models of unusual prototypes at a time when my own idea of model railways did not extend beyond a circle of track on the dining-room table. Considering the obstacles those early modellers had to overcome, in the absence of all those components from the trade that we now take for granted, their achievements were truly remarkable.
I was interested to read about some of the pioneering work in modelling the GWR Broad Gauge, especially the remarkable achievements of the late Mike Sharman, who did so much to establish 19th-century models in 4 mm scale. His article in the December 1970 issue was a revelation to me, with its eclectic range of locomotives, including Cramptons on the standard gauge and the early ‘Vulcan’ on the broad gauge, all set within ‘period’ scenery. An especially remarkable component of this layout was the ‘machine shop’, with lathe and milling machine driven from overhead shafting, while various loco parts were scattered around the shop floor. There is a splendid video of his work at :
From a slightly more recent period, the broad gauge ‘Dorchester Junction’ layout, described by R.W.B.White in the September 1994 issue, included a beautiful selection of broad gauge locomotives and stock – many of which have been the subjects of my own model-making attempts. Several of these can be seen and admired on the Scalefour Society website at https://www.scalefour.org/shows/S4um2012/dorchester.html
In fact, I was surprised to see how many splendid broad gauge models have been produced in both 4 mm and 7 mm scales. They seem to have been a little more popular in the years before the millennium than they are nowadays, despite the fact that, in large part through the efforts of the Broad Gauge Society, there is now a wealth of information readily available, together with a range of kits covering not only locomotives and rolling stock but many line-side accessories as well.
It looks as though I have a lot to do in 2022, if I’m to approach the standards that those pioneers achieved over 50 years ago.
Happy New Year!
Mike
Edited by MikeOxon
Restore images
-
12
8 Comments
Recommended Comments
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now