Iain Rice

[Barclay]

Such very sad news. For me, Tregarrick is up there with Craig and Buckingham as one of the most inspirational layouts of all time, and inspirationally written about, of course, which is also so important. Then there's the involvement with MRJ, which came at just the right time to keep me interested and involved in the hobby. Then there's the loco. and track building books, which are still essential works of reference. I hope Wild Swan have enough information to publish that autobiography because I for one would be very keen to read it, especially if it were to be lavishly illustrated with photo's of his work.

[Martync]

Such very sad news. Iain was a complete inspiration to me over many years.  I think I have pretty much all of his Wild Swan books, and I've made a point of collecting as many of his articles as I can.  I did meet him at a couple of exhibitions over the years and he was always approachable and helpful.  One of my favourite articles of his was in an early MRJ where he tackled building an S&D 7F which I think was subtitled "Sir Iain D'Ambroise in battle with the Mendip Monster" which was a reflection of his witty and amusing writing style.

A true great has passed on to the great model railway exhibition in the sky.....RIP

Edited October 10, 2022 by Martync

[Ronald48]

Oh, that is so sad news.... I always was a great fan of his plans and books. Once had the opportunity to met him in our country the Netherlands where he attended at Rail 2008 in Houten NL. Very nice man.

 

RIP Iain 😰 Thank you for all the good things you did for us.

[Martync]

21 minutes ago, Martync said:

Such very sad news. Iain was a complete inspiration to me over many years.  I think I have pretty much all of his Wild Swan books, and I've made a point of collecting as many of his articles as I can.  I did meet him at a couple of exhibitions over the years and he was always approachable and helpful.  One of my favourite articles of his was in an early MRJ where he tackled building an S&D 7F which I think was subtitled "Sir Iain D'Ambroise in battle with the Mendip Monster" which was a reflection of his witty and amusing writing style.

A true great has passed on to the great model railway exhibition in the sky.....RIP

I actually have a copy of what I believe was Iain's first article in the MRN for June 1971 "Count Dracula and the Railway Children"....the shape of things to come..........!!

[checkrail]

Very sad to hear.  A modeller with skills of the first order and a great communicator. When I returned to the hobby in 2012 after a few decades away from the game his 2007 book "Railway modelling the realistic way" soon became my bible.  It still is.  And as other have said he had a very engaging style and a very inclusive approach to the hobby and its practitioners.  RIP.

 

John C.

[Barry Ten]

A great loss to the hobby. I think I must have all of Iain's books, including the Kalmbach ones, and apart from being chock-full of inspiring ideas, they were always such great reads, volumes that could be dipped into again and again. I also found his style of sketching to be very conducive to bringing on the itch to model, be it a railway scene or some well-observed architectural detail. I only met him properly the once, at one of the Dutch shows where he was over with his china clay layout, and he kindly made time to chat about his 1366 tank, as well as his American stuff. I was near to him again at a couple of shows in the UK but never got the chance to speak. Iain is gone but his writing will live on, I'm sure, and continue to inspire modellers for many years to come.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by Barry Ten
typo

[MJI]

Very sad news, an inspriation to many

[John Tomlinson]

I never met the man, but his writings were an inspiration. Not only very helpful indeed, but beautifully written in an entertaining way.

 

He was truly a modeller, a maker of things, and whilst accepting the use and quality of RTR items (even decades ago), the importance of personal effort and skill, whether in making parts or improving an offering by a manufacturer, came over loud and clear.

 

John.

[Gilbert]

I feel that Iain and his books and articles have accompanied me throughout my Railway Modelling journey although I only briefly spoke to him once.

There were times when I simply did not have the time or resources to model myself but his books were always nearby and were read with great pleasure.

Iain was a key player in the early days of Missenden and there is a short tribute on our Facebook page;

 

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02xb8TPtFs9w4Kw6Lee7tSnXE6Cjm8vzdJKhPrMyBvTrqD8QCD63JZZuL3PxHsWCsNl&id=601123499921538&comment_id=5656568844422484&notif_id=1665410478305630&notif_t=feed_comment&ref=notif

 

Chris Hopper

[Tumut]

This is indeed sad news. I was fortunate enough to meet Iain in person in Perth, Western Australia, where he was a Guest Presenter for the British Railway Modellers of Australia Annual Convention. Iain was a great lecturer and raconteur , and as others have said, he made finescale modelling achievable for so many, and his many books and articles will remain an on-going legacy and inspiration for all modellers.

 

My deepest condolences to his extended family, and all of his friends, he will be sadly missed by all, and he he will be remembered for many years hence,

 

Regards, Tumut ( resident in Australia )

[Rosedale]

This is very sad news. Iain was a great inspiration to me, starting with his early Model Railways articles about his West Cornwall Mineral Railway where he opened up a new track (sorry) away from mainlines and bucolic branchlines that has stuck with me to this day. I also liked his freelance approach and the encouragement to use imagination alongside prototype knowledge to create something new, original, interesting and personal, but with credibility. His writing was always very accessible and I think he did more than most to demystify fine-scale railway modelling and put across that rare aim; to enjoy it!
I met him twice. Once at a Falkirk Finescale show that I drove to from Leeds where he had a demonstration stand and was very approachable and encouraging. I remember buying some lost wax boiler backhead castings from him that I used in a couple of my S Scale Irish Broad Gauge engines.

Then I saw him at Scalefour North a few years ago where he was operating Trerice I think, standing up to demonstrate the benefits of high level viewing and was personally very entertaining with the small crowd viewing his layout. 
I do have most of his books, have thoroughly enjoyed them and will certainly be re-reading them soon. Although not always agreeing fully with his ideas, I admired his style, enthusiasm and innovation. His writing was consistently entertaining, his modelling, brilliant. His most recent book (I think) Cameo Layouts was a magnum opus fizzing with thought provoking ideas and enthusiasm. I do hope there is enough material around for someone to produce a tribute album to this giant of the hobby. 

RIP Iain.   

[Ian Holmes]

There's little else I can say to add to that which has been said already. The man facilitated a change in the way we design and present our layouts. He introduced phrases like "proscenium arch" and "view block" to our vocabularies. 

For a while I thought it was all a British thing. Then while exhibiting on of my layouts in Minnesota I was asked if I was he. I was extremely embarrassed. But I am an Ian, and my layout showed all his design and presentation theories. Once I got over the embarrassment, it felt good to know that his ideas were being absorbed all over the world.

He will be sorely missed.

 

Ian

[Martync]

8 hours ago, Barclay said:

Such very sad news. For me, Tregarrick is up there with Craig and Buckingham as one of the most inspirational layouts of all time, and inspirationally written about, of course, which is also so important. Then there's the involvement with MRJ, which came at just the right time to keep me interested and involved in the hobby. Then there's the loco. and track building books, which are still essential works of reference. I hope Wild Swan have enough information to publish that autobiography because I for one would be very keen to read it, especially if it were to be lavishly illustrated with photo's of his work.

Yes, the autobiography would be a very fitting tribute to such a talented and well loved modeller.  Let's hope Wild Swan can get it published

[Chas Levin]

As many others have said, very sad news. He must surely be one of the most entertaining writers in the modelling world, as well as being one of the most clever, creative and inspiring. We're very lucky to have so much published material: RIP Mr Rice, and thank you...

[Donw]

I have been fortunate to know quite a number of the giants of this hobby. Ian stood well above them all. There was the wide breath of his modelling skills, but this was coupled with very comprehensive design abilities, the engaging way he could wite which made you want to try the ideas yourself and his please approachable manner. I met him quite a number of times at shows over the years. The layouts were always inspirational and he was always willing to explain and listen to what you had to say. He will be sorely missed.

My sympathy goes to his family and friends who must feel the loss greatly.

 

Don

[Not Jeremy]

Hugely sad news, Iain is an absolute legend who is going to be very much missed.

 

It is sad but also very nice to read so many of everyone else's recollections, thoughts and impressions of Iain, both here and elsewhere.

 

In common with others I knew Iain was unwell, but this news still came as a terrible and horrible shock.

 

I had the privilege of getting to know Iain a little after taking Wild Swan on, and he turned out to be every bit as much fun and fascinating to be around as I had thought he might be. We worked together on the Cameos book and had discussed other projects too, I think that our last actual meeting was sadly as long ago as RailWells back in 2019.

 

Here is a picture taken at Larkrail in 2017, Iain, accompanied by Lexie, was operating a Peanuts style "the doctor is in" type help desk for the weekend, seen here in conversation with Martin Goodall.

 

 

It is too early to really say, and not entirely straightforward, but I (as Wild Swan) hope very much to publish something new from at least some of his additional material and ideas.

 

Iain was hugely knowledgeable, funny, and had an absolutely vast experience of this hobby of ours and the characters in it, over so very many years. And he was a formidable talent in so many ways too, a really good modeller, hugely creative, inspiring, kind and always encouraging.

 

There are many people who knew Iain far better than I did - I knew him but for a fleeting moment.

 

He was to me, and will always be, one of the greatest names and inspirations that this fabulous hobby of ours has ever had.

 

Rest in Peace Iain

 

Simon Castens

 

[2mmMark]

On 09/10/2022 at 11:53, RobMG said:

I enjoyed reading his books and magazine articles.

He would be inducted into the model railway 'Hall of Fame' if there was one.

RIP Iain Rice

If Iain were to be inducted into a Hall of Fame, it'd made from rusty corrugated iron, located somewhere in the back of beyond,  reachable just once a day by an obscure light railway.

[marc smith]

I was truly saddened to hear of Iain's passing. He was an inspiration to so many of us on here, I'm sure.
But for me, his book on Finescale modelling in small spaces was THE book that changed my whole approach to Model Railways, along with Barry Norman's Landscape Modelling, and Gordon Gravett's 7mm modelling books - these are all volumes I still turn to.

I suspect I will still be re-reading Iain's book, and others written by him for many years to come.
Commiserations to his family and friends. RIP Iain.

[5050]

Iain, along with Mike Sharman, was a great influence on me as well.  I cannot think of anything he wrote that was in any way boring or staid.  In fact, his style of writing must have influenced me in my writings.  His flowing, chatty and light-hearted approach belied the practical, common sense - and above all - interesting content.  In addition, I worked out that by writing in this style, not only did it become more readable but it also resulted in an enhanced payment cheque due to the extended word count.  Thank you Iain on so many counts, you will be greatly missed by the hobby as a whole.*

 

*Both parts I sincerely hope!  (see above.....)

[Andy Vincent]

On 09/10/2022 at 00:42, BlackRat said:

 

I hope Iain’s work is preserved as this would be a fitting legacy.

 

I own his Butley Mills layout and it is currently undergoing some (very) sympathetic refurbishment that is needed after 40 years, albeit it also being converted to EM. Even before this weekend I was conscious that this is a piece of finescale 'history' and I am still in awe of the work that went into it - the shop has a full interior that is a work of art in its own right yet difficult to see at normal distance

 

Like others, I was inspired by his books and to be able to see how it he put these ideas to work in one of his layouts is truly a privilege. Rest in Peace.

[Stentor]

Such sad news, my condolences to his family and friends. 

 

The word legend is often used nowadays but in our hobby Iain was fully deserving of it. He balanced that rare combination of being inspirational whilst being utterly approachable, no airs and graces just friendly conversation and good ideas.

He is at peace now, freed from the grip of Parkinson’s and it would be nice to think that he is now reunited with Bob Barlow, sat in some remote cottage planning layouts over a hot cup of tea.

[Tim Dubya]

This was posted over on Facebook in the EM Group.  Ricey's in there somewhere 👍

 

 

Thank you sir, for everything you did for all of us.

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by Tim Dubya
gin

[NHY 581]

Great stuff Tim, 

 

Iain crops up at 20.06 then again at 43 something or other. Worth listening to. 

 

Rob. 

[Andy WD]

What sad news :(

My condolences to his family.

 I was fortunate enough to meet and talk to Iain many times over the years. In my youth, as a spotty teen with an interest in the light and esoteric side of railways and railway modelling, he was always helpul and informative. And he continued  to shape my railway modelling inspiration, aspiration, and skills, over the many years since.

Rest in Peace Sir, you will be missed by many.

 

Edited October 11, 2022 by Andy WD
Text correction

[Lambton58]

Sorry to hear this news.  For me, Iain's writings and work were entertaining, informative and inspiring in equal measure and will remain so.  He will be much missed in the model railway world.

Ralph