Blog- Gauging Interest @ RMWeb - Detailing to the limit

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Still a few older Diary entries that can be ported across from the original website, and this one in particular seems worth mirroring here. Why? Because with P4 New Street we could be seeing one of the most detailed, realistic and true-to-prototype layouts that the UK has ever seen, and thanks to RMWeb everyone has the chance to watch it being created. I suspect this could be a layout that people talk about in the future as one which raised the bar not just in 4mm scale, but with railway modelling in general. Many people will be familiar with this layout already, but for those of you who are not, this is definitely a RMWeb thread and a website that you need to add to your watched/favourites list.

 

There's always the danger than I'm putting too much pressure on Jim by talking about his layout in this way, but if he simply carries on doing what he's doing already then there's nothing to worry about.

 

Anyway, enough of the pre-amble, here's something I wrote back on 21st August this year.

 

 

As modellers we all strive to achieve a standard of modelling that we're happy with. There are modellers who are able to model to a very high standard, while some of us are only able to reach a height somewhat lower, albeit one that we're comfortable and content with. Time, money and skill are all factors to take into account, but one thing I've always liked about this hobby is the fact that it's totally inclusive. Yes there's a fringe element who denounce anything they don't see as conforming to their idea of what is right, but 99.9% of modellers willingly accept whatever you model and however you model it. But, while bearing that in mind, I have for many years been waiting for the next step up in layout realism. It's difficult to think of a hobby based example, but in sporting terms I'm looking for a Michael Schumacher or a Tiger Woods, someone (or something) that is head and shoulders above the rest, where everything relating to the job is just that little bit better with no weaknesses. I'm waiting for the layout equivalent of that.

 

There are plenty of layouts around that have good track, great scenics, or good rolling stock, but I've never seen a layout yet that combines every single factor to the absolute highest standard to create the Schumacher of the layout world. For want of a better term I've called it 'super detail', since most people would describe their layout as 'detailed' and I'm looking for something beyond that. There are so many things that I think need to be right that I can only scratch the surface, but here's a few things that my 'super detail' layout would probably need, without this being exhaustive. Imagine a streetscene with a shop and a house, and here's just some of the things that I'd like to see modelled:

 

Variations in road colouring, variations in texture, road markings that are faded and patchy, uneven road with undulations, dips, cracks, potholes, camber, drains and manhole covers and repair marks, a house with gutters, leaves in the guttering, birds on the roof, television aerial on the roof with a wire trailing down to inside, weathered stained roofs, curtains, net curtains, blinds, curtains that are half drawn or not hanging right, window sills with cracked paint, things on the window ledge inside the window, half open doors, a key in the lock, open windows, back yards with weeds growing up the path cracks, cigarette ends on the floor, chipped brickwork, stained brickwork, ventilation bricks, hanging baskets, hosepipes, shop windows with things in them, a detailed shop interior with coins and notes on the counter, personal 'for sale' cards in the window, detailed offices above shops, things inside the offices like phones, PCs with things on the screen, a page of text coming out of the printer, cracks in the pavement, uneven curbstones, pavestones of different colour, litter, chewing gum on the pavement.

 

And that's just the streetscene. Now apply this same level of detail (or realism) to the trackwork, the station, the signal box, the locos, the coaches, the wagons, the embankment, the grass, the field, the lineside fencing, the people, the engine shed, the animals (I want grass hanging out the side of the cow's mouth)... We're talking about a truly staggering level of detail, something that goes above and beyond what's currently out there, a re-write of the established level of detail that is currently accepted as state-of-the-art, and applied to every single aspect of the layout so that to go any further is physically impossible due to the small size.

 

It's also worth pointing out that my list of things as to what would constitute such a layout is probably different to someone else's, which just goes to show that actually the Schumacher layout may already be out there and it's just that it doesn't necessarily meet my personal set of criteria. Someone else may have their list of requirements and a layout already exists to meet them, and let's not forget that the layout builder themselves may well regard their own layout as being an amazing piece of work. It looks right to them, and who's to say that my set of criteria is the definitive list? No one, we're back to that all inclusive aspect of the hobby again.

 

But going with my criteria, there's already a few layouts around which are getting pretty damn close, such as Chris Nevard's work and Pempoul, and there's always Pendon too of course. But for me there may be a layout that could well become the Schumacher. It's P4 New Street, and while it may just be that I prefer the urban setting (Nevard/Pempoul/Pendon are all countryside settings) the early indications are that here is a layout attempting to get everything right. It's a big project by all accounts, and I just hope they don't get bored half way through and start cutting corners (I know I would) because if this reaches a finished state while maintaining the current standard we could well be witnessing that step up in realism and detail that I've long been waiting for.

 

There is another, more obvious answer of course - build it myself. And trust me, I have thought about it. Not on the grand scale of something like New Street, but a smaller layout, something a few feet square and possibly nearer to a diorama than a layout, just to see if 'super detail' is possible and just how far it can be taken. I am dubious if my own modelling standards are high enough, and what scale do I choose? To achieve this level in my usual N gauge is probably out, so more likely I'd choose OO, but actually I think O would be the best bet. Interestingly that's something that's always baffled me a little - OO has noticeably more detail than N gauge, not just with the rolling stock but with the scenics too, and yet I don't recall ever seeing a corresponding jump up in detail levels on O gauge layouts. The detail level at O always seems to be about the same as OO to me. Maybe the need to scratch or kit build so much in that scale just saps the amount of modelling time/interest/energy that any one person is prepared to put into a layout before they start getting a bit bored of it and want to start something else.

 

And it's that waning 'interest level' that may well be what stops anyone reaching the modelling pinnacle. I know I'd get bored way before the end if it were me attempting New Street - it would never reach Schumacher level because by the time it came to adding all the detail my interest would be on starting the next layout. I have this sneaking suspicion that the means to achieve Schumacher are out there, it's just that no one has yet attempted to just keep working away on a layout more and more, for possibly years at a time, to keep adding layer after layer of detail to keep it constantly improving and evolving.

 

It's a constantly moving target though, isn't it? I mean, if P4 New Street achieves Schumacher, just think what the next layout beyond that will look like. Or what P4 New Street will look like if they keep layering on more and more detail for years. I can't wait.

 

 

 

 

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