Robert MacKinnon

Hi Richard

As you look into the supplier aspect there has been a marked move away from the traditional model shop, ideed they are few and far between, why?

Also you may want to look at the age of modellers, here you may find many senior modellers that started very young, whereas there are fewer young modellers about (wait for some responses on that statment!) there is, in my view a change in society where there is less creating and more expecting the product to be there for you to @play with@, computor games for instance. Of course this not only impacts the world of model railways.

 

All the best

 

Phil Bax

Thank you Phil Bax, indeed I was talking to a modeller today who was worried about the hobby in a few years time, he said that in his day people were at school creating things which he felt was lacking of our more recent generations (including my own) and thus modellers were not being as creative with their hands as in the 60's, 70's and 80's. Indeed looking at some of the school syllabuses at the time, carpentry and engineering were practised at the Sec Moderns (they still are but optional and watered down content I think?). I guess perhaps in a society that is now heavily consumer focused as you seem to suggest buying may have taken over from making. This may be a dangerous overgeneralisation, it may not even be true, and I am not in any position of knowledge to make such a statement, however this is something that I will ask modellers when I interview them, their feelings about the directions that the hobby is going in, how it has changed over time and their hopes or even despairs for the future. So I thank you for you comment,

cheers

Rob

I don't see the connection between the primary task of modelling coasts, rivers and harbours, to scale down a problem situation for further investigation and research; and that of model railways as an issue based outlet for expression of the real world - only as valid as a landscape or portrait painting.

 

I think many would direct you to Pendon Museum where model railways are taken seriously and at the highest academic level; to ask about their mission statement, and whether even that measures up to the purposeful activity of, "Modelling coasts, rivers and harbours to scale down a problem situation for further investigation and research". as a primary task.

 

Reading, you appear to have a messy situation of issues. What tools do you have for knocking it all into something manageable?

Dear Dazzler Fan,

Many thanks for your comment. Am I right in thinking that you see some problems in the sense of looking at model railway and material experimental/scientific models? I am not so much concerned just with similarities as with differences. In terms of

It all sounds very clever, too clever for me I'm afraid. I would be interested to see the result. There a number of questions that I have asked myself and I don't know the answers. What I do know is that modelling is all things to all people and we all do it for different reasons and results. There is some snobbery in the hobby but I guess that's the same for all hobbies, just because I build a kit doesn't mean that I get more or less enjoyment from the hobby than a collector or somebody who runs something straight from the box, we are all creating a miniature representation of our world for our own personal reasons. Diversity and sharing different aspects of the hobby is just one of the many reasons I love "playing trains". Good luck, and if you need any questionaires completed or want my views or background to my modelling please don't hesitate to ask. I am certainly not a great modeller, probably what the Railway Modeller would call an average modeller,

Alan

Dear Bodmin16

You make a very good point re railway modelling is a broad and very diverse hobby. Whether or not one is stratchbuild things you are still, as you say, making a world (modelling a world) by,planning it, imagining it, playing with it. I notice in journals such as the MRJ for many modellers everything has to be strachbuilt in part because they are probably modelling things where nothing is avaliable and/or to a desired 'quality' or 'accuracy'. You mention that there is some snobbery, I have noticed this, and will look into this aspect. Although I am interested in visiting modellers face to face I would be more than happy to send you a questionaire at some point.

cheers

Rob

Hmmmmm.......................

 

I'm afraid you've blinded me with science here, Robert, so there's not much I can say apart from, good luck!

 

Jonte.

 

P.S. Hope you don't mind me pointing out that the correct spelling for the word 'practicing' is 'practising' (verb) - (doing). I'm afraid we're mostly pedants here; be warned! (something for your research?).

Hi Jonte,

I think I might have put a bit to much up actually , a bit to detailed and long winded, esp my bit on concepts. In later posts I will hopefully develop some interesting issues and will be more accessible (ie talking less academically) so do keep with me if you are still interested. Sorry about the spelling of 'practising', probably a habit that has gone uncheked through all my work that has't been proofread by someone else.

I'll echo the good luck wishes, it sounds like an interesting parallel you're trying to draw.

 

I'll also point out a pedantry item: the abbreviation etc. written in full is 'et cetera' (meaning "and so on" or thereabouts) so writing it "ect" has no meaning whatsoever. You have 14 occurrences "ect" in your text.

Hi the Nth Degree, thanks for the good luck wishes, I am sorry about all the ect (etc) mistakes.

Hi Robert, Are you aware of this book: Sam Posey: "Playing with Trains - a Passion Beyond Scale" (Random House, 2004, USA) Jaakko

Hi Jaakko, no, but have just bought it off Amazon, thanks for pointing it out to me

cheers

Rob