westernviscount

I wish I had that book!!!

Thats given me an idea for a lynching offence!! Approach a layout builder at Scale forum or Railex and say "Oh, I saw something similar done on the Great Model Railway Challenge." And in the name of balance, approach a "ready to plant, out of the box, trainset" layout, hang around for a very short time and say "I cant stand rivet counters and people who take their hobby seriously" and walk away as if offended by it.

I was watching a youtube vid about the Brush Type 2 construction and happened across this coach. I have never seen windows on a mk1 like this (admittedly my knowledge is limited) Are they common? Did they last? Have they been modelled?

I am glad it isn't just me who has been disappointed by the wheels in the new parkside range. I raised the matter on my kitbuilding thread and was slightly worried I had commited blasphemy!!

I couldn't be without a car where I live in relation to my work and I would say not having a car would impact a great deal more folk than those who can make choices about their work and the lifestyle types.

This sums up how luxuries are not universal but are based on individual circumstances. One person luxury is another's necessity. So are hobbies a luxury? for some yes, for others perhaps not.

Well Johnster I have to say I agree with everything you say in your last post. I also said further up that although perhaps a luxury, or defined as luxury, a hobby is also a necessity. Some have a very utilitarian view of others, judging them in certain instances for indulging in anything other than eating, being warm and raising their children. Poverty does not mean the will for self expression disappears. We are keen to impose frugality and self denial on others to levels we ourselves could not tolerate. I wish I had more money and space to create a bigger railway and regret the necessity for others to repeat the cliché "the hobby can be as expensive or inexpensive as we want"...it is nowhere near as expensive as I would like it to be! However, I doubt my methods would change and my attention would still be drawn to small detail and perhaps render a larger layout unnecessary for my satisfaction. Constraint can be a motivator for creativity as long as it is not completely constricting. I have written about this elsewhere and cite the Oulipo movement which uses self-imposed constraints to stimulate art and literature, one example being the book A Void by George Perec which completely avoids the letter E (except the front cover with the author's name of course!!). This is interesting to me Cypher. They don't feel like just toys to me and perhaps this diminishes the importance of the hobby to some people. Just a thought of course.

Yes Tom, I agree with this analysis. I would also add that "headspace" is also a luxury. Being in a position to engage in an activity to the extent you enter the flow state is, what with one thing and another, a privilege. The problems you list are things that might play on one's mind and encroach on well deserved "fun" activities which hobbies are meant to be. As for costs, as I said I would love my hobby to be ridiculously expensive but I am not in the position to allow for that. The way I model, which is to scratch build in styrene is, once you have sufficient tools, a very cheap way of doing things. Detail parts are initially an expense but these tend to accumulate over time so can be used on other projects. In my opinion, the nearer I get to building something from scratch the more rewarding the experience of hobby time is...FOR ME! The further away from digital impositions such as the net, be it in terms of e-commerce or streaming or dare I say forums, the happier I seem to be in my hobby time. I confess, I am spending much more time thinking, writing and reading about the hobby than I am engaging physically with it and if I am honest, this is detrimental to my fulfilment levels. This is not the case for everyone I know, but I can't help but think total unplugging is a good thing from time to time. engagement in miniature railways to the exclusion of all other concerns for 10 minutes plus is the hobby as far as I am concerned. I don't think there are actually that many dictators in this hobby, just people with robust views which can seem judgemental. It takes all sorts!

If a luxury is something desirable but hard to attain or something not essential then yes, any hobby is a luxury. How much of a luxury a hobby is, is measurable against a persons work or aspect of life they have little choice but to engage in to live. The measure is not just financial but also spiritual. Speaking personally, work has become something that encroaches deeper into ones life without the commensurate reward as the years go on. A hobby which can relieve you momentarily from the strains of life is a luxury but is in my opinion a necessity at the same time. Is this a bread and roses thing? The hobby as a financial luxury? well I find the "the hobby is as expensive as you want it" argument a little frustrating. I want my hobby to be extremely expensive but circumstances dictate it must not and cannot be so. This hobby can be as expensive as your bank balance or credit score allows is nearer the reality.

It might be Tony that your examples are to do with methods being better than others as opposed to reasons or motivations being better. One way of soldering is provably better than another. Regardless of the skill level of the "solderer" the novice and the master are likely to share the same motivation and attitudes to modelling. It is different when motivations or philosophies of modelling are said to be better than others. As I have stated elsewhere though, this seems to be incredibly rare, perhaps to the point of being a myth.

This is my experience of the high level modellers John. I have always thought the Chief inspector rivet counter an unfair stereotype. Those naturally gifted in observation skills, to the level that they notice incorrect numbers on wagons are usually also bright enough to intuit the intentions of the modeller they are observing and react accordingly. Some folk are hyper alert to the mythical rivet counter. I attempted to ask a simple question about the make of a point on a certain famously large layout in a cathedral city which led to a bizarrely defensive reply about why it mattered! It doesn't of course, but I was attempting a compliment. To use modern corporate language (which seems somehow appropriate); "lessons were learned". Here's another wrong un' with a bonus wonky buffer!!

"Does it look right to me" and "will anyone notice at an exhibition" were the two 'tests' i put in place when it came to numbering, particulary wagons and coaches...if it's good enough for Roy Jackson! The only problem I have encountered here are close up photographs which have been fairly and politely ctriticised. The number is most definitely wrong, fair cop, but it meets my personal tests.

Thats an interesting anology. I feel my modelling is the reverse of how artists (particularly modern) seem to work. As I progress, the greater the desire for verisilimitude not less. I just wish I could match the standard of an artist other than my modelling bench looking like Tracy Emin's unmade bed!!!

Yes @HonestTom personal priorities are the key definitely and satisfying oneself is the aim . What satisfies me is achieveing a "unifying aesthetic" where the stock matches the scene. Perfection is thankfully low on my agenda! Although shot when the layout was unfinished, the loco stands out like a sore thumb against the surroundings. First and foremost because it looks too shiny and new! The addition of pre tops numbers and weathering (and more thoughtful photography admittedly) brings things together a bit better. The pre tops numbers match the visuals of all other motive power and the late 60s early 70s setting of the layout. This satisfies me. What will not satisfy some are the widely accepted draw backs of the Bachmann 24 in terms of shape, possibly the disc codes and amongst other things, a class 24 does not belong on a western region layout. I like them though. No one has ever questioned me "robustly" and I have found through personal experience that it is those modellers who appear to set the very highest standards (the EM/P4/S7 brigade) who demonstrate the more "live and let live" attitude towards others. It is often their envy inducing standards which are interpreted as an attack on us lesser mortals, not what they say about our models. They are annoyingly good though! I have never met the mythical chief Inspector of rivets. I enjoy renumbering as a process and find the satisfaction levels rise as a kit built item reaches the decal stage. Strangely I take a certain pride that the reduction in monetary value of my models is inversely proportional to my satisfaction levels!

It is clear you work very hard on your video work, undeniably so. Of course, interpreting the efforts of taking a kit from shelf to completion in an itemised way might also be seen as hard work. I have missed meals, worked for hours on end into the early hours of the morning, burnt myself repeatedly and cut myself in pursuit of my hobby. Work, hard or otherwise it was not! In fairness, it was all purely for me. I dont think I said you shouldnt make a living from youtube but I will address that in a minute. I am unsurprised you are not rich through pursuing an individual, personal passion. I am in fact unsurprised that working very hard might not even lead to a living being made. Working hard does not automatically mean success despite the popular narrative. What I did say is that if a hobby is monetised, the level of critique should lift commensurate with its repositioning as work and a service. The "just press the off switch" is no longer enough if money is involved, in the same way "if it is such a chore, don't do it" will not be acceptable to you and others who wish to make money from it. It may all sound like I am just envious. Perhaps. I have spent many times more than I have recieved through modelling, have never been on youtube...for more than a few seconds ;-) and the nearest I got to live appreciation of my models was a 3 year old boy joyously demanding Thomas to reappear from the tunnel!!! I assumed he was enjoying the way Thomas smoothly went through the handbuilt pointwork (I worked very hard on) but he didnt really say.

I confess my concerns are personal as like your brother I have a daughter who will have to navigate the modern world. Youtube is a strictly monitored thing in my household also, never unattended and always cast to a tv (not a device). My gut says to ban entirely but I doubt this would lead to healthy attitudes to it later on. Drawing, making and doing are the essence as far as I am concerned. It is so clear to me how much joy is derived through activity over the passivity of viewing. I know many cite youtube as an influence or inspiration but I dont buy it. Crazy welsh uncle's gift of art supplies beats youtuber daubers anyday of the week. The tv comparison is valid and I had not heard of the toddler truce which is absolutely alien to the 6am-9pm broadcast CBBC generation of today. Youtube is a different beast because unlike a rolling set of programs offered by the beeb, youtube has infinite viewing which I think is a real problem. The feed is constant and adaptive and insidious. When I was a kid TV became "boring" post 6pm therefore trains, toys, drawing, digging, reading ensued.

I have renumbered locos to fit visually as opposed to accurately. I.e. I find the correct number roughly for the loco to suit pre-tops era. I may well get the region, allocation, with/without boiler wrong but as long as there are no tops numbered locos I am content. Wagons, coaches etc well I have to admit to applying numbers in a devil may care way. I know my wagons have been way off and had this pointed out on RMWEB. The fact is the numbers were wrong. I wasnt particularly hurt by this being pointed out and it was done in a straighforward way. My getting it wrong and not particularly caring does not preclude someone pointing out my "error". It doesnt make them a bad person and did not discourage me. I have kind of accepted buying a new RTR loco is not a thing I can ever do. When I was a spotty student I could afford a brand new Lima 47 from hattons. Now I have a career, the equivalent is so far out of reach it doesnt do to dwell too long on it. BUT, If I did have a new loco, yes, perhaps I would think twice about changing or weathering it due to the (sorry) crazy rrp. Perhaps if I had the means I could outsource the tinkering. Would this, for me, still be my hobby? I just dont know.

I think the push to get "content" out has certainly trumped the necessity for accuracy and quality in the example above. But It seems this is fine for most consumers of this stuff as far as views, likes and subs go on the channels and the apparent displeasure any criticism of the content raises on this thread. Individual acheivement and entrepreneurship must be defended regardless of quality as we know! Yes there is an off button, but there are also multiple buttons to enable valid criticism to be raised when "content" is poor, misleading, banal, completely wrong. Off buttons are for the harmless hobbyist vids fair enough. People earning a living (wow thats a thing) from this phenomena? Well that deserves critique.

These little adventures and departures are usually far more absorbing than mundane track cleaning and ballasting. Nice work!

virtually completed save the weathering which I must sam I am not keen to proceed with. I hoped to use screwlink couplings but the corridor connector is too long to make this viable. I think I built it too long in tge first place but too late to change. The window bars are 5amp fuse wire soldered to a frame and glued behind the windows. The bars behind the door windows look to be of a finer type so after much fiddling I decided to scribe lines into clear plastic. More careful research would have led me to remove the steps from the bogies and perhaps the steps from the end of the body.

Painting involved the spraying of railmatch br blue, 3 coats then tge underframe, roof and gangeays were hand painted humbrol 32 dark grey. I initially used the clear plastic supplied for glazing to glue on the inside of the body as I thought the brass thin enough to make it look flush glazed...nah!! It looked terrible. So... Window panes were cut individually, cut to a rectangle the corners sanded. They were dressed to push fir into the appertures. I had at this staged allowed the pai t to cure for a couple of weeks. Attempting this soo er I think would have chipped the paint around the windows.

The website suggests the kit contains all you need but the guards steps, door hinges, end steps and corridor connection suspension is on a seperate fret. I washed the kit in soapy water which I am not sure is the best way but I assumed I needed to clean the side of flux and other gundge. I am not overly keen on the quality of my cant rail matching between cast dome end and main roof but at the stage had done what I thought I could. The spraying of red oxide brings the detail of tge kit to life and the thinness of the body shell achieved by using brass is demonstrated (I might be being converted!).

The dome is matched to the roof profile by use of milliput. This is not in tge instructions but I felt it the best (cheapest) solution. It sanded really smooth. The end of the whitemetal casting is filed to mqtch the bow end.

So I recently completed a kit I have wanted to do for years. I wanted to add another pre BR parcels van to my stock box and as I model western region in the blue period (loosely...very loosely) a hawkworth full brake seemd appropriate. At first, I considered re-painting a Hornby coach into blue but considered the cost of the coach, the process of stripping the paint and repainting to a good standard would be almost as difficult and expensive as attempting a comet kit version...well that was my thinking anyway. So... I ordered the kit from wizard models. Unboxing to me is a meditative experience, not to be cheapened with a camera, mind-numbing commentary and online audience;-) but once I had landed from Nirvana, I wanted to capture this shot as a memento of the kit in its unsullied form before I got my mits on it. A week or so of getting to grips with soldering and having a slight sense of "just dont ruin it" i arrived at this point. I am sure comet veterans have a better way of lining the roof up. The curve of the roof ends do not match the aluminium roof itself but I don't think it is expected to fall together.

I hope non-railway vehicles are welcome here too.