Lecorbusier

Doesn't it depend to some extent on what you choose to Model? If I were modelling the contemporary scene I would look for something interesting I think.... Just chose this as I am interested in the work of Calatrava .... there are a fair few others.

Whilst I share your tastes over the modern railway .... I suggest you are comparing apples with oranges here. Firstly I think you need to compare a desirable subject for modelling the contempoary scene with Little B .... the current little B I suggest is not that. Secondly, if we are talking about historic modelling .... ie 20th Century .... you perhaps should be comparing the popularity of modelling 1970s - 1990s so memories and a sense of nostalgia (not to mention a more balanced perspective) have had time to form. Just a thought. Personally, I fully agree with your preference regarding the two photos though.

Definition of venerable 1a : calling forth respect through age, character, and attainments a venerable jazz musician broadly : conveying an impression of aged goodness and benevolence encouraged by the venerable doctor's head-nodding My dad was 93 last weekend .... now that is what I call OLD!

Me .... if it was my period Perhaps I will get bored in a few years (or impatince may well set in) ... but at the moment I just like building things ! Very rewarding and satisfying They may not be as good as the Bachman .... but for me that's not really the point - my loco's are not as good as the venerable TW either

I was interested that as a 40 year celebration of the scalefour society, at scaleforum Ian Rice put together an exhibition of the development of the society starting from as early as he could find still existing examples of modelling. What this really hammered home to me was two things ..... firstly how far things have developed from the early days .... and secondly how lucky we now are with what we have available and to a large extent take for granted. I would hazard that this trajectory is equally true for EM and all other finescale branches of the hobby (00 included). From my perspective (in my 50s), even if RTR falls back and the wider hobby contracts in terms of numbers, things still appear to be pretty positive. As far as clubs are concerned, perhaps society has changed? People are far more atomised now (at least that is my experience) and in general are much less coherent as groups than they appear to have been in the past .... you can see that by how many pubs have closed or been converted to flats etc, not to mention the rise of social media as a way of life.

I think we are singing from the same hymn sheet here Andrew .... you are just further ahead on the curve with your information. From what you say the fall back has already started. I think we had a 'perfect storm' in the form of both a demographic who grew up prior to the emergence of digital electronics all coming to retirement age with a little spare time and cash coupled to cheap manufacturing from china and so the explosion of high quality RTR. We are perhaps now seeing the reverse .... increasing manufacturing costs and a demographic with less time and cash whose childhood did not coincide with the romance of the railways and where model trains were not so prominent.

I have two thoughts/theories on this .... both of which might well be wrong. The first one is that I keep on reading the model railway hobby is one of the most popular past times in the country. If this is true, I suspect that the huge increase in numbers has mainly been down to the excellence of the RTR offerings - many who enjoyed playing trains as kids can now play trains as adults but this time with grown up toys and a real semblance of quality ... which never used to be possible unless you were a serious and talented modeller. If this hypothesis is correct, then it is perhaps not surprising that your article received mixed reactions, as it will as far as many are concerned, have appeared to question if not directly critique their 'real semblance of quality'. The second is that given the way the modern internet appears to work and the alleged increase in numbers getting involved in the hobby, I suspect the lack of perspective or discernment demonstrated by many relating to your article is now the new norm. People seem to think that manners are no longer relevant when posting anonymously from a distance hidden behind a keyboard. I shall be interested to watch over the next 10 - 15 years to see whether the popularity of the hobby falls back at all ....and if so whether modelling then comes to the fore again or not ..... time will tell.

Its such a shame really .... we now have the technology for fantastic and cost effective reproduction which could only have been dreamt of 20 years ago. I really like good photos and lots of them, but surely the trick is that they accompany not replace a damn good read .... that way (particularly in a craft article) you can get a good idea of what's being described - the next best thing to an actual demonstration. Thankfully we have some really good workshop threads on the various forums to fill the gap.

I look forward to each new issue of the MRJ ..... not sure if this would be classed as mainstream though? ..... I do buy it at WH Smith in Oxford. Probably not up everyone's street, but I also find some very useful practical articles in the Scalefour News (certainly not mainstream).

I assume that this is down to the transparency of the red pigment? Interestingly the same would seem to be true of Precision's Crimson lake as I have had different results on test sheets dependent upon tone of undercoat. Would you have any thoughts on which undercoat might work best for which period?

There you go .... definitely shows I know nothing ... but then I did admit as much

Each to their own Clive .... not being prescriptive here. By weight I was not meaning to be literal but visual ... I have seen plastic bodied locos which have a real appearance of weight and solidity. Personally I would always advocate 'Mucking up' RTR .... meaning a thorough weathering and maybe the odd evidence of damage or maintenance. I am not an expert in anything ... but particularly not things diesel/electric etc .....but there does seem to be far less variety and reworking than with the long lived steam classes so major surgery might not be necessary for prototypical appearance.

My reaction is not to do with what the RTR is made of .... more the impression it makes on me. Tony's posted streamliner is a case in point ... to my eye it looks artificial and toy like. If adapted to a given prototype and fully weathered with perhaps some indication of wear and tear .... then I would fully expect the model to pass muster - but then for me it is no longer RTR .... just my take, nothing more definitive,

That depends ..... For me RTRs always look plastic, lack any sense of weight and as a result appear 'toy like'. I have seen weathered and personalised RTRs depicting specific prototypes at a point in time which I have really liked .... but I would then argue that they are no longer RTR - there is considerable skill in the alterations made. Personally if I were not wishing to make my own models and money was not a stumbling block, I would have any of your kit built offerings over an RTR, they just look more substantial and from the videos have that sense of weight which convinces ..... same goes for much of what I see on this thread. Obviously, when you make your own models (or make your own alterations/weathering of RTR) this trumps all - because of the entertainment of the process and the very real pride and sense of achievement - irrespective of whether the end result it is as good as other peoples offerings.

developing nicely methinks

Wow .....I'm not surprised - I would hazard a guess that there are not many of 'the great and the good' (so to speak) who would offer such help. Once a teacher always a teacher .... respect!

Nothing really to say but how much I am enjoying these wonderful bits of modelling ... inspirational stuff.

My contribution to the model shop reminiscences would be the excellent Slaters shop of yore in Matlock Bath ... prior to their move to Darley Dale. In truth I don't actually know how good this shop was because I was still a teenager at the time and so perhaps lacked a discerning eye ... but my memories are certainly rose tinted. The only other 'proper' model shop I frequented was the one on the Headington roundabout in Oxford during my University days ... again this seemed pretty good .. If I recall correctly it was called 'Motor Books of Oxford'. It would be interesting to know if I am indeed suffering from a 'rose tinted view' or if these shops would be deemed to pass muster.

Most browsers under the view option on the top menu bar will have a zoom out option. You should be able to use this to see the full web page as an interim measure.

All of my friends and most others who had a gap year between school and University in the eighties spent the first 3 to 4 months working wherever they could to save up the money and then travelled on a shoe string using student travel passes and staying in student hostels. Most ended up working in bars or night clubs at various points around Europe or the far east in order to get home again. Just saying. No criticism of those who chose not to travel (I didn't until later), but I always thought their efforts were both laudable and quite brave at that age.

In the grand tradition of the BBC ....... for balance - Great spot, but mind the bities By ALAN LANDER AUSTRALIA is known as the most lethal place on Earth when it comes to deadly animals and marine life. And within our borders, the Sunshine Coast ranks in the top five dangerous places in the nation. So dangerous that one of the nations top medical toxinologists, who is based in Melbourne, comes to Nambour Hospital as often as possible V to get experience. Deputy director of the Australian Venom Research Unit Dr Bill Nimo organised a weekend Toxinology conference at Twin Waters Resort to help rural GPs and medical experts get more information about treatment for snake and spider bites. The Sunshine Coast is the capital for a lot of bites and stings, he said. But with more overseas doctors now here who dont know our creatures, and the shortening of medical tenures from six to five years, this area of knowledge is just not being taught anymore. Dr Nimo said fables such as the white-tailed spiders so-called necrotising effect, where flesh supposedly falls off grew because GPs just didn't know the truth. It doesn't happen, he said. You see awful pictures, but when you look, it was something else, a drug reaction (perhaps). On the other hand, dangerous funnel web spiders are plentiful around the Coast and there are plenty of snakes tigers, brown, rough-scaled here. As for marine life, the Steve Irwin tragedy underlines the need to being very careful with bites, stings and barbs. It was not venom that killed Steve it was trauma, Dr Nimo said. He was stabbed in the heart. Even if someone gets just a cut, a doctor may send them home, saying its a superficial cut. But if its in the torso, it can kill. If anyone gets one, they should go for help. Dr Nimos advice for any bite or sting is to give first-aid and contact triple-0, or get to a hospital.

That would be almost as good as the Original!

Average !!!!!!! Hmmm ! ... I hesitate to cry tosh in such company ..... oh what the hell ...... TOSH! I will accept that if we are talking high level finescale modelling at its best, then LB might be judged average rather than exceptional .... indeed from what you say (though I do not have the requisite knowledge or experience to comment) even at the lower end of average. But an average layout ..... TOSH! Indeed I have yet to see a layout with a full feature in the MRJ which could be described as average .... this alone suggests to me that your peers have judged it above average. As individuals we are all too well aware of our own shortcomings, and anyone who makes anything will more often than not be dissatisfied by what they produce as the mistakes/faults/fudges/bodges will loom disproportionately large and the real quality and excellence will tend to be taken for granted. LBs trackwork by Norman Solomon might be average when measured against his output .... but within the hobby can any of his trackwork be described as average? I would suggest not. Whatever you say, I'm afraid that is my view ... which is not the same as saying one's eye is either uncritical or lacking in discernment - but rather that that critique starts at a given level that is already way above average.

If you are going black and white ... a couple of thoughts .... or three Might you consider rigging up a directional light source to produce some shadows? Might give even more atmosphere? I think the shots might benefit from a little more work on the sky ... even if only a darkening towards the top to give a feel of distance. Finally, it might be fun to play around a little with graining .. just to add a little noise. Excellent shots though

marvellous ...thanks.