In my opinion, as a person who has the luxury of being able to stand back and view the situation dispassionately, it requires a major revision of the program on a few fronts. The first one --- Watch 'em, don't ride 'em --- is so radical that it goes against the very grain of the name chosen [Riding RailKits] by Rod Johnston for his one-inch-to-the-foot models (RJ Scale) , now sadly Out-Of-Production.
Why do we demean our interest by spending (sometimes) years on a model, researching details, fabricating intricate parts, then spoil it irretrievably by perching on top of them and hauling hugely oversize, out-of-scale "real people" around an endless circle of sand and shrubbery, while friends, strangers , and casual onlookers gawk, chat unconcernedly, and never get close enough to even see the workmanship?
If we're trying to capture railroad history, if we're trying to persuade others to join us in this complex and demanding hobby, we have chosen a medium which is the complete reverse of what is required.
Scale-compatible scenery to critically necessary to lend an air of realism to the scene . BUT no scale-correct human figures populate this landscape; there are no models of the magnificent automobiles of the era (think Packard, classic Buicks and Cadillacs the almost universally present Model A Fords) ; no houses, no business district to justify the endless parade of rail traffic . If you or your railway friends are modeling electrically-propelled rail models --- the prime subject of these blogs --- there is no overhead, no intricate web of catenary, nothing but that endless circle of track; any scenery in place would be swept to the ground as riders went racing by. In the icionic words of Dr. Phil "How has that been working for you ?"
Scale-compatible scenery to critically necessary to lend an air of realism to the scene . BUT no scale-correct human figures populate this landscape; there are no models of the magnificent automobiles of the era (think Packard, classic Buicks and Cadillacs the almost universally present Model A Fords) ; no houses, no business district to justify the endless parade of rail traffic . If you or your railway friends are modeling electrically-propelled rail models --- the prime subject of these blogs --- there is no overhead, no intricate web of catenary, nothing but that endless circle of track; any scenery in place would be swept to the ground as riders went racing by. In the icionic words of Dr. Phil "How has that been working for you ?"
Of all practitioners of this hobby, only the British tram enthusiasts, modeling in 1:16 scale, that is, (3/4ths inch = one foot) have made the transition to a believable viewscape, and have done it extremely well, primarily --- in my opinion --- because they don't --- actually can't --- ride the little rascals AND they spend as much effort on their cityscapes as they do on their model trams .
More rants to follow in this simple and attractive solution, which the more perceptive among you can probably already anticipate.
N.B. Have you noticed that "G Scale" track is .334 inches high ? That translates --- when we multiply it by One-Inch scale's "Magic Multipler" of twelve --- into four prototype inches high, OR scaled down 75 pound rail, an excellent all-around useful and accurate prototype . It serves everything from historical, even pre-1900, steam to light rail to trolleys and trams, to RDC-compatible trackage. For Two-Inch scale (PS scale / Gauge) , one-inch high rail available from live steam suppliers scales out to six-inch prototype, a really robust prototype size that will handle anything.
If we do the same for one-sixth scale (1:6, 2 inches = one foot) , the one inch rail used for live stem operation scales out to a six inch high prototype, which is AREA 100 pound rail, a good healthy standard .
Doesn't all this make a small model manufacturing business sound like a more exciting and interesting activity as a potential small business earning a modest income --- instead of the current earned bank interest rate of less than one percent on money market accounts or Certificates of Deposit ?
At some point in these blogs, we'll cover one of the most critically important --- but most frequently ignored --aspects of these home businesses, namely, marketing . Two demerits if you think that means advertising ; that's equivalent to buying an automobile because you like the color !
If we do the same for one-sixth scale (1:6, 2 inches = one foot) , the one inch rail used for live stem operation scales out to a six inch high prototype, which is AREA 100 pound rail, a good healthy standard .
Doesn't all this make a small model manufacturing business sound like a more exciting and interesting activity as a potential small business earning a modest income --- instead of the current earned bank interest rate of less than one percent on money market accounts or Certificates of Deposit ?
At some point in these blogs, we'll cover one of the most critically important --- but most frequently ignored --aspects of these home businesses, namely, marketing . Two demerits if you think that means advertising ; that's equivalent to buying an automobile because you like the color !
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