All republication is done with the authors' permission
My two Cents
When displaying modules at public model train shows, (which I have done for 25 years), I frequently encounter people like JWB. These people come across as knowledgeable, experienced and well read modelers. They pontificate on what makes a great model and all that must go into the production of a great model and often use their own models; real and imagined as examples of the superior model. Then at some point, these blatherskites begin to critique the quality of other peoples modeling efforts, identifying all deficiencies in design, execution, anything and everything that can be thought of.
The truth about people like this is most often very different from how they first appear. If we were to ask JWB to post photos of his layout and or models, I would be very surprised if they were of sufficient quality to place in a model contest if and it's a big "if", they even exist. Most people like JWB and the others noted above who derided Mr.A's efforts have little to nothing in the way of completed models. They are often "armchair modelers" who criticize others in order to make them selves feel better.
To those people I say, go home and keep on dreaming, because you haven't the balls to try creating something and fail and then, then try again until you succeed. You don't have self confidence to try something new, to learn a new skill or how to use a new material or technique to improve your models. Your models are perfect in every way so long as they remain in your imagination. And once you try to make them real, so that others can see them; the illusion of perfection will be broken. And that scares the hell out of you.
One of the persons above who goes by "298" also mentioned that "micro-railroading must be an alien concept to Americans". For the most part this is true Mr. 298, small dense, intense industrial railroading is all but extinct in North America. Apparently Mr. 298 doesn't understand what inspires us North Americans to build model railroads. So I invite you to come and experience the kind of railroading that is alien to you, but not us and then you might understand why we build our models the way we do. I invite you come to Cary, North Carolina and stand beside the Norfolk Southern mainline while 16,000 horsepower shakes the very earth you stand on as the 10,000 ton unit grain train crawls up-hill from Morrisville. Or to Selma North Carolina to see CSX roll through town with an 8,000 ton inter-modal train made up of double stacked containers, and traveling 60 mph (96 kmph). Now I know that freight trains in Europe often move faster 60 mph, but European trains are on the small side. When something as large as one of our trains come at you going that fast, you will be inspired in some fashion.
Mark Gugliotta
Modeling When You Have No Free Time
We’ve all been there, or are there now. You look at your kid’s school and sports schedule, your work schedule, family obligations, and yard work and realize the amount of free time available for modeling is measured in minutes not hours. It’s not just the absence of free time, such time periods in ones life also leave you with little mental energy when a few spare minutes do show up. After a long week of work and hours spent commuting, even if you have the time you may not be able to bring the level of focus required to effectively put a model together. During such periods it’s not unusual for the layout and modeling to go completely dormant for months.
It’s a common life situation and one that can be dealt with without falling into a funk or becoming frustrated. The problem is as much organizational and psychological as it is time related.
In order to stay engaged with the hobby, and keep your skills sharp, it’s important that to the extent you can, that you get at least some modeling done every week. Even if it’s only ten minutes, try to get something done no matter how small. Try to avoid month long stretches where nothing happens.
Here are a few thoughts when you find yourself in this zero time/zero energy situation.
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Have a list prepared of small but necessary modeling tasks (left). Use downtime to be have everything set out for your upcoming project (right). During times of slow progress, keep your layout surface totally clutter free ( center ).
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No project is too small as long as it is a necessary item (top). Try to get fifteen minutes of solo ops. time in per week, even if on temporary track (bottom).
In summary, the point is to stay engaged with the hobby by maintaining momentum and realizing that completion of the smallest of tasks on a consistent basis will allow you do so.
Give it a try. Pick a small, very simple project you at least want to get started on next week. It should be something that takes no more than hour total to complete. Set a goal this week of having everything ready to work on it by the end of week. This means all tools and parts neatly laid out on your work bench and ready to go. The following week, work on it in fifteen or twenty minute intervals until you’re done. If it takes two weeks, instead of one that doesn’t matter as long as you’re getting a little done each week.
Becoming A Better Modeler
I've always been intrigued by the process a person goes through to develop their skills in any particular endeavor. The actual activity is irrelevant. It could be athletics, music, art, writing, or in our case, model building. There will always be those who are born with great talent. In most cases though it really comes down to desire and practice. To say that a superior result was obtained simply because a person was born with a skill diminishes the effort it took for the person to get to that point.
Building quality models, in my view, breaks down to 45% proper technique and material selection, 45% practice, and at most 10% natural talent. Before we even get that far though there has to be a desire to be a better modeler.
I need to be clear that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being happy with your current state of modeling capabilities and maintaining the status quo. If you're having a good time and enjoying what you are doing then that is what the hobby is all about. There can not, and should not, be any apologies for your current level of modeling ability. Here's an example. I really enjoy fishing. I'm a terrible fisherman. I never catch anything. Most of the time I don't want to catch anything. I rarely read fishing magazines. However, put me on a pier on quiet Sunday morning and I'm quite content. Viewed that way its quite easy for me to understand how somebody could take a casual, superficial approach to model railroading and have a great time doing so.
For me, model railroading is different. This is my primary hobby and the one I strive to become better at with each passing month. If a person were to ask me for suggestions on improving their modeling skills I'd offer up the list below as a starting point.
-As stated above you need to have the DESIRE to become better.
-Learn from past mistakes. Maybe mistake isn't the right word. Learn to look back on previous efforts and identify the areas that need the most improvement.
-Ask for advice
-As important, implement the advice you were given
-Develop an eye for what looks good and what does not.
-Stay abreast of the more modern techniques and materials (Static grass, etc.). Many people cling to old materials and techniques long after more effective methods or better looking materials become available.
-Master the basics of creating clean joints and seams on your models. Make sure things that should be straight are straight, corners are at 90 degree angles and that there are no unsightly gaps at your joints. This is easier said than done and comes with time and practice.
-Study the work of those you strive to emulate and evaluate what is different about what they've done.
-No matter who you are, you will always be improving. Your past efforts won't be as good as what you can do now. Accept this and enjoy where you are on the modeling skill spectrum. Look back on previous efforts without regret and acknowledge they were your best effort at that point in time.
-Practice. When trying a new technique practice on a sample, off the layout, until you can produce acceptable results.
-Study high quality 'how to' DVD's
-Practice basic neatness at all levels
-Pay particular attention to color and flat sheen
-Avoid the temptation to add too many elements to your model railroad scenes. Scene composition is very important.
-Learn how to use india ink/alcohol weathering washes.
-Learn how to use black and brown weathering chalks.
-Learn to scratch build structures. Scratch building a structure is often easier than wrestling with a poorly manufactured kit.
-Build models on a consistent basis. Don't go for extended periods of time without doing anything.
-Attend prototype modeling seminars
-Carefully study prototype photos and copy what you see in miniature
You can do it.... if you want to.
By Lance Mindhiem
Tools
I recently attended seminars put on by master modelers Mont Switzer and Bill Darnaby on the subject of model railroading tools. As I sat down for the seminars, I prepared to be wowed by an extensive list of expensive, ultra-sophisticated tools that would literally make my models fall together perfectly. At the end of the seminars I was quite under whelmed. My bubble had been burst. There were no 'super tools'. They don't really exist. I laugh when I look back on it and they laugh when I recount to them how they let the air out of my balloon. The truth is, when it comes to model railroading tools you really do not need much. From a cost standpoint this is good news in that it means exceptional results are available to all regardless of financial resources. Here are some basics.
-Number 11 blades. Sharp ones and lots of them. Change your blades often. Single edge razor blades work equally well
-A few small screw drivers
-Hand held pin vise (aka twist drill) and small drill bits
-Tweezers
-Sandpaper in a variety of grits from 100 to 600. Sanding sticks are handy but not necessary.
-Three or four files of varying shapes
-Pins (Straight, T, or Push) to apply glue
-Super glue (regular and gel)
-Testors liquid plastic cement
-A steel straight edge. Better yet, a steel scale rule will kill two birds with one stone.
-Optivisor magnifying glasses
-Bragdon Weathering Chalks http://www.bragdonent.com/about.htm (Black and Chocolate Brown only) Part numbers FF-64 Soot Black, FF-69 Brown
-India Ink/Alcohol weathering wash. Make two strengths (1 tsp Higgins ink per pint of 91% alcohol and a stronger batch made with 2 tsp per pint)
-Aerosol spray paint: Ultra Flat Black, Charcoal Primer, Light Gray Primer, Grimy Black, Roof Brown, Rustoleum Textured Paint (sandstone color)
-TRASH CAN. Get in the habit of discarding sub-par efforts quickly. If a project doesn't turn out, pitch it and start anew.
Optional (Handy but not essential)
-An airbrush and compressor are nice but you can live a long time without one.
-Steel angles
-Northwest Shortline Chopper
-Dremel tool
This is where it all happens. Sorry to disappoint but this is really all it takes to put a model together. Note my sophisticated organizational system: long straight things on the right, glues on the left, chalk in the back.
By Lance Mindhiem
Deliberate Practice
A number of years ago Florida State
In summary, Ericsson’s conclusion was that acquiring a high skill level in an activity had very little to do with inborn talent and very much to do with hard work and practice. Not any practice but ‘deliberate practice’. The key though was how he defined ‘deliberate practice’.
In the article Colvin writes, “The best people in any field are those who devote the most hours to what the researchers call "deliberate practice." It's activity that's explicitly intended to improve performance, that reaches for objectives just beyond one's level of competence, provides feedback on results and involves high levels of repetition.
For example: Simply hitting a bucket of balls is not deliberate practice, which is why most golfers don't get better. Hitting an eight-iron 300 times with a goal of leaving the ball within 20 feet of the pin 80 percent of the time, continually observing results and making appropriate adjustments, and doing that for hours every day - that's deliberate practice.
I see this consistently in model railroading. I’ll be contacted by somebody that has been in the hobby for some time that, for one reason or another, has decided they want to improve their modeling or photography. They usually send me photos at the first contact and then follow up every several months. For many months the results look pretty much the same as they plug along trying to improve. Then, in a matter of weeks some magical switch seems to flip and they go from being a good modeler or photographer to an exceptional one. Had they just kept going along using the same techniques and mindset they would not have improved. However, these folks were very deliberate. They read up on new techniques, sought feedback, analyzed their efforts, read books, and spent a fair amount of time at the work bench (or behind a camera). It wasn't just the time they spent modeling or doing photography it was that they 'deliberately practiced'.
By Lance Mindhiem
Building a Successful Layout
To me the definition of a successful layout is very simple. In my view, it’s simply a layout that provides the maximum amount of enjoyment given the owner’s circumstances. What other’s think of it, its technical characteristics, the theme, the degree of detail etc. really is irrelevant. If an individual would truly enjoy placing Star Wars figures on his layout and enjoy running civil war era locomotives around them, that’s the way they should go. They shouldn’t cave and build, say a 1950’s era Santa Fe
Having said all of that, there are some things that can be done to maximize your enjoyment and increase the odds it will meet your definition of success.
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Know your interests and be true to them regardless of what others think. Are you primarily an operator, structure modeler, rolling stock enthusiast? Are you trying to recreate a specific place, represent it reasonably, or go totally freelance? This type of deep self examination is not that easy but well worth the effort.
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Be realistic about your skill level and the time you have available for the hobby.
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It is critical to have early success in the construction process. Being able to get at least one train running from A to B will build momentum and keep you going. If your design is so complex that nothing can run until some very complex construction projects are done you run the risk of getting bogged down.
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Put a high premium on reliability and low maintenance, even higher than other modeling factors such as degree of detail or prototype accuracy.
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The layout must be comfortable to interact with. Multiple duck unders, long stretches of track that are not reachable or accessible, etc. will gradually sap your enthusiasm.
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I had a lot of reservations prior to building the East Rail layout. I’m embarrassed to admit that I was fairly pre-occupied with what others would think. Here we had what I thought others would view as a rather boring industrial park, in a less than popular era, all located in a region of the country that was not as popular as say the west or Appalachia. In addition, the layout was not very big. In the end I put my natural desire for accolades aside and proceeded anyway. The end result was a layout that provided me more enjoyment than any I had built since. It was (and still is) a total joy and until I started the Downtown Spur I practically ran the rails off of it. Surprisingly, people I had never met before came out of the woodwork expressing their interest in the theme, simple design, era. etc. So now I could count among my misjudgments how inaccurately I judged what others interests were. Don’t be afraid to be utterly selfish and design a layout for yourself not others. The vast majority of the time it will be you and you alone that is around it so make sure it satisfies the primary audience – YOU!
By Lance Mindhiem
The Structure Quandary
Over the past decade I’ve had a hard time ignoring the similarity between model railroader’s penchant for impulse buying/indiscriminate accumulation as compared to the same issue in any other retail setting. I’m not sure there is a difference between purchasing more shoes than there are days in the week as opposed to buying dozens of structures none of which seem to be earmarked for any particular future purpose and none of which are ever assembled. In both cases it comes down to the brief high from ‘getting the fix’ and buying something. After that, the purchased item rarely sees the light of day. The enjoyment is short lasting indeed. The only solution if you want to prolong the feeling is to buy something again.
I’d like to focus on structure kits for now although rolling stock runs a close second. For many, many modelers structures are their favorite part of the hobby, at least buying them is. In many cases the purchase is rationalized when in reality it is just satisfying a craving. The accumulated kits are unrelated to any central theme or era and go un-built. In many cases the purchaser doesn’t have a layout either by choice or circumstance. I’ve written before that, although there are many ways to participate in the hobby, accumulation of merchandise without any intended purpose is not one of them. After the initial high of making a purchase, the modeler gets none of the long term satisfaction that they should seek from a hobby.
I do believe this can be turned around though if we change our thinking towards structures in general. We have several flaws in our thinking. The first is that there is no value in assembling a structure if it won’t eventually be on a model railroad. That’s not true. The second flaw is assuming that the value of assembling a kit is in the finished product. The third flaw is that we need to keep assembled models after they are done. We don’t. In all three cases we overlook the fact that the value is in the process, the satisfaction of assembly if you will. This can be no small thing. The great news is that you don’t need to ever have a layout in order to achieve this satisfaction.
A valuable lesson could be learned by taking a cue from our cousins in the military or automotive modeling side of the hobby. They don’t have model railroad layouts or other settings to place the completed model and yet on they march in total bliss assembling an F-15 one month, a warthog the next. Unlike military modelers however, we railroaders face a problem. While an 1/48 model of an aircraft may only be a foot long and a few inches tall, many completed structure models are quite large, often taking up four or five square feet. That raises the significant issue of what do we do with the darn things when they are done?
If we change our perspective on model railroad structures and align it more towards that of the military modelers we are now in a position to get true satisfaction from the hobby even if we don’t have a layout.
- Get in the habit of assembling your structure kits for one simple reason, the joy and satisfaction of assembly. Whether you have a layout or not is irrelevant. If a particular kit appeals to you, BUILD IT.
- With a finished kit in hand we hit the stumbling block that trips most people up and keeps them from building the kit in the first place. What do you do with it now? As mentioned before it may be fairly large. There are three things you can do. If your structure models are fairly small, treat yourself to a nice display case and put them in there. The second option is to give them away or sell them, although this may not be so easy and be more trouble than it’s worth. The third option will be difficult for many to accept and that is to simply pitch them. What? That’s right, throw the kits away. Keep them awhile, photograph them and then eventually pitch them. If a particular model has given you forty or fifty hours of relaxation and satisfaction that’s saying quite a bit. It’s served its purpose. If you don’t have a place for it, no use for it, throw it away and start on the next one. Look at this way, attending a sporting event with parking may cost well over a hundred dollars and provide four or five hours of enjoyment. After the event is over we have no more expectations for our entertainment dollars. We spent our money, we were entertained, and that’s the end of it. Why should modeling be different? The same hundred dollars spent on a structure kit will certainly provide more than a few hours of entertainment. Model building provides more entertainment hours per dollar spent than most other pastimes. It’s a great value.
So far we’ve been talking about structure accumulation for those with no layouts. Those with layouts or those about to get layouts face another problem. They have an inventory of kits accumulated over decades that, while interesting on an individual basis, have absolutely ZERO relationship to each other or any central theme. Because the modeler spent money getting them, they feel compelled to use them on the layout. They shouldn’t and trying to do so creates unforeseen problems. Often designs are forced around awkward structure footprints as opposed to letting the theme drive the design. After the layout is built and the random structures placed willy nilly on its surface, it lacks visual cohesiveness. In essence the layout has been forced to be a display case, something that just doesn’t work visually. An analogy would be buying clothes for a vacation before you know where you are going. Rather than looking like a model of a railroad the layout looks like a retail store front. The only way to get a cohesive look with a model railroad is to design it first, and THEN purchase the structures. This isn’t to say that buying those structures was wasted money. The layout and your structure building can be split out as two separate pastimes. There is no reason you can’t build a structure for the sheer joy of doing so and simply not use it on your layout.
The point of all this is to change our view on structures and the role they play with how we derive satisfaction from them. There can be a tremendous amount of enjoyment obtained simply from building them! So, build them. Spending time doing a relaxing and satisfying task is the sole reason for having a hobby. Let’s get away from over thinking structures and requiring that each and every one of them have a future role after they are completed.
By Lance Mindhiem
Tick. Tick. Tick. You're running out of time. Better speed up.
How do you plan your operating sessions? I’ll argue that most folks are mission driven. They have a certain number of moves they want performed, industries they want switched, or trains to run and, by god, nothing short of completion will be accepted! Running short of time? Speed up darn it! Can’t get everything done? We’ll run a longer session. It’s all good training…… if you’re getting ready to be a UPS driver. However, it's not very realistic….or enjoyable for that matter.
Let’s break it down. We have:
- The desired length of the operating session.
- The length of time it takes to perform a sequence of moves.
- The number of sequences to be performed, industries to be switched, or trains to be run.
Which are fixed and which are variable? Sub-consciously most model operators view the number of sequences or trains to be run as the, set-in-concrete, fixed number that drives everything. No matter what, everything on "the list" MUST BE DONE! That’s the wrong way of looking at it. In the real world it’s the one true variable. It’s the element that is last in the pecking order. Conversely, model railroaders also sub-consciously, and erroneously, view the amount of time it takes to perform a move as a variable. It's not. It's fixed.
Let’s take a look at an actual railroad. The amount of time it takes to perform a switching operation is pretty much an inflexible element by virtue of speed, distance, physics, and safety rules. No matter how loud management screams, it isn’t going to get a four hour job completed in two hours.
Overtime is expensive. Come the holiday season, the switch crews may be warm to going over their time limit to the tune of time and half or double pay. The bean counters are less enthused. In the real world, when a yard or industrial shift is over, in most cases you are walking to the crew lounge.
Model railroaders have a tendency to try to squeeze more action and more switching moves into a session than time will realistically allow. The result is un-necessary pressure and an op. session that isn’t real world.
Food For Thought:
- Avoid speeding up your sequences to meet some arbitrary time deadline. If you run out of time, you run out of time and the next shift will finish. The amount of time it takes to perform a move shouldn’t change based on time limits and deadlines.
- Review the number of moves you are designing into your sessions versus op. session length. Strongly consider keeping the session length the same but reducing the number of industries to switch or trains to be run.
- Consider setting a hard limit on the length of the op. session. When the appointed hour arrives, kill the power switch. If your crews know the power will be turned off at a specific time and they aren’t necessarily expected to get every task done, the quality of the session will improve.
By Lance Mindhiem
