Scratchbuild Shangri La

[Neil]

The Dapol 08 thread headed off in an interesting direction for a while. I see that in one thread I've posted potentially conflicting statements, initially welcoming cheapo rtr as raw meat for butchery then later whining about the sameness of the 'ready to' model railway world. I think it's pretty much a given that the increasing variety and quality of what we can buy in the 4mm world has undercut a lot of the motivation to make things for oneself.

Rather than more self indulgent bleating about how it affects my sensibilities I'd like to point the way to a different place where making rather than buying is the norm. My interest in narrow gauge takes me regularly to Narrow Gauge Railway Modelling Online where you'll see lots of scratch and kit building. It's due, I suppose, to the lack of any mass produced rtr UK outline narrow gauge in either 4mm or 7mm scales. Now while everything may not be out of the top drawer, it's hugely refreshing to see chaps cutting, sticking and painting rather than buying. I'm afraid that you'll have to register to look round, but it well worth the minimal effort. If you do can I suggest you take a look at Pugbashing (a have a go thread for everyman) and Persistent Bodgers workbench thread (fantastically clean model making that captures the essence of the prototype).

If registering really is too much bother then there's another window to this other world though Mick Thornton's 'Roving Reporter' blog.

There's undoubtedly a different ethos at play in the narrow gauge world; by and large it's a lot less finescale than we are here, but there's lots to appreciate too, not least the 'can do' spirit that drives the making of what can't be bought.

 

[westernfan]

I Must admit oo9 was where i began to scratch locos and rolling stock the experience then helped me to play about in tt . Narrow gauge is great fun.
where else can you use a triang bridge ,n gauge lifelike chassis and a bogie coach to make an edwardian railcar crossing a river

 

[Simon Dunkley]

I see that in one thread I've posted potentially conflicting statements, initially welcoming cheapo rtr as raw meat for butchery then later whining about the sameness of the 'ready to' model railway world.

I don't think these are contradictory views at all, and I am perfectly with you on both counts. The issue with the RTR/RTP is that they are a great basis for a little more work: weathering, renumbering, repainting, etc. What I personally dislike is uncritical plonking of ready bought buildings onto a piece of plywood covered with a grass mat, if you get my drift - I am being extreme to make the point.
A more subtle variation on that point, and a view which may have lead indirectly to the pugbashing thread, is that if it looks like a Lanky Pug body on an N gauge chassis, then there is too much pug and not enough bashing. Considered, careful use of the various donor parts - as you have managed, for example - is wonderful.

Persistent Bodger is in a league of his own, I think!

 

[Neil]

.... if it looks like a Lanky Pug body on an N gauge chassis, then there is too much pug and not enough bashing. ...

Well, yes and no. In an ideal world the pug parts would fade into an attractive whole but even the crudest cut, stick and paint exercises the making muscles and it's this process (rather than any result) that was uppermost in my mind yesterday. NGRM also seems to have embedded an ethos of encouraging the efforts of all regardless of current ability; as such it's pretty much an ideal place for the beginner to post their work. Which leads me on to ...

.... To be fair, do we not think that on this Forum there's lots more 'cutting sticking & painting' than 'buying' ?? ....

Yes we do; but I think that we appeal to the lady or gentleman that already has a track record of cutting, sticking and painting. Our collective encouragement builds on that and nudges the bar a little higher. I'm sure that if a newbie pitched up we'd be just as encouraging, but perhaps we're not the obvious first port of call.

.... despite people's fears, I can't see a great deal changing there despite the influx of more R-T-R at (hopefully) affordable prices. It might even open up opportunities in other areas of kit building - for instance if/when I get a "cheap" Dapol 08, I am more likely to want to get some more 'modern' wagons than my current collection to run behind it....( thinks Pugley's Cargowaggons.... ) which are more likely to be kits, as things stand currently. ....

I'm not sure how I see 7mm rtr developing, some days I think it'll always be a small market compared to 4mm others I look at the niche products offered in 4mm and think that they must be less likely to sell in good numbers than bread and butter 7mm products like the 08. At the moment I'd guess that the majority of practitioners in 7mm came to the scale with the knowledge that much would have to be built rather than bought and that rtr products are a bonus. I could see this balance changing once the range of rtr reaches some sort of critical mass.

 

[Steve Cook]

Yes we do; but I think that we appeal to the lady or gentleman that already has a track record of cutting, sticking and painting. Our collective encouragement builds on that and nudges the bar a little higher. I'm sure that if a newbie pitched up we'd be just as encouraging, but perhaps we're not the obvious first port of call.

Absolutely, in fact I would say it is one of the cornerstones of the whole forum. I've not been here since the start, but it is the very high ratio of doing / talking that is most appealing and drew me here in the first place (plus a nudge or two from that bookselling chappie ).

I've had a bit of a mooch around the NGRMO, there is plenty there for inspiration and distraction I've 'put it down' for a while or I'll not be getting on with the stuff I should be doing

It did raise a couple of interesting points for me though, first was that I prefer the forum software we have here
Secondly was how much I use the 'like' function on here. Rightly or wrongly, it turns out that I have been using them as a barometer of productivity when compared against post count. That probably says more about the 'engineer and data' trend my mind seems to operate on, but it was the first time I've conciously realised I do that Perhaps I should stop looking at things that way On a more positive note, it struck me that as a group, likes are awarded for the act of modelling / making and do not seem to my eyes to be based around prototype, interest or era - a very good thing indeed (plus if cuts down on the +1 type of posts it is well worth it).

I'll get back in my box now....
Steve

 

[Simon Dunkley]

Well, yes and no. In an ideal world the pug parts would fade into an attractive whole but even the crudest cut, stick and paint exercises the making muscles and it's this process (rather than any result) that was uppermost in my mind yesterday. NGRM also seems to have embedded an ethos of encouraging the efforts of all regardless of current ability; as such it's pretty much an ideal place for the beginner to post their work.

I take your point, and indeed appluad their efforts to encourage people to have a go, but I think that "pug body on a Minitrix chassis" approach is not the best advert for 4mm scale narrow gauge - which to me is a different approach to modelling the narrow gauge than 009, which is often - but not always - exemplified by an "anything goes" approach.

I guess that at the end of the day, I applaud thoughtfulness/creativity as much as effort/workmanship!

 

[Neil]

I take your point, and indeed appluad their efforts to encourage people to have a go, but I think that "pug body on a Minitrix chassis" approach is not the best advert for 4mm scale narrow gauge - which to me is a different approach to modelling the narrow gauge than 009, which is often - but not always - exemplified by an "anything goes" approach.

I guess that at the end of the day, I applaud thoughtfulness/creativity as much as effort/workmanship!

That seems to be the most prevalent criticism of pugbashing (and other bashes too) but to my mind the easy way into making/creating that it offers, outweighs the disadvantages.

A better way of explaining has just occurred to me. Imagine a parallel world in which rtr UK outline narrow gauge is available in 009. Would I rather inhabit that world where 95% of all layouts were based around the same well detailed stock (10% of which was repainted and weathered) or would I rather inhabit our world of greater variety and creativity albeit with less finesse? I rather like where I am.