Category: Opinion

Paying it Forward-Creating a Photographic Legacy

When this image was taken over a half century ago, it’s unlikely the photographer had any inkling that others would benefit. But…through a chain of lucky circumstances the photo ended up being scanned, posted online, and labeled effectively, creating a form of immortality for the photographer if you will. Give some thought to doing the […]

The Elements of Skill

Decisions related to color strategy and composition make a far greater contribution to visual impact than manual dexterity, rivet counting, or “detail dumping”. The culture of our hobby would lead you to believe the opposite. There are two components of skill, manual execution and decision making. Decision making entails knowing “what to do” and, as […]

The Importance of Neatness

Master modeler SebSG’s Smallwood County layout is among the best of the best. One of his hallmark skills is clean, tight, and neat workmanship. It makes an enormous contribution to the visual impact of his scenes. You can’t achieve exceptional modeling results without being crystal clear on the elements that drive those results. At the […]

LA’s Billboard Culture

LA’s billboard culture is long-standing.  In the 1950s, you had the iconic “Methyl” ads created by the Foster and Kleiser ad agency. Many of the sign creators went on to become artists in their own right. Billboards. Depending on personal tastes, opinions vary from “hate ‘em”, “tolerate ‘em”, “sorta of like ‘em”, to “love them!”.  […]

Time For A Change?

For some time, I’ve had the nagging feeling that it’s time for a new adventure, a new primary layout. The question is when and how to go about it. The theme would likely be BNFS’s Harbor Subdivision, shown above. I’ve been wallowing in modeling limbo the past year or so. It’s a place I don’t […]