If you were in the field viewing the prototype of these containers from several feet away you’d notice that the surface is quite glossy. If we model that degree of sheen on the layout, however, it will look toy like. Sheen (shine vs. dullness) and color saturation are tricky subjects for model railroaders. As real […]
Category: Opinion
The Next Big Wave
I recently updated a test video on YouTube illustrating the vastly improved depth of field qualities of the latest smartphone generation. Several days ago I was doing an interview for Lionel Strang’s A Modeler’s Life podcast. During the course of the conversation he asked what I thought the “next big wave” of the hobby would […]
Do Glossy Surfaces “Scale Down”?
The chlorine tank on the right has a fairly glossy surface. Our natural tendency would be to replicate that sheen on a model of it. Is that the best approach? As modelers we have a natural tendency to examine the prototype and copy it as closely as possible. Our thinking being that the better job […]
Emphasis
Model railroading is a miniscule portion of the much larger universe of design in general. Art, architecture, engineering, interior design, landscape design, etc. all fall under that umbrella. In the big boy world of design, the one where people and companies actually make their living at it, the process is driven by a foundation of […]
Getting Things Done When You Have Limited Free Time
Depending on where we are in life, the amount of time we have available to devote to our hobby will vary. Regardless of our circumstances at any particular moment, however, we all want to have the satisfaction of knowing that we are getting at least a few things accomplished. That can be much easier said […]