No matter how much of a prototype modeler we’d like to say we are, the reality of our limited space is such that everything we do is ultimately somewhere on the “proto-freelance” spectrum. Since we can’t copy actual scenes exactly, decisions need to be made with respect to composition.
One of the key principles of art is that of directing the eye. If you look at the photo above, there are two basic scenes, Miami Jai-Alai (MJA) on the right, Miami Taxi Meter (MTM) on the left. I want the viewer’s eye to be drawn to Miami Jai-Alai which means I need to be be careful what I put across the street. A key issue factoring into the equation is the unsaturated, dusty sand color of MJA. MJA is larger which gives it some weight in directing the eye. However, if I had not been careful with what I put in the other scene, there would have been the risk of running into visual chaos with the eye dancing between the two. The main trap to avoid was that of color. Many of the businesses nearby are painted in brilliant, highly saturated tones. If I’d gone that route, selected one of the brightly painted ones, even though the structure would be smaller, the color would dominate and pull the eye towards it. By selecting MTM as the subject, it’s equally dull, low saturated tan, didn’t compete with the centerpiece (MJA).
A pair of boxcars sit in front of A-1 Farmers Choice on the switchback segment of my Downtown Spur layout.
A successful model railroad design is one that provides a platform for several hours a week of relaxing hobby time…recreational time…..fun time. It doesn’t really matter how those minutes or hours are spent. If there is some degree of completion on a layout, module, or diorama and you find yourself working on it somewhat consistently, congratulations, you’ve come up with a successful plan. A two hundred turnout, dog’s breakfast of a layout plan isn’t successful if it never gets so much as started, let alone built.
More than half of the people I know never reach the point of having even a basic operational test track tacked down, often after decades of design noodling. I could (but won’t) write an entire book on what I suspect the underlying psychology for this is. However, if I take a look at that pool of bystanders, and separate out the smaller subset of those that truly want to be engaged, I keep coming back to one central cause for the logjam. It’s overreaching with the design. There is a disconnect. On one hand there is what they “think” is the absolute bare minimum scope they need in order to motivate them to build something/anything. On the other side of balance is their actual level of time/energy/focus level. The problem is the two don’t match. In other words, “I need X to be happy but I only have .5x in the tank”.
The secret to design success isn’t finding a way to squeeze more in but rather understanding how to be satisfied with less. Less doesn’t mean less sophisticated and it doesn’t mean “settling”. A starting point of that process is having the self-awareness to truly understand what aspects of the hobby you enjoy most.
As an example let’s look at a typical modeler. They likely enjoy structure building, rolling stock tuning/weathering, and running trains by themselves in half hour bursts. They have other obligations and interests such as family, home maintenance, jobs, etc. Matching those real world time/energy constraints with typical modeling interests and get at least some railroad up and going is very attainable… if you have a good design. If you can come up with that plan, then you have the foundation for those several hours of relaxation and satisfying hobby time. It doesn’t take many turnouts or that much square footage either.
Shown above is an example. The prototype is the switchback at the end of Miami’s Downtown Spur. It’s only half a mile long and doesn’t have a single siding. Even so there are four industries along the route plus three additional locations that are used for team track loading. That gives you seven places to spot cars. There is a runaround siding just before the switchback that allows for the required moves needed to switch the lead. You could have the bench work down in one or two weekends. Throw down three or four Peco turnouts and you have everything you need. At that point you could spend years of hobby time building the structures and rolling stock. Solo operating sessions would easily run over a half hour, but probably more. If you wanted to further simplify things, you could eliminate Trujillo and Sons (top of plan), narrow the bench work and just treat the siding as staging. As basic as this is, I’d guess it would take the average hobbyist five years or so to “finish”. Five years of fun, of satisfying leisure time, isn’t “settling”. So, do you want to spend the next five years building models and running some trains as you sip your favorite drink and listen to music, or do you want to spend it on ebay, forums, and social media? None of us are guaranteed a tomorrow so some food for thought.
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The mid-morning sun washes over Florida Bottling on The Downtown Spur layout.
A landmine is something you didn’t see coming (but could have), step on, and then suffer the consequences. To that extent it’s not the same as being subjected to some totally random negative event. If you know you’re entering a mine field, you can be careful where you step.
Finishing a layout falls into that landmine category. Despite what we might think, for many of us, declaring a layout “done” is not a good thing. In fact it can go pretty far beyond being not a good thing. The depth of the problem is made worse by the fact that it is so subtle, the way it sneaks up from behind, and then blindsides us. Wow, didn’t expect this.
Hobbies are not a frivolous pastime and nobody should frame them that way. They are a deeply meaningful aspect of our lives. They give us creative expression, purpose, the satisfaction of assembly, and deep friendships and social connections. I could go on and on. The vast majority of us are builders. We lose sight of that as we get caught up in research, collaboration, emailing friends, solving problems, developing skills, building stuff, and just the overall process. Somewhere along the line though we ever so slowly drift towards making the mistake of thinking there is a race to the finish line. To get the layout “done”.
Fine. What if you’re unlucky enough to hit that mark? Congratulations, you can now say you checked another damn box off of your life list. Then what? Seriously, what then? You need to think about it. If you don’t have another idea in mind for the next railroad you’re cruising for trouble. I’ve seen it happen to myself and time and time and time over with my friends. The sense of malaise and depression and just feeling lost when something that was so meaningful is “done”. It’s not a small thing. Like many of you, I don’t have any other themes that are calling to me that would create the same level of passion as what I’m doing now. This is it. Everybody is different but here are some ways I’ve dealt with it.
First, recognize the depth of the problem.
Second, take your foot off of the gas. Getting a layout launched and establishing momentum is vital to its success but, once you’ve hit cruising altitude, working like a demon is essentially speeding up how quickly you won’t have a job. I still put in as many modeling hours as ever but now work at a much more leisurely pace. It was a hard habit to establish, but I’ve learned to put my emphasis on savoring the process not checking another thing off of a goals list.
I kept my main layout, but took a break and built a few small ones that allowed me to explore other themes. Specifically, the LAJ and Brooklyn Terminal layouts.
Renovate the layout. This was surprising to me. I guess you don’t know what you don’t know. The Downtown Spur was getting on in years and was starting to show signs of age. I’ve been surprised how uplifting it is has been to go back and fix, repair, or even replace elements that were wearing out. I thought it would be a boring slog and it’s been quite the opposite.
Go back and rebuild or replace elements. If you’ve been at this a while, your skills are higher than they were ten years ago. There are areas (scenery, track areas, structures) where I realized I can do a better job now and have gone back and replaced them. As with the restoration I’ve been surprised how fun and uplifting this has been. In other words I’m taking a second pass over the entire layout and raising it to higher standards.
Just because an expression is corny, trite, and overused doesn’t mean it isn’t true….the hobby is meant to be a journey, something to be experienced, not a destination, something to finish and mark off your list.
This is the image I had in mind when I started the Miami Taxi Meter project. Shot with a Canon Rebel T5 and run through Helicon Focus. Additional editing with Adobe Elements and Paint Shop Pro X.
I know some of my readers use Helicon Focus also. It’s fairly common when rendering your stack of photos with the program to get some artifacts here and there best described as “fuzzy weird halos”. There’s a lot of chatter on the net that this is a result of not taking enough images at various focal lengths and “missing” one of the focal planes. The conventional wisdom being that if more shots had been taken, the halos wouldn’t have appeared.
I really don’t think this is the case. Rather I believe the cause is the program algorithm in general. A deep dive into their help section admits as much. The good news is that the touch up is fairly simple once you understand how to do it. Save all of your base photos (the stack shot at various focal lengths) in a separate folder and don’t delete them. Render the stack as always. If you get a halo, go back and search through your original photos. One of them will have the problem area in perfect focus. Just use your selection tool and outline the “good area” from your original photo and copy/paste it into your rendered image. Quick, simple, problem solved.
Miami Taxi Meter (or whatever the name of the business actually is) isn’t just one building but a small complex of non-descript, low lying masonry structures. Over the past week I finished the masonry storage building above. I’ve uploaded the photo wallpaper of this model into the how to section on…well…photo wallpaper for others to use. It’s vital to include a large percentage of these “nothing burger” structures on the layout or else it would look like a total circus.
Here’s how everything looks together in place so far. Still lots to do. The Crown Vic cabs are from Busch. Next up is the fencing.
