We decided that we needed a day off and at the same time release our inner nerd! A long ride in trusty Bruno the camper van took us to The Railway Enthusiasts 2012 Model Railway Exhibition and whilst Benjamin stood in the queue with a large brimmed fedora and sunglasses in case he was recognised I looked at the crowds and realised the average age was seventy. Nothing wrong with that but when I was a kid model railways were for 14 year olds! What happened?
We have always loved life in miniature and as you can see from the photos we were more entranced by the magical worlds the modellers created than the trains (although they were very nice).
One thing we learnt was about a movement promoting the delights of ‘micro layouts’ usually no bigger than two sheets of A4 paper laid side by side. This led us to think about a ‘Darling Buds of May’ micro railway layout of an imaginary Kent branch line in the 1950’s running through hop fields, apple and cherry orchards (when life is difficult watch the DVD of Darling Buds of May. Launching the career of Catherine Zeta Jones and from novels by HE Bates it has the ultimate feel good factor!). And then we stopped. We have quite enough on our plate at the moment, but it’s a lovely idea and we will put it on future projects list.
Anyway here are some photos we thought you might enjoy of the magical worlds the modellers created.
Very cool, I found myself trying to figure out if this was a real town or not, and then I saw the empty river and there was no trolley in it, there’s noway it could be real!
Yes it a perfect world isn’t it. No trolley in the mud or rubbish, no graffiti on the station walls, all the gardens and flowers look neat and people well behaved and happy. We wouldnt mind living there although in might be a bit…….well….dull!
Wow! Love those! I’ve always been tempted by those kits you can buy for railway scenery – printed cardboard houses, little trees, and so on. I’ve always had a thing about miniaturising everything!
I did a commission last year (a memory box of a picnic in the hills) and had to go to the model shop. I nearly ended up with lots of model buildings because they were so nice and detailed! The things I really loved at the railway fair were the white metal models of fair grounds, gypsy caravans and folks hanging out the washing – http://www.langleymodels.co.uk/acatalog/HO_OO_Artitec_Kits_Painted.html. Oh dear, there is no hope for us here at TheBigForest!