Quote from: Bealman on Today at 07:43:13 AMIt's basically true, though. N gauge allows for a 'railway in the landscape ' approach as exemplified by Pendon. This just looks more realistic. Larger scales appeal to folk who appreciate and concentrate on stock rather than scenery. While the stock looks more detailed and has 'mass', the scenery correspondenly looks more toy-like.

My opinion only.

Agreed, if you look at a layout like Pettleworth Downs, I think it's it's got that Pendon magic despite being the size of a small dining table. You need drastically more space investment to get the same effect in OO, and I rarely see that kind of thing at shows.

It's basically true, though. N gauge allows for a 'railway in the landscape ' approach as exemplified by Pendon. This just looks more realistic. Larger scales appeal to folk who appreciate and concentrate on stock rather than scenery. While the stock looks more detailed and has 'mass', the scenery correspondenly looks more toy-like.

My opinion only.

Quote from: Roy L S on June 08, 2026, 09:35:10 AM

Quote from: Bealman on June 08, 2026, 09:19:10 AMSorry, Ben, but I don't agree with the 'cake decoration' view. I have been to exhibitions when I'm convinced N gauge models look more realistic. In fact on a trip to England I commented to @Newportnobby of this parish that OO stuff looks like plastic toys compared to N.

But, as with so much in life, the eye of the beholder, I guess. I have certainly encountered people here in Australia who would not give N gauge a chance to even show it's face. I'll name them too - BRMA, The British Railways Modellers of Australia. Shocking set of scale snobs.

As perhaps a more unbiased view, when my wife attends exhibitions with me she frequently comments on how "plasticy" and toylike larger scales often look, especially O Gauge.

My wife says the same thing, strangely! She says N seems more lifelike to her because there's often more scenery to give the moving models a "place to exist" if that makes sense. Of course this is all just personal subjective taste, but it's an interesting observation.

Yep, it's called staying sensible 

sometimes when I see a picture like this, I yearn for my trips to Sydney, then I kick myself and thank retirement that I don't have to be there almost every week.

Bealette's work took her to Sydney at a very early hour this morning:



Nice picture, daughter!

But younger people are getting older all of the time to take their place!

Sadly, the ages of the folk who have the stock and run shows/exhibit at them means a decline in the numbers of layouts appearing. Take James Street as an ideal example - age has caught up with those who set it up/run it/break it down  
The best show in the NW i.e. Wigan show ceased because the club members admitted they were too old to face doing it any more.
There's no denying model railways are generally run and manned by the elder statesmen of the hobby, and their numbers are decreasing due to age/health

I'm sure Chris Morris said in his capacity with the Warley club that the show didn't shrink, and any perception of that was purely based on rose tinted glasses about how good things were in the olden days. I'm sure there was some variation year-on-year, but not the endemic shrinking some would suggest.

Quote from: Newportnobby on June 08, 2026, 06:47:46 PM

Quote from: Mr Sprue on June 08, 2026, 06:07:02 PMI guess the best of this hobbies days are pretty much over!

I won't believe they're over, but they do have more competition. People love the latest iPhone/pad and a 70" TV on the wall while paying through the nose for streaming extra channels. They have, to my mind, nothing to moan about. How each person disposes of their income is up to them.
These days, we have more than a couple of model railway manufacturers producing high quality (mostly) detailed models for us to spend our income on. Yes, prices are higher but we have to forget the good old days of low prices. They are long gone

When I quoted "I guess the best of this hobbies days are pretty much over!" It was aimed at comparing shows that were once heaving with attendees and stalls, unlike today where everything has shrunk. Warley around 14 years ago, compared to other shows was like entering a city for model railways, but each year I attended it got less and less and the walkways wider.

Such a sad thing to witness. Ally pally was a fave of mine too, now that's barely worth the visit and I only live about 17 miles away!