Do "Scottish" modellers get a raw deal?

[NeMo]

"It is never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine," observed P G Wodehouse. But in this case, do modellers north of the border (whether physically or simply in modelling spirit) actually get stiffed by the railway modelling industry?

There's an ongoing discussion elsewhere about the Caledonian Sleeper liveried Class 73s and the non-availability of the relevant transfers needed to produce models of them.

Then there's the whole Class 21/29 saga, which we were told was an essential model for Scottish-themed layouts yet failed to attract enough attention to be kick-started into a Revolution Trains project. In this case, would Class 22s have done any better in the same circumstances? Yet they were picked up by Dapol years ago and appear to have sold consistently well. Are there really more Western Region modellers than Scottish ones?

Over on the MREMag site, there have been endless letters about the lack of certain Scottish steam locomotives, D34s, J36s and so on. This has been contrasted with such situations as the duality of Adams Radial tanks (one from Hornby and one from Oxford Rail) for example.

There's one of two things going on, or perhaps three. The first is simply that Scottish modellers are noisy but rare; in other words, they're overrepresented on forums but underrepresented in actual sales, so manufacturers don't bother to make models that won't sell well. The second is that the industry is South-of-England based or in outlook, and lack of familiarity with Scotland means they simply produce fewer models from that part of our country. I humbly submit a third option, that there are in fact plenty of modellers with an interest in Scotland, but the industry just hasn't tapped into it yet.

In your option NGF, what is the situation here?

Cheers, NeMo

[Agrippa]

It's probably just the numbers, Scotland has about a tenth of the population
of England and Wales , presumably the number of N gauge modellers is
similar in proportion , also only a handful of shops in Scotland selling
N stuff. A steam era purely Scottish loco wouldn't get the same level of sales
as an Schools, Manor or King class etc.

[joe cassidy]

There are plenty of articles about Scottish layouts in 'Railway Modeller', many owned by English modellers.

Best regards,


Joe

[maridunian]

There are plenty of articles about Scottish layouts in 'Railway Modeller', many owned by English modellers.

Yes, millenia of Scottish weather have given us much more interesting landscapes than found down south!

Mike

[joe cassidy]

The urban ones look good too.

Joe

[MalcolmInN]

Yes, millenia of Scottish weather has given us much more interesting landscapes than found down south!

Dont you mean Pictish weather, I dont think Scotland has been around for millenia !
Anyway, I protest that the Cumbrian Mountains and Lake District are every bit as interesting as owt found up norf.

But for efficient and practical rail transport you need flat, but I'll leave that to our chums near Norfolk to debate.

 

[acko22]

Nemo,

An interesting thread and some thought, I think the question you are asking isn't just applicable to the Scottish theme but arguably Modern Overhead, and aspects of Northern layouts!

In my opinion its such a specialized area of modelling that the numbers aren't there for very specific locos that were specifically for north of the border in a limited time frame.

if you look at the big manufacturers they go mostly with models that can stretch over various eras and cover large areas a good example of this is the 37 or Black 5.
Mike and Ben with Revolution have done something to balance this out but as sadly in the case of the 21/29 sometimes there are things that are too specific to financially justify and well at the end of it the world revolves around finance

[Portpatrick]

Interesting thread.  I share the bemusement over the Class 22.  I guess I have been drawn to Scottish themes by such common threads as scenery ( my 3 previous layouts to Portpatrick Town covered Lake District and North Wales), shorter trains, substantial single track, interesting collection of locos used.  And while I am a Sassenach, my father's mother was most definitely Scottish and regularly said so.  She was born in Bathgate in 1884, went to Bathgate Academy, her father being editor of the West Lothian Chronicle (or was it Gazette).

The failure of the 21/29 initiative is a disappointment - my Langley kit will soldier on.  Maybe there were too many suspicious of the crown funding concept, preferring mainstream production.  A shame if true.

AS to steam locos I have turned a Union Mills J25 into a passable J36;  a BHE Claude kit into a reasonable Glen: a Langley E4 into a Caley Jumbo and Farish compound into a Caley Pickersgill ( both rather less satisfactory to be honest), and Langley B1s into tolerable K1 and K4.  May shortly have a go at turning another into the Scottish K2.  I turned another Claude into a Director by the way, and have since bought an excellently built GEM kit Director on EBay.  BHE do a B12/1 of which there were a number around Aberdeen up to the early 50s.  They also do the 120 and 105 DMUs if you can find them.  So not all bad, provided you are happy and able to kit bash and adapt into an impression rather than an accurate model.

My Ayrshire 126, concocted from Minitrix Mk 1s,  will be in service tomorrow at the Saffron show.

[NeMo]

Thanks for the interesting feedback guys.

I think the comparisons with the Western Region are worth reflecting on. Both the Scottish and Western Regions were idiosyncratic in so many ways, including of course motive power. Lots of more-or-less unique diesels on both regions. Thinking about it, the 1980s Scottish scene would actually be pretty straightforward, surely, with top-quality 26s, 27s and 37s already available alongside 'Sprinters' and various DMUs.

Is the problem more specifically the Big Four and Transition eras? Some "essential" steam and early diesel classes being absent?

My Ayrshire 126, concocted from Minitrix Mk 1s,  will be in service tomorrow at the Saffron show.

Good luck!

Cheers, NeMo

[bluedepot]

scottish layouts are very popular with english modellers too...   so i doubt the manufacturers would be somehow biased against them?

as said, top class 26s, 27s, 37s, 156s available, and the 47/7s recently out.  bdso planned. a decent 158 needed.  class 322s planned?

it is rare to go to an exhibition without any scottish themed layout i find.  not complaining i like them.  just saying it's popular everywhere it seems.


tim

[Chris Morris]

This is not a scientific sample but the NGF location of layouts map could explain why manufacturers don't do huge amounts of Scottish ptototypes. See https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=zva4k8UFbyr0.k1smbk9GVSsU and the thread on the forum.
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[Steven B]

As NeMo says, modelling 1980s Scotland is very easy as all the key locos are available (although there are gaps in the available DMUs required for that period).

It also depends where you model - representing the LMS and LNER express trains to London isn't too hard, but the local and freight trains may be harder as key classes are missing.

You could say that any region is difficult to model, but it depends on the time period. Which ever location and time you model there are key locos or multiple units that are missing. Steam era South Wales would be very do-able, but try to do it with today's trains and half the classes of DMU needed are missing.

Happy modelling.

Steven B.

[railsquid]

As NeMo says, modelling 1980s Scotland is very easy as all the key locos are available (although there are gaps in the available DMUs required for that period).

Might have some problems with WCML AC electrics...

It also depends where you model - representing the LMS and LNER express trains to London isn't too hard, but the local and freight trains may be harder as key classes are missing.

You could say that any region is difficult to model, but it depends on the time period. Which ever location and time you model there are key locos or multiple units that are missing. Steam era South Wales would be very do-able, but try to do it with today's trains and half the classes of DMU needed are missing.

3rd-rail Southern Region (in any era) strikes me as a trifle tricky too.

[NTrain]

Class 507/508 kit available from N-Train/Electra 

[Portpatrick]

This is not a scientific sample but the NGF location of layouts map could explain why manufacturers don't do huge amounts of Scottish ptototypes. See https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=zva4k8UFbyr0.k1smbk9GVSsU and the thread on the forum.
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How do I put Portpatrick Town on it?