Practice

The YouTube algorithm suggested this video as one I might like to watch.  It was right, this time.  I don't know anything, really, about this man but I like what he has to say in this video.  I also think there's a few nuggets for model railroaders to mine here.

There's one idea that Mr. Roberts proposes that really stuck with me and caused me to ponder; practice.  Model railroading, like it or not, is a creative art form, and is a reflection of the modeler's skill.  I say, "like it or not" because I think there's a tendency among some modelers to say, "I'm not an artist" as a way of excusing what they believe is a poor scenic result, or as a way of distancing themselves from the more overtly artistic modelers, such as the oft maligned Malcolm Furlow*.

They may resign themselves to a "Plywood Pacific" railroad, since track laying, benchwork and wiring aren't considered "artistic" skills, but engineering skills.  While these skills do take practice to master, it could be perceived as easier and less painless to relay track or fix wiring instead of ripping out scenery.  That may be because these functional aspects of the railroad are less heart and more head, so to speak, whereas scenery reflects a vision of a place that is likely connected to a mood or feeling.  We are less likely to rip out or redo something we're emotionally invested in.  

And I think model railroaders are more likely to use the word "experienced" when speaking of a skilled modeler, rather than someone who is naturally "artistic", meaning they don't need experience, but are born talented and take to a skill easily.  "Mastering a skill" is not a phrase I hear used by model railroaders.  That sounds too much like work, and this is a hobby, right?  Well....um....Is the implication there that hobbies don't take skill? 

Perhaps the problem is one of practice.  While I think it is environmentally irresponsible and perhaps signifies a lack of planning, there is some merit to Joe Fugate's "Chainsaw" layout idea, wherein the first layout a person builds is understood from day one to be destined for the dumpster.  That's because it is a test bed on which mistakes can be made without fear, knowing you likely won't be keeping the thing.  It is in essence, a practice layout. 

But maybe there's a better way.  Recently I was reflecting on a diorama I had built and some of the mistakes I made during that project.  One such mistake was in the use of overly-coarse texture to represent a dirt path.  On close examination, my Dad remarked that some of the particles were large enough to be stones when viewed next to the man and his horse standing on that path.  He was right, and that observation was spot on.  While I haven't decided on the final disposition of that diorama, I'm not going to toss it in the dumpster!  The offending texture can be scraped away, vacuumed and replaced, or the structures and figures removed and used elsewhere.  (Full disclosure: I did take a hand saw to it, however, in order to divide it for use on a previous railroad.  I had initially planned to put it on the Pine Branch Park pike, but changed my mind.)

This is where people who paint miniatures or make sketches have an advantage.  A sketch can be recycled, literally, and a miniature can be stripped or painted over.  Scenicking a diorama or a larger area involves much much more than just paint or pencil and paper.  At bare minimum there's a layer of paint, then glue, and some sort of ground cover.  In more advanced scenic work there can be many layers of color and texture plus trees, shrubs, rocks, details, etc.  Starting over isn't as simple as tossing a model in a sonic cleaner with some LA's Totally Awesome.  

So how DO model railroaders practice?  Building many dioramas?  Multiple railroads?  And what about clubs?  The aforementioned diorama was built as part of a club challenge to kitbash a Life-Like General Store.  I used it as an opportunity to try some new techniques and materials, but is it practice?  It certainly fits with Mr. Robert's idea of a group challenge with peer feedback.  

I've been at this hobby long enough to see my own skills improve, but I can say without doubt that I have not "practiced" any of those skills.  I play the piano and I practice daily - deliberate practice.  I solicit feedback from peers and am considering taking some lessons again to improve my skills.  Though I am being paid to play the piano, I would still practice to improve my skill and thus increase my enjoyment of the instrument and the music I make with it.  So how much more would I enjoy my hobby if I practiced those skills that cause me grief - enough that I'd rather watch YouTube than sit at my workbench and face a potential failure?

*By the way, I absolutely love Furlow's work just as it is and I have always found it inspiring and enjoyable to look at.  When this pandemic is past us, the California State RR Museum's Model Railroading Exhibit is on my short list of places to visit sooner than later, primarily because Furlow's San Juan Central is on display there.