The middle clip of a three part video from the 1980s. Two things struck me about this: Firstly that Barry Norman's EM gauge track could easily be OO. Secondly how far we have come. Or perhaps not?
The scary thing is that now you could buy everything on Wyndlesham Cove RTR, even the buildings to an extent. So in theory you could reproduce it purely by waving a bank card. Would this really work? I know that I bang on about this all the time, and the illustration is of what was cutting edge stuff at then, but as a friend of mine is keen on saying 'it's built, not bought'. WC is stocked with kits and what looks suspiciously like the odd Peco Wonderful Wagon, but the charm outweighs everything on this and all the layouts here. Model making skill is paramount, creating something personal is paramount. Not how much did I spend, or 'this just arrived in a new box, isn't it good'. Old days old ways... better ways.
Fascinating to see the evolution to Petherick, which was a real milestone. Axford is still a masterclass in architectural modelling.
ReplyDeleteSo could a RTR version of these layouts work as well? Chris Nevard shows they can, but it still requires skill and an artistic eye.
we owe that generation of modellers so much.
And I so miss Bob Symes' voice.
I only met Bob Symes the once. Probably 15 years ago when showing Wood End. He stood behind me, put his hand on my shoulder and said. 'You are an artist'. Then he walked off before clarifying what sort of artist he meant. It's worried me ever since.
DeleteThere's a blast from the past. My dad and I used to help Barry operate Windlesham Cove and later Petherick at shows back in the day. Petherick was a real trailblazer in terms of scenic layout design. That Adams Radial on Windlesham Cove now sits in my showcase at home.
ReplyDeleteDavid Gander
Thanks for posting this Chris...although I never saw the other layouts, Arcadia, which Martin Brent later extended to become Rye Harbour, was the first layout I ever saw in reality that I'd read about in a magazine. It's probably the reason why I still have a collection of kits, parts, and the odd completed model for EM...whether I'll ever build a layout is another thing entirely!
ReplyDeleteI agree about the artistry, craftsmanship and skill making all these layouts so personal.
One of the things that puts me off ready to run stuff nowadays is that it's just too darned perfect...I've actually bought a few rtr items recently only to resell them as I realise that while they're a nice model, they're not MY nice model. I get far more satisfaction from my imperfect, freelance, kit built stuff in 009 (and probably EM if I get around to it).