07-07-2010, 01:21 PM
I see it as 'everything old becomes new again'. Modeling with printed paper is much older than styrene and has been advocated since the origins of the hobby in the 30's and 40's by the 'pioneers' such as Frank Ellison. His famous example was a stone arch bridge that had been completely painted. When folks would complement the bridge he would tell them to go up and touch it, just to see the shock on their faces when they realized it was flat. And that was O scale! But he was also a theatre person who understood visual trickery, as was John Allen with his artistic background.
I think our modern methods of computer printing have enabled many more people to have access to better techniques for simulating texture & depth through graphic trickery. I remember an article in MR several years ago now that came out of the Rennselaer model club in NY, if memory serves me. It was advocating using decal paper to simulate brick walls. There was a process of photographing, straightening out the skew angles, resizing, all while keeping the resolution high naturally, then printing and applying the decal. Decal setting solution could be used to nestle the decal down into any cracks & crannies for added relief texture. The results were stunning but it was alot of work.
Also to consider is the difference between realism and representation. Minton Chronkite & Frank Ellison could be considered representationalists. They made models as realistic as necessary to represent the prototype. It didn't have to be accurate, but it did have to look right and convince the viewer that what they were seeing was the real thing represented in miniature. The logical extreme would be something like simple paper mockups or even just a picture on a card cut-out (2D) to stand-in for an industry or home or hillside.
On the other end of things is realism down to the tiniest detail. I think the hobby press has been pushing realism over representation, because most of us strive for realism and settle for a representation. It really is a sliding scale and we all fall somewhere on it. I think many modelers would be happier with a representationist approach so that they could operate sooner & in a better setting rather than having to wait for scenery to fill in. These are the folks who build a mock-up that never gets beyond that stage because they're so busy having fun running trains and the mock-up serves its purpose well enough. If the press would print more articles on making representative structures we may have more modelers like that!
Galen
I think our modern methods of computer printing have enabled many more people to have access to better techniques for simulating texture & depth through graphic trickery. I remember an article in MR several years ago now that came out of the Rennselaer model club in NY, if memory serves me. It was advocating using decal paper to simulate brick walls. There was a process of photographing, straightening out the skew angles, resizing, all while keeping the resolution high naturally, then printing and applying the decal. Decal setting solution could be used to nestle the decal down into any cracks & crannies for added relief texture. The results were stunning but it was alot of work.
Also to consider is the difference between realism and representation. Minton Chronkite & Frank Ellison could be considered representationalists. They made models as realistic as necessary to represent the prototype. It didn't have to be accurate, but it did have to look right and convince the viewer that what they were seeing was the real thing represented in miniature. The logical extreme would be something like simple paper mockups or even just a picture on a card cut-out (2D) to stand-in for an industry or home or hillside.
On the other end of things is realism down to the tiniest detail. I think the hobby press has been pushing realism over representation, because most of us strive for realism and settle for a representation. It really is a sliding scale and we all fall somewhere on it. I think many modelers would be happier with a representationist approach so that they could operate sooner & in a better setting rather than having to wait for scenery to fill in. These are the folks who build a mock-up that never gets beyond that stage because they're so busy having fun running trains and the mock-up serves its purpose well enough. If the press would print more articles on making representative structures we may have more modelers like that!
Galen
I may not be a rivet counter, but I sure do like rivets!