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Quote:The primary focus of my annual disappearing act is to see the things we all drive, run, fly by, and never get to enjoy. Not the cities, theme parks, in-law's houses, fancy hotels, casinos, etc., but the simple things like the quiet streams, rolling hills, SKY!!!
Has anyone ever modeled a beaver dam?....I saw several. When one can take the time to look.......forests also have fallen trees! do we ever model those? Wetlands, meadows, and on, and on.
Pictures?....nope, only those that are in my mind's eye.
I've seen, again, all the things that trains pass, that we never "look" at. Do you know just how far away a Cardinal can be and still be seen?
I posted this elsewhere, and thought it would make a good "topic".
I take a week, every year, and just "disappear". It's really kind of a research trip, seeing the things we usually "never get to enjoy", and a disconnect from the "usual".
This is a "prototype" I'd like to model better, and one that is always there to study. . . . I make it a point to take the time to study it.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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You're right...! It's these little details that you don't really see every day that make a model so believable. Things that you notice if they aren't there, but that your eye (and mind) doesn't really register if they are there...
Tony Koester wrote a while back about viewing photos several times, each time looking for something different. His approach was something like - Pass 1 - Locos, 2 - Rolling stock, 3 - Buildings, 4 - Other structures, 5 - Track, 6 - Signage, 7 - Vegetation, etc, etc...
Whether you're looking at a photo or the real thing, it's good to remember that it's not just the trains that we're modelling! 
Andrew
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I think your "vacation" should be mandatory for everyone. People would sure be in better moods !
Loren
I got my first train when I was three,
put a hundred thousand miles on my knees.
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I travel back roads a fair amount, and look for things and ways to model. It never ceases to amaze me the number of ramshacke and falling down barns and sheds I see. They would be great to model, but if one put as many on their layout as what they see, it would appear unreal rather than realistic.
I believe a backroads vacation would be very enlightening.
Lynn
Whitehouse, Tx
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You don't even need to get out of the city. Simply taking a walk through your neighborhood you can notice details that you need to add to your layout. Examples are the types and frequencies of cars that you see, or pavement color variations. Or perhaps by watching pedestrians you realize your layout has the wrong ratio of women/men/children. You can even notice behavior patterns that you can try to replicate - like how people that know each other will walk abreast rather than in file or how everyone doesn't drive in the exact center of their lane.
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Kevin
Check out my Shapeways creations!
3-d printed items in HO/HOn3 and more!
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Great idea Pete!
Mike
Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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Tyson,
Quote:Great idea Pete!
...and one I know you subscribe to, I've seen the Nantahala Midland!
Hope things are well with you.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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