All the discussions of Model Railroading here on this forum concerning the future of the hobby, number of participants, psychological motivation etc are significant.
One perspective, that I have not seen or maybe missed, is the parallel between high skilled participants in the hobby and the special effects artisans and craftspeople in the Movie business.
You see specials on cable showing how they made this or that in a movie,
physical sets etc., and behind the scenes DVDs that come with movies, showing the same.
Some MRR layouts are of this same caliber.
This would seem to show that Model Railroad construction certainly deserves
recognition comparable to the prestige, that movie special effects departments receive, but of course without the monetary compensation they get.
Just trying to stimulate some ideas, and make some contributions to a skill heavy hobby, that has brought me some joyful moments.
I think it’s a different but similar skillset that makes movie sets. They primarily make dioramas for action movies to be filmed in and model railroaders make a model that operates.
In the movie “The Net” with Sandra Bullock there is a scene with a cessna 172 crashing into some water towers or something. I watched a special on the guys that made the model. The realism they achieved was great for the scene, but the model would never have been able to fly as an RC airplane, even though it was aboout 6-7 foot wing span.
You can see the artistry in a lot of model railroads and a lot of dioramas of railroads. Generally speaking, models have to be much larger than most of us model for movie use, and that makes for, again, a different techique that very few people develop. Bigger models operate more realistic when played on a screen that is 40 feet or so wide. If you saw the Southern Daylight on EBAY from the movie Tough Guys, it was very large scale.
So, you are correct that many of our members have the skills, but they don’t model in the bigger sizes that Hollywood requires for the big screen.
So what are you gonna do, start some sort of self-congratulatory awards system for Model Railroaders, similar to the Oscars? There’s one big difference - a LOT of people not into movie-making go to see movies. Very few people not into trains go to see layouts.
I don’t understand why so many people into model trains have to try and find some sort of over-arching significance to their hobby time. It’s a H-O-B-B-Y! If it’s self-aggrandizement you want, there is the NMRA Achievement program, great for those who feel they need some sort of peer validation for their hobby efforts. For me, since my hobby is strictly for my own pleasure, I don’t need to receive all sorts of phoney-baloney awards and titles to “prove” I’m a good modeler.
I don’t mean to rag on you, JohnLat, it’s just that this search for a deeper meaning to a spare-time activity is silly to me.
It’s also about the monetary compensation they (can) bring to a movie. Not too many MRR clubs or N-trak layouts bring in the millions a movie can. [:D]
Maybe if we come up with our own awards show and hand out little statues of trains for each award category? Nah, the “Red Carpet” show alone would scare away too many viewers. [:0] [:p][:D]
The biggest difference I see is people make movies as a for profit business, while we’re on here discussing model trains as a hobby pursuit.
The people who make the models for movies have art degrees, years of professional experience, and have dedicated their lives to the pursuit as a career. And they get paid well to do it.
But since we’re talking a spare time pursuit on this forum, I don’t see any need to bring an aggressive element of competition into things. I do the hobby because it’s fun and I enjoy it.
And that’s all the reward or recognition I need. [swg]
I’m afraid not, John. Once or twice, in years gone by, MR has published articles written by professional movie special effects people. Their work was absolutely believable in every respect when compared to the prototypical and so far beyond even the efforts of the best model railroad hobbyists in realism that it there was honestly no basis for comparison.
Face it, we play at modeling. Those guys do it for a living. As a result, they are the best of the best.
Depends on which magazine you read. I’ve seen models and complete scenes published in other magazines which represented incredible attention to detail. Much more effort than a Hollywood person would be willing to put in.
“Those guys” only apply the detail level that is necessary for the camera shot in question. Most of their work, if viewed at close range, would not stand up to scrutiny. The work of model railroaders, in contrast, is always intended to be viewed at close range.
There was an episode on one of the “While you were out” type TV makeover programs which featured Hollywood special effects artists, who designed an ice rink with an Alpine village for the homeowners. The detail work and finish on the buildings were laughable. Those guys were constructing buildings using a carpenter’s tape for measurement, and the finished product looked it.
So, before you state that they are “the best of the best,” you should look at the work that’s done by the best in each category. I submit that the best that’s done by model railroaders will be far better than that done
Re-reading what I wrote, I guess I was in max cynical mode yesterday. I sound like I was belittling those who choose to pursue the NMRA Achievement awards and such. I’m a firm believer in the hobby being whatever you personally want to make it, but occasionally I stray from that a bit. If achievement recognition through some formalized program(s) are your thing, it’s not for me to look askance at it. It’s just not my thing.
The NMRA Achievement Program does exactly what the original poster proposed - modeling is judged against fixed criteria. To achieve Master Builder in Structures, Cars, or Locomotives, participants must have achieved at least 87.5 points in judged contests (out of 125 possible points) with several different kinds of models in each category. If your great at building freight cars, you can only achieve the award if you have also built other types of cars.
So it does seem there is already a long established history in our hobby for recognising modelers’ achievements. The awards are usually only known to those who belong to the NMRA and see the awards listed in the monthly newsletter.
I was the NER Achievement Program Director for five years so I do have an insiders viewpoint, and I have five of the awards myself.
Depends on which magazine you read. I’ve seen models and complete scenes published in other magazines which represented incredible attention to detail. Much more effort than a Hollywood person would be willing to put in.
“Those guys” only apply the detail level that is necessary for the camera shot in question. Most of their work, if viewed at close range, would not stand up to scrutiny. The work of model railroaders, in contrast, is always intended to be viewed at close range.
There was an episode on one of the “While you were out” type TV makeover programs which featured Hollywood special effects artists, who designed an ice rink with an Alpine village for the homeowners. The detail work and finish on the buildings were laughable. Those guys were constructing buildings using a carpenter’s tape for measurement, and the finished product looked it.
So, before you state that they are “the best of the best,” you should look at the work that’s done by the best in each category. I submit that the best that’