Not everyone’s cup of tea I know but a lot of us do have a wish (secret or otherwise ) to see our stuff in a museum of high reputation some day.
Here is how I did it !
Stand by one while I get organized.
Why am I writing on this subject ? well nothing bothers me more than seeing my fellow modelers dioramas,layouts or models etc…get throw in the garbage once they go to the "Happy Hunting (modeling) Ground,that’s why !
Lets face it not everyone cares or wants models ,large or otherwise ,in their homes.After Uncle Fred or Grandpa Jones is gone many a family is stuck with the "what to do with his stuff ? " dilemma. This is especially true of large dioramas,layouts or collections of individual models.Now is the time to plan ahead and help relieve your family of this burden.One way to do this is to get your stuff in a museum before you are too far gone over the hill.
I know that I started planning for this when I was around sixty (11 years ago)and finally realized that I wasn’t going to live forever. How ? well…
I guess that it all came about for me this way because I had already done the "donating it to a museum "thing years before when as executor of my fathers will it was up to me to arrange for this to be done for our beautiful '29 Beech Travel Air 4000(D4D) biplane.So contacting museums was not a big scary thing for me although there is always the “fear of rejection” thing to be dealt with.
You have to let it be known wherever you can that your stuff is available.Don’t be afraid,if your stuff is good and you know it,it will get picked up.Start by saying “when my stuff goes to the museum” rather than “if my stuff goes to the museum” and your already half way there.
As good as getting your stuff into a museum sounds I don’t believe there is a very big demand for model railroading stuff in them. A 1929 Biplane yes but model trains, no. It would have to have some sort of historic value to be even considered or owned by someone very famous I believe. I’m kind of famous here but not very anywhere else, lol. [:|]
I will never forget your nice compliment on the Herbie I painted.
I would say that most of our layouts – even ones that we’ve toiled years on, probably aren’t museum quality layouts.
Plus, unless you’re fortunate enough to be acquainted with a model railroading museum, my feeling is that a museum would only be interested in a highly accurate reproduction of a noteworthy scene. No matter how good my modeling is, I’m modeling something that never existed, so who would be interested in that?
My personal plan is to get the kids hooked enough that they’ll want it after I’m gone.
Hey, it looked good. [Y]
I know of very few layouts that was famous enough to go to a museum-more or less those that did was notable parts.
There is a exception.Ben King’s Timber City & Northwestern is intact and in a museum in Greenville,Ohio…
When I started building large scale dioramas there was no question about what I was trying to achieve.Huge 4X6 foot dioramas only have one destination.
Besides the museum thing, my other personal goal was to model like Shep Paine ,who’s work I had admired for years and years.I had heard through the grapevine that he was retiring from modeling and he had let it be known that he wanted someone else to pick up the ball and run with it for awhile.I was one of those who wanted to take up the challenge.
My options were do it and write a book about it too,when it was finished,or take a more modern approach and do the modeling in real time and post it free on as many websites as I could reasonably handle.(this aspect now takes up a good 50% of my modeling time and is not recommended for weekend modelers.)
This approach has been more than successful for me especially when I look at the number of my photobucket hits that are recorded or the kind words of my fellow modelers that are posted to my threads on the websites.
One thing I have learned though is that “you can’t please all of the people all of the time” so don’t even bother to try !
Getting some of your collection into a historical archive is another matter. I got one to “bite” on these photos from 1949, apparently btaken to document a railroad crossing for a court case. Just good slice of railroad-side life 60 someodd years ago.
Mission Accomplished !
How do I know this ? I have three dioramas now in the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum ,our national museum in Ottawa here in Canada, and a fourth on its way this fall.
How do I know that Shep approves ? Well …
He appraised my work for the museum and valued it ,in dollar terms , right up there with what he was getting for his best stuff years ago.
Yes Shep the ball got picked up…
This layout by Fred Miller is in the Charlotte Trolley Museum.
A lot of the feedback that I get on this subject especially from dioramists(word?) and the RR layout guys is that there stuff can’t be moved or the museums that they have already contacted have no room for such large pieces.
Have you ever thought of breaking your stuff down into small storyboard type vignettes or mini-dioramas ?
Often there are already, within the larger piece, lots of mini-dioramas going on.Why not just isolate these into a static storyboard piece that would be more acceptable in your relatives homes or interested museums ? With a little creative thinking the subject matter could be humorous or serious depending upon your interests. Later I will post a few examples of what I mean.
Here we go again!
You could get your high end rolling stock and loco’s in most railroad museums by simply donating. Most have a running layout that are always in need of replacement equipment.
Phoebe Vet,dont know if you know but there is a layout in your area that will be in a Museum one day,Do you know Jack Parker.
Shep Paine Shep Paine Shep Paine, I’ve heard the name before but I couldn’t figure out who this dude is. Googled his name and there he is. Sheperd Paine, master model kit builder so to speak. As I build models as well I must have read about his work at one time.
While many railroad museums will accept donations of collections, unless the collection includes something exceptionally rare or unique, or if it includes materials useful to archives like timetables, photos or actual railroad artifacts, often these collections end up being sold at train shows or on eBay to fund museum operations rather than added to the museum’s permanent collection.
In my opinion, that’s just great, and personally that is my plan for what to do with my collection when I’m past the point where I can enjoy it. Instead of sitting in some display case or, more likely, a storage area, my equipment will be at home on some other model railroader’s layout, hopefully finding continued use and enjoyment. And the funds generated will help pay for the continued operation of a railroad museum and the preservation of their collection! That’s a win-win for everyone, in my opinion.
I built an HO scale model of an historical house for a nearby museum and was intending to do other structures which were required for their diorama/layout. However, that museum has been closed due to funding issues and has been taken over by the organisation overseeing such operations. I have been assured that the situation is temporary, although my feeling is that the collection is what’s really temporary. I asked for return of the model if the operation is folded permanently, but I doubt it will see the light of day again.
As for my own layout, hardly museum quality, either in part or as a whole. I’m sure it will be in a dumpster before I’m even cold, although, if I’m able, will see it there myself. It represents nothing but personal memories of no meaning to anyone else and is merely my selfish indulgence.
Wayne
I don’t know Jack, but I have been to the Piedmont and Western layout.