MR and Pelle, Sittin' in a tree...

[Selector]

I haven't commented in months, if ever (I forget), and probably should not...I know better; the topic is entirely subjective.

Every milieu and culture evolves over time. What passed for fantastic layouts 50 years or more ago simply don't cut it today except in terms of nostalgia. The techniques have changed, the materials have changed, and the prototypes on which a person serious about 'modeling' have changed. Attempting to make a modern Class 1 railroad and town in the west look like a hamlet in New York at the turn of the last century is not going to be looked at favourably in today's hobby. If it is to be proffered as a reasonable attempt to replicate in scale what a driver passing by would see today, it must meet certain criteria. In that respect Soeborg does a pretty nifty job. So does Lance Mindheim, and so does Mark Dance. Joe Fugate is no slouch when he's not trying to build a business out of his hobby.

 

[Boris]

I haven't commented in months, if ever (I forget), and probably should not...I know better; the topic is entirely subjective.

Crandell: True, the topic is entirely subjective, so is our hobby.

Every milieu and culture evolves over time. What passed for fantastic layouts 50 years or more ago simply don't cut it today except in terms of nostalgia. The techniques have changed, the materials have changed, and the prototypes on which a person serious about 'modeling' have changed. Attempting to make a modern Class 1 railroad and town in the west look like a hamlet in New York at the turn of the last century is not going to be looked at favourably in today's hobby. If it is to be proffered as a reasonable attempt to replicate in scale what a driver passing by would see today, it must meet certain criteria. In that respect Soeborg does a pretty nifty job. So does Lance Mindheim, and so does Mark Dance. Joe Fugate is no slouch when he's not trying to build a business out of his hobby.

Again true.

I actually find myself using several of Mindheim's modeling techniques, even though my subject layout dates about 40 years earlier than his. Point is he (Mindheim), captures the feel of urban operation on an Industrial Track serving a city's industrial underbelly. Some things don't change, even though the calendar does. On the other hand, the other fellow, the subject of this thread, models a different interest. which is not as appealing to me, the potential magazine buyer.

Going back to the OP, as well as most commentators, take no issue with Pelle's modeling or articles, (he is good in his own right), but that the publication, on the whole, contains less of interest to the readers making the comment. Being a frequent contributor, Pelle, becomes a lightening rod for all the perceived faults of MR, much as his equally over exposed predecessors were. Frankly, I'm surprised this thread has gone seven pages, and still attracts comment. It also shows just how diverse the participants in this Forum really are.