01-27-2009, 09:36 PM
MountainMan Wrote:Charlie B Wrote:Hi Mountainman
I am only replying so you know I'm not ignoring this.
I don't read MR and don't know how it was presented, however, this is probably akin to why I don't read MR anymore.
There are so many great modelers out there (many of them frequent this forum) that would never get a sentence in MR. When I read it years ago it almost seemed that there were a few modelers on the staff and it was the same layouts over and over, even the ads were practically the same.
My opinion would be to feature the individual modelers. Any one with money can buy a pike. That is not building one.
I think it is the same as some TV shows where people build a house by hiring contractors, then they say "Look at the house I built".
My brothers built 28 houses and I helped on 4 of them. No contractors involved.
Charlie
That's pretty much how I feel, too.
Although I haven't seen the article, I feel the same way, too. Good for the owner, who obviously got what he wanted, and good for the builder, who not only got paid for his work but also got lots of free advertising. However, not so good for the hobby and for those in the hobby attempting to accomplish the same ends but with more limited means. Is one's layout fated to never be featured in MR simply because it wasn't professionally-built? What hope for recognition in MR for anyone toiling alone trying to make a decent layout, and what kind of inspiration does it provide for a non-professional layout builder, other than maybe as an example of so-called perfection? The layouts that inspire me are those in which the owner's passion is reflected in his words and pictures. The imperfections and unfinished areas only lend encouragement to those of us who have layouts with similar imperfections and unfinished areas, and hope that, perhaps, our layout could be worthy of a feature article, too.
Wayne