CNSF On that note - is anybody out there doing steampunk modeling in N scale?
On that note - is anybody out there doing steampunk modeling in N scale?
Kind of off-topic, but here's a few examples:
I've been working on a few ideas myself, but none are quite in a shareable state yet. Definitely interested in seeing what's coming off your drawing board!
Generally the genre of layouts of most readers of Model Railroader is 'Documentary, non fiction'. Most modelers can tell you not only their era but an actual day and year. Many of them strive for realism, which is what has been preached by Tony Koester and others for decades. An interior design magazine described them as museum layouts.There are some 'War' layouts but mostly those guys just build dioramas instead of model railroads.I have seen a couple of 'Sci-Fi' layouts on the internet and have a plan to build my own based on the train in the film the Ghosts of Mars. You might find a couple of 'Westerns' but people generally model eras when they were teenagers so not too many Wild West layouts.There are of course 'Christmas' layouts and now there are also 'Halloween' layouts made with Dept 187 items. I myself think of my own layout as an 'Action packed Adventure'…. It’s man verses nature as the railroad fights steep mountain grades as well as the elements as it tries to keep freight and passengers moving 24/7/365.…. p.s. Steampunk is just an underground fashion style, an offshot of Goth. If you don’t get it you don’t understand underground counter culture and that’s ok. It’s not for everyone.
Lone Wolf and Santa FeThere are some 'War' layouts but mostly those guys just build dioramas
No we don't!
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My wargmaing "layout" has modular/poseable/interchangeable scenery elements that allow me to make an infinite number of areas to fight.
These are anything but static. We set up our armies and have an "operating session" that follows rules and orders more complex and enjoyable than anything the Appalachian Lines operating crews ever dreamed of executing.
If you want to talk about fanatic historical accuracy to a secific day and time, wargamers will take model railroaders to task on that subject any day. If you want to bring up crazy free lanced collections, well, wargamers will take victory there too.
I have invested more time and resources into my "war layout" than all my model railroad layouts combined.
Wargaming is easily divided into genres. There are historicals, Sci-Fi Fantasy, Dystopian, Star Wars, etc.
Maybe as the OP suggested, we should have terms to describe the genre we are modeling. Having specific genres has not fractured the wargaming community at all. We very clearly understand what one another is doing.
Hmmm... this could be something to consider.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
According to Merriam-Webster:
1: a category of artistic, musical, or literary composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content a classic of the gothic novel genre
2: kind, sort
3: painting that depicts scenes or events from everyday life usually realistically
I guess since model railroading contains a certain amount of art, "genre" could apply in a very liberal sense. I will acknowledge genre in reference to music, books, art, but to a hobby, I feel is a stretch. I'm sure if we put our minds to it we can come up with a better $10 word to describe model railroading!
Master Machinist, that is awesome stuff! Thanks for posting. When I threw out the "N scale steampunk challenge", I was just kidding - it was the most obscure, unlikely thing I could think of at the moment. But silly me, if something can be done, it will. And in this case, looks like it's being done quite well.
I have no steampunk plans of my own. Maybe a Halloween-themed module or two, some day, for train shows, with some Boo Line and Atlantic Ghost Line equipment. But first I've got to get my overly-ambitious Realist Train Watching project somewhere near completion.