Two things to note, Bars Mills dioramra was constructed and advised on by Mike Tyick, and if you've seen his work in th mohe model press, you' see it's heavily influenced by Selios, so the scenes have extra details and clutter, but today there are still rundown areas along the row where this holds truth.
Secondly, the urban modeling of the Rennselaer Modelers is based on the fifties, when railroads still kept yards and row clean and weed free, and freight service was still strong, especially in the northeast, an area they model, but look on there web site for photos of certain cities, especially circa '72, by Tony Steele and you'll see some rundown urban decay that fits right in with those kits. There is a prototype for many of these models, how you use them is the question.
As a point of geography and sorta off topic,BUT. Boxcarmike said"Tom, pardon my ignorance, but what does western Idaho architecture look like?" Tom actually said North Idaho. If you"consider a map of Idaho there is no east or west Idaho only north and south. Boise is South ID and the rest of the state is North ID as far as politics and state spending go. As a result the architecture in the southern part of the state is probably new and modern , Ive never been there,and the rest of the state resembles the old western plastic kits that AHC?? put out.
Bill in Lewiston ID
SpaceMouse wrote:CNJ Would it also follow that if Alexander Graham Bell had not invented the telephone we'd still be talking through hollow tubes?
Would it also follow that if Alexander Graham Bell had not invented the telephone we'd still be talking through hollow tubes?
Arguing a point with someone about someone else whom they have clearly deified is a futile effort.
I, too, admire Allen greatly, and I believe he did have a large impact on how the hobby has reached its current state. I don't believe that without him the hobby would not have reached this state, however. Its progress may have been retarded somewhat without Allen, or followed a different path perhaps, but I think it would have gotten here. Some small details would no doubt be different, but overall I think the hobby would have developed in a very similar manner.
Forty-plus years in the hobby, with a reasonably detailed knowledge of the times before that speaking here, by the way (if that really means much anyway).
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Brunton wrote: Spacemouse, Arguing a point with someone about someone else whom they have clearly deified is a futile effort.
Mark
I know... But when someone goes all Condescendal Rice on you, it's hard not to get sucked in.
My fingers are zipped. I think JA was cool, too.
Chip
Building the Rock Ridge Railroad with the slowest construction crew west of the Pecos.
Whoa up guys there was a lot of old time guys that help get the hobby where its at today.Linn Wescott,Doug Smith,Frank Ellison,Bill Schopp,Mel Thornburgh,Whit Towers just to name some of the pioneers that help get the hobby to where its at today.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
CNJ831 wrote:I'm sorry, Shilshole, but you are mistaken. It was the great stature of John Allen in the hobby at the time that allowed caricature modeling (and other of his concepts) to be both an acceptable practice and worthy of copying or imitating by others. It became viable only because "the great John Allen" was doing it. Such a level of acceptance in a very conservative period of the hobby would not have extended to any far more minor individuals or groups of the time. It simply would have been glanced at and passed over as far too "different" to be worthy of any serious consideration.
Once again, what did occur is history; what could or would have occurred is conjecture.
Perhaps you're simply unaware of how non-conservative and innovative those minor groups and individuals were (and indeed still are), or how little they cared (and care) for acceptance, or how non-monolithic the hobby was (and is), or how the hobby in general was emerging from its conservatism of the '40s and early '50s. The fact is, those minor groups and individuals were giving serious consideration and effort -- and influencing others -- to many of the styles and innovations credited to Allen before they hit the pages of the hobby press and became generally 'acceptable'. The fact is, those minor groups and individuals, as well as the majority of hobbyists, rejected Baker couplers and 15"-radius curves despite "the great" Allen's sanctioning. The fact is, those minor groups and individuals, being Allen contemporaries and equally skilled in caricature, could have -- which, after all, is the subject of this thread digression -- provided the same degree of influence as Allen had they been accorded the same exposure in the hobby press as Sir John.
Simply dismissing the existence of other caricaturists and innovators and their potential influence is, as someone else wrote, absurd.
CNJ831 wrote:I'm sorry, Shilshole, but you are mistaken. It was the great stature of John Allen in the hobby at the time that allowed caricature modeling (and other of his concepts) to be both an acceptable practice and worthy of copying or imitating by others. It became viable only because "the great John Allen" was doing it. Such a level of acceptance in a very conservative period of the hobby would not have extended to any far more minor individuals or groups of the time. It simply would have been glanced at and passed over as far too "different" to be worthy of any serious consideration.CNJ831
I'm sorry, Shilshole, but you are mistaken. It was the great stature of John Allen in the hobby at the time that allowed caricature modeling (and other of his concepts) to be both an acceptable practice and worthy of copying or imitating by others. It became viable only because "the great John Allen" was doing it. Such a level of acceptance in a very conservative period of the hobby would not have extended to any far more minor individuals or groups of the time. It simply would have been glanced at and passed over as far too "different" to be worthy of any serious consideration.
CNJ831
I agree. I started in the hobby in 1971 and the John Allen's stature and influence were very strong. He was a combination of great modeler, great photographer, and philosopher.
Enjoy
Paul