A 'less is more' approach to better modelling
It is common to associate finescale modelling primarily with track and wheel standards and forget about all the other areas of modelling that benefit from the same approach to fidelity. The integrated wheel profile and track standards clearly set finescale apart from coarse toy-like standards, dimensionally and in 'appearance' but beyond this is there still a 'difference' ? Well, yes and no-you are still modelling at 1:87 scale but the philosophy behind wanting to model in finescale permeates into the buildings, scenery, operation and layout construction as well.
Finescale is not just about wheels and track. This is not a contradiction but an acknowledgement that adherence to accurate wheel and track dimensions is just one aspect of a holistic approach to the whole business of finescale modelling. Instead, finescale is really a quest for authenticity. We are, after all, striving to recreate in miniature a small part of a complex organism set in a defined place and usually in a certain timeframe and season (why we do it is another subject altogether!) The key elements are research, observation and attention to detail and by development and application of 'best practice' techniques, these are turned into a model of a railway landscape or better still, a model of a landscape that contains a railway.
Sometimes attention to detail is denigrated as 'rivet counting' and whilst it is always possible to take it to extremes, the underlying desire for authenticity and realism remains valid. It is those little details and touches, perhaps insignificant in isolation, which combine almost subliminally to produce those locomotives and layouts which are truly convincing and yet you cannot always put your finger on exactly why.
For a locomotive, the best solution is always to check photographs and records of the particular example you are modelling at the time you are modelling so that you get the correct smoke deflectors, chimney, lanterns, livery details and so on. Similar research applies to coaches and wagons. As for the other 'little details and touches' that contribute to that overall 'finescale effect', here are just a few checklists:
Does the model convey a sense of time?
- Locomotives, rolling stock and buildings in the correct livery combinations for the period.
- Appropriate clothing of passengers and other figures.
- Road vehicles, commerce, industry and agricultural practices correct for the timeframe.
- If modelling a season, the right plants, agricultural conditions (no harvesters in springtime)
Does the model convey a sense of place (i.e. can you tell the location without looking at the trains)
- Consider vernacular architecture and building materials, especially in earlier times
- Local topographic features
- Regional place and business names
- Plausible goods traffic, research local products
- Correct breeds of local livestock
Does it look and perform like a real railway?
- Plausible track plan and correct signalling (often easier on a model of a real location rather than freelance)
- Correct trains (appropriate coach formations, wagons and wagon loads-remember minerals went one way and empty the other) study working timetables, carriage working notices, local industries.
- Proper train and shunting movements with realistic speeds and smooth stopping and starting.
- Look for the commonplace rather than the unusual, even if the unusual is more interesting.
You can, of course, achieve much of the above in coarse scale and there are many successful models which comply with everything but the track and wheels. As often as not, in these cases this is due to factors such as previous heavy investment in track and stock in the days before finescale was a viable option but otherwise there is often an intrinsic correlation between the 'fineness' of the track and wheels and the perceived authenticity of the rest of the model.
At the end of the day, of course, this approach is not everyone's cup of tea. It is just a hobby and the most important thing is that you get pleasure and fulfilment out of your own particular approach. But if you want true authenticity however simple or complex the project, then you are already thinking like a finescale modeller.
Click for link to NMRA standards
Thanks to the Scalefour Society from which this article was adapted.