What sort of model maker do I aspire to be ?

In the latest issue of the Gauge One Associations magazine, there are some photos of models by Attilio Mari. Not just shots of completed models but of the parts that make them up.

The quality of workmanship is simply breathtaking. To give you an idea, he aims to ensure his replicas contain:

• The building technology of the real locomotive (no, me neither. Dodgy translation)
• The original materials
• The machining and assembly sequence of the "real thing"
• Properly working main mechanism
• A good number of non essential components with the appearance of the real ones, giving a better visual impression and sensation of completeness.

So, the E626 loco has opening doors and compartments, working suspension and brake gear, real rivets and bolts, full interior detail etc. etc.

It really is a work of art and took 4483 hours to create and assemble the 9280 components.

No I marvel at people who can build a model like this. Every so often I wonder if I could do the same. Then reality strikes and I go back to bodging. Like most people I just can't stay committed to a single project for that length of time.

In a similar situation was Peter Denny. He devoted his model making life to effectively a single layout. Certainly a single scale and era (apart from the garden layout of course), a doggedness he claimed allowed him to achieve as much as he did. In an era of zero useful RTR, he produced an extensive line in EM gauge by scratchbuilding everything.

Maybe lots of scratchbuilding would do me good, but I like to have several projects on the go at once. The current worklist includes a 7mm loco, G gauge van, 3mm diesel and some other stuff. I certainly couldn't be writing this blog, or at least expecting anyone to read it, if each day was "Made another rivet" or "Filed a bit of metal to a funny shape". I mean I'm good with the innovative text but not that good.

So I'll carry on with my catholic tastes but I'll always wonder what I could have achieved if I'd stuck at one thing.