The Slow Modeling Movement

 

One of my favorite modeling projects ever*, a NYC 50-foot box car with end door... very illustrative of slow modeling, given the out of the box Proto 2000 car as the alternative

Apologies to the slow food movement (you can read more about that movement in the obituary of Skye Gyngell, one of its pioneers who died last year,) which isn't a direct analog to what I am saying here, but is close enough for my uses... and since I am (I think) inventing the "slow modeling movement," I will grant myself license. Over the last two decades of North American model railroading, we have been inundated with no shortage of quick and relatively easy ways to amass high quality freight cars, passenger equipment, locomotives, track, details, etc. The upside is fairly obvious: we have highly detailed replicas of more things than our predecessors could have dreamed, except those who were Darnaby-esque in their ability to construct freight cars, tune brass locomotives, and build prototype-specific scenes and structures.

Another of my favorite "slow modeling" efforts. This model replicates a prototype that essentially put a 1932 ARA box car body on top of a flat car, just like the NC&StL did. Atlas car body with Details West ends and Tichy flat car for the underframe, all prototypically accurate. Details in Prototype Railroad Modeling, Volume Five

To me, the downsides are troubling. First is cost. At $360+ for DCC locomotives, $55-60+ for RTR freight cars, extremely expensive track and turnouts, and the cost of layout materials, it can be expensive to assemble a large fleet of freight cars, a modest number of locomotives plus the stuff to make a layout. Second, even with effective weathering, there is a homogenous quality if everyone has the same RTR equipment. Third, all of this RTR buying makes it far easier to push actual modeling to the side, unless you are actually building a layout.

Replicating details like this take a lot of time to create and then incorporate into a model, but the results can be incredibly satisfying when it all comes together

What's a modeler to do? Well, for this guy, I decided to slow things down and focus on quality over quantity.** I already had qualms about spending $60 on freight cars that I knew had accuracy issues and styrene details that are oversized and/or more prone to damage. I know that for me (and others) the joy and pleasure in the hobby is building models, not buying models. So, why not focus on that aspect of the hobby over accumulation of more stuff that underwhelms me and looks the same as the stuff on other layouts? I don't mind at all spending 30-45 minutes making a set of ladders that have individual rungs that actually look like rungs. For me, the juice of slower modeling is worth that squeeze.

IMWX 1937 AAR box car with etched metal ladders and rungs, scratchbuilt placard and route card boards, Yarmouth etched sill steps, new door tracks, etched trust plates, Kadee bracket grabs and National Scale Car decals, among other details. Read about it via this link

How can you start? You can find resin freight car kits by Westerfield and Funaro & Camerlengo at quite reasonable prices on ebay and at swap meets and sometimes steals on Sunshine and Speedwitch (shameless plug!) kits, as well. Try a Bethlehem Car Works passenger car kit. Ditto for structure kits, especially some older gems that are basic in appearance, but can be detailed and kitbashed to represent exquisite models. The large-run brass models of the 70s and 80s can now be had via the same outlets at prices in the mid-$100s to under $400, providing good foundations for redetailing and hours of modeling enjoyment. Perhaps pool resources with friends and purchase "communal" tracklaying jigs from outfits like FastTracks and Oak Hill to handlay your own track and turnouts.

Another very slow modeling movement effort is this Sunshine Models PRR X41B with scratchbuilt underframe (the kit's underframe is incorrect on many levels.) I also created ladders, sill steps, bracket grabs, and other details to closely replicate the prototype. Again, for me, I am motivated by the model rather than getting something done to just quickly fill out a roster spot.

This slow modeling movement means I will have fewer cars, locomotives, etc., than I might have otherwise. My track will all be handlaid with full details, such as plates, spikes, cast and fully detailed frogs, etc., taking longer than prebuilt turnouts and flex track. Structures will be scratchbuilt, bashed or limited run kits. The upside is that I have a plan (and space now) to make a modest-sized shelf layout detailed to the standards that appeal to me that will feed my desire to model things rather than take them out of boxes. Join me in the slow movement... the food tastes better and the models look great!

*this NYC box car project, profiled in Prototype Railroad Modeling, Volume Four, was incredibly satisfying. I started the kitbash (end from a Proto 2000 aut ocar grafted on to the rest of a Proto 2000 box car) and was completely dissatisfied with the result. After 10-15 years, my modeling skills caught up to my ambitions and I plowed through to complete the model

**I fully recognize that what I am laying out here might not be feasible for a large basement-filling layout requiring lots of motive power and rolling stock... but that's the beauty of the hobby; you can channel your efforts to what you enjoy most