Modelmaking at the crossroads

My rendition of an imaginary town, Penwood. Looking a bit L&Y.

I think we’ve been approaching this juncture for a few years now. But recent events seem to have focussed folk into making predictions about the hobby, such as “There aren’t enough youngsters coming through” or “Folk don’t make models anymore…” Or that Greek chorus line, “The hobby is dead!” etc. I remember reading an editorial like that in the "Railway Modeller" back in 1969.
I’ll admit that the recent Hornby release announcement has added a little fuel to the speculative fire, what a lamentable, faint pile of nearly nothing that was. But Hornby are up against folk like Accurascale, who, while they might have their own issues, at least produce models that people want, rather than fifty year old, pricey re-runs of something with the Beatles printed on it. I think Hornby are a little nervous- I would be too.
Why? Well, a few things. 3D printing, for one. These days anyone with a bit of skill in a CAD program and who own a 3D printer can make their own pet loco, wagons or structures. Make a model of almost anything, come to that.
I follow a good bunch of modellers on Instagram, (many of whom are under forty I should add)-no new folk in the hobby, did you say? Many of them are 3D printing things, or using new types of technology to produce what they want. Most of the resultant clever stuff is available to buy. That’s got to hurt the likes of Hornby, up against these cottage industry folk who master things for the love of it.

 
I purchased a Hornby Peckett last year and I have been delighted with it. But I wonder if that’s the last non-mainstream model we’ll see from them, as now it’s all going to be purple locos branded with the Queen’s Jubilee, or perhaps a range of novelty Slade printed wagons for Christmas.
But… frivolity aside, there are larger issues here. I don’t know whether people still make things or not, I do see quite a lot of evidence of it on social media. If anything, I think there’s more creativity going on, but it's a new form of it. The last issue of one specialist magazine had an article about building a Harrogate Gasworks narrow gauge loco. It was beyond sublime, what a model. And I’m not belittling the considerable skill involved when I say that the builder had taken advantage of every type of new media to build it. 3D printing, laser cutting, etching, resin casting… you name it. I couldn’t do half of that because I can’t get my head round spending out on a 3D printer. Nor could I do it anyway. I’m an old dinosaur. I’d have to build the loco the old fashioned way in brass. It would have inconsistencies and imperfections, and it wouldn’t be as good. But it’s all modelmaking, isn’t it?
When I make a model structure, I use etched brass windows or laser cut ones. Cast whitemetal or 3D printed chimney pots and door capitals. I don’t feel that’s cheating.

Except that now we have AI, the Lex Luthor elephant in the room. How long before these creative folk that I know start to utilise AI to build them things. How long before the modelling magazines get rid of their writers and use AI to master the content. Will Hornby will use it? I wonder if there will be a sorceror’s apprentice moment, when it all gets out of hand.
But oh, no, wait a minute, AI is meant to release us from drudgery and work, give us more time for making things. Oh, the irony.
I do worry for the craft of writing. AI has already shown that it can competently write… did I get it to write this, you might wonder. No, the lousy grammar and syntax is all mine. I guess like Napster was to music, becoming Spotify and basically taking the big money out of new music, relegating real musicians to doing live gigs, things will settle down and something will come out of it all. Something different. Because, even without AI, things always evolve and become different to what we've done before. It's progress, Jim, but not as we've seen it.

I don’t think the outcome will be pretty, but I've a hopeful feeling that a great many people still love making things with their hands, the old way. I'll be doing that, if I can conquer the allergies.