Hobby Bio: Briefly Having been a model railroader since 1965, the only thing I've done longer is breathe. Although I've worked in O, HO, N and Z, my preference is N. That said, I'm currently working in Z, and my attempts to push the envelope in this scale have been quite satisfying. Anyway, given that I currently only have the room for a small shelf layout, my options are somewhat limited.
Some have urged me to become "MMR certified," but honestly I'm not inclined; the process is so horrendously complex and steeped in bureaucracy and paperwork that it's simply not worth the effort. Besides, I don't have all that it takes to be a true Master Modeler (for example, I have zero interest in operation), and frankly, the status symbol of a title does nothing for me. My specific accomplishments are really only meaningful to me. If I sound like a grumpy old curmudgeon, it's probably because I'm a grumpy old curmudgeon. (insert winking thingy here) I haven't even won any awards—not surprising since I've never submitted anything to any contests. Perhaps I will someday build a model board-for-board just for the heck of it, perhaps I won't; my "thing" is creating evocative scenes, not contest-grade models. If the passenger car in my photograph is eight feet too short, I'm not bothered, because I'm not a rivet-counter. That said, I would not build an "impossible bridge" (one that could not support a train if built that way in real life)—I'm keenly sensitive to what's technically feasible. A passenger coach that's too short could have been modified in a shop; but a bridge with no abutments could not remain standing, and this would severely compromise the realism of a scene for me. We all have our idiosyncrasies, right? I have, however, done a fair bit of writing, and I've managed to make occasional appearances in Model Railroader magazine over the years—my "article portfolio" includes:
I would have published a great deal more, but getting things into print can be rather frustrating. Now, through the internet, I can publish anything I want at any time, with no pesky magazine editors to mangle my work—for better or for worse. Granted, I don't make any money this way, but I'm not in it for the money. For web geeks: this site is all hand-coded—the web authoring equivalent to scratch-building. I develop business web applications for a living, so it comes naturally. And, I take the same pride and care in building websites as I do in modeling. Want to get in touch? Just click my name at the bottom of any page to find my contact information, as well as a more in-depth bio of Yours Truly. |
Copyright © 2006-2010 by David K. Smith. All rights reserved.