New Book
Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 12:13 pm
Has anyone seen the new Garden Rail book (Garden Railway Realism) - publishing date was May I believe?
If so, any chance of a review on here?
If so, any chance of a review on here?
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New Book
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Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 2:37 pm
That's the one by Ian 'no people' Stock isnt it? No sign of it at Bay Models!
Posted: Fri Jul 30, 2010 11:41 pm
I managed to get a signed copy of it at Merstham, signed then and there by the author.
It was being sold on the Titfield Thunderbolt stand.
http://titfield.co.uk/
Hopefully you can get a copy from them.
Rob
It was being sold on the Titfield Thunderbolt stand.
http://titfield.co.uk/
Hopefully you can get a copy from them.
Rob
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 3:34 am
Cheers Rob,
what's it like? OK?...........................
How many lines are in there, loads of colour pics (etc)?
what's it like? OK?...........................
How many lines are in there, loads of colour pics (etc)?
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 9:27 am
To be honest, if you like the book or not will depend on what you want your garden railway to be and what your own attitudes towards modelling are.
To outline the look of the book-
Firstly it uses only 16mm narrow gauge, plus i tiny bit of 15mm with Neil Ramsay's Irish Line. Nothing wrong with that, as i model 16mil but if you model G-scale, Gauge 1 or 3 or anything else i'm not sure you will find much in the book. I'm sure however that some of the techniques and theories outlined in the book can be transfered.
The pictures are stunning, and the lines do look real. However if you have seen the Narrow Gauge in the Garden DVDs, then the majority of the lines from that feature in this book. Ive got the DVDs, so nothing was particularly new to me, however i welcomed seeing more images of these inspirational lines. Railways include Tarren Hendre, Isle of Westland, LBR, Maesfford and Laurie Wright's amazing railway i can't spell the name of!.
Content
Going back to what i mentioned at the start about attitudes are towards modelling, when it comes to my garden railway i think atmosphere and the overall look is more important than scale.
I am limited by time and money and space in the garden, therefore i have to work with what i have, so i bought this book thinking that the book would contain loads on building techniques and how-to. I admit i was disappointed at first as this was not that case, However i now realize that this was not the aim of the book. It was more of a 'what' and 'why' type book, rather than a 'how'. The text is very well written, and there is a lot on the ideas of what makes a garden railway realistic and how it should fit into the landscape.
For me, it could really have done with more on the 'how to aspect', but as i mentioned this is not really what the book is about.
Overall
If you are into a realistic narrow gauge railway modelling outdoors, then give this book a go, even if its just for the images.
Those that like to just lay down some LGB track and run trains out of the box (which is also great), or those that have there lines 'on-stilts' (nowt wrong with that either) i'm not sure you will find much in this book, and the book may run the risk of making you feel that your line is not good enough.
I could have done with more 'how-to' and techniques, however i think the book makes you want to go out and explore the techniques yourself.
Overall its a beautifully presented and written book, but the content will only appeal to those who are wanting to achieve realism on a narrow gauge.
I hope you find this short review of use. I would be interested to know what everyone else thinks about the ideas in the book. I'm surprised people have not managed to get a copy, i thought it was released months ago!
Rob
To outline the look of the book-
Firstly it uses only 16mm narrow gauge, plus i tiny bit of 15mm with Neil Ramsay's Irish Line. Nothing wrong with that, as i model 16mil but if you model G-scale, Gauge 1 or 3 or anything else i'm not sure you will find much in the book. I'm sure however that some of the techniques and theories outlined in the book can be transfered.
The pictures are stunning, and the lines do look real. However if you have seen the Narrow Gauge in the Garden DVDs, then the majority of the lines from that feature in this book. Ive got the DVDs, so nothing was particularly new to me, however i welcomed seeing more images of these inspirational lines. Railways include Tarren Hendre, Isle of Westland, LBR, Maesfford and Laurie Wright's amazing railway i can't spell the name of!.
Content
Going back to what i mentioned at the start about attitudes are towards modelling, when it comes to my garden railway i think atmosphere and the overall look is more important than scale.
I am limited by time and money and space in the garden, therefore i have to work with what i have, so i bought this book thinking that the book would contain loads on building techniques and how-to. I admit i was disappointed at first as this was not that case, However i now realize that this was not the aim of the book. It was more of a 'what' and 'why' type book, rather than a 'how'. The text is very well written, and there is a lot on the ideas of what makes a garden railway realistic and how it should fit into the landscape.
For me, it could really have done with more on the 'how to aspect', but as i mentioned this is not really what the book is about.
Overall
If you are into a realistic narrow gauge railway modelling outdoors, then give this book a go, even if its just for the images.
Those that like to just lay down some LGB track and run trains out of the box (which is also great), or those that have there lines 'on-stilts' (nowt wrong with that either) i'm not sure you will find much in this book, and the book may run the risk of making you feel that your line is not good enough.
I could have done with more 'how-to' and techniques, however i think the book makes you want to go out and explore the techniques yourself.
Overall its a beautifully presented and written book, but the content will only appeal to those who are wanting to achieve realism on a narrow gauge.
I hope you find this short review of use. I would be interested to know what everyone else thinks about the ideas in the book. I'm surprised people have not managed to get a copy, i thought it was released months ago!
Rob
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:52 am
That's a great review Rob - thank you very much indeed!
It certainly sounds as though I'll be getting a copy as soon as possible - in fact, I'll be scouring the web to find a supplier and try and get it this week ready to take as "holiday reading"!
It certainly sounds as though I'll be getting a copy as soon as possible - in fact, I'll be scouring the web to find a supplier and try and get it this week ready to take as "holiday reading"!
Posted: Sat Jul 31, 2010 10:55 am
You can order online directly form Atlantic Publishers.