Modelrailroader.ca

From time to time I am reminded that the North American model railroad press and their modelers can be quite insular – we seem to have a set number of approaches, techniques and products that we habitually use, as well as a basic modeling ‘standard’ that we try to achieve. Like most modelers I have been working happily within this ‘standard’ and generally gauge the quality of my work by comparing it to the work of others. That being said, there are moments when the work of another individual changes my notions of modeling success, as these modelers produce work that is unique, impressive and inspiring. Josepf Brandl is one of those modelers.

I’m not quite sure how I discovered Brandl’s work – he has had a few articles published in Model Railroader – and I’ve seen his name mentioned occasionally in the depths of some European railroad forums – but he was virtually unknown to me. It was by complete chance that I stumbled across his book Almost Real / Fast Wie Echt, while searching amazon.co.uk for model railroading related materials. I ordered the book on a whim and I can say that is has drastically changed my perspective on the hobby.

The book is coffee-table style, having a minimal amount of text (in both German and English) and countless pages of full colour images. The book doesn’t focus on modeling (although it does mention a few techniques) as it elects to summarize the particulars of 6+ layouts, while outlining a brief biography on Brandl.

The lack of ‘how-to’ information seems unimportant once you start looking at the images, as its not just the modeling techniques that make Brandl’s layouts so impressive, it’s his approach. Rather then modeling cramped industry-heavy urban scenes, the majority of Brandl’s work focuses on modeling great sprawls of countryside. Subscribing to the theory that ‘less is more’, Brandl allots an immense portion of each layout’s footprint to scenery – keeping the railroad aspect of each layout to a minimum. This ratio of scenery to track is what distinguishes his work from all other work I’ve seen and makes it so effective. Trains weave through valleys, span rivers, climb mountains and move through tunnels realistically as vast amount of natural scenery creates plausible and lifelike landscapes.

This ‘landscape-first’ approach is what makes Brandl’s work so distinct. Most of layouts I see in the North American press seem to place an inordinate amount of importance on operations, or prototypically detailed motive power etc., but never on creating natural environments. Many of the articles regarding scenery don’t focus on how to create realistic results, but how to create the most ‘acceptable’ results in the least amount of time. We tend to favour scenically homogeneous, track-heavy layouts that can support a multitude of operators, and claim prototypical accuracy – but are set in unrealistic landscapes that undermined all ambitions of realism and foster a ‘toy-like’ perception that is too often associated with the hobby.

I earnestly recommend this book as it offers a welcome glimpse as to what a model railroad could be in light of what we are used to. I know that as I consider future projects the contents of this book will definitely influence my decisions.

You can download a free copy of one of the chapters here: http://www.einsatz-verlag.de/