Encouraging Creative Talent.

[Mountain Goat]

I remember having a look at ebay and someone was selling a home made 7mm narrow gauge loco. It had been built by someone who didn't have much experience so it was likely to have been a young modeller. The loco was crude and the bid being offered wouldn't have even reached half the value of the donor locomotive that it was built onto. BUT the model was beautiful. I don't know why, but every time I looked at it, there was something about it that was attractive in its creative form. If I had an ebay account and had the funds I would have bought it ten times over! It reflected the character of tallent in the making.
I would like to encourage people to post their creations. The ideas behind them and the methods they tried. The things that didn't work are just as valueable as those that did work. (How do we learn without making mistakes? Are mistakes mistakes? Are they not processes to success?) Don't be embarissed if ones attempts are not as good as others as we are all at different stages of tallent development. People forget. The finest of modellers started out with many failed attempts. And the failed attempts were more valueable to them as their successes as how can one improve unless one learns how to improve?

And I would like to say to those who have not tried, give it a go. You have nothing to lose. I like 7mm narrow gauge because it is an easy and a cheap way to get results, and there is very little in ready made form so whatever one builds, it won't look so odd (Sometimes our attempts look out of place when we sit a finescale ready made model next to them, where if we sat our creation on its own it would look good).
So why not take a plank of wood, lay some track and create something to runnon it? Use the cheapest secondhand loco you can get if you are concerned about messing up a model. Use that as a base to build on. Go for it!

[RAF96]

The thing is we all have skills, its just some folk are better at these things than others, but you can only do your best and maybe next time your best will be better.

I try but my efforts will never ever approach the levels I have seen posted on forums and other places, but I am happy with my attempts as they are as good as they can be for now. Maybe one day I will be able to improve them.

Do what you can within your limits with the emphasis being on - do it in the first place