My goal with this site is to take away the mystery of
P48 modeling and to show what O Scale has to offer in
the 21st Century.
Enjoy.
Mike Cougill
My approach to modeling
I enjoy a small layout much more than a large one.
Smaller layouts simply suit my temperament and attention span. I’ve
found a smaller project holds my interest better.
I enjoy detail.
My experience as a fine
arts painter helped me focus on all the details of a subject, sometimes to
exclusion of the big picture. Working in quarter-inch scale is a joy from this
perspective.
I enjoy representing things accurately.
I worked
in P87 because it was more accurate, letting me detail the track with scale
flangeways and switchpoint spacing. In P48 the level of such detail is on
steroids and I love it.
I’m a philosopher.
This should be obvious to anyone who has read my writing for any length of time. I think about this hobby and approach it in ways a lot of folks have never even considered.
I bring my artist’s eye and temperament to bear on my modeling, by thinking of the pieces of a layout as parts of the whole, rather than individual parts.
To me a layout can become
a three-dimensional sculpture capable of expressing the intangible. I also use
the hobby as a practice for self-improvement. I see it as a journey of
discovery, a way to learn what you’re actually capable of doing.
I’m also a klutz.
All my emphasis on craftsmanship is a declaration of war against my own doofus skill levels. I can do good work, but I really have to focus hard to get there.
I’m always getting in a rush and tend to settle too easily for mediocre results. I’m trying to slow down and focus. Like many modelers, I’m my own harshest critic.