The week-end of my return also happened to coincide with the SuperTrain2008 show. Sunday was the last day. Despite the jet lag, I was glad to make it out there. Although most of the train layouts were based on North American trains it still provided lots of ideas and inspiration. This year's show increased in size with many more exhibits on display. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of people who came to the show. Many with their children. Clearly the show was a big hit. However, the hobby still seems to be entirely dominated by men.
I also discovered there is a new train club called Calgary Eurorail Express that specializes in European model trains. They happen to hold meetings at Hobby Tech on Saturday mornings so I'll have a chance to check the club out while I'm shopping at the store. I've already identified the sets I want. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to pick up some accessories such as tunnel portals specific to the ICEs produced by Busch. Man those are hard to come by even in Germany.
I spoke with one person who was more into creating model building than trains. We got to chatting. He was very helpful and gave me some advice on my layout. I was planning to use paper or foam board to construct my buildings. He suggested I consider using plastic sheets, which can be had at any hobby store and wasn't expensive at all. The added bonus was that it was much sturdier than either paper or foam board and unlike foam board, wouldn't warp if painted. However, I'm still considering leaving the city layout all white like those architectural displays. In doing so, the focus will be on the model trains, which would stand out against the white background. Of course, I think I will do a quick mock up using paper to help visualize whether this will be esthetically pleasing. If it works out I might add people to the scenery and leave them unpainted as well.
I also discovered there is a new train club called Calgary Eurorail Express that specializes in European model trains. They happen to hold meetings at Hobby Tech on Saturday mornings so I'll have a chance to check the club out while I'm shopping at the store. I've already identified the sets I want. I'm hopeful that I'll be able to pick up some accessories such as tunnel portals specific to the ICEs produced by Busch. Man those are hard to come by even in Germany.
I spoke with one person who was more into creating model building than trains. We got to chatting. He was very helpful and gave me some advice on my layout. I was planning to use paper or foam board to construct my buildings. He suggested I consider using plastic sheets, which can be had at any hobby store and wasn't expensive at all. The added bonus was that it was much sturdier than either paper or foam board and unlike foam board, wouldn't warp if painted. However, I'm still considering leaving the city layout all white like those architectural displays. In doing so, the focus will be on the model trains, which would stand out against the white background. Of course, I think I will do a quick mock up using paper to help visualize whether this will be esthetically pleasing. If it works out I might add people to the scenery and leave them unpainted as well.
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