The London Festival of Railway Modelling

Something unexpected happened this weekend. My little brother (who's not so little anymore) called me up and invited me to Alexandra Palace in North London. It was lovely weather and it seemed like a good idea to get my kids out of their mum's hair on Mother's Day.

But we weren't just there to enjoy the sunshine. We were there for an event.

This event

The London Festival of Railway Modelling.

I've noticed that over the last few years the festivals I've been attending haven't involved as much dancing in muddy fields as they used to. Nevertheless there was enjoyment of a different kind to be had.

Railway modelling is a little off topic for me and my science fiction/fantasy tastes, but I often think of the guys that do it as the Dutch Masters of the hobby world (to my struggling artist, perhaps?). So I spent the morning walking around the exhibition with the kids, showing them Thomas The Tank Engine models in various scales, while I checked out some of the less cartoony set-ups from these old, miniature-model-making experts.

And there were plenty of displays that inspired me to point a smart phone at them. Scanning the photos I took, it's clear to see I was more interested in the industrial-looking dioramas than the country villages. And this makes perfect sense as that dirty, mechanical aesthetic is much more likely to offer inspiration and reference for WH40K models, than an idyllic English village from the 1950s.

Here are the pics I took: