P48 is shrouded in a cloud of mystery and misinformation. Given that all you find in many hobby shops is three-rail stuff, and given the siloed mentality of my scale/choice/preference is the only way, many think that quarter-inch scale is dead. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
The pages are a no nonsense appraisal of my experience after fifteen years in the scale. I’ll give you the punch line now: You’ll be happiest in P48 if you go in with a clear understanding of the challenges involved. The P48 Experience lays those challenges out in direct language and without apology for the amount of work involved to model and thrive with the scale.
If you’re new to quarter-inch scale, you’ll find lots of links to essential suppliers and the modeling community. While the focus leans towards “stuff”, I like to think of P48 as a journey you take to become a better modeler.
When I left HO I thought I had solid modeling skills. Today, I see how little I knew and how much I depended on the readily available abundance HO offers. Moving to P48 was eye opening in more ways than I can count. Fifteen years later, I’m a different modeler who looks at the work with more informed eyes. If there is one lesson to share it’s this: if you want the quality that P48 offers, you’ll learn to become more self-reliant as a modeler.
This scale is largely made up of small one or two person suppliers. I can’t emphasize enough that the ocean of plastic you take for granted in HO or N simply isn’t there in quarter-inch scale and what is available often comes and goes with little notice. That reality either turns you into a pack rat who hoards mountains of stuff, or you learn how to do things for yourself. The values I enjoy in modeling are found in the second route.
August 27, 2021 marks the tenth anniversary of this blog. Things have gotten cluttered and disorganized around here and it’s time for a thorough house cleaning. Going forward you’ll see a tighter focus on finescale modeling and the P48 resources involved. Some of the ebooks are very dated now and need refreshed and updating as time allows. My hope is that the next ten years, if God permits, will see this blog become a better resource for those who appreciate modeling on their own terms.
Thank you for coming along for all this time.
Regards,
Mike
Great resources under the P48 Experience page; perhaps you’d consider linking to The OScale Central community of sites to help stitch the various groups together? Start at: https://oscalecentral.com/
Glad you liked it Rich. I”ll consider the link but it’s called The P48 Experience for a reason.
Mike
This blog is already an amazing resource for those who are or those who are trying to model “on their own terms”. That’s a ten year’s from now goal already achieved.
Congratulations on the upcoming anniversary. I remember, when I first moved to Halifax, I had extra time on my hands and not the mental strength to be productive as a modelmaker so I invested that time into reading and this blog was among the things that I’m glad to have invested the time into read–back as far as the posts would let me. Reading that journey and reflecting on the conversations we’ve had as a result has been so completely enjoyable.
Learning to see ourselves in our work and our goals is itself a life’s work guided not by a sequential recipe or measured in a number of hours fewer than steps listed to describe. Further its one that changes its shape as we move forward. Non-linear, as you mentioned before. It feels like a path to modelmaking wisdom gained while studying its craft.
Chris