Rongee
Member
Hi all,
On the advice of some folks here and elsewhere, I schlepped from Chicago to Wyandotte, MI to visit the NAMES expo this past weekend.
First of all, I am astounded by the quality of work and the attention to detail in the work that was on exhibit. From a steam locomotive (the wife of the builder told me he spent 14,000 hours working on it) to an air powered engine the size of my finger, these items are works of art as much as they are working models. I'm just a novice, but I've sure got a high bar to reach for.
Second, I wanted to just say thanks to the folks who took the time to talk to me while I wandered around with my mouth hanging open. I talked with a fella who makes model boats, but in addition to that work, he brought along an old style car that he had built, and spent a few minutes explaining to me the linkages in the transmission that you can't even see, but are down in there. There were others who I don't remember right now, but everyone I met was more than willing to share some advice on getting started.
My father-in-law was a model maker for a tool and die company during his working years. He's 95 and not able to make long drives, but I think he would have loved seeing this. I did take some pictures and a couple of videos that I'm going to share with him. In retirement, he used to make cars in bottles before his hands lost the ability to do the detailed work.
It was well worth the trip. Wow. Just wow.
Ron
On the advice of some folks here and elsewhere, I schlepped from Chicago to Wyandotte, MI to visit the NAMES expo this past weekend.
First of all, I am astounded by the quality of work and the attention to detail in the work that was on exhibit. From a steam locomotive (the wife of the builder told me he spent 14,000 hours working on it) to an air powered engine the size of my finger, these items are works of art as much as they are working models. I'm just a novice, but I've sure got a high bar to reach for.
Second, I wanted to just say thanks to the folks who took the time to talk to me while I wandered around with my mouth hanging open. I talked with a fella who makes model boats, but in addition to that work, he brought along an old style car that he had built, and spent a few minutes explaining to me the linkages in the transmission that you can't even see, but are down in there. There were others who I don't remember right now, but everyone I met was more than willing to share some advice on getting started.
My father-in-law was a model maker for a tool and die company during his working years. He's 95 and not able to make long drives, but I think he would have loved seeing this. I did take some pictures and a couple of videos that I'm going to share with him. In retirement, he used to make cars in bottles before his hands lost the ability to do the detailed work.
It was well worth the trip. Wow. Just wow.
Ron
