Sep 2011

The Sundance Central

I attended the National Narrow Gauge Convention in Hickory earlier this month.

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A highlight for me was the opportunity to see the Sundance Central layout. This large scale display is beyond superlatives, but what I find most incredible about it is that the SC is both highly detailed and portable.

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Walking around the perimeter of the layout, I paid particular attention to the small scenes that had been created on the fringes of the rail operation.

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They created an atmosphere that very effectively pulls the viewer into the scene.

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Lighting and scale figures are used to emphasize and attract attention to particular compositions.

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When I saw these little scale people, I would try to interpret what they doing, exactly the same way I would analyze the motivation of real people.

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In this way, looking at the Sundance Central was somewhat disorienting, since for brief moments I would forget the difference between model and reality.

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For me, the Sundance Central epitomized the attraction of modeling narrow gauge.