Neil
Western Thunderer
That's an interesting question. I guess that part of the reason we like the image is that it's a result of craft, imagination, artistic sensibilities and human judgement. These things we applaud when we see them across a range of endeavours. AI seems not to do nuance; I guess we've all had the frustration of talking to the robot on the phone or conversing with one on the chat box when all you want to do is speak to a human in customer enquiries. AI may be good at number crunching but **** all use at replacing a human where judgement, flexibility or taste is required.
Willl
Western Thunderer
This is fantastic Dave, my jaw probably dropped a little when I saw it! I have been plotting to write a sort of fiction around the next layout project, accompanied by postcards, letters etc. (as Iain Rice and Bob Barlow discussed doing with the East Suffolk), so will have to make an attempt at something similar
On the AI thought, I also think the key is that editing photos requires skill… I have a long history of dabbling in photography and would argue that good editing can be almost as tricky as taking the photo in the first place. I’m sure there are those who would argue that prompt engineering is also a skill, but it feels a bit like asking someone to paint a portrait for you, and then claiming you were the artist!
Will
Or buying a model railway from its creator and happily revelling in the kudos of exhibiting it! Plenty of that going on from what I have seen.
Terry
Willl
Western Thunderer
I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that as long as you aren’t passing it off as your own work - there’s an interesting piece on this topic in Ribbons 2 by the OTCM duo. Some layouts deserve to be exhibited, even after the original owner has moved it on or passed away.
Will
Flaxfield
Western Thunderer
I found the articles ( there was another one in a similar vein in another of James Hiltons books ) a bit odd. I mean, if you are going to exhibit a layout which was bought and not built by you, you need to be prepared to answer questions about it's construction etc.
My first ( and second, actually) layout was sold to a nice chap in County Durham and are exhibited, last time being at York this year where Sheep Lane was being shown. I was invited by the new owner to go along for the weekend to help operate, but being Easter, I had to sadly decline. A pity as I would have taken the original stock along.
As an aside, a couple of years ago now, I did see a piece on Sheep Dip on a club website, attributing the layout to the new owner with lots of inaccuracies about its construction. I did write to the club to correct things but never received a response from them..
Rob
My first ( and second, actually) layout was sold to a nice chap in County Durham and are exhibited, last time being at York this year where Sheep Lane was being shown. I was invited by the new owner to go along for the weekend to help operate, but being Easter, I had to sadly decline. A pity as I would have taken the original stock along.
As an aside, a couple of years ago now, I did see a piece on Sheep Dip on a club website, attributing the layout to the new owner with lots of inaccuracies about its construction. I did write to the club to correct things but never received a response from them..
Rob
I agree. But do the exhibitors deserve to be doing the exhibiting? It strikes me as a quick way to get into the joys of exhibiting without actually creating anything.
Terry
Sorry Will. I appear to be stealing your thread.
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Vaughan45
Western Thunderer
Interesting - two of the small number of layouts I have sold during the last 20 years are still being exhibited.
The owner of the O gauge micro does credit me with the initial built and still posts entries on the thread I started on the other place, in addition to starting a separate thread for the companion micro he is building. The work he has done on the one I sold him has enhanced it greatly.
The O-16.5 / NG7 layout I sold about 15 years ago has been sold on two or three times since my initial sale and I believe the current owner has no knowledge of my involvement.
The owner of the O gauge micro does credit me with the initial built and still posts entries on the thread I started on the other place, in addition to starting a separate thread for the companion micro he is building. The work he has done on the one I sold him has enhanced it greatly.
The O-16.5 / NG7 layout I sold about 15 years ago has been sold on two or three times since my initial sale and I believe the current owner has no knowledge of my involvement.