This little booklet is all about using and modifying the famous Will Scenic Series of kits. It's illustrated by Iain Rice (although I'm not sure if he wrote it), interestingly it pre-dates his Wild Swan book on the subject by 6 years. It may come as a surprise that the booklet dates back to 1982, and is a reminder that the Scenic Series has been around a lot longer than we think! I have a feeling that Rice had a hand in designing the range although I can't be certain.
My copy cost me one pound back in 1983, and I know the date as there's a price list included dated March1983. Back then the Station Garage was priced at £2.30, and I remember building one at the time.
As you can imagine the booklet is full of Rice's wonderful drawings;
And of course light railways figure in his work;
There's even a Buckjumper creeping into one of the drawings.
This little 20 page booklet has been an inspiration to me over the years, even though I haven't built a Wills kit in many a year. Emphasis is on modifying, grouping, and bedding buildings in, all of course still relevant today. I've always been a fan of the Scenic Series, yes they are a cliche nowadays but that's down to the success of the range, which have always featured interesting subjects and sold at pocket money prices. In fact I have a plan for a simple layout that mainly draws on the series.
If you see a copy I'd certainly recommend snapping it up.
Paul.
That's great, Paul...I think I remember having seen a copy at the time when the original range appeared, but I'm certain I've never owned one. The light railway design is interesting; I think I have enough SMP track and plastic-based point kits to build it in 00, though I doubt I'll ever get round to it. Pixton Hill was the name of a demo layout for the range, which at one time was at the Wills factory in Forest Row, I've just looked up the name (in "The Place Names of Sussex" by Judith Glover) and it's at/near Forest Row, which makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty sure IAR was very much involved in the design and also had input into some of the later Wills loco kits (particularly etched parts).
I bought my copy of the Wild Swan book at an excellent show in Heathfield, East Sussex, I can't remember what year, though as Iain signed and dated it for me (he was showing Woolverstone) I can check once my books come out of storage and back onto shelves.
Cheers,
Simon.
I'd like to have a go at the light railway design myself, but in EM. I have a whitemetal kit for a Terrier in the loft which would suit as well as one of RT Models Manning Wardles. Space is the problem for me along with my glacial modelling pace.
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