Editorial:
I have never really understood how modellers can adopt a discipline and stick with it, through thick and thin, for much or their hobby life. In many respects I admire this, for to do so is, surely, to love one particular genre so much that nothing else can compete for either one's time or one's attention. I often meet folk who, for example, only ever build tugs, do nothing but race sailing boats, or don't even register the existence of a ship that isn't painted grey and bristling with weaponry. As the years tick by I count myself very fortunate to be among the group of enthusiasts who can honestly say that they find something to inspire in just about every aspect of the hobby. As I thumb through the pages of this magazine, for example, I find myself desperately wanting Roger Suitters' outstanding NR-1 submarine, craving the sight, sound and smell of Phil Button's steam-sailer Mullogh, and genuinely inspired to have a go at making my own set of racing sails, as described by John Goodyear. But there's more. The external and internal detail on Bryon Calverley's outstanding trailer has convinced me that I must properly detail the cockpit of my current motor boat build and, let's not beat about the bush, if that picture of Neville Wade's topsail schooner in Parting Shot doesn’t make you want to rush out, get yourself a five-master and 'beat to windward' on a brisk day, nothing will.
With a new year comes the opportunity to draw a line under previous achievements, reassess priorities and make a determined effort to realise ambitions. With this in mind I'd openly encourage you to make 2018 the year that you try something different. If you've always wondered what on earth those confounded yacht skippers get out of sailing as close to the wind as possible in head-to-head competition, maybe you should have a go. You might just discover a tinge of excitement, underpinned with huge satisfaction and a camaraderie that only comes with shared tension, frustration and heightened emotions. On the other hand, it could be that you've never really had the time, or the confidence, to build from a plan but have always fancied doing so. In this case I say, bite the bullet, find a model that's manageable, then make this the year that introduces you to the immensely rewarding process of creating a working miniature of a vessel you love.
Model boating is a massively diverse hobby. There’s so much to see, so much to try and so much to enjoy that it seems almost criminal not to have a go at something new every so often. Writing, as I am, at the dawn of 2018,1 for one have plans to do exactly that during the next 12 months and if all goes well, you'll be the first to know.
Graham Ashby