AI and I have aesthetic differences

Picture of the modification to the Loonar Module micro-layout created by Gemini

Recently Vince and I had a discussion about an interesting question he posed to Gemini: can you critique the layout in this photo (or some similar phrasing)? The layout and photo being referred to is this one, the Loonar Module:

The real Loonar Module awaiting dusting.

I'm told Gemini felt there were too many trees, and when asked to create a picture of a revised layout produced the one shown in the lead photo to this post. Its suggestion stripped away the core design I had in mind for this layout and reduced it to something that reminded me of what our environment looked like here after the Victoria Day 2022 derecho swept across Ontario.

I didn't act on Gemini's suggestion and have no intention to. 
The Loonar Module awaits good weather so I can assess its dustiness outside in sunlight.

I mention this AI encounter because I think it highlights something important with the LLM AI variants that are freely available to consumers like me: they're only as good as their training, and they can't get out into the world to see and reflect on things as we can. I know these are obvious points that no doubt many others have noted, but for obvious reasons this example cuts close to my heart.

The 'prototype' of the Loonar Module landforms and scenery.

The Loonar Module had two main aims: to allow me to build a diorama of an area of the province I love, and allow me space to practice making trees based on species found here. 

Secondarily, the layout allowed me to explore some ideas in a somewhat humorous manner I'd been kicking around in my head about highly fictional Ontario narrow gauge railways. I tried to capture some early thoughts in a couple of episodes of the Streetcar Noir novella series back in 2015: Gone to the country and If a phone rings in the forest.

Same 'prototype', different view.

The micro-layout aspect came later. I wasn't tuned into micro-layouts when I started work on the project, and only realized when it was done that it classified as one because it was built on a stack of pre-cut foam slabs I purchased that happened to measure 2' x 2'. It was a completely accidental entry into the field.

'Prototype' of the little offshore island Gemini stripped the trees from.

Longtime readers may remember The Dictionary of Non-Existent Model Railroad Terms series I ran here from 2019 to 2024. Although the entries were presented in a somewhat tongue-in-cheek manner, the principles and terms presented were dead serious. 

The dictionary has a few entries dealing with how to capture the spirit and atmosphere of a location as part of a model railway's design work. The three I use often, and used on the Loonar Module, are: Full Observation, Three Ws, and Start with Geography. Those entries encapsulate my views on getting out and observing things, something AIs can't do.

'Prototype' loons: mom, dad, and junior.

AIs don't approach design in the way those dictionary entries recommend. It seems they look for patterns in example model railways they're trained on. Trees are sparse on many layouts, maybe the majority, so I'd guess and say if sparse is the dominant training pattern, then sparse is what gets recommended. 

In my opinion tree density is already far sparser than the 'prototype', even with 23 trees.

After the layout was built I discovered that by insisting on trees that were scaled to match their real life counterparts height-wise, they act as effective view blockers so that the entire layout can't be observed in a single glance. Basically the tall trees allowed the creation of four distinct scenes. This lesson regarding the use of height as a way to create scenes is one I've continued to use, and it seems an important way to make micros seem bigger.

A corner of the 'prototype' community garden.

Trees also figured prominently on the Centennial Experimental Farm layout, and will on the Community Garden micro. So, with the Loonar Module they form something of a trilogy, or maybe, strictly speaking, a tree-logy :-) I hope my AI friends are taking note.

Desert Dodge Do-Over, Part 10: Cage Match

The model is by me. The background is by Gemini.

It may look like a model, but it's not a model. It's an archaeological recreation. It's a madeleine. It's a childhood memory. It's avoidance behaviour. It's a learning experience. It's a reflection on memories. It's a balm for the winter blahs. But, it's not a model.

This is the image I asked Gemini to add a background of the Baja California desert

As I emerge from my late winter slump I decided to finally tackle the roll cage and the various details specified in the Car Model article. I wanted to finish the modelling part and have only decaling to do. I did spend time looking into decals, but it looks like I'll need to make some for the 02s and Duster logos, and hunt around my leftover decals for the rest. That could take time. 

The bulge is made from a strip of 0.010" thick styrene

The old Baja Brute kit came with a hood that had a molded in roof bulge for the engine's large air cleaner. I thought I still had that relic somewhere in the workshop, but if it's there, I couldn't find it, so I had to make a custom hood.

 

The piece cut from the stock hood is used as the top of the hood bulge.

I made the bulge in my model larger than the Brute's. The reason being I followed the creases in the hood for the cutout instead of trying my hand at getting the end curve correct. I used the hood piece I cut out to form the top of the hood bulge.

Trial-and-error test fitting of styrene tubes to obtain one side of the roll cage

Now, it was on to the roll cage. Nearly half the photos in the short, 3-page article deal with building the roll cage, and, frankly, they don't give much help in explaining to the young readers how to do it. I read somewhere, I've mentioned this a few times, the target demographic for the magazine was 12 year old boys who were crazy about plastic model car kits, so I would think some detailed explanation for the readership would be appreciated.

One side of the roll cage made from 3/32" diameter styrene tubing.

I decided to use styrene tubing in the same diameters as specified in the article instead of brass that was used on the original. I'm more comfortable with styrene and thought it would make the job easier, which I think it did. The styrene was certainly easier to cut, and no epoxy was required for bonding pieces together.

The cross pieces are 1/8" diameter styrene tubing.

If I wanted to be accurate and make the assembly job much easier I should have carefully measured and fit one side of the roll cage and then made a little jig so I could make up identical sides. However, my inner 12 year old said "just wing it", so I did :-) The resulting structure is a little wonky alignment-wise, but it's certainly in keeping with the vibe of this project. But, I should note, when I actually was 12, there is no way I had the skill or patience to pull this off either with styrene or brass.

Test fitting the roll cage to check alignment and fit.

As I've noted before there's no way 12 year old me could have built this project as specified. This fact was constantly brought home to me as I built the model. Body sectioning, chassis lifting, roll cage construction, it was all beyond me. It's actually good to know because instead of thinking of myself as a poor model builder back then, I now know it was just too advanced for me at the time. That's one reason this isn't a scale model, but a learning experience to let me reflect on old memories and maybe reset them a little.

Tire rack and roof mesh glued in place with superglue.

Ok, back to some reality :-) I did use a little bit of brass tubing as you can see in the above photo. The tire rack is made from 1/16" diameter brass tube superglued to the roll cage. The roof mesh is a piece of used drywall sanding sheet, also superglued to the roll cage. As far as I recall, superglue wasn't available back then, likely not even invented.

Gas tank from my original model with new filler tube from the repopped kit.

As you know if you've been following this series, I had a few pieces left over from the model I built back in '72 and I've been using them on this version as is. I haven't tried to update, improve, or make them stylistically fit in. That's part of the reason I say this is a memory object and not a model. Up there in the above photo is the gas tank from the original model. It's a relic. Surprisingly the new, repopped kits included this gas tank on a sprue, but made no note of it in the instructions. That was good luck for me because I had lost the filler tube and was able to add a new one to the tank. I felt I couldn't just glue the tank in without the tube, so maybe I violated my 'non-intervention principle', but oh well, it was for a good cause :-)

Holding the windshield in place with clothes pegs until the WeldBond sets.

The windshield had to be carefully cut from the kit's 'glass' insert. It was glued in the windshield frame with WeldBond. In the above photo, do you see the body insert between the grill and bumper? That's also from the original project and I've left it painted as I did back then, imprecise red signal lights and all.

The tailgate is also a relic from the original model.

The tailgate is also from the original model. The yellow doesn't match the body, but I don't care. Back when I built the original it was the first model I ever spray painted. I used a can of Testors yellow. Decals are original too. The spare tires are from a Chevy pickup kit. Several pickup truck kits have donated to this project in time travel :-)

The exhaust pipes were cobbled together from styrene tubes and kit exhaust pipes.

Ok, I admit it, the side exhaust pipes are bizarre. They're so low on the truck they'd likely be crushed and broken on the first hard bump or hill encountered. Well, so would the low hanging transmission on this thing, so at least there's some consistency :-)

The underside needs a little weathering.

Well, that's about it for now. There's just decaling to do, and I think decals are going to add a lot to this 'memory machine' if I can get them to exactly match those in the magazine. I particular like those Plymouth dust devil images. Stay tuned!

Mid-Century Basement*

Popular Mechanics, Dec '54; Model Railroad With Sound Effects

"... Tolcua Lines, the big central system that is located in the basement of Chet Tayloe's home in North Hollywood, Calif.

To provide the space he needed for the joint railroad system Tayloe had to remove 60 truck loads of dirt from under his home, then build new foundations to support the house. The model layout is 65 feet long and 25 feet wide and there is a sunken way along its center from which all parts of the layout may be reached. The system is actually two systems in one, there being some 1200 feet of "O" gauge (1/4 inch to the foot) and 800 feet of "O" narrow-gauge track.

Two months ago the final "mile" of narrow-gauge track was completed and the occasion was fittingly noted by a "golden spike" ceremony attended by model railroaders of the neighborhood, including Dick Wessel, television star who helped build some of the background scenery, and by A. D. Jack Scott, paint-store manager who installed some of the narrow-gauge trackage."

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* Digressions

Awhile back Vince alerted me to this old Popular Mechanics article. It's a fantastic model railroad, but I must admit I was most taken by the layout illustration at the end of the story done in classic mid-century modern style. I love that style of illustration, and this picture in Popular Mechanics reminded me of the Bill Baron illustration I stumbled across in 2020.

I was surprised to read in the article about the attendance of actor Dick Wessel at the Golden Spike ceremony, and that he was referred to as a model railroader. Although I couldn't find mentions of any layouts by Mr. Wessel in Model Railroader magazine, I did find two full length articles about the Tolcua Lines: A visit to Tolcua, Aug '65; 45 years of the Toluca Lines, Mar '73.

Interestingly Chet Tayloe has a 2-page article in the Feb '73 issue about a 1/4" scale model he created of the Echo Mountain cable incline on the Mt. Lowe railway. The article notes: "Two of the passengers [JDL: of the real cable incline railway] in the 1920s were Chet Tayloe and his bride on their honeymoon."

A plot plan for the Community Garden micro-layout

First draft of a plot plan drawn full size.

While I was exorcising dust and fighting winter blahs I spent some time putting together a first cut at a plot plan for the community garden micro-layout. I say plot plan and not track plan since the track's route isn't that complicated; however, given the small layout size, managing to incorporate the various scenic elements I have in mind could be a little tricky. I don't want to overwhelm the little scene with too much detail, yet I need to capture the essence of what I want to communicate. Shown in the lead photo is my first cut at an overall plan.

The Minitrains Schöma loco and a flat car for gardening supplies and people I started building

Last year when I got the idea for a community garden micro I decided early on what sort of loco I wanted and bought one: a Minitrains Schöma.

I have a plan for it. I'm going to remove the exhaust stack and any other markers of it being diesel powered and restyle it to suggest it has been overhauled to be powered completely by an electric motor and onboard batteries, like electric cars and trucks. That spur in the track takes the loco to its charging station. I'll repaint the body white (I bought a green one because green ones were on sale :-) ), and likely add markings to suggest it's owned and operated by Hydro Ottawa.

I feel another iteration of the plot plan coming on :-) Stay tuned.

Dust never sleeps

The winter blahs have got a hold of me, so progress on projects has been slow to nonexistent. I did though do some cleaning on the Loonar Module. I used some damp tissues to dab dust off tree boughs, cleaned gunk off the track, mopped up dust from the water, repaired a ding in the fascia, repoured a little gloss medium 'water', and painted the previously unpainted custom stand I built for the layout.

When I stood back and had a look I realized I'm going to have to have a hard look at it either in sunlight or under my photo lights because the lighting in my workshop isn't good enough to assess the layout's colours and remaining dustiness. I'll have to think about how to proceed.

After the dusting came the running. I took the loco and a couple cars out for some loops. After a little oiling and wheel cleaning all ran well.