The Great Model Railway Challenge

I really enjoy this viewing. It get's a bit repetive. I would recommend in series 1: episode 1, 4 and 5. And final. Ep. 6. I am from Sweden but love anything old time style UK.

Railway Modelling teams compete for the prestige of winning the competition. It's a long overdue addition to the increasingly popular hobbyists strand of TV and this show suits Channel 5's populist output. Filmed in a casual and fun way it's entertainment for model railway enthusiasts rather than instruction, although you can certainly pick up some tips if you watch carefully enough. It's a fun and interesting watch but my main quibble is the lack of time it spends focusing on each model. It's all a bit too cursory and fleeting for me personally, because you really want to see more of them in action. Still the finale of the show where the finished models actually get to run is well worth the wait.

Purists will possibly hate the way it focuses on adventurous themes for the models each week and in Series 1 probably the best team of modellers lost out by not wanting to lose that authentic realism most serious railway modellers are after. The focus is on adaption and all round modelling creativity which is fun but doesn't spend much time on the trains themselves or mention what type of loco or wagon or controller the team is using.

To be fair there have been good shows on TV that discuss this better and YouTube has plenty of technical videos for the how to make this work or construct that. So this fun and breezy show is not for technical nerds but is a general fun way of seeing varying types of railway models and the craft of making them. It certainly will inspire more people to take up the hobby and the model manufacturers will love it. Also timed well for Christmas present buying.

You know, there are stacks of celebrities who are model railway enthusiasts, and some of them very discerning too! So.... why oh why did they choose an editor of a magazine and a "blogger"/youtubist? and why did they have the other two along the way as well who don't seem to do anything other than make vapid observations and cringe-worthy puns that are not even remotely funny. It also has to be said that the writing and interviewing is some of the worst on TV at the moment, the judges are patronising and condescending, and at times downright rude. The two presenters are slightly sarcastic and derisory at times and frankly I wouldn't go on this programme or competition if I was paid....a lot!!!!! However, if you can get past the poor scripting and poor presentation there is a lot of talent on show.... although... you don't really get to see how any of that talent is actually executed, all of the interviews are fleeting and somewhat pointless. And then..... there is the music.... imposing, cheesy and badly edited in so that the music is often overpowering the actual detail of what is being filmed. Frankly, it's appalling.

The key thing this is a good program for, is the ideas. the competitors do have some cracking good ideas and some exceptional imaginations are on display. The one thing I would say is that in ALL cases, some very, VERY basic mistakes are made and it seems anomalous with the fact that these people are supposed to be experienced modellers. ( I cannot help but suspect that some of the mistakes are deliberate, to add drama for the sake of the program... an utterly disingenuous action on the part of the producers!)

The thing is.... I really WANT to like this program... but i just can't! It's low budget, poorly written, exceptionally poorly presented, and edited apparently, by lesser primates, so much so that it comes across as though the whole program is part of its own scratch built challenge. Sure, there are some really good bits, and as pointed out above, the talent on show is, in many cases, utterly brilliant... but i just cannot get past the production, writing and presentation.

I love this series! there's great humor, lots of fun and interesting people, builds and more than anything they're in it for the hobby. It's about time TV got into making these kind of series! I am personally rooting for TV-series about pen-and-paper roleplaying games, table-top wargaming or more modelling hobbies. We, the loving nerds of this world needs them! And I think they draw in other people not directly connected to them. Show how much love people pour into building and creating these types of things, they deserve the spotlight.