James May' Big Trouble in Model Britain
Discussion
BBC 4 at 9 pm this evening: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m00030wh?utm_camp...
"Two-part documentary, introduced and narrated by model train enthusiast James May, that follows a year inside Hornby Hobbies - an iconic British toymaker on the brink of collapse. But this is no ordinary business series - this is a series about model train and plane obsessives, both inside and outside the company, all of whom desperately need the company to survive."
"Two-part documentary, introduced and narrated by model train enthusiast James May, that follows a year inside Hornby Hobbies - an iconic British toymaker on the brink of collapse. But this is no ordinary business series - this is a series about model train and plane obsessives, both inside and outside the company, all of whom desperately need the company to survive."
Mr_Yogi said:
Did the camera man forget his glasses?
I'm glad someone else noticed that. It's probably the worst camerawork I've ever seen in a programme. I know it was deliberate, but it's (bad) style over substance. There was more out-of-focus images than in-focus. It really detracted from what was otherwise a good programme. The camerawork ruined it.Edited by SAB888 on Thursday 7th March 13:07
Edited by SAB888 on Thursday 7th March 13:08
I ended up forwarding some of it. I think it portrayed modelling in a negative way overall. For example they made the guy building the Hellcat look as if he lived on his own. The overlong scene of him having a sandwich and slurping a cup of tea in silence being a particularly strong example of this.
Will watch the second episode, but only for the fight.
Will watch the second episode, but only for the fight.
Can't say I noticed any dodgy camera-work – I thought the whole programme was excellent. Really excellent and a text-book study of what happens when people are brought in to run businesses that they don't understand, or more importantly, have a passion for. (Oddly enough, exactly echoing a conversation I'd had earlier that day with a brewery client.) How Simon Kohler kept his cool on learning that most of Hornby's historic tooling archive had been sent for scrap is beyond me.
I didn't think the programme itself portrayed modellers in a negative or stereotypical way – just panning the camera around at the two events shown was enough to confirm them anyway. It was quite clear that Hellcat-man had a wife and life outside modelling. Who among us hasn't at some point sat in silence with a cup of tea and thought "why the actual f
k am I doing this?" (I probably spend more time doing this than actually completing the project in question.)
I didn't think the programme itself portrayed modellers in a negative or stereotypical way – just panning the camera around at the two events shown was enough to confirm them anyway. It was quite clear that Hellcat-man had a wife and life outside modelling. Who among us hasn't at some point sat in silence with a cup of tea and thought "why the actual f
k am I doing this?" (I probably spend more time doing this than actually completing the project in question.)robemcdonald said:
I ended up forwarding some of it. I think it portrayed modelling in a negative way overall. For example they made the guy building the Hellcat look as if he lived on his own. The overlong scene of him having a sandwich and slurping a cup of tea in silence being a particularly strong example of this.
Will watch the second episode, but only for the fight.
They had already asked him about his wife and does she go into his modelling room, I think it just showed how dedicated he was. Brief lunch in thought then back to it.Will watch the second episode, but only for the fight.
Yertis said:
Simon Kohler kept his cool on learning that most of Hornby's historic tooling archive had been sent for scrap is beyond me.
Nothing to be gained by losing your rag. The people resonsible are no longer there, and neither are the tools. Park that, move on.ETA, I was half expecting the chap who'd been told to skip them to say "But I actually took them all home instead, and they're in my garage."
Doofus said:
Yertis said:
Simon Kohler kept his cool on learning that most of Hornby's historic tooling archive had been sent for scrap is beyond me.
Nothing to be gained by losing your rag. The people resonsible are no longer there, and neither are the tools. Park that, move on.dr_gn said:
Then again why would you want to re-release obsolete models? OK I suppose they could release a cut-price range of less detailed stuff, but that's not particularly forward looking.
They already do this with the "Railroad" range.Was this actually worth a watch? Reviews seem very mixed, but I like James May's stuff usually.
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