Model ships and trains - a riff on scale

and emotional safety as we grow

Walking through the park today, there was something remarkable happening. There was an armada of ships on the little, shallow duck pond. Over twenty in total, I saw everything from simple sloops to two masted schooners.

How could such a small, shallow pond contain such naval might? They were all scale models, controlled remotely by the slouching men who paced the shore.

The ocean is a big, scary place. Full sized ships can be tossed around and sunk by its might. I’ve even become seasick sailing in a sheltered bay. The movement on the water made me nauseous. On a scale model? The stakes are lowered. You can be in control. There’s less to lose.

I imagine this is the same with a train set. Trains in reality are huge, mighty, frightening beasts. And they can be tamed by a table top. Imagine how soothing it must be to create a world where you can control such majestic machines without worry of things going awry.

Model racers are another wonderful fantasy. Racing remote cars has all of the exci…