A while ago one of my best friends-a fellow creative soul and would-be writer-reminded me of a word that had escaped my expansive vocabulary and that I had not used in years. That word was: TABLEAU. A French word (obviously!) derived from the term “Tableau vivant”, meaning “living picture,” the English use of the word is defined by Meriam-Webster thusly:
So on this fine sunny winter Sunday, I admit I’m more than a little sad: the deconstruction and breakdown of Drag City Mk. II has begun. My Tyco track and all the goodies around it, which have served so well as a distraction from the state of the world over the last year and gotten me through one of the worst years the country has experienced in its history (not that there isn’t worse to come!) is now donating its scenery to its successor, the AFX track Drag City Mk IV. I began moving structures and vehicles this weekend. Within a couple of weeks, all that will be left is the track itself, which will then be broken down and re-boxed. I’ll keep it, for the time being, because I always want to have the option of doing something new with it, but although the fun is in the building, the opposite is also true: clean-up is no fun. I can’t justify the space and expense of having 2 different slot car track dioramas, so as one rises, one must fall.
So, I’m going to do a few posts to look back on this layout and at some of the many tableaus that I so enjoyed creating as a built it, telling stories without words. Bear in mind that I never pretended to be a skilled scale modeler, but just a kid playing with his toys. I hope to utilize slightly more sophisticated diorama methods for D.C. Mk. IV, but although Mk. II was certainly amateur, it sure was fun.
SOME SCENES FROM THE RACER’S PADDOCK…
Click on any pic to bring up an enlargement and scroll through the scenes…
These are some terrific tableau’s! Each one tells a striking story! You really get a sense of the action around Drag City!