Today while out and about I happened on another bookshop going out of business. Maybe its not such a good idea to run one in Nelson. Taking advantage of others misfortune in these circumstances is always a good idea, and I happened to chance upon this book.
Back in my formative years ( which some would argue are yet to finish) My parents brought a copy of this book for Christmas. before this point I was like any other mug running triang and hornby trains (which were the only things you could get in those far off days). After this book I was a demon with cardboard and balsa plus other assorted bits, removing the tops from locomotives and substituting an increasingly bizarre collection of steam locomotive tops made from all sorts of odds and ends. This has lead through a meandering 25 years lead me to my current point, with a workbench covered with 1/2 finished projects. The defense rests M'lud.
8 comments:
What you say is all true. I was a witness to those formative years but refuse to take sole responsibility for the state of your workbench ! If you contact Amateur Fettler he may have the original copy. I can't remember taking it to a school fair or a Museuem Bookarama!
oops can see where you get your spelling prowess from !! Darn keyboard.
Unfortunately, I have to deny all knowledge over the whereabouts of the original....Drew of the 'Naki has recently purchased a copy as well, so they must still be out there if you look hard enough.
The stories we could tell...cardboard locos with Smokeboxes similar to the Southland Wf's (couldnt roll a cylinder to save ourselves!) all mounted on Triang "Nellie" chassis, one even sporting a "C" tender on a 4 wheel chassis....stations made up to be like Pikipiki and Apiha...Sigh....
Luckily, no photos exist....
Damm caught out as well!
How many others were cardboard manufacturing co disciples thanks to M Smith and the blessed Pikipiki!
Formative years definately, and oh what an apprenticeship, wouldnt have missed it for the world
Think I have photos somewhere, of the strange and peculiar...
ps what does "Surreme" mean??
seems somehow appropiate!
Ahh the tome of the PikiPiki...
It was a regular in my weekly library book pile.
I searched high and low for a copy of said publication for many moons but couldnt locate one.
Being one who subscribes to the "you never know unless you ask" school of thought, I picked up the phone and rang Merv Smith Hobbies, and asked for the man himself.
He wasnt in.
But, the gentleman who answered the phone promised to pass on my request to Merv.
To my delight that evening the phone rang and I found myself talking to none other than Merv Smith himself! For at least an hour too, about many things model trains, and the PikiPiki.
He was most humbled when I said that his book was one of my long time favourites and when I enquired about cost, he laughed and said he would get a copy in the post to me.
When the book arrived, there was a small hand written message to me inside the cover, along with a typed three page letter that talked about why MSH doesnt stock HOe / HOn30 products, and went into great detail about the second incanation of the PikiPiki at Te Atatu which was nearly 200% bigger than the version in the book.
Lastly, he also enclosed 4 or 5 photos of the "new" PikiPiki...
I considered myself very lucky.
Will scan the images one day for you.
Drew
One of my favourite model railway books ever. He really got it all right - the big picture, the details, the operations. A perfect little world to escape into.
But who on earth was Chas Livingstone...?!
Token Pom, to give the book some credibility to all those non believers!
I met Merve at the Tauranga convention a few years ago and promptly asked him if he would ever write a sequel. He flatly refused on the basis that Chas had passed away and the book wouldn't have been the same without his input. Shame really. Pics of the new Piki Piki, how things have changed with imports since the first book, his view of the rail scene today - plenty of stories left to tell.
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