Layout Revamp Book Launch

This is the book that follows the budget-savvy revamp of my current bookshelf layout. From its days set in the grimy shadows of inner-city Melbourne, to sunning itself on the shores of the New South Wales mid-North Coast, 2023 saw me somehow manage to complete the layout’s transformation, exhibit it twice at some model railway shows here in Queensland, Australia, and complete the book before the clock struck midnight to ring-in the New Year.

When it comes to announcing the new book is now available for sale, it seems that is only half the story. Distributing, promoting and marketing the book, combined have caused my modelling hours to dry-up in a year where I’ve returned to full-time study ahead of developing some exciting new projects.

Take the above photo for example. Apart from the stunning bottle of sparkling Shiraz and the delicious meat and cheese platter that will have disappeared by the time you read this, I’ve been trying to take my photography and editing craft to the next level, including photoshopping the book launch platter into the middle of a swanky waterside restaurant, that we’ll fictitiously say is the downstairs bar of my layout’s Jetty Hotel.

As I wrestle between continuing on with another altogether different model railway media project, (no, it’s not another book), or deciding whether the support just isn’t there and heading in another arts direction with my time and money, it is time to stop and celebrate what I have managed to achieve during these post-Covid years. And that is a series of six Australian model railway how-to books that have been self-produced and funded off my own back. Totally free from product placement or paid-for-comment and advertising, these are the sort of books that everyone asks for to add to their library. The big question remains, just how many modellers will actually support such an endeavour.

Like any business model that exists within our hobby, releasing a book, a model or product of any kind requires the project to make money. Not just because making money is a much better alternative to losing money, but rather as a necessary means of recouping the cost outlay involved while still being able to have your endeavour provide an income in the face of not being able to earn a regular salary from a regular job. In a niche market such as model trains, and perhaps in an even more specific genre such as Australian model railways, that isn’t such an easy task. So now as I sit back and develop a series of other projects based around some exciting ideas I have, I need to determine whether the hobby here in Australia is capable of financially supporting those ideas. Or if those ideas would be better supported financially in other arts fields. I guess the next three to four months will be telling.

So, if you haven’t already considered purchasing one of my books or have been meaning to buy one for some time now, then your model train library will surely benefit from adding the complete set of six Philden Model Railway Presents to your shelf. Ask for it at your local hobby store, and if they haven’t got a copy, ask them why not? Failing that, the book is now available direct online, along with all my other titles, from the publisher at the link below.

It’s been a fantastic project to have worked on full-time for the past 18 months, and a series of books that I’m sure will still prove popular for many years to come! Once the excitement of rolling out the book across the country comes to a close, I can honestly say that I’m already looking forward to the return of some personal hobby time.

Thanks to my loyal readers and supporters who have championed these books to their friends and model railway clubs across the world. It’s heartening to see when some of my direct online sales come through in US Dollars, Pounds Sterling and Euros. It only shows the reach that this blog now enjoys around the globe.

Happy modelling!

Phill O