In our hobby it's just the same thing like in the sciences: In earlier 'primitive' times it was fairly easy to discover something completely new - Mendel discovered the laws of genetics, Darwin developped the first useable theory about evolution, Roentgen discovered a new type of radiation etc. etc. They opened the doors to completely new sciences. But today we alraedy know so much that one single scientist only has the chance to clear up some little details - and therefore the names of the modern scientists are like shooting stars - today a new name flashes over the radio/TV news, tomorrow they are forgotten. But the 'old' names remain stuck in our memory.
In mrring it's the same: John Armstrong will stay a synonym for trackplanning, Frank Ellison will be known for propagating realistic train operation, Bill McClanahan and Westcott stand for hardshell scenery/zip texturing, and so on...
BUT: While we (at least we older guys) will remain grateful for the inventions of these pioneers, there are new masters of the trade, whose work is just as awesome.
And we at the Gauge have the privilege to be in direct contact with people like 'Shamus', Robin, 'Casey Feedwater', Spitfire and... and... and... Thanks to the internet we can look them over their shoulders - that's almost like meeting them in person.
All of them, the old and the new masters have contributed to our hobby, and they still do, and they and others will do it in the future. That's why this is such a great hobby - because they are willing to share their knowledge with the great bunch of modelers all around the globe. :thumb:
Ron
