Signal Box Special, Episode 6 ‘Myths, Monsters, Legends and Fables’
It was the first semi final of series two of the Great Model Railway Challenge at the weekend, with the episode airing at the slightly earlier time of 7.45pm on Saturday 12th.
With three winning teams from the heats trying to book their spot in the final, the standard of modelling was definitely going to go up a level.
With a theme of ‘Myths, Monsters, Legends and Fables’, the teams would again plan their approach and get to work, with only three days to create their best work. As with each heat, the Scratchbuild Challenge would be thrown their way on day two but there was an extra challenge for the semi-final too.
In their final demonstration, each team would have an ‘Operational Challenge’ where they would have to load and transport an item of their choosing from one side of the layout and deliver it to the other, all without any manual intervention.
Another tough ask and with the stipulation that there was now no pre-built items allowed, the Great Model Railway Challenge would really be pushing these modellers to their limits!
Spoiler Warning!
From here on out we will be revealing not only the winner of the episode but also discussing key points from the show itself. Please do not read on or watch the Signal Box Special episode with Mike below if you have not seen Saturday’s Great Model Railway Challenge semi-final – you have been warned!
The three teams duking it out in the first semi-final were Corby MRS, who claimed victory in the first heat right at the start of series two. ‘Rail Riders’ who had taken episode two, ‘Classic Books’ and finally Team Grantham, who had scored the highest points of the series so far in episode five.
Each team knew the going would be tough but felt confident that they were there on merit and welcomed the challenges ahead.
With work starting, our judges soon made their way around each team to discuss just what they had planned so they could start the decision making process, with creativity the first criteria under the microscope.
For Corby MRS a layout with just about every fantastical creature you can imagine was planned. The Loch Ness Monster, Godzilla, King Kong and the Lady of the Lake with Excalibur would all feature and it was Nessie herself who would be being transported for the team’s ‘Operational Challenge’.
Team Grantham were relying on an idea that fundamentally used model railways for functionality but would not be the primary focus of their layout. Using Arthurian legend as their inspiration, King Arthur would be placed upon his horse, win a duel against the Black Knight and then triumphantly make his way to Camelot – all without a member of the team touching anything!
Creatively, the ‘Rail Riders’ snuck the first day with their truly imaginative layout that would see a haunted tree burst through the centre of their layout. Set in a child’s bedroom, the tree would come through the floor and with its wicked magic, turn all the toys into evil creatures ready to terrorize whoever was in the vicinity.
It certainly had the judges scared but there was no doubting the creativity that went into such a unique and interesting idea.
The first day had gone rather well for the teams as they had primarily focused on getting their track laid and testing. Whilst each team would likely have preferred to get slightly more done going into day two, each could feel pleased with their start and focus on the challenges ahead.
Speaking of challenges, day two brought with it the Scratchbuild Challenge where a member of each team would be given three bizarre items that they would need to seamlessly incorporate into their layout.
For the semi-final, presenter Tim Shaw gave each team some toe seperators, a VHS tape and hair rollers. The teams got to work and did their best to use each on their fantasy-themed layouts.
Andrew from Team Grantham was first up and had used all three items to create one model, a small tower on the outskirts of Camelot. The modelling on show was hugely impressed, with each item present and completed with a backlit stained glass window showing ‘TG’ for his team.
Mike from Corby went for a much simpler approach as some grey spray paint formed the backbone for his work. The toe separators were now concrete storage racks, the hair rollers were rolls of barbed wire and the VHS tape was a base for a model on the layout.
Team Captain Les from ‘Rail Riders’ tackled their challenge and created a playful replica of child’s robot toy, which would be at home in the room their haunted tree was sprouting out from.
Ultimately, Kathy decided Andrew from Team Grantham was the winner and awarded his team a vital two points.
As day two concluded the judges shared their provisional marks and despite Corby losing touch a little down the bottom, it was all still to play for. There was even some concern over the all-conquering Team Grantham as they were almost certainly behind schedule.
As the third and final day dawned each team would have to work hard to finish off their layout as there was still plenty to do.
The day soon turned into a mad dash for the line as each team would struggle to get everything completed in time. Team Grantham were adding their scenery and ensuring their large turntable, the fundamental part of their layout, would work without a hitch.
Corby MRS and ‘Rail Riders’ each had their own challenges with last minute scenic work and testing continuing right up until Tim told each and every person to step away from their layouts so the demonstration could begin.
With an audience of friends and family in place, the demonstrations began. Often a nerve wracking experience for the teams, this week was even worse as you felt not one member truly knew if everything would go as planned.
Corby MRS were the first demonstration and begun with their layout springing to life. To ensure they accomplished the ‘Operational Challenge’ they had actually put two onto their layout. The first was Nessie’s trip across the layout which relied upon a small crane lifting her to and from the train.
Despite being a little shaky, the crane worked and Nessie was soon at her destination. A small issue did strike though as they had their train stop which required a small shove to solve.
Their other simpler insurance policy for the ‘Operational Challenge’ was also demonstrated and worked like a charm, with a concrete cylinder being delivered right to King Kong’s feet. There was also enough time to show a small animation with the Lady of the Lake thrusting Excalibur into the air!
‘Rail Riders’ were second and after a spooky start with the toy chest making some strange noises, we were off and running. They were hoping to accomplish the ‘Operational Challenge’ by having a hearse drop onto their train, transport it across the layout and then have a large skeletal hand flick the car into place.
It all went extremely smoothly for ‘Rail Riders’ and both the judges and audience were equally impressed.
Onto Team Grantham who had a tough act to follow. Their ‘Knights of the Roundabout Table’ layout began with a remotely operated winch lowering King Arthur onto his horse. After a small trip and a quick stop by their own Lady of the Lake to pick up Excalibur, King Arthur made quick work of the Black Knight and rode onwards to Camelot.
The modelling, engineering and execution of Team Grantham’s layout was truly astounding, and everyone was stunned. Working perfectly, the members of Team Grantham had really outdone themselves and had given the judges lots to think about as they left to deliberate.
With two teams progressing to the final we were not only finding out the winner of the semi-final, but also finding out who would be going home. After a suitable amount of suspenseful waiting it was revealed that Team Grantham had won with another stellar layout. ‘Rail Riders’ were second and claimed the other spot in the final.
Unfortunately, that meant we had to say goodbye to Corby MRS who had truly worked hard and should be proud of their performances on the show.
With another semi-final to go, the Great Model Railway Challenge is back this Saturday (19th October) at the earlier time of 6.25pm.
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