George Sellios
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George Sellios is the owner of Fine Scale Miniatures, a business dedicated to producing detailed model kits of structures for model railroad enthusiasts. He is also an accomplished modeller and is well-known in the hobby for his creation, the Franklin & South Manchester Railroad.
[edit] Fine Scale Miniatures
FSM has been producing craftsman structure kits since 1967 from its location in Peabody, Massachusetts.
[edit] Franklin & South Manchester
The F&SM uses the same initials as Sellios' company and is co-located in the FSM company office. It is a stylized model railroad set in 1935 in a fictional area of New England during the Great Depression. It is characterized by cluttered scenery, colorful billboards and signs, simulated dilapidation, weedy sidewalks, heavy weathering and artistic license.
Active in the hobby since he was 13, Selios' first influence in the hobby was John Allen who took a novel, whimsical approach to model trains. Allen's influence can be seen in Selios' work which favors fantasy over the prototypical. In at least two cases, early Selios kits are copies of John Allen designs.
Sellios began construction of the F&SM in April 1985. He dedicates approximately three months per year to the endeavor, with the remaining nine dedicated to design and production for his business selling model structure kits. Sellios' F&SM is a large diorama occupying a space measuring approximately 1,600 square feet (150 m2). Sellios' model railroad has become one of the most recognized over the years, with several features in Model Railroader and an episode of Tracks Ahead. Selios has a large following of model train enthusiasts in the United States, where his exaggerated, caricature style is emulated by hobbyists and cottage industry "craftsman kit" makers.
There are three commercial videos dedicated to the F&SM, produced by the Allen Keller Great Model Railroads series. (episodes #2, #24, and #39).
