Like I posted I am more of a train runner rather than modeler
My main hobby cabinet making is the most satisfying and practical I have in all my 73 years
It is the main reason I don't have more room for my layout as it takes up the majority of the one side of the basement I have for my use .And since I share it with my layout it too is very cramped
View the results here
http://bandb3536.com/furnitre/furnitre.htm
51% share holder in the ME&O ( Wife owns the other 49% )
ME&O
jwhitten That's a very interesting story. Do you recall any tales of his exploits ??
Sadly, I never got to meet him. It seems to be a family trait that we have our children late in life. My dad was born when old Sailor James was 59, the last of 12 children he had with Grandma Annie. My own dad was 34 at my birth, and our own Annie, named after her grandmother, came along when we were 43. If you do the math, you'll find that my grandfather was born in 1856.
As for exploits, isn't having 12 children with a wife 20 years younger than you enough? (Besides that, she sure could cook.)
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Seanthehack
Your soldier looks startled!
MisterBeasleyOne of these days, maybe, I'll build a sailing ship model. I know very little of sailing ships, but it's in my old blood. My grandfather was a sailor, a real sailor. He took merchant ships across oceans and around the tip of South America, not by steam or diesel, but by sail, in the 19th century. (My grandmother was considerably younger than he, by the way. At my father's birth, the old sailor was 59.) For now, I'm content with the small fishing boat in the Moose Bay inlet, and plans for a car float as part of Phase 2. Something, though, draws me to the transluscent green of port water. Ships and trains are a perfect match. Neither can transgress on the other's territory, so the ports where they come together are natural places to model.
One of these days, maybe, I'll build a sailing ship model. I know very little of sailing ships, but it's in my old blood. My grandfather was a sailor, a real sailor. He took merchant ships across oceans and around the tip of South America, not by steam or diesel, but by sail, in the 19th century. (My grandmother was considerably younger than he, by the way. At my father's birth, the old sailor was 59.)
For now, I'm content with the small fishing boat in the Moose Bay inlet, and plans for a car float as part of Phase 2. Something, though, draws me to the transluscent green of port water. Ships and trains are a perfect match. Neither can transgress on the other's territory, so the ports where they come together are natural places to model.
That's a very interesting story. Do you recall any tales of his exploits ??
I have been watching this tread, some excellent discussion. I am a scale modeler as well as a model railroader although I have really scaled back on the scale modeling. Recently I have been trying to focus on my new layout, thanks again to those on the forum who helped with the track plan. My scale modeling pursuits are 1/32 scale aircraft and figures, although I have built some armor kits. A sample of my work:
The biggest negative to static modeling is (as stated by others on the tread), that once you are finished with a kit, you are finished. Then it sits on a shelf as clutter, which is the biggest detractor to the hobby. However, it has taught me some great techniques that I plan on applying to the new layout.
Sean
When I was 13, I was very big into 1/24 static model car building. AMT, Revell, Jo-Han, MPC and Monogram were the rage then...thread and wire for brake lines and spark plug lines, pen springs for working shocks...the whole 9 yards. I had a paper route, and would buy the kits from a local wholesaler and stack them in my clothes closet for when I had time.At one point, I had so many that anyone entering the room would inadvertently step on one...LOL
Them a friend got me hooked on 1/32 slot cars...I had a Manta Ray, a Thundercycle and quite a few Strombergs. Those were the days of going to the local slot parlor and racing all day long.
I had friends who built ships, planes and military vehicles, but I always had the trains in the basement, no matter what I was into at the time
Bob Berger, C.O.O. N-ovation & Northwestern R.R. My patio layout....SEE IT HERE
There's no place like ~/ ;)
nbrodar Ken, I grew up in Farmington Hills, would you be referring to Joe's?
Ken,
I grew up in Farmington Hills, would you be referring to Joe's?
John - nice try, but no; it was the August 1966 RMC.
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
I'm one the few modeler's that like's to build models beside my train. I build alot of 1/25 scale truck model with custom detailing to them.
Now don't get me wrong I love my trains to but its a equal in both. It keeps me in balance with both even with doing custom truck in HO.
Its one of the greatest stress releaver I have developed in 40+ years of modeling. It also gives me joy of building something and having it come out the way I want it too.
4x8 are fun too!!! RussellRail
My problem is I like em all, heck I even learned a heck of a lot of neat techniques from a guy building doll houses one day while out shopping with the warden i mean the wife. We went to one of her crafty crapola shows and of course I looked and felt like a fish out of water so I meandered over to a table where there was a guy and his wife selling doll house kits, furniture and completed models.His finished models were over the top working electric in every room, trim moldings nicer then the ones in my house and detail up on detail. So we struck up a conversation as he noticed I was wearing a PRR cap and asked model railroader what scale do you model. Well the universal ice breaker. We had conversations about structure building, hand laying track signal systems you name it. Well he gave me his card and invited me over to see his layout(S) He lived maybe 45 min. to an hour from me so I stopped over one day during the week as he does the show things with is wife on the weekends. This guy had a G-scale layout in his back yard that had to be at least an acre and it was unbelievable, structures, bridges tunnels a working turntable and round house. We go into his basement and he has a 30'x40' around the room HO layout mid 1040's to 1950's era all steam that would rival anything that graced the pages of MR or any Allen Keller Video. If this weren't enough he said come on I'll show you my shop.which was an oversize free standing garage located on the back of his property and when you walked in there was every piece of wood working and metal working equipment imaginable. Laths, a milling machine, planner, joiners saws drill presses a tool junkie's nirvana. And the shelf's were full of model cars, tanks, trucks, dollhouses, furniture. He had the biggest R/C plane an F4U Corsair I had ever seen hanging from the ceiling. Never mind that fact that this guy was a master craftsmen at building just about every type of model imaginable (oh and he was 1:1 rail fan train nut as well) but where in the heck did he find the time to do it all. Well he divulged his secrete to me. He was obviously retired but he said he was building models professionally his entire life as a Hollywood special effects guy. He had album after album of models he had build for the movies some of which included the original Star Wars. he told me that when they started doing computer generated special effects he could see the hand writing on the wall and knew it was time to retire. What I learned and retained from visiting with my new found friend whom I am still friends with today is how he took different things form different hobby's and applied them else where. One of the current trends is to us R/C servo's to actuate switch machines. His entire HO layout was using them and eh had over 200 turnouts.I've used what I have learned about painting and automotive work and applied it to model building and painting. Not blowing my own horn as I am not the caliber of model railroader that he is or as many of you are but to be a better modeler i think it's necessary to think outside the box some times and use what other hobbies have to offer.
Although I was exposed to serious model railroading virtually from birth, there were many years when I didn't have the space or money for a layout. So instead I honed my modeling skills on plastic military and plane models. Painting, decaling, detailing, weathering, kitbashing - all of these skills were acquired with Revell, Tamiya, and Hasegawa kits. The skill level of some scale modelers can reach amazing heights, and when combined with RC control, well, the results can be superb. My sister models doll houses in 1:12 and her skills would be well used in model railroading... I attach a photo of a bar that she built for me, complete with railroading theme (I added myself in via photoshop).
I still have a bunch of unbuilt military / aviation kits that I turn to every now and then when I need a break from model railroading. The overlap between the two hobbies is significant - for many of us, layout scenery is akin to a military diorama - a faithful representation of the real world that is static until a train moves through it. I know there are model railroaders here who build static dioramas for display / photography purposes, so it all seems pretty similar to me.
So count me in with the group that sees non-MR modelling as a sibling hobby. The skills are certainly transferable, and like any hobby, the masters of the hobby set the bar very high indeed. Cheers.
Sierra Man My brother and I started building models when we were kids, like most. He has always been a military modeler and I build trains. There has always been a great deal of cross over work. He has taught me most of my painting skills, and I have taught him scenery. I think that it has been good for both of us. I'm in awe of some of his models. I had an old Airfix 1/72 scale Sopwith Camel I got him to build. He turned it into the coolest barnstormer I ever saw! Not knowing planes that thing probably would stayed in the box for another ten years! So yes, they are our brethren. We can all learn from each other. Not only that we know what to get each other for x-mas!
My brother and I started building models when we were kids, like most. He has always been a military modeler and I build trains. There has always been a great deal of cross over work. He has taught me most of my painting skills, and I have taught him scenery. I think that it has been good for both of us. I'm in awe of some of his models. I had an old Airfix 1/72 scale Sopwith Camel I got him to build. He turned it into the coolest barnstormer I ever saw! Not knowing planes that thing probably would stayed in the box for another ten years! So yes, they are our brethren. We can all learn from each other. Not only that we know what to get each other for x-mas!
Very cool! My brother tried to get into R/C airplanes when he was a kid but, shall we say, became rapidly acquainted with the theory of gravity-- I don't think he thinks its just a theory anymore btw... Later in life he became quite enamored of real helicopters, and to fuel his passion he purchased an R/C helicopter-- it looked quite nice and pretty sophisticated. The next time I saw him he had a different hobby... apparently there is this old saying about "What goes up must come down". However it doesn't appear to cover too many of the particulars such as angle, velocity, orientation, or glide ratio... That Murphy is a son-of-a-gun!!
John
Phil, CEO, Eastern Sierra Pacific Railroad. We know where you are going, before you do!
I am not really a RR modeler but a train runner
I want some minimum scenery just so my layout doesn't look like a pool table
I was into 1/48 military WWII fighters and 1/144 plastic airliners modeling for years before I got into cabinet making as a hobby ( most satisfying hobby I ever had )
HEdwardBrings us right back to being artists, in our way.
Hey, that was last weeks question!
leighantHowever, I don't do much "other" modeling except maybe using my MR structure skills to build a custom dollhouse of a relative's real house for a Christmas present.
That is very good. I am hard-pressed to tell the difference!
CSX_road_slug* Trivia quiz: Any of you old-timers recognize which month/year RMC issue that was?
August 1952 ??
I learned about "other" hobbies existing when I learned that my first wife was writing a regular column for a crochet publication. Spinning yars about yarn I guess. As model railroaders, we model a wide variety of things. Cars, houses, forests, all that stuff besides the choo-choos and track. Brings us right back to being artists, in our way. Model cars, boats, planes and spacecraft. None of those hobbies include archetecture and scenery, do they?
Waaaaay back in my younger years I had the lionel in the basement but in the bedroom was the model cars, trucks, ships, and other war machines. When I found out that wire bends and screens can be cut then the super detailing came out. There were several blue ribbons among the other color ribbons on the wall from the effort put forth with careful painting and stringing different gauge wire for stuff like brake lines and wiring harnesses. I believe that is where the detailing skills I have for my HO scale trains comes from. Sometimes I peruse the other hobbies section and see the same stuff I built in the younger years. When I was stationed in Germany in the early 80s my post commander seen some field artillery pieces I built. He then bought and contracted with me the building and painting of several military vehicles for him. One was of an M48 tank decaled and painted exactly like the tank he commanded earlier in his career.
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
I enjoy learning about most any kind of modeling hobby, especially if I can learn a new technique or supply source.
I've been a MRRer since eight, but have taken side trips to plastic models (ships, tanks, cars), scratchbuilding RC ships and sailboats (and still sail 'em to this day) and one RC airplane (now just for display). I relish the fact that one skill builds upon another.and I embrace all the legs of my hobby journey...
... well, except back when I liked diesels. (Hey... I was just a kid!)
Jim
CSX_road_slugI came into mrr thru one of those other modeling "worlds" - I was an avid collector of Roco Minitanks military models. The [now long-gone] LHS in my home town of Farmington, MI, specialized in military modeling, but they also had some model train stuff as well. I was in the shop one Saturday morning getting ready to spend my allowance on a model of some type of howizter, standing by the cash register waiting to pay for it.
I came into mrr thru one of those other modeling "worlds" - I was an avid collector of Roco Minitanks military models. The [now long-gone] LHS in my home town of Farmington, MI, specialized in military modeling, but they also had some model train stuff as well. I was in the shop one Saturday morning getting ready to spend my allowance on a model of some type of howizter, standing by the cash register waiting to pay for it.
I have a good friend who's into ship building. We often share different techniques for assembly, painting and decaling and trade shots at who's modeling is better.
I also know a few people into miniature wargaming. Some of them put my scenery efforts to shame, assuming you like trenches and shell craters.
Nick
Take a Ride on the Reading with the: Reading Company Technical & Historical Society http://www.readingrailroad.org/
As someone who has also enjoyed fine scale modeling (naval, air and space models), I respect our fellow modelers, as they have developed a wide variety of techniques and materials uses which model railroaders can also apply on their own layouts. I appreciate these greatly.
The principal difference between "fine scale modelers" and those of us who are dedicated model railroaders is this: Scale modeling, by itself, is a static activity. Yes, one can create dioramas that show a famous military campaign or a particular "scene", but the post-creative enjoyment is passive and "observational". And- as someone else posted, you move on to another model- and another, etc.
Model railroading is a dynamic activity, involving not just the construction of the static environment of the whistlestop, city scene, etc, but the involvement of that scene in a larger operational context, where the movement of trains through the scene tells a different story each time, based on the train's consist. direction, etc. Although some model railroaders "complete" their layouts and run trains for operation, they are still engaged in active modeling- as they are modeling the real world- or an abstracted one that bears a strong resemblance to the real world.
Both types of hobbyists do research and invest great time and effort in their work, but the fine scale modeler always reaches an end point- we railroaders do not. The late (and great) Linn Wescott got it right with the title of his old standard beginner's book, An HO Model Railroad That Grows- because, in every aspect, our layouts grow and evolve over time, renewing our pleasure, pride and satisfaction with model railroading.
-just a few thoughts from an old vocational educator!
As a kid I had a train layout of some sort in my room almost always. I was also into the line controlled ,gas powered airplanes big time. I would build planes while the train was going around the layout next to me. ( a perfect world ) I even use to scratch build wings and test them out in flight. I was impressed at how well some of them worked out. We use to do combat flying with streamers tied to the back of our planes. The first one to chew off the others streamer won. Sometimes we wouldn't stop at the streamers though.
Knowing that when I was sixteen I would be able to drive myself to the airfield I started building my first R/C plane and had it finished by the time I got my drivers licence. I spent some time flying R/C planes then moved on to flying real ones. After a few hours of flying from point "A" to point "B" twiddling my thumbs with the autopilot on I decided being a pilot was not for me.
I have had many interest over the years but in the back of my mind I always wanted that bigger train layout someday. I am well on my way with it and it is a hobby that suits this very worn out 53 year old body. I may get back into R/C planes again, but living on the wet coast of Canada, it limits the number of flying days. I can walk into the train room anytime. Also as I have said before I pretty much spend what I want when I want on trains but it is still less than what I use to spend on transportation alone, to get to the R/C airfield.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
I received my first trains 60yrs ago and have been always been involved with hobby. Over the years I have also built models of other things like cars, boats and planes and also war gamed with military miniatures (20 mm civil war figures). I have bought other model magazines for articles that can be use in model railroading. Military modeling magazine have some good articles on painting, decaling and scenery so I always check them out when looking for magazines.
There is no such thing as a bad day of railfanning. So many trains, so little time.
As a kid I built plane and ship models. My first was the USS Arizona. But these days I check out other areas for what I can use with the layout. I won't rule out doing other modeling in the future, but that would be after retirement when I have more time.
Enjoy
Paul
Since the nearest "full service" train store within 140 miles of me is one side of one half aisle at Hobby Lobby, I occasionally look through other models for stuff I can borrow. I even look at jewelry findings and bracelet charms at the craft store.
However, I don't do much "other" modeling except maybe using my MR structure skills to build a custom dollhouse of a relative's real house for a Christmas present.
All modeling is similar to me in that we're trying to create in miniature (so as to be practical) the machines and scenes that inspire us and push our happy buttons. When I was a kid I built models of ships, planes, tanks, cars (Big Daddy Roth's bug eyed stuff!), slot cars, trains and even a Revell model of the Werewolf. (There wolf. Miss you Marty Feldman.) The skills translate for the most part and though I never built RC planes, I built a whole slew of control line racers. Guess how those ended up? Plane guys (I think) combine the regular modeler but with a whole lot of risk taker thrown in. It's all part of our refusing to let the kid in us wither.
Lou
I came into mrr thru one of those other modeling "worlds" - I was an avid collector of Roco Minitanks military models. The [now long-gone] LHS in my home town of Farmington, MI, specialized in military modeling, but they also had some model train stuff as well. I was in the shop one Saturday morning getting ready to spend my allowance on a model of some type of howizter, standing by the cash register waiting to pay for it. The proprietor was in a long-winded conversation with an adult customer, and I happened to notice this rack with a few magazines on it that were about model trains. So I grabbed the [then] current copy of Railroad Model Craftsman and began thumbing thru it. Wow - a whole 'nuther world! An article about EMD's latest-and-greatest, the SD-45, along with Athearn's model of the blue-and-white demonstrator. And not just miniature trains themselves, but stuff to make them and their surroundings look 'real' - including an E.L. Moore article on scratchbuilding an HO scale slaughterhouse. I was hooked; I put back the model howitzer and spent my money on the RMC* instead. Never bought another Minitanks model ever since ...
* Trivia quiz: Any of you old-timers recognize which month/year RMC issue that was?
When I was a kid I put together a ton of those static models and for a time it was fun. But then once it's assembled what happened next? They sat on a shelf, collected dust and one day they just disappeared - I think it had something to do with me moving out of my parent's house and my mother's penchant for 'cleaning.' At the same time, I had an old American Flyer layout in the basement that I kept tinkering with for years - I wish to this day I still had it.
So for me the answer is no - I don't look into other kinds of modeling because it isn't where my interest lies. My LHS has a large RC plane department - it's actually larger than the model train area - and I think it's great that people that can assemble and fly one of those things. But when I have ventured into those aisles, I find they speak an entirely different language that I don't understand - 'you attach the crackwacker valve to the phlimzit with four flangicites' - enough said. So, I do what I am comfortable with doing and while I truly admire their work, I am entrenched in this hobby.
But there is another reason I won't dabble in RC controlled planes - it seems I worked for a guy who was big into them. Once he spent megabucks on building this one particular airplane, He spent hours carefully crafting the body, he was just meticulous in everything he did and finally the day came when it was to take its maiden flight. Now even though he had flown several planes before, he had never mastered the concept of the 'takeoff down the runway.' Instead he would start the engine, hold the plane in mid-air and let it go. So, he did it with this particular plane and as it sailed out of his grasp he realized he hadn't turned on the receiver inside the plane and, therefore, it just simply flew away never to be seen again. At least when I have a crash, it's on the carpet and I can recover the pieces.
There's never time to do it right, but always time to do it over.....